Testing out the Sonia kashuk blending brush

Ditch the nail salon: Save money, have fun, and get creative!

With my hectic schedule of figuring out how to be a productive new mom in addition to daily laundering, cooking, and cleaning my beauty time has been virtually cut to sloppily smearing on some eyeliner in my car at stop signs. With my personal time cut to an all time low, I have discovered a way to integrate some self care with a pleasurable and quick activity; painting and decorating my toenails.
Here's why this is something you should consider doing on your own rather than spending $40 plus dollars a month at a salon. First of all, i really enjoy the control that I get picking out my colors and decals and building a collection that I could virtually match to anything in any closet. Besides the obvious financial savings, I also tend to worry about the flesh eating viruses we hear about on the news that come from unhygienic nail salons. Just imagine if that news story was about you!
Most importantly, it gives me a moment of down time where I can be as creative and crazy as I desire and enjoy my 20 minute art session for the next 2 weeks to come. The more wild the better! Toes are the one place in beauty where too much just doesnt apply! **
This week I chose to go with a new color from Sinful nail polish. I purchased two colors for the price of $3; you really cant beat that! The color I am wearing in this picture is "Dream on", a passionate, firey magenta that my photo does not do justice for! (camera phone :-) It is a less expensive price point, so two heavy coats are needed to acquire vibrancy. This is a matte finish and i wouldn't recommend leaving it at that, a clear coat helps even out dullness and visible bush strokes.
After my two coats of nail polish I applied on self adhesive rhinestones along my cuticles made by Kiss nails. These will run you $3 for over 150 stickers. Its more difficult by far than other decals to align right but this look at nail salons is always $5 to $10 more so the time is worth the savings! After placing your rhinestones or decals it is crucial to cement them down with a good solid nail glue. I use Broadway nail topcoat. And finally, after a quick shiny clear topcoat, I am toe-ready! A nifty Sally Hansen top coat pen allows me to brush on my topcoat in a matter of seconds, its a nail polish must!
There is no limit to how creative you can get and my collection has grown so vast over the last few months that I now look forward to my nail polish chipping so I can try new effects. Ive never received so many compliments in regards to my feet!

-ErthBlu              

**Editor's Note: I disagree with this statement! Pile it on everywhere! LMAO

Petals & Stormy Dawn

I like what this color does to my hazel eyes. BFTE mineral in Passion.

Testing out my new blending brush. World's worst eyebrows, yes, I know!

The gold used is  MAC Goldmine (frost)

Check this out...

http://www.violentlips.com/

Zapzyt Review

 

I don't care who you are, waking up with an unsightly blemish can ruin your day. There are so many products on the market that are supposed to help get rid of zits that Zapzyt was just another one on the list for me to tackle and wait for results. Without needing to go into the nitty gritty details, I'll break down the pros and cons of this particular treatment.
 
Pros:
1) If you use this product on a daily basis you will notice a decrease in oil in areas that you have problems with. When Im feeling particularly hormonal I will place a small amount in my daily lotion and rub all over my face to help control the oil and bacteria that my skin is coming in contact with.
2) It is very inexpensive. For someone like myself that does not suffer from acne all the time and just has an occasional pimple here or there, the size and price are just right.
3)Many acne medications are too harsh, using acid bases to dry up the blemish, which in turn always drys out my face. this product is basically an aspirin substance and I dont wake up with dry patches.
4) There are no miracle creams that make your pimples fall off, and preventative steps are always the most helpful in controlling breakouts. I tested this on a pimple that was fairly deep and painful on my jawline and it reduced the swelling and redness and the next day it was basically gone.
Cons:
1) I noticed that after I had rubbed some in, and I was in public, that I had a white outline where it had dried. Luckily this was not that noticeable,but none the less embarrassing when I realized I had gone half my day with weird white chalky stuff on my face nicely highlighting my pimple.
2) This is not available everywhere and I have only seen it sold on Amazon so far.


this is a solid B product

-ErthBlu

Premium Minerals Review

I ordered some samples from a company called Premium Minerals. A "Hello! Sampler Pack" includes five different little baggies of various minerals, you choose the shades. You can test this out for free, you just have to spend $3.61 on shipping. I figured it was worth a try, and there were enough different tones where I felt I might be able to land my color. 10 grams of the mineral foundation will cost you about $14.49.

Today I tested out the rose medium powder. I don't wear foundation every day, only days where my face is a mess and breaking out, or for doing a complete face of makeup for going out. I used a Kabuki brush to apply the ultra-fine minerals to my entire face. It felt smooth and completely airy, and it actually covered most of my red blotchiness! What a great alternative to heavy foundation, as it's in the 90's up here right now and the heavy, sticky feel of too much foundation gets old.
Here is my before and after;

Straight out of the shower. Notice all the little redness and imperfections?

After applying Premium Minerals. Much more even!

 I wouldn't use this to cover up large blemishes, at least not with some sort of cover-up product first, but if your face is just a little uneven and blotchy and you want a natural look, this product polishes up the face with ease.

 I then tried some one of the blush samples. I had chosen Candy Pink. I am a heavy blush applier, but this blush halted my usual clown-like cheeks because it brushes on subtly and natural.

Mineral foundation followed by blush

I am happy with the products and love that company will send you some samples so you can find your shade before you invest. They also sent a pamphlet that lists ingredients for each product in each shade. Premium Minerals shipped exceptionally quick as well.

These minerals are listed as NOT containing "talc, cornstarch, mineral oil, dyes perfume or artificial fragrance, phthalates, parabens, sodium laurel sulfate, Cocomide DEA, MEA, TEA or bismuth oxychloride."

"No Animal testing!"

I give them a solid A.

My contest entry!

My actual Submission

Wish me luck! This is my look I did for a contest for "Sweet Treat Cosmetics". It's my first makeup entry to a contest EVER, so I don't expect to win, but hey, it was ridiculous fun.
My lips are supposed to be a little wrapped candy. Hope u can tell!

Online Makeup Sales

Who doesn't like to snag a bargain?!
Here are some current sales going on;

Urban Decay

Virus Insanity Eyeshad

Sweet Treat Cosmetics-Flavor of the Week 

Beauty From the Earth-Color of the Week

Premium Minerals-15% off code- ee9442

Beauty on a Top Ramen Budget!

From left to Right: White Sand, Go 4 Gold, Bronze Medal, Pink Quartz, Pink Rocker, Antique Heather, Going Green, Baby Blue, Brownie, Black Tux

 Okay, so they cost a little more than Top Ramen, but not much!
Budget beauty has come a long way since I was old enough to save my allowance for a cheapie brand lip gloss or eyeshadow.
I remember buying eyeliners which applied waxy and the pencil tip broke with every sharpen, and lip gloss that tasted like plastic.
Lately, I have given some of the cheap drugstore lines another try, and I have been pleasantly surprised! The quality has improved by leaps and bounds. You can get something for a dollar these days! I decided to test out a Jordana loose eyeshadow, and I ended up buying ten. There are 12 colors in total, so I'm only two short. These generous pots sell at my local Save Mart for 4 for 5 bucks.You can find them at Walgreens and Food Maxx too. The pot contains 1.3 grams of highly pigmented loose shadow, which lasts a long time. This pot has a sifter.I am very happy with the rich and sparkly colors. Loose shadows work best with a primer and dabbed on rather than swiped. I use my shadows very frequently and for experimenting because the price is so affordable and the product is so easy to locate, that I don't have to go stingy with them.
The labels on the bottom come off very easily, so I had to look up the names online. My only complaint is that the white color is not very white, but it is still beautiful none the less.
Way to go Jordana! My faith is back in drugstore cosmetics, my eyes shimmer, and my wallet ain't hurting.
****/****

Day to Night look- fast!

The finished evening eye

Yesterday I posted my review of the Maybelline Crown Jewels Trio with pictures. I wore this look all day, and then for going out in the evening, instead of starting all over, I just built on to what I had and was ready for date night in five minutes!


Here are some pictures of the day look, using the Maybelline set.

To go from day to night, I took a dark shimmery brown and used a makeup brush to follow my natural crease.

 I then took a soft shimmer baby pink and applied to my lids and blended. The purple from the day started to fade away with all the blending, but I was happy with the effect. I then lined my eyes with a white pencil and put some white powder in the inner corners of my eyes and finished with another layer of mascara. Before we left for the evening, I powdered my face (Not pictured). This took about all of five minutes, and I was ready for the movies. The Planet of the Apes sequel, whatever it's called. It was good, by the way. Definitely something to see in the theater because the big screen and loud sound is important in this movie! 

Sunsetting Shots

 Last night our family friend and babysitter came over for some shots and nachos and babysitting and....makeup! I know, what a weird combo, right? Well we are weirdos, what can I say. Fun is a requirement no matter what I am doing, so that's what will be had! And I demand no less, lol.
Anyhow, we took our shots and at some point, I asked her if she had anywhere to go later, because if she ended up looking crazy after I put her makeup on, well, that would be not so funny. She said no, and we decided that being buzzed made our eyelids feel "twinkley", and it was time to get going with this little thing because my husband and I had a movie to catch.
Emily has deep-set eyes, and this was a new one for me. I gave her sunset colors layered up to her brow, and bright berry lips, and for the circumstances (ahem-whiskey shots!), I think we came out alright! :-P