Twinks oh Twinks

So I played around with Twinks eyeshadow and I love love love it! MAC Cosmetics defines Twinks as a "dirty plum with gold reflects" and it is simply fab. In fact....I'm diggin' my neutral/highlight collection.



Anyone have any ideas? I can't, I just can't leave those empty spaces like that. Grr...

Okay, so I digress. Here's my FOTD with Twinks and New York Apple lipstick. I think that this lip color is a bit much for everyday but it is fun every now and then.










I really like Twinks. And as you can see....I can't let go of that Ochre Style either. That paired with Twinks is heaven. And of course, I always do Vanilla pigment as a highlight. And....I'm still trying my hardest to do flattering pictures of my lips, but I caaaaan't. It's such a struggle for me. LOL! Mannn....and I really need to keep working on my liner because the line is so thick. I'm wonderin' if I will ever master Fluidlines and the 266? Hmmmm...





So that's that. Seriously...Twinks is a must have but I think I say that about a lot, uh? Ohhhh....and before, I forget, I think that I may do a lipstick post. I know a lot of you are saying that you can't get down with the lipsticks and I feel your sentiments. I didn't purchase my first lipstick until last year! I thought I was always going to be a lipgloss girl, but I am slowly gotten into lipsticks. Soooo, stay tuned for a Lipstick for Newbies post. I'll have swatches, techniques, alternatives and if there is something you want to see, please send me an email or comment!!

Peace and have a fab weekend!

Quick FOTDs

Hi beauties! Just a quick FOTD post...still crazy busy with trying to start a new job, finding a place to stay, getting my car fixed and studying for the GRE and FTCE. Yuck!! But for the first time since August, I went out! Having not seen me since I moved to LA, some of my friends were shocked that my face wasn't all dolled up. Faces frowned when I told them I wasn't really IN eye make-up these days and that lips was my focus. But for a ole' times sake, I spent more than 3 minutes on my eye make-up and here is what I ended up with.


And I played around with some Blues. A color I very rarely touch. I don't even remember what I used!
And that's the only one that I can show since some of my girls are on this professional "don't be postin' pics of me" tip. LOL! I love them....I've been readin' blogs on my phone but not leavin' comments b/c it won't let me. Boooo....but I am around. I'm trying to get rid of some lip/eye palettes. They are just taking up space and I have never even used them. If anyone is interested, send me an email.

Peace, my loves. And stay beautiful.

Bloggin' Sistas and Bold Eye

I love blogging. It's therapy and a lifestyle. Rantings of a Rebella and Clumps of Mascara have truly saved my sanity. I have 2 different sets of bloggin' families and it just makes my day when I see a new comment or a new post sittin' in the Google Reader. Today, I am happy to announce the unvealing of The Daily Cookie's Facelift! My blog sista, Lilan and her web designers have done a fab job with the new site! Congrats, Lil! And the cookie theme just has me salivating all over the place. Munch your way over to The Daily Cookie.

Great things are happening all over the make-up world and in blogspace. You've got anticipation for Fafi thickening, Fashion Week in NYC, L'Oreal has everyone buzzin'.....I just can't take it! Ah!

--------> MAKE-UP!

(one day I'll buy Photoshop! LOL!)


Newbies, I have not forgotten about you. A Newbie Post is coming soon. Keep emailing me your suggesions. I'm lovin' it! I have decided to familiarize myself more with the presdential election. So until I do that, I have to limit my make-up talk. Just last night I spent 2 hours at OnTheIssues.org trying to understand which candidate has the best lies, I mean platforms. Hehe, and I'm always tabbing in at CNN.com on the cell. Gotta know what's goin' on because it's going to affect us all in some way.

Okay, no posts this weekend because I've got some packing and studying to do. But before I go, check it.....my school is having Catholic School Week next week and Monday is "spirit day". You have to dress up in school colors. So, of course that gave me the idea to do a bold eye look; something I haven't done in forever! So here's what I came up with using Bright Sunshine e/s and Navy Blue pigment from MAC.

I don't have on any face make-up. Eek! Ah well...should I recreate this? I'm on the fence about this one. I had to bring in Wondergrass e/s to help me blend but I just don't think I like these colors on me. And I couldn't bring the color too far up on the lid because then I'd look clown-ish. Suggestions? Anyone? Hmm.... Have a happy weekend, my loves!

Peace & Newbie Pride!

Oh, here's the Clumps of Mascara banner! Ohhhh, my skills.

I'm a newbie in that area too. Clearly!

Bee Photo courtesy of Juliebee.ca

Hotlanta's Chills

Yaaaay, so I'm back from Atlanta and trying to update as much as I can 'roun dis piece. I'm still getting around to someone of yall so if I've been ghost to your blog homes, don't hate me! I try and be a dedicated blog sista but sometimes I get a bit behind. The pictures in this post are going to be smaller than usual b/c I don't have time to upload them in my Photobucket.

Look at all the snow in ATL. I wasn't THAT prepared but it was in all good.

Me and the baby sis had to pose fast on this one. Toooo cold!

I visited ThatMan, some cousins, my best friend (I'm a bridesmaid!) and then I showed some love by going to the Martin Luther King Memorial. It's still such a big deal to me. I will never forget the contributions that my people have made to this corrupted place we call America. But I digress.

My skin is looking divine these days!!!! Seriously....no pimples or anything. My new focus is getting rid of those dark spots that the pimples left behind. Cocoa butter, my saint, is great for that. And I don't wear foundation on most days. I'm dapping into Bare Minerals. I copped this from my Mom. Why this NC20-somethin' woman needed this, I don't know. The color is Warm.

It's a bit OFF...I think it makes me a bit chalky so I'm thinking I need to mix it with something else. I don't know.

And I think this picture shows how off the color is because I sprinkled some of the foundation on my chest just to test. Hehe, make-up porn!

I'm thinking of going to a counter this weekend. I love how it feels like nothing on my face. It's amazing on days when I want just a little coverage. And when I want the grown woman look, I'm still bustin' my Bobbi Brown Tinted moisturizer with the 187. It's just divine!

Speaking of BB Tinted Moisturizer....here's a better FOTD of it. I'm cheesin' mad hard with my sister but I think it looks good.

PRODUCTS USED:

FACE:
Bobbi Brown Tinted Moisturizer
NYC Translucent loose powder
NARS Crazed blush (this newbie sucks in blush application)

EYES:
UDPP
Bamboo Paint
Ochre Style e/s on lid
Sketch on crease
Handwritten to deepen crease
Vanilla pigment to highlight
Blacktrack Fluidline

LIPS:
Nightmoth lip pencil
Some sheer pink gloss from Victoria Secret
Blacktrack

I'm still cleaning out the make-up stash so thanks for your inquiries. More things coming soon! I've got some eye shadows to go through, pigment samples, a Holiday lip palette, a brush roll, etc. I've got a ton of stuff I need to get rid of! Thanks to those who have already purchased from me. Business is great!

Peace aaaaaand......

Specktra has got all the news!

BB, NARS & Ochre Style

My internet service is the pits and this is the first time I've been able to access it since Friday so I guess I better update quickly before my connection suddenly disappears!

Most of you know that my ventures into foundations weren't so hot. MAC's StudioFix and StudioTech killed my face. Literally. Scroll the blog. I've got pictures to prove it. I stopped using those products but I still wanted some kind of coverage. Especially since I had post pimple marks on my face (lemme tell you....cocoa butter is amazing. It seriously lightens dark spots like that *snaps*) Bobbi Brown's Tinted Moisturizer is simply fab! This is my first attempt with tinted moisturizers. Because my skin is naturally dry, I love how this product gives me some added moisture and a light coverage. It's great for the winter months. I stiple it on my hand and then on my face and blend all over. It goes on beautifully and I don't get that make-upy" look that I dread. When applied with the 187 brush, it is a dreeeam. At $43 a bottle, a little goes a long way which is a good thing for a broke beauty like myself. I'm a NW45 in MAC colors so I use the "Dark Tint" for the BB Moisturizer. Because it does leave me a bit shiny, I buff NYC's loose translucent powder on top. I absolutely adore it. And so far...no break-outs so A+ to Bobbi Brown!

Another product that I adore is MAC's Ochre Style from The Originals collection. What a beautiful muted gold! It looks beautiful when paired with Trax, Sketch and Handwritten. Because it is a bit sheer, I used UDPP and Bamboo paint for the color to really POP! See how simple it looks here.

But when I add a crease color...

I love it! Simple, neutral but.....nice.

And yesterday I went to check out the N Collection. Didn't see anything that I liked. As I've mentioned, I think I'm pretty good in the neutral department. But I did go to Sephora and got NARS Crazed. I've been wanting it for a minute. This newbie has very little experience in the blush area so watching me learn how to do that will be fun!

And I'm also going to do a natural hair post.

Just because I realize there are a lot of us out there with beautiful natural hair. But dang, I can't wait to get my locs like lovely Yummy and Divine Rae.




See my curly Q's!

Yay! Ohhh....and per some blog sista suggestions, I've also dipped into some mineral make-up too. Stay tuned for reviews/pictures of that.

Peace and natural beauty.

The Originals and then some...

I'm so behind on updating so I may be rushing things but I think yall can keep up.

One of my blog sisters, Yummy discussed Google Reader in her most recent blog. Do yourself a favor and check it out! It's amaaaazing. I can now know when each and every one of you lovely ladies makes an update without spending 30 years going to each blog space. I just go to my Google Reader and BAM....I can see who made updates. It even works fab on my Sidekick (which will hopefully turn into a Blackberry Curve on Christmas Day). Good lookin' out, Yums!

Here are what those pretty lip sticks look like. [ahem and how do yall get the titles and words on your pictures? Lemme guess....Photoshop, uh? I'll invest in that when I get on that steady salary. Hehe.]

*left to right* [Milani's Sumptuous and MAC's 3D and Viva Glam IV]

And then here's the bitty haul I got from The Originals Collection. Ochre Style on the left, A Little Folie on the right.

I was NOT a fan of that Parrot. I can't believe people were goin' crazy over a color that looks so close to MAC's Shimmermoss and Waternymph (from the Lure collection). It's so not worth the hype.

I like A Little Folie for a crease color. And even for a lid color if I can get it to work right. I have issues with some mattes. I like Ochre Style because it is a muted gold and isn't as loud as that damn Amberlights. However, it's color payoff isn't too hot so I have to get a super good base for this to pop. But if they don't work out, I will not hesitate to return them. HA!

Don't understand that hype over C-Thru either because it looked a hot mess on me. Hmmm...this collection was just "Eh" for me. The last collection that seriously wow-ed me all over was Smoke Signals and that was in August, I believe. But I do believe that the Fafi collection will have me jumpin' for joy!!!!!!! Who else is excited about this beauuuutiful collection?

Here is how I'm lookin' these days. Face is looking a little better but I'm getting insecure with the dark spots. I only wear eye liner, mascara and a lip color everyday. Tis all. And heyyyy....look who got a new scarf! Have I mentioned how much I love scarves?

And I played around with Sushi Flower (I'm sorry but I hate HATE this color, I can't ever get it to work), Humid and Shimmermoss. Something didn't come out right because the color payoff so didn't last. But then again, I was just playin' around.

And ohhh, I got my nails done and isn't this color pretty?

I'm happy happy. Why can't my nails look this good when I do it? Ugghhh.. Yall like my faux wedding hand picture, uh? I even got the wedding ring. LOL, I'm a mess.

Peace and Louis Vuitton (I just found my first one!)

Lippy Wippy!

I'm in Florida!! Back on the East Coast and I couldn't be happier. It was worth the jet lagged red eye trip from Cali at 1am. That was a rough day but I am so happy to see familiar faces, places and MY CAR! I haven't driven in 3 months. That's just insane.

I actually have a TON of updates but I gotta do some backtracking, so first things first.

I hauled MAC's clear brow gel and I love love love it. It really aids in smoothing out my naturally thick and curly brows. Since the waxing accident, they have grown in nicely. I don't need to pencil in anything. My roomie helps with the arch so I'm estatic that SOMETHING is going right in the beauty department.

I also hauled more lip colors.....
MAC's 3D and Viva Glam IV.

Here are some FOTDs...ignore the eye make-up. I was messin' around in pigments.

[3D]

[Viva Glam IV ]

I like them both. And I'm really liking my collection. I also copped a Milani color that I don't have any pictures of. I'll do some swatches of ALL of my newest lip colors just in case other brown ladies are lookin' for something that works nicely for us.

And I will also post pictures of my skin later. It's actually getting A LOT better. I have been walking around here without the face make-up and surprisingly, I'm fine. I don't think I look THAT bad. Some of yall are saying my skin ain't THAT bad and maybe you're right....my dramatic self. Still. I would like to try another foundation just for kicks. But to not wear it is just.....amazing.

And I checked out The Originals collection (that one snuck up on me) today and only purchased 2 things. That's coming in the next post. 5 days until Christmas and I have still puchased zero gifts. It feels great.

I'm rockin' out on Jaheim's newest album. For a sultry singer with REAL talent, check out his "The Makings of a Man" album. Simply fab. I shall return, lovelies!

Peace and sexy Black men.

Skin....yikes!

Hi lovely people!

I've been able to update like crazy because my teaching/volunteering time is coming to a close end. I am excited! But not really because I have to study for a Teaching Certification exam AND the GRE to get into grad school. YIKES! Yall, pray for me. Seriously. Check out the beautiful floral picture I took yesterday.

Isn't that gorgeous? I'm showing you this now because what is next to come may scare you. I've decided to show you close up pictures of my skin. Now I'm not going to sit here and dog MAC Cosmetics out and make it seem that they are the reason my face is this way. It could be a number of things:
-Stress
-LA smog
-Leaving the world of vegetarianism (I'll be back)
-Water
-Weather changes
....so I don't know. MAC's face products/foundations may not be the monster. But the best way to find out is not stop using them and see how things change. Which is hard because my face looks just awful.....check it out.

Now it gets worse...

Is this not AWFUL?! Now follow the journey of a newbie as she tries to get her pretty skin back. :( I'm so devastated.

But yesterday the school's faculty went out to The Cheesecake Factory. I thought I would be out of place being that I was the youngest non-Californian Black woman there but we all had a good time. As cultured as I like to thing of myself as being, it's always strange when I'm the only "Black woman" anywhere. But when I realized that my Mexican and Central American co-teachers are just as loco as me and my friends, I was feeling goooood. I did a holiday-ish look.

I used:

FACE
Olay Complete Moisturizer

EYES
UDPP
Bamboo paint
Red/Mi'Lady
Humid
Club
Vanilla pigment
L'Oreal Volumious Carbon
Blitz & Glitz Fluidline
Revlon Colorstay eyeliner

LIPS
Milani Brown liner
Fresh Brew lipstick
Bare Truth lip glass

....It was cute and festive. Pero, mi cara.....my spirits are really down because of my face. I think I may exchange my Chesnut lip pencil for a lipstick and then purchase one more. That sounds reasonable in price. And maybe I'll feel a little bit better about myself.

Peace and Happy Weekend!

Haul and FOTDs

Hi lovely people! I hope you've all had a great weekend. I diiiiiid. Watched a ton of movies, went out to eat with the roomies, been cookin' up a storm, semi-shopping then went to church with my Joy Joy. I've also been studying for the GRE and FTCE (one's for entry into grad school, the other to be a certified teacher in Florida) and making plans to high-tail it out of LA. Which includes looking for an apartment and a list of other things. But this is a beauty blog....so let's bring on the beauty!

So obviously I'm still supposed to be on make-up probation. I've been doing well.....at least for high end products. I've only been in Target and drugstores, so I'm proud. This is what I got this weekend...

I've been content with my Fibre Rich and Voluminous mascaras but I think one of the reasons I got the LashBlast is because I love the orange tube! It's just so fab. I'll do a review on that later. And of course....had to cop some lip colors since that's my newest interest in make-up. NYC is cheap and I love their colors. Wish they had more! And I needed an eye gel and since Olay was on sale at Target, I copped that. I don't have dark circles or wrinkles (yet) but I want to get in the habit of applying this stuff.

And now onto the FOTDs.

This was taken this past Friday....I have on zero foundation. Haven't been wearing that or eye shadows this past week. The pimples are back. Alllll over. It makes me so miserable and I have noooo idea how to stop these breakouts. When I go home for the holidays, I am going to do my 5 day fast and have Mom, the herbalist make something for me because this is getting out of control. Who gets acne at 23? Especially having NEVER had it as a teenager. Ugghhhh!

A friend of mine told that maybe MAC products are the root of evil. I mean she is right...my skin was never this bad when I wasn't wearing MAC. But the horror! I love my MAC but I love my flawless skin more so if I have to give it up, I will....damn, that would be one hell of a break-up. Let's hope that doesn't have to happen.

Here I am Friday night indulging in soooome eyeshadows.

And Saturday as I went off to Little Tokyo (BTW, I'm in love with Asian food/culture. I'm all over it these days) I decided to do a Blue/teal look. I used Big T, Navy Blue Pigment and Carbon. It's just ehhhhh. Not that into it but it was fun.

I am soooo in love with my brows. They actually have an arch now. With a little more growth at the top, I think I'll finally have the "perfect" brows. So sad that I had to go through the waxing accident to get to this. But all is fair in make-up and learning.

I've also decided to do some nose contouring because damn my nose is huge! LOL, check out my pictures...you can see up my nose in a lot of them. AND it's just....very dominating. I've got a honker. Hehe...even if I could afford it, I don't think I'd get a nose job, but still...gonna learn how to do some contouring.

I'm going to do a video next post or so. I've got some reviews to do too. So yay! I hope everyone has a fab upcoming week. I'm leaving you with some of my make-up art. I love taking fun photos of make-up. Check 'em ouuuut.

Peace and TuPac.

I'm allll over his music these days.

Pucker Up!

So yeah….pimples are back. And they brought a little partner called Seborrheic dermatitis. It’s the most random thing ever. My face gets all hot and it looks like a flesh eating bacteria has taken over. It’s awful. Hydrocortisone cream helps. Anywho. I’m getting patches of that again. So in the next few pictures you may see that. I think I’ve gotten it under control for the most part, but still….

OH---and for those that are using MAC’s Prep-N-Prime, I’m trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong. I honestly like the product, but it’s leaving my face a bit ghostly lookin’. It looks white after I put it on….I’m using a brush and applying it as lightly as I can. What’s the prob, mayn? Anyone got any application ideas? Or maybe this just isn’t for me….I don’t know. The next time I go to MAC to ask questions about this, but I’m getting a bit pissed off at MAC in the Skincare department. First the Strobe Cream now me. I can’t the pearly shimmer stuff they put in some of their skincare products. Definitely not brown skinned folx friendly----or it could be me. I don’t know. We’ll see.

So….I tried something different the other day. A colored liner on my waterline (or is that the lower lash line? I get an F in facial terminology). It’s pretty fun…

And here are shots of me after getting’ my lips done at MAC Pro.

Oh…and there is Stylistics.

I couldn’t bring myself to spend that much money on products that didn’t really WOW me. Or maybe I'm in denial because I'm a broke ass and just can't afford it. Who knows. Maybe Santa will bring me something. But if not, life will move on. Passing on Metal X and The Stylistics ain’t THAT hard.

On to the lips….
I’ve decided to return my Chestnut Lip pencil. Don’t think I have much use for that. Especially since I have a pretty decent brown from Milani.
Here are my FOTDs…..you have been warned of the dermatitis on the left cheek (your right) so yeah….it sucks. So sad. Still blaming the harsh elements of LA smog. I can’t do this city thing. I need to go back to my clean Floridian air. Ha!

FACE:
Mommy’s Homemade Honey cleanser
Olay Complete moisturizer
MAC’s Prep-N-Prime
Mineralized Skinfinish in Deep Dark
Fix +

EYES:
Revlon Colorstay eyeliner
Loreal Cream liner in Blue
MAC Fibre Rich mascara

LIPS:
Burt’s Bees Lip Balm
Night Moth lip pencil
Culture Class lipstick/Ultra Madame in last pic
Contessa Lipglass

(yikes...Blurville. My bad, peeps)

I really like not putting a mess load of products on my eyes. I never realized how time consuming it is. I have 20 minutes more in the morning!

On a good note….the brows are growing back! I’m elated. They are looking better. It’s 34 days since the incident and I’m so happy at how fast they are growing. Still not perfect but at least I don’t walk around looking super duper surprised anymore. And I seriously don’t want to draw them in anymore. Because my brows are so thick, I am confident in thinking that I can have decent arched brows without the assistance of liners, stencils and things like that. But we’ll see how I feel in a month or two. Ha.

Peace and Decision Making

Eyelashes Edition & FOTD

Greetings!

And welcome to the Eyelashes for Newbies Edition of Clumps of Mascara. Today I will highlight some of the things that I’ve learned while playing around with mascara. Please keep in mind that a lot of these tidbits may be things you may have already known. Which if that is the case, good for you! This post will simply only assist other newbies stumbling over the hassles of mascara and eyelashes. I’ve got pictures coming up as well as a FOTD, so stay tuned!

Oh yeah...and just to warn you, I'm having some photo re-sizing issues

goin' on in this post.....please excuse the mess. Trying some new things out!

Ahhh, I’ve always been attracted to the idea of having long long loooong lashes. Only I didn’t quite get that gene. So, I, like many other women have been trying to achieve the look of having long beautiful lashes for many years now. I’m no newbie to mascara itself, but I am a newbie to different concepts/methods.

Now I’m not gonna go on a rant about what mascara is the best. I don’t think there is one, personally. And I’ve tried a lot. Not a lot A LOT, but enough to never really be satisfied. And people swear by DiorShow but it’ll be a cold day in hell before I spend that much money on a mascara. But that’s just me. I only own four right now.

-L’Oreal Luminous
-L’Oreal Telescopic
-MAC Plush Lash
-MAC Fibre Rich

……I’m a big fan of L’Oreal mascaras. And I’ve recently figured out how to get MAC’s Fibre Rich to work for me. Which brings me to my first learned lesson.


(1) It’s okay to use different mascaras at the same time. In the FOTD you will see today, I used Telescopic for my first coat and then Fibre Rich for my next two. I’ve achieved the look that I wanted….which would not have been possible had I used each of them solo.

(2) Tilt your head up when you apply mascara. I’m probably the only person in America who didn’t know this, but I’ve found that tilting my head significantly makes a big difference in my overall application.

(3) Open your mouth when applying mascara. I don’t know….it helps. Can’t explain that phenomenon but it does help.

(4) Using an eyelash curler AFTER applying mascara….not so much a good idea. I’ve heard it works for some people but it rips out my poor lashes. Not a good look.

(5) Brush your eyelashes. I don’t know where I got this from, but I do it religiously now. I use a regular mascara wand (preferably a disposable one) and brush my Vaseline coated eyelashes every night before bed. Why the Vaseline? To add a little moisture. I don’t use a ton….globs of Vaseline floatin’ in the iris ain’t coo. Just enough to where my lashes are slightly moisturized. And then I use the mascara wand and brush up as if I’m applying mascara. Brushing stimulates hair follicles and promote hair growth!


And so there are my 5 tidbits..and now for some pictures!


Here are my funky eyelashes with no mascara.

They start to look a little better with one coat.

And theeeeeen, here we go with 3 coats! Clumps and all….I mean really….where else will you find a blog that showcases MISTAKES? I'm a mess. If you haven't already noticed.

Okay, here’s my FOTD
I used:

FACE
Homemade Honey cleanser
Jojoba Oil
Prep N Prime with foundation brush
Mineralized Skinfinish in Deep Dark (my new BFF)

EYES
UPDD
Bamboom Paint
Woodwinked with Fix+ (with 242SE)
Handwritten on crease/outer V (with Sonia Kashuk blending brush)

LIPS
MAC's Bare Truth lipstick
Some frosty NYC lip color

You see the mistakes? YIKES!

Time to have some fun.....

SILLY.....

GLAM

SERIOUS.....

Peace and Christmas music! Check out my Christmas music playlist.

-"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" Luther Vandross
-"O' Holy Night" Celine Dion
-"Jingle Bells" Frank Sinatra
-"The Christmas Song" Nat King Cole
-"This Christmas" Donny Hathaway
-"Joy to the World" Whitney Houston
-"All I Want For Christmas is You" Mariah Carey
-"Silent Night" The Temptations

Weekend Ish

So I'm back. No more flu. Thank you all for your well wishes. I healed myself again without the use of OTCs. Only herbal, homeopathic and aromatherapy remedies and blends. My Mommy is an herbalist and is big on the "natural" tip. I didn't play around with make-up too much last week since I was sick but I am thrilled at how my skin is looking these days. This is the best it has looked since I moved here. Of course I have 4 pimples getting ready to form but for the past 2 days....its looked fab. It's a shame that I can't have more acne-free days. LA smog, LA smog.

And I don't even wear StudioTech anymore.
I just do....
-Prep N Prime
-Mineralized Skin Finish
.....an eye shadow or two and just gooooo.

It's been a week since I've purchased Prep N Prime and I'm lovin' it so far. I'll do a beginner's review on it later. No complaints so far.

I haven't gotten around to playing with yellow eye shadows again like I said I was going to. No major beauty hauls this weekend either. Except this pretty little pearly color from Orly.

I'm staying far away from nail salons and especially acrylic nails. I'm really on this "self-beautification" thing these days. Which is why I spent 6 hours twisting my hair instead of pay someone else to do it. That was so not fun.

And I think I've found a good neutral look. Check it:

For a base I pulled out the UDPP and put MAC Paint Bamboo over it. I've been having some issues with Indianwood Paint Pot so I went back to the Paints and it's actually working REALLY well. So I use that....lightly apply Woodwinked with a fluffy brush, hit my crease with some Cranberry and my outer V with Carbon.

I love Carbon....who would have thought you could do so much with a Black matte eye shadow. It's such a staple for me.

I discovered 2 things about my eyes this weekend.
(1) I have a football field space between my eyes and eye brows. I'm serious. And I don't think it's a good thing. I have so much space between my eye and brows that I can't ever really do a highlight because I end up looking clownish!! The pic below is me bein' silly but I think it really shows just how much space I have! Urrggghhh!

(2) I have heavy lids. My lid goes completely over my crease. And then my crease disappears! I have to do the "surprised" (see above pic) look just for you to really see my eye make-up. I hate that! I'm thinking of doing a consultation (and payin' for it, I guess) at MAC to figure out how I can work with my eye shape. It's startin' to drive me nuts.

I'm so glad that this is a short week! I went out and purchased some FAB boots for my NYC trip.

*Yums, you see the baby wipes?
I'm so addicted to them, I stock up!*

I haven't been to NYC in a minute so I'm excited. I also went and purchased my first scarf. That's big here in Cali, I guess. In FL, you don't see anyone wearing a scarf and it gets pretty cold there too. Hmm, interesting.

And before I went home I went to Starbucks on La Cienega and Beverly Blvd....waiting to be discovered. LOL! Just kidding....*looks around*---not really though. Pulled out a book (after balancing the checkbook....gulp), put the feet up and just chillllled. The music was fab too. Prince, Jill Scott, India Arie, John Mayer...I was jammin'. And I'm not even a coffee drinker (this was my 2nd one this year!) but that Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha is amazing.

Yaaaay, tis all for now. Makin' my rounds to my other beauty blogs.

Peace and scarves!

Oh yeah....and the blog is gonna undergo some ugly construction.
I'm playin' around with HTML and doing some upgrading
so please excuse the mess. :)

Flowa Powa!

Just did a quick flower look. Drop ya thoughts!

I used (all MAC unless otherwise noted):

Chartreuse pigment
Fuschia pigment

Violet pigment
Blitz & Glitz fluid line

L'Oreal HIP Black Cream Eyeliner

Mattene Rapturous lipstick

MAC in 3D's Wondershine

Revlon Colorstay eyeliner

This is how my 4th grade girls greet me!

And because I love graphic design
(another hidden obsession).

.....damn look at those bumps all over my face. They came out of nowhere. I'm gonna keep blamin' LA smog 'til the day I die. My face didn't even look this bad during puberty!

Look what my students bought me!
Lil' jokas don't fool me. They still drive me nuts!

They know Ms. Thomas loves her some Hello Kitty. Just showin' my quick "ain't had nothin' else to do" look. Took me 10 quick minutes.

Notice how you don't see my brows in any of those pics. I'm still in depressive mode over that unfortunate wax incident. And I really can't draw them on. I've tried. It looks a mess..... That's one department in the make-up world that I just don't think I can master. I really have tried.


And another thing, Blogger sucks...like major. I don't know why my pictures can't be seen on a larger scale when you click on them. When I play around with HTML to make them larger, they end up looking all pixelated. Does anyone know how to make Blogger pictures bigger? Heeeelp!

Peace and primer.

EDIT: Thanks Tee....PhotoBucket-ing EVERY picture ain't fun. But at least yall can get a better view. Yessss!

Brow drama & other looks

Sooo, I'm in a pretty bad mood. I went and got my eyebrows waxed...bad mistake. I should have known something wasn't right when that service was only $5. Back in Florida I'm payin' at least $17. And somehow this nail salon drew me back into the acrylic world (I had acrylics for 6 years and have had them off for 6 months until I moved here). I guess a full set being only $10 is what brought me back. Bad idea. I swear, LA is literally bringing out the worse in me! The damn man ripped off one of my nail beds on accident. Great. I told him to forget about the fill and to just soak off my nails and give me a medi. So no more acrylic.

Back to the brows...I told chick I just wanted to "clean" them up. No arching, no thin brows. I LOATHE thin brows on my face...and of course, what does she do? Takes off so muuuuuch hair from my brows. I burst in tears the second I saw. To make it worse, a sista walks by and says, "Damn, she jacked you up." Thanks sis. Thanks a lot. I cried my ass all the way back home. Not caring who saw. Ate myself in a coma and tried to sleep the tragedy of my life off. Tell me how bad I look!Some bad things have happened to face. I've seen enough ugly people to last a lifetime, I've had an awful flesh eating rash thing (dermatitis), bad pimples, healing nose ring drama, f-ing chin hairs from my mole, LA smog induced pimples, swollen eyes, pink eyes in BOTH eyes at the SAME time....I mean, really. I'd rather go through all of those again at the same time than have my brows look like this. I've emailed pics to my girls and everyone's like, "It ain't that bad!" Are you kidding me? Moving on....because I'm tearing up again just thinking about it.

Today was Halloween. Never been into this day. But I had to put on the fake face and be a good teacher. The faculty's theme was "Pirate" which bummed me because I don't think pirates are any kind of attractive or fun...but whatev. I put on a shirt, bandanna and some jeans. And of course this gave me the opp to play with make-up. I did....The next look represents how I feel about Halloween overall....I don't know, it's just never been my thing. And I have serious problem with this Catholic School celebrating it like its a Biblical holiday or somethin'.....I used:

L'Oreal Gel Liner in Black
Carbon on the lid
The red from MiLady on crease
Vanilla as a highlight
...and my new lashes which I didn't put on so good. HA!

Speaking of Mi'Lady....which I'm lovin' to learn, here's a look I did the other day. I used Artifact Paint Pot as a base.

Now of course my Stud brow pencil doesn't look that good, but look at how much thicker those brows are. :( Depression has returned.

Wait a minute....can we focus on the fabulousness of my skin with that Tech and Fix +? Roomie Joy and I did a 3-step facial thing last night with some fab products and I'm lovin' how my skin looks. Minus the 3 massive pimples. I'm thinking of investing in some MSF. Dark or Deep Dark or somethin'. I see that MSFs give you better coverage for a more flawless look. Didn't know that! Thanks Scandalous Beauty.

Lovin' my skin in this pic! The pic below was supposed to be on my face to really show off the pirate look, but Joy forgot to paint it on. This girl has some skills with the paintbrush. I'm getting into make-up art, but I could never do this. Hot! Carbon and Rondelle!
Well, today has been a hellish day. I need to start learning how to draw in my damn brows. In the meantime....I'll be wearing African wraps for the next 6 months 'til my brows grow back. Yall know it takes foreeeever! So I've learned:

1. To only let award winning estheticians touch my face. Seriously. No more quick fixes at nail salons. I need someone who specializes in brows. Either that or learn how to do them myself.
2. Stay the hell away from acrylic.
3. You get what you pay for. $5 brow wax=jacked up brows. Makes sense.
4. Mistakes can lead into new creative ventures (my Mom & her motivational speech).

The End.
:(

Make-up Thoughts

I've been having these crazy thoughts lately.....about make-up, in general.

Sometimes I'm envious....envious of those who work at MAC, those who have bangin' ass photos of make-up they've done, folx with killa FOTDs.

Sometimes I feel stupid spendin' all this money on make-up. I could be donating money I spend to the school that I work at. I could be paying off my credit card. Or saving up for a ticket home for the holidays. Or for a new tattoo. Or for grad school. Or for the damn GRE to get into grad school!

Sometimes I feel excited! I enjoy looking at my pictures and seeing the designs that I've created. I get proud of myself.

Sometimes I compare myself to others...."Damn, I can't do that." "I'll never be able to do this....." I get rather defeatist.

Sometimes I want to pursue make-up artistry.
Sometimes I think I should just focus on grad school.
Sometimes I get mad for not being to afford the things I want.
Sometimes I get mad for wanting to spend money on things like this.
Sometimes I think I can do it.
Sometimes I think I lack the experience and references.
Sometimes I want make-up to be a hobby.
Other days I want it to be a fun career.
Sometimes I think I'll never make it big if I did pursue it.
Other days I think I may be THAT bomb ass make-up artist.

.....crazy thoughts. But at least they are genuine. Can anyone relate?

I also did another MAC Halloween look. Just for fun.

I used....no face make-up.
No blush...
Revlon Colorstay Black eyeliner
Golden Lemon pigment
Pink Mauve pigment
Fix +.....I love this stuff with pigments!
Jellybabe Lipgelee....tis all!
....only took me a good 15 minutes.

Fab.
I certainly can dig it.

Color

*breatheeeee" Jill Scott's new album has a song on it called "Breathe".....I really only buy neo-soul and jazz albums. Random fact #15 about B: I HATE MAINSTREAM MUSIC.

Moving on again..the MAC jigsaw facechart inspired me. So I tried to do the same thing. Except I didn't and ended up with something different. First I tried this ish on my hand.


Here's the full face. It took at least an hour and you don't even want to know how many colors I used. A LOT! I don't feel like posting the 30+ colors I used. I had a great time diggin' in the pigments though. I very rarely use them. And then I realized how fab the colors are when they are used wet. Loved it!
I used Picasa to make the colors a little more vibrant. I can dig it. It was a fun look to do. And I absolutely love Mattene's Rapturous. I just have a hard time wearing it outside the house. HA!


Next Up....Rainbow Eye Attempt #3. Every few months I like to do a rainbow/parrot eye. It gives me the opportunity to play around with colors I hardly use and work on my blending skills. Yesterday my Fix + came in and after spraying some on my 242 brush and applying the pigments, I ended up with the most vibrant rainbow eye ever .


I can dig it....went to a Halloween volunteer gig and looked fab with all of my color. It was fun and people were in awe of my colors.



What exactly is Fix + for? I mean...what is its primary use? I haven't figured it out but it works greeeeat with my pigments. I have a MAC class today. I'm taking my housemate Joy who, like me at one point, doesn't even own any make-up. Yet she's got that bomb ass Benefit eyebrow set. Joy is so pretty. She's Japanese and has beauuuutiful features. Can't wait to see how she'll look with a little enhancement.

Peace beauties.

Halloween is Comin' Up....

Now I know this is a beauty blog but I need to vent every once in awhile too. Please tell me why as a volunteer/tutor/librarian/substitute teacher at a Catholic predominately Hispanic/Black school, I have found out that they are having a Halloween celebration in which teachers and students have to dress up. And not only that, but school will be let out early. And the teachers' theme is pirate?

#1: Halloween + Catholic School....uh?
#2: School being let out early because of Halloween.....uh?
#3: F-ing pirate? What kind of theme is that? I've decided on being a 70's pirate. I'll def have pics of that! Big fro and all....

But I digress...!!

Soooo I tried some new ish yesterday and actually had the balls to post it on Specktra's FOTD page. *gulp* Everyone and their pro skills and then little ole fabulous me. Ahhh well. I liked the look so we'll see what other ladies think.

Here's what I used:

UDPP---my mofo BFF!
Rubensque as a base (sp)
Acid Orange pigment
Off the Radar pigment
Carbon e/s
Vanilla pigment
Plush Lash mascara (okay, I'm diggin' it...)

And here's what I got.....(let's see how bad Blogger will F up the photo placement!)












Okayyy....so not too bad, uh? I could have blended a little better but what good would this blog be if everything I did was absolutely PERFECT? Hehe....and I swipped some NARS Taj Mahal....just a little...on my checks and I love it!

Let me know what yall think. Don't be nice. Be honest.
But hey...if your honest is raving my new look...heyyy, I can dig it. :)

Ummm, also, need some help in the eyelashes department.
Has anyone ever used a Shu Uemura or Shiseido eyelash curler? Hmmm, I am seriously thinking about investing in one of these. The prices aren't too steep....$16-$20 from Sephora. That's not too bad. I tend to get that 90 degree angle when I use my drugstore curlers. It's awfuuuuul. So we'll see about gettin' that. Hopefully today. After I pay T-Mobile, Geico, USFFCU (credit card people), Public Storage (because my entire life sits in a storage room in Tampa, Florida).....so yeah...

Peace and beauty, my loves!

Yellows and a Neuty

Hi beautiful faces!


Before I introduce my reviews and looks, I have to mention that MAC Pro has launched some gorgeous new colors. They are more along the C-Shock line: bright, vibrant and highly pigmented colors. I am in love with them all but unfortunately when I went to the PRO store in Orlando, they only had one of the ones I wanted. Let me introduce you kids to:

BRIGHT SUNSHINE!

Yesss...another yellow. If you're like me and have found zero success in Chrome Yellow and Canary Yellow, this is it! MAC has done it. This yellow is magnificent. It is highly pigmented even without a base---so imagine how it looks WITH one. Now I know some of us may not be BIG on yellows...it's not exactly a color that you'd want to wear everyday, but I'm looking to have a rather diverse traincase---and that includes non-traditional colors. Not to mention, neglecting to own colors like this feeds to the idea that darker skinned women can't wear bright colors and I KNOW that ain't true.



BRIGHT SUNSHINE, A color that MAC describes as a "Bright clean primary iridescent yellow". As a frost, this color needs very little application to go on brightly. To prove this, I've done 4 swatches. 3 with bases. 1 without. The first 3 colors' bases are:

(1) Urban Decay Primer Potion
(2) Gentil Lentil Shadestick
(3) Bamboom Paint
....and (4) is no base at all.


Wow....so, of course I had a hard time with lightning, but the last swatch looks just as good as the other three. My favorite base for this would be the paint. And I bet if you had a yellowish shadestick, it would pop like none other! So 10 points for Bright Sunshine....only available at MAC Pro locations.





Hmmm....and since we're on this new launch of fab colors, let's talk about one more. Blue Clam...similar to Electric Eeel but BETTER is a look I had done on me by one of the make-up artists. Aside from falling in love with this handsome cat, he also used