Friday

Color and turning 40!

Earlier today I hopped over to one of the regular blogs I visit at iknowalthewords.com and she has written a wonderful review of some shadows that are lovely and colorful. After reading the review and writing a comment it hit me. I am an older gal. I am not ancient, but I am 3 years from 40. Yikes!

Now, I love eye shadow of any kind color with the exception of glitter and really shimmery kind.
But when it comes to color will I have to let go of all the colors I love? I don't mean to offend but I do not want to look like the old lady wearing too much eye shadow.

I do feel pastels and electric colors are a bit too much for my age range.  But I still can do color.


Now, I know this is an older palette, but Tarte makes some gorgeous deep toned eye shadows that are amazing. The colors are in muted rich earthy tones that can work for young and not so young alike.

They go on flawlessly and blend very well.

I obtained this palette while in Sephora with my step mom. She was picking up some stuff and while we were at the register she said "pick something", so I thought to myself  dad hasn't bought me anything in a while, like 20 years, she picks out most of our gifts and just sticks his name on them, so I quickly grabbed this palette. It retails for around 44.00.

The blushes are very nice not shimmery but they do give off a nice glow on your face.


So bottom line is, I don't have to give up color, just certain kinds of colors and I am okay with that.
Come on 40! I am ready and waiting for you ;)

What are your thoughts on age and colored shadows?

Thanks for reading :)


Great coverage Foundation and BB cream

Hi!, I wanted to share my favorite foundation and BB cream with you guys.

I was a bad girl when I was younger and did not keep up with my acne so now I have scars :/

I have gone through many products in search of the perfect coverage for my skin problems, large pores and scaring. These are the two that I have found that Fill my needs.

TarteCosmetics.com

For every day I use The Tarte bb cream I do use it in a darker shade because I exfoliate everyday so my face is brighter then the rest of me. The color I use is tan. I honestly love the feel and coverage I get from this product and it is build-able. My bottle is the old packaging from Sephora.  It retails for 34.00. I know that for a bb cream that is expensive and it was a impulse buy, but it was worth every penny. I am sad as I am running out and in search of a replacement not at the same price though.








Sephora.com
When I want to get all dolled up especially in my Youtube videos I do wear my MakeupForever Mat Velvet + Matifying Foundation. I love this product with every ounce of my soul! It covers all my scars and doesn't leave me looking like a cake face, a little goes a long way with this product. Im either honey beige or golden beige depending on the time of year. This product retails for 36.00. I will be repurchasing this product, this is like my 4th bottle already and I love it. I do highly recommend either of these products if you are looking for a good coverage long lasting product, just be prepared to shell out the bucks.





Have you tried either of these products? And if so, how was your experience with them?
I am in the market for a replacement on the bb cream so if you know any good one please let me know!

Thanks for listening :)

Wednesday

Everything a BBlogger should know part: 2

So you picked out a name for your blog. You got your layout and color scheme just right. But how do you get people to visit your blog and hear what you have to say about that amazing palette you just bought?

Networking! Building up a network is a great way to get your blog off and running.

Here are a few tips to help get you going.

Join bloglovin Its a good way to network with other bloggers and they can easily find you as well.

Google has a follow this blog widget that is also similar to bloglovin this will also help build an audience.

Twitter,Facebook,Tumblr, Pintrest and Instagram  are all a must. Now if you feel these are too many social networks for you to handle, I have good news! They all have a way for you to link them all together so that what you post on one shows on the other the trick is to know which one will affect all of them.

Twitter and Facebook connect to each other easily.

Pintrest connects to Facebook.

Instagram connects to Facebook,Twitter and Tumblr.

Pretty much any social network can be linked to another in some way or another. Yes you will have to keep up with them if you want to build a audience.

Add a Grab it button to you site. This way you can exchange links with other blogs. The more links you have out there the more Google Gods like you :).

When you leave a comment on another blog as a signature leave a link to your blog. When you get attached to another bloggers site you wont have to do this all the time, because now you are friends and they know where your blog lives. Good etiquette is two links max on any blog, that is for me anyway. You don't want the other blogger to feel your using them for link only purposes.

Don't be a social advertiser and spam your blog, This can become annoying and you will lose followers.
I know I hate seeing spam about someones post. Post it two times a day max along with an eye catching title
And the Hashtag  #BBloggers  has become very popular USE IT!

Now this is just me, but I don't like following blogs by email. As you go your inbox will become over loaded with other things as a beauty blogger and you might miss the blog your following during a mass deletion of emails. But this is your option.

Please know that most of your first followers and subbies will be other bloggers so don't do anything you wouldn't like done to yourself.

Add Google Analytics to your blog. This is  your real site counter. This will help you see who is visiting as well as what site brought them to your blog. You can sign up for that Here. This tool will tell you how many visits you actually have.

Now this is very important! You may see your visit count go very high right of the bat, But this traffic is not real traffic. There is a site called vampire stat that keeps hitting blogs especially blogs through blogger.
these do count as views, but its a bot and not your biggest fan! Do not click on this link, I repeat DO NOT CLICK IT. Just leave it be, it will go away once you start getting real traffic.

So, I think these tips will help you get on the right track with social networking for blogging purposes.

If you need help in any way I am here.

I also do graphic design so if your looking for a logo, banner, buttons, custom follow buttons, backgrounds email me or Facebook message me on my Facebook page!

O.k I am done!

This post was inspired by CiaoBella :).

Have a Great Day!





 

Monday

Looking away from eyebrows and posts and how important is it!

I am at a blank! I have one thousand ideas in my head and I cant get them out of there. I did everything I was supposed to do, picked up some products that I absolutely fell in love with. And after swatching and trying them out, I get on  my laptop ready to write the review of the century and...nothing.

I do find this very frustrating and annoying. So when I do find myself at a loss for words I stop what I am doing and go down a completely different path, watch T.V, Tweet, call my sisters and get my mind off it for a while then go back after a while. And find myself refreshed and ready for a good in depth post.

I learned this from my eye brows, yes my eyebrows. When I am filling in my brows I notice they get thicker, wider and weirder as I go. So I learned to Get them somewhere near where I want them and then I look away, either mess with my hair, blend my shadow some more or look at my smart phone. And after a few seconds I look back at them and adjust what needs to be adjusted. By doing this you see them from a different perspective. Sometimes to get what we want we have to look away for a few moments and see things from a different perspective.

What ever product you are using to fill in your brows remember. Your brows are sisters not twins.

I usually do my brows before I apply shadow, this way  I have a direction on where to take my shadow.
I do leave small imperfections in my brows so I look Human.

I heard it once said "never let a person with bad eyebrows give you advice". This I find amusing, for a while there I had none! Through trial and many errors I over plucked and then some.

Now, I just do a quick clean up daily and I shape them to what works for me. I have a few grays showing up here and there, but its nothing my brow pencil can't handle.

Here are a few tips on how I got my brows back:

Don't apply lotion to your brow bone. Lotions tend to be in the "lets make less hair grow" trend.
Eye creams are fine they are made for this area of you face.

Let them grow out, just hide our for a while or wear sunglasses lol.

Talk to your eyebrow tech, tell them to just clean you up, but not to shape, for a while anyway.
I know this is hard because no matter how many times I said this they did what they wanted anyway :(.

And finally, they are your eyebrows! Take care of them like any other part of you that you love!
Eyebrows are the most expressive part of our body.

I don't like a perfectly symmetrical brow, because I don't have a perfectly symmetrical face.
One of my brows arch higher then the other, one of my eyes always looks like it is thinking devious thoughts.

So If you find your at a loss for words, having a bad brow moment, don't stress! Take a breather and when you return you will write the review of the century or achieve the perfect arch.

What do you do to get a different perspective on things? 

Thanks for listening! Love you guys ;)




What's in a review? Something every BB should know!


Well, People my Muse at Ciao Bella Inspired me once again!

What's in a review? When I am looking through blogs I see many reviews and they are all great. But how many of the reviews we see are we going to act on? What Drives me to take the advice of this person writing this review?

Trust is one. I feel I have to know this person in some way, if not I feel like I am watching or reading an Ad.




Reality is the second. Is this a real person? Do they do the same things I do in my daily life?

Quality is the third. Is this just a passing phase? Or is this a normal part of their routine?

Image is the fourth. I'm not saying you have to be a size 0 and have perfect skin. What I am saying is, are you a all around person? or do you stick to one type of beauty look? (e.g Glam,Natural,etc..).

Layout is the fifth. Is your content and instruction if any easy to understand?

Communication is the sixth: I like the idea that I can ask a question and not just say, hey great post! or your so pretty!

I have made friends through my blog, some really smart and beautiful people and I am liking it. I really listen to what they have to say as opposed to Just running through it glancing at the pictures on my way down, just to get my link in the comments section.

What I am saying is, don't lose sight of why we are here. To share our thoughts, ideas and passion for beauty. Don't turn your passion into work, you will just end up hating it. If it brings in a few bucks awesome!
But even after that, Why make beauty ugly? Remember where you started and don't forget your foundation! (pun intended).

Okay, so there are just a few and as I go on with this I will add more so follow my blog to keep up with any updates I make. Please leave me some suggestions and I will give you full credit for the suggestion when I post it.

All I know is, this is how I personally feel about reviews I have seen or read.
Let me know what you guys think and if you would like to see more posts like this.

Thanks for reading!

Sunday

M.A.C Powder Blush!

Now I know this product has been around for a while, But is an oldie but a goody!

I use it as a contour shade and I love it! It adds just the right amount shade for contouring and looks very natural for everyday and its matte!

Goes on smooth and lite leaving just a hint of color.
its perfect for that quick everyday routine, leaving a flawless natural look to your face. Just Lovely!

Have you tried Prism as a contour? Do you use blush as a bronzer?

Saturday

I am not a label whore!

Now I want  this stated and noted " I am not a label whore". There I said it. I love my big name brand products don't get me wrong. But There are Products out there that you find for a lot cheaper.

Cheap doesn't mean its cheap. When I say the word cheap I feel like I am degrading the Product, so from now on I am going to try to say something else to describe a product that is not expensive.

I found these goodies at a local dollar store! And I am very proud of my find. I was there to buy a small trash holder for my vanity area. I find that with tissues, Q tips and pencil shavings my little one was not cutting it anymore.

As my 15 year old squidlet and I were walking through the aisles, I noticed a few Milani Products hanging from the display among other makeup products. So I picked out a few lip liners and some cute Rimmel of London eye shadows, Then my squidlet Found a bin full Milani single shadows. I was in heaven, there were so many most were broken of course, but I picked up the once that were in perfect condition, in every color of course!

Now for a dollar these were amazing the color pay off is great! I will admit the Light Pink from Milani did not go very well. I feel it is my skin tone that was the problem. I am olive toned but with a primer all is good.

They do have a bit of a sheen to them, but I don't mind. My favorite is this deep navy that I feel is perfect for fall.

The Liners are amazing, creamy and they go on so smooth I am in love.
The E.L.F Shimmering facial whip has a big pay off and is perfect for highlighting.
The Rimmel products are so cute the packaging and the imprint on the powder are adorable that I almost don't want to ruin it!


Rimmel of London swatches

Precious Rose 140
Urban Green 120





Milani Swatches

Garden Mist 02
Evening Sky 19A
Flare 04
Illusion 03
Heavenly Pink 20A





Milani Lip Pencil Swatches

Berry Charming
Mocha Splash
Red Velvet

Okay, this is my Rimmel, Milani and Elf haul. Even though they are very affordable I love them and they make me happy! So happy I found them :). 

What word would you use to describe more cost efficient products?

Let me know what you guys think! Have a Great and Wonderful day :).