Here is a video I made of my current makeup collection.

Urban Decay Alice In Wonderland Palette

This palette is $52 and can be found at a variety of stores including Sephora and Ulta. It comes with 16 shadows, 2 eyeliners, and a small primer potion. The palette has a wide variety of colors. Every shadow in the palette is highly pigmented. Great color payoff. About half of the shadows are shimmery, the other half are either shimmery with glitter or matte with glitter. The shimmery shadows include: Underland, Alice, Oraculum, Queen, Muchness, Mushroom, Vorpal, Absolem, and Drink me Eat me. The shimmery shadows with glitter are: Chessur, White rabbit, Wonderland, Curiouser, and Midnight tea party. The matte shadows with glitter are: Mad hatter and Jabberwocky.

This palette is amazing. However, you do have to have a gentle hand to work with the glittery shadows. Pack on the color, and blend lightly and minimally. Use a clean fluffy brush to flick off any fallout or random glittery particles.

Favorite Foundations

Rating Scale:

5/5 Excellent (something that is part of my makeup arsenal . . . I use daily and can't live without it!)

4/5 Very Good (something I use regularly, would repurchase)

3/5 Good (something I enjoyed but don't use often, probably would not repurchase)

2/5 OK (Will use if I have no other options)

1/5 Bad (Does not work well. Doesn't do what it is supposed to)

0/5 An abomination . . . . a waste of money.

***Anything below 3/5 is in troubled water. . . . don't waste your time or money!

HIGH END:

Makeup Forever HD Foundation: Rating 5/5

This foundation provides medium to full coverage. It is buildable, meaning you can add more layers until you are satisfied with the coverage. The formulation is liquidy, but not quit as liquidy as the Revlon Colorstay Foundation. It has a creamy and luxurious texture! It blends effortlessly into the skin, providing a flawless appearance that looks completely natural. Not heavy on the face and is long wearing. Oil free.

Makeup Forever HD Foundation is $4o for 1.00 fl. oz.. This foundation is a little pricey, but it is worth the investment. And remember the average person uses between 1-2 pumps per application. It would take a minimum of several months to work through the product. The packaging is simple and very easy to use. The bottle has a cap that easily stays attached and there is a squirt top dispenser which makes using this foundation very easy.

It is available at Sephora in 25 different shades, amazing right! While the shade range is very good for accommodating most skin tones, I can't stress how important it is to get color matched. Make sure that you have NO residual tanning products or any other type of product that can alter the natural shade of your skin. I also recommend going online before getting color matched, to check out the range and read the descriptions on Sephora.com. They provide a brief but useful description (ex. for fair skin tones with pink undertones). It is important to be an educated consumer. The shades are named with numbers 107, 110, 115, 117 . . . . they are not all sequential . . .

LORAC Natural Performance Foundation: Rating 5/5

Lorac Natural Performance Foundation is a medium to full coverage foundation. This foundation has a creamy consistency, and is very easy to blend into the skin. It feels very light on the skin. The foundation gives the appearance of no makeup at all and lasts amazingly all day long!

So, what makes this foundation special? Well there is a long list. First, this foundation is formulated without parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, synthetic dyes, and phthalates. Parabens have been shown to be absorbed into the bloodstream within a few minutes of application and there is some evidence that this chemical is associated with cancer. This foundation is also oil free, which makes it the perfect foundation for those of us with oily skin. The foundation also contains active ingredients such as: xyleine, olive leaf extract, and vitamin A.

This foundation can be purchased at a variety of stores including Sephora and Ulta. It comes in a range of 10 shades, which are distinguished by a number (NP1-NP10). This foundation is a little pricey, $36 for 1.00 fl. oz.. However, I always like to remind people that the average person uses between 1-2 pumps per application. At that rate is takes several months or longer to use an entire bottle. The bottle is all one piece, no cap. The lid rotates to bring up the squirt top dispenser. Very easy to use!

LOW END (meaning more affordable)

Maybelline Super Stay 24HR Makeup: Rating 5/5

Super Stay 24HR Makeup is a medium coverage foundation, however it is buildable. The formulation is a thick liquid, very viscous. Be careful, it takes a little patience to get it out of the bottle . . . if you are too forceful it will end up all over the place. It is smooth in texture and easy to blend into the skin. Provides a very natural looking coverage. Oil free. Apparently transfer free, but there is always a little transfer . . . especially in heat, or moist situations.

This product is available anywhere drugstore makeup is sold (CVS, Walgreens, Target, Walmart, Ulta, Grocery Stores, etc). The cost varies between $7.99-9.99. Look for sales, especially at CVS, Walgreens, and Ulta. You get 1.00 fl. oz. per bottle. It does not have a squirt top dispenser, which makes it a little more work to use. This product comes in 15 shades. These shades are classified as Light, Medium, and Dark. Each specific shade is also given a name and a number.

Revlon Colorstay Foundation: Rating 4/5

The Revlon Colorstay Foundation is a full coverage foundation. It can be applied lighter for a more sheer coverage, but it is generally intended for full coverage use. The formulation is very liquidy, be careful . . . you might end up with it all over your hand! It has a pleasant smell. I really like it for some reason, but I have also heard people liken it to a paint smell. I don't get that comparison, but everyone is different. It has a smooth texture. Takes a little bit of work to blend into the skin and can dry very quickly. It is helpful to work in sections. The finish is flawless. It can look a little heavy . . . so use a light hand. Even if you have skin issues . . . it doesn't help to cake it on all over! Looks great all day long! Oil free! Non-transfer . . . one of the best!

This foundation is available wherever drugstore products are sold. The product is between $9-13 (look for sales). This foundation comes in two formulations: combination/oily and normal/dry. The normal/dry comes in 12 shades and provides and SPF of 15. The combination/oily comes in 20 shades and provides and SPF of 6. There is no pump for this foundation . . . so use with caution!

Maybelline Mineral Power Natural Perfecting Foundation: Rating 4/5

This is a lightweight foundation. It provides a natural looking coverage, but is also buildable for pesky discoloration or problem areas. The formulation is not quite a liquid and not quite a cream . . . somewhere in the middle. It has nice staying power throughout the day. Feels natural, not cakey. This foundation is oil free, talc free, and fragrance free. It has been clinically proven to improve the texture and appearance of skin. Will not clog pores! Contains an SPF of 18. Very easy to blend into the skin. Truly a no fuss foundation!

This product can be found wherever drugstore makeup is sold. It can be purchased for $7.00-$9.00. I always recommend trying to buy drugstore products when on sale! The bottle contains 1.00 fl. oz.. It does not have a dispenser, but it does have a narrow opening which allows for more controlled release of the product. This foundation has a nice color range: 14 shades ranging between light, medium, and dark tones.

Revlon Colorstay Active: Rating 4/5

This is a lightweight foundation that provides surprisingly good coverage. The formulation is liquidy. It is designed for the active person: sweat proof, heat proof, smudge proof, and long wearing. It is oil free, non-pore clogging, and non-irritating. Contains an SPF 25. Perfect for outside use. A very nice product!

This foundation can be found anywhere drugstore products are sold. The foundation can be purchased for $9.00-$12.00 for 1.00 fl. oz.. This product has a slightly restricted color range, only 8 shades. The container is also solid, so it is a little hard to get a feel for the exact color. The color of the packaging changes based on the color of the foundation, which I believe is supposed to mimic the actual color of the product. Nonetheless, it is still hard to get an idea of the tone.

MAC EYESHADOW FINISHES

Hey Guys! In this video I go through 8 of the 9 eyeshadow finishes from Mac. The 9 categories are: Frost, Satin, Velvet, Veluxe, Veluxe Pearl, Lustre, Matte, Matte^2, and Starflash. I do not own any Matte^2 eyeshadows so I can't really describe them for you.

Frost: Shimmery, provide a nice highlight effect, very cream and soft in texture, great to blend. Good Colors to start off with: Nylon, Satin Taupe, Juxt.

Satin: Light sheen, soft and creamy, easy to work with. A good color to start with is Shroom.

Velvet: Flat matte base color with a very small amount of a shimmery particle running through the shadow (the shadow does not look shimmery on the eyelid), soft in texture, easy to work with. Good colors to start off with are Mulch and Vanilla.

Veluxe: Flat in color like a matte shadow, very pigmented, dense/chalky in texture, easy to work with. Good colors to start off with: Kid, and Brown Down. I believe there are only 3 of these types of shadows currently on Mac's website.

Veluxe Pearl: holographic, metallic, multidimensional, they have little flexes of other shimmery colors running through the shadow, very soft and creamy, very easy to work with. Good colors to start off with: Gorgeous Gold, Woodwinked, All that Glitters, Sumptuous Olive,

Lustre: Glitter, shimmery, soft in texture, very messy, I don't recommend buying these.

Matte: Completely flat, No shimmer or glitter, highly pigmented (a little goes a long way), hard/chalky in texture, but still easy to work with. Good colors to start with: Embark, Carbon.

Matte^2: Don't own any, couldn't tell you!

Starflash: Shimmery with a gold tone running through, also soft and creamy (probably not as soft as frosts), easy to work with. My favorite is Go, but it is discontinued. I have found it at a CCO near me though . . . so it is still out there.

I also tried to show examples of each finish and also recommend good colors to start off with. I hope that you all enjoy!

Let me know if you need recommendations on colors to try. Most of my recommendations are really good foundation colors, meaning neutrals, highlights, or crease colors. I didn't go too much into any bright colors.

First Blog! Welcome!

Hello Everyone. So, this is my first blog. I am hoping to create a fun, informative, and positive environment with this website. I am obsessed with all things makeup and beauty related. I hope to use this website as a way to provide informative information to women of all ages, with all types of skin issues, at all price points regarding makeup and other related issues. I will also post random information about things that inspire me or things that really interest me. I think it's important to spice it up sometimes!

Well, I am sure you're all interested in hearing a little more about me. So here it goes. I am 26 . . . turning 27 in May. I can't believe how the time flies. I don't feel old, but the numbers are starting to get a little scary. I have my masters degree in Entomology, which is the study of insects. So, yea, I'm a science nerd at heart, but I also have a lot of creative interests as well (scrapbooking, cooking, photography, etc). I have lived almost my whole life in the Chicagoland area. I have two younger brothers, and very supportive parents.

You may ask yourself, "Why is she so interested in makeup?". Well, here goes. I wore a minimal amount of makeup all throughout high school and college, but when I was studying in graduate school, I didn't have time for all the little extras. So, I abandoned spending time on my appearance for 2 years. When I finished my masters, I started working and I met a lovely coworker, young, beautiful, and intelligent. She inspired me to take a more active interest in my appearance and she introduced me to MAC. I am truly obsessed. Up until that point, I used drugstore products and the only high-end product I used occasionally was Clinique. I turned to YouTube for tutorials on how to apply makeup and taught myself all the basics. I came across some wonderful people on YouTube. One of the first was Lauren Luke. She is truly inspiring.

I spent several months practicing with makeup and developing my skills. After finishing my masters, I had so much free time on my hands, I just didn't know what to do with myself. I realized that my Mac Laptop had a built-in camera and I taught myself how to make and edit movies in imovie. I decided to start making videos because I was bored, but also because I thought that I had a lot of information that would be helpful to other women out there. It's been about 4 months since I started making videos and I already have a more than 300 subscribers. Thanks so much to everyone that supports me. I never really expected to have this many supporters. I was very shy and quiet in the first videos that I made (it is quite daunting to sit in front of a camera, look pretty, sound intelligent, and get all the words to come out correctly), but I became more confident and my real personality started to come out. I love making videos! It has really pushed me to try new things, and to think outside of my safe little box.

Anyhow, I hope that you enjoy! I love hearing feedback! Let me know if there are any specific topics you would like me to address, questions you have, or requests for tutorials.


I hope that you all have a wonderful day!