Maybe, maybe not?

Recently, I ventured into Neiman Marcus and got a makeover from my favorite cosmetics line, Clinique. It was a lot of fun because I found out that I knew the woman who was doing my makeover from church, I learned a lot about makeup and skin care, and well, I just love Clinique so much that even being within 50 feet of the counter makes me happy.
One of the nifty new products I became aware of was the foundation brush. Now for those of you who already knew about this tool long ago, *shush*, everyone learns something new everyday. Anyway, my makeup artist was of course raving about the brush and telling me how she always uses it and how it never fails her. She really convinced me that it was the one key tool missing from my brush collection and that I simply couldn’t go on without one. Now, though I love Clinique with all my heart and would write glowing post after post about it, I cannot afford most of it’s products and am therefore left to seek out cheaper alternatives elsewhere. Where you ask? Why Target of course! Naturally!

So I made a beeline to my faithful Tar-zhay and snatched up this Sonia Kushuk brush for a fraction of the price of Clinique’s. I went home and tried it right away expecting to feel the same warmhearted way I’d felt at Neiman Marcus… but honestly, I was surprised that I was a tad let down by its performance. Now don’t get me wrong, the problem lay not in the quality of the product, I prefer Sonia Kushuk products above most other brushes I’ve used; the problem lay in the actual usefulness of the foundation brush.

Maybe it’s just the foundation I use, or maybe it’s my technique in applying it, but to me, when applied with the brush, my foundation feels heavier and less evenly applied. I feel like I have less control over how much foundation I put on and often my face feels wet and the makeup unblended. I sometimes resort to just using the good ol’ fingers to get the job done and that’s downright disappointing because I really wanted this foundation brush to work! Through all my trials with it though, I have yet to give up on it… I refuse to believe that the worth of such a cute foundation brush is lost because it doesn’t perform well, though it’s looking like it’s going to end up that way.

I’d love to know what you think dear Readers. Is there a technique I missing here, or are our faithful finger friends really the best way?

Be a Queen, a cosmetics Queen!

This season is all about glam, and oh how that thrills my soul! I love glam, especially 40’s glam. I am also a great lover of classics, and glam my friends, is very classic.

Glam is all about the eyes and I’m all about playing up the eyes. What makes the eyes so special and keeps the rest of ones face from veering dangerously close to “hooker-y” as a dear friend of mine puts it, is to tone it down with the lips and cheeks. In this article, I will post some of my favorite products with which to accomplish this look.

The truth is I’ve been obsessed with makeup since I was 13. That was when I was finally allowed to wear it, though before that I’d snuck to the store and bought my first ever makeup items: A way too dark for me Cover Girl pressed powder, and a tube of sparkle purple lip stick. Oh yes, I was rockin’ the purple lip stick!

Since then, I’ve honed my cosmetic skills a little more and I’ve been careful to not only develop a signature look, (Heidi does love her natural colored lip gloss ever so much) but also to follow the beauty trends within reason; meaning, though hypothetically, lots-o-sparkles may be in next season, I most likely will find a way of making it my own as to avoid looking like a teeny bopper again.

It’s important to change up ones look every few decades (I’m kidding) so that one doesn’t end up looking stale or horrors of all horrors become known as the lady who never changes her makeup look!! This is really what in my opinion makes a well rounded cosmetic Queen; someone who knows when to change it up while maintaining a signature look.

A lovely liquid eyeliner will help to accomplish the 'Glam' look. Apply it very close to the lash in a thin line at first and then you may work to thicken the line from there by going back over it several times. (Or if you're like me, you just push down really hard as you drag the wand across your lash line to create a nice, fat line.) I do not recommend lining your bottom lashes with liquid eyeliner for two reasons: 1.) It's difficult to create a "natural" look under the bottom lashes with liquid eyeliner as liquid can't really be smudged thus leaving you with a harsh line. 2.) 40's glam is all about a thick coating of liner on the top lashes only. It's also known as the doe look. It's attractive on everyone I've seen.

Maybelline has a wonderful line of eye shadows that come in a triple pack like this one. As you can see, the eye shadow is ever so shiny as to really play up the glam. These are three lovely colors, or you can go more classic like me and buy their 'Impeccable Greys' pack. To apply:Always start with the lightest color first and apply that all over the eyelid from lash line to brow line. Then go in with the next darkest shade and working from the corner of your outer eye, create a 'c' with it, smudging the color into crease of your eyelid and going no higher than that. Lastly, and this is an option, you can take the darkest color and lightly draw out a thin line under your bottom eyelashes to define them and create a smoky look.

Great lashes are any woman's best friend whether trying to go glam or not and Rimmel has an awesome mascara that really does make ones lashes look thicker and longer. I believe this mascara also curls ones lashes as well. Apply mascara one layer at a time. As a rule of thumb, I like to apply a layer to one eye first, do the other eye, then go back to the first eye and reapply and then go and do the same for the second eye.

Last, but certainly not least especially for me, is the blush. I simply couldn't live without my blush, and yes, I do use the Cover Girl 'Cheekers' brand. I've used other more expensive brands, but with the exception of Clinique's gel blush (which they've discontinued) I've never noticed a real difference in quality. To apply, start from about the middle of your cheek bone (if you don't know where that is, make a fishy face and they will pop out) and work back up towards your hairline with the brush. Then come down and add blush to the apples of your cheeks and finally brush over all of your blush in a downward stroke as to blend the blush in. I always, always, always apply my blush to my temples, down my nose and under my jawline. The shape of my face literally changes when I do this and I love it!