Hello Cuties!
I haven’t been present in the past days on the blog because my body decided to take a break from the winter stress and get a cold đŠÂ Unfortunately i didn’t agree on this, but i guess i have not any decisional power on this…. LOL
I the meantime i’ve received 2 nominations and i don’t think i’ve thanked you enough. THIS means SOOOOO much for me… I could NEVER imagined that in only 1 month of blog-life, i would have soo much love and positivity from all of. You welcomed me and made me feel home. THANK YOU IMMENSELY!
But now lets roll to the nomination. I have been nominated from my dear friend Ollie and Oscar, please check out her blog here. She got some talent to share….
The rules for this award –
Thank the person who nominated you and add their link to your blog
List the award rules so your nominees will know what to do.
 State 7 things about yourself.
Nominate other bloggers.
Contact your nominees and provide a link to your post.
Display the award logo (button) on your blog, whether on your sidebar or about page, or special award page.
7 Facts about me:
I grew up in Italy, but my parents are originally from Bulgaria. My mom moved to Italy in her early age for work purposes.
My dog’s name is Marley and he lives with my mom atm. He is an American Pit-bull and he is the sweetest thing ever, unless you are a male big dog, then he will tear you apart…. lol
Me and my boyfriend met on Facebook through a common friend. So internet love DOES exist.
I haven’t had any make-up certification, but as i stated before i am an Youtube home-schooled.
My favorite color is the peach. I love it during the spring and summer. During winter although i love black (boringgggg).
I have a Michael Jackson tattoo on my leg. Since i was kid, he is always been my idol, and after his death in 2009 i decided to make a tribute for him, by inking my left upper-leg.
Hello cuties!
Been thinking lately of what could be the next makeup post, and the only one rolling in my head was to make clear once for good what is my foundation routine. And next comes the question with capital Q: Drugstore or some designer foundation?
How i imagined myself after using a “poisoned” drugstore foundation.
Some years ago (when i have my mom buying makeup for me haha)Â i was ONLY using designer brands: Dior, YSL, and Chanel were my favorites.
*DISCLAIMER: i was not “gold-digging” my mom, but she was a kind of person that would be happy if i own as many things as possible.
Back to the topic, i don’t wanna bore you with the clinical situation of my mom ( sorry mom, i love you ), so as i said i was obsessed with these design products, because i believed that the drugstore ones would destroy my skin and turn me into an old- wrinkled- gray- widow ( sad story….). So i basically skipped using any drugstore product for years, until i got into the college. As you all know being a student means have barely money to buy an apple, so i switched to only drugstore products, and i understood that they wouldn’t harm my skin ( it sounds so silly now lol).
Now i learned the pros and cons of both and i was thinking to share this holy knowledge with you. I am gonna display the current products that i am using on daily basis, and i try to make a short description of them.
*NOTE: you still remember my boyfriend? yeah it is the same one, i haven’t changed him…. YET! He told me my sister in law commented that my post are too long ( i love her, but you can’t change the family genes) so i’m REALLY trying to cut out some parts that maybe are too long and unnecessary.)
DRUGSTORE FOUNDATIONS
So here is my favorites ones
My drugstore products
DermaBlend by Vicky is the first drugstore foundation ever that i fell in love with. I used to have a lot of small bumps on my face, kind of an acne, but not widespread all over my face ( thank you GOD), so when i was looking for a TOTAL coverage , this babe was best one. I swear, Dermablend was making me look like a doll, but also the feeling of an heavy mask on your face. I think was great for photo shootings, and probably events in a cold places ( just believe me, you don’t want to have THIS foundation in warm and crowded places, you will literally MELT!)
Pros: full coverage, many shades, cheap (15$) and long lasting ( 15h guaranteed)
Cons: mask feeling, not for oily skins, it creases if you make a lot of face expressions (i told ya, you gotta be a doll).
Pros: light, easy to apply, glowy and dewy skin effect.
Cons: poor lasting, not that many shades available.
Super Stay 24 by Maybelline is the only one drugstore foundation that has all the quality that i wanted: long lasting, flawless, high coverage, and give you a brighter and healthier skin. I don’t know why there isn’t that many bloggers and makeup gurus talking about it, because i LOVE IT!
It stay literally perfect on your skin up to 20hrs ( can’t really say 24!) and it wont melt if you enter a crowed place. Make sure that you use a primer under for maximize the effects.
Pros: light wearing, long lasting, good coverage, flawless skin, cheap price (around 9$) and SPF 15
Cons: i think they should improve more the colors available… I found them either too rose or too yellow.
DESIGNER FOUNDATIONS
Now it’s coming the truth…. are they really better then the drugstore products? In one word: Yes they are, not ALL of them tho. You really need to find the one that fits you better, and that worths the money you are paying for. First of all when you come in a makeup counter, look for a seller that could advice and that you trust in ( pick the one that cares about you, and not somebody that wanna just sell the most expensive product). Then just try, try and try… do not be ashamed of asking to swatch different brands and shades.
My designer products
 I bought Teint Idole Ultra 24h by Lancome on a boat trip, because i forgot mine at home ( so typical of me). It was with 30% off so i decided to give it a try. I really really liked it. The texture was very light but still with a high coverage, and you won’t feel your skin face heavy. The price was around 45$. I still use it only during the summer time.It feels really good on the skin.
Pros: Good lasting, soft texture, high coverage, for all skin types.
Cons: too much perfume in it!
Guerlaine Lingerie de Peau is the latest one i purchased. The price was actually good, i was expecting much much more ( it’s “only” 61$ at Sephora). WOW i found it incredible!!! Really really nice application, and got this feeling of “invisibility” as it says on the packaging. You don’t even feel having a foundation on you.
Pros: light application, invisible effect, medium coverage, SPF 20+ and natural effect.
Cons: the price ( maybe there is inside some gold particles), its not that much known as a makeup brand.
Ladies and gentlemen… here it comes the STAR of all times: Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. I mean, what can i say more then it is the perfection. The price of 62$ is high, but when you once try it, you’ll understand why.
Pros: oil-free foundation, silky and glowy, lightweight application, perfect flawless skin, all skin types.
Cons: hmmmmm…. give me some times to think about it *after 10 min* … still thinking… *15 min* wait i think i have one!! nawww… wait…. Been thinking a while and can only say that the price is the ONLY cons i can ever think about it.
I hope this has been helpful for you, and feel free to give me any tips of drugstore and designer foundations.
Hello my girls! (no wait, why should i be sexist?) Hello my ladies and gentlemen ( that doesn’t sound right) Lets start again….
Hello guys!!!!! ( much better….) I received a few questions about my makeup in the post “Warm smokey eyes” so i decided to straighten it up before fells into forgotteness ( is that actually a word?? *google*… damn it!)… before i forget about it! I have summit up 5 easy techniques to achieve a professional eye makeup without being a makeup guru:
STEP 1:
A good eye makeup should be ALWAYS composed by 3 colors: one transition color, one crease color and one lid color. If you are not planning to do an 80’s look, then all the 3 should be complementary or at least going from lightest to darkest. For example in my Warm Smokey Eyes i had a medium brown as a transition color little bit above the crease ( Makeup Geek Frappe 5,99$). The transition color should be couple of shades darker then your skin. Then i chose a more intense shade of brown for my crease (Makeup Geek Cocoa Bear 5,99$) and at the end i picked a glitterish pigment again from Makeup Geek ( booooorinnngg!) called Vegas Lights ( 6,99$ ).
STEP 2:
Use different brushes for different parts of the eye. I know that sounds kind of an investment to have 3-4 good brushes just for the eyes, but trust me: they DO make a difference! My favorites are basically 4: a fluffy brush for the transition color that helps you to buff out any color (Sigma Tapered Blending E40 16$), a classic blending brush with synthetic bristle ( best ones tried so far are Sigma E25 14$ or MAC 217 22,50$), a lid brush that can be either synthetic either natural but WIDE so can cover the whole lid with just a tap ( less tapping girls… less tapping!). Again i am a Sigma nerd so i’m using E55 Eye shading this is great for loose and compact shadows. And then for more precise crease works i chose a pencil brush E30 ( guess from who??? S-I-G-M-A).
STEP 3:
If you are doing a heavy look, or using some loose shadows/pigments, start your makeup with the eyes, and then go to the face…. you will avoid a lot of boring corrections of your under eyes concealer: trust me those are the expensive monsters!!!
STEP 4:
Blend, blend, blend and again blend. Seriously take your time and blend! It doesn’t have to be like a hour, but a good 3 min of blending for each eye is kinda a MUST. Harsh lines are women demons , because we all experienced that feeling of chunkiness on the eyes after a day at work or night in a club. The more you blend, the less lines you will get in your crease. Be gentle and don’t press too much with the brush…. think as your’re making a painting.
STEP 5:
Steady? Ready? Eyeliner!! Now this is it… no really this is the shit. When you arrive at this point, and you’re so proud of your shadows, you take your eyeliner in your hands, and all suddenly you feel like a thrill all over your body: this is the moment, ONE mistake and you gotta do EVERYTHING over again. Isn’t that what you feel? I DO! OMG i was shaking and wouldn’t get it right… But then with years of exercise, i finally achieve the “eyeliner knowledge”. First of all i am using ONLY gel liners, they are incredibly easy to apply. Secondly i split the line into 3 parts and link them together: first utter corner with the desired length, then inner corner till the middle lid, and at the end i connect the utter line with the inner line. DONE!!! Now all you have to do is to fill the rest with some more black ( easy isn’t it?). Sometimes it will be a thicker line and sometimes a thinner, but no matter how you like your eyeliner, this all process wouldn’t take more then 5 min.
Note: I was just gonna upload MY eye close ups when the author AKA my boyfriend AKA MR.-I-KNOW-EVERYTHING-ABOUT-PICTURES said : “You look like a chicken!” what?! are you serious? a chicken? So tell me “country boy” what do you know about chickens? Let’s compare it! According to my lovely boyfriend, MY skin around the eye looks exactly like the one around the chickens. (?) so then i replied: “Listen, you little rice eater: i have NO makeup on me but the eyeliner because i wanted to focus on MY eye, and not on the chicken… eerghh… sorry AROUND the eye.”
Unfortunately he won the battle and i m gonna post a picture taken from Pintarest ( don’t have the credits with me, sorry….) instead of mines, but it shows EXACTLY how i do my eyeliner! I hope this brief makeup tutorial has been helpful and don’t forget to leave your comment down below about your routine when it come to eye makeup.
Dear Sigma Flat Kabuki,
Thank you for being part of my life. You changed my foundation existence and made it so easy to apply and blend everything you touched. Since we met in 2013, you had me flawless and perfect on all occasions. You were small but strong, and an example to ALL my brushes. Please RIP and God be with you in this journey through the darkness.
You will always be irreplaceable in my heart and in my beauty case… I love you Flat Kabuki F80!
PS. Don’t be mad if It’s already on the way a brand new one, a gently gift from Sigma customer service đ the problem was in the bristle that as you can see above lost totally the initial shape… We couldn’t understand the real causes of death.
PPS. This brush is my holy grail for any liquid foundation… If you don’t own one yet, please make sure you do ASAP because your existence will change drastically.( 24$ is a great deal) http://www.sigmabeauty.com
Hello everyone! Today i have stayed all day under a photo object and tried to get “The shoot” for this first look of the 2015. Have you any idea of how frustrating is being photographed by your own boyfriend? Let me get this straight :Â when you are pictured by ANY photographer on this earth, he is gonna please whatever request you have and lie to you by telling you how gorgeous you look like and to keep posing.BAM! You feel like Gisele on a Victoria Secrets magazine. But with YOUR boyfriend everything gets more complicated. He feels like he wanna make the perfect shoot so he actually tells you ALL THE TIME that you kinda look weird in that pose, that you have double chin in this one, that this angle is your “masculine side” ( really? have girls a masculine side of the face?…). So the more pictures he takes the less confidence you have, and after 3 hrs of intense shooting you understand that you are not made to be photographed, you are a fat-double-chinned-masculine-cow and that you should actually close your blog and start writing back on your diary.
Now you probably say: ” Omg this picture is awesome, why are you so mean to him?” Me? mean? Please! Here we are talking about UNDERSTANDING the women race: you CANNOT make objective comments to the girl that is trying to be cool and sexy in front of a camera, you gonna destroy all her self confidence. It’s like taking a selfie and having your phone saying ” This one? Really? B***h please put your chin down and take that duck face away”. But lets move on and get into the look now…..
Face: Guerlain Lingerie de Peau – Invisible skin-fusion Foundation 03 MAC Pro Longer concealer NW20; NW25 MAC Prep-prime highlighter MAC loose powder NC5 Bobby Brown bronzing powder Elvis Duran 14 Bobby Brown Shimmer Brick Compact Bronze Blush Hot-mama – The Balm MAC Fix plus spray
Opening a blog has been on my “to-do-list” for over 1 year, but never really felt engaged enough to start one ( let’s be real: the competition is ruthless!) But now a new year is here, and i gotta start moving.
My new year’s resolutions for this 2015 are basically 3:
become a world wide makeup blogger
get a lifetime contract with MAC for free products
fly to LA and work with the Kardashians
THE END
Editor’s note: This is a terrible new years resolutions, so if you want people keep reading your blog, you gotta flesh it out more….. This is one of the first reasons why i wouldn’t start to blog: I CAN’T WRITE!
Update: My editor says again that i cant actually say that i can’t write, because that would declare me as the most incompetent blogger ever. My editor is my boyfriend.
Lets start again ….
My new year’s resolutions for this 2015 are basically 3:
Be more sporty and health orientated
Invest in personalizing my new flat (OMG YES! I actually just bought a flat…but that will be another chapter)
Start to blog about my life as a MUA
I believe that when you make a promise during the new years eve, after a long and alcoholic dinner, mostly of the times is NOT happening. I’ve seen and heard so many people saying that THIS is gonna be the year of the change, that THIS is gonna be the year where they gonna stop the poverty in Africa and bla bla bla…. Big promises! But then the day after, after the hangover is gone, when i asked them if they really gonna quit smoking, they looked at me astonished and says: “i’ve never said that i was gonna quit.. just reduce it!” I can’t really promise that i will really dedicate myself to a healthy life and every single penny will be invested in designing my house rather then buying the latest Sigma brush or the limited edition palette.
But there is only one true and real thing: the passion for makeup and for making my gurls beautiful. Every girls is beautiful, and internal beauty, that my job can bring it up and make it shine. Since i moved to Stockholm in 2012 and spent my time with my beloved boyfriend/friend/inspiration/teacher-of-life that happened to be a genius and creative photographer and music video producer and musician, i could work with an extended range of different people. No race, no language barriers … all beautiful and full of life.
This blog is totally true, except for the parts that aren’t. It about me trying to be a makeup artist, it is about me looking for a living with it and and it is about me competing with all these 2.0 bloggers. I wanna excuse myself in advance if i ever (most possible i actually WILL) offend anyone by calling it a “blondie-without-brain” during a rant: i didn’t actually mean it, because actually not every blondie-without-brain is really blond: they’re dyed!!!
Still there? Good. Enjoy this new blog about an Italian MUA living in Stockholm.
Hello Cuties!
I hope this brief makeup tutorial has been helpful and don’t forget to leave your comment down below about your routine when it come to eye makeup.
Makeupwithanni 