Careprost 4 week update

So as promised, here is my 4 week update.  I'm so happy I decided to document this with pictures.  When you do your makeup every day it's so hard to notice the little changes in yourself...especially something like eyelashes growing.  When you look at the pictures though, it's amazing how much of a difference this has made in only 4 weeks.

I've been using Careprost nightly for the past 25 days and the results speak for themselves.  I have noticed that my under eye circles are looking a little darker but it's nothing that can't be covered with makeup.  Dark under eye circles have always been a big issue for me so this really wasn't that big of a deal at all.  I did decide to dump out the rest of my Urban Decay Lush Lash Serum and put the Careprost in there.  That has made a big difference as well.  The little bottle that I received was only supposed to last for a month but I have barely made a dent in it.  I think it will last at least 4 months if I continue to use it nightly which means I'll reach my lashes full potential in just one little $10 bottle.  Best deal I've ever gotten.  Anyway, without any further ado...

Careprost/Latisse 1 week update

So far, no noticeable difference in length or thickness but that's to be expected.  I was a little nervous that I might experience some irritation or red eyes from using this product but so far, none of that either.  I will say that I have found it difficult to apply with the little eyeliner brush.  The brush soaks up a lot of product and because the drops are the consistency of, well, eyedrops it's hard to pick up any on the brush in the first place.  I've found that applying it directly to my lash line and smudging it around with the applicator tip has become very effective.  While it may not be the most sanitary way of doing it, I only use it on my clean lash line and I obviously am only using this on myself.  I have not had any of it go into my eye and I've made sure not to over-apply it.  I will say that one side effect that I was expecting but hoping not to experience is darker under eye circles.  I do have a cold right now but I somewhat resemble Uncle Fester. Nothing a good concealer doesn't fix though.  Anyway, I'll update again if I see more side effects or when the 4 weeks comes.

Update!

Some exciting new things happening in my life (maybe an excuse for being MIA recently).  I've stated in previous posts about how money hasn't exactly been flowing in like I'd like and so I've decided to do a few things about it.  I've started to really focus on my Makeup Artist career because ultimately, I'd like to make enough from that to stop working at my full time job.

About a week and a half ago, I got a bunch of my girl friends together and had a little makeup day.  I think there were 7 people all together and I spent about 6 hours putting makeup on my friends.  Then my best friend, Morgan who is a professional photographer, set up a little studio in my house and had a photo shoot with each of the girls.  It was so much fun getting everyone together to do that and I can't wait to see how the pictures turned out.

Along with that, I have decided to create a new website where I can direct prospective clients to see my portfolio, prices, and contact information.  I'm actually pretty proud of it and it turned out looking nice.  I'm hoping to get some business from that.  New business cards have also been ordered and I've also set up a Facebook Page to get myself out there as well.  You may notice the new addition to this page...go ahead, you can click like.  Look around at the pictures, share with your friends...it'll make me a very happy girl.

My biggest obstacle in being successful with doing makeup is getting myself out there.  I also have a slight fear of rejection but I've decided that I am getting too old to let that get in my way.  I'm hoping that all this time and effort (and money) will pay off in the long run and I'll get to have a career that I love.

Speaking of careers that I love, guess where I started working?  Ulta!  I applied online in the beginning of May, went for an interview about 3 weeks after that and a month after that, I finally got hired.  I believe that persistance really does pay off because I stalked the crap out of the manager at that store (just like I did at MAC).  I've only been working there for about a week and haven't done a whole lot yet.  I will be working in the Prestige department where all the fancy fun makeup is and I've gotten to do applications on a few people.  It's really nice to be able to talk about things that interest you when you're working instead of the most boring topic in the world - office supplies :(.  I hope that this will also advance my career in makeup artistry but if not, at least it's something that I like doing.

Last but not least, I have my first wedding of the season next weekend and I'm so excited for it.  I ended up doing the trial last Saturday for the bride and 2 bridesmaids.  They came to my house and we had a lot of fun trying on different makeup and taking pictures.  I can't wait until next Saturday when I get to do it all again (and then some).  I'm going to include some of my favorite shots below but you can see the rest on my Facebook Page.

Here is the bride, Katy.  She wanted something glamorous for the wedding but Saturday was also her bachelorette party.  The eyes will be toned down the day of but she asked for a little bit more since they were going out to a club that night.  What do you think of those red lips?

My friend Holly (the Maid Of Honor) let me use the same lashes from her photo shoot the week before and they were not cooperating.  She still turned out looking really pretty and had a good time. 

Amy wanted something soft and smoky that didn't look too done up.  She ended up looking very feminine and this was my favorite look of the day. 

I'll be sure to post a bunch of pictures from Katy's wedding as well as the pictures from the photo shoot last weekend.  Let me know if you want tutorials from any of these looks.  Until next time, lots of love.

It's my Birthday!!! Update and a little randomness.

I have officially been 26 for 21 minutes now and since my boyfriend (who has been 25 for 21 minutes) is sleeping, I thought I'd do a little update post.  Things have been pretty hectic around here this past week.  As I mentioned before my younger sister is having a baby in 2 weeks and will be staying with me because I live 2 blocks away from the hospital and she knows nothing about child care.  She and her boyfriend came over to help get my house cleaned up and make room for them to move some of their stuff in.  My makeup room will sadly be taken over as a guest bedroom/nursery for the next few weeks and I'm praying that nothing happens to any of my stuff.  On a brighter note, I was able to get all of my older sister's junk out of the closets in here and actually got her to pick up some of her stuff that was taking up valuable space in my basement.  I also purchased a beautiful daybed and trundle on craigslist for a very reasonable price which fits perfectly in here.  The only thing I have left to get is new bedding for the daybed to match my room.  I found the most perfect duvet on PBTeen.com.  Yes I know I'm in my mid/late 20s but I haven't found anything that works as well and it's Pottery Barn so I'm going to make an exception here.

PBteen.com

It's hard to describe the color of the walls in this room but basically there's a chair rail in the middle of the wall that goes all the way around the room.  The top half is a light aqua color and the bottom half is a few shades darker.  I have little pin up girl pictures around the room and there's a general beachy/aqua theme going on in here.  My Sigma Brushes are the aqua ones and I have an aqua yoga mat so I think the bedding will go perfectly in here.  It's girly enough in here for me but the colors are still gender neutral so my new nephew shouldn't feel bad about sleeping in here when he's old enough to care.  I'll post pictures and everything when this room is finally set up and looking how it should.  

Project 10 pan has been moving along slowly.  I've been good despite my current obsession to find a night sky nail polish.  It's surprising how hard it is to find a navy blue nail polish with silver glitter.  If you know of any that are readily available and won't be discontinued in a few months, please let me know.  It is the very first thing on my list to buy once I finish the 10 pan.  

Essie Starry Starry Night

It really is amazing to see how much I have left over from my paycheck when none of it has been spent on beauty stuff.  It's actually really nice to know that the money that I have for the next two weeks will last me because I know I'm not buying anything I don't need.  I haven't used anything up yet but I honestly haven't been really trying either.  

I did receive two items that I had ordered from Makeup Forever before the project 10 pan.  I did end up purchasing the Smoky Lash Mascara and the Mist & Fix.  I like the Smoky Lash Mascara.  I think it does a good job curling, volumizing and lengthening.  I don't think it's worth the $22 price tag that comes with it but I'm satisfied and I might repurchase.  I have mixed feelings about the Mist & Fix though.  Compared to Fix+ from MAC it's ok.  I like the packaging better on the Mist & Fix but I like the formula and the smell of Fix+ much better.  The Mist & Fix has a great spray pump that evenly mists the product over your entire face in just one pump.  With the Fix+ I feel like you have to spray it 5-8 times before your face is evenly misted and you end up with these larger spots where the spray has spurted out.  Initially the Mist & Fix has a nice scent but then after a few seconds it starts to smell like dying flowers to me.  I don't know, I really love the smell of Fix+ so maybe I'm not being fair.  Mist & Fix is supposed to set your makeup and make it stay on longer.  I can say that it does the opposite.  I apply this after I finish my makeup and it makes it look like I've been wearing it all day.  No longer am I poreless and matte but my foundation and powders have somehow mixed with this formula and created a noticeable layer on my face that makes me look disgusting.  It also makes me look greasy.  This might be a great product for someone with dry skin but it definitely does not work for me.  I'd return it if I could but I think for the time being, it's just going to hang out in my kit for when I do other people's makeup.  I think when I run out of the Mist & Fix, I'll just buy Fix+ and put it in the other bottle instead. 

My Airbrush is coming on Tuesday so I'll be sure to do a post on that.  I'm really excited for it.  I saw a tweet that the Luminess airbrush system was on Hautelook.com for $132.50 when it usually sells for $229.  I got the BC200 kit which comes with the 4 foundations (I got fair), a blush, bronzer, highlight and the compressor.  I've wanted an airbrush system for about a year now and I've been looking at the Dinair one because it is supposed to have the best foundation but if I'm unhappy with the Luminess foundation,  I can always purchase the Dinair foundation and use it in my compressor because they're both water based.  

Anyway, it's late and I've been rambling for over two hours now and I need to get some shut eye.  Goodnight all.