My new Nail Polish Blog

Not only do I love all things makeup, but I've had a love affair with nail polish since before I was too young for my mom to let me wear makeup. This blog will include color swatches, reviews and other random musings on nail polish. If you love polish like me, come on through! www.lacquerholic.wordpress.com

Back with a Quick Review L'Oreal Paris Telescopic Explosion Mascara

You have no idea how excited I was about L'Oreal Paris' Telescopic Explosion mascara. As a Makeup artist and product junkie I love buying products and when Givenchy's Phenemoneyes came out, I wanted it so much, but spending $28 on a mascara you're supposed to throw out in three months to avoid bacteria... well, I just can't justify it in my mind.

Armed with my $5 rewards cupon from NYC staple Duane Reade, I headed there to get the new mascara, happy I was going to save more than half the price! I couldn't wait until the next morning to try it. Luckily, I remembered that Makeup Alley has great reviews so I read the reviews before I tried it. According to the reviews there's a trick in the application. You've got to hold the wand vertically, and you've got to wipe the wand before you start. You pretty much have to coat each lash individually. Then go over it a second time. The effect...once I was finally done 20 minutes later was nice, but I've gotten better results with other mascaras. I probably won't buy this again. I wonder the Givenchy Original version is any better...

Product Review: RapidLash Eyelash Renewal Serum

Hi all, or whoever still checks my blog to see if I've updated it. I wanted to start my blog revival by reviewing a controversial product, RapidLash Eyelash Renewal Serum.

I bought it for about $50 bucks at Drugstore.com after reading an Article in Allure regarding the new prescription brand of eyelash growth treatment Latisse and it's fellow competitors. Since Lastisse is priced at $125 bucks and I don't really have gainful employment at the moment, I decided to invest for the cheaper RapidLash.

I used it nightly as the package described by applying it like liquid eyeliner to my lash line. I did feel some minor irritation in the form of itchiness where I applied the product. After about 4 weeks I did notice a difference. My lashes are longer. They aren't much thicker, but when using mascara the effect is definitely noticeable. My lashes, particularly on my left eye are curlier too. Also for once in my life I noticed my lashes hitting my sunglasses!

Now if I had read this warning about RapidLash I may not have ever tried the product. I am happy to report that as of today I can see as well as I always have and my eye color hasn't changed. I haven't decided if I'm going to continue using this given the warnings. I'm a makeup artist, my eyes are very important to me. Why can't there be a product that actually works without consequences?

My Website is up!

Thank you. That is all!

Random Makeup Musings

Since becoming a full time freelance makeup artist, I've quickly learned that it's a feast or famine job. Right now, it's famine time. I got a jury duty notification that set me back two weeks of work. I have yet to recover from that. I went out hustling, selling myself the other day and people were responsive but responsiveness doesn't turn into cold hard cash. Every opportunity that does come up, seems to interfere with my schedule, not to mention I made an error in my resume that could explain why my phone hasn't been ringing. Because my damn phone number was incorrect! What a stupid, rookie mistake. I'm old enough to know better and I didn't. It's taking me a while to get over that too.

So as of late I've been test shooting, printing new pictures for my book, GETTING MY VERY OWN WEBSITE TOGETHER! and contemplating selecting pictures for my comp cards. Then will come the full on assault and any and every agency in New York City. Wish me luck!

My website is coming!!!

I finally took the plunge and registered my own URL. I'll make another announcement when it's ready but let it be known that www.makeupbyaina.com is coming soon to a computer near you!

In the meantime you can click on my portfolio on Dripbook and take a look at some new pics I've added. Enjoy!

Mineral Makeup, Part 3

Alas, my long overdue part three of my experiences with Mineral makeup.

After getting a chance to play with them at a private event at the Bare Escentuals boutique I decided to give mineral makeup a try on my own face. I bought the "dark" kit which includes two shades of the mineral powder foundation, a mineral veil, "warmth" and "clear radiance" the highlight & shadow products.

Yes, I'm a makeup artist, but in my everyday life, I don't wear much makeup, unless I'm up for a makeup job, or going someplace special. At most, I'll wear mascara, eyeliner and lipstick or gloss and that's it. I certainly don't wear foundation every day, but I wanted to take the new makeup for a real life test drive so I wore it for a few consecutive days.

The first time I tried it, I used the light to medium coverage brush. It took longer than I thought. By the time I "swirled, tapped and buffed" the fourth step, the clear radiance onto my face, I knew that I wasn't going to do this every day, even if I was the type who wore foundation every day. Despite the lengthy application process, the final product looked nice. I thought the makeup gave natural but even coverage and my face looked nice, but not overly made up.

A I suspected, I got tired of the four step process, not to mention mascara, blush and lip stuff I needed to compliment the look since you can't really wear just foundation without doing a full face of makeup. Also, I noticed that my face started itching. It didn't turn in to a full blown reaction, and I'm not sure if it was the powder itself, the summer heat (so not fun to wear a full face of makeup in the heat of the NYC subway system) or the semi harshness of the brushes you have to use to apply the product.

So my final verdict is mineral makeup is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there!