Saturday, March 29, 2014

Neon Yellow and Blue Eyes + Flawless, Bronzed Skin - Urban Decay Electric palette



Hi makeup junkies! I have been having so much fun playing around with my Urban Decay Electric palette, creating super bright and fun looks. I've found that since the UD palette is so bright and colorful, Sugarpill shadows pair along great! Today I really wanted to use the blue shadows in the palette and mix in some of Sugarpill's Hi-Viz neon pigment, which is an awesome neon yellow with gold and blue sparkles. I absolutely love how this look came out, it's so bright and fun and vibrant. Now since the eyes are so bright, I wanted to keep the rest of the face pretty plain. I wanted to keep the skin very flawless and matte, with just bronzer and contour on the cheeks and a sheer peach gloss on the lips. I had a lot of fun putting this look together, and while I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, it's always good to just have fun and play around with your makeup. So if you're interested in how I got this look and what I used, just keep reading!

How To: EYES
-Apply your favorite eye primer all over the lids and to the lower lash line. Then, apply either a skin tone or white base all over the lids as well.
-Highlight under the brow with a matte cream shadow, then blend a pale matte blue shadow into your crease blending it upwards; this will be your blending/transition shade.
-Next, take the shade "Gonzo" (UD Electric palette) and apply it into your crease, making sure it blends seamlessly into your transition shade. 
-On a small brush, apply "Chaos" into your socket line and outer corners. You want to create a soft cut crease effect with this shadow, then blend it out into the previous shade.
-Apply your base to the lids, using it to clean up any color that has come down past the crease and to really help the next color stand out.
-On a small flat shading brush, apply Sugarpill's "Hi-Viz" neon pigment to the lids and around the tear ducts. If you don't have a neon yellow, a regular yellow or even a gold shadow would work great for this step too.
-Run the shade "Fringe", from inner to outer corner, along the lower lash line
-Rim your eyes with a black kohl liner, then line your upper lash line with black liquid (or gel) liner, making sure to wing it out at the ends.
-Curl your lashes and apply a light layer of mascara to your top and bottom lashes, then apply a pair of falsies to really help amp up the look.
-Fill in your brows like you normally would and your eye look is complete.










Products Used:
EYES
-Too Faced Shadow Insurance
-MAC "Painterly" Longwear Paint Pot
-Sigma Warm Neutrals palette- Sugar Milk (brow highlight)
-Sigma Creme de Couture palette- Blueberry Cream and Blue Chocolat (mixed together for my transition)
-Urban Decay Electric palette- Gonzo, Chaos, and Fringe
-Sugarpill Neon Pigment- Hi-Viz
-Starlooks Infinity longwear gel liner- Black Hole
-ELF Liquid Liner- Black
-Loreal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess mascara- Blackest Black
-Ardell Glamour fashion lashes- 118
FACE
-MAC Studio Fix Fluid- NC15
-MAC PRO Longwear concealer- NC15
-Maybelline Cover Stick- White
-Loreal True Match Super-Blendable crayon concealer- Medium Deep N6-7-8
-MAC Mineralize Skinfinish- Light
-Mehron Star Blend cake makeup- White
-Laura Geller Balance-N-Brighten- Fair
-Cargo Cosmetics Matte Bronzer- Medium
-Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit- Java and Fawn
-Maybelline Define-A-Brow brow pencil- Medium Brown
-Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel
-Lorac Lip Gloss- Electric








How To: FACE
-On a damp sponge, blend a medium-full coverage foundation all over your face, blending down to your neck. I used a foundation with a matte finish to it.
-Apply concealer under your eyes and to any redness or imperfections you may have, then apply a highlighting concealer under your eyes and down the center of the face. Since I wanted to keep the skin matte I didn't use a highlighting powder, so I used concealer and powder to help highlight and contour my face. This gives a very flawless, but more believable look to the skin.
-Using a cream bronzer or darker concealer, sculpt out your face. You want to apply the cream contour in the same places you would normally contour, making sure to really blend it into your skin.
-Set under your eyes and anywhere you applied the light concealer with a light powder. I use a light skin tone powder, then apply a white powder over top so it's bright but not stark white.
-Then, set everywhere else with a powder matching your foundation.
-Apply a light, matte bronzer to the cheekbones and outer portions of the face. You can also use this bronzer to contour your nose if you wish.
-Use a deeper matte bronzer, and really sculpt out your cheekbones and temples. Use a clean brush to really blend out your bronzer and contour; you want the definition but no harsh lines.
-Apply a peach lip gloss to your lips to finish off the look.

Well guys, I really hope ya'll liked this look and don't forget to leave me a comment!!

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Jilted - Bright Purple Eyes - Featuring the Urban Decay Electric palette



Hi makeup junkies! So my Urban Decay Electric palette finally came in and I have been having so much fun playing around with the awesome colors. Today I had to wake up really early and was pressed for time, but I knew I wanted to use my new shadows, so I threw together this quick purple look and I'm super happy with how it came out. One great thing about the palette, is how easily the colors blend so it doesn't take forever to blend everything out. This look was super quick and easy to get and literally only uses 5 shadows, and if you wanted to pare it down even more you can just use the 2 purples in the Electric palette and your face powder to highlight under the brow, some eyeliner and you're done. My other tip for when you're short on time and want to use bright colors and don't want to work hard on placement and such: tape (lol big secret). I like to apply a piece of scotch tape to the outer corners of my eyes, that way I get that sharp outer edge that looks cool and it helps catch fall out. I just feel like it gives a cool, dramatic effect to the eyes and cuts down on my clean up time. Anyways, since the eyes are super bright and dramatic, I kept the rest of the face very neutral and flawless with glossy light pink lips. I'm so excited about this new Electric palette and I'm having fun messing around with it, so hopefully I should have a review up on it soon- I like to play around with the product before I give my thoughts on it so I can really get a feel for it, but it'll be up soon.

How To: EYES
-Start off by applying your favorite eye primer all over the lids and underneath the lower lash line. Since you're using such bright colors, you want a base that's going to really stick to the shadows and make them pop. You can also add a piece of tape to your outer corners to create that sharp edge, or you can just use some makeup remover or makeup wipe to clean it up later. The shadows in the UD palette don't really have much fall out at all so I didn't have much if anything to clean up.
-Apply a matte cream shadow under the brow and into the crease to highlight and help blend out the next color.
-Taking a small amount of"Jilted" from the Electric palette on a fluffy blending brush, apply it into the crease and blend it up, you can also bring this down into the outer corner.
-Next, apply "Urban" all over the lids and blend it slightly into the crease, making sure to blend it into "Jilted".
-On a smaller blending brush, blend a matte medium purple into the crease to help soften the line between "Jilted" and "Urban", you also want to apply this color to the lower lash line.
-Add a shimmery nude shadow around the tear ducts to brighten up the eyes.
-Apply black liquid liner (or gel) to the upper lash line, winging it out at the edges.
-Apply black liner to your waterlines, then curl your lashes and add mascara to your top and bottom lashes.












(natural light)




Products Used:
EYES
-MAC "Painterly" Longwear Paint Pot
-Sigma Warm Neutrals palette- Sugar Milk
-Urban Decay Electric palette- Jilted and Urban
-Sugarpill "Poison Plum" pressed shadow
-Lorac PRO palette- Nude
-ELF Liquid Liner- Black
-Starlooks Infinity Longwear eyeliner- Black Hole
-Loreal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess mascara- Blackest Black
FACE
-MAC Studio Fix Fluid- NW10
-NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer- Chantilly
-MAC Mineralize Skinfinish- Light
-MAC Studio Fix Powder-NW10
-Mehron Star Blend cake makeup- White
-Cargo Cosmetics matte bronzer- Medium
-Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour palette- Java and Fawn
-Maybelline Define-A-Brow brow pencil- Medium Brown
-Urban Decay Revolution lipstick- Native
-Lorac lip gloss- Groupie








How To: FACE
-Using a damp sponge, apply a medium-full coverage foundation all over your face, making sure it blends to your neck.
-Apply a brightening concealer under your eyes and down the center of your face to help brighten your complexion.
-Set under your eyes with a light powder, then set the rest of your face with a powder that matches your skin tone. If your skin is too dry for powder don't use it, or use a tiny bit of it.
-Use a matte light bronzer around the outer edges of your face to warm up and help sculpt the face, then use a darker contouring powder to contour under the cheekbones and sides of the temples. Make sure you blend out the edges so there are no harsh bronzer lines.
-Add a neutral blush to the backs of your cheeks, making sure to blend it out into your contour.
-Add a shimmery highlighting powder to the tops of the cheekbones, down the bridge of the nose, and to the cupid's bow.
-Apply your brows like you normally would.
-Apply a light, neutral pink lipstick to your lips, and top it off with a pale pink lip gloss.



Hope you guys like this look and be sure to leave me a comment, I love hearing from ya'll. Also, remember to follow me on instagram to see daily updates from me: talesofamakeupjunkie



Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Unboxing - Glossybox - March 2014




Hi makeup junkies!! I literally am super excited to share with all of you what I received in my March Glossybox. This month's box is seriously so awesome, I was blown away. One of the main things that made this box so amazing, was the fact that Glossybox included a special little bonus gift for you: an Alex and Ani bracelet!! If you've never heard of the brand Alex and Ani, they are an amazing jewelry company, who are super unique and very eco conscious. This brand is also featured on the new season of "The Face" on Oxygen. Besides the bracelet, I received their normal five products, 2 of which are full sized products. I'm so happy that Glossybox seems to be stepping their product game back up, I really had felt like they were slipping and had been thinking about canceling. However, the last couple months have been great- so go Glossybox!! Just keep reading to see everything I got:

Alex and Ani Scent 7 Soap Bar
Full Size $14.00 / 7OZ
^Created with shea butter and coconut oil, Scent 7 Soap Bar effectively nurtures the skin, increasing hydration and thoroughly cleansing the body. Invigorate your sense and lift your spirit with each use.
-Full Size. The "Scent 7" body collection is new to the Alex and Ani line. I haven;t tried this soap bar out, but I'm super excited to. I'm not normally a fan of bar soap, but this one has some seriously amazing ingredients and the scent is out of this world sexy; it's very warm and musky, yet florally too. 
*Edit: I used this soap tonight, and I love it! It lathered really well, made my skin feel so soft and clean, and it smells great!

Alterna Haircare BAMBOO Volume Plumping Strand Expand
Full Size $22.00 / 4 FL OZ
Sample Size .85 FL OZ/25ml
^A thickening lotion that strengthens, moisturizes, and adds volume to the hair from root to tip. Hair appears full-bodied and never weighed down.
-Sample Size. I haven't tried this product out yet, but I am a big fan of Alterna and especially their BAMBOO line so I'm expecting good things. I'm always on the hunt for something to volumize my hair without making sticky and gross, so I hope this works out. The other great thing about this product is that it's free of parabens, Phthalates, Gluten, Synthetic color, Mineral Oil and Petrolatum.

Etre Belle Cosmetics Liplift Peel
Full Size $17.80 / 0.5 FL OZ
^A gentle and moisturizing exfoliator for the lip area. It gently removes dead cells and refines the surface skin. Once a week, or as needed, massage a small amount of Liplift Exfoliator on the lip area with gentle circular motions. After a minute, remove with a dampened cotton pad.
-Full Size. I haven't used this product on my lips yet, but I did try it out on the back of my hand and it seems nice. It comes out looking like a white lotion, but it has a grit to it. It left the back of my hand smooth and soft, so I'm excited to try it on my lips.

Nails Inc "Brook Street" Nail Polish
Full Size $9.50 / .33OZ
Sample Size 4ml / 0.13 FL OZ

(no base or top coat, just 2 coats of polish)
^Looking forward to Spring? Skip ahead to warmer times by wearing this bright, summery coral. Nails Inc. polishes are professionally formulated for a long lasting, super glossy, flawless finish.
-Sample Size. Right now I have this polish on my fingers and I really like it. The color is this gorgeous hot coral that is perfect for Spring and Summer. It went on opaque in two coats and had a nice glossy finish, however I did find that the polish went on a little streaky; but once I used it with a base and top coat it helped a lot. My only other complaint about this, is the size. The bottle is super tiny and I don't think it will last that long, maybe 5 applications- but with everything else in the box I really don't care!


Sisley Paris Black Rose Cream Mask
Full Size $158.00 / 2.1 OZ
Sample Size 0.38 OZ / 11 g 10 ml
^The first Sisley mask enriched with anti-aging active ingredients. A skincare mask rich in trace elements, vitamins and plant extracts, specially formulated to act instantly on the signs of aging and fatigue to rejuvenate skin and restore vitality.
-Sample Size. I am so excited to try this mask tonight! I have very dry skin, so I am all about anything that promises to moisturize my skin. I am also the biggest fan of anything rose, so I'm expecting great things. The only bad side I can see about this product, as of right now, is the price tag. I mean seriously Glossybox, $158.00, who has that kind of money lol, not me!
*edit: This mask is amazing! It felt like a lotion going on and it made my skin feel super soft, smooth, and hydrated. My skin also has a really beautiful glow to it. Too bad I will never spend $158 on a face mask!

Bonus:
Alex and Ani Swan Charm Bangle
$28.00

^A majestic creature that embodies grace and beauty, a swan is a powerful symbol of love. Swans epitomize affectionate connection as they typically create lasting bonds and mate for life. Embrace the devoted energy of this migratory being with the Swan Charm as an encouragement to glide through life with an open heart. Each charm hangs from Alex and Ani's Expandable Wire Bangle and is available in a Russian Gold and a Russian Silver finish.
-This is my first piece by Alex and Ani, and I couldn't be happier. This bangle is so beautiful and extremely well made, in fact it feels like it should cost a lot more. The swan charm, as well as the other little charms, are so cute and I love the look of the tarnished gold. I think this bracelet will be perfect for stacking and will match with so much. I am so interested in buying more pieces from this collection now, which could be dangerous =)

Overall Thoughts: I am super happy with everything I got in this month's box. Granted I haven't actually used a lot of the products yet, I still think I'm really going to like them. I seriously can't wait to take a bath tonight, I'm going to have a full on relaxation night!