Artistry Essentials Review

Hey Everyone! I'm super excited to be writing up a review for this product line... I was given this set by a friend who asked me to test it out and write a review on it...  If you haven't heard of this brand before... its one of the top 10 in cosmetics and top 5 in skin care.. They are also known for Miss America pageant make up... So of course once I heard a chance to receive these products and try them out I was super ecstatic but this review will be divided into two parts.. My very first impression and my ongoing impression of this set... Lets start off with when i first opened it... When I got it it was in a nice black box, it wasn't exactly as how fancy some of the cosmetics from sephora are like eg. urban decay or benefit but It didn't matter to me... it was all to see the products more than anything..
Inside it came with:
- A travel make up bag (that's pretty good quality not like you know those typical mesh ones)
- A concealer (in a nice slick black compact)
- A mineral foundation (it kinda just looked like any typical loose mineral foundation to me)
- A powder brush (I didn't really fancy the brush thought it was coarse for me to use)
- A colour Quad ( originally I thought it was all eyeshadows but later found out that only two were eyeshadows, one was a blush and one was a powder eyeliner)
- A lip gloss (Wasn't too shimmery but there was a slight stickiness to them... but it was a nice neutral shade)
- A eyeliner brush ( This was just like any typical flat top eyeliner brush... I prefer my angled ones a bit more)
- A mascara ( I didn't fancy the mascara so much... I didn't get the volume and lengthening I was hoping for and it had an odd scent to it)
Now time for the on going usage review :)
As usual to my normal make up routine I applied a bit of my Sephora ultra smoothing primer to get the application nice and smooth... And took up the concealer to try first... Using just any concealer brush I noticed how creamy the consistency was... Which reminded me just a bit of my current favorite concealer from Dalton but in a more travel size... and of course being as creamy and light as it is, you could tell it was a light to medium coverage but definitely buildable... So trying out the concealer I noticed it covered all my redness quite well but after I used my finger to blend it out i decided to apply a bit more to ensure it stays covered.. But I did notice it doesn't hide blemishes, or if you have any peeling of the skin.. But it does Hide acne scars really well without feeling like theres a lot of gunk on your face.. I didn't like it for my under eye though... it just seemed a bit too light for coverage where i needed it the most.. Next I used the mineral foundation to set it... Since I thought the artistry brush was too coarse for my skin.. I just took up any of fluffy face brushes to use..  Of course you just tip your brush in the powder and tap off the excess.. to help set everything and give you a even toned complexion... after completing that I took the colour Quad which has 2 eyeshadows (a light shade and a medium shade) Seeing that it was made to be a one shade over your lid colour I took the medium which was a nice shimmery shade with a pinkish undertone.. and the light ivory shade to use as a highlight under my brows :) I was kinda disappointed on how sheer the ivory shade was though so i just applied a second sweep of that for my highlight then taking up the flat eyeliner brush to use the light brown as a eyeliner shade... i noticed it was really light with again a pinkish undertone... But I heard it could be used with a wet brush came out with a very light shade which is quite rare for me since i tend to go for my black eyeliner... Using my fluffy brush I dipped in the blush which was a light pink shade..... It did give a natural glow to the face.. once I was satisfied with the look... I took up the mascara... which had such an odd scent... but I was disappointed that It didn't give me enough volume or lengthening as I would have hoped... I thought my Maybelline one by one did a much better job...  In the end what I realised was that this kit was specially for giving a very natural look... to enhance your natural beauty.. When I asked my family members and my boyfriend what they thought.. They said they didn't see any make up... But there were some products I was still disappointed in..

Q&A
1) Do you recommend this kit to friends and family?
I would recommend it to beginners in make up and those with less blemishes I have...

2) What are your favorite products in this kit?
I like the concealer, the mineral foundation, lip gloss and the travel bag

3) Would you repurchase this kit?
Not necessarily if I liked the product to that extent I would purchase the full size rather than a kit

4) If you could recommend a few things to put in this kit what would it be?
A facial primer , eye primer and a liquid or gel eyeliner

5) Would you use this on a everyday basis?
I don't really wear make up on a day to day basis but I would wear it on those days where I don't feel that I need complete full coverage

6) Where did you hear of the brand?
A friend recommended it to me because she likes her kit alot

7) Did Artistry pay you to do this review?
No... A friend gave me the kit and asked to do an honest review.. which I did :)

Swatches with Flash

Swatches without Flash 

8) Where can I order it?
I received it from : www.amway.com/chaitina
Check it out and place your orders here ^_^


Swatches
Colour Quad (L - R)
- Belgian Lace
- Unspoiled
- Rosewood (blush)
- Cocoa (eyeliner)

Top of hand is the swatch of the lip gloss (Golden Blush)

Bottom Swatch is the Concealer in Light

I will post the link to my youtube Video where I do a review, Swatches and Demo of this kit ^_^

Click here: Artistry Youtube Review, Swatch and Demo

My after result

 Hope you guys like my review :) You can click the link to watch me doing Demos and Swatches :)

XOXO
Livy C

Floral Nails (Step By Step)

Hi Everyone! I decided to share with you how I did these nails... First off let me say that I did not create this look... I learnt this on a nail tutorial by Bubz Beauty and I just wanted to show the ones that I did 

First off you need : 
- a pastel nail polish 
- pink / peach nail polish 
- nail polish for your flowers 
- green nail polish 
- orange wood stick / tooth pick 

The ones I used are : 
- Santee Pastel Pink 
- Santee Baby Pink 
- Misa nail lacquer "Ur beautiful" 
- Kleancolour Pearl Jungle 


First off: I recommend that you start off with clean nails that you have already shaped... 

1) I applied two coats of my Santee Pastel Pink nail polish which is this really nice colour...  Wait till dried 
2) I applied some of my Santee Baby pink nail polishes in small blobs... Wait till dry 
3) Using a scrap paper or box drip your flower coloured nail polish on it... 
4) Using a Orange wood stick / Tooth pick Dip in it 
5) Outline your Blob with the flower colour in squiggly lines 
6) Continue in the middle.... 
7) Don't worry if its not perfect :) Wait till dried 
8) Drip a bit of the green nail polish to make the leaves... using the same orange wood stick or tooth pick make small slanted lines to make as leaves
9) leave to dry 
10) Apply Top coat and leave to dry and you're done!! 

Real Technique Brush Review

Hey Everyone! I have been using these brushes for weeks so I could give you my honest opinion on what I thought of these brushes... And wow do I have alot to say about these sets...
Let me just start off to say I actually ordered this brushes on Amazon because Ulta doesn't have all the ones I wanted in stock.... these were all the sets they came out with and a few single ones... But the only Single one I ordered was the expert face brush... And I absolutely loooooooove these brushes.. I hardly grab any other brushes unless they are a few of my ELF (eyeslipsface.com) brushes. These Real Technique brushes are all synthetic but they are all so nice and dense that can really help pack on the colours. They are super easy to clean and are fool proof.. All the ones with the Gold are Face brushes and the Purple are for the eyes.. I ordered them for $17.99 USD each set,  which is actually quite reasonable considering how much a single brush from Sephora , MAC and Sigma costs... I have a few coastal scents brushes but after the years of constant use... There is alot of fall out and its no longer a complete favorite of mine... So I went to eyeslipsface.com to order a few of their brushes.. Which are reasonable priced and I was ok with throwing them away when they no longer gave me the effect they once did.. But now... These real technique brushes are the first ones I grab than any other ones I may own.. The sets also comes with a travel holder as well So you can pack your brushes easily and have them stand on the table... Super convenient But As awesome as that is.. I doubt I will use the holder.. than my brush roll that my coastal scents brush set once came in.. or my handy elf brush apron :) Which you will see in this photo below of my set up for a small make up Job that I had earlier this year...

This was one of my official jobs that I had..  This is just easier to carry so many brushes that I love to carry and use :) Wow... I just came completely off topic... Back to the Real Technique brushes... These were created by Samantha Chapman who is actually a well known make up guru on youtube as " pixiewoo" I personally haven't really watched her videos but I heard she is one of the very popular gurus.. But her brushes are only sold in selected stores... Mostly Ulta... But Jamaica doesn't sell the brushes sadly :( In Jamaica we don't wear make up on a day to day basis unless we should for our Job.. Personally I wear make up mostly on weekends since I don't have a job that its a requirement.. But when I tried it the very first time... I was surprised when everyone said I had a very flawless finish :) And I only used basic brushes from the Real Technique sets : Expert Face brush, Contour brush, Multi Task brush and the Pointer foundation brush ( awesome for concealers) ... I absolutely adore this complete brush set! I looooove it! I would buy extras to keep in my kit if I misplace them :) All in all... I give this a 4.5 star out of 5 ^_^
Something worth the price and the Quality is amazing.. ^_^

XOXO
Livy C

Wearing Circle Lens

RAWR!
Hey Everyone... So I finally got a chance to remember to put on my circle lens to show you from my order at Shoppingholics.com I shown you pictures of how the packages looked but I never seem to remember to put on my contacts for you all to take a look...  The ones I'm currently wearing is :
 "GEO Bella Grey Circle Lens BS-205" 

Strangely they have a slight tinge of green... But I still love it... It just gives my eyes a slight change without looking completely outrageous and dolly like.. I've just ordered another circle lens from the site today and I'm super excited to try them out.. Although I don't wear my contacts on a day to day basics. I seem to lean towards my Circle lens alot more than my regular ones... Just to enhance my eyes.. I think some girls are just so into the lolita look that I worry about the diameter being so large in my eyes.. Esp since its harder for oxygen to go into your eyes which can cause irritation and dryness. I can't wear my circle lens for more than 6- 7 hours a day.. So if you are considering them... Don't wear them for over that time span.. Unless you carry special eyedrops for contacts. Most of their contacts are by prescription so please don't just randomly pick a prescription. Go to an optical office and get your eyes tested and ask for your prescription just to be on the safe side.. On a side note... the fun part of circle lens on this site is they have the cosplay ones which are great for movies and halloween.. I'm not into those because I'm personally worried I would scare myself looking in a mirror. The only problem I had with this company was that my package took forever although it says it arrived jamaica in like six weeks... I didn't receive it till three months after ordering it.. Which was really odd... So I'm hoping mine will arrive within the six weeks this time because there are some new products I would also like to try :) Just thought I'd say... I actually kept all these cute boxes that came with my contacts.... They Are super duper cute! The difference with the Freshlook colour contacts and the Circle lens... is that the circle lens makes your eyes look much bigger and with interesting patterns on them..... but the freshlook has a more coloured look that looks slighly unusual but natural at the same time... because there is no special design or ring on the rim of the contacts... I love them both... But I just love my circle lens a bit more than any other contacts I own :) Hope you enjoyed my long blog :)

XOXO
Livy C

Shoppingholics Order.....

Hi Everyone...
So I tried to do a video review for you on this particular order but I never seemed to get it to work out...
So I decided to write it instead....
So couple months ago I decided to get circle lenses... (in case you didn't know) These are contact lens that has slightly larger diameter.... Which gives you the illusion of big eyes and what they call "Dolly eyes effect" So after weeks of determination and alot of time spent in front of the computer screen... I ended up with a company called : Shoppingholics... they had the most reasonable prices, they had alot of extra things I could also order than just contacts.. So I spent even more time in front of the computer to search for the perfect circle lens for me that just enhanced my eyes and not too into the dolly effect.. In the end.. I ordered three pairs..  They came with a promotion where each pair of contacts you ordered you received a few extra goodies...

So in total I received:
- 3 Pair of contacts in cute boxes
- 3 Cute animal cases
- 1 Eye Mask
- 1 Velcro Hair clip
- 1 Cute Travel Mirror

This site also shows you the retail price and their prices..
They also have all sorts of promotions and many interesting style contact lens

So on the left you will see lots of cute boxes that holds my contacts. They mostly sell the prescribed ones
So I would recommend that you get your eyes tested first... they do have some that are prescribed so you can check those out ^_^ I forgot to take photos of the extra items I got with my package...

So if you are interested in Circle Lenses
Check out www.shoppingholics.com ^_^




Here are the ones I ordered:

http://shoppingholics.com/goods.php?id=90 (Geo Ultra XCK105)
http://shoppingholics.com/goods.php?id=152 (GEO Bella Grey Circle Lens BS-205)
http://shoppingholics.com/goods.php?id=137 (Geo BC-102 Brown Circle Lens)


Hope this was helpful ^_^
Livy C

August Favorites of 2012

Hi Everyone ^_^

So I started to do my monthly favorites on my youtube channel :) So I decided to blog on it as well  ^_^ 

I didn't take a picture of all my favorite products...  But I will link my youtube video on this blog.... 

So this month has came and gone so quickly and at the squint of an eye more than half of the year has been gone..  So I thought... what I should do is... Keep up to date with my favorite products of the year and then by January I have a Favorite products video of 2012 ^_^ Sounds like loads of fun to me... I must be boring you all to death ... so here they are : 

Skin care: 

- Clarisonic acne daily clarifying cleanser 

- Clarisonic Mia2 (acne) 

- Clinique 3 step (cleanser , toner and moisturizing gel) 

Face: 

- Sephora ultra smoothing primer

- Revlon colourstay foundation (combination to oily skin)  {warm golden}

- Maybelline age rewind eraser for dark circles {fair} 

- Coastal Scents Camo quad {medium} 

- Mary- kay concealer {beige 2} 

-  Coastal Scents Sunless Body art {medium}

- Rimmel Natural Bronzer {sunlight}

- Elf contouring blush and bronzer 

- Elf translucent mattifying powder 

Eyes: 

- Maybelline color tattoos {tough as taupe , Bold gold , bad to the bronze} 

- Urban Decay Naked Palette 

- K palette 1 day eyeliner  (WP) {Black}

- Tarte Amazonian Clay Mascara 

- Avon Big colour pencil {Vanilla} 

Lips:

-  Revlon lip butters {Peach Parfait, Sweet tart, Cherry tart, Lollipop}

Fragrance: 

-  Victoria Secret Pink Body spray { Sunny and Happy} 

Hair Product:

- Garnier frutis sleek and shine leave in conditioning cream 

Snacks:

- Jolly rancher Gummies 

- Koala March 

I hope you guys love my august favorites as much as I do! ^_^

Heres the link to the video on youtube : August Favorites of 2012

XOXO 

Livy C 

Haul: Bundle Monster Nail Stamps

Hey Everyone, So I have been feeling very into decorating my nails lately. So my friend mentioned to me about Nail Stamps. So Naturally I went on youtube to find out more about it. So I was very intrigued. And it seemed easy to do. So I went on Amazon and ordered some. I ordered the 21 pc and 25 pc (2011 collection) from Bundle Monster and I ordered a plate holder to ensure it made less for me to clean up :)
Since both items were from different sellers. I got my products separately. My plate holder arrived within 9 days after I ordered it. My Bundle Monster took about 2.5 weeks to arrive. So thats not so bad. But my stamper and scraper has yet to arrive so I haven't started yet.. Super excited to try! When I receive my Stamper and Scraper. I will post photos and reviews ^_^


XOXO 
Livy C 


Follow me on my personal blog: 
http://livyc.blogspot.com/

Review : Just lenses....

Hey Everyone, So I finally got my contacts after ordering for over 6 weeks. So I just thought I would review on the company I used to order them :) So normally if you buy your contacts in Jamaica, I realized how expensive it can be... Thats why I had decided to order mine online for half the price as here in Jamaica. So I ordered from a site called "Justlenses.com" So much cheaper... And more varieties and I have enough contacts to last me for 2 years or so.. Because my regular contacts has 12 pairs! And normally You can wear your contacts up to 3 months or unless they tear. And I decided to get 2 shades of coloured ones. Each box holds 6 contacts (3 pairs) So I ordered a brown and gray :) They ship straight to Jamaica. My friend orders his contacts and ship it to Jamaica from 1- 800 contacts. And When I compared the prices. It just seemed cheaper to order from Just lenses. But then my friend received his contacts in just two weeks. I was told my contacts would arrive within 10 - 12 business days... But it did not come with a tracking code.. And in the end... it took 6 weeks to arrive... So I was pretty disappointed about that... But as my friend said... its the service that you pay for rather the contacts. But I didn't mind because I wasn't in a rush. This site only sells prescribed contacts. So if you are looking for the fashion ones for colors. This is not the site for you. But some stores do sell the fashion ones. Just thought I would point out that those cases do NOT come with my contact. I actually ordered them. Its a cute travel case which is perfect for me.. Because I would rather pop those into my bag. It contains a Mirror , Contacts bottle (for solution), tweezer, Lens container and Contacts stick. I haven't really tried to use the contacts stick yet. But this just seems perfect for me because I'm always out dealing with things and work. So onto the Q & A's !  ^_^


Q: Why did you order from this company?
A: Jamaica is so expensive and I saved more than half the amount of money on all of my contacts. 


Q: How did you find this website / company?
A: Google is an amazing thing... 


Q: What do you think of their service?
A: I have to give it 3.5 stars. They do notify you that your order was received and been shipped out. Also they have friendly customer service and live chat on the site to help you :)


Q: What did you hate about this site?
A: They gave a false impression as to when I would receive my contacts 


Q: How are their prices?
A: Their prices are more than reasonable.. Considering how much they are charging in Jamaica in optical stores. Which is atrocious! 


Q: Would you order from them again? 
A: I would. But I might try from 1- 800 contacts. But I don't need to order any contacts for a good while 


Q: Whats the best thing about this site?
A: They actually have bulk orders you get them cheaper! My contacts aren't going to expire till 2016 - 2017! Also they have reviews on all the contacts so you can read and compare to find which is the one for you! 


I hope this was helpful if you are planning to order your contacts anytime soon :) 


XOXO 
Livy C 


Follow me on my personal blog 
http://livyc.blogspot.com/

My opinions on : Maybelline 24 hour color tattoos

Hey Everyone,
I know this is a super late kinda been busy with alot of stuff... I actually had two of these for months now... But I was waiting for when the stores restocked on the Bold gold and Bad to the Bronze shade for me to purchase before I wrote up about it...  So There are about ten colors I think. But I was only interested in five shades. And I haven't been able to get my hands on the tenacious teal. So disappointed.. But I'm quite happy on the shades I have now...  So In this blog I have swatches of all four shades I own which are ( in order) : Tough as Taupe, Bold Gold, Bad to the Bronze and Audacious Asphalt. Because I knew these shades were what I would mostly use... For neutrals, warms or smokey eye looks... Which is mostly what I aim for :) So basically these shadows are great but I tend to use them mostly as a base... to bring out my brilliant eye shadows.. and they are also amazing as eyeliners... if you wanna give a pop of color ( I wish I was able to get the teal for this) I haven't really tried these on for 24 hours.. But I do notice without primer.. It does crease quite a bit. So if you thought you didn't need a primer. You were deeply wrong. So time for Q& A time :) 


Q: What do you think of this product?
A: I love the shades and that its easy to blend, I think its amazing for a base as well, does wonders :)


Q: What do you normally use this product with?
A: I tend to use my Kat Von D primer (sold at sephora) or my Urban Decay Primer potion as a primer and I use my Urban Decay Naked Palette or Nyx single eyeshadows over it :) 


Q: Whats your favorite thing about this product?
A: I love that its creamy and easy to blend.. and its not as easy to crease (if you have primer on) and its smooth enough for me to use also as an eyeliner :) 


Q: What do you think of the price of the product?
A: I actually think the price is more than reasonable because of two reasons 
1) A little of the product goes a long way 
2) Its long wearing 


Q: How much would you rate this product? 
A : I would give it four and a half stars considering its a drugstore product


Q: Would you recommend this product to friends and family?
A : More than likely and I could show them how I use it as well :)


I hope you guys find this very helpful :)


XOXO 
Livy C  


Follow me on my personal blog
http://livyc.blogspot.com/

Review : Maybelline Master Precise liquid eyeliner

Hey Everyone! So I haven't written a review in a while... But I just bought this product recently and I actually bought it and hoped it would be a dupe for my favorite liquid eyeliner from Japan called " K- Palette" But Sadly this didn't even come close to what I wanted... Mostly because my K- Palette is a 24 hr eyeliner thats waterproof so there would be no reason to do retouches... So I was pretty disappointed with this product .. But I'm going to just give you the Pros and Cons about this eyeliner ( This is just in my opinion)

Pros 

- Precise lining
- Completely Black ( No need to layer the colours on)
- Easy to use felt tip ( which makes it easy to use)
- Quickly Dries

Cons

- Not Waterproof ( started smudging within an hour time)
- Not much Variety of colours


What I meant that it started smudging within an hour time... from glam to a raccoon... It was smudging everywhere and running amok on my face... I am so happy I tried this on before I decided to wear it to go out! With how hot it is in Jamaica right now.. I doubt I would use this again for a while.. Maybe for designs on the face... But not near my eyes... This is just my opinion don't let my judgement of this product prevent you from giving it a try...  If this came in waterproof I am sure my review would have ended up in a different attitude towards this product.

XOXO
Livy C

You can also read my new daily blogs of my personal life on
http://livyc.blogspot.com/
Follow me ^_^

Missha Review

Hey everyone after I had these products for over a month I finally got a chance to give an honest review on it.. I haven't used the make up remover quite yet but I have used the skin care products


Super Aqua Deloxifying Peeling gel 
I absolutely looooooove this product. I am not a fan of harsh facial scrubs so I was so happy when this was quite mild and did a better job than the harsh ones. This comes in a Clear gel form where you need to apply very little and as you scrub your face you can actually see the dead skin cells gathering up from the scrub... Its an amazing product with a pleasant smell. This is a product I would probably reorder until they are no longer on the market for years to come......
                                     
                                             Super Aqua Pore minimizing mask 

This is an amazing facial mask for those that has pores that you are self  conscious of its a light consistency with a slight Gray shade its really light you can hardly see it on your face... but it really tightens your face... I placed this product on my face avoiding my lips and eyes and I was surprised when it dried up looking quite clear but with a sheen and I could not move my face.. When I finally washed it off the only word that I could possibly use to describe it was a refreshing. I normally would use a Queen Helene mint julep masque but I never really liked the thick consistency that took me many washes to remove to avoid any residue on my face... and looking like the wicked witch in the wizard of oz. I actually already reordered this product because its amazing and I introduced it to my mother.  All in all if you like a facial mask that does its job and is not a thick cakey blob on your face... you should give this product a try you can order these products on www.misshaus.com  they seem to always have a sale or special or promotion... I recommend this product for everyone to try : 

Missha BB Cream 

So I have raved about this BB cream since I got my first one in summer when I was in Hong Kong and I am still in love with it. AT first I was really sad that there was no way for me to get another when mine was finished until I found it on a site that is in the US and has promotions nearly every day :) Strangely the day I checked it out they were having this amazing promotion that it would be for $12.99 when its original price was $29.99. So seeing how it was less than half of the price I jumped in and ordered one... But they did have this one catch where you could only order one per order... I didn't mind... Because I actually bought two in Hong King thinking I can never get them again. And I was only half way through with my first. So now i have two back ups :) also because i tend to have last minute or i am going away over night during the holidays instead of packing my regular sized. I ordered a travel size so it was much more convenient for me. This BB cream just oxidises into my natural shade.. causing me never to really worry if my foundation is the incorrect shade.. The only thing I didnt understand was why they only limited it to 4 shades... sure it oxidises but there are some persons that cant seem to find their ideal shade. The missha bb cream also has a wonderful spf of 42! how often do you see a foundation with that SPF? and this give me a light to medium coverage.. its buildable so you could make it a full coverage... I will never regret this product. Its so amazing! 

I hope you guys liked my long over do Missha review ... Thanks for reading 

XOXO  

Nyx Glitter haul

Hey everyone... Sorry its been so long since I last wrote a Blog. Life has been so hectic and it is almost the middle of January already. Today I finally received my glitter cream palettes I ordered from NYX. I was waiting for about 2 - 3 weeks for them and the wait was worth it.. I did do a few swatches on my hand....  From one of the palettes and the texture is so creamy... Originally I did not plan to order so many but with the glitter craze I have been feeling these past few months. I really Just couldn't help myself. Especially with the Jamaica carnival road march arriving on April 15th... And I get myself prepared to do my clients make up only makes me more eager on what it is that I plan to do to make my own mark in the make up artist world.... When I get the chance to do a tested look with these palettes I plan to upload it for you all to see,... All in all I think the palette will be an amazing investment if you love glitter as much as I do
the name of the palettes I own are...
- Glitterati palette (Large one containing 21 shades)
- Royal Violets
-Golden Goddess
-Sweet chocolate browns

hope this helped a bit
Thanks for reading