Today's look using my new coastalscent 88 shimmer palette

Today is Friday! TGIF so I decided to go a little BOLD with the eye colour. To acheive this look I used 3 or 4 colours from the shimmer palette. I could see tons more possibilities with these palettes.

This colour rivals a colour I got from MAC the other day called ODD COUPLE . Its from their mineralized duo eye shadows.




This is ODD COUPLE BY MAC
























HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND BEAUTY JUNKIES!!!!
BEAUTY IS NECESSARY- INSIDE AND OUT!

Recent Wedding look

Here is my recent wedding look. I wanted something to bring out the lilac-shimmery grey in the dress and silvers and pinks are perfect for that.

On my lids :

Inner corner- The Body shop Eye and Cheek palette -02 platinum gray ( this is from the holiday collection I got long time ago)

Mid lid- MAC silver ring

Outercorner crease- MAC beauty marked and carbon

Upper brow -voilet star

Upper and lower lash line- Coastal scents true black gel liner

Mascara- Rimmel Max VolumeFlash in black

Cheeks- Loreal Blush in Cherie

Lips- NYC Lipstick and Mac lip glass ( can't see the name on the label)

Coastal scents 88 palettes review

COASTAL SCENTS PALETTES ARE HERE!

Hi makeup junkies. So I got my two coastal scents palettes today- 88 metal mania palette and 88 shimmer palette from www.coastalscents.com. I love coastalscents.com by the way. Their products are affordable and the quality is good for the price. I signed up for the news letter and got an email where they had sale on the two palettes I got for 44 US. One palette is usually 25 US so i saved a little bit of money with the sale. If you youtube these palettes you can find other reviews and tutorials with them from tons of other girls.

So I got home and tried them right away. The metal mania one first because I love metallic eyeshadows especially gold and bronze. Every woman of colour should own a gold, bronze and copper eyeshadow. If you like MAC eyeshadows you can try goldmine and coppering. Hot colours! Back to the metal mania. The colours are very pigmented which I am suprised. Usually palettes like these come in powdery washed out colours which do not show up on women of colour-waste of money. But the metal mania colours which I tried were very pigmented. I just pat a bit on my brush and it came out full force on my eye. This palette is good for a metallic smoky eye using the bronzes and golds and its also good for a neutral eye. It doesnt come with many bright colours- the purples and plums are very nice too. I love a bad purple eyeshadow! I would recommend getting this palette if you like metallic golds and bronzes and coppers. Its a steal!

Metal Mania 88 palette from coastalscents

The 88 shimmer palette is where you get your brights. I love this palette. It is kind of similar to metal mania in that the colours are very pigmented and some of the colours can also be found in the metal mania palette. But this one has all the highly pigment bright colours- the turquoise, teal, lime green, voilets, pinks. This would be great if you are a fan of bright colours. I'm going to use the shimmer palette this weekend. I am loving the blues and greens.

88 shimmer palette

Better Skin = Better Makeup

Hey girls and guy lol... sorry I have been MIA for way too long. Between trying to start my own eyeshadow line catering to Caribbean women ( which Im hoping to get by next year) and my actual 8-4 job, writing an article on 101 Kittitian dates- look out for that one pretty soon and going on vacation where i was buying all my new products- I have not had time to post anything new. I also just got a new laptop yay! So its music fest time- time to express yourself with makeup and outfits- we know how SK girls roll. I decided to re-introduce myself. While on vacation I acquired some new makeup goodies so I am gonna try and do a review on them. I am also going to post a review later on my new 88 coastal scents palettes that I just got today- the metal mania and the shimmer palette- super hyped about the colours- they look so pretty. I will rock the metal colours this weekend for sure and post pictures.

So I always say beautiful makeup starts with beautiful skin. I unfortunately wasn't born with perfect skin so I have to work on it- alot! I suffer from acne since I was a teenage and still do at 21 (lol) so I have been learning over the years how to take care of my skin. I pretty much accepted that I will always have breakouts- I just have to learn to deal with them properly. I also scar easily from my breakouts so most of my skin care regimen is dedicated to the black marks left from the pimples or blemishes.

I have tried AMBI FADE CREAM (about $15US)- you can pretty much find it anywhere. One thing AMBI claims is that it helps to give you an even skin tone and it caters to women of colour. I have been using this cream on and off for about 4 months and the results were pityful- no significant change at all- and don't worry there's no bleaching effect- the marks subsided just by 10% but they were still pretty noticeable. Then I kept seeing the commercial on tv and the ad in magazines for Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark spot corrector ( I love clinique products). It claims to visibly reduce dark spots by at least 53% in about a month or so, unfortunately it retails for around $50 US in places like sephora. I bought mine at Sears for around $60 CAD. This is from the sephora website "Dermatologist-developed to be safe, comfortable. Yet in clinical trials our serum was comparable to a leading prescription ingredient in creating a more even skin tone. A verified 53% improvement in skin tone. For all ethnicities: See results starting in as little as 4 weeks. At 12 weeks, see a visible reduction in dark spots, age spots, and traces of acne past. "

I have been using it since early May and its now June and I must say I am impressed. It has reduced most of my scars so much I even forgot they were there. I break out on my cheeks mostly so I just apply it there (just a dab will do). I love this product compared to the AMBI fade cream. I will post pics of me without make up later on so you could see.( yep without make up) Before I found this I used to be a concealer freak which just used to make my face look pale in the spots where I put it or feel cakey. Since I found this I have not put concealer on where I had dark spots. Before I found this, I also used the Clinique post blemish stick which costs about $20 US. This worked well also but the problem with this is the stick is so small I had to buy it every 2 weeks because I used it every day. NB ladies- If you are going to try and get rid of dark spots using a fading cream- MOISTURIZER AND SUNSCREEN ARE A MUST! THE REASON YOU GET DARK SPOTS IS BECAUSE THERE IS A BUILD UP OF MELANIN IN THE AREA (THE STUFF THAT GIVE YOU YOUR COLOUR) AND MELANIN LOVES SUN LIGHT! Please don't think because you are black you don't need sunscreen. I recently bought MACs Prep + Prime Face Protector in SPF 50 (yes 50). It can be used as a primer for your foundation also. I love this but be careful because such a high SPF can turn out to look grey or white on your face when you have colour and it can look ghostly in photos. I just use a little bit on the places the sun hits the most on my face- forehead cheeks and nose. It retails for about $30 US at MAC stores. Your skin is worth the investment. My foundation from MAC- Studio Fix Liquid Foundation in MW43 also comes with SPF but its only 15. We need at least 30 seeing that we live in a tropical climate.

MAC PREP + PRIME FACE PROTECTOR

If you have severe acne- mine is very mild. PLEASE SEE A DERMATOLOGIST! When I was in school I had a bad break out period ( must have been the weather or stress) and I went to see a dermatologist and she was amazing. I was using a cream for the acne and one for the scars which is called (RETIN-A) its basically vitamin A which helps to remove old cells so new skin cells can appear) I was in love with this product. After 2 weeks my new skin looked 100 times better. But it also used to dry out my skin so I had to wear moisturizer and sunscreen so that my new skin wasn't exposed to too much sunlight. TOO MUCH SUNLIGHT IS BAD FOR YOUR SKIN!

So now that you know you have to take care of your skin for your makeup to look gorg, Part 2 will look at 2 products that help your makeup stay on your skin and go on smoothly.

PS I just realised this post will be really long so it will be in 2 parts- This is part 1.

Back for now.. New faves

Here are the links
www.coastalscents.com/cfwebstore/index.cfm
http://nyxcosmetics.com/index.php?pf=ESP5C


Hi girls .. I have been on haidas.. I know but I haven't forgotten your makeup needs. I have been doing my research on more affordable options than MAC and other expensive brands for the "makeup diva on a budget".

So far I have found sites with great reviews and affordable makeup and other products.

I recently went on youtube looking for products other women use that the average woman can afford and I came across many of them who used coastal scents products. The site offers great quality for afforable prices. Their most popular product is their gel liner. It got rave reviews. For those of you who aren't too familiar with gel liners. It is a creamy smooth pigmented eye liner is a little jar that you use for eyeliner instead of a pencil. Its applied using a pencil or angle brush and its usually to give that pop of colour abve and below your lash line. Its also a better alternative to liquid eyeliner because you have more control over the application and it goes on smoother. Basically every girl should have a gel liner in their makeup artilery. Beware though, gel liners can dry out if you don't take proper care of them and if they dry out they will be hard to apply and get flaky and crumble so always put the cover back on your gel liner and keep at room temperature. I have always wanted to try their gel liners so I got myself some in the sky blue, 24 karat gold and i wanted to try the true black and silk white which are two of their most popular colours but they are currently out of stock. They cost just $6.95 US compared to MAC fluidline gel liner which is around $15 US. I also got one of their brush sets "Black Deluxe Reptile Brush Set" for $39.95 US which includes about 15 brushes which is amazing for the price considering that one of MAC's brushes will cost your around $20 to 40 US. It includes essential brushes like the powder brush, the foundation brush and many eye shadow brushes.The reviews seemed mostly positive except for some light shedding of the hairs and a slight smell which eventually goes away. But 15 essential makeup brushed with a case for that price is unbeatable. THIS IS A STEAL! I will post my review when I get them.

They also have affordable eyeshadow sets. I have enough eye shadows for now.

Another affordable and well rated site is NYX Comestics. I used to use their eyeshadow powder years ago and liked them but I never knew they were so well rated among makeup users and artists. Some of their most popular products are their eye bases which you put on over your lid before you apply your eyeshadow so it lasts longer and doesnt crease. Currently non of the bases are in stock- just to show you how popular they are. But they would run you about $6 US each.
Another fav is their chrome eyeshadow loose powders. These are highly pigmented powders and come in a variety of colours and would run you about $5 US dollars compared to MAC's pigments which cost about $18 US dollars and they are comparable in size.

Something else I found on their site that I am dying to try is their Caribbean Collection. It made me smile when I saw their named their palettes after islands and guess what ladies ..there's one called "I dream of St. Kitts" :) The palette consists of more earthtone colours for a natural look likr browns and vanilla and epresso coffee colours. Perfect for us kittitian girls who like to show our natural beauty. These pallettes have 5 colours and cost around $8 US.
"I dream of St. Kitts"


Unfortunately I have alot of neutral colours in my possession but I am in love with the "I dream of Barbados" palette because it has my favourite colour to use on my eyes - PURPLE! ME LOVE A BAD PURPLE. I am wearing purple eyeshadow right now. So go ahead and be a diva on a budget. Beauty is necessary-inside and out!

Here are some pics of the products I mentioned in this post.






BRUSH SET









NYX EYE SHADOW





COASTAL SCENTS GEL LINER IN SKY LINE

Finding the perfect foundation Part II

Finding the perfect foundation Part II
I found this video on you tube while doing research :). It shows one of the makeup artist from the Tyra Show giving tips on finding the right foundation.. Just click on the link below to watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHuTPHFfRlM&feature=channel

Tis the season ...for looking hot.. My makeup tips for carnival and the holiday season.

Since tis the season.... to experiment with makeup I thought i'd share some of my favourite looks for the upcoming events like carnival and christmas...

1. Ms. St Kitts- This is the chance to compliment your sexy dress, not out do it. Let the makeup be an accessory and the dress and shoes speak for themselves. I prefer dark colours for Ms. St. Kitts for 1. you'll be sitting outside and light colours get dirty easily. So the perfect makeup look for a show like ms st kitts woud be a smokey eye using greys, silvers and black or bronze, coppers, golds, brown. If you prefer to just do a neutral eye with maybe some black liner then a bold lip is the way to go. Don't be afraid of bright reds or pinks or purples. Check out the look from Rhi Rhi.
Bold lip with the classic "cat eye."

2. For carnival and the parades you wanna be playful and colourful just like the troupes and the masquerades. Think of using bright colours as liners. I take an angle brush and apply bright blue or green to my upper and lower lash line and jus add some pink or neutral shade gloss to my lips. Remember, a whole lotta blue or green eyeshadow or green on your lid tends to look hooker-ish and bordering drag queen.
















Eyeshadow used as liner
3. Last lap and other low key events- Think neutral and natural. One trick I learnt is to use bronzer on my eyes and cheeks then just do a pink gloss and it just gives me a glow but I don't look like I am wearing much. Bronzer is also the perfect substitute for blush when you are a woman of colour. It gives you a glow and can be used for contouring your cheeks or your nose or jawline. I use a bronzer from clinique but NYC (most drug stores) makes my shade also and its cheaper. Black radiance also has this duo cream bronzer/blush that can be used on your cheeks and eyes without looking to heavy and overdone. I found it at Dupont's- there's a gold colour and a redish-copper colour. Its $28 EC. I also use this amazing baked bronzer that has gold specks in it from a canadian line called QUO. (my fav)






















Au naturel using bronzer and a neutral gloss.

4. New Year's Ball

This is when drama is acceptable. I suggest going all out to bring in the New Year. This is when you can get away with a smokey eye and bold lip or full on bright colour on the lid but be careful not to compete with the dress. You want the attention on all of you not just your makeup.

TIP:
Notice how Rihanna adds blue to her smokey eye and Beyonce’ keeps her smokey look more traditional with black topped with some navy. Add blue to your black liner and your get a smoldering eye that is immediately brighter due to the addition of blue! Either way, the key is to keep the color below the crease! Notice also that when you do a deep smokey eye, keep the lip nude or soft so that your eyes will be the center of attraction. Don’t forget to groom your brows.














Smokey eye equals sexy
























Bold lip

Websites to check out :

www.blackradiancebeauty.com/


www.clinique.com/


www.maccosmetics.com/


www.sachacosmetics.com/


www.imancosmetics.com/

Hit me up if you need a post on how to apply these looks... Have a safe carnival and Merry Christmas!!!