What Makeup Products Do You Use?

One of the questions I have gotten over and over again is what product lines I use when I am styling makeup. I obviously sell (and use) Mary Kay products, but there are others I use as well! In this post I will talk about what I recommend, and what I advise against!

For everyday wear I always use Mary Kay brands (almost exclusively). They last all day, they aren't hard to remove and they are less expensive than high end brands. My daily Must haves are:

Eye PrimerThis is essential for maintaining the health and elasticity of your skin around your eyes! It also allows for all eye color to stay put all day long! $12

Beach Blonde Cream Eye Color
This color matches every single person's skin tone perfectly! Unless you have bronze skin in which case I'd check out the Iced Cocoa! Both go on smooth and beautifully! I generally outline my bottom lids with this every single day! I also place a small dot on both corners of my eyes! It makes your eyes look bright, fresh and awake! $14

Chocolate Kiss and Sweet Cream Mineral Eye Colors
I use the Chocolate Kiss for my eyelid and the Sweet Cream for under my brow! Neutrals are a girls best friend when it comes to makeup! But if you have bronze skin I suggest using Sweet Plum for your lid color and Almond for your highlighting color! Remember ladies highlighting colors should be lighter than your natural skin tone! And they should never be shimmery, always matte! And with over 30 colors to choose from how could you not find your perfect color match with Mary Kay!?

 Timewise Liquid Matte Foundation
We also have a Luminous foundationd for a dewey look, I just personally prefer the matte (and I recommend matte foundations for any photo moments!) $20Lash Love 

Lash Love  Lash Lengthening Mascara
I love this new mascara! It's so much fun! The brush is curved to allow the lashes to curl and they have amazing rubber definition bristles! $15

And the only other item I use that isn't Mary Kay is eyeliner. I think MK has great eyeliner! But it is a little pricey for me! My favorite eyeliner is NYX Black Eyeliner Pencil! You usually can't just pick up NYX products at Walmart, but I have gotten mine from Accessories Shops in  the mall, or at GenX Clothing and I usually find it for between $2 - $5 a stick. And if you are in need of a fun colored eyeliner, NYX has every color known to mankind!

Even though that is what I wear every day, it's not what I use on my clients or for my own special occasions! Generally all of my clients are having photos taken of them. Whether it's senior portraits, a bride, or prom they are going to be in front of a camera several times! For these gals I have two constant friends! I use them on literally every, single, one of my clients. Always!

Mary Kay Facial Highlighting Pen 

This easy to blend liquid formula comes in four shades, and is amazing! You can use it to lift and refresh your look by brightening shadowy or darkened areas of your face. There are also three great "optical illusions" you can use it to create! If you want to see it in action or learn more about it click HERE! $18


Mary Kay Translucent PowderI love translucent powder. I have been using it for years! But the stuff is so expensive that even though it's best to use all over you face, I could only afford to use it around my eyes! Then Mary Kay came out with their own, and it costs less, and works better than any leading brand I have ever tried, hands down! I'm seriously in love with it! This magic dust comes in only the white but it is translucent so you can use it on any skin tone! It evens out unwanted tones, controls unwanted shine, and sets foundation and other makeup so it lasts all day long! This is great for everyday wear as well, I am just generally to lazy to put it on! $16

For the rest of my clients it is really all about their needs and their lifestyle. The way I see it is everything should be just one step up in a picture from where you normally are. So if I get a girl who never wears makeup day to day, and owns nothing more than concealer, I am not going to do what I would for a daily makeup wearer! If someone likes to keep things natural I will do a Lash Love Lash Lengthening mascara in Black Brown, and I'll use a light amount of NYX eyeliner pencil in either black, brown, or sometimes even plum depending on her skin tone and hair color. I will generally apply my daily wear on her (the foundation, and two basic colors) and then I use my facial highlighting pen and translucent powder.

But for my everyday makeup wearing clients, I use something else. First of all I use a different mascara.

Revlon 3D Volume PhotoReady Mascara
You can buy it over the counter and you have my words that it's the best you can buy at Walmart. When it comes to mascara it's all about the brush and the formulation, they way I apply this mascara emphasis the clients outer lashes and allows for maximum lift and definition. Eye makeup is really what makes our breaks a clients look. $7-$9 (depending where you buy it)

I also use a different kind of eye color for these clients!

Lefemme Eye Color Pucks
I used to use both MAC and La Femme Eye Shadows, I mostly used La Femme's Metallics, trhen I realized that La Femme is so much better than MAC, and they are usually cheaper! Now I am Lefemme Exclusive. The reason I use this for my clients instead of Mary Kay is that there is more pigment in the color, so they are brighter and less subtle. (but Mary Kay has more pigment than any WalMart brand guarantee!) I still generally use the same shades (once in a while if the client requests it I will use a blue or green or red pop) but when it comes to do makeup I tend to stick with neutrals, and delicate lilac, pink, and coral tones. The reason I wouldn't use these for everyday wear is because they are much more expensive! And the high pigmentation and pop of color is a little more dramatic than what I like to use day to day. Maybe once in a while but I prefer to keep my pops of color in my lipstick! La Femme eye shadow pucks are usually bought online, or at costume makeup supply stores! $5-8 per puck

I always finish off every single client with what I call my "secret weapon"
 
Mary Kay Makeup Finishing Spray
This finishing spray will keep everything right where you want it for up to 16 hours! It dries quickly, washes of easily and it is safe for any skin type, even oily! $18







Now that you know what I use and love it's time for part 2 of this blog!


What You Should Never Buy!

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara
What makes a mascara great? The difference is the brush! If your brush is a rubber wide bristle spiked brush you have a great
mascara there! Like I said I recommend Mary Kay Lash Love Lash Lengthening, and Revlon 3D Photo Ready Mascaras. The actually liquid content is best if it has a lower coal pigmentation and a high level of oils, and a medium wax level. This mascara has a higher wax content then anything else on the market, and that is why it gets so clumpy! And the brushes on the Maybelline Great Lash mascara are awful too! Not a great buy!

Lancome Products

The reason I advise against Lamcome products is because they are the exact same thing as L'Oreal products! It's ridiculous! There is a difference between WalMart brands and Department Store makeup. Mary Kay is Department store quality with a middle ground price. While L'Oreal is the absolute best Walmart brand you can get, Lamcome is the worst thing you are going to find in a department store! The company makes a middle ground quality product and sells them at both a high end and low end price with different labels! Shame on you L'Oreal/Lancome!


Olay Products
Olay is one of the biggest names in skin care! They are affordable and accessible. They are also bad for you skin! Olay got it's name from the word "oil" which is exactly what is in every one of their products. If you put a raisin in a jar of oil what will happen? Nothing. BUT if you put a raisin in a jar of water what will happen? It re-hydrates a little bit! So what have we learned here? Oil does not re-hydrate or smooth your skin. In fact it does nothing (except clog our pores)! Where as our MK Daily Moisturizer contains NO oil and has a lot of refreshing, hydrating water! The Mary Kay Moisturizer is amazing, light weight and fragrance free! It comes in two types: Oily & Combination skin or Normal & Dry skin $22

Hair Definitions

There are a million and one ways to define your hair, course, medium, fine, normal, thick, porous, damaged, frizzy, sleek, ect. The list goes on and on. So how exactly do you define what your hair is? There are three ways to define your hair. The first thing you need to know is some terms.

- Density -
Density is amount of hair strands on your head per square inch of scalp. Usually blondes and redheads have a higher density than a brunette. But that isn't always the case! The three definitions of hair density are

Thick Denisty
Medium (or normal) Density
Low Density

- Texture - 
The texture of ones hair is defined by the diameter of each individual hair strand. There are three ways to define someones hair texture.

Coarse
Medium (or normal)
Fine

So when your stylist says your hair is coarse it doesn't mean damaged, it means thick.

- Porosity and Elasticity - 
The porosity and elasticity of someones hair directly relates to the damage it's seen. Porosity is the ability your hair has to absorb moisture. Elasticity is the ability of the hair strand to stretch and then return to it's normal length, without breakage. These two can be tested in many ways and defined but generally there are three ways we define it in the hair world.

High Porosity with Low Elasticity (very damaged)
Healthy (a little damaged)
Virgin (no damage)

the things that cause damage to the hair are anything from acidic shampoos, curling irons, flat irons, blowdrying the hair, chemical services (hair color dyes, perms, ect.) and so much more. The less damage that is done to your hair the lower your hair's porosity is, and the higher its elasticity.




So now that you know all of that great information, we can define our hair better. So for example before school I used to think I had thick hair. Now I know what I really have is Coarse, medium, healthy hair. What's your hair type?

What Hair Products Do You Use?

I get asked this all the time! I use Redken! I am a super brand-loyal gal but I love Redken products! I will admit though recently I have been seeing another brand! TiGi! Most of you know TiGi by their line BedHead, which I love! Here I will go over a few of my favorite styling products and I'll tell you all about why I love them and when to use them! I will also give you a few of my at-home remedies!




Redken Iron Silk
This is my #1 must have product! First of all it smells heavenly! It's a light fun flirty scent! If there is one thing I HATE it's heavily scented product! Iron Silk does two things for your hair. First of all it's a heat protectant, and it also helps straighten the hair as you blow dry it! If you are wanting to style your hair with curls or waves use Redken's Iron Style!

Redken Align

This Polishing Milk is PERFECT for frizzy haired girls! I hate those inevitable fly-aways that ruin a picture or a cute bun! Redken's Align 12 is an "Ultra Straightening Balm" that smooths the hair and gives is shine. If you have curly hair or texture and still want the help use Redken Outshine

Redken Guts
Volume! That's what this product is all about. Apply it to your roots while your hair is damp, and then bend over (so your hair is standing upward) and blowdry! It's amazing! But this typically works best for girls who have thick or normal hair (like me!) but if you have really fine hair I'd use TiGi Sugar Shock! It's the same thing, just apply it on dry hair instead of wet with no blowdry time needed.







TiGi Bedhead Hook-Up Moose Wax
This is the best product for keeping perms looking fresh, or to manage your crazy curls! The best thing about this products is it isn't just a moose, it's a moose wax! That means it doesn't get hard or crunchy, but it's still foamy and light and you apply it just like a moose!







TiGi Hard Head Hair Spray
This is hands down the best hairspray of all time. You seriously can't beat it. It has a fun and light scent, it's got amazing hold, your hair doesn't get crunchy, and $15 get's you a massive can of it! Great product, great brand, great value.







Redken Shampoo & Conditioners

Shampoos and Conditioners can be a little tricky since different hair types require different things. But I love Redken shampoos and conditioners! They have Color Extend, Extreme (for damaged hair), All Soft (for normal hair), and several others. But if you don't want to pay the big bucks for a great shampoo buy Pantene and Heads and Shoulders. The equate versions don't do the same thing! Trust me! While Pantene isn't as great as a Redken shampoo it's the best thing you can buy at WalMart. But when it comes to dandruff your best bargain brand is Heads and Shoulders.