Happy Earthday

hi everyone!

hope you all had a nice weekend!I have been in North Carolina since last Friday..and sick since last Wednesday. Gross. Everyone said I have allergies,but I dunno. My body was just tired, my throat was achy and congested, my eyes watered..which turned into...pink eyes, losing my voice, sneezing, funky mucus (sorry) and a wicked cough..GROSS..

you are probably wondering why I went to North Carolina feeling like this..I am Native American and my tribe is the Haliwa Saponi tribe. This past weekend was our tribes pow-wow. We are the 3rd largest tribe in the state of North Carolina..we obtained our State Recognition in April of 1965(thus we always have our pow wows the 3rd weekend of April). Currently, we are not Federally recognized(we must be able to trace back our ancestry to the 1500's..which isnt fair..I've never heard of anyone else having to do that to prove they are who they are). Anyhoo, the powwow is all weekend long with dancing,song,crafts,etc. It is held where my mother went to an All Native American School (which is still standing and has reopened) prior to integration in the 60s. BTW, the school is now open to all races and religions:) So, it was important for me to see my family, reconnect with my culture (its strange..I feel.. Americanized..I dont speak a lick of our langugage, I can do a bit of jingle dress dancing, but I am terrible at beading and basketweaving..Im just a bit out of touch due to not being raised around my culture)..

In addition to pow-wowing...Happy Earth Day! I'm hoping you savy beauties are Earth Conscious everyday as I try to be..our earth is in such a scary state! I know that after I left college I wasnt nearly as Earth Friendly as I had been in the past. I believe last Aprils Earth issue of Vogue really was a wake up call for me. There was an article on how long it takes a plastic bag to break down and its really..astonishing!! From that point forward, I began taking my own canvas bags to the store (heehee..I just picked up a Anya Hindmarc (I'm Not a Plastic Bag) canvas tote in Chinatown, its adorable), some stores give you a few cents back for using your own bags, which is an added perk!) I also recycle just about everything that I can!!When I finish up magazines, I leave them in our laundromat for others to read or take them to Art teachers at local schools to use for projects. I take the bus to work everyday(its $11 a week versus $10 a day!! and I get to catch up on my reading)..I've also started using those corkscrew bulbs that are energy efficient. While I was at WalMart in NC, I noticed that in their frozen food aisle that the lights in the freezers turned on as I walked toward them..a way of saving energy!I was HIGHLY impressed. They even had CDs with minimal packaging/plastic (I picked up a Best of Sheryl Crow cd that was in a sturdy paper envelope..there was a paper for 3 free mp3 downloads inside of the envelope and the piece of paper actually contained seeds that could be planted..how neat?!?)...

ok,my bunny slippers and I are back to bed! Hope you are having a fab Tuesday!!

Sephora in the hizzy!!

Sephora has their new book in store titled: Sephora: The Ultimate Guide to Makeup, Skin and Hair from the Beauty Authority....Wow, I thought the book was horrible..it felt like a glorified catalog..the tips and tricks were ok..my favorite part were interviews with the cosmetics creators and insider views of makeup artist and hair stylist kits...the BEST part of the book for a newby definitely had to be the vast section on brushes. This section featured all of the different brushes in addition to how/why they are used. Something like that certainly would have been handy when I was just learning the in's and outs of makeup..I dont know what I was expecting from the book, but certainly more than a catalog blown up

In addition, I picked up Clinique Acne Solutions Clarifying Lotion. I dont care what people say but I find that Clinique has worked wonders on my acne prone skin. While in makeup artistry school,we tested different cleansers to find out which are best for your face with a PH/acidity test..clinique was definitely the worst,but surprise surprise its amazing for me!

oh Vera Wang, how I love thee. I am sucha huge fan of Vera Wang Princess. I receive so many compliments when I wear it. Naturally, I had to pick up Vera Wang Flower Princess, which is supposed to be limited edition to Sephora. It has green ivy, tangerine and waterlily amongst other notes. It smells delightful..slightly sweeter than regular Princess, I dunno if it can ever replace Princess,but I will give it a try.

I have a Sephora insider card and had enough points for a free gift...I was able to choose between Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Light and a mini Benetint by Benefit (a random fact I learned from the terrible Sephora book:benetint was initially created as a nipple color for a stripper in San Francisco..who knew!??!?) I chose the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Light..it is oil free and supposed to be great for those who have oily skin. It looks like a lotion in appearance..I havent tried it on my face yet, but it does have a milky feel.

Heres a random fun memo- a DC Sephora/regional makeup artist will be doing makeup on the MTV show "Made" airing on May 3. I will definitely be watching, this guy has helped me out a time or 2 while shopping in Georgetown.

**I had my eyes open for the Too Faced Decade of Glamour pallette and they were either out of it or have not yet received their shipment..how cute is that palllette?!?!? Too Faced is a definite fave outside of MAC

let me know of questions:):)

MAC staples replenished!

Ok..so I realized I hate lengthy post and am placing my reviews in 2 different post)

MAC #30 lashes..the individuals..I absolutely am the WORST with individual lashes!!They turn inwards, do not stay put,etc.. however, I love these! I placed them on my outer lashes and the flutter was just perfect..I'm still not a pro but it definitely helps me to use my fingers (as though I am making the "ok" signal to pick them up with my thumb and index finger and then wedge them into the lash line

Duo adhesive..I lost my adhesive somewhere in my pounds of makeup..love this for my lashes and I have heard that it is great for adhering glitter reflects to the skin..DO NOT GET THIS IN YOUR EYES...I was rushing to work one day trying to put on my strip lashes..used too much glue..and it got in my eyes, it burns WORSE than the strongest soap..wow..

#227 brush..this brush is so soft!!It is my new favorite for my browbone(normally I use the 275 brush on my browbone highlight and then blend it out with a #224) however I find that the 227 gives a softer more blended finish, especially with my most favorite highlight shadow MAC Vanilla (it looks a bit harsh on the brow bone when it is not blended down well..the #227 has already become a time saver!! who wants to spend all day blending?!?!?)

brush cleanser..a necessity if you want to prevent pizza face (MAC is it asking too much to make a LARGER bottle of this?!?I go thru 2 bottles in about a week in a half!!)

MAC browpencil in Lingering..the last time I needed Lingering, the makeup artist at MAC talked me into buying the brow duo with browning and porcelaine..while I like them alot, I find that my primers and moisturizer end up on my brows,thus creating a wet #266 which I sometimes redip in the brow color and thus created a hard spot where bacteria has hit the color..I had to make a mental note to wipe my brush on a tissue before redipping to get residue off)..Lingering creates the perfect arched, defined brow..it looks sexy and sharp..woo..glad to have it back!!

Heatherette duo eyepencil in black funk/pop blue..this is the darkest black shadow I have EVER used..normally,when I use smolder(which was replaced by blacktrack fluidline) over a pink shadow like Swish, the liner would turn blue/purple which is complimentary to the Swish,but it is not the color I want..black funk is perfect!!!

Prep and Prime Skin..my makeup is not complete without this..it has mulberry root in it which diminishes redness in the skin (I have a TON of red in my skin and this is just heaven to tone it down).It also helps smooth my acne prone skin and diminish my pores..In case you are wondering, I have tried Smashbox photofinish primer and while I loved its silky feel, my face was slick and oily..I wasnt able to run out of the house with just the primer and my moisturizer..icky face...but stay tuned, at Sephora I was give a deluxe sample of the newest Sephora primer which was made for oily skin types

Ample Pink plushglass..I love plushglasses..wish the tingle lasted longer..this color is perfect over peachstock lipstick in addition to twig and 40s Pink..this reminds me of an old MAC lipglass I use to love that has since been discontinued, what was it called??!?gah..not Prr..not Desire..ugh..its slipping me..

I also picked up Eversun beauty powder blush...ooooooooooooOOOOooooo, this is perfect for a mock sunkissed glow, nice texture, would I buy again?No, it reminds me a bit of Coppertone blush without the shimmer

Fix Plus...another must have in my life...I use it as a moisturizer, to set my makeup and to mix for a wet shimmery shadow look.

New York, Sephora, MAC

hi!!
I was in New York City last week and returned on Sunday..everytime I leave, I am extremely sad. I think it is in the stars for me to live there!! The trip didnt start off so well, my friends purse was stolen on the metro while in route to the bus!! But everything was fabulous and wonderful there after..it rained cats and dogs but I smiled and danced every day that I was there..some favorite stops on my trip: The Joshua Tree (a bar and club the plays 80's music in addition to 80's videos); The Diner ( a diner open until 6am..great food, they serve liquor and a fab DJ; Antartica Bar for atmosphere; Hogs N Heffers for a Coyote Ugly experience (bras hanging from pipes, trashy mouthed girls, fire blowers, and dancing thru fire);a stop at Barracuda to find out the dragqueen show we were so excited for wasn't going to happen (needless to say, we walked out with a handful of NYC condoms and no phone numbers) and a stop at Pinkberry for frozen yogurt with fruity pebbles and blueberries (the BEST thing on this planet!!!).

I think I love New York because as a young girl, and I mean the age of 9, I was reading Seventeen magazine and noting all these fab outfits/stores/designers that were only located in the Big Apple...I was a big dreamer and a fashion junkie even then:)

I didnt make it to the MAC Pro Store..they close at 6pm on a Saturday and aren't even open on Sunday...I was and still am so bummed, but I made my way to a MAC store and have a few reviews in addition to some Sephora reviews:)

Hey...

So..you randomly landed on my blog and you think you know where my blogtitle came from, but to quote the fabulously entertaining MTV, "you think you know, but you have no idea."

I can easily say that I was born with a tube lipstick in my hands and glitter running thru my veins on March 2,1981. For awhile, I could never figure out where my beauty obsession started. My mother is and always has been a woman of natural beauty, sometimes upping her game with red lipstick, blusher and eyeliner...and thats about it...

It stems from my grandmother..a Blanche Devareaux of sorts (and if you dont know who Blanche Devareaux is, shame on you)..a foxy lady..she still puts her hair in rollers every night and ties her hair up with a scarf. She puts on her rouge, blusher, shadow, mascara and lipstick everyday. Her nails are always painted and her eyebrows always arched..dressed to the nines, always accentuating her tiny waist with a chic belt...

and then there is my older sister, in her teens, she went to modelling school..she learned how to do makeup and how to pose..which explains why her photos are always top notch. I was always taking her foundation (wrong color..just wrong!!!) and Revlon colorstay lipstick to work it out.Ugh, dont even get me started on how my blush looked as a teen...wow...

In addition to my beauty mavens, quite alot of my family works for Revlon in North Carolina. My uncle actually mixes the lipsticks in the huge vats..how cool is that?!?He always had something for me to try:)

So..I toodle off to college. I had known since the age of 10 that I wanted to go away to college. What I didnt know/realize just how much I loved makeup and how happy it made women feel. I did makeup on friends and they thought I had a knack for it. I continued to try any and everything and realized that in addition to wanting to have my degree that I wanted my makeup artist license!

I did things a bit backwards..I applied with M.A.C cosmetics..my dream line and they hired me!!I could not believe it and spent many months working for them feeling self conscious and grateful. I tell you, a cosmetics counter is the best place to learn and grow..you are almost paid to practice!!

2 years after leaving M.A.C I went to school for make-up artistry, I wanted to be taken seriously and have state accredidation:) I went, I learned, I applied and I am licensed...thus my journey began...

welcome to my blog...I hope to teach those of you dropping in something and learn alot more along the way:)