I met up with Gregg Hubbard in Bryant Park again yesterday. He was meeting me to hear about my recent job offers & to offer me advice & put me in contact with a woman he knows who is high up in the cosmetic industry! AND he gave me a Sephora bag filled with cosmetics goodies…

MY DREAM COME TRUE!

The bag was filled with things from eyelash curlers, concelear, to Smashbox eyeliners & eyeshadows, Laura Mercier blue pallette of eyeshadow & an amazing kit of foundations! Gregg wanted to make sure I got the bag before the photo shoot happened… so nice of him!

I had never heard of the foundation before. It is called FACE Atelier & a woman created it. The products are also endorsed by PETA! Gregg told me that she even helped sponsor one of Beyonce’s tours so Beyonce has worn her foundation during performances. Gregg warned me it dries very glowy, so glowy & dewy that I may even want to tone it down depending on the finish I’m going for. I was so excited to use it on Rihanna in the shoot that night.

Rihanna is a model who recently got signed to Wilhemina modeling agency. Check out, Lauren Cowart’s, the great photographer I work with, site where Rihanna is featured. She is the first post so click here!!!

The foundation was amazing! It is a full kit & Gregg was so kind to give it to me. Check out the Face Atelier site here to see the amazing products. The foundation was so silky & blended RIGHT into the skin & had an amazing finish. The entire kit retails at $499.00!! WOW! I have such an assortment of skin colors – it’s amazing.

I used a MAC 188 Small Duo Fibre Face Brush $34.00. I have two of those brushes and have had them for probably two years – I wash them about once a week or more depending on what makeup I have going on that week.

Wait until you guys see this pics. Here’s a couple behind the scenes photos! Excuse the suckyness that is my camera phone – I hate the BB Curve.

Although I shy away from MAC for skin products – foundation, concealer, powder, blush – I love their products for eyebrows. I recently decided to try to grow my eyebrows out a little bit, which is a HUGE process. While I’m doing that I’m going more natural with my brow – a little thicker and lighter in color.

Check out the three products I use below

1. MAC Duo Eyebrow Powder – This is a limited edition item I got about a year ago. I’m not sure it’s still sold – if it is it’s only in the MAC Pro stores. I use a 208 Angled Brow Brush from MAC . – $19.50 I brush the powder lightly on the outline of where I want my brows to be. I usually make them thicker than what the actual hair is – it ends up look very natural with the powder.

2. MAC Eye Brow Pencil In Stud or Spiked – $15.00. I fill in my brows where they need filling. Depending on the color of my hair I switch pencil shades. When my hair was red I mixed Stud & Struct together which gave me a nice deep reddish color. Now I use Spiked with my black hair. Or Stud – I have both on hand to mix together.

3. MAC Brow Set in Show Off - $15.00 I set my eyebrows with this. Not only does it hold my brows in place, but it also coat all of the hairs and lightens them a little bit to match the pencil color. I love this because I can coat them very lightly or go heavier for a more dramatic & defined eyebrow.

Cremesheen Glass is an amazing lipgloss from MAC! I love MAC lipgloss the only thing I don’t like is how sticky they are. MAC lipglosses come in a million colors & different consistencies.

This Cremesheen Glass is so creamy & smooth with no stickiness & comes in several colors.

The ones I tried on were sheer to medium coverage. I bought “On the Scene” which is a limited edition color. It’s a pink coral color, that is so pretty for everyday wear. Check them out at MAC counters or online. The Cremesheen Glasses are $18.00

I HAVE A FEW THINGS I WANT TO GET IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS…

1. Flesh toned eye liner – it’s a less retro, more natural option verse white liner – when put on your inside lower rim it makes your eyes appear bigger – also helps if you smudge a little on the inner corner to open up the eyes more.I’m going to try the MAC Kohl eyeliner for that. I love their eyeliners.

2. Cream blush – much more natural look than powder blush. I’m going to try Bobbi Browns and NARS – maybe another brand I haven’t tried yet & see which I like more

3. I need to find a new red lipstick – my NARS “Scarlet Empress” lipstick is my favorite red – it’s so rich and deep, but the color has been reformulated & it no longer is the shade I love – so the hunt for my perfect red lip continues…

4. A few false lashes – I am going to wear false lashes when I go out more – it’s such a quick & easy way to play up your eyes. So pretty when they’re natural looking. Shu Uemura & MAC have great lashes!

That’s it for now I think… ohhh!!

5. A new makeup case – my makeup case is falling apart – and is WAY too small.

So most of my product reviews have a majority of the same products I always use, but this product review has two products in particular that I’ve never tried before. I took the picture above in my bathroom of some things I picked up this past weekend. I needed a red and pink lip liner, I wanted two different colored lipsticks (both are great!) & decided to finally invest in some Bobbi Brown foundation. NOTHING has disappointed. Check out the review below…

1. NEW – Bobbi Brown Natural Finish Long Lasting Foundation SPF 15 – I have never tried Bobbi Brown foundation but I hear AMAZING things about it. I have a concealer from Bobbi Brown and absolutely love it. This foundation did not fail. It looks like you have NOTHING on at all – I use a sponge to put it on & it’s flawless – definitely my new favorite foundation for everyday/a night out – for photoshoots I still like MAKE UP FOR EVER – Get it at Bobbi Brown counters at department stores or online here. – $45.00

2. MAC Satin Lipstick in Rebel - My friend Kelcie loves this color & it looks amazing on her – I also love it – especially when I go back to black hair. It’s a deep color but still vibrant. $14.00

3. Illamasqua Lipstick in Underworld – this lipstick is only sold at Sephora. I tried this brand I’ve never even heard of but saw the color & needed it. It’s this briiiight purple color – AMAZING on. Try it please! $20

4. Sephora Collection Long Lasting Eyeliner - I never really use Sephora brand except one of their mascaras which I’ve been given for free because of my points I get for shopping there – but I wanted a new eyeliner that didn’t come off as easily as my Loreal so I tried this – it’s amazing. Great brush to apply either a super thin or thicker line & it didn’t come off throughout the day but comes off easily with eye makeup remover! – $10

Hope you guys enjoyed and will try some of these products

What I’m about to say is usually a huge

NO NO!

However… I like to think nothing is ever off limits – it just depends on your execution.









Recently there has been the use of white eyeshadow (such as the picture above of a Donna Karan model during one of her shows)… This look is crsip & clean & I tried it on Jessica Couch in our last shoot, but only had a white liner to do it. I wouldn’t recommend using a liner because it creases – & creasing with white are VERY obvious. Instead, try a white shadow – I haven’t tried any yet, but I’m sure if you use a nice primer from Smashbox or MAKE UP FOR EVER on your lid, followed by white eyeshadow by MAC with an angled brush you could get this look. Keep your face clean & bronze + a few coats of jet black mascara to get wispy strong lashes. This would be perfect & I’m going to try it soon!

I had a woman named Tracy G.M. James ask me suggestions about bright lip color – She sounds like she knows her stuff about makeup & I gave her some suggestions about lip color. I also decided I’d make a post about some amazingly brightly colored lipstick.

Bright lip color with a bare face is a huge trend for the spring, make sure you skin is super smooth & glowy, put on one of these bright lip colors & you’re all set.

1. NARS Semi-Matte Lipstick in “Funny Face” – This lipstick is described as fuschia color, it’s extremely creamy & has a blue undertone to it. Get it here for $24.00

2. Color swatch of Funny Face… Visit Sephora or a NARS counter at a department store to try this color on.

3. NARS Semi-Matte Lipstick in “Schiap” – This lipstick is SUPER fluorescent, I’ve only seem a couple people pull it off, but it’s gorgeous. My friend Zewidi has it on in the picture below. Get it here for $24.00

4. NARS Semi-Matte Lipstick in “Heat Wave” - This lipstick is semi-matte, creamy & a really bold color. It’s described as Orange Red & that’s exactly what it is. I wore this in a recent photo shoot. You can see the photo below. Get it at the NARS website for $24.00

5.  A color swatch of NARS’ Heat Wave

6. MAC Morange – This lipstick is bright orange – not for the weary, the color is really intense, but very pretty. The finish is an amplified cream. You can buy a matching lip liner from MAC or opt for a reddish orange lip liner to play down the orange of the lipstick a little bit. Make sure you blend the two well. $14.00

7. MAC Russian Red - This color is described as an intense bluish-red and the finish is matte. I love this color & there is a picture below of me with it on a couple years ago – gorgeous color.$14.00

Try some colors at MAKE UP FOR EVER – I see the colors all the time, but have yet to try one of their lipsticks. Based on their intensely colored eyeshadows I bet they’re lipsticks are really pretty on as well.

Hehe… not like that! Me & Kelcie (& Zewidi too…but I didn’t find any pics easily) all LOVE Cyber from MAC. Check out the link here… it’s the richest smoothest satiniest color ever… this deep plum/purple/violet … I don’t know how to describe it but it’s AMAZING!

Tip: To be extra chic, pair these dark lips w/ just a little mascara – & nothing else!

The other weekend Lauren Cowart, my favorite photographer, & I worked together!! Her stuff is SO amazing! I wanted to do something super colorful on Margaret, who agreed to be the model for the shoot. I choose a vibrant blue eyeshadow from MAKE UP FOR EVER called Turquoise Matte 72 & an amazing lipstick from NARs called “Funny Face” I layered MAC Dazzleglass lipgloss over the lipstick – Dazzleglass is a limited edition high shine gloss from MAC & I love them! Next time: I’m going to leave the lips nude, take some photos then go back in with a bright lipstick.

After shooting Margaret, I really wanted to do another look ,but it would have been too much to take all the makeup off of Margaret so Margaret and Lauren suggested I do a quick look on myself while they finished taking the last photos downstairs. I took about ten minutes to do a quick face on myself using another NARS lipstick I picked up called “Heat Wave” I did a winged eyeliner with my Loreal Lineur and used my Covergirl Lashblast Mascara that I love.

Check out a sample of the photos below – we took tons and played around.I love the colors!! Thanks so much Margaret and Lauren.

Check out Lauren’s blog here!!!

I randomly decided I wanted to do a post on waterproof makeup verse non-waterproof makeup. I have both because some occasions you want to have waterproof makeup and others you do not.

Waterproof Makeup Occasions Include…

1. Graduation

2. Weddings

3. Funerals

4. Baby Showers…Baby Birth…Baby anything

5. Swimming

Below I have included my four favorite products, two waterproof products and two non-waterproof products. I live by these products for my eyes. On a regular day I LOVE my non-waterproof eye makeup because it comes off SO easily.

If you do NOT want your makeup to come off - trust me, these waterproof products aren’t going anywhere! Especially the eyeliner below – it takes some strength to get it off. You’ve been warned so take a look …

1. Covergirl LashBlast Volume Mascara

2. Loreal Lineur Intense Eyeliner

3. Covergirl Waterproof LashBlast Volume Mascara

4. MAC Liquidlast Liner

I went to the MAC counter in Maine with one of my best friends &  had to get my hands on this!

There are four colors & the pigments stack on one another into a 4 tiered makeup case. Check out how it looks on the MAC website. It’s $32.50 – which may seem expensive but you get four gorgeous colors. As long as you don’t spill the makeup or break the casing, it’s going to last you years and years.

I can’t wait to use the green. Dust a little green on your bottom lash line with wispy long eyelashes & deep cranberry lips – that would be absolutely gorgeous!! Pick up this, I promise I’ll love it.

Everyone knows that C-Thru is my favorite lip gloss from MAC, but how could I forget about my second favorite MAC lip gloss “Oyster Girl”. I don’t think I’ve included this lip gloss on my blog yet – so here we go.

This lipgloss is an AMAZING color – it has full coverage in this gorgeous pink-gold shade. Take a look – try it – it’s perfect on ALL skin colors (as is C-Thru).

Tinted Lipglass $14.00

Let me start off by saying I had an amazing trip to New York City. I absolutely love it there as it will be my new home in May. I feel so at home & at peace there… it just feels right.

This trip wasn’t just about play…I had some business to handle. The first stop was the Stevie Boi Fashion Show at the Soho Hotel with Nyne (@nynelyves). We met some great people there who we hope to run into in the future! Stevie Boi’s glasses were great & I’ll definitely be ordering a pair. Check out the website here.

The next order of business was the NYU Fashion Show…

put together by @thelovelylou. Please hit her up on twitter. @Nynelyves debuted her vintage clothing line in addition to about give other designers who showcased their original lines. I loved watching the fashion show, but more importantly I loved doing the

MAKEUP!

I arrived at the Kimmel Building on NYU’s campus after an emergency run to MAC to get @nynelyves some eyelashes on the way there. I got there at 3pm& immediately went to work on male & female models. There were 3 other makeup artists there – I think all of them used to work at MAC, but now freelance for MAC & do their own individual projects on the side.

The male models just needed smooth even skin & some countouring. I used my MAKE UP FOR EVER foundation along with Bobbi Brown powders & concealers & used a MAC powder to contour.

The female models had the theme of color but we were given a lot of freedom to do what we want. We each did several models & worked straight through until the show started at 8pm.

I was EXHAUSTED to say the least & parked my behind in a chair next to @dctobc to watch the show.

Because I was so busy doing makeup all afternoon I didn’t even get to get many pictures – but the ones I did get are below!

It felt so AMAZING because the hair stylists & models kept giving me compliments about the makeup & asking for my cards – I hope I get some good business off of this! (Shout out to @c_lux for the business cards too.)

So I went home to Maine (yes, I’m from Maine & yes there are black people there – & yes I’m probably the first person from Maine you’ve “met” haha) … anyway… I did a couple of my friends makeup to play around. I have this one picture of my friend Sarah Rowe & I like the way her makeup came out. She rarely wears a lot of makeup so even something light felt like a lot of makeup to her, but it was fun to play around.

I’ll be honest & say I don’t remember exactly what I used. I had a good canvas, which always make the makeup application more fun

MAKE UP FOR EVER Foundation … MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Powder.. Some MAC under eye concealer .. Some bronzer… a purple type eyeshadow & I used MAC eyeshadow with an angled wet brush to make brown liner for her ( a little less harsh than black eyeliner all around). I think the color really set her eyes off! I used a NARS lipstick as well. I wish I had written it all down, but it’d be easy to remember with all of my makeup in front of me. If you have any questions ask away & I’ll do my best to remember.

The winter can make your skin look DOA. However, there are ways to make your skin glow again… just follow a few simple steps.

1. Exfoliate - use a GENTLE exfoliater with rounded beads – not jagged – Olay has some great ones. Only do this 2 or 3 times a week – too much exfoliating can damage skin more & produce more oil

2. At night, use a heavier moisturizer than you usually would, put on a heavy layer & let it soak in over night – try MAC Moisturelush Cream $32. In the morning you can use your usual moisturizer if you feel too oily with the heavier night moisturizer on.

3. For a nice natural glow mix some loose iridescent powder with a moisturizer (for just a sheer glow), a tinted moisturizer (sheer glow), or your usual foundation (regular coverage but with a glow).

I love MAC Iridescent Powder/Loose in “golden bronze” for deeper complexions or “silver dusk” for very light complexions. $22 – I’ve had this powder for years & I swear I’ll NEVER run out. It’s gorgeous on the skin.