Tip: Defining Lips

Best way to make lipstick last all day with intense color and definition is to color in your lips with your lip liner and THEN put on your lipstick :) Sometimes you may want to use a slightly lighter concealor around your lips before applying the liner and lip color for an added pop!

4 Steps to Flawless Skin w/o Foundation

Summer isn't exactly makeup friendly. The heat makes us sweat, and often makes skin oily. Adding foundation to this mix isn't always pleasant. I have dry-combination skin, which means my face is mostly dry, but shiny in the T-Zone. I struggled for years finding the right color for my skin tone, and once I did none of the formulas were perfect. Some were too oily, some were too heavy, and some weren't long wearing. Now I have a little hyper pigmentation, acne scars, under eye circles and occasional break outs so my skin is far from flawless BUT that doesn't mean I need a full coverage foundation. I figured out a great way to get good coverage, and an amazing flawless look without a lot of makeup.
First: Prep your skin with moisturizer, and then when it's dry spritz your face with a setting spray and let that dry. I use MAC Mineralize Charged Water or MAC Fix +
Second: Take a buildable coverage concealor like MAC Studio Finish Concealor and apply it with a concealor brush on every spot that you want covered.
Third: With a flat top kabuki brush like the Sigma F80 buff a sheer powder all over your skin like MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural. Mineralize Skinfinish really makes this look, it has reflective properties to it which make you glow, but it covers blemishes too. It does rub off so you need to take a big powder brush and go over that with a translucent setting powder such as Make Up Forever HD Setting Powder or MAC Prep and Prime Setting Powder.
Last but not least: Spritz your face with the setting spray you prepped your skin with and let it dry before your bronzer, blush, contour or highlight.
Andddd there you go, perfect skin :) My skin looks so much better now that I stopped using foundation, not only has it stopped breaking out as much but after a 10-12 hour day or a night out I have no creasing or any other nonsense that happens when you wear foundation. This isn't a method just for summer, I am going to keep doing this in the winter too because with a well prepped face you should have no problems! 

Announcement

Heylo Lovelies!

I'd like to officially announce that I am now FREELANCING!! My friend and I launched J-Squared Makeup in January of this year!!! We're slowly building up a clientele, which is why I've been MIA from YouTube and here!

But have no fear! I will be back in a few days!

Thank you all so much for viewing and subscribing & following me! Please please please show me some support and click the 'Follow' button on here and go to my YouTube and hit 'Subscribe'. Remember, the more of you who take a second to do that, the higher the possibility of me being able to do giveaways and get you all offer codes, etc!

Stay tuned for more!!!
~Jasmin

Please Show Your Support! & News!!

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MAC Peacocky Kissable Lipcolor Review & Swatch: Super

Lip gloss is not my thing. I hate the sticky feeling on my lips, the white residue, and it getting on my hair. I always play up my eyes, and recently I've been wearing lipsticks such as MAC High Tea (frosty nude beige), Faux (matte pale pink), Aristocat (purple with a golden sheen) and High Strung (pink frost paired with MAC Cream Color Base in Tickle Me Pink). I was introduced to MAC Cremesheen Glass Lipgloss which isn't sticky, but it's thick and creamy which is still a no-no for me. I was getting my face done at MAC to change my look up, and one of the products he used on me was Kissable Lipcolor in Super that came out with the Peacocky collection and it was AMAZING. Not only did I really like the neutral color, it LASTED all day, it wasn't sticky, didn't give me a residue, and it didn't get in my hair! I ordered 2 back ups because I'm pretty sure it's limited edition, and will sell out. I definitely found a favorite! I can wear it with almost every look! Here are some pictures!

Out of the 5 or so collections that have come out this season, Kissable Lipcolor lipgloss was the only thing I'd suggest all of you try!

MAC Mickey Contractor Eyeshadow Review & Swatch: Rani

When I saw that Mickey Contractor came out with a collection I was super excited, until I found out my local MAC stores weren't getting it I asked my buddy at the MAC counter at the Macy's I work at and he said that out of the quad, the fluidlines, the concealor, and the eyeshadows I wanted, I should go for the hot pink. So I did! It's called RANI like my YouTube channel and blog :) Here are the swatches..

The only complaint I have about this is that it has a lot of fallout and its very powdery to the touch, as you can kinda see in the pictures there were little bits of powder all on the inside which doesn't really happen with my other MAC eye shadows. Otherwise it's gorgeous perfect for Bollywood style or bridal eye, or Valentines day eyes!!

FREEBIE ALERT! Zoya Nail Polish Giveaway ENDS Jan 7th, 2011

Zoya announced on their facebook page that they have reached 20,000 "likes" and will be giving away 3 free nail polishes!!! 


At checkout enter the code FB2011 and you'll only have to pay $6.95 for shipping, your saving $21 + tax!!! This ENDS on Jan 7th, 2011 so hurry those orders in!


Zoya is supposed to be awesome so I'm super excited to try them out, I bought


Kalmia- a firey, chrome orange/red
Harlow- a magenta/purple metallic shimmer 
Charla- a glittery bright blue 
Layla- a hot neon pink
Edyta- a glittery dark green(one of the top 10)
Richelle- a glittery gold


Yes, I got 6, b/c I'm a shopoholic, and I'm in desperate need of help LOL. You can do this too if you just do 2 separate orders.. shhhhh


If you don't have any idea about what colors to get as I was, check out their "Top 10 Colors of the Season" and their latest collections on the bottom of the left sidebar!


I hope these are all pigmented, and not sheer glitters! I'll be posting my review and swatches as soon as I get them so stay tuned!!!

Benefit Instant Brow Pencil Review

Although strong brows are hot right now, it's not really my thing, so I'm new to the whole brow color aspect of makeup.

I started threading my own eyebrows and made a few mistakes, leaving me with areas that need filling in. Dior's Brow Styler is awesome, but the color Universal Brown, doesn't work well with my brows, so I went to Sephora and picked up Benefit's Instant Brow Pencil because the brush at the end was most similar to Dior's. I got the color Deep which is a greyish black that looked most natural against my brows.

This brow pencil SUCKS! Here are my reasons why:

-It HAS to be sharpened to go the best, which wastes product
-If you touch your brow, the color comes right off
-It clumps after a few hours leaving you with black bits in your brow area
-The formula is so smooth that it adheres to the brush so you have to wash the brush just like any other makeup brush, which is a tad difficult because it's attached to the pencil so you have to be very careful
-The pigmentation really isn't all that great

I'm very disappointed with Benefit, looks like I'll be going to MAC for a brow pencil!

Philosophy Dark Shadows Review

Dark under eye circles are a permanent side effect of stress, and lack of sleep. Being a college student, I've been blessed with them, and finding a remedy to them is serious business.

I went into Sephora about 6 months ago looking for an eye cream that would get rid of them for under $50, the girl said Philosophy Dark Shadows.

While it's a great eye moisturizer, and it lasts forever, it did absolutely nothing for my circles. It says it can be used for the upper lip area too, so I figured I'd try it, even though I don't have any dark pigmentation there, and I broke out horribly in that area.

Needless to say I'm stuck concealing my under eye circles until I find something that works, the next product I'll be trying is by Kiehl's Eye Alert so stay tuned!

Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes Eyeliner vs Kohl Eyeliner

I'm not the biggest fan of pencil eyeliners, but when I worked at Abercrombie, makeup was a no-no, so I'd tight line my eyes and wear mascara to get my makeup fix.

MUFE's Aqua Eyes in OL or Black is the BEST and ONLY pencil eyeliner that I will ever wear or suggest to anyone, I told my mom about it, and she went out and bought 4 of them! Some of the colors don't go on as well as the black, but it will not run or smudge. Pencil eyeliners have the least bit of pigmentation in comparison to cream/gel based liners and liquid, so you can expect a very dramatic look from them. This one is definitely more pigmented than others that I've tried, and if you warm it up between your fingers or on your hand you'll get better results.

MUFE's Kohl Eyeliner in 6K is a gorgeous black eyeliner with gold glitter, I fell in love instantly when I saw it in the holiday gift set, and had to buy it online! It looks awesome on the bottom lid, but it isn't as glittery on the eyes as it is in swatches. The top lid is pretty much the same deal as Aqua Eyes. It's not really a long wearing, smudge proof, or waterproof eyeliner, so I suggest using a primer with it like UDPP for the best results. If you want a really good glitter payoff, definitely layer this 2-3 times! If you want something similar but more long wearing, go for MAC Fluidline in Blitz & Glitz! it's not as glittery but you'll get the same effect, more pigmentation, and better wear!

I'll be sticking to my liquid eyeliner and fluidline for my dramatic eyes, but these pencils are great for those of you who prefer pencil eyeliner, lazy days or business occasions where dramatic makeup is a no-no!