Update #2

Hello new readers and regulars! I am in my first official full week of school and oh boy and I tired. I am going to school five days a week, taking care of a baby bunny and working on the weekends. My days are so filled with activity that when I get home from school I just have no energy to blog and take photos. Then because I am going to school during the week I have been working every weekend to make some extra cash. I really want to document my time at makeup school so I am going to start taking photos of the makeup I do in class (hopefully). I don't want to just abandon this blog because I am busy. For the past couple of months I have spent a lot of time trying to create good content that I would like to see in the blog-o-sphere. The goal is to continue to make good content while I am in this new chapter of my life.

I knew that makeup school was going to be hard I just didn't think it was going to be so fast paced and intense. In just a few days I have learned so much. MUD is such an amazing school. I really love my class and my teacher. I am slowly becoming familiar with the MUD products and I am preparing to review and talk about some of the products that I bought for my class. MUD carries a full range of professional beauty and special effects cosmetics. Their products are really for professionals. The packaging is amazing but very plain because it is all for function and not aesthetic. If you are looking for makeup that works well without any fuss then I would definitely look into MUD. 

Since the arrival of my new bunny Bowie my life has been so much brighter. Coming home to him is so amazing and really just makes my day. However he has added a lot of new complications to my life. For one thing, he is a very curious little boy which means he is constantly getting into trouble. I can't leave him out of his hutch when I am not in the room or else he will destroy everything. Hopefully as he gets a little older he won't be as naughty. Another worry is that I also have a dog named Buckley. Buckley is very interested in Bowie and all he wants to do is be near him and lick his little furry body. However Bowie has no interest in Buckley but, he is not scared of him so that is good. 

Have a wonderful rest of May,

Emma

Update and Other Things.

Hello all that are reading this. If you follow my blog or you just stumbled upon this right now I wanted to say hi. My life is about to go through some pretty big changes. I will be starting school at MUD in Manhattan and will be now be busy five days a week for the next six months. I also just got a new job so I have been extra extra busy. I don't know if I will have much time to blog because of school and work. So the blog posts will be slowing down from twice a week to the occasional post every couple of weeks. 

I do plan to do post about going to MUD (which is a makeup school). I have purchased a lot of new supplies for the courses I will be taking so as I learn to use my new materials I hope to blog about them. I really am so excited for this next chapter in my life because I have worked so hard to get to this point. 

Wish me luck, 

Emma

p.s. 

I got a baby bunny and his name is Bowie! 

Pro Kit: Blush Palette

I have been de-potting quite a few blushes to create a palette for my kit and I thought I would share it. The palette is still a work in progress but I wanted to show it any way. I personally don't like spending tons of money on blush when there are so many inexpensive and amazing blushes in the drugstores. I store all of my blushes in the large dome z-palette. I use the dome palette because it allows me to store baked blushes which are thicker than regular blushes.

I love all the blushes in the palette, I choose blushes for my kit that work on every skin tone. I tend to like matte blushes more than sparkly blushes because they have smoother textures. If I want the cheeks to have a glow I add a highlighter on top. I also have one face powder that I use as a highlighter because it is so soft and illuminating.

I haven't arranged the palette in any order I just pop them in randomly. The dome palette is pretty big so on small jobs I take out my favorites and put them in a smaller palette. Of course I have NYX blushes in my palette. I have the original powder NYX blushes which I think NYX might be discontinuing because they just released the HD blushes. I have been looking for them in stores and they have consistently been on sale. I really hope that they don't go away because they are so inexpensive and great quality

(top to bottom) Tangerine, Mauve, Dusty Rose, Bordeaux, Pinky

NYX
Mauve: Light baby pink with a matte finish.

Dusty Rose: Medium rose pink with a matte finish.

Pinky: Hot pink not really a matte finish, I think it looks more satin on the cheeks.

Terracotta: Golden peach with a satin finish.

Tangerine: Matte orange coral.

Bordeaux: Deep red brown with subtle shimmer.

Taupe: Dusty cool brown

(*I haven't photographed taupe and terracotta because they don't swatch well but they look great on the face)

I have one Miliani baked blush and it is amazing. If you are going to go pick up some new blushes to go the drugstore and get them. Both of the finishes are really amazing. The matte line is so smooth and pretty.

Milani Baked Blushes
Bella Rosa: Bright magenta with a matte finish.

I have two Nars powders they are both eyeshadows but I use them on the face. The first is a pink eyeshadow that I use as a highlighter called Nepal. The other is a eyeshadow from a duo that is a great under-eye setting powder. the last powder that I have is an avon foundation that has too much sparkle to be used all over the face, so I use it on the tops of my cheek bones.

(top to bottom) random bronzer, Avon, Nars, Nars Nepal, Bella rosa.

If you are a blush addict like me I would totally say that you should go make your own palette. I hope that this was helpful and gives you ideas for your own organization.

Make Any Eyeshadow Pop

Not all eyeshadows were created equal. Some are soft, buttery and pigmented while others are powdery, chunky and sheer. However just because an eyeshadow doesn't have the most amazing formula doesn't mean it should go in the trash. All you need to take the shitty shadow and make it pop is it put it over an eyeshadow base. 

There are lot of eyeshadow primers on the market that are advertised as bases. Eyeshadow primers serve a different function than a primer. Primers make your eyeshadow last longer, it can improve the quality of the shadow you place on top of it but ultimately it just prevents creasing. An eyeshadow base is a sticky, creamy, and emollient cream that you put on top of your primer. This base will  act as glue because it is so creamy, the eyeshadow will stick to it and the color will be more saturated. 

Eye shadow bases come in a range of colors but the universal color to really make crap shadows look amazing is white. My favorite eyeshadow base is the NYX Eye Shadow Base in White. This product is so creamy and a little goes a long way. If you want your eyeshadows to be vibrant and have no fall out this is what you need to start using. NYX has a few colors but the white is far superior than the other options. You can get this amazing eyeshadow transformer for seven dollars. Go get it and see the different in your shadows. 

Pro Kit: Mac Pro Palettes and Inserts

I really have been working on my kit and I purchased some Mac Pro Palettes and inserts to really stream line my lipsticks and foundations. Cream products are great for makeup artists because you can put them in palettes instead of carrying around 30 different lipsticks tubes or 10 different foundation bottles. The process of de-potting or de-tubing is pretty messy so I didn't take any process pictures but I have re-organized all my lipsticks and foundations. I am really happy with the whole process and I wanted to share it with you guys.

The Mac Palettes are really decently priced. I looked at other brands and there palettes were 40 to 35 dollars while I spent 16 for the palette and the insert. All mac palettes are empty and then you buy inserts that click inside. There are a range of different inserts for different functions. I bought the 24 well insert and the twelve well insert for cream products. I bought two palettes, the doubled sided and the single.

For the single palette I put in the 24 well insert for my lipsticks. The wells in the 24 insert are very shallow and are for lipsticks and concealers. The reviews on the Mac website told me that they would only hold about 1/3 of a lipstick which was true. Personally this wasn't a problem for me because I was taking de-tubed lipsticks and putting them in the palette. The single palette has a clear top so you can see what goodies are inside. 

For the double palettes I put in two 12 inserts. The 12 wells are very deep and are able to fit entire NYX Mineral Stick Foundation but only a little bit of my ELF stick foundation. The process of putting foundation into the wells was so messy and the palette looks kind of gross. But this is about function not esthetic.

If you are looking to consolidate your kit or your personal collection I would definitely recommend getting these palettes. I am not sure if you can buy these in store. I purchased mine online and they came so fast all wrapped up in perfection.

NYX Above and Beyond Full Coverage Concealer . . . So Amazing

I am a concealer junkie. I love concealer because it is a highly pigmented product that can be used in so many ways. When I am looking for a concealer I want something that can be doubled up as foundation. It needs to be creamy, highly pigmented and last all day. I also want a product where a little goes a long way. I purchased the NYX Above and Beyond concealer in November and really haven't stopped using it. My shade is in CJ01 Porcelain which is a lightest shade in the range with blue undertones.  

This concealer comes in a little jar that contains 18 M of product for 5 dollars. You really get a good amount of product for the price point. All NYX products are cruelty free and have the little bunny symbol on label. This concealer is advertised as being able to cover dark circles, blemishes and has a long wearing formula. I would agree with all of those statements. This is a creamy concealer that covers everything and sets to a long wearing powder finish.

I apply this concealer all over of my face with a brush and then I blend it in with either a foundation brush or a sponge. I like to set my face with a powder but if you have dry skin you could skip the powder. I couldn't say enough good things about this concealer.

My only problem is the color range. I was able to find my color but if you have dark skin this isn't the concealer for you. I wish NYX had better color ranges but they sadly don't. I picked up this product at Ulta but you can get it at Target.

New Drugstore Cream Eyeshadows From NYC

In general my local drugstores are understocked, messy and never get new releases but I was strolling through the isles and I came across new NYC cream eyeshadows. NYC is one of the most inexpensive drugstore brands. It isn't a huge brand and I only tend to find them in CVS. I think you can get it on the West Coast but I assume it is a mainly East Coast brand.  

NYC is a total hit and miss brand. Sometimes there products are amazing like NYC sunny bronzer while other products are abysmal. The whole line of cream eyeshadows are marketed as long wearing. The eyeshadows are called City Proof 24 hr Hydrofuge. The packaging on these are lovely. There have a large tip and twist up. The cap is really secure and you have to press it down and you know it is closed when her hear an audible click. 

The Two colors that I purchased are 610 Tribeca Taupe which is a purple/grey taupe with a satin finish. Unfortunately when I opened up the stick the shadow broke. However the tube is so deep that I just popped the broken part back in and it is still usable. The consistency is a little dry but it doesn't tug on the lids. The color is build-able but in general the pigmentation isn't out of this world. By no means is it as creamy as a NYC jumbo pencil or my Jordana jumbo pencil. The color pretty much disapears on the lid once you blend it out so I like using this as a base. 

The second color that I picked up is a matte black in 635 New York at Night. This pencil is creamy and make a great eyeliner or base for a smokey eye. For eyeliner I take an angled brush and sweep it on the tip and then apply it to my eye. As line it sets in place and is long wearing. 

There are a lot more colors in the range I think I might pick a few more up.