Polish and other things...

I love nail polish. I go from dark to bright with the occasional neutral thrown in. For the summer I like to keep it bright in fact the brighter the better. Opi has their Mod About Brights Collection. Her eye makeup first caught my attention, I was trying to figure out how I can recreate it then I noticed the colors. The colors are very Crayola crayonish. I have Brights Power and I love it!
Orly has their Hot Stuff which I haven't seen anywhere yet. I may have to stalk - I mean - check out Ulta and CVS.
China Glaze has their Wow Factor Knockout Neons. Check out Clumps of Mascara for swatches.

Not to be out done Sally Hansen has thrown her hat in to the ring by adding colors to their Lacquer Shine line. I think there are about 6 colors but I only got 2, so far.


On the left is Spark, a purple with hints of blue and on the left is Glow, a shimmery apple green. I love Sally Hansen nail products not only do they turn your nails into steel they're so long lasting.

So many colors to choose from...

Other things....

I made a trip to Bed Bath and Beyond yesterday and as always I spent about an hour strolling the makeup section. I picked up some shadows and liquid liner by a brand called KiKi.



From top to bottom: Dune (brown) and Ginger (tan) Eyeshadow. I don't know why they look the same. Liquid liners in Pink, Bronze and Green. I like the liners, they go on smooth and the colors are very vibrant. The shadows I'm still trying to figure out. It was hard for me to get the colors on my brush to swatch them but once I did they spread easily and I really like the shimmer. The color payoff isn't so great but they may make a good base. I'm not used to cream shadows so it may take me a minute to get these to work.

Haul and Review

I needed some foundation so I made a stop at Ulta to get some but they didn't have any. I was also told by the associate that they only get like 4 deepest deep foundations at a time but that is a conversation for another post. I decided to get some Rimmel Eye Glistner pencils after watching EmsyJay do an orange look.

The pink is Girls Only! and the orange is Flaunt.

Both colors are really pretty go on smooth and have a slight shimmer to them. I really wanted to use the orange Saturday but for the life of couldn't make it work. After I applied it to my lid it was kind of wet. I blended it out a bit but it left my brush really nasty and clumpy. When I applied my shadow my brush was clumpy and nasty again and so was my shadow. I couldn't really pat my shadow on and it clumped up in certain spots and I couldn't blend it. I tried 3 different brush and nothing worked. My friend Meagan Shea suggested that I use a small flat synthetic brush to avoid the clumpy nasty brush and application issues. I really like these crayons so I'm going to try her suggestion and see if I can make it work. If anyone has used them before I would love to hear your experiences.

I'm a sucker for pretty colors so I had to get this. Plus I love you can get 2 looks from one palette. This is CoverGirl Eye Enhancers in Firecracker.


It's a matte green, pink and white. Very pretty and soft. I'm going to try to use it with my Rimmel Crayon in Girls Only! once I get my new brush.

FOTD 5/24 & 5/25

Don't you hate when the vision in your head doesn't come out anything like you envisioned it? I was going for an orange/gold/bronze look but for the life of me I couldn't make it work. So I settled on a bronze/brown look.


On my eyes: UPDD; HIP Cream Shadow Pencil in Meticulous; HIP Duo in Saucy; HIP Pigments in Visionary (highlight) and Restless (inner corner); Very Sexy Liquid Liner in Blackout; NYX Liner in Black; Volume Couture Mascara by Max factor. I also had on fake lashes of course one was perfect and the other not so much but it came out ok.


On my eyes: UPDD; HIP Cream Shadow Pencil in Meticulous; HIP Duo Foxy; HIP Pigment in Visionary (highlight); Very Sexy Liquid Liner in Blackout; NYX Liner in Black; Volume Couture Mascara by Max factor


Face: Perscriptives Custom Blend Foundation; Bare Mineral foundation in Deepest Deep; Milani Mineral Powder Blush in Sunset Beach; HIP Vibrant Shimmering Powder in Radiant (poor thing tried to commit suicide not too long ago); Maybelline Shinylicious gloss in Coconut Cream; Milani liner in Black Brown

FOTD 5/18

A greenish gold Sunday look.


Eyes: L'Oreal HIP Paint in Nervy (base); Hip Pigments in Visionary(1st third of lid) & Restless (highlight); HIP shadows in Foxy (brown side) & Devious (green on lid brown in crease); Volume Couture by Max Factor Mascara (my new love of the week); Victoria's Secret Liquid Liner in Blackout (upper lash line); NYX Liner in Black (waterline)


Face and Lips: Face and Lips: Perscriptives Custom Blend Concealer; Bare Minerals Powder Foundation in Deepest Deep; Milani blush in Sweet Rose, Milani lip liner in Black Brown and gloss in Sweet

I'm very impressed with the HIP paints. I used it instead of UDPP and it blended really well and I had no creasing what so ever.

My new favorite product this week is Volume Couture by Max Factor Mascara. It's like false lashes in a tube. The wand reminds me of Cover Girl Lash Exact, which I love, and Maybelline Define-A-Lash, which I like. Define-A-Lash is a good mascara but I thought the wand was flimsy. Maybe I got a bad one but I found the wand bended way to easy when I was putting it back into the tube and I was afraid it would break. I got Volume Couture at Bed Bath and Beyond for about $6.

facepaint101 Spotlight


I love watching and seeing the work of a makeup artist. I especially love when I know that artist personally. Allow me to introduce you to my favorite Makeup Maven Meagan (pronounced Meegan not Maygan) Shea!

She has now ventured into the world of makeup artistry with her own company i.am.me.inc. The girl has talent and I'm not just saying that because she is my fantabulous friend, she is truly gifted. Her work is a reflection of her - free spirited, eclectic, colorful and creative.


What sparked your love of makeup? - I guess I can't really say exactly what sparked it. I could be cliché and tell the story of watching my mother when she got dressed to go out when I was a wee lass, but I'm sure there's more to it than that. Honestly, I've always been into colors. When I was in elementary school I knew ALL the colors in the 64 box of Crayola™ crayons & could identify them just by color (without seeing the name). I then became familiar with the box of 96 crayons... I just love color coordinating, contrasting, & creating with color ALONE. I could never draw, but I would always love to color & create abstract shape art collages as a child (and I still do!) just to see the colors together, on top of one another & side by side.


When did you start i.am.me and why? - I didn't really "start" i.am.me, I suppose. I just wanted a name for my business. I wanted that name to reflect who I am as a human, an artist, & a black woman. I wanted it to really proclaim how I feel about myself, my work, & my life. That is where the name came from. It's very direct and to the point. I AM ME – and that's who I am at all times. I am meagan shea', make up artist, daughter, sister, friend, etc. I'm just me, because that's the only approach I know how to take in life & still remain my authentic self. It's my way of saying to the world – this is me, love me or leave me.


Favorite makeup line? - I don't have one… really … I will use anything from WET & WILD (remember that from when you were like in high school!) to Christian Dior… Right now I'm really into NARS, URBAN DECAY, & MAKE UP FOREVER. Those are really high up on my list right now…


Favorite makeup artist? ~ There are a lot of artists that have inspired me, and continue to do so. my # 1 man is, of course, none other than Kevyn Aucoin. He was an amazing ARTIST & I respected his work. I LOVE Francois Nars! He keeps things so simple, but yet VERY VERY VERY colorful and beautiful – without being BORING. I am also in awe of Roshar… He is theeeeeeeeee best! I love Sam Fine for his classic looks & Billy B. as well. But Kevyn & Roshar are my ABSOLUTE FAVES!


Check out her work at http://www.modelmayhem.com/MeaganShea


For inquiries for her service you can reach her at i.am.me.inc@gmail.com

SALE FYI

CVS is having a buy one get one free sale on HIP. Certain CVS’ have $1 off HIP products coupons attached to display. So be on the lookout for those. According to the CVS employee that was updating the cosmetic aisle they won’t be carrying the HIP Brilliant Shine Lip Gloss and certain Wear Infinite Eye Shadow Quads and Duos as well as other products. I figured they just wouldn’t be selling them at CVS any more but she said nope she was told that L’Oreal will be discontinuing them. Right now they are being marked as 75% off so keep your eye out for that too.

I’m a HIP shadow fiend so I tend to get all of my HIP stuff during these sales. There are only 2 Hip products I don’t really care for the HIP Pure Pigment Shadow Stick and the Brilliant Shine Lip Gloss. I find the gloss to be sticky and thick and I can’t figure out the purpose of the sticks. For me they’re horrible bases and they didn't work well for me when I tried to use them as a shadow. I think I may crush them into a powder and use them that way.

A Blue Experiment

I had wanted to wear a blue look on Sunday but all the blues I had were more of the going out and shaking your tail feather variety. This is not quite the look I wanted since I was going to church so I decided to visit CVS and see if I could find something subtle. Since there is always some type of sale going on I found a L’Oreal Infinite Eye Shadow Quad in blues (not quite sure of the actual name). I like it, it was the softness I was looking for. Plus one quad will give you a couple of looks which I love. Here’s what I came up with. This was at the end of the day so I already had my face done.



Eyes: L’Oreal Infinite Eye Shadow Quad in blue; NIK eyeshadow pencil in White; HIP creme line in Blue; NYX Liner in Black

I also wanted to try the Max Factor MaxWear lip color I got in Pomegranate Fusion. I tend to wear just the purple side so I wanted to see what both looked like together since that is how you’re supposed to wear it. The result to me was mixed. I love the color but I thought some parts were too clumpy and thick. Overall I like it but I need to work on the base application. They suggest waiting 1 minute to let the base dry before rubbing your lips together and applying the gloss. I found that after the minute it was to dry to do anything. The gloss did make it better and you could kind fill in where needed. I’ll probably go get some more since the colors are so pretty.

FOTD 5/11

I really wanted to do a blue look but I wasn't feeling any of the blues I had. So I went with brown look instead.


Eyes; UDPP; HIP Shadow Crayon in Meticulous; Hip shadow in Shady (brown side); Wet n Wild Shadow Trio in Belgian Chocolates and Cream; Victoria's Secret Liquid Liner in Blackout; NYX Liner in Black; Maybelline XXL Curl Power Mascara in Very Black

Face and Lips: Perscriptives Custom Blend Concealer; Bare Minerals Powder Foundation in Deepest Deep; HIP Bronzer in Thriving; Milani blush in Sweet Rose, Milani lip liner in Black Brown and gloss in Sweet

FOTD 5/7

CVS was having a buy one get one 50% Wet N Wild sale. I picked up 2 eyeshadow palettes. The brown is Belgian Chocolates and the blue is Island Blues. Both are very nice with good color payoff.
So after my makeup adventure at Macy's I came home and and despite my being tired and sleepy decided to play with my new purchases which is why the concealer is not blended properly. I really like Port Red not sure if I like it with the eye but I do like how it looks on me.




Eyes; UDPP; HIP Shadow Crayon in Meticulous; HIP creme liner in Brown; Wet n Wild Shadow Trio in Belgian Chocolates; Max Factor Vivid Impact Mascara Face and Lips: Perscriptives Custom Blend Concealer; Bare Minerals Powder Foundation in Deepest Deep; HIP Bronzer in Thriving; Revlon Sculpting Blush in Berry Daring; L'oreal Liner in Blackberry; MAC lipstick in Port Red

Prescriptives Custom Blend Makeup

Thanks to my mom I have a perpetual darkness sleep and eye creams do help with how severe they are but for the most part that shadow has been there since I can remember. I also have thanks to mom permanent brown eyeshadow. So from my eyelids to my brow bone is a light brown. That never bothered me since my face can look done without actually being done but the dark circles I can’t stand.

I said all that to say my love affair with Smashbox Camera Ready Concealer in 8 is over. We were going strong for a while but lately I really wasn’t feeling the coverage it was giving me especially under my eyes. So yesterday I decided to visit my local MAC counter for a concealer and a Mineralize Skin Finish. My MAC visit was ok. The concealers didn’t work plus she didn’t really blend it in well so you could only kinda sorta see if it worked or not. The Mineralize Skin Finish sucked. It made me a dark ashy corpse. I asked her about the other Skin Finish and she had no clue what I was talking about. My soul was a tad grieved. I really wanted to try it since everyone raves about it. By now my face is a raw, dry ashy ass mess and nothing is working. Finally the MAC artist is like you should try Prescriptives. I did leave with a Port Red lipstick which I like very much but since I was so traumatized that I looked like the walking dead I forgot to get a liner and a gloss to go with it. I will say I did appreciate her not try to push stuff on me to make a sale.

So off I go to Prescriptives for Custom Blend Makeup. I really didn’t want to shell out $32 for a concealer but I also didn’t want to look like I hadn’t slept in years and was going “through”. (let me stop the darkness isn’t that bad but I was on my 3rd 10 hour workday so they were somewhat pronounced) I explain my dilemma and she starts mixing. The first batch is off. She’s like what’s on your face I tell her MAC stuff. She’s like take it off and we start with a clean face. (The MAC stuff also made me like 4 shades darker than what I am) After 3 batches we get the perfect blend and my soul rejoices. I am very happy with my purchase. When I blend it properly my face is one color. I could literally add some powder and go. I also learned that I have cool yellow gold undertones with some hints of red. I knew about the yellow gold but the red was a surprise. I don’t have foundation and powder issues. But I may go back for a custom lip color.

FOTD 5/4

Sunday look...



Eyes: UPDD; HIP Meticulous Shadow Crayon; HIP Shadow in Mischief; Valana Mineral Shadow in Mystic Lava; Victoria’s Secret Liquid Liner in Blackout; NYX Liner in Black; Mayeblline Define-A-Lash and Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara


Face and Lips: Smashbox Camera Ready Concealer in 8; Bare Minerals Powder Foundation in Deepest Deep; Bare Minerals Warmth; HIP Bronzer in Thriving; Milani Liner in Black Brown and Sally Hansen Natural Butter Lip Shine