Weekly Post: Something That I Love

Hey everyone! 

I have recently decided to commit to writing every Friday on something that I love. It could be an item, a hobby, or a beauty item that I'm obsessed with. So make sure you tune back each Friday to see what is on my favorite list for the week! 

This week...

I made my first EVER purchase at Anthropologie on this past Saturday. I know, I know! What took me so long you ask? Excuses I suppose. The whole a store was having 15% off when you sign up for an Anthropologie membership. The membership was free, so I was like, "of course I'll do it!" What I found was so cute (and the last one in the store), that I immediately picked it up and went right to the register to buy it. Say hello to my new jewelry dish! 

I was so excited to put it to use that I forgot all about the barcode sticker on it. Whoops! ;) Thank you to my friend, Lindsey, who invited me and my sister along on her little shopping trip! 

Have a good weekend everyone! 

xoxo,

Marissa

P.S. Got anything that you are using constantly that makes you happy? 

Kendra - Rustic Winter Bridal Session

I worked with Kendra for some time a few years ago. Without a doubt she was one of my all time favorite coworkers. She has one of the kindest hearts I've had the privilege of meeting. So as soon as she got engaged I messaged her on Facebook and told her I would love to do her makeup for her wedding. I was beyond happy that she chose me.

On a very cold December 7th 2013, the morning of her bridal session, Kendra came over to my house and I did the makeup that you see in these photos. Kendra told me that she had booked an amazing photographer for her portraits and wedding but I had no idea what to expect. I was in for such a huge surprise because a few days later Kendra emailed me the pictures and I was BLOWN AWAY. I had never seen such gorgeous photos before. Anthony from Tailored Filter is absolutely exquisite at what he does. I was more than honored to have my work photographed by him. If you have any sort of special occasion coming up that you want to make a permanent memory of, please, don't 
hesitate to contact him.

Xoxo,
Chelsea



Photography by www.tailoredfilter.com
Copyright Tailored Filter. All rights reserved.

EXTREME MAKEOVER: Makeup Vanity Edition

Okay, okay! I am really bad about putting back my makeup and makeup brushes after I'm done with them. So on Monday I decided, "it's the beginning of the week Marissa, it's time to get organized!" This led me to going on a cleaning spree and I am EXTREMELY pleased with the outcome! 

Before (really embarrassing):

See???? Gosh I feel like a terrible makeup owner! I wasn't even using my Muji drawer set. I love that thing! But, I worked hard and got everything spick and span. 

After (drum roll please!):

So pleased! I am thinking about rearranging my brushes and lipsticks because of being right handed, but honestly, it hasn't slowed me down in the mornings so far, so my brushes may stay put. 

I got my lipstick holder on amazon. It's acrylic and tiered so I can see all of my lipsticks that I'm encouraging myself to use this season. Would you like to see a blogpost on my favorite fall lip products? That will be my next post. I organized my Muji drawer like this: 

Drawer 1. Face product essentials

Drawer 2. Eye products (individual eyeshadows, mascaras, brow products and eyeliners)

3. More eyeliners and cream eyeshadows!

What are some of your favorite ways to keep yourself organized? 

Xoxo,

Marissa 

Review: September 2014 ipsy Glam Bag + pictures!

Getting my ipsy Glam Bag in the mail has recently become my favorite time of each month. Whenever I get an email from them saying "your glam bag has shipped" I get so excited! If you haven't heard of ipsy, they're a monthly beauty subscription company that, for only $10 a month, sends out 4-5 beauty products in a themed makeup bag. The products range from mostly sample size to the occasional full size product, or in the case of this particular bag, mostly full size and one sample size.

This month's theme is "Street Style", hence the studded metallic bag and the overall color palette of the goodies as a whole. Let's talk about those goodies now, shall we?

The first product that caught my eye was this gorgeous full size nail polish from Pacifica in the color "Red Red Wine" rightly named if I say so myself! This is my first product from the brand but I've only heard good things. I haven't had the chance to try this one out on my nails yet but I can tell you that it is extremely pigmented, which makes me very happy! I can tell I'm going to enjoy using this color in the upcoming cooler months. Also the bottle is super pretty!

This next product I was beyond ecstatic to receive in my bag and it's the only product I've used so far. This is the dual ended C476 synthetic crease/shadow brush from Crown Brush. The bristles on this bad boy are beyond soft, oh my goodness. The "shadow" end of the brush is awesome because it can be used for packing on color but because it's so fluffy it blends out color so well. The "crease" end of the brush is actually more of a pencil brush size, which is perfect because I've been wanting to add another pencil brush to my ever growing collection of brushes. This end works just as wonderful as the other, if not more. Total love. Here are some closer images.  

Next is a lipstick in the color "cabernet" from Hikari, a brand that I'm not familiar with. Swatched on my hand it seems to have a decent creamy formula and the color is actually not too far off the nail polish from Pacifica. I'll wait to judge it until I've worn it on my lips.

I also received a hair mask in my bag, which came in perfect timing because I've been wanting to try a new hair mask. This one is by a brand called Briogeo and this is their "Don't Despair Repair!" deep conditioning mask. I think the name is cute and catchy and the product itself smells lovely. It claims to increase hair elasticity to prevent breakage and promotes healthy shine. I look forward to trying this.

The last product in my glam bag is a full sized shadow from NYX in the color "Bling Bling-Bling". I love NYX Cosmetics but I was disappointed to receive this color, main reason being, silver is one of the only colors I can't pull off on my eyes. The quality of the shadow itself was just alright too. It's soft to the touch and my finger was able to pick up a good amount of product but when I swatched it on the back of my hand it didn't transfer well and it wasn't entirely pigmented.

This was only my fourth bag from ipsy and I've been really enjoying them lately. It's great to be introduced to new products and to receive some products that may already be old favorites of mine! I'm going to start uploading regular ipsy reviews every time I get them in the mail, so be sure to keep an eye out!

Chelsea

August Favorites!

Time to dust off the 'ol blog! And what better way to do that than by gathering up my favorite beauty products from this past month? I found myself reaching for some really awesome goodies in the month of August, a few of them are all time favorites that I've been using for quite some time now.
 In no particular order, let's get into these bad boys!

-Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette
My favorite color in particular is the middle highlight shade, Incandescent Light. It's so beautiful, it adds such a youthful glow to the skin without being over the top. A little bit goes a long way, you just need to hit the high points of the face.

-L'oreal Infallible Shadows in Bronzed Taupe, Amber Rush, and Iced Latte
Stunning shades, amazing textures, great staying power, you need these in your life. Period.

-Nyx blush in Taupe
Perfect contour shade for fair to medium skin tones.

-Tarte Park Avenue Princess bronzer
I use this to put some warmth in my fair skin. Lovely bronzer.

-Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light
This is an amazing setting powder. I bought this quite a few months back and it quickly replace my previous favorite Rimmel Stay Matte powder.

-theBalm blush in Fratboy
This shade is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L. Stunning peachy pink shade with a satin finish.

-Benefit blush in Bella Bamba
This color is actually a similar shade to the Fratboy blush expect this one is slightly more pink with a golden shimmer shot through it. It gives the cheeks such a healthy look, no need to apply a highlighter with this. Plus it smells so good!

-L'oreal True Match foundation
Lovely medium coverage foundation, blends effortlessly, semi dewy finish. I've been loving the look it's been giving me and I can tell it's going to be my go-to foundation in the upcoming fall and winter.

-Maybelline Dream Lumi concealer
This is my fourth tube of this stuff, needless to say, it's pretty darn great.

-MAC Studio Finish concealer
An oldie but a goodie. I love to use this for pinpoint concealing blemishes.

-Anastasia clear brow gel
This is some serious brow gel, talk about hairspray for the eyebrows! This stuff does not go anywhere in the Texas heat.

-L'oreal Lash Out Butterfly mascara
I finally found a new mascara that I actually like! I still love the Covergirl Clump Crusher, but this one is great when I want a long, fluttery lash look.

-Clinique Bottom Lash mascara
I finally repurchased this and remembered why I loved it. The tubing formula is a God-send for those of us who have an issue with mascara smudging on the bottom lashline.

-Nyx Butter Gloss in Peaches and Cream
Adorable color, creamy formula, and smells super yummy! Great gloss!

-Maybelline Color Whisper in Cherry on Top
The name says it all, I love a nice pop of cherry on the lips. This one is nice though because it's very wearable, not a crazy in your face color at all.

-Jersey Shore Sun Mongongo lip balm
Holy moly, this lip balm works wonders! I got this in my August Ipsy glambag and it is a total winner! It actually improves the texture of my lips rather than just moisturize them and it smells delicious!

-Dr. Brandt Pores No More primer
Also from my glambag, this is my new favorite primer. It really does reduce the appearance of my ginormous pores and it keeps my makeup lasting longer than most of my other primers.

-Layla Cosmetics Ceramic Effects nail polish in CE74 Pop Pink
Perfect pink summer color with a purple duo chrome. SO pretty! I have it on my toes for the second time this month!

I loved getting all of my favorite products together from this past month! I can't wait to see what my new favorites are going to be going into the new seasons!
Chelsea

Pop art makeup (Halloween makeup)

This month, both Chelsea and I will be posting pictures of our work that we will be doing all month in preparation of the Halloween season! If you have an requests, leave them in the comments! 

My first makeup look takes on a pop art theme with elements deriving from Wonder Woman's features (she IS my favorite comic book heroine after all). 

Inspiration

Attitude is a must! Lol 

All that was needed was a tiara! 

Product breakdown coming soon. 

Marissa's favorite makeup products

Chelsea wrote such an awesome blog post about her favorite (most used) makeup products yesterday, that I decided to write my own post with MY favorite beauty products as well! 

To start off with, I shall talk about the makeup items that I use on my face:

It's a cult classic! Gotta love the good ole Smashbox photo finish primer. I have the travel size because I recently went to the San Marcos Premium outlets and they had a set called "Try It Kit" which I purchased. I wanted to re-familiarize myself with this product because it had been a while since I've used it. I LOVE IT. It's so smooth and makes your foundation apply so evenly. I only use it over fine lines and rough patches, so it gives my skin a wonderful even texture. 

Go to foundation. Love, love. I agree with everything Chelsea said about this foundation. But.... she and I are a shade apart in skin tone so I can go to the counter and buy another bottle whenever I want, so it helps being a shade darker! 

For blemishes, this is my favorite concealer. It's so pigmented and it sets so well. AND YOU GET SO MUCH IN THE BOTTLE, score! 

Under eye concealer can be hard to find because you don't want something chalky, drying, or thin. This is the perfect coverage and consistency, so yeah. It's awesome. 

Hahaha! I need a new one soon, but it's an awesome finishing powder. Rimmel knows how to make their powders!

   

To set all of the makeup in place, I use my Urban Decay de-slick setting spray. Lord, I just love this stuff! I use it before and after my foundation when I know I'll be out all day. I use it on brides, I use it on about anybody's face because it is just so darn humid in the south! The last thing you want is your makeup breaking down...

 

EYES

In that same Smashbox try it kit, I got this primer in it, and I have to say, it's pretty thick! I really like it thought. It has a slight correcting tint to it, so if I ever decide to go without eyeshadow (whaaaa??) it covers up any fine veins on the eyelid. No creasing, so it's great!

My most used eye palettes for everyday are definitely my Urban Decay Naked basics palette, Wet n wild's walking on eggshells, and silent treatment. So I have pretty much everything I need. Mattes, shimmers, base colors, contours, and liner shadows. I adore all three of these! Plus, their all compact so they're travel friendly. 

Most used cream eyeshadow goes the Maybelline's 24hr Color Tatoo in Barely Beige. I'm wearing this right now, because I'm having a lazy makeup day. ;-) 

If you haven't tried the Scandeleyes liners from Rimmel yet, finish reading this blog post and go out and buy one right now! They're so creamy, waterproof, and long lasting. Rimmel was truly smart web they decided to release a cream color, because its perfect for the waterline. If you're tired, and need to look like you got  a full 8 hours of sleep, use this and BAM you're awake! 

Love it. I use this whenever I'm wearing a flick or a cat eye at my outer corners.  But I'm interested in trying a new black liquid liner. What's your favorite liquid liner? Suggest one to me! 

Volume, separation, and length in a pretty colored tube! What more can I say? 

Okay, here it is everyone! The Milani brow tint pen in Dark Brown is so good,  I can't live without this! Well... Maybe I can. I love my Anastasia brow wiz in brunette, but this is so much quicker to work with and very long lasting. I actually used it on the hottest day at the Van's Warped Tour and it didn't fade one bit! Over the top I use my clear brow gel from Anastasia, which is like glue. So awesome.

The two lip products I reach for the most is my Rimmel lipstick in Pink Chic and my Revlon Lip Butter in Juicy Papaya. Both have a glossy finish with no shimmer, which makes very happy. They fade nicely, pink chic more so than juicy papaya, but I like them because I don't have to wear a lip gloss over the top. 

Last thing! My lip butter from Korres in guava is what I use every night before bed. If I don't use this, my lips will crack in the night. :-(

I hope this was enjoyable to read! If you can suggest any products that would make me goo goo gaga over, please comment about them!

Until next time,

Marissa