How to use Loose Eye Shadow Pigments

I personally prefer loose eyeshadow pigment over pressed in every color except black.... I'm not sure why, I just prefer my black to be pressed. 

Loose eye shadows are amazing and you can do a ton of different things with them.  Have you ever tried to wet your eye shadows?  You get a major color pay off that doesn't even compair to them dry.  You can use water, eye drops, a mixing medium, or numerous other things.  I usually use my eye drops that I put in my contact lense case. 

Swatch A is Glamour Doll Eyes Valentine's Day pigment Romeo.  Its a beautiful warm sparkling brown applied dry.  

Swatch B is applied after being mixed with contact lense drops.

Swatch C is applied with Glamour Doll Eyes Foil Me serum.

Swatch D is applied with Ulta's Shadow Transformer serum.

(A) When applying dry, always tap your brush to prevent fall out and to save your product.  Be careful when you are blending, some pigments can easily disappear if over blended.

(B) When mixing with something like water or contact drops, wet your brush, then dip it into the pigment.  You can control the amount of product that touches your brush that way verses pouring liquid into your pigment and ending up with it all wet.  Even putting a small amount into the lid, I have found wetting your brush first works best.

(C) Foil Me depending on which bottle you get can be done either by mixing your pigment in a lid or dish or by applying it directly to the lid.  Foil me can be purchased in a dropper type container or in a more lip gloss style container that has a doe foot applicator.  I personally have the lip gloss style container and am quiet happy with it.  I just swipe it on then pat pigment on top.  Its best to either try not to blink until it dries or apply a dry layer over the top to set it. It doesn't take long to dry, though.

(D)The transformer I have come in a small tube with a felt tip brush.  You wipe the product on and pat pigment on top.  It dries quickly and doesn't require anything to set it.

If you have a pigment you love and a clear nail polish with the small mixing balls in it, you can create your own custom nail polish colors.  If you don't want to completely commit, you can pour a small amount into a dish and mix the color, then paint the color onto your nails as a test run!  You can purchase nail brushes at Sally's Beauty Supply or use a brush out of a polish you already have.  Using a brush from another polish is easy, just remove the color with nail polish remover, use your new color, then cleanse it with nail polish remover again!

You can do the same thing with clear lip gloss as with the nail polish.  Either add your pigment to a tube of clear gloss or mix it on a tray for a test run!

Add your pigments to your hair products for a pop off color! This works best for those with short hair or for streaks in long hair.  Take your usual amount of product in your palm, then add a little bit of pigment and blend it in the palm of your hand.  The product will blend better with your body heat verses using a room temperature dish.

You can use your loose pigments in lotions, facial creams, foundations, powders, and pretty much anything else you can think of to give your skin shimmer and color.

Pigments make great blushes also.

How to Make Your Own Hair Extensions!

I cut my hair off last month to the middle of my neck. I LOVE it short! Its so much easier to style and maintain, but every once in awhile I like to pretend it's long again!

I originally started wearing extensions when my hair was long. I have very fine hair and always end up teasing it to make it full and thick at the roots but that still leaves the ends thin, so I started looking at extensions. The prices are outrageous for human hair. The Jessica Simpson ones looked appealing over QVC, but luckily I saw them in a store before I purchased them....they look completely fake to me, like Barbie hair.

So I went to Sally's Beauty Supply. I ended up purchasing tracks, which are meant to be sewn in. I also purchased clips and made my own custom hair extensions for a fraction of the price.

This is the hair I ended up purchasing and I am very happy with it.  I purchased either a 10 inch or 12 inch lenght (I can't remember) package of hair in black.  The package as in the $18-$20 range with more then enough hair to make a head full of extentions.  

You may be able to find it somewhere else cheaper.

 When you get it home wash it and let it air dry. 

You'll need glue (I used E6000, but hot glue or any rubbery glue will work), scissors, snap clips, and either hair clips or wooden clothes pens which work better.

Hold the track by one end and measure around your head with it to the same place on the other ear. Cut it here. This will be your main extension that will go around the middle of your head.... You can now either cut two or three more to glue on top or cut various other lengths to go on other parts of your head.

I personally have 2 long pieces that go from ear to ear. One of them has three pieces stacked on top of it, and the other is just a single track. I have 2 pieces that go from temple to the center of the back of my head. Then I have a fifth piece that is about six inches long with several pieces stacked on top.

The particular clips that are pictured are about $2 a package. The package includes 2 clips.

I highly suggest you glue several of the tracks together, especially if you are using these with short hair! It will give more fullness to the ends instead of looking so much like your threw extensions in your hair.

Simply glue along the track, be careful not to get glue in the hair. 

Lay the track you want to glue ontop of you line of glue.  If you are using hot glue, you will need to lay the track down as you go, instead of after applying glue to the entire bottom track.

Now just clip the track down to keep it from sliding and let it dry!

Once you hair has dried, or if you only doing single tracks, you'll need to apply clips.  You want to make sure you apply these so the comb is facing the end of the extensions.  When you pop them open, you'll slide them into your hair at the root, then press to close them.  These are meant to sew in, and you can do that, but the thread does wear out and glue works just as well. Glue along the track of the hair, and with the clip closed, place the back of the clip onto the track.  Use pens to secure both ends of the clip so the hair dries to it securely. 


And that's it!  Now you have hair extensions for about $30!

Let's Talk Pores, Breakouts, and Blackheads

Yes, everyone has them and everyone thinks theirs are the worst!

Firstly, if you breakout, don't be quick to blame it on your makeup. Do you moisturize? Moisturizers are designed to get down into your pores and into the skin. If you moisturize and everyone should, make sure to use one with a salicylic acid in it, like Clean and Clear's Dual Action Oil Free Moisturizer which is about $5.
Makeups like foundations, powders, and blushes are not designed to sink into your skin and generally shouldn't cause breakouts unless you are not removing them completely. Sometimes your skin is just not going to agree with a makeup, but that doesn't mean all makeups will cause you to flare. Any makeup remover will work, but remember to CLEANSE your skin after taking your makeup off!

Once your skin is clean, you may notice you have blackheads. DO NOT SCRUB THEM! They are not dirt, so there is no reason to scrub and scrub. Blackheads are black because they have oxidized. You have to exfoliate in the pore to get rid of the lil things. Salicylic acid is your friend here also. BHA or AHA products with a pH level under 5 will also help get rid of them. Both BHA/AHA are pH dependant but do not work over a pH level of 5.

Do you use pore strips? I know I have. Its exciting to see all your blackheads be gone in five minutes with a lil white strip, but do you realize you only pealed the top of the black head away? You have to continue to treat the area with a product mentioned above to actually correct the problem and prevent them from coming back.

Retin-a is something you should look into for both acne and blackheads if you have normal skin . It helps to change the function of cells by helping them to produce healthier more normal cells. If you have sensitive skin steer clear of it! If you've ever tried a product that caused your skin to become red and flakey, it probably contained Retin-a. Some people tolerate it well and some do not. If you are using a product with Retin-a in it, make sure to use a sunscreen since it does make the skin more sensitive!

Proactive Solutions and Neutrogena's oil free acne control are great for normal skin types.
My personal suggestion is to try tea tree oil. You can get it at any health food store. Remember to use it in a one part oil to one part water solution, it can burn your skin. It is great for drying up acne and reducing blackheads. It stinks terribly, but if you can get over the horrendous smell it really does help your acne.

Anyways, now that we've covered treating acne and blackheads, let's talk about how to make them less noticeable with makeup. 
Think about it....How do you apply your foundation?  Allot of gals just wipe it on.  Wiping your foundation on in any fashion will cause your pores to stand out.  Using a sponge or foundation brush will not make contact with all the areas that are visible to the eye. Your foundation is generaly brighter then the inside of the pore, so it ends up looking like your pore is a big shadow on your face.

I highly suggest you invest in a stippling brush.  This particular brush, by Real Techniques, is one of my favorites and retails at Ulta for $10..  It has a flat bottom so it can stand on your counter out of the way of  everything else.  It easy to hold and use and is just overall nice to look at.  Did I mention it feels like heaven on your face along with having zero fall out from the hairs!
You can use any brush, you want something that is about half the size of a normal powder brush.  If you are just going to be covering pore in a small area such as your cheeks, use a large eye shadow brush. 

Take your brush, with foundation on it, and buff your foundation in a circular motion all over the areas your need your pores to be covered. The circular motion will cause the makeup to make contact with all areas that are visible to the eye, preventing to shadowed look that makes them stand out. Finally take your powder and PRESS it onto the areas you have just buffed. You do not want to disturb the layer of foundation you have just laid down. Gently press it on and you should have an air brushed look with minimumally noticeable pores!

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream 

I purchased Antwerp.  I love the color! It is a very soft peachy pink color.  I, however, was not impressed with the product.  This was a $6 purchase from Ulta, but save your $6.

I have to say, I really like the packaging.  It is the perfect size to hold in your hand,  unlike some other bulky lip products.  It has a small doe foot applicator and a pleasant smell. The handle is also very nice to handle, since it has an almost rubbery texture that I find very nice. The product applies very true to the color in the packaging and is very opaque.  It however applies very streaky and unevenly.  It was nearly impossible for me to get it even.



This is the color an hour after I orginially applied it.  You can see the unevenness and that is is starting to have a cracked texture.  Its very drying.  My lips feel chapped, but when you do rub them, you can tell the product still has moisture in it.
This product compairs well to a bad all day lipstick...

Save your money, and pass on this.

I love NYX products, but this one was definately a miss.

My Glam Bags

Ok, we're just going to jump right into this

http://www.myglam.com/

This is the January My Glam Bag!  If you do not know what MyGlam is, it's a monthly subcription service for just $10 that sends you samples or full sized products.  Michelle Phan, a youtube guru, is behind this company along with several other gurus.  I must say, it's a pretty good deal. 
You sign up, when you first sign up the money is immediately deducted from your account and after that it is deducted on the 1st of every month.  The website says they mail bags the 10th (I believe) of every month. 
I signed up in December after seeing what everyone else was getting in their bags.  January is my first bag and I must say I'm pretty happy with it.  The shipping this month was a MESS!  This is the second bag this company has sent out and I think they are in over their head right now.  They printed double and triple labels and then recalled the bags, some girls still recieved more then one bag while some recieved cancelation notices and refunds.  I recived a tracking number on the 14th of Jan, but my number never updated.  My bag came about the 19th.

So what's in the bag?

The bag came with several coupons, which are actually specials the companies are already running.  So that was kinda a bust.

Sheer Cover Duo Concealer

MyGlam unlike other monthly companies does not have a quiz that asks about your skin color, hair color, or anything of that nature.  This duo was sent to everyone in Light/Medium, which for me is extremely to fair!
I do really like it though, its unfortunate you can only purchase it in a kit. 
I wear classic tan in CoverGirl foundation and I do make this concealer work.  I apply it, apply my foundation, then reapply lightly after it powder my foundaton and pat the edges out.  I am very heavy handed applying my foundation, so that is why I reapply. 
I'm not wild about the texture, its way to creamy for my liking.  The packaging is easy to open and handle.

WEN by Chaz Dean Cleansing Conditioner in Sweet Almond Mint

This came sealed in a 2oz tube.  I was so excited to try it! I've considered ordering WEN since it first debuted on QVC, but was turned off by the price. 
I'm glad I waited.
I have got to say, I LOVE the scent.  It's not over powdering but very fresh and minty!  I used it as directed and really like the way it made my hair feel in the shower.  After rinsing it out, you don't have that "Oh I just rinsed conditioner out of my hair" slick feel.  But after allowing my hair to air dry, it just seemed like second day hair.  It seemed to have that greasy film on it. 

Freeman Facial Peel Off Mask in Cucumber

This is a full sized, drug store product that retails for about $8, so it basically was the cost of the entire bag. 
I'm not a big mask fan, but I gave it a try and I like it for something different!  The texture is horrible!  I hate touching it.  It is very slimey and gross feeling.  I like the feeling it has when you put it on the skin though.  I had a very minty tingle on my face after applying it.  It took awhile to dry, longer then the 10 minutes the packaging says. It did not peal off in one peice but required a bit of picking and then I ended up having to wash my face to get the rest of it off.
I really like the way my skin felt afterwards though.  My pores seemed smaller and I just over all liked the texture better!

 The Balm Hot Ticket Nail Polish in A Fuschia Too Many

This a brillant polish that is a full size and also pays for the bag retailing on The Balm's website for $10. 
It took one coat to become opague and is lovely.  It does have more stickers on the bottle then most nail polishes you purchase.  I pealed the sticker off the handle of the brush since it felt funny. 



Overall, My Glam is something I am glad I purchased.  It is no avaible internationally yet, and I hope they do not make it avaible until they finish sorting their problems out. Customer Service SUCKS.  It may take 24 hours to get a response, or it may take a week.  The MyGlam facebook page is very helpful.  The ladies there are on their game and will respond and generally answer you question immediately.
You can not signup at this moment for the bag, but if you add MyGlam on facebook, you'll be notified when you can sign up!