Neutral Cut-Crease Look and New hair color

Hello ladies! I've been a bit absent this week...actually I felt so lazy. I think it's this sudden weather and temperature change that makes me so lethargic. Anyways, getting back to our deal, sometimes I don't have as much time as I'd like to do my makeup so I do a quick neutral one with eyeliner and a soft lipstick. Here's the look I wore yesterday for work (i work as a makeup artist) and later at night for a small party. I hope you like it, all the products will be listed below, and i'm waiting for your comments on it!
What I also wanted to share with you is that I've been having serious thoughts of changing my hair color (again!). I used to have this sandy-blonde color which was my natural hair color but I got tired of it and of not having any contrast on my face so I dyed it a dark cherry color which was ammonia free but it washed out pretty fast. Now I'm trying a dark violet color and I'm keeping my thumbs up :)) I'll post some pics as soon as I do my hair tomorrow.

Now, here's the makeup.

Products used:

Face: L'Oreal Le Teint Accord Parfait (Ivory), L'Oreal Concealer (Ivory), Rimmel London Silky Loose Powder

Eyes: NYX eyeshadow primer, E.l.f. Brightening eyeshadow (Ethereal), Sleek "Au Naturel" (Bark, Regal, Capuccino, Nougat), Lime Crime Magic Dust (Top Hattie), Rimmel London Glam Eyes Liner, Rimmel London Scandaleyes Mascara.

Cheeks: E.l.f. Beauty Encyclopedia, Wet n' Wild Cover All (Illuminator)

Lips: Kallos LOVE clear pink lipgloss

Foundation Smackdown: L'Oreal Le Teint Accord Parfait vs. Maybelline Affinitone 24h

Hello there ladies! Today's post is going to be a review for two foundations that I bought this week and hopefully it will serve you as well when choosing your own foundation.
I wasn't actually planning on buying two of them but L'Oreal had this great promo with an ivory foundation
(which is what I need for my skin tone) and a liquid concealer for a very reasonable price...so momma see, momma gets :)) get me?

First contestant is L'Oreal Le Teint Accord Parfait

They describe it as:
"The foundation that perfectly matches the color and texture of the skin. From a thorough analysis of carnations women, 11 Accord Parfait shades are so faithful to the natural skin tone they merge with"
( http://www.loreal-paris.fr )

I say: At first I was a bit worried because when I tested it on my hand it looked very pale and white and the last thing I need is to have an even more white complexion. But, as I put it on my face and blended the foundation into my skin the effect was amazing! It really does merge with your skin tone...it was actually my exact skin color and it gave me a very natural, flawless-looking face. As for coverage, I would give it a 9, for the reason that on more "damaged" areas you need to apply two coats of it. It also has a very silky smooth finish to it, making your face feel like it's caressed by satin. Personally I recommend it...compared to other products it's fairly cheap. (For example, where I live, a MAC foundation costs roughly about 200 RON while L'Oreal foundation goes somewhere around 60 RON, that means about 20 dollars)

Swatch: 

Second contestant is Maybelline Affinitone 24h

They describe it as: "Finally, a foundation that pushes beyond any limit the notion of resistant makeup. Due to its unique formula, the new revolutionary foundation Affinitone 24H from Maybelline New York assures a perfect makeup base which lasts all day" (Translated by me)
( http://www.maybelline.ro/PRODUSE/Ten/FOND-DE-TEN/Affinitone_24h.aspx )

I say: This was actually my first choice, before buying L'Oreal as well. I usually go for Ivory, Nude or Beige, depending on how the foundation looks and blends into the skin. I chose 010 Ivory this time, as it was the lightest shade. Well, I had a big surprise coming my way! Even though it looks light, when I put it on  my face, it was actually a shade darker than my skin and it had a sandy tone to it. The coverage it gives is quite nice and resistant but i'm disappointed at the shade. A good thing about it is that it's got a smooth finish to it and it doesn't smell as bad as the normal Affinitone did. I would like it better if it matched my skin. As for the price, it's about half the price of L'Oreal...I paid about 37 RON for it (about 10-11 dollars)

Swatch:

Conclusion:
I personally would reccomend L'Oreal if you're willing to spend more money on foundation but if you're on a tight budget, Maybelline is the choice for you. Anyways, I still give the thumbs up and the golden belt to L'Oreal Le Teint Accord Parfait.

I hope this helped! If you have any questions or ideas feel free to leave a comment below!

Invisible Makeup. Making a difference.

Hello darlings! It may come as a surprise to you or maybe not, but this is actually the first time I've ever tried "invisible" makeup. Well, the thing is that ever since I've started doing makeup I've never walked out the house without it, or if i did, I either had no makeup at all and wore sunglasses or I just pulled off a simple eyeliner with pink or purple lips. This week however, I haven't had much time to do my makeup so I opted for something simple but face illuminating and effective. You'd be amazed of the difference a little foundation makes.
Here's how you can look fresh and pretty without looking overdone or with too much makeup, for those days when you just don't feel like it.

Step 1: Make sure your face is clean. Wipe off the excess sebum or impurities with a cosmetic cotton disc and tonic lotion. (My favorite is Garnier's Tonic Lotion with either grapes or astringent lotion). Apply a light hydrating cream if you feel that your face is too dry.

Step 2: Apply your foundation. As we want a natural and soft look and avoid a caked face, simply add a dot of foundation to both of your cheeks, forehead and chin. This should be enough to lightly cover your blemishes and also level your skin tone. Use a foundation brush for a natural airbrushed look.

Step 3: Conceal! Take your favorite concealer and conceal under your eyes using the lightest concealer, and then conceal around your nose and edges of your mouth with a concealer closest to your skin tone. Blend everything into your foundation. If you have any redness on your face, a green concealer should be applied prior to the skin tone one.

Step 4: Powder to set everything in place! Choose a soft loose powder and apply a small amount using a powder brush to set your foundation and concealer and to give everything a uniform look. My personal favorite powder is Rimmel London's Silky Loose Powder.

Step 5: Fill in your eyebrows but don't overdo them! Remember, we're aiming for a natural look. Just fill in the visible and disturbing gaps. As Marlena from makeupgeek.com said, find a brow pencil with a kaki undertone.

Step 6: Apply a primer on your eyelid before any eye-shadow. Find a matte eyeshadow which is closest to your skin tone and apply it all over your lid and on the lower lash line. Then, take a matte white eye-shadow and highlight your brow bone and the inner corners of your eyes (here you can also use a shimmering white).

Step 7: Mascara your lashes. Here it depends on how you like them. I like my lashes well coated but if you feel that's too much, one coat should do the trick.

Step 8: Apply your favorite blush in a discreet layer just enough to give you that rosy flushed look. Finish everything off with either a simple coral lipstick or a clear lip gloss.

Here is my before and after using the technique described previously! (Yes, I look horror :)) Bad sleep...)

I hope this was useful and if you have any questions or suggestions feel free to ask or e-mail me at alexandramorarischwarz@gmail.com

Touch of Purple (with tutorial)

Hello ladies! Some of you may have seen my post on my facebook page, but for those of you who haven't, I did this look for a wedding I went to this previous Saturday. It was actually my first wedding with my fiance, and I was very keen on matching our clothes. Since he didn't have a black tie, I decided to match my make-up with his tie so I ended up doing a purple tone look. I also thought of you guys and I did a step-by-step photo tutorial on it. I really hope you like this look and if you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to comment below! Kisses!

Products used:  

Face:   Rimmel London Lasting Finish Foundation; 

           Wet n' Wild CoverAll concealer, 

           Rimmel London Silky Loose Powder.

Eyes:    NYX eyeshadow primer (skin tone)

            Lime Crime Magic Dust (Nymph)

            Sleek Acid (Pink, Purple)

            Lime Crime Magic Dust (Twilight, Empress)

            Lime Crime Magic Dust (Top Hattie) as highlight

            Sleek PPQ palette (Lilac Allen) 

            Wet n' Wild Mega Liner

             Red Cherry False Lashes ( # 205)

             Rimmel London Scandaleyes Mascara

Cheeks:  Giordani Gold Bronzing Pearls

Lips: Sephora Lipstick ( don't know the name but it's a peachy shimmery color)

Step 1: Add shimmering ivory color to the inner half of the lid

 Step 2: Add hot pink color to the other half and blend well 

Step 3: Add a purple color over the pink one and blend over

Step 4: Add a darker purple for more dimension and effect

Step 5: Highlight your browbone with a white shimmering color and do your lower lash line with a dark purple color. Stop halfway through,

Step 6: Add a shimmering light purple to the other inner half to make your eyes pop and to illuminate them

Step 7: Line your eyes with liquid eyeliner in a cat-shape. I opted for a smaller line since I wore false lashes and did not want to overwhelm the look.

Step 8: False lashes and mascara. You can totally pull this off without false lashes but since I was going to a wedding I wanted the look to be more dramatic.

Great! Now you're done! Make sure you wear a peachy blush or a soft bronzer with this look and wrap it all up with a soft pink or a shimmering peachy lipstick. Lip gloss is optional ;) (if you don't have a date) :))

Here's a picture of me and my wonderful future husband at the wedding plus a photo of my hair, which I thank Emilia for one more time!

:))

Giveaway Winner!

Hello everyone! So, before I announce the winner, I want to thank you all first for participating and sharing this giveaway. It's been really great to see my Facebook page grow with so many people. You're all amazing and I really hope you'll keep following me further because I promise you lots of looks and more giveaways to come. That been said, I spent like 20 minutes to write down in excel all of your names in the order they appeared at comments. I also took into consideration those few who shared but did not comment and also who only commented on the link and not the picture. Well....let's see then:

THE LIST

There have been 196 VALID entries

Annndd Cogratulations no 53- Tynea Tyghtline!!!!

Please e-mail me at alexandramorarischwarz@gmail.com and I will let you know the details I need for you to receive the pack!