Huge Urban Decay sale

This is such an awesome sale! Urban Decay- carrier of my holy grail eyeshadow primer is having a huge sale right now. Their black palette is now half off at $16. Their matte and vintage eyeshadows are only $9. Urban Decay carries some of the best eyeshadows out there. They are especially good for eyeshadow with glitter. Have fun!

TheBalm sale

Triple Play Friday is back...Get all three shadyLady palettes for the price of one! Visit theBalm.com on August 3rd from 12am EST to 11:59pm EST to order this one-day-only deal. No special codes necessary. Shipping within the United States is $3.28. For international orders standard shipping rates apply: please see website for details. One purchase per household, while supplies last.

Cleansing Oil- DIY

I have really dry skin so I've been researching oil based cleansers that don't strip my skin of my natural oils. I also needed a cleanser that was not drying and smelled good. I found a recipe online and I adjusted it slightly to meet my needs. I used organic lavender and rose geranium essential oils to fit my scent preference. The amount I made will probably last me 2 months since I only need a dime sized amount to take off all my makeup. The bottle I made cost $7.07.

Prior, I used Lancome's HUILE DOUCEUR Remove-All Deep Cleansing Oil. The 6.8 ounce bottle costs me $37 so it costs about three times more to purchase the Lancome bottle. (There is approximately 200 ml in the Lancome bottle)

I've been using my homemade oil cleanser for a week now and I love it. It is very moisterizing yet takes off all my makeup. The recipe I found was in grams which is difficult to measure with liquids. Basically, it's about 28 grams to one ounce. I used a scale from OXO that converted my liquids to grams so it made it easier. I've also indicated the ounce amounts below too.

Recipe:
To make a 100ml bottle of cleansing oil, you need:
40g or 1.4 ounces jojoba oil
15g or .53 ounces apricot kernel oil
15g or .53 ounces sweet almond oil
4g vitamin E (synthetic preservative)
13 drops of essential oil (use flower types oil for dry skin, use citrusy/lemongrass types for dry skin).

Method:
1. Mix oil
2. Add essential oil

Instructions for Use:
1. Take dime-sized amount in palm.
2. Rub amount with hand to warm up oil.
3. Slowly massage oil onto face and on eyelids.
4. Take warm wash cloth and wipe off oil.
5. Take any residue oil off with toner on cotton ball- I use Thayer's Rose Petal Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera.

Pictures below feature the ingredients I used.

The plastic bottle to the left is how much this recipe makes. This bottle will probably last me 2 months as it only takes me a tiny squirt (or dime-sized amount) to fully cleanse my face.
Let me know if you try this and how you like it. Below is a cost breakdown- obviously the ingredients I bought were more than what I needed for the bottle but I can use them to make more bottles when I run out.
List/Costs of Ingredients:

Jojoba Oil: 4 ounces or 113 grams ($9.20)
= .08 per gram
Apricot Oil: 4 ounces or 113 grams ($4.95)
= .04 per gram
Sweet Almond Oil: 4 ounces or 113 grams ($4.95)
= .04 per gram
Vitamin E, 45,000 I.U. oil: 2 ounces or 56 grams ($13.45)
= .24 per gram
Organic Lavender Essential Oil: 5ml or 125-150 drops ($6.70)
= .05 per drop
Organic Rose Geranium Essential Oil: 5ml or 125-150 drops ($8.70)
= .06 per drop
To make a 100ml bottle of cleansing oil:

40g jojoba oil = $3.20
15g apricot kernel oil = $0.60
15g sweet almond oil = $0.60
4g vitamin E (synthetic preservative) = $0.96
13 drops of essential oil= $0.35+$0.36= $0.71
Bottle: $1.00


Total Cost for 100ml bottle: $7.07

Cream Eyeshadows- Review and Test

I love cream eyeshadows because my eyelids tend to get dry so they need a nice base to prevent crusty eyeshadow. I also like to use cream shadows when I am in a rush because I can simply use my fingers to swipe the color over my lid. I am a big fan of the MAC paint pot eyeshadows but they are pricey. The MAC paint pots retails at $17.50 or around $14 at the Cosmetic Company stores. I recently purchased the Maybelline 24 hour tatoo cream eyeshadows and so far, they are really amazing! I got them on sale for $6.89 each plus 50% off the second one so they came out to about $5 each. I also love the Stila smudge pots and Loreal HIP cream shadows. I decided to take all my creamy based eyeshadows and eyeliners and do two test. The first test is to swipe them with my finger after 30 minutes to see if they smear. The second test is to shower and see what happens when they get wet. The second test is especially important since I plan to wear cream eyeshadows when I go to Hawaii this summer. I want to make sure the color stays on if I go swimming. Below are pictures depicting my results. Let me know if you have had other results with other cream eyeshadows/eyeliners.

Here is a close up of the cream colors. The products from left to right are: Makeup Forever Aqua Cream shade 6, Revlon Line Fantasy Cream Eyeliner in Indigo, femme couture ultra smooth gel liner in navy, Clinique brush on cream liner in 01 Black Honey, Stila smudge pot gel eye liner in pomegranate, Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 hr eyeshadow in pomegranate punk, MAC paint pot in Girl Friendly, Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 hr eyeshadow in Tough as Taupe, Loreal HIP color truth cream eyeliner in Midnight Blue, Sonia Kashuk dramatically defining long wear gel liner in ebony, Bobbie Brown long-wear gel eyeliner in Sepia Ink.

Here is a photo of the different products I tested.

FIRST TEST: Here is a photo of the colors after 30 minutes and a finger swipe over each color. The Makeup Forever shade got pilly. The Revlon shade faded and swiped the most. The femme couture shade also smeared after 30 minutes. The SOnia Kashuk simply smudged off leaving gaps in the color. It also got kind of pilly and crusty. The same happend with my Bobbie Brown shade.

SECOND TEST: Here are the colors after I showered and they got wet. None of the colors faded completely off but surprisingly, the Makeup Forever shade got the most crusty followed by the Sonia Kashuk product. The great thing about cream eyeshadows are that they come in matte or shimmery shades. I often wear them over my Urban Decay Primer Potion then I layer powder eyeshadow colors on top to deepen and enhance the colors. I also like to wear the colors alone and blend slightly to create a nice subtle shade. The results of my two test are really based on my personal skin. Since I have dry eyelids, the results may happen differently on oily eyelids. Overall, I am really impressed with the Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 hr eyeshadows and will be going back to purchase all the colors- they are on sale right now at Walgreens and CVS for buy one get one 50% off.

Youtube Channel

Check out my first video on my youtube channel: INNERVUEmua. You can search by typing "innervuemua" and my video should come up. I am also uploading it here. I am excited about this endeavor because I watch so many youtube videos and am always wishing people were doing tutorials or reviews on things I am interested in. I thought I might as well just do the videos myself since I can never seem to find reviews on the exact things I use or tutorials I want. Please let me know if there is anything you would like me to do a tutorial or video of. My camera is not too good and the sound sucks so all this will definitely be improved as I get better at this stuff. Thanks for your support.

XOXO,

Nancy Vue

FOTD- Light Grey Eyes

I am feeling sick today so thought I would post a FOTD (Photo of the Day). I usually do dark colors on my eyes but have been playing around with cooler, lighter shades. My Urban Decay Naked Palette 2 is so awesome for this light look. Products are listed below.





Products:


Face:
Sally Hansen by Carmindy Your Skin Makeup in Creamy Beige
Maybelline Lunar Energy Super-Lasting Liquid Shimmer
Milani Mineral Powder in Nude Buff
Milani Baked Bronzer in Glow

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Naked 2 Palette: Pistol+Foxy above lid, Snakebite on lid, Busted in crease, Bootycall as highlight, Blackout on outer V
Urban Decay24/7 eyeliner in Crash
Milani Color Brilliance eye pencil in green
Rimmel Glam'eyes Lssh and Flirt in Black

Eyebrows:
Benefit Brow Zings in 04

Cheeks:
MAC Brit Wit Blushcreme
Rock and Republic blush in Shameless
Laura Geller Shade N Sculpt as contour
Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Copper Diamond as highlighter

Lips:
L'Oreal Colour riche lipstick in shade Kerry's Rosewood

Foundation Routine

I've been wanting to post a step-by-step photo tutorial on how I do my foundation routine. I really think if you get your foundation routine down it will help create a long-lasting and smooth base for the rest of your makeup. Your foundation routine should stay put even if the rest of your makeup rubs off. It is definitely easier to reapply blush or lipstick than to do your whole face makeup throughout the day. This foundation routine took me approximately 15 minutes to do. Let me know what steps you use to create a flawless foundation base for your face. I would love any new tips. Feel free to post questions or comments. (Click on photo to enlarge)



Here are the products I use to prep my face: (from left to right)


MAC studio fix: two spritz on the each side of face to help lock in moisture on my super dry skin


Eye cream- small dab under each eye


Moisturizer


Renewal cream from TimeBalm that helps to exfoliate dead skin cells


Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Sun Defense for face in spf 50


Make Up For Ever High Definition Primer in #7 to smooth face and fix any discoloration.


Lipbalm

My naked face is really a beautiful sunkissed look from all that California farming and sun I got growing up. I have tons of brown spots- this is also genetics because my mom has lots of brown freckles and brown patches too. I have some redness on my cheeks and forehead as well and lots of yucky undereye bag. My foundation routine is meant to even out my skintone and not necessarily to cover every spot on my face- I happen to love my freckles.

Foundation brush and foundation.

I've been using my new Sally Hansen foundation for a while now and I love it. It comes with a pump dispenser which is super sanitary. I pump two full pumps on the back of my hand and use a foundation brush to pat the foundation all over my face. Since my face is very dry, I try not to swipe the brush because it streaks. I pat then use a wet sponge (see next pic) to pat the foundation into my skin. The wet sponge helps to keep the foundation dewy looking and helps to keep foundation stay put on my face.

Pat, pat, pat. I don't try to smooth out foundation at this point because the sponge will do this later. I am simply just trying to get foundation on my face. Plus a foundation brush will tend to streak and soak up too much foundation if I used it on it's own to blend my foundation. I think if you have more normal or oily skin, you can rely just on the foundation brush to blend your makeup.


I love this sponge from Sonia Kashuk. I have heard the Beauty Blender works even better but it is more expensive and I just can't shell out $20 bucks for a sponge right now. I wet the sponge fully under faucet first, squeeze out any excess water then dab it on the excess foundation on the back of my hand and use it to pat the foundation on my face.

I next use my Lorac concealer to conceal bags under my eye. I have problems with my under eye area being too dry so that when I apply concealer, it leaves dry flakes. I've begun applying a little primer on top of my eye cream before I apply the concealer and this has helped tremendously to avoid the dry flaky skin.


I like to use a fluffy brush to blend the concealer under my eye. I feel this makes it more smooth.

I next use my Coty powder to set my foundation. Using a big fluffy brush, I simply sweep powder lightly over my face- avoiding too much on my cheeks since I will be using cream blushes.


I like to use a more fine setting powder like Mac's prep and prime to lightly set the concealer under my eye. This helps to keep the concealer in place throughout the day.


AFTER photo. Notice the makeup has just balanced out my skin tone so now when I apply the rest of my makeup, everything will look even. This is not a super high coverage look since high coverage tends to look too cakey on my dry skin. If I wanted more coverage, I would have probably used a more pigmented foundation and set my powder using the powder fluff method. For every day wear, this foundation routine serves the perfect base for the rest of my makeup. My foundation is also a lot lighter than my neck so when I do my makeup, I will be doing lots of bronzing and contouring. I do pull down some foundation along my jawline. Unlike what other makeup artists may suggest, I don't like to use too much foundation on my neck as the foundation could come off on my clothes.

BEFORE photo. Lots of freckles and redness!

Final photo with all my makeup applied. I always apply bronzer first to even out the face and neck area. Then comes cheeks, eyes, eyebrows, and mascara.


Hope you liked this photo tutorial. Happy make-uping!

Great upcoming sale! Beautyticket.com

Beautyticket.com is seriously one of my favorite websites. They are having an awesome sale starting February 1st at midnight where you can purchase any 5 Prestige beauty items for $10. Items include, color cosmetics and premium skin care products ND Includes brands like Urban Decay, MOR, Bliss, Bourjois, MAC and more. Limit 3 per order. Here's what I would buy if I should be lucky enough to have these items still available when the sale starts:

Urban Decay Brow Box in "Gingersnap"
Urban Decay Liquid Eyeliner in Radium
NARS Cream Blush in "Gold Member"
NARS Night Series Single Eye Shadow in "Night Clubbing"
Tom Ford for Estee Lauder Cheek Glow in "Soiree"
Bourjois Lovely Base Redness Correcting Base #28

Happy shopping! Let me know if you plan on getting anythang!