Face of the Day (FOTD)

My Office Approved FOTD for Fearless Job Hunting!

June 28th, 2016 by Marcella Yakalis 11 Comments

Finished results! — My fearless job hunting face of the day

Hey, everyone! I know I haven’t mentioned it often, but at this current time, I don’t have a full-time job. As such, I apply to a LOT of jobs, and I try to go on as many interviews as I can, when I’m lucky enough to get one.

It turns out I was, in fact, lucky enough this week! It was yesterday, and I spent a lot of time last weekend planning what I would wear, how I would handle the interview, and my favorite part: my makeup.

I wanted to show you guys the neutral look I wore and the products I used to achieve it.

group 1 — From top left to right: Clinique Stay Matte Oil Free Makeup ($32), Murad Invisiblur Perfecting Shield SPF 30 ($65), Milani Blush in luminoso ($8.49), E.L.F. Baked Highlighter in Moonlight Peals($4), European Wax Center’s Brow Powder Duo ($22), Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette ($36), NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray ($8), E.L.F. Eyeshadow Primer ($2), Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in Light($6.99) and Sephora Full Action Mascara ($12)

The interview was for an office coordinator position at the same school I attended for my graduate studies. I’ve worked in a few offices, and those are the kinds of positions I’ve been looking into lately for full-time work.

When I interview, I like to wear things that make me feel comfortable, because, well…I’m normally a nervous wreck when it comes to interviews. I still haven’t mastered them. Sometimes I shake worse than when I’m at the dentist’s office, and that’s a LOT of shaking.

So for this look I started with freshly cleansed and moisturized skin.

Then I applied a good layer of Murad Invisiblur Primer (I reviewed it here). It gives me a good starting point for Clinique Oil Free Stay Matte Makeup.

foundation — Clinique Oil Free Stay Matte Makeup in Linen

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The Day in Beauty Vol. 20: The New $49 NARS Survival Kit 2, Connor Claire Cuteness and Wine for Yo’ Cat

June 25th, 2016 by Karen 31 Comments

We made it to Saturday, babe! Great job. 🙂 Wherever you are, I hope you have a nice weekend lined up.

I felt like switching up my makeup game today because I’ve been all about black eyeliner, beige and brown lids and nude lips lately. I love that look (it’s easy), but I felt like doing something different, hence the NARS Survival Kit 2 ($59), the second of two new limited edition sets coming soon from NARS (July 1 exclusively to NARS counters at Nordie’s). This one comes with two eyeshadows, two blushes, a mini gloss and a mini mascara.

This one incorporates color in a fresh way with everyday shades that aren’t intimidating, but also aren’t really typical of nude/neutral looks.

Beginning with Tokyo II Eyeshadow, a light satiny violet, which creates an absolutely gorgeous wash of color on the lids, ya know, if you don’t have a lot of time to get ready and you want to wear color, I think Tokyo II is a great way to go. Here I quickly buffed it on my lids with a domed brush and blended out the edges with a tapered brush.

Rich, warm reddish brown Galapagos, which is one of my absolute favorite NARS shadows, has tiny flecks of golden glitter. It also makes an appearance in the palette in this kit.

SO pretty and SO much hotness in smokey eyes, especially with a black base under it. Here, though, I decided to keep it simple, since I only gave myself 20 minutes to get ready this morning, so I used Galapagos as a liner by wetting an angled brush (the NARS #47, which I think is THE BEST angled brush for winged liner!), then applied Galapagos on my upper lash lines.

Wetting the brush intensifies the shadow and makes the brown richer and yummier and more milk chocolatey…and also makes the gold flecks really come through.

nars survival kit 2 k — Wearing NARS Survival Kit 2 on my eyes, cheeks and lips

Of the two blushes in this kit, Modesty and Daydream, Daydream is a satiny mid-toned peachy pink kinda like NARS Orgasm, but without the golden shimmer running through it. Sometimes I like colors like Daydream a little more than Orgasm, to be honest, because they don’t come with the same shimmery gold drama.

I mean, Orgasm’s really pretty too, but if you’re having a “big pore day,” it’s not always easy to wear.

And Modesty works well as a warm golden beige highlighter. I only need to use a little because it’s pretty shimmery and intense.

The kit also comes with a juicy, plummy red gloss called Phantasia. It’s so pigmented that it’s almost like wearing a liquid lipstick, but the glossy aspect of the gloss subsides over a few hours, leaving behind a soft stain.

nars survival kit 2 packaging — The NARS Survival Kit 2 packaging

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An All-Matte FOTD With the Buxom Suede Seduction Eyeshadow Palette

June 24th, 2016 by Adia Goss 13 Comments

Yes, you read that right — all matte! — which is a big jump for me because, as you guys probably know about me by now, I live for the GLOW. I like my eyeshadows sparkly, my blush shimmery and my lips glossy.

But I felt like challenging myself today with a look using all matte products, and the Buxom Suede Seduction Eyeshadow Palette, which is available now at Ulta for $40, has five neutral matte shades.

I really how it turned out! I’m surprised! I think it’s a classic makeup look. I certainly won’t be abandoning my hoard of glowy things, but I can incorporate more matte finishes into my makeup routine. I think this makeup would be very appropriate for a job interview or for some kind of professional pictures. I remember a while back that Marcella emailed Karen and all of us interns asking for advice on makeup for a job interview, and if I’d known about this Buxom palette then, I definitely would have recommended it!

The shadows are very soft and easy to blend. Plus, the colors aren’t too warm or cool, so they’re super versatile.

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Easy FOTD for Work Featuring the Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Quad in Plum

June 17th, 2016 by Adia Goss 16 Comments

kat von d shade and light palette — Kat Von D makin’ it a little easier to get ready for work!

The $26 Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Quad in Plum is really helping me get out the door in the morning. I love eyeshadow quads and palettes and definitely think they’re more convenient than trying to pull together different single eyeshadows to create a look, but there’s always a balance between having a palette that has enough variety to do a lot of different makeup looks (like the Minnie Mouse X Sephora one), and one that has a more edited selection of colors tailored to just one or two looks.

With four coordinating shades and a matte purple vibe, the $26 Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Quad in Plum is more of the latter.

kat von d eye contour quad — So easy to use…

For my makeup today I used the quad’s four shadows in the way the note on the packaging suggests, but you could also use the darker shades all over (rather than only in the crease) and create a much smokier eye.

The whole point of these Kat Von D quads, and Plum is one of four, is that the four shades all go together, making it easier to do a few simple eye looks. In this case, the colors are purples and plums, and this is supposed to be the best of the four quads for people with green eyes (there’s also a Sage quad for brown eyes, Rust for blue eyes, and Smoke for all eye colors).

These purples are pretty neutral, which makes the quad quite versatile, in my opinion, but based on the pics I saw online, I expected the shades to be cooler toned.

That lid color, in particular, is a bit warmer than I thought. In these pictures, the darkest color looks like a warm reddish plum, but it’s definitely more like a neutral/cool-toned purplish plum color.

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MAC Vibe Tribe Face of the Day: Teal Eyes and Coral Red Lips

June 13th, 2016 by Karen 36 Comments

mac painted sunset lipstick vibe tribe fotd — Hello, bold eyes and lips!

OK…as someone who has worn very little makeup for the past three months, this feels like a lot of look for me (between the teal eyes and the orangey red lips).

But I guess if you’re gonna jump into the pool, you might as well just jump, right? You don’t just walk up to the edge and gingerly stick your big toe in, like, “tee-hee! I’m so shy!”

Duuuuude, you gotta cannonball it! You get a running start and go hawd.

That’s what I did today. I’m getting myself back into a makeup rhythm. I’m wearing makeup from MAC Vibe Tribe, which has been out for a while. I believe it showed up in April, and it’ll be on counters till the end of June.

Anyway, every year MAC does a big summer collection, usually with bronzers and eyeshadows and limited edition packaging, and they like to go all out with it. And this year, with Vibe Tribe, they did this interesting coral, teal and brown pattern, which incidentally stirred up some controversy.

MAC says it was inspired by music festivals — Coachella, what have you — but there’s been some chatter about how the styling looks less music festival and more cultural appropriation.

What do you think? First thing I thought when I saw the packaging was Native American design, but I’ve never been to a music festival myself, so I don’t know. Whenever I see pictures online, I usually get a boho/Southwest vibe.

I do have to say, though, I think the packaging is striking, and the pieces are interesting. Take the blue shade in the Wild Horses Eyeshadow Palette ($33), for one. What a beautiful blue… Reminds me of intricate turquoise jewelry.

mac wild horses eye shadow palette — MAC Wild Horses Eye Shadow Palette

Right away, first thing I wanted to wear it with was Painted Sunset (which really does look like a desert sunset, by the way!), the warm orangey red lipstick from the collection. The intensity of the blue and the red together feels visually right to me, like the two belong together…like cat ladies and cats, and chocolate and peanut butter.

mac painted sunset lipstick a — MAC Vibe Tribe Lipstick in Painted Sunset

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A Drugstore Jamboree! My Weekend With the Almay Smart Shade Products

June 6th, 2016 by Jessica Revitte 10 Comments

Wearing Almay Clear Complexion Makeup in Ivory 100, the 140 Trio for Greens on my eyes, Smart Shade Blush in 30 Coral on my cheeks and Smart Shade Butter Kiss Lipstick in 40 Red-Light on my lips

Do you ever want to go to the drugstore and fill your basket with new makeup to try out a whole new look?

That’s something I could never do at a high-end makeup counter, but sometimes it’s fun to take maybe $25 of fun money to buy drugstore colors I’d NEVER even think to purchase from a department store line — you know, just to play. It’s like what I used to do when I first started wearing makeup (at home only, I promise mom!) as a young teenager.

That’s kind of like what I did with these Almay products a couple weekends ago — have frivolous fun and experiment — and I found some things that definitely deserve more attention than they get in the blogosphere!

For starters, I can’t believe I’ve never noticed Almay’s Smart Shade Blushes (about $12). The stars sculpted into the powder are all-American (the brand’s slogan is “the American look”) but also classic Sailor Jerry style nautical stars…so you know that this tattooed makeup lover is all about the way these look.

With these pans, like with regular ombré blushes, you can vary the depth of the shade you want for your cheeks, and the pans also have a shimmery strip that you can glide your brush over when you want to.

I love the look of Coral blended out on the apples of my cheeks with a pop of the lightest shimmering peachy pink on the tops of my cheekbones.

Almay Smart Shade Blush 20 Nude and 30 Coral (about $12 each)

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Trying a Bold FOTD With the MAC Fashion Pack Collection

May 26th, 2016 by Adia Goss 14 Comments

fashion pack fotd — Trying something a little bolder

Nothing like playing with new makeup to make getting ready in the morning a little less painful.

I’ve been experimenting with the MAC Fashion Pack collection this week and snapped these pictures one morning before going to work. It was so gray and gloomy outside that I decided to go all out with my FOTD.

Well, “all out” is a relative term. Normally I stick to neutrals for my going-to-work makeup routine, but sometimes it’s nice to switch things up a bit.

fashion pack makeup look — Lots of bold colors in the MAC Fashion Pack collection

MAC Fashion Pack
Available online June 9, 2016
Available in-store June 23 through July 28, 2016
#MACFashionPack

“Lead the way with a new wave of front-row worthy hues. Fuchsia, violet, emerald, deepest plum, midnight…ready to wear, any way we dare! So, be a doll and show us how — the Fashion Pack is always in the know.” -MAC

For this makeup look, I used a few of the shadows in the new Runway Worthy Eye Shadow x 9 palette. I used Dress Me Up all over my lids, Runway Worthy in the inner corners to brighten my eyes, and then applied sparkly violet Zip Me Up along my lower lash line.

I finished with navy blue MAC Fluidline Pen in Indelibly Blue for a nice winged liner. It’s dark enough to define, but the dark blue isn’t as harsh as black.

I rarely wear eyeliner, but this one is so easy to apply that I’m thinking I may have to wear liner more often :-).

This x 9 palette has lots of bold colors, and it intimated me a little, but after playing around with them, I can see why MAC chose this lineup of colors.

They look really nice together, and you can work them into so many different looks!

So, yeah, I guess you could say that MAC knows what it’s doing, LOL.

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With the LORAC Light Source Illuminating Highlighters, the Light Source Will Be Cheekbones

May 23rd, 2016 by Jessica Revitte 11 Comments

Wearing a mixture of LORAC Starlight and Twilight — Wearing a mixture of the LORAC Light Source Illuminating Highlighters in Starlight and Twilight ($22 each)

I don’t know about you, but I think that when we look back at the “teens” (2010-2019), we’re going to remember this era as an era with some very distinct makeup trends, like contouring (duh), strong brows, probably lip plumping and, of course, lots and LOTS of highlighter.

I’m talkin’ more highlighter than J. Lo wore in the early 2000s.

What was once a product that I didn’t think much about has now become one of my favorite products. I have many of them, but I never seem to have enough.

“Why yes, I do need seven champagne-toned highlighters. Thank you for asking.”

Nothing excites me more blingy “in your face” glow products like LORAC’s Summer 2016 Light Source Illuminating Highlighters.

Like the Hourglass Ambient Powders, they’re highly shiny, finely milled powders based around various lighting conditions to give you a gorgeous, radiant glow, and they come in four $22 shades — Starlight, a white opal; Daylight, a soft gold; Twilight, a light bronze; and Moonlight, a pinky pearl.

LORAC also infused the silky powders with anti-aging antioxidants!

LORAC Light Source Illuminating Highlighters (L-R): Twilight, Starlight

Lorac Light Source Illuminating Highlighter swatches — LORAC Light Source Illuminating Highlighters (L-R): Twilight, Starlight

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