Remember how I said that I wasn’t going to post again for a while? Welp, I lied. Sorry not sorry. But, 1.) I’m just really excited for this blog and want to give it a lot of love, okay? and, 2.) I was excited to share this with you!
As NYX Cosmetics was the inspiration for my first post of this blog, I feel like it’s only appropriate to continue sending love their way. And it’s hard not to with this teaser for the NYX FACE Awards:
I had no idea this was a thing, you guys!
What can you win from this?
– A trip to Los Angeles
– A visit to NYX Headquarters
– A year’s supply of makeup!! and,
– $25,000!!!
Oh. My. Goodness. Gracious.
I don’t a stand any chance against others who will be entering, but should I let that stop me from giving this a try? Heck no! For a grand prize like that, I have to give it my best shot. At the very least, I’m excited to see what other artists pull out of their hats for this competition.
Open submission starts April 25th and more details are coming soon. Let me know in the comments below: Have you entered before? Are you planning to enter this year? What has your experience been like? Have you discovered great new artists that you continue to follow?
Happy Monday! Stay well, stay beautiful!
EDIT (May 2, 2014): Sooo I got ahead of myself and didn’t know that this was directed towards beauty vloggers as opposed to just anyone. Doesn’t seem like a horrible setback but, alas, I’m not quite at the point to go balls out and getting into vlogging just yet. However, I wanted to keep this post up in order to encourage those who are part of that medium/have the time for an entry to DO THIS! It’s an incredible opportunity and I hope to some day have the time to take a chance in the future. 🙂
Hello everyone! Let me start off by wishing those who celebrate this holiday a Happy and Blessed Easter to you and yours. If you don’t celebrate, that’s okay, just remember that all the candy goes on sale tomorrow so treat yoself!
If you’re yet unfamiliar with what I mean by the “Wayne Goss Method”, quick check out the video below:
The beauties of MakeupAddiction (and I’m sure other beauty subreddits) have been going nuts over this for the past few weeks, and I decided to give it a shot.
It’s a Saturday morning and I’m going into work yayyyyy
Products used: – Mosturizer: Whatever Target’s version of Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Mosturizer is because I’m cheap – Primer: Monistat Chafing Relief Powder -Gel*
– Powder: NARS Light Reflecting Setting Powder
– Foundation: Urban Decay Naked Skin Shade 3.5
– Concealer: Neutrogena Skinclearing Blemish Concealer in shade Buff (09)
– Mascara: Revlon Lash Potion
*Before you get weirded out that I’m using a Monistat product on my skin, first, IT’S NOT A VAGINA CREAM (even though it’s in the vag care aisle). It’s meant for the inner thigh and bikini area, for chafing, just like it says in the name. Second, it’s been thrown out there as a dupe for Smashbox Photo Finish Primer because the ingredients between the two are almost identical. I’ve never used Smashbox but I was willing to give this a shot because I’m playing around with primers. You may continue.
This is how I started off the day. Had to go into work to help someone feed their cells. Not the best quality photo since it’s the front-facing camera on my phone but I was pretty happy with the results overall. You’ll be able to tell in a photo I post at the end of this that I have some blemishes on my forehead and cheeks. You barely notice them here. I’m still dealing with dry skin recovery from this brutal winter so my foundation isn’t always perfect and I’m struggling with that, but whatever, this looked pretty damn good in comparison to the usual.
A few hours later…
More products:
– Eyeliner: NYX Super Skinny Eye Marker in Carbon Black
– Blush: NARS Orgasm
– Bronzer: NARS Laguna
– Brows: Wet n’ Wild Color Icon brow pencil in Taupe & Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade in Blonde
– Lips: NYX Butter Lipstick in… Fireball? I think this was Fireball, not Hot Tamale. Still NYX regardless. And then Urban Decay Naked Lipgloss in Streak on top.
I worked for three hours, got lunch at Culver’s with the coworker I helped out, then went to the mall when my dad called me asking hey, want me to bring you home for Easter then take you back tomorrow? The man can’t stand not having his little girl home for the holidays. In total, I was gone for about 5 1/2 hours before I got home and added on all the other stuff. So this photo was taken approximately 7 hours after initial foundation application.
Hey sexy
Ohhh dem brows. Dat wing.
A moment to appreciate my stupid, oily hooded lids
The brows are still a work in progress, ladies and gents. Give them time.
You can probably notice in the eye closeup photos the lovely areas of dry skin I have. And the freaking patches of blonde-white hairs I have all over my face. Overall, though, I’m still pretty satisfied with how my foundation has held up, and my skin still feels nice and not oily, other than my eyelids which I didn’t put anything on since I opted against eyeshadow. (For reference, I have normal to dry skin, with maybe some oilyness in my T-zone. I swept on a little extra powder in that area after putting on foundation just in case.)
And then I went on a motorcycle ride.
Post-dinner, it-was-a-freaking-frigid-ride face.
Again, I apologize for the horrible front-facing camera photo. There was no natural light left outside and I was too freaking cold to care. Wind sucks.
Anyway, obviously the lipstick has faded off which I totally expected it to, but even after my face was battered by the wind for over an hour and a half, things look not all that bad. The foundation did look a little patchy upon closer mirror inspection, but seriously, I was whipped in the face by the wind for almost two hours, what do you expect?
I’m a pretty big fan of this method of application if I’m looking for my makeup to last extended periods of time, albeit through less-extreme conditions. If you haven’t tried it yet, definitely give it a go. I’m looking forward to testing this out more myself.
“That is some really bright lipstick.” THAT WAS THE POINT, MOM.
And finally, for your viewing pleasure, a nice pre-church selfie featuring Revlon Lash Potion mascara, Covergirl Clean Pressed Powder in Buff Beige, and NYX Butter Lipstick in Little Susie for some festive color. Since we were on the motorcycle, I had a to pack a small bag to take home with me, so I only brought a couple products back to use. I cared 0% about impressing anyone at church anyway.
My hair also sucks because I showered the night before and then slept on slightly damp hair. Again, 0% caring. Deal with it.
I did a little mini Ulta haul on Saturday since they were doing 40% off some drugtstore brands that included Revlon and Maybelline, so those products may be introduced soon. I also picked up the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge which I’ve been dying to try! I currently use their Expert Face Brush as well as a Beautyblender for applying my foundation. I’ve heard the RT Sponge is as good if not better than the Beautyblender, so I’m super excited to give it a go.
I’m probably going to wait a bit before posting anything. I just ordered a new makeup mirror that will hopefully make practice much easier (I’m currently doing stuff in my bathroom, which works but isn’t the most practical) so I’ll probably wait until that arrives in the mail to do anything. I’m also participating in the Crazylegs Classic 8K next Saturday so this week is all about making sure I’m prepped and ready for that. I’ve only really gotten into running in these past six or seven months so this’ll be my first race and I’m super excited!
Now if you excuse me, there are some chocolate bunnies calling my name.
Today I received the email for NYX’s Bakeoff Promotion for their Baked and Butter products. Yes, I thought, this is exactly the sign that I was looking for to finally start my blog!
Just kidding. I had already decided on this blog before even seeing that email.
Regardless, I did take it as the perfect sign for the kind of blog that I’ll be creating here. A quick background about myself: I am a 23-year-old graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BS in Genetics and Spanish currently working in a laboratory in my college town. Other than the mass of bills and loan payments I’ve begun drowning in suddenly had to keep track of, what I’ve discovered about this new transition into post-school life is I have a lot of free time. Like, more than I know what to do with, actually. So I’ve been searching for other activities to occupy my time other than constant Netflix binges (she says as she marathons Archer while writing this). My boyfriend suggested that I finally go about creating all those Pinterest recipes that I have saved and review the cooking/baking experience on a blog.
I contemplated this for a long time. In the meantime, I was introduced to /r/makeupaddiction and it was all downhill from there.. for my wallet. For me, though, I fell in love with the community and makeup in general. I never did much more than mascara and maybe some eyeliner on occasion, but suddenly I found myself yearning to replicate the artistry I saw in front of me. These beauties were incredible and I wanted to be like them. Since beginning to lurk there back in late January/early February, I have amassed quite the collection of cosmetics that sadly sit there most days. I wake up at 5:30am every day to make a 6:30am bus for my job that starts at 7am, and even if I did forsake more sleep and get my butt out of bed right away, I’m a laboratory technician, I don’t have the ideal job for a full face of makeup.
Wanting to actually use these products outside of weekends, I figured the best way would be to create something that would force me to spend more nights out of my week playing around with makeup for a purpose, and a blog seemed like the right answer. But I still liked my boyfriend’s suggestion about creating the food blog, however I didn’t want to have two new blogs plus my personal blog. Then I thought, why not do both in the same place? No matter which medium, I’ll be creating something that I want to showcase, and recipes are just like makeup tutorials, right? Sort of? Pretty close?
And that is how Palates and Palettes was born. (Hehe, get it? Like, the palate of your mouth, and then makeup palettes? I am so witty, you guys)
It’s going to be weird since I’ll be catering (no pun intended) to two different kinds of audiences for the most part. Some of you will be here for makeup, some for cooking. My hope is that it won’t get in the way of your enjoyment of this blog and that perhaps you can appreciate both sides even if you’re partial to one! Heck, maybe I can even create some food-inspired looks based on what I’m cooking. Products like Too Faced’s Chocolate Bar do exist, after all, so food and makeup totally go together!
This is going to be an experiment in many ways, from combining both hobbies into one blog to actually creating food and makeup looks on a regular basis when I’m still quite new to doing both seriously. But I’m a scientist, my whole life is about experiments. And damn it all if I don’t have fun doing it.
So here we go. It’s time to begin the wild ride. I don’t yet know quite what my schedule will look like for posting to this blog, I’ll figure that out as I go online. Both of these hobbies will not only be a time investment but a financial one as well, so it’s inevitable that things may get hindered at points due to money, but as of this moment, I’m in it and I can’t get out.
Until next time!
This post has been brought to you by tea, post-workout grunge, power brows and NYX’s Hunk Butter Lipstick.
Palettes and Palates 