BFTE Cosmetics Swatches

 Disclaimer: All products were purchased by me. I'm not receiving any compensation for this post; all opinions are my own.

Hello! I was going through some photos in Aperture and found these swatches of some eyeshadows I'd ordered from BFTE Cosmetics several weeks ago; apparently I never posted them anywhere.

Swatched over bare, lotioned skin; pictures taken without flash in natural light.

Click to view full size:

L to R: Poodle Pandemonium, Mistress, Peony, Pizazz, Juicy.

-Poodle Pandemonium is an amazing magenta pink that has copper sparkles in it. I love it and I think the sparkles make it unique; it's unlike any pink in my collection. I recently used Poodle Pandemonium in a look here.

-Mistress is a medium-deep blue-purple.

-Peony is a low-shimmer white with a very slight pink tinge. It's super dense, pigmented, and smooth.

-Pizazz is a light green leaning slightly aqua, with pale pink sparkles. It's a little on the sheer side compared to these other shades.

-Juicy is a bright yellow-orange. I think the website says it's supposed to have green sparkles but they weren't very noticeable to me.

All of these colors are gorgeous! I'm never disappointed with anything from BFTE Cosmetics.

Thanks for reading♥

Disclaimer: All products were purchased by me. I'm not receiving any compensation for this post; all opinions are my own.

EOTD: "Tribalistic" with Darling Girl Cosmetics

 Hey y'all! It's been a while since I posted, it was a crazy week and an even crazier weekend, but hopefully things will be more "normal" now.. (in quotes because when is anything TRULY normal? haha.)

Today I have for you a somewhat artistic look using all Darling Girl products (which I purchased myself, fyi). I started with the liner and kept adding things to the look, ending up with this; to me the design looks sort of futuristic-tribal, or Tribal-istic. What do you think?

Check it out:

Products:

-Lime Crime Eyeshadow Helper

-DGC Glitter Glue (lower lashline/inner corner)

Darling Girl Cosmetics eyeshadows in:

-On-X (applied with BFTE Mix & Fix) as liner

-Electra (yellow-lime green with gold sheen)

-Patty O' Green (white with green duochrome) inner corner and lid

-Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette (eyebrow, crease and browbone)

-Sugarpill pressed eyeshadow in Tako (browbone)

-MAC Blacktrack Fluidline (tightline and waterline)

-Cover Girl Lash Perfection mascara

-Cover Girl clear mascara on brow

-Hard Candy Glamoflauge in Light

-mark. Powder Buff in Nude

Taken without flash; it was a bit over-exposed so I had fun editing it more than usual. I like how bright and clear my iris looks.

I feel like a broken record but I feel like this looked so much better in person. My camera, though it takes great pictures and has very accurate color, sadly flattens my eye, especially when used with flash. My eye looks like it has no dimension, which detracts from the look in my opinion. Oh well.. at least the shininess of Patty O' Green showed up some. It's such a gorgeous eyeshadow, as are all the Rainbow Brite shades!♥

I didn't use too many products for this, I wanted to keep it simple. Unfortunately since I added the crease and lid shades after I did the liner, some of the outer wing flaked off while I was blending vigorously. Anyway, aside from that and my weird eye shape which makes me do weirdly-shaped eyeliner sometimes, I like how this turned out. I loved the addition of the green design along my browbone. I'd love to do more looks like this using different colors! I think this would also look awesome using some bright matte shadows and a matte black gel liner. I didn't feel like using falsies or I'd have added some to really make it pop. That part is up to you ;)

Thanks for reading!

*Some or all images were lightly edited using Aperture and/or Photoshop; for details, please read the photo editing disclosure widget at the bottom of my right-side bar.

Corrective Colours

Corrective Colours

Correctors are used to counteract or neutralise tones found in the skin so foundation and concealer can work better.

Lilac/Lavender 

If you suffer from yellowing under the eyes, or your tan/warm skin is looking dull and grey, try a lilac primer or concealer. It brighten and evens your skin.

Green & Yellow Counteracts - Red/Pink 

If you suffer from rosacea or reddish skin try green or yellow concealer or primer, it will counteract the red tone in the skin. 

If you have cool skin tone try green or you have warmer skin tone try the yellow. 

    

Peach/Pink/Orange Correctors

Peach/Pink/Orange concealer brighten grey/purple/blue/green/dark under eye circles but keep in mind once you apply the corrector you may need to go back over the area with a foundation or concealer that matches your skin to ensure it blends out evenly. 

Light Pink for pale Skin 

Peach for Medium Skin

Orange for Dark Skin 

Britney Spears in The Makeup Chair

How I would do it...

I would love to do Britney's makeup, 

and this is how I would do it...

On the left how Britney's makeup is done,

On the right how I would do her makeup.

With a little help from photo shop I add some makeup!

Britney suffers from break outs and oily skin, 

I would start with Smashbox Photo Finish Light 

(after using a cleanse, toner and moisturiser of course)

Her under eyes looked a little grey, I used a peach concealer to counteract that. 

Taking a lighter shade of foundation I highlight the skin under the eyes, chin and forehead and then use a foundation shade that matches her neck to help even her skin.

With Britney going from blonde to brown her brows need to also change, I used a warm brown eyebrow pencil to define them.

I picked a lighter peachy/pink blush for Britney's cheeks. Britney already has strong red colours in her skin so a peachy/pink would neutralise that. 

Finally for lipstick I blended the lip liner more and added a sheer pink lipstick! Done!  

Which celebrities makeup would you like to do or redo??

Aha Moments

Do you ever see something or someone and think thoughts like,"Oh I am so glad that's not me, that poor thing. I am so glad I don't fit into that category. How can that person live with such a difficult task? I'm glad I don't have that problem, that I'm not that way." Any of those thoughts ever cross your mind at one time or another? Looking over them they sound arrogant, prideful and maybe a little naive. Ladies, I have had an aha moment in regard to myself and food. When I would hear women that were swayed so heavily by food I felt terrible for them. My heart would break for them and I would just want them to be happy outside of food. On the other hand I was grateful that I didn't have that problem and that I could focus on other areas in my life that needed attention. BOY was I in for a rude awakening today!!! Let's back up jus a touch however to the fitness plan that I told you about. 

The Revolt Fitness Challenge  was introduced to me about a month ago and after getting all my ducks in a row, so to speak, I started full speed into the unknown in early March and am now on week 3. The whole concept is to "revolt" against the before pictures. To walk away from them and make them a thing of the past. I was ALL over that. If you read my last post you'll see why I was so motivated for change. I truly felt that here was not only a plan that was easy for me to follow, it was something that I could do for the rest of my life!!! I love everything that we eat (or at least found a way to like the plain non fat yogurt) and I feel like I have more energy than ever! 

The first week was a detox where we cut sugar and upped the protein like mad. Not a problem for me because I am NOT a sweet eater. I am bad in that I love cooking with butter, mayo, salt, creams etc. The second week our fitness guru Nichole said that we would gain since we would be introducing certain things back into our diet...I still lost! I went from 137 on March 4th to 126 today (March 17th). Because we took out quite a bit of carbs, my body didn't retain as much water weight so most of it was that but I am also losing inches! I have been diligent in working out (took a class this last Saturday that almost killed me LOL) and have enjoyed feeling my clothes become a little more loose. NOW onto the aha moment. 

I love food. I enjoy savoring every bite but I don't over analyse it and I for SURE felt that if I wanted something badly enough I could dismiss a few items from my diet. Then the voice in my head started arguing with me. "You always talk about how badly you want to be fit and wear the clothes you want. Sooooooo you obviously don't want it badly enough to dimiss those things that you eat on a consistent basis." That voice was right! I have NeVeR reached my true potential and I WANT to!!! I had my cheat day on Saturday and went STRAIGHT to the tater tots (after my killer workout that morning). I had a very healthy lunch & splurged on Cafe Rio that night by splitting their amazing sweet pork burrito with my hubby...YUUUUUM!!!!!! All in all, a good cheat day =). Of course the next day was St. Patricks Day which I love since we send the boys off on a leprechaun hunt every year. They wake up to a clue that takes them to various places in the house till they find the pot of gold at the end. We had one of my very best friends and her family staying with us so it made this year's hunt extra special!

the clues they had to follow

They found the pot of "gold"

The spoils of the hunt

Fun hats made by Dad

Look at this handsome guy all ready for church. He makes my heart melt =). After church we headed over to my sister-in-law's house where she had an island FULL of green!   

I have to say that mashed potatoes and guacamole are two of my FAV foods (especially when my hubs makes the mashed potatoes which he DID). Ladies, I realized I AM one of those women that I felt badly for when it came to food. I honestly looked at all of this food with such longing after already having my cheat day and just wanted to cry. I never realized what an emotional attachment I had to food! I had sat there with a protein shake and a cucumber and wanted to dive into the mashed potatoes head first. It altered my mood and I couldn't help but watch people enjoy their food and laugh during their conversations. I was miserable! Is this what dieting is? What it has to be? What my life was going to be like from now on? NO!!!!! What Nichole has taught me is to be kind to my body. Give it the best fuel you can to have a better quality of life. Then to also give yourself a break every week. I have LoVeD all of the food she has for our meals and the options seem endless considering it's a "diet". I have always believed in moderation in all things and I still do. I went up to that "island of food" and took ONE spoonful of mashed potatoes, a dollop of guacamole, three chips for said guac and sat down to enjoy. It was a holiday and I didn't go overboard the day before so I let myself have that moment. Without having learned from Nichole I would have had a MoUnD of potatoes, a heaping helpful of the guac, tons of chips (in all their varieties), at least two of the roast beef sandwiches and some of the veggies as well. I would have had to have been rolled out of there! Armed with this knowledge about myself I came to the realization that I was just as happy with my smaller servings of these beloved items as I would have been dishing them up the "old way". I was for SURE a lot happier afterward =). I will not cheat this week because I know what's in store on Saturday. A killer workout, seeing my weight on the scale and having a few things I've put aside until then. I've found that I can put ANYthing aside knowing I can have some at the end of the week. I don't feel guilty for my small sidetrack on Sunday. On the contrary, it made me more excited for the following week! I have also started incorporating the kids into my clean eating and I am so happy that they are liking the brown rice and wheat pasta. They are liking the salads and all the different healthy toppings they can put on. It makes me feel good knowing that I am making a difference in my life as well as theirs that can affect generations. I feel good and I can't wait to keep moving toward my potential!

Finally Finished Foundation Series!

Flawless Foundation For Beginners!

Step One: Cleanse 

Pink Grapefruit Face Wash.

Make sure your make-up is going on fresh skin, this will make sure it goes on smoother and lasts longer!

Step Two: Tone
Simple facial toner.
A toner is just a liquid similar to water that rinses off any left over cleanser or dirt. Wipe it over the skin on a cotton pad!

Step Three: Moisturise 
Moisturise Simple Hydrating Light Moisturiser
Moisturise actually gives your foundation something to hold on so its very important!

Make sure you leave your skin settle for at least 5 minutes once you have completed these steps!

Step Four: Primer
Primer Nivea Daily Essentials Hydration Primer Normal/Comb
Not everyone needs a primer, but if you are going to use one, you apply it after your Moisturiser, not before your moisturiser and not instead of your moisturiser, after your moisturiser, Yep! :)

Step Five: Foundation
Foundation Loreal True Match W1
                 Bourjois 10 Hour Sleep Effect
I mixed up two foundations to get my prefect tone, texture and shade. It takes a lot of trial and error to find that out but when you do you wont forget it!

I use my F20 brush to apply it http://www.blankcanvascosmetics.com/products/hot-pink-and-black-f20-duo-set.html

You don't need a brush or sponge or any type of tool, feel free to use your finger tips, I like to pat in the foundation because it gives great coverage and looks great, I think its the heat from your fingers blends it so well!

And we're done!

Purple Wing makeup look

I did a makeup look yesterday that was inspired by a photo I found on Pinterest. (If you're on Pinterest, you can follow me here!)

Please click for better viewing!

I couldn't see the model's lower eye since it was closed, so I did my own interpretation:

Close-up of the eye, without the extra editing.

Products:

Eyes:

-Lime Crime Eyeshadow Helper

-Belleme Waterproof Pencil Eye Liner in Funky Violet

BFTE Cosmetics eyeshadows in:

-Dark Prince (deep blackened purple over purple pencil)

-Wacky (dark orange on outer crease)

-Crush (light orange on inner crease)

-Soleil (pale yellow on lid)

-Yellow Brick Road (brighter yellow on very center of lid)

-Butt Naked (pale cream shimmer as highlight)

-BFTE Cosmetics Mix & Fix

-MAC Blacktrack Fluidline (tightline)

-Cover Girl Lash Perfection mascara

-DUO Dark lash glue

-Andrea Modlash #33 lashes

-Urban Decay Naked Basics palette (on brow)

Face:

-Reviva Labs primer

-Revlon Colorstay foundation in Buff/Ivory mixed

-mark Bronze Pro (contour)

Darling Girl Cosmetics blushes in:

-Penelope

-Orange You Glad To See Me

-Cherry Bomb

-BFTE Butt Naked (highlight)

Lips:

NYX Slim Lip Pencils in:

-Tangerine, Purple Rain, Dolly Pink

-BFTE Butt Naked

-e.l.f. lipgloss in Fairy

I wasn't really setting out to copy this look exactly but I did end up making it pretty similar. I edited my photo to be close to the original, the desaturation for example, but I'm no model of course, lol. 

I learned something from creating this look; I desperately want a deep eggplant purple gel liner! Although I really liked the result I got with the products I used; the Belleme pencil alone is gorgeous and slightly shimmery, but I wanted a very dark purple for the liner so I used a little Mix & Fix with Dark Prince to darken it up. I used tape to create the clean line on the dramatic wing.

I hope you enjoy this look, I certainly enjoyed creating it. :) I may do this more often in future, since I have a whole board on Pinterest full of inspirational makeup looks.
I just published this and realized it's my 200th post! Thanks to those who read my blog and Like/Comment on my Facebook page, it means so much to me.  ♥

Thanks for reading!

*Some or all images were lightly edited using Aperture and/or Photoshop; for details, please read the photo editing disclosure widget at the bottom of my right-side bar.

Makeup Bag To the Rescue!!!

Image from Google

Wanted to start trying to carry a makeup bag around with me again. Here's hoping it sticks this time. Especially because THIS time I was SO glad I had it when I did!!!! I always get very "honest" remarks from youngsters at school so I though NOT TODAY KIDS!!!! LOL I even had a lady after I was done volunteering and checking out say, "You always look so put together and lovely." Boy was THAT a compliment considering I thought I looked pretty mediocre. What do you have in YOUR makeup bag? What can't you live without? Comment below!

Buying Foundation Online

So You Wanna Buy A Foundation Online 

But You Have No Idea What Shade To Pick????

Here is what I do....

Let's say I want to get the "NYX HD Studio Photogenic Foundation"
and I need to work out the right shade for me,

Step 1:
Look for Swatches online -

Here is a swatch of the NYX foundation in Sand Beige (Thanks to Nina's page)

Step 2:

Search for a foundation swatch you already use - 

Here is a swatch of an ELF foundation I already own, 

I use shade "Sand" 

Step 3:

Compare foundation swatches

You can see how the Elf "Sand" and NYX "Sand Beige" swatches are similar.

DONE!!

Beautylish Haul: Sugarpill Goldilux!

 I recently had the opportunity to order again from Beautylish because they had a special promotion and I got a $10 voucher to their store. I took it as the perfect opportunity to buy myself one of the Sugarpill Chromalusts I've always wanted, Goldilux! Normally $12, it only cost me $7 after shipping, what a steal! Thanks Beautylish! ;)

How adorable is this note?? Beautylish makes me feel so special ^_^

 This is my first time seeing the actual packaging which is lovely and the jar is huge!

 I expected the jar to have a sifter and seal inside since that's standard for most loose shadows I buy, however I was a bit shocked to find none of the above when I opened the jar. The lid was screwed on pretty securely and it comes in a box too, so I guess there was no chance of spillage in transit, but I couldn't help imagining all that beautiful makeup spilling from the jar, lol. It would be tragic to say the least! Anyway, just be careful when you handle/open it.

With flash; in most photos I've seen, the swatches look like there are chunks of silver glitter in it but that's not the case in person. I think it's just the cameras that do that.

No flash.

I'm glad I got this color because I'm a gold lover and it is certainly a beautiful gold! I'm also pleased to see that though it is shimmery, it's not fly-everywhere-sparkly. There was minimal fallout as I swatched this, and I was generous and made several passes with the brush and pigment. It seems like it will be less messy to use than I always anticipated, so yay! It's a gorgeous metallic lightly sparkly gold. If you love gold and don't have it yet, I highly recommend Goldilux! I also highly recommend the Beautylish shop, they are professional, prompt, sweet and personal, shipping is fast, and they often have great deals. Check them out at beautylish.com/shop

Thanks for reading!

*Product purchased by me, I am not compensated in any way for this review. All opinions are my own.