Happy Early Birthday To Me!! :) (:

Sparkly stuff makes me happy!! I love glitter and all things sparkly. No seriously. Instead of having ADD, I have SAD - Sparkly Attention Disorder. I see sparkly, and you've lost my attention until that sparkly thing is out of my sight. It's SAD, I know. (Get it?? Haha...ok, bad joke, I know, I know. You're all probably shaking you heads at me thinking "Just stick with makeup and leave the funny stuff to the real comedians, Francine." Ok, I can take a hint....moving on...)

So, I went shopping around for NYX stuff, and found all these great glitter liners from NYX. And considering how MAC only seems to offer glitter liners during the holidays (from what I've noticed), I thought I'd bring these to everyone's attention. They were about $3.00 USD at the beauty store I got them in. Cherryculture.com has them online for $2.99 and NYXcosmetics.com has them online for $4.00. There's three more colors offered in addition to what I just got--Hot Yellow, Baby Pink, and Hot Candy.



(l-r): Hot Pink, Red, Tangerine, Hot Orange, Lime, Hot Green, Green, Jade, Blue, Lavender, Disco Queen, Crystal, Disco Ball, Silver, Gold.



(l-r): Hot Pink, Red, Tangerine, Hot Orange, Lime, Hot Green, Green, Jade, Blue, Lavender, Disco Queen, Crystal, Disco Ball, Silver, Gold.



(l-r): Hot Pink, Red, Tangerine, Hot Orange, Lime, Hot Green, Green, Jade, Blue, Lavender, Disco Queen, Crystal, Disco Ball, Silver, Gold.

A New Video Brought to you by www.beautyfromtheearth.com!!

I want to give a special thank you to Crystal from www.beautyfromtheearth.com. She sent me a lot of lovely eyeshadows and some foundation samples to try out. To show my gratitude for her generosity, I made a video showcasing a couple of the eyeshadows (multipurpose minerals) and I will do a couple more videos using some of the other eyeshadows as well. But until then, have a look-see at my newest video---Green, Blue & Purple---featuring multipurpose minerals from www.beautyfromtheearth.com!



I was really impressed with the coverage of the foundation she sent me. I'll be honest...at first I was a bit skeptical cause it looked rather yellow for me. But after buffing it on and putting on the finishing veil, it was practically perfect! Fine lines were almost non-existent (as opposed to becoming more porminent) and the coverage was really even!! It didn't really feel as if I was wearing makeup either! Double bonus!!

The multipurpose minerals (which I interchange with eyeshadows) are B-E-A-Utiful!! Because they go on slightly sheer (and I do mean "slightly"), you can still wear a fun and funky look without attracting too much attention. Apply them with a mixing medium (which you can learn to make at home thanks to EnKoreMakeup), and TADOW!! Instant vibrance!! So you get the best of both worlds! If you love mineral makeup, be sure to check out her site!

New Videos Are Here!! YAY!

I recently uploaded a couple of new videos to youtube. One is a Gold & Black Smokey look, which would be very suitable for a night out on the town. The other one is a Red & Gold look that I think suits the holidays quite well! It's very Christmas-sy. :) They are both youtuber requests. Stop by my channel and have a look-see! Leave me some love and spread the word!

Here's the Gold & Black Smokey eye:





And here's the Red & Gold look:

A Healthy Way To Curl Your Hair!

Ever wanted curly hair, but hate doing the damage that's caused by using hot rollers or curling irons? Well, problem solved! Iris, a.k.a. Ilovegerardo, has solved all your curling damaging troubles! She's put up a great video showing you how you can acheive and fabulous head of curly hair using only bobby pins, a bandana, and some pomade!

New Videos Coming Soon!!

Hey everyone!

I know I've been slacking for a little bit in the video (and blogging) department, but I promise that I have a good reason. You see, I'm in the middle of classes right now. And with the holidays coming up and my husband's family coming to visit for Thanksgiving, it's been a little hectic between keeping up with school work and getting the house ready. I've managed to get ahead (way ahead) in my Calculus homework, and the cleaning around the house is just about done. So, ahead in homework plus a clean house equals more time for videos and blogging!! Woohoo!! Anyhoo, I thank you all for being so patient with me (especially as I am still getting used to this whole blogging thing)!

Here's a sneak peak list at some of the videos coming up...by the way, the videos are all youtuber requests since I have gotten so far behind in them...

Red & Gold
50s Glam (think Christina Aguilera in her "Candyman" video)
Yellow & Black
Yellow & Navy Blue
Red & Green (Christmas colors!! YAY!!)
More videos feautring NYX eyeshadows
and many, many more youtuber requests!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

MAC's Holiday Eye Brush Set

With the holiday season in full gear and gaining full speed before December when all engines will hit light speed, I thought it'd be a good time to do a quick review of the MAC Holiday Eye Brush Set from the Heirlooms Collection - especially since I get a lot of questions about eye brushes. I'm only reviewing the eye brushes since they are the ones I use the most (I've only recently started using my 190 brush again).

Personally I don't really like getting the holiday brush sets mainly because of the length of the handles and because the handles are made of plastic. I find that the shortened length does not give you as much control of the brush as the regular length brushes do. Becuase of this lack of control, you lose control of where the color gets placed. Also, I feel that because the handles are made of plastic, this gives the brushes a lighter feel, with there being less weight in your hand to balance the brush with, which once again leads to control. BUT if it's the first time you're using brushes, these two disadvantages could lead to an advantage for you in the future. You could buy these brushes and get used to the way they handle, and you could become familiar with how they work and also get used to how to control the brushes with the length and weight. With this in mind, say later on down the road, you decide you want to upgrade to the full-size brushes. In my opinion, you'd already be better at using the full-size brushes. Why? Because it should (in my world anyways) be easier for you to control the full-size brushes compared to the travel-size brushes. But that's just my mentality.

If you want to try the Holiday brush sets to see how you like the brushes, and to get familiar with what each of the brushes do, the holiday brush sets would be an affordable and convenient way to go. If you already have the regular brushes, the Holiday Brush set is also a convenient and easy way to carry brushes with you when you want to touch up your makeup throughout the day. Rather than carrying your full-size brushes, and risk damaging/breaking them, you can carry these handy-dandy little travel size ones with you.

Now, here's my break-down of what the eye brushes are and how I would/do use them (I don't have all of them). Something to keep in mind: Even though it seems like a lot of brushes have the same uses (lining/applying/blending), each of them creates a different effect. The same description plus the product does not always equal the same look.

	209SE - Eyeliner Brush A lot of people who have liquid eyeliners, or the fluidline eyeliners, prefer to use this brush to apply the liner with rather than the brush that comes on the cap with the product. It's relatively the same idea as what's on the cap, but some people prefer the longer bristles on this brush (which also seem stiffer, yet soft) than what comes on the cap of the product.
	212SE - Flat Definer Brush One of the main things to use this brush for is lining your eyes. A lot of people like to use MAC 266 brush when lining their eyes with powders or creams (think fluidline), however there are a lot of other people that don't like the look gained with using the 266, or can't get as close to the lashline while using the 209, so instead, they use a flat brush like the 212.
	217SE - Blending Brush This brush is, well, it is what it's called - a blending brush! This is a great brush to use for softening harsh lines and blending between colors, and shading. Even though there are other brushes that would be better suited, this is also a great brush to use for defining your crease and for adding depth to it as well. I wouldn't use this brush for applying eyeshadows, however.
	252SE - Large Shader Brush This was the first brush I purchased from MAC and has proven its worth. The 252 is a great brush to use for packing on that eyeshadow and getting a lot of color payback! It also comes in pretty handy when applying cream products like the paints or fluidlines all over your lid. The only reason this brush has fallen from the #1 spot is because it's little sister, the 242 (which is the same brush, just smaller, which makes it more functional) took over as #1.
	275SE - Medium Angle Shading Brush The medium angle brush is another great brush for blending. Because of its angular shape, it's useful for getting into corners for blending! If you're wanting to go for a more sheer look, this is the brush you'll want to use to apply your eyeshadow with.

If you're tight on cash, I have a couple of recommendations for you.

1. You may want to check out www.crownbrush.com - especially the badger series. Crown Industries Inc. is a brush wholesaler BUT they do conduct business for personal needs. The badger series brushes are MAC quality without the MAC price. Brushes range anywhere from $1.49 to $15.95 USD. They accept all major credit cards as well as checks. Just email them at crownbrushes@hotmail.com, request to be sent a catalog, and you can look over the entire array of brushes that they sell (or you can simply view their catalog online). They also have a discount policy based upon the total amount that you purchase. The only drawback is that because they are a wholesaler company, they have an order minimum of $25.00.


2. You may also want to check out your local craft store for good quality paint brushes. That's right. I said paint brushes! EnKoreMakeup has made a video comparing paint brushes to MAC brushes and also gives recommendations for what sort of paint brushes to look for. If you click on his name above, it will take you to his youtube channel, but if you click here, it will take you directly to the video I'm talking about.

I hope this helps you all in your debates of holiday brush sets or not! And as always with the holiday season, be safe and happy shopping!! :)