IMATS 2013 – Show Photos, Haul & NYC Trip (pic heavy)

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Brooke

You guys….. New York City is amazing. The trip to the International Make-Up Artist Trade Show (IMATS) was quick, but jam packed with good times. My step-sister Dinessa and I left Friday morning and arrived in NYC just in time to drop off our bags and go to IMATS Pro Night to shop. (Which ended up being the best idea possible because when the event opens to the public on Saturday and Sunday shopping is stressful and near impossible. We were glad to be able to spend time on those days speaking with people doing demonstrations, watching and learning.)

FYI: Maybe I got a little out of hand with pics, but this was my first trip to IMATS and my first event as “Press” so it’s a milestone!

Of all of the exhibitors I was especially excited to check out Inglot, since I’ve never been able to before, and am definitely ordering more online ASAP. It’s slightly addicting.

I also have a new found love in Jesse’s Girl and bought a few products to swatch:

As well as an intense interest in the brand Cailyn who do amazing things with gel liners and the inovative Vibrating Foundation Applicator. We watched the woman below transform before our eyes and become instantly 10 years younger with their BB Cream. Stunning!

We also spent some time checking out the products from OCC and the fun Hydrocolors from WolfeFX.

This is what I hauled from IMATS. Not nearly enough! I did got back with the intent to buy more from Inglot and Cailyn but it was just so busy at that point I felt like ordering online was a better idea.

Make Up For Ever Academy was doing some amazing thing with the nicest model ever for their exhibition:

And a few other artists (representing schools or brands) also showed off their skill:

We also got the chance to check out a few demonstrations from Vargas and Roshar.

Vargas has a ridiculous amount of skill and creativity. I can’t even begin to tell you how impressed we were with his technique and how he worked the products he was using. Vargas demonstrated Fantasy and Faces: Beyond Color, Shimmer and Glitter Applications. The way he so beautifully and easily applied glitter seriously made me think that this is just something I could do for every day. Which would clearly not be appropriate, but he’s just THAT GOOD.

I got some before pictures of his characters, as well as some during the demo and after photos of the demon sea creature

Before the demo:

During the demo:

Vargas used special brushes from Royal & Langnickel to create the hair brush strokes and flame effect.

At the end of the day:

Roshar is quite literally the most entertaining person I’ve ever seen. He’s completely self-taught, which is so impressive because all of his talent is within and truly his own. The demo we were able to sit in on featured him doing up a Fantasy Editorial. The end result was CRAZY amazing!

The only panel we caught was on Gaining Representation: Exploring the Artist/Agent Relationship. It was basically just a Do’s and Don’ts as well as what you can expect from your Agent and what your Agent expects from you. Which is basically be professional, know your place, don’t be a pain in the butt.

This panel was supposed to be moderated by Roshar, but at the last minute Kevin James Bennett swept in to cover. You could say I had a fan-girl moment because he pops up sometimes in the BBC and he’s gloriously entertaining and refreshingly blunt. I’m sad he had to run off right after or I’d have photo-opped him

But by far, our favorite thing to see was the Character/Prosthetic Student Competition. The talent was just unbelievable. The theme was OZ and the competitors had only 3 hours to work on their creations before the intense judging took place. First a few of the competitors working their magic…

… and the amazing end results (and, you’re welcome, because I took SO MANY photos of this I could have really spammed the heck out of you with pics… especially of the blue-haired guy and the ballerina):

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve likely seen a few of these next pics. In case you don’t here are some of my faves and also shout-outs to the lovely bloggers I met this past weekend!

First up, the bloggers! I first ran into Eugenia from Geniabeme and Casey from Beauty101 and they are awesome and hilarious!

Next I ran into Judy from BeautyJudy and she’s all sorts of adorable that I almost tried to bring her home with me =P

Finally, I met Xiao from Messy Wands! MY MESSY! Finally! Just as fabulous in person, BTW.

And finally just a few pics of Dinessa and I running around the city taking selfies

At IMATS Afterglow (some of my fave pics)

Times Square

Canal Street #Swag (we are seriously still laughing over that one)

Nomming in Little Italy:

And some shots of our hotel room view & Dinessa checking out the view from Dream where Afterglow was held….

Also, while in NYC we had to seek out and visit MAC PRO, since we’ve never been to one.

And also hauled!

This is the haul from Sephora in Times Square:

Each haul will have separate review posts for each item as I go through them Anything you’re wanting to see first?

Did you hit up IMATS? Did you get anything good or meet any of your favorite people?

If you’ll be in the area for The Makeup Show be sure to enter to win a 2-day pass

Makeup Wars – My Most Expensive Face

Posted on August 6, 2012 by Brooke

All of these Makeup Wars Battles have been fun. But this one… this one is my baby. My Most Expensive Face. I’m not sure if I even want to go there. It’s likely I’m not the highest here, as budget restrictions prevent me from getting the skin care that I really want, but I think it’s a lot higher than my DH or mother could ever imagine.

We’re going to start off with my current skin care. Skincare is something that changes quite a bit for me. Right now I’m testing the new stuff from NARS.

I don’t use a ton of skin care, and there is probably more I could and should incorporate into my daily routine. For right now, every day, I’m using NARSskin Aqua Gel Luminous Oil-Free Moisturizer ($58) and Total Replenishing Eye Cream ($55) as well as DERMAdoctor Ain’t Misbehavin’ Medicated Acne Control Serum ($45) on my chin and jaw areas. I also use Murad Clarifying Cleanser ($26), the Clarisonic Mia2 ($149), Bobbi Brown Soothing Cleansing Oil ($42) and MAC Gently Off Eye and Lip Makeup Remover ($20). This brings my skincare total to $395.00.

As for face makeup I currently start off (and finish) with Skindinavia No More Shine Makeup Finish ($19). Next I apply concealer where I need it. For this I use Le Metier de Beaute Peau Vierge Correcteur Concealer in Medium ($95). For foundation 9 times out of 10 I reach for 3LAB Perfect BB Cream in shade #02 ($95) because it has excellent coverage. As for my powder I have a tried and true HG that I’ve used since I was a teenager! Lancome Dual Finish Powder ($36.50 ) shade varies based on the time of year. For my cheeks I love to use Le Metier de Beaute Blush Kaleidoscope ($95) and Chanel Lucky Stripes ($95) to highlight. This brings my face total to $435.50.

Moving on to eye makeup I have been starting off with Make Up For Ever Eye Prime ($22). For eye makeup, on this particular look (because obviously it varies every day), I started off using Giorgio Armani 20 Obsidian Black Seaweed Eyes to Kill Eye Shadow ($32) in conjunction with the Le Metier de Beaute Penelope Eye Kaleidoscope ($95) and the LMdB True Colour Eye Shadow in Naked to highlight ($30). For a liner, the one I always use with Penelope is Chanel Black Jade Le Crayon Kohl ($28). The mascara I’ve been reaching for non-stop lately is the Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill ($30). For the eyebrows I start off with the Dior DiorShow Brow Styler ($36) and then go over that with the Anastasia Beauty Express for Brows and Eyes in Brunette ($39.50) and top it off with Anastasia Tinted Brow Gel in Caramel ($21). This brings my eye total to $333.50.

For the lips I like to line with MAC Subculture Lip Pencil ($15). For lipstick, for this look, I will use Tom Ford Sable Smoke ($48) and for lip gloss Le Metier de Beaute Two Lips Lip Creme ($36). This brings my lip total to $99.00.

For tools, I use Tweezerman Tweezers ($22), Le Metier de Beaute Eye Lash Curler ($18), and for brushes the MAC 168 ($35), MAC 239 ($25), MAC 219 ($25), MAC 226 ($24.50), and MAC 272 ($21.50). The tools total is $171.00.

This brings my grand total to $1434.00 (with tax it’s $1534.38), and here is the end result:

It’s important that I note that a lot of these items were received as press samples (all are marked as such on their individual links). And, obviously, you come to learn over time what works for you and what doesn’t. The 3LAB BB Cream, for example, IS expensive and was a press sample, but I will be buying it when I run out because it’s AMAZE. Nothing works as well as that stuff does (for me).

Was mine the highest? NO. But you’ll have to scroll through the other submissions to see which one was

Okay. Take a deep breath. To stave off panic attacks quickly go here and see my $20 face. It’ll help.

Check out the links below to see the beautiful bloggers that participated in this installment of Makeup Wars! What will we think of next?!

If You HAD To….

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Brooke

What if you HAD to pare down your stash. Your stash of ANYthing. What do you collect? For me, it’s makeup. I find all makeup that I own extremely hard to part with. Whether it be because of the packaging, colors… I can justify why I absolutely NEED to keep it. Some people are like this with shoes, clothes, purses, stamps…(?) – for me…. I get a MAJOR thrill when I can haul some new makeup.

You may hate it when MAC has 4 collections a month, but for me, that is FOUR new hauls. It’s a drug, and it’s addicting.

Currently, I’m far from a hoarder. Financially I can’t afford to be. If funding were unlimited, we’d have a problem.

This weekend I challenged myself. What if I HAD to pare down my makeup? What the heck would I do? Surprisingly, it wasn’t as hard to choose as what I thought.

I ended up with my usual HG items as well as a few surprises.

FACE:
L’Oreal Magic Perfecting Base
MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer NW25
MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation NW25
Lancome Duel Finish Powder in Matte Bisque II
MAC Stereo Rose MSF
Chanel Nude Joues Contraste Blush
Dior DiorBlush in Rosebud 939

The biggest surprise for me out of the face products was the Dior blush. The tester was given to me by a friend and it’s quickly become one that I reach for daily. Initially it was WAY to dark, but when I started to dab it on and blend it came out beautifully… my perfect fall cheek color! I use the Stereo Rose a lot more in the Summer and the Chanel Nude JC just matches everything, so I use it quite a bit too. You may notice the Chanel blush is also a tester. I bought that off of ebay for $20 as opposed to the $42 it costs at the counter. Plus now it’s discontinued (yes I do have a backup!) so imagine how much people would want for it?!

EYES:
Urban Decay Naked Palette
Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in RSVP
MAC Groundwork Paint Pot
Urban Decay Primer Potion
MUFE Aqua Eyes 24L
MAC Teddy Eye Kohl
MAC Orpheus Kohl Power
Dior Waterproof Eye Pencil in Black
Dior DiorShow Brow Styler
MAC Clear Brow Gel
MAC Plushlash Mascara in PlushBlack

Obviously the UD Naked Palette is the perfect pick. You can go neutral and light or dark and smoky. It’s so versitile there is no wonder they can’t keep it in stock! The Benefit RSVP was a surprise. It came in a 500pt Sephora perk. It’s totally a fav. MAC Bare Study is similar and when the Benefit runs out I’ll probably purchase the MAC dupe. MAC Groundwork, you can literally sweep this on your lids and go. It’s perfect for when you need to RUN out the door. Mom’s are you hearing me? You need this. You can put it on with your finger. Perfect. I have 4 liners on there. Couldn’t decide what to part with. The MUFE is awesome for those quick days. It’s a light taupe so hard to mess up but it REALLY makes your eyes look big and bright. MAC Teddy has and always will be my HG liner. MAC Orpheus is perfect for those days that you need a blackish eye liner with your look, but don’t want the harshness of a true black. The Dior was the surprise. I got it in my Diva gift and I reach for it at least twice a week. Never before have I loved a true black liner like this. It’s super smooth and LASTS. The Dior brow styler actually tones itself toward your hair color, so it’s a near perfect match for everyone. Extremely easy to use and doesn’t need sharpened. I’m sold and already have a backup waiting in the wings. MAC Plushlash has been a love of mine for quite sometime. FINALLY I find a mascara to love that does everything I need it to do. Dior Extase is a close second, but because of cost I opted for the Plushlash.

LIPS:
MAC Brave New Bronze Lipstick
MAC Dressmaker, Dressmaker Lipstick
MAC Patisserie Lipstick
MAC Bendel Girl Lipglass
MAC Frankly Fresh Lipglass
NARS Dolce Vita Lipglass
MAC Subculture Lipliner

The lippies are all LE. Of course. I do have a backup of Brave New Bronze. Dressmaker I tend to reach for mostly for Spring/Summer so I’ll be ok there for awhile. Patisserie was a surprise. I absolutely adore it and it’s getting LOW. No backup. Come on MAC…. bring that one back for me! The MAC Lipglasses are also LE. Bendel Girl is my absolute all time favorite. I use it sparingly because it was LE for Henri Bendel stores ONLY. UGH! MAC Light That Fire! is a close dupe, so I do have that on stand by. NARS Dolce Vita was a HUGE surprise. NARS and I have a love/hate relationship. All of these items that they say “work for everyone” never work for me. (Such as Orgasm blush, Dolce Vita Lipstick…) I got this gloss as a sample with a NARS order and it’s been in my makeup bag ever since. I will definately buy the full size once it runs out, which will probably be soon. MAC Subculture lipliner has been a staple for YEARS and was one of the first MAC items I ever bought. It is a nice match for my lips and pretty much goes with everything.

Since doing this… it’s really making me rethink things. Do I REALLY need all of this (see pics below)? (underneath those blushes are 2 MAC Palettes of e/s plus a lot of blush and more shadows on the sides there lol PLUS 2 UD palettes, AIW and BOS III)

I could totally sell it on LJ and make a nice little bundle. It’d be so much easier to get ready in the morning. Just grab a makeup bag and head for the mirror instead of opening that huge, deep, tiered case and agonizing over the perfect color.

Who am I kidding… I’d take that nice little bundle and totally buy more makeup.

Peek Inside My Train Case……

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Brooke

as always, pics are clickable to enjoy full size viewing

As I was getting ready to do Lizzie’s makeup yesterday I decided to snap a few outer shots of my traincase. Where all of my makeup is kept other than the big UD palettes that don’t fit.

It’s just 3 pics so that you can get the general idea. Once my addition is done and I have the space to set up my vanity and get my IKEA storage kickin I will do a full stash post.

Obviously, my collection is no where near what most bloggers have, but hopefully once I have more space that will change!

What’s in yours? Show me pics!!

MAC Stylesetter FOTD

Posted on April 3, 2010 by Brooke

Good morning!

This is my FOTD for April 3. Today I’m enjoying (not) the task of getting out warm weather clothes and putting away the winter stuff. Lot’s of laundry, sorting, folding, and putting away. I can’t believe how much longer it takes with 2 kids. My son doesn’t even have most of his spring/summer wardrobe yet and it’s still craziness!!
Later on this afternoon he’s going to his cousins Birthday party at the bowling alley. It will be Owen’s first time bowling. We’re ridiculously excited. I wanted a fun look on my face, but low maintenance:

Breakdown (all MAC unless otherwise marked):
FACE:
Studio Sculpt Foundation NW25
Studio Sculpt Concealer NW25
Lancome Duel Finish Powder (Matte Bisque)
Chanel Nude Joues Contraste
Summer Rose BP (from Liberty Of London)

EYES:
UDPP
Give Me Liberty Of London e/s
Dirty GPS
Plushlash Mascara in Black
Anastasia Brow Powder – Brunette
Clear Brow Gel

LIPS:
Stylesetter Pro Longwear Lipstain
Clear Lipglass

and an eyeball extreme close-up

MAC Purposefully Red FOTD & Wear Test

Posted on April 3, 2010 by Brooke

This was my FOTD for yesterday, April 2. We went to a friends house for a party so of course I had to try out the red lippie. Also, it was a perfect opportunity for a wear test.
I’m on allergy overload so I stuck to soda (pop?) all night. However, I’m happy to report that when I came home my red lipstain was still pretty much there! I did reapply the lipglass once because dry lips drive me batty.

Below is my FOTD, Below Ground was all over the lid and ended up being darker than I wanted with a red lip, so I put patina e/s over it. Below Ground GPS and Black Line PGL stayed in place ALL night. We were outside, sweaty, and gross and this makeup lasted. Very pleased.

EYES:
UDPP
Below Ground GPS
Patina e/s
Modlette e/s
Black Line PGL
Plushlash Mascara in Black
Anastasia Brow Powder – Brunette
Clear Brow Gel

LIPS:
Purposefully Red Pro Longwear Lipstain
Clear Lipglass

Two close ups of my eyeballs…

Wear Test

This is a 2 hour wear test. I wore this through 3 cups of coffee, a lunch of pasta in butter and oil (ewe not healthy, sorry lol), and the general time of chasing after 2 toddlers.
It did fade a bit.

In this pic it’s the stain alone:

In this pic it’s the stain with clear lipglass on top:

The nice part about these stains is that I didn’t have to wipe off to reapply. Lipstick gets cakey and you have to fix yourself to reapply and get it to look smooth. With the stains I didn’t have to do that.

All in all, I do love these stains. These are the best ones I’ve found by FAR. I’m so excited that I finally have a true red stain that doesn’t go Berry colored on me!

MAC Art Supplies

Posted on April 2, 2010 by Brooke

Just WOW.

I never in a million years thought I would love the lipstains from this collection.
I’m going back and buying them all.

First things first. From this collection I picked up:
- Purposefully Red Stain
- Stylesetter Stain
- Greengrease GPS
- Dirty GPS
- Below Ground GPS
- Black Line PGL
- Clear Lipglass (of course)

The Stains:

Amazing. Hands down, just wonderful. They go on the lips nicely, I had absolutely no troubles. I’m still wearing Purposefully Red for my “wear test” but so far so good… though it’s only been about 20 minutes lol. I’ll update on the wear tonight because I’ll post an FOTD (since I’m going out!).
I wiped Stylesetter off with a MAC Bulk Wipe and after a few light rubs it came off easily.
The swatches below are directly on unmoisturized lips. No liner… no gloss… just the fabulous Pro Longwear Lipstain Marker!

STYLESETTER

I’m NOT a pink girl usually… but this one… I like it!

PURPOSEFULLY RED

This is the red I’ve been searching for all my life… and if it stays on… YAY!

The Greasepaint Sticks:

So smooth and soft! They look gorgeous, and they do not wipe off easily. I really had to scrub with the bulk wipes to get them off. My arm hurt when I was done lol I’m definately going to work one into my evening FOTD. I may get Zinc Zone to add to my collection. Definately need a back up of Below Ground. My FAV!

GREENGREASE, BELOW GROUND, DIRTY

The Pearlglide Liner:

I only got Black Line here. I really don’t get into the colors so much and I have a ton of liners. This one is gorgeous and totally backup worthy. It took longer to scrub off than the GPS. I scrubbed HARD and it’s still on my arm lol
Below I compared it to a few things that I thought would be similar.. they’re really not. Get it while you can!

ORPHEUS KOHL POWER, BLACK KARAT KOHL POWER, BLACK LINE PGL, DIRTY GPS

What did you pick up from this collection? What are your opinions of it???

DuWop Twilight Lip Venom

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Brooke

Yesterday during my super duper mall excursion I saw the Twilight DuWop Lip Venom at Nordies. I am totally Team Edward so I decided to give it a go.

This version of the lip venom DOES contain cinnamon. When I chew cinnamon gum my tongue swells like a balloon. I was hoping for the same effect on my lips, and really I think it did give it a nice plump. After the first application it is PAINFUL. More so than the tingle of the original lip venom. Like it REALLY hurt for about a minute. But then it felt sort of cool.

I definately give this 4 out of 5 stars. Here is why:

PACKAGING

APPLICATION ONE

It looks like something is wrong with my mouth. The stain in the tube is minimal unless you swirl around and dig in there. This was the first application where I got very little stain. As you can see, it sort of settled in areas. Anyway, seeing as how I experience issues when I chew cinnamon gum I grabbed a MAC wipe and removed the lip venom. I happily note that the weird discoloration went with it. I decided to try again….

APPLICATION TWO

On the second dip I got quite a bit more color and it shows. You do still have to be careful, as it still went on a bit uneven. I wouldn’t recommend applying this without a mirror. After I took this pic the baby woke up and began to cry, I didn’t want to smooch her with the venom on so I wiped it off & was met with…