Your eye shape is very important. If you know your eye shape, you can tailor your makeup to that shape. This helps your makeup look better and enhances your special features. Here is a chart that shows each eye shape. You should look straight into a mirror and see which shape most looks like your eyes.
I, for instance, have hooded eyes. Mine did not happen with age, I was born with them. With every eye shape, comes certain techniques that can enhance your eyes. The key is to remember this: LIGHT brings the eye forward and DARK sets it back. You can use light and dark colors to contour your eyes into any shape you want. I learned about eye shapes and special techniques from Youtube. Find out what eye shape you are and type that into the search engine. Voila! Hundreds of videos to learn from! I have gotten some very good tips from these tutorials. Here are some of my favorite Youtube makeup gurus:
Another thing to do is find a celebrity with your eye shape and search for makeup tutorials inspired by them. Those techniques will look great on you! Remember that every eye is different and beautiful. :)
Not only do they have discounted beauty products but they also have discontinued items! This is great if your favorites have been discontinued. It also means that you can get your hands on some of the palettes that are not produced anymore without having to resort to Ebay. (My Urban Decay loving heart is in heaven right now with this site! My credit card, not so much...) I think it's also a good way to try out some brands that you are not sure about without having to buy an expensive item. They do have quite a few mini or trial sizes of products also. Some items are marked "BLEMS" which just means that they are unboxed or have a tester sticker on them. The site is very good about telling you which ones these are and discounting them. They state that all of their products are unopened and never tested.
Everyone that knows me know that I love a deal so I'm super excited about this find. Now, I just have to narrow down the things in my shopping basket...
While researching for my blog and just general reading about skin routines, I kept seeing something called jojoba oil being mentioned. I finally looked it up and wow! This oil is used for everything from moisturizer to hair conditioner. According to this website, jojoba oil is this:
"Jojoba (pronounced ho-HO-ba) is a botanical extract of the seed of the
jojoba tree (Simmondsia chinenis). What’s interesting about it is that
it isn’t actually an oil, but rather what they call a wax ester. Why do
we care? Because out of all of the compounds in nature, this wax ester
is the most similar to human skin oil (sebum). It is theorized that
applying jojoba to the skin can “trick” the skin into thinking it is
producing enough oil, thus balancing oil production. The bottom line
for us is that jojoba oil is non-comedogenic so we can use it without
fear."
(non-comedogenic means that it will not clog pores or cause acne)
I have been using it for about a week on my face and in my hair. There is no doubt that both my hair and skin are softer. For my face, I just put about two drops in my hand and massage it into my skin for about a minute. Then I wash my face normally with my cleanser. Easy! For my hair, I just add a couple drops to my conditioner.
Now, I have read that your skin may get better before it gets worse when you start using an oil cleansing regimen. That's because the oil is purging all the bad stuff out. I have broken out slightly but nothing serious. I have noticed that my blackheads are already much better and are coming closer to the surface (I have the deep, hard to reach kind). I'm hoping that jojoba oil will also help with my scalp psoriasis but that is yet to be seen.
Bottom line, there are a lot of different oils that can be used for cleansing (coconut, olive, etc). I think it really just comes down to which one you prefer and your specific skin type. I'd do a little research before buying one but I definitely think that it's worth looking into. I got my jojoba oil from Amazon. It's reasonably priced and my 4 oz bottle will last me quite a while at the rate that I'm going.
I also found this video to be helpful and informational:
Another discovery I've made recently is the Olay ProX Advanced Cleansing System ($30). I have had my eye on the Clarisonic for a while but at a $120-$200 price point, I just couldn't afford it. Both are handheld facial cleansers with removeable/replaceable brush heads. The brush head rotates, giving you a much deeper clean. The two devices are much the same. The Clarisonic does have different, more specialized brush heads that you can buy (sensitive skin, acne, etc), while the Olay ProX has one. For the price difference, however, I think I can handle it. The Olay ProX brush is very soft and it doesn't irritate my skin at all, even on the higher speed. It is water resistant, which is great if you clean your face in the shower. All in all, I've enjoyed using this cleanser. I feel like my face is much cleaner than using my hands alone. I picked mine up at Walgreens and I did notice the replacement brush heads were around $8 (while the Clarisonic heads are $25). If you are looking for a deeper everyday clean, I'd give the Olay ProX a try before you spend all that money on the Clarisonic.
I finally got a chance to try Wet and Wild Eyeshadow and I have to say that I was seriously impressed! It is surprisingly creamy to the touch and wow, is it pigmented! I only got a single eyeshadow in the color Stagedive (which is kind of a shiny medium blue) to try it out. I will be buying more WnW eyeshadows in the future. I think they will be great for colors that I don't wear often. There's no point in spending a lot of money on colors you will rarely wear in my opinion! These are a great alternative to pricier brands.
Wet and Wild has some hits and misses on quality and this site tells you the 9 Best WnW Products.
I picked up the Milani Brow Fix Kit as well. It's adorable! You open up the package and one side flips up with two little brow brushes and a mini tweezers with a mirror underneath. I love it and for $7, you can't beat it.
I also got a chance to go by Sephora and I got a few good deals there. Here's what I saw:
They had a couple of the Tokidoki Travel Palettes that I mentioned in my last post for $5. (at my local store they had the Lion Pappa and Sandy in the City.)
They had Sephora Lipsticks on sale for $3. Too many colors to mention but they go on really smoothly and I really like them.
They had the Sephora Collection Silk Shadow Quad for $7. It is a huge quad with enough color to last you forever. They had two choices, Brazilian Sea and Last Dance.
These were the products that stood out to me. They are mostly sold out online so I was glad to find them. I also picked up the mini LORAC TANalizer Baked Bronzer for $6 and I'm super excited about it. This little bronzer will last me forever and it's great even on my pale, pasty skin. :)
Also, I heard a rumor that some Big Lots stores are getting Too Faced makeup in. I checked out my local store and they didn't have any but I'll be stalking....i mean...checking them the next couple weeks to see if we get any here. Check your local store! Too Faced is one of my favorite brands!
I would just like to mention that Sephora has some really great clearance right now. It looks like they are getting rid of their Tokidoki line and preparing for new things from their Buxom and Philosophy lines. Here are some of the things on my wish list:
1. Buxom Samantha's Smokey Eye (reg. $32, clearance $20)-This looks like a good little set with gloss, eyeliner, an eye brush and mascara.
2. Sephora Tricks of the Trade Anti-Shine Primer (reg. $18, clearance $5)-This is my primer! I said in an earlier post that they were out of stock but it looks like they've gotten it back! I highly recommend this primer.
3. Tokidoki Travel Palettes (reg. $10, clearance $6)-These are adorable. They have four eyeshadows and a blush in a tiny little travel size palette. I have one on order and I'm excited about it!
4. Makeup Forever La Boheme Baked Shadow Palette-(reg $39, clearance $25) AHH! I'm having mini-makeup fits over this one. I love the colors and I love baked shadows. You can wear them dry for a nice, soft look or wet them for something more dramatic. Makeup Forever is an amazing brand so this really is a steal. By the way, it's almost my birthday. (HINT HINT)
They have lots of other nice things, these are just my favorite. :)
Also, I got in my E.L.F order today that I was so excited about. I have been dying to try their High Definition Powder! Makeup Forever makes an AMAZING one but I was looking for a cheaper alternative and I think I've found it! It doesn't make my face quite as soft as the MUF brand but other than that, there is very little difference except for the price. $6 vs. $32! Now, my gripes...it is very messy, as with all loose powders. I'm a little more apt to not care about wasting the E.L.F. kind. :) Also, it took a full two weeks to get my order! I was not very pleased with E.L.F. and their service. I think I'm going to check my local Target to see if I can get my E.L.F. products there from now on. Overall, I'm super pleased though.
Admittedly, I do not have a great interest in blush. I've always thought my face was too red for blush so I never really wore it. I've come to find that, when applied right, blush is amazing. :) I still do not have many recs for you but I've learned a couple things.
Now, the makeup world seems to be blowing up about one particular blush-NARS in Orgasm.
It is a pretty pinky/peach shade that is said to work and look beautiful on everyone. I have not tried this blush and probably never will because of the price....$28. I'm sure it's lovely and if blush is your thing, then it is definitely worth looking into. I've heard nothing but good things about it.
However, I have also been hearing a lot about a good replica of it that they sell in local drug stores. It is Miliani Baked Blush in Luminoso.
They do not look similar in the package but they give you the same kind of pink/peach glow. I bought this blush today and it's lovely. I picked it up at Walgreens for $7.99. My coworkers and I all tried it on and, even with our three different skin colors, it looked great on all of us. It just gives you a kind of healthy glow without being BAM! Now saying that, the packaging is a bit flimsy and the brush that comes with it is trash but it can all be overlooked for the $20 price difference.
Some other blushes that I've heard good things about are:
