Get Ready With Me | Red Lip

Here's a makeup look featuring a bold red lip, I hope you enjoy! Below is the step by step process I used when creating the look to better help with what exactly I did. <3

Foundation and Concealer:

I used Philosophy's Hope in a Jar to moisturize after showering before starting the video. With summer and the heat a primer is pretty essential plus it helps even out my skin tone. For this video I used Benefit's Porefessional. I mixed Loreal True Match Foundation in shades W2 and W3 together on the back of my hand and applied it with a Beautyblender sponge. I went in with Mac's Pro Longwear Concealer in NC15 as a concealer and highlighter and applied it under my eyes, along the bridge of my nose, cupids bow, and forehead and blended it out with the Beautyblender. To set the concealer I used Mac's Prep + Prime Finishing Powder with an Elf blush brush.

Eyebrows:

I'm not going to lie, I suck at doing my eyebrows. I don't have the technique down and quite frankly I'm a little lazy but I did what I could for the video. I used Anastasia Beverly Hills' Brow Wiz in Brunette. Since I bought mine I guess they've changed the name to Dark Brown instead of Brunette. I went over and sort of set that with Whitening Lightning's Brow Bar to Go. After the video I used the wax in the brow bar to keep my unruly brow hairs down, haha. Anyway, moving on to eyes.

Eyes:

I only used one palette for this video and that was the Lorac Pro Palette. I kept the eyes simple since I was doing a bold red lip. A bold eye and bold lip clashes with each other. You usually end up looking like a clown. I took Taupe in palette with a Sigma E40 and put it in my crease. I then took Lt. Bronze on a Sigma E55 all over the lip. It's one of the shimmer colors in the palette but it's a very subtle shimmer. I then took Mauve on a Mac 217 and pushed it in the outer corner and up into the crease just to give a little definition in the eyes. Then I took that same E40 and blended everything out.

Face: 

I contoured my face with Nars Lagoona Bronzing Powder using a Sigma F05 brush. I hit the hollows of my cheeks, forehead, chin and dragged it onto my neck. I used my favorite blush, Mac's Melba on my cheeks. It's just the perfect neutral shade. I wear it year round. I'm staring at my hand since I just swatched it and the main color that I see is peach but a nudey peach. Anyway, I used a Bhumi blush brush to apply it on the apples of my cheeks. I took my Sigma F50 Duo Fibre brush to blend everything out and make sure there were no harsh lines. And to give a pretty glow I went in with Mac's Soft and Gentle Mineralized Skinfinish as a highlight on my cheek bones and cupids bow.

Eyelashes:

I curled my lashes with Japonesque's Eyelash Curler. This curler is the bomb. I've tried drugstore and the Mac one and this one is better than all of those. I did one coat of Loreal's Telescopic Shocking Extensions Mascara, the waterproof formula, because using waterproof before your regular mascara can help make the lashes look fuller. I then used Loreal's Telescopic Carbon Black Mascara and coated my top and bottom lashes. And finally, this wasn't in the video, I finished it off with Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara. I know, it's a lot of mascara but I'm not a false eyelash wearer so I do what I can to make my lashes look long and full as if I were wearing falsies. 

Lips:

Before the video I put on Maybelline's Baby Lips lip balm to make sure they were moisturized. I used Rimmell's Scandeleyes Kohl Pencil in Nude as a lip liner. I used it as a base around my lips and because it was nude, it acted like a concealer so the color wouldn't bleed throughout the day. I took Mac's Myth lipstick and put it in the middle of my lips because I wanted it to be a little lighter since the red we're about to go in with is VERY red. Now for the big mamajama is Mac's Russian Red lipstick. 

For the final touch, I locked in my makeup with Urban Decay's Chill Setting Spray. And boom, we're done!

By the way, my hair is three day old hair. I sprayed it with Batiste Dry Shampoo before filming and combed it through. It's always a mess so don't pay any attention to it haha.

I hope you enjoyed it! If you have any suggestions, leave them in the comment section either here or on the video! Oh, and I tried to find links to all the products. Loreal and Rimmell are drugstore brands so you can find them at any drugstore, Target, Rite Aid, etc.

Thank you!
Amanda :)


As a disclaimer: I did not make the music I put to the video. 
Picture Perfect - dFonz
Seth is a good friend from high school and his music is amazing. Picture Perfect is one of my all time favorite songs. I listen to it at least once a day. If you like it, you should check out his Soundcloud and Youtube -> soundcloud.com/dfonz and youtube.com/sdfonz
Do It Like A Dude - Jessie J
Classic - MKTO  

Equipment: Macbook Pro
Edited on: iMovie

Easiest Way To Clean Your Makeup Brushes

It's the dreaded day when you just know it's time to clean those makeup brushes. If you only have a few brushes then it's not so bad but when you have a lot, it can be time consuming.

How often should you clean your brushes? You should probably clean them once a week. There have been times I've cleaned mine after two weeks though but I only use my brushes on myself. It's easier to get all the product buildup off if you do it once a week though. If they're being used for clients, obviously you need to disinfect them after every client. 

I was using the dawn dishsoap and extra virgin olive oil to clean mine but I found an even better way..the Blendercleanser Solid by Beautyblender. It's one step and so easy to use.

(Difference between and new and used one)

How do I use it? 

All I do is wet my brush, making sure to not get water above the barrel.
FYI: Getting water above the barrel can cause it to rust and the barrel will ultimately fall off and ruin your brush.

Then take the brush and swirl it in the cleanser.

Then take the brush & swirl the brush with the cleanser on my hand to work it into the bristles.

Wash the cleanser off and hang to dry! 

I use this Benjabelle Brush Tree to dry my brushes. It's such a nifty & great product. I've had it for about a year and a half & there are no chips or anything. This is the only one they had when I bought mine but they have since made quite a few different ones. Very easy to clean as well.

I like cleaning my brushes at night and having them dry over night. You can see I've got some Real Techniques, Mac, Sigma, Bhumi, Sonia Kashuk brushes and a Beautyblender. And no, I don't use these all on a daily basis. Haha. If you have a ton of brushes and you don't like your hands to look like prunes, I'd look into the Sigma Spa Brush Cleaner. Although I don't have one, I've heard a lot of great things about it from beauty guru's.

Happy brush cleaning!
-Amanda :) 

Products I'm Loving Right Now

I thought about doing a May Favorites and I suppose this could count as one, except it doesn't include ALL of my favorites, just the products I use on a daily basis that I absolutely love.

I'm a makeup cleansing towelette kind of girl. I like taking my makeup off before I go in with a wash. I really try to limit the products I use on my face because I have sensitive skin. I've tried the Nuetrogena towelettes and they made my skin red and itchy. The Ponds brand has always been good to me. I was using the regular ones for the longest time but saw these Ponds Evening Soothe with Chamomile & White Tea ones. Since I bought a pack, I haven't gone back to the regular ones. They take all of my makeup off and I get them from Target. A lot of times they are two for $8.

I've been switching off between facial cleansers. I've used the heck out of my Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser and I really like it. It removes so much. I like using it in the morning just as a refresher. It is formulated to rapidly dissolve dirt and makeup while deep cleaning pores. 

I also have been using Josie Maran's Argan Cleansing Oil that was paired with her well-known oil which I really like as well. I don't grab for it as much as my moisturizer though. The cleansing oil works amazing. It doesn't dry out my skin or anything. However, it doesn't remove ALL of my makeup if I use it on its own. If I use the towelette's first, then it'll get all of the excess makeup off.

My favorite moisturizer for my face of all time is Philosophy's Hope in a Jar. It's the best for my sensitive skin. It's not too thick and is very moisturizing. I use it both at night and in the morning. The scent is just a regular smelling type lotion scent.

The best body butter is the Josie Maran's Model Citizen Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter. It is limited edition so I suggest going to get it now before it's gone. I went and got a second jar because I am not ready to part with it when it's discontinued. It has an amazing scent. It's not too warm and not too cool. It's also not incredibly thick like some body butters are. It dries fairly quickly and doesn't stick to my sheets when I put it on before bed. When I get up in the morning I still feel soooo moisturized.

I recently started putting effort into my brows and am in love with my Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz. The tip is very small and easy to work with. It's effortless when doing your brows.

I'll usually pair my brow wiz with my Whitening Lightning Brow Bar to Go. It comes with two brow powders and a wax to tame those unruly hairs. I can use this even when I don't use my Brow Wiz. I have to have one or the other or both.

I've tried drug store and the Mac eyelash curlers but my holy grail is hands down Japonesque Ergo Grip Eyelash Curler. This puppy curls the shizz out of my eyelashes and it doesn't pull any out.

Mac's Melba Powder Blush is my go to blush all year round. It's just that perfect shade. It's not too dark and not too light. It's just perfection.

My favorite palette of all time right now is the Lorac Pro Palette. It has 8 matte shades and 8 shimmer shades. The different eye looks with this palette are endless.

The most talked about lip product on the market right now is the Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask and it is worth the hype. It is intense and works so good. A little goes a long way. I'll put this on at night and wake up and it's still on. It's very moisturizing for your lips.

If you haven't tried any of these products, I definitely recommend them. What are some of your favorites? I'll be doing my favorite brushes in a different post!

Happy Tuesday,
-Amanda :)

Get Ready With Me | Fast Forward

I was about to get ready when I had this bright idea to roll my Macbook and film it. When the baby is sleeping, I sometimes get bored. Haha. Here's my first ever video and post on YouTube! Apologies in advance for the poor lighting and everything else. I'm not a pro and I used iMovie to edit. Don't forget to upgrade in HD!

Hope you enjoy! 


Products Used:

Benefit Porefessional
Loreal True Match
Mac Pro Longwear Concealer
Mac Prep + Prime 
Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder
Mac Melba 
Nars Lagoona
Lorac Pro Palette 
Whitening Lightening Brow Bar to Go
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz
Too Faced Perfect Black Liner
Loreal Telescopic Mascara
Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara
Eos
NYX Butter Gloss in Maple Blondie
Mac Fix+ 

Happy Monday,
-Amanda :)