Review: Eye Candy by Linda Mason

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

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

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!!!

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

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

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

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