I'm taking a break from Mani Monday this week. If you're really heartbroken about it let me know in the comments below and I can whip up something for you because I'm cool like that.
Tag, you're it!
I love to see what's in other people's ZPalettes so I thought I would share What's In My ZPalette today. The names of all the shadows are listed below, with the exception of 4 Clinique shades. These came from my Mom, who also has a ZPalette. We sometimes trade eye shadow pans (after sterilizing them, of course), almost like trading cards. Its a neat way to change up your collection without having to spend money!
Peachy Colors
1. Clinique - Almost Peach 2. MAC - Paradisco 3. MAC - Expensive Pink 4. Coastal Scents - Amore (discontinued)
Neutrals
5. MAC - Shroom 6. MAC - Brule 7. Bare Minerals - Queen Linda 8. NYX - True Taupe 9. MAC - Sweet Liason Duo (1) 10. unknown Clinique 11. MAC - Sweet Liason Duo (2) 12. unknown Clinique 13. Physician's Formula Baked Collection - Baked Sweets (1) 14. MAC - Creme Royale 15. MAC - Amber Lights 16. Unknown Clinique 17. MAC - Black Tied
Gray, Pinks, Blues
18. Origins - Glistening Granite 19. MAC - Vapour 20. Physician's Formula Baked Collection - Baked Sweets (2) 21. unknown Clinique 22. Hard Candy - lighter half of Rendezvous 23. MAC - Trax 24. MAC - Sketch 25. Origins - Blue Moon 26. MAC - Deep Truth
Greens
27. unknown Clinique 28. Bare Minerals - Purrfect 29. Coastal Scents - Majestic Green mica 30. Bare Minerals - Tortoise
My ZPalette
The Coastal Scents, Bare Minerlas, Physician's Formula, and Hard Candy colors were all pressed by hand. I got some EZ Prez Pressing medium from Coastal Scents (its since been discontinued) and followed theseinstructions from Koren of EnKore Makeup to press them into pans so they would fit into my palette. Some of my favorite colors:
Paradisco is a beautiful peach color that pops my blue eyes.
Amore is the prettiest rose-gold I've ever seen, and that makes me extra sad that its discontinued.
True Taupe is a great matte crease color.
Blue Moon reminds me of Trax because it has that same kind of gold shot through it, but is a pretty baby blue instead of purple.
The lighter shade of Sweet Liaison is perfect for setting the Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Pencil in Midnight Cowboy because its matte but still has sparkles in it so it doesn't take away from the underlying effect.
The darker shade of Sweet Liaison is a beautiful sparkly liner color when used wet. I wet my angle brush with water and run it on the shadow next to the edge of the pan so I don't mess up the rest of the pan of color.
Today I have a Review/Comparison of 2 different Makeup Setting Sprays. But before I get into the review, I think its important you understand just what a setting spray is, how it works, and why one would use it. All too often I see people using these facial sprays incorrectly, then they wonder why they don't get the result they were looking for. The answer? SCIENCE!!
Koren of EnKore Makeup has a set of extremely informative videos explaining the differences between Refresher Sprays, Settings Sprays, and Finishing Sprays. He even does a couple of demonstrations so you can fully understand the science behind their intended purposes.
Facial Sprays 101: Part 1
Facial Sprays 101: Part 2
If you don’t have time to watch them now, I suggest you make time soon. As a courtesy I have a re-cap of his information is below:
Refresher Sprays- water, sometimes ionized water, maybe some minerals.
Common Examples: Evian Mineral Water Spray, MAC Charged Water Refresher sprays are good to apply to the bare skin, BEFORE makeup, because your skin will absorb the water and be ‘refreshed’ and ready to go before you start in on your makeup.
The color in makeup products comes from mineral pigments. These pigments are generally hydrophobic, meaning they don’t like water. So when you’re done applying your makeup and you spray a refresher spray over top, the spray just beads up on top and evaporates, accomplishing absolutely nothing but wasting product, money, and time. So don’t do it.
Setting Sprays- has botanical extracts, oils, caffeine, etc.
Common examples: Mac Fix+, ELF Makeup Mist & Set
Skin absorbs oil. Minerals absorb oil. The setting spray bridges the gap & allows the pigment to become one with your skin. This is why spraying Fix+ over mineral foundation will get rid of that ‘powdery’ look- its literally melting the pigments into your skin, evening out the texture.
Do NOT use setting spray to prep the skin. Your makeup won't blend because it’s setting on contact. It will become patchy, cakey, and ugly. Do makeup first, AND THEN set.
Finishing Sprays- has denatured alcohol
Common examples: Urban Decay All Nighter/De-Slick/Chill, Model in a Bottle
IMPORTANT: In order for the finishing spray to do its job, the makeup MUST be set with a setting spray first. There is no way around this. The pigments must be melted into the skin first, and then the alcohol in the finishing spray can do its job to lock those melted pigments into place.
Not all alcohols are created equal. Do not think you can cheat and just spray rubbing alcohol all over your face. The alcohol in these Finishing sprays is specifically designed for your skin. Don’t try to be clever or stingy, get the right tool for the job.
Summary:
You can have perfectly beautiful makeup without these sprays. None of them are necessary for everyone but if you have some of the following problems you may want to look into them.
If your skin is particularly parched, either re-evaluate your skin care routine or amp it up with a Refresher spray priorto applying any makeup.
If you’ve tried everything but still get a powdery look when you’re done applying your makeup, applying a Setting Spray over your makeup will melt the pigments into your skin, eliminating the powdery look.
If you’re having trouble getting your makeup to stay all day long, use a Setting Spray followed by a Finishing Spray to lock it all in place.
OK, now that our science lesson is over I can get to the review!
Set it and forget it!
I use Everyday Minerals Semi-Matte Base Foundationand absolutely love it. I’ve used MAC Fix+ as a setting spray for a few years now (since watching Koren’s videos actually) and have been very pleased with the results.
I know the old adage ‘if it ain't broke don’t fix it’ but I do like to save some money. While cruising Target one day I came across the ELF Makeup Mist & Set. I read through the ingredients and was immediately reminded of some of the things in MAC Fix+, but instead of $21/bottle ($6.17/oz) this was $3/bottle ($1.48/oz). This is nota dupe by any means; the ingredients are similarbut different:
If you have a thing against any and all parabens you’ll want to skip the ELF Makeup Mist & Set. I keep an eye on the ingredients lists and limit the number of products I use that contain parabens, but I don’t outright ban them from my home either. It’s a personal choice. Moderation in all things, right?
Anyway, the Makeup Mist & Set was cheap enough and the ingredients were similar enough that I decided to give it a try. I’ll be honest- I don’t notice a difference in the actual performance on the face. The finish is the same, the dry-time is the same, and the wear is the same (I top both of these off with Urban Decay De-Slick Finishing Spray).
One big difference about these (besides price) is the spray nozzle. When I spray Fix+, it comes out in a concentrated, compact spray pattern. This makes it difficult to get a fine, even mist over the face without wasting the product or getting too much in one area. To manage this, I spray Fix+ on my Real Techniques Stippling Brush then stipple it all over my face. I actually like this method because not only do I get an even application of the setting spray this way, but the brush also picks up any excess makeup that didn't need to be there. Win-Win!
2 sprays of ELF on the left, 1 spray of MAC on the right. Both held 6" away from the paper.
ELF’s spray nozzle, on the other hand, sprays out a finer, more even mist of product. This is nice because I don’t have to take the extra time to stipple a brush all over my face if I’m in a hurry. I still like to use the brush to be sure I don’t have any extra makeup on my face though. Some folks may not like the stippling brush method so I thought I would mention it anyway.
So what’s the verdict? With the actual performance being exactly the same, application differences being somewhat of a moot point (for me anyway), and at a price difference of $4.69/oz, I’d have to say ELF wins in my book.
Don’t you love it when you can find a drugstore alternative to a great, high-end product? What drugstore alternatives have you found recently? Share them in the comments below! Do you like reading reviews? Check out my other reviews! My Contour/Highlighting Palette My Makeup Brush Collection
I've been looking forward to meeting Emily for years now and I finally got to do just that this last weekend at the Sigma Beauty Broadcast Event! This post is all about my trip there and back, what beauty products I took with me, and I'll have a FOTD in there. This is my first 'travelling' blog so I kinda dropped the ball on taking pictures. It’s a learning experience, next time will be better.
Mom was the only person interested in coming with me, and even then all she really heard was 'Mall of America' haha! So we packed up our overnight bags, brought a cooler of snackies & wine, and headed North around 3pm Friday afternoon. It was just over a 4 hour drive one-way from my house to the Super 8 in Bloomington. We chitchatted and sang along with the music I had on my thumb drive.
One Way = 295 miles, 4 hours 25 minutes
We unloaded the car and settled into the room. I was going to pull up some YouTube videos for Mom to watch but the internet in the whole hotel was on the fritz. Instead we went to the mall and had dinner at Kokomo's Island Grill. Mom and I ate there a few years ago and really liked it and the quality of food and service hasn't changed.
We got done and had just enough time to scope out the Sigma Store before the big event the next day. I explained to Mom what a stippling brush is and showed her some examples at the store. The associates there were so very friendly and helpful. One gal was super excited to learn that Emily is 5' even, just like her! Too cute!
We ate breakfast Saturday morning at the hotel and started getting ready for the day. I was wearing some black strapy wedge sandals, black capris, and a black and white print tunic with a bright sapphire blue tank underneath. I love how coral pops against sapphire so I finished the look with my Swarovski goldfish pendant. I decided to play off the bright coral fish with bright coral lips, but keep the rest of the face toned down.
Not mentioned: Sonia Kashuk travel bag & Estee Lauder Travel Mirror
Eyes:
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow pencil - Midnight Cowboy
Revlon Colorstay Addictive Palette - Shades 1 & 3
Too Faced Bronzer - Peach Leopard
ELF Eye Transformer Palette - Pink & Peach shades
Physician's Formula 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner - Black
Origins Full Story Mascara - Black
NYX Automatic brow pencil - Taupe
Eye Products
Face:
MAC Prep + Prime Face Protect SPF 50
Milani HD Advanced Concealer - 01
Everyday Minerals Semi-Matte Base - Sandy Fair
MAC Beauty Powder Blush - Fun & Games (Hello Kitty collection)
Urban Decay All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray
Face Products
Lips:
Fresh Sugar Lip Balm - Rose
Jordana Easyliner for Lips - Sedona Red
YSL Rouge Volupte - #15 Extreme Coral
Lip Products
I washed and moisturized my face, then primed with MAC Prep+Prime, Lip Balm, and Shadow Insurance. I applied Midnight Cowboy over just the mobile lid and blended it with the Urban Decay 24/7 Pencil brush. I used shade 3 of the Revlon palette in the crease and shade 1 on the brow bone, both applied with the Real Techniques (RT) Shading Brush. I warmed up my eyes with my RT Contour Brush and the Too Faced Peach Leopard Bronzer, just sweeping it lightly over the whole look. I concealed the blueness of my inner corner with a combination of the pink and peach colors of the ELF Eye Transformer Palette and my pinkie. I lined my lid and filled the gapwith the Physician's Formula liner and finished the eyes with 2 coats of Origins Full Story mascara.
The face was pretty simple too- I used the Milani concealer and the RT Deluxe Crease Brush on my problem areas and my RT Expert Face Brush with Everyday Minerals foundation all over. Then I used the RT Contour Brush again with shades 2 and 4 of the Revlon palette for contouring, and shade 1 for highlight. I swept my MAC Hello Kitty blush over the back of my cheekbones with the RT Multitask Brush, then sprayed the ELF Mist & Set on my RT Stippling Brush and stippled it over my face to melt the powders into my skin (I spray it on the brush because the brush will evenly distribute the spray and pick up any excess makeup). I set the whole look with UD All Nighter.
I wiped off any excess lip balm, then lined and filled my lips. I carefully applied the lipstick from the tube, then used my Face Secret retractable lip brush to perfect it. I blotted and reapplied so it would last longer. Having such a bright lip and soft everythingelse reminded me of one of Emily's most recent videos.
I hate it when I catch myself with CGE (Creepy Ginger Eyes)
As I was putting my face together, I noticed out of the corner of my eye my Mom was watching me. It reminded me of years ago how I would stand and watch my Mom put her makeup on at her vanity, and how I would ask questions every now and then like 'Why do you do that?' and 'What's that for?' I also remember sternly asking one time "Why are you hiding who you are under all that? I'd never do something like that, it’s silly!" I had a big laugh at myself inside when I remembered that!
We checked out and headed to the mall around 10am. Mom wanted to get a couple brushes from Sigma after all so we went there first. We found out several important things that would shape the rest of the day:
1) Over 500 people RSVP'd (holy balls!!) 2) There was another big YouTuber in town and she was coming to this too 3) Someone has already started the line to meet Emily
Mom decided she didn't want to deal with all the people so she gave me a list of brushes she wanted and said I could keep the freebies that would come with the purchase (I'm on a tight budget so I wasn't going to get anything). We went to Sephora together to grab some Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray for her, and then we went our separate ways- Mom to DSW to swim in shoes and me to the short but growing line.
Me, Angela, Amanda, & Jeneen
Me & Angela
There I met several lovely women- Jeneen of MomsMakeup07 was there with her 2 lovely daughters, Amanda from TwinCitiesDiva, and Angela (angelhair83). We passed the time chatting about makeup, Emily, and other YouTubers. Phones were quickly whipped out and 'Awwwww's were dispensed freely at the mention of pets. A while later Mom stopped by with some water and banana nut bread from Starbucks and to chatter with my new makeup friends.
Mom doesn't like crowds or lines much, but she's such a sport!
At about 10 'till 1 Mom split again and we saw Emily and Tyler come through the back door of Sigma. It was so funny how we all got starstruck at the same time, seeing how absolutely gorgeous she is and yet how real and human and humble she is. Before I knew it the line started moving. The 2 1/2 hours I spent in line seemed like 15 minutes. Even though I was 2nd in line to see her, I let my new makeup friends go ahead of me.
Jeneen & her daughers meeting Emily, Amanda talking to a Sigma associate
And then I suddenly had absolutely no idea what the hell to say to her. Really? I had all that time- from when this whole thing was announced, the drive up there, the overnight stay, and waiting in line- all that time to figure out something. Nope. Instead it was 'Hey pretty lady! So great to meet you! {hugs} I have like 4 different YouTube names I've used but I'm from Iowa City and I love watching your videos. Thank you for being you! So great to see you!" She complimented me on my lip color, mentioned she’s been in Iowa City before, was grateful that I would drive all this way just to see her, and signed a photo for me. We hugged again and I walked away....
Then I realized I didn't even get my photo taken with her!! WTF Chelsea?! *facepalm* So I asked the associate I talked to the night before if I could sneak back and get a photo after the person behind me was done. She obliged and I don't think I pissed anyone off too bad for double-dipping in line.
Emily and I, Woot!!
Two pretty ladies
Oy vey. Anyway, I grabbed the brushes Mom wanted and went to check out. The same associate helped me there too (btw Sigma people are so super kind!). The freebies with $30 purchase were an E05 eyeliner brush and "Mini Spa Glove".
The "Mini Spa Glove" is actually just a mitten-shaped piece of silicon that has the textures of the full-sized glove molded into it.
As I was checking out, I commented to the Sigma associate on how awesome Tyler is to come along and support Emily like this. We both looked over and saw he had a video camera in his hand and was occasionally shooting some footage of the people in the store. She agreed, and mentioned that when they hosted similar events like this for some other YouTube people, their significant others weren't nearly as supportive- one of them just sat in the back room by himself for the whole Meet n' Greet! Really?! Some people's children...
When I finished paying I noticed Tyler was just kind of milling around not really sure what the hell to do. I felt bad that no one was really paying attention to him so I chatted him up for a couple minutes and got my photo taken with him, too.
Tall man is tall...
Satisfied I had made a big enough fool of myself I decided it was time to find Mom. As I was leaving I saw the other YouTuber lady, Kristin Gehm (pronounced Game) and got my photo taken with her too. Sorry for the shitty quality. I don't know who she is, but I'm going to find out and this photo will mean more to me then! She was equally as gorgeous and humble and wonderful as Emily.
We got Gehm!
Mom and I met back up and continued shopping. We went looking for the Swarovski shop because sparklies, duh. It was only 7 stores down from the Sigma store, but we ended up going the wrong way around by mistake. D'oh! When we finally got there she bought herself some beautiful merlot-colored earrings and got me a GORGEOUS black leather bracelet with Swarovski crystals all over it... for Christmas. Yeah, I have to wait 'till Christmas to get it, but I'm gonna rock the shit out of it when I get my hands on it!
Stock photo doesn't do it justice- this thing sparkles like no one's business!!
We also stopped at the Bare Minerals store and I found a product that has intrigued me, the Exfoliating Treatment Cleanser. It reminded me of Bon Ami or Bar Keeper's Friend for your face. More research needed before I make up my mind about that one.
Maybe Comet.
We ate a beautiful and delicious lunch at Tiger Sushi then headed home, with more chitchat and sing-alongs. We made a pit-stop in Waterloo and decided to stop by Target so Mom could get some ELF Makeup Mist & Set and at WalMart to get the same Trim Manicure tool I have.
When I got to Mom's place I helped her unpack and sort through her makeup brushes. She gave me a couple she no longer needs and a few nail polishes that I may or may not keep. I have a couple polishes from my own collection I no longer want that I was planning to take to a women's shelter or something. They might appreciate a couple makeup brushes too. Once I got her settled in I drove the rest of the way home. Husband was already asleep, Tish was pleased to see me, and Fox clearly thought I was never coming back because she lost her damn mind.
My goodies
All in all it was a long, fun-filled, enjoyable weekend. Thank you, Emily, for making it all possible. You'll never know just how big of an influence, how much of a difference, you've made. <3
Thanks to everyone who came here on Emily's recommendation to check out the post! Please feel free to check out the rest of the blog- I have reviews, Mani Mondays, and other random stuff you may be interested in. I'm also on The Beauty Broadcast Community, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, and Formspring!
Its another Mani Monday! Here's five more Manicures and/or Pedicures to start your week off right. I do try to include links to everything used so you can get more information on the products if you need to. If it is no longer sold, I link to either the pin on my Pinterest page or one of my favorite nail blogger's entries for that product. Also, I think I forgot to mention last time that if there is no base coat listed in the 'recipe' for the pictured Mani, then that means I had some form of acrylic nails on at the time so no base coat was used. Anyway, lets hop right into it!
Happi Cobra
Man is it hard to photograph holos and duochromes! Hopefully you get the gist of it from these.
That's it! I'd love to see your Manicures and/or Pedicures.Please share them with me on Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter, or you can email them to me at TheDragonsVanity@gmail.com! Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!
A dear friend actually asked me that recently. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I really love nail polish (especially Zoya). As of this post my Nail Polish Collection contains 101 regular polishes, 12 nail art polishes, 2 stamping polishes, 3 top coats, and 1 base coat. I didn't get this whole collection overnight; It’s been steadily growing since 2010. I recently did a set of 3 videos about my entire polish collection and how I store it:
Part 1- Storage of Nail care supplies, acrylic supplies, nail art polish, and nail art tools
Part 2- One side of the organizer
Part 3- The other side of the organizer
Though the way I store my collection will stay constant, the contents of my collection will continue to evolve as new polish colors, formulas, brands, and trends come out. Since it’s impractical to film a new video every time I get a new polish or give one to a friend or family member, I keep my collection up-to-date on my Pinterest page.
I use the Nail Polish Catalogerapp to keep track of my collection when I’m not at home. This makes it easy to prevent getting any duplicates or colors that are too similar to what I already have. It’s also very easy to update when I get a new polish, get rid of/finish one, or break out a backup (I only have backups of just a few limited edition colors that I really love: OPI- Which is Witch?, OPI- Thanks So Muchness, MAC- Bad Fairy, and MAC- Frayed to Order).
Eventually I’d like to be this organized about my makeup too, but I don’t have nearly as much makeup as I do nail polish. My theory is I have 20 nails but only 1 face, so my collections of nail polish and makeup should be proportionate, right?
So come on, I admitted how many I have, now its your turn: How many bottles are in your Nail Polish Collection? Compare in the comments below!
Want to see some of those beauties up close? Check out My Favorite Nail Polish Color tag, Holla Holographic!
