Sunday, 21 October 2012

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

Tuesday, 16 October 2012

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!! 














Thursday, 11 October 2012

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

Tuesday, 9 October 2012

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