How much PRIDE do you have?

I recently purchased the Pride palette by Wet N Wild. I love this brand for several different reasons. First reason being my first makeup purchase was a Wet N Wild lipstick and that was about 15 years ago. Secondly, WNW products have great quality.

So, I purchased the Pride palette because the shades really caught my eye. I immediately went home to true it out and see what look I could come up with using just the colors in this particular palette. Here is a picture of the finished product...

Now, let me give you the step by step application process that I used (FYI...I used a small shadow brush and a blending brush for this look)

1. I primed my lid...you can use the primer of your choice. I chose a matte primer/base in white.
2. I took WNW Deep Blue Color Icon eye liner and cut my crease on my brow bone (from the outside corner of my eye to the inner eye crease to just before the inner corner). With a blending brush, I blend my crease line out and up.
3. With a small shadow brush I took the matte white (very top left of palette) and  start at the inner corner going about 1/3 of the way across my lid.
4. With the same small shadow brush I took the matte white blended (a little of both colors on the brush) with the matte green (right below the white) and applied that to the remainder of my lid. 
5. With a blending brush I make sure the white and green matte colors are blended well. Apply the matte green to your shadow brush and apply that to the outer corner of the lid, blending inward towards the middle.
6.  With your shadow brush apply a generous amount of matte blue (below the green in palette) to the cut crease to darken it up. Starting from the outer corner blending inward and upward to the point where you stopped your cut crease line. Use as little or as much as you want dependent upon the look you want to achieve. I took mine up rather far...I left just enough room for highlighting.
7. After you've blended the colors using your blending brush in an upward motion (to make sure the blue does not mess up the white and green) add a little of the highly pigmented white (top right of palette) to the inner corner tear duct area of the eye (not in the eye though).
8. I added the pigmented blue (very bottom right of palette) to the corner of my crease just to add a little shimmer.
9. I lined my eyes using WNW Mega Eyes Creme Liner in black...feel free to add a wing to your liner just for the extra dramatic effect. I also used the Deep Blue to line my bottom water line.
10. To seal the look add a pair of your favorite lashes!!!

I hope these were simple step by step instructions...thank you for visiting. Please follow me!! Smooches!!!

Peacocky...MAC Cosmetics Spring Collection

Hello Beauties...

The Peacocky collection is here!!! It is definitely a must have for myself...it's very dramatic and edgy. The colors are so vibrant and bold. This collection includes Mega Metal Shadows which come in 15 different shades and Kissable Lipcolours which come in 12 shades. I haven't decided which  eyeshadow shades I'm going to purchase but I will say that I do have my eye on Top of the Posh, Mating Call, Odalisque and Spectacle of Yourself. These shadows are very creaming and are great for blending and an added extra are the crease resistance (def. a plus).

Here are swatches of the shades I mentioned above:

Top of the Posh

Mating Call

Odalisque

Spectacle of Yourself

The kissable lipcolours are amazing. The shade choices are out of this world. These glosses glide on smoothly with a rich, highly pigmented finish. I have my eye on a few of these  also, but I absolutely, positively MUST HAVE Peacocky. Here are swatches of the lip colors that are on my "must have" list.

Peacocky

Enchantee

Love Peck

Vanity Fair



I'm all for bold, vibrant, bright, edgy, highly pigemented colors. This collection definitely gives me all of that and more. If you are into neutral colors, don't be discouraged. There are several in this collection as well. If you enjoyed these colors then feel free to check out the whole collection here The Peacocky Collection. Thanks for visiting my blog, please subscribe. Smooches!!!

2011...very random!!!

There is so much I want to do and so many places I want to go/take my makeup artistry. At times things seem very overwhelming, but I have so much fight in me that I will not let the worries, negativity, pessimism, etc stop me. I've come this far...too far, to even fathom stopping now. I'm still a "newbie", but with any profession there are always new things to learn to improve your skill, your talent, your passion. As much as I may think I know and as much as I do know about makeup (my passion for it, my application technique, the brands and products) I will never know it all. Things constantly change, that's just a simple fact of life, but as long as I keep studying, practicing, reading and continue to learn I'll be alright. Just a little inspiration for myself and whom ever else may need it!!

I did not forget about the peacock spring collection...it's definitely my next post.

It's Prime Time

There have been a lot of questions about eyeshadow primers and bases. There are sooo many out there to choose from, but I'll give you my opinion on the products I use.

For starters, my absolute favorite primer is Urban Decay's Primer Potion. It really helps make the shadow pop, keeping it in place. It dries smoothly and helps prevent creasing. It comes in three different shades Nude, Tawny Matte and Champagne Shimmer. I use Nude which is the purple one.

My second favorite is M.A.C. Paintpots. I use Rubenesque which has a shimmer finish for my shimmer shadows and I use Groundwork for my matte shadows. They work great with all eye shadows to brighten up and bring out the pigment and keep the shadow in place. The picture below is Groundwork.

I also have several NYX jumbo eye pencils that I have depotted (melted into eyeshadow form) that work great as a base or primer. Out of th eight I have the one I recommend the most is Milk (first one from the right). It's also great to be used as a highlighter.



I would recommend any of these primers. I have also heard great things about Too Faced Shadow Insurance. There are also several brands of inexpensive primers sold in local drug stores. Expensive is not always better or best, it's all about what works for you.

First Things First

Let's talk about the fundamentals of skin. As most of us know, everyone has a different skin type therefore everyone should have a different skin care regimen. Let's break it down...

Normal Skin

Normally people with this skin type has a smooth even texture. They may experience the occasional shine on the forehead, nose or chin area, but it's definitely nothing to be worried about. When it comes to caring for normal skin, it's pretty simple. Cleanse daily (I recommend twice) using a foaming cleanser.  Also, exfoliating twice a week is good for removing dead skin cells, it adds that extra natural glow to your skin. Then lastly, moisturize. This is a VERY important step. A light weight mositurizer works well for normal skin.

Dry Skin

I suffer from very dry skin. A sign of dry skin is tightness of the face after washing, flaking, dry and/or rough patches. There may even be some sensitivity. Caring for dry skin is a little more intense (for lack of a better word). A rich cleanser should be used. A light weight mositurizer is good during the day, but I recommend a night cream for bedtime. Jergens has a good all purpose face moisturizer. I recommend exfoliating once a week instead of twice to avoid skin irritation. Products with alpha hydroxy acids are good for dry skin, they also help remove dry, dead skin.

Oily Skin

A sign of oily skin is frequent breakouts. Oily skin should be cleansed twice daily using an oil free cleanser, it helps to prevent dirt accumulation and it won't clog pores. Also use an alcohol free astringent  to remove excess oil and a oil free moisturizer.

Combination Skin

This skin type consist of an oily t-zone with dry spots on the cheek areas. Cleanse with a mild cleanser and use a dense moisturizer preferably with alpha hydroxy acids to help target the dry spots.

Sensitive Skin

This skin type can range from dry to oily. It can be itchy and blotchy and it is very easily irritated by makeup, cleansers, moisturizers, etc. To care for sensitive skin cleanse with a mild perfume free cleanser, a alcohol free toner for the blotchiness and a moisturizer developed specifically for sensitive skin.

I recommend Wal-Mart, CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens or any local drug store in your area for your skin care products. These items are very inexpensive and come in several different brands. You don't have to spend alot to have healthy skin.

M.A.C. Style Session

So today I went to my first M.A.C. Style Session, I was uber excited about this event seeing as though I'd heard about them for years but never experienced it. All week I've been looking forward to it and finally the day had come. I pictured this to be something that would give me insight on the new products, something to show me something new as far as application, etc.

So I get there and check in, I'm given a cute little M.A.C. notebook filled with face sketchs and note pages along with a cute little M.A.C. pencil and a lanyard.

The session starts, we're broken off into three groups and taken to our stations. The way it works is there will be three stations. Each station has a different inspired look. For instance todays session included looks inspired by Tokyo, London and Los Angeles. Basically, all that they did was take a model from each group for each look and do the inspired look on that model. They did give you step by step instructions on what they did as well as which product and brush they were using as they went along. In my opinion, this event would be great for a newbie, someone who is just getting into make-up. There were opportunities to try products and ask questions which I thought was good. I love trying new products.

There were two products that were new to me, which I'm going to list:

First off, we have the new Digi Dazzle collection, it was love at first sight when I seen "Smash Hit".

This color looks like a goldish glittery color, but it goes on very glittery with a pinkish purple tint. I'm in love!!

Secondly, there is another product that I fell in love with...it's called Venomous Villians Magically Cool Liquid Powder of course from the Venomous Villian Collection.

   

It's composed of 70% water. It's something you would use after you've completed your makeup application. It's often compared to the Fix Plus. The feeling of this powder gliding on your face with the right brush would feel like heaven.

I'm absolutely in love with both of these products. I would highly recommend the Cool Liquid Powder as a finishing powder because it gives you a natural, smooth, airbrushed look. The Digi Dazzle "Smash Hit" is just an added extra that will give your look that extra pop. It'll be great for the holidays.

Hope this helps, be on the look out for my next post introducing the new M.A.C. Spring collection.

Welcome

I'd like to take this time to introduce myself. My name is JaLauna better known as Mz. Launa and I am an up and coming make-up artist. I've been into make-up for the past four years, but I've just recently started building a clientele. The purpose of this site is to share my experiences, insight and opinions.  I'm also here to bring the the inside scoop on what's hot and what's new. I'm always trying new products and I'll be doing weekly reviews on different items. If there is a product that you would like for me to try and you want my opinion on it, feel free to email at myprettyfacemua@gmail.com. Thank you for visiting and please make sure you subscribe. Smooches!!!