Brows On Fleek

By now you've probably heard of people saying something along the lines of "brows on fleek", this was originally said to be started by Peaches Monroee on June 21st 2014 (marking today as the "fleek" 1 year anniversary) from a viral Vine video in which she randomly thought up the word "fleek". "On fleek" is claimed to be the new version of "On Point" (which is basically said to mean perfected) except "on fleek" is mainly used in reference to eyebrows. A few celebs are already using "fleek" in their music such as Nicki Minaj, B.o.B., and Ariana Grande to name a few. Minaj and Christina Milian also got into an arguement over Milian selling clothing stating "Pretty on Fleek" which is a lyric from Minaj's song "Feeling Myself", however Minaj did not come up with "Fleek" itself so.. yea (give credit where it's really due ladies).

With everyone's brows suddenly becoming "fleek" it has seemed to actually adopt a perfected style of its own (at least from my own point of view). With the "on fleek" style brows they are usually kept clean and sharp, fairly normal to full in size, have a nice perfected arch, are well groomed, and the inner brow tends to fade inward toward the nose. Often I have found the main product used to create these "on fleek" brows is Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow pomade (which currently retails for $18 and is available in 10 different colors). Of course you don't have to use that product to achieve "on fleek" brows.

If you're wondering who does "on fleek" brows best than below you'll find several instagram'ers (in no particular order) whose brows I feel are "on point" for this, and a few of them have YouTube channels which show you just how they do their brows...

mellypatrice (uses Anastasia Beverly Hills).

_jessicaivone (uses Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow, brow wiz, and tinted brow gel).

ssssamanthaa (uses Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow, and/or brow products by Benefit).

sophiecash (uses Anastasia Beverly Hills dipbrow).

pala_foxxia (uses MAC dipdown fluidline).

Alternate Eye Makeup Brushes

This week I decided to look into eye makeup brushes which could be possible dupes for MAC ones. Interestingly enough I learned that art paint brushes from your local craft store actually make good dupes for the MAC brushes, and they're pretty inexpensive in comparison. The base price for new pro MAC eye makeup brushes online seems to be $18 and up, while the average eye makeup sized art brushes I bought from Michael's craft store averaged a price of $6.50 per brush with tax. Below you'll see the 7 art brushes which I purchased and I'll go into a bit more detail about why I chose these brushes out of the massive selection at the art store.

Click to Enlarge

Starting from top to bottom (and the possible MAC dupes to the right)...

Loew-Cornell (American Painter) - 4000-1 Round (MAC 210)
Loew-Cornell (American Painter) - 34400-1/4 Angular (MAC 266)
Loew-Cornell (American Painter) - 4500-8 Filbert (MAC 194)
Loew-Cornell (La Comeille) - 7400-3/8 Angular (MAC 269)
Loew-Cornell - 272-L Dome Round (MAC 286)
Loew-Cornell - 270-1/2 Maxine's Mop (MAC 252)
Loew-Cornell (La Comeille) - 7930-6 Flora (No dupes but an awesome inner eyelid brush)

How I choose my art brushes for eye makeup use...

First of all, i've had enough eye makeup brushes and have applied eye makeup long enough to know what I feel will work best for me... so choose what will work best for you. I mostly tend to lean toward getting synthetic bristled brushes because they allow for a smooth saturated application, while I do prefer the natural bristled brushes for blending purposes because the bristles don't hold as much product and the bristles are a bit fanned out in comparison to the synthetic ones which are more compact (often I find natural bristles tend to loose their shape faster than synthetic ones over time). If you're a person that likes your makeup light or more on the natural side than you'll probably prefer the natural bristles, and if you like your makeup bold and clean lined than you'll probably prefer the synthetic ones. I like to mix up my eye makeup looks and will often end up using both types. Natural bristles are generally best suited for blending out powdered products only, while the synthetic ones are great because you can apply primers, gels, creams, etc, as well as eyeshadow however, they really aren't suited for blending like the natural ones are.

Deciding what to get...

In deciding which art paint brushes I want for my eyeshadow application I like ones that are fairly soft to the touch so that they don't scratch the eyelid during application. I generally don't want bristles that are too flimsy or stiff, I like to have control over where my makeup is being applied and I want easy application so, I choose brushes that have a little give in the bristles. I also avoid the long handled brushes because at too great a distance you'll lose control over where you want your product to go and the brush will probably be too long for most normal makeup cases/bags... so, I stick to the short handled art brush selection.

Looking at Michael's for brushes...

If you're buying your brushes from Michael's you may notice they have a level of 1-3, the higher the number the higher the quality of brush (thus making 3 the pro grade). I looked through all the levels of brushes and ended up choosing mostly level 2 grade, although the two La Comeille brushes I have I believe are level 3 grade. I found that most the level 1 grade were mainly for beginners at painting so, these just didn't seem like they'd be fit as makeup brushes because the bristle shapes seemed a bit limited and of poor quality. You're best bet is also to pick brushes used for mixed media as these may hold up best against the product/s you're using, although I don't think that matters too much.

Art brushes vs. Makeup brushes...

Some people may be asking "are these safe to use for makeup, etc". The answer is yes, and actually a lot of pro makeup artists use these brushes. Art brushes often can withstand time a lot longer than a lot of makeup brushes can and you can clean these in the same manner as makeup brushes. Some may say art brushes have harmful chemicals well, so can makeup brushes, and have you ever read what's in a lot of makeup products?! If you're asking what brand of art brushes to buy well, I've noticed quite a few people seem to go for the Loew-Cornell ones (I think that may be all Michael's carries) but that's not to say that you couldn't go for other brands as well. I find that these actually hold eyeshadow pigment better than my makeup brushes as well.

MAC Dupes

This weekend I decided to try and find a few MAC dupes using eyeshadows I currently own, enjoy ;)

MAC Next to Nothing - Maybelline Quad in Designer Chocolates (Lid shade)

The Maybelline one is slightly more tan/gold while Next to Nothing is a bit more white. I think I actually prefer Maybelline's color although these two shades are very similar and I have "hit pan" on both eyeshadows.

Click to Enlarge

MAC Dark Edge - Revlon Rich Sable

These two shades are very similar although Rich Sable may have slightly more red to it, I do feel this is a nice dupe regardless. Over the two colors... I actually prefer the MAC because I think it applies soft/smooth during application and the Revlon feels a bit dry/chalky in texture and applies a bit more unevenly.

Click to Enlarge

MAC Tempting - Maybelline Urban Brown

Urban brown applies a bit more dark than Tempting, the shade may look drastically more dark in one of the photo's but in person if you applied this on your lids, I really don't think you'd notice much difference between the two. Tempting does appear to have more shimmer to it than Urban Brown but once swatched I couldn't really notice a difference in shimmer. I think Urban Brown applies slightly better than Tempting as it's more pigmented, and I had to build up Tempting's color a bit to look as intense as Urban Brown. I do feel this is a good dupe if you're wanting to darken Tempting as much as the Urban Brown, but if you want a shade that starts off lighter but can go darker than choose Tempting, although you could probably blend out (or apply less) Urban Brown to appear lighter.

Click to Enlarge

I Dream of Greenie

I recently purchased Wet N Wild's "I Dream of Greenie" trio, so I decided to share my swatches. The top shade is the browbone color which is a sheer green but appears more blue to me. The center shade is the crease color which I think looks nice with the browbone shade, and for some reason this color is a bit chalky/flaky during application. The bottom shade is the eyelid color which is a lovely pigmented lime green with yellow shimmer and it's definitely the stand-out shade in this trio.

Click to Enlarge

I was curious to see if my MAC Sharp eyeshadow was similar to the Wet N Wild bottom eyelid shade but it really wasn't what I'd consider a dupe as Sharp is much more yellow than it is green and it does not contain the yellow shimmer like the WnW one. The last swatch here is a combination of both colors.

Beauty Dupe List

A work in progress!

Here you can hopefully find the closest possible dupes for different eyeshadows (primarily for MAC) and a link to all credited pages for the dupe/s, enjoy!
---------------MAC - EyeShadow-----------------

MAC All That Glitters - Wet N Wild Gilded Age Trio (Top), NYX Champagne, CoverGirl Mink
MAC Beauty Marked - Wet N Wild Lust Quad (Center Row, Right Side) - NARS Night Fever
MAC Carbon - Wet N Wild Greed Quad (Bottom Row, Left Side), CoverGirl Shimmering Onyx
MAC Dark Edge - Revlon Rich Sable
MAC Deep Truth - Wet N Wild Pride Quad (Bottom Row, Right Side)
MAC Electra - Wet N Wild Spoiled Brat Trio (Top Browbone Shade)
MAC Embark - Wet N Wild Vanity Quad (Bottom Row, Left Side)
MAC Era - CoverGirl Tapestry Taupe
MAC Espresso - CoverGirl Brown Smolder
MAC Expensive Pink - MAC Paradisco
MAC Eyepopping - MAC Sharp
MAC Fig. 1 - Wet N Wild Lust Quad (Center Row, Left Side)
MAC Filament - CoverGirl Snow Blossoms
MAC Gesso - Wet N Wild Pride Quad (Top Row, Left Side)
MAC Goldmine - Wet N Wild Vanity Quad (Center Row, Right Side)
MAC Humid - Wet N Wild Envy, Wet N Wild Sensual Sage, NYX Mermaid Milani Clover, and Ulta Shamrock
MAC Knight Devine - Wet N Wild Lust Quad (Center Row, Right Side)
MAC Llama - Wet N Wild Brulee, MAC Brule, CoverGirl French Vanilla
MAC Lust - Wet N Wild Lust Quad (Top Row, Left Side)
MAC Malt - Wet N Wild Vanity Quad (Top Row, Left Side)
MAC Manilla Paper - Wet N Wild Vanity Quad (Top Row, Left Side)
MAC Mulch - Wet N Wild Gilded Age Trio (Middle), CoverGirl Swiss Chocolate, Milani Java Bean
MAC Newly Minted - Wet N Wild Pride Quad (Middle Row, Left Side)
MAC Next to Nothing - Maybelline Designer Chocolates (Lid Shade)
MAC Shadowy Lady - Wet N Wild Lust Quad (Bottom Row, Left Side)
MAC Sharp - MAC Eyepopping
MAC Sound Trip - Wet N Wild Golden Goddess Quad (Bottom Row, Left Side)
MAC Steamy - Wet N Wild Pride Quad (Center Row, Right Side)
MAC Tempting - Maybelline Urban Brown
MAC Tete-A-Tint - Wet N Wild Greed Quad (Center Row, Left Side)
MAC Paradisco - MAC Expensive Pink
MAC Vanilla - Wet N Wild Lust Quad (Top Row, Right Side)
MAC Woodwinked - Wet N Wild Gilded Age Trio (Bottom)

---------------Urban Decay - EyeShadow-----------------

Urban Decay Chopper- Wet N Wild Dancing in the Clouds Trio (Bottom)
Urban Decay Flash - Wet N Wild Dancing in the Clouds Trio (Middle)
Urban Decay Maui Wowie - Wet N Wild Dancing in the Clouds Trio (Top)
Urban Decay Smog - Wet N Wild Comfort Zone (Left Side, Crease)

----------------YSL - Nail Polish----------------

YSL in Gris Underground - Rescue Beauty Lounge in Concrete Jungle

YSL in Blue Cobalt - Dior in Tuxedo

----------------NYX Lipstick----------------

NYX in Power - Kat Von D in Requiem

NYX in Tea and Cookies - Anastasia Beverly Hills in Lovely

For more possible dupes you can checkout this list here! For more possible WnW dupes click here and here. If you have any great dupes you'd like to submit/share just leave a comment with a link to the pictured page and I'll try to get it added to this list, thanks in advance :)

2012 Spring Makeup Looks

Here are a few spring makeup looks for 2012!

My favorite of this lot of photos is the retro blue cat eye (top and middle far left images), the top image there is done by Monique Lhullier for MAC. I'm not sure the champagne gold type of color she used on the lids but the black eyeliner is MAC PRO Chromaline Creme Liner in Black and the blue used is MAC ChromaCake in Marine Ultra.

I think my go-to type of look for next year would be more like the bottom middle image but minus the heavy black eyeshadow on the bottom lid and perhaps opt to line the lower waterline instead (Also, on myself personally...I dislike looking too raccoon-ish like the bottom right image). Also... decent black eyeshadow with no fallout is hard to come-by so I'd probably opt to use a black shade stick over some primer on the lid.

I also really like the top right image which is probably done by using those stick-on eyeshadows although, I'd be afraid to mess it up during the application process and end up with a smudged mess...unless this is more like a stick-on eye tattoo type of product which honestly would be a bit genius especially since stick-on tats could last for a few days.

As for the bold lip color trend done by MAC in the center right image, I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable being that bold with lip color so I think I'd opt for a nice pale matte barbie pink lipstick like Wet N Wild in Think Pink (901B) instead which, I think would look cute with a clean lined light gray dramatic cat-eye (think Amy Winehouse).

Gyaru Inspired Eye Makeup

Generally Gyaru style makeup consists of circle contact lenses and over-exaggerated false lashes however, the look I did (below) does not consist of either of those.

Eye Primer: Loreal Decrease

All Over Eye Base Color: Revlon Skinlights (first shade on left of palette) and Maybelline in Almond Satin (lightest shade) over top.

Lid: MAC in Sharp, apply at the outside of the lid and blend it out going toward the inside of the lid.

Outer V and Crease: MAC in Dark Edge, apply at the outside of the lid and blend it up into the crease going toward the inner eye (cat eye the outer V line to come straight out rather then upward).

Lower Lid: MAC in Dark Edge, you want to follow the top cat eye line but don't connect the two together (you want a small gap between them) and blend out the line going toward the inner eye. You also don't want the eyeshadow near the top of the lid near the water line (you want there to be a slight gap).

Upper Lid Liner: Milani gel liner in Black, line the entire top lashline and drag the liner out past the eye 1-2cm (follow the outside base line you did with your upper cat-eye eyeshadow).

Lower Waterline Liner: Almay pencil in Black, only apply about 1-2cm in the center of the water line (under where the iris is).

Mascara: Covergirl LashBlast in Very Black, apply several coats of mascara on top lashes and 1 small coat on the bottom lashes (keep the outer bottom lashes a bit bolder then the inner ones).

Brows: Prestige brows in Light to Medium (lightest shade).

MAC Quite Cute Dupes

I recently hunted for a MAC Quite Cute Quad dupe and ta-da!

Revlon ColorStay 12 Hour Eye Shadow, Wildflower 370

Cheap makeup FTW again! Save yourself a good $29 ;D BTW a lot of people are disappointed on this MAC quad because the shades are sooo light, C- on the reviews for it. However, I'm not sure the second shade on the Revlon palette is a dupe for the pink shade.

As for possible MAC QC nailpolish dupes...

MAC in Mischievous Mint

MAC in Ice Cream Cake

MAC in Litte Girl Type

Click to Enlarge Swatch Chart

I decided it's time to create a real color chart for all the dupers out there so that we can finally stomp out all the rumors of what dupes and what doesn't, decide for yourself from these actual swatches :) enjoy!

On the Outside Looking In

Yesterday I managed to replicate this look perfectly, here's what I used to acheive this eye look...

Eye Makeup

Step 1: Loreal DeCrease - Prime Entire Eye Area
Step 2: MAC Eye Shadow in Sharp - Lid
Step 3: Coastal Scents 88 Matte Palette Eye Shadow(4 across and 6 down, dark green shade) - Line Upper LashLine
Step 4: NYX Jumbo Pencil in Pacific - Lower WaterLine
Step 5: MAC Eye Shadow in Tempting - Lower LashLine
Step 6: Palladio Eye Shadow in Champagne - Under Brow HighLight
Step 7: Rimmel Liquid Eye Liner in Ebony Black - Upper LashLiner
Step 8: Covergirl LashBlastVolume in Very Black - Top and Bottom Lashes

"On the Scene" Eye Makeup Tutorial

This eye makeup look is by MAC "In the Groove" series and this one is called "On the Scene". Since I really don't like their makeup tuts on how to acheive these looks I've created a similar how-to tutorial on how I think this exact look can be more easily acheived and without using MAC products, enjoy ;)

Step 1: Prime entire eye area using Loreal De-Crease.

Step 2: Line entire upper lashline using Styli-Style Waterproof Liquid Liner pen in Blackest Black.

Step 3: Apply an under brow highlight color in cream (or similar skin tone) colored eyeshadow, I used Maybelline eyeshadow single in Linen.

Step 4: Using Coastal Scents 88 Shimmer Pallete I applied a Medium/Light shade of blue (5 across and 1 down). Apply this to inner top half and blending up past crease of lid and entire lower lash line.

Step 5: Using the Maybelline quad in Hushed Tints I applied the orange shade to the outer top lid insuring to blend the color up toward the brows and also applying it to the middle of the lower lash line.

Step 6: Using the same Maybelline quad in Hushed Tints I applied the dark brown shade to the lower outer top lid lightly just to add some subtle dimension to the eye and also applied it over the middle of the lower lash line of the orange I just applied. I also used this color to fill in my brows.

Step 7: Apply several quick coats of Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara in Extreme Black to entire top lashes and middle of bottom lashes.

MAC Lady Gaga Dupe

Recently I saw Lady Gaga advertising this makeup look by MAC and decided...to find some cheaper alternatives...as usual ;D

Eyes

Instead of MAC Eyeshadow...

L'Oreal HIP Bright Duos Shadow, Brazen 118 $7.99

-Similar to MAC Eyeshadow in Sushi Flower and Antiqued.

and

Maybelline Expertwear Single Eyeshadow, Linen Shimmer Finish 15 $2.99

-Similar to MAC eyeshadow in Mylar.

and
NYX Shadow For Eyes, Black ES01 $4.29
-Similar to MAC Eyeshadow in Carbon.

Instead of MAC Paint Pot...
Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadows in Precious Metals $6.50
-The last 2 colors to the right of this palette seem close to MAC Paint Pots in Groundwork and Artifact.

Cheek

Instead of MAC blush...

Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Blush For Cheeks, Rare Rose 40 $12.99

-Possibly similar to MAC in Well Dressed.







Lips

Instead of MAC cremestick liner...

Revlon ColorStay Liner For Lips, Sienna 635 $7.99

-Similar to Sublime Culture

Instead of MAC lipstick...

Revlon ColorStay Soft & Smooth Lipcolor, So Blushious $9.99

-Similar to Pink Nouveau(Satin)

Instead of MAC Viva Glam Gaga...
Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick, Baby Pink 020 $8.99

Instead of MAC Clear Lipglass...
Wet 'n' Wild Glassy Gloss Lip Gel, Reflection 311 $2.99
-This product also contains jojoba just like MAC's.

Sneak Peek

Since I loveeee Makeup sooo much...I couldn't help but take a sneak peek into my friends regular makeup bag...I'm sooo nosey(don't kill me, hah). Now, lets dive-in cuz I see sum MAC in their!!!LASH-A-DELIC FLIRT! FAST DEFINING MASCARA IN 01 MOD BLACK ($14)
I've never seen this before but looks like it's sold at KOHLS (we both use to work their)...it smells like old cheap mascara even though it apparently isn't and it's a bit liquidy then what I'm use to using.

MAC STUDIO SCULPT SPF 15 FOUNDATION IN NC42 ($35.50)
Seems blendable but few shades too dark for my fair skin (better for her Latin colour), has a weird smell :l Too expensive in my opinion but I also prolly wear makeup more often then she does.

MAC MINERALIZE SKINFINISH NATURAL IN MEDIUM PLUS ($27)
This appeared to leave a nice soft subtle finish to the skin but didn't seem to add much coverage but...what do you expect when a product says "natural skinfinish".

ESTEE LAUDER PROJECTIONIST MASCARA IN 01 BLACK ($19.50)
A more pricey mascara, I believe my Mom has this...hope this is the one she's using (LOL).

SPA H20 HYDRATING BODY BUTTER ($19.50)
I'm not sure what company sells this (some other state it seems)...I didn't try it but it looks like she uses this regularly as the top was screwed on loose.

VICTORIA SECRET PERFUME IN ORANGE FLOWER
I kept smelling something from the time I got near the bag and i wasn't sure I liked it at first but now the smell seems fairly alluring. I know she's the type which has odd perfumes, usually ones of peach fragrance. Although this tester says "orange" it smells more of strong yet muted floral scent. Apparently it's new this year and for those of you that don't know her...she gets discounts at VS ;)

MARKWINS BEAUTY IN LIGHT PALE 801
I think this is the brand name (sold at Target? Some kid makeup brand?), not sure where she got this exactly but it appears to be some type of coverage stick that seems more my color then hers, looks like she uses it often though.

MAC PRO LONGWEAR LIPCOLOUR IN DURASHELL ($21)
I did a wrist swatch with this and at first it's a nice pink color with gold shimmer, it goes on okay and then you follow up with the clear gloss. The gloss doesn't last long, it feels dry quick but the color does have some staying power as it fades into a nude-brown-pink color within seconds it seemed. BTW it took about 2 days for this to wash completely off my wrist!

As for any makeup brushes she used it generally consisted from the Victoria Secret Very Sexy Collection which came with her makeup bag. She mostly used foundation brushes...well she didn't have any eyeshadow so no need for the other brushes I suppose. She does groom her brows with a Maybelline brow brush, heh. All in all this total collection of hers is over $136.50, eep, I'll stick to drugstore stuff! Her usual makeup is generally natural looking, unlike her sister who does makeup vids on YouTube that are sooo caked-on and bold you'd think Drag Queen ;D LOL

P.S. If you invite me over...I WILL go through your makeup!!! SYKE...but not really ^.^ hahah

MAC Naked Honey ES Collection Dupes

Leave it to me to find affordable local drugstore dupes because I just tracked down MAC's new Naked Honey eyeshadow collection. This MAC collection only consists of 3 colors and 2 of them are currently sold out. Low and behold among the isles of CVS I came across 2005's Almay Intense i-Color Shadow Trio, For Hazels (Gee, your so original MAC and several years behind, LOL). So Almay's eyeshadow quality may not be as great as MAC but compare Almays $7.42 to MAC's $14.40 for each eyeshadow ($43.20 in total before tax, which means I could buy almost 6 sets of this Almay palette, plus Almay is more likely to go on sale and be even cheaper).

Top Photo's are the Mac set, Bottom Photo's are the Almay set

Here are a few more dupes I was able to find for these 3 colors.

MAC's eyeshadow, Crème De Miel = MAC eyeshadow, Nylon = L'Oreal HIP Shocking Shadow Pigments, Restless = Milani, Classic Beige = Too Faced, Glamazon = NYX eyeshadow, Vanilla Sky = Milani, Classic Beige

MAC's eyeshadow, Pollinator = MAC eyeshadow, Gleam = MAC's eyeshadow, Paradisco = Flirt! Feeling Hot

MAC's eyeshadow, Buckwheat = MAC eyeshadow, Tempting = Coastal Scents, 28 neutral palette = Go eyeshadow, Frosted Bronze = Urban Decay eyeshadow, Smog

MAC's eyeshadow, Pollinator & Buckwheat = TOO FACED eyeshadow duo, George Weezie*Bonus* For my lips I used Avon Glazewear in Mirage. The lip liner on my bottom lip is Loreal Colour Riche in Beyond Pink.