Rocky - May 9, 2011

"What cupcake?"

"No more picture, please.."

"Are we done yet?"

 I've had a few requests for "Rocky" posts, so I decided to bring my camera out today.

 Me and George took Rocky out today for a little sunshine.. He loves being outside, but he barks at anything that moves. He hasn't been around any other dogs, so when he sees another dog, he goes nuts. I'm hoping to arrange some play dates with Rocky and some other dogs, so he'll feel a little more comfortable going for walks and seeing other dogs on the way. He also has a problem with seeing other people he doesn't know. Even if they are hundreds of feet away, he'll bark until he doesn't see them anymore, and there's no stopping him once he starts barking. I'm sure what he needs is obedience school, so he will obey when I say "No", and know who he should and shouldn't bark at. (Caesar Milan, are you reading this? haha) Any other ideas from pet owners? 

Rocky's lovely Dad picked him up a doggie cupcake from Sprinkles cupcakes.. He's so spoiled. He loved it!

"Mum Mum Mum"

Rocky will be 7 months old on May 12, he's such a big boy now!

Review: Coastal Scents White Liquid Color Corrector. (To lighten your foundations)

Coastal Scents Undercover Liquid Color Corrector - White

Coastal Scents Undercover Liquid Color Corrector - White

When you purchase a foundation that is too dark for your skin, there is little you can do to lighten it. Your one basic option is to purchase a foundation with the same undertone, that is lighter, and mix them. Depending on how dark it is for your skin, you may need a shade that is only one shade lighter and mix them 50/50, or if it's much darker, you'll need a shade that's significantly lighter (at least three shades lighter) and mix the two. For a cheap drugstore foundation, that's easy. But if you purchased an expensive department store foundation, it's not very practically (or affordable) to purchase a second bottle. At that point, you may get stuck with the foundation, gift it to a friend, or "swap" it on makeupalley.com for a different used or un-used makeup item you will use.

When I discovered Coastal Scents Liquid Color Correctors late last year, I was pretty psyched. Back in November I purchased "yellow" to add to my foundations that fell short of the yellow tone I need to match my skin coloring. It's become a useful item in my makeup kit for foundations that are too neutral/beige or pink. (See my review for the yellow correcter here).

Coastal Scents has the options of purchasing Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Black and White. (View them on the website here)

The description on the website for white, as goes.. "This is not a color, it is a tint, tints are used to lighten all colors. When you are in between shades in your color range white can be used to lighten, black to darken. White can be used to create a foundation one or two shades lighter than your regular makeup and to be used for highlighting."

The consistency of these is fairly thin, and when they are smoothed out, they are fairly sheer. I would compare them to the consistency of watercolor paint - thin, but not watery, creamy, but not thick. I personally don't find that it changes the consistency or coverage of my foundations, but I suppose it all depends on how much you put. 

In the following photos, I used my MAKE UP FOREVER HD Foundation in the shade #128 to lighten. #128 is for medium skin with beige undertones, and it's a good match for MAC NC40-42. It's a little dark now for me now, as my current MAC coloring is around NC35. 

In the first photo (top left) I swatched the foundation twice. In the bottom swatch, I added a small amount of white corrector to the color. As you can see, it has lightened the color a couple of shades. #128 lacks the golden factor, so I added a little yellow corrector in photo #2 (top right). In the bottom photos, it shows the difference of #128 alone and #128 mixed with the white and yellow correctors. When mixed with the correctors, the foundation is a shade that I'm able to wear with my current coloring.

I actually used it for the first time yesterday and it worked really well. I used it to lighten up my Nars Sheer Glow in the shade Stromboli. It worked really well.

I'm really happy with my white corrector and I'm sure I'll be using it very often as many of my foundations are at times too dark because I self tan often. I think these color correctors are a really great product to have in your kit, especially for makeup artists, to match the clients skin as perfect as they can. 

Coastal Scents Liquid Color Correctors are sold exclusively at www.coastalscents.com. They are $3.95 for an 8ml tube.

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Coastal Scents and was not in any way compensated for this review. The thoughts in this review are my own, based on my personal experience with testing this product.

Happy Mother's Day!

Hey Everyone!

I'm on the way out the door with my family, but I thought I'd do a very quick post to say HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! I hope you all have a wonderful day spent with your loved ones!

"A mother’s love is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, it never fails or falters, even though the heart is breaking." – Helen Rice

"The love she has deep in her heart, Always gives me a good jump start, She is the one who’s love is true. Thank u Mom for being you." – Anonymous

"A man’s work is from sun to sun, but a mother’s work is never done." – Author Unknown

"Nobody knows of the work it makes, to keep the home together. Nobody knows of the steps it takes, nobody knows but mother." – Anonymous

"Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs… since the payment is pure love." – Mildred B. Vermont

"When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child." – Sophia Loren

(Quotes from newstabulous.com)

Coastal Scents Brushes!

Coastal Scents Brushes (http://coastalscents.com)

Left to Right: Eyelash Definer, Destiny Precision Angled Liner Brush, Divine Taklon Liner, Black Detail Synthetic, Synthetic Deluxe Crease Brush, Destiny Blender Brush, Sable Contour Brush.

Left to Right: (starting at the duo fiber brush) Tapered Duo Fiber Brush, Bionic Flat Top Buffer Brush, Deluxe Duo Fiber Shadow, Black Blending Brush, Black Sable Lip Brush.

Coastal Scents Brushes are my favorite brushes next to Sigma Brushes. What I love the most about Coastal Scents Brushes, aside from the great quality, is the amazingly affordable price. Even less expensive than Sigma, most of their eye brushes range from $2 - $4. Their face brushes range from around $5, with the most expensive brushes being $15. 

To view all brushes, click here.

The Bionic Flat Top Buffer Brush is becoming a new favorite of mine. I've used it the past couple of days for applying foundation, and it works really well. The bristles are incredibly soft, and because it's fairly large, it takes half of the time applying my foundation than it would with a standard foundation brush. I was a little worried that it would soak up too much product, but it didn't at all. Even after a few uses, the brush remained very soft.

The Tapered Duo Fiber Brush is a dupe of the MAC 131 brush. I wouldn't say it's an exact dupe, as the MAC brush has better quality synthetic fibers, but the shape is the same and it also works well for applying foundation. I think it's also a great brush to use for a cream blush and highlighting powder as the duo fibers don't pick up as much product at once as a denser brush.

The Deluxe Duo Fiber Shadow Brush. I'm pretty much a sucker for any "duo fiber" brush, so I thought I had to have this. Although it's a shadow brush, I really like it for applying concealer and applying foundation in precision areas, such as around my brows. This is also a good brush to use for a brow highlight or a light wash of color on the lids.

The Black Blending Brush was a little bit larger than I expected it to be and it's not very dense. I personally like it for powdering my under eyes after I've applied concealer, and around the corners of my nose to prevent shine. It works very well for that. I do think it would work well to blend any harsh lines in your eye shadow application.

The Black Sable Lip Brush is your standard compact lip brush with a metal lid for carrying around in your bag. I haven't used it yet, but it will be handy for when I wear my OCC Lip Tars.

The Eyelash Definer is something I think everyone needs. Plastic Lash Combs rarely ever do a good job of separating your lashes & clumps of mascara.. they moreso "comb" your lashes. Metal combs do a much better job at separating, as the teeth are thinner and come to a small point. I have a Tweezerman one for travel, but this is a good backup to have.

The Destiny Precision Eyeliner Brush is a pretty decent brush for applying gel liner in very thin lines, and I even use it sometimes for my brows (see tutorial here). I ordered a backup because mine started to fray. The "Synthetic Fine Liner Brush" may be a better choice for a liner brush as the bristles are longer and may not fray as easily. The Destiny Precision Eyeliner Brush comes to a point, so it's moreso for detail work.

The Divine Taklon Liner Brush is a very good synthetic brush for applying liner and brow products. It's fairly thin, so I haven't had any issues with fraying of the bristles, which often happens with most of my angled brow brushes.

The Black Detail Synthetic is a small brush for smudging shadow or liner to your lashline. Because the shape is a little bit rounded, it won't create precision lines, which makes it a good tool for smudging or small details.

The Synthetic Deluxe Crease Brush is a good brush for applying shadow to your crease. Also, because it's synthetic, it would work well for applying cream shadow. Because it's synthetic and dense, it will pick up lots of product, so it's a good brush to use if you want a very dark crease. I actually like using it to apply concealer, as it's a bit similar to the MAC 224, but shorter. It still works really well.

The Destiny Blender Brush is again, very similar to the MAC 224, but has shorter bristles. I like it for applying shadow all over my lid and through my crease.

The Sable Contour Brush is your standard "pencil" brush. It works very well to apply shadow through your crease, in the corners of your eyes, and even for blending/smudging shadow on your lashline.

I am really pleased with all of my brushes, and I highly recommend all of them. Especially if you're on a budget, or if you are looking to expand your brush collection.

Do you have any favorite brushes or products from Coastal Scents? Share in the comments below!