Valentine's Day Makeup Look!

Products I used
Face:
L'oreal True Match Foundation in C1
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW20
Makeup Forever Camouflage Concealer Palette
NYC Translucent Powder
Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blush

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion (Original)
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Strawberry Milk
Coastal Scents 88 Palette
Estee Lauder eyeshadow in Sand Dollar
Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips Cream Liner in Black (The brown eyes set)
Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner Pencil in Zero
L'oreal Voluminous Mascara in Carbon Black

Lips:
Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Born With It
Milani 3D Glitzy Glamour Gloss in Fashion Diva

Declaration Expiration.

Did you know that pretty much all the makeup that you own has an expiration date? It does. A lot of people will buy makeup and keep it for years and years, here's why you shouldn't...

Just like anything else, makeup can acquire different types of bacteria after it's opened. (Actually, a lot of makeup already has a little bacteria it it before it's even opened.) The more a product is exposed to air, touched, & used, the more bacteria that enters the container.

Most makeup is usually formulated with some type of preservative in it to kill the basic bacteria that may happen to get into it on a daily basis. However, after a general amount of time those preservatives become ineffective which is why makeup has an expiration date. It's usually labeled on or near the bottom of the container. It will look like a small, opened container with a number on it. For example:

This MAC foundation has it labeled on the bottom of the container.

This is the actual expiration date for the product:

So, that foundation is good for 24 months, meaning that 24 months after you open the product, you should throw it out. The expiration date is not exactly specific. Sometimes a product will expire well before it's labeled date so be sure to keep an eye on it.
Using expired makeup can cause breakouts, rashes, & has been known to cause eye infections. Obviously, nobody wants that so please throw out any makeup you have that you think may be expired!

Some makeup may not have the expiration date labeled, so as a rule of thumb here's a list to tell you how long makeup will usually last.

Foundations: 1-2 years.
Cream Products (Eyeshadows, eyeliners, concealers, etc...): 1 year.
Eyeshadows: 2-3 years.
Lipstick/Lipliners: 1 year.
Mascara: 3-5 months.

It's unavoidable but there are a few ways to reduce the amount of bacteria that gets into your makeup.
1. When you're not using a product, be sure to close & store it.
2. Never touch anything with dirty hands. Keep a bottle of hand sanitizer around where you do your makeup.
3. NEVER add water to any product (unless directed by the manufacturer's instructions).

If you notice any changes in the texture or color of your makeup be sure to throw it out. Better to be safe than sorry!
I hope this post was of some help. Thanks for reading!
Lauren.

*Quick Tip: Do you have a problem with your mascara drying out super fast? Try to never pump your mascara. Contrary to popular belief, it DOES NOT put more product onto the brush, it just lets in ten times more bacteria that it normally would.*

Homemade Mask: Dry Skin Recipe #1

During the winter months it's more typical for your skin to be a little more dry than it would normally be. As for me, my skin is more prone to dryness all year round so I've been testing out a few homemade masks to see which ones help & which ones are a bust.

Here is the recipe for the most recent one I've tried.

1 egg yolk
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp water
1/2 tsp lemon juice

(*It makes a lot more than you really need for your face but I suggest that you throw away anything that you have left over, it will spoil within 24 hours.)

When I mixed it, I left out the lemon juice for two reasons. One, I'm assuming it's used in the recipe as a peeling agent which I didn't really need at the time & two, I just didn't have any. Haha.

Before I applied it to my face I made sure to cleanse & exfoliate my face really well. I also heated it up just a little (about 10 seconds in the microwave) so it would open my pores & absorb into my skin a bit better. The directions called for three layers of it, so I let it dry just a little before applying it in between each layer. I let it sit for 15 minutes.
Next, it said to rinse it off first with warm water then with cool water.

I was really pleased with the result. It actually evened out some of the redness in my skin tone. It was definitely very very moisturizing as well & it added that nice little glow that everyone loves to have to their skin. Initially the texture of the mask threw me off, it has a really thin but goopy feel to it. It firms up fairly quickly once it's on your face though. It's nothing I couldn't get over. It also gets really tight on your face once it's dry so you have to be careful not to crack it. Other than that I don't have any complaints, it's super easy to remove & it really did help with my skin's dryness.
If you try it out, let me know how it goes for you.

*If you have sensitive skin, I suggest doing a patch test before you try this mask out.

Also as a side note for those of you on the frugal side who don't want to waste that egg white! Egg whites have a lot of good cleansing, acne fighting, & temporary firming properties for your skin, so here's a few options for what you can do with the egg white:

Use it as a cleanser before you apply your mask.
Apply it as a "pre" mask before you apply your moisturizing mask.
Apply it underneath your eye area during your mask to firm.

Thanks for reading!
Lauren.

Hello there!

So, hi!

First of all I want to thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I'm new at this, so I hope you bear with me until I get the hang of everything. I have a plethora of information on so many things, I promise! So I guess we'll start with an introduction of sorts?

My name is Lauren. I live in a small town in North Carolina. Right now I'm a freelance makeup artist & a student. I'm in my second semester in an Esthetics program & will hopefully be graduating around May or soon after. I've had a huge interest in both makeup, skin care, & the beauty industry for about 4 years now. I've learned more than I expected in those 4 years. I went to cosmetology school for a short time so I'm pretty knowledgeable about hair care as well.

I'm really excited to get this blog up and running. I love to help people so I'm hoping that the information I know & learn will be beneficial. I would love input & suggestions from anyone and everyone so feel free to leave comments with things you want to know or see!

The first "actual" post will probably be up tomorrow or Sunday.

Thanks for reading!
Lauren.