Part 2 Beauty Bloggers Orlando Meetup

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Here are some pics of the sponsored products I got from the meetup.  As you can see I got a TON of nail polishes!  I wasn't that into nails before but after being around all the other bloggers who specialize in polishes and being surrounded by a bajillion polishes..I think I've turned into a nail girl!  This is most of the products with an exception of a couple I forgot to add but you get the drift. I can't wait to try everything out and blog about it!  Thanks again to all of the sponsors!!!

Beauty Bloggers Orlando Meet Up

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2CSS1UXdmM]This was my very first meet up and I'm proud to say it was a great experience!  I'm not going to lie, I was nervous to attend because I didn't know anybody. But I'm definitely glad I went because now I have so many new friends and blogs to read! It was extremely refreshing to be around other women who share the same passion about the beauty industry as I do! Being surrounded by all those beauty products I thought for sure I had died and gone to beauty heaven! Did I mention how much FUN we had? Look out for a separate blogpost (and possible youtube vid) of the products I received! Check out some pics I took below and to see even more pics check out my fellow blogger Pam from Pamelas Closet page!

My Glam February

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s-1RjgJfFs]
Basically MyGlam is a member only monthly subscription for the beauty junkie.  $10 a month you get to try out a plethora of different products.  It comes with a total of 5 products.  This is a great way to test products without making a large financial commitment.ProsOnly $10 monthlyTesting/learning of products and brands you may not have been aware ofComes in a cute pouch you can reuseConsMemberships are limitedShipping takes a little longOverall I think this membership is worth it once you get in.  Even though I am paying monthly for the subscription it feels like Christmas when the package arrives!

Get the Look: Kirby Maurier

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Photo Courtesy of Valholla Entertainment

If you haven't heard of Kirby Maurier by now you must be living under a rock!  She's a singer based out of Miami who is making noise all over.  She was talent of the week on World Star Hip Hop (one of the top hip hop websites) 3 times! She also was a recipient of the "Best in Dade " Awards 2 times in a row! Please check out her website to hear some of her music www.kirbymaurier.com. I'm her main makeup artist for her CD covers.  I did the makeup for her first single title "You" see behind the scenes video here, and now for her first EP titled "Class of 96" which is released tonight at midnight! So I thought I would recreate the look and tell you some of the things I used on her.For her EP she wanted to take it back to an old school feel so for the makeup we kept it simple. Soft smokey eye with a bold lip.ON KIRBYFoundation: From my Graftobian foundation palettePowder: MAC MSF in Medium DarkEyes: MAC Soba on the eyelid, MAC Saddle transitional color, MAC Embarked in creaseEyebrows: MAC Spiked eyebrow pencilCheeks: MAC Blunt for contour and MAC Fleur PowerLips: MAC Rich Purple chromagraphic pencil, Filled in with OCC Katricia lip tarEyelashes: i-envy by KissON MEFoundation: MAC Studio SculptPowder: MAC MSF in Medium Dark, MAC MSF in Medium Plus under eyes onlyEyebrows: Maybelline define a browin medium brown and Milani brow kitEyeshadow: Same as listed for KirbyConcealer: Mary Kay medium cover foundation in Beige 302 (under my eyes only)Blush: Milani bronzer in tan, MAC Fleur PowerLips: Same as listed for KirbyEyelashes: Same as listed for KirbyOh, and her EP is HOT! Your ipod NEEDS it!

Shop MAC Cook Spring 2012

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How cute is the packaging?

Mac held a launch event for their new Spring Collection on Tuesday.  It was absolutely insane with eager beauty junkies like myself.  You seriously could barely move!  Anyway my favorite part of the collection were the bright colored lipsticks.  If you didn't know, bright colored lips are the trend for upcoming spring.  I own sooooo many bright lipsticks but there was one color in particular that caught my eye : "Quick Sizzle".Quick Sizzle is a very bright hot pink but what I noticed is that it's the kind of pink that looks good on all skin types.  Many of the employees with different skin complexions were rocking it and I knew this was a must have for me. I predict this color will have just as much popularity as MAC's limited edition lipstick "Candy Yum Yum" which I personally had to hunt the city to find when it first came out because it sold out so quickly.  Anyway the collection officially will be in stores on Feb. 9. Click the pics below for a better view.

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Cream Eyeshadow

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I ran into Walgreens to pick something up really quick but being the beauty junkie I am, I have to check out the makeup section no matter what!  One thing that caught my eye is this cream eyeshadow by Maybelline.  The packaging instantly reminded me of MAC's paintpots but half the price ($6.99).  There were so many beautiful colors I wanted to try them all but I chose a beautiful purple color called "painted purple".  It seems as though its so new that its not on Maybelline's website yet. I haven't tested it on my eyes yet but I wanted to show you all a swatch of the color.  This swatch was after several passes...so I am not so sure this is comparable to MAC. I really hope it works out because I would love to use this color as a base. This eyeshadow is supposed to last for 24 hours.  I'll do a follow up post later so I can give you a more accurate review if this is a dupe for MAC's paint pots or not so stay tuned!UPDATEI've had this on all day and it has decent wear.  I would say its decent overall.  So if you are on a budget I give these the green light.  They are not as thick as MAC paint pots but I think are usable.  They glide on pretty creamy.  I used mine as a base for my purple eyeshadow pigment. On my left eye I used elf's eyeshadow primer first and my right eye has no primer.

MY Beauty Picks from the Smirnoff Master of the Mix Orlando

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Last  week (Dec 17) I attended the Master of the Mix Viewing Party in Orlando sponsored by Smirnoff Vodka. I must say the event was AMAZING! Great people (so fashionable), great drinks (my fave was called "The Mixer") and not to mention great MUSIC!  The DJs that kept the crowd hyped were DJ Yonny (Master of The Mix Season Two Contestant, DJ at 92.3 NOW, New York City), Orlando's own Michael "M-Squared" McPherson  (Master of The Mix Season Two Contestant, Red bull Thre3style Global Finalist) and last but not least the infamous Kid Capri! Did I mention I had a blast? I was chosen as one of the bloggers to cover the event. I was scoping out the scene to pick 2 people who were my winners for makeup and hair. Check out my winners below:

Hair Winner

Her hair was so fabulous! Me being a natural girl myself her hair immediately caught my eye!  And not to mention.....look how adorable she is!

Makeup Winner

I absolutely loved her makeup! It was a subtle smokey eye with a bold lip! I would totally rock it!

Not familiar with Master of the Mix? Click here for more info.

What did you think of my picks?

Photos Courtesy of LechonKirb

MAC Metal-X Cream Eyeshadows

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Photo via Maccosmetics.com

MAC is re-releasing their Metal-X Cream Eyeshadows which I believe was originally released in 2007.  Now back in 2007 I was just a lover of makeup but I wasn't into the artistry part quite yet.  So as the average consumer I wanted these eyeshadows because I thought they were pretty!  These eyeshadows I remember were VERY creamy so therefore would cause a lot of creasing.  So I remember parking them and never really using them again because of that.  I personally think these have a better use for editorial looks such as cheeks, lips etc.  If you look at their ad the focus is really using it anywhere on the face.  The collection will have 9 shades total and is set to release Dec 26.

 

Now that this is being re-released it made me go and dig in my makeup collection to see if I still had the original ones.  Guess what? I did! The colors I have are a silver called Cyber and a Gold called Goldspice.  My Goldspice was more dried up then Cyber which I found interesting.  Anyway check out my pics and swatches of the colors.

 

Avoid Chapped Winter Lips

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Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm

$3.99 by Maybelline at Ulta

 

Ok so winter is here and one of the most common things we struggle with during this time is avoiding chapped lips! They say chapped lips is also a sign of dehydration so make sure you are drinking plenty water first of all (im guilty of not drinking enough). Next, before you go to bed moisturize your lips and when you wake up in the morning you will definitely notice the difference. Another beauty tip is to exfoliate your lips. Just like your face, your lips have dead skin as well so exfoliating them and then moisturizing them will improve their appearance. For lip exfoliation you can buy a lip scrub or make your own, or you can simply wet your toothbrush and scrub the dead skin off.

Here are some of my picks for lip moisture:

Maybelline Baby Lips balm (drugstore)

Mary Kay Satin lips

Korres Lip Butter

Aquaphor (drugstore)

Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream Skin Protectant

Good 'ole vaseline (drugstore)

Elf Palette vs Mac Palette

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bESAQ35O78&w=560&h=315]

So if you have been following my youtube videos for awhile then you know I'm a huge fan of elf products.  Why? Because they have great price points and most of the products are great quality! In my makeup kit I have several of their brushes and products I use on my makeup gigs. I love how they have been getting innovative and constantly creating products to stay in the competition with the higher end brands.  For instance, although this compact has been out for awhile I only recently got the idea to compare it to the mac palette. The mac quad palette itsself retails for $7.  If you buy the eyeshadows in palette for they are $11 each or if you bought the regular price eyeshadows and depotted them then you're looking at $14.50 a pop.  Elf's palette is $1 and each of elf's individual eyeshadows are a $1 each and elf always has a sale so sometimes you can get them half off or buy one get one half off. So lets break down the numbers:

Mac: 7$ palette + $11 eyeshadows in palette form (4)= $51 or $7 palette + $14.50 eyeshadows, regular (4)= $65

ELF: $1 palette + $1 eyeshadows (4)= $5

There you have it folks! The #'s don't lie.  As I stated in the video, elf's color range for their palette eyeshadows are limited so even if you wanted to add your mac eyeshadows in there you're still saving yourself $7! I don't know about you but I love saving money. I could buy more makeup with that $7 I'm saving! Also I know inglot has eyeshadows in circular palette form as well but the inglot ones I own are square but I would think their eyshadow can fit in the elf one as well. On elf site you can customize the palette with blush and lipgloss as well as eyeshadow. Basically elf definitely needs to come out with larger palette because I will be all over it!

Order here: ELF

Sedona Lace Zippered Brush Belt Review

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmAh607ldOw]

 

Instead of heading outside of my house with the crazies for Black Friday I stayed in my jammies and ordered online.  I basically ordered with makeup companies who I felt had the best deal. Sedona Lace was offering 25% off your order plus they had insane discounted prices on their site.  For instance, the zippered brush belt which normally retails at $19.95 was marked down to $8.95 plus with your order you received a free brush from the Vortex collection which was designed by youtube guru makeupbyrenren! I just HAD to buy SOMETHING! I definitely needed the brush belt because the elf one I had, my brushes were falling all over the place!

If you're a freelance makeup artist I definitely think this belt is a must have!  Even though I only played $8.95 for mine I would have definitely paid full price for it.  The one I had previously was from elf and costed about $15 (elf is always having sales so you may be able to get it cheaper) but the plastic material although great for cleaning purposes made the belt very stiff.  Not to mention there was no way to protect your brushes when they were not in use.  The soft faux leather material of the sedona one makes it more desirable.  I also feel like it is the perfect size.  It's big enough to hold a ton of brushes but small enough so it doesn't take up a lot of room in your makeup kit.  I highly reccommend it and now I am even considering buying the Vortex brush collection that goes with it which is also designed by makeupbyrenren.

Order here: Zippered Brush Belt

Hair: Twist out & FOTD(Face of the day)

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I've been natural 4 years now and I have to say its been one crazy roller coaster but I definitely don't regret it. I've tried a bajillion products on the market but now I'm not so fussy about what goes in my hair. I've also attempted to do braid outs and twist outs in the past and has been a total fail! However my curls have been really boring me because I feel like I can't do anything besides well...wearing it curly. I really started thinking about when I was a little girl and when my mom would do my hair. It's the same concept except we aren't putting those colorful bubbled hair bows in our hair. She would wash it, section and detangle, and add hair grease. And my hair was moisturized and healthy. So I decided to give twist out another try and I must say...I'm in LOVE! I realized when I do my twist outs I need to do them in larger sections. I did a twist out using Blue Magic's Coconut Oil conditioner while detangling with my denman brush. The great thing about the twist out is that it stretches out my curls which I love. I also feel like my hair is more versatile to do some cool styles. Not to mention this is a great way to get me through the winter because my hairstyle will last me longer so I won't have to wash as often. It also is great to help in maintaining moisture in your hair which as you know as a natural moisture retention is difficult. I also slicked back the side of my hair thats growing in from me shaving it with Passion Fruit Curl Control Paste by Curls (review coming soon).

Also check out my FOTD(Face of the Day)...I kept it neutral:

Face: Mary Kay medium coverage and matte wear foundation

Cheeks: Cover Girl bronzer (Queen Collection)

Powder: Mary Kay mineral pressed powder

Eyes: Coastal Scents warm palette, Maybelline Voluminous Million lashes and Colossal lashes mascara

Concealer: Revlon Photoready

Lips: NYX Hot Cocoa lipliner, Revlon super lustrous lipgloss in peach petal, Milani lipgloss in Secret

Clinique's Dramatically Different Mosturizer Lotion Review

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So while shopping in Sephora months ago I decided to try out this moisturizer because it was being advertised as one of Sephora's favorites. I actually used to use Clinique's 3 step skincare system back in my high school days so I was like why not get back into Clinique. If you watched my October Faves video I briefly mentioned it as apart of my skin care regime. I have dry patches of dryness and can get oily in my T zone area.  I feel like this product does not moisturize my face the way I would like.  For my dry patches I feel like I have to put more then I want to just to get it moisturized.  For $24.50 I feel like it should work a lot better than it does.  I'm sorry Clinique but my face did not feel dramatically different. However if you have oily skin I think this product may be a for you because of the weightless feel of it. Yes, even if you have oily skin you still need to use moisturizer because it helps balance the oils in your body. Basically if you have dry skin I do not recommend this product but if you have oily skin I think you might like this.  Have you tried this before?  What did you think about it?

 

photo via Clinique