Beauty Resolutions for 2012!

Hey! So I find I preach a lot of important beauty/skincare rituals that I don't actually practice, so here's a list of things that should always be done and together we should motivate each other to do it.

Any tips on how to make these resolutions actually stick?

1.) Always wear sunscreen, this one is actually REALLY important because this can dramatically affect your health ONTOP of making you look healthier.

2.) Take your makeup off every night, also very crucial because when you keep your makeup on, not only is it a pain to get off and work with in the morning, but you also clogged your pores and most likely will have acne appear. I use Yes to Cucumber facial towelettes and I LOVE them, they smell amazing and do the job well.

3.) Exfoliate, you can check out my previous post about exfoliation, you can make it fun! It'll make your skin SO smooth and make moisturizing much more effective.

4.) Moisturize right out of the shower, when your skin is wet moisturizer is much more effective and it gets right into the skin. This is important because the shower strips your skin of it's oils, so you replace them with moisturizer! To remind yourself to do this, keep the lotion in the shower with you.

5.) Clean your makeup brushes regularly, this will even help make your makeup look better because you won't be mixing colors(that you don't want mixed). Also, it's just better for your skin and more hygienic. Use Parian Spirit brush cleaner, it works amazingly.

These are just 5 very important acts that should be a part of every girls(and guys) makeup routine. Let me know throughout this new year how this works for you and keep a thread going on how you guys keep to this routine.

Exfoliation!

Got the photo from here

Basically, the point of exfoliating is to get rid of all the dead skin cells that are accumulating all over your face and body. Not only will this step help you look(and feel) better but it will also allow makeup application to be a MUCH smoother process. Foundation(or whatever you use for foundation, my choice is  a tinted moisturizer) will go on a lot better and blend in easier with proper exfoliation.

I would recommend exfoliating only maybe 2-3 times a week. It is a little abrasive and harsh on the skin so definitely don't do it more than 3 times a week. Remember to pay attention to harsh areas like knees, elbows, heels and such. Be careful with more sensitive areas like around the eyes and your chest, ect.

Here are some homemade recipes:

1.) 1 C brown sugar, 1/2 C mashed avocado, 1 C olive oil, 1 tbsp honey(optional). This is for sensitive skin(brown sugar is more gentle)


2.) 2 C ground coffee, 1/2 C sugar, 3 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tbsp honey(optional). If you need a bit of a wake-up call.


3.) 1/2 C sea salt, 1/2 C olive oil, 1 tbsp honey(optional) ,5 drops of an essential oil of your liking(see list below)

Essential Oils:

Normal Skin- jasmine, lavender, almond, orange, rose, tea tree
Combination- rosewood, geranium
Dry-almond, orange, sandalwood, lavender
Oily- lemon, peppermint,cypress,juniper, grapefruit, eucalyptus
Sensitive- chamomile, rose, carrot, jasmine.

You can buy great glove online, here. These are perfect for exfoliating the body AND face and aren't as harsh as a loofa, but do a little more work then a washcloth(which is o.k to use too, and less expensive). You can also obviously just use your hands, they works great too.

Just hop in the shower, use warm water, never HOT, and put the scrub all over your body and scrub in a circular motion, on the face too. Then just rinse it off and you should be all set! Simple as that but it can do wonders for your skin.

Don't forget the lips!!! What I do is take a toothbrush(you can have a separate one you use for this, but you'll wash it anyway so you can use the same one you brush your teeth with). Just take it dry(I feel this works better) and just rub it against your lips in a circular motion, you can even go as far as to use a lip scrub 1st then use the toothbrush. Scaly lips are not sexy :p The winter is the obviously the biggest time that this is an issue. It takes about 7 seconds to do and you can just do it when you brush your teeth!

Do you have any recipes for homemade scrub??? Leave your comments below!

Contest from Gone2Rehabbrb

Go check out this blog, also a beauty lover, she's doing a contest for a bunch of eyeshadow samples! :D

Contest!

Beauty From the Earth Swatches!!!!

So these swatches are in horrible lighting and do NOT do these colors justice, but you can see a little what the colors look like to give you an idea. The more colors I get, I'll keep putting up swatches, I really love this brand. I'm a huge fan of Crystal's(she owns BFTE cosmetics) cosmetics.

At the left: Top= With Urban Decay Shadow Primer, Below that=nothing
At the right: These are the colors wet(I used Mixing Medium from BFTE)

The colors here are(from left to right): Chili Pepper, Lemon, Blue Me Over, Erase the Stigma, Zach's Friends, Bali, Little Beach, Faith, Lavish, and Caribbean

My favorite from this bunch is definitely Erase the Stigma(for an amazing cause too..I actually thought about starting a suicide awareness campaign myself so this(and Zach's Friends) are both colors I hold deep in my heart. Also, I really like Little Beach and Faith too. They look amazing wet.

At the left: Top=With Urban Decay Primer,   Bottom= nothing
At the Right: Wet using BFTE's Mixing Medium

The colors here(from left to right) are: Whisper, Raspberry, Grape, Green Apple, Diamonds, Blueberry, Orchid, Honey, and Gem

My favorite of the bunch is definitely Whisper, this picture doesn't capture ANY of the beauty in the pigments of this color. In the shade it's a beigey color, and in the it's almost purple, a VERY iridescent color. It's amazing. I also love Raspberry, Green Apple, Blueberry and Honey.

At the Left: Top= With Urban Decay Primer,   Bottom= nothing
At the Right: these are wet using BFTE's Mixing Medium

The colors here(from left to right) are: Luck Me, Crystal, Promises, High Maintenance, and Moonwalk

My favorite from this bunch are Promises, High Maintenance and Moonwalk. Promises and High Maintenance are gorgeous and this picture doesn't do them justice. Moonwalk is an AMAZING neutral color. It's a beautiful brown.

Check out Beauty from the Earth's site!!

My Favorite mark. Products

So todays post is about my favorite mark. products. I used to not even know what mark. was, and then I got really bored with the way my life was going and needed to having something to do(I was laid off from my job and it was the 1st time I was unemployed). So I looked into selling mark. products and decided it was an AMAZING deal. So since then I've kind of become addicted with many products of theirs. These are my top 3(it's kind of 5, but 2 of them are "hook-ups":

1.) mark. Touch &Glow: As you can see above I have some swatches, the lighting is horrible so the picture doesn't do the colors justice, but they're AMAZING. So iridescent and perfect for everything. Highlight color, all over the face and body illuminator and eyeshadow colors. I LOVE this multi-use product. It's also a creme to powder finish, so goes on amazing, but never creases :D

2.) mark. Get In Line waterproof liquid liner in "Painted Black": Goes on so well and doesn't smudge.

     mark. On the Edge liquid liner in "Cleo": I love the brush for this, goes on so well, and you can smudge it to create a smokey eye, or leave it to be bold and precise.

3.) mark. Pro Glimmer lip powder in " Peek" and "Punk": I LOVE this stuff. The only con is that when you open it sometimes the powder goes everywhere :p but I love how this makes your lips look. This is actually being discontinued /: But I hope they bring it back, I love it so much. Both colors look gorgeous and do so much for my lips.

So if any of you are interested in buying anything go to my mark. website and check it out :D

Also, if anyone is interested in also selling it, making some extra money on the side, meeting a lot of new people and getting a great discount for LIFE on mark. products(all for only $20) then comment below, sign-up yourself but please use the referral code: 13299641 OR e-mail me at Jwls750@yahoo.com! I'd be happy to answer any questions, it really is a pretty large part of my life now.

Happy Holidays/My Makeup Book Collection

This is just part of my collection of makeup books. I'm obsessed with each of these:

Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual(my 2nd favorite)

Makeup is Art by Jana Ririnui(my FAVORITE!!)

Making Faces by Kevyn Aucoin(R.I.P Kevyn)

Eye Candy by Linda Mason(very nice for beginners)

Makeup Makeovers by Robert Jones

Makeup Makeovers: Wedding Edition by Robert Jones

Hair and Makeup by Jane Campsie

Face Forward by Kevyn Aucoin(not pictured)

So that's part of my collection, I definitely recommend all of them. They really inspire me.

Happy Holidays all!!!! Get any presents? Do anything fun?? Let me know in my blog!

Be BOLD!!!!

I think now more then ever we're allowed to break free of always wearing neutrals and keeping it safe. Try out a bold lip!!!! I went with a brightbrightbright pink :D I love it. Red tends to look to harsh on my so I went this way. What do ya'll think??

I think a pink lip would look amazing for Chrismas/New Year's/ANYDAY!

I used Sephora's Lipstick in R11(Love Test).

My Holiday Look!

(Not pictured!!!!) So the 1st thing I did was prime my face with Urban Decay face primer, then I used a mixture of Sorme's liquid foundation in colors 710/711 or Porcelain/Golden Light. I just dabbed it on my face and then used my fingers(which provide heat) to blend it together. Then I used Fresh's Twilight Illuminator. Finally, I used Maybelline Mineral Powder Finishing Veil to set it all. 

Then I used NARS Laugna Bronzer to contour my face, then I use then I used BFTE cosmetics blush in Zinger(beautiful color for the holidays), and the Body Shop's Duo Glow in Salvador Blush(discontinued /:) for a highlight color.

(This is the part that IS pictured, basically eye makeup): I primed my eyes with MAC's Paint Pot in Nubile. Then I used Sephora's eyeshadow in Aspen Summit all over my lid all the way up to the brow bone. Then to give my eye depth I used BFTE in the crease in color Faith. Then I used Erase the Stigma in the center of my eye and Little Beach(all BFTE cosmetic colors) on the outside to give it a deep green color and a bit of a smokey eye feel. Then I lined my eyes with mark.'s On the Edge in Cleo(amazing liquid eye liner). Then I used my Beauties Factory 120 Palette and found a nice red shade and used a small pointed brush to make those 3 red dots. Then I used Victoria's Secret Glitter Gel(in Gold) and put some on the inner corner and also on the outside of my eye for some fun festive glitter. Then(using Duo glue) I applied false individual lashes(Andrea Permalash). I only used 3 on each eye, I didn't want to go overboard. The last step was curling my lashes and coating them with a mix of Loreal Voluminous and Maybelline Falsies(my fav. mascara!!). 

For my lips I just applied Urban Decays Super Saturated Lip Color in Adrenaline and then DuWop lipstick in the shade Private Red.

So overall I made a very festive(mainly Christmas....even though I'm Jewish :p) look with the green eyes and the red lips. Hope you like it.

I'm sorry my "tutorial" is in written form, I don't have a camera to do tutorials, but I will soon if this blog gets bigger. Tell me what you think!

Trip to NYC :D

So this past weekend we went to NYC :D We left around 10 p.m on Friday night because my mom had an orchestra concert we were attending. We got to NYC around midnight. This is actually the 1st time I've ever slept over in NYC because we live so close it seemed like a waste of $. However, Dave(my boyfriend) just graduated college so we had to celebrate!

So Friday we got there late, Asya(my aunt) left her purse in a taxi!!! Luckily, she labels her things with her e-mail address, and someone contacted her saying they found it and they lived SUPER close by. We got lucky :D Then we played charades for a while and then went to bed.

Waking up in NY Sat. morning was pretty special. We went out for coffee at a local coffee place, it felt nice behaving like a resident NYer. Then we went back to our apartment and made french toast for breakfast. Then we headed out to the Guggenheim museum to see the Maurizio Cattelan exhibit. It was INCREDIBLE. The art was so twisted, scary, emotional and political.

That's a REAL horse!!(well it's dead and stuffed, but....) How crazy is that?? I was kinda taken aback but I couldn't stop looking. It was a very powerful exhibition.

After that we went to eat at a Viennese Café called Café Sabarsky. It was SO good. The line was kind of long, it's a popular place, but food was incredible. I got a sausage dish(and I deff. don't remember what it was called :p, and then I got their apfelstrudel(apple strudel) and it was SO good. I got coffee with it too and their whipped cream is amazing. It isn't sweet, but it's prefect.

Then we went to visit the Met, they stopped doing free admission though /: so we decided it wasn't worth it to stay. Instead we went back to the apartment to relax a little. Dave took a long nap while Asya, Glenn and I spent hours looking at runway shows through the Cut on the Runway app on Asya's iPad. Pretty amazing app and it's free! Then we found Cleopatra's Needle that does live music and they were featuring a jazz band so we decided to go just for drinks and the band(we were still stuffed from the café). The jazz band was SO good and that's a LOT coming from me since I usually hate all that stuff. Her name is Champian Fulton and her voice and piano skills are amazing, and her band was great too(her dad was the trumpeter!!!) After a couple hours there we headed back to the apartment(with a a pizza :p) and ate,talked, and then slept.

We woke up on Sunday, went to that same coffee shop to get coffees, met up with my mom who was coming to spend the day with us :D We took a stroll down 5th Ave.(of COURSE I stopped at the Sephora there. I wasn't that impressed, I have a pretty awesome Sephora right near my house, but still it was awesome like always. Then we went to MoMA(where Dave officially became a member :D) 

We had spa appointments at 3pm in SoHo at a place called the Water Lily Spa. The spa was ok (they have an awesome deal $100/2 hrs of your choice of service). I got a swedish massage and deep cleansing facial, it was all an ok experience.  Then we went to eat at a place called the Red Egg, the service started out horribly, but then got better and better and let me tell you, the food was AMAZING! Make sure to leave room for dessert because all the deserts were incredible. We had the coconut pudding, the ginger creme brulee, and Egg Cream rolls. They were all amazing.

Our final stop in NYC was a cafe called Café Roma and then we went home. Overall, it was a great trip and an awesome 1st experience with staying in NYC.

My Makeup Collection Overview

My 2nd drawer: All my eyeshadows/liners on the left
and BFTE cosmetics and mascaras to the right.

This is the 1st drawer: All my lip products and
all my brushes.

3rd Drawer(sorry it's flipped): False eyelashes/glue,
lotions and perfume shimmer powders, and all my palettes. 

4th Drawer: All my face stuff. Foundations, bronzers, blushes, illuminators, highlighters, and refreshing spray.

The drawers are that thing to the left, but all the stuff on the desk is also makeup. Mostly all of that is mark. cosmetic stuff. My collection grows every day (un)fortunately. :D


I have been selling mark. stuff for a few months now and I love it. I'm a HUGE fan of all the cosmetics. I've only gotten a few fashion items from them and all that I have I love, but I've heard some bad things too.
To buy mark. stuff go to my mark. site and place an order! Use the promo code: WELCOME to get free shipping!

Mega Volume: Root Lifting Spray review

So I recently purchased mark.'s Mega Volume:Root Lifting Sprat because my hair is usually super limp and has no volume and this only cost $6 so I figured it wouldn't hurt to try it even if I didn't like it. GOOD NEWS! I love it. It smells amazing(which I didn't even realize until my boyfriend commented on how amazing my hair smelled) and it DID give my hair so much volume! I air dry my hair so I never use heat on it, so all I did was shower, spray some onto my roots(and I lifted up different sections to do this) and then just let it dry. They also recommend blow drying it to give even more volume, but without even blow drying I saw a huge difference. I really like this products and for only $6 it's definitely worth it.

If you want to buy this, go to: My mark. Site!

Holiday Nails and fun rainbow look :D

 So this is my fun rainbow look. If you guys want me to do a tutorial. I could probably find the strength and do one for you :D Otherwise just enjoy the picture. I love this take on a rainbow eye. I used a few different products for this which I can go over if you guys want me to do the tutorial, but otherwise mainly I used my Beauties Factory 120 Color Palette.

 And this is my holiday nail polish look. I can do a tutorial for this too if you want. All I did was tape off one side of my nail, use a deep purple, then take the tape off, line the middle with red polish, then the other half that has no color I put a gold/yellow color, and then used that same color VERY lightly on the purple and red part too. I love it <3

Makeup and Skincare TAG!

So I'm BACK! So about a month ago I got laid off from my job(which was very shocking, you don't think it'll happen to you until it does), but since then I have had no idea what to do with myself. I go to school, but then when I'm not in school, I have NOTHING to do /: Except Makeup. I do makeup everyday, and I'd do it all day if I could :p


Here's a tag to make my comeback a little easier:


1. How often do you wash your face?
1 time a day(though more often would be better)


2. Your skin type?
I have normal skin for sure. I'm pretty blessed that way. I get dry a little in the winter, but that's normal.
3. Which facial cleanser do you use?
I switch it up all the time but at the moment I'm using Go 360 Deep Clean Exfoliating Scrub by L'Oreal.
4. Do you use facial peels?
Not peels but I do use a rejuvenating mask once a week. 


5. Which peeling product do you use?
I use Juice Beauty's Organic Facial Rejuvenating Mask.


6. Which moisturizer do you use?
One of the moisturizers I use is from Israel and I'm not sure of the name because it rubbed off(not great packaging :p) but I also use tinted moisturizer most days(instead of heavy foundation) and I use Get A Tint in Natural/Buff by mark.


7. Do you have freckles?
Nope


8. Do you use an eye cream?
I occasionally use Renergie Lift Volumetry Eye by Lancome.
9. Do you have acne problems?
No luckily. I'm pretty blessed with my skin.

10. Do you use SPF?
Not as much as I should, but I wear tinted moisturizer with SPF in it.


11. Foundation?
I'm big on tinted moisturizer. I use Get A Tint by mark. in Natural/Buff. I love it! I'm also considering getting a more expensive heavy foundation for special occasions like Make Up Forever HD Foundation or Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation.


12. Concealer?

I use Sorme Believable Cover Concelear in medium.

13. Do you know your skin tone?

Yeah I'd say I'm Neutral/Warm.

14. What do you think about the false lashes?
I love them! I only wear them on special occasions(like Halloween or a night out), but rarely.


15. What do you think about the rule of changing mascara every 3 months?
I definitely don't follow that. I think you just need to watch it and make sure it doesn't smell funky. I couldn't afford to constantly switch it up.

16. Your mascara?
Maybelline Falsies all the way. I LOVE it.


17. Sephora or MAC?
Both. Amazing make-up in both. Just depends on what I'm looking for. I definitely shop more at Sephora, but MAC gets visits.


18. Which makeup tool do you use mostly?
Besides for my brushes? My eyelash curler definitely.


19. Do you use eye shadow base?
Yup either Urban Decay Primer Potion(not my fav.) or MAC Paint Pots(I LOVE these for primers).


20. Base for face?
Yes I use Sorme Fresh Start, it's great. Sometimes I use Urban Decay Face Primer, but rarely. Also, I ALWAYS use The Body Shop Duo Glow in shade Salvador Blush, I'm obsessed with it as a highlight.


21. What is your favourite eye shadow?
That isn't a fair question. I use all kinds of eyeshadows everyday. From palettes to mark. to Sephora, that's the product I switch up most.

22. Which one is your favourite: liquid or dry eyeliners?
I LOVE liquid liner, I prefer it over dry, but I only use dry on the bottom and only use liquid on the top. So it just depends.

23. Have you ever had a mascara accident?
Besides for getting it on my finished eyeshadow and having to redo everything, no :p


24. What do you think about pigment eye shadows?
I love them. I recently started pressing them too and I love it.

25. What about mineral make up?
I only have mineral eyeshadows, and love them, but never tried anything else.


26. What is your favourite lipstick?
I use MACs Viva La Glam Lady Gaga II all the time. Probably everyday. I love it. It's a beautiful nude.


27. Lipgloss?
I love mark. hook up glow baby glow luxe in Sun Luxe. Looks amazing, also mark. hook up glow baby glow in girly girl.


28. Your favourite blush?
I love NARS Orgasm(who doesn't?) But I also really love Lancome's in Rouge Glow, or mark.'s in Sunlove Glo.


29. Do you buy make up from Ebay?
That's how I got my Urban Decay Primer Potion. It went well, cheaper then usual and it came fine.




30. What do you think about drugstore products?
All of my mascaras that I love(mainly Falsies) are drugstore. Love it.


31. Have you ever considered taking a make up lesson?
I'm actually a certified make-up artist, so I had to take a course to get my certification.


32. Are you clumsy in putting make up?
I'm clumsy in everything BUT makeup :p


33. What's the worst make up disaster for you?

The worst is wrong color foundation or too heavy, streaky bronzer.

34. Do you like bright ot natural colors?

I love natural colors for when I'm being lazy, but I prefer bright colors any-day. I have a pretty crazy makeup style.

35. Which celebrities' makeup is your favorite?

- I love Lady Gaga because she isn't afraid to take risks, but I can't really pinpoint any one celebrity I love.

36. What would be your one and only make up material to use life long if you had to choose one? 
Mascara, blush or highlighter(I cant decide!!!!!)


37. Do you ever go out without make up?
Yeah of course.


38. What do you think about your look without make up?
Some days it's better then others :p

39. Which cosmetic brand do you think is the best?
Um, probably MAC, Makeup Forever, Benefit, Sephora, mark., there are toooo many! :p


40 . What do you think about make up in general?
Uh, it's the only hobby I have. I'm so passionate about makeup. I love it. Anyone who knows me knows I love makeup.

Long time no talk!

So I haven't posted in a while, but I decided to today. I changed my name as you can see, because I don't think I'm gonna be doing what I had planned originally for the site. I've been addicted to Blair and Elle Fowler's youtube videos and their site. They both talk..a LOT, but so do I so I can stand it, plus their reviews and tutorials are amazing. Best makeup gurus on youtube that I've seen currently. Anyway, so it got me inspired. I need a new Macbook, but once I get one(hopefully soon /:) I'll be able to start making my own videos. Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE makeup. I'm going to Brio to get certified in Makeup Artistry in May actually. So if you or someone you know needs makeup done, I'll be more then glad, and I'll be certified by the end of July :D

I recently went to the mall to pick up some things from MAC and Sephora, two of my favorite stores. From Sephora I got a NARS blush called Orgasm, it's amazing. I also got a lip brush from them because at the MAC store I purchased the Viva Glam GaGa lipstick which i LOVE! The best application of it is deff. with a brush which is why I purchased the brush at Sephora(MAC brushes are too expensive for me).

So I'm just updating on what I bought, I'll start to try to update this more regularly now that I can talk about makeup on here. Let's hope I get the new Mac soon so that I can start posting videos.