WHAT?!

Just spent the last 2 hours doing a stupid blog post and for nothing. It's gone and I'm done for the day.

M

Back to blogging

So I've been gone for a loooooong time! But not really. I promise you, I had a good reason. No, seriously I did. Why don't you believe me? Just kidding.

Anyways, what was I doing? Why, establishing a YouTube channel of course! And let me tell you it's been a crazy crazy ride. Got lots of good subscribers and wonderful people following me. So anyways, I'm back and I'm going to be posting some of the videos or content of them on here and maybe other stuff.

If you'd like to follow me elsewhere I'm on Instagram @ markitasmakeupbag and twitter @ Markitasmakeup (bag wouldn't fit) and of course, on here. See you guys tomorrow!

Markita

Taylor Swift Inspired Friday the 13th Nails!

Everyone loves Taylor Swift and the girl loves the number 13 and sparkly things so in honor of Taylor and her love of all things 13 I wanted to do a nail blog inspired by Miss. Swift herself.

I wanted to do something girly and sparkly and I think I found the perfect balance of that. First I started with two nail polishes that really reminded me of her. She tends to lean more towards the pink/nude colors and of course lots of sparkles. The first color I used was XOX Betsey from Sephora OPI (a pale almost nude pink) and Essie's A Cut Above (a mix of both fine and chunky pink sparkles) from their luxeffects line. 

Next I painted my nails two coats of the XOX Betsey. You don't have to do two coats you can do one or more, but the color wasn't enough with just one coat.

And then gave a generous coating of A Cut Above. I did one heavy and one light coat of this to make sure I got a good balance of fine and chunky glitter. 

Finally, I finished off with a top coat and voila! Have a great Friday everyone!

Have fun and stay beautiful!

April 2012 BirchBox!

Hey Beauties! Well, it's that time again, time for my monthly BirchBox! I'm super excited about this one, I got a lot of great feedback on my YouTube video, you can check it out here, if you're interested in seeing a video of what I received. For the month of April they decided to focus on natural and organic products for spring. So let's get going and I'll show you what I got in my BirchBox!

• Befine Skincare Sampler- It came with 2 cleansers and 3 moisturizer single serving packs and boasts rice extract to help restore your skin. These retail for $24 each. 
• WEI White Lotus Hydrating Face Treatment Pad- A single use mask soaked in a blend of Eastern botanicals and hyaluronic acid to instantly boost your skins moisture. Retail value for these is $68 for a pack of 6.
• Wonderstruck by Taylor Swift- This pretty scent has notes of freesia, green tea, apple blossom, raspberry and dewberry. Inspired by everything Taylor, it's definitely a sweet scent meant to enchant. Retail value is $18-$59.50.
• Zoya TRUE Spring Collection in Bevin- The non-toxic formula goes on opaque and is supposed to last 50% longer than traditional polishes and with a retail value of $8 it's definitely worth it. 
• Beauty Extra- MicrodermaMitt Face Mitt- Made of all-natural silk this mitt gently exfoliates dead skin and pore-clogging dirt and oil. The full-size mitt retails for $28.50.

All in all I think this was a great box and one of the better ones I've seen in a while. This is my second BirchBox but as far as what I've seen on YouTube this is a great box for both this month and past months. 

Verdict: A++ I loved the natural theme and the variety of products and I can't wait to see what they have in store for me next month!

Have fun and stay beautiful!

Hatching Egg Nail Art

Hey beauties! I just got into the YouTube game! Check out my newest video featuring Hatching Egg Nail Art! It's perfect for spring or Easter brunch and it's as easy as 1-2-3! Click the link and also you can follow me on twitter at MarkitasMakeup!

Have fun and stay beautiful!

And The Color Of The Year Is...

So as most of you probably know, Pantone is the authority on color and color matching. And if you don't know who they are head on over to pantone.com and see what they're all about. Anyways, Pantone partnered with Sephora to officially announce the color of they year. And the color of the year is...

Admittedly, tangerine isn't for everyone but if you're just bold enough to pull it off you may want to head over to Sephora and check out their amazing selection of products inspired by this years delicious color.

They have everything from lipgloss to nail polish to blushes. And it's such an excitingly, beautiful color you won't be able to resist.

Have fun and stay beautiful!

Saturday Beauty Review

Hey Lovlies, if you're like us here in Indiana, then you didn't get much of a winter and for that I'm sorry. But I was perusing the beauty aisles of Target and I came across this frilly, frosty Essie nail polish. It's called Pure Pearlification and it's definitely one of my new favorites for several reasons. 

My sister Sarah always taught me the importance of having a beautiful ,pearly nail polish on hand at all times. I couldn't agree more but most of the ones I've seen in the past few years are a little too over the top and not subtle enough. 

Plus, I love winter and this is just a beautiful frosty color and it reminds me of walking outside and seeing everything covered in a gorgeous sheen of ice. 

The great thing about this nail polish is it's quick drying and it showcases beautiful pigments. Just standing in the aisle in front of all the Essie nail polishes I could pick out 10-15 I wanted to take home with me. However, at $7.50-$8.00 (depending on where you buy it), it's a little on the pricey side, so my husband would have had a cow if I would have brought home all those nail polishes.

So all in all it gets an A- rating from me, beautiful and quick drying it may be, it's still $8.00 on average and that's not favorable to me.

I want to dedicate this post to my sister Sarah, she celebrated her birthday on March 4th. Happy Birthday pretty girl, love you!

Have fun and stay beautiful!

GlossyBox USA Has Arrived!

Hey Lovelies, I just wanted to do a quick post to update you all on a sample service I'm really excited about. It's called GlossyBox and I've been positively coveting everyone on YouTube's GlossyBox goodies!

If you don't know what GlossyBox is, it's a lot like US companies BirchBox and My Glam Bag where you get 5 samples each month. Now, BirchBox is $10 dollars a month, no shipping or handling fee's and GlossyBox is a lot like that. They haven't announced their pricing per month for Glossybox but I'm hoping it's a lot like BirchBox. 

I am currently signed up with BirchBox and will be doing BirchBox haul videos on YouTube very soon so you'll be able to see all the BirchBox beauty treats I get every month. But I feel, just from the videos I've seen, that GlossyBox is a little more generous with their treats. So we'll see how they compare to each other every month when GlossyBox launches soon. Also, from what I know about MyGlam they give you a cute bag every month full of both full and sample sized goodies. I'm not really interested in that because I sort of have a hodge podge of different bags from Clinique and I really don't need one more thing to have to deal with. So I'm not going to sign up with them but they do look like they offer pretty neat treats. 

If you're interested in finding out more about BirchBox, MyGlam or Glossybox I'll drop the Facebook links and weblinks below this post and you can decide which company is right for you. Or you can head over to YouTube and search for both BirchBox, MyGlam and Glossybox videos. 

Have fun and stay beautiful!

www.facebook.com/GlossyBox.com

www.glossybox.com

www.facebook.com/BirchboxMonthly

www.birchbox.com

www.facebook.com/myglam
www.myglam.com

Saturday Beauty Review On Sunday!

Daylight savings time can really kill your sleep schedule. You feel groggy and sleepy the next morning and to top it off you've lost an hour of your day! That's not fun or fair but have no fear because C.O. Bigelow is here. So I present to you, C.O. Bigelow Mentha Body Wash with peppermint oil.

Infused with vitamins A, C and E this body wash definitely helps perk you up in the morning and makes you feel like you're on top of a snow covered mountian. Especially on a morning right after a time change, and since I don't drink coffee, I need that extra pick me up.  I felt awake and happy just being in a warm shower with a cool body wash. It does make sensitive areas cool and if you get this in your eyes, well then I recommend washing your eyes out as fast as you can. 

As for texture this body wash is smooth with small cleansing beads and it really works up a good lather on it's own or on a loofah. It leaves your skin smooth and smelling fresh. 

  

However, at about $12.00 USD it is a little on the pricy side. But if you catch Bath and Body works in a good mood you can get buy 2 get 1 free. So that takes it down to about $8.00 a bottle and you'll definitely reach for more after your first bottle is gone. 

So all in all, if you're looking for a Daylight Savings Time pick me up or just have trouble getting going in the morning then I strongly recommend this body wash. You'll feel refreshed and revitalized so you can start your day awake and alert. One last detail that I want to mention is that this product is not tested on animals and that's a plus in my book!

Have fun and stay beautiful!

Friday Night Mask-erade

I love mud masks, clay masks or anything that makes my skin smooth after I use it. Exfoliators especially, so when I picked this Boots Conditioning Clay Mask up from Target a week ago, I wasn't sure what to expect. One of my favorite makeup guru's on YouTube (I'm looking at you SineadyCady of TheMakeupChair) uses a lot of Boots products. So, I thought, since Target started to sell Boots that I'd give it a try. 

Like I said, I picked this up at Target for about $10 USD and wasn't sure what to expect. The back of the tube says to shake it up and I guess maybe I'm not used to using clay masks or maybe the ones I've used in the past have a thicker consistency but it is a very loose mask. You do need to shake it well and make sure that you put it on very carefully because it may drip on clothes. 

I put this on after a shower and a very light exfoliation routine, I use St. Ives blemish scrub but I only used about an M&M sized dollop and gently worked it on my face. So after the shower and application of the mask I left it on for 15 to 20 minutes until all the dark green was gone. This mask does dry very quickly so if you are the type to wake up early to do a clay mask before work then this mask is definitely for you. 

After it's done drying you can just rinse it off with warm water and pat dry. It does come off very, very easily so you don't have to use your nails or a washcloth. There are no hard chunks of clay to pick off and it is definitely easy to use. 

I washed it off and it left my skin soft, smooth and silky to the touch. I did a patch on the back of my hand and my husband could definitely feel the difference between the hand I used the mask on and the hand I didn't.  And at around 10 dollars it's definitely a great value!

Have fun and stay beautiful!

Gone But Not Forgotten

We all have one, a beauty product we love to death and somehow the cosmetic company that makes that product hears our love for it. And the next thing you know, it's dead and you have to hope and pray you have a ghost of a chance of finding it on eBay or Amazon. So today, I'm doing a post on my one product that I loved to death. Literally. Clinique killed it shortly after I fell for it and now only a handful exist on eBay... so without further ado, my loved to death beauty item is....

Clinique Lip Lacquer :( It was definitely the most amazing lip product they had on their roster of lip products. This was my favorite color called Rockstar and it's a beautiful deep reddish, cranberryish lovely color. The best thing about it is it looks different from person to person. It's long lasting and a little goes a long way. My mother, who is always looking for ways to keep her lipstick on, tried this product and has been in love with it ever since as well. She just loads up the little brush that comes with it and uses that to reapply once throughout the day. I wish I had tried other colors in this lovely product and not just limited myself to just one. 

Also, depending on if you blot or not this lip lacquer takes on an intirely different life of it's own.  This is after one blot and one layer of application. But without the blot, it's a deep mahogany color and it would be perfect for a night on the town, whereas this is definitely a color I could get behind for daytime use. 

I will forever miss this product, it's definitely gone but not forgotten. 

Thats all I have for today pretties!

Have fun and stay beautiful!

Hot For Dots

Well, dotting tools that is! I recently came across these little beauties on Amazon.com for about $5.00 USD and since I'm a subscriber to Amazon Prime I got them in 2 days with no shipping, which was great because I'm so impatient I wouldn't have been able to wait any longer than that. I ended up buying 2 sets and have a couple of doubles but that's ok by me. Especially since I use lots of colors and like to have the same size for different colors. 

These tools are double sided, which you can't tell because my picture only shows one side and they come in a variety of colors. I love the swirl in the middle and the different colors are nice if I'm using a lot of different sizes I don't reach for one and accidentally grab another. Another thing I love is that they're light weight and the tips are real metal and not that coated plastic so if you use nail polish remover to take off excess polish the silver doesn't rub off. Which, trust me, I've been hurt in the past by cheap beauty supplies like that. 

Since I was alone today I had to take the pictures by myself so bear with me if they're a little blurry or hard to understand. Here you can see I'm just doing a basic white dot with a smaller tipped dotting tool. One thing to mention is that the tools, while small, do hold a lot of polish so if you're wanting to do smaller dots always try it out on a surface before you try to dot it on your nail. I made the mistake of using a smallish tipped tool and ended up with a huge blob. 

So this is the finished product of the white dots. I think they're fun and very girly. Or you could make it more punk and do pink background with black dots or vice versa. I love dots but they do take some practice and getting used to. I like to have a nail polish remover soaked cotton ball on hand to wipe off the tip of the tool I'm using because they can get gunky and sticky. This can cause nail polish strings to follow the tool and fall on your nail. It sounds weird but just keep the tips clean. 

You can't really tell but that white thing in the corner is a paint palette I got at a Michael's craft store for 99 cents and it's definitely good to swatch your dots on and to hold nail polish. I'll go more into that later. 

Alright, so we covered dots or spots and whatnot but another one of my favorite things you can use the dotting tools for is to make hearts. I know, I know there are literally 1,001 things you can use dotting tools for but this is my favorite so there. 

Start by making a small oval with the dotting tool, just make a dot and drag it down towards you a little bit. 

Next, you'll want to make another one just like the first one but on the other side. It's absolutely easy and the results are frickin' adorable! I love the red hearts even if Valentine's Day is over this is a sweet way to celebrate all year long. 

This is the finished product of my heart nail. Now, just as with the dots you can absolutely make smaller hearts or one big one it depends on your mood and how far you are into learning how to use them.

Again, I know that there are thousands of things to do with these tools these are just my two favorites and the easiest to learn. I'll give a link at the bottom of the page to buy these on Amazon if you are interested.

Have fun and stay beautiful!

Saturday Beauty Review

Hello Lovelies! Sorry I've been away for so long... But fret not, I have been brainstorming lots of neat blog subjects while I was away.

In our first beauty review ever we're focusing on the most beautiful feature on every woman, her eyes. But what good is painting your eyelids if the shadow just creases or slides off? Luckily, we have eyelid primer as our secret weapon! And in this review we are going to be reviewing Benefit Cosmetics Stay Don't Stray eyelid primer. This lightweight primer boasts it's ability to make concealers and eyeshadows stay put all while matching all skin shades in a flattering nude color. 

This primer is definitely a flattering nude shade and it's, if nothing else lightweight but at $26 USD a tube it's a littler pricier than say Cliniques Touch Base for Eyes which is $15 USD and is by far the best primer I've ever used. Or the lower priced, but not by much, Stila Prime Pot or Smashbox's Photofinish Eyelid Primer which both retail about $21 USD. So it's definitely more expensive but unfortunately lightweight formula isn't enough to save this primer. 

Even though it went on beautifully and didn't make my eyeshadow feel heavy it did, ultimately, let me down. You can see that the eyeshadow actually faded and creased after about 8 hours. So if you're going from work to a charity benefit or play this Benefit is not for you. I really wanted to like this primer and wanted it to work for me but unfortunately it just isn't for me. 

However, this primer will have a chance to redeem itself when I pit it up against Smashbox's Photofinish Eyelid Primer in a Beauty Battle so stay tuned and see which one comes out on top. 

Have fun and stay beautiful!

Pucker Up, Sweetie Pie!

Hey everyone! I just returned from an extended vacation to both San Francisco and Las Vegas. It was a fun trip but it was long and I'm ready to be back on here and doling out beauty advice. 

While I was on vacation I made sure that I packed enough lip care products because being away from your usual water and climate can sometimes dry out your lips. And being in Las Vegas, that was definitely the case. Lips are often neglected anyways, but when you're on vacation you usually just pack a lip balm and go. This is a big mistake. Here are some tried and true products that I have personally tried and have come to love and hope you do too!

The first and best thing you can do for your lips is to drink lots of water. Water keeps you hydrated and your skin and lips soft. People often neglect water or drink just enough to get by but, if you drink the proper amount for you, it'll make your skin glow. 

If you're not a girly girl and just like to put on a layer of chapstick and go in the morning then this is for you. I love Burt's Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with pomegranate oil. It moisturizes and gives you a small tint on your lips but not enough to make it look like you have anything on. And because it keeps me moisturized when I'm on the go and want to just put something on but don't feel like wearing make up. Plus! It's about $3.00 online or in stores so it's defnitely for those on a budget. 

Keep it fresh with this next product, at about $22.00 for two small lip balms or one full-size balm, it is a little pricier but worth it. This is definitely for girls on the field because it has SPF 15 which is something you need when you're in the sun. Your lips need just as much protection from the sun as the rest of your skin. Fresh Sugar lip balms come in a variety of colors from transparent to plum and give you just a hint of color while providing protection. 

If you have a little more to spend on beauty products then I definitely recommend the Clinique Chubby Stick. It gives you a beautiful color on your lips and keeps your lips hydrated and soft. It does not offer SPF but if you're in an office and, like me, don't care for lipstick then defnitely check these out. They come in 8 different colors and cost $15.00 which isn't as much as the aforementioned Fresh Sugar balms but you get more use out of the Fresh balms than you do these. 

People probably don't realize that while you sleep your lips are susceptible to saliva which can dry out your lips. Which is why I adore C.O. Bigelow's My Favorite Night Balm. It keeps my lips protected all night and the best part is, when I wake up it's STILL on my lips! I do have to wipe it off in the morning but that allows my Chubby Stick to have a smooth surface to glide on. And at $7.50 you can't beat the price!

If you have a little time and available ingredients you can make a lip scrub to scrub off any dead skin the night balm might give you. You just need the following ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon sugar (white or brown will do)

1/2 teaspoon honey

A few drops of olive oil

Mix all the ingredients in a small ramekin and add more olive oil or sugar depending on the consistency. You don't want it too runny or too course. You don't want to take off too much skin but you don't want a runny sugar scrub. DO NOT use salt. Salt dries out your skin and will chap your lips even more.

When using the sugar scrub you want to gently massage the scrub in small circles on the lips and rinse off with water. That's it! It's that simple.

Have fun and stay beautiful!

Brush With Greatness

Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone is well rested and enjoyed their weekend. This weekend I gave my skin a break and didn't wear any makeup but I sort of missed my makeup brushes so as a way to play with them today I decided to do a post on them. A lot of people may be confused by makeup brushes or intimidated but they don't have to be. So lets get started, shall we?

First things first. If you've never used brushes you need to figure out how much or how little you want to actually use brushes. I, personally, use brushes to put on every aspect of my makeup, from foundation to eyeshadow. This helps keep me from touching my skin too much and keeps me from transferring unnecessary oils from my fingers to my face. So write down what brushes you want so you can figure out what brush set is right for you. There are a million types of brushes but you only want ones that you will use. Do not spend $300 dollars on a brush set that you will only use 5 brushes from. Some brushes you may want to consider are the following:

• Foundation
• Concealer
• Powder
• Blush
• Eyeshadow (all over and lid)
• Blending eyeshadow
• Eyeliner
• Eyebrow
• Smudge stick
• Eyebrow/eyelash comb

Now there is nothing wrong with buying brushes one by one, however, this can end up costing you more than a couple hundred dollars depending on what brand and what they're made of. Brush sets are economical and you can find a set that will be a good fit for you. 

So after you figure out what brushes you want to use you need to think about what kind you want. Brushes come in both natural and synthetic hair. Depending on your beliefs or preference you can find brush sets in both or a mix of both synthetic and natural hair. 

So lets take a look at a few brushes that you can get from brush sets that I've purchased and had great luck with. 

First up are powder brushes-

These brushes are used for applying powder all over the face and neck area. You want to find a good brush that will give you great coverage and not crumble your pressed powder. The brushes shown are from the Sephora Perfect Pink brush sets. You will want to wash these brushes at least once a week to avoid too much oil and makeup build up. These brushes are from two different sets but they both work just as well. 

The next brushes I want to talk about are the foundation and concealer brushes. This brush is perfect for applying foundation. It's a lot easier than you think to apply foundations and there are two ways to do it. You can put your foundation on the back of your hand and apply it that way or apply it to your face with your fingers and work it in that way. But whichever way you put it on you always want to always brush downward when applying foundation so as to make all the hairs on your face lie flat. 

To apply the concealer just dot it under your eye and work it in with the brush until it's well blended and no streaks are visible. 

The brushes to the right are all eyeshadow brushes. The two on the left in the picture are both large eyeshadow brushes, which means they are used to put on a base shadow or all over color. The two on the right are a small eyeshadow brush and a contour or blending brush. The smaller eyeshadow brush is used to put color just on the lid or the edge of the lid. The contour or blending brush is used to apply color to the inner crease of your eyelid or to blend the crease color with the all over color or lid color. That brush is a great tool to avoid having too sharp of a line on your eye lid. So your colors blend and will make your eyes really pop.

The brushes to the left are all eye liner tools. The angled brush is used for eyeshadow, gel or liquid eyeliners. You will need a steady hand to use this but I find it's easier to control the amount you get on the brush than it is to control the amount on the wand that comes with most liquid liners. 

The brush in the middle is a smudge stick and is a great tool to accompish an amazing smokey eye look and to soften any hard eyeliner lines. 

The flat brush that looks like a paint brush is one that I use to fill in my eyelashes. I will use a little black eyeshadow or eyeliner and get as close to my eyelashes as possible and fill them in. This is great if you have thin lashes.

These two brushes are both my most favorite and my most loathed. Not that they're bad brushes in any way or more superior just their functions are on two different plains for me. The brush on the left is a fan brush. This brush is used for wiping away or dusting all over your face. I love to use this brush to dust shimmer all over my face or to wipe away errant eyeshadow from my under eyes. I do use a lot of eyeshadow and this brush keeps the shadow from smashing against my face and coloring my cheek.

The next brush is a blush brush. The only reason I say that I loathe it is that I do not use blush at all. I feel like it makes me look a bit clownish and I don't use it. It is a great brush, don't get me wrong, I did use it to see how effective it is and it does a fantastic job in not crumbling blush. So while it does it's job it is just a wasted brush for me. 

Ok, so these brushes all focus on a regularly neglected part of our face. The eyebrows. Women usually forget about them but if you have sparse or minimal eyebrows then these brushes can make your eyes look more full and really highlight your eyes. 

The brush on the left is meant for eyeliner but it's a bit too fluffy for that so I use it to fill in my brows and it works better than any other brush. 

The brush on the left is meant for lips but I use it to blend my eyebrow color and make it less severe if I use too much brow filler. 

The brush in the middle is probably my least favorite that comes with any brush set, not just this set. I find that the bristles are too hard and if your bristles are too hard you will develope flakes in your eyebrows. Who want's that? Another thing I can't stand about these cheap brushes are the flimsy plastic combs, the teeth break and bend and then it's a useless brush. But like I said it's not just this brush set it's almost every brush set in the world. So I ended up replacing the brush in the middle with this beast... 

This brush is from the Sephora Professional line and is not only softer but the comb is actually metal so it doesn't bend without a lot of force and the teeth don't break off if you accidentally drop it or hit it against something.

I'm not exactly sure if the brush is full synthetic hair or a mix but it is light enough that I don't get flakes in my eyebrows. However, this brush is not feather light or anything it does still have some stiffness but it won't take off any skin with it's bristles.

The bottom picture has a better view of the comb, now, in the first picture you see the comb has a black plastic covering and the bottom one does not. This is to show you that you need to be sure you keep up with this plastic cover. I know a lot of the times when a product or tool comes with some little protective piece it's usually lost down the drain, dropped in the trash or in the toilet where it's lost forever. You want to be sure you keep this covering. If you happen to just throw this in your makeup bag and go to reach for it later or reach for something else it will draw blood. It does amazing work separating eyelashes and making them look full and long. But I do want to also caution against the sharp teeth if you poke yourself in the eye with them or prick your finger you will be finished with this brush for a while. But it's an amazing brush if you're careful and is well worth the money.

Now there are a million different brush sets out there. These are just the two that worked for me and were as reasonably priced as I could get without breaking the bank or sacrificing quality. Some places you can check out are any of these sites.

www.ulta.com
www.sephora.com
www.eyeslipsface.com
www.sigmabeauty.com

I hope I was able to help you or explain what brushes do and make them less intimidating. Using makeup brushes will also help your skin and give you a more flawless finish to your makeup that your hands can't do.

Have fun and stay beautiful!

Can't Touch This!

Ok Pretties, how many of you have constant breakouts? Whether it's just one or two around the mouth, cheeks or on your forehead or a ton all over your face. A lot of these breakouts can be avoided if you just try a few simple steps. Steps that I've personally used and have had great success with. Ready. Set. And away we go!

The reason I'm putting these steps out there is because they have all personally worked for me. I was having breakouts on my cheeks, chin, hairline and around my nose. So, I thought to myself, what could be making me breakout so badly? Aside from drinking plenty of water (which is still one of the best ways to keep your skin glowing and healthy) and keeping my skin clean but not TOO clean, why am I still going through this? And as a 26 year old woman I thought I was done with that stage in my life. I have improved my skin 10 fold since I became conscious of my face and how I treat it. 

Step 1: Observe Your Daily Routine

After I would get out of the shower I'd do my bathroom routine and then go and put on my make up. Not really noticing or caring what I did before. So one day I took extreme care to remember everything I did before I put on my make up and the results shocked me. 

I noticed after I got out of the shower I touched the following things:

• Deodorant stick
• Water faucet knobs
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• 2 door knobs
• Drawer pulls
• Face cleanser bottle
• Makeup bottles and containers

Now, that may not seem like a lot but if you think about how many times a day you touch those things and how many germs and how many hands touch those things you'd be surprised how much stuff your transferring from your hands to your face. Especially if you don't wash your hands before you put on your makeup with your fingers. Which is what I would do. I figured, hey I just got out of the shower my hands are clean enough. Tsk tsk on me! 

The next thing that may help you is not touching your face at all when applying makeup. It sounds crazy but just hear me out.

Step 2: Brush It Out

Since I have started using brushes to apply all makeup to my face, my skin has improved dramatically. In fact, I only touch my face a maximum of 3 times when applying make up but you don't even have to do it that many times. I use my fingers to apply moisturizer, cream eyeshadow base and my foundation to the starting points on my face. But after that I use a brush for everything from foundation and concealer to eye shadow to powder. I'll go into brushes in another post but even if you have to use a sponge keep your hands off your face. Which brings me to my next step...

Step 3: Paws Off

I took a page from the first step and observed myself a little more closely throughout just ONE day and I was shocked to see how many times I touched my face. Whether it was to scratch or putting my hands on my face out of boredom. You know when you're bored at school and you put your chin in your hand? Stop that! Because not only are you putting those oils on your face, your hands are dirty from touching door knobs, books, pencils, desks, computer keyboards and so forth. I have since kept my hands off my face and my skin looks great and there are no more little blemishes here or there. 

These are not guaranteed and are only a few things you can TRY. If these still don't work for you the issue may be more serious and you should consult a dermatologist. But just give these a try and the results may surprise you. 

Have fun and stay beautiful!

Makeup For Everyone

Hi everyone! Welcome to my makeup bag! I am a makeup enthusiast but not a professional artist...yet. But in the mean time I'll keep this blog up to show you what I currently have in my makeup bag and things that I test and love along the way. So, I hope this is helpful to all who read it. Alright here we go!

This, ladies, is your average makeup bag. Having too much stuff in it could cause problems with confusion of products and breakage amongst your makeup (i.e. powders, eye shadows, blushes and mascara explosions.) However, if you have too little in there, you're limiting yourself to a few products when you find yourself in need just one or two more things in there. More often times than not I find myself wishing I'd thrown in a lip gloss or balm. Or my compact or just one more thing. So here are a few tips to keep your to-go makeup bag well stocked but not overstocked. First lets take a look at what kind of makeup girl you are, shall we?

The I-don't-wear-a lot-of-makeup-because-I-don't-need-it girls:

If you're this type of girl then you're pretty lucky. Having naturally glowing, flawless skin must be such a burden to you. What's that? You don't need foundation or concealer? Wow, must be tough! But all kidding aside, you are pretty darn lucky. Whether you're chugging water or just have good genes, don't mess it up by using a ton of makeup, especially if you're able to recognize that you don't need it. The only thing you might need in your makeup bag are the following.

• Powder- to keep the shiny away.
• Eye Shadow- Maybe a nice champagne shade to touch up after any type of practice or rehearsal of any sort. 
• Mascara- Of the waterproof variety if you're going to be sweating it out on the court or field. 
• Tinted lip balm of some sort preferably with SPF to keep your lips smooth and protected.

The next girl is one where most teenage girls and a few in their 20's SHOULD fit. I say SHOULD because if you've ever seen a high school girl on Facebook and she has more dark around her eyes than a panda then she wears too much makeup. Being a teenager is about being young and fresh and not looking like you're trying to get into a bar. So I call this girl...

The I-only-use-a-dab-of-makeup girl. 

She's the girl who wears makeup but isn't so over the top about it. She's fresh faced even if she isn't naturally so. Now, if you fit into this category then here are some things you'll want to keep in your makeup bag.

• Foundation- to keep up your fresh faced facade.
• Powder- this will add extra coverage and keep away the shiny.
• Eye Shadow- try a colored rosy shade or eye shadow duo to add a little more pop to your eyes.
• Lipstick- a color that really matches your natural lipshade or as close as you can get. 
• Mascara- waterproof if you have sweaty after school activities.

This next girl is one we know all too well. Whether you've seen her in a mall, on Facebook or she's your little sister. She's the girl who wears a lot of makeup whether she needs to or not. I'm not going to lie, up until about a few weeks ago I was one of those women who wore a ton of makeup. And felt like I had to because I had a lot of problem areas on my forehead, cheeks and chin.

The No-one-can-see-me-in-public-until-I-have-on-my-2 million-dollar-makeup-job- girl.

I had a friend when I lived in Dallas who would invite me over to his house. I would decline to go if I didn't have makeup on. So then he would start to call and the first question would be, Do you have on your 2 million dollar makeup job? I thought it was funny so I'm using it here.

• Foundation- Maybe a little heavier foundation to get more coverage.
• Concealer- Cream for blemishes and illuminating for dark circles
• Powder- Pressed is best for a heavier coverage.
• Eye Shadow- If you use a lot of eye liner and mascara please go easy on the eye shadow 2-3 colors at most. Anymore than that and you're giving the illusion you're going clubbing after school.
• Eye Liner- I use a gel stick liner. It goes on clean and I don't have to worry about getting too much on a brush. However, if you do a dramatic cat eye daily then a smudge pot or liquid liner is best.
• Mascara- Non-clumping or lash plumping if you're not using any type of fake eye lashes. 
• Lipstick- Preferably one that moisturizes and lasts a long time. 

Remember, this is only for your on the go makeup bag. You don't want to be burdened with a heavy or clunky bag. As I said previously, too much in your makeup bag will cause different products to hit together and break or leak. But, that being said, too little and you'll regret not having added that compact or lipstick. I hope this helps!

Have fun and stay beautiful!