TIFFANY + MOODY MINIMAL PORTRAITS BY SARAH VALENCIA

When someone asks me to do their makeup, I get pretty ecstatic. When my friend and model asks me to do sultry makeup for a shoot, well it is Christmas for me. Tiffany Jules is, as I said, a good friend and model. She is always hitting me up to do her makeup and lucky for her I enjoy it. She came to me with an idea to do something a little darker. Wanted to focus on her eyes. I was down to create whatever she needed. Her photographer, Sarah Valencia Photography, was wanting to push the edge with Tiffany's body and focus on looking deeper inside her soul. I don't need much of an introduction of the shoot, but you can check out the complete work here. Also here I will list all the products used for this shoot:

-Nars Sheer Matte Foundation
-Maybelline New York Fit Me! Shine Free Foundation
-NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer
-Nyx Born To Glow Liquid Illuminator
-Coty Airspun Translucent Extra Coverage Loose FacePowder
-Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette
-Nyx Tame & Frame Tinted Brow Pomade
-OFRA Universal Eyebrow Pencil
-Thank Me Later Eye Shadow Primer Cruelty Free By Elizabeth Mott
-Urban Decay Naked Smoky Eyeshadow Palette
-City Color Highlight Trio
-Illamasqua Precision Ink Eyeliner
-Benefit Cosmetics Roller Lash Curling & Lifting Mascara
-Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl Waterproof Eyeliner
-Mario Badescu Facial Spray With Aloe Herbs And Rosewater

TIFFANY + ETHEREAL AFTERNOON BY SARAH VALENCIA PHOTOGRAPHY

So my adventures of make-up have enlightened recently thanks to Sarah Valencia Photography. My good friend and model, Tiffany Jules, asked me to do her make-up for a photo shoot. This was not out of the normal for her due to the fact that I did Tiffany's hair and make-up for her quite often; dinner parties, afternoon photography sessions, date nights and whatever else sparked her to get pampered. She has been featured in ads that dealt with Coca-Cola, Transitions Photography, Herlife, AMC Theaters and much more. I always enjoy doing her make-up not only is she a regular and familiar canvas of mine but super professional. One thing any make-up artist can tell you is that when a models knows how to turn their head correctly or blink their eyes just right it makes a world of a difference. Finishing my gloat on Tiffany I can move onto Sarah, I have had the pleasure of working with twice now. Her work is raw, organic and simply beautiful. I love how she captures not just the subject(s) but the light around them. She took photography to a different level and is not afraid to push the limits. Here are some of the most recent photos of Tiffany. Hair and Make-up done by me and for this specific look we went for something fresh and light, capturing Tiffany's natural beauty. For this shoot these are some of the products I used:

• Kat Von D Lock it Foundation
• NYX Cosmetics Dark Circle Concealer 
• Coty Airspun Translucent Extra Coverage Loose Face Powder
• Wet N Wild Countouring Palette
• Ben Nye Banana Luxury Face Powder 
• BECCA Becca x Jaclyn Hill Champagne Collection Shimmering Skin Perfector - Champagne Pop
• OFRA Universal Eyebrow Pencil
• Peek Beauty Expresso Natural Stain Brow Powder
• L'Oreal Paris Voluminous Butterfly Sculpt Mascara
• Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil, Stash
  
  
  
  

To Bake or not to bake, is that even a question?

To Bake or not to bake, is that even a question?

So I have come across the baking thing, now I know this is not new to a lot of folks out there, but if it is let me key you in on it. The idea behind "baking" you face has actually been around a long time, now it all started supposedly with all the Drag Queens or Drag Divas but just as who invented post it's (was it really Romy and Michele?) the world may never know. What baking means is setting your make up such as concealer or foundation with a translucent powder and letting a lot of powder sit on your face for about 5 to 10 minutes. What this does is allows the foundation or concealer heat up, thus the term "cooking, and this helps set the makeup and then you dust off the excess. Well I was blessed with beautiful dark circles or under eyes so just like my mother and sister I get to glob on the concealers under my eyes and.....and I am also lucky enough to have adult acne after I had my two beautiful daughters...love them. So for me I bake my under eyes, chin (greasy) and my acne spots. 

Here is my routine, I apply my foundation, now using the real techniques sponge, then apply my concealers and then I take my beauty blender and coat it in my translucent powder and pat away on my face until there is a heaping coat of powder and I actually look like Powder.... see ref....

Powder is a 1995 American fantasy drama film written and directed by Victor Salva and starring Sean Patrick Flanery in the titular role,

While I let this powder sit I usually do my eye make up, start my contour or even my hair. When it has been about 10 minutes I take a small fluffy brush and some of my Hourglass ambient lighting pallete and sweep some of that product over the translucent powder that had been sitting. Because the Hourglass powder is milled so fine I think this helps give a flawless finish. I have been doing this routine for about 4 months and I am honestly surprise on two things, one, how soft my undereyes appear and two, how it does hold up longer. Now I do think that some make up tricks are flops, but this is a defiant WIN!!!!

I think another reason why this works do great is the Coty airspun translucent powder, once I found this, I saluted however introduced me to this, it is the best....best....best...I think I have a slight obsession with it. But all is fair in makeup and war. SO this bring me to the end of this chapter, no to bake or no to bake,,,,ummm yes!

Poor Little Makeup Girl 

 

My scheming black head removal mask

So I found a you tuber, suzi styles - https://youtu.be/oSaAJj4QiiI, and she had posted a video for a blackhead removal mask. The brand was My Scheming. Her video was great and it looked like it worked great so ordered off amazon; thank goodness for prime! Well last night it arrived and I tried it out, according to her directions and the results were not so great, I mean I could see maybe 1 or two black heads....maybe but nothing more than a simple bore head strip. I watched her review a few times and didn't think much different. I did notice that she used step one for a long time an prior to she said she steamed her face for a long time, which I kind of did. So I decided I am going to give it another shot. But we will see maybe another video or just a blog for the next one. I had such big expectations for it. Until next time
Poor little makeup girl

Influenster

Welcoming as my first post was I decided it was time to get to the nitty gritty. One of my favorite social media platforms is Influenster. I have been a member of influenster for about 2 years. If you are unsure of what it is, influenster is a research/blog/review site and the more you do the more you get to review, it is simple. Influenster sends me products from laundry detergent to lipstick and I review and share on my social media. I receive all these products complimentary to test and/or review from influenster. Currently I and my husband are testing out the Dove Dry Spray, mine; the cool essentials dry spray antiperspirant, his; Dove Men + Care Extra fresh spray. Lets starts off with mine.


Dove Cool Essentials Dry Sprays Antiperspirant

The claim to fame is that it goes on dry instantly and delivers 48 hours of odor and wetness protection with Dove's unique 1/4 moisturizers for softer, smoother underarms. Yet you get to enjoy the delightful scent of cucumber and green tea. Now I am kind of a sweaty girl. I wear scrubs all day and work hard so after about 4 hours of work I start to sweat unless I wear good deodorant. My typical go to is Old Spice in timber scent, I know, I know, men's deodorant..... weird, but I don't always want floral smell and armpit smell mixed together in my underarms and honestly it works the best and smells of pine and Christmas..... no complaints from my husband. Well back on try. I t does smell good and worked okay. It smelled clean and fresh and the first 3 days I only wore this, but at about the 7 hour mark I could feel myself sweating. Then I found out how I loved this. Sometimes on my lunch break I work out and cannot shower (sorry patients) but this makes me smelt and feel fresh, I spray it everywhere....I mean everywhere. Honestly this worked great, I asked my friends, close friends how I smelt after my work out and they said great. So I give this a 3.5 out of 5 stars, will I but again? Yes but mainly for the reason for after my work outs. I also spray it all over after the shower and in between the tight to prevent chafing. It comes in a few different scents too!

Next up is the Dove Men + Care Dry Spray, they come in 3 different scents or types, but we were sent the Extra Fresh. The claim to fame is about the same but I will copy and paste from the dove.com website. Stay dry with 48-hour odor and wetness protection. Featuring a clinically proven non-irritant formula with a fresh ad invigorating scent, Dove Men + Care Extra Fresh Dry Spray antiperspirant/deodorant is tough on sweat, not on skin. While the hubs normally wears either Brut spray deodorant or old spice pure sport, he really liked this, thought it was nice, felt worked and worked out. He didn't like the size, compared to normal, spray deodorants the can is very small. He didn't do as directed and used his normal deodorant with this, they never listen. But overall he gave it a 4 out of 5 but said he would not repurchase because it was too small for the price, which averages about $5.69 for 3.8oz. I thought the price was good, but who knows.





Welcome to......well me and makeup

Thinking of what to write for my very first blog is intense. I feel as if I must make a dramatic entrance, like the openings credits of Mary Poppins where Julie Andrews graciously sits atop a cloud and applies her makeup and then in a very lady-like manner then floats down from the clouds. Well my entrance will be a little less graceful, but just dramatic.... hopefully.

I guess that in the back of my mind I always knew I wanted to do something with a blog, laying my thoughts down on paper... or my tablet, felt right. But the question was what I would write about. I sat a thought of my life in a nut shell, all the wonderful things I was blessed to have, my kids, my husband, my job and all the other normal wonderful things in my life that would be great to write about. In the back of my mind I was wanting to scream my dirty little secret....I love it, I love it all; Makeup, skin care, makeup, hair care, lotions, makeup, hair tools and did I say makeup. I don't care where I get it or how, ipsy, CVS, walgreen, Sephora, Ulta, Wal-Mart, doesn't matter I love to try and hop for it. Now I have a big wish list of the things I want...I mean need but come on, I am part of a family of four and if I didn't have two daughters with college funds to save for I would buy and charge it all. The fact that my husband would wring my neck if I purchased  Caviar-Rich Foundation and Concealer 

for theprice tag of $215. That is right, I'll say it slow.... two hundred and fifteen dollars. Not monopoly money, real us currency. My recent foundation I just purchased was $16.99 from physicians formula and I proud about my $5 cvs bucks I used to buy it.

Poor Little Makeup Girl