My Current Favorite Makeup Brushes For Personal And Professional Use!

As a makeup artist I can tell you how important makeup brushes are, and how difficult in can be to pick the right ones. Some makeup brushes can be very expensive or inexpensive but I will tell you this the price tag does not always reflect the quality of the brush you are buying. Mainly there are two kinds of brushes the natural hair or the synthetic and while there is good and bad in the two kinds I wanted to share with you what they are good for that way you can decide which kind to invest in.. 

Natural Vs. Synthetic

Natural:

• Natural hair has follicle that cling to powder pigments, allowing them to be evenly applied
• Lasts a lifetime if taken care of properly

Synthetic:

• Synthetic are best to use with cream and liquid formulas
• Synthetic can cost significantly less money

I wanted to keep the list very short and not go over the cons as this really is a very personal opinion. There are so many great choices when it comes to makeup brushes and you really don't know which ones work the best for you until you try them.

My Favorite Brushes Are:

Mac 217
Mac 239
Mac 130
Mac 132
Morphe M426
Sedona Lace Eb-19
Sedona Lace 863

Most of them are synthetic but are made of great quality. 

Motives Mavens Sculpt Series Review!

The search for the perfect contouring products sometimes feels endless, every other day there is a new product out there thats supposed to be THE ONE. The Motives Mavens palette is definitely one that ranks very highly on my list of favorites the colors selection for the Fire is great for medium to darker skins with warm tones. I do recommend using a damp BB sponge to blend in the colors as I noticed they can look streaky with a brush. Overall I do love this palette and the packaging is nice and light and it includes a brush (not pictured) that is perfect for contouring the nose.

La búsqueda por encontrar la paleta perfecta para hacer contornos en la cara parece nunca acabar. La paleta creada por Motives definitivamente es una de las mejores. Con dos opciones para pieles con tonos mas fríos por ejemplo si tienes tonos rosados y tonos mas oscuros como por ejemplo amarillo. Recomiendo usar esta paleta con una esponja húmeda pues noto que con la brocha tiende a no ser una aplicación perfecta. Sobretodo me encanta esta paleta y la recomiendo a todos. La mía es Fire para pieles con tonos amarillo. 

Purchased: Shop.com

Priced: $35

Love At First Spritz

I love this setting spray so much I want it in gallons. I will tell you how amazing it is that it replaces my Urban Decay  setting spray. I still like it but it doesn't compare to this one at all, lets start by the fact that I sweat like a beast! I took this baby with me to my trip to Miami to put it to the ultimate test and let me tell you my makeup did not move at all. I was really impressed by this spray from the beginning but after it survive the Miami heat Im in LOVE. 

These are the claims:

Primary Benefits of Motives® 10 Years Younger Makeup Setting Spray: 

• Helps reduce makeup slippage into pores, lines, wrinkles or scars
• Keeps makeup looking flawless day and night
• Fewer required touchups throughout the day
• Saves up to 50% of makeup usage

I don't have any lines or wrinkles but everything else on this list I can personally attest being true for me.  The key ingredient found in the setting spray is Aloe Leaf juice that is rich in enzymes that leave the skin feeling and looking smooth and firm. I recommend this to anyone looking for a AWESOME setting spray to set your makeup for flawless makeup. 

Where: Motivescosmetics.com

Price: $29.95

Good Luck! Xxx

Me encanta este spray tanto que lo quiero en galones, te diré lo increíble que es sustituye a mi spray de Urban Decay. Me sigue gustando, pero no se compara en absoluto, sudo como una bestia haci que para mi es muy importante tener un buen setting spray! Tomé a este bebé conmigo a mi viaje a Miami para ponerlo a  prueba y déjame decirte que mi maquillaje no se movió en absoluto. Realmente me impresionó este spray desde el principio, pero después de sobrevivir el Miami heat estoy en el amor.

Estos son los reclamos:

Principales beneficios de Motives 10 años más joven maquillaje ajuste spray:

• Reduce el deslizamiento de maquillaje en los poros, líneas, arrugas o cicatrices
• Maquillaje Mira perfecto día y noche
• Menos retoques necesarios durante todo el día
• Ahorra hasta un 50% del uso de maquillaje

No tengo ninguna línea o arrugas pero todo lo demás en esta lista, personalmente puedo atestiguar ser verdad para mí. El ingrediente dominante en el spray de ajuste es jugo de la hoja de Aloe que es rico en enzimas que dejan la piel sintiendo y buscando lisa y firme. Esto les recomiendo a cualquiera que esté buscando un spray entorno impresionante fijar el maquillaje para maquillaje impecable.

Donde: Motivescosmetics.com
Precio: $29.95

Buenas Suerte! Xxx

IMATS NYC 2014

I finally attended the IMATS and boy was it fun! I loved every single moment, if you love makeup this is definitely something to experience for yourself. There was so many beautiful faces different styles from funky, dramatic, artistic, etc. Everywhere you looked there was something to be inspired from. I can honestly tell you guys that I was not prepare for this at all! I can only say that I should have taken a break from shopping for makeup at least 6 months in advance.

The lines was CRAZY but everything was really organized, until they opened the doors... The excitement took over some of the ladies and there was some pushing and skipping going on but overall it did not ruin my experience. 

This picture was taken at the end of the day after hours of standing in line as you can tell by my wrinkly shirt!

I couldnt help taking a picture with macdaddy, I will honestly say that I thought he was more warm and friendly but I found him shy and cold. His makeup did look flawless thought ;) 

Day two waiting for the train! 

With Kelly Bakers creater and owner of KBB

I found Kelly by accident and she was a complete sweetheart very genuine and sweet, I purchased the brow powder and duo pencil... Review coming soon!

Some of the the awesome live beauty fantasy competition!  

If you have not seen Jordan Liberty's makeup tutorial on youtube then you are missing out from learning a few tricks and tips. I was looking at his lashes and he actually approached me to complement me. He was so lovely and we talked for a while I must say hes skin is like porcelain soooo flawless I wanted to touch to feel it but he would have thought I was cray cray. I purchased three of his lashes, reviews coming soon...  

I met this cutie the first day and I was sooooo in love with her face she is so pretty and her makeup was just perfection. Makeup By Jenny was in the violetvoss booth and on both days she helped me pick out beautiful colors some worn by her on that day. Reviews on the pigments, glitters and eyeshadows I purchased from Violet Voss coming soon...

P.S If you have seen me in person then you know by now that I am not photogenic at all and almost all these pictures from IMATS demonstrate that. To get a good looking picture I take a dozen and even then I dont look right I hesitated putting these up because I HATE how I look on ALL of them but oh well! 

My purchases consisted of some personal buys but mostly products for my studio and travel kit. I stocked up on lashes, disposables, shadow shields, concealers, foundations, lip palettes. I will be doing reviews on most of the items as I use them on my self or clients.

 I was not able to get my hands on any Lime Crime, Sigma, Sugarpill products the lines was SOOOOO long and ten minutes after opening some products were sold out already. If I can make it to next years IMATS I will definitely attend the Friday event for PROS only so that I can take advantage and get everything I want before they open to the public.

Overall this was such a unique experience Im glad I did both days because I was so overwhelmed the first day that I really didn't take everything in. I hardly took any pictures because I didn't want to be distracted by my phone (some Blogger I am). My tips to anyone planning to attend is to definitely start saving money, make a list of the things you want, look cute BUT PLEASE wear something comfortable; there is a lot of walking standing in line I saw girls looking so uncomfortable on their 6 inch heels. Go with friends or alone and make new friends over there If you love makeup this is definitely an experience worth living at least once!

Makeup Haul: MUG Eyeshadows And Pigments!

I have been anxiously waiting to get my hands on some MUG eyeshadows, more specifically their most popular ones like cocoa bear that was always sold out but I was finally able to order the 9-eyeshadow starter kit and two pigments. I received my package incomplete which was very disappointing but really loved the ones that I did receive, I emailed them to let them know of my missing eyeshadows and they said they will take care of it and almost two weeks later I received the rest of my order. The eyeshadows are absolutely beautiful and are everything I was hoping for, highly pigmented, very smooth and long lasting. I love that they fit perfectly in my MAC pro palettes so no need to go out and buy other ones, the pigments are beautiful and I will definitely be purchasing more. Have you tried any makeup geek makeup, which one is your favorite? 

Estoy tan contenta que por fin me decidí tratar estas sombras de Makeup Geek. Resivi mi orden hace ya tres semanas pero llego incompleta y estaba esperando tener todas las sombras para darles mi opinión sobre la calidad de esta marca. Definitivamente son súper pigmentadas, se aplica suave y uniforme, y no se corren. Los colores que vinieron en el kit que compre son preciosos y van con todo tonos de piel. Tambien ordenes dos pigmentos que tambien me encantaron. Estoy muy contenta con mi compra y voy a ordenar mas sombras y pigmentos, también me gusto que las sombras caben perfectamente en las paletas de MAC. 

Bronzy, shimmery gold

Matte golden brown

Densely dark purple with a shimmery finish

Shimmery highlight

Light and subtle pink matte purple blend

Intense matte black with small bit of sparkle

Matte Warm medium brown

Pale purple with hints of grey and a shimmery finish

Medium sand color with a soft matte finish

Left To Right: Shimma Shimma, Glamourous, Unexpected, Prom Night, Cocoa Bear, Mocha, Drama Queen, and Corrupt

Creme Brulee

Good Luck/ Buenas Suerte! Xxx

Product Rave: Shadow Shields!

 

I have seen this amazing product around for a while now, I decided to try it and boy am I a happy girl! I seriously cant rave this product enough its really a must have on every ones makeup kit. I personally like to start with my foundation and do my eyes last, as careful as I am there are always some fallouts and i always end up having to retouch my concealer. Another advantage to using these shields is that it helps you create sharp clean lines, and makes achieving a cat eye a lot easier. I will definitely be purchasing more of these and start using them with my clients as well. Have you tried Shadow Shields?  

He visto este producto asombroso alrededor por un tiempo ahora, decidí intentarlo y soy una chica feliz! En serio no puedo delirar este producto lo suficientemente realmente una debe tener esto en todos los kit de maquillaje. Personalmente me gusta empezar con mi base y finalizar con mis ojos, por mas  cuidado siempre hay algún derrumbe y siempre termino teniendo que retocar mi corrector. Otra ventaja de usar estos escudos es que te ayuda a crear afiladas líneas limpias y hace un ojo de gato mucho más fácil lograr. Definitivamente comprare más de estos y empezar a usarlos con mis clientes también. ¿Has probado estos escudos de sombra?

Priced: $9.99 for 30 shields!

Purchased: shadowshields.com

Look at how much product the shield catches!

The finished look.... p.s my camera phone sucks!!

Good Luck/ Buenas Suerte! Xxx

The Best Makeup Palette Ever! / La Mejor Paleta De Maquillaje!

I am so in love with this eyeshadow palette, its seriously amazing! Lets start with the fact that every single color is beautiful, highly pigmented and wearable. The consistency is excellent they go on smoothly like butter and the longevity is great, I wore it for 11 hours and had no fading and just minor normal creasing. 

Estoy tan enamorada de esta paleta de sombra de ojos, es sorprendente en serio! Permite comenzar con el hecho de que cada color no solo es hermoso, tambien es altamente pigmentado y usable. La consistencia es excelente van suavemente como la mantequilla y la longevidad es genial, yo usé durante 11 horas y tenía ninguna decoloración y arrugando normal sólo menores

The palette is black and sleek comes with 16 beautiful color, 8 mattes and 8 shimmer. They added a sample size behind the scenes eye primer that is very nice. The only downside is that the palette gets very dirty fast, but nothing that a wet wipe cant take care of. 

La paleta es negra y liso viene con 16 color hermoso, 8 mate y brillo 8. Agregaron un tamaño de muestra detrás de la cartilla de primer de ojo que es muy agradable. El único inconveniente es que la paleta se ensucia muy rápido, pero nada que no se puede cuidar un trapo mojado.

Left To Right Top: White, Cream, Taupe, LT. Pink, Mauve, Sable, Espresso, Black
Left To Right Bottom: Nude, Champagne, Gold, LT. Bronze, Pewter, Garnet, Deep Purple, Slate

To Create this look I used my lorac pro palette!