Mac 'pickups' products reviewed.

For 'school shopping' this year, I decided to hit up the makeup counter instead of buying a whole bunch of clothes. I was VERY pleased with the customer service at MAC cosmetics down at macys. I came not really knowing what u had in mind but that I wanted a good foundation  that suited my oily skin, and the whole liner mascara deal. When I got there my mother told the lady she wanted something that was good to cover the redness in my face, but that wasn't a whole cake and a half on my skin. She suggested the Pro Longwear foundation compact. The lady matched me to a NC20(?) i'd never had guessed that the compact was actually more of a cream in the compact. I thought it was a powder., but in fact it is more of a thick cream. 

I've used it for three days now and I'm stoked! Here's why:

The compact retails for around 32, and u don't use a powder on top. My old products were the Lancôme foundation and a powder that retailed for 49.99$ +15.98$ you do the math. This saves me LOTS. 

Next, I tried this 3 days ago, and I was going to wait because I knew I was to be going swimming in a couple of hours but I couldn't resist. I put some of this on, and after 3 hours went over to a neighbors pool and swam for 2 hours. 

It was still there when I got out. It may be a bad thing for you but if my foundation lasts through chlorinated water for 120 minutes, I'm not going to be worried about my face melting off when my idiot friends decide it's funny to splash everyone with water! Yay for Mac! 

My old foundation routine would consist if a liquid and powder to keep it in place. I stayed matte for about 3 hours max, i'd then get really oily especially around my chin and nose. I HATED it. I was skeptical getting a cream foundation because I thought it'd stay creamy and shiny, but it actually dries Into a more powder like texture leaving me matte for THE WHOLE DAY! I LOVE THIS STUFF! 

This foundation also guarantees perfect wear for 10 ish 15 ish hours so you can put it on and wear it throughout the day. I'm very happy with it. 

It has good coverage for my red! Yippee! I look and feel better about my skin already! I completely recommend this! 

Here are the other things I picked up. 

I got a Mac brush for my foundation some liner and mascara. 

The liner: great if you want sultry looking smudge-able liner. Unfortuanately this is not for me, I'll stick with my waterproof maybelline. 

The mascara however I quite like. It's called 

'Mineralize multi-lash effect mascara' apperantly it has 77 minerals to keep those lashes soft even when they're hidden under 3 coats of this stuff. 

I'd say it keeps them soft which is good! It also layers pretty well too. All in all I love it. Great product.

Happy shopping! 

DIP DYE YOUR HAIR, THE CHEAP WAY :)

Dip dying your hair can look great on almost any hair color, but can get expensive, and sometimes ruin your hair... And if you have brown hair like me, that means that salons have to bleach, and prep before you can even color. Bleaching is so bad for your hair and can leave it looking dead and gross... Nobody wants that do they?
Here's how to dip dye your hair with, you guessed it, KOOLAID.

My neighbor had her hair professionally done, and it looked really good, except that after washing it 3 or 4 times is came out. I originally dyed mine with koolaid, because it was about 30 cents, and i wanted to see if it would stay longer... And it looked so good, i think i'll keep it!

Now, if you are new to dip dying/ coloring your hair, you might want to try something more temporary where as koolaid is semi permanent, but as far as i know, the red in my brown hair isn't coming out anytime soon, so maybe prance on over to amazon and get some hair chalk before you do this yeah? 

First of all, ask your parentals. As soon as you put this nasty powder into your hair, it is NOT coming out anytime soon, and that would suck if you got grounded because of this. -- Ask 'em. 

Next, choose a color. 

PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS_______ This is from my own experience with this stuff, I DO NOT WANT YOU TO END UP WITH ORANGE HAIR! If you want a true Red : Please do a half and half mix with Cherry, and black cherry, or cherry and tropical punch. If you go full on strawberry, you will end up with a pinky orange when it fades, and i don't suggest. 

Blondes, If you use more of a tropical punch, it will be red for a few washes and fade to a nice coral pink! It looks wonderful! :) Use this swatch to look at other colors, (Mostly for blondes. Brunettes id stick to cherry/ grape for your purples and reds... those tend to show up better.)

 Next, Get out:

 a bowl, or a very wide and tall glass

plastic gloves

two rubber bands

Paper towells (Toilet paper also does the trick)

And old towel

a Brush

tin foil

Okay, so many blogs, and pages will have their very own set up, but mine is very easy, and once done SUPER EASY TO CLEAN UP  (MOMS LOVE THAT)

Start by laying out a piece of tin foil wide enough for you to work with, i set out about a foot and a half.

Next, i layered paper towels or tp on top of it. This will be used for you to put your colored hair onto after it sat in the bow/cup soaking up the dye. decide how much you want to layer according to how much hair is going to be dipped, the more you dip the more layers you need to soak up the water. 

Grab your koolaid colors and put in the dish as well as about a cup and a half of water. Mix, and microwave until very hot. 

Next, section your hair off into two sections. YOU DO NOT want to band your hair off in the front, that will leave you with an ugly line in the back of your hair. Since you pull your hair to the front, the front will be more immersed into the dye and it will leave a yucky shaped line, instead, have a friend help you section it off from the back to get an even amount around all your hair. 

Now, put on those plastic gloves, and get out your koolaid mixture! Set the cup/bowl right in the middle of your tinfoil/paper towel space. 

dip your hair all the way up to the rubber bands, and pull out about an inch. That way, it gets color all the way up to the line, but isnt as dark as the rest. This creates the ombre effect, and will help your hair just ease into the vibrant color and get rid of the 'line' that occurs in bad dying. If you want a more subtle color dip for 3-5 minutes. If you want the deeper richer color try 10-15 minutes. 

Pull your hair out and let it sit over the cup while it drains the excess wetness. next, lay your hair on the paper towel you have set down. remove the koolaid mix, and let the paper towels soak up some more water. The tin foil helps to just make sure that if the amount of towels you set down werent enough, it wont stain your table :)

fold up the tin/towel set up on to your hair, and run up to your bathroom with your brush.

take out your straightener and turn it on. squeeze that foil and remove it from your hair. throw it away at this point. While the straightener is heating up, blow dry your hair. after it is almost dry, take out the bands, and brush while you finish drying. 

After your hair is dry, take your straightener, and straighten that hair! The heat from the straightener helps to set the color and make it last longer. Now, after this is done, you can wear it right then, and it wont come off during the day, Plus to that, being you can immediately wear a white shirt and you don't have to worry about staining it! 

AFTERCARE: Try to keep away from chlorine, if you want it to stay, (BOO i know, no swimming for a little, but you can do it! )
Try to keep away from excess sunlight, as it does tarnish the color a bit. 

If you can, WASH IN COLD WATER. Cold water will be able to keep the color in better vs. hot water. 

Don't wash every day, extra washing takes out color... duh. 

use the 'color safe' shampoo! it really will make a difference!
And Have fun with it! I have already gotten so many compliments on my red dip-dyed hair, and when i tell people i did it using koolaid, they can hardly believe me! It really does look good!
Have fun with your hair that was almost free!!

Makeup, It's not just for the guys.

Yes, That is the same person.
No, I am not lying.

Lots of teens wonder if guys like makeup and worry about if their makeup will make them or break them. Because guys don't wear makeup themselves, i honestly don't think that men take that much time out of their day to wonder, or even care about makeup. We live in a day and age (pardon my cliche start to the sentence) where girls do wear makeup. That said, i don't think mascara and some liner will get you weird stares all day. Wearing makeup isn't bad!

Generally a successful makeup job, is one guys wont notice that much, or even at all. Makeup should be used enough (if at all) to ENHANCE what's already there, not create something completely different. (e.g Circus clown)  If you are spending too much time and applying to the point that 99% of your "Beauty" can be wiped off with a baby wipe, i'd say that is too much and too far, But , using it enough to add a little dazzle to your natural face and have a little boost to your self esteem box is great!

CONTRARY to popular belief......
 We girls, do not just wear makeup to seduce the guys.
Its just not a thing.

I know you're probably sitting here wondering why the heck we do it then.  Hmmm Let me tell you a little bit about self-image.
About 7 in 10 Girls believe they don't "Measure up" In some way. Be looks, school, or popularity,...etc they think less of themselves. Interesting huh?
How are we supposed to feel good about our natural self when society has destroyed the reality that we can be naturally beautiful. Magazine covers, to television, We are plastered with airbrushed flawless looking men and women. Living today and being able to have good self confidence is something hard for many.
Sometimes girls do things for ourselves. SURPRISE! Maybe I wear some black ink on my lashes, and some color to my lids, because I think it makes me look better, and I actually like to look good sometimes! Yes, It makes us feel better about ourselves!

On a recent trip, my other friend was talking to me about how she wanted to get some fake lashes, you know, those cute kind that make it so you never have to scrape off day old mascara, and redo your lashes when a clump dries? Those majestic kind you glue on once and you look fantastic for weeks after? Yes those! She was talking about how she wanted to get them and our guy friend straight out told her it seemed like she tried to hard to get guys.
Um. Guess what honey? sometimes its not for you guys :) And,,, if it makes her happy about her appearance, Girl power to her!

I chose the picture at the top of this post because i like how it shows the effects of makeup. I don't necesarily say you should go and makeup till you can't recognize yourself, but I feel like she looks a lot more confident with it on. So go ahead with your Bronzers, and concealers. Your lipsticks, stains, and powders.
Because if it helps you to love yourself more, you deserve it. :)

This post is for Chelsea

Thank you chelsea for starting a beauty guru page on instagram, and forcing me to make this. (Ha! just kidding, blogging is fun!) Have fun with this page and Comment/ message me on facebook what you want me to do on here)
Toodles :)
-Bri