Diva Days

Hi Beauties,


I haven't been posting much these days on account of lack of sheer energy and my weekends have been also so busy. On  Saturday I did a wedding party of 10, crazy right. It took me about 2 and a half hours to get all bridesmaids and junior bridesmaids and then when it came to the  bride, my Luminess Airbrush machine decided to die on me so I had to use normal foundation. I didn't take much pics but hopefully, the bride will send me some so I can post. Here are some pics from last 2 weeks. Enjoy!

Off to the movies to c Xmen- Bright fuchsia lips courtesy of Stila Tickled Pink Lip Enamel.

You need attitude to work this colour or it will overpower you. Neutral eye look to compliment the bright lips. Those earrings are becoming my favs also.

One day after work heading home and my red lips are still popping.

The worst Saturday of my life spent at an all day meeting.  I didn't get to take a whole pic b/c I was in a rush. Late as usual 

Jewel- toned purple lip and my fav aviators from Aldo. Pearls make me feel so elegant.

I did a twist out using foaming mousse and twisting my hair into bantu knots.

Friday nite look. Eyes- Sasha bus stop( orange) and MAC Gold mode pigment. Lips- Nude colour from my Sasha lip palette topped with Gentle Coral Tinted lip condition from MAC.

Too bad you cant see my ear lace my friend got me. Its an earring and necklace all in one. So cool. Will do another post with it.

 Lorac satin baked eyeshadow (grey colour -can't recall the name)  With  NYX white pearl pigment by the brown bone, an ardene eggplant colour eyeshadow ( very inexpensive but so creamy and rich) Lined the bottom lash line with MAC Fascinating eye liner and a rimmel eye pencil ( turquoise colour). The trick here is to blend the colours into each other.

Love this animal print ring $10 EC from brown sugar. Purple nails from a previous post (summer nail colours.) Earrings courtesy of my girl Michelle.

Dress from asos, shoes and belt from aldo and bag from Winners.

 Hope these looks inspire you. Stay beautiful.

Summer nail colours

Summer is here and its brought bright and pastel nail colours from spring with it. I picked up a few new nail colours for the summer.

 Starting with the Fuchsia colour:  L.A. Girl Flare Hyper
LA Color Craze Atomic ( matte teal)
Love and beauty (forever21 nail polish) in orange $2.80 on forever21.com
LA Girl Matte Sky blue
L A Color Craze Shock (neon yellow-orange)
L A Color Craze Electric Charge ( bright baby pink)
Love and beauty Purple
LA Girl Disco Brites Hustle -eggplant colour(black light nail polish) I have to find black light to try it out.
LA Girl Matte Blue twilight (deep midnight blue)
Love and beauty Taupe ( im bringing taupe back for the summer even though it was really popular last year)

  

I love forever21 nail polishes. They take one coat most of the time and the colours are rich and pretty. LA colors on the other hand take three coats to get the actually colour and they take very long to dry but I love the variety of colours the brand has to offer. You  can find LA Girl or LA Color Craze nail polishes in most drug stores or beauty supply stores and they are very affordable.

Rihanna's Who's that chick video look

I did this look a while back but I thought I'd share it with the rest of my followers who aren't on my facebook. I love colourful looks and this one worn by rihanna in her who's that chick video is one of my favourites. I was bored one day after work and decided to give it a try so excuse the hair :)

Face: MUFE Mat Velvet Foundation in 70 and MAC NW 43 Studio Fix Foundation Plus Powder
Cheeks: Coastal Secents 42 stack eyeshadow and blush palette ( a barbie pink blush)

Eyes: NYX Milk jumbo pencil on entire lid as a base
MAC Chrome Yellow over entire lower lid
Crease cut with Coastalscents 88 metallic palette brown eyeshadow
88 shimmer palette white eye colour
Maybelline Eyestudio Gel liner in Black on upper and lower lash line
Maybelline Colossal Volume Express Mascara in black

Lips
Stila lip enamel in tickled pink and L'oreal endless kissable shinewear gloss top coat

(The phone cam has this white cast) Its convenient but doesn't take the best pics.

Keep experimenting beauties, there is inspiration all around you.

Summer time means sunscreen

Its 33 degrees outside which is about 91 degrees Fahrenheit. Its a beautiful sunny clear day outside and the sun rays are shining down. What did most black women forget to do today before they left the house?  WEAR SUNSCREEN!
I've done a post before on how to protect your skin from the sun but I decided to remind you why its important again as summer is here already. Sunscreen is not only for Caucasians! We do have a natural sunblock in the form of melanin in our skin but UV rays do not discriminate. Its true also that we might not get as much sun damage but its better to be safe than sorry. Skin cancer affects every one and the easier way to prevent it is to wear SPF. I would recommend SPF 15- 30. Protecting your skin also helps prevent aging from sun damage. I grew up in the sun, never thought about wearing sunscreen til I went away to school in Canada, went to a drugstore and got a free skin examination using one of those microscope machines that can basically see into your pores and my analysis was basically that may skin was pretty damaged. I also noticed more and more moles (beauty marks) showing up on my face as I got older and believe or not these have the potential to be cancerous. So I went out a got a sunscreen and started wearing makeup or skin products with SPF like MAC Studio Fix Liquid Foundation with SPF 15 I think.

I recommend wearing sunscreen especially on your face or find a foundation with SPF already in it. It will make a huge difference in preventing hyper pigmentation, premature skin aging and general skin damage from the sun's rays.
SPF is only half the sunscreen puzzle—it's what protects against burning UVB rays. The UVA kind can lead to wrinkles, dark spots, and skin cancer—so look for a sunscreen that's labeled broad-spectrum. UVA shields including Mexoryl, Helioplex, and Active Photobarrier Complex don't break down easily in the sun.

Try Neutrogrena UltraSheer Dry Touch Sunblock which is perfect for the face because it doesn't go on thick or greasy and doesn't leave a white ghost like cast on your face. Its about $ 8US at drugstores or beauty.com or drugstore.com. I actually found this at Lucky Cosmetics down town for $35 EC.

For more info Check out my other post  http://necessarybeauty.blogspot.com/2010/07/our-skin-needs-protecting-too.html or allure's article on saving your face from the sun http://www.allure.com/skin-care/anti-aging-skin/2010/best_sunscreens_for_face#slide=1.

MAC Surf Baby Pigments

My mother did a MAC haul a few weeks ago in St. Thomas, V.I. and on the list were some crushed metallic stacked pigments from the new MAC line called Surf, Baby! The lure of the endless summer starts here with My Paradise Cheek Powder, Pigments, Summer Stash of Crushed Metallic Pigments, Hibiscus Lipstick and Splashproof Lash Mascara that just won't smudge. (description from www.maccosmetics.com.) Journey to a world where feeling the rush means taking a risk. Hang Ten! The pigments come in a variety of metallic shades and also come in jars that can be stacked on top of each other.

I got  all shades and kept just the colours I liked and gave my mom the silver and light green shades.
 My over all  view of these pigments is that they are just OK. They aren't anything new and their differences to normal MAC Pigments is what actually brought it down to 3 out of 5 stars. I love the richness of the colours especially the golden bronze and violet shade but these pigments are hard to work with. Their texture is very clumpy in the jar (esp the gold., I thought something was wrong with it) and hard to apply without at least wetting the brush but the colour pay off is great. Once you wet the brush you can keep applying til you get the richness in the colour you are looking for.  Each stack with 4 costs $32.50 US which isn't a bad  deal considering one of MACs normal pigments cost about $18 US.

 Eye look using Pearl on the entire lid then Pink in the middle then graphite in the outer corner and in the crease.

Pearl

Eye look using Pink on the entire lid and Graphite in the outer corner ( pink looks more purple to me) lol

PINK ( I still think it looks purple/ violet)

Graphite

Swatch of all three pigments

Eye look using Bronze ( looks gold to me ) on the entire lid and in the crease I used Old Wine which is more bronze to me.

Bronze

They stack up on top of each other.

So all in all I like all the pigments I got and I will definitely be using Bronze and Pink more often.

Waterproof Makeup

Hey beauties, Its summer time and you wanna go to the beach or pool and look good right so I got a question asking "Trying to find a waterproof concealer or foundation. One that can withstand going in a pool...Any suggestions?"


There are many options when it comes to waterproofing your makeup.


Option #1


If you already have a foundation you use every day whether liquid or powder (one with SPF preferably), just add a foundation  primer before you apply your foundation. This helps you makeup to stay on longer whether you sweat or you take a dip. Some suggestions for primers:
MAC prep + prime (skin base) Face Primer (maccosmetics.com) $25
Philosophy On A Clear Day Acne Clarifying Primer (sephora.com) $30
Smashbox Cosmetics Photo Finish Color Correcting Foundation Primer (sephora.com or amazon.com)  $38
L'oreal Studio Secrets Face Primer (www.ulta.com or target.com) $10.99
Bare Minerals Prime Time Primer (amazon.com or ulta.com) $16- $18 

Revlon Beyond Natural Smoothing Primer (drugstore.com)$12.99
Rimmel Foundation Primer (drugstores or drugstore.com or target.com) $6 
Laura Mercier Foundation Primer (amazon.com or department stores) $30
 I use GOSH Velvet Touch Foundation Primer (http://goshamericas.com/face.asp) $28 

Smashbox Photofinish Primers

Option # 2


Long wear Makeup. Try a long wear makeup brand which should last longer than average foundation, up to 8 hrs and should hold up when you go into the water.
MAC Pro Longwear Foundation (maccosmetics.com) $29.50. Hopefully you find your shade.
L'Oréal Paris Infallible Never Fail Makeup ($14, drugstores) 
Estée Lauder Double Wear Light Stay-in-Place Makeup SPF 10 ($33.50, department stores or amazon.com)
Rimmel London Lasting Finish 16HR Foundation ($7.50, drugstore.com or ulta.com or walmart.com) 
Bobbi Brown Natural Finish Long Lasting Foundation SPF 15 (bobbibrowncosmetics.com or department stores)

Option #3 


Try foundation that is meant to be worn for outdoor activities like sports.
Clinique Work-Out Makeup All Day Wear .Superior all-day wear. Stays fresh-looking through heat, humidity, activity. Water-resistant. (www.clinique.com) $22

Option #4


Try foundation that is meant for full coverage that covers scars and other skin problems.
Dermablend Cover Creme Foundation . (skinstore.com or drugstore.com or beauty.com) $34

Full coverage foundation for moderate to major skin flaws that delivers 12 hours of consistent color wear. Lightweight formula glides on evenly and delivers all day hydration as well as SPF 30 sunscreen protection. Water-resistant and smudge-resistant when used with Setting Powder.

Makeup Forever Face & Body Liquid Makeup. The secret is all in this top-selling formula. This waterproof, ultra-light, water-based gel contains no emulsifiers and provides a totally natural, satin finish. Ideal for normal skin-types as well as for fine lines and large pores. Gives skin a uniform tone without accentuating imperfections. A makeup artist's favorite. (sephora.com) $38



Hope this helps Laura :)
 

Exhibit A by Melisa

Hey Beauties, I fellow beauty enthusiast Mel, has decided to share her review on NARS Exhibit Blush and I must say she is making me wanna run out and spend that $26 US on it (hopefully I get a discount as well. ) Great job Mel! BTW I love your dreads!

Guest Blogger : Melisa

I saw the NARS "Orgasm" blush mentioned in the "You make me  blush...."  post here on Necessary Beauty and went to Sephora intending to buy it. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I tried the Orgasm blush and it didn’t show up well on my skin; it actually looked gold on my skin, like a bronzer. I was disappointed but the sales associate suggested that I try the NARS "Exhibit A" blush and I loved it when I tired it and bought that instead (and I got 15% off too, yah!). The Exhibit A blush looks like a highlighted orange color but the color more subdued on my skin. Love, love, love it!

I used the blush with this look, wearing some my favorite eye shadows.

Foundation:

Clinique Perfectly Real Makeup in 48(P)

Mac Studio Fix in NW50

Eyes:

Lancôme Color Design in The New Black

Black Radiance Sunrise/Sunset Duo

Mascara:

Clinique High Impact in Black

Lips:

Clinique Lip Gloss in Blackberry Bloom

Cheeks:

Nars Exhibit A 

Looking gorg with a pop of colour on her cheeks

TIP: I think Exhibit A would look so pretty over a golden bronzer or highlight like NARS Albatross or MAC Bronze for the summer.