DIY Lipstick Palette

I am always looking for ways to improve my Pro Kit especially when it comes to organization.  I will definitely give you a tour of my kit so you can see what's all in it along with some of my favorite products that I take with me when I am on location.

I've always wanted to make a lipstick palette with magnetizable pans to condense my lipsticks since it's so hard to carry 30+ lipsticks with you.  I had some extra empty eye shadow pans that I use to press loose pigments so I decided to melt all my popular bridal lipsticks down into the pans and then placing them in  see-thru palettes (very similar to the Z-palettes) that I have been making (more about this later in a later post). 

Materials you will need

• lipsticks - any brand, texture or finish will work
• empty aluminum or tin pans - Personally I like to use tin because you don't need a magnet if you are using a magnetized palette.  I get all my pans at TKB TRADING you can get the traditional 26mm circle pan or other sizes and shapes they offer. 
• palette knife 
• labels - you can cut labels to fit the bottom of your pan or purchase pre sized labels
• hair straightener - I purchased a cheap hair straightener just to use for projects such as eye shadow depotting and for melting. 
• empty eye shadow palettes - many brands carry empty palettes from ELF to MAC which has dividers or Z-Palette.  I make my own, it's so fun to make! 

First take your lipstick and cut about 1/4 -1/2 of the stick to melt.   A palette knife or even a regular butter knife would work as well. The color that is shown is Wet N Wild Matte Lipstick 901B.  Swatches of my Wet N Wild Matte Lipsticks coming soon!

 Now smash the lipstick until you fill up the whole pan.  The palette knife helps smash and spread the product nicely.

 Place your pan on your hair straightener and watch it melt to a liquid constancy.  I keep the heat level on the lowest setting.  If you straightener does not give you option to change the heat levels just watch it carefully so it does not burn.  The pan will not harm your hair straightener just wipe it down before you use it on your hair. 

Naturally, you will see bubbles appearing, do not worry this is easy to solve.  Just take something sharp and pop them. Or move the bubbles to side and scoop them away. 

Once you feel the lipstick has melted, carefully remove the pan from the straightener.  The lipsticks is in liquid form, try to have a steady hand when doing this.  It is also very hot! Pretend the lipstick is a pizza and you are taking it out of the brick oven! A steady hand will do the trick.  You see there's a air bubble that I couldn't remove, once I took the pan away from the heat source it went away.  I spilled a little too. lol

 While you are waiting for your lipstick pan to dry, prepare your label.  Just found these labels at Office Depot.  You can even use a label maker such as a P-Touch, whatever you can find around the house will do. 

Once the  pan solidifies just add your label to the bottom.  Yay! You just created your own lipstick pan.  Be creative and create your own custom colors.  No more loose lipstick cases everywhere.  

 It's an addicting process, you literally want to melt down all your lipsticks you have into pans.  I have a ton of lipsticks but I really just wanted to have a set with all my bridal colors that I use regularly.

The completed project.  I know a lot of you are going to ask how I made the knock off Zpalette.. I will save this for a later post. :)

Have fun melting away!!!

MAC FIX + and the many uses

Having worked for MAC for 5 years, I always get asked what my favorite MAC product is.  As a consumer and Pro Makeup Artist I would say hands down MAC Fix+ because of it's many uses that many people don't really know about.  Being a makeup artist for roughly over 10 years I have experimented with different products to produce other uses than what it's intentionally intended for.  They kinda just happen unexpectedly, more like accidentally.

 Definition of MAC Fix+ taken directly from

maccosmetics.com

"An aqua-spritz of vitamin and minerals, infused with a calm-the-skin blend of green tea, chamomile, cucumber, topped off with the fresh, natural, energizing scent of Sugi. Adds radiance, finishes makeup. Spray it on. Skin drinks it up!"

VillabeauTIFFul definition = Vitamin Water infused cocktail for your skin. Basically a spray on moisturizer!

I have compiled a list of some of my favorite ways to use Fix+.  Keep in mind that they might not work on everyone but at least you can try it and see if it works for you.

• use as a light moisturizer when you have oily to normal skin
• pair with your cream moisturizer for dry skin
• spritz on after your makeup to finish it (this is more to melt on the minerals together to set it.  This spray does NOT make your makeup waterproof or sweatproof)
• for added moisturization on dry areas of your body such as hands, knees and elbows spray on selected area and then follow up with your favorite body lotion.  The fragrance in Fix+ is very light so it will not alter the scent of the body lotion. 
• make an eye cream cocktail for tired eyes and puffiness!  Simply take a little bit of your favorite eye cream to the back of your hand (use the back of your hand as a working palette) and then add 2 drops of Fix+ to the cream, mix the eye cream with Fix+ together and apply cream with your ring finger to the under eye puffiness.  Keep away from direct contact with your eye as it may irritate your eye.  The caffeine and green tea are great ingredients to tone down puffiness.  
• Full coverage foundation to heavy for you especially for the summer time? No problem, just spray a couple spritzes on your foundation brush to dampen it up a little and then apply your foundation.  When the foundation brush picks up the liquid or cream foundation is thins it out by not picking up too much product.  You can also make a foundation cocktail or concealer cocktail (same method as eye cream cocktail listed above) to thin out heavier products. I use this method a lot for my pro kit. 
•  Mix your loose eye shadows or pigments with Fix+ to create a paste/cream texture to apply to your lids.  I find this works extremely well for full on color payoff and it's not as messy to work with.  I actually prefer using all loose products this way, it totally changes the "oomph" of the product. 
• I also have a small bottle of Fix+ with me in my purse when I feel I need a little pick me up for my makeup.  You know the feeling when you had a long day at work and your makeup looks drab? A few spritzes will refresh your makeup looking fresh and alive again. 
• Is your scalp feeling dry? Spray Fix+ on your roots and your scalp for a instant hair tonic moisturizer.  
• Added too much blush? Don't worry just lightly mist your cheeks and take a clean brush (not the brush you applied the blush with) and blend away.  This will create a softer, wash of color cheek. 

I hope you learned some great tips, I would love to hear some of yours! Please share! :)

The Cutest Brush Roll EVER!

I love supporting independent shop owners who make their own handmade goods like the ones you can find on

Etsy

.  Recently I have been addicted to Etsy, all these cute things that I want to buy.  For the past several year I have been on the lookout for the PERFECT brush roll.  You might be wondering what is the perfect brush roll in my eyes? Well, I must have lots and lots of pockets to hold my valuable tools.  Pockets not only for different size brushes but  for must have products that I use on all my clients such as eye liners, eyelash glue, setting spray in a small travel size bottle and etc.  A protected flap that would protect my brushes when they were not in use. Many brush organizers out there are belts.  I am a petite filipino girl and a belt loaded up with brushes weighs me down.  Even when I worked for MAC I did not wear my brush belt around my waist instead I wore is over my shoulder like a messenger bag.  Even if the organizer wasn't a belt it would be a roll but it wouldn't be able to hold all my brushes. Yes, I could just bring a few brushes with my when I am on location but I like to be prepared.  It's hard when you have a big wedding party, doing makeup one after the other and having to clean your 1 set of brushes after each person.  I rather put away the dirty brushes to clean at a later time when I am not busy and start on the new client right away.  Being in the industry for over 10 years I have not found anything that met my standards but I knew someday I would be able to find something.

Ever since I found the wonderful site Etsy, I have a been a big fan of Lotus from

asoftblackstar on Etsy

.  She makes

makeup brush rolls,  makeup bags, flat irons,  and jewelry cases with cute fabrics that can match your personality.  I happened to browse through her store and BEHOLD a brush belt that looked like it would be big enough to hold all my makeup goodies... BUT it was a belt and you know how I feel about belts.  I send Lotus a message via Etsy for a custom made brush roll, instead of a belt if she can design a roll.  Lotus is so sweet and wonderful, she asked questions to determine and needs and wants that I had, listened, created and delivered!  For the fabric I chose a pink and white polka dot inside with cheetah print for the pockets and the outside

. I am so happy how my roll turned out.

It is advised that you spray the brush roll with Scotch Guard before you use it, to make it stain and water resistant.  It's great because if it gets dirty you can just throw it in the wash.  Since my special request Lotus is now offering this design as a regular item in her shop.  For all the makeup artists out there.. YOU NEED THIS! Cute and functional! 

Here are some pics... ENJOY!  

This is what it looks like when it's rolled up.  

Unrolled and ready to use!

close up of the roll 

My Makeup Vanity/Storage/Armoire

Over a year ago my boyfriend and I moved in together, buying a condo in the city.  I love living in the city but finding room to fit both of our "things" in a 850 sq ft condo was very tricky.  I will admit I had a lot of "things" from clothes, makeup, and craft supplies scattered all over the condo, which then made our place look cluttered.  The biggest problem was my makeup collection and not having a place for me to sit down and get ready.  The lighting in the bathroom wasn't so great, I love doing makeup in natural daylight.  When we moved in I took over a little corner near the dining room table with all my plastic storage containers.  The boyfriend hated looking at all my makeup scattered all over the dining room table and not having  a place to eat.  Our 2 week project was set into action.  Both of us searched everywhere for something that would be practical, functional and at the same time look amazing out in the open in our condo.  I came across a website called

IKEA HACKERS

, a gentleman made a vanity makeup armoire for his hairstylist girlfriend.  They too had the same problem as ours, small space but need stylish storage. We twerked the design a little to fit all my needs; a place for me to get ready, storage for all my makeup and a nice area for me to do makeup on clients when they come over. 

I am completely in LOVE with the final outcome of my own little area, it is everything I ever wished for.  It took many trips back and forth to Ikea and a hefty amount of $$$ but it was all worth it.  This couldn't have been done without my loving, supportive boyfriend who puts up with me and my makeup collection.  Hope you enjoy my pictures!

The makeup armoire consist of 2 bookshelf type storage.  At Ikea you can customize the side of the frame, size, drawers, wood, and etc. The smaller unit with the mirror is where I have my clients sit in front of.  I use the top of the unit as a table to lay out all my products I will be using.  The mirror is a great add on for clients to see their new look. 

Behind the longer door is where you will find the "vanity" portion of my makeup booth.  The lights are powered by an outlet behind the unit, the boyfriend drilled a hole to wire the plugs to the back.  There is also a working power strip inside for me to plug in my curling iron and hair straightener, it is also wired to the outlet in the back of the unit.  The pull out table is so handy, and the magnetic brush board makes everything clutter free.  

The drawers filled with all sorts of makeup goodness! My palettes are organized by a CD/DVD liner to make the palettes stand.  

This is what is inside of the 2nd smaller unit.  Basically supplies, and surplus/brand new makeup.  The white storage containers are filled with MAC pigments.  

Can't forget my Zuca and MAC briefcase for on-location work.  I'll post pictures later of all the makeup that's inside this little guy. 

Now you know why I am so in love with my makeup armoire.  

Let me know what you guys think.

Face Brushes

Sigma Face Brushes

A month ago I blogged about some of my favorite eye brushes at an affordable price.(

Sigma Eye Brushes

)  I showcased some of the top Sigma eye brushes at that time and forgot to mention some face brushes.  The following brushes would be great additions to your makeup brush collections.

Concealer - F75 

Synthetic concealer brush

Use for cream products

I use this for concealer underneath the eye, great precision because of it's rounded tip.

Large Angled Contour - F40

Have you ever wanted to contour your face but didn't know how, this would be your BFF for this job.  The chiseled dome makes contouring a piece of cake. 

Can also be used for blush and highlighting.

Small Contour - F05

If you pay close attention to some of my videos I use this brush all the time.  I use it for everything from liquid foundation (it is the best!! makes your face look airbrushed), blush, bronzer, highlighting, etc.  All purpose brush for me. 

Large Powder - F30

Your collection would not be complete if you don't have one of these bad boys!! It's always good to have a larger domed brush for loose or pressed powders.  I wouldn't recommend this brush for blush or highlighting though.  

Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki - F80

I have not personally used this brush but I have heard wonderful things about it.  Perfect for buffing in liquid or cream products into the skin for a perfect flawless application.  

Foundation - F60

Synthetic foundation brush.  I use this brush like a paintbrush, can't really buff your cream or liquids into the skin.  Love using this brush to apply cream blush, FLAWLESS! 

Ready to shop??

Hope this helps some of you build your brush collections.  Don't hesitate to contact me if you need help picking out brushes.