Eyebrows... how many ways can I love thee? A Brow Sealer review and mini pictorial

Hello All! Let me start by apologising for this late post featuring Model in A Bottle Long Lasting Eyebrow Sealer.

ColourCoded has been working on a number of projects over the year and appreciates you for continuing to follow and support us throughout our numerous endeavours. Please continue to tune in... 

Enough about that, let's get to the good stuff - EYEBROWS! 

Now "they" say that the eyes are the windows to your soul. Many (including me) believe that eyebrows frame the face. So with that being said, would that mean that eyebrows are the window frames to the soul...? lol

Since learning how to "do" eyebrows through MAC technique instruction and many research tutorials on youtube, I have fallen in love with doing them on myself and others. Some people consider me to be a bit obsessive at times (they have even given me a nic name smh) especially since seldom do I ever leave home without them. They are as essential as, if not more so than, having my keys and cell phone when I step out the door. 

I find that quite often many people spend extravagant amounts of time planning and executing their hair, nails and outfit and when it comes to makeup the most neglected feature is the eyebrows. From my experience, you can achieve an effortlessly refined look by just doing your foundation and eyebrows properly! Brows are quite often the only makeup I wear on a daily basis. If I do wear foundation, I always apply after my brows are done. Read on to find out why.

Here's a step-by-step of how I do brows (follow along if you want):

   

1. I like to start with a clean, dry face. A moisturised face tends to make application look more waxy when using a brow pencil and the product moves too easily. I like to moisturise my face afterwards being careful not to go over the brows.
2. Brush hair in upward and outward strokes.  A spoolie brush is preferred but a clean mascara wand or eyebrow brush can also work. Brush until hair cooperates. It can take a while.
   
   

   

   No hair, don't care! Featured: Bdellium 733

   
   
3. Using my favourite brow pencil (in the colour Stud from MAC  in this case), I line the bottom of my "eyebrow" creating my ideal arch and shape. 
4. Similarly, I shape the top of my "brow" using short lines to create the outline of what I want.
5. I then use the pencil to fill in the shape using light feathery strokes.
   
   

   

   I'm going to try it with Spiked soon.

   
   
6. Use an angled liner brush to distribute the product throughout the brow, being careful to fill in any gaps while staying within the lines. This step also makes the brows look more natural.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Fix your artwork with Eyebrow Sealer. Model in a Bottle Long Lasting Eyebrow Sealer comes with 2 applicators: a spoolie and a brush that looks very similar to what one would find in a nail polish. Using a bit of common sense, I figured that the spoolie is ideal for those who already have eyebrows, whereas the nail polish brush is reserved for those who are "browly-challenged" like myslef. Brush the sealer on and allow it to dry.

 

Optional: Placing concealer on the browbone under the brow is a trick used to clean up any mistakes on the underside of the brow. Using an angled liner brush, or another synthetic brush like a concealer brush used here, use the the concealer as you would an eraser. Just take out what you don't need. Blend down towards the eye.

What a difference! Featured: Bdellium 934

Also Optional: Use eyeshadow primer under the brow pencil and translucent powder on top when completely finished for an even more secure brow.

The True Test: Would this "Long Lasting" Eyebrow Sealer stand up Soca?!?

Before leaving home one Saturday evening recently, I prepped myself for the possibility of sweating off my brows by night's end as usual. I decided to try out the sealer for that event, after all what did I have to lose besides eyebrows *kanye shrug*. I honestly expected that after a few hours of being "dibby in the fete" I would be browless and looking like Whoopi Goldberg in no time! 

Rushed to get out of the house and the cruise left late anyway. Not my best brows but they did the job.

After partying for a couple of hours, a friend and I retreated to the ladies room for a dab and refresh. To my surpise, my brows were still in tact!!! Woo Woo!!! Needless to say, I was hooked from that night!

Yes it's a bathroom pic, don't judge me. I think it's muy cute!

Product features: 

I think that having the 2 applicators was a brilliant idea as it caters to everyone. From what I can tell, only a little is needed so even though the bottle is small (about the size of nail polish) I can see it lasting a long while. 

Had to grab this one from the net, my phone died

The solution smells a lot like alcohol and is a bit tacky to touch. I have seen a review where someone complained about a tight feeling where the sealer was applied. I have, however, not yet experienced that feeling. Maybe she put on too much...?

It is supposed to dry completely matte but I find that there is often a little shine afterwards, especially near the "front" of the brow, if I don't set with a translucent powder. It's really not much and I don't mind  it either way.

My Opinion:

Through blood, sweat and tears it seems as though Model in a Bottle Long Lasting Eyebrow Sealer stands the test of time! Well so far for me at least. I would definitely recommend!!! At $25 per bottle, it's a steal really. Great value for money!

Next Test? The Beach!

MAC HAUL

So mid march I got a few things from MAC and i'll share some of the more exciting ones and leave out the brush cleaner and brow pencil etc.

I finally got my hands on Candy Yum Yum and thanks to MAC for making it a permanent shade but i'm still trying to decide if its worth all the hype.  I love the true neon pink colour but i HATE how it applies so far and it dries out my lips quite quickly which is not quite cute!  Its a Matte lipstick but I have others that go on so smoothly so I don't know whats the problem ... i'll give it a few more tries before i give up.

Now I had missed the launch for the Strength collection and was only able to get one lipstick which was Absolute; a deep red.  It's also Matte but goes on smooth and does not dry out my lips like Candy Yum Yum.  I exfoliate my lips regularly so I know that is not the problem.  I have been looking for a red to be my signature shade because I love red lipstick and wear it everywhere, lol, but I wanted something that was not too bright so I could wear it in the daytime but bright enough to stand out at night.  I LOVE THIS DAMN THANG!!!!

Now the core Colour Coded team also went to the Archie's Girls collection and again I snapped up some lippies because if you couldn't already guess, lipsticks and glosses are my most favourite MAC products!

Most of the items came from the Veronica side of the collection because she has brighter stronger colours and Betty's line was a little too soft for my skin tone.  I was thinking of getting a beauty powder but changed 
my mind ... I may go back for it once its not out of stock but I got one thing from the Betty line which is Betty Bright a peachy pink Satin lipstick. I wore it during the last day of our MARCH MADNESS promotion pictured below.

The other lipstick I got is Daddy's Little Girl and I was overjoyed that I got this one since I missed out on Strong Woman from the Strength collection.  Daddy's Little Girl is more pink than Strong Woman but I love it.  I'm getting into purples lately and I also got the Mall Madness lip gloss from Veronica's Archie.  Wearing both in the pic below running errands.

The last item from the collection I got was Strawberry Malt which reminds me of my Send Me Sailing lip glass from the Hey Sailor Collection.  I was so annoyed I didn't get two of those but Strawberry Malt is close enough for me!

The packaging is the bomb and its also based on one of my favourite comic strips so I totally enjoyed this collection.  I did swatch the eye shadow palettes and was extremely disappointed in the quality so needless to say I skipped on those.  I was scared to commit to a beauty powder after my horrible experience with the In Extra Dimension highlighter but I really feel that I will go back and get one after seeing some results from friends.  And if it doesn't work out I will just pop out the pan and replace it with my own pressed powder and use it as a compact!  The characters, drinks and keepsake mints from the launch were also nice little details that is bringing me back to MAC!

From L to R: Absolute Power (Strength Collection), Candy Yum Yum (Permanent), Mall Madness Lipglass, Strawberry Malt Lip Glass, Betty Bright and Daddy's Little Girl

Sugarpill Limited Edition DISASTER …. well almost :P

Could you imagine finding out that one of your favourite brands put out an awesome limited edition product, so you jump through all kinds of hoops and shell out big bucks for it, only to open your package and find that it was completely ruined????  Well, we couldn't either but that's exactly what happened to us.
Okay rewind to a few weeks ago, sometime near the end of January …
Anyone who knows anything about Sugarpill Cosmetics knows that they have some of the most pigmented MATTE eyeshadows around. So when we heard that they were producing a palette of their  3 popular quads combined, there was no question that we needed it in our lives.
The problem...? They were only available at IMATS in California and we would not be there. Le sigh... What were we to do?  Hmmm think, think, THINK! … Luckily we did know someone who was travelling … silver lining perhaps?
YES!!! Lashawn was able to arrange for her significant other to get the palette and bring it back for us when he travelled to the US! Now the waiting began …
and more waiting …
Finally, it arrived.

Now, we could tell from the bag that something had gone terribly wrong but we were hoping against hope that it would be fine. Maybe only one was broken? Worse case scenario 2 or 3? Ummm 4 or 5? We decided to open it together. Deep breath, here goes... 1 2 3 4... 7??? 7 out of 12 were broken!!! Really??? Le sigh again. What a quandary!
Let's weigh our options:
1) Throw out our palette of broken dreams and cry until our eyes ran out of water!
2) Duck tape the quads we had together and pretend it was the limited edition autobot palette that transformed into quads when necessary!
3) Remove the broken ones and fix them!
Hmm... could they even be fixed? Well we knew that you can press your own pigments so it had to be possible to fix broken pots. Right? Only one way to find out.
And off to youtube I went.
What I used:
Plastic wrap
Rubbing Alcohol (undiluted)
Small spoon and a few toothpicks
Bounty tissue (any absorbant tissue should be fine)
A quarter (a larger coin would have been easier but alas, our dollar isn’t circular)
Old newspaper
First, I laid the newspaper on the table and used a large powder brush to get rid of the useless shadow in the palette (all of the broken colours had mixed together).

Then, I used the spoon to scoop out each colour,  placing the pigments in their own square of plastic wrap.

Using a heavy object, an ornament in this case, I crushed each shadow and tied off each individually. One by one, I mixed enough alcohol into each shadow until I achieved the consistency of cake batter.

Using my nifty spoon, I put each eyeshadow into their respective pots, used a toothpick to get out any air bubbles, smoothed them down with the back of the spoon and let them sit for a few minutes.

Then, I carefully placed the tissue over each pot and used the quarter to press the alcohol out, making sure to pay close attention to pressing the shadow into the sides of the pan (if the shadow isn't pressed properly, it will come away from the pan and crack).

Periodically, I went back with the tissue and coin and pressed out more alcohol to speed up the drying process.

... and voilà, presto, tadaaa! It worked!

 

 

OOPS! Did we forget something???

 

Of course we didn’t! So lets get to this month’s giveaway!

We have a small trio of products just waiting to be picked up and I think I want to make this one easy since we only have about 22 more hours left in February.

To win this:

You have to do this:

1. Like our page www.facebook.com/colourcodedbeauty, Follow our blog and subscribe to our You Tube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/colourcodedmakeup
2. Share our March Madness flyer on your timeline
3. Leave a comment below saying enter me

To be eligible you have to be this:

• Be 18 or older OR have your parents consent
• A resident in Barbados (no worldwide competitions yet)

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• SHARE, LIKE and SUBSCRIBE!!!!
• Draw takes place on 11:59pm  February 28, 2013
• Winners will be notified via our You Tube channel on March 3, 2013!

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Ooooohhhhh la la … SPRING!!!

 

Yes Yes … I know we don’t have seasons in Barbados unless you count the dry season or the rainy season, maybe you can include hurricane season … or tax season but really its usually always the same thing all year.

So why am I so excited for Spring?

If you know anything about makeup and are following the trends overseas, you have to be just as excited as I am to see what the brands have in store for us this year.

Here is what i’m stalking at the moment …

The Resort collection from Sigma Beauty!  This company built a solid name for itself with its line of brushes and is now perfecting its makeup line this second time around. (The first try at makeup wasn’t the best we’ve seen) 

The new palette is a mixture of neutrals , earth tones and cool pastels.  It also features a liquid highlighter with a brown and turquoise liner for a pop of colour.  Although I found with my Paris palette the blushers were a little too light for the warm tones common in Bim, the eyeshadows were not bad at all and the colour payoff was surprisingly good.  So i’m looking forward to creating some fun, wearable looks with this set although I dont think the blush will do anything for my tan skin.

Next I have to try the NARS light reflecting setting powder.

                          

I love multipurpose or multiuse products and if NARS promises one powder that sets, blots and reflects, i’m all over it.  My favourite part of building a look is flawless foundation so I will put away my setting powder, blotting sheets and soft focus highlighter and give NARS a try.  Hopefully my review is positive because NARS is far from a ‘cheap date’.

Illamasqua has pretty much picked every true spring colour and packaged it in their Imperfection spring collection! I’m not a big fan of pastels but I definitely would love to get my hands on their blush duos and a speckled nail polish … Nail techs should start going crazy because its like a full manicure with nail art in  a bottle.  The finish is unique and the colours are wearable all year round.

                                                                                                                                            

 

Luckily for me not every company is going the “sugar and spice and everything” nice pastel route for spring … two of my favourite companies have been inspired by, coincidentally, two of my favourite cartoons / comics and have some great colourful options.

Sephora’s Disney Princess Jasmine has a whole line to choose from but i’m mostly interested in the Storylook Collection palette which comes with  blusher and a bronzer; my two favourite things to pile on my cheeks!

And MAC of course has the much hyped, larger than life Archie’s Girls collection online as we speak.  The launch will  hit our shores in a few weeks and the top of my list to collect are the makeup bags  and the lippies … i mean with names like ‘Girl Next Door’ and ‘Boyfriend Stealer’ … i cant resist!

Oh I wish I could save my coppers after I check off my spring must have’s but how can that happen when summer is looking sizzling already … sigh!

Brazilian Curly Review for Platinum Hair Extensions

So I was more than overjoyed to be chosen as a Platinum Hair Reviewer by the PHE team and even happier when I collected the hair from Danielle.  Here is my very first EVER youtube video.  Please leave any feed back or comments on the video so we know what to work on and what you want to see.  SHARE, LIKE, SUBSCRIBE!!!!

Hope you guys enjoy it.  Contact PHE to get your own lovely tresses and treats to keep them looking their best!

Stay tuned for our February giveaway!!!

>>>>BLOG SALE - Naked Cosmetics<<<<

 

Yup!!!

That’s what we said; BLOG SALE!!!!

As part of our pre-Girlfriends Expo Sale extravaganza, we are allowing our loyal followers and fans of our blog to enjoy a crazy sale.  We will have our entire collection of Naked Cosmetics pigments on sale for  $5!

Yup!!! That’s what we said; $5!

If you dont know what Naked Cosmetics are,  but love sparkly pretty things anyway check this out …

The regular retail price is $120 for a collection of 6 pots and individual pots are $30 each.  We are practically giving away our remaining collections:

Sierra Nevada

Cabernet Blush

Ebony

Ivory

Blushing Bronze

To order any of the pigments you can reach us at contact@colourcodedmakeup.com / 269-6838 Lashawn or 265-2614 Danielle.  Or you can check us out at the Girlfriend’s Expo February 2 & 3, 2013 at the Concorde facility right next to the Grantley Adams International Airport.