March Makeup Brush Madness

March Madness has officially arrived.

For many, that means brackets, bets and endless hours of boyish banter about who chose the best picks.  For me, on the other hand, it means BRUSHES!  Lots and lots of BRUSHES!

Huh?  That’s probably what you’re thinking right now, correct?  I understand.  Please allow me to explain.

I went crazy this month.  No not in terms of basketball.  Not even in terms of make-up.  Nope.  This month…I went batty over BRUSHES!  Make-up brushes!  All kinds.  All colors.  All creeds.

OK…maybe ‘all creeds’ was overkill.  But you get my drift.

I don’t exactly know why I chose this month to lose it.  Honestly, up until about two months ago, all I ever needed to achieve a flawless face of make-up were my fingers, those little spongey applicators that come with the cheap Cover Girl eyeshadows and a MAC 129SE blush brush that I got in a holiday travel set years and years ago.  Truth be told, I didn’t even know how to use most brushes.  I simply used the methods I knew best, on myself and on my ‘clients’ (TRANSLATION: Family & desperate, makeup-challenged friends)  *gasp*

Then came YouTube…

Grrr…

…and lilpumpkinpie05

…and AllThingsFab101

…and beautybyjj

…and MakeupByLeinaBaaaby

…and prettygyrl83

…andXXTheIslandBeautyXX

 

Curse you women!  (TRANSLATION:  I LOVE YOU ALLL SOOO MUCH!!!!)  I hold each of you partly responsible for my newly extended addiction!  I blame you ladies for the little United Nation of brushes that I’ve managed to amass in just under 30 days – pinks, purples, turquoises, blacks!  Ahhhhhh!  I had to have them allllll!  

And now – I have to learn how to use them…properly…while also hiding them from my hubby and praying that he wins ALL of his March Madness bets…because someone has to pay the light bill…*whistling while shoving receipts down the garbage disposal* 

Um…I digress.

On to the goodies!  So, here are the sets that I managed to smuggle into my bathroom cabinet this month –

•  Purple Sigma “Make Me Crazy” 12 Brush Kit (http://www.sigmabeauty.com/Sigma_12_Brush_kit_Make_me_Crazy_Purple_p/ckc02.htm?Click=235201)
• Pink Sedona Lace 12 Piece Professional Makeup Brushes (http://www.sedonalace.com/Cosmetic-Brushes/11/12-Piece-Professional-Makeup-Brushes-Pink.aspx) 
•  Turquoise Sonia Kashuk Limited Edition Star Studded Brush Set (http://www.target.com/p/Sonia-Kashuk-Limited-Edition-6-Piece-Brush-Set/-/A-14024599#?lnk=sc_qi_detailbutton) 
•  Multi-Colored Real Techniques Makeup Brushes (http://realtechniques.com/shop-collection) 
•  Tokidoki Pittura Brush Set (http://sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P266809&categoryId=C22300) 

Clockwise from L-R: Sigma Make Me Crazy Brush Set, Real Techniques Brush Sets, Some of my Faves, Tokidoki Brush Set

Sonia Kashuk Star Studded Limited Edition Brush Set

Tokidoki Brush Set

Sedona Lace Brush Set

It’s hard to pick a favorite set at this point because I have yet to utilize them all to the full extent.  As I said, I’m still learning.  But if I had to pick a front-runner, it would be a two-way tie between the gorgeous Sonia Kashuk set and the cute, quirky but amazingly functional Tokidoki set. 

The good news is that I go back to work next month, after four long but wonderful months of maternity leave with my smallest little bundle of joy, Justin.  No more iPhone surfing while nursing, impulse buying to fight off cabin fever or interrogating the FedEx guy as to why the hell it took him so long to get to MY house if the package went “out for delivery” as of 8AM that morning!  Nope.  I’m on the fast-tracked road to recovery, people!  I’m Lindsay Lohan post-rehab.  I’m Bobby Brown post-crack.  I’m…I’m….

…probably gonna head straight to Ulta on my first lunch break.  

*Sigh*

Until next time PrettyFacez…

Jesse's Girl Pure Pigment Eye Dusts

I'm a sucker for eyeshadows.  BUT...believe it or not, I've never used pigments.  (*gasp*)

It's not that I don't like them.  I actually have several of them from a few MAC holiday sets I purchased some time ago.  I just never really took the time to learn how to utilize them.

Recently though, I noticed this cute inexpensive product line at my local Rite Aid called "Jesse's Girl".  I was tempted to pick up a few items, because, well...that's what make-up junkies do - cop cute little scores at all costs and opportunities (<----well maybe not all costs and opportunities).  However, I managed to talk myself out of it and pick up a few new Wet & Wild lip shades to ease my cravings (<----more on those later).

So...I go home...feeling good about my ability to stave off yet another temptation in the face of danger (*cue dramatic music*), and I hop on YouTube.

Bad move.

Next thing I know, my little hungry fingers are typing in the words 'Jesse's Girl' and a video by @start2finishmua is popping up!  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bUs9QJMJpI) Grrrrr.... Worse yet, there she is, in all of her YouTube guru beauty, giving this product line, and the eye dusts over which I was drooling in particular, a great review.  Double-Grrrrr!!

Three days later, here I sit, four gorgeous pans of delectable makeup candy staring me down like nobody's business.  Allow me to introduce my new friends...
                                           
                                          JESSE'S GIRL PURE PIGMENT EYE DUSTS

                                     Clockwise (L to R): Key Lime, Ultra Violet, Trouble Maker, Penny Arcade

Ahhhh...once again...I am in luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuub!  Yes, I said "lub"!

Here's my take:

PROS

• Vibrant & very true to color
• A lot of product to last you a while (as with most pigments)
• Extremely blendable
• Easy to wash off (I didn't even need any make-up remover)
• Cheap (These retailed for $4.99 at my store, but others have discovered them for as low as $2.99)

CONS

• Packaging (I had to remove the sticker with the respective shade names in order to open the pots. Ultimately I was smart enough to place them on the bottom of the pans, but I wish all make-up companies would recognize how much easier it is for the end user if they just did this to begin with.)
• Sifter was weird & hard to remove/handle (Perhaps this could be the result of me being a 'pigment novice' but I'm pretty sure there could/should have been a better way to factor that part into the product design.)

My favorite out of the bunch is "Trouble Maker" because, as mostly everyone knows, turquoise is like my ride or die color always.  And "Key Lime" reminds me of Sugarpill's "Absinthe", which I totally and completely heart as well.  But they're all absolutely stunning.  There are 28 shades in total, which you can get in one collective set for $92.50 USD believe it or not!  (Why did I have to find that out???  Ugh!)

Overall Rating: A-

For more information on this product line or these goodies in detail, feel free to visit the company's web site: www.jessesgirlcosmetics.com..  They have a ton of awesome info there and a section called 'Guru Tips' that I plan to revisit pretty soon so I can come to you guys with some great looks in the near future.  They also have a YouTube channel.

Hope you enjoyed this review!  If so, remember to SUBSCRIBE, SUBSCRIBE, SUBSCRIBE - please & thank you!!!

Until next time PrettyFacez.....

~Meica

*NOTE: All of the items shown were purchased by me with my own money.*

Mini Revlon Drug Store Haul

Lipstick!  Lipstick!  Lipstick!

I surrrre do have a loooooove fo' some lipstick! :-)

So after dropping my eldest son off at school today, I decided to make a pit stop at my local Rite Aid. Flipping thru the Sunday paper yesterday, I'd learned that all Revlon lip and eye products had gone on sale for $4.99 each.  Woooooohoooooo!!!!

Actually, I was pissed for about 30 seconds because I just recently purchased the Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara from Target for like $7.00!  But hey, what's $2.00 when it comes to the things we adore???

"A few cute new shades of Wet & Wild lipstick," whispers the little red Makeup Maniac on my right shoulder.  <---She surfaces often.  Grrrrr.

Anyway...I digress.

Soooo...I walk into the drugstore and spend a while picking out what I felt to be some pretty awesome shades, all the while thinking "Ahhhh...this makes me happy."  A short time later, I head to the register, goodies in hand ready to find out if even the new $10+ glosses are on sale for $4.99.  They are.  This makes me even happier! :-)

Check out what I grabbed below.  I'll be sure to do some looks and post some pics wearing these items really soon!

...............until next time Pretty Facez!!!!!

Don't forget to subscribe!!!  Please & thank you!!!! :-)

                                                       Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick

                                                 Violet Frenzy, Smoked Peach, Wild Orchid

     
                                                       Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss

                                                     Coral Reef, Pearl Plum, Pink Pop                                                  

                                                     Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Liquid
                                                                         Lipstick  

                                                        Ultimate Orchid, Vigorous Violet

Hair Journey Product Reviews

"I gotta say...Today was a good day." -Ice Cube

Hola Pretty Facez!!!

So a trip to the bank this morning turned into a detour to the hair supply store.  (<---This happens often.)  I walked in solely with the intention of purchasing a regular-sized jar of the new Hair Masque by Organic Root Stimulator.  I had received a sample pack in the mail and watched a few good reviews on YouTube (Hey 'Megz' of ulovemegz.com!), so I decided to go ahead and try it out on my own.  Sounds like a quick and simple task, right?

Wrong...see below...

SMH.  What can I say?  I'm an admitted product junkie.  Not to mention, I'm currently battling post-partum shedding and therefore, decided to give up 'heat' on my hair for Lent.  Along with Facebook.  I'm still going thru withdrawal in both regards :-(

Anywho...after a successful first-time outing with my Hubby, our 2-year-old and our 7-week old, I decided to wind down and round out a great Saturday evening by trying out all of my new goodies.  Here's my take on four of the six products above so far...

ORGANIX HYDRATING MACADAMIA OIL SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER (13 oz. / Retails for $6.99 at my local Rite Aid, but I caught a BuyOneGetOne Half Off sale...yay!):

Let's start with the shampoo.  I feel like it did what a shampoo is supposed to do as far as cleansing my scalp and removing any product build-up that had accumulated.  As a matter of fact, at one point, right after the second lather, I actually got a little worried because it felt as if my hair was a little too squeaky clean, you know?  Like the shampoo might have been stripping my hair of it's natural moisture, which surprised me since the product claims to be sulfate-free.  I was afraid that this would result in major shedding when it came time to follow-up and detangle with the conditioner.

Thankfully, this wasn't the case, though.  The conditioner, which smells better than the shampoo by the way, seemed to really rehydrate my hair and give it really good slip ('slip' = the ease with which your fingers or a comb can run thru your hair after applying conditioner).  I only wound up seeing about three strands as I used my wide-toothed comb from tip to root and back again, which was great because I typically see more than that with products that I've been using for a while.  So for the most part, my experience was a pretty good one.  I mean, there was nothing that would make me want to set off fireworks or anything (although I did love the scent of the conditioner a lot).  But I didn't feel like I wasted my money either.  I'd recommend these products to anyone looking to try something new as potential go-to alternatives in their regular hair regimen.

Overall Rating: B

ORGANIC ROOT STIMULATOR OLIVE OIL HAIR MASQUE INTENSE TREATMENT FOR HEAT AND COLOR DAMAGED HAIR (11 oz. / Retails for $9.99 in my local beauty supply store):

Now this product I absolutely looooooooove!!!!  And ok, ok...I understand that it's only my first time using it.  But let's just say that if the product was a guy (and if I wasn't already involved with a man whom I love VERY, VERY much - heyyyy hunnnny), he'd definitely get a second date!!!  After I washed and did a basic conditioning with the products Macadamia Oil products, I wanted to follow with this one as my deep conditioning treatment.  So I thoroughly rinsed my hair and generously applied the ORS Masque.  Honestly, I don't think there was one negative thing that came to mind while using the product.  I really liked the thick consistency and didn't need as much as I thought I would for my armpit length thick hair.  The scent was also very light and unoffensive.  Not as enjoyable as the Macadamia conditioner, but nothing to make me turn my nose up either.

After application of the product, I covered my head with a conditioning cap and waited 30 minutes before rinsing, even though the instructions on the product advise you to go 5 minutes without heat or 10 minutes with a plastic cap and under a warm dryer for severely damaged hair.  When I went to rinse the product out, OMGoodness did my hair feel sooooo soft!!!!  The slip, once again was amazing, and my hair just really smooth afterwards.  I will definitely be adding this into my regular monthly regimen, perhaps as a light protein deep conditioning treatment.

Overall Rating: A+

MIZANI SUPREME OIL HAIR TREATMENT WITH 8 PURE OILS (4.1 oz. / Retails for a whopping $19.99 at my local beauty supply store):

So the jury is still out on this expensive little bottle.  I mean, I pretty much just applied it to my wet hair as a leave-in after my DC treatment to aid in locking in moisture retention while I air-dried.  What led me to purchase it in the first place was the fact that it claims to be 99% naturally-derived with no silicones or mineral oil.  Plus it contains a host of great oils - Sesame, Jojoba, Avocado, Apricot, Olive, Argan, Sunflower and Rice Bran...along with Vitamin E.  Yippee!!!  The consistency is very light, which is always a plus in my book because I hate for my hair to feel weighed down when I do wear it out.  And again, the scent was light and pleasant.  I will get back to you guys on how this product holds up to its claims, as I plan to incorporate it into my nightly 'Moisturize & Seal' routine, as a substitute for my current KeraCare Essential Oils product.  Stay tuned....

Overall Rating: TBD

Ok that's about it!  Hope this was helpful.  Feel free to post any comments/questions you may have or inbox me directly - meica@makingfacez.com!  Also, let me know if you would like to see more of these type of reviews in the future!

Peace & blessings until next time Pretty Facez!!!!