Color Inspiration of the Day: Aqua Green

Today's look is simply inspired by the color of my shirt ;) lol It's simply a smokey eye with a color twist!

Christmas Inspired Makeup Look

As we all know, the HOLIDAYS are here! (:
I personally cannot wait to celebrate with FAMILY & FRIENDS to open presents, celebrate my little one's 1st B-Day, & wait for that special New Year's kiss from my husband. But best of all... I want to wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR'S. I also want to let you guys know that 2012 will be full of new tutorials, tips, reviews & a lot more ALL THINGS BEAUTY... so stay tuned for that!

Here's a Christmas Inspired Look for you girls to look amazing & beautiful during the holidays (: As you can see the look has really bright, colorful, & fun colors to bring all the attention to the EYES. I'm keeping the rest of the look neutral as you will see in the video. I hope you guys like this look, I guarantee you will have so much FUN recreating it... playing with makeup always is! & please stay tuned for a New Year's Inspired Look coming soon!

Here is a list of all the products used:

- Clean & Clear Finishes Pore Perfecting Moisturizer

- Covergirl Nature Luxe Foundation

- Mary Kay Eyesicles: Island Bronze

- Coastal Scents 88 color palette: coral (bright pink-orange), plum, brown-black w/ gold, peach matte highlighter,

- Mary Kay Power: Pink Rose

- Loreal Wear Infinite Eyeshadow Quad: Landscape (yellow gold)

- Maybelline Colossal Volum Express Waterproof Mascara in brown

- Maybelline Line Express Eyeliner in brownish-black

- VS black eye liner

- Pink blush

- Nude pinky lip gloss

- Pink shimmer lip gloss

Smokey Green Eye Makeup

This look was truly INSPIRED by my scarf! lol When I bought it I wasn't really sure what to wear it with but after looking through my closet I found an all black shirt with ruffles in the front. I just believe that the smokey green eye brings a lot of focus to the face but without taking away from the look of the scarf. To make this look even more DARING you can wear all BLACK. Wear some black skinny jeans with black leather boots and to make the whole pop out, throw a grey jacked over the black collar shirt and the green scarf ;) You can totally ROCK this look on a girls night out! I hope you guys liked it & stay tuned for more ALL THINGS BEAUTY!




Here's a list of all the products used:
- Covergirl Nature Luxe Foundation
- metallic grey eyeshadow from Mary Kay
- #90305 e.l.f. eye shadow
- matte light grey eyeshadow
- vibrant green eyeshadow
- elegant e.l.f. eyeshadow for highlight
- black pencil eyeliner from VS
- bronzer
- plum blush from Mary Kay
- hot pink lip gloss from VS

Everyday Makeup

This is a makeup look that I like to wear most of the time because it is really simple to recreate. The look goes well with pretty much anything you're wearing. It doesn't take up much time to do and I love it because it makes you eyes really stand out by using neutral colors and keeping the rest of the face simple as well. I have added a brown eyeliner and a gold lip gloss over the original look to make it wearable for Thanksgiving. I hope you you enjoy it and I will soon be doing more look for you guys. Check out the video on youtube, comment, and don't for get to subscribe!  

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FOR YOU ALL!

Here is a list of all the products used:

- Clean & Clear Finishes Pore Perfecting Moisturizer

- Covergirl Nature Luxe Foundation

- Coastal Scents 88 color palette: gold highlighter, brow, dark-greyish brow, pink-peachy, glitter brown, black-brown-gold, mate brown

- Maybelline Colossal Volum Express Waterproof Mascara in brown

- Maybelline Line Express Eyeliner in brownish-black

- Love & Beauty Bronze on-the-go Palette

- Wet n Wild Ultimate Minerals loose blush in rose shimmer

Permanent Cosmetics: Eyebrows

I want to let you guys know my eyebrow SECRET! Yes, the are permanent, meaning they have been tattooed. I know it sounds scary for many to think about doing this procedure but it is quite simple. I have always struggled with my eyebrows and it is why I decided to get them done. Sometime during seventh grade, I decided plug them...BIG MISTAKE! One thing you should know is that your eyebrows should be left alone, let them grow into their full shape. I mean, it is okay to start removing some in between hair, that is the "uni brow" but don't plug the rest. Well...obviously I did not know because I started to remove as much as my eye could see, literally. All there was left of my eyebrow shape was a line of hairs, one after the other. What I also didn't know was that if you start removing hair, especially so young, it won't grow back!

Moving on to eight grade, I started to draw my eyebrows with a black eyeliner...yeah, it was something to laugh about =| I started to noticed that the other girls would have beautiful, thick eyebrows and drawing mine was pretty much the only way I would get the same effect on mine. I guess the only thing I did right when I started to draw them was that I wouldn't do them thick, even though the other girls had them like that, I would actually work with the shape and thinness of my own eyebrow. The funny thing about my eyebrows then is that they seemed to each have a personality of their own. One would have a different shape than the other one and it would take me while time to get them to look as close as possible. But one thing to keep in mind, eyebrows are not twins, so they will never look exactly the same, similar but not exactly. As I got to my high school years, I got better at drawing them and it will take me less time to do them. One thing I also discovered was that the black eyeliner wasn't working for me...about time I noticed! So I started to use a charcoal eyeliner from N.Y.C. This greyish, brownish color made my eyebrow looked more natural.

It wasn't until after high school that I just became tired of drawing my eyebrows everyday. I would hate to wake up and not see them. Sometimes if I had no plans of going out, I would just not draw them but of course something would up at the last minute and I would struggle to get them done in a hurry. At this point I was willing to find a way to have permanent eyebrows. I decided to called a tattoo parlor and ask how much it would cost me to get them done and what was the procedure like. They told me the cost was about $60. They would shave the hairs around the area I would get the tattoo on and they would use black ink. I thought to myself that there was no way I would do this. To start with I barely have any hairs left and I didn't want to have a dark black like on my eyebrows for the rest of my life! The other down side to getting a tattoo like this done is that with time it will fade away and turn into a greenish color.

After thinking that there was nothing else I could do about my eyebrows, I heard on TV the word permanent cosmetics. Of course I did the research online and found articles, videos, pictures, and places where this service can be done. Permanent cosmetic services include eyebrows, eyeliner, lip liner, beauty marks, lash extensions, and many other services depending on the professional's training or education. The procedure for permanent eyebrows is technically the procedure is similar like getting a tattoo because it is a tattoo but they work with what you have as your natural eyebrow. The will not shave any of your eyebrow hairs and they have a variety of colors from the darkest black to the lightest blond. Another difference is that the ink they use does not fade like the one they would use on a regular tattoo. Also, this is a very pricy procedure depending on where you get it done. It can range from $300 to $600 or even $700. But to be honest, it is so worth it!

I got mine done by Cynthia J. Pendery from Chico Ca. She is a licensed professional. Remember, always make sure you are seeing someone with experience, someone who is a professional, and someone who is of course licensed to do the type of service you are requesting. The cost of my eyebrows was $300, her prices may vary due to how much work she has to put into it. If you are interested, she will give you a free consultation where she will discuss with you health concerns and she will get to examine your eyebrow to get a better idea of what she needs to do. I absolutely love her work, she is very comprehensive, she will take you step by step and answer any question or concern you might have. What I also liked about the work she did on me was that she decided to do two shades lighter than the original color I was using for my eyebrow, which was charcoal. Cynthia prefers to do this because it is easier to add more color if she needed to than to take away from, which can be done. One thing I almost forgot to mentioned is that I decided to get my eyebrows done in a solid shape because it is they way I was used to drawing them and also because of how thin they already were. But if you have a thicker shape, have more eyebrow hair than what I do and you are looking to get them fill in rather than get them completely shade in, it can also be done. The difference of the solid shape is that she will draw a hair like pattern on top of your natural hairs so it looks more naturally done. The whole process takes about an hour or two and it will usually require two sittings. Just to let you guys know, it is a painful procedure. If you already have any tattoos then you know what it feels like. In case that you don't, which is okay, she will put a numbing cream over the area to ease the pain.

I will provide you guys with her information below but if you're not from the area don't feel discourage. Do your research and you'll find someone who would do this fantastic job if you're interested. Remember, you should always feel comfortable with the person who is going to this procedure for you! You should never feel pressured if you're not ready because you have to keep in mind that this is forever...

Cynthia J. Pendery

2101 Forest Ave, Suite 100

Chico, Ca 95928

(530) 873-6329

http://www.everlastingbeautynow.com

Organix Ever Straight Brazilian Kerantin Therapy

This time I want to tell you guys about this new hair products I tried & how I feel about them. Well to start with, the reason I gave these products a try is because I have really wavy and frizzy hair! I had researched ways to make my hair more manageable and found many different anti-frizz products. Then while randomly searching, I came across the word Brazilian hair blowout. It is a service that many hair salons provide to girls with hair like mine to make it less frizzy and to make some of the waves more straight. They use a keratin product that fuzzes with your hair cuticle using the heat of a hair straighter. What they do is wash your hair with a sulfate & sodium free shampoo and they do not condition it in order for the keratin to stay on your hair. Then they'll apply the keratin solution to your hair and let it sit about 30 minutes. After that time, they will blow dry your hair so it is complete dry and straighten your hair. They will hold about two inches of your hair and straighten it 5-7 times so the keratin really stays on your hair. This will take about 3-5 hours or more depending on how much hair you have & the way they do the Brazilian hair blowout process, remember each stylist works differently. The aftercare of this service is that you must not wash your hair for two days and you must maintain your hair as straight as possible; try not to put it behind your ear or put it in a ponytail. The cost of the Brazilian blowout ranges from $300-$700 sometimes more or less because of factors such as how much hair you have, what type of products they use (quality), the area you're from, believe it or not, it does make a difference where you live, and they hours they take to do this service. Another reason why it is so expensive is that they will recommend you buy a sulfate & sodium free shampoo and conditioner to keep they keratin solution longer in your hair, this prevents it from washing away too quickly.

 This is something that I've been wanting to do for a while now but the price hasn't fit on my budget yet... so I decided to put it on hold as of now. I was shopping at Rite Aid and while looking at some anti-frizz products to try, I saw the Organix hair product line and noticed that they have the Ever Straight Brazilian Keratin Therapy product line. This line includes their sulfate & sodium free shampoo and conditioner, the 30-day smoothing treatment, a flat iron spray, and the anti-breakage serum. I did not buy the 30-day treatment because they only had at the store the 14-day treatment and I also did not buy the flat iron spray & the anti-breakage serum because they were sold out :( I have to say that after buying it, I read tons and tons of reviews on it, good and bad ones, and so I decided to try it for myself! The process for applying this product is similar to the one I described above but the cost of the three products in the picture was about $27 including tax. It took me about two hours to complete the whole process and right after finishing the process, my hair looked much shinier, healthy, and really soft! The instructions do say to not over apply the product because since you don't have to wash your hair for 48 hours, it will get greasy. I guess I did my job right because for those two days my hair seemed to be fine. You have to keep in mind that because this is an affordable product it is not as high quality as the ones used at hair salons, which cost a lot more but it does work for your hair if it is something that you might want to try. Also keep in mind that this is not going to make your hair perfectly straight, it will only reduce frizz, it will make some of your waves more manageable, and it will also make it easier to straighten your hair by reducing the time it takes. It would normally take me about about 40 minutes to get my hair completely straight before trying this product and now it only take me to about 15-20 minutes! The only down side to the keratin treatment is that I noticed the ends of my hair turned a lighter color than my natural hair color. I have really, really black hair color, it is the darkest black you can think of. Well, that is before I died it chocolate, reddish, brown(: So after I applied the keratin treatment, my hair ends were a light brown color, I'm not sure why this happened but my guess is that it burned the ends because I had to straighten my hair at 450 degrees in order for the product to stay on my hair. The product line does say it is color safe, you know in case your hair is colored, but since I changed my natural hair color, I would think twice before trying it again. Like I said, this is my personal experience, I did like the products and the results have lasted for more than 14 days. I'm not sure if I would use the keratin treatment again, if I do, I will keep you guys posted, but I do love the shampoo and conditioner. They both smell like coconut and they just leave my hair looking so shiny and so soft.

Don't forget to keep checking out my blog for new posts!

& My Inspiration Came From...

As you can see, my beauty inspiration is Marilyn Monroe (as I have quoted her a couple of times), but she doesn't get all the credit... a few weeks ago I was browsing through youtube and found two channels i really LOVE! One is a makeup channel by makeupbyeman, Eman is a professional makeup artist from Vancouver, Canada. She shares makeup tutorials and a few hair tutorials on her channel but she also has her own website, makeupbyeman.com and her own blogspot, emanmakeup.blogspot.com. Check her out, she is amazing and has a lot more going on that what I've mentioned. I've see all of her videos and there are some makeup looks that I absolutely loved and recreated my own way... soon I will post pictures! The other youtube channel I follow is JLovesMac1. Jarmaine is this really funny girl who talks about makeup, fashion, and whatever else some to her mind! I love how free spirited she is and she inspired me to follow her footsteps...so I will soon open my own youtube channel lol. Also check her out, she recently opened a new channel where she talks more deeply into subjects, it is more about her personal point of view on life!

The  reason I'm feeling so passionate about this new project is that even with a hectic schedule, I do like to make time for myself and it is why I decided to this. I know there are many girls out there who are busy but still make time to pampered themselves. Ladies, we are all beautiful, we all like to play looks with makeup, hair, and clothing... & it is why I hope you guys enjoy this and are positive supportive!

On my next blogs to come, I will post about makeup looks, hair ideas, product reviews and some fashion looks. I promise to load pictures and list all the brads, cost, and places where you can find all those products(: My goal for you guys is to share my personal tips and experiences, I will also throw some ideas I have in mind as I go on and get better at this new blogging adventure.