.:6 Steps To Lasting Lip Color!:.

Do you ever wish that your awesome new lip color would last? As a makeup artist, here are some little steps I do and share with my clients. As much as we would LOVE to just wake up and not have to do steps to get ourselves ready, let's face it, that's not realistic. We do have to put some effort into it. But....on a happy note, you can use this same technique for your natural, bright, bold, and anything-in-between colors!

1. Start off with a dampened toothbrush and softly rub your lips. This will get rid of any dry skin prior to application. 

2. Grab some of your foundation, dab it on your lips, and spread over lips and lip line. I like to do this to have it not only act as a primer, but to mute out the natural lip color so we can achieve that color we're specifically going for.

3. Brush on a little face powder just to make sure to set it. 

4. Line and fill your lips with a lip liner of your choice. (Note: this step can be used with simply a lipstick as well. In my 
experience though, using a liner really helps with lining the lip shape much more precisely.) Smudge or press your lips together to spread the color.

5. Grab a tissue and blot those lips.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5. (Just to ensure that your color is going to stay put.)

And voila! You've just created a lasting lip stain in any color you want! If you want that extra pop of color or shine, add some gloss or lipstick over. 

So whether you sip, eat, or smooch, you'll have the base color to last you! Let me know how it worked for you at idreamofhearts@gmail.com!

(Lip liner is Bobbi Brown 'Rum Raisin' and lipstick is Mac 'Hang-Up.)

.::they got put to the test!!::.

I'm a big eyeliner fan! And being that we're already in April means we're getting closer to summer, which means water, beach, fun, and sometimes disappearing eyeliner. So rather than spend a few extra bucks on a "good" eyeliner and possibly be disappointed, I thought I'd do a little research to see which eyeliners could withstand the elements before I decided to spend my hard-earned money. Hopefully this can be beneficial to my fellow eyeliner lovers...

Here are the brands, name of the liner, and price:

1. Makeup Forever- Aqua Eyes-$18
2. NARS- Larger Than Life Long Wear Eyeliner- $24
3. Smashbox- Limitless Eyeliner- $19
4. Lancôme- Le Crayon Khol- $26
5. Stila- Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner- $20
6. Too Faced- Perfect Eyes Waterproof & Tearproof Eyeliner- $18
7. Benefit- BADgal Waterproof Liner- $20
8. Lorac- Front of the Line Pro- $23
9. Urban Decay- 24/7: Pencils That Last All Night- $19
10. Kat Von D-Tattoo Eyeliner- $18

Here is the photo just after applying the liners...

Here is a photo with 6 hours of rubbing on my long-sleeve sweater and one shower later...

And just for kicks, here's another photo after sleeping and one additional shower...

These are just a few brands that I tested and I know there are a lot of fantastic lines that have long-wear liners as well! Two more that I can vouch for, but unfortunately don't have photos of, are Inglot's AMC Eyeliner Gel ($12) and MAC's Prolongwear Eyeliner ($19.50). Both of which were put to the test on another occasion and passed with flying colors! So whether you're swimming, sweating, sleeping, or doing absolutely nothing at all, you can take comfort in knowing that those liners will still be on your eyelids! And hopefully these helped ease your 'I-want-an-amazing-eyeliner-but-don't-want-to-be-totally-let-down-and-waste-my-money' worries. If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to email me at idreamofhearts@gmail.com.

Cheers!!
Mandy Mae