Beauty Profile

Since I do beauty tutorials on top of my other vids, and since I usually do makeup and hair that best suits me, I thought I should put up a skin and hair profile.

My hair:

• Color - Dark Brown

• Texture (Thickness of each individual hair strand) - Fine

• Density (Actual amount of hair) - Thick

• Classification - Combination (Oily on one spot on my scalp, normal everywhere else)

My Skin:

• Color - Very light, but not quite fair. Fair denotes pink undertones, but my skin has yellow undertones. For reference, I used to use Bare Escentuals in Medium Beige (2.3). I now use Everyday Minerals in Warm-Medium Beige. I also use e.l.f. shielding hydrotint in Tone 2.

• Classification - I have standard combination skin with an oily T-zone and normal skin elsewhere.

• Problems - I don't have a huge problem with pimples, which is something I consider to be a disadvantage. The more oily the skin, the longer it stays looking young. This is why my 60 year old aunt looks 45, but still gets pimples. So those plagued with acne, be content to know you will look younger than the rest of us. I do have issues with blackheads on the nose though, for which I have recently found treatment. I also have issues with milia, which are seriously frustrating and I've had some that hang around for years before I get impatient and simply extract it myself with a sterile needle. Sometimes they don't even last a month before I get annoyed and extract the little devils...

So that's all I can think of right now. Let me know if there's anything else I should put here.
TTFN!

Colleen

Upset about make-up

I was reading Cosmo last night, when I stumbled upon an advertisement for smashbox's lash DNA mascara. I don't usually look at the ads for expensive make-up, but being a scientist, I was interested in what smashbox defined as DNA. I figured it was an acronym, and I was right, it's apparently and acronym for DeoxyriboNucleic Acid...good ole fashioned genetic material. Now what could possibly make me angry about this? Nothing.

What upsets me is the information they deliver. Keep in mind, this ad will be seen by non-scientists, many of them young high school and college students. Here is what the ad says:


Long lashes not in your genes? Our revolutionary new scientifically-engineered mascara is packed with proteins and amino acids, the building blocks of DNA, that bind to lashes for genetic defying length as it conditions and repairs former damage. The unique double helix brush grabs each lash, no matter how small, for the ultimate fanned out effect. Dramatic jet black shade intensifies and defines. Defy genetics with Lash DNA Mascara.


What bothers me is the words in bold. PROTEINS AND AMINO ACIDS DO NOT MAKE UP DNA!!!
So this is false education. So, if any of you are just as upset as I am about this, please feel free to join me in e-mailing smashbox. A link to customer service is below where there is an e-mail address... I don't mind mascara that "defies genetics" or saying that proteins bind to the lashes to make them prettier, but saying proteins make up DNA is downright wrong and can serve to miss-educate students.


Customer Service contact info

Anyhow, I'm done ranting...hope you guys have a good day!

Moved-In and Video-Ready

I've finally gotten around to filming and editing new videos. The videos filmed in the new house won't be posted until I am done editing and posting old vids, but at least I'm posting again...I was a bit sad to see I lost 2 subscribers due to my long video silence. Oh well, hopefully I can convince them to return! So here they are. One cooking vid: The long-awaited tempura video. And one hair vid: The modernized half up half down hairdo. Enjoy!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year one and all. I hope your celebration was as fantastic as mine! As always there were lots of family members and friends and plenty of fun. In celebration, I wanted to post a video about my favorite products I found in 2008. These are not all the great things I've found, but they are ones I had to tell the world about before 2009 really gets rolling. So here we are:



Happy Shine Photos:

Week 1: Blowdry

Week 2: Curling Iron-styled

Week 3: Air Dry

Week 4: Air Dry

Week 5: Flat Ironed

Natural Luscious Waves

This is my take on the ever popular wavy hair look. It consists of super large ringlets that give hair body and bounce without looking overdone. Great casual look for any time of day! Enjoy!

Youtube videos

So I have a TON of video footage (you can see a list on the left hand side). My goal is to fully edit and release at least one video a week. I tend to shoot the videos as I'm getting ready in the mornings or as I'm cooking for dinner, so it doesn't take any extra time to take the footage. What takes time is editing, rendering and uploading. That's why you see my projects list on the left get longer and longer, even though there aren't any new vids. So just be patient, I'll get them out bit by bit. Keep watching the left side bar, so you'll know what to look forward to!

Till next time...

Fall Makeup - TheDaytime Smokey Eye

Like the smokey eye look, but think it's too dramatic for you? Or maybe just too dramatic for daily life? Well, here's an anytime smokey eye to make your own.

Enjoy!

Flower inspired bun

Just wanted to give you a better look of the flower-inspired bun. You can see the five petals that encircle the cute little butterfly. I posted the video for this on Saturday, but you can't see the bun very well in the video, so I thought a photo would be helpful. If you pair this look with curly tendrils in the front, you've got a great formal look as well. Hope you like it!

New Videos

I posted new videos to youtube today. I hope you check them out. Just click the videos link on the top menu bar, or see the youtube bar on the right side of the page. One is a cooking tutorial on how to make the basketball cake featured on my blog a week or so ago. The other two are hair tutorials, one of which was requested from another of my blog features. I hope you enjoy them!

TTFN

Wigo Flat Iron Review

At Ulta right now, they have a great deal on the Wigo ceramic and tourmaline titanium flat iron. Retail is apparently $110, but the Ulta exclusive design is selling in stores and online for $29.99. At first I was skeptical that such a cheap iron could work, but I have a Wigo 1 inch curling iron that works GREAT, so I thought, why not try it. After all, there is a 60-day return policy. All I can say is, I am so glad I tried it. I actually bought the Zoe first ($39.99 Ulta exclusive), but it was a terrible iron. So I exchanged it for this, AND got $10 back. There is also a 20% off coupon currently available online and in stores, and there is a promo for free shipping on $25 orders.

On to the review: (I will post a video review soon as well, with a comparison demo with my Hot Tools Ceramic flat iron).

Heat: This baby goes up to 430 degrees F. That's hot! Great for coarse or hard to curl hair. My hair is actually very fine, but it doesn't curl well, so I have to use the highest settings on ALL my hair tools. Just remember to use a heat protectant! The cool tip stays fairly cool, unless you've been using the iron for an extended period of time.

Smoothing: As you will see in the video, the iron does a good job of smoothing. In the video, I took a chunk of hair that was a bit too big for a 1 in iron, but after running over it twice, it was super smooth and shiny. (you can see the shininess in the vid)

Curling: This is tricky, but it does work. I found that it works best if you curl down the shaft, then before releasing, wrap all the warm hair around the barrel, then let go. You get cute ribbon curls that way. (I do it in the vid if you can't visualize what I'm saying)

Weight: It's a super light weight appliance. After all, it's made from titanium.

Feel: It's a nice, small gadget. It's not too big for even smaller hands. The other great thing is IT DOESN'T SNAG AT ALL!!! It runs smoothly through the hair without ANY tugging or pulling. I know with other irons, the complaint is that hair gets caught in seams and whatnot. That is not the case with this iron. It's a great design.

Well, that's all I can say. All that's left is to show you the demo, which I will add below. Also, above is a pic of a hairstyle I did using only the flat iron. I flat ironed the top and curled the bottom.

Organization tips

I have A LOT of hair stuff. From curling sprays to shine serums, volumizing mouse to heat guarding liquids, headbands to tiny claw clips, and a lot in between. So when you're fixing your hair in the morning, and you need to make things quick, how do you rummage through all that stuff? Simple answer: keep organized. "But they don't have anything on the market for stuff like that" you may say. No problem, just think outside the box. Here's what I did. I went to Target and I found one of those over-the-door shoe organizers and I converted it into a hair supply organizer in the bathroom, and a scarf and belt organizer in the bedroom. Take a look:

I've been using this method for over 8 years now, and it's never failed to help me find what I need, when I need it. Hopefully it'll help you!

Trend Alert and Fashion Find

A big Fall 2008 makeup trend is red lips. It got me to thinking, I'm not a big fan of dark lipstick. Especially since it rubs off onto everything so easily. I realize that there are lip stains available on the market, but they are typically offered by high end makeup companies. I don't know about you, but I am not super rich... or even rich...haha...So I got to thinking. Remember when you were little, and you used to take your red cherry Popsicle and smooth it on your lips and pretend you were wearing lipstick? And remember how it would stay for hours? All that stuff is is food coloring right? So I figured, why not try plain food coloring as a lip stain. Now that's how to be trendy on a budget right? So I tried it, and what you see is what I got:

It lasted for several hours, which I found impressive. I did have to water down the coloring a bit to keep from looking like I was a vampire. In addition, red lips seem to simply accentuate the fact that my skin is so pale, so I felt toning it down worked much more to my advantage. Anyhow, I thought it was a neat trick that could help ladies out there who don't want to fork up the moola for high end lip stains.

Here's a video how-to:




Another thing I wanted to share: I found the cutest mary jane shoes. They are super comfy, made of soft leather (or faux leather more likely) and best of all, they were CHEAP!!!

I found them at Walmart for $9 exactly! I know some people are principally against Walmart, but if you're not, what a great deal! There were other colors besides black. I wanted the beautiful deep red ones, but alas, there were none in my size. There was also a yellow pair, a purple pair, a light turquoise, silver, and brown. If you are looking for comfy flats at an affordable price, I suggest you make your way to the nearest Walmart. I think I'm gonna search around other Walmarts to see if I can find a yellow, turquoise and red pair. I've always wanted a cute pair of yellow or turquoise flats, and I just want any pair of red shoes...I crave color in my rather boring wardrobe. But enough complaining. Till next time...

New Hairstyle

So I created a cute new hairstyle today. I was trying to do something else, but I really liked how this turned out. It incorporates two of this fall's hair trends: braids and blunt bangs (fringe). I'll try to find time for a tutorial, though you may be able to figure it out by just looking at it:















Basically, you do a french braid from the left side of the head to the bottom right, then tie off the end, twist it under, and pull it through the braid. Pin it in place with some bobby pins and you're done! (I styled the bangs by flat ironing them and brushing them into place.)

Bright Eyes: How to look like you rested well, even if you didn't

So, sometimes we just don't get enough sleep. Maybe we were up studying, maybe updating our blog, maybe partying, maybe you just couldn't sleep. Everyone has their reasons. So you wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and realize you look terrible. You also just remembered that today you're supposed to meet with your boss, or you have class with that cute guy, or you're meeting your boyfriend's parents. First impression is everything. Well, here is a makeup look that will brighten the eye area without looking over-the-top. This is not a dramatic look. You can make it dramatic if you add more makeup, but as it's presented here, it's meant to look natural.

OK, so first off, always begin with a good skin care regimen. You need a clean slate. Since you're waking up in the morning, you should have already washed you face last night, but you need to wash it in the morning too. A freshly washed face will have a fresher appearance. I use Exuviance products. I love them. A skin care regimen should include the following:

• Cleanser: I have an antibacterial cleanser that I use at night to kill any bacteria that may infect my pores while I sleep. I have a gentle, almost lotion-like cleanser for the morning to add extra moisture to my skin to give it a supple feel. When cleansing, start with WARM water, not HOT. The warm water will open your pores and allow the cleanser to do it's job. After rinsing off your cleanser, make a final rinse in cool water. This will close your pores back up and closed pores create a smoother skin surface.
  

• Toner: This adds moisture to your face underneath the moisturizer and tones the skin. For best results, apply it while your face is still damp from towel blotting to hold in more moisture.

• Moisturizer: Again, you should have 2: one for night and one for day. The daytime should have SPF protection. The nightime one should have plenty of restorative elements like amino acids, polyhydroxy acids, etc.

• Eye Cream: Regular moisturizre is too heavy for the delicate area under your eyes. I use an uplifting formula to help reduce puffiness and wrinkles.

• I have a few other skin care items that I use only occasionally: blemish medication, anti-wrinkle serum, a peel-off mask to exfoliate and a bionic tonice to awaken the skin.

Now that that's established, the next step is foundation. Foundation will even out the skin tone and give your skin a velvety-smooth appearance. All my makeup is mineral makeup from either Bare Minerals or Everyday Minerals. Use what you prefer. Apply foundation all over the face.

I then take a mixture of a lighter foundation (one shade lighter than my real foundation) and mix it with a highlighting powder and apply it under the eyes. This really brightens that area up. I don't make it a habit of buying two shades of foundation, however, Everyday Minerals offers free samples of their makeup, so I ordered a sample size of a lighter foundation, since I won't use it that much.

Now for blush. For a flushed, rested look, I use a nice rosy color with just a little light-carrying shimmer. This will also lighten the face. Apply to the apples of your cheeks and blend out. You'll begin to see a healthy glow.

The eyes are the most important part of this look. It's the first thing people notice. Eyes are the window to the soul. To brighten up the eyes and make them look wide open, I use a white eye shadow and apply it to the wet of the eye on the lower lid. Do this carefully! Eyes are delicate. You could use eyeliner, but I like the effect of the powder because some of it will fall between the lashes and make a glow under and behind the bottom lashes that adds a little more reflection. I also like to highlight the brow bones. The lid color can be anything you want.

I then apply a finishing powder to set everything in place and give it that flawless look. Do this before applying mascara. Otherwise, you'll end up with white dust stuck to your lashes.

Apply mascara. I use black. Start at the base of the lashes and wiggle left and right as you move to the tip of the lashes. Cover the bottom lashes well. The more pronounced your bottom lashes are, the more wide-eyed you will look.

Lastly, apply some lip gloss in a natural color and your good to go!

Enjoy your refreshed look! My philosophy is "fake it till you feel it!"

How to fake a bob

This video was a request from a friend of mine. I know that sometimes I just want a different look, and so I'm often tempted to cut my hair. But then I don't want to go through the pain of growing back out. With the help of Johnny Lavoy from Ford Models, I've found out how to get the best of both worlds! Enjoy!!!

Anime Hair

So, I was watching one of reiberry's youtube videos, and she has this adorable hairstyle. I decided I wanted to try it, but I couldn't figure out how to make the buns big enough with such a small amount of hair. So I was searching pursebuzz's youtube videos and found a tutorial. I think it turned out really cute. Too bad I missed out on this years anime convention. It was this past weekend. Maybe I'll get brave enough to wear it too school. I think it turned out well.

For those of you who don't know who Reiberry is, she has alot of great tutorials and tips on the web. I have a link to her blog. Pursebuzz is the same, great hairstyles and great makeup tips. Check them out!

Winter's coming. Protect your face from dry cold (and dry heat indoors)

I purchased (from Ichiban Kan), a facial mask of royal jelly a while back. It's called the Sana Ho-Jun-Ki Essence Facial Mask. So what you do is wash your face. Then take the pouch with a cloth mask in it covered in royal jelly, and open it very carefully, otherwise you'll spill royal jelly. You then place the mask on your face, and leave it on for 10-20 mins. I like to lie down during this time. The coolness of the mask is very relaxing. After you remove the mask, you put on toner and moisturizer and eye cream, as should be your skin care routine.


The first time I tried this mask, I didn't like it. My face felt like it was always sweaty, but that was the humid summer. Now, as the air is cooling, skin needs an extra pick me up. The great thing about this mask is that you feel the benefits for days. Even after multiple washings (day and night) the skin still feels supple, smooth, and well moisturized. It really feels alot like a baby's face.

For those who don't know, royal jelly is fed to the bees that are meant to become queens. Other bee larva eat it too, but larva destined to become queen are fed royal jelly exclusivley. Now, why in the world do I want bee food on my face? Well, it contains tons of amino acids, fatty acids, and water. All the things the skin loves to soak up to maintain a healthy glow. I encourage you to try this product for yourself. Especially if you have dry skin.