DOSE of Colors Hidden Treasures Palette - Gemstone Metallic REALNESS

Its that time of the year again, Weddings, Proms, (Insert life event here) Showers, Fundraising events, etc.. Basically anytime you'll need a full face of glam, and a bottle full of wine at your fingertips. DOSE of colors recently released an eyeshadow palette called 'Hidden Treasures'. Where you can find natural jewel toned eyeshadow colors for your everyday glamour session.  

PACKAGING:
Look at that Beaut! The packaging is designed to look as though you've opened up a treasure chest and found 10 metallic and matte gems to cover your eye sockets for a night out on the town. 

LONGEVITY:
I recently used a few colors from this palette on a bride and
1- the colors are PIGMENTED AF!
2- With a primer or concealer to lock the color onto your skin, the colors stay on for a really long time. My Bride had her makeup on starting at noon and had a full face of makeup for a good 8 hours before fading. 

COLORS:

Pearl – Off white Shimmer
Coin – Golden Metallic
Key – Brown Matte
Crown – Burnt copper – Metallic
Ruby – Deep red – Metallic
Gemstone – Chamapagne – Metallic
ONYX – Black – Matte
Map – Mauve Matte
Locket – Tan/Beige Matte
Diamond – Nude/Pink Metallic

Check out my close ups so you can enjoy the colors in all its shimmery glory:

SWATCHES:
Jesus GAWD have you seen these swatches? HAVE YOU??? Check out my swatches below :) When I said these eyeshadows were pigmented, I was SO serious. These eyeshadows come off almost like a foil without having to use a wet brush. It's beautiful! After I swatched these shadows in the light, I turned up the Drake album, faked a few salsa moves and WAS. KILLIN EM! 

TMI? Oh well, the colors are beautiful and made me a happy girl :)

PRICE:
$50.00. For 10 eyeshadows, that breaks down to $5.00/eyeshadow. And for colors this pigmented, the Hidden Treasures palette is a STEAL ON THE REAL.

OVERALL:
I have always been a fan of DOSE of colors, so I jumped at the chance to purchase this palette. The only Con that I have is the placement of the eyeshadows within the palette. I understand it's purpose and design, however-- because I am a freelance makeup artist, the placement gives my OCD a little kick in the ass. Most of my palettes are organized in a way that it's easier for me to look and pull a color for my client. With this palette it forces me to search for a color (in my head) in an unorganized way. AGAIN, I am aware that my makeup problems are different from the average makeup enthusiast, but I thought I would voice my opinion here. 

Overall if you like Metallics and need a little shimmer in your life, check this palette out, it's one not to miss!

Beauty Treasures from Morocco

For my annual girls trip, we decided to visit Spain and stop off in Morocco. While, i've been to Spain before (and Spain is ALWAYS a good time) I was UBER excited to visit Morocco. What some people don't know, is that I have a small obsession with the movie Aladdin and I took this opportunity to experience Arabian nights and Arabian days, where more often than not, are hotter than hot, in a lot of good waaaaaayyyyyssss!! :D I couldn’t wait to immerse myself in as much of the Moroccan culture that i possibly could in 6 days. My friends and I visited Casablanca, Marrakech and Essouira and i can officially say that I am in LOOOVE with Morocco <3 

While in the souk in Marrakech, one of the Berber vendors offered my group a traditional Moroccan clay lipstick/lip tint. I. Was. Intrigued. The lipstick looked like the top of a clay pot, and when the vendor applied water to the base of the clay, the mixture of the clay and water produced lipstick. I thought this was fucking fascinating! So of course, the makeup nerd in me went ahead and researched Moroccan clay lipstick and heres what I found:

The red clay is made of red ochre terra-cotta mixed with a red vegetable dye. Some of the clay is blended with powdered poppy or rose petals mixed with a little wax, and can also contain henna. The Berber vendor called it “Aker" and it can be used as a lipstick, with the color varying between deep red and a dark fuchsia.

When touching the clay, the color does not bleed directly onto your hand, in order to release the color, you have to moisten the clay with Rose water or fix plus. The type of solution you use to release the color, correlates to the consistency of the lipstick. i tried vaseline for a lip tint and rose water for a lipstick. You can also use the clay pot as a blush, for a natural flush.

The one other beauty purchase I made was a Kohl Kajal eyeliner! Anyone who watched Sex and the City 2 the movie saw when Carri Bradshaw went to the souk and purchased shoes and a Kohl eyeliner. When i saw this i had to try it! This eyeliner is composed of Vegetable oil, beeswax, minerals and Ghee (all natural purified butter).  

Although if i'm going to be honest, when i looked at the kohl eyeliner i thought 2 things:
1) How in the HECK do I apply this eyeliner without looking like i got into a fight with a bottle of charcoal? 
2) Why does the product say "France" if its Moroccan?

Here are my answers:
1) After kicking it with my girl Google, i learned that you're supposed to swipe the liner flat on its side onto your eyelids, however i personally used the tip of the eyeliner and it worked fine. I imagine when the sharp tip rounds out, i can take an eyeliner brush and pull product directly from the Kohl.
2) Morocco was colonized by France in the early 1900's and explains why most Berber's speak French and Arabic. I relied heavily on Google translate to help me with my french during this trip :)

Overall, i am happy i purchased these products from the souk and i cant wait to continue putting these products to good use.

Beauty 911 - Winter Skincare Routine

Now that winter is here (insert Jon Snow joke), my lips are chapped, my skin is tightening in the cold air and I know my skincare routine needs more love than usual. I've been trying out a variety skincare products that work well with my oily skin and the products listed below are my top 5 products to combat the harsh winter months ahead.

ESSENCE: May Coop Raw Sauce
The glory that is maple tree sap, absorbs deep into the skin flawlessly. The essence hydrates and delivers nourishment to skin, creating a healthy glow and creates a stronger skin territory. This essence helps to prep the skin to better absorb and boost the effectiveness of any products that follow. After applying the raw sauce onto my skin, i notice that there's barely any product residue left on my skin, but i feel hydrated and fresh.

SERUM: Ole Henriksen Truth Serum Collagen Booster
I've been using this serum for 4-5 years and It does not disappoint, I flip out anytime I start to run out of product. This serum is formulated with a vitamin C complex to produce collagen, brighten your skin, and minimize fine lines. My skin always feels healthier and looks brighter like i have JLo glow, but better! 

MOISTURIZER: Ole Henrikson Sheer Transformation
Ok so.. i STAN for Ole Henriksen's products (obvi). For the same 4-5 years ive been using the Truth Serum. I've been using Sheer Transformation. I have oily skin and this moisturizer paired with the serum AND the essence, allows my skin to be fully hydrated and glowing without causing breakouts.  

LIP BALM: Fresh Sugar Advanced Lip Therapy
Honestly any lip balm will do, I own several lip balms but I really wanted to try Fresh's lip therapy balm because of all the amazing things i've heard about it. This product is a hydrating lip treatment that conditions lips for a smooth, fresh finish while boosting moisture and volume. It really works and I worry less about my chapped lips repairing themselves in time for matte lipsticks :)

SLEEPING MASK: Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse Water-Max Sleeping Mask
For that extra boost of moisture, i use my Dr. Jart+ Sleeping mask 2-3 times a week. This product is a weightless, leave-on mask that creates a protective barrier on your skin, locking in moisture and nutrients while you sleep! After my essence, serum and moisturizer, at night i lock it all in using this sleeping mask. When i wake up, my skin feels moisturized and smooth!

After many months of trial and error (and breakouts) I've found these products to work the best for my skin type (oily, combination, acne prone skin). And if you have skin like mine, you'll be ready to fight the winter cold with these products.

via GIPHY

<3 

TLS Highlighter Review

So i dont know if anyone noticed, but i love highlighters.. I am obsessed with looking as fertile as possible by using any and all beauty highlighters. Just like many beauty junkies, i am a STAN for Manny the MUA. But really, who isn't? Anyway, he put the world on these new TLS highlighters that blew. my. mind.

Of course i had to try these little babies out on my own, so i bought a little starter pack for my kit. I purchased Glow Gawd, Blushing Bride and Sunkissed. Basically 1 highlight per skin tone range. Check out my review for each highlighter below. Please note that i packed on the product to my fingers to emphasize the pigment. When applied, you actually don't need very much to achieve a glowy look.

GLOW GAWD: 

One of their top highlights, Glow Gawd is a soft golden iridescent color that looks subtly sweet when applied to the orbital bone. There are soft flecks of gold that make the pigment more yellow, and looks great on any skin tone.

SUNKISSED:

Sunkissed is a beautiful golden powder that is clearly on the warmer side, but is perfect for those with a darker/warmer skin tone.

BLUSHING BRIDE:

Blushing Bride is a light pink iridescent powder. this color can soften any skin tone, and reminds me a lot of the Hourglass ambient light powders, and is similar to the soft focus light that the product provides.

Price Point:
Each pot of pigment costs $9.75 per 6 gm of product.

Formula:
This highlighter is a loose pigment made up of mica, titanium dioxide, silica and some pigments include iron oxides. I haven't had any of my clients to react negatively from the product, neither did I, so I enjoyed using these highlighters. Also this highlighter is amazing and a little will go a long way.

Packaging:
The pigments come in a plastic container with a twist cap. The product is contained under a plastic filter/grinder that prevents the pigment from spilling out. 

Color:
Overall, I like the color payoff of these highlighters are very pigmented and you can probably see this highlight from space :) Some of the colors look similar but have a subtle undertone that comes through in it's iridescence. 

Longevity:
I've used this highlight on a client, set her with Fix+ and it STUCK to her like glue. I use this product on myself for dinner and dancing but didn't set my face, and the product stayed on for 6+ hours. <3 <3 <3  

Tips: This product is a loose pigment highlighter and i will say that the product can get messy, especially if you forget to close the filter in its packaging.

I like this product and would recommend these colors to any makeup artist and beauty junkie. Especially for MUA's who are starting their kits, these products really provide excellent quality for it's price point. The packaging is cute and fits in any makeup kit so it's easy to travel with. 

Squeeze, Line and Define with the Tarte Tarteist Clay Liner

I. DIE. For a beautiful winged eyeliner. I envied Amy Winehouse for her courage and commitment to winged eyeliner, It’s the best.. We all know applying eyeliner is not easy, it does take a lot of practice but a good eyeliner will make any artist ugly-cry in amazement.  Friends… Let me introduce you to the Tarte Tarteist Clay Liner. I have been hunting this liner for months.. Unfortunately I slacked on jumping on this product when it first came out and of course, the eyeliner ended up sold out everywhere. The Universe brought me to this liner when I walked into Sephora this weekend. I stopped in the aisle and asked God to deliver me when I grabbed the last box… What can I say, God is good :) 

Now onto the eyeliner! 

Formula: The formula is waterproof and happens to be a hybrid between a liquid and a gel liner. Like most Tarte products, this liner includes Amazonian Clay, this makes the product creamy without being runny, which allows you to define your liner flawlessly without tugging. 

Packaging: You can tell that the packaging for this product was designed with the creative in mind. The eyeliner comes in a squeezable tube and can be applied with the included eyeliner brush. The top of the tube has a tapered round mixing palette so that you can blend the product onto the brush. I Love!

Photo Courtesy of Sephora.com  

Color: BLACK like my soul! After the first swipe of color, you can see the richness of the product. But just like any eyeliner, sometimes (depending on how much product you use) you have to double up on the application to make the color more opaque. 

Longevity: This liner is smudge proof, waterproof and lasted a full work day + a few Happy Hours (+/-10 hours) with very little budging. *flame emojis*

Tips: Be Careful when you squeeze the tube, if you aren’t careful a ton of product will spill out. *crying face emoji*

**Please note that I have combination skin with very little crease in my eyelid. I’ve heard that oily lids, or hooded eyelids have a hard time with this product, but for me, I had no trouble with application or lasting power. 

Overall I love this product and will buy again :)