Blog Sale - Beauty Items for Extremely Cheap (more than 50% off brand new in box Items)

Milani Color Statement Lipsticks, Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Hazel Eyes, Burt's Bees 100% Natural Lip Shine

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to do a quick post informing you of my blog sale. I'm trying to get rid of some excess stuff I have that is brand new and I'm doing so at the MUABS (Makeup Addict Blog Sale) website. Check out the stuff that I have for sale, you may be interested... it's an awesome deal... you can get everything for 50% off or cheaper than you would ever find it elsewhere!

Here are just some of the items I have for sale right now (I'll be updating these all the time, I still have a ton more stuff, don't worry!)

Maybelline Color Tattoo Leathers

L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara + Starlooks Amethyst Eye Pencil

Physicians Formula Concealers, Blush and Bronzing Stones

Assorted Nail Polishes

Perfume, Pacifica Body Butter, Nail Treatments & Skin Treatments

Hope you're all having a wonderful day!
- Alex

Sneak Peek: Maybelline Fall Matte Color Tattoo Collection (2014)

Photo from Beautezine's instagram: http://www.intagme.com/beautezine/734219344452265565_8519872/

There was a sneak peek of the new line of Maybelline Color Tattoos coming out this fall and they're all matte, folks! Yep, Maybelline is doing it again by releasing these colors in a totally matte formulation. I'm super excited, the colors are very fall-esque, with what appears to be dark maroon, brown, copper, black and a plum leaning gray.

I can't wait until we have more info on these but I just wanted to give you all a quick heads up, I know I got super giddy when I found out!

The Foundations of Foundation: The Basics of a Healthy-looking face

Want to know how to make your complexion perfect? Let's delve into the world of foundation to even out your skin-tone and cover up any blemishes or unevenness that we all suffer from. Nobody is blessed with absolutely flawless skin, so don't feel bad about having to use one product or another to enhance your appearance because most women, and many men, do.

Remember when testing products out on your skin, do not apply them to the back of your hand because the skin there is a different saturation level altogether than the skin on your face, so look in a mirror and apply the tester-color to your neck. This is also a good way to see if your skin will have any allergic reaction to the product since the skin on your neck is very sensitive. A great makeup application is one that looks as natural as your own skin, so when looking for your ideal foundation or concealer, purchase something that best resembles your own skin.

When it comes to price-point, I'm not one to encourage the purchasing of expensive foundation products because, let's face it, they all contain harmful chemicals in similar amounts. So, if you're going to burn through a lot of product, you should opt for the drugstore brands rather than the expensive designer stuff. I personally have been very satisfied with the performance of L'Oreal's liquid foundation in the 'Visible Lift' and 'Infallible' line, as well as Maybelline's 'Match Perfection'. The positive note about these drugstore brands is that they are also at least SPF 15 so you get that little bit of protection that your skin needs from the sun's harmful rays (yes, even in the winter). If you have a choice of which kind of bottle to buy your liquid foundation in, go for the one with a handy pump because it keeps bacteria out of your product and is the most hygienic of the bunch. 

If you're looking for a bit of a sun-kissed look, then opt for a foundation that has a little bit of a tint or go a shade darker than your skin naturally is. Always apply your foundation with either a sponge (which you should replace weekly at the latest) or a foundation brush (which should be washed regularly). All foundation brushes have the same bristle shape because it is ideal for applying your foundation to your skin. You will want a synthetic brush so the bristles do not get ruined from oil-based foundations and they are also easier to clean because the product will not penetrate the bristles, it will stay on top of them. If the brush does not absorb your product, you will also be using less product overall, thus creating less waste.

Coverage

There are various finishes and types of coverage when it comes to foundation products. Usually the terms refer to the opacity of the product, or basically how much it will cover up your own skin. Sheer coverage is very transparent and will not hide your pimples and problem-areas but it will do a fairly decent job of evening out your skin-tone if that is all you're looking for (though, I would say that most of us need more coverage). Light coverage is basically the same except that it will cover very small colored-spots on your skin, such as freckles. Medium coverage is higher up on the scale and can cover blotchiness, discolorations, freckles, and some scarring (something that falls into this category would be a tinted moisturizer). Full coverage foundation, the kind most people probably are using at the moment, is very opaque and will cover anything you need it to camouflage. It is important that when you apply full coverage foundation, you do so very carefully, making sure to use a brush or sponge to blend the color all the way up into your hairline and under your chin, down to your neck. Otherwise, others will be able to see a visible difference in color and consistency between your skin and the foundation (even if you've chosen the perfect shade for you).

Choosing a shade

Sometimes it's hard to tell exactly what skin-tone we are, because much of it depends on which light we're looking at ourselves under. It is also important to realize that it is a complete misconception which says fair skin is cool-toned and dark skin is equivalent to warm-tones. This is not always the case as you will come to realize. Your shade can either be cool or warm, and within each of those categories there are sub-categories of light, medium, and dark. 

Cool-toned light and medium skin has a pinkish cast and the inner wrist of the person contains more blue than dark veins. These individuals are highly likely to burn in the sun very easily. The darker shades in the cool-tone range have a blueish cast to their skin, have more blue than green veins, and can also burn easily. Warm-toned skin that falls in the range of fair to medium has a greenish cast and these people have more green veins than blue veins on their inner wrist (the exact opposite of those with cool-shade skin). This group is more likely to tan in the sun rather than burn easily. Dark warm-toned skin has a chocolate tone and shares all the same qualities with their fairer skinned group. 

Make sure you know which category your skin fits into when you are purchasing your cosmetics. If you see 'NC' or 'NW' on cosmetic-codes (MAC uses these codes religiously in their concealers and foundations) know that it refers to 'neutral cool' and 'neutral warm' skin tones. You should stick to the one which best represents your skin tone for a flawless match. Some people can fall right in between, and in this case either of the shades will work for you.

Types of foundation

The types of foundation are classified according to their chemical base. Oil-based foundation is probably the oldest of the bunch, it has been around for a very long time, and the base is usually a waxy consistency or similar to petroleum. It provides the most coverage of all but easily smears and is really not practical to be using on a daily basis. 

Alcohol-based foundation is a specialty product because it is made for people with problem-skin. It reduces the chance for the makeup to clog your pores, it is a difficult application using cotton pads and usually has 'pore minimizer' in the name, providing only very sheer coverage. 

Powder or talc-based foundations are usually brushed on from a compact and they are 'stickier' than their loose-powder counterparts. Powder foundation is often used on top of other kinds of foundation for a fuller more-polished finish. One must be careful though, when applying this type of makeup, because it can look cakey and will probably need re-touching in warmer weather. 

Mineral foundation is slightly different because it tends not to use talc as a base, being more 'healthy' for you in general. The coverage of these solutions is medium at best because they are in loose powder format and do not have so many skin adhesives or chemicals, they are mostly made out of minerals mined from the earth. They usually give a nice shiny appearance which gives the illusion of healthy, dewy skin. 

Finally last but not least, my favorite all time foundation, water-based products! This is probably the most popular of the bunch and is a creamy liquid that can give you medium to full coverage, depending on your application (if you use it lightly, you will cover some of your problems, but if you use it heavily, you will cover everything up). I suggest using this product with a brush as it blends out much more successfully than with a sponge (definitely do not use your hands to apply this). 

Z Palette: to buy or not to buy?

I wrote last week that I had ordered my very first Z palette to house all of my old depotted eyeshadows from various brands that don't fit into a regular-sized palette (which usually holds 16mm eyeshadows). So I decided to embark on this little journey to make my own customized palette of random blushes and eyeshadows that I had laying around. When you are finished, your collection will look like this (but less beat-up than mine because some of my products are really used up and abused):

What you'll need for this project:

• depotted eyeshadows/blushes (if you don't know how to do this, check back to my depotting entry where I tell you how to)
• labels
• adhesive magnets (from an art store or department store)
• scissors
• Z palette or any magnetic palette that's empty and fits any size pans
• rubbing alcohol
• scrubbing sponge

Firstly, you will want to dab a scrubbing sponge into rubbing alcohol and make sure you take the excess glue off of the back of your depotted eyeshadow pan. This will make the whole process a lot less messy and keep your palette looking clean. Take your depotted eyeshadows/blushes and cut a label to write the name of the product, the company that made it and the color for your reference. Unstick the adhesive peel from the magnet and place it on the back of your eyeshadow so that you have reference if you run out of a certain color you love and need to go back and get some more. If you really don't care what the color or product is then just skip this step.

Tools you will need

Then you can cut out a magnet that measures the size of your pan, so place the pan on top of the adhesive magnet and stick it on. Cut around the pan with your scissors or an exacto knife so that you have a perfectly sized magnet. This magnet goes on top of the label to make sure your eyeshadow is securely in the pan. Some pans are magnetized and do not need to have magnets placed on their backs. It is easy to remove the magnetic adhesive strip by hand so if you need name-reference, you can simply do that and re-apply it. If you choose to put your label on the outermost side and sandwich the magnet between the label and the pan, you may not have as good of a grip and your shadows may move.

You can make a separate little paper sheet insert that you can stick to the window of the palette that acts as a guide to your colors. I chose not to do this because I don't use these colors extremely often and will certainly not re-purchase these brands when I can get my hands on MAC and Urban Decay shadows. I have NYX, L'Oreal, Maybelline, Estee Lauder, Lancome, Trish McEvoy, and Clinique products in my Z palette. Most of my stuff is from random gifts with purchases and drug-store buys when I was first starting out with makeup.

My first Z palette!

The last step is simply organizing your pans and popping them in the Z palette however you'd like! I like the concept of the Z palette because you can see everything you have inside, but the problem is that I thought they would be bigger. It turns out the Z palette PRO ($28) and the Z palette regular ($20) palettes only differ by half an inch in width and a very minuscule amount in depth. The depth is important to me so I opted for the PRO palette because I'm putting blushes and mineralized shadows in my next one. But if you're only going to put small eyeshadows, I suggest going for the regular one, as it is $8 cheaper. You can purchase them on Amazon, which is what I did and they arrive in approximately 3 business days. I like the fact that I can now stack all of my eyeshadows and blushes with my other palettes rather than investing in tons of those little Rubbermaid drawers to put them in. When you put things away like this, you risk not seeing all your products for long periods of time and purchasing items even though you already have some at home (but you don't remember because you haven't seen them in awhile). I don't like rifling through my single eyeshadows for a particular color I'm looking for, so this is going to make my morning makeup routine a lot simpler. I suggest buying these if you're a big fan of makeup and have an enormous collection like I do. I'm thrilled with the way I can see all of my colors so I know what to reach for! I give them a 9/10, only because I want more and I think they can be even bigger to fit larger products!