Heatherette Compact and DSK Jewelry

Back when my girl Steph from DSK Jewelry was having her blog sale. I purchased the Smooth Harmony Beauty Powder. I totally love it and it helps give me a little color when I'm wearing BB Cream. Smooth Harmony is from the Heatherette Collection and has the prettiest case you just want to carry it all around with you.



But I didn't use beauty powder everyday so instead I swapped cases with something I do use everyday and take with me on the go, Blot Powder. First I used a little tea light candle to melt the sticker off of each compact case.


Once both of the stickers are melted off, put them on the opposite case.

I'm missing one of these pictures, but all I did after that was use a small butter knife and wedge it gently inbetween the compact case and the tray of pressed powder. On the pink case you can easily see where the black meets the pink, then slowly pop it out of the compact. Once you've done both you can swap them and pop them back into place.

:)


Steph was also giving away free samples of her jewelry line with each purchase and I got these cute little studs. I love them!



Check out DSK Jewelry here!
xoxo, Jaimie

Arabic Inspired Bridal Looks

Hey everyone!
I had a photo shoot last Sunday and here are a few pictures from that.
Enjoy!

Reader Appreciation 100th Post

This is my 100th post and I just want to say thank you to all the people who read and follow my blog. It means a lot to me that you enjoy whatever thing I have to post about and take time to leave me comments. I really love and appreciate it. This post is dedicated to you!

So in honor of that, I want to do something nice for everyone who reads my blog. I'm hosting a little giveaway. All you have to do is follow or subscribe and enter your info in the contest widget. If you're already a follower then you're pretty much all set, just fill out the form. Its a random giveaway and so far they'll be two winners with various prizes. It closes in two weeks so you have ample time to fill it out.

Thanks for reading and commenting and please continue to do so!

Cullen appreciates you too!

Eki's Cosplay Contest Entry

The beautiful Eki has decided to throw a cosplay contest! So very exciting! My mother, sister, and I all have a love for anime and used to watch Sailor Moon all the time! Like I'd wake up earrrrrrrrly in the morning just to watch it, and I love my sleep. My favorite was Sailor Mars. I love how she was always annoyed by Serena because frankly I was too. She was just a little too ditsy for my liking. Anyway, I notice she always had rosy pink cheeks so I tried to incorporate the color pink into my look. I know its a little different, but I love how huge their eyes are and wanted to accentuate that. For some reason my browser is washing out the colors a little bit, but its a brighter pink. I hope you enjoy! Check out her contest here!



This is what I used:
Coastal Scents Palette
St. Germain Lippie
Tippy Blush
Blacktrack
White Eyepencil

How I De-tube and Melt My Lipsticks

Being a makeup artist, sanitation is the MOST important thing. You never want to spread germs from client to client so keeping a clean kit is very important. Regular cleaning of brushes, spraying of alcohol on your tools and pencils, and wiping down of powder products. Also, using separate lip brushes and scraping your lip products on a palette.

My lipsticks were seriously overpowering my kit as far as space goes so I decided to find a way to save space and help keep things more sanitary. I "de-tubed", as I like to say, the majority of my lipsticks. It was a hard decision because I love the little tubes and found them so portable, and I especially loved my limited edition tubes. Plus, think of all the Back 2 Mac you can do!

I have found that it is a whole lot easier to just use my palette knife and scoop out a little lipstick onto my palette and then to use a lip brush on clients.

The lipstick I am going to be de-tubing and melting today is Fleshpot. I've decided to put it in my Pink Palette next to Bubbles. I am using a jar set from Joann's. You can find it here.

So lets start!

1. Get your tools together! I usually use my palette knife, but any item that can help you scoop is acceptable.

2. I use the lighter to remove the lipstick label...

...and stick it on the bottom of the empty jar.

3. Using your cutting tool, slice your fully rolled up lipstick at the base and into the jar.

4. Using then end of your spoon or scooping tool, slide it into the lipstick tube near the edge.

5. Slowly scoop out the lipstick and put it in the jar.

Fleshpot I found was very ...stiff. Maybe it was just the tube I got, but it was a little hard to cut through, it also made this process a little messier than usual for me. When getting all the lipstick off the spatula, i got a lot on the side of the jar which isn't usually the case.

6. Get all the excess you can out of the tube.

7. Your jar of lipstick should look like this.

8. Next Place it in the microwave. I have found that warming it up in the microwave for no more than 45 seconds at a time is perfectly safe for the lipstick as far as color, texture, and preservation. It still has that vanilla scent when solid again!

9. Slowly remove your jar from the microwave and it should be fully melted. If not, reheat for 15 second intervals until fully melted. Then let it cool off on a flat surface.

Here is the lipstick 45 seconds after microwave removal.

And here is the lipstick 5 minutes after microwave removal, completely solid.

Place in your palette and you're good to go!

I only cut down half of St. Germain, Fresh Brew, and Bubbles (not shown) for my kit and saved the tube for myself since I use them often.

The ones I didn't detube at all were Pure Rose from Ungaro, Fashion Mews from HK, Hi Top from Fafi, and Strayin from HK. Cause who says you have to de-tube everything!

I hope you enjoyed reading this step by step tutorial on how to de-tube and melt your lipsticks. Don't be afraid to try some new fun things with your makeup.

xoxo,
Jaimie

Before & After!

Usually I'm so ready to just jump right into the makeup that I forget to take before and After pictures! I usually remember to to take pictures after the makeup is already done. But here is a few I've managed to remember to capture over the past few weeks. Girls, don't kill me for posting the befores, you still look gorgeous! Enjoy!

~~~~Svets~~~~
First, my girl Svetlana. It was her prom night and she wanted me to do her makeup. This is one talented photographer right here. She wanted a subtle smokey eye.

Before:


After:




~~~~Jazzy~~~~
Secondly, My cousin Jasmine! She was going to a formal and she wanted a cute look to match her dress.

Before:


After:




~~~~KeKe~~~~
Lastly, My friend Ke'Anna. She's slowly started wearing more and more makeup and was looking to try brighter colors and foundation.

Before:


After:








xoxo
Jaimie

No More High $$$ for Discontinued or LE Items with Gone But Not Forgotten!

Have you done the deed and paid crazy high dollars for a discontinued item? I'm sure we all have at some point. I myself have paid high dollars for the LE MAC 180 brush, only to be so irritated when it was returned to stores. Had I waited, I could have gotten it for less. We can only hope that hard to find or discontinued items or colors come back for limited edition collections. But more often than not, these beloved items do NOT come back. But what most of us don't know is that MAC has a program for us called Gone But Not Forgotten, where they will do a search for products no longer available in stores on on the web site.

I've said it a million times; my HG everyday blush is Blooming from the Cult of Cherry collection. It is the perfect peachy pale pink. But as a few of you know, it shattered to hundreds of itty bitty pieces before my eyes due to my cat knocking it to the bathroom floor. (Thanks a lot, Cullen).



I was so pissed because it was limited edition. I asked around trying to see if anyone knew of any dupes, but no luck. So I called my local MAC store in the hopes that they would have one hidden away in the back rooms.

The Dialoge:
The MUA: "Nope, we just shipped out all of our Cult of Cherry a few days ago."
Me: "Where to CCOs?"
The MUA: "No, to Gone but Not forgotten. It is a subdivision of Mac that can search around for discontinued or LE items".
Me: *SQUEEEEE*

I called. The customer service rep proceeded to do a search for the product and bam. I received my brand new authentic Blooming blush in a few weeks. Tada!


Many items are no longer available to the public and we scrounge around, hoping to trade with each other or shell out on ebay for products we PRAY are authentic. But with this service, there is a better way to find our favorite items and pay its original retail price.

This is taken from an email sent by Gone But Not Forgotten:

Naturally, we understand that the discontinuation of your favorite product can be frustrating, and we thank you for letting us know how you feel. You may be certain that your concern will be shared with all appropriate executives for their review during future planning. Decisions to discontinue a product are often based upon nationwide purchasing patterns or technological advances made available to us. The decision to discontinue a product, however, is never a capricious one and the matter is always given significant thought and consideration. It is certainly not our intention to disappoint you.

We are pleased to inform you that we offer a complimentary service to our consumers called the "Gone but Not Forgotten" program. This program offers consumers the opportunity to equest a search for and potentially purchase a product that has been discontinued within the last 24 months.

We would be pleased to initiate a search for your product. At the completion of a search (approximately four to six weeks), you may have the opportunity to purchase up to six pieces, depending upon availability.

Cult Favorites such as Shimpagne, So Ceylon, and Petticoat MSFs, Lollipop Loving and St. Germain Lipsticks (which are no longer available at my stores or online) and Mutiny Pigment are just a few hard to find or LE items that you should check out with the Gone But Not Forgotten Program. I hope this helps some of you ladies out! No more paying over 50% more for hard to find items!

Call 1-800-216-7173
(and tell em Jaimie sent ya! nah jk lol)

(Me with my Blooming Blush!)
xoxo Jaimie