I stumbled upon Inglot Cosmetics sometime last year while in Times Square. I was surprised (and somewhat freaked out) by the brands similarities to MAC COSMETICS. Their logo’s font and colors are similar to MAC. Their in store make-up artists are all dressed in black - such is the dress code at any MAC freestanding store or counter. Even their range of colors is as wide and varied as MAC’s. Inglot cosmetics is a Polish version of MAC Cosmetics and they don’t dissapoint. Their eyeshadows texture, quality, pigmentation, etc. are all equally as good as MAC’s. Even the size of the pans are exactly the same. My Inglot eyeshadows fit into my MAC palettes perfectly. Inglot has a wide variety of eyeshadows, lipsticks [thou these are sold only in pan form, not in actual lipstick tubes or eyeshadow pots], nailpolishes, liners, brushes, blushes, foundations, etc. I love their freedom palettes. They are much better than MAC’s or any high end brand for that matter. Instead of opening and closing with a *click* [excuse my lack of description. I don’t know exactly how to describe the way MAC’s palletes open and close) Inglot’s freedom palettes are magnetic. They are made of two individual “slates” - one slate holds your eyeshadow pans, the other is placed on top for protection. You can slide the top slate off to access your eyeshadows and the magnets will hold it halfway in place or you can slide the top slate off completley. It’s hard to describe, or maybe I’m just at a lack for words, but I’ll edit this post with pictures tomorrow. In any case, if you are in the NYC/Times Square area, Inglot Cosmetics is deffinietley worth checking out. I’m not excactly sure what their pricing is for each individual item but I know a 5 pan freedom palette won’t run you more than $25; much cheaper than MAC’s 4 pan palletes that run about $34 these days? 5 eyeshadowd for $25 as opposed to 4 eyeshadows for over $30? Yup I’m sold.

Check out the trailer for a short film I worked on in June. I was in charge of the makeup for the “heroin addict.” I had a really good time on this set, despite having to wake my ass up at 4am every day to be in NYC at 6am.

Whenever I’m traveling or don’t have access to all of my brushes, I always pack the same four brushes - my personal must haves. I can’t do a face/make-up without them. My absolute favorite brush is MAC’s 187 Duo Fibre Brush. Made from a soft blend of goat and synthetic fibres, it blends foundation, powder, blush, whatever onto the face. It’s a foundation brush, powder brush, and blush brush all in one - provided you clean the brush with brush cleaner after every use. You don’t want to dip the brush in powder after you’ve used it to apply liquid or cream foundation because you’ll end up with a cake face. I don’t find foundation brushes (ex; MAC #190) to be very practical. They tend to streak and I end up having to use my beloved #187 to blend anyways so I feel like it’s just adding an extra and unnecessary step to a make-up application. I do like to switch things up - I hate getting stuck in a makeup routine - so I do alternate between using my 187, powder brushes, blush brushes, etc [depending on my mood and the time I have to execute a look]. However, the 187 brush is my Holy Grail of (face) makeup brushes. Another “cant-live-without” brush is MAC’s 239 Eye Shader Brush. This brush has a tapered, rounded edge with smooth, firm, fine fibres. Though it can be used for blending one eyeshadow/pigment into another, I don’t recommend it as a blending brush. It is better suited for applying/packing color onto the lid. It’s bristles are perfect for picking up a lot or a little bit of color. I tend to like bolder, more dramatic eye looks so the #239 is ideal; thou you can use it for those looks that require just a “wash of color”. It works great with applying pigments onto the lid as well. I have tried many other eyeshadow brushes but always end up coming back to the #239 for applying an eyeshadow look’s “base” color. The following two brushes are blending brushes. I hate unblended eye makeup looks (unless that was the original intent of the look). MACs #217 is great for blending eyeshadows that are harded to work with (ex; matte eyeshadows). I use it primarily for blending eyeshadows into the crease. It’s firm, oval shaped bristles are really good for blending colors above the crease seemlessly too. MAC’s #224 has the same uses but I find it works better for blending colors with a non matte texture. I use the #224 when I’m doing a look that asks for a lighter amount of blending. You case use it to place your highlight color onto the brow bone, but on most days I prefer an angled brush for this (I use a Lowell Cornell brush from the art supply store) because it fits well directly under the arch of the brow. I drag my highlight color down and then blend it into the crease color using the #224.

These are my personal tried & true favorites. Feel free to tell me about yours in the comments - MAC brushes or other.

With all the talk about “going green” we are all (hopefully) more aware about the environment. I came across these brushes while browsing the makeup isle at the drugstore recently and I was impressed. I purchashed this set you see to the left [1206 BAMBOO 6 Piece Brush Set] and I’ve since traded both my MAC and Sephora powder brushes for EcoTools 1200 BAMBOO powder brush. The powder brushes’ brsitles are synthetic taklon and super soft. I feel that with some powder brushes, the bristles are packed too tightly and can move your foundation around when you buff the powder on your face [I'm referring specifically too MAC's #182 brush; the tappered shape of the brush may be the culprit]. This might just be my imagination but I prefer very soft powder brushes for this reason. You can purchase EcoTools brushes in sets or individually. I loved the powder brush so much, I bought a second one. The 1205 BAMBOO Lash & Brow Groomer brush is pretty much like any other brow/lash grooming brush; nothing fancy and gets the job done. The 1204 BAMBOO Angeled Eyeliner brush is similar to MAC’s 263 brush. It serves it’s purpose - lining the upper or lower lash lines. The same goes for the the concelar brush. The only brush I didn’t like was the 1203 BAMBOO Eye Shading Brush. The brushes bristles were too soft and the synthetic taklon bristles weren’t very good at picking up a lot of eyeshadow. I also had a lot of fallout with this brush. I find it inconvenient to hold a tissue/nakin directly under my eye while doing an eyeshadow look so a brush that allows for minimal fallout is a must-have for me. I would reach for this brush if I wanted to do a single wash of color on those days where I’m in too much of a rush to do a full eye make-up look, if all my other eye brushes were dirty. Overall it’s a nice set if you’re looking for brushes on a budget. I paid less than $10 for the set [that's about $2/brush] which is a total steal. The brushes are also all cruelty free and come in a natural cotton & hemp brush roll which is convenient for when you’re on the go and want to keep your brushes clean. You can easily wash the brushes with baby shampoo, dish detergent, etc. and they don’t have a foul smell after they’ve been washed - which is the case with some brushes. The brushroll is also washable. It’s a light cream color so it tends to get dirty easily but you can throw it in the washing machine with your whites and it’s as good as new. I’ve had the brushes for a month or so now and haven’t experienced any shedding. You can purchase any of the above mentioned brushes here.

 Read more link is below.
* No worries, I did not wear that shirt. I refuse to be machy-matchy and match my eyeshadow colors to my clothes. It’s just TACKY. I changed into a deep purple top. A friend of mines actually asked me why my eyeshadow was teal when my shirt was purple and I advised her that trend should be left in the 90’s!

For this I used violet pigment, Shadowy Lady e/s, Stars N Rockets, random liquid eyeliner and mascara For this I used Melon pigment all over lid, Amber lights and Embark eyeshadows









I ordered the above storage bin from The Makeup Pro Store and I love it. I hate having applicators and sponges out in the open because of bacteria and germs and what not but it was a pain to have them in their original plastic baggies in one littler drawer. It took up too much space and wasn’t easily accessible. Problem solved =) I also got the pencil sharpener below from the same place. It makes for much easier cleaning.






 
Left to right: Lily White pigment [I cannot get the little jar open for the life of me], Forest Green pigment, Melon Pigment and Teal pigment.



Swatched on my hand over no base: Forest Green, Melon, and Teal.

]]> http://makeupag.com/wp/?feed=rss2&p=273 http://makeupag.com/wp/?p=263 http://makeupag.com/wp/?p=263#comments Tue, 07 Apr 2009 03:36:41 +0000 admin http://makeupag.com/wp/?p=263

This was my Saturday make-up. I thought I’d have trouble with make-up colors since this is the first time my hair is this dark but the lovely ladies on LJ gave me some suggestions and I actually find it easier to wear bright colors [which I love]. Black hair makes brights pop. Unfortunately I didn’t get any close-ups of the eye make-up but I used Chocolate Brown pigment applied all over lid with the 252 brush and Embark e/s in the outter lid blended up into the crease. I used Jest eyeshadow in the inner lid and Vanilla e/s to highlight the brow bone. I lined the upper lashline with Nighthawk Dual Edge Eye Pencil from MAC’s Heatherette Collection and applied mascara to the top and bottom lashes. On the cheeks I used Tan Blush from Cinema Secrets and Shimpagne MSF to highlight [I hear Shroom eyeshadow is a good highlight as well]. The lips are a combination of Twig-Twig lipstick [also LE but I forget from which collection] and Full on Lust [also LE from and from the same collection as Twig-Twig lipstick but I can't remember which collection at the moment]. I picked up Urban Decay’s Primer Potion at the mall on Saturday and oh how I’ve missed it. Nothing I have tried so far makes my eyeshadow last as long and keep it from creasing as this stuff. I don’t like MAC paints, painpots or shadesticks as bases. The paints I find eat away at the eyeshadow after only a few hours. The paintpots do okay for a few hours as do the shadesticks but they all crease and the colors aren’t as vibrant at the end of the day. UDPP is my Holy Grail of eyeshadow bases.

On Sunday I wore the same make-up as above only I used random falsies from Sephora [I am starting to love fake eyelashes] and substituted Twig-Twig lipstick for Up The Amp lipstick. As far as false eyelashes are concerned they are reuseable. I know many people discard their lashes after just one use. As long as they are disinfected and cleaned properly you can use them more than once. After I remove mines I let them soak in alcohol [pour a small amount of alcohol into a plastic cup] for about 5 minutes. Rinse them with water and remove the eyelash glue. You can peel it off easily. Make sure all the glue is removed. The cleaning of the lashes tends to make them lose their shape but after you are done cleaning them, wrap each lash around your index finger so that the hairs point outwards, do this for about 20 - 30 seconds and they should regain their curl. When you buy falsies do not throw away the plastic things they come in, use them to store your lashes until the next time you want to use them =) If applied correctly they should not feel heavy or irritate the eyes. I find the applying them with tweezers instead of using your fingers is a lo easier and more precise. Lash applying tutorial coming soon ;]

This was my Friday night make-up. (All makeup references are MAC unless otherwise noted) I am in love with Russian Red lipstick. For the eyes I dusted Knight Divine e/s all over lid using the 252 brush and lined the upper lashline with a Wet N Wild liquid eyeliner in Black. I used Lash Blast mascara [which I hate btw]. Compared to my HG mascara CoverGirl WATERPROOF Lash Blast, the original Last Blast is horrible. I wore Salsa Rose blush [applied with a very light hand] on cheeks and Shimpagne MSF to highlight, as always. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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]]> http://makeupag.com/wp/?feed=rss2&p=263 http://makeupag.com/wp/?p=251 http://makeupag.com/wp/?p=251#comments Wed, 01 Apr 2009 03:33:02 +0000 admin http://makeupag.com/wp/?p=251 I received this mailer yesterday. I had already seen the collection in person when I went to my Pro store on Saturday because my store tends to release collections a week early (yay!). The collection feautres 2 eyeshadows, Bitter, a shimmery yellow green, and White Frost, a vivd shimmery white. Both of the eyeshadows are part of MAC’s permanent collection. You can purchase them at any time. Both of the limited edition lipsticks are nice. Show Orchid which is a hot pink color and Impassioned which is more of a fuschia. Both are nice summer colors. I liked Impassioned more than Show Orchid, only because I already own a couple of lipsticks in the hot pink color family. The Prep & Prime Line Filler is amazing. Everyone with fine lines should gives this a try. It is a small collection and none of the other items in the collection really stood out. Translucent powder, eyeliner and eyebrow pencil in traditional colors. I might pick up Impassioned this weekend. I’ll post pictures if I do ;]
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