Exploring the Discomfort Zone

Every professional has their comfort zone, right? At my law firm job, my comfort zone is LLCs. At my husband's job, his comfort zone is Kindergarten. Remaining in the comfort zone is easy and relaxing. However, stepping out of the comfort zone can sometimes be a very good thing and yield some incredible results. Same thing goes for make up enthusiasts/artists. My comfort zone are my every day looks. I've gotten pretty good at creating wearable, safe every day looks. I really enjoy creating these looks because they're more practical. But I just find myself sOoOoOo enamored by some of the more glamorous looks on my Instagram feed.

@chiknita81

@caprisssmakeup

@malenefrank93

 So this past weekend, after baby sitting a 5-month old for 8 hours, I decided to dive into my make up and create a more dramatic look for myself than I normally would. I decided on the black smokey eye with a warm crease. Easy (in theory), but definitely different than what I'm used to doing.

Someone get me a pair of falsies!

This is the end result, and I feel so silly posting this under all those great artists, but you know what? They didn't start out like that! They started where I am: as a girl who loves make up. With practice, determination, and dedication, they worked and blended their butts off until they became the amazing artists we all fawn over on IG. And with the same work ethic, I can do it too. We all can!

From this day forward, I will create at least one dramatic/glamorous/fun n' funky look per week. I will find inspiration from all sources, allow creativity to well up inside of me, and transfer that creativity from my hands and to my eye lids. I will then blog about my eye look and reflect on it. Is it what I envisioned? Do I like how it turned out? What would I change? Did I have the appropriate tools/colors I wanted? And please feel free to offer any sort of constructive criticism!

Are there any areas in your makeup life that you would like to step out of?

Matches Made in Makeup Heaven

As every good woman knows, no face of make up can be complete with just one product. On the contrary, it takes a multitude of different products and tools to achieve a certain look. By experimenting with different looks and products, we sometimes stumble upon make up gold! These are the product-product and product-tool combinations that we can't live without. These couplings complete our most flawless looks and enhance our features to the max. Here are my top 4 favorite make up duos. 

 This first one technically isn't a make up product and it's a trio, but everyone knows that good make up begins with good skin, which I don't have. It is very oily and prone to break outs. I've had acne since 6th grade, and it hasn't been an easy road to get to where I am now. However, this system is working fabulously for me! A unique quality of this system is that the cleanser doesn't have any active ingredients to fight acne. It is simply a cleanser, which means the system isn't too harsh. The cleanser does a great job of cleaning my skin, the toner is perfect, and the moisturizer is gentle, but still works to fight break outs. After using this system, my skin feels amazing, soft, and clean. 

This next duo is one I have faithfully used for the entirety of 2014. Last Christmas my mother got me a Real Techniques Stipple Brush, and I have used it with my Revlon Colorstay foundation ever since then. The finish that this product and tool give me is perfect! This is literally my flawless finish. The consistency of this particular foundation is perfect for use with a stipple brush because of the application it gives and because the brush doesn't seem to hold onto too much product. 

Can I get a hallelujah for this next pair?! The Rimmel Stay Matte powder and ELF HD Finishing powder are my two life savers. Like I said, I have very oily skin. Honestly, I sometimes gross myself out, but these two products together work mattifying miracles all day long. Separately, I would rank each product as a little more than average, but together they are my holy grail setting powders. The ELF HD powder gets a special mention here, because it dries my foundation to a skin-like finish. 

This combo is a new love, I must admit, but I have simply fallen head over heels for it. This brush is the densely-packed angled kabuki brush from the Sonia Kashuk special edition set (as if you couldn't tell). I knew it was meant to be used with my foundation, but I am a creature of habit and couldn't bear to separate my Colorstay and my RT stipple brush. So instead I paired this amazing brush with my Maybelline Age Rewind concealer. This concealer is known for blending flawlessly, but this brush just seems to do it better. What could possibly be better than flawless?! I don't know, but this brush does it. The shape of this brush is perfect for blending around the nose and under the eyes, and because this brush isn't fluffy, I'm not concerned about poking my eyes out. 

What are you holy grail combos?