Merry Christmas

I just wanted to take the time to wish everyone a very merry Christmas!!!!

Eat lots of food and love life!

Blue My Mind

Today I am feeling a little under the weather. My nose keeps running and my eyes are so watery! To cheer myself I decided to beat my face!!!

For this look I used:

Face:

Revlon whipped foundation
Coastal Scents concealer palette
A random no name cream blush in my collection
Smashbox photo finish primer
Makeup Forever Eyebrow Corrector in #3

For eyes:

The glitter blue cream shadow from the NYX glitterati palette
Milani eyeshadow in blue
Milani runway eyeshadow palette (the one with the black in it)
Buck from the Naked palette
Virgin from the Naked palette
Milani eye tech liner in black
Katy Perry "Oh, My" lashes


Ok so now that you know why I used, now it's time to tell you exactly where I put the shadows.

1. I first put he NYX blue glitterati cream shadow on my lid.
2. I'm so sorry that I can't remember the name of the blue eyeshadow from the brand Milani but any blue will do. I put this shadow on top of the glitterati shadow.
3. I then took Buck from the Naked palette as my blending color. I placed it in my crease and took it up.
4. I used the black in the Milani runway palette in the crease and outter v.
5. I took more of my blending color to blend out any harse lines.
6. I used virgin as my highlight color
7. I put on the Katy perry "oh my" lashes
8. I lined eyes with Milani eye tech liner in black.
9. I took some of the black from my brush and smudged a little on the bottom outter corner of my eye.

Viola! Look a la Charm!

Enjoy the pictures!

Take It Off!

A couple of days ago I purchased some makeup wipes by the brand Hard Candy. Many of you may know them for things like lipgloss and bakes eyeshadow/blush. Recently (at least for me) I came across makeup remover wipes. Since I needed some more, why not try them? I'm glad I did! This wipes really work! They don't leave any kind of residue behind and I swear they even moisturize my face. This is coming from seomone with an extremely dry face. My other wipes contain medicine for acne so to use them everyday became a bit too harsh for my skin. These wipes seem to add that much needed moisture back!!

They come in a neat compact black packaging. Great for travel! The only negative thing I can say is there are only 25 wipes in the packaging. They are indeed full size wipes. I can fit my entire hand on a wipe and have room left.

For a pack of 25 wipes, you can expect to spend $5. Not bad and on par (or maybe less) than other drug store brands. I picked these up from my local Walmart.

It's my birthday!!!

No really it is!!! Another year older and wiser.

Anyhoo... I decided to go with a smokey sultry eye for my bday and keep everything else simple so my eyes would be the focus.

I used ELF cosmetics malificent palette. I went with the night time villain look and added a little bit of the champagne color from the day time villain to my brow bone.

For the face I used revlon color whipped foundation. Although I love the packaging, the makeup is not as full coverage as I would like. I'm trying different techniques to see if I get a different outcome but so far nope.

I used Mac mineralized skin finish in dark as a blush. I used MUFE eyebrow corrector in color 4 for my brows.

For lips I used an urban decay gloss. I can't quite seem to remember the name but if anyone wants to know I will find it for you.

Enjoy the pics!

LORAC Eye Candy Full Face Collection

I came across this from sephora.com. I immediately fell head over heels in love. I am such a sucker for packaging!!! This palettes are in the shape of chocolate bars!!! The best part is you get 6 palettes for $59! The collection contains $350 worth of make up so this is a great deal. I've never purchased from LORAC before but I've heard pretty good things about the brand. I plan to visit my local sephora and check it out!

What it is:
An exclusive holiday collection of six palettes all infused with ultra rich color and velvety smooth textures for creating the perfect face.

What it does:
This season, satisfy your beauty cravings with LORAC’s Eye Candy Full Face Collection. Even better than a box of chocolates, this deluxe assortment of sweet, tempting treats contains a luxurious selection of fresh colors for eyes, cheeks, and lips that you simply can’t resist. Open the lavish gold box to reveal six faux “chocolate bar” palettes. The Eye Shadow Palettes, Cream Eye Liner Palette, and Cheek and Lip Tint Palette are all infused with ultra rich color and velvety smooth texture for a variety of eye-enticing looks.

This set contains:
- 4 x 0.68 oz Eye Shadow Palette in Ooh La La Vanilla (Nude Eye Shadow Palette), Caramel Love Affair (Golden Eye Shadow Palette), Tantilizing Cocoa (Bronze Eye Shadow Palette), Blackberry Truffle Seduction (Smoky Eye Shadow Palette)
- 0.17 oz Cream Eye Liner Palette in Mesmerizing Dark Chocolate
- 0.17 oz Cheek & Lip Tint Palette in Indulge in Berry Kisses

What it is formulated WITHOUT:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Fragrances
- Phthalates
- GMOs
- Triclosan

Face of The Day

I tend to stick to neutrals for my go to look. This look actual has blue in it but it got toned down by my blending color.

I used MAC melon pigment as my lid color. I then used the blue from my NYX St Lucia palette. I want the blue to show but I wanted to blend it into my brown color but the blue wasn't very pigmented do it didn't hold up. I used Darkhorse and creep to darken my crease up. My blending color was buck. I then used naked as my highlight and a little bit of sidecar to liven things up up on the highest point of my brow bone. Hope you like!!!

Bronzed Goddess FOTD

This look is brought to you by Wet N Wild. No I'm not being sponsored and yes I purchased everything with my own money.

I was so shocked by the pigmentation in the palette! The pictures I am going to post are strictly of the eyeshadow.... Meaning no base/primer. It is hard for me to find good drug store palettes or any makeup for that matter. Wet N Wild has really gotten it right with there $5 palettes! I love the fact that I can use the makeup as a go to palette and not have to work extra hard to get the shadows to show up.

The look I was going for ended up being a little different. I originally wanted to use the green shadow and go for a more green/earth tone look. The green, although good in pigmentation shows up as a pale green on my complexion. When paired with the other colors I just didn't like the look. I did end up using every color in the palette which is something I rarely do. The most bronzed shadow of the colors was the second color in the left column. I originally used the first color as my highlight but went back at the end for some shimmer.

Without further ado here are some pics!!!

Sephora Prisma Chrome Eyeshadows

A while back I purchased three of the sephora prisma chrome Eyeshadows. I purchased them for $3 each.

The colors I purchased were Gold Reflection (yellow gold), Sapphire Shine (described as navy but looks more indigo), and Purple Prisma (purple).

Gold Reflection has excellent color payoff and is true to pan color.

Sapphire Shine was the reason I made my purchase. I thought it would be a true sapphire blue but it goes on as an indigo color. That strange color that when next to a blue it leans purple and when next to a purple it leans blue.

Purple prisma was my least favorite color. It goes on almost sheer and takes some packing on to show up on my skin tone. Maybe I got a dud but if not then I would not recommend this color.

As for swatches I always swatch with no base so that you can make a judgement on the product itself.

MAC Marilyn Monroe Swatches

As promised I ordered two lipsticks from the collection and wanted to show swatches. In addition to swatches I took pictures of the packaging as well. I purchased Scarlet Ibis which is a bright red/orange and pure zen which is a rosy nude.

So without further ado here it is.....

MAC Marilyn Monroe Collection

Recently MAC released its Marilyn Monroe collection to MAC Pro members. I was so excited for this line to be released but I am honestly let down. Most of the colors look as it it just won't work with my coloring. I will be so glad when MAC decides o make a collection with dark bold colors. A Halloween collection would be nice. But I digress.

Here is what MAC says about the collection:

The fascination goes far beyond her beauty. With a persona as enigmatic as it is warm, Marilyn Monroe has forever captivated the collective consciousness as a brilliant and charming comedienne (Some Like It Hot, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) or femme fatale with a secret in her heart (Niagara). She is her own work of art, forever the obsession of artists, photographers and filmmakers.

M A C Marilyn Monroe, a colour collection in shades and formulas distinctively Marilyn: Lipsticks in rapturous reds and gleaming Dazzleglass, a dramatic 35 Lash,False Lashes in Extreme Black and Large Eye Shadows in shimmering metallics and diamond tones. Along with Nail Lacquers destined to be a girl’s best friend and Beauty Powder to evoke that flawless MM skin.

The packaging features images from The Black Sitting,the famous series taken by photographer Milton Greene. These black and white photographs reveal Marilyn with an intimacy seldom seen.

Now I can honestly say I like the packaging. MAC kept it simple, classy and timeless! What I do not like in addition to the colors offered is that the collection contains so many permanent/repromotes. Now I for one like repromotes sometimes because it allows people to either restock up on an item or purchased a missed out on item. What I don't like is that almost the entire collection is permanent. I was thinking new colors or more Marilyn inspired names or something.

Needless to say I almost purchased nothing....and the only reason I did was 50% packaging and 50% because I like the colors of the lipsticks. I purchased Pure Zen and Scarlet Ibis lipsticks. A nude and a red/orange color. I will be sure to put swatches up just as soon as I receive my order this Friday.

ELF Cosmetics HD Blush

ELF Cosmetics has come out with a HD blush! This blush is suppose to be compatible to Makeup Forever HD blush. Since I don't have their cream blush I can't compare them. I can tell you that I LOVE these blushes!

The only con I have is for some reason I thought they would be bigger. Other than that I live them. I only purchased 5 of the 5 available. I did not purchase headliner because the swatches made me think the blush would be too light on my skin. I just might pick up an entire set for my kit though.

So the colors I purchased were Superstar, Diva, Encore, and Showstopper. For the remainder of this post any pictures will be posted in that order.

Superstar is a pinky peach color. On my NC50/NW45 skin I would say it leans more peach. When blended it gives a more orangey peach appearance but I love it!!

Diva is a purple pink color on me. Magenta like. I was afraid it would be too pink but when sheared out it's a wonderful magenta.

Encore is a doll baby pink. Lol. That really is the best way to describe it. It is pink and does not yield any other color on my skin.

Showstopper is a plummy purple. I thought it would look awful on me at first because of its deep purpleness but it's lovely.

All of these colors wear well. I did not have any problem with transference I will say that when sheared out all of the colors have a slight gold sheen to them. Not glitter or sparkle, just a sheen.

You do have to be careful when dispensing product as one full pump is more than enough for both cheeks. I applied the blush with my fingers.

On to pictures....

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Urban Decay Vice Palette

Urban Decay just released their new Vice Palette. This palette is selling for $59.00 and contains 20 new shades. I dont know about you but I plan on getting one!

Check out pictures on temptalia.com

Cosmetics 101

Have you ever purchased cosmetics that didn't live up to its claim? I know I sure have. Too many duds to name. About two years ago I got the notion to start my own cosmetics company. I wanted to specialize in eyeshades that were so pigmented that it could be seen on the darkest of dark shades of people. I went as far as to get a business tax ID and looked at companies that could help me develop the line but I quickly got discouraged at how much money it would take.

I am going to start the process again! I am more excited this time around than I was last time. I plan to do ALOT more researching and developing. I'm going to have to write a list of all the things I will need to do along with the estimated capital needed to start.

If you or anyone you know has ever started a business then any advice would be great! Stay tuned for more to come... I just might have a contest for a brand logo where the winner would get to try some products out!

Can you tell I'm excited just thinking about it!!!!

Night Time

Here is a simple look I did for a night out on the town with friends. We were going for drinks and dancing so I wanted to go with a more sultry look. For this look I used my urban decay naked 1 palette. I also have on falsies but the were actual extensions and not the kind you glue on with lash glue.

Enjoy!!!!

Face of the day

This face of the day is being brought to you by Urban Decay Naked Palette. I am a sucker for neutrals. Naturally this palette had to be in my collection. My faves in the palette are buck and half baked. On the lips I am wearing a mixture of MAC Nicki Manaj lipstick and a lip junkie in wallflower. For cheeks I have on a NYX cream blush in a hot pink color. The name escapes me but they only have one pink blush for sale on their site.

Makeup By T Nicole part 2

So continuing with where I left off....

My main reason for geting started in makeup was to hide my ugly acne scars. It wasn't until college that my interest took off. I became obsessed with eyeshadow. Since I felt I knew all about foundations, this was the next step. I'm such a sucker for sparkles and bright colors but I find myself sticking to nudes for work. Lately I've been trying to incorporate one bright or at least a color into my makeup.....

So for my next post I will put up some pictures of a simple look that i have created....so stay tuned!

Makeup By T Nicole

With this blog I hope to inspire people about the wonderful world of makeup. I iintend to do makeup post and makebe even post a video of me actually applying makeup!

I originally was introduced to makeup in highschool. im not talking about the occasionally lipgloss/lipstick, im talking about full face makeup. I only dabbled a little in eyeshadow but I quickly learned that i like to play up my eyes. As for my face I started wearing foundation to cover acne marks. I was one of those teens 'blessed' with the 'teen disease' and found out I suffered from hyperpigmentation. Its just a fancy word that means when i break out and if the bump/pimple/blemish or whatever you want to call is disturbed in anyway, I get a nice little dark spot on my face. Oh the joy. to make a long story short, i used many different foundations/concealers in my time Beacause if the coveragethat I needed and the numerous activities I was involed in, I hated the painted on/ caked on feel. Tinted moisturizers were never dark enough to cover my blemishes. Now i know you can use a foundation and add moisturizer to it and viola, tinted moisturizer but back then i did not.

I say all of this to give you a slight insight on what got me into makeup. There will definitely be more to the story and I can't wait to share my work with you!