January Favorites 2013

I haven't done this for awhile but I'm glad to start it back up. Without further adieu here they are.

Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF 42 by Missha. I received this in my August Glossybox (I think) and was very skeptical of it. If you don't know already, essentially a BB cream is a tinted moisturizer and targeted facial serum all in one that most often contains SPF. BB creams started in the Asian beauty market and become very popular first in the US for use after laser skin therapy and other beauty procedures. Pretty soon every beauty brand and their parent company had a BB cream to offer. Now there is something called a CC cream and I think it's a total gimmick but you can be the one to decide.

My first reason for skepticism was because it was sent to me through a beauty subscription service and I was positive it wasn't going to be light enough for my skin tone. Secondly, most of the packaging is written in Korean... I get a bit leery when I can't read the ingredient list. However, I was sent a full size to try out so try out I did and I fell in love. The shade they sent me was a great match for my skin. I can wear this product very sheerly or build it up to a medium and almost full coverage foundation. It blends so easily and leaves my skin feeling soft and supple. I love the dewy finish it gives but if you are a matte finish kind of gal you probably won't care for that. Most of the time I don't powder over it but if my skin is feeling particularly oily I will. The full size is 1.7oz and I have plenty to last me a couple more months even though I've been using it nearly everyday since I got it. I will definitely be repurchasing when I run out. It's pretty affordable at $19.99 on Amazon.com

Next product is the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Beige. I find it ironic it's called beige because that sounds like a boring matte color block but it is not that. I won't try to describe the colors but if you find yourself near a Bobbi Brown counter you should check out all of their colors in the shimmer bricks. If you decide you can't live without one check out your local Cosmetics Company Outlet. I've seen a couple colors there for about 30% off retail price. Also remember you can use this product as a blush, highlighter, or eyeshadow too so it is very versatile.

My last beauty product is MAC Big Bounce Shadow in, "Up The Ante!." It is a gorgeous rosey copper color with lots of shimmer. The product is kind of a jelly texture but I only need the tiniest bit to cover my lid and it is very pigmented. The true color really shows because of it's consistency. I don't think you can find this at your local MAC counter anymore because I picked it up at my local CCO. If you find it though it pairs beautifully with some of the Naked 2 palette colors. 

Just kidding! One more makeup product I wanted to mention! My Sugar Tinted Lip Balm by Fresh in color Passion has been on my person nearly all month. My lips definitely suffer in the winter and it's hard to wear lipstick when I'm constantly battling chapped or dry lips. This lip balm provides super moisturizing benefits along with a gorgeous raspberry color. It looks natural on and has helped my lips stay nice and soft all month long. 

Okay for skincare I've really enjoyed another product sent to me in my Glossybox and that is Ayurveyda's Bath & Shower Oil. I recieved the scent Madurai Jasmine and Mogra. I don't know what mogra is but it smells heavenly. As soon as I turn the water off in my shower (and I'm still soaking wet) I pour a little out and lather all over. It locks all the moisture in your skin. Of coarse you could use any bath oil to do this but this one is packed with a magnificent blend of organic almond oil, organic apricot oil, organic avocado oil, jasmine and so much more. You should really check this product out. 

My very last favorite for the month is my new fragrance Daisy by Marc Jacobs. One of my very dear and lovely friends bought this for me for Christmas and I am so grateful. I love it and so does my husband. It's light, floral, and fresh. It's a great everyday perfume. The bottle is adorable as well. 

Alright that's it! I hope you enjoyed and maybe found a new product to try out. I'm off to bed as it is very late now. Ta ta!

IMATS LA 2013 Haul

Anyone that is familiar with IMATS knows the biggest draw to the public/non-professionals that come are the discounts. Most vendors will have at least a 20% discount and generally the highest discount is 40% off. That's excluding deals such as Ardell's 6 pairs of eyelashes for $15 when they normally retail at about $5-$6 per pair (about 50% off).

Enough on that though. Here is a picture of everything I got at the show and a list of each item. Comment with any questions!

- The Beauty Blender Makeup Sponge (40% off)
- Mehron Célèbre HD Cream Foundation (no discount)
- Mehron Célèbre HD Pressed Powder (30% off)
- Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tars in NSFW & Stalker (25% off)
- Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Glitter in Glitter Mint (25% off)
- Ardell brow powder (about 50% off)
- 6 Pair's of Ardell false lashes (about 50% off)
- Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Beige (40% off)
- Cailyn Nail Stickers in Glitter Mint (40% off)
- MAC Cosmetics 15 Eyeshadow Palette (20% off)
- MAC Cosmetics Eyeshadow in Nylon & Steamy (20% off)
- Hakuhodo Blending Brush (no discount)
- Sigma E05 Brush (free)

IMATS LA 2013

My first year at IMATS LA was fantastic. There was so much beautiful makeup artistry and really neat special fx makeups to look at. Many different vendors at the show have makeup artists doing full body makeup on models that you can watch and take pictures with. Watching the artists apply all of the different appliances to the models and their incredible painting skills is really amazing. It was fun to go check out a few booths, watch the artists do their thing, then come back every hour or so to see how the makeup/special fx had progressed. By the end of the day the artists finished their work and the models walked around and posed for pictures.

I took as many photos as I could but I do apologize for the poor quality as they were all taken from my phone (as usual.) Maybe someday I will use a camera, but not today, or tomorrow... Or the next day as I will still be in Pasadena and my camera is 1,100 miles away. I did take some video of the student competition that I plan to post as soon as I can edit it. Near the end there are a few pics of the student competition makeups but the video should include all of them.

I hope.....
(Disclaimer: Some of the special fx makeup is a bit disturbing/scary as well as some of the models more scantaly clad. Some of the body paint is done on nearly nude models so be warned these pictures may not be suitable for younger audiences.)

Chocolate Fondant

Meet my favorite, easy, late night dessert. A classic chocolate fondant. If you are not familiar with this dessert it has an outer consistency of a brownie with a chocolate, molten, lava like center. It's pretty much amazing. Not helpful when you are dieting but thankfully the recipe only makes four servings, not a dozen like a batch of cookies. If you would like to indulge here is the recipe.

INGREDIENTS: 

1/2 Cup butter

3 1/2 oz Chocolate

4 Eggs

1/2 Cup sugar

1/2 Cup Self-rising flour

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and make sure the rack is in the center of the oven. 

Cut the butter and chocolate into pieces and melt in a pan over low heat. Stir with a spatula until melted and combined, then remove from heat. 

Break eggs into a bowl with sugar and whisk until smooth.

Pour the melted chocolate-butter mixture over the eggs and mix as lightly as possible with a whisk. 

Add flour in three lots, folding it in gently with a flexible spatula. 

Evenly fill four ramekins or molds (Or if you are like me you can use oven safe teacups to bake them in!) with the batter and bake for 15-18 minutes. 

They will be done when the center barely wobbles. Note that you want it to have a slight wobble in the center or it won't be gooey like it should. 

Let cool and enjoy the explosion of delicious flavor.