Travel Makeup Ideas and Tips.

Heeeellllooooooo! As many of you know I will be going to Orlando for a Zumba extravaganza! I will be leaving tomorrow and am super excited about it. And since I have been so busy with work lately (sorry :/) I wanted to give you guys a much overdue post about what I will look like tomorrow :)

I know that many people do not think about makeup when they are traveling. In between packing, and last minute shopping, and remembering the tickets, makeup can seem daunting. Some don't think of it at all on an everyday basis, but if you do, keep reading. I also think that the more simple, non-makeup girls will get some tips for this. This is also a very go to makeup look that is perfect for everyday. I took a lot of the pointers from Makeup For Dummies and simplified it a lot, so if those tutorials were a bit much, I hope you find this post helpful.

Now on to the post!

Face:

I first started of with a cleansed, moisturized face and applied face primer. Mine is from Makeup Forever in #1. 

I then applied my foundation by dotting it all over my face and blending it in with my stippling brush. 

After that, I put on some concealer using a highlighting pen from Givenchy and literally drawing stripes on my problem spots, making me look like a bizarre tiger. I then blended that mess in with my fingers.

Roar?

For everything else on my face I used the following, in order from left to right. 

I kiss you!

I contoured my face with the L'Oreal true match powder with my angled face brush. Then went over that with my Stila bronzer for some added pizazz. I then highlighted with my Laura Mercier highlighting powder. I used the same brush for all of these steps, cause ain't nobody got time to use more than one.

Highlighting

Bronzing

Eyes:

First thing's first. Eyebrows. You already know! Brush, fill, brush once more, and set it.

 

 Prime your lids first with some find of base and go in with a light shimmering eyeshadow. I used one from an Urban Decay Palette, but anyone would do. This will just make your eyes look nice and bright, no matter how zombie-like you feel inside. We all know traveling can be draining. I took that color and blended it from my lash line all the way into my brow bone. Don't forget to get the tear-duct as well. That way your brow and inner corner highlight is done already.

Then take a soft brown color and blend that into the crease and outer corner. I even took what was left on the brush and applied it under the eye too for some soft definition.

Next, take a black liner and line the upper water line. To do this I kind of look down and run the pencil back and forth. This will define and make the lashes appear fuller without having to apply liner on the top. See how much more defined the left eye looks?

Then, line the outer third of the lower waterline. 

\

Now all you gotta do it curl and mascara your lashes and you are done! See? Wasn't that easy? For the lips you can do whatever you want. I chose a pink gloss, because its fast, easy, and low maintenance. But if you wanna just do a lip balm or slap on some red lipstick, then do you girl haha.

Other Tips:

• Bring food. Sandwich, carrots, apples and peanut butter, granola bar. Anything to keep you going. 
• Bring something to occupy your time as you wait, or even for on the plane. Things like books, cards, crossword puzzles.
• Take your own blanket along so you won't have to pay for one on the plane. 
• Take a sweater with you. I like those big comfy cardigans, because the plane is sometimes cold. I'm going to Florida, so I will be dressed for warm weather. So, this sweater idea is perfect for me when I am stuck on a freezing plane.
• Throw some headphones in your carry on in case you want to watch a movie, or listen to music.

And there you have it. I hope all of you get something out of this post. Leave comments below! You can also comment me on my Instagram and Facebook, or shoot me a tweet. 

Have an awesome day, everyone!!!!

Nicole xo

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

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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.