NARS Danmari Blush Palette

Hey lovies!

So the UPS man brought me lots of fun presents from Sephora today, one of them being the NARS Danmari blush palette.
Initial reaction: The outside packaging is so beautiful. This could be given as is for a gift! NARS never disappoints in the packaging department.

 

Anddd there's the palette! Do you guys ever have an anxiety attack when opening packages like this? Sometimes I wonder if anything will be inside. Or maybe I'm just paranoid. Haha!

 

Of course, here's the lovely palette itself, outside of the box. In a picture below I included a shot of it beside my iPhone 3 so you can compare. It's quite small, but the blushes inside are very deep.

  

 

And now of course, the part you've been waiting for... the blushes!!!!

Top row, left to right: Hungry Heart, Orgasm, Desire
Bottom row, left to right: Casino, Super Orgasm, Sin

I was rather disappointed at first at seeing how small these blushes are... exactly the size of a NARS eyeshadow. But they are each 0.12 grams of product (75% of the size of a regular NARS blush) so I assume they just run really deep. The only one I've tried so far was Orgasm, and I barely had to dip my brush in the powder to get enough pigment. Simply amazing! If you're like me and you've never tried NARS blushes before, this is a must have! It retails for $65 dollars at Sephora which may seem a bit pricey, but think about how much a regular NARS blush costs ($27!!!) You're getting 3/4 or 75% worth of the normal amount of product, which would still cost about $20 if you were able to buy it in that size. All six of these blushes would cost a whopping $120! So this is definitely worth the investment.

P.S. Until November 3, the Sephora Friends and Family sale is occurring, so go here: http://www.sephoralove.com/friendsandfamily to redeem a 20% off code. That would make this palette around $52 if you don't get anything else. Do yourself a favor, go pick this up!

I love you,
Lo

So you want to be a beauty guru.

Hey lovies.

First things first, yes, Blogtober was a bust. Sorry! I just couldn't find time to blog every single day during the month. :( But I wanted to make this post because I CANNOT tell you how many emails/messages/comments I receive every day asking me the same question.

"Lo, how can I be a beauty guru?"

First off, let me say CONGRATULATIONS!!! I'm so excited that you want to join the YouTube beauty community. I joined about four months ago, so I'm not exactly an expert just yet, but I have to say that it's been the best four months of my life (no joke). I've made amazing friends and met girls just like me that want to learn more about the beauty and fashion industry. Not too long ago I was in your shoes, creating my channel and asking myself how on earth I was supposed to get started.

Well, easy answer: There is no "proper" way to start your beauty  channel. Everyone is different and everyone's channels are going to grow differently. But I'm more than happy to share a few tips and tricks that I've picked up along the way.

1) Of course, start your channel.
Be creative with your username! I've seen too many makeupby____ or beautyby____ etc, etc. My name is Lo, so I wanted to incorporate that with my username while still letting others know that I was a beauty channel. It took me awhile to come up with thebeautyLodown. Don't be afraid to really brainstorm and ask other people's opinions on your username. :)

2) Make your first video (another no brainer)
But make it something popular that everyone seems to want to watch right now! Maybe a natural everyday makeup tutorial, or how you achieve the perfect red lipstick. Or maybe you're all sorts of daring and you want to put a tutorial out using bright yellow/pink eyeshadow combo. Do it! Nobody is telling you what you can and can't do on your channel... it is YOUR channel after all. Be unique and creative and put your all into it! For editing, I love Windows Movie Maker (the newest version) but I know iMovie is great as well. No need to spend money on an expensive editing program.

3) Promote, promote, promote.
This is where it's going to get a little tricky because I'm sure there are others out there who are going to disagree with me. But I don't think there is ANYTHING wrong with a little self-promotion through youtube. The way I've reached the majority of my subscribers has been by finding them writing on bigger guru's walls, or maybe they're even gurus themselves. See someone commenting on a beauty video on how much they enjoyed the tutorial? Reach out to them! Ask them to swing by your channel sometime because you think they'll like it. The worst that they can say is no, and I've found that the majority of the time they'll give your channel a fair shot.

4) Learn.
I cannot stress to you how important it is to actually know what you're talking about with makeup. If you want to be a guru, please take the time to watch other guru's videos (my favorites are MichellePhan, juicystar07 and amarixe). Watch what they do, take notes if you need to. Build your collection, and if you don't have much of a budget to work with, stick to drugstore brands or cheap alternatives, like Coastal Scents and Nyx. Be on top of the new releases (even if they are just at the drugstore) so you can get them quickly and review them for your viewers. I never buy makeup anymore without getting a second opinion... and I know other girls do as well. Learn about your passion.

That's pretty much all there is to it. Just be creative and show other people your talent. Good luck on your channel, and make sure to keep in touch with me at www.youtube.com/thebeautyLodown. I'd love to be your first subscriber. :)

I love you,
Lo

Target Up&Up Brush Review

Hey loves!

Blogtober, day 10! Okay, so it really isn't yet, but I want to get this post up a little early because I'm really excited to tell you guys about it. Today's review is on Target's generic line of brushes called Up&Up, they can be found at pretty much any Target store. You can see these in my newest haul video (I would upload pictures for you guys, but for some reason my scanner isn't working). Anyways, I own a few of these brushes, and I want to let you know how they work.


Medium Eyeshadow Brush:
This is a fluffy, medium-sized general application brush that fits perfectly on your eyelid. I own two of these because I love this brush so much! This one retails for right around $2.00 and change, and is no worse than any high-end general application brush I've used.

Crease Brush:

This has to be my favorite of the ones I've tried. This brush is full, fluffy and perfect for sweeping color into your crease. I have absolutely no complaints about this, especially because it retails for right around $2 like the general application brush. It reminds me a lot of a MAC 224, but since I don't have that brush personally, I can't do a full comparison!

Powder Brush:

I do like this one, but I could have lived without it. It's good for dusting powder all over the face or sweeping bronzer on your cheeks. I have a million more like it, but if you don't, I definitely recommend it. It retails for right around $5.

These brushes are perfect if you're just starting out with your collection and you really want to get your essential brushes without breaking the bank. The only con: I do notice a bit of shedding, but it never comes off on my face, only during washing. Hopefully you found this helpful! What brushes are your favorite?

I love you,
Lo

Rite Aid Beauty Deals 10/9

Hey loves,

Blogtober, day 9! All caught up... again. Haha! Rite Aid has a really good L'Oreal deal going on if you need a lot from that line. Not only is it BOGO 50% off, when you spend $50, you get $15 back. If you want a lot from that line, now is a good time to pick it up so you can experiment! Other brands that are BOGO 50% off include Maybelline, Nexus, Revlon, Physician's Formula, Sally Hansen and NYC. There's a coupon in this weekend's Sunday paper that has a coupon for John Freida Haircolor that gives you $2 off, making it $9.99. When you buy two boxes of hair color, you're going to get $5 back in UP rewards. CVS is also doing a deal with John Freida, but Rite Aid might be a little better if you need more than one box.

The L'Oreal deal and the John Freida Haircolor are the best things I see as far as Rite Aid. Everything else is kinda so-so. What are you going to get this week from the drugstore?

I love you,
Lo

CVS Beauty Deals 10/9

Hey loves!

Blogtober, day 8! I'm going to mention some of the awesome deals going on at CVS Pharmacy this week! CVS is definitely the place to shop for the week of 10/9. Scan your extracare card at the coupon machine to receive a 3 dollar extracare buck that is usable on any cosmetic purchase of 10 dollars or more! Maybelline, Revlon, Almay, Nuance, Sally Hanson, Neutrogena and some fragrances (if your CVS carries them, mine doesn't) are BOGO 50% off. Some other fragrances are actually BOGO free! Definitely a steal if you can find some that you like.  L'Oreal Healthy Look or Sublime Mousse hair colors are $6.99 when you use your extracare card. If you're a fan of the Cetaphil skincare line, it's $2 off of any purchase this week.

My advice? Visit Walgreens if you're interested in buying Revlon or Neutrogena (it's 40% off there!) Otherwise, CVS has some incredible deals that I'm definitely going to hit up! What are you going to get?

I love you,
Lo

Walgreens Beauty Deals 10/9

Hey loves!

Blogtober, Day 7. I know I fell behind again, I'm so sorry! Today I'm going to talk about the beauty deals that will be awaiting you at Walgreens for the next week. I think I'm going to do this once a week from now on and talk about the best deals at drugstores as far as beauty items!
Walgreens has some good deals this week for Neutrogena and Revlon products, which are each 40% off.
Rimmel, Covergirl and L'oreal Cosmetics are all BOGO 50% off. The BOGO 50% is nothing special, it happens almost every week. Definitely check out Neutrogena and Revlon, those are more expensive usually and I think the 40% off deal will definitely help! Hope that was helpful to all you deal-seeking divas.

I love you,
Lo

Bare Minerals Eyeshadow Quads

Hey loves!
Blogtober, day 6! This is going to be a fun post for you Bare Minerals lovers... they just came out with pressed eyeshadow palettes that are to die for.

Each palette comes with four pressed shadows that promise to be "vivid" with a "silky texture". I've always been a fan of Bare Minerals products, and these look really intriguing! What do you think? Are you going to try these out?
They retail for $30 and you can find these eyeshadow quads here: http://sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml;jsessionid=VW40KFNTRUFMQCV0KSKBHOQ?id=P297717&categoryId=C7010
And now I actually feel accomplished because I'm FINALLY caught up with my blog posts. Phew!
I hope you're having a wonderful day. I love you!
Lo