FINALLY!!

I've moved!!




Finally!! It only took me 4 months to get it under way, but I’ve FINALLY got my site somewhat set up! I figured the first thing that I would get up and running would be my makeup blog since that was the whole reason I paid for the hosting and the domain! Anyhoo, I went ahead and imported my old posts from my blogger account so if there was any information you all wanted from my older posts, you could just access it from there instead of jumping back and forth between pages. I’ll be putting up the other sections of my site gradually, but in the mean time, at least my blog is up and now I can start blogging again! Feel free to leave any suggestions or comments! I can’t wait to get back into the swing of things again! Thanks for being so patient!

Click here to go to the main site
www.frantasticmakeup.com

or

Click here to go straight to my blog page! www.frantasticmakeup.com/blog


Don't forget to update your bookmarks!! :)

Fafi! Fafi! Fafi!

Alright all you Fafi fanatics! It's officially out and ready for the taking! MAC has released the Fafi collection online and it is available for purchase. It will officially be released to stores and counters on Wednesday in the U.S. and Canada and I'm sure the Fafi feeding frenzy will begin.

Still not sure what you want to get? Well then check out Mrs. Lynne's MakeupFix to take a look at the gorgeous swatches she got of the collection, and let your senses take over. I'm really wanting the paint pots and a couple of the lipglosses. The rest of the collection doesn't really interest me. So, as for and my house, I shall wait for the Heatherette collection!!! :D

Mrs. Hughes

Don't know if any of you have seen this but my husband forwarded it to me in an email and I thought it was too good to pass up. Enjoy!

Urban Decay Pigments: Godsend or Hellbound?

Apparently Urban Decay is feeling the need to be like some of the other leading makeup companies out there and has decided to add loose pigments to their line of cosmetics.

I'm not sure how I feel about these. Don't get me wrong...I love the two UD palettes that I have, and wouldn't trade them for anything (except for maybe a couple of MAC Pro Pigments that I can't seem to get my hands on), and I absolutely love the way their Primer Potion works. With the beautiful pigmentation that their eyeshadows have, how could their pigments not live up to expectation, right? At least, that's my line of thinking...and yet you all are wondering "Well, why, if you think the color payoff would be pretty good, do you sound so iffy, Francine?"

I guess the reason I am so skeptical about these pigments is that I am still feeling pretty pissed and burned up about UD ripping off their consumers with the packaging of the Primer Potion. And when looking at the ridiculous little brush that comes on the pigment lid, as well as Urban Decay's description of their no-mess/no-spill jar, it makes me wonder how easy it would be, or should I say, how easy it WOULDN'T be to get the maximum amount of product for the price you have to shell out.

Let's make a quick comparison, shall we? MAC pigments cost $19.50 USD for 0.26 ounces of pigment. Urban Decay is charging a flat $20.00 for 0.04 oz...that's right, 0.04. No I did not make a typo with that extra zero. That means Urban Decay is charging you $0.50 more (yeah, I know big whoopty-do) for 15% less product than what you get from MAC. I knew that 15% would catch your attention. Yep, they're charging MORE for LESS...not to mention they're silly little funnel like lid which will probably be more of a nuisance than a savior when the pigment starts to get low (sound familiar? ::cough::UDPP::cough::).

I'm beginning to wonder if Urban Decay really thinks their customers are really so stupid that we won't eventually catch on to their little games to rob us blind. But I guess I'll just have to wait to see these in person to know if I can be put into a blinded stupor by something sparkly and colorful. If any of you already have these, leave me a comment with your opinion on them.

I am so sad. :( And kinda p.o. 'd

w00t!! GO PATRIOTS!!

Nuff said...just showing my team spirit!

***PRODUCTS USED***
--FACE--
Clinique Perfectly Real Makeup Shade 18 (g)
Clinique Blended Face Powder Transparency 3
Aziza II Concealer
MAC Northern Light Mineralize Skinfinish (blush)
MAC Swiss Chocolate eyeshadow (contouring)

--EYES--
Urban Decay Primer Potion
MAC Ricepaper eyeshadow
MAC Swiss Chocolate eyeshadow
Stýli-Style Black/Brown Line & Seal Eyeliner
DiorShow Mascara
MAC Espresso eyeshadow (brows)

--LIPS--
Stýli-Style Line & Seal Lip Liner in Rouge
MAC Queen's Sin Lipstick
MAC Boundless 3D glass

--Patriots Emblem--
MAC Royal Wink Fluidline
MAC Fascinating Eye Kohl
MAC Flammable Paint

MAC Announces 2008 Spring/Summer Trends

I'm not usually a big follower of clothing fashion, but I love reading about the new trends in makeup...especially when it's something out of the box, that's not your average everyday look. In this year's Spring & Summer Trends report, MAC is bringing together color and texture, combined through artistry and inspired by backstage (not my quote...it's what MAC sent me in the email, lol). They have a bunch more look predictions and tips on the site, but here'a few of the looks and tips that caught my eye. I don't see me wearing some of them just for poopies and giggles (sorry, this is a G-rated blog), but I thought they looked pretty cool!



While I don't see myself walking out of the house with a huge white spot under my eye, I thought the dewey affect that was created was rather neat!



I'm always a sucker for red, red lips! :D



I really don't know why I'm attracted to this look, but for some reason it draws me in like a moth to a flame.


My favorite of them all!! Just look at the picture! Enough said. This look just kicks ass (ok, it's a PG-blog)!! I'd soooo wear this out and about! The effect is effin' awesome!!


Not really sure what attracts me to this look either, but who wouldn't want a platinum eyelid?! :D


I love the subtle smokiness of this look. It adds mystery and intrigue as a touch of light brushes against the dark side! Mwuuuahahahahahahaaaa.



This look just brought me back to middle school with the chola look...but reversed. Love it! :D



I'm a sucker for iridescent lips that aren't your everyday color too. :P :)

Lauren's "Back In Black"...

After a short absence, youtube's very own Panacea81, a.k.a. Lauren comes back strong and beautiful as ever with a great tutorial on acheiving the exagerrated winged liner look made famous by Amy Winehouse! Hottie alert! Check it out!!

Montell Willams Gets It Right

Ok, Ok! I know! Three posts in one day?!?! Dayyyuuummm! Well, a friend on mine posted this on her myspace. And being a military wife, it was too good for me to not post it here to spread the word! So here it is.

Thanks to my friend Heather for sharing this in her bulletin post!!! :) Montell just became one of my new favorite people! I espceially love how the news people kept trying to "shut him up" and "stay on topic." @$$holes!

This is why I hate the news. They only show you what THEY think you should know rather than telling you about everything.

I feel for Heath Ledger's family. Trust me, I really do. I was absolutely heart-broken to hear about his untimely death and believe that no one should have to go through losing a family member so unexpectedly and in such a manner...but Montell has a extremely good point with what he's saying.


----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Heather
Date: Jan 29, 2008 2:14 AM


Finally...someone said it. My heart goes out to Heath Ledger's family also, but how many babies have been left behind without daddys, because their daddys have gone off to war? too many to name...its a tragedy yes, that he died so young. But we have many friends who were MUCH younger when they gave their lives for our freedom.

Montel turns the Table on a Fox Morning TV Show WATCH!

Ten Thoughts for 2008

I know we're already a month into 2008 but my husband shared this with me today and I got such a tickle out of some of it, that I thought I'd share them with all of you!


Ten Thoughts to Ponder for 2008

Number 10
Life is sexually transmitted.

Number 9
Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

Number 8
Some men have two emotions:
Hungry and Horny. If he's not in the mood , make him a sandwich ..

Number 7
Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day,
teach a person to use the internet
and they won't bother you for weeks.

Number 6
Some people are like a Slinky ..
Not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile
when you shove them down the stairs.

Number 5
Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday,
lying in hospitals dying of nothing.

Number 4
All of us could take a lesson from the weather.
It pays no attention to Criticism.

Number 3
Why does a slight tax increase cost you $200.00
and a substantial tax cut saves you $30.00?

Number 2
In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird.
Now the world is Weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

And The Number 1 Thought For 2008 :
We know exactly where one cow with Mad-cow-disease is located among millions and millions of cows in America but we haven't got a clue as to where millions of illegal immigrants and terrorists are located. Maybe we should put the Department of Agriculture in charge of Immigration?



Quote of the Day

'Life is like eating a jar of Jalapeno peppers
What you do today, might Burn Your Ass Tomorrow'

Grey, White, Yellow & Hunter Green Look

Check out this awesome look by SarahVictor on youtube! It's a super hot yellow and black smokey eye with a touch of grey and green! If you haven't checked out her videos, you need to! She has some great tips and some looks that you can add to your "I've gotta try this look!" list. The lovely Sarah also shows off her gorgeous hair in some hair styling tuts! Enjoy! :)

L'ORÉAL H.I.P. Pigment Swatches

Here are some swatches of L'oréal's H.I.P. Shocking Shadow Pigments. They are applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion and applied with a Maxine's Mop brush (like a MAC 239). I tried to take pictures at different angles and lighting because a couple of the colors looked a little bit different depending on how the light hit them. One of them though, was a completely different color in a different angle and lighting (Intrepid).

Can I just say this much? They're color payoff/intensity is AMAZING! I'm super glad that I bought these to play with! Enjoy the swatches! FOTD's coming soon! Woohoo!! :)

If you want to see a larger view, just click on the image! :)

Major Drugstore Store Haulage

WARNING!! Not for the faint of heart.

So I got my loan money this week and after paying some bills, I had more money left over than I expected. Naturally, rather than put it into savings, I spent it. I honestly didn't mean to spend it...honest!!

But yesterday, when my friend needed to stop at CVS on the way home from the mall to pick up her prescription, I decided I'd get a couple of the L'oréal HIP prodcuts to try (finally). Well, I wasn't expecting CVS to be having a BOGO Free sale with your CVS card...especially on a lot of the HIP items. Needless to say, my "Oh my!! Two for the price of one means I can buy MOOOORRREE!" mentality kicked in and here's what I got. Swatches coming soon!

• L'ORÉAL H.I.P. Shocking Shadow Pigments
  
  • 1ST ROW: Fiery, Tenacious, Rebel, Striving, Intrepid, Beckoning
    
  • 2ND ROW: Valiant, Visionary, Progressive, Unashamed, Restless, Exciting

BUT WAIT!! There's moorrrree!!!

• L'ORÉAL H.I.P. Bright Shadow Duo


• 1ST ROW: Roaring, Wicked, Reckless
  
• 2ND ROW: Showy, Riotous, Flamboyant
  
• 3RD ROW: Forgiving, Sassy, Flashy
  
• 4TH ROW: Flare

Don't go anywhere yet!! There's still more!! (I told you that mentality kicked in! My husband hates it cause even though it claims to save you money, it never really saves him or me any money cause then I just buy more. lol)

• L'ORÉAL H.I.P. Color Truth Cream Eyeliner Teal, Midnight Blue, Eggplant, Brown

I also got some Stýli-Style Line & Seal Eyeliners since a couple of them were 50% off.

• TOP TO BOTTOM: Jade, Forest, Green/Black, Awuamarine, Turq, Twilight, Tanzanite, Bronze, Black/Brown

Beauty From The Earth Swatches

Here are swatches of some of the Multipurpose Minerals that I have from Beauty From The Earth. I have quite a few more BFTE minerals, but I haven't had a chance to swatch them yet. As soo as I do, though, I'll put them up for you guys!

With flash.

Top Row: Midnight Blue, Purple Irises, Steel, Black.
2nd Row: Peacock, Ocean Mist, Sage, Green Apple
3rd Row: 24K Gold, Sunkissed, Coral, Amaryllis
Bottom: Dusty Rose

In Direct Sunlight.


Applied over Urban Decay Primer Potion, all in natural lighting.


I've received a lot of questions in my youtube mail and comments about what I think of BFTE products and if I think they are really worth it.

First of all, I must say this. I have never used mineral products before. When I first started using BFTE, it was the first mineral makeup that I had ever had the chance to try. That being said, let's move on to my thoughts on BFTE.

I personally really enjoy using their products. I have a jar of their foundations, quite a few multipurpose minerals, a mineral veil, and their Ultimate kabuki brush. Overall, I am really impressed with their products. On some makeup forums, I had seen some FOTD's where mineral makeup was used, and I just wasn't impressed. I'm very big on eyeshadow colors (if you couldn't tell from some of my videos), so color selection, product quality, and color payoff are very, very important factors for me when it comes to makeup. In my honest opinion, I feel that BFTE has met my standards. The color selection and payoff are what sold me on these products. The colors are bright and playful. There can be some fall-out when applying them, but using the right brush can also minimize the amount of fall-out. I find that the Loew Cornell 3/8" Maxine's Mop brush (which is comparable to the MAC 239) is great for applying these wonderful pigments and also isn't a bad brush to use for blending lightly.

As for their foundation, I think it's wonderful! It gives me the coverage I desire, but feels light at the same time! I'd more than likely opt to where this foundation when summertime comes and the humidity rises. I've actually opted to wear my BFTE foundation in my recent videos, just cause it does the trick and is much quicker to put on compared to my Clinique foundation. Their kabuki brush (which is the first kabuki brush I've owned) is super soft and feels nice against my skin as I'm buffing out my foundation.

Overall, if you're interested in mineral makeup, it could definitely be worth your while to check them out. If nothing else, you can get some really pretty colors that I don't have any MAC dupes for (i.e., Green Apple, Ocean Mist...)

R.I.P. Heath Ledger 1979-2008

My heart is truly saddened today as one of Hollywood's hottest and most talented actors was taken from this earth too soon at the age of 28. Heath Ledger has been one of my favorite actors from the first time I saw "10 Things I Hate About You" and my appreciation for his talent only increased after seeing "A Knight's Tale" and "The Patriot". Hearing of his death has definitely put a damper on my spirits today.

You will be missed Heath!


Video montage by bsbtori

Woohoo!! I've Been Tagged!

Am I one of the very few that loves getting tagged? Or am I just crazy?

Anyhoo, I was tagged by the very delicious Yummy411 and must now share with all of you the different little doodads and gadgets I carry with me in my purse.

I force myself to carry a small purse. If I carry anything any bigger, or with more compartments, then I end up carrying the kitchen sink with me. Using a smaller purse also forces me to keep it clean of trash and anything else since there's not a lot of room. So for starters, here's my purse all zipped up and ready for a trip to the grocery store...or to class, which I have the pleasure of starting soon (that's sarcasm you're sensing by the way).

Yes, I know! It's so adorable! :P :)

Now here's everything after it's been dissected and it's innards have been gutted...

Let's start the list, shall we? Cleaning cloth for my glasses, my Palm Pilot (which I typically only carry with me and use when I am in school), C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Balm Stick, my iPod, bluetooth head piece that goes to my Razr conveniently located above it, my keys to the car/truck/storage area/and somewhere else that I don't where that key goes, the remote control for the stereo in the truck (I have to keep it hidden in a place I know my husband won't go in cause if he finds it and gets control of it, or finds out that it still exists, the radio station will never stop changing in the truck!), 2 pens, a sharpee with a chewed up cap (I have no idea why the sharpee was in my purse, let alone why it was chewed up), and the keyless remote entry for the truck with my house key. I keep the last two separate from my other keys so I can lock the truck while it's warming up in the winter time, and still lock the house when I leave and get into the truck! :)

I keep my credit cards and discount cards in two handy dandy little carrier thingies that were used for birth control. When I used up the BC, I decided to keep the little pouches cause I figured they could come in handy for something, and lo and behold, they did!



Here's my sad little purse feeling all empty inside.


If you're wondering why there's no makeup in there, well, it's because it's 5 in the morning where I'm at and I haven't been to bed yet, and therefore I haven't put any makeup on which leaves me with no lipstick/gloss/liner or compact powder to put in my purse since I'm heading off to bed as soon as I publish this. Wow! Was that a run-on sentence or what?!?! My favorite English teacher would seriously be shaking his head at me right now! Night everyone...or morning, if you're just getting up!

Oh yeah! Almost forgot! I'm tagging EmsyJay, Julie, Stephie, and Tina.

Light Teal Soft Smokey Eye

A youtuber request for GothidgeAngel18







PRODUCTS USED
--FACE--
Beauty From the Earth Foundation in Dark
Beauty From the Earth Mineral Veil
MAC Mineralized Skin Finish in Nothern Light (blush)
MAC Mineralized Skin Finish in Global Glow (contouring)

--EYES--
Urban Decay Primer Potion
MAC Ricepaper Eyeshadow
MAC Teal Pigment
MAC Espresso Eyeshadow (also used it for brows)
MAC Stubborn Brown Powerpoint Eye Pencil
Diorshow Mascara in Black

--LIPS--
Stýli-Style Line & Seal Lipliner in Sand
MAC Plastique Lipstick
MAc Pretty Plush Plushglass

SONGS HEARD
"Linger" by The Cranberries
"Kiss Me" by Six Pence None The Richer
"Lovefool" by The Cardigans

Pigmentation Organization!

With a title like that, I feel like I'm on Schoolhouse Rock or something. LOL

Anyhoo, today I got a lovely little message from one of my youtube subscribers about spotlighting me in a post. Woohoo!! Cool beans! But as exciting as that was, it wasn't nearly as exciting as what I read toward the end of the post.

Do you own a lot of pigments and travel a lot? Do you wish you had a handy dandy way of keeping your loose MAC pigments with you, but without losing space from the size of the jars, and not mention the inefficiency of having all those individual jars with you??

Stress no more! Cody Jefferies has solved all your pigment problems! Check out this great site that Cody goes to to buy some storage tins for pigments! Cute? It's not bad looking...but when it comes to storage, I want efficiency, not cutesy. Efficient? Absolutely! You can store up to 20 different pigments in one little case, and still see the color of the pigment through the clear lids. Affordable? At $5.97 for the whole set-20 aluminum jars and 1 hinged storage box-how could you refuse??

Here's a picture of the pigments that Cody has put into the jars. If you read the rest of the post as well, there's some great tips for train cases and a great spotlight on EnKoreMakeup for his wonderful tips on makeup storage and organization!