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Don't forget! If you haven't entered yet - what are you waiting for?? We are giving away 5 full sets of the latest line from Milani Cosmetics! The contest will be closed at 5pm EST on Wednesday April 30th. The winners will be announced on Friday May 2nd.
For more info and to enter - click here.
Good Luck!!!
Are you a Drugstore Diva?? Do you love makeup?? If those two statements are true then do I have a contest for you! As I told you last week, Milani Cosmetics has partnered with TheMakeupGirl to give away full sets of their latest collection to 5 lucky readers so you can be decked from your lashes to your lips and everything in-between for the upcoming summer party season!
Criteria:
In the comments section of THIS POST, tell me why you are a Drugstore Diva! Do you mix and match high end with drugstore brands? How do you do it? What was one of the best Drugstore looks, be creative ladies spill it!!
Official Rules:
If you are in my family or you are in my phone book you cannot enter (sorry...but I have to be fair), Make certain you include your e-mail address with your entry so I will know how to contact you! The contest will end at 5pm EST on Wednesday April 30th. The winners will be announced on Friday May 2nd.
Win Pretty!!
Okay girls...remember last week when I told you about our Milani Contest?? Well here are the looks so you can see what everything looks like. We did one for fair skin and one for darker skin and I am pretty pleased with the results!
Overall, the cosmetics have great pigment and texture which is usually lacking in drugstore lines. I cannot tell you how many times I have gotten a drugstore shadow or blush home and it just doesn't show up on me...and hello I am not even all that dark skinned so WTF. Anyway...here they go and this is just a sneak peek at what you could walk away with when the contest starts this Friday.
On Lianne:
Smooth Finish Pressed Powder Foundation in Honey Amber
Blush Powder in Mai-Tai
Runway Fashion Shadows in Glamorous Gems
Color Brilliance Eye Pencils in Green & Black
Distinct Lash Mascara in Black
Easy Liner for Lips in Cocomo
Color Perfect Lipstick in Bronze Leaf
Crystal Gloss in Secret (very much like MAC's C-Thru)
On Josi:
Glow Natural Brush on Liquid Makeup in Light to Medium
Even Tone Powder in Shell
Sunset Duos blush and bronzer in Sunset Glow
Shadow in Java Bean & Illusion
Easy Liner for Eyes in Black
Great Lengths Mascara in Black
Easy Liner for Lips in Most Natural
Lipstick in Luxurious
Lipgloss in Crystals
Like what you see??? Stay tuned for details on how to enter this FAB contest and get your own runway look!!
All makeup shades can be found on the Milani Cosmetics website and at drugstores nationwide.
Stay Pretty!!
Okay ladies....the April Contest is coming!! I just wanted to give everyone a head's up. TheMakeupGirl has partnered with Milani Cosmetics to do a giveaway of massive proportions! Milani has great colors for all shades of MakeupGirls PLUS it's inexpensive so you can create great looks without spending an arm and a leg!
Milani's latest collection for spring/summer is off the chain...with great colors and tons of pigment. Josi has reviewed a few items already and they look amazing!
Now for the exciting part....We will be giving away 5 complete spring/summer Milani collections to five lucky readers. Details on how to enter will be forthcoming next week.
Josi and I will do a FOTD so you can see what the colors look like (trust me you will love them)!! So stay tuned..
Stay Pretty!
Hey girls! So first off, you should know by now that I am a total self-tanning junkie...however, I NEVER use self-tanner on my face...I am just too break-out prone. I also try my best to NEVER get any sun on my face....so how to make my bod match my face you ask?
Why bronzer and blush of course! And you know that lately I have been in love with Milani cosmetics...the reason is because since they are an ethnic beauty line that works for ALL skin tones, their products have TONS of pigment...making them as close to department store makeup that I think I have gotten thus far...and I LOVE these new Sunset Duos. The bronzer and blush are in one compact and have been formulated to go together...one less thing to think about!!!
Now, my trick to a sun-kissed face:
1. After your foundation/concealer has been applied (if you need it, if not I HATE you..lol) take a medium-sized powder brush and apply bronzer to EDGE of your forehead, concentrating it into the hairline...really dig the brush in so that there is no visible line....
2. Now keep applying the bronzer to the edge of your temples down across the cheekbones..stopping at the apples of your cheeks....(if you want to do a bit of contouring here than go a bit under the cheekbones as well).
3. Visually, think of a horseshoe shape when you apply the bronzer....basically framing the top half of your face and cheekbones....This is the exact technique that all the celebrity makeup artists use to really highlight the stars faces...visually it highlights the eyes and your bone structure...JLO is THE perfect example of this technique...check it out next time she walks the red carpet (which may not be for awhile with TWO new babies...)
4. Now take your blush and apply it ONLY on the apples of your cheeks...my trick for this is to smile real big before you apply...then you can tell EXACTLY where those apples are...
*Hint of the Day: For a mini-face lift, apply blush as high as possible on the apples of the cheeks (without going TOO high so it still looks natural)..and if you have the time and want to take it even further, apply a highlighter to the top half of your apples!!! You will be amazed at how it lifts your face and distracts from under eye circles....
5. Last step, be sure to use loose translucent powder to blend the blush and bronzer and set your makeup for the day!!!
What I love about this technique is that it makes my face match my neck....and I get an even, sun-kissed look without having to tan my face...Just remember to pick a bronzer in the same shade range as your self-tanner.
Now real quick, how do I get my face to match my body when I don't want to wear makeup and need to just run out the door real quick? Tinted moisturizer (with SPF of course)..I have found that it gives just enough color to blend my face with my neck while still looking natural.....I use that instead of my regular moisturizer..easy and no extra steps!!!
Bronze Beautifully Y'all!
I LOVE getting reader mail.......this week reader Natalia Sulaiman asks...
"Dear Josi,
I was wondering how to do a smoky eye for Asian eyes....
I asked a friend of mine (who is a dancer and she knows how to
wear makeup) and she said that my eyes aren't suitable for smoky or anything
of that matter.. she said that my eyes are too small and if you do smoky, my eyes will end up smaller than usual. Is it true?
Thanks for being such a pro.. love it!
- Natalia "
Josi writes:
Natalia-
First off, you are a total doll (and I am sure our fellow readers will agree...)! As a makeup artist, one of my strong beliefs is that there are no steadfast rules.......I believe that beauty does indeed come from within...and if you can work it, you can wear it!
My general opinion on a smoky eye is that ANYONE can rock it....it's just a matter of how you go about it...for your eyes I would recommend starting off with dark shimmery shades in either brown, gray, green or purple. Most people think black is the way to go for a smoky eye and I agree, but for beginners it can be too harsh and the blending that it entails too tricky. For this look I recommend using eyeliner and 3 eye shadows in a dark, medium and light shade.
Right now my favorite palettes are the New Runway Eyes Fashion Shadows by Milani Cosmetics...they come with 6 highly pigmented shades that all graduate from dark to light......and for under $7 bucks at better drugstores....
(1) So start with the dark liner...line all along the top and bottom lash line... meeting at the outer corners of the eye...(2) then take a dark shimmer shadow (shimmer shadows are easier to work with) and go over the liner...and brush the shadow all the way up to the middle of the upper lid. (3) Third, take a highlighter shadow (preferably a pearly white, pink or gold shade) and go right under the brow from end to end then, (4) take your medium shadow and brush all along the middle of your lid...carefully blending the dark shadow with the highlighter until there is no obvious line. (5) After curling your lashes, coat top and bottom with mascara.
The key to a beautiful smoky eyed look is all in the blending....one trick that I use is after I have applied all the shadows I take a clean brush and go over the entire eye.....this will blend all the colors without depositing more shadow.
If you want to do smoky eyes now is the time to think about investing in a good set of brushes.... make up brushes give you more precise control of shadows and blending power that sponge-tip applicators just can't offer!!
And as far as smoky eyes making a girls eyes' look smaller I don't agree!!! The only technique that I think can make eyes look smaller sometimes would be lining the inner rims...lining the inner rim in some cases makes the whites of the eyes look smaller..esp. if you don't line the outside of the lash line at the same time.
BUT I'm here to say that there are NO RULES IN MAKEUP....if someone would've told me 10 years ago that today we would even be talking about lining the inner rims I would've said HELL NO!! I can't tell you how many times since the 1980's I've read in magazines that "lining the inner rims is a NO, NO!" Today you can't even open a magazine without seeing it like a gazillion times!!!
So just like in fashion, what's old in makeup is new again....my only rule is HAVE FUN and remember that one of the joys of makeup is that you can always wash it off and start over!!!
Thanks so much Natalia for your questions and be sure to send us a picture of your new smoky eyed look!
- Josi
Stay Beautiful Y'all!
Man, I am SO ready for the sun...I can hardly stand it!!! We've had a few days of sun and I've been tempted to pull out the bermuda shorts but my legs are kind of scary....even when I've self-tanned!
So I've been on the lookout for a good bronzer...something that will give me a tad bit more dimension and color.....I used to use one when I worked for Lorac called TANtilizer that I loved but it is $30 bucks!
Well, I just found a bronzer in the exact same shade...and the formula is the same only a tad bit more concentrated....Miliani Body Bronzer in Tiger!!! . It comes in this adorable little pot and is a cream so you can use it alone for more concentrated color or do like I did and mix it with your moisturizer....It's a real golden shade so it works for all skin tones (makes sense since Milani is a multi-ethnic brand)...and they even have a lighter shade that would work great as a highlighter.
Yippee! It's transfer-resistant so once it's dry you don't have to worry about it getting on your clothes and has a light sweet scent....and is only $6.50! Pick one up next time you're in the drugstore girls.......
Bronze Beautifully Y'all!
Geez girls!.. (and boys)... all these new mascara formulas/wands are getting so good we are losing our need for falsies....I love Milani Cosmetics in the first place and now they have 4 new formulas:
Build A Lash- Primer to build and condition lashes..then a catch-all mascara that lengthens and thickens.
Distinct Lash- This one has a really cool brush that has special teeth in the middle of the wand so you can brush out any clumps after applying!
Great Lengths- Has a unique long brush to condition while extending your lashes way out there....
Power Lash- High Drama..(me, love drama? nooo....) Clump-free and smudge-free, this bad-boy did it all...by far my favorite!!!
Milanis' New Mascaras can be found at drugstores like CVS and Ulta..
Build those lashes beautifully Y'all!
