MAC Spring Colour Forecast Haul by Trisha S.

Hey Ladies!

As we all may know, MAC has launched a HUGE Spring collection called Spring Colour Forecast. There are four parts each which a different colour "theme". Pink, Coral, Purple, and Gold take center stage in this awesome collection. With the launch having over 40 products, instead of reviiwing every product, I'll just tell you what my favorites are.

LaLa eyeshadow - hot pink with shimmer

Very Violet eyeshadow - medium purple with shimmer

Straw Harvest eyeshadow - orange-y shimmer

HotHotHot eyeshadow - Coral orange with a tad of shimmer

Gold Dust lipglass - orange-y beige base with tons of gold sparkle

Ripe Peach Blush Ombre - peach blush that fades from light to dark

Fresh Salmon lipstick - lustre finish coral

There are sure to be some favorites for every girl out there. These were just the colors I felt were most unique!!

Happy Hauling ladies!!

Oh, and be sure to check out Reana's new You Tube video, showcasing her very own Spring Colour Forecast Haul! www.youtube.com/reanaleena

Love,

Trisha

Welcome Back!

Welcome Back Divas!!!

After a busy holiday season and minor hiatus, I am proud to announce that the Reanamation Studios team is BACK in action and ready to party! Party aka buy large amounts of makeup and share our tips with you! We hope all of you had a wonderful and restful holiday season and got everything on your list! To update you on our current happenings...

Trisha is officially finished with makeup school and is now a professionally certified/liscensed makeup artist! She has been doing a lot of photo shoots and performance makeup artistry, and will soon have pictures up on our website to show you.

Reana Leena finished her legal assistant program and has started a You Tube channel for those interested in viewing her collections and tips. Check it out at www.youtube.com/reanaleena

Shakinah is still with Ovation Hair Care and is keeping busy with college, leaving very little time for cosmetic lovin!

We miss all of you and are happy to be back at your service. There are several MAC launches slated for this year and we hope to cover each and every one of them to the best of our abilities! See you girls soon!

Love,

Reanamation Studios

Priceless Products by Reanamation Studios

Hey Gang!

We are constantly asked, as makeup artists, what our favorite products are or what products we just can't live without. The list grows on and on over the years but our reader response has shown that you just love to read about it! Here are a few of the priceless products we just can't get enough of right now...

Trisha

Shadesticks

MAC shadesticks are my new favorite thing!! They are easy to use, portable and just overall fantastic. You can use them as a base for your eyeshadow or, if you are short on time, use them as an all over color for you eyes!!

I personally like to layer mine but I have used them alone for testing of quality and have always been satisfied! They don't crease or move all over on your eyelid like some crayon eyeshadows have been known to do.

It is not often that MAC will put out new colors of shadesticks, but luckily for me there are 4 new colors coming out in December!! You can expect a full review of them first thing in 2010!!

Veronica

Product: Mud Loose Powder

Over the years I have tried many different compact powders and loose powders and I've recently fallen in love with Mud's loose powder($21.00)!!It gives you that same flawless matte coverage that other companies like MAC do only with out the cakey look.The powder seems to work best for me when used with a light cream foundation.I use Mud’s cream foundation in color YG2($26.00). The one thing I've found about the Mud loose powder is that it doesn't come in very many shades.There are only 5(Buttercream, Desert, Shell, Suede, and Zero), but they are all able to be mixed to make your perfect shade!!I use half desert and half zero.I would recommend this product because it's light enough to wear in the day but has enough matte coverage for any other occasion!You can find this product at www.mudshop.com under face products.

Reana

NARS Lip Laquer! Random, right? I know. It just looked so glossy and pigmented at Nordstrom so I had to splurge and pick one up. I bought Sweet Charity, a light lavender color, and have worn it every single day since. That's saying something because I have a ton of makeup and hardly ever wear the same shade twice in one week! It is a great product and definitely going in my regulars box for daily application. It lasts long and doesn't kiss off as easily as other products. It comes in a variety of shades so I highly recommend checking it out next time you're at Sephora or Nordstrom!

Love,

Reanamation Studios

Hi I'm Veronica! by Veronica P.

Hi Everyone!!

My name is Veronica and I'm 20 years old. I am the newest makeup artist at Reanamation Studios, brought on team to help manage marketing and blogging. I am also the lead Special Effects artist, specializing in theatrical horror makeup AND beautiful airbrushing! I'm excited to be joining the Reanamation team! You can learn more about me and see photos of my work at www.reanamation.com. Make sure to type in the "www" or the website won't come up! We have added a new Special Effects page and gallery just for me and my work, so make sure to check it out and book your holiday beauty makeover or lessons soon! A little bit about me...

I was born and raised in San Diego. I'm currently in cosmetology school and the beauty industry is my biggest passion in life! Since I was a little girl I have always been fascinated with pictures of things that involved beauty. This is where my love for make-up started. I loved the way eyelashes and lips would look in a photo. Make-up can be used for many different styles and needs. I love doing make-up and being able to see all the enhancements that I've created. To me doing make-up is like going to a photo gallery and anything done with it is beautiful! I knew I wanted to do it all, make-up, hair color, cutting, everything so when I found Bay Vista I knew it was for me! They have an amazing make-up artistry program with a great instructor. I was a true MAC lover and still am but recently I have been getting more familiar with MUD. I want to learn and grow in this industry and that's why I am glad to join a team that works together showing they're love for make-up!! Thank you and I can't wait to see what's next!

Love,

Veronica

Brand Focus: Make Up For Ever by Trisha S.

Hey Girls!

I finally got a break from makeup school to check out a cool new brand! Here's the low-down on Make Up For Ever, available at your local Sephora.

As much as I love MAC Eyeshadows, there are a few colors that I just was not able to find in the permanent line up. So, being the impatient makeup junkie that I am, I decided to venture out and see what I could find to satisfy my color craving. That’s when I discovered Make Up For Ever. I had been eyeing the brand for some time at Sephora but hadn’t really looked too hard until one day…. That’s the day I fell in love!! Here is a review of a few of the colors I purchased along with swatches. I hope you like them too!

#168 is a shimmery green with some blue undertones to it. It is not quite aqua and you can see the blue more when you move it around. The shimmer is subtle, definitely not chunky glitter or anything like that.

#311 is a diamond shadow which means that it is more shiny than the shadows you find in the regular line. #311 is a dark burgundy color with shimmer. I actually did not find this color to be any more sparkly than #168 or any of the other shimmers I have. The texture is awesome though. Very soft!!

#79 is a very dark almost black purple. It is supposed to have shimmer to it but it is very subtle and you really have to look for it. This is one MUFE shadow that I do not like the texture of.

#75 is a matte hot pink. There really are no words to describe how much I love this color! It is the perfect shade of hot pink and the texture is surprisingly soft for a matte shadow.

#99 is a matte scarlet red. This red is not too orange and not too much of a blue red. It’s just a great shade of plain old red. Very soft in texture as well.

#92 is a matte vibrant purple. I love this color as well. It is a little on the blue side of the purple spectrum but it so bright and can be layered well with other shades of purple for the most awesome purple smoky eye ever!!!

#169 is iridescent anthracite (whatever that is). To me it is just the ideal color for layering with #92 for that dark smoke eye! It is a dark charcoal base with tons of sparkle in it!!

#171 is a sparkly acid green which is almost yellow green but with more green. It kinda reminds me of a ripe Granny Smith apple all polished up!! I find this color to be not as pigmented as some but with a few layers it’s beautiful!!

So next time your at Sephora, stop at the MUFE display and check it out for yourself!

WARNING: Some of these colors will STAIN your eyelids if you do not use a base!! Even with a base they can still leave a faint stain!!

MAC Holiday Sets Review by Reana S.

Hey Ladies!

The weather is cooling, the leaves are changing, and the holiday season has officially kicked off! Has anyone stopped by a local MAC store or counter to see the new holiday sets? I had the chance to preview these great sets ahead of time and have some thoughts to share with you! The holidays are all about gift GIVING (not getting, sorry ladies!) and these kits were designed with that intention, but we all know that gift giving can wear out the wallet if you don't plan and stick to a budget! As such, my review will involve a lot of price/value discussion. There are 4 collections of holiday sets to choose from, priced at a range to suit everyone on your list...

The least expensive sets are the Lip Kits, priced at $22.50 each. One set, Heavenly Dish, contains three lip colors (two lipsticks and one gloss) in neutral tones and the other, Possessed by Pink! contains three pink tones. The packaging is cute and is priced perfectly for a $25 and under gift exchange but if I had the choice for myself, I'd rather pay $14 for a full lipstick that doesn't require a brush or unsanitary finger dunk application!

Next in price are the four eyeshadow palettes, each containing 6 shades and priced at $36. Devil May Dare is a warm, neutral palette, Mystic has cool colors, Smoke & Mirrors is a non-traditional smoky-eye palette, and Sorceress has some fun n' funky colors to play around with. These are great gifts for someone who needs more color variety or who is trying to build their collection. These palettes fit easily into a purse or makeup bag, for quick and easy makeup application on the go. The colors are very similar to the holiday collection from last year, but I know they are useful because I always pack my two palettes from last year when I am travelling! They are so well-packaged and so not prone to breaking.

MAC has added face kits this year, priced at $38 and containing three fun face products. The Hocus Focus colorful is great for lighter skin tones, while the Fabracadabra kit is better for warmer, darker skin tones that want to look sun-kissed bronzy. Both kits contain a product that can be used to contour, a blush, and a highlighter. Again, a great gift for someone who needs to bump up their beauty routine! I actually like both sets for myself, as they are once again really conveniently packaged and saves me the hassle of packing the three individual products into my purse, makeup bag, or travel makeup bag. This is one of my favorite sets this holiday season, so I highly recommend checking it out for yourself and a friend!

Next up are four bag sets, each priced at $36 also. Two sets contain lip products (a mini liner, mini Dazzleglass, and full sized lipstick), and two sets contain eye glam (a mini Zoomlash mascara, mini eyeliner brush, full-sized Fluidline, and full-sized pigment). Each set houses its products in a cute, tiny bag with a huge bow and button. I liked these sets but they aren't very big for the price. The value is good, however, as one MAC pigment is $20 and Fluidline is $14. Its a nice little gift if you know someone who really wants these items, but otherwise I personally feel your $36 could be spent on a bigger, more impressive gift. Just my opinion though!

Now we have some fabulous brush sets, priced at $49.50 and each containing 5 "key" brushes in a miniature size. These sets come in a very pretty, larger case that can be re-used as a pencil case, or clutch maybe! The quality of these brushes are better than the usual MAC special-edition brushes and so is the selection. The favorite seems to be the Wave of a Wand set, which contains a foundation, blush/powder, eyeshadow, eyeliner, and contour brush. This is a great gift for the $50 and under list and is definitely worth the money.

The most expensive and "exclusive" gift set is the Exclusives Mineralize Sets, each priced at $59.50. There are two, one pink and one bronze, and each contain a mini kabuki brush, mineralize eye shadow, mineralize blush, and mineralize skin finish. Both sets are absolutely beautiful and make a great gift for your favorite friend!

Last but certainly not least, MAC has released a special Viva Glam lip set for the holidays. The set contains two lipsticks and one gloss from the Viva Glam collection and is priced at $22.50. The best part of this set is that the entire purchase price, $22.50, goes to the MAC AIDS Fund. Nothing says holiday spirit like giving to such a worthy cause, and for us to buy this set is actually like giving two gifts. I highly recommend picking this up to benefit the MAC AIDS Fund and surprise a friend, all for less than $25!

That concludes our MAC Holiday set wrap-up, I hope you found this post to be helpful and informative in your holiday gift giving decisions! Good luck and happy shopping ladies!

Love,

Reana

Makeup Academy Finale! by Trisha S.

Hey Girls!

Well, I have some great news! I made it through Makeup Academy!! This class was so much fun and very educational! I am almost sad that it is over because I made some good friends. The one good thing about it being over is that I can finally sleep in on Saturdays!!

The first order of business when I arrived to our last day was the dreaded final exam!! 100 questions about everything we had learned over the 9 week period! Of course, I aced it. Next we waited for our models. Mine got stuck in traffic so while everyone else was already starting, I was waiting…. Finally she arrived and it was time to get down to business and put my skills to work! My model was very pale, redhead, freckles, and blue eyes. She is super gorgeous and very sweet on top of that! We had a lot of fun talking about life while I applied her concealer, foundation, powder, blush, and eyeshadow for the day/natural look.

Let me just say that natural is not my forte so it took me a while to get this down just right. I practiced on my neighbor and myself for three days before the shoot. After the natural look was applied, we took a lunch break and then drove over to the studio where the photos would be taken. We had about 10 minutes to retouch the face and apply lipstick and gloss before the shoot.

After the day shoot we had to go back and bump up the look for evening. I chose to apply only one eyeshadow over the existing shadow to make it easier on myself. I applied a different color lipstick, some pink gloss, pumped up the blush, and we were set!!

After the evening shoot we were presented with our certificates and had our class picture taken. It was so much fun! I had such a great time and learned so much. I already have my picture back from the photo shoot and they will be posted in our Gallery this weekend. Be sure to check out www.reanamation.com for the finished pictures!

Love,

Trisha