Green Lantern Inspired Makeup Tutorial. Who's feeling like a superhero?

So, who's excited about the Green Lantern this weekend? ME! I'm feeling festive as usual, so I decided to do a makeup look inspired by the movie. I didn't think the female lead had anything different as far as makeup to emmulate, so I took from the picture of Ryan Reynolds below. His mask is green but the immediate area surrounding his eyes is black. So, I did a black smoky eye with green shadows placed over the black. I also had to incorporate glitter, because, If I were a superhero, you'd be assured I'd be loaded with glitter. So, I did add some gold glitter to the black in the look.

I used mostly higher end products, namely: MAC and Urban Decay but also used other affordable products like physician's formula and NYX. There are great drugstore/lower end green shadows that can be used to produce this look. Essentially, all you need is a matte black shadow, green shadow, and liner. This is another video tutorial, so please bear with me on the videos. They are still new to me.

The above picture was used for inspiration

This is the finished look - eyes only.



Finished look - everything all together. Notice that the lips and cheeks are very muted due to the heavy eyes.

Thanks for reading/watching!

Products:

FACE

Covergirl natureluxe foundation in 'flax'

Glamoflauge concealer in 'light'

NYC color loose smooth skin powder in 'translucent'

Physician's formula bronze booster in 'light to medium'

physician's formula mineral glow pearls in 'translucent pearl'

EYES

Urban Decay primer potion

LASplash eyeshadow sealer/base

NYX Jumbo Pencils in 'rocky mountain green' and 'black bean'

MAC paint pot in 'bare study'

MAC eyeshadow in 'swimming'

Urban Decay eyeshadow in 'chronic'

NYX single eyeshadow in 'black'

LASplash diamond dust glitter in 'golden smoke'

Milani eyetech liquid liner in 'black'

Urban Decay 24/7 liner in 'zero'

physician's formula shimmer strips gel liner in 'hazel eyes' (bottom color used)

MAC's eyeshadow in 'lightfall'

LIPS

LUSH's sugar scrub in 'sweet lips'

l'oreal color riche lipstick in 'fairest nude'

MAC's lip gelee in 'fashion flower'

Sally Hanen Insta-Dri in Silver Sweep + Sally Hansen and OPI Crackle!

I love crackle polish!! I have crackle polishes from OPI, China Glaze, and now Sally Hansen and I love them all! This is a mini-review of the Sally hansen and OPI crackles as well as the sally hansen insta-dri line.
The picture below is of Sally Hansen's insta-dri in 'silver sweep' as a base. The sally hansen crackle in 'cherry smash' and the OPI crackle is in 'black shatter'. Of course, the OPI is the black top coat and the sally hansen is the red. You can see from the pictures that both shatter equally well. I applied both in a linear fashion.

Insta-Dri Review:
As for the base coat in silver, I have to say that I also love this polish!! It does what it says - it dries fast; which, I love. I paint my nails a couple times a week due to chipping and I love it when I have a good fast dry nail polish. I really love this color because it looks just like liquid metal on your nails. But I have to say that I love the whole insta-dri line. The brush for the polish is oversized, which makes it easier to apply the polish. Plus, they all go on in one or two coats max and look great. The color selection is great and they churn out new polishes pretty frequently. So, I cannot say enough good about the line. The downside of the insta dri line? Chipping. But, I find that it doesn't chip as fast as other fast dry polishes. The chipping curse seems to be very common to all fast dry polishes.

Crackle Review:

For me, I have loved all my shatter/crackle top coats pretty much equally. What matters when it comes to these topcoats, IMO, is the color selection and the crackle action. As far as color selection, china glaze is tops, followed by sally hansen with OPI bringing up the rear. China glaze has a line of regular colors (mint, white, pink, purple, etc....) and they are debuting a line of metallic crackles. Sally hansen has a line of a few shades which is comparable to the primary lines by china glaze and OPI. I do like that Sally Hansen is more accessible than the China Glaze and OPI and the line has both primary colors and metallics. OPI was the front runner in the shatter game with their black shatter coming out first, but have been slow to churn out more. Just recently, they did release more colors in the shatter line.

As for application, the sally hansen and OPI go on similarly and shatter quite easily with ease in applying it evenly. China Glaze is a little thicker with less cracks in the average size coat. To make the china glaze crack more, you have to apply it thinner than the competitors. But, overall, I love them all and would recommend them all. The one thing sally hansen has over the rest is that it can be bought wherever sally hansen is sold (drugstores, major retailers), while the China Glaze and OPI have to be bought at Ulta or salon supply stores. For me this isn't an issue, but it may be for others.

I definitely recommend the crackle, as well as the sally hansen insta-dri. The two together make for a really fun manicure. I will be trying the metallic crackles by china glaze soon and will probably post on those as well.

MAC Bare study dupe found!! Covergirl intense shadow blast review.

I have found a dupe of one of my favorite MAC products ever. Let me first say that I love MAC's bare study paint pot because it is gorgeous and ever so versatile. I use this product pretty much every day. It makes a great eyeshadow base in general and works great as an all over with neutral looks. It just looks good with anything. So, of course, I would recommend the MAC point pot in bare study to anyone....I just love it.
But, for those of you on a budget or those that don't have easy access to a MAC counter/store, I have found a great dupe. Cover girl has a new line of cream shadows called Intense Shadow Blasts. I picked up one in 'beige blaze' (typo: i used the wrong terminology on the swatch pictures - it is beige blaze, not blast) and found that it is pretty spot on for bare study. It applies a little lighter than bare study. I would describe the texture as like that of a mousse. Bare study is more of a sturdy cream. You can see from the swatch below that bare study has a more pink base to it and applies more evenly without blending. Otherwise, it would be extremely hard to tell them apart (especially on the lids). The two swatches below were taken without flash in different lighting (natural vs. artificial).

You can see from the picture below, that the color in the packaging is very similar as well.

Let me talk about some other aspects of the packaging. It uses a doe foot type applicator so it's not as hygienic for multiple uses as the bare study (but, I would guess most people purchasing the covergirl are just using it for themselves only). And, I could foresee a problem getting every last drop of product out of the covergirl as the doe foot will have trouble reaching all areas of the tube.

The CoverGirl states that there is a primer built in and that it won't crease. I can't attest to the strength of the product alone as I always wear a primer under every cream shadow, the MAC paint pot included. However, with my E.L.F. primer, the cover girl did not crease through a whole days wear! And, without saying, neither does the MAC. It applies well, blends easily, and stays on. It also works well under powder shadows - it doesn't make them more difficult to apply or blend as some creams do.

Bottom line: I really enjoy these new cover girl shadows. Make sure you get the new product and not the old smoky shadow blast sticks (as they were pretty terrible) - it would be easy to get confused with the similar names. Look for the packaging pictured above. I like these shadows so much, I already have a total of 3 out of the 6 colors offered. I think they are a great, inexpensive, cream shadow that look great on the lids. I also think this is a good alternative for those that don't have access to MAC and would like to get their hands on Bare Study. Let me know if you have any questions or would like to see more of this line!

Emma Frost (January Jones) Makeup Tutorial as inspired by X Men First Class

I love movies and I love makeup. I am combining the two loves into one by emulating the looks I see in the movies. I do this often at home but would like to share what I do.

After seeing X Men First Class this weekend, I knew that Emma Frost was the character I wanted to model first. She wears frosty, diamond like glitter in the movie. This fits her well since she can transform into a diamond form. I also love glitter so this was very fun for me.


I decided to go in a different direction with this tutorial. I filmed myself applying the makeup on myself this morning, using a picture (posted below) as inspiration. I thought it may be more helpful to the vast majority of you to actually see me applying the makeup. Please let me know if the video route is better than the regular posts I've done in the past. Since I don't like the sound of my own voice (and neither does my flip video), they will be silent or with a music background.

I understand that the music I've chosen for the video doesn't have anything to do with X Men but it's what I have in my collection and what I enjoy listening to (Green Day and Three Days Grace today).

I have the finished product pictures below as well as the product listing. This look is, in my opinion, a modern version of 1960's-esque makeup and really wearable as far as glitter goes. You could always omit the glitter and replace it with a shimmery shade which would be more appropriate for work or school. As always, you don't have to use the same products I have. As long as the shades are similar, it should still work.

Oh, and I'm very new to the video game. So please forgive some patchy editing as well as not getting into the viewfinder appropriately at times.

The video.......

The pictures.......

This is a picture of Emma Frost from the movie

Above are just the eyes.


Finished look above and below

Product Listing:

Eyes: E.L.F. eyeshadow primer, Bare Minerals High Shine Eyecolor in 'Ice', Wet N Wild comfort zone palette (2 shades), LA Splash Sealer/base, LA Splash Crystallized glitter in 'fuse', MAC's 'Phloof', Physician's Formula shimmer strips gel liner for 'hazel eyes' - black color used, maybelline volum' express one by one mascara in black, maybelline lash stiletto mascara in black

Face: Revlon colorstay foundation in 'buff', NYC color powder in 'translucent', physician's formula Happy Booster bronzer in 'light bronzer', MAC mineralize blush in 'giggly' (limited edition).

Lips: Cover girl lip perfection lipstick in 'sweetheart', nyx's mega shine lipgloss in 'sugar pie'

Retailers for the brands above:

Wet N' Wild - drugstores, Wal-Mart

Cover Girl - drugstores, Wal-Mart, Target, Ulta

MAC - MAC counters and PRO stores

Physician's Formula - drugstores, Target, Ulta

NYX - Ulta, http://www.cherryculture.com/

Revlon - drugstores, Wal-Mart, Target, Ulta

LA Splash - Ulta, http://www.cherryculture.com/

NYC color - drugstores (rite aid), Target

Bare Minerals - Ulta, Sephora, Bare Minerals Botiques, http://www.bareescentuals.com/

E.L.F. - Target, Kmart, http://www.eyeslipsface.com/

Maybelline - drugstores, Wal-Mart, Target

Half Moon Manicure with Essie + How to

So, I don't know about everyone else, but I am loving the new half moon manicure trend. But, if you're like me, you want to know how to do it yourself. Well, I've tried two different techniques to do this. The first is the free hand technique with a nail brush. This is where you place the light coat on your nails first and then dip a small nail art brush (or small acrylic brush) into the darker color to draw the moons. Then you use the rest of the darker color to fill in. This is difficult for me despite my ability to use my left hand pretty well. So, what to do?

I found via youtube that another technique is to use binder reinforcements to create the moon shape and paint over it as a guide. That, my friends, is what I did here. However, I found that it's easier to cut the binder reinforcements in half to make it easier to stick them to your nails.

So, this is what you do:
1. Paint nails all over with a base color. I prefer to make this a light color since you're going to be going over it later. This is the color of the 'moons'.

2. place the reinforcements on, one hand at a time, and paint over in your top color. I would advise that these colors have good contrast to make it stand out more.

3. remove reinforcements and add a top coat. done!

Below is my finished product. I have Essie's 'imported bubbly' on the bottom and essie's 'coat azure' on the top.

Sorry for the blurry pic below, but it's a good close up of the moons.

Organix Ever Straight Brazilian Keratin Therapy Review

Another beauty product review! Yay!

So, Keratin therapy is really 'in' right now. Keratin treatments at the salon are very pricey though and everyone's looking for something that will give semi-permanent straightening at home. I personally have tried a pricier keratin product that I did enjoy so when this went BOGO at rite aid, I decided to try it. I've only used the product once thus far, but I'll give you my first impressions.

I also want to point out that I have naturally straight hair. I use the keratin products for extra managability in straightening my hair. (it's naturally straight, but I still have to blow dry and/or straight iron to get it totally straight)

In Shower Experience: I LOVE the way this stuff smells! It smells like pina colada-ish suntan lotion. I don't know if I"m alone here, but I love the smell of Hawaiian tropic esque lotion.
The one thing I noticed in-shower was that it was lacking in lather. You really have to add extra water to this to get a good later. And, if you're like me, you figure the more lather, the more clean your hair is getting. So, this was a bit unsettling. After I did get a lather worked up and rinsed the product, I noticed that my hair felt dry and tangly. Thank goodness I bought the conditioner too! However, from what I understand, the drying/lack of lather problem is common to sulfate free shampoos/conditioners. This product is sulfate free which is great for us color treated folks......so, I do appreciate that.
The conditioner goes on and it does make my hair feel smoother in the shower, so I'm greatly relieved.

Out of Shower experience:
So, my hair was more difficult to brush through due to it being a bit more tangly and drier, but I was able to work through this without much difficulty. The perk to the shampoo being a bit drying is that your hair dries faster than it does with more moisturizing brands, so this is good for me.
During styling, I did notice my hair was easier to blow dry straight and it needed less flat ironing. When I was done, my hair was perfectly straight, so I was pleased. I'm working on day two hair now and it's still straight, so it did a good job in this department.
There is a styling product that goes with this line that I didn't purchase. The bottle claims that you get better results when you use that product. I can't speak for that but would be interested in hearing from any of you who did purchase the styling product.

Bottom line: I enjoy the smell of the product and the way it makes my hair more manageable and straight. Does this work miracles to straighten hair? Nah......but it does make it more easy to style/straighten. I'd be interested to hear from you curly haired girls and let me know how this worked for you. Would I repurchase? Yes - I'm always looking for shampoos that will preserve my color and the sulfate free options here are great for me.

Next, I'm going to try the Moroccan argan oil products in the organix line. I'll let you know how those fare as well.

MAC Starviolet look

Thought I'd grace you with another look. I'm trying to use different colors to create a variety of looks. So, I dipped into my MAC palette and found some shades I had yet to use. I decided to do something with pink and teal. The camera didn't pick up the teal like I wanted it too but it's there.

How to do it:
1. Eyeshadow/Brows: Urban decay primer potion all over, MAC paint pot in 'fresco rose' to the lid. MAC's 'pink venus' to the inner eye lid and MAC's 'star violet' to the outer lid. MAC's 'plumage' to the crease and blended. Hightlight to the brow bone is MAC's 'lightfall'. Finally, MAC's 'carbon' to the outer 'V'. I also applied a little bit of MAC's 'phloof!' to the tear duct area.
MAC's 'espresso' goes on the brows with a liner brush to define.

2. Eye Liner/Lashes: The top lashline gets a black, gel eyeliner. I don't have MAC's 'blacktrack' so I used maybelline's gel liner in 'blackest black'. I applied MAC's 'carbon' on top of the gel to set it and smoke it out a bit. Physician's formula shimmer strips pencil liner (the purple one) goes on to the waterline and L'oreal's HIP color chome eyeliner in 'black shock' to the actual lashline, again, with carbon applied on top with a liner brush for some smoke and depth. My eyelashes are culed and then I apply both a volumizing and lengthening mascara to the top and the lengthening mascara solo to the bottom.

3. Face: Revlon photoread foundation in 'vanilla', Revlon's photoready concealer in 'fair', and Revlon's photoready translucent powder to finsih.

4. Blush: I used 'giggly' by MAC to the cheeckbones and contoured with Too Faced's 'sunbunny' to the hollows. I blended all this out with a bronzer brush.

5. Lips: MAC 'mile' lipstick + MAC's lip gelee in 'Fashion flower'

I do want to note for anyone interested, that the Fashion Flower colors I used are out with the current collection and are most likely limited editions. Freso Rose paintpot isn't permanent from what I understand but all other shadows I used should be permanent.