My Hourglass Cosmetics Makeover

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Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending an Hourglass Cosmetics event at Sephora South Coast Plaza. I got to meet the absolutely lovely founder of Hourglass, Carisa Janes, and get my makeup done by one of the Hourglass MUAs. It was cold, windy, and rainy in SoCal yesterday, but well worth “braving” the weather! I love the look that MUA Laura came up with for me, and wanted to share the product breakdown with you!

Complexion: First, Laura primed my skin with their No. 28 Primer Serum. I have very dry skin, and the No. 28 Primer Serum contains 14 essential oils, 10 plant oils, and 4 vitamins all meant to help hydrate your skin as it primes it for makeup. As a bonus, it smells magnificent! After massaging in the primer and letting it sort of ‘marinate’ for a minute, she applied Illusion Hyaluronic Skin Tint. Even though this product is a tinted moisturizer, it provides medium to full coverage so only needed to be used sparingly. Laura also used a tiny bit of Hidden Corrective Concealer after the eye look was done since some eye shadow fallout had to be cleaned up and some coverage was removed in that process. She also used a fluffy shadow brush and the Ambient Lighting Powder in Incandescent Light (exclusive to the Ambient Lighting Palette) around my eyes to highlight the area.

Cheeks: Hourglass just launched a new shade of their Ambient Lighting Blush called Incandescent Electra, and I’m in love. It’s the perfect coral for my skin tone. Laura used that along with a hint of Ambient Lighting Powder in Radiant Light, which is a bronze shade (but sheerer than their new Ambient Lighting Bronzer).

Eyes: For my eyes, Laura used colors from the Modernist Eye Palette in Color Field, which is the one with the khaki green shade in it. She used the brown-taupe shade wet as an overall base color on my lids, and lined my eyes with the green shade (also used wet). She also used the highlight shade to blend out the brown. I really like the eyeliner she used, which is a mechanical Gel Eyeliner. She used it to tightline as well as line my water line, and the color is so perfectly black. I’m also wearing Film Noir mascara, which I’ve already tried and loved previously. Still love it!

Lips: Laura first applied their No. 28 Lip Treatment Oil to help bring some moisture into my dry lips. It has a pleasant botanical fragrance and felt really nice. After it had a chance to sink in for several minutes, she dabbed off any excess and applied the color. The first product she used was Panoramic Long Wear Lip Liner in Muse, a really pretty coral. These liners have a convenient blending brush on the end. After the liner she applied a light layer of the matching Muse Femme Rouge Velvet Creme Lipstick, and Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss in Lush. The gloss is a lighter, slightly more pink version of the lipstick and liner.

Brows: I had done my eyebrows previously to arriving, because I’m totally vain and really hate leaving the house without any brows on. Rather than re-do them, Laura left them as they were. I used Billion Dollar Brows brow powder in Taupe and Anastasia Beverly Hills clear brow gel.

All of the Hourglass products mentioned are available for purchase at Sephora. I’m relatively new to the Hourglass world, and definitely left with some new things to add to my wishlist! The item at the top of my wishlist is definitely the Incandescent Electra blush. I just love a good glowy cheek!

Have you tried any Hourglass products?

Face of the Day: Sundressed

This is what I wore on my face today. Well, you won’t be reading it the day I wore it, but this is what I wore to work on 11/26. :) I work in a chic business casual office and just wanted enough color to perk up my face and look polished. Read on to see what I used…

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Editorial Experiment, Featuring Prestige Cosmetics

Sometimes when I’m getting to know a new makeup product I just want to play with it. I want to see what it does, how it moves on skin, how it responds to tools, its texture, etc. That’s what I was doing earlier today when I decided to turn this experiment into sort of an editorial artsy exercise. Yeah, these are edited pictures. But I had fun. All the products used will be listed.  [Read more…]

Camilla Belle’s Met Gala Makeup Look

Alright, can we talk about Camilla Belle’s makeup at the Met Gala?! The look was created by Hung Vanngo for ck one color cosmetics. This look stood out to me because um, it’s Camilla Belle but also HELLO brown lip! And yet this doesn’t look dated at all. When I think brown lips I think 90s makeup, but this looks stunning. Do I think everyone can pull off brown lips? No. But this looks awesome. And ck one color is new, so seeing it on the red carpet like this is really cool. Best of all, I have a complete breakdown of the products used! Wee!

Face

ck one 3-in-1 face makeup in tan
ck one skin illuminator in warm
ck one mousse concealer in tan
ck one cream + powder bronzer duo in warm glow
ck one airlight pressed powder in tan

Eyes

ck one liquid eyeliner marker in good girl (brown)
ck one mascara in show (true black)
ck one eyeshadow base in prim (taupe)

Lips

ck one soft defining lip pencil in gossip
ck one lipstick in smooch
ck one lipgloss in mad (online exclusive shade)

ck one color cosmetics are available from Ulta and Ulta.com, and now I’m even more curious to try them – especially the face products, because DAMN. I bet even she looked in the mirror and was like “shit I look good” hahaha…

Have any of you tried this new color line? TELL ME everything!!

Face of the Day 4/26/12

Today I’m experiencing the rare combination of feeling photogenic and actually having time and lighting to take pics for a face of the day post! Today’s face of the day is…

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My Daily Makeup Routine

Daily Makeup


This is pretty much what I’ve been wearing lately. Sometimes something will change because I want to test a product, but these are what I’ve been reaching for the most. My brow powder from Billion Dollar Brows isn’t on Polyvore and I couldn’t get their clipper thing to work so sorry, brow powder, you don’t get to be in the picture. :|

Face: Tarte Smooth Operator Illuminating Serum all over, applied with fingers. Then ELF Complexion Perfection powder (from the ELF Studio line) applied all over with a fluffy brush. Mine’s a Sigma knockoff of the MAC 138. The brush sheds (ALL OF THEM DO GRRRR) but it’s the best fluffy brush I have for this purpose right now. After I’m done with the powder I use TheBalm Time Balm concealer on any spots that I’d like to.

Face/Color: Once my skin tone is all evened out and imperfections covered, I grab NARS Laguna bronzer and do an eensy bit of contouring, and also dust it over my eyelids to add a little warmth and color. I like to wear both NARS Dolce Vita and Sex Appeal blushes. Dolce Vita looks like a scary red in the picture but it’s more of a dusty rose, and I apply it on the bottom edge of my cheekbones, with Sex Appeal on the apples of my cheeks. 

Eyes: I go around my dark eye shadows with Benefit Eye Bright, which I love. I don’t have a whole lot of darkness issues so this pink brightener is pretty much enough. It’s great for the redness I get at the outer corners of my eyes, too. Usually I don’t need an actual concealer in that area but for the times I do, I use some more of TheBalm Time Balm. Then it’s time to curl my lashes (I use a Shu Uemura curler, which is fine but I don’t love it) and load up with L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes in carbon black.

Lips: I’ve been obsessing over Rimmel’s Stay Glossy lipgloss in Captivate Me lately. It’s sort of a berry color but it’s not very dark. It’s very flattering, and the Stay Glossy formula is SO nice. It’s moisturizing, only slightly sticky, and lasts a long time. I keep this gloss in my purse and wear it almost every day.

Buy My Face – If you want to get these products, here’s where you can go:
Shu Uemura eyelash curler – Shu Uemura
Tarte Smooth Operator Illuminating Serum – Sephora
NARS Blushes in Sex Appeal & Dolce Vita – Sephora
NARS Bronzer in Laguna – Sephora
Benefit Eye Bright – Sephora
ELF Complexion Perfection – Target
L’Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes mascara – Target
Rimmel Stay Glossy Lip Gloss – Ulta
TheBalm Time Balm concealer – TheBalm

Get This Look: NYFW SS12 Preen

As part of my new job working for Stylebell, I’ve been furiously going over releases about the hair styles of Fashion Week recently. But when this look from the Preen show came across my desk, I couldn’t stop staring at the makeup. It’s absolutely gorgeous, even though it’s really simple. Since I can’t get it off my mind, I thought I’d give you my take on how to achieve this makeup look!
Face

After applying moisturizer, prep your skin with your usual primer if you use one. Apply as little foundation as you can get away with – if you can skip it and just wear tinted moisturizer and a little concealer, that would be best. Set with any translucent powder. Some natural shine is intended in this look. If you have freckles or even gasp some flaws, don’t worry about covering everything up. Applying a mask of foundation and heavy concealer defeats the purpose of this easy-breezy look. Optional – Add a pinch of matte bronzer to your cheeks and temples.
Eyes

Fill in and groom brows as you normally would. However, if you normally have quite severe brows you might want to lighten up as the eyes are not the focus of this look. Apply a black mascara that is enough to give you definition but isn’t super dramatic. Optional – dust a very light amount of an eyeshadow just slightly darker than your skin in the crease to contour your eyes.
Cheek

For that gorgeous orange/coral dewy cheek, I recommend a cream or gel blush. Something like Urban Decay Afterglow Cheek Tint in Bang (or Indecent if you’re quite fair like me/this model), Tarte Cheek Stain in Tipsy, or Stila Convertible Color in Gladiola would be ideal options. In a pinch, a dab of a lipstick in that color blended onto the cheeks can be used as well.
Lips

Very similar to the cheek color, the lip is a sheer, candy-like orange coral. NYX Mega Shine gloss in Pop is perfect for the occasion. Naturally mine is MIA at the moment though so I used MAC Spring Bean lustreglass over a pinky coral balm (the green/gold of Spring Bean warmed up the balm perfectly).
Here’s my version of the look (on me) that I threw together in about five minutes (and mostly used my fingers, haha)…
If you decide to try it, let me know and show me! :) And to learn how to do this look’s hair style, check out the how-to on Stylebell!

The Birthday Breakdown

Hey all! I am back! I had to take a brief “break” just due to being insanely busy in the days leading up to and following my birthday, which was on 8/22. I’m 25 now! Hooray! Thank you all so much for the happy birthday wishes on Facebook & Twitter. You guys rock! :) I have the sweetest readers & online friends in the world. Fact.
By the way, the photo above is me with my birthday tiara. My boyfriend got it for me last year on my birthday and I wore it all day (even to the grocery store) last year. I decided to continue on the tradition and wear it all day this year too. The nails are one of my FAVORITE polishes ever  – Zoya Phoebe from the Mod Mattes collection. I have topcoat over it though making it shiny instead of matte because unless I do that these chip like mother you-know-what. Sigh. :P
Other than birthday & family festivities, some other exciting news is going on too! As some of you know, I not only blog for The Gloss Menagerie, but also for iEnhance.com (a PlasticSurgery.com site). Well, starting this week, I am also going to be blogging over at MyStyleBell as well as managing the blog/social media! I am very excited for this and hope you will all show your support by checking MSB out and subscribing. The blog is mainly focused on all things hair-related, so enjoy!
Wearing my tiara out to dinner, which was a ton of delicious Indian food. YUM!!!!! I felt like a prom queen.
Sorry the pic is grainy, but this is my birthday makeup look. It looks cakey but that’s the grainy photo quality, not the makeup.
For face I don’t really have much to cover now so I’m just wearing Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse BB Cream with some powder. The smoky eye is a combination of MAC Patina (lid), Clue (crease), and Kid (to blend) with WnW Creme Brulee as my highlight. For eyeliner I wore MAC Brun applied basically into the upper and lower lash lines. The mascara I’m not wild about but I’m using it up. It’s L’Oreal Voluminous in Carbon Black (waterproof). This stuff is so not waterproof by the way. I have another mascara that I will post about soon that I like way better, but I didn’t have it handy.
It’s hard to see because it’s subtly applied, but I have Rock ‘n Republic blush in Spank on my cheeks along with TheBalm Mary Lou-manizer highlight. Lips are MAC Hue, an old stand-by favorite. 
Tired, and full of Indian food, but REALLY happy. :)

Make Up For Ever at Nicolita

It’s no secret I’m not that into fashion shows, but every so often a look comes across my inbox that I have to share with you all. This look, created by James Vincent (working with Make Up For Ever) for Nicolita at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim is just gorgeous. It’s everything that summer makeup should be! Here’s the face chart (click to view larger!):

Actress and former Cheetah Girl Adrienne Bailon walked the Nicolita show, and this makeup look on her is so stunning!
By the way, I’d totally steal and rock that necklace!
Here’s how to get this look:
Complexion & Cheeks: James wanted the skin to look classically flawless. He used MAKE UP FOR EVER Sculpting Blush in #8 (Satin Indian Pink) to highlight the apples of the cheeks and then applied MAKE UP FOR EVER Super Matte Loose Powder #12 (translucent) all over the face for a modern, matte complexion.
Eyes: Thick outer lashes were the focus of the eyes. James paired MAKE UP FOR EVER Eye Shadows in #17 (espresso) and #165 (dark taupe brown) with Diamond Shadows #312 (dark copper shimmer) and #306 (beige shimmer) and applied to the entire eye. He blended everything deep into the crease and smudged it around the lash line for a soft smoky look. He finished by lining the eyes with MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Liner #13 (black) and MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Black to bring a nostalgic feel into fashion, and coated the lashes with MAKE UP FOR EVER Smoky Lash Mascara.
Lips: The mouth had a bright pop of pink. James lined the lips first with MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Lip #16C and then applied MAKE UP FOR EVER Rouge Artist #36 in fuchsia on top.

Get Kate Bosworth’s Look with Tarte

Click to view Kate’s look full size!

I’m normally not a huge fan of posting celebrity makeup breakdowns, but this easy, natural chic look on Kate Bosworth at the premiere of L!fe Happens caught my eye. It’s just the type of thing I’ve been wearing lately. Kate’s look was created by celeb makeup artist Amy Nadine for Tarte. Here’s what she used!
Face
Smooth Operator Tinted Moisturizer (Kate wears shade Agent 04)
Maracuja Creaseless Concealer in Light – new product
Cheeks
Eyes
Kate’s eye shadow comes from a new True Blood palette. Amy used a shade called Charmer (burnt copper/sparkly peach) in the crease and Dawn (gold shimmer) all over the lid. 
Lips
I really like that Kate doesn’t look overly made up, and that her natural beauty is allowed to show through. The makeup complements her without overpowering her, and the look is just lovely! What do you think?