FOTD for Zumba Party In Pink Performance at Houston Rockets Game

 24/7 Glide On Pencils, Bold colors, Bold Lip, Breast Cancer Awareness, Cover Girl Queen Collection, Dramatic Eyes, Ebony Bronze, Event Coverage, eye shadow, False Lashes, How to, Lips, Loreal voluminous Million Lashes, M.A.C. Vanilla Pigment, Makeup Application, primers, Queen Collection, Skindinavia, Urban Decay 15th Anniversary, Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Pencils, Vanilla Pigment, Voluminous Million Lash, Wet-n-Wild, Zumba Party in Pink  3 Responses »
Oct 152012
 

I had the pleasure of performing during the Pre-Game show of the Houston Rockets vs. San Antonio Spurs game yesterday. The experience was incredible. I participated in this event earlier this year so i definitely didn’t want to miss it this time.  The goal of the performance is to raise awareness for Breast Cancer as well as show people you can live a healthy lifestyle by working out while still having fun.

Yay!!! Finally got a picture with both of my all time favorite Zumba instructors!! :-D On the left is Rashard of Zumba with Rashard and in the middle is Karen of Cha Cha Zumba who is a breast cancer survivor.  These two ladies have made a huge difference in my life.  They are truly incredible in what they do  and how they motivate and encourage their students.  I’ll always be grateful to have them as a part of my new healthier lifestyle.  Just to give you an idea of how Zumba has worked for me.  Check out the picture below of Rashard and I at the last Zumba Party in Pink Zumba Performance at the Rockets game earlier this year.

Unfortunately this is a blurry cell phone picture but you get the idea. Zumba is so much more than just having fun.  I’ve come a long way since January and the majority of it is because of Zumba and particularly Karen and Rashard. :-)

Below we’re waiting for practice to start. The excitement is building up.

These were taken right before our Pre-Game show performance.  We all work out at the same gym with Rashard! :-)

Below is a group picture with our shero Karen!  She has such a wonderful spirit that just draws people to her.  Karen is currently featured on a bilboard and posters for Susan G. Komen. Go Karen!!!

So happy to have had my friends and family come out to the game to support Breast Cancer Awareness as well as cheer me on during our performance! Shout out to my cousin Jackie for wearing her Pink shirt and bracelets!!! :-)

The Rockets Mascot Clutch was trying to shoot the ball in the goal without looking.  He didn’t quite make it in, but had some really close calls. Ha ha! 

My batteries died on my camera. :-( I took these pictures of Jeremy Lin with my cell. He’s a lot shorter than I thought. Ha ha!

Since I was performing on the basketball court, I wanted to go all out with the drama for my makeup. I wouldn’t claim this as an everyday look for me, but I enjoyed it.  I stuck with the Pink theme for October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I pretty much did everything pink except my foundation. :-)

I only got a couple of pictures before I left because I ran out of time.  I took these with my phone so of course the quality isn’t as good.  *I need to get a better phone ASAP*

In the above pics I was wearing my 1st Lip look which was Wet n Wild Don’t Blink Pink with MAC Lipgelee’ Preppy

Here I’m wearing my Lip Look #2 Wet n Wild Don’t Blink Pink with Stila Lip Enamel Luxe Gloss in Giggle

Note to self…make sure to take pics right after doing makeup…not at the end of the day. SMH.  It looked a lot better than this, but I left the house in a hurry and didn’t get to take pictures like I planned. :-( This picture was taken without a flash

Here’s what I used below to create this look:

Face

  1. Isomers HD Primer
  2. MAC Prep and Prime Transparent Finishing Powder Loose (Before and After
  3. MAC Prolongwear Foundation NC45 (decided to give it another try)
  4. Cover Girl Queen Collection Stay Matte Powder in Golden
  5. Skindinavia No More Shine Setting Spray (Before and after)

Cheeks

  1. Highlight is a mixture of Nars Albatross blush, MAC Vanilla Pigment, and MAC Glitter in Reflects Pearl Glitter
  2. Cheek color is La Femme Blush in Fuchsia
  3. Contour is La Femme Blush in Purple Passion

Eyes

  1. Urban Decay Primer Potion
  2. NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk (on lid blended to brow)
  3. MAC Pigment in Milk on inner tear duct with MAC Fix+
  4. MAC Pigment in Fuchsia mid lid with MAC Fix+
  5. MAC Motif eyeshadow in inner crease
  6. Elf Cream Liner in Black on top lid
  7. Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner Pencils in Rockstar in water line and on bottom line smudged through lower lashes
  8. Loreal Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara
  9. Ardell False Lashes #111 (I cut them to make them wisp at ends)

Lips

1st Lip Look

  1. Kiehls Lip Balm
  2. Wet n Wild Matte Lipstick in Don’t Blink Pink
  3. MAC Lipgelee’ in Preppy
2nd Lip Look
  1. Wet n Wild Matte Lipstick in Don’t Blink Pink
  2. Stila Lip Enamel Luxe Gloss in Giggle
3rd Lip Look
  1. Stila Lip Enamel Luxe Gloss in Giggle by itself.  I’ll review this product in another post.

 

This is the song that we used during our performance.  It was soooooo much fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4OwHk61EiA&noredirect=1

 

What’s in My Personal Make Up Bag

 Black Opal Foundation Stick, Blotting Sheets, blushes, Compact powder, Cover Girl Queen Collection, Crown Brush, Ebony Bronze, Everyday look inexpensive products, FOTD, Loreal voluminous Million Lashes, M.A.C., make-up, make-up brushes, make-up storage, My favorites, Nars, Nars Exhibit A, Nars Taj Mahal, oil control products, Prep and Prime Powder, Revlon, Shadestick, spooly, Vanilla Pigment  1 Response »
Aug 092012
 

I was inspired to do this post by my fellow make up artist Jessica Marie.  She tagged me on Instagram.  I figured I had too much to say to just do it there so I decided to make a post about it.

I have to admit that I go through phases with my make up so things do change but I also have staples that I never take out.  My actual makeup bags change as well depending on what purse I’m carrying at the time. LOL! :-)

So what is all of this stuff?  I’ll explain below.

2 Nars Blushes: Exhibit A for cheeks and Albatross for my cheek highlight

Yes, there are 3 face powders in my everyday makeup bag. LOL! They all serve different purposes though.

MAC Prep and Prime Skin helps to keep my makeup on longer, reduces oiliness and the appearance of my pores.  I use this powder before and after  I apply my makeup.

Cover Girl Queen Collection Matte Powder in Golden as my overall face powder. I preferred the previous formula over this new one because it provided more coverage but it’s still a nice powder and I prefer the finish on my oily skin more than MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural.

Cover Girl Queen Collection Bronzer in Ebony Bronze is what I use to contour my face.

Black Opal Foundation Stick in Heavenly Honey I can’t tell you enough how much I love these foundation sticks.  Normally I use two this one, and Truly Topaz, which is my skin tone.  However, the cap on my Truly Topaz doesn’t stay on well so I took it out of my bag. I use Heavenly Honey as a highlighting concealer. (under my brows and under my eyes to my cheeks).

Lancome Oscillating Mascara Primer: The absolute BEST primer I’ve ever used…also the most expensive. :-(  It makes ANY mascara work well.

Loreal Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara my favorite drug store mascara

NYX Blotting Sheets because I really believe I’m the oiliest person on Earth. I use these about 2-3x daily.  On a good note, they work really well and I can go back to being matte with just two sheets. :-)

MAC Shadestick in Gentle Lentil R.I.P. to the shadesticks. They’ve been discontinued and it’s such a pity.  They were the most convenient way for me to do my eyes. :-(

3 Eyeliners

MAC Pearlglide in Designer Purple (one of my all time favorite eyeliners). I sometimes use this all over my lid because it’a a beautiful glittery purple.  Other times I’ll use it under my bottom lash line for a pop of color or to make a smokey eye.

NYX Black Eye Pencil just depends on the day.  I don’t wear eyeliner in my waterline all of the time, sometimes I’ll want to so it’s in there.  Every now and then I’ll use it to line the top of my lash line.

Elf Waterproof Eyeliner Pen I use this to line the top of my lash line when I want to use a liquid black.

Naked Pigment Sample My all-time favorite brow highlight.  I usually keep a Vanilla Pigment Sample in my bag as well but I ran out.  I’ll sometimes use Vanilla as my brow highlight or transition color above my crease.  More often I use it as my cheek highlight.  I have NARS Albatross in my bag now because I ran out of Vanilla.

Clinique Pencil Sharpener

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Balm Stain  I alternate between this orange one and the pink one. These surprised me because they have a good amount of pigment to be a stain.  I’ll do a full review in a later post.

Elf Lipstain in First Date.  Going to have to get another one soon. These Elf lipstains are nice because they don’t dry out or crumble on your lips like a lot of other stains I’ve tried.

2 Lipsticks

MAC Ruby Woo my favorite red lipstick

MAC Vegas Volt a great coral color.

2 Lipliners 

MAC Beet which is a pinkish red. I love this color I blend it various colors from nudes, corals, oranges, pinks, and reds. Sometimes I wear it alone or I’ll just dab some gloss in the middle of my lips.

Cabernet Sorry I don’t have a brand name.  It came with my makeup kit I received when I took Ebony Mac’s makeup class last summer.  It looks very similar to MAC Burgundy Lip Pencil or Clinique’s Bon Bon.

MAC Lipglass in Wonder Woman (limited edition that I regret not buying 2 of) It’s a gorgeous red with shimmer.

My brushes

Smashbox face and body brush that I’m no longer happy with because of the extensive shedding. :-( For the 1st yr I had it, it was my favorite face brush. Prime example of how an expensive brush doesn’t always mean it’s a better brush. I still have my CVS Essence of Beauty brushes from 2003 and they work fine.

Crown Brush Angle Brush I use this for contouring my face.  I love the fact that it’s pink.  I got it from Hautelook during one of the Crown Brush sales.

 Sonia Kashuk Pointed Foundation Brush used to blend concealer under my eyes

Coastal Scents Pink Flat Shader Brush primarily used to carve out my brow with concealer or apply naked as my brow highlight.  I also use it to apply lid colors.

 

My Easy FOTD with MAC Viva Glam Nicki Lipstick

 Bold Lip, FOTD, Lips, M.A.C., M.A.C. Superslick liquid liner, M.A.C. Vanilla Pigment, Vanilla Pigment, Viva Glam  4 Responses »
Feb 202012
 

This was a very simple and easy look I wore to work on yesterday.

Face:

  1. Studio Fix Powder Foundation in C7
  2. Dollymix Blush.  It was supposed to be Florida Creme blush but we’re sold out of it so had to use a dupe.
  3. Blunt Blush as contour
  4. Vanilla Pigment as cheek, forehead, and nose highlight
  5. Prolongwear Conceler in NC42 under eyes
Lips:
  1. Viva Glam Nicki
Eyes:
  1. Girl/Boy Brow Set
  2. Call Me Bubbles from Shop MAC Call Me Bubble eyeshadow quad. Blended all over
  3. Designer Purple Pearlglide Eyeliner from Vera Collection on my lid and lower lashline.  I actually used this eyeliner like a shadow on my lid not as a liner.
  4. On The Hunt Superfine Liquid Liner
  5. Andrea Mod False Lashes with MAC False Lash Mascara

With a Flash

Without Flash

I tweeted a couple of days ago that I think there’s a secret magic ingredient in this new MAC Viva Glam Nicki lipstick. LOL! :-) I swear it looks different on everyone who wears it.  I’ve seen it look bubble gum pink, hot pink, coral, pink with a hint of coral, etc…Ha ha! I’ve never seen a lipstick change so much before.  I think it’s cool though.  It even looks different on me on different occasions.

My Favorite 13 M.A.C. Eyeshadows Pt. 4 Eye Look

 Black Opal Foundation Stick, coastal scents, Cover Girl Queen Collection, eye shadow, FOTD, M.A.C., M.A.C. Graphblack, M.A.C. Vanilla Pigment, Revlon Colorburst Lipgloss, Uncategorized, Vanilla Pigment  2 Responses »
Feb 032012
 

It’s been fun showing you all some of the ways I use my favorite M.A.C. eyeshadows.  I listed in part 1 of this series that my #1 Favorite eyeshadow by M.A.C. is Expensive Pink.  I’ll show you why below.

Expensive Pink is a beautiful coral color that can make a statement on its own.  Using this shadow is one of the quickest and easiest ways to do a look. :-)

Of course it definitely blends well with tons of colors.  I’ll show you how I took Expensive Pink from a natural look and made it stand out a bit more.  Not really dramatic but enough to add a little extra to the look with 2 of my other favorite M.A.C. eyeshadows.

Above, I added Mylar as my brow highlight.

Here I added Sketch to my crease for more drama.

Other products used:

  1. M.A.C. Superslick Liquid Liner in On the Hunt
  2. M.A.C. Graphblack in my waterline
  3. Clinique High Impact Mascara and Lancome Definicil Mascara
  4. Andrea Mod False Lashes
  5. Black Opal Foundation Stick in Heavenly Honey as concealer to highlight under my eyes, cheek and nose highlight.
  6. M.A.C. Pigment in Vanilla as cheek highlight
  7. Black Opal Foundation Stick in Truly Topaz as spot concealer on my face.
  8. Cover Girl Queen Collection Natural Hue Mineral Powder in Brown Bronze 1 all over face.
  9. Coastal Scents Sun Art Bronzer in Dark on cheeks
  10. Cover Girl Queen Collection Bronzing Powder in Ebony Bronze as cheek contour
  11. Revlon Color Stay Mineral glaze in Endless Lilac

My Top 5 October Favorite Cosmetic Products!

 cleansing wipes, Compact powder, Cover Girl, Ebony Bronze, M.A.C. prep and prime powder, MAC, My favorites, Nars, Nars Taj Mahal Blush, Ponds, Queen Collection, Vanilla Pigment  2 Responses »
Nov 062011
 

Here is a list of my favorite cosmetic products from last month.

Retails for $23.  For more info go here.
  1. M.A.C. Prep and Prime Transparent Finishing Powder/Pressed.  So glad that the best powder that works to absorb my oiliness is in a convenient compact.  Now I have to admit, it DOES NOT work as well as the original version.  There’s just something about having a loose powder that really does work better than compact powders for controlling oil.  The M.A.C. Prep and Prime Compact Powder does work better than all of my other compacts including M.A.C. Blot Powder.  I believe having corn starch is what sets these two powders a part from all of the rest.
It retails anywhere from $3.99-$7.00 depending on the retailer.
For more info, go here

I’ve talked a bout these Ponds wipes a few times before.  What can I say except that I truly love them and I shouldn’t have stopped using them in the first place.  I started back using them more frequently after I ran out of the Oil Of Olay wipes (which I would not recommend because they were too dry and they burned my eyes a  bit).  These wipes are consistently moist from the time you open the package until the very last one.  They totally remove all of my make up and leave my face feeling fresh.  There is a fragrance but it’s very soft and doesn’t bother me.  I really love the size and the texture.  They are thorough enough to where I don’t have to use 5 to get my face clean. That’s a relief.

3.

1.5oz retails $34 and 4oz retails for $75
Dr. Denese Defense Day Cream. This is the most amazing moisturizer I’ve ever found for my oily skin.  Trust me, that’s not an easy thing for me to say, as I have tried soooo many and never truly been completely satisfied.  I will do a more detailed review of this product later, but the I’m extremely pleased that it has an SPF 30 and it leaves a matte finish.
This product retails for only $3. You can get it cheaper with all of the different discounts Elf provides.  Sign up for their emails and you’ll know when they offer the best deals.

4.  Elf Lips Stain has really been helpful and proven to reassure me that you don’t have to spend a lot of money on products in order for them to be good quality.  I talk a lot at my job and normal lip products tend to fade away throughout the day.  These lip stains have really held up well.  I would compare them to M.A.C. Prolongwear Lipcolour but they are significantly cheaper as Prolongwear lipcolors retail at $22.  I’ve noticed that the Elf Lip Stains don’t make my lips feel as dry.

5.

Retails at $27
Nars Taj Mahal Blush is just…fantastic! I think I used this blush almost everyday in October.  My favorite combo is using this on my cheeks, Cover Girl Queen Collection Ebony Bronze Bronzing Powder as my contour, and M.A.C. Vanilla Pigment as my highlighter.  It’s the perfect color on my skin.  It gives just enough orange without being too orange.  It also brings out a pretty golden glow to my skin. I now know why so many women rant and rave about it.  The fact that you only need to gently swipe your brush across this blush is even better.  It’s full of pigment so it will last a very long time. :-)
What were your favorite products from last month?
*All of the pictures above were taken from the companies’ websites*