Ipsy: The Look of Love

     Ipsy February 2014 was titled "The Look of Love", and fittingly so with the aisles of every department store, drug store, and liquor store reminding us that Valentine's Day was to celebrated by those in love, and loathed by those who find themselves single. I like gift giving (and receiving, since we're being honest) but the romantic stuff always seems absurd to me on February 14, if you love someone you love them, everyday, no time frame or gift card needed (but even saying that is beginning to sound cliché isn't it). Anyway, back to Ipsy...this would be my second glam bag and upon first opening up my package I mumbled "mehh" to myself, looking at the plain light pink bag. Upon opening it I reconsidered my pouty face as I saw the leopard print bag interior and all the products that poured out. Basically what I'm getting at is that this was a rad little bag.

 

 

 

 

     Looks pretty rad for a subscription box, right?! I thought so too. Let's discuss.

*pop Beauty Plump Pout mini

I've used products from pop before and my first impression then was a tad unsavory; it was the aqua lacquer and I found it too be really sticky. This Beauty Plump Pout, however was definitely redeeming for the brand. It gives the shine of a gloss and the lasting power of a stain. I can say that it definitely has the lasting power because I put it on before bed, kissed the PR and went to sleep. When I woke up, I still had some of the color on!! It has a really creamy texture, similar to a lip stick, but it applies like a gloss would. It's plumping qualities were, however, different from what I anticipated, having used other plumping products in the past. I didn't feel a tingle like with the others, it was more like a fresh feeling on my lips. The plumping factor comes from a combination of plumping peptides, avocado and jojoba oils. A full size Plump Pout costs $16 and you can purchase online at popbeauty.co.uk.

 



 

 

Shade: Peony Petal



 

*Zoya Nail Polish

Zoya is a professional nail lacquer brand (visit zoya.com). It's a really nice full-coverage polish (2 coats will give you color match to the bottle) available in many shades. I received the shade "Odette", which is described as a "sultry orchid maroon"; which is rather fitting to receive now being that Orchid was named Pantone's color of the year. This shade is a cool tone that falls within Zoya's nude/mauve color family. A bottle costs $9, so it is comparable to retail competitors like O.P.I. and Essie.

 

 

    

 

 

*Mally Beauty Evercolor Starlight Waterproof Eyeliner

I always love full-size products instead of little samples, especially when they are good products like this month's bag contained. Most of us have heard of Mally, her stuff is often seen on the home shopping channels, and for good reason: her line is incredible and needs to be purchased by the masses!! This is a water proof eyeliner in the shade "starshine". It has a nice texture that allows it to apply smoothly (think Urban Decay's 24/7 glide-ons), and it's long lasting as well. You can use this the way you would normally use eyeliner, but this shade is quite ideal for highlighting the inner tear duct to open up the eye and add a little hint of sparkle. A single eyeliner will cost you $15, but they are also available in duos and multi-packs, so there's a potential for savings there! Check out mallybeauty.com to view the entire collection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*City Color Be Matte Blush

A full-size, cruelty-free, highly pigmented blush. Yes! This matte blush by City Color(citycolorbeauty.com) is very rich in pigment so a little product goes a long way. Great color pay out too for a product that retails for $2.99. City Color is a newer line too, it actually first made it's debut at IMATS LA in 2013. The matte finish is perfect and the product itself is easily blended and built upon to achieve your desired look. The Be Matte formula comes in 8 different shades; the one I received was "fresh melon".



 

*J.Cat Beauty Eyelashes and Eyelash glue

The final product in my February bag was a set of eyelashes, so yes, it was love. J.Cat was an unfamiliar name to me but the lashes looked so pretty (see below). They are 100% human hair so they have a much more natural overall look to them, and you can clean them easily to be used again. The lashes came with a latex-free adhesive, which is what ever. I typically do not use the little glue pods that come with lashes. More often than not I prefer Duo or Lash Grip adhesives. J.Cat offers over 30 different styles of lashes ($3.99 each), so there is something for everyone, from the novice to the pro. To check out their selection visit jcatbeauty.com.

Lash style: EL213





There you have it ladies (and gentlemen??). I was thoroughly impressed/satisfied with my glam bag this month. I am not missing Birchbox at all you guys!!

I am also working on a blog redesign, so things will be changing up soon, which is both nerve racking and exciting (more nerve racking as I sit here and type this). I feel super busy, and even on my day off I have clients this week.

What a blessing to live in a world that gives us tangible experiences, people, emotions, and so on. We are lucky people you guys. Sometimes I am guilty of losing sight of the most important things. I often feel like the worry overpowers my logic and it all spirals out. Here's to moments of clarity grounding us all to the people we love and the lives we live!!

If you have any suggestions for future posts/product reviews/etc, please comment below so I can entertain such ideas.

 

Happy Monday.

XO,

J.

 



Everlasting Liner.

One of the questions I am frequently asked as a makeup artist is how to make eyeliner last all day without it smearing, smudging, and melting. There are so many tips & tricks that work towards helping your liner last all day...there are even companies that vouch that their liner alone is all you need for a lasting look (closest I've found to this is Urban Decay's 24-7 Glide-on pencil). Well, today I'm going to share my tried and true 3-step process to guarantee you fabulous lasting liner, which is going to be especially beneficial with these summer months upon us! While reading over this you may think it seems like a lot of work, but once you start applying the techniques to your everyday routine it will be a piece of cake (and speaking of cake...just took some carrot cake cupcakes out of the oven...going to decorate them with a Royal Wedding vibe!). These steps can be used to achieve an eyeliner look with any color, but I will be referring to "black" since that is the shade I predominantly use. If you try these steps let me know how it works for you!

1. Create a Guide Line.
Using a black eye pencil (sharpened, but not to a fine point that will be rough on your eye), or retractable liner pencil, you will create a guide line for your liquid liner. To get a nice and even liner line (for any of these steps) gently pull the outer corner of your outwards, just a little bit, to create a nice smooth surface on your lid. Taking your eye pencil (my fave would be MAC's Smolder), I like to start on the outer corner of my eye and move inwards making small dashes, staying as close to my upper lash line as possible. (You can then go back and fill in any gaps in the dashes once you've made your line). You'll be left with a nice even line. If you like to wing your liner, I would personally wait until the next step to do so.

MAC's pencil liner in "Smolder"

2. Liquid Line

Using your favorite liquid liner (I like L'Oreal Lineur Intense in Carbon Black) or even a gel liner (ie-MAC's fluid-line) go over your pencil guide line. keeping close to the lash line. If you need to add more definition to your line, or wing it out, do that now with your liquid liner.

L'Oreal Lineur Intense Liquid Eyeliner in "Carbon Black"

3. Lock it in.

Now we want to lock in that liquid line--Using a small angled eyeshadow brush, dip into some matte black shadow and gently dab the shadow over your liquid line, making sure you are blending everything into your upper lash line. Anytime you put a dry application over a liquid one you are adding extra staying power (just like setting liquid foundation with a translucent powder, etc).  There you have it...lasting liner!



MAC 266 angled brush

Note: There are some other bonus jonas steps that can be done to not only add staying power to your liner but to your whole makeup look. Using an eyeshadow primer before applying eye makeup and using a setting spray after all your makeup is done can really give your makeup that stay-put edge in the summer heat.

Also: If you like to wear liner on your lower lash line (or waterline, like me) it's typically just a 1-step process as far as I'm concerned. I would just apply a creamy pencil liner to that area since your bottom lash line is more prone to watering. I really like Stila's kajal liner in onyx...it's creamy, goes on smooth and typically stays put! Questions, Comments?? Let me know....I have some cupcakes to attend to! <3

XOXO,

Jacqueline

Stila's kajal liner in "Onyx"