I can’t believe that I am already thinking about Fall, but Summer is flying by and I have been excited to talk about the great makeup looks for the coming months! I love the smokey-metallic gold eye and the various shades of red lips that were on the Fall runways. Some other trends that will be popular this coming season will be bold eye brows, metallic eye shadows (such as reds, golds, emeralds & navy), winged eyeliner, full false lashes, and flawless skin with a luminizer.

While we are at it, let’s talk nails! The crackled look on the nail will continue to be popular. With colors, you will want to switch it up from the very florescent to very pale tones. The reverse french tip with two different colors is a fun twist on the old french manicure. Also try a matte nail color or add some kind of fun design down the nail.

I attended the first Makeup Show in Chicago this past weekend and it was makeup heaven! They had it set up in a two-story, warehouse-type, venue and they had about 30 vendor booths on each floor – some brands I know very well and some I had never heard of. I stopped over at each vendor to see what kind of products they had and although I could have spent hundreds of dollars on buying stuff, I really wanted to stick to my short shopping list of things I really needed! The 2 seminars I got to listen too were really insightful: “The Artistic Advantage” – Floriane David (Makeup Forever) & “The Art of Illumination, Enhancing, Never Masking” – Lori Taylor (Smashbox)

Here is the goodie bag that I left with (I will be doing product reviews on a few of the items soon):

Stila: liquid luminzer/Smashbox: photo finish primer/Naimie’s: small storage tubes & mascara wands/Auraline Beauty: lipstick palette, (2) lip liners, spatula & tray set & curved eyeliner brush

I will be at this event doing makeup for some of the models!

I heard it was a fun summer night last year with over 300 people that came through!

Thanks to my gray roots by age 18, I’ve been coloring my hair for over 10 years (yikes!) I’ve pretty much tried every type of at-home coloring kit on the market and this was the first one that really had a different concept – so I had to blog about it!

Overall the color turned out great and covered the stubborn gray well, but I wouldn’t use this product again. The first thing I didn’t like about the kit were the gloves, they pulled at my hair. Secondly, it was very messy applying it. Even though I shook the container well as it instructed, some of the foam turned watery and the foam itself was just hard to apply precisely. I did like that the hair color didn’t have a strong smell too it and the shampoo and conditioner it came with smelt great too. Although, the conditioner didn’t leave my hair feeling as shiny as other hair coloring kit conditioners have.

At my last facial I was introduced to this product since I complained about my very uneven skin tone. She told me to try it for a while since it is known to work amazing for evening out skin tone. Although it is on the pricey side, I have used Murad products before and really had great results, so I wasn’t too skeptical.

I’ve had uneven skin tone for many years now because of my freckles that vary in color throughout my face (which gets worse in the summer) & I also have darker spots from slight acne scaring. I can report that from the first time I tried this, I feel that I saw immediate results! I’ve been using this for over a month now and can really see that my freckles & darker spots have faded & I just feel my skin has been more clear! I’ve had no drying or breakouts from using this and have only seen the results I was hoping for – A+

WOW! It’s been a year since I’ve had my blog up! It’s really been a lot of fun sharing makeup tips, beauty stories, and various events. This past year has been has been great for my business and the upcoming months are looking too be even busier! I want to thank everyone that has visited my blog at least once and for all those who have used my makeup services in the past (and those who will be using me in the future)!

To celebrate my one year “blog anniversary” I want to do a little promotion for the month of April! If you secure me as a makeup artist for an upcoming event before April is over, I will do your makeup FREE with a booking of two other people. Prom and wedding season is coming up and I’m sure you have at least two other friends or family members who will want makeup services for these special events! So why not get your makeup done professionally for FREE!

Ladies! Looking to do something fun and exciting?! Looking for the perfect gift for your significant other?! Looking to do something special just for yourself!? Then you need to come take part in one of these Intimate Moment photo sessions! Rachael with Metropolitan Imageworks is the photographer for these boudoir shoots and I help make you look extra hot! We are booking now, so get in touch with Rachael to get your time scheduled!

Check out some sample pictures and some more information on the Metropolitan Imageworks blog:

http://www.metimages.com/blog/category/intimate-moments/

SIP & SHOP: WINE TASTING, RAFFLES, BARGAINS, WALK THE RED CARPET AND MORE!

FEATURING SPECIAL GUEST HOSTESS FROM POWER 92.3 RADIO!

STEP INTO THEIR PRIVATE ROOM FOR A PHOTO SESSION AND YOU COULD WIN A $450.00 BUDIOR PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION!

BRING YOUR GIRLFRIENDS & HAVE A BLAST!

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Where: Double Tree, Oak Brook

Date: Friday, March 18th

Time: 5pm to 10pm

Check out the event’s website to get all the vendor info: chicagobeautyfair.com

L’oreal Paris Studio Secrets Professional Color Correcting Primers: these primers come in three different colors and each one of them has worked really good for the different skin types they are intended for. The anti-redness works great on those with rosacea & the two anti-dull colors give a really nice illuminated glow to the skin. For a reasonable price, these primers are a really a good buy.

Beauty So Clean Cosmetic Sanitizer Mist: this product is not just for makeup artists, but a great product every girl should have in her makeup bag. It sanitizes all powder-based makeup without drying it out! I also like the tip they have on their website: “Portable Clean! This take-it-anywhere size works for those shopping trips when you really want to try that makeup tester in the store…One mist and you are germs free!”

Yup, that’s right…MARY KAY! If you are like me, Mary Kay wouldn’t exactly be the first line of makeup you would go to, to try something new. I’ve tried their products before and nothing really ever WOWed me. I thought their tinted moisturizers were OK and I didn’t care for their eye shadows.

I met a Mary Kay rep when I was doing a “Girls Night Out” event last weekend and she was really excited to show me the new products that they just came out with. She was getting married this past weekend and was telling me how this new foundation was just amazing and how it’s so great for professional use. (more…)