Sunday, May 29, 2011

itsmilana's makeup

Hey ladies and gents, so as some of you may or may not know I do the makeup for photo shoots for a friend who is an aspiring fashion designer!
*check out her merchandise & designs at:
http://www.creative-fashionista.com
http://www.facebook.com/creativefashionista
http://www.twitter.com/CreatvFashnista
http://www.creativefashionista.etsy.com

Anyways, I thought I'd start posting some of my daily makeup designs plus some from the photo shoots I've done. Now these photos aren't the specific head shots (those are coming soon) but they give the general idea of some of my work as well.

Hope you like!

Creative Fashionista photo shoot for Miss California & Miss Teen California

"Fantasy Look"


"Golden"


"Pin-Up"










(sorry for the quality for the end pictures, I just figured out how to use my camera to its best ability thanks to the wonderful professional photographer Casey Withers: facebook.com/cwithersmedia)

Monday, May 9, 2011

Some Hits, Some Misses

Hey ladies & gents sorry I've been so M.I.A lately, 99 problems what can I say. So I recently did a Walgreens Haul & here are my reviews! Enjoy! (Oh & Happy Mama's Day to all of yours!)

Maybelline New York Lasting Drama Eyestudio Gel Eyeliner - #950 Blackest Black - REG $9.99 SALE $7.49

As you all already know, 99.9% of the things I buy are from a master list of items I have that I constantly add to according to recommendations from various makeup gurus I follow, online & magazine articles, etc. Unfortunately I don't keep track of exactly WHERE each recommended item comes from, because, well, because evidently I have a life, but IF I did, I would strongly rebuttal their recommendation for this product. It was my first gel liner & almost my last. The brush that comes with it, fugheetabouttitt! & using it as a primary waterline liner as most gel liners are primarily used for, double fugheetabouttitt! It easily comes off your waterline & the gel itself dries up in its original glass container as well. DO NOT RECOMMEND!

L'Oreal HiP High Intensity Pigments Color Truth Cream Eyeliner - Black - $12.99
Now, THIS gel liner is consistently used by one of my favorite makeup bloggers as her waterline go-to so I absolutely had to try it. Of course I held my breath due to my previous devastating gel liner experience (read above), but this one definitely impressed! Again use your own brush, even if you're just a beginner the brush it comes with is a bit too stiff and tends to hurt and not glide on too well. It stays on your waterline significantly longer than Maybelline's. Keep in mind though, you still need to re-touch the liner because it does throughout the day come off. So far, as my second gel liner experience I recommend this one over the previous one; however as far as my constant search to find a liner that will be long-lasting on my waterline this product receives a B+ in my book. Good for beginners to start out with too!

Maybelline Fit Me Foundation - $8.49
Oh my life, this foundation has been everywhereeeee! Every blog I follow, every article I read, EVERYWHERE! So of course, I added it to my list to try. I'm not a big fan of liquid foundations at all, I don't like feeling like my skin and pores are clogged up & so personally I prefer & use Bare Escentuals myself; but using it everyday could definitely get expensive. & so that is why I decided to try & find a drug store foundation that would be cheaper & that I could use on an every-other day basis. Fit Me? Indeed it did. Whether you want to use a stippling brush or a basic triangle makeup sponge it is very easy to blend! I wouldn't recommend it for very oily skin & it doesn't give extremely full coverage (I'm sure if you use more than I did it might) but it's just enough. I definitely recommend for beginners & anyone who wants a cheap, basic liquid foundation.

Maybelline Fit Me Pressed Powder - $8.49
This is the powder that goes with the liquid foundation, very basic & matches perfectly to set your foundation. Definitely get the powder if your going to get the liquid foundation :)

Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush - $7.99
Oy another thing I kept hearing about! Well, my first mousse blush; and I gotta say, I'm not jumping for joy over it. It's extremely easy to use, again you can use a brush or just your finger. Just pat it on and gently blend it in. Eh, its ok. I prefer powder; unless another product could prove me otherwise. Recommend for beginners.

Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Nourishing Moisturizer - $12.99
So, I use Dermalogica for my skin routine & that's only because my father carries it in his salon & so I get it for free. However, it is expensive, and again I'm always looking for cheaper dupes. For now, I still have my Dermalogica exfoliator, cleanser & toner, the only thing I was missing was my moisturizer. I chose Aveeno out of my list a bit randomly & a bit out of strategy based upon its SPF 30! I always always always, everyday use sunscreen on my face to keep that skin wrinkle free & anti-aging! This bottle is great because one pump gives you the perfect amount for the day, and its not too thick so its fairly easy to blend so I definitely recommend!

Sinful Colors Nail Polish - Sale $.99
I gotta say, I was a bit regretful when I went to check-out at Walgreens as I realized they wereN'T CVS and I wouldN'T be getting my beauty club perks; until I came to my senses: A dollar for nail polishes? MAJOR SCORE! I got a bout 5 of them, why only 5? I have no idea I wish I would've gotten more! I think I was trying to make sure the quality was actually legit and this wasn't a total scam, haha. Well I put on one of them a little over a week ago and it has yet to chip! This made my momentary Walgreens over CVS slip up all worth while. Ladies go stock up!

BH Cosmetics 120 Color Palette - 1st Edition - Reg $29.95 Sale $22.46
Let's keep this short and sweet; I reviewed & did research on a million palettes sold on ebay, amazon, etc. Long story short, best affordable palette out there is this one. Buy it directly from the website, not only it will be safer but you will get it within a day. Truthfully I've only used a few colors from the palette so far, and so far, I'd give it an A-. You need to, well I need to keep in mind that it IS NOT MAC and so the colors are not as pigmented as you might wish. But all in all, the colors are great and make you want to eat them up! No? Maybe it's just me. Perfect for beginners & intermediates!


REVIEW COMING SOON FOR:

Jergens Natural Glow Revitalizing Daily Moisturizer - Fair to Medium Skin Tones - $7.99


**Byyyy the way, if you have heard or have been dying to try a specific drugstore/cheap makeup product for a while but are too scared to, feel free to let me know! I'll add it to my list & end up purchasing it sooner or later. Keep in mind, I don't go in order when it comes to my list its really more of an indulgence, random-based type of a selection so you never know I may buy your product on my next haul! At the very least I could do some research on the product your curious about to give you some hints :)

keep it busy ladies,
itsmilana