Sister, sister

Hi Dolls,
I was going to post the makeup that I did for the Mother of the Bride and her sisters but I think those pictures were somehow deleted. I'm so sad about that. =(
So today I am going to post pictures were I did makeup for 2 sisters. Both of the girls look so much alike, they could pass for twins!



Products used all MAC unless otherwise stated:
Embark for brows
Painterly Pain Pot as base
Vanilla as a highlight
Hepcat in the crease
Sketch in the outer corner and lower lash line
Girlie on the lid
Ardell false lashes in #105
MAC NC30 Studio Fix Fluid Foundation
Dainty Dollymix Blush
Makeup set with Fix Plus
Whirl Lip Pencil
Syrup Lipstick

I really like how the mixture of Hepcat, Girlie, and Sketch came out together. They all blended smoothly. I love using Sketch for the outer corner and lower lash line. Sketch is definitely a staple color. It goes great with pinks, purples, browns, blacks and just about every color you can name hehe!



Embark for brows
Painterly Paint Pot as base
Ricepaper as a highlight
Texture in the crease
Honey Lust on the lid
Graphology on outer corner and lower lash line
Ardell False Lashes #105
MAC NC 30 Studio Fix Fluid Foundation
Warm Soul Mineralized Blush
Gingerly Lip Pencil
Instant Gold Lipglass

I think Texture definitely was the key color in this look. Texture is also another staple. You can place Texture in your crease, and also place between your crease and brow bone highlight to make your colors transition smoothly. Both of the girls were very happy with their looks and I think they came out so pretty!

Bridal Makeup

Hi Dolls! Today's post will be on Bridal Makeup. Here is a look that I created for a bride a while back. She wanted a very natural look and a pretty pink lip. We discussed the look she wanted and we went with browns and a slight shimmer to open up her eyes.








The products used all MAC unless otherwise stated:
Embark to fill in brows
Painterly Paint Pot to prime eye lids
Vanilla as a highlight and on the lid
Cork and Brun in the crease
Nylon inner corners
Teddy Eye Kohl
Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Black
Avon liquid foundation
Pink Swoon blush
Whirl lip pencil
Viva Glam Special edition lipglass

It was an honor to do the Bride's makeup on her big day and she looked stunning. Stay tuned to see the looks that I created for The Mother of The Bride and her sisters!

Summer Hair Tip

Hi Dolls!
Today's post will be on how to minimize split ends. With summer in session, my ends usually are split and bone dry and I usually wear my hair in a bun or curled to disguise my split ends. My last haircut was in April and I told my hair stylist that I really needed something to help my ends because they get so dry in the summer. She suggested using olive oil or a hair serum and apply it to my ends when my hair was went. I started using what I already had which is Paul Mitchell's Super Skinny Serum. I focus it on the ends of my hair and massage it and then proceed with spraying Tresemme's Heat Taming Spray. I did a posting about both products titled "Old Faithfuls" and they have done right by me since day 1 lol!

Since I've been using the serum on my ends when wet, I definitely notice a difference with my ends. They don't look bad at all! If you really want to kick things up a notch, you can apply the serum in the morning and before bed at night. I like to alternate that method about every other day and I'm happy with the results. I hope you all find this helpful. Since summer is here and you want to protect your tresses, please don't forget to wear Sun Block as well!

I did mention that Paul Mitchell is carried at JC Penny's salons but the salons I've been to here in Arizona do carry the line. Please call and check prior to making a trip to JC Penny's to pick up anything from Paul Mitchell. You can also check at Ulta which is where I picked up the serum from. I hope everyone is enjoying summer!

Here is a video I did :)

Old Hollywood Glamour

Hi! Today will be a quick post will on an Old Hollywood Glamour inspired look. Don't you love the classic red lip? I do! Christina Aguliera and Gwen Stefani really know how to rock The Red Lips and they remind me of classic Hollywood stars a la Marilyn Monroe.



Here's what I used (all MAC unless otherwise stated)
Painterly Paintpot
Vanilla eyeshadow as a highlight
Cork and Wedge eye shadows in the crease
Vanilla eyeshadow on the lid
Blacktrack fluidline
Ardell #109 false lashes
Pink Swoon blush
Brick lip pencil
Russian Red lipstick
Clear gloss

I hope you enjoy this look! Stay tuned!!! <3

FTC Disclosure* Products mentioned were purchased by me.

The transformation of Makeup

Hi Dolls,
I want to share another picture of my client Sylvia. If you scroll down to the previous blog entry, you will see that Sylvia is in the picture. She looks completely different, right? I love what makeup can do! You can completely transform someone into looking and feeling totally different! A different texture, color and placement of the makeup application can make you do a double take. A new approach can work wonders.




Sylvia was going to a birthday party and allowed me to suprise her with whatever look I wanted. I decided on a subtle smokey eye with falsies and natural looking lips. This time, the application techniques I used were different compared to the first picture of Sylvia. I decided to use a different type of foundation, contoured her face, used different false lashes and kept her lips as natural as possible.


Here's what I used:
Embark eyeshadow for brows
Nylon on the lid
Copperplate and Carbon in the crease applied with a MAC #224 working passed her eyes
Vanilla as the highlight
Ardell lashes #105
Blacktrack Fluidline
A Marykay cream foundation in #400 buffed with a #109 and stippled with a #187
Blunt blush for a contour
Azalea blush
Bobbi Brown Peach concealer
Vaseline and Gingeroot lip pencil

I think Sylvia looks different in the picture because I worked the eye shadows passed her eyes all the way to her outer crease and buffed and stippled her foundation leaving a different glow look to her skin. In the end, Sylvia was very happy with her look and had a great time at the party. The transformation of makeup is incredible and it's all about being creative and taking chances! Til next time, Dolls!

Haul

Hi Dolls,
I'm back with another post and things are slowly but surely getting back to normal. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far. For a few months, I had been saving up for things I wanted from MAC Pro and To The Beach Collection. After this hual, I don't think I will be hauling for a while lol.

I also want to show an older picture of a client that I had worked on for a wedding. She wanted a very natural look with black eyeliner, falsies, natural lips and blush. I can't remember all the products I used on her but I did use Blacktrack fluidline by MAC, Rice Paper as a highlight, Azalea blush, and an NYX lipgloss. The camera barely picked up any blush but she looked gorgeous. I also helped her with her hair too. :)


Ok Dolls, last year I made two Youtube videos and then I stopped but now I'm back and I look forward to making more and I hope you all enjoy them! You can find me on Youtube at Youtube.com/alldolledupbynicki






Here is the list of what I bought from MAC Pro online:
Shadester
Accentuate
Devil Blush
Rhubard Blush
Dirty Plum Blush
Fresh Green Mix Mineralize Eyeshadow
Genuine Orange Pigment
Genuine Orange Paintstick
Neon Orange Lipstick
Peachstock Lipstick
Faux Lipstick
Pink Poodle Lipglass
Lovechild Lipglass
Red Brick Eyeshadow



In this picture:
#134 brush
#150 brush
Fresh Green Mix Mineralize Eyeshadow
Red Brick Eyeshadow
Genuine Orange Paintstick
Genuine Orange Pigment
I heard great things about the #134 brush and can't wait to use it. I forget I had it but I have a short handle #150 brush that is all pink that I bought from a MAC class offered at Nordstrom back in 2004. It's still in perfect condition andI really do believe in investing in brushes. Red Brick eyeshadow looks like it could be Brown Scripts sister to me and I bought Genuine Orange Paintstick because it's great to use the tiniest amount on your ring finger and dab underneath your eyes for dark circles.
Here are the swatches:



In this picture:
Peachstock Lipstick
Neon Orange Lipstick
Faux Lipstick
Pink Poodle Lipglass
Love Child Lipglass
I was inpspired to get Neon Orange because of Lady Gaga. Her makeup is definitely cutting edge and I want to challenge myself with a lippie that I normally would not wear. I love her makeup! I bought Faux again because it's great to mix with other lippies or even on it's own. For me, it's what I call a "Mix Master" lol. I feel like I have a special bond with Pink Poodle Lipglass becuase I wore it all the time when I was a Senior in High School and I even wore it to my Senior Prom. Go Class of 2004! Buying Pink Poodle definitely brings back memories.



Here are the swatches:


I forgot to take a picture of the products but I did swatch them. In this picture:
Devil Blush
Rhubarb Blush
Dirty Plum Blush
Accentuate
Shadester


Here's what I got from To The Beach:

Lazy Day Lipstick
Thrills Lipstick
Splashing Lipglass
Sweet and Punchy Eyeshadow
Firecrack Eyeshadow
Sand and Sun Eyeshadow
I'm in LOVE with Sweet and Punchy! It's so different and vibrant.
Here are the swatches:



In this picture:

Hipness Blush
Marine Life Highlight
Refined Golden Bronzing Powder

Here are the swatches:




A silly picture of yours truly :P


Til next time Dolls! xoxo

FTC Disclaimer: I purchased the products featured on this post on my own.

Update

Hi Dolls!
I want to give you all an update with what's been going on with me. I recently moved and I'm still in the process of unpacking and trying to settle into my new home. Once things are more situated at home and I have the Internet, I will continue to do postings. I've been coming to my Nana's (Grandma) house to use the Internet lol.

Since the move, I've realized I have collected quite a few makeup books and magazine clippings for inspiration and I've gathered ideas for makeup looks that I plan to share with you all. The more my passion for makeup has increased, I've found inspiration anywhere. As crazy as this may sound, I founded inspiration from the street, literally the street lol. I noticed there was a pretty grey, navy blue, a hint of purple and black were the colors I seen. Doable, right? I think so!

I'm also inspired by RuPaul's new book Workin' It! His makeup is flawless and beautiful. I love, love, love how RuPaul's face is perfectly contoured it's gorgeous. Last but certainly not least, I've been inspired by my Alice in Wonderland poster. It's the poster where Johnny Depp has his hat and all you see are bright and beautiful colors. In case anyone is wondering where I got the poster from, I purchased it from Walmart for only $5! So with the craziness of moving, unpacking, shopping for necessities, I've found inspiration in places I never thought I would. I cannot wait to start blogging more. Take care, Dolls! Thank you for sticking with me. :)

HAUL

Hi Lovelies!
Today's post will be on MAC Give Me Liberty of London haul. It came out about three weeks ago and I love the packaging. I love the cute little flowers and birds! This makes Spring official and I'm so glad I got everything I wanted.






Here's what I got:

Beauty Powder Blushes
Shell Pearl
Summer Rose

Eyeshadows
Dame's Desire
Bough Grey
Birds and Berries

English Accents Lipglass
Blooming Lovely Lipstick

Aside from the collection,
I also bought:
Green Smoke and Free to Be eyeshadow
True Babe Lipglass
Dubonnet Lipstick
Artifact Paint Pot
#138 brush

I love the #138 brush because it contours the face beautifully and it's so soft. I hope you enjoy!

*FTC Disclaimer* I purchased the items myself.

Prom Makeup 2010

Hi Dolls,
Today's post will be on Prom Makeup I did for a few girls for their Senior Prom. How exciting, right? It seems like purples and pinks are all the rage this prom season. I did makeup for 3 lovely clients and they were very pleased with the results.

My first client is Vanessa. As you can see in the picture below, Vanessa had her hair pinned back with beautiful curls and classic chandelier earrings. She was going for an Old Hollywood look but with a twist of purple. How clever! Vanessa printed out a photo of eyeshadow that was a purple smokey eye and chose. On to the pictures of the girls for their big night!





Products used:
Face
Cetaphil Moisturizer (Equate Brand)
MAC Prep and Prime Skin Base Visage
Eve Pearl Magic Salmon Concealer underneath eyes(Medium)
Bobbi Brown Concealer in Peach
Graftobian High Definition Warm Color Palette
MAC Bronzer in Bronze
MAC Mineralized Skinfinish in Dark
MAC Blush Ombre in Azalea Blossom (Love this blush)
MAC Prep and Prime finishing powder

Eyes
Embark eyeshadow (Brows)
Painterly Paint Pot
Ricepaper
Violet and Push The Edge Pigment
Carbon
CoverGirl Lash-Blast Mascare
E.L.F. Lashes

Lips
Vaseline
Magenta Lip Pencil


My next client is Ciara. Ciara wanted a very soft pink eye with a hint of a sliver and pink glitter and soft cheeks and lips. Ciara's hair is long and she went for a pretty half up do with curls.






Products used:
Face
Cetaphil moisturizer
MAC Prep and Prime Skin Base Visage
Eve Pearl Magic Salmon Concealer (Light)
Graftobian High Definition Warm Color Palette
MAC Pink Swoon blush
MAC Prep and Prime Finishing Powder

Eyes
Embark eyeshadow (Brows)
Painterly Paint Pot
Silverstroke Fluidline (lid)
Ricepaper
Passionate Eyeshadow
Sushi Flower Eyeshadow
Electra Eyeshadow
Kitchmas Pigment
*Ciara opted out for false lashes and used her own mascara. She has pretty lashes!

Lips
Vaseline
Soar Lip Pencil
MAC Viva Glam VI Special Edition Lipstick


Last but certainly not least, my client Gina wanted a purple smokey eye with a hint of pink. Gina wore her hair in an updo with curls and a pretty purple top and pencil skirt.




Products used:
Face
Cetaphil Moisturizer
MAC Skin Base Visage
Graftobian High Definition Warm Color Palette
MAC Bronzer in Bronze
MAC Frankly Scarlet Blush
MAC Prep and Prime Finishing Powder

Eyes
Handwritten Eyeshadow (Brows)
Painterly Paint Pot
Eve Pearl Magic Salmon Concealer (Dark)
MAC Ricepaper
MAC Stars n' Rockets
MAC Girlie
MAC Sketch
E.L.F. Lashes

Lips
Vaseline
MAC Magenta Lip Pencil
MAC Up The Amp Lipstick
MAC Sugarrimmed Dazzle Glass

Here is Vanessa and Gina in their Prom dresses. Ciara had to leave and pickup her peach colored dress from home so I was not able to get a picture of her. :(







The end of the appointments. The girls all looked beautiful! I'm sure they had a blast hanging out and dancing at prom. Yay for Class of 2010!

My Old Faithfuls

Hi Dolls,
Today's post is on hair products and I hope everyone is well and enjoying the transition from Winter to Spring. Hair products may vary for everyone from season to season but I for one stick with my "Old Faithfuls" all year round. I have my moments when I want different hair styles whether it's choppy layers all over, longer hair with bangs or right now I'm totally into long hair with longer layers. I love it because my hair is not as high maintenance to style and it not so time consuming. Besides, I would rather spend my time doing my makeup rather than my hair. :)




No matter what type of hair style phase I'm in, I always stick with these products.
Starting from left to right:

Redken Workforce 09 Hairspray is fabulous. I would say it is more of a mist rather than spray. It smells great and makes it easy to comb my fingers through my hair whenever I need to and it's lasts a long time.

Redken Guts 10 is basically a root booster. I usually spray a liberal amount at the crown of my head when my hair is damp and use my fingers to really work it in my hair otherwise once my hair dries it will stay crunchy, hehe. Once I work it in, I blow dry my hair with a large round brush and I've got tons of volume and full, voluminous hair.

Tresemme Heat Tamer is basically a hair life saver. I could not be without this product! When my hair is wet, I comb it out and spray a generous amount all through the bottom half of my hair. I spray a few times near the top of my head but the heat from the blow dryer, flat iron, curling iron and hair wand is mainly focused on the bottom half of my hair. Ive been using this for about 3 years now and I have noticed a huge difference at the ends of my hair. I don't get split ends nearly as quick as I used to. A huge plus is that the spray is vitamin enriched which is great because it's healthy for your hair.

Next is my Ojon dry shampoo spray. I know this may sound nasty but I don't like to wash my hair everyday because I feel it's not good for my hair. I use this for second day hair. Once I'm ready to style my hair I will spray this a the top of my hair, wait a few minutes until it turns white and then rub it out with my fingers. I like this because it takes out the oil in my hair and it makes my hair look clean and smell powdery fresh.

TIGI Bed Head After Party is definitely a classic. I've been using this since I was about 18 and I use it to make the bottom half of my hair shiny and feel smooth. The texture is amazing and a little bit of After Party goes a long way. If you ever use it, be sure not to get too much out other wise it you put it in your hair, it will make your hair appear super oily.

I got my pink teasing hair comb as a little prezzie from my sister. I like it because it has two rows to tease your hair with and it really grabs your hair and who wouldn't love a pink comb, right?

Finally, I have my pomade that I use to give my hair some control and texture. This pomade is unlike any other I have tried and it's extremely thick. It has a lemon-y smell and does a great job with styling my hair. I love this pomade!

I hope you all learned something new about my hair styling products. The Redken, Tresemme, and Bed Head products can be bought at Ulta. I think the pink teasing comb is from Sally's and I got my pomade from my hair salon. What are some of your favorite hair products? Let me know. Take care!

- Nicki

San Diego

Hi Dolls! This post isn't exactly beauty related but I thought I'd share some pictures of my trip to San Diego. Last week I went to beautiful San Diego, California with my family and I loved every minute of it. While there, we went to Mission Beach, Sea World and of course did some shopping at a few places including Fashion Valley Mall. There is no place like San Diego, it is so green and I love how everything is up-hill. SD is very different from Phoenix but there's no place like home!

I also wanted to do a comparison on two brushes that I had mentioned in a previous post. One is the MAC 239 and the other is a Loew Cornell 3/8. In the pictures below, you will see the MAC brush is black and the Loew Cornell brush is purple. These brushes are great for brow bone highlighting and applying color to the lid. The MAC 239 is around $25 and the Loew Cornell 3/8 is around $5. I bought the Loew Cornell at Michael's which is an awesome arts and crafts store and both brushes work great! I would recommend either one. However, if you are looking for a great quality eye shadow brush that is inexpensive, buy the Loew Cornell 3/8. The cool thing about Michael's is that the send out coupons in the Sunday paper here in Arizona so you can buy your brush at an even lower price. Pretty sweet, right?!?




Here is a picture from an "All Decades" party that my boyfriend and I went to a couple of weeks ago. We decided that we didn't want to match and dress in different decades. He went as a Thunder Bird, better known as a "T-Bird". Check out his wig LOL! It's hilarious we were all laughing all night. He kept having to fix it and brush it because it kept messing up. I went dress in 80s. Although you can't tell what eye shadow colors I was wearing due to my glasses, I had on eye makeup.

Eyes
-Rice Paper as my highlight
-Swiss Chocolate in my crease
-Nylon on my lid

Face
-Studio Fix Fluid in NC 30
-Azalea Blossom Blush Ombre

Lips
-Carmex to prep
-Brick lip pencil
-Cockney lipstick




I had to write my name in the sand lol. It was such a beautiful day!



Shamu!



Soaking in the Sun rays! :P



Quick snap of me in the car. The windows were down and my hair looks crazy lol!



How beautiful!



Betsy Johnson Girls at Fashion Valley! How fun do they look? As a Makeup Artist and Fashion major, I found their hair, makeup, and clothes so inspiring!



My super cute Madonna shirt. I love Madonna's music from the 80s! "Get Into The Groove" is probably my most favorite song.



MAC 130 brush and Two Virtues blush



MAC Viva Glam makeup bag. I think this is the coolest MAC makeup bag I've ever seen.


The other side of the bag. Pretty red lips = Oooo



I got this Coach wallet from one of the Coach outlets stores. The day I bought this, they were having a huge sale so I ended up paying only $28 for this. What a steal!


This bad boy only cost $30. Not bad for a Coach makeup bag. I had to buy it. It was calling me!




My cool Jelly fish I got from Sea World



My baby Shamu that my Brother-In-Law bought for me. Thanks, Bryan!



I bought these pretty crystals at Sea World. I haven't seen anything like them and at $5 a piece, I totally thought they were worth it.


MAC 239 and Loew Cornell 3/8



This pic is blurry but hopefully you can see the comparison :)

Til next time Dolls! I can't wait for Give Me Liberty of London Collection. The Beauty Powder Blushes look fabulous and I can't wait to try them out.

MAC Haul

Hi Dolls! I've been M.I.A. for almost a month now but I've been so busy lately. Things keep coming up but I do plan on blogging more often. I'm like 3 weeks late on this but I did attend an event for The Spring Colour Forecast collection. This collection is amazing! There's basically 4 collections combined into one and the colors are so bright and fun. It was so refreshing to see bright lipsticks, eyeshadows, blushes, and pigments again! Spring is in the air, well at least in Arizona lol.

I have not have time to test everything out but so far I love the blushes. They're huge and should last a long time, which is always nice, right? I'm a blush girl for sure and I love to pack it on. Not too much though lol! I do plan on trying out everything and creating looks. Goodness, I love makeup. I hope my Dolls are doing fab!

Here's what I bought:
Blushes
Azalea Blossom (not pictured, sorry I forgot to take it out)
Ripe Peach
Vintage Grape
Springshine

Eyeshadows
Very Violet
Lala
Hot, Hot, Hot

Lippies
Bronzilla
Vegas Volt
Colour Me Coral

Stacked 1 pigment

*I bought everything on my own. :)