Beauty Minions #1

Hey everyone!
I know the blog has been lacking lately, I apologize. Sometimes it's just easier to record my thoughts than it is to write them
Anyway, there is this super cool chick with a super cool blog called My Husband Ate My Ice Cream who is doing a feature on her blog called Beauty Minions where she is giving us biweekly "assignments" and we will be doing looks based on her ideas :) I thought this was pretty cool and was very happy to be a part of it.
The first assignment was "50 shades of grey" inspired. Now, I'll be honest, I have not read the book and have very limited knowledge about it other than that is referred to as "lady porn". Since it is pretty much all about hanky panky I decided that the look I was going for was going to be a sexy, messy, just rolled out of bed with a major sex pot look :) I call it "post-hot dirty coitus".
I used-
Face: l'oreal magic perfecting base, Revlon Colorstay Foundation, Maybelline Mineral Power concealer & Ben Nye Banana powder under the eyes, Rimmel Stay Matte powder, TheBalm Frat Boy blush, Philosophy The Color of Grace shimmering face powder (highlight) and Milani pressed powder bronzer.
Eyes: UD naked palette- Creep on the lid, messily blended out and around the eye with Gunmetal, Sin under the brow. MUA brow pencil and Maybelline Master Drama liner around the lash and water lines finished off with Essence I <3 Volumes Mascara.
Lips: did an ombré with Essence black eyeliner and Revlon True red lipstick.
Please check out mine and all the other fabulous participants :D
http://www.myhusbandateallmyicecream.com/2012/09/beauty-minions-v1-fifty-shades-of-grey.html?m=1

Summer Beauty VoxBox

Hello everyone!
So a couple weeks ago I was sent the Influenster Summer Beauty VoxBox. Basically, you fill out a bunch surveys and things about your lifestyle and occasionally the company will send you products to try out and review. I was pretty excited, who doesn't like free stuff?
Anyway, I received Hawaiian Tropic Silk spf 30, Sally Hansen Magnetic nail color, Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy, Always Tampax Radiant sample pack and a Quaker Breakfast Bar. So I just wanted to write a quick post about what I thought about these.


Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration Lotion Sunscreen SPF 30
This stuff smells great, it has that classic Banana Boat smell not like a regular sunscreen. This is perfect for everyday use, when you are not going to be in the sun for an extended period of time. I made the mistake of using this instead of regular sunscreen while at the lake the other day, it was a mistake, I got super sunburned :(

Sally Hansen Magnetic nail color in Polar Purple
This works way better than the Essence magnetic polishes I own but I still had the same issue with accidentally bumping the magnet on my wet polish.  

Clear Scalp & Hair Therapy
At first I loved this stuff, it made my hair super silky and shiny. Then after a few uses my scalp got REALLY irritated. I cannot say with 100% certainty that is was because of this but once my scalp heals I'll try using it again to confirm.


Always Tampax Radiant sample pack
Ummm....they're lady products...not much I can say here except that I will definitely be purchasing the liners.


Quaker Soft Baked Banana Nut Bar
Pretty tasty, but I don't really eat breakfast so it was a little rich for me early in the morning.

You should all sign up, it's super easy!
XOX-the addict

Elf Open Box and Swatches

Hello lovelies!
Here are some swatches to go along with my Elf Open Box Video!

Cool Bronzer

Tone Correcting Powder

 Nail Polishes: Champagne, Bubble Gum Pink and Teal Blue (one coat no topcoat)

 Mineral Lipstick in Runway Pink

 Essential Flawless Eyeshadow in Sea Escape

  Essential Flawless Eyeshadow Party Purple

  Essential Flawless Eyeshadow Tantalizing Taupe

 Baked Blushes in Rich Rose and Passion Pink

 Essential Blushes in Shy and Blushing

Mini Sally Girl Haul with Swatches

Hello lovelies!

Yesterday I picked up a few Sally Girl products and I thought I'd share. :)

I picked up to eyeshadows. One regular single shadow in Olive and a baked shadow (the pic does not do this color justice it is so gorgeous) in 388128.

 And these are the SG first lip products I've gotten. Lip Color-388350 and Lip Gloss-388379

Spotted! New Wet N Wild Polishes-Fergie Collection

Hello darlings!
As some of you may know, Fergie is the new(ish) global beauty ambassador for Wet N Wild Cosmetics. This is the first LE line they have come out with together so far.

Here are the ones I picked up:

Heels of Steel: A charcoal/black bases packed with gunmetal silver glitter. Opaque in one coat.

Tonight's Gonna Be A Good Night: Clear base with small black glitters and larger gold hex pieces.

 Miami Spirit: A very green teal (the pic looks more blue) with ultra fine blue and green shimmer. Dries matte, but looks great with a glossy topcoat.

 Hollywood Wall of Fame: Lots of different color stars, bars and tiny square glitters in a clear base.

All swatches are two coats

NOTD-Miami Spirit with Hollywood Wall of Fame on the Ring Finger and a glossy topcoat.

 So far I like these. The colors are beautiful and go on very nicely without streaking. It has a flat wide(ish) brush that is much easier to work with and a bit smaller than the ones from the Spoiled line. I'm tempted to go back and get a few more colors :) Has anyone else seen these yet? What do think?
XO-The Addict

IMATS 2012!! Haul and Overview Videos

Hello Lovelies!

We finally got our videos from IMATS 2012 up! I hope you enjoy. If you have any questions, would like reviews or more information please leave us some comments or email us at artistandaddict@gmail.com.

IMATS Overview

IMATS Haul!!

Thanks for tuning in!!

Love, The Artist and The Addict

NYX Jumbo Lip Pencils

Hello loves!
I just quickly wanted to share with you a product that consistently impresses me with staying power, feel, and pigmentation. It is the NYX Jumbo Lip Pencils. Today I am wearing Honey Nectar. The top pic was right after application and the bottom is about 4 hours later after eating and applying lip balm multiple times. I love it!
What do you all think of these?

May Favorites

Hello everyone!
So our Pick of The Weeks have been basically nonexistent lately, so I decided to do a my first monthly favorites video! I hope you all like it!

XOXO-The Addict

Natural VS. "Natural"

Hello lovelies!

This post stemmed from seeing a girl in my building every day that wears so much makeup that I feel like I have no idea what she actually looks like. It got me thinking about how much of a difference makeup actually makes, even when doing an every day natural look. So I decided to take a picture of what I actually look like with no makeup at all, all natural. Then another picture after I have applied my "natural" makeup. 

What do you think? Do you feel like I or you still look the same after applying an every-day face? Also does anyone else feel like we are telling a little white lie to rest of the world about what we look like? Leave a comment, I would be very interested to hear others opinions.

XOXO-The Addict 

$20 Makeup Tag

Hey Beauties! Check out my new video the $20 Makeup Challenge/Tag!

Today's 5 minute FOTD

So I was running a little late this morning, so I rushed through my makeup routine and here's how it turned out. For my face I used Rimmel Face Primer, Maybelline Mineral Power concealer, Laura Geller Balance N Brighten, and theBalm Cabana Boy Blush. For the eyes Revlon Peacock Lustre on the lid blended into the crease with Mac Vex, Maybelline Master Drama liner on the upper lash line slightly winged and the outer third of the lower lash line. And then I just have some EOS lip balm on the lips :)

POTW! It's back!

Hello lovelies!
I don't know what happened to our Pick of the Weeks, but don't you fret, they are back now! So to get us back on track I bring you the Mascara that I have been using the last couple of weeks. It is the I <3 Extreme Volume Mascara from Essence. It's part of the new line that just came out (at least it just got to my Ulta). It has a very Interesting brush, With three rows of long bristles, and 3 rows of short bristles. It is very big and full.

$3.99

 I feel like this mascara really makes my lashes look fuller and longer with little to no flaking, which I usually have a problem with. It is also very buildable, one coat looks really nice but you can definitely use 2 or 3 coats and get super dramatic, va-va-voom look. But be careful when applying, because it is very easy to make them look clumpy/spidery. Here it is on the left eye (one coat) compared to bare lashes on the right.

Happy Mothers Day to all you moms out there!
-The Addict

Spring Into Color: Neon Nails

Hello dears!
So one of the hottest trends this spring is neons, and what easier way to wear them than on your fingers and toes? There are so many beautiful neon polishes out right now and I picked up a few the other day. After applying several coats they weren't coming out anywhere near as bright as in the bottle. So how do you get the most out of these ultra bright colors? Simple. Use a white nail polish as a base and then one or two coats of your favorite neon to get that intense color payoff.
So this is with 2 coats, 4 coats and then 1 coat over a white base. Can you see what a big difference it makes?

Here are the neon manis I have been rocking this week:

This was my neon tie-dye gradient attempt using a makeup sponge. What do you think?

Hope this helps!
Xoxo-The Addict

Beauty Secret Weapon - Don't Pay to Wax that Stache

Hello Beauties,

The product I want to talk about was a secret even to me until just recently. After a very unfortunate wax pot incident (no one was injured), I was desperate to wax my mustache. It's embossing I know, we as woman like to take care of these issues and pretend like they were never there. 

As you may know, I am a licensed esthetician and I couldn't fathom paying someone to wax me when I have been doing it myself for years. A while back I witnessed a friend of mine use the following product and I couldn't believe my eyes, who on earth would wax themselves when something they bought at the drug store, it's absolute insanity. But in my desperate state I needed a quick fix, and came across Sally Hansen's Hair Remover Wax Strip Kit for Face.

 

I would normally never recommend any OTC waxing products, I can't tell you how many scorched bikini lines I have seen from microwavable wax products. But these little wax strips are super easy to use, gentle and no microwaving needed.

I paid only $4.99 for 48 strips in three different sizes, and it came with a little bottle of aftercare oil. I honestly can't believe how easy these strips where to use and well they worked. The steps are simple:

1) Warm strip in hands

2) Separate double-sided strips

3) Press on, pull off

A few tips when your waxing, make sure to always pull the skin tight and you want to pull the wax strip against the grain for best results and less pain.

The whole process took less than five minutes. I will for sure be added these bad boys to my make-up kit as well, never again will I be tweezing out a unibrow or trying to cover us a mustache.

If you have used these products before or plan on it, please tell me about it! Happy Waxing!

Love, The Artist

HAULGASM!

Hello darlings!
I got some amazing deals at Big Lots!! If you don't already know they are unloading some awesome Philosophy products that are only $3 each!! Yeah, it's insane! Check it out!

Some other things that they had that I didn't get were some palettes that had eyeshadow, blush and lip color, lip glosses (in a pan form, which I am not a fan of so I didn't get any), eyeshadow duos, and two different retractable brushes. So hurry and run to your nearest Big Lots to snag these amazing deals!!!

Here is a look of the day using some of these products :)

XO-The Addict

Pretty Nerdy : The Tardis

Hello again!
So this is the first of a series that I am calling Pretty Nerdy. Because they are going to be gorgeous and inspired by my favorite nerdy things. From books to TV shows, movies to games. I am going to try to make them as wearable as possible while still having an obvious nod to whatever the inspiration is. This look was inspired by my current obsession, Doctor Who; more specifically his spaceship/time machine called the Tardis (Time and Relative Dimension in Space). If you are unfamiliar, this is what it looks like:

Yes, it looks like a Police box from the 50's, and yes it is bigger on the inside :)
So I was more so going off of the outside, since it is often referred to as the blue box.



I used a few different things for this eye look. NYX Jumbo eye pencil in Cottage Cheese on the inner corner and waterline, Pearl Mania loose pigment in True Blue on the lid, and the sparkly blue "Crease" color on the left from WnW Blue Had Me at Hello on the outer corner and in to the crease and the lower lashline. I finished it off with a half set of lashes and some mascara.

Hope you like it!
-The Addict

Glamazon Spring Collaboration: Citrusy Spring!

Hey lovelies!
So yes I know that citrus is typically summer fruit. But it sure feels like summer, and delicious citrus fruit were my inspiration for the 1st monthly Glamazon, the theme was Spring time and these colors fit just that!
I used my Revlon Colorstay foundation, Coastal Scents 88 Ultra Shimmer Palette, Nuance blush in Apricot, NYX Round lipstick in Haute Melon , Sally Hansen Lip gloss in Flawless , and the new Essence I <3 Extreme Mascara.

I will be linking to the pages of the other wonderful bloggers and vloggers below, as they are submitted. Check them out!


-Robert 
Blog: Makeup Insider
Post: http://www.makeupinsider.net/2012/04/glamazon-collab-spring-inspired-makeup.html


- Britney 
Blog: The Glam Goddess
Post: http://britters89.blogspot.com/2012/04/glamazon-spring-collab.html


- AmyBlog: Polish and SuchPost: http://polishandsuch.blogspot.com/2012/04/glamazon-april-collab-spring-splatter.html 


- Laurie AnnYoutube: Beautymakeupandmore  Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--W19uzdD5k 


- Stephanie LouiseBlog: All things BeautifulPost: http://stephanielouiseatb.blogspot.com/2012/04/glamazon-spring-2012-collab-coral.html


- KeriBlog: Beauty Is My CrushPost: http://beautyismycrush.blogspot.com/2012/04/spring-makeup-collaboration.html


- WendyBlog: LuvLifeBeautyPost:  http://luvlifebeauty.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/2549/


- KerrieBlog: Gorgeous-GlamourPost:  http://www.gorgeousglamblog.com/#!/2012/04/glamazon-spring-collab.html


- Natalie -Blog: Purplestar Makeup Youtube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NCu8NGiWbbwPost: http://purplestarmakeup.blogspot.com/2012/04/playful-pastels-glamazon-spring-collab.html


- ThereseBlog: Animal Friendly BeautyPost: http://animalfriendlybeauty-therese.blogspot.com/2012/04/spring-into-summer-with-bh-cosmetics.html





XOXO-The Addict