Monthly Archives: June 2015

How to reshape a makeup brush 

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So, yesterday, against my better judgement, I used a cleanser on my MAC 210 Precise Liner Brush that was probably too harsh.  I wanted to get out dried gel liner, so I used a cleanser I usually only use on synthetic brushes for really tough to get out emollient products (this is a natural hair brush).  Anyway, when I woke up today after letting it dry overnight, it was splayed all over the place and I was mad as hell, since this brush is new and I probably should have known better.  Anyway, I have used a method in the past for reshaping brushes with boiling water, so I thought I would give it a shot before giving up on a new brush.

I took an old beat up coffee cup (nice spoon marks there) and boiled water in the microwave.  I dipped the brush tip in for a few seconds…

 
Lifted the brush out, let it cool a couple seconds so as not to burn the crap out of myself, and re-shaped the brush tip with my fingertips.  DONE.  

  

It’s really that easy!  I’ve done this with the MAC 242 synthetic eyeshadow brush before too, I just made sure not to leave it in long enough to melt the bristles.  It works pretty well, if your brush is in a salvageable state.  Of course, sometimes you have to know when to let one go, LOL! 

FYI, you can do this with artist’s paint brushes, too! 

Hope this helps someone!  

Makeup of the Day 

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I tried and tried to get the green in MAC “Shade” Fluidline to really show up in my pictures today, but it’s just really overcast!


Blurry in the bathroom…


Light from the front door is blown out on the chest, shaded on the face…better luck tomorrow for a sunny day, I hope!

MAKEUP BREAKDOWN:

FACE:  Smashbox Photo Finish Primer (thanks for the sample, Ipsy), Maybelline Fit Me Matte and Poreless Foundation mixed with L’Oreal Lumi Primer for some luminosity (applied with fingers because I was messy/lazy today), NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer under eyes also applied with fingers, no spot concealing on face (so lazy today), MAC Invisible Set Powder lightly dusted to set face, NYX HD Blush in Taupe for contour, Benefit Dandelion blush, MAC Lightscapade Mineralize Skinfinish for highlight (I swear, you really can see this in person)

EYES:  Bobbi Brown Cream Eyeshadow in Bone all over lid, MAC Vex on lower lid, MAC Satin Taupe in crease, MAC Vanilla to highlight, MAC Shade Fluidline with angled brush for eyeliner, Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara, Anastasia Beverly Hills Ebony Brow Powder Duo (light side) with angled brush for brows set with ELF Clear Brow Gel

LIPS:  MAC Soar Pencil with MAC Brave Lipstick and Smashbox Radiant Lip Gloss

Goth Night!

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Last night was our local goth night!  I turned on my Spotify Joy Division radio station and had a blast doing this makeup look – too bad I had allergies the whole time and borked up my stupid eyeliner before I could even get done.  It was glorious…while it lasted.  😉

My amazing raven necklace is available on Etsy here.

MAKEUP

FACE:  Tarte Clean Slate Poreless Primer, MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation NW10, NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Chantilly under eyes, NYX HD Concealer in Porcelain to spot conceal/around nose, face set with Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Powder in Translucent, contour with NYX HD Blush in Taupe, blush is NARS Sin, highlight is MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade

EYES:  Wet N Wild Fergie Eyeshadow Primer in For my Primas, MAC Vanilla shadow as brow bone highlight, MAC Mineralize eyeshadow in Cinderfella on lid with damp brush, Urban Decay Mushroom in crease with Cinderfella blended in, L’Oreal Infallible Gel Liner with MAC 210 liner brush, MAC Mineralize eyeshadow in Cinderfella patted on top, Ardell 110 lashes with Covergirl Clump Crusher mascara, Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo in Ebony with ELF Clear Brow Gel (this eye look was all great until the itching and eye watering began…)

LIPS:  MAC Burgundy Lip Pencil with L’Oreal Endless Lipcolor in Sangria

SHOES

I even busted out some very special shoes, the John Fluevog Esoteric Temptations Odette!

KITTEH

And just for fun, here’s my kitty up on the table today where he’s not supposed to be, contemplating the consequences of eating my freshly cut roses from the garden.  Sorry this is blurry, but I grabbed this photo fast as I knew he was about to run!


Did you do anything fun this weekend?

Another Pet Post!

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Rachel posted her cats and I feel I’d be depriving the world of a prime opportunity to meet my cat.

This handsome beast is my cat, Fëanor (Fay-ah-nor). He is five years old – born Valentine’s Day 2010. He is named after Fëanor, once High King of the Noldor and creator of the Silmarils. He is one of the principal characters of JRR Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. His full name is Fëanor Airwë (Fëanor the Orange), High King of the Back Yard.

  
He’s enormous – 16 pounds and almost two feet long. Like his namesake, he is stubborn, doesn’t have a lot of common sense, and is noisy. His favorite things are spooning under the covers like a stuffed animal, making noise, knocking things over and watching MotoGP with me (seriously, he loves it).

He’s the best cat in the world.

  
Now you’ve seen our cats. Let’s see yours! (Bonus points for other Tolkien cats.)

Pet Post!

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This is my cat, Jethro.  He’s 2 years old this month!  He’s a Humane Society rescue and he pretty much came home and decided he was going to try to be king of the universe.

  
Straight chillin!

This, however, is the actual Queen of the Universe.  This is Bella – she’s 14 years old, half Jethro’s size, and regularly puts him in his place. 

  
(If it not made for sits, why is it made of warm?)

Do you have any pets? 

Makeup of the Day

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So, we’ve had FOUR thunderstorms today.  SO FAR.  My hair is a frizz bomb and I know if I put something on it to tame it, it will go from fuzzy to flat to my head.  So, before I post my makeup look of the day, I thought I would ask if any of you guys out there know of a product for smoothing frizz that is ACTUALLY for fine hair that will not weigh it down and have it laying completely flat to my head.

But hey, bangs are getting trimmed tomorrow, finally! 

  
FACE:  Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless in Porcelain with MAC 190 brush, NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer under eyes blended with Luxie Tapered Blending Brush (thanks Ipsy), spot concealing with NYX HD Concealer in Porcelain, no setting powder (I may regret this), NYX HD Blush in Taupe for light contour with MAC 168 brush, MAC Blush in Pink Swoon with MAC 116 brush.

EYES:  Wet n Wild Fergie eyeshadow primer in For My Primas blended with ring finger, Urban Decay Naked2 Basics palette (I used all the colors!), MAC 210 Precise Liner brush with L’Oreal Infallible Gel Liner in black, Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler, Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara and Tweezerman metal eyelash comb (careful with this sharp SOB!) 

LIPS:  MAC Diva-Ish lipstick with Art Deco lip brush.  

I used no luminizer or highlight today…hmmm.  Very matte.  What do you think? 

Makeup of the Day 

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So, I feel off my makeup game today.  I decided I wanted to give MAC Chromaline in Rich Purple another try today, although the last few tries had me feeling this plum-purple cream liner just had too much red for me to pull it off.  I should have known better, because I’m having allergies today already.  Sure, it matches my shirt, but I don’t think it’s doing me any favors.


Yep…off day.  I also used my sample of MAC Strobe Cream under Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation, hoping it would make it look a little more satin and life like and less flat matte.  Well, it did at least a tad…but the color is still a bit too light or something and oh my GOD you guys…the fragrance of the Strobe Cream is not going away!  I did my makeup an hour ago.  No Bueno!  Yeah, I’ll stick to L’Oreal Lumi Primer, thanks.  :-/

At least my NYX lipstick in Hunk looks awesome.  Thanks, Ipsy!

Ok, here I am 5 hours later, at 9:00 pm.  I added Sephora Contour eyeliner pencil in Eccentric Diva, which is a blue purple, which I think looks a bit better.  However, I think I’ve gone from “satin glowy skin” to straight up shiny (hard to tell here since my house is dark).  Not sure how I’m going to like Strobe Cream in the summer (regardless of the scent).  I am just so…combination.  *gets out Blot Powder* I switched here to Wet N Wild Fergie lipstick in Ferguson Crest Cabernet.  This lipstick has such great staying power!


Ever have makeup off days?

$10 off every $50 you spend at MAC Online – perfect time for me to get a few brushes! 

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So, MAC Cosmetics just launched a new website redesign and they’re doing something they’re not at all known for – they have a coupon code going on for $10 off every $50 you spend, plus, you can chose from 3 free samples.  (Hey, with free shipping, why not make separate orders and try different samples?) I had just sold a few things on eBay and decided this was the time to replace the 210 super-extra-skinny eyeliner brush (Ok, I made up that name) and try 2 eyeshadow brushes I always wished I had – the 217 Blending Brush and the 239 Eye Shading Brush.  I picked a sample of Strobe Cream and got $10.00 off my order!


For many of you, these shadow brushes are already staples; however, I still feel I should do a review on these later.  Just feeling them in my hands, they are about 300,000 times softer than the Crown and Makeup Geek brushes I’ve been using – although we know that doesn’t necessarily mean better, so the proof will be in the test!

I had already used the 210 liner brush…for so many years, actually, that I killed it dead.  Welcome home, new 210.  Nobody makes a brush as skinny as you.  I shall never stray again!

Here’s the code!  It’s good until 11:59 on June 22.


What are your go to eye brushes?

How I learned to love the MAC 190 foundation brush

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I’m a former MAC artist…ok, that was many years ago, but I still use some brushes by MAC (as well as many by other less expensive brands).  The 190 foundation brush is a flat, paddle shaped foundation brush that has always vexed me a bit when I try to use it with liquid foundations, especially ones with a texture like Studio Fix Fluid that can be prone to streaking.


The MAC 190 foundation brush is a natural fiber brush (horse hair) and great for application of liquid and creams, but blending was where I was having a problem – this is because I was using back and forth “painting” type motions to work the product onto the skin and continued trying to blend this way.  Eventually, I became disenchanted with my somewhat streaky results and stopped using this brush altogether, which sucks, because it’s expensive ($34.00 USD).  One day I was feeling bummed out about it and started looking around YouTube for some tutorials on how to get better use from this brush.  Low and behold, Wayne Goss (I love him!) had tips including using the side/tip to stipple and pat any streaky texture away once the product is on the skin, working in small areas of the face.  This absolutely works wonderfully!  I feel like I’m having a renewed love affair with an old brush now, as I have gotten my 190 out and have been using it for days.

Awesome!


MAC 190 brush with Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Foundation in Porcelain with MAC 134 brush and Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Powder in Translucent

Have you rediscovered any old favorites or learned to love something you thought you didn’t like?