Prime Time

It is ya girl, Nicole again :) Good evening everyone! Earlier today I took this picture:

This was on Instagram. Today I was minding my own business, doing my makeup before work, when I came across these two products in my makeup collection:

Anastasia Brow Pen in Universal Deep

Benefit 15-Hour Primer 

This primer made my foundation look absolutely crazy! I was so excited about it that I wanted to blog right away, but I was off to work and wanted to see how it lasted throughout the day. You know how sometimes everything looks good in the beginning of the day, but ends up at your chin by the end it. Yeah well, there was no melting with this primer. My oily skin stayed shine free all day and looked airbrushed! I could not believe it. I had heard not so great reviews about this. One of the biggest complaints was that it controlled oil too much. And that you had to work fast before the primer dried out. Well when I saw it today, I thought what the hell? and did one side at a time. Boy, am I glad I tried this today.  It just goes to show that not everything works the same for everybody. 

As for the eyebrow pen, this was pretty awesome. When I did my eyebrow tutorial I showed myself using a powder to fill in the parts of the brow that a pencil would be too harsh. Well, that it where I used this pen. And I really loved it. I feel like it goes into my skin more naturally. The pen has a wet texture so it just molds into the brow seamlessly. I think it is also waterproof, so it is summer approved. 

Now I know that everything looks good when you put an Instagram filter on it, so I'm showing you an untouched photo.

Yes, girl. That is me. And yes those are my real lashes! Crazy right? I told you in yesterday's post how much magic Makeup Forever Smokey Extravagant Mascara works. I'd never lie to you guys :)

What primers do you guys use?

What do you think gives you a perfect foundation application?

Well, now that I am done venting my feelings, I am going to spend the rest of the night watching So You Think You Can Dance :)

Goodnight lovlies!

Nicole xo

July 2013 Favorites | Makeup, Skincare, and More

Hello beautiful people! It is ya girl, Nicole, all up in yo face! How is everyone doing today?

This weekend was jam packed for me. On Saturday I went with my family to the tattoo convention in New Jersey.

Me and momma bear!

My family loves tattoos. My dad is almost covered in them. My mom has her fair share of them, and my sister, Sam, had like 5 by the time she was 20. My other sister, Erica can't seem to stop getting them. She is crazy. Love you, E! As for me I only have two, but I want more. I'm just thinking up my next one ;)

The convention was also right on a boardwalk so we got to enjoy some of the beauty. 

Then on Sunday I went with my mom and Sam to a Zumba party in Chelsea Pier. 

It was a fundraiser for HIV/AIDS. It was really fun because we took some Zumba friends along. Plus 90 minutes of Zumba is pretty much the best thing ever. I was exhausted by the end of the weekend though because I also took a Zumba class in the morning. I'm a little crazy too I guess ha ha. 

Onto the favorites! July is coming to an end so I thought it would be cool to show you guys what I have been loving. I will talk about the products in the picture from left to right. Lets get started! 

Face: 

Givenchy Mister Light Concealer and YSL Touché Éclat Highlighting Pen- I have one word for these works of God. Yes! I have been using them like crazy because they highlight and conceal all the redness and darkness on my skin. They never look cakey and feel nice and light. 

Givenchy Gold Primer- Like my sample jar? Ha ha. I took a sample of this because I wanted to see if it really does take away oil while still adding radiance. And girl, yes it does. This primer has flecks of gold in it, which is what gives it that ability. 

Josie Maran Matchmaker Foundation- Yes, another sample jar. I don't know about you, but I break out sometimes when I try new foundations, so I took a sample. I love it so far. It gives awesome coverage while feeling light. One of my coworkers actually came into work when I was wearing it and was like, "Oh my god! Your skin looks amazing." So yeah I will most likely be buying this. 

Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso- Go to my CVS Haul post to read my proclamation of love for this amazing-ness. 

Eyes:

Makeup Forever Smokey Extravagant Mascara- In a previous post I said that I did not like the wand of the mascara and still preferred my Urban Decay one. Well I retract that statement. I still love my urban, but this mascara is the shit amazing (gotta keep it P-G) ha ha. My lashes look fake and perfectly fanned out. They actually show through my eyeliner. BOOM!

Kay Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper- This little guy has popped up on the blog before, but if you follow me on Instagram then you know I have feeling the cat eye a lot this month. 

Stila purple liner- Thanks to my previous post  we all know that purple liner is a way to make brown eyes pop. I also find that when I am in a rush adding some color makes it look like a tried super hard ha ha. 

Maybeline Great Lash Clear- This was featured in my eyebrow post and has been a real life saver for my brows and keeping the pencil from fading away.

Skincare:

Fresh Lotus Eye Gel- My eyes have been brighter over the last couple of days :) I'm excited. 

Fresh Umbrian Clay Oil Free Lotion- It leaves my skin feeling moisturized without being weighed down. 

Korres Wild Rose Cleanser- It has lite exfoliating beads that do wonders on the oil that builds up during the day. Wild rose is also packed with vitamin C and my face looks so much more glowing and bright lately. 

Lips: 

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Balm in Rendezvous- My go to coral with staying power! 

Revlon Lip gloss in Bellini, Revlon Lipstick Pink in the Afternoon, and L'Oreal Lipstick Unending Nude- The best nudes and pinks ever! Again, go to the CVS post to read my reviews on them :) 

Random: 

Sabra Roasted Garlic Hummus- It is delicious with baby carrots and sliced peppers. 

Goji Berries- Super food. Super nutritional. Taste like candy. Pretty much a win all the round :) I love putting them on my oatmeal or on some yogurt. Yummers!

Nails:

Essie Nail Polish in Mint Candy Apple

Tart Deco

and Go Ginza.

Pastel nails are very 'in' for the summer time since they look so stunning on tan skin. So long, bright neon nails! I have been wearing them all month long :) These are my favorite colors.

Tattoos. Love them or hate them?

Zumba. Love it or hate it? Oh wait. That's a silly question ;)

Well that is pretty much it for this post. Let me know in the comments if you try or have tried any of these things! Love y'all.

 'Till next time...

Nicole xo.

Struck by Lightning

Hey guys! :)

If you are wondering why I am smiling it is because I have the day off and finally have been able to do things that I want. I have mostly just been working on my social media things and things with the blog. In case you don't know I also have a Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. So if you want to be updated on posts you can follow me on those :) I put lots of the pictures that are on the blog on all those as well, so definitely check it out. I will link everything down at the bottom.

Today was not so bad, weather wise. The heat wave has finally passed! It is still nice and warm, though. Since the weather was nicer today, I was feeling the very light summer air and decided to go with a light makeup application. At work yesterday I made a sample of Josie Maran's Matchmaker Foundation:

And Josie Maran's Argan Infinity Cream:

I used the cream as my primer and put the foundation right on top. It literally feels like nothing is on my face! Plus all of Josie Maran's products are organic and infused with Argan Oil. I know you guys are thinking that putting oil on your skin is bad. Not true. Good oil takes out bad oil. Especially in these summer months, we are constantly letting moisture out of our bodies and have to replenish that moisture. When our skin does not quench its thirst, it will go into survive mode and make more oil. This causes, obviously, oily skin and outbreaks. The foundation is cool too because it actually goes on white and adjusts to your skin as you blend. I thought it was b.s. too, but it really works guys! My skin looks so radiant, not oily or shiny.

And on my lips I wanted something more natural too. I have had this Revlon Kissable Lip Balm for a couple months, and decided to pop it on since it had that light coral I was looking for. 

They look like this, in case you wanna grab one. You know you do :) Mine is the third from the left called, Rendezvous. On to add a little shine I put on my Revlon Lipgloss in the color, Bellini.

I'm also really excited to share with you guys how I do a very special eyeliner trick. Yesterday I put these photos on Instagram and got a lot of positive feed back:

That's right baby! Lighting eyeliner. I did it once before and this time around came out so much better. So don't be intimidated. When I did it over again today for you guys it came out even better-er. Practice makes perfect :) So grab your favorite liquid liner and get ready. Okay so here is how I did it. First start out with a regular line on the top lash line. Go as thick as you want.

Now starting from that line, make another line going to the crease. Like so...

Note: The inside does not need to be perfect because we are gonna fill in later. Now you want to draw a line from that one going into the crease, making a Z like formation.

From that line make a straight line going up and out. Use the end of your brow as your guide. Go out as  far as you want.

Start from the tip of that line and work your way down, mirroring what you just did. 

 Boom.

 Bam.

Until a the lightning bolt shape is formed. Now open your eyes, and just like in cat my cat liner post, place the liquid liner tip at the outer most corner of your lower lash line. From there make a straight line to connect and close the lightning outline.

I think it looks pretty cool like this too, but I was not super neat on the inside so I simply filled it in.

Cool, huh?

See how different the eyes look!? I love it. I got a lot of compliments on it yesterday. That was my proof that I didn't look completely ridiculous and thought I'd share something different with you guys. I think I might actually do this look, like, all the damn time ha ha!

So give it a try and don't be afraid. You are fabulous! Oh and if you wanna get the eye shadow look just click here to see my tutorial post on it. 

My Info!

Facebook- Like it: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NGMthatface/165305723647945?ref=stream

Twitter- Follow it: @NGMthatface

Instagram- Follow it: @NGMthatface

E-mail- Send it: ngmthatface@gmail.com

Yeah, so there you go guys! We covered skin care, foundation, lips, and liner all in one day. That's a lot. I'm actually quite tired ha ha. Not to mention you all now know how to stalk reach me :) You know how I love to hear from you. So please, comment or send me a message! 

Besos!

Nicole xo.

Monday Madness and Masks

Hello everyone! I hope your Monday is going splendidly. My Monday has been nonstop. It started with breakfast and a leg workout. Then I went to clean my room. Don't you just love the feeling after you clean? I love when everything is nice and neat. Anyways, I was quite hungry after my clean-fest and made myself a yummy lunch of a tuna fish sandwich. 

It was a winner. Then I tmade my dinner for later since I'm working late tonight. Then I did my laundry because its been a good two weeks. After that I finally took a shower. I know I'm a gross human being. After the shower I did a mask. You already know from my skin care post that I am so passionate about taking good care of the skin. I don't care how much makeup you have. If your skin is not up to par your makeup will not look good. The mask I did was from a company called, Glam Glow. I heard good things about this mask and was very excited to try it. 

This. Is. Cool. It's a mud mask and goes on this doo-doo gray color. But after ten minutes it changes to an almost light green. When I took it off my skin looked bright and glowing. My skin does not feel oily either. Score. It's a winner guys! 

While in the shower I tried something new too. 

It's a cleanser from Zorres. They are a Greek brand and are completely all natural. This cleanser contains wild rose which is full of more vitamin C than an orange can even dream if. And the smell is so nice. Seriously you guys it smells like Jesus. Not Yeezus. Jesus. 

What masks do you enjoy?

Are your Mondays always madness?

Well that is all for today's post :) Talk to you guys later!

Nicole xo.

Summer Make-Up Tips and Must Haves!

Hello my beautiful readers! :)

Yesterday was a very exciting day for two reasons. One: I got out of work early. Two: My mother, father and I brought home a new addition to the family. Everyone, say hello to the beautiful, the pleasurable, insatiable.... Just kidding. Everyone this is Indi!!! 

Isn't it so pretty? Its a green cheek conure. And yes I said "it" because we don't know the sex of the bird yet. We need to take it to the vet to get either a DNA test or a blood test. We have to find a vet for birds first though. So imagine our dismay when trying to pick out a name. You see, conures are very smart and learn their name just like a dog would. So we didn't wanna give it a boy name if its a girl since changing the name would confuse it. I was very persistent about naming it Buckbeak, like the big white bird from Harry Potter, but my mom shut me down (I was sad. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan). But then my mom came out and said, "Indi!" And that was that. It fits the bird perfectly.  She actually got the idea from the movie character, Indiana Jones, who was often called Indi for short. So whether our little conure turns out to be a boy or girl, it'll fit. 

Okay now on to business. If you live anywhere near New York than you know that we have changed our name to Africa. It is so damn hot! Makeup and heat have always had a hard time getting along. So here is what you will need in your makeup collection to not melt away. First and foremost you need a sunblock to protect your face from the sun. Then you will need a primer with oil control to hold on to your foundation. And on top you will need a setting powder and spray. You have seen these before...

Summer is also a great time to play with some color :) as you know I love me a pop of color. Yesterday I did a cat eyeliner look, but did it with a dark green liner instead of black. The day before that I lined the bottom of my eyes with purple eyeshadow. 

Did think that was all the tip I had? Think again, buddy! Using anything purple on brown eyes will make brown eyes pop. So if you have dark as night brown eyes, like me, it makes them actually look brown. Literally my eyes were popping out of my face. One thing that looks really cool is to get a dark plum mascara. You can't even tell that its plum, but it does wonders yo! I did the purple look today but lined the top as well. This also works for hazel eyes. 

For blue eyes go for greens and pinks. I also find that lining the eyes with blacks or dark browns really makes them stand out too. Green eyes will also respond well to pinky colors and blue.

Blue eyes with green

Blue eyes with pink

Green eyes with blue

Green eyes with pink. This is my favorite I think :)

So go crazy girl! (Or boy) You can line your eyes like me, or go all out and put the color on your whole lid. Experiment and have fun :) it's impossible to look ridiculous when your already so beautiful, ya feel me? So tell me... 

Do you have any summer makeup essentials? 

What colors work for your eyes? 

Okay, so this post is getting kinda long so bye! :)

-Nicole xo.