Kat Von D Lock-It Tattoo Foundation

One word sums up this foundation....AMAZING! I've been looking for a matte, full coverage foundation for a while now and I have finally found it! When it comes to foundations, I think I've tried them all; Bare Minerals, Maybelline, Revlon Colorstay, Mac Studio fix and Prolong wear, the list goes on and on. None of them really satisfied what I was looking for. First of all, this foundation is truly full coverage that it makes your skin look flawless upon application. It covers any imperfections in your skin and reduces the look of pores. It's like you have a beautiful blank canvas to build upon after you put this foundation on. 

There are a ton of PROS:

1. Full Coverage - provides even, flawless looking skin

2. Matte finish - which I love because since I have combination skin, really helps control my oiliness in my T-zone and on the apples of my cheeks 

3. Longwear! - it says it is 24 hour wear and I don't know if I would go that far, but it definitely hs staying power. I would say I get a good 15 hours out of it, with the occasional shininess which is to be expected from my skin 

4. Oil free - this is a huge plus, and something I look for in all of my makeup recently; your skin already produces natural oils, no need to add more to it, plus anything containing oil can clog your pores, and I have no time for blemishes! Lol 

5. Transfer resistant - I literally rubbed my face with a black scarf just to test this out, and it really is transfer resistant. No residue or anything came off; that's pretty impressive! I can't tell you how many of my jackets have eternal makeup/foundation stains on the collar from other foundations I've used -_-

This foundation has a thick consistency but it doesn't feel heavy on your skin. I apply it with a sponge and/or beauty blender to really press the makeup into the skin as opposed to some other application methods that can cause the makeup to simply just lay on the surface of the skin. 

People rave about MAC prolong wear foundation and after using this Kat Von D foundation I would never ever go back to using MAC foundation. Lock-it tattoo foundation looks a lot nicer on your skin and lasts a lot longer on your skin as well and also provides a more even finish. It's a triple threat! Lol 

This foundation is great for dry skin as well. With my combination skin I have dry spots as well and this definitely absorbs into the skin and in a sense, camouflages the dryness; score! 

I could go on and on about how much I  in love with this foundation, but I think I've covered all the high points lol I highly recommend any woman to give this foundation a try, and let me know what you think! I'd love to hear your feedback :) 

M.A.C Haul

      As much as a makeup addict as I am, for some reason I don't have any MAC cosmetics products in my collection besides a few of their older brushes. I know what you're thinking, she can't really be as into makeup as she says if she doesn't own any MAC. But I'm telling you right now, that's not true! If you read my blog or follow my Instagram (@glambytaylor) you know I'm always trying new products and new brands. Ever since I started cosmetology school and started really focusing on my makeup career I've been more creative with my makeup, playing with color more, and my new favorite obsession is dark lips! Never thought they looked good on me in the past, but now I've done a 180, and have a whole new respect for a dark pout! 

     Anyways, getting back on track, I've been very into, I guess you could say, less main stream makeup brands, such as limecrime and gerard cosmetics, that I forgot how real my love for MAC is! I needed new foundation and I've been dying to try the pro longwear foundation so that was first on my checklist when I got to the MAC counter at Nordstrom. And since I can't get enough of lipsticks lately, I bought 3 new ones. I purchased Myth, Ruby Woo and Tribalist. I also picked up the Prep + Prime Skin. I've been reading so many reviews about how this primer is amazing, along with the whole prep + prime line, so I figured I'd give it a shot since I was iffy about whether I really liked the smashbox photo finish light primer I've been using for a couple weeks now. Using products by the same company that are designed to be used together really helps the products look better. 

     I got the shade NC 20, and it is perfect for my skin tone! It is a light shade with a yellow undertone to counter balance some of the redness I have. I apply it with a beauty blender and then using a duo fiber stippling brush to buff it out and make it blend beautifully. This foundation really is suitable for long wear. I could go all day without having to retouch or without having it look like I have no makeup on by the end of the day. Besides the little bit of shine that I get in my t-zone, which is bound the happen to anyone after 8-12 hours or so, i really love the way this foundation makes my skin look. 

     The prep + prime skin primer has a pump applicator bottle which I prefer because it controls the amount of product you use. One pump is all you need. It has a creamy foam consistency with a touch of the gel like texture you see in many other primers. But I hate those pure gel ones because they feel so greasy on your skin, so this is a nice new alternative. When I originally tried it out on my hand I saw that it had a lot of sparkle in it, which I thought was odd, but when you put it on your face the sparkle is barely noticeable and once you apply your foundation you can't see it at all.
     As for the lipsticks, Myth is the perfect ultra nude; there are no pink or yellow undertones. It is a creamy beige color and literally I am obsessed with it because I can never get enough of a nude lip. Originally when I got lime crime's coquette lipstick, I thought it would be a true nude but it turned out to be more of a peachy nude, which I am a little disappointed about. I pair MAC's oak lip liner with myth for the perfect combo! I'll usually line and fill in my lips with oak and then apply stone, which gives me a beautiful nude stone color.
     Ruby Woo is a cult classic, and I couldn't turn down this rich cherry red beauty. Every woman needs the perfect red lipstick in her collection ;) It is such a timeless, sexy color. I especially can't wait to wear it during the holidays! And lastly, Triablist, which I believe is apart of one of MAC's holiday 2014 collections, is a cool toned dark plum color. Although it looks very gothic, when you put it on your lips it is the perfect shade for fall. It's a must have in my opinion! I can't wait to go broke buying more of this gorgeous makeup haha <3

From left to right: Myth, Ruby Woo, Tribalist

Back: Oak     Front: Ruby Woo

Swatched with Flash - Top to Bottom: Myth, Ruby Woo, Tribalist 

Urban Decay Vice 3 Palette

     Over the weekend, I splurged and bought Urban Decays newest vice palette. I had seen pictures of it on Instagram and on the UD website and the colors looked so vibrant and pretty that I couldn't resist getting it any longer. This is my first vice palette, and I actaully had never seen the second one before, so when I looked it up, I was glad I got the 3 instead of the 2. Vice 2 is really nice, don't get me wrong, but I just feel like it's a little too dark and neutral, whereas 3's twenty all new shades are the perfect balance of warm and stone neutrals and rich pops of color. And I am all about color lately! 

     All of these shades are velvety smooth, the only downside is that they aren't as pigmented as I would've liked. They go on a little sheer, but they are definitely buildable, especially when packing onto the lid. 

Below, the first picture is a swatching of the first two rows and the second pictures is of the second two rows. Both are swathed from left to right. 

Truth, Dragon, Vanity, Alien, Last Sin, Undone, Freeze, Lucky, Alchemy, Angel

Downfall, Heroine, Reign, Bondage, Defy, DTF, Brokedown, Bobby Dazzle, Sonic, Revolver 

     I've created two looks with this palette already. For this look, I used truth under my brow bone, undone in the crease and upper crease, downfall to deepen the crease, and DTF all over the lid. Undone and downfall are the perfect blending shades for this look or with any eyeshadow combination; I'm actually obsessed with these two shades! I love this look because it is a perfect warm nude look for fall, it's not too brown and not too gold. 

                        (Just a closer look, don't mind my eyebrows -_-) 

     For this next look, I used truth under my brow bone again, defy in the crease and blended up, bondage all over the lid, and last sin added to the middle of my lid to add some sparkle and in the inner tear duct. This is great if you want to achieve that perfect grey smokey eye. In the palette, bondage looks like a deep plum cranberry color, but for some reason when you apply it, it looks more like gunmetal.

     The packaging of this palette is super glam as well. What girl doesn't like sparkle!? The lime green jewel lettering against the mirror finish of the case really pops! I'm not a fan of all the finger prints that come with the mirror finish but the carrying case is a nice touch to keep it print free when you're not using it. 

     Overall, I really like this palette and the endless amount of looks you can create with it; it really is very versatile. This is a perfect palette to start freelancing with, which I am now taking inquiries about! I love doing makeup so much and I can't wait to work my magic to make other look and feel beautiful! 

Gerard Cosmetics Lippies Review!

     My most recent splurge was on the 1995 lipstick created by makeup artist Jaclyn Hill for Gerard Cosmetics. Kylie Jenner's lipcolor is the hottest thing in makeup right now, paying homage to the 90's grunge era; funny that she's now trademarking this look considering she wasn't even born until the late 90's haha. There are so many different combinations of lip liners and lipsticks that are rumored to create Jenner's exact look, so Hill decided to create one of her own. And I think she did a pretty good job at it!

  

     1995 is a super matte and opaque formula, and is suitable for long wear. I would suggest applying 2 coats for maximum opaqueness. It does feel a little dry on your lips, but exfoliating your lips with a scrub (see my post about bliss's fabulips) before hand and then applying a lip balm as a base should do the trick. Unfortunately, this lipstick isn't smudge proof, but then again most lipsticks aren't. For the most part, this lipstick really hits the nail on the head when comparing it to Jennner's lip color, it is dark mauve brown color. Jenner's is a little more pink as opposed to brown but regardless this color is spot on for fall! This color also goes amazingly with the eyeshadows from the Tamanna Palette (see previous post) by Anastasia Beverly Hills. Below I've created a perfect fall look by using both! 

     I also purchased the Cocoa Bean Lip gloss since they were doing a "1 lipstick & 1 lipgloss for $25" deal, and the butter cream lipgloss (I bought two of 1995 because she loved the color too haha). This lipgloss is tailor made to go with cocoa bean; it complements it perfectly! It's a beautiful warm shade whose color really lives up to its name. Butter cream is a pink, which looks a little brighter once it's on your lips. Regardless, both of these glosses are smooth to go on and an has just a slight amount of tackiness. The best thing is, is that once you open up the lipglosses, the underside of the cap lights up. It's such a cute feature, but it's hard to see where you're actually applying the gloss haha. Overall their packing is super chic, what girl doesn't like gold? It's the color of royalty, and gerard cosmetics products are suited for such, which is why all the famous makeup artists swear by them. Amazing makeup + gold, how could you go wrong? 

Too Faced Beauty Editor Darlings

     Okay beauty lovers, not too long ago Too Faced was having a sale on their website, so naturally I had to pick up a few things. One of the items was the Beauty Editor Darlings, "Industry Insiders' top 5 favorites. Orignally sold for $20, I got it for more than 50% off, at only $9! Can't beat a deal like that haha. The 5 mini/trial size items were as followed:

1. Lashgasm Mascara
2. Shadow Insurance Eye Shadow Primer
3. Glamour Gloss Lip Gloss
4. Lip Insurance Lip Primer
5. Primed & Poreless Face Primer

     Since I am super picky about my mascaras, I am not a big fan of this one. The brush is one of those rubber short bristled ones, and usually those are used to give more length than volume, not that that's a bad thing ever, just I prefer dark thick volumonus lashes. 

     The Eye Shadow Primer works pretty well, I don't really have too many complaints about it, expect for the fact that my eyeshadow didn't stay on as long than if I wouldv'e used my cult favorite, Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion. I actually really do like the Glamour Gloss Lip gloss though. It is a nice sheer pink/mauve color that goes on smooth with a high shine finish; no stickiness at all. This lip gloss also plumps the lips as well, I definitely noticed mine got a tad fuller and the plumping agent is tingly without being overpowering. 

     My least favorite has to be the Lip Insurance Lip Primer. I've been searching for a product as such because my lipstick/gloss always fades quickly throughout the day (whether it be from eating, drinking, licking my lips, etc.) but this one definitely is not it! This primer makes my lipsticks look more feathered as opposed to being anti-feather proof and because of that it makes my lips look more chapped than they actually are. And it is not smear-proof either, my lipsticks and glosses felt more runny with this under it. After being so, disappointed in this, I think I'm gonna have to try MAC's Lip Prep & Prime, to make my lips happy again.

     On a brighter note, the Primed & Poreless Face Primer is one of the best face primers I have ever tried! It is a nude color, which I like better than some of those milky frosted looking ones because it make your foundation look more natural. My makeup stayed nearly close to perfect for at least 10 or more hours! It does reduce pore size a tiny bit making skin look more flawless but my absolute favorite thing about this primer is that it reduced shine so well! Me, being someone with combo skin, I tend to get oily in my t-zone area and right on the apples of my cheeks, but with this primer I didn't have to worry about blotting throughout the day! I highly reccomend this primer!!!

     All in all, there were some good products and some not-so-good ones in this darling little set, but that's too be expected. Not everyone is going to like everything, but the key is to TRY! Trying different products is the only way to find out for yourself what products you love and can live without :)

Tamanna Palette by Anastasia of Beverly Hills

     I cannot even contain my excitement about this palette! First of all, the packaging is gorgeous! These 10 highly pigmented colors compliment each other beautifully; whether you're looking for the perfect nude shade or to create the perfect smokey eye, this palette has the ability to give you endless looks. And Venezia is the perfect aqua pop of color for someone who doesn't like wearing bright shades all the time. This holiday palette has wonderfully warm shades that in my opinion, are timeless colors. Nude colors are colors that are inspired by skin tones and nature, so the options are endless. My favorites so far are chocolate, bengal and custom. Chocolate because I love doing a brown/gold smokey eye, bengal is the perfect blending color and custom because metallics are hot this fall! I am super anxious to recreate all of the looks that Tamanna has created on the 5 "Get the Look" cards that come with the palette, but I've only recreated one so far since I only got the palette yesterday haha. This palette is the first product I've purchased from Anastasia of Beverly Hills and I'm so in love! Anastasia has an official home in my makeup collection now, and it's loving it! Up next on my "Wish List" is the contour kit, the amrezy palette (if I can find it) and the waterproof creme colors! Stay tuned for more reviews :) 

From left to right: Fresh, Blush, Venezia, Gilded, Custom

From left to right: Sangria, Bengal, Chocolate, China Rose, Noir

Cosmetology School Has Begun

     It's been a little over a week since I started school and I can honestly say that I'm loving every second of it! From 12 to 3pm we do practical, from 3 to 4pm is our lunch break and then from 4 to 6:30pm we do theory. We're techincally supposed to be in class until 6:30 everyday, but we usually get out around 5:45-6:00 which is nice! So far, I've learned how to do a french twist, roller set, perm rods, pin curls, finger waves, and I've also done hair parting/sectioning and how to use the pressing comb. 

 

     A pressing comb does the same thing as a flat iron does; not many people use them today though. It is made of steel or brass with a wooden handle. There are different types of presses that you can do, a hard press, soft press or medium press. A soft press is used on people whose hair is a little wavy while a hard press is used on someone whose hair is extremely curly. 

     Putting perm rods in the hair is not an easy task, regardless I've only done it once (haha) but to be able to sandwich the ends of the hair in between two end paper without having the ends of the hair slip out is tricky. I'm learning that the key is to keep the end papers super wet. 

     I actually really like doing roller sets, because once the hair is dry and you comb it out, it gives the hair a nice amount of volume and a really pretty flowy curl to the hair. Usually, younger women don't use rollers, but I think it's a big misconspection that it's just for older women, because it's not. 

 

     During the theory part of the day, we review the chapters that we do each week, we do practice tests, and quiz each other on the hundreds (and I'm not kidding) vocabulary words. It's a lot of repetitiveness but as my teacher said, the main goal is for me to make sure that you pass the state boards. School teaches you the basics but it's up to you to be creative with it. A lot of learning is done in the salon once you get your license. There is a tone of bookwork to do as well, not anything hard, but again just all repetitive so that it really gets engrained in our brains; the fundamentals are the most important. 

     I am so happy that I made this decision to go to cosmetology school. I know it my heart that this is a career that I'm going to love to do for the rest of my life. Doing hair and makeup has always been a passion of mine and to be able to take that passion and follow my dreams is priceless. Once I have 600 hours I will be able to get my permits and start working in a salon, probably as a shampooer or hair assistant. But once I get my full license I would like to work in an upscale salon to start but also, start freelancing doing hair and makeup for weddings and special events. It is a huge dream of mine to work on tv sets, so fingers crossed I will get there one day! :) 

                        

                              Pin Curls -Before 

After