All About the BRUSH

Hi everyone! Just want to say thanks again for following me on this new venture of vlogging and instagraming my beauty blog! It's a lot of fun and your support means a lot to me. 

I had many of you reach out and ask me why makeup brushes are so important and which ones are needed when doing your makeup. Depending on the makeup you use daily will depend on the brushes you need. 

Below is the vlog I recorded this past holiday weekend on makeup brushes, what they are used for and I also added in there how to avoid spillage of eyeshadow when applying eyeshadow with concealer and foundation already applied and when it isn't. 

Here is a list of links & prices of brushes I use daily! The Mary Kary and the Shiseido ones I mention in this vlog unfortuneatly are no longer available as these are brushes I got 5 plus years ago. I apologize for that but you should be able to purchase similar brushes at Sephora & Ulta. 

FACE
-Realtechniques Expert Face Brush $8.99 
-Sephora Angled Natural Brush #50 $15.00 (ON SALE NOW)

EYES
-Crown C476 DELUXE SHADOW / CREASE DUET $6.99
-LAB2 Just Blending in Brush $6.99

EYEBROWS
-Anastasia Brush #12 $18.00


Thank you again for your support! Please follow me @deesbeautyblog on Instagram and on my YouTube Channel for updates and tips. 

Five Minute Makeup Look

Hello!!! Today I thought I'd give you a short Five Minute Makeup Look for those of you who need a quick step by step guide on how to get your makeup done on the go. I like to apply eye and face moisturizer first and let that absorb before applying the following, in the following order:

1. Concealer
2. Eyebrows
3. Mascara
4. Bronzer (or Blush)
5. Any eyeshadow

Here are the products I used and the links to purchase:

• Mascara- Rimmel Lift Me Up in Black
• Concealer- Make Up For Ever Full Cover in #5
• Eyebrows- MAC Eyebrow Pencil in Spike with Mary Kay Brow Gel
• Cheeks- Hoola Bronzer by Benefit
• Eyeshadow- EM by Michelle Phan Shanghai Lavendars

Check out the video above! The products I used are listed below in the notes. Hope you enjoy!

Holiday Look 2016

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! 

Here's a makeup tutorial just in time for your holiday parties for an fun, pretty look. I used gold and purple eyeshadow and topped it off with some gold glitter. 

Here are a list of the products, their cost and their links below:

Foundation- Lancome Tient Miracle in Bisque 5C 330 ($47.00)

Concealer- Make Up For Ever Full Cover in 5 ($34.00)

Eyeshadow- EM by Michelle Phan palette in "Shanghai Lavendars" ($28.00)
                      NYX Ultra Pearl Mania in "Mink" ($6.00)

Glitter- MAC Brilliants in "Reflects Gold" ($22.00)

Bronzer- Hoola by Benefit ($29.00) and Tarte "Park Ave Princess"($30.00)

Eyebrow- Anastasia Dip Brow in "Soft Brown" ($18.00) & Mary Kay Eyebrow Gel ($10.00)

Liner- NYX Matte Liquid Liner in "Black" ($15.00) & Kohl Black Liner

Lip- NYX Xtreme Shine Lip Cream in "Natural" (No longer carried by NYX) 

Hope you enjoyed watching!!! Wishing you and your families a very SAFE and BLESSED Holiday!

Eyebrow Tutorial

Hi there!! Today I did a quick eyebrow tutorial using a cream based makeup so you can see how I fill things in. This is more a natural look that I did using Anastasia's Dip Brow ($18) and Makeup Brush #12 ($18). 

Leave comments below and let me know if you have any questions! Hope you enjoy!

First Beauty Vlog

Hi Everyone!! I though I'd give a shot to Beauty Vlogging since that is still a pretty popular way to put your passion for makeup and skincare out into the world. I uploaded it to YouTube and am still in the process of working on my Channel but I hope you enjoy! The video is too large to upload here but check it out on YouTube at this link: My First Beauty Vlog

Beauty Blogging and Motherhood

Nothing in the world could have prepared me for motherhood. Not even listening to family members with great insight and stories. When you're pregnant you hear a million warnings before you welcome a baby into the world but it's not until you experience it personally until you understand how much your whole world changes. The one thing I will say is while it changes dramatically, it changes for the better. The love you experience really is all consuming and unlike anything I've ever experienced. It's the greatest thing in the world.

I was flipping through family photos since having the baby and the one thing I noticed is how tired my husband and I look in the early months after Adrian was born. I barely wore makeup because there are a lot of days that go by where it's just unnecessary or there wasn't time in between cleaning up diapers or spit up to put it on. It just wasn't important, nor should it have been. I looked at our Mother's Day and Father's Day family photos and can't help think like, "Gosh, we look so tired, but we really look happy." There was a shift in everything the second our son came home. Every single thing that seemed important before, no longer existed. 

I started this blog originally because of how much of a fun hobby it is for me to research makeup, makeup trends and try new and fun things with it. As Adrian gets older I've found a little more time to get slowly back into my passion for makeup and skincare but it's been hard to find a balance between it all. What's most important to me now is being a good mommy. It's hard to figure out how to redefine that passion now that I've changed so much. As we approach the New Year this is a goal of mine as to how to figure out how to move forward with trying to merge both things, being a good mommy and having something on the side for myself that I'm passionate about. I realize this will take time and lots of brainstorming but it's something that is important to me.

For all my followers that have kept up with me from the beginning of this blog 5 years ago, thank you! You guys have been a great support and your encouragement has meant so much to me. It's very inspiring to know that this has been something others have enjoyed. As I redefine what this new chapter means, I hope you'll join me on this ride! 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! 

New Mom, New Beauty Routine

On February 2nd, 2016 my husband and I welcomed our firstborn son, Adrian Alexander, into the world. I'm still getting used to calling myself a mother, let alone getting used to figuring out a whole new routine and new chapter of my life.

The older I've gotten, I'll admit, the less effort I've put into making myself up but I do still LOVE makeup, trying new products, and reviewing the things I do try. I love putting makeup on friends and family, and REALLY enjoy when I have a good half hour to spend alone being creative on my own self. Now that I'm a new mom I've caught myself in the mirror several times looking almost frumpy and I've tried to think of things I could do for myself while I'm home with my son to still make me feel good about myself and not completely unkempt. It's more for my own self than anyone else. With a newborn, most days are spent at home being completely consumed by taking care of the baby. 

For all you moms out there, you know how quickly your life can go from being all about doing whatever you want to, to running around taking care of your family with little time for yourself. For those of you who are looking for ways to still take care of yourself, while taking care of baby this is for you. It's all about balance. I put these in order of what I find most crucial for myself to feel better during the day. Hopefully some of these make you feel good too!

1.) Scrub a Dub- Ask you partner, a friend or family member to come and help you out for 20 minutes so you can get a shower or a nice bath in. I have found that this alone makes me feel 1,000 times better. My son is only 5 weeks old but I have been spit up on, peed on and pooed on many times already so just a simple shower feels like a relief. People always forewarned me that it'd be so hard to shower when a baby came and I used to think they were crazy. They aren't. 

2.) Skincare- when I'm able to squeeze in a quick shower, I like to quickly wash my face with Noxema and as soon as I get out of the shower I quickly put on one pump of my Shiseido Ibuki Protective Moisterizer SPF 15 and my Shiseido Eye Contour Cream. 

3.) H2O- I recommend filling a large water bottle to keep with you all day or just to keep filling up water, the more hydrated you are, the  more awake you are and if you're chugging lots of coffee, like I've been, coffee only dehydrates you so you'll need to replenish. 

4.) Chapstick- I love my Pomegranite Burt's Bee's lip balm because I have found my lips to be much more chapped since I've had my baby. I keep one right by my bed so when I wake up in the middle of the night to feed the baby, I can swipe some on before we both go back to sleep so my lips can restore over night. I also love vaseline as well for my lips. 

5.) Lotion- keep a big bottle of lotion around so that when you have a minute and are sitting on the couch you can give yourself a quick rub down from head to toe. I really like Cetaphil lotion.

6.) Perfume- Every day that I left for work prior to the baby, I always spritzed some perfume on. For some reason spraying perfume on myself seems like a great way to finalize my whole look for the day and makes me feel pretty even without makeup on. I really like Daisy Eau So Fresh and Arlésienne Eau de Toilette by L'OCCITANE because they're both fresh, light and clean smelling. 

7.) Get outside or go the gym- This one is a little harder since it's hard to get away from the baby but if the weather's nice out, take your baby for a walk in their stroller or their carrier. If you have a gym membership and are able to get away for a bit, go to the gym and exercise. Exercise helps everything and is a great way to burn off some stress and help you to sleep better (when you get a chance to that is.)

8.) Sleep when the baby sleeps- the first few weeks of having my baby home, I attempted to be the perfect house wife. I was cleaning, doing laundry and trying to cook meals and take care of the baby all at once and quickly got burned out. Now, depending on how much sleep I got I'll do more or less chores during the day and nap when the baby naps. That has made a huge difference in my energy levels and crabbiness. This also helps your skin to restore itself when you get as much rest as possible. 

Having people in your life to help you and support you helps make these a little easier but most of these are quick things you can do or keep in mind when running around with your children. Hope you enjoyed reading these 7 tips to a refined beauty routine for those moms out there who need to keep themselves in mind too.