12-12-12 and Birchbox: Give.

I will not be so cliche as to remind everyone via facebook, twitter and blog of what today's date is, but it does hold a specialness for me since my nephew was born at 8:39am!! He was the first baby to be born at the hospital today, on this date which everyone is aware of, so he is even getting a little bit of media attention!! So, as I sit here, under the weather and waiting for my husband to get out of the shower so I can go see the new addition (no worries, not contagious), I thought, let me just blog it up. I totally lost last month's Birchbox, or so I thought (I found it a little bit ago, tucked away), so that's why I never did my typical review. So, yeah, no review or rundown from November's box, and December's box should be here anyday.
There were a few cool things in the November box, from brands such as Stila, Masqueology and MCMC, so the products can all be seen and purchased from birchbox.com. I layed out one of the Masqueology under eye masques to hopefully try out a little bit later.
Quick Makeupartist confession: I know you're supposed to wash your face before bed every night, and take your makeup off, and all that jazz, but I don't do it everynight, charge me as guilty, I cannot lie. So, masques and skin repair serums are only helpful buddies, especially when I'm feeling as blahh as I do right now.
I am not a big holiday enthusiast, as the past 2 years have made me so. It's always kind of a kick in the ass for the new year to roll in, which is because we lost my dad on 1-1-11. So, as much as the I believe in the message of the holidays, my spirit is a tad lackluster, which I pray can endure a change. Maybe I do need some holiday cheer sent my way. Hey, I'm no scrooge, I did not fight the putting-up-of-the-tree this year, and there are wreaths on every window.
But that's just a little update from the corner of my world. I heard the tell-tale click of the bathroom door that signals my husband will soon be ready to venture out. More to come...Be safe all!!
XO,
J <3.

Birchbox #2: Clarity.

Wow, January got a little more busy than I anticipated. Between school and work ( been working with an amazing photog on some rad shoots) I haven't had time to catch up on everything else. I mean, here it is 3 days into February and I am just now reviewing my January Birchbox (and it's a good one too!). So let's cut to the chase...here's my review on January's BB.



Clarity is this month's "title/theme"



And you open up the box and see....

So, let me just tell you what all came in the box and you will understand why it's so rad...

• a Larabar mini bar...an all natural bar of dried fruits and nuts...like a luna bar...yummy and good for you.
• Stila Smudge Stick (looks full size!)...it's a waterproof eyeliner in a pretty deep purple shade (purple long). I love Stila eyeliner, not only because the colors are gorgeous, and this purple really is a great alternative to black, but they last a really long time with very minimal smudging. A definite recommendation to pick one up for yourself!

• 

  Stila Smudgestick in Purple Long

  Jouer Body Butter...love this stuff too! It's really good for rough patches of skin, like the elbows. It's made with shea and olive and avocado oils, so it's great for the winter months when you're skin is feeling a little under-moisturized.
• Borghese CuraForte Moisture Instensifier...a serum you apply before you moisturize, or you can mix it in with your favorite lotion to give it a little boost. I honestly haven't tried this one yet but it sounds amazing and maybe I will do a little review on this product alone.
• Sample of Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy fragrance...okay, who doesn't love this. Don't really need to say more.
• And, as a little Bonus Jonas, if you will, there was also a little Birchbox logo magnet. Cute.

So, that was January's box, and February's box will be here next week I believe. That's exciting stuff in my little world of glam! I hope everyone has a stellar weekend, and I will try and post a little something something this weekend since it's a 3 day one for me!!

XOXO,

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"