Christmas/Holiday Makeup

Christmas is almost here and what a joy! - Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday.  

I love the holiday cheer, the bringing together of family and friends, but most importantly, it is the celebration of Jesus's birth!  If that's not reason to smile and be merry, than I don't know what is.  My family no longer participates in gift exchanges because we feel it is an attempt to distract us from what the day really means to us - remembering the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We also feel like it is a Capitalistic ploy! ...but I won't get into that, ha. 

I created my own tradition a few holidays ago, and that tradition is the purchase of  new Christmas toe socks every year!  I can't believe it's December 22, and I haven't bought a pair of toe socks yet.  I must get to Target immediately! 

I also like to decide upon a Christmas makeup look for myself. December 25 is a celebration, and I like to look good for the party.  This year I wanted to do a natural, sultry, sexy look, and I knew that I wanted to wear red lipstick. 

So........this is what I came up with:

How I came up with this look:

I decided that I wanted to do an opulent gold or bronze shade on my lid to give my eyes some sparkle and shine, so I used a M.A.C. pigment in gold.  I used a soft brown shadow in the crease to create a more natural, sultry contour.  I lined my eyes with M.A.C. Powerpoint eyeliner in black. I used Covergirl's LashBlast Fusion Mascara in black. I chose a blush that would give my cheeks a soft splash of color. I lined my lips in M.A.C. Cherry lip liner and used M.A.C. Dubonnet lipstick with a dabble of lip gloss with a silver pearl finish.

The neat thing about this look is that any complexion can wear it and look marvelous!  You can also alternate the shade of red on your lips to create brighter, bolder or more dramatic looks.

Covergirl Taylor Takeover Makeover Event

Last week I got to work with Covergirl again for a special event with Taylor Swift called the "Taylor Takeover Makeover."  Taylor Swift was conducting a radio contest across the nation and if you were the winning caller, this is what  you received:

- A free trip to L.A. for two days

- A complimentary stay at The Hollywood Renaissance Hotel & Spa

- A private concert with Taylor Swift

- A V.I.P. tour of Hollywood

- A Covergirl makeover & complimentary gift bag

- A shopping spree

Incredible, right?! ...especially since all of the winners were from out of town, most of whom have never visited Los Angeles or California.

I had a lot of fun participating in this event and doing the makeovers. We got to use Taylor Swift's new line of makeup for Covergirl called "Natureluxe", which isn't available to the public yet, and it's an amazing  product!  Natureluxe is Covergirl's more natural line up makeup, with ingredients like Cucumber water, Jojoba for moisture, etc. 

This is the BEST part [besides all of the fun I had working]: Covergirl let me keep ALL of the makeup that you see in the picture above, wooohooo!  Looks like I'll be doing some product reviews within the next few weeks.

Until then, check out the pictures I was able to capture at the event:

[my work space]

[contestant winner - post makeover]

 [contestant winner - post makeover]

[contestant winners - post makeover]

Sephora Friends & Family Online Sale 2010 - 20% Off!!!

Sephora Friends & Family sale is here and will run until November 3rd. All you have to do is enter the promo code FF2010 at online checkout in order to claim your 20% savings!

Sephora.com Friends & Family 20% off offer valid through 11/03/10 at 11:59pm PST/PDT with any mechandise order on Sephora.com. Enter promotion code FF2010 in the promotion code box during Sephora.com checkout to receive your discount. Not valid in retail stores, previous purchases, on Canadian online purchases, nor with the purchase of eGift certificates or gift cards. Cannot be used in conjunction with other promotion codes. A print out of this email is not a substitution for the Friends and Family cards in store. Sephora reserves the right to end or change this promotion offer at any time.

Graham Knox - Dollar [video]

  "If i'm with or without you still, I keep a dollar in my pocket."

- Graham Knox

Directed by: Damian Marcano

Make-up by: Aja Eskandar

Styling by: Jesse Cain

Get The Look: Rockabilly

What is Rockabilly?

Rockabilly is like a fusion of rock & roll and the blues. The easiest way to put it is a little bit of Elvis, mixed with a little bit of pin-up style. Grease, the movie, is also a good example of this particular style.  

One thing I enjoy about Rockabilly fashion is that it's a fun style. You have lots of range in creativity when it comes to the clothing, hair and make-up. I can imagine that one would be all grins and giggles while getting dolled up.  

I decided that I wanted to create a fun, colorful, more modern version of Rockabilly, and here it is:

THE MAKE-UP:

1. FACE - I used M.A.C Mineralize Satinfinish Spf 15 Foundation and mixed in a little bit of M.A.C Melon pigment to give the skin a polished, bronzed, porcelain effect.

2. EYES - I used various shades of M.A.C glitter to create the appearance of a transparent star around the eye, lined the eyelids with Engraved M.A.C. Powerpoint Eye Pencil and finished the lashes with L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara, shade Black.

3. LIPS - I lined the lips with M.A.C Cherry Lip Pencil and used M.A.C Cockney Lipstick.

THE HAIR:

1. I separated her hair into four sections in order to have more control when blow drying her hair  [use more sections when the hair has longer length.], as well as separated the hairstyle on top and bottom for the design.  

2. I then made pin curls to create the circular waves you see on top of her head and set them with a little hairspray.  You can use a curling iron to create this look, rollers, your hands, pin curls....there are many ways!  If you're without heat, the best methods are rollers or pin curls, although pin curls & rollers set the best with heat.

3. After creating the circular "waves" on top, I created a cornrow which starts at the side of her temple, and ends on the other side of her temple to add more dimension and uniqueness to the hairstyle.

4. I finished the look by taking out the pin curls, fluffing and combing them into shape, and spraying the entire head with Big Sexy Hair Spray and Play Harder.

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This look can be worn for a pin-up style photo shoot, a night out on the town, a carnival, a rave - endless possibilities! ....just have fun with it.

NYX Friends & Family Promotion

NYX Cosmetics is currently having a friends and family promotion until tomorrow, October 8th, 5pm PST.  If you spend $25 or more, you'll receive free shipping on your entire purchase.