Feature Friday 8/29/14

I am very excited to feature an artist for the very first time on this Feature Friday series. This installment is seriously going to be so short because this artist's work really speaks for itself. Just very little of my own words in between a ton of pictures.

Without further ado, I bring to you the amazingly talented Mykie!

@mykie_

Now, this isn't what she normally looks like. She created this masterpiece to enter a candy-themed contest on Insta. And of course she blew everyone out of the water! As soon as I saw this, I knew it was all over.

Sometimes she looks like this! Literally the best Maleficent recreation I've seen. I mean, just look at that contour!

Other times she looks like this. That's right, not only is she a face paint/recreation master, she also specializes in special effects.

And when she's not all bloody and face painted up, she's an alien. So that makes her a gorey, face painty, fantasy artist.

But wait! There's more! She's also a whiz at body paint. Is there anything this woman can't do?!

And when she's not covered in liquid latex, fake blood, and body/face paint, she's busy creating these glamorous looks. Like, can we just have a moment of silence for this amazing artist?! Also, I realize that I've shown you 6 pictures of her, but you still don't know what she looks like...

UGH THOSE FALSIES

This is Mykie. She's an amazing artist and person. If you don't like Mykie, it's because you don't know Mykie. It will literally take you 30 seconds to fall in love with this sweet, funny, and uber talented artist. If you get a chance, check out her YouTube channel, where she does tutorials for her glam looks and her gore looks.

What's your favorite look of Mykie's?

What should I feature next week? A product? A brush? Comment down below!

Dramatic Looks #2 and #3

Well, I think this week's dramatic look turned out pretty decent compared to last week's! I decided to use tones and colors that I'm a bit more comfortable with to create this look. I also really focused on adding more pigmentation to my transition color. Normally the color gets lost during blending, and I never go back to add it, but today I definitely tried to. I'm also realizing that I'm having some shadow transfer from my lid into my crease area. I've been concentrating on rubbing my lid and blending the crease extra well to avoid this, but I'm still having trouble... Can anyone recommend anything? Is it just my shadows or maybe my primer? Do I need to be more persistent in blending?

I also created this look during the week! I'm honestly really proud of this because blue is sOoOo intimidating to me. I wish I had a white primer or a teal cream shadow to use as a base though, just to give the blue that extra oomph.  I'm also starting to learn that my crease doesn't always have to be dark. Way back when my mom first taught me how to wear makeup, she always taught me that the crease should be the darkest, and for some looks that is very appropriate, but it's not the rule of life.

Anyways, I'm really pleased with these two looks. I enjoyed creating them and wearing them all day. I'm currently saving up for a Morphe Brushes palette so that I can create some more fun and colorful looks.

If you have any tips, tricks, or constructive criticism, please leave it down below! I'm very eager to learn new things here.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Top 5 Favorite Beauty Gurus

Since starting my beauty Instagram account, I have spent countless hours just pouring over my newsfeed to find new artists to follow. Many thumb cramps have I suffered by endlessly scrolling the "Explore" page. I love finding new gurus that feature unique works. And it's a plus if they have a YouTube account for me to obsess over too!

On my About Me page, I give a small shout out to some of the more famous YouTubers I adore, such as: Jaclyn Hill, shaaanxo, and LustreLux. However, this post will be focusing on some of the lesser-known artists that I've grown to love.

So here are my Top 5 Favorite Beauty Gurus (in no particular order)!

Whenever I think of dramatic eye work, I automatically think of Tia from @tialacakeface. If her cut creases don't win your heart, her colored brows and ombre lips will. She has some of the most impressive work I've ever laid eyes on. Her cut creases are always expertly blended and she features a ton of fun color combinations. She has also began dabbling in negative space cut creases, and they are so fabulous!

Another well-loved makeup artist of mine is Alyona of @mrs_mua. Her eye looks are gorgeOUS! She has a good mix of every day, more practical looks, as well as fun and funky. She also does some more artistic looks and creates some very impressive shapes and angles. I don't understand how this woman has less than 3000 followers, because she is absolutely amazing at what she does.

Katie from @psalm392_makeup is an absolute doll! She's definitely on #wcw status! I consider her to be a well-rounded artist. She features practical looks as well as dramatic, high-fashion looks (pictured here). She actually created this look to enter a contest, and she was a finalist! One of my favorite things about her is that she's not afraid to mix things up. This is one girl who definitely isn't stuck in a rut.

This next guru is a YouTuber. Tiffany Neilssien. I just enjoy her channel so, so much! She doesn't so much do tutorials on her channel. Instead she does a lot of reviews and hauls, which I really like. So many YouTubers are all about tutorials, but I much prefer a more well-rounded channel. She also really likes drugstore make up, which is great for any of us that don't have a lot of high-end products. Her videos are also just well edited. I don't find myself bored or uninterested.

Not so much of a lesser-known artists, but this last artist is perhaps one of the most creative that I have come across. Known as the Brow Chameleon, Alo from @makeupby_alo blows me out of the water every time I visit her page. This woman is a facial architect with her deep understanding of highlighting and contouring to reconstruct facial features. Not only that, but she is overflowing with creativity. Something else I also appreciate about her is her authenticity. Alo is real and blunt, and not afraid to tell everyone how it is.




If you haven't checked out any of these artists, I highly recommend doing so. Each of these ladies are amazing in their own unique ways. I enjoy visiting their pages (or channels) daily, just to see what amazing looks these artists have dreamed up. Most of these women probably don't even know I exist, but they have made in impact on me. It is my prayer that one day I can be in their shoes, and be just as kind and compassionate as they are.

Who are some of your favorite artists? Why? How do they inspire you?

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?