The Basic Smokey Eye

I don't know about y'all but I didn't learn how to apply makeup until the end of my senior year in high school - Shocker, right? Girls these days are master makeup artists by middle school! While I can now easily beat a face, I didn't initially learn out of sheer interest - Prom was swiftly approaching! I searched Google for the perfect look and decided that a smokey eye would set me apart from all the 'basic chicks' at my high school (I kid, I kid, I joke!). Any-who, I learned how to apply my foundation and how to get a simple smokey eye from a makeup artist at the MAC counter. It's been several years - thus I have PERFECTED the basic black smokey eye...and now you will too. Check out my YouTube tutorial on how to achieve a smokey eye in a matter of minutes. It's the perfect fall back look when you just don't know what to do on a night out. I promise you'll love it!

Click here for the tutorial

Product List:

Face
Foundations: Revlon ColorStay (Cappuccino), Stila Natural Finish (L), bareMinerals (Golden Dark)
Blusher: Apricot Color from an old kit
Contour: L'oreal HiP Shadow Duo Brazen (dark brown side)
Highlight: Black Radiance Concealer Stick (1008), bareMinerals Warmth
Powder: bareMinerals Tinted Mineral Veil, bareMinerals Foundation (Golden Dark)
Mist Spray: My own special concoction...I'll have a post on it soon lol!

Eyes
NYC Mod Quad (857B Go Go Green)
Shimmery Black Shadow (no name: from CVS)
Medium Brown & Shimmery Beige Shadow (from same kit as blusher)
Nicka K Liquid Eye Liner
Nicka K Mascara
Black Liner Pencil

Lips
Amuse Lip Pencil (Cocoa)
Revlon Colorburst (Soft Nude)


Check Out my Exclusive Android Photo Shoot! 

Many Kisses My Loves,

Till Next Time,

Moji

Azul Eyes Tutorial + Stila Natural Finish Review

I know you didn't think I would leave you without a tutorial as to how to achieve the look in my most recent post! Here's your chance to play makeup artist too!

Click here for my tact review on the new foundation I used in the above video. It's on sale at the Stila website now here. OR for a better deal, find your shade on eBay by clicking here.

A Quick List explaining why I'm loving it:
-Light Weight 
-Medium Coverage but Buildable
- Long-lasting 
- Provides a Natural Finish (just as the name implies) 


Kisses,
Moji


P.S.

I'm coming back with so much more...I promise this time lol!

Happy Belated New Years - Western + Chinese!

Happy New Year!

It's been to long my friends. I've been a naughty girl again :( C'est la vie...I've missed you though!

Here is some pics of a makeup look I created under the guise that I was actually a professional.

Multa Basia (Muah)!

Moji

Smokey Eyes & A Gold Lip

Hey Loves,

Here's a makeup tutorial that I recently posted. I think I'll be posting more - working on my makeup application skills and what not. Haha! Hope you enjoy!

Bisous,
Moji

There I go again...

There I go again...MIA for a bit. Thus is the state of my life at this statge in my life - growing up is busy business lol. Here's a video I recorded a while back on how I get a minimal coverage glow using inexpensive, drugstore products. Though I am all for full coverage, glam me up, "WOW, is this really me makeup" (for night time), I honestly believe that summer, winter, spring or fall, a 'minimal makeup' makeup routine is essential to showing the world a beautiful, glowing, fresh-faced you. Check out the video below:

xoxo,
Moji

Neutral Makeup - Let's Call it Practice

Hey loves

I filmed myself doing my makeup here but it was kind of a fail. I don't like the lighting, the camera angle, my hair...and much more so let's call it practice for better makeup tutorials in the future :)

Nonetheless, here it is below:

I promise, I was not this bronzed up and shiny in real time (in person) lol!

Boldly,

Moji

Bold Lips: Get the KA'OIR Look

A new trend that is making its way around is super bold lips in colors you couldn't imagine - yellows, greens, blues - and I love it! Though I probably would not choose to wear these colors on a daily basis and incorporate them into my regimen or regular collection, I appreciate the creativity and boldness of the makers of these colors and the women who are wearing them like it's nobody's business. I swear, it's like color-blocking  for your face lol!

The first line I saw featuring said colors was KA'OIR by model/stylist Keyshia Dior. You may remember her as a featured model in several Hip Hop videos and magazines. Her cosmetics line is amazing! Especially the lipsticks  - however, they sell for a pretty penny. Check out some of the colors below:

Pool Party - $18.99

Banana Milkshake - $14.99

Neon Rockstarr by Trina Rockstarr - $21.99
*Limited Edition

Glitz - $17.99

Check out the rest of the line on their website: www.kaoir.com.

Ahhhh! I love love love the pizzazz the entire line radiates. However, I do believe that the more eccentric colors are rather trendy and will not be "on the in" for too long. Now, the other colors, I may just have to invest. For those of you who like the look but aren't ready to drop the cash for these colors, I wanted to show you a way to get the look without having to dish out nearly $20. Check out my video below:

This technique can get you the look of any lip color you can imagine as long as you have the eyeshadow to match. That's another reason why it's great to pick up one those eyeshadow collections I mentioned during my Holiday Post; they're really a steal and the things you can do with that many colors are endless. With the right pigment (Sally Girl Sparkle Effects in Gold Digger), you can even get the look of Ka'oir's Glitz for $1.

I love it, the boldness of it all, just love it! Now whether I'd be bold enough to wear this out of the house is another question!

How about you?

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

'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

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