My makeup collection!

Sunday, August 23, 2009
Initiation Ceremony/reality check/collection post?
I had trouble deciding what the title of this post should be. It’s basically an assemblage of all three I suppose. I read/heard somewhere that a collection post is the rite of passage for every makeup junkie guru. I however was reluctant to do a collection post because it would further cement my pathological addiction to collecting essentially 489108732658113 different of shades of pink. Seriously, how many shades of pink lipstick does a girl need?
I don’t like to call myself a makeup junkie. Junkie has such a negative connotation. I like to think of myself as an enthusiast, a makeup visionary or fanatic. It sounds better right? Call me any of those things but junkie I am not.
Bottom line: this post had a lot of psychological effects on me. It forced me to count everything in my collection and publicly admit to how bad awesome it is. I am proud of my collection.

Lipstick drawer (the heaviest of the lot)

32 MAC lipsticks, 3 Yves Saint Laurent, 1 NARS, 4 Urban Decay, 7 NYX, 13 other random brands

MAC palettes

39 lipglosses

3 MAC palettes



2 Make Up For Ever palettes



NARS

Urban Decay, Stila, Cargo palettes


Blush drawer!


MAC blushes

NARS, Chanel, Lancome blushes/bronzer

MAC Mineralize Skinfinish, MAC bronzers, MAC beauty powders & MAC Sculpt & Shape

Clinique has its own drawer

Random eye shadow pots: MUFE, MAC, NYX, Stila, H.I.P., Urban Decay

eyeliners, NYX Jumbo Pencils, MAC Shadesticks, lip pencils

MAC pigments, MAC Solar Bits, MAC Paint Pots, UDPP, cream liners

Make-up Art Cosmetics Collection

Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009
Today the Make-up Art Cosmetics Collection launched in the US. I showed a little self control and I only bought 3 items! :throws confetti: I had a bunch of B2M pots so I was able to get 2 additional lipsticks from the collection.

L to R: Front Lit, High Strung, Full Body

Front Lit is a light white yellow frost.

High Strung is a deep pink silver frost.

Full Body is a deep red plum lustre.

I normally only stick to nudes & pinks but dark vampy lips will be the fall trend so I've been venturing out of my comfort zone and experimenting with berry stains & darker lipsticks. Surprisingly, I don't hate it.

I picked up two Technakohl Liners in Artistic License (bright turquoise blue) and Colour Matters (bright lime).

I'm loving my new thigh-high boots. Over the knee boots are totally in this fall. I can't wait for it to get cold out so I can rock these with grey leggings & a black off the shoulder top. Hawtness. Also, in the pic I'm wearing Full Body on my lips.

Are you planning on hauling anything from the collection?

xoxo

Back 2 MAC!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009
MAC has an amazing recycling program called Back 2 MAC (B2M). Basically if you return 6 MAC packaging containers to a MAC store you will receive a free lipstick/eyeshadow/lipglass of your choice! If you return them to a MAC counter you will receive a free lipstick. I wish there were more cosmetic brands that did something like this. It's great for the environment & great on your pocketbook. :)

Two weekends ago I bought an empty palette so I could depot 15 eyeshadows. I recruited my husband to do a demonstration on depotting so I could take the pictures. ;)
Here's a little how-to on how to depot MAC shadows.
Warning: this post is very pic heavy!


You will need the following:
MAC eyeshadows
Isopropyl Alcohol
a small dish for the alcohol
wire cutters
a small knife (if you are under 18 please only do this with adult supervision)
magnetic strips with adhesive backing (you can find this at any craft store)
an empty MAC eyeshadow palette
round adhesive labels
paper towels
First you will place your knife in the lip on the side of the eyeshadow case shown above. Twist your knife around and it should pop right out.

This is what it will look like after you've popped it out of the packaging.

Next with your wire cutters cut into the black plastic on one side of the lip. Then make another cut a few inches away from the first cut.

Next hold that piece of plastic (in between the two incisions you made) with your wire cutters and pry the plastic piece back to expose the metal eyeshadow pan.

Dip your knife into the alcohol and slide the tip of your knife in between the metal pan & the black plastic packaging.

Let the alcohol drip in between the metal pan & plastic. Just a few drops of alcohol will dissolve the glue that holds them together.

Wait a few seconds for the alcohol to dissolve the glue then slide your knife under the metal pan. Jiggle your knife around until you can pry the metal pan out. You can use a paper towel dipped in a little bit of alcohol to clean off the glue residue from the backside of the metal pan. Cut a small piece of adhesive magnet & stick the adhesive side to the metal pan. You can use the round labels to print the name of the eyeshadow then stick the label to the magnet. Now you're ready to place your eyeshadows into your empty palette!

These are the empty pots I will be taking to the MAC counter in exchange for my free lippies! :)

I didn't have any round labels on hand so I printed the names and stuck them to the lid of the palette. Eventually I'll get around to buying round labels.

I hope you enjoyed this quick how-to depot demo! Happy hump day everyone! The weekend is almost here! *.~

ETA: there are a few freestanding MAC stores that do not accept the eyeshadow packaging without the metal pan. I suggest checking with your local MAC store/counter before you try to B2M. My local MAC counter at Macy's does accept the eyeshadow pots without the metal pan. Yay! :)

Updated! Fill up your cart at Sephora & score a free palette!

This morning I saw this post on Sephora's Blog and I had to share this with you lovelies. It's a promo for Make Up For Ever. If you purchase 3 of their eyeshadows, diamond eyeshadows or blushes you will get a MUFE refillable 10-pan palette! This is seriously an awesome deal because the palette itself is $20. The eyeshadows & blushes are really easy to pop out of the packaging so you can add them to your palettes. I will definitely be taking advantage of this promo.

Happy shopping, loves! xoxo

Aug. 14

ETA: A reader informed me that this promo blogpost on Sephora's blog is no longer there. I'm not sure how long this promo will be in effect since it doesn't mention in the ad above however I used the code yesterday and it worked. I hope you get the chance to take advange of it! :cross fingers:

My Life According to No Doubt

I had so much fun doing this tag on Facebook that I decided to do it here on my blog except this time I did it with No Doubt. The post on Facebook had Tori Amos songs. I'm tagging everyone so if you post this in your blog please include your link in the comments below because I enjoy reading everyone's answers! :) Just copy and paste everything below and change my answers to yours.

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 20 people including me. You can't use the band I used. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think! Re-post as "My Life According to ____________" If I tag you, it's because I am intrigued by your taste in music or because I know that you have plenty of free time to fill these out, or because you tagged me :)

Pick Your Artist: No Doubt
Are you a male or female? Just a Girl
Describe yourself: In My Head
How do you feel: Hella Good
Describe where you currently live: Greener Pastures
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Home Now
Your favorite form of transportation: Sailin' On
Your best friend is: A Little Something Refreshing
Your favorite color is: Blue in the Face
What's the weather like: Paradise (unreleased)
Favorite time of day: Sunday Morning
If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: Beauty Contest
What is life to you: Simple Kind of Life
Your current relationship: A Real Love Survives
Looking for: Big Distraction
Wouldn't mind: Leftovers
Your fear: Snakes
What is the best advice you have to give: Magic's in the Makeup :) :)
If you could change your name, you would change it to: Paulina
Thought for the Day: You Can Do It
How/when I would like to die: Too Late
My motto: That's Just Me

Lust list

What a day! Twitter was down this morning for about 4 hours which means I would've been better off staying in bed all day since nothing else matters jk jk *.~
After reading emails, looking at friend's pictures on Facebook & refreshing Twitter a hundred times I was finally able to catch up on blogger. Every time I read posts from the beauty bloggers I follow I have a post-it note as long as my forearm of things I lust after.

Here are a few items on my lust list.

A new digicam. I'm not sure which model I want yet. I'll need to do more research but I think I'd like something in the Nikon Coolpix range. 12.0+ mpx is preferred. (my strong argument point for the hubz will be "I need a good digicam to pick up all the adorable moments our future kids have as babies!")

Japanese cosmetics: Shiseido Majolica Majorca, Lunasol by Kanebo & Shu Uemura are the three brands I'm lusting to try. Their products look so fab. x3

A subscription to Japanese fashion magazines. The magazines I'm interested in are harajuku, kawaii, & manga type fashion mags. The fashion world in Japan is completely different and I love flipping through pictures for inspiration. Here are a few magazine scans from Eki's blog. Check it out. She's so cute!

So what are you pining after?

Click on the pics to make them bigger. xoxo!

Birthday look

Hello beauties! I've decided to do a birthday look inspired by August's birthstone Peridot. Most of the products I used are by Make Up For Ever. MUFE's shadows are highly pigmented and are super easy to blend.

First I primed my lid with NYX's Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Milk. I applied a thin layer with my ring finger to my lid up to the crease.
Next I took my MAC 242 eyeshadow brush and loaded it with MUFE 304 Diamond Lime.

I applied Diamond Lime to the tearduct and 1/3 of the inner corner.

Next I used MUFE 93 Irish Green

I applied Irish Green to the middle section of my lid. Blend the Irish Green & Diamond Lime together so there aren't any harsh lines. Leave the outer 1/3 of the lid bare.

Then I used the other side of my 242 brush to grab MUFE 168 Iridescent Lagoon Green

I applied this darker shimmery green to the outer 1/3 of my lid and into the crease. Don't forget to blend people!

Blend the darker green into the crease

With a pencil brush (MAC 219) I used MUFE 167 Iridescent True Blue to darken the crease. I also used this blue on the lower lash line.

Next with a fluffy brush I used MAC's Vanilla for highlight.

Apply eyeliner to upper/lower lash lines, add mascara and you're done!

What kind of eye looks would you like to see? If you have any requests please leave them in the comments below. :) Ciao for now lovelies!

xoxo,

J