I know I said I don’t work today……well I got a job!! I am seasonal cashier at J.crew at my mall and I am loving it. For the most part its the funnest work environment, minus the crazy people who want to their 10th return and lost a receipt. Getting hired was definitely all God, I take no credit in getting this job.  I walked in to browse and thought, hmmm it would be nice to work here, but just thinking as a dream. Then I said that to my mom who told me to get an application, which I did. Filled that out and within about 2 weeks was interviewed and hired. Its seasonal for now but it may become part time, they seem to like me so I don’t have much to loose.

Since my last post haha, if you can even call it a post, I started writing for an local online girls magazine UnleashedBeauty.com and did some makeup for their photoshoots and what not. Since getting this job however I haven’t had time to write for them.

I’m still doing the makeup thing and hopefully…seriously hopefully I will go to MUD in the spring. I think every season I say I will go to MUD haha. I love makeup and I really love the art in it, not so much the looking like a celebrity thing. Its not a vain reason for why I like it, but more its something I am fascinated by and aren’t able to do. By that I mean I’m not able to transform a face into something else with just using makeup. I’m getting there though, sometimes it takes longer for inspiration and determination to hit.

Since this is mainly a photo blog…why not show you some photos I’ve taken in the last 3-4ish months? =) They will range from Zoo photos to grunge shoots with friends. Enjoy <3

Oh ya forgot to mention, my mom and I are twihards and we took a trip to Forks, WA. =) And portland of course.

Firstly I have decided to go to MUD, Makeup Designory, in Burbank in the fall!! Its an awesome small school for aspiring makeup artists. They teach you everything you need to know to work in the makeup industry, being thats in the in heart of movie making land.

Second….I’m a MARK. REP!!! Translation : I now will be able to offer you guys the best and latest trends in the makeup world of Mark. Mark is an Avon company that is geared towards young women/teens but not ONLY them. Everyone loves a cute compact or lipgloss. My site is avergara.mymarkstore.com and if you shop with me you get free shipping on your first visit with orders over $25! I will also be updating you on whats going on and updates on new products

Now to MAC. I just got the MAC Give me Liberty of London blush in “Prim & Proper” which is a nude/beige blush with a soft sheen to it. Its an amazingly natural looking blush that just kind of perks my face up without forcing me to look like I have blush on. I have red cheeks from acne so its nice to tone it down. Their entire collection list can be found at Temptalia.com . Everything is packaged in limited edition cases in white with either a bird or flower on top. In my opinion the plastic is better than the usual black plastic and the clear plastic with the design is raised from the white container.  Its the Hello Kitty of the year but I am excited about “To the Beach” that comes out in like May I think.

Lastly, I am on acutane. After years of suffering from acne I have decided to put and end to it once and for all. Its going really well other than drying me out like crazy. I’ll update you for sure.

Its nice to blog real quick about my life and I will be sure to be back and tell you all the new and exciting things about Mark!!

love and lipgloss,                                                                                                                                -Alyx

We started the day out with church, followed by coming home and opening some gifts from both mom and kyle. Mom wowed me with a trip to the mall and some set gifts which included a new (first) coach purse, some new foundation from Sephora (zomg) and a trip to Farrells. While mom and I shopped kyle offered to painstakingly wait in line, I was really proud and also felt so bad! So from Coach I got this Madison slingback purse thingy. Which works out because since its pretty small I cant overload it and break it! I also picked up some Korres Wild Rose Foundation in WRF3 which I will do a review of as soon as I test it out some more but so far Im really loving it. Oh and because it was my birthday and Im a beauty insider I got my birthday gift! A little box with a white pearl eyeshadow, a silver green liner and mascara.  Kyle got me a MAC lip gelee in Lush and Bright from the Mac in Lillyland which is this really neat coraly orange sparkly lipglass. It looks super bright in the tube but on your already naturally pigmented lips, its very subtle and soft. I love it and had been wanting it I really enjoyed this birthday, not as much as others because it was a little too much driving and waiting (thank you Kyle!) but still a great way to celebrate my new year. Thank you to everyone who made it special. Here are some photos! Enjoy =)

Alright so this post will be about my love for St. Ives body products.  My mom has  used St. Ives for as long as I can remember. The Makeup Remover + Facewash, I hadn’t really thought too much about them just because she used them. I mean, what does she know right? Wrong. While browsing in Target one day looking for a body wash, I came across the Oatmeal + Shea body wash. I popped the cap open, took a whiff and fell in love! It is now my only body wash I use. It is fourmulated without Parabens and Phthalates so yay! Safe for your body, it does however have SLS so you will want to moisturize afterwards. Which beings me to my next St. Ives product. Mineral Therapy body lotion, its to prevent and relieve dry skin. This thing was amazing! If you have dry skin get this, put it on after the shower and it will last throughout the day.

This brand offers a ton of awesome products for an affordable price. Their  apricot scrub is among top beauty bloggers pick for best exfoliator and I myself used to use it and loved it. They generally run from $3-$13 depending on where you buy them. CVS usually has great deals on everything, like buy one get one, so if you want it for less check there. Hope you enjoyed that little skincare favorite. I have a whole new face routine that I will post soon. From Origins =) bye!

Beauty Tip : For softer lips use a toothbrush and vitamin E oil or Vaseline and gently exfoliate your lips. Also use a lip treatment at night, I use Vaseline Lip Therapy, Blistex or Carmex, put it on before you go to bed and when you wake up your lips will be moisturized and pretty =)

My dream has been for a few years to see the first sunrise of the new year. It never has happened and this year I made a point of making it happen. I set my alarm and when it went off I contemplated getting up. I had stayed up a little late and was dead tired and as I lay in bed I pray, Lord if you want me to do this help me. I started to wake up and seized the opportunity and threw on some warm clothes (I did have to go back to get more though) Opened the garage door half way, walked over the laser so I wouldn’t go back up. I didn’t go far, just in the street where there is an amazing view of the mountains and valley I guess you could call it. It was cold and quiet, I heard a ton of birds and a few actually kept me company (and  eventually led me to another view very sleeping beautyesque) I stood there for a bit trying to figure out where and what I was going to shoot. It was a pity my brain function wasnt up to par that early because there was light in the sky and I didn’t follow it to the sun hahaha. I walked a few feet down the street and was like oh…hello there little guy *Click* I went back to bed when all was said and done (more done than said.) I was very happy to have gotten the chance to do this and I hope you all enjoy these =)

About a month ago I was in Sephora looking for a new foundation and found the company Korres. Korres is a natural skincare and makeup line from Athens, Greece. They have 2 foundations and one tinted moisturizer. A Wild Rose Foundation, Ginger Foundation and Watermelon TM. I had planned on getting the Wild Rose foundation but changed my mind last minute for a lighter option. So these are my thoughts on the watermelon tinted moisturizer.

Sooo this isn’t a moisturizer haha, well not to me anyway. When I think of moisture I think hydrating, cream or gel based, something that glides over my skin without resistance (dryness.) However that apparently wasn’t what Korres was thinking when they made this because it is not cream or gel based and is runny like a foundation. To me this was a foundation and I used it as such. With extreme coverage I didn’t NEED to conceal, I found this out later in the month, but I did anyway.  I found that when I did use a primer, concealer, t/m,  and powder that it was waaaay too much and the areas where I concealed looked heavy and  gross.  So to get the most out of this I would suggest skipping the primer and concealer and just using it on its own OVER your regular moisturizer. This tm  does not have instant hydrating factors. I  have a feeling that as you go on with your day it keeps the moisture you do have and holds onto it. Which I find really gross since I have oily skin/acne.

On top of the odd texture/lack of moisture I found this to be really pink. Which I was surprised since it just looks tan in the tube and when it comes out, but get anywhere near a flash and intense lights and you will notice that your face doesn’t match your body.  Unless you have pink undertones, which I do not have what so ever. I am a NC35 so yellow is my color, due to that I did return it after a month since it just wasn’t working out.  Even if it had been the right color I don’t think I would have liked it, my face looked always like it was melting and plastic. It accentuated my zits and was very drying for 15 min after I put it on.  I did like the coverage, I think they have mastered the art of color correcting and that sort but I wouldn’t buy it again or really even recommend it to people because it seems too hard to use. I have all the time in the world but I do not want to spend it getting my foundation on. Also once its  on your fingers dont touch anything! It comes off so easily onto and if you have white doors, counters, anything wash your hands before touching them.

In closing, pros – great coverage, natural ingredients, and smelled devine (like faint watermelon)     cons- messy, hard to use, expensive ($28) not hydrating/too dry, didnt always look good on, too pink. It by far isnt the worst product out there but it isnt the best either.   Here are some photos of how it looked on my skin.  It doesnt always look like it in certain lighting, it can even look too yellow, but it is pink.

I will start with when I took the Tarte Treasure Chest back to sephora. They were very nice about it, although the girl at the register was a little loopy at times it seemed. Unfortunately they were out of stock (little did I know that my local mall carried this, if I had known that this all would have never happened -.-) She tells me to come back another day to get it (I have at this point already returned the item) And another lady says that because I bought it with the Friends and Family deal they should honor it and I’ll get it for the same price. I go back to get it and apparently no one had told the register girl (same loopy one) that. *sigh* long story short, got home, opened it, it too was cracked, emailed sephora, returned it, got the money back.

At this point I don’t even want it anymore and just forget all about it and move onto bigger and better things. Such as the VIB shopping “event.” Where for the whole weekend starting Thursday or Friday I think, until Sunday (today) VIB beauty insiders get 20% total purchase.  Well I was stoked. I made a laundry list of things I wanted which included some Urban Decay products and a lighter foundation since we are now in fall and I never see the sun. Finally, after days of product research and lists, the 12th came. I decided to get the Korres Wild Rose Foundation or at least try it out and Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol.2. I get there and no BOS2 -.- It really just wasnt my month! But I still am matched for foundation and so it wasnt a total loss. I go back the next day with a revised list. I had prayed that whatever I was supposed to get would be there and it would just work out. I walk in and asked to be color match for the tinted moisturizer (full review coming soon or tomorrow via video) and while Im waiting I look over to the UD counter……..the book is there, and there is only one of them. I tell Kyle to grab it and I clutch onto it like no other.  And that ladies and gentlemen is what I got.

Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. 2 is MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!! SOOOO happy! And with it I decided to make a Sephora holiday (CHRISTMAS!) green look from their new magazine and online photo. (I know that made very little sense) And this is what I did, hope you like it!! (I actually did this twice hence the reason two of them look different)

Products used:

Korres Tinted Moisturizer in Dark Tan

UDPP

MAC Paint in Chartru

Urban Decay Homegrown, Flipside and Half Baked eyeshadow

EG Minerals Congo mineral eyeshadow

MAC Fluer Power Blush

UD 24/7 liner in Zero  + Lash Fusion XL mascara + eyelashes

I was a vampire this year although no one would have guessed based off my clothes lol. I was going for more of a elegant vampire not elvira.  For the look I got MAC’s Amorous Dazzleglass Cream which is amaaaazing! Its a dark brown red with gold sparkles in it. The thing I love about it is ITS NOT STICKY! It’s limited edition from the dazzleglass cream collection I think. It’s funny I always end up getting things from collections I didnt really care about. I paired that with my Ruby Woo lipstick from MAC. It’s matte so it needs some gloss to make it pop.  Feeling adventurous I made some bite marks using eyelash adhesive and it came out wonderfull but not too many people noticed lol.

Sephora recently had a family and friends sale that was 20% off so I managed to come up with $45 for the Tarte Treasure Chest. I was soooo excited to get it, I would go out like every 30 min to check if it was here. It FINALLY came around 6ish and when I opened it I noticed a pinkish powder on the side of the box. I thought oh no one of the shadows cracked! Nope they were all in tact. It was one of the blushes a highlighting powder to be exact and it was everywhere! I had to push it back to the pan just to close the box, it felt soooooo amazing. I also swatched the blushes and wow they were fantastic! I took it to the closest Sephora that carried Tarte all the way up at Downtown Disney and they had sold out So they refunded my card and said to call them when they got a new shipment to see if they had any. So I plan to do that but what a bummer! The girls were really nice so that made me feel a little better

Despite my order isnt here anymore the samples sure are!! I got the Murad Pomegranate  lip protectant spf 12 I think, Anastasia brow duo powder sample, and Living Proof shampo and conditioner.  I nixed the lip thing because I couldnt stand how it tastes. It’s not pomegranate its like strawberry to me, and bleh.  The brow duo is reallly nice I want the big version now Sephroa is smart like that, they want your money!! And I am willing to give it lol. The shampoo and conditioner are sooooooooooooo nice I cant even tell you. I plan on buying the “to go” version which is smaller and only $10. Not really a great deal for 2 oz but not terrible either.  It left my hair clean, soft and frizz freee And added bonus is that its sulfate free! woohoo!

Here are some photos of mostly everything, hope you enjoy

Hope&Love Owls were created because I realized that people are alone a lot of times. When they are sick and in the hospital, depressed, or just traveling a lot. So I wanted to do something in my own way to help people not feel so alone. I have always been co dependent on my teddy bears. I still sleep with one =) and my little owls are either on my pillow or on my window sill.  I would imagine they would be great companions for people who are going away to a new town, new school and dont want to feel alone. It isnt a magic source of anti-depressent but it helps =) God is the only one who is with us at all times, I know that.

So go check it out! They are adorable! I have about 8 ready to go so if you are interested either go on my site or send me a message.

Take care!        http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=8279346

just a side note, the name of them is Hope&Love Owls, but I forgot to write it that way when I made the account so the SHOP name is Love&Hope Owls. I know I know I got it backwards and I am soooo sorry for the confusion, I just like how the first one sounds better =) thank you for reading.