The Musings of a Working Mom

Every makeup artist knows that you are only as good as the tools you use!  And of course we love the way our face looks after we get a makeover done at our favorite makeup counter.  We buy the products that were used during the makeover, come home and attempt to re-do the same look the MUA did on our face but why doesn't it look as flawless and blended as it did when you had it done by the MUA???  It's all in the tools - the brushes that is! That's right, using the right brushes will give you a flawless, blended and professional look - like you just had a professional makeover done.  But you don't need to spend a lot of money to get great professional brushes.  You can get great brushes ranging in price from both the "lower end" brands as well as high end makeup brands.   Here are my favorite makeup brushes for EYES: FYI - I am not sponsored by Sigma brushes but I do have an affiliate link on my pages, which means if...

I mentioned this eyeshadow in my favorites post last month...I absolutely love this eyeshadow.   Nars Mekong  is a  dark, deep "espresso" brown color with slight (micro) gold glitter in it.  I must note that the glitter doesn't really translate on your lid unless you use it wet - then you might see a little sparkle to it but otherwise, it's a dark brownish-black color.   I really prefer using this shadow as my liner on my top and bottom lashes.  I'm horrible at using a liquid liner on my top lid and my black gel liner has dried up so I have been reaching for this everyday as my liner.  It's a great alternative to black which can be a harsh color (especially as you get older) - this dark brown shadow gives the same definition but with softer edge.  I love how this shadow gives my eyes a defined lash line and by using  a small pencil brush (like my Sigma E30)  or my Essence of Beauty small pencil brush to smudge the shadow, ...

My August  Birchbox delivery took a little longer than usual but I finally got mine last Friday...but much to my disappointment, a couple of my items were missing;(  I did e-mail Birchbox about this issue on Saturday and am waiting to hear back from them.  In any case...the theme for this month's box was "Beauty School" and instead of including the usual index card with item descriptions, this month they had fold-out "Beauty 101" tip cards with tips for the "beauty student" in each of us. The products included in this month's Birchbox are: 1.   DDF - Brightening Cleanser : This foaming gel uses an all-star team of skin brighteners to fade discoloration and even out skin tone.  (Full-size, $38) 2.  Juicy Couture - Viva La Juicy La Fleur:  This modern scent is a feminine blend of wild berries, mandarin, and waterlily.  (Full-size, $70) 3.   ShowStoppers - Designer Fashion Tape :  These double-sided tape strips will ensure th...

Well my beloved MUFE Smokey Lash Mascara finally bit the big one....and it was time for me to look into my mascara stash and see which one I wanted to test out next.  Well the packaging on the Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! Mascara caught my eye and I now have a new favorite mascara. Photo: www.tartecosmetics.com The formula is kind of wet which I'm not normally a big fan of but I love the results that I get from this mascara.  This mascara gives me so much length, thickness, and volume - I get the dramatic results that I love.  Because of the "wet" nature of the formula, I do find that I have to follow-up with my fav CoverGirl Lash Blast to separate the clumps of lashes but the formulation of the Lash Blast combined with with Tarte mascara leaves me with lashes that look like I have on falsies.  I get dramatic results just after one coat of both the Tarte and CoverGirl mascara.  The end result is long, thick and dark lashes!  This mascara la...