Nails of the Day with Spoiled by Wet N' Wild!

I picked up two polishes by the Spoiled brand which is made by Wet N' Wild and $1.99. I was looking for a good neon pink and it didn't matter to me the brand. I was drawn to "Plastic Flamingo" which is a gorgeous creamy hot pink that is not so neon that you're scared but just neon enough to make an impact. As if neon pink wasn't enough to do that, I wanted to put a glitter polish over it so I grabbed the "I Gotta Confection to Make" (how did OPI not come up with that shade name? Clever!) which is a bright pink glittery polish containing lots of iridescent glitter. I have to say that after doing a manicure with both of these together, I am impressed. And not just "pretty good for $1.99" impressed, I think it is honestly some good quality polish. 

"Plastic Flamingo" goes on so nicely. The brush is similar to Sally Hansen Complete Manicure brush which is fairly wide. I have small nail beds so one streak down the middle pretty much covers my whole nail! And it goes opaque in two coats. And it isn't even streaky after only one coat. I used two coats of that and two coats of "I Gotta Confection" which was a very nice glitter. I prefer the look of it over another polish because it doesn't pack enough of a punch on its own. Not that it doesn't have enough glitter because it does but its mostly a clear polish with glitter rather than a colored polish with glitter. 

These pictures don't do this pink sparkly fun times manicure justice. On the nails, the pink looks more of a hot watermelon and it would be divine on the toes! 

Photo taken by me, on top of my daughter's Barbie book! I thought it made a good background (above)

Spoiled Plastic Flamingo & I Gotta Confection to Make (above) with flash

I'm still trying to get the "prettiness" to show up properly (above)

Hey! If you haven't entered my contest to win an Urban Decay Naked2 Palette, all you have to do is follow my blog if you are not already! Then read the contest post to get the details!! Open worldwide!!! Follow Me to WIN!

Review for Coastal Scents 28 Neutral Palette (Alleged Dupes For Popular MAC Shadows)

That's right, I said "alleged". I am late to jump on this Coastal Scents bandwagon but better late than never right? Not in this case. Never would have been way better than late. But if you don't know, Coastal Scents is an online brand that became kind of popular as they started sending various YouTube gurus free stuff to show in their videos (they make various items like decent inexpensive brushes too). You can get several styles of palettes for very cheap, I'm talking 88 shadows for like $20 or something. I'm not speaking for the quality or performance of any other palette but the one I ordered, the 28 Neutral Palette. I ended up buying it after seeing a 40% off sale on the CS site (this was a few weeks ago but they do sales like this every now and then) so I ended up getting the palette for around $11 plus a ridiculous $6.95 shipping charge which pretty much equaled the price of the palette before the 40% off. 

The reason why I got the palette was because several people in several videos and several blog posts have said these shadows are close dupes to many of the popular MAC neutral shadows. I figured why not, for $11? At the very least, my 5 year old can use it for playing dress up.  

First let me tell you briefly what you get: 

-roughly 8 shadows that can be used for highlight shades or basic light neutral lid colors and what not

-8 shadows ranging from mid-toned browns to shades of pink and berry

-8 shades of darker neutrals like blacks and browns and deep burgundy and a couple more mid-tone neutral browns

There are a mixture of matte and shimmer but nothing overly glittery and annoying. Overall, its a great pairing up of shadows with a great selection of finishes. And that is, unfortunately, is where the compliments end.

I don't particularly find these to be MAC dupes, I mean anyone can find something similar in their collection that one of these shadows may resemble in some way. For instance, in the CS palette, there is a chalky black shade with red shimmery flecks (bottom row, last shadow on the right) that is said to be a dupe for MAC Carbon. Hmm. Not really. If it were a matte black then I would say sure but come on now, that is a stretch. I know dupes don't have to be exact, I'm not saying that, but they should be in the same ballpark or at least next door to that ballpark to be called a dupe. Basically, around 2 shadows per row of 8 have decent pigmentation upon first swipe. I am convinced that the light pink shade in the CS palette (third row from bottom, third shadow over from left) that is supposed to be a dupe for MAC Phloof! is in fact actual chalk. I see no difference between the likes of that shade and my daughters pink sidewalk chalk. The very frosty white shade, which is said to dupe MAC White Frost (from bottom-up, first row, first shadow) is the only decent one in the row because it is pigmented and soft. If you really like frosty white, you're in business but I personally won't get much wear out of it. On the opposite end in the far right corner, top row, last shade in the row, is a very pigmented deep burgundy with shimmer (supposed MAC dupe for Beauty Marked). Everything in between is crap. 

And to further kick a horse while they're down, these shadows don't wear well (on me). Not at all. They kind of all start to blend into each other by the end of the day afternoon.

There are a couple of different versions out there of how people interpret which MAC shade is closest to which CS shade but I included the version I liked best (below).

In closing, even though I'm not wild about these shadows, they aren't terrible for the price I paid. Or if you're just starting out with makeup and want to experiment, they have so many other palettes with more shadows that may be better. I've heard good things about their 88 Warm Palette and other 88 color palettes (shimmer, metallics, and combos of all finishes). If you're interested just go visit Coastal Scents online (only sold online). Thanks for reading!!

Photo taken from www.makeupandbeauty.com (this is the CS palette with names of MAC dupes)

This is a photo I took with flash (above)

Image from www.matylovemakeup.blogspot.com (CS swatches above)

And if you haven't done so already, go sign up to follow my blog so you can enter a contest to win an Urban Decay Naked2 Palette! Contest open WORLDWIDE, now until April 19th! CLICK ON LINK BELOW!

Win Urban Decay Naked2 Palette!

Seriously Amazing Mascara: Mally Beauty Volumizing + Before and After Pics

I have TWO favorite mascaras in the whole entire world, one being Benefit They're Real and the other is Mally Volumizing Mascara (seen on QVC). The reason why Mally edges out They're Real by just a hair is because I find that They're Real dries up rather quickly while Mally goes on and on and on and can even be revived with a few drops of saline solution for a few extra days of usage. I tried that same thing with the Benefit mascara and it didn't work. So let me tell you why you will most likely love this mascara.

1. It does everything ALL IN ONE, it lengthens, separates AND most importantly volumizes!

2. Its affordable, I usually find mine on EBAY for around $14 dollars but you can also purchase it in a duo from QVC for around $28+tax+shipping (that is why I prefer EBAY)

The concept behind this mascara is that Mally Roncal (amazingly gorgeous celebrity makeup artist) used to use a combination of products to do her clients lashes. She would take an Italian black mascara, black Japanese pigments (to make lashes extra black and glossy), and a Parisian-cut lash comb to separate the lashes. This rather arduous process prompted Mally to create a mascara that could do all of these things with one tube and created her Mally Volumizing mascara which became an instant hit and multiple beauty award winner on QVC. I would say it has a slight similarity to L'OREAL Voluminous but its not as wet and it separates and lengthens better. Additional notes: only available in black and no waterproof version. Take a look at my pathetic lashes before Mally and after Mally. 

Picture of me and my naked eyelashes (above)

Picture of me with 1-2 coats of Mally Volumizing (above)

Picture of me with 3 coats of Mally Volumizing Mascara (above)

 

The Mally Volumizing mascara wand, photo taken by me (above)

If you haven't done so already, sign up to follow my blog so you can enter to win an Urban Decay Naked2 Palette!! Contest OPEN WORLDWIDE! Enter now until April 19, 12AM EST Don't miss out!!

Follow Me to Enter to WIN an Urban Decay Naked2 Palette! See How You Can Enter up to FIVE TIMES!!

Another Urban Decay Naked2 Palette Giveaway!!! CONTEST CLOSED!

I told you I was going to be giving away another Urban Decay Naked2 palette but I wanted to wait until my winner from the last contest received her palette before I held another contest. So now is the time! And this time, I am also giving a second place prize which is unfortunately not another Naked2 palette but it will be a little surprise package with a couple of fun items that I personally love and use! See the rules below and I hope you will enter! Please follow the directions when entering the contest, it will prevent a lot of confusion and be in your best interest to make sure your entries are counted. Thank you everyone!

Contest Rules:

Must be 18 to enter or have your parents permission!

Contest is open WORLDWIDE

YOU MUST FOLLOW my blog to enter (I do check, when I pick the winner!)

I use random.org to choose a number, when I get that number I count down to what comment corresponds to that number and that is the winner.

The contest will run until April 18 2012 @ 12:00 am EST WINNER ANNOUNCED BY April 30th.

To enter one time, answer the following question in the comments section of THIS post, "What 3 makeup items can you NOT live without?!" (Be specific, example: MAC Cork eyeshadow)

You may enter TWO additional times if you've posted my contest on your Facebook or Twitter page. You don't have to have both, just one or the other (make your second and third entry the link to your FB or Twitter page)

You may enter TWO additional times if you have posted my blog contest on your own blog (make your two additional entries the link to your blog)

If you do all of these things, you can enter FIVE TOTAL times. If you do two of these things (any two), you can enter THREE TOTAL TIMES.  If you only answer the question and do not do the other things, you can enter ONE TOTAL TIME.

**Important: If you put any of your twitter, facebook, blog links all in ONE comment, this will only count as ONE entry! 

If you have any questions, send me a message! Thank you for your support and good luck! Whoever wins is a lucky lucky girl because I personally love this one more than the original!

Sigma Promo Code for March 2012, Get You Some Amaaazing Brushes!

If you aren't familiar with Sigma, they make wonderful high quality makeup brushes very similar to MAC brushes, in fact, there are may Sigma brushes that are MAC dupes but for a MUCH lower price. I have raved about Sigma brushes like the F80 flat-top synthetic kabuki brush for applying foundation flawlessly and with zero shedding! There is a great selection for all sorts of brushes from beginner to professional as well as a vegan brush line that is fantastic. You can buy them individually or buy one of their many sets, either way I know you will be satisfied. Right now, they are doing a 10% off promo code and if you spend $30 or more before tax and shipping, you get either a free brush or an eyeshadow trio if they run out of brushes. It won't show up in your cart so if for some reason you don't receive it and you did qualify, just let them know!

Promo Code is March2012 and good until March 31 so get started here: http://www.sigmabeauty.com/?Click=215351

My Home Remedy for Unclogging Pores!

I don't necessarily get full-on break outs with acne as much as I just get those little, and sometimes not so little, clogged pores that are just flesh colored bumps under the skin. Sometimes I think getting a normal zit is easier to take care of but it feels like clogged pores take forever to go away. I have one specific area on my cheek that this happens when I use products that my skin does not like. Which is pretty much everything that contains Dimethicone or other silicone ingredients. And those are hard ingredients to steer clear of because they are pretty much in every single foundation, moisturizer, bronzer, and blush on the planet. Which is why I had to go back to Bare Minerals. But I digress. Let me tell you quickly why I chose to do this post. Yesterday I got the brilliant idea when I was self-tanning with Sun Labs extra dark tanning lotion to put some on my face. I read the back and yes it contained Dimethicone but it also stated it was not pore clogging. Stupid naive foolish me. I put a very thin layer on my face and two hours later I had a monstrous bump under my skin. TWO hours later, not the next day or the next couple of days. Lesson learned. This situation called for my little at-home facial called "Clean, Steam, Helene" I made up that name so don't try to steal it. I didn't make up the process, just the name. 

What You'll Need:

-Queen Helene Mint Julep face mask or Mud Mask (any clay type mask that hardens up on your face will work)

-a kitchen pot for boiling water

-water (approximately a bit less than what you'd use to boil pasta)

-tea tree oil (this is optional, but highly recommended)

-towel

Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque + Tea Tree oil

Project Steam-Clean-Helene:

1. CLEAN: 

This is where you cleanse your face with your typical face cleansing process, do not moisturize or do any of the other steps in your face routine, cleanse only! You are prepping your face for steaming.

2. STEAM:

Boil some water in a pot, you don't need a ton of water but make sure the pot is bigger around than your face.

Put about 2 drops of Tea Tree oil in the water before or after it gets boiling. 

Remove boiling water from stove, put a towel down on a hard surface, and put the pot on top of it

DON'T actually TOUCH the pot, and warn others not to as well

Put your face over the pot, careful not to actually put your head IN the pot or come to close to the water. All you need is the steam and it will rise to meet your face. Put the towel over your head to keep the steam from escaping but make sure you have some air to breathe. You can come up for air if you need a break! Do this for about 10 minutes. The steam will open up your pores!

3. HELENE: 

Blot your face dry with a clean towel. Its important to use your face mask while your pores are opened from the steam to allow for the product to really do its thing in cleaning out your pores. Don't put anything on your face except for your mask. This is where the Queen Helene Mint Julip or Queen Helene mud mask (or similar style clay mask) comes into the picture. Put it all over your face but not under your eyes or around the nose area. You can also go down the neck if you like. Leave on for up to 15 minutes. I leave mine on for about 8-9.

Remove with warm wash cloth, splash your face with cool water to close the pores back up.

Then follow your typical moisturizing routine. 

*Do this about once a week if you have issues with clogged pores or acne.

*You don't have to use the mask I suggest, you can use whatever mask that you like. The point is putting it on while your pores are opened to allow for maximum performance!

Kim Kardashian Getting Her Makeup Done in Her Kitchen, Get Her Signature Look!

This four-part video is probably one of my favorite YouTube videos ever. Its from a few years back but Kim's makeup look hasn't changed much since then. Take a look at Kim and her (former) makeup artist do a signature Kim look with lots of input from Kim herself regarding her favorite products and application methods. She really does know her makeup! 

 

Review for Chanel Ombre Essentielle No. 90 Fauve Single Eyeshadow

This is a quickie review for a Chanel single eyeshadow in the shade Fauve No. 90 which was released as part of the Sophisticated Eye Collection and can be purchased for $28.50 at Chanel counters (Nordstrom, Macy's, Neimen Marcus, SAKS, etc) and Chanel.com. Fauve is a really beautiful and unique color in that it is a silvery-taupe-mauve-lavender kind of shade all rolled into one with shimmer. The texture is kind of grainy which I'm not in love with 100% but the prettiness of the color and the fact that its Chanel makes up for it. Chanel could release table salt and call it loose eyeshadow and I would probably buy it. But on the flip side, Chanel does packaging very well and you always get a pretty velvet pouch with their eyeshadows so it helps justify the price if you ask me. So if you're the kind of gal that likes her neutrals but wants something with a little extra something that makes a great all over wash of color, lid color, or to blend out a darker shadow for a smoky eye, you will like Fauve.

Photo taken by me, wearing Essie Mochachino

Photo taken by me, with flash (above)

Photo taken by me, with flash (above)

Photo taken by me, no flash (above)



Photo courtesy of Cafe Makeup (above)



Review for Too Faced Natural at Night Palette

Too Faced has enjoyed much success with their series of boxed palettes like "The Romantic Eye" and "The Natural Eye" among others. I picked up the "Natural at Night" palette after forgetting how much I've been wanting the "Matte Eye" palette.They retail for $36. In the Natural at Night palette you get three matte shades: a yellow- beige (spotlight), a light milk-chocolate (night cap), a dark cocoa-brown (cocoa) and six shimmery shades: shimmering medium champagne (full moon), shimmery light champagne, very glittery and kind of gritty (night light), pink champagne (after hours), a shimmery bronze-rose (eclipse), shimmery dark gold (moonstone), and shimmery dark olive (fever). 

My Thoughts:

At first glance, these are super pretty shades to look at. I like that you get three matte shades that are very basic and can be incorporated into many looks. Very soft, very pigmented. What I don't like is when a brand will do shimmer/glittery shadows that feel grainy in texture like you can feel the glitter particles which leads to massive fall-out like in the case of "night light". I like that they give you a dark olive shade because you don't normally see this color even though its perfectly neutral but this one just looked dirty on me. I also thought that three of the colors were pretty similar to one another in that they all had a champagne/highlight thing going on.

To Return or to Keep?

I'm sad to report that these shadows didn't look very good on me personally. I could take a shade or two from the palette and work with some of my other shadows but I wanted to be able to find more looks within the same palette that worked for me. The three matte shades I did like were not unique to others in my collection and all in all, I didn't feel justified in keeping it. I definitely prefer the "Natural Eye Palette" to this night-time version. Next time I'm in the Too Faced palette kind of mood, I will opt for the Matte Eye which looks to be much more my style!

Photo taken from Spektra.net

Photo taken from www.blushingnoir.com

Review: Estee Lauder Cream Eyeshadow Pink Amethyst + Eye of the Day!

So this is like two posts in one, a review for the EL Pink Amethyst cream eyeshadow and an eye look that incorporates this product. This cream eyeshadow is seriously budge-proof and wears amazingly when you're wanting something easy and fast to throw on. I feel like these would be great "going to the beach/pool but still want something on my eyes that won't rub off" shadows. When I was at the CCO, this color jumped out at me because I love pinky-mauve-purple tones which is exactly what this is. I would say it has a tinge of lavender in there as well. Pink Amethyst has a very pretty sheen but without shimmer or glitter and I like that about this shadow. I've tried many a cream shadow and Bobbi Brown has been superior to the rest as far as staying power but I would say that Estee Lauder is right up there with Bobbi. And that's a good place to be.

How I Wore the Shadow:

I used this shadow today underneath a couple of other pink shadows but I should have just kept it on its own because it was prettier than the pinks I covered it with! I paired it with a matte black from the Too Faced eye love palette mixed with Gunmetal from the original Naked Palette in the outer corner and used the Gunmetal to blend into the crease. On the lower lash line I used Urban Decay Perversion on the waterline and slightly smudged underneath with some of the Gunmetal eyeshadow. I used Perversion eyeliner on upper lash line. For a highlight I used the Anastasia Brow Duality matte highlighter.

Estee Lauder Pink Amethyst cream shadow lightly swatched and heavily swatched (no flash, above)

(with flash, above)

Eye of the day w/ Estee Lauder Pink Amethyst

Revlon Colorstay Creme Eyeliner Black Noir VS MAC Blacktrack Fluidline

I am kind of surprised I don't hear too much buzz about the Revlon Colorstay Creme Eyeliner, I personally love that they came out with a cream line that includes a brush all compact and nicely packaged in the same mechanism as the liner. I read an article in one of my magazines, I want to say Allure or Lucky because I get both of those in the mail, that gave a great review on this product but complained that the size of the brush didn't allow for creating a thin line. Here's a novel concept, use a different brush? I mean, is Revlon forcing us to use this brush? But seriously, that doesn't sound like much of an obstacle. So here's the deal, I really like this product and it really stays put. It's a beautiful rich black pigmentation very comparable to MAC Blacktrack Fluidline only with way better staying power (at least on my lids) and a few bucks cheaper. Only time will tell whether the Revlon liner stays as creamy as it is now because these cream products can tend to dry out over time (I'm talking to YOU Mac Paint Pots). Price wise the Revlon will run you somewhere between $9-$10 which is a bit pricey for drugstore when you can shell out a few bucks more and get MAC but that would only make sense if the MAC Fluidline were the better product. And in my opinion, it is not. Let's put them back to back for an official determination of winner.

Revlon Colorstay Creme Eyeliner in Black Noir VS MAC Blacktrack Fluidline

Who's the Blackest?

They are roughly the same. See picture below.

Better Staying Power?

Personally speaking, Revlon hands down. Plus when I swatched them side by side and went to clean my hand, it took more muscle to get the Revlon off while the MAC Fluidline seemed to come off easier.

Ease of Use?

Both are fairly creamy and easy to apply with a brush of your choosing. The Revlon product comes with a brush that is good for a basic line but may lack precision needed for a wing. It's a tie.

Price and Accessibility?

Revlon and Revlon.

Better Shade Range?

MAC Fluidline comes in more colors than the Revlon Colorstay but its a more established product with a following, perhaps Revlon will release more in the future. For now, they have a purple, a charcoal/gunmetal, black, and a bronze that I hear is very nice.

Better Packaging? 

Revlon gives you a brush but if you don't care about that, then its a draw.

Overall Winner: Revlon. They are similar products, but for the price, you may as well just save a few bucks. Or you could just chuck them both and opt for the Bobbi Brown black gel liner, which is amazing and a favorite of Princess Kate Middleton! Revlon who?!

Photo taken by me! Revlon Colorstay on the bottom, MAC Blacktrack on the top

Check Out These Upcoming Deals in March at ULTA!

Starting March 11, ULTA is doing their 21 Days of Beauty where they have different in-store events and beauty steals. I went last year for the Too Faced event for me and my little girl to get our makeup done with her. Next time I'm just going to have my little girl do my makeup because it will turn out a lot better. I was embarrassed to stick around and shop after the "makeover" for fear of someone thinking I was responsible for that mess. But all is forgotten and its that time of year again with some great deals to check out if you are interested! Its a limit of 2 per customer on the beauty steals. This isn't the complete list, its only the things that most people would care about. And the deals are ONE DAY ONLY sales while supplies last. My ULTA has limited supplies of pretty much anything good even without the sale so I am not hopeful.

Sunday March 11: 

Too Faced Naked Eye Palette on sale for $20 (reg. price $36)

Monday March 12:  

BUY 1 GET ONE FREE Stila Smudgestick eyeliner! (I highly suggest hopping on this one)

Tuesday March 13:

Tarte Lights Camera Lashes Mascara $10

Friday March 16:

Bare Minerals Prime Time Eyelid Primer, $10

Monday March 19:

Lorac Starry Eyed Baked Eyeshadow Trios $13 (50% off)

Thursday March 22:

Stila Smudgestick (again in case you missed the first time) Buy 1 Get 1 FREE

Saturday March 24:

25% Mario Badescu products

50% off Bare Minerals mascaras

Sunday March 25:

Benefit Realness of Concealness palette $18 (50% off)

20% off on Boscia

Tuesday March 27:

Amazing Cosmetics Large Concealer $21

Wednesday March 28:

Cargo Beach Blushes 50% off 

Friday March 30:

FREE Urban Decay Deluxe size Razor Sharp Ultra Definition Finishing powder with any $25 UD purchase

 

Eye of the Day! Fresh Spring Bronzey Look with a Hint of Teal + Coral Lips

Inspired by the beautiful warm weather today, I thought I'd add some spring zing to my look by trying to make use of my utter disappointment of a product, "Maybelline Color Tattoo" in Tenacious Teal. I refused to be the only one in the makeup-lovin' world that didn't like these shadows. I have posted about it twice so I don't want to beat a dead horse but let's just say I tried it twice with the same creased results. Rather than admit I wasted my money (twice), I thought I'd try this product out as a liner and so that's what I did for this look. When I think of summery looks, I always think of bronzes, corals, and turquoise. So I tried to use a bit of all three in this look. But the coral lip using MAC Hibiscus (Surf Baby Collection) didn't come across as coral as much as it did RED, even when I used Myth underneath to take it down a notch. Pictures aren't the greatest but I'm trying. Here's what I used!

Eyes!

Urban Decay Primer Potion, Greed (the gold shimmery one)

Tarte Shimmering Bronze Waterproof  CreamEyeshadow up to the crease (tested by the US Women's Water Polo team with very good results)

Bare Escentuals The Truth quad, the silvery-taupe shade in the crease and to blend out the cream shadow with the darkest shade in the outer-v area

Maybelline Color Tattoo Tenacious Teal (for eyeliner on upper and lower lash line)

Prestige Waterproof Retractable liner in brown smudged a bit on upper and lower lash line prior to the teal

Kat Von D Sinful-lash Mascara

YBF brow pencil, taupe

Anastasia clear brow gel

Lips!

Boots 7 nude lip liner

MAC Myth (for a light base to de-brighten the lip)

MAC Hibiscus lipstick

Face!

Missha Cho-bo Yang BB Cream

Bare Escentuals Mineral veil

Lorac Baked Matte Satin blush in Exposed
YSL Touche Eclat for under eye area

Bad Salon Experiences: Is There Anything WORSE?!

I was prompted to write this post after watching a video on YouTube (eleventhgorgeous) of this very sweet and pretty girl with gorgeous long blonde hair suddenly become a very sweet and pretty girl with long weird-colored hair that wasn't blonde. She walked into the salon asking to get her roots touched up and she walked out hours and hours later with a weird brown shade that was nothing close to what she asked for. I've had TWO absolute horror stories when it comes to hair and then a whole bunch of just bad experiences. Let me tell you about just one of my nightmares in hopes that it will help some other blonde in preventing her worst nightmare from coming true: no longer being a blonde. GASP!

So I was about 23. I was new to the state I was living in and so of course I was dreading the process of finding a decent hair person to keep up my heavily highlighted blonde hair. I used to work at a certain department store in college and used to also use their salon so I thought now that I was living in a new state I would try this same department store salon. My hair was already blonde but my roots were in desperate need of some freshening up. Most people know what you're talking about when you ask for highlights but I still  took the time to cut out a picture in a hair magazine to use as a reference. I take it in. I sit in the chair all excited to have my blonde color refreshed and around the corner comes this lady in her 60's with glasses on that had really thick lenses. She practically shoves my hair picture up her nose to be able to see it. Red Flag #1 and Red Flag #1 ignored. For all I know this lady works in the bra department and wandered down to the hair salon on accident. I am going to fast forward to the part where I see my hair turning orange with what looked to be brown spots. I glance down at the hair picture I brought in to see if maybe on the other side of the girl with beautiful highlights there was a picture of a tiger. Nope, just a girl with beautiful blonde highlights. At this point I am freaking out, I can feel the lump in my throat and the tears are on their way. My blood is boiling and its about to get uglier than my hair up in here. I don't even remember what I said to my blind hair stylist, I just remember getting up and going to the receptionist and flipping the freak out. The only words I can remember saying were "LOOK AT THIS! WILL YOU LOOK AT THIS? WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THIS?!" Even the receptionist looks horrified, she tells me that someone else is going to take over but it would be about 2 hours until she was free. My appointment was at 11 and it was now around 3pm. And my hair was orange with weird brown shades through it. OK, what choice do I have? So fast forward a couple of hours and the new hair stylist lady takes over. Only she's not a lady, she's a man who looks very much like a lady and his name is Denise. But whatever. Denise was a breath of fresh hair but informed me that there was no way she could put my hair through anymore stress and give me what I originally asked for without my hair falling out of my head. Thus, Denise has no choice but to just try to salvage my hair by making me a brunette. The exact opposite of what I asked for when I made the horrific mistake of making an appointment there. It was 9pm by the time I left and of course I didn't pay for all the crap I had been through. The owner of the department store came down to apologize and give me a bag of freaking trial size shampoos and conditioners for my trouble (trauma). Thanks dude.Unless any of that shit is gonna make me blonde and give me back the last 9 hours of my life, I don't want it.

So not only did I NOT get my highlights touched up, but I wasn't even a blonde anymore period. I actually sat in a salon chair for upwards of 9 hours to have something done that was the exact opposite of what I went in there for. Needless to say, I ended up finding a good hair stylist who #1 was young, #2 could see and #3 could perform a basic hair service that EVERY person with a license to do hair should know how to do in their sleep. But then she set me up on a really horrible blind date with her brother-in-law and that was the end of our hair friendship. 

TIPS to avoid similar catastrophes:

TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS, if something doesn't feel right or if the hair stylist seems unsure of herself or is asking other people for advice on a basic hair service, kindly excuse yourself and save yourself from a potential trauma.

ASK AROUND, find salon reviews, if you see someone's hair you like at the grocery store or school, ask them who they go to! I have a bad feeling that when you call a salon and ask them to just put you with anyone because you aren't familiar with the salon, they will stick you with the person who has the fewest clients which may mean there is a reason why they have the fewest clients. I'm not saying this does happen everywhere, but its better to be safe than sorry!!!

ASK QUESTIONS of your stylist if she's doing something you aren't used to. You know your hair better than anyone. It's your hair, don't be afraid to ask or to tell them if they are doing something you aren't comfortable with. Remember, YOU are paying THEM. Spare no one's feelings.

Bring a picture with you, tell the stylist this is the exact color you want. Let them know that you are picky and they may try harder to please you. 

Don't pay for something that wasn't what you asked for. Granted, you have to be reasonable. You may not look exactly like the picture you took in but if its close then you shouldn't bitch. But if you look like hell on wheels when she's done, DON'T PAY. Demand to see the manager and explain how you were wronged. Try to get some free stuff while you're at it.

Eye of the Day! Great Look for Blue Eyes Using Copper and Bronze

I've been getting in to this whole taking pictures of my makeup looks lately, partly because sometimes you think your makeup looks amazing when you look in the mirror but when you look at photos you're thinking.. uhm, what happened to the hot piece I just saw in the mirror? Or what's worse, when think you look amazing under nice, soft, forgiving, bathroom lighting and then you catch a glimpse of yourself in the rear view mirror in natural light where all flaws are revealed and poor technique and bad color combos are put on blast. But that didn't happen today, at least not where the eyes are concerned, so I thought I'd share. This is a great color combination for blue eyes because oranges, coppers, bronzes, and browns are a blue-eyed girl's BFF. So this is what I used today:

Eye Products:

TFSI eye primer

Urban Decay Half-Baked in the inner corner of the eye (its in the original Naked palette and about 1/2 a dozen other UD palettes)

MAC Coppering eyeshadow (a must-have)

A nameless bronzey eyeshadow from Tarte in the crease

Bare Escentuals The Truth quad, the darkest brown in the outer-v

Bare Escentuals Dream Sequence, the matte ivory as browbone highlight

Prestige Retractable Waterproof eyeliner, brown (upper lash line and waterline)

Tarte Shimmering Taupe Waterproof cream eyeshadow (blended into lower lash line over the Prestige brown)

Kat Von D Sin-Ful Lash Mascara

YBF brow pencil, taupe