Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Get Your Sparkle On: New Year's Eve Nails

I don't think I mentioned this before but I have had a hidden love affair with sequins, glitter, and everything sparkle for about a year now. It provides the perfect way to make your look super Bold in both loud and subtle ways. One way is through nail art. I am not a professional when it comes to nails (or anything else that I mention or spotlight on this blog) but I do appreciate a beautiful set of well manicured hands. This New Year's Eve, I want to manifest my love for sparkle via my nails. Here are a few photos I found for inspiration:

http://www.makeuptalk.com/beautyblog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/ghfgfghf.jpg



http://collegelifestyles.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/deborahLippmannBoomBoomPowGoldGlitterNailPolish.jpg


But of course, I am not the best at painting my nails and pictures alone do not work well for me, so I found two simple but super super cute tutorials for New Year's Eve inspired nail looks:


"Black Ice" New Years Eve Tutorial by MissJenFABULOUS




Nail Tutorial: Icicle Disco by ayeeDreamer 



I'm not sure which one I will end up going with, but I'll be sure to post pics of my nails and a description of what I did.

Boldly,
Moji


p.s., I didn't forget about my update on the Jordana Nails Be Strong Strengthener...it's coming soon :)



Tuesday, December 27, 2011

My Christmas Face

Hey Yall!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and joyous Holiday with their loved ones. I'm a few days late with this but below are pictures of my Christmas-day face. As promised, I used mostly colors from my CVS blockbuster set to complete this Holiday look. Again, the colors are super bright and pigmented! I tried to make the look super "Christmasy" using greens and red. If you can, try to get your hands on the CVS palette before it's gone for good.






Eyes: Lid - Greenish Yellow (CVS palette)
        Outer Lid - Greyish Green (CVS palette)
        Outer V - Lightly Smoked out with a Matte Black (CVS palette)
        Crease - Medium Brown Shadow w/ Shimmer (Sephora Blockbuster Kit)
        Tear ducts/Waterline/lower lash line - red liner pencil over white liner pencil 

Face: Contoured with a Dark Brown Shadow, Highlighted with a Silvery-Pink blush

Lips: NYC Fragile Pink


Feel free to re-create this look for a night out using similar colors from your collection! Colored shadow is not just for holiday purposes. Bold looks can be worn everyday of the week! I promise you'll stand out.



Bold Kisses and Seasons Greetings,
~Moji



Wednesday, December 21, 2011

'Tis The Season

Hey Guys!

So as we all know, it is Christmas/New Year season! I love this time of the year, not because I love giving out gifts or even receiving them (which are both cool), but because I get to capitalize on those great discounts, deals, and offers available. In particular, cosmetic sets are sold at this time of the year at great rates that otherwise are non-existent. For example:



 1. CVS Color Theory Ultimate Beauty Blockbuster
My mother went to CVS and picked up this makeup collection called Color Theory Ultimate Beauty Blockbuster. At first I thought it was a haux because it was the CVS brand makeup and usually their makeup is not highly pigmented and is barely visible on my skin. BUT ladies, this stuff is so pigmented, so bright, so beautiful, I kid you not! It comes with:
-50 Eyeshadows
-2 Blushes
-2 Eye pencils
-2 Lip pencils              
-6 Lip glosses
-4 Lipsticks
-2 Nail polishes
Get this, all of this for the price of $9.99. My mother actually got it half off with her purchase! I raved about it so much that she went back to get one for me and one for my sister. Expect lots of makeup looks from this collection.

2. Sephora Collection Ultimate Blockbuster



Makeup Studio Blockbuster ($440 Value)

Similar to the CVS version mentioned above, the annual Sephora Blockbuster Collection contains A LOT of product for the low-low. This year's collection valued at $440 is currently on sale for $50 at your local Sephora store - I believe it now out of stock or no longer available online. The set includes:

- 96 eye shadow shades 
- 84 shiny lip glosses 
- 6 cream eyeliners 
- 2 eyeliner pencils 
- 3 blushes 
- 1 bronzer 
- 1 mascara 
- 4 applicators

Trust me when I say that it is well worth it. The products in the set are actual Sephora products, of course in smaller sizes to fit the palette, but nonetheless available in bulk to use at your leisure. If you are contemplating getting this, I would say do it now! I waited to long last year and could no longer get it online or in store. I wanted it so badly that I had to order the 2009 version on ebay because I refused to wait another year for the 2011 version. Here is a picture of the 2009 Blockbuster Collection:

It contains: 84 x 0.04 oz eyeshadows- 3 x 0.19 oz blushes - 60 x 0.03 oz lip glosses- 2 x 0.03 oz lip liners- 3 x 0.03 oz eyeliners- 6 x 0.02 oz cream eyeliners- 6 x 0.02 oz matte eyeshadows- 6 x 0.03 oz sparkling eyeshadows- Double-ended eyeshadow applicator/ eyeliner brush- Double-ended sponge-tipped applicator- Lip brush- Powder brush- An 18 page how-to booklet with 7 step-by-step looks

I love, love, love mine! And honestly, it'll stop you from trying to buy any other shadows especially for quite some time.

3. Brush Collections

When I started getting more serious about my obsession with cosmetics, I knew that I needed at least the staple set of brushes necessary to apply my makeup. At this time of the year Ulta sells great quality brush collections for a great value! It is so much more simple to buy them now then to wait for another time of the year and buy them individually. I bought a set very similar to this one online last year from Ulta.


I believe mine was also by the brand "Studio Basics" (click there for the link to the set!). The brushes still hold up and though they do shed, it's not much. Note, I wash and condition my brushes and rotate between these and other brushes that I own. The above set retails for just $16.29. It includes: Powder Brush, Lip Brush, Blush Brush, Eye Shading Brush, Eyeliner, Brow Brush, Eye Blending Brush, Lash & Brow Groomer, Sponge Tip Applicator, mirror, organizer and durable carrying case.

The only thing missing from the set is a brush for liquid foundation application. However, there are other sets on the Ulta website that include specialty (beyond the basics) brushes not included in the above set - such as classic foundation brushes or stippling brushes. One such set featured below retails for just $12.99 and comes with a stippling brush: Eco Tools 4 pc. Backstage Vanity Set (click there for the link)



I hope this helped out those of you who are interested in starting a makeup collection but are also trying to be conscious of your pockets. Makeup is definitely not a cheap game but with deals like these, you can save yourself a lot of time, worry, and most importantly, money.

Bold Kisses,
Moji