Fabulous Finds Friday: Nyx

NYX is a cosmetics line that is slowly, but surely gaining a spot in my heart.  In my neck of the woods, I can only find it in Ulta & they don't even carry the entire line.  However, what I've been able to get my hands on has been prestige quality pigment at a mass price point.

So I did a little happy dance when Movie Girl got me this Nyx collection for my birthday.  The Nude on Nude collection boasts 20 neutral shadows that easily give Urban Decay's Naked Palettes a run for their money. 10 shades of lip cremes round out this extensive collection for $25. Yes, half the cost of the Naked Palettes.

This collection houses an entire wardrobe of color at your fingertips.  One end of the spectrum is covered with neutrals & the other end offers intense smokey options.  The lip cremes are great soft colors to match whatever eye look you come up with. This collection is a fabulous basic to have if you're just starting out building your kit, but it has the power to make a seasoned artist like myself swoon.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Your Best Friend Cosmetics

Coming off the high that was my adoration of the YBF Baby Lips kit, I wanted to fall just as much in love with their mascara duo. I admit, what drew me to it was its 007 like packaging. Ironically that's what ended up making it not work for me.

This kit included a bejeweled {swoon- super cute!} eyelash curler, as well as a mascara unit containing both a primer & mascara.  Don't be shocked, but even as a professional make-up artist I rarely use lash curlers. I worry about lash breakage.

You slide the unit apart in order to be able to use the products. Besides being a rather awkward, additional step in the morning {which who has time for?} the wand wasn't incredibly comfortable in my hand.  I like to apply a lot of layers of mascara & flip my wand every which way- the handle just didn't want to work with me.

 In fact, no one with arthritis would be able to maneuver this device at all. The actual mascara & primer formulas were fine, but there were no angels singing.  There was nothing to write home about.  What it boils down to with make-up & every thing else important in life is that yes, pretty on the outside is usually a plus- but it's what's on the inside that counts.

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Must Have Make-Up Monday

Tomorrow begins the first day of Skin Cancer Awareness month. As an esthetician, it is a month near & dear to my heart- especially having seen so many clients pass through my doors with it. I promise you Beauties- it's not just 65 year olds falling victim.  One in five Americans will get it. Just last week a 30 year old client of mine had to have MOHS (I'll be touching on that this month) surgery on 2 different areas of her face & was in tears.  If not for vanity, then for your health- a SPF 30 is imperative 365 days of the year.  A lot of clients complain to me about the texture of SPF & being acne prone I understand! Until I found my beloved Jan Marini Antioxidant SPF 30, I hated the feel of anything with SPF.  That's why this limited edition kit is great for anyone who's still searching for The One for them. You just need to play with as many as you can until you find the texture that's right for your skin & this kit has over 13 face options to try for only $30!  Plus, one hundred percent of the net profits from Sephora's Sun Safety Kit will go to the Skin Cancer Foundation. It's a win win.

Peace. Love. Protection. M

Files From the Brow Whisperer

It's the start of summer wedding season & nothing pulls a bride or the bridal party together more than getting your brows done!

For this bridesmaid we didn't do anything crazy, but cleaned up her brows for a more streamlined look.  If you are going to have your make-up professionally done for an event, I always suggest getting your brows waxed at least 3 days prior.  We exfoliate the skin where ever we apply the wax- so you don't want a different skin texture on various areas of the face when getting a make-up application. Hope you have a happy weekend Beauties!

Peace. Love. Brow Whisperer. M

Must Have Make-Up Monday: Hourglass

I am powerless to resist anything involving a nude, glossy lip. Lord knows- my vanity is covered with all shades of nudes. I'm on an endless quest. When I was in NYC, I popped into Bergdorf's to investigate any new must haves. The make-up artist there from Hourglass was sporting a fabulous opaque nude lip. So we set about creating one to suit my coloring. I had already wanted to buy the Femme Rouge Velvet Creme Lipstick in Grace, since I knew it was used to create some fabulous Oscars beauty looks. Always on the lookout for the perfect lip liner, Hourglass' Trace Lip Liner in Bare also made its way home with me.Oh, did I mention I also scooped up this trio of glosses. I was totally torn between buying Child (top) or Ignite(bottom) initially, then we stumbled upon these minis- which had both shades + Imagine (center)= perfect solution!Here is the Trace Lip Liner in Bare, all on its own. It's a great your-lips-but-better shade with which to build any lip look.This look is the liner topped with the lipstick Grace. Grace is a delicious creamy, matte- but not in an extreme way. Your lips won't fall off from dryness. Plus, it's hard finding an opaque nude that doesn't wash you out. Grace is a hands down winner.Here I finished off my pucker with Ignite (top) & Child (bottom.) The glosses create 2 beautiful versions, one with some sheer shimmer & one in a milkier finish. I've been loving the multiple options I can create texture wise. The Hourglass line is quite luxe {meaning it's not cheap}, but I like the fact that I can buy refills for both the lipstick & liner. Plus, aren't we worth the splurge?

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Fabulous Finds Friday

I love Benefit Cosmetics- their cleverly named products & the fact that their products address real skin concerns & issues. I have countless highlighters from them! They have a cult following for their blushes such as Georgia, Dallas & their latest Hervana. They usually come in these whimsical cardboard boxes with a coordinating brush.

This is Benefit's best selling highlighting & bronzing duo '10.'Look similar? Hard Candy is carried exclusively at Walmart, so whenever I'm there I check out what's new. I recently spotted & scooped up their Fox in a Box Bronzing Duo in Skinny Dipping. The box houses shades that are dead ringers for Benefit's Dallas & Coralista. The color payoff of Hard Candy for a mass line is great quality. Plus, the California beachy colors in the Skinny Dipping Duo give the perfect glow as we head into summer!

One thing about the Hard Candy version is that the compact doesn't completely close, which is probably due to it being displayed open for view ability. It's not a big deal for me- as I'll probably pop the blush out & stick it in my Z Palette, anyway! For $6 vs $28- it's a steal of a deal for sure!

Peace. Love. Lipgloss. M

Polish Pic{k}s

I love me some Dita Von Teese. I think she oozes class, style & sensuality. I love her retro look - her skin, make-up & hair are flawless! She always wears a vintage inspired reverse moon manicure & I wanted to recreate the look. So I painted a base coat & then applied a coat of OPI's Lucerne-Tanly Look Marvelous.

On Pinterest, every one said this style was easy to recreate. Just apply reinforcement labels where you want the reverse moon to go. Then on to the second coat of polish.

Liars! I start to get nervous as I apply the other color. The navy polish, OPI's gorgeous Light My Sapphire was very runny for some reason. I had some serious run off into my cuticles. I'm normally very good at polishing my nails, so this 'crafty' manicure attempt had me muttering an expletive or two or five.

Yes, this is the hot mess part. Certainly, no Dita here! Though in this picture it doesn't look awful. The problem is I couldn't get the round tabs to lie flat all the way across the nail. You also have to make sure the initial coat is very dry, or removing the round tab can pull up some of the inital polish coat. It didn't help that the navy was runny, but the tabs also weren't cooperating for me, either.

My remedy was to go back & cover the unevenness with a simple 'V' shape. I still like it & love the color combination- I just wish more of the silver was showing. I'm going to buy a nail polish pen & reattempt this in another color combo to see if it's any easier. I'll report back to you Beauties! In the meantime- what do you think?

Peace. Love. Polish. M