Rachel's Makeup, Haircare, & Skincare Blog

This Blog is Dusty...

2012-02-04T20:40:00.000-08:00

Wow i can't believe how long it's been since i last posted on here. I feel like i just never have anything to blog about that's beauty related!! I'm definitely going to start doing mini reviews that i don't feel like making videos about to tie you guys over until the next time i can make a video.

Today's little review is going to be on the Anastasia Beauty Express for Brows and Eyes. DISCLAIMER: I WAS NOT COMPENSATED IN ANY WAY TO DO THIS REVIEW. Lately, i've really been into grooming and filling in my my eyebrows because they really do frame the face and make my face look ten times better when they're groomed. I decided to get this kit after seeing MakeupbyTiffanyD on youtube rave about it. I got mine from Sephora.com. It comes with 5 eyebrow stencils that can really help you decide what shape looks the most natural on you. It also comes with brow wax, 2 shades of brow powders, and a highlighting eyeshadow as well as a skin tone one. It comes with an eyebrow brush that i simply love to use to apply both the wax and the brow powder. I got the kit in the shade "Blonde" because i could tell that the "Brunette" kit was going to be way to dark on me.

Pros:
~This is a great kit for beginners
~the lighter brow powder is the perfect shade for my brows!!
~the wax is a really nice texture and helps to set your brows
~the stencils really are helpful, although i find that i don't need to use them
~I really like the highlighting and skin tone eyeshadows, they have a nice texture
to them
~it's really quick and easy for me to fill in my brows in the morning when i put on my makeup
~this kit really helps make your brows look polished

Cons:
~while the wax sets my brows nicely, i find that it wears off rather quickly throughout the day
~I'm also concerned that the wax will dry out quickly since it's not in it's own little container
~the stencils are helpful, but some people may not be able to find the perfect one for them

That's it for my little review! leave comments and let me know what else you would like me to post about. ALSO I recently launched a new blog, go check it out!!! http://rachelshappinessproject.blogspot.com/

XOXO
Rachel

Product Rave: L'Oreal Linear Intense Felt Tip Eyeliner in Carbon Black

2011-03-08T19:07:00.000-08:00

I LOVE THIS EYELINER!!!! I used to use this eyeliner all the time until some months ago, when I bought the Kat Von D liquid eyeliner. I really liked that one, but i went back to my l'oreal liner, and i don't think i would ever go back to the Kat Von D eyeliner!!

First of all, it's super easy to apply, which is great for people just starting out with a liquid liner. The applicator is very precise but can also make a really thick line if that's the look you're going for. I also love how long the eyeliner lasts! it doesn't smudge at all like the Kat Von D one does. What's also great is the price. The Kat Von D liner was 16 dollars while the l'oreal one is about 8. It's so crazy how much better quality the drugstore liner is compared to one from sephora! There's really not much more to say about this product, except that i've gone through one bottle and am making a good dent in my second! I don't think i'll ever buy another liquid liner besides this one!

XOXO
Rachel

Beauty Resolutions

2010-12-29T19:56:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys!
So i saw Michelle Phan do a video on this on Youtube, so i thought this would be a fun post to do on my blog!!

Skincare:
I always get into phases where i get really lazy with my skincare. After i remove all of my make-up or on days where i don't wear makeup i will just swipe a toner over my face and be done with it. I don't think that's good enough at all. next year, i will use a cleanser and moisturizer everyday.

I also get lazy in the morning and don't use any skincare when i wake up. next year, i will try my best to use a cleanser, toner, and moisturizer (with spf of course) every morning.

Make-up:
I sometimes get lazy with cleaning my make-up brushes. you should clean them with a brush cleanser after every use, but i cleanse them after every 5 uses sometimes, which isn't good. next year, i will cleanse my brushes after every single use. i also need to deep clean my brushes a lot more often.

Another thing i definitely need to do is take care of my brows. nest year, i will make sure my brows are groomed and will fill them in using brow products. your eyebrows frame your face, so you want them to look good.

I've decided that i want to change my make-up looks up more often. so this year, i want to try a different look atleast once a month! i always do the same look when i find one that i like, but i always think it's great to change it up!

Something i'm bad with: replacing my old mascaras regularly. drugstore mascaras are cheap, so there is no reason we all shouldn't be doing this. i'm also bad with replacing any old make-up because i get lazy and don't feel like throwing out the old. i still have a mac foundation from 2 years ago! i don't use it, but it just sits in my makeup drawer. i've started throwing out old make-up, but next year i will make much more of an effort to keep my makeup updated and fresh.

i also need to stop collecting make-up. next year, i will make sure that i use up all the make-up that i buy. i have this problem with foundations and powder especially because i get bored with products like this quickly and want to try something new.

i hope you all will join me and make beauty resolutions. leave your beauty resolutions in the comments section!

XOXO
Rachel

Woah...

2010-12-28T14:37:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone!!
It has been waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy too long since i last posted on here!! i really want to establish this blog and i want more people to follow it, but it's impossible when i never post on here LOL!! I've decided that this blog will be my beauty diary. i will post beauty tags, reviews that i don't post on my youtube channel, swatches of products that i buy, or anything about beauty adventures that i have!! i'm really excited about starting to post on here again, and i hope you all are too!!

if you have any requests for posts you want me to do, feel free to leave a comment either on here or on my youtube channel. I plan to post a beauty tag on here today or within the next couple of days. I also plan to start putting my digital camera to use again, as it probably feels neglected because i never take pictures anymore.

Hope all is well with you all!

XOXO
Rachel

TAG: This or That

2010-10-10T17:21:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!! sorry i haven't posted on here in a while, i've been way too busy with different shows and schools!!! so here's a tag i thought would be fun to write a blog post on, hope you enjoy!!

tag questions:

makeup:
blush or bronzer blush, because my skin is so pale and i need blush to bring warmth to my face
lip gloss or lipstick probably lipstick, i just like the look of it better
eye liner or mascara eyeliner, because i could always wear false lashes to enhance my lashes
foundation or concealer foundation, because you can double it up as concealer
neutral or color eye shadow neutral, they make my blue eyes pop!!
pressed or loose eye shadows pressed, i can't stand loose makeup
brushes or sponges brushes

nails:
OPI or china glaze idk because i don't use either one
Long or short short
Acrylic or natural acrylic for special occasions, but natural for everyday
Brights or darks brights!!!
Flower or no flower i love flowers, so definitely flower!!

body:
perfume or body splash tough one, probably body splash because it's lighter
lotion or body butter body butter, it's more moisturizing
body wash or soap body wash, soap always slips out of my hands in the shower
lush or other bath company i love Lush!!!

fashion:
jeans or sweat pants sweat pants, they're more comfortable
long sleeve or short long sleeve because i get cold very easily
dresses or skirts dresses!!!
stripes or plaid stripes
flip flops or sandals flip flops, i wear them everyday during summertime
scarves or hats scarves scarves, i don't why i just like them better
studs or dangly earrings dangly earrings, they make me look prettier!!
necklaces or bracelets necklaces, bracelets annoy me
heels or flats heels!!
cowboy boots or riding boots riding boots, they look more fashionable to me
jacket or hoodie hoodie, they're more comfy to me
forever 21 or charlotte russe forever 21, they have cuter clothes
abercombie or Hollister i don't like either of them
saks 5th or nordstrom idk

hair:
curly or straight curly!!
bun or ponytail bun
bobby pins or butterfly clips bobby pins, because you can hide them when doing updos
hair spray or gel hairspray, i use it everyday to keep flyaways down
long or short tough one. probably short
light or dark dark
side sweep bangs or full bangs side sweep always looks better on me
up or down down, i don't like my hair pulled back

random:
Rain or shine rain, i love falling asleep to rain or waking up to it!!
Summer or winter winter, i love christmas and thankgiving
Fall or spring fall, i love the weather
Chocolate or vanilla chocolate
East coast or west coast east coast, that's where NYC is!!!

please leave a comment of your answers to these questions!!!

XOXO
Rachel

Review: Eye Candy by Linda Mason

2010-08-07T22:31:00.000-07:00

So i got this book for my birthday last year from one of my friends, and i somehow forgot about it till a couple days ago. I discovered it in a gift bag and started looking through it. This book is full of so many creative eyeshadow looks that i never even thought to put together! Ms. Linda Mason is a very creative person, i 'll give her that. I also love that the book doesn't mention specific brands of eyeshadows to use so the reader doesn't feel like they have to buy the exact eyeshadow the writers of the book used. The instructions for each look pretty helpful as well.

But one thing i don't like about the book is that the pictures of the models wearing the different looks aren't very good. the eyeshadow doesn't really show up well in certain photos, which is very helpful to the reader. also the face chart of the look doesn't completely match the picture of the model sporting the look, which is annoying to me. One thing that i don't like is that there are no pictures of a makeuyp artist applying the eyeshadow to the model so that the reader knows exactly how/where to apply each shadow. The average makeup wearer may not like this book because most of the looks are more artsy than wearable for everyday or at the office. I like the looks because they're fun to create on my face or someone else's (i like to put makeup on other people sometimes).

so overall, would i recommend this book? definitely not for the average gal for reasons i've stated above. But if you're looking for inspiration for looks or something fun to do as far as makeup goes, buy it! it's a unique book in that the looks are very different and creative.

i've started doing makeup tutorials using this book on my youtube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/broadwaybound121492) and have already filmed a second tutorial. I will also do blog posts to go with the videos so you can see the eyeshadows more clearly. I will do videos using this book every once in a while, so if you're not into this sort of thing, i will also do reviews and monthly favorites, etc.

XOXO
Rachel

TAG: Would You Rather? Beauty Edition

2010-07-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

I thought this would be a really fun tag to do, but i didn't want to make a video about it because i wanted something to blog about!!!

1. Would you rather go out with great hair and no make-up or messy hair and great make-up?

well since i go out w/o make-up sometimes, i would have to go with the nice hair because i'm completely comfortable with my skin and don't need to wear make-up all the time.

2. Would you rather shave off your eyebrows or have your eyelashes fall out?

def. have my eyelashes fall out because no one can really see my eyelashes anyway since they're so short so it doesn't even matter LOL

3. Would you rather be forced to shop at MAC or sephora for the rest of your life?

i would rather shop at sephora because they have so many different brands that i love and i don't really shop at MAC much anyway.

4.would you rather wear the dark lip liner w/ light lipgloss look or 80's perm?

now this one's a little bit of a toughy because i would hate to go out in either one!! i guess i would go with the lipliner/lipgloss look because it doesn't look as crazy as the 80's perm HAHA!

5. would you rather leave the house with an obvious foundation line or overdone blush?

i think i've stated on this blog how much i hate the foundation line (it's a pet peeve of mine) so i think i would rather the blush because i think it's easier to fix than the foundation line since foundation dries and is harder to blend once it's dry.

6. would you rather wear MC hammer pants or biker shorts in public?

i hate wearing really tight clothing so i would go with the MC hammer pants definitely!!

7. would you rather have an orange-y spray tan or really weird tan lines that you can't cover?

i would say the tan lines because that's more attractive to me than looking like an oompa loompa!!!

8. would you rather have a bad hair cut or bad hair color?

I would say bad hair cut because i could just put my hair up everyday til it grows out. i know you can just cover up bad color with another color, but i would hate to have a bad haircolor for even one minute more than having a bad haircut!!

9. would you rather have twitter or youtube taken away forever?

i would rather have twitter taken away because i would still have facebook which is kind of similar IMO althogh i still love twitter!!

10. would you rather give up using make-up brushes or mascara?

i would say mascara because i could just use false lashes if i was desperate for my lashes to be defined. i can't live w/o make-up brushes!!!

that's it for now guys, hope you like this post!!!

XOXO
Rachel

Life as of Now

2010-07-19T19:26:00.000-07:00

Hey guys so i've decided to make a new blog for my personal life, so if you're interested check it out! here's the link: http://rachelslifeasofnow.blogspot.com/

XOXO
Rachel

Summer's Here! Now it's Time to Break out the Bronzer!!!

2010-05-24T13:37:00.000-07:00

Woah, i need to dust off this blog, it's been so long since i last posted on here. I guess i just forgot about this haha!

So anyways, now that summer's here i have been wearing bronzer with my makeup. And i have to say that i love it!! When applied correctly (which i have learned how to do from makeup gurus on youtube) it looks perfectly glowy! I also like sweeping bronser on my chest and neck so that everything looks balanced and glowy. For anyone that thinks bronzer makes them look dirty or anything like that, it's either because your bronzer is too dark or the way you're applying it. I will make a video on my youtube channel about bronzer very soon so hopefully that will help you. A great video to check out is makeupbytiffanyd's video on applying bronzer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNo7lrUH_cs&playnext_from=TL&videos=wFjeEK-E6pQ&feature=sub

I have tried a couple drugstore bronzers, but i honestly don't remember the names of them and back then i didn't know how to apply bronzer, so i only used those bronzers once or twice and then never touched them again because i thought i could never pull off bronzer.

I have 2 bronzers at the moment and they're really the only bronzers that i've tried since shunning bronzers back when i was like 13. I'm sure you can guess which ones i'm going to say since i have pictures of them at the beginning of this post, but they are NARS Laguna bronzer and Benefit Hoola Bronzer. Let's start off with NARS Laguna. This bronzer is great for people with my skintone (very fair) and for people darker than me, i'd say as dark as NC30 for MAC. It has a satiny finish with a very subtle skimmer in it, which makes the skin look glowy and this can be swept all over the face for an all over glow or in concentrated areas for contouring. Benefit Hoola is slightly lighter than Laguna and is completely matte. I've swept this all over my face before, but i prefer the look of the NARS Laguna. I really like the Hoola for contouring because it's completely matte, though.

So there's my two cents on bronzers, like i said i will post a video on my youtube channel with more info about applying bronzer soon.

XOXO

Rachel

TAG: 40 Beauty Questions

2010-02-13T15:16:00.000-08:00

it's very rare that i'll do 2 blog posts in ONE day, but i knew i would go over the time limit if i tried to do this as a youtube video! so here's the questions and i tag everyone to do this as either a blog post or video! please leave me a comment with the link if you do this tag!

SKINCARE
-How many times do you wash your face daily? once at night
-What skin type do you have? (dry,oily,combo) i would say it's combination because sometimes my whole face is oily and sometimes it's normal
-What is your current facial wash? Neutrogena Deep Clean cream cleanser
-Do you exfoliate? YES!! it's a must for me
-What brand do you use? right now i'm using the Lush Ocean Salt and so far i'm loving it!
-What moisturizer do you use? Clinique Dramatically Different moisturizing gel
-Do you have freckles? nope
-Do you use eye cream? no but i know i should, i just don't know which brand i should try first! suggestions?
-Do you or did you have acne prone skin? nope, i'm very lucky not to
-Did you ever have to use Pro-activ? once, but i didn't like it. i do like the refining mask which i just did i review on this blog! go check it out!

MAKE-UP
-What foundation do you use? Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet + foundation, Revlon Colorstay, or Benefit Some kind-a gorgeous!
-How about concealer? benefit erase paste (which i'm not a huge fan of) or Mac studio finish concealer
-Do you know your undertone color? i have pink undertones to my skin
-What do you think of fake eyelashes? I love them! i use them all the time for stage and sometimes for special occasions
-Did you know that you are suppose to change your mascara every 3 months? yes but i don't follow that rule religiously
-What brand of mascara do you use? covergirl lashblast and maybelline XXL extentions
-Sephora or MAC? Sephora, they have so many brands to choose from while Mac is only Mac products
-Do you have a MAC Pro-card? no, but i want to one day
-What makeup tools do you use in make up application? Sigma makeup brushes are amazing!
-Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes? Urban Decay primer potion is awesome!!
-For the face? benefit that gal brightening face primer, but i never see much of a difference when i use a primer
-What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)? i love the coastal scents 88 shimmer palette anbd the ELF beuty encyclopedia
-Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner? both
-How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil? i've never done that
-What do you think of pigment eyeshadows? they're very messy and inconvienient
-Do you use mineral makeup? no, but i like bareminerals. it's just very messy
-What is your favorite lipstick? benefit sily finish lipstick in good-to-go
-How about lipgloss? buxom lips in eva and brandy
-What is your favorite blush to use? NARS orgasm
-Do you buy your makeup on ebay? no i don't trust it
-Do you like drugstore makeup? i love drugstore makeup! it's cheap and a lot of it is good quality
-Do you go to CCO's? (cosmetic company outlets) no i can't find one in my state
-Did you ever consider taking make-up classes? it would be fun, but i have no time
-Are you clumsy in putting on makeup? no not really
-Name a makeup crime that you hate? i hate when i can see a line from people's foundation to their actual skin color
-Do you like colorful shades of makeup (lipstick,eyeshadow) or neutral ones? i like neutal shades because for eyeshadow they bring my blue eyes out and i always love pink lip color
-Which celebrity always has great make up? i can't pick one because i like so many
-If you could leave the house using just ONE make up item,what would you use? foundation
-Could you ever leave the house without any makeup on? yea i do for school all the time
-Do you think you look good even without any makeup on? not really
-In your opinion, what is the BEST makeup line? umm i can't really pick one, but i love Benefit, Nars, Mac, Covergirl, Revlon, and Maybelline
-What do you think of Makeup?? I love it!! it always makes me look pretty and polished!

XOXO
Rachel

Review: Proactiv Refining Mask

2010-02-13T13:51:00.000-08:00

I have never used the Proactiv skincare system except once, but i don't have acne so i thought it would've been a waste to use an acne system on my skin. But i saw that i had a pimple yesterday and i remember seeing on a proactiv commercial that you can use the refining mask as a spot treatment, so i thought i would give it a shot since i threw out my old spot treatment.

Basically what i did was put the mask on the pimple and left it on for a little over 10 minutes. then i rinsed it off. when i rinsed it off i didn't see a difference in the pimple but i noticed the skin where the pimple was was softer. After about 5 hours the pimple reduced to a microscopic red dot on my face and i can barely feel that there is a dot on my face when i touch my face. i was completely amazed at the results and that it worked so quickly!

Now i'm not saying this is the only good spot treatment out there (in fact there's a new clearisil one that's supposed to work in 4 hours that i want to try) but if you know someone who has the 3 step system ask them if you can try it out because the mask is a free gift with your purchase when you buy it from the website. I say atleast go check out the Proactiv website and look for some other reviews on this product.

XOXO
Rachel

Zoya Nail Polish Haul

2010-01-16T15:14:00.000-08:00

Sorry i haven't done a blog post in a while, everyone. so, I've heard a lot of great things about Zoya nail polishes, so i decided to try them for myself. I was so excited when i got this package in the mail! I will do a full review of these on my Youtube channel as soon as I try them all out and get a good idea of how they work, etc. Here are all the items i got:

Pinta. this is one of 6 shades in the Zoya Dare Collection (Fall 2009). it's an absolutely gorgeous dark royal purple. I would also describe it as a cool tone purple. for some reason, the camera wouldn't pick up the purple in this color, so it ends up looking blue. simply gorgeous!

Demi. This is also part of the Dare Collection. it's a really unique medium purple that i've never seen before, but some people compare it to OPI's Pamplona Purple. To me, this is a color that can be worn all year round.

Ciara. the last shade that i got from the Dare Collection. This is a very pretty berry color that some people have compared to OPI's No Spain No Gain. This is a great fall and winter color.

Barbie. A very pretty light pink with a really unique purple iridecense. i'm glad the camera picked the iridecense up because it's so pretty. a great spring and summer color!

Blair. A gorgeous metallic dark wine color. An awesome winter color, and i really like to wear reds on my toes, so i will be painting this on my toenails very soon!

I also got some products from the Zoya Color Lock system because i always get frustrated when my nail polish chips. i got the get even ridge filling base coat, the armor UV blocker top coat, and the hurry up quick drying drops since i hate to wait for my nail polish to dry.

to check out these products, go to http://www.artofbeauty.com/scrpt/scr.dll/cat?brand=2

XOXO
Rachel

New Year's Eve Look

2009-12-30T16:05:00.000-08:00

This is a great look for if you're going out on new year's eve that's also very quick so you don't have to spend much time doing your makeup.

Products Used:
MAC Studio Fix Powder
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in petticoat
UDPP
ELF Beauty Encyclopedia palette
Benefit eyeshadow in low profile
Loreal Lineur Intense Eyeliner
Covergirl lashblast luxe in black cabernet

Hope you like it!

XOXO
Rachel

Holiday Series: Frosty Winter Eyes

2009-12-22T15:00:00.000-08:00

This was not a requested look, but i was going out so i thought i would do something fun!

products used:
TFSI (Too Faced Shadow Insurance)
Coastal Scents 88 Ultra Shimmer Palette
NARS 9947 Palette (color used: ondine)
Loreal Linear Intense
Maybelline XXL Extentions Mascara
NARS Orgasm Blush
XOXO
Rachel

Holiday Series: Festive Christmas Eyeshadow

2009-12-17T22:05:00.000-08:00

This eyeshadow look is more of an inspired one than something I would go out in, but I'm actually thinking of going to a Christmas party sporting this look. I love the eyeshadows I used, they're so pigmented! here are pics of the final look:Hope you like it!

XOXO
Rachel

Holiday Series: Gold Party Look

2009-12-13T16:25:00.000-08:00

This tutorial was not requested by anyone, i just thought it would a be a pretty, fun look for holiday parties, etc. So here are pictures of the final look:XOXO,
Rachel

Holiday Series: Christmas Tree Eyes

2009-12-07T18:15:00.000-08:00

This eye look was requested by one of my subscribers on my youtube page, and i thought it would be genius since green is a Christmas color. I didn't want to do a bright green look because personally i think that would look stupid on me, so i did a dark green look, which came out great. this is a very dramatic look that i would only wear for Halloween or prom if i had a green dress on because i'm not brave enough to go out wearing dramatic make-up. so here are pics of the final look:

Hope you like this look!

XOXO
Rachel

Review: Too Faced Shadow Insurance

2009-11-30T18:05:00.000-08:00

Ok, so i talk about this product a lot in my Youtube videos, but i never did a full-on review of it. first off, let me talk about what this product is. Too Faced Shadow Insurance is an eye shadow primer that claims to help your eyeshadow stay on longer as well as make the eyeshadows more pigmented. Now, the two main eyeshadow primers people go for are this one and the Urban Decay Primer potion, which i hope to try very soon (most likely after i get Christmas money). I decided to get this one because people on Youtube claimed that this one allowed you to blend eyeshadows more than UDPP. So to test how well it made eyeshadows more pigmented i did some swatches.
I used a black, red, and green eyeshadows from my coastal scents ultra shimmer 88 palette, which looks like this.so the top swatches are w/o the TFSI, while the bottom ones are with. Isn't that amazing??? Also, what i noticed is that the eyeshadow went on a lot smoother with the primer. What was also interesting was that it was really difficult for me to get the shadow with the primer off my hand, which means it's long-lasting.

so here's what i think of this product:

Pros: long-lasting, makes eyeshadows more vibrant, eyeshadows go on smoother, cute efficient packaging (unlike UDPP haha)

Cons: very greasy when first applied, smells weird, too liquidy, almost runny

So overall, I like this primer. will I ever buy it again? probably not if i fall in love with the UDPP, which i think i will.

XOXO,
Rachel

Coach's Holiday Blog-A-day Program

2009-11-23T19:37:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! first of all i wanted to say that i'm really excited to start this blog. I know you guys have been asking me to post pictures of my eyeshadow looks that i feature in my videos, and now i can!

Now onto what this post is actually about (and i know this has nothing to do with makeup but i thought you guys would be interested)...Coach is having this program called the holiday Blog-a-day that is lasting from Nov. 20-Dec. 20 where they have asked 30 bloggers and vloggers to pick 3 items from the coach website that is thier favorite and to pick one of the 3 items as a give-a-way! everyday average people like you get a chance to win a coach purse! everyday a different blogger offers the chance to win a purse, so be sure to check this link daily for new give-a-ways! http://www.coach.com/online/handbags/genWCM-10551-10051-en-/Coach_US/StaticPage/holiday_blogs

juicystar07 has a great video explaining this program: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhAIFkDby4w

And even if you don't win, you can ask for a coach purse for christmas! This is probably the only time of the year that you're allowed to ask for expensive stuff, so take advantage of it!

XOXO
Rachel