How many Uses or Applications can I get out of a jar of pigment or a pan of eye shadow?

This is a really hard question to answer because our lid sizes, eye shapes, application techniques, brushes, and shadow formulations differ.

I decided to do a little snooping anyway. 

This is by no means scientific, but it's a fun (and hopefully informative) FYI for you!



The Equipment:

Micro-scale (measures down to 0.01g)
The Body Shop Eye shadow brush (found the most "medium" brush

July Favorites!

It's that time again!

Time for me to show you (aka gush) about the products that have stood out to me this month. I've got some new finds, rediscovered loves, and a great tip that has totally helped my skin (and my health) during this past month.  

Check out my video below for the goods and don't forget to tell me what YOUR favorite products were in July!

xoxo,

Tiffany

Silver Smoke: MAC Electra

I think every makeup collector should "shop their own stash" once in awhile, as a way of rediscovering and digging out items that they have forgotten.



Electra was one of the very first shadows I ever bought from MAC (along with Vex) and my first pan has been with me years and years because I've worn it probably less than 10 times.



It's a steely silver that has enough depth and sheen

Updated CLOSET TOUR & Organization Tips

Call me crazy, but I'm one of those people that are deeply fascinated by closets. Especially other people's.  Considering I started my YouTube channel from our first walk-in at our previous home and filmed in there for a few years, that's probably no surprise to you.

So I'm girly, nosy, and I love closets. Big surprise.

However, I'm also a bit of an organization freak. It calms me to organize things and be in an organized environment. You definitely DO NOT have to spend a fortune on a custom closet to have an organized one.

Check out my video below for a tour of our walk-in at our current home and hopefully pick up some organization tips along the way! ;)

Video FAQ: (basically, where things are from)

-rug: Pier 1 (no longer available....womp womp.)  *Similar one from West Elm, here.

-tufted storage ottoman: Overstock.com

-shoe racks: Container Store

-other little stool: from an antique store

-hangers: Huggable Hangers (or find similar ones from stores like Bed Bath & Beyond and TJ Maxx)

-closet systems: Lowes or Home Depot, customizable closet systems - see the video for more details, not sure of the exacts

Let me know if I left out anything!  Also, what are YOUR biggest closet organization challenges? Any great solutions?

xoxo, 

Tiffany

Beauty Find: Stick Kajals / Khols

Shahnaz Husain Herbal Eye Kajal







For those who may not be aware, "kajal" (South Asian) is simply another word for "khol" (Arabic), an eye cosmetic used to darken the lids and lash line for centuries in parts of Asia and Africa, and heralds back to the Protodynastic periods of Egypt.







Besides being a beauty aid, it was believed to guard from harsh rays of the sun, had components

NEW Sigma Brow Kit & Brow Grooming/Filling Tutorial

SO excited that the Sigma Beauty Experts Brow Kit is finally available today! I say "finally" just because I've been using and testing out this kit for over a month now and I absolutely couldn't wait to share it with you all. 

I've been using it often and it now has it's own little special place on my vanity top.

*Be warned.. I've been using and loving this kit for a month, so you're going to see my actual "used" kit in the photos. Being real- that's just how it is.

I know... It comes with a CRAZY amount of stuff. Literally everything you'd ever need for perfect eye brows.  What makes this kit unique is that it not only includes full-sized products to fill and make your brows look perfect, but it also includes all the tools you need to actually groom and shape your brows.

Double-sided highlight pencil, double-sided pencil for filling, jumbo sharpener, 5 brow powders, double-sided brow gel, double-sided brow brush (E75 & E80)

scissors, tweezers, 3 brow stencils

Sigma Beauty Experts Brow Kit, $69

Click here for the kit, and be sure to take advantage of the 10% off code "AP2012" good until July 31, 2012.

Also, don't forget to check out my Brow Grooming/Filling Tutorial below

Brow Kit was provided for consideration by Sigma Beauty with no obligations or agreements to review or feature in my videos or my blog.

Twilight Fae: Dramatic Hologram Eyes

For those of you craving some excitement for Summer nights, here's a colorful and dramatic smoky eye which is actually pretty easy to create. To tone it down for day, just keep the shadow within the socket area instead of blending it out and up as far as I did.

There were 3 main products I used:

Black kajal (any very creamy and smudgy black cream shadow or pencil will work)
Translucent

Electric Pink Glitter-Lips with Brown Eyes

This is a fun look that's flattering and dramatic. As with all glitter-lip looks, it is not going to be a good idea to eat a whole lot while you're wearing it.



Recommended for clubbing and cocktail parties where you'll mostly just be drinking through straws. 









Step 1: Apply a soft warm brown (I used MAC Sable) to the entire lid area, and then blend the color gently along the

Evergreen Metallic Winged Eyes (L'oreal Color Infallible Shadows in Permanent Kaki and Endless Chocolat)

Time to whip out some of my drugstore loves, after the recent features of high-end products!

Since I've been on something of a green kick recently, L'oreal Color Infallible Shadow Permanent Kaki (which had up to now been passed over repeatedly when I played around with the testers at the drugstore) suddenly caught my eye.



Now, let me first tell you not to trust what you see in the

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre in 89 Vision (Super-simple Gold Wash)

If there is just one item that I will recommend from the high-end collections if you're in the market to splurge on something this Summer season, it is Chanel's Illusion D'Ombre in 89 Vision. 



And, yes - let me first say outright that this is ridiculously expensive but MUCH better than the equivalent from Shu Uemura. Plus, you get a lot more product than you would with Shu's new cream

NEW Benefit for Sephora Kits!

Benefit, you get me every time.
With your cutesy retro fun packaging and the yummy-smelling products.
Every. Single. Time.

But the products have actually been a long-time love of mine. I would consider Benefit to be one of my first cosmetic obsessions.  Sure they're fun and all, but the quality is great too which is obviously the most important thing. Especially the boxed powders.
I remember my first one, Dandelion.  It was love.  So when I saw that Benefit had started to create other products based on their much-loved boxed powders, they got me again.
Which reminds me that I need to get around to posting swatches of the new Ultra Plush lip glosses based on the boxed powders.  Look for that soon.

These new kits I'm giving you a little peek of here will be exclusively sold at Sephora. The first two, Sugarlicious and Go Tropicoral are created around two of those famous boxed powders, Sugarbomb and CORALista.  Those kits are $28.  There is also one based on Dandelion called Feelin' Dandy, which I don't have. The other is one of their new Complexion Kits. They come in 3 shades- Light, Medium, & Deep and will be exclusive to Sephora also.  Those are $30. All of the kits will be available in August.

K, so enough chit-chat... Here's the eye candy.

 Sugarlicious

 

 kit contains:

 Benetint (cheek & lip stain), High Beam (highlighting liquid), Sugarbomb (face powder), Ultra Plush Sugarbomb lipgloss

I love the little "Tips & Tricks" booklet that closes around the mirror of each kit

The shades are pretty subtle in this one- (l-r) Benetint, High Beam, Sugarbomb powder

Sugarbomb Ultra Plush lip gloss

 Go Tropicoral

kit contains: Chachatint (lip & cheek stain), High Beam (liquid highlighter), CORALista (face powder), Ultra Plush lip gloss in CORALista

(l-r) Chachatint, High Beam, CORALista powder

CORALista Ultra Plush lip gloss

 "How to Look the Best at Everything" Complexion Kit in Medium

(personally, the powder is a bit too dark for me, so my shade in this kit would be Light)

As with the previous kits, this one also has a helpful "Tips & Tricks" booklet around the mirror

kit contains: The POREfessional (primer), Hellow Flawless Oxygen Wow (brightening liquid foundation), Boi-ing (shade 03 & 04 concealer), Hello Flawless (finishing powder)

For some reason, I found it exciting that the concealers snapped out...

 I've got to say, I'm partial to the Tropicoral kit. Perfect for Summer.

I also love the concept of the Complexion Kits, however, I'll probably purchase the Light one when they come out.

So what do you guys think? Which kits are your favorites? Do tell...

xoxo,

Tiffany

Products provided by Benefit for consideration with no agreements or obligations to feature on my blog or videos.

My Bright Summer Pink Lip of the Moment: NYX Xtreme Lip Cream in 01 Dolly Girl

Last year, Soft Matte Lip Creams were all the rage in the NYX line. I do like matte finishes, but sometimes there's nothing like a creamy texture to bring out all the ripe, glossy glory of a bright, hot, shade.



For me, NYX Xtreme Lip Creams go on thick and opaque like liquid lipsticks and are not sticky the way lip glosses are, but don't expect them to be super long-wearing. The finish

Summer Turquoise Makeup Tutorial

Products Used:
Tarte Lifted Eye Primer
Revlon Quad in Inspired
Urban Decay 24/7 pencil eye liner in Electric
Make Up For Ever pencil liner in 23L
Stila Kajal Eye Liner in Tiger's Eye
Nars Eye Shadow Duo in Cordura (medium brown eye shadow)
Armani Eyes to Kill Mascara
Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed
MAC Pro Longwear bronzer in Nude on Board
NYX Plumping Lipgloss in Jessica
not shown in video:
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural (as light foundation)
Revlon Brow Fantasy in Dark Blonde

Check out my video tutorial for the look below:

BACK TO BASICS: Dummies' Guide to 2 Easy Shadow Applications

It struck me during a conversation with some friends today that some people are literally just getting started with makeup, and not necessarily comfortable with eye liner, contouring, crease-cutting, etc.



So I'm distilling this tutorial down to 2 EXTREMELY basic ways to get started with eye makeup. This can be done with different color combinations, but the general rule is;



1 pale shade

IMATS 2012!

I had such an amazing experience this year at IMATS! Such a great time that I had to make two videos to document it all.

So let's start from the beginning. IMATS (International Makeup Artist Trade Show) is held multiple times throughout the year at different locations. The biggest and best one in the US every year is IMATS Los Angeles. I've had the pleasure of attending the past three years and they seem to only get better!  It's basically a huge convention where tons of well-known cosmetic companies set up a booth to showcase their stuff, do demonstrations, and generally sell their products at a discount. Tickets are sold for the show and it's open to the public.  Which is AWESOME because every year, I get to meet hundreds of my subscribers. It's such a surreal experience.

This year, I did makeovers at the Sigma Beauty booth (which I also did last year) both days of the show. Again, SO fun and so very exciting to be able to connect in person with so many of my subscribers and readers! Not to mention getting to hang out with lots of my fellow beauty guru buddies. IMATS, to me, is just a big old pile of lovin'.

So I attended the show both days, as well as the Sigma Beauty Brow Kit Launch party on Saturday night. Again, SO fun. 

So as I said, I put together two videos from my experience during IMATS weekend. 

One on my main channel, MakeupByTiffanyD, where I talk all about the experience and show a little slideshow of my personal photos from the trip at the end.

I also put together another video that is put together like a typical travel video of mine. Clips from our trip, and all of my OOTD's from the weekend on my other channel, TiffanyDtv.

So be sure to save the date for IMATS 2013! It's in JANUARY next year!! How crazy is that? So excited we don't have to wait a full year again for more IMATS magical-ness.... 

xoxo,

Tiffany