I tried to narrow this down to 5, but it wasn’t a possibility. So, here is my top 10 purchases from The Makeup Show in New York! There was so much to take in, my head was spinning with excitement. We took some insightful workshops and saw tons of amazing products. Now that I have detoxed from all the beautiful stimuli, I’ve put together this list for all the product junkies out there.
10. Makeup Forever Blister Effects Gel - I’m not even completely sure of everything that I can do with it, but I just get so excited about learning new fx stuff! You can make scars, blisters, burns, etc. I can’t wait to find some guinea pigs from the haunted house to help me practice my techniques. Makeup Forever has just about everything you can imagine and I love them for it.
9. Makeup Forever Aqua Black Eye Liner - Like butter! For those of us (me) who are struggling with the beginnings of crapey eye lids, this is a MUST have. Its just the right consistency to help your brush smooth right over fine lines and not crinkle up in the texture of the skin. I’ve been struggling with relearning my own eyes due to the texture changes in my skin and this eye liner made me wave my hand in the air and shout “hallelujah!”
8. aDesign Flat Top Foundation Brush - It just buffs my liquid foundation so smoothly into the skin. I absolutely love fluffy brush for buffing liquid foundations, but some times I like the coverage I can get from a more firm bristled brush. This one gives me both and I can use it to build if I’m using powder foundation, too! And even though I’m the type to use 10 different brushes on my own makeup just for fun, its not practical for appointments! This brush is multipurpose, making it a must have for my kit.
7. Cylinder Brush Holder by Alcone - Kisha and I have been looking for one of these forever! Its hard, so it can protect my brushes when its closed. It unsnaps into 2 pieces that stand up on my station. I can use one side for clean brushes and the other side for my dirty brushes so I don’t have to lay them on my station!
6. Mally Eye Brightener - I’m usually not one for the “as seen on tv” infomercial makeup, but Mally Beauty really does have great products. Whether this concealer is a gimmick or not, I’m sold. Its a powder that turns to a liquid when you rub it with your finger. You pat it under your eyes with your ring finger and it sets back to powder! The coverage is about medium and it has a very natural finish. I love it!
5. Mally Perfect Prep Primer - Its like silk and velvet had a baby face primer! It feels so smooth on the skin and helps to diminish the appearance of your pores. I don’t care for the fragrance it has, but I can ignore it because I love the feel of the primer that much. I think anyone who uses face primer should try it and I hope you like it as much as I do!
4. Breakfast at Cafeteria - Okay, its not a product, but it deserves to be mentioned! They had cheese grits!!!! Do you know how hard it is to find grits for breakfast up north???? Not to mention warm flaky croissants with honey butter, and pancakes with cinnamon butter, fresh berries, and organic maple syrup. They had really good coffee, too. Cafeteria, you will be missed!
3. Face Atelier Pro Ultra Foundation Set - I didn’t mean to cheat on Armani, but this foundation is amazing. It gives great coverage and looks like natural skin. Its not too dewy, and not too matte, its just right. I still like to give it a once over with some powder. It looks great set lightly with MAC Mineralize Skinfinish pressed powder. My only complaint would be that the kit they were selling didn’t have any deep dark shades, but still a great buy.
2. OCC Lip Tar - It might just be the best thing since sliced bread. This is a heavy duty, super pigmented lip product and its smooth on you lips. It goes on glossy and sets down to a long lasting satiny finish. There is a clear if you want to keep it shiny. They are completely opaque and they come in techno color. I got one of every shade that was left! The best part is that there are only 4 ingredients listed aside from the pigments and its a totally vegan product. One drop will cover your whole lips. I could rave about it for an hour. Every makeup artists needs them in their kit!
Drum roll, please!
1. 2 free round trip tickets to Hawaii!!!! - Of course this is my favorite!!! There was a rolling case with light bulbs inside of it being sold by Giselle Cosmetics. If you purchased the case complete with the entire line of their loose powder mineral pigments, foundations, and blushes for $399, they threw in 2 tickets to Hawaii. Now I sound like an infomercial! I flew to Maui last September and it was 4 times that much for 2 tickets. I still almost don’t believe it. Similar cases sell online for around $1000. The makeup didn’t blow my mind. But, even if I threw away the case and all the makeup (I wouldn’t waste product!), it was worth purchasing just for dirt cheep air fair to the most beautiful place on earth.
Thank you all for being so patient and reading through all my ranting!
Ashley
