Lately I’ve been trying out different foundations to see which one I like best. So far the best store-brand that I really love is Revlon Colorstay. The foundation gives a nice smooth finish and is build-able but your not going to get full coverage like MAC studio fix. The great thing about Revlon Colorstay is that the makeup does not come off on your clothing (which is why it’s called Colorstay). Since it’s summer I personally have to use two different shades to make my perfect color combination. However I’m sure that will all change once fall rolls around.  I brought my Revlon Colorstay from Wallgreens and they had a sale which was buy one and get one free. For the past few Sunday’s I’ve been looking in the paper and it seems as though Rite Aide, Wallgreens, CVS etc.  all have the same deal which is either buy one get one free or buy one and get one 50% off.  The foundation is normally $12.99. The other good thing about Revlon Colorstay is that you can open the screw top in the store and test out the colors. The bad thing about Revlon Colorstay is that you can test it out in the store so you don’t know if someone had there fingers in your product or not. Another plus is that like all makeup purchased at drug stores you can return it with your receipt if the color/makeup does not work out for you.

For the past two weeks I’ve been trying out a makeup secret I learned from a fellow makeup artist to control oily skin. I have really oily skin in my T-zone and nothing seemed to work in the past, I use numerous blotting papers, mattifiers, and primers and nothing seemed to give me the matte coverage I wanted all day until now. As I mentioned before I’ve been trying out Milk of Magnesia the original flavor. I know some of you are like ewww that is a saline laxative but read closely ladies it really works. I wash my face as normal put on my spf face lotion and then shake up the Milk of Magnesia and use a cotton ball to dab a little on my T-zone area. Once it dries it will leave a white residue I sometimes wipe it off but usually I leave it on and apply my foundation on top of it an snap..no two snaps I’m oil free all day long. I brought my Milk of Magnesia from Walgreen’s (the Walgreen’s brand) for under 4 dollars for a 12oz bottle. Can’t beat that deal no matter what others say.

One of the products I’m in love with is eos lip balm. I’ve always used carmex and wanted to try something different and I feel this is the best lip balm ever. I wanted a product that would stay on my lips for hours and keep them soft. Most importantly a lip balm that would moisturize and eos lip balm does all of that for me without re-applying every few minuets. Eos lip balm can be purchased anywhere from Vons, Rite Aid, and Walgreens etc. I purchased my lip balm from Walgreens. Since Walgreens was having a sale I was able to get two lip balms for $6.00. I really like the packaging of the eos lip balm which is a sphere. The eos lip balm that I purchased was the new flavor lemon drop which has an SPF of 15 which is great for the summer and summer fruit. I love, love, love both flavors.

Here is what the website states:

• Long-lasting moisture
• Shea butter & vitamin E
• Smoothes on clear
• New smooth sphere precisely glides on to lips
• Twist-off top
• Gluten-free
• Paraben-free
• Petrolatum-free
• Phthalate-free

eos lip balm is 95% organic, 100% natural, and paraben and petrolatum free. Packed with antioxidant-rich vitamin E, soothing shea butter and jojoba oil, eos keeps your lips moist, soft and sensationally smooth.

Since I’m gluten free this is a great gluten free lip balm for me. I hope you get a chance to try it.

Normally I wouldn’t speak about this but I had such a wonderful experience I just had to tell you about it. I just had my eyebrows threaded. I used to get my eyebrows waxed but I didn’t like the felling of hair being ripped out of my head or the stinging afterward and more importantly I always broke out in areas around my eyebrows due to my sensitive skin. My friend told me about eyebrow threading so I gave it a try and my goodness I’m going back. I did not have a breakout afterward because there is only a string used and the sting takes a row of hairs out at a time to give a clean precise line to your brow. It only took 7 minuets in total but the best thing is that I only paid $3.99! I’ve seen many places that are higher but I chose to go to Little India in the City of Artesia.

Lately I’ve been looking for another face mattifying serum. I came across a tip online that Monistat’s chafing relief powder gel has the same ingredients as any ole face mattifier and cost only $5.99. The face mattifer I was going to buy from Sephora is $35.00 so it seemed like a no brainer. Here are my reviews for this product. If you can get past the fact that you are actually buying chafing powder gel that is suppose to go between you thighs then great. When I was in the car ride home I tried the powder gel on the back of my hand and it felt smooth so I was excited. When I got home I put the Monistat on my face and it  absorb the oil from my face and felt  smooth and silky but it left my face feeling greasy. I know that sounds weird when I just said it took the oil off my face but because it has a silky after feel I didn’t like it. When I use a mattifier I want my face to feel dry without a slick feeling. If you don’t have the dough to shell out big bucks for a mattifier then try the power gel its a great price.

Ahhh. I had a much needed short vac-kay with the hubby this past weekend and it was well deserved. I’m now well rested. Now, back to business I recently noticed how fast my hair has been growing and my friends told me it’s because I’ve been taking Rainbow complete prenatal multi-vitamins the last few months. My friends also told me that it makes your nails grow faster and become stronger. Now before you start thinking “is Trendqueen pregnant or trying to get pregnant” the answer is “NO”. It’s actually the only multi-vitamin that is gentle on my stomach, my stomach is very sensitive. But I do recommend the vitamins if you want to give your hair a boost in growth.

A makeup tip I just learned while watching the Wendy Williams show last week is to set your blush in powder so it stays on all day. First apply cream blush to your cheeks then set the blush with a powder blush and your blush will not disappear by the end of the day. I thought it was a good tip so I wanted to pass it along.

Have you ever gone to a nightclub and seen women who have a beautiful golden skin and wonder how did they do that? I’m here to tell you its all about the bronzer you use and where you place it on your skin. I recently went to my local M.A.C counter and picked up mineralize skin finish in “gold deposit” it’s not cheap but worth every penny of $27.00. I used to use M.A.C’s sheertone shimmer blush in “trace gold” it was great when I first brought it 2 years ago but I wanted more shimmer and it did not give me the right amount of the golden kissed skin I wanted. I’m the type of person who likes to go out with my girlfriends and take a lot of pictures through out the night and the gold deposit illuminates my face. The trick is to place the gold deposit down the bridge of your nose, on your cheeks (under your blush),chin and a bit on your forehead.

You have heard of the trick (everywhere the sun hits your face). Be careful because it’s very easy to over do it so start off with a little then layer if needed. It looks great on olive all the way to deep dark skin tones. Another tip if your collarbones are showing in your top at night apply a bit of gold deposit on to them its creates a fabulous glow.

As a woman of color it’s been a difficult process over the years to find the right shade of power and blush that matches my skin tone. If you are a woman of color you know there is a lot of trial and error. You do not want your powder to make your face look ashy as if someone threw white baby power on your skin and you want the powder to blend nicely into your skin and fade into your jaw line. Time and time again I’ve seen women of color wear the wrong shade of power, foundation, and blush. Unfortunately, not all makeup products or colors are for everyone. One key item to remember when choosing a powder is to find a powder with a yellow undertone. The yellow undertone tends to look the most natural and healthy. If the color is off a little it will make your skin look fake or like you have a mask on. Now, if you have very dark skin it’s important to match the color as close to possible. A brand of power that I and so many other women of color use is a powder from Mary Kay called loose powder which retails for $14.00. It comes in Bronze 1 and Bronze 2. These loose powers are great because they all have a yellow undertone to them so you can’t go wrong and you can put on as much or as little as you need.

So many women of color skip blush all together because they can never find the right shade for their skin tone. Blush is such an essential part of makeup, which brings all of the makeup together. If you want a more natural look you can wear just mascara, blush, and a great lip-gloss. A shade that works on dark skin if you are the color of a walnut or chocolate is to use a cinnamon or my favorite color: orange. Yes, you read correctly: crayola orange. You would be amazed how this color looks on your cheeks and makes everything pop. I used to use a big eyeshadow in orange however, MAC discontinued it. I hate when that happens so now I use a small eyeshadow in orange. Women who are very dark such as the color of dark chocolate or darker do not fear that you cannot wear blush because you can. Deep berries or plums with a hit or gold look wonderfully for your skin tone. A good rule of thumb is to pinch your cheeks and see what color it turns or see how it looks when you blush and you can go with that color. Paul and Joe cosmetics have a lot of different cheek colors that retail for $24.00. I hope some of these tips for women of color are helpful.

Have a wonderful week

Trendqueen

To make small eyes look bigger use white eyeliner on the lower water lash-line; makeup artist have been doing this trick for years. You don’t have to have small eyes to try this trick either, it also makes you look more awake. Tyra Banks makeup artist for the Victoria’s secret fashion show did this look on her. Maybe she was tired that day.