Kim Kardashian's Makeup Artist

So I was doing my usual browsing of youtube makeup videos and came across a video of Mario Dedivanovic. He is Kim Kardashian's makeup artist, and say what you will about Kim K. (because many people have strong opinions about her), but her makeup is always on point!

Here is a three part video series of Mario recreating a more subtle look inspired by a photo shoot he and Kim did in Vegas.








Here is Mario's online portfolio. His work is so amazing!! I'd love to have a one on one session with him and learn a few things!

http://www.mariodedivanovic.com/

Discount Makeup

Lets talk discounts. I love high end makeup, but I don't always want to pay full price for it. Many will buy from Ebay, but it's a toss up on whether or not you will get scammed into buying counterfeit products. Many do.

A great alternative is to shop at a CCO.

What is a CCO?

CCO stands for Cosmetics Company Outlet.

What products do they carry?

CCO's sell Estee Lauder owned companies cosmetics, usually for 30% off the retail price. This includes discontinued items as well as some current ones. They do not have sales and they also impose a limit of 3 of the same product. Some of the brands include:

MAC
Stila
Estee Lauder
Clinique
Bobbi Brown
Origins



Where can I find a CCO near me?

You can go to www.outletbound.com to look for the closest outlet near you. In the "locate-a-store" field, put the name Cosmetics Company or Estee Lauder, and you will get a listing of all the CCO's. Some CCO's are inside outlet stores such as Saks off 5th, Neiman Marcus Last Call, and Nordstrom Rack/ Last Chance. Others are free standing CCO's.

Another listing to check is

http://www.angelfire.com/zine2/haloinrverse/cosmeticcompanyoutletstores.html

If you can't get to a CCO, then here's a great site called All Cosmetics Wholesale and it is owned by a woman who sells CCO items. They are all authentic at great prices and she has great feedback.

http://www.allcosmeticswholesale.com/index.html

Happy shopping!

Serious Skincare

Working in the Salon and Spa industry my entire adult life has given me the privilege of having some of the best treatments and services. This goes hand in hand with products, and as we all know, I'm a product junkie.

Some of my old favorite skin care brands are Decleor, Rejuvi, and Dermologica. These are quite expensive, so when I'm on a budget I like Biore and Biotherm.

Today I want to talk about Paula's Choice, and Makeup Artists Choice.

Makeup Artists Choice is a website that sells professional strength skincare products, specifically glycolic and lactic acid peels. They also sell treatments for aging skin, acne scars, and sun protection.
The best thing about the site is that they frequently have sales for 20% off of your purchase, and most of their products can be purchased in generous sample sizes, so you can stock up and goodies to try out before you make a huge purchase.

Please note that you should be cautious when using at-home chemical peels. Makeup Artists Choice posts step by step instructions on how to use their products, along with warnings and precautions. Please follow all instructions carefully.


http://www.makeupartistschoice.com/

Paula's Choice is a site that I stumbled upon while looking for skin care samples. With this brand you can sign up to become a rep, like Mary Kay or Arbonne. They offer reasonably priced skin care products, and also sell samples for just a few dollars.

I ordered the Skin Recovery 7 pc sample pack. It included a cleanser, toner, serum, AHA treatment, day moisturizer, night moisturizer, and a lightening cream.

I had no problems with these products at all.
The cleanser was milky and not drying and the serum made my skin look radiant. I preferred the night moisturizer over the daily one because the daily one has SPF and it made me look chalky. Overall I would purchase from Paula's Choice again.


https://www.paulaschoice.com/


What are your favorite skin care brands? What brands are you interested in trying?

Brush Focus

True makeup lovers are always on the lookout for good makeup brushes. Usually you'll hear how good MAC, Smashbox, and Bare Mineral brushes are, but they aren't cheap.

Here I will feature inexpensive makeup brushes that are of really good quality.

Sigma brushes are very close in look and quality to MAC brushes. You can get a whole set for less than $50, whereas some of the more expensive brushes cost as much for one.

http://www.sigmamakeup.com/



Sonia Kashuk brushes are sold at Target, and are very afforable at professional quality. They range from $9.99 - $21.99 for one brush or a set.

http://www.target.com/b/ref=in_br_browse-box/175-1268609-8406611?ie=UTF8&node=13418071

Coastal Scents has been my go to site for all sorts of inexpensive beauty goods. They have a large assortment of professional brushes for probably the best prices I've ever seen.

http://www.coastalscents.com/cfwebstore/index.cfm/category/37/cosmetic-brushes.cfm

And lastly, now that I have peaked your interest in brushes....here's an informative video on how to build your brush collection. Enjoy!

Lime Crime Makeup

One of my favorite youtube Gurus did a tutorial using makeup by a company named Lime Crime. The company's slogan is "So bright, it's illegal!"


Here are a couple of makeup artists using Lime Crime products. Shout out to Lauren and Jen!! Subscribe to their youtube channel!







http://www.limecrimemakeup.com/

Beauty Boards

My favorite beauty board is Specktra.net. It's a comprehensive makeup board whose main focus is MAC products, but it has other forums that spotlight other brands from NARS, Smashox, to drugstore brands.
Some of the MAC forums include discussions about the products, raves and reviews, and product swatches. I love to see product swatches, which are basically photos of the products tested out on someone's skin. It gives you an idea of what it looks like which will help you decide if you'll buy it.

There are also forums that show member FOTD's (Face of the Day), which are photos of people's made up faces. It's inspiring to see what looks people come up with and the colors they choose. There is a Swap & Shop forum where you can buy or sell your used or unused cosmetics. Quite a good hustle if you ask me. Especially if you have some stuff sitting around that you haven't or hardly used.

So stop by and check out Specktra. I think you'll like it. ;)

http://http://www.specktra.net/forum/

MAC Naked Honey

MAC's latest collection is called Naked Honey.

I stopped by the Pro store over the weekend to check it out, and only saw a couple of things that I liked. I ended up buying Buzz lipglass. It's look like a shimmery honey brown, but actually goes on like a sheer coral. I'm not even into brown like that, but this was really pretty when I tried it on.



FYI I'm NC45 in Mac foundation, #173 in MUFE, and Caramel in Revlon Colorstay.

Besides the lipglass, I also liked one of the three eye shadows called Pollinator. It's a light peachy/coral. Sort of like Paradisco.


Here's the entire collection...



There are a lot of warm colors in this collection, and I think there's something for everyone. So check it out!