Saturday, October 23, 2010

Dollar Tree Fun & Finds!


I thought I would do some quick videos at what you can find by visiting your closest Dollar Tree for some great bargains. I hope you like the finds & fun!

So we started our Saturday first going to eat at Ana's Cafe on Toyon Ave. It's on the other side of San Jose, but we don't care lol. The food is always fresh, delicious and the flour tortillas are homemade. I love going for the Chorizo, eggs & papas. The chorizo (sausage) is mixed in with egg. It's freakin' fabulous.. if you've never had it.. GET IT. But I recommend getting it there!



We used to like to go to Casa Vicky's downtown but they really have fallen off. Plus no matter how many times I tell them NO BEANS, they always put them in my food. Come on.. really? always happens! lol. Anyway.. on to walmart. Here you see can Tulio and my moms head lol. You can hear her screamin' to tell my Grandma to put on the Handicap parking card.



We decided on going to Walmart that Saturday since my mother needed to pick up a few things and I needed stuff for our trip. The first thing I needed was to find a couple of affordable cute shirts for my trip. Of course the Walmart Plus sized section there was nothing to pick from. Honestly, if I ever become a billionaire I'm starting a affordable Plus sized clothing store that doesn't make you look like a mom or a goth girl for $50 bucks a shirt. I'm tired of them hating on the big girls!



I did find this really cool hat that Tulio ended up wearing to Disneyland California Adventure! He loves movies and comic art so this was right up our alley. The colors are awesome too!



Here's the picture I promised! This was at California Adventure after a rainy day! His hat got wet but the material made it dry off super fast! he loved it! A lot of people commented on his hat at the park that day too!

Photobucket

I see that there is a Dollar Tree right next door so Tulio and I walked over to see some good finds. So we arrive at Dollar Tree! Milpitas, McCarthy Ranch has a very clean and well stocked store.



It's funny how I say it's clean and you can see I walk into a thousands of boxes in the front of the store lol. I don't blame them. At least they were movin' it on out and stocked up the aisles on what I needed lol. Still the store was in great shape. I've been to many a Dollar store and I can tell you one thing, Dollar stores are not known for clean aisles lol.. you can put Ross stores into that as well.



I LOVED the selection they had at this Dollar Tree! They had lip glosses to blushes to lipstick to nail polish. It was great!! Most of the items I've previously bought or tried sooo I tried to keep it minimal to things I really wanted to try. Take a look at the great selection!




After looking around for items I had my small haul! I wanted to try out the LA Colors Nail polishes (which I LOVE!) and the Maybelline Bronzer & Blush. I haven't tried the lip pencil & lipgloss as of yet. Though the razors I got were great. I love them for a quick brow edging. I haven't used the LA Colors jumbo all over stick yet either. I was happy with my small haul, and who says you can't get great products for a dollar!?



Please let me know if you enjoy hitting up your local dollar stores for hauls! I would love to know your likes and dislikes on products you find at these stores! I hope you liked these quick little videos to show you what we did as a family on a early morning Saturday

Graftobian HD Lip Color "Super Palette #30248" Swatches & Review



After my awesome experience buying from Camerareadycosmetics.com I had to write to them and let them know the pleasant experience. I had to give them a shout out in my video because I could not believe the time, price & great customer service I had buying from them. It was just what I needed after the customer service HELL I had to deal with Yaby cosmetics. It was great to deal with a company that really cared about their customers. This is not the first time I heard great things about Camera Ready Cosmetics.

They wrote to me back and said they appreciated my letter/video & wanted to send me a Graftobian lip palette to say thank you for my shout out and support! I spent over $450 dollars with Yaby, had to wait over 2 months for my products and I never received anything for my wait & their horrible customer service. I compliment Camera Ready Cosmetics spend 75% less with my purchases and they send me a free lip palette! I don't know about you but that's great customer service.

I told them it would be awesome to review the product, but keep it honest as well. Just because I get something free doesn't mean it's good! Right? Plus, ya'll would have my neck haha.


My Review

I have been using this palette on and off since I received it. I like to use the product for awhile before I can clearly give a full honest review.

I love love love the colors in this palette. I have used on friends of all colors and myself and love how each shade plays with a person's skin tone. I had no issues applying this on myself or others. I've used with multiple looks and really love the long wear of the shade. Of course placing a lip liner makes the lipstick stay longer, so I tried with and without. Both times I was astonished at the wear. It did come off mostly when I drank or ate, but I expected that since this is a professional lip palette meant for photo shoots & film.

The shades are gorgeous but I love the pigmentation. You only need a bit on your lip brush and it just glides right onto the lip. The amount of product you get in the pan is great. I'm really pleased it wasn't the size of a dime lol. My only gripe was I was wish it came with a lip brush. :/ I mean really Graftobian? I guess they are thinking a MUA will buy this and already have a lip brush in their kit. I just think it would be nice to include a cheapo one for people who don't normally wear lip colors applied with a brush.

I really like the names & numbers assigned to the palette. I find it's very hard to share looks or remember what I used for a look with a palette with no names/numbers. I LOVE how the diagram is easy to follow in the back with each of the names/number printed clearly. Each shade is available to be reordered if you do hit pan! All you have to do is give the # number and they send you a full sized lipstick. That's awesome for you MUA's out there!


I also like the look and feel of the black shiny palette. It's super sleek but durable. I feel like if I drop it a few times it won't come loose. I love that there is a big mirror included that can also be used for a mixing area if you want to combine lip colors.

Would I buy more products from Graftobian? Hell yes! I'm super impressed and really enjoy this palette. The concealer palette is next on my list since I've seen MakeupbyRenRen Review it awhile ago. I know it has to be awesome.. because this is just a lip palette & I'm loving it!

Again this is just my opinion.. but I really think that if you are looking for an affordable lip palette for your MUA kit or like me.. wear make up daily, I would definitely invest in this! This is a gorgeous palette any MUA or makeup lover would love to have. I'm really pleased with this palette and look forward to tutorials in the future using these gorgeous shades!

Pros
- Super pigmented
- Creamy
- Only need a bit to go a long way
- LOVE the back diagram with names/numbers
- Great for MUA kits
- Gorgeous range of shades
- Long wear
- Shiny without being greasy
- Durable lip palette
- If you run out you can order more using the # number
- You can order these colors separately
- Pricing per shadow is affordable!
- Awesome in pictures
- Lots of product in pan
- 4x6 Mirror

Cons
- No lip brush
- Not something you can put in a small purse ( I have a huge one so I'm takin' it with me lol)
- No matte colors
- $64.99 can be a lot for some people to purchase off bat. (I can mainly see this as someone who invests and wears makeup daily.. like me, does blog/youtube tutorials or is a working MUA)

Full palette cost is $64.99

The break down to 18 shades would be $3.61 per lipgloss/lipstick!! That's awesome! I mean talk about the quality you are getting for your MUA kit!

Lip Colors (Names & Numbers)
( I broke them up in halves to get a better picture)

Lip Palette Swatches

Top & First Row


Second & Middle Row

Third & Last Row

Lip Swatches




To visit Camera Ready Cosmetics directly please visit:

http://www.camerareadycosmetics.com

To purchase this Graftobian Super Palette directly please visit:
http://www.camerareadycosmetics.com/proddetail.php?prod=Graftobiansuperpalette-lipcolors

Friday, October 22, 2010

Old Antique Gold Inspired Look Feat. MAC, Motives & Heavenly Natural Beauty




PLEASE WATCH IN HD!



I recently did this look for a Sunday dinner with the family. I had to do something quick but pretty for dinner. I really like how this came out and took inspiration from a sweater I was wearing. (Not pictured)

I hope you enjoy the tutorial and like the look! Thank you for taking the time to view and comment! I appreciate you.


What I used:

Painterly Paint Pot as base

Eyes:
Motives Cosmetics "Creme Fresh" Eyeshadow
Motives Cosmetics "Chic" Eyeshadow
Motives Cosmetics "Hersheys Kiss" Eyeshadow
Motives Cosmetics "Vintage Glam" Eyeshadow
MAC "Old Gold" Pigment
Heavenly Natural Beauty "Charm" Pigment
L'Oreal Lineur Intense "Carbon Black"
Stila Eye Kajal "Onyx"

Cheeks:
Motives Cosmetics "Summer Fun"

Lips:
Motives Cosmetics "Tender" lip pencil
Motives Cosmetics "Summer Fun" lipstick
MAC Villains "Strange Potion" Lipglass

To purchase Motives please visit:
http://www.marketamerica.com/tmqmarketing

To read my old review & swatches please visit:
http://theoriginalqueenbmakeup.blogspot.com/2009/11/blog-post.html

Need AFFORDABLE BRUSHES?
Purchase Sigma through my link! Get a FREE GIFT with $30 purchase!
http://www.sigmabeauty.com/?Click=10473



MAC VILLAINS SF EVENT




I was recently invited to check out the MAC Villains Event in SF at the MACY'S counter by l1lmamaj on twitter. If you don't know her.. well.. you should!! Find her gorgeous looks and blog at : http://www.l1lmamaj.blogspot.com/ She has this gorgeous elegance about her. UGH! Even in person she's flawless!


So she mentioned it would be cool to bring a few friends. I asked my two girlfriends if they wanted to go & Tulio was down to document! I went with Nicole (The one who recently got mentioned in my Hawaiian Flower Inspired Look video) and Athena (Where I've featured in many looks on my blog). So we decided to trek up to San Francisco on that Saturday.

The girls met at my house and we were on our way! We were super excited (just to get out together lol) and have some fun & buy makeup. We decided to eat dinner up in the city and opted for Mel's Diner. It was hella good. Bad thing, we were stuffed. I think we all pushed the limits.. but that wasn't the bad part lol. So we pay our tab and we are early to our time to meet up with Jen aka l1lmamaj.

We decide to walk. Athena girl had her gps out on her phone and was guidin' us to the light!! lol. However, 20 minutes walking in... we started questioning what direction we were going. Not gewt. Tulio decides to go into a coffee shop and ask where the eff we were lol. Tulio comes back to tell us we are 6-7 blocks away from MACY'S!! If you've been in downtown Frisco you know a block is like 651684351368531385 million square feet. lol Seriously.

On our way there we spotted this cool half trolley!!


Sooooo there went my hair, windy as hell.. .sweaty.. and bloated from dinner we trek our way back to where we started. Come to find out we were only 2 blocks from the restaurant! sigh.. just our luck right? lol anyway, we had fun lookin' at the weirdo's and working off the meal.

We finally get to MACY'S!! and automatically see a cardboard set up for Dr. Facilier! Of course being the dorks we were.. had to get photo time in.. (as you can see below lol)



There was awesome displays all over the place!


We then moved on to see part of the collection and wait for l1lmamaj to get done at the cashier.
It was great to see the some of the colors in person, but hmmm a lot was missing! Shouldn't a company as big as MAC have these in stock? Wouldn't they assume that this would be a huge collection like Hello Kitty? If not, I suggest they get some better workers to understand the makeup business. Because this isn't the first time they have sold out of products on a collection.




Come to find out, a lot was sold out.. which I knew would happen. The good thing was that the lipglasses I wanted were in stock. I was also there to spend most of my money on face products like concealer, foundation and powder. My friend Athena picked up a few items below. This is our collective Haul. More of her Haul than mine lol. I just got two lipglasses in "Strange Potion" & "Hot House".



"Strange Potion" (Left) & "Hot House" (Right) Swatches




It was really neat to finally meet another Bay Area makeup lover like Jen. She was super nice and helpful in finding a good shade for my skin.

It was also cool to notice that Aprilj0 from YouTube worked there as well! I noticed her and asked if it was her, and she was like "Yes!" She was suppper cool and I asked if I could take a picture with her. I lovvve her paintings and her color combos on YouTube so it was awesome to meet in person. She even took out her camera to take a photo with me! how cool is that? You can check her YouTube tutorials here http://www.youtube.com/Aprilj0


Even though they were out of a lot, I left super happy! My friends and I enjoyed posing in all of the movie Disney Villains Sets they had through out MACY'S as well.










I hope you enjoy these wacky photos!!

Thanks!

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Neon Playdoh Inspired Look feat Yaby Cosmetics



I was recently inspired by this cool shirt I love that I got from Walmart. I got it to wear something relaxing on my way to LA on the plane. I used to LOVE Playdoh as a kid and had to scoop this shirt up!

It's actually a sleeper shirt but I made it into a t-shirt. I love neon colors so I had to set of the shirt with some matching Lids! I used Mehron as well, and they are great for bases. I highly recommend them, because the color base is amazing. The shadows are vibrant enough but the Mehron just lifts that color like 50 percent. I highly recommend using Mehron for lid liner as well and other face painting needs. They are a great investment if you wear makeup everyday like I do.

Please let me know what you think of my tutorial! I hope you like!

What I used:

Base:
MAC Painterly Pot
MEHRON "Tropical" Palette
MEHRON "Pastel" Palette

Eyes:
YABY "es511 Highlighted"
YABY "es114 Jungle Mist"
YABY "es296 So Vein"
YABY "es158 Candy Pop"
YABY "es287 Hibiscus"
YABY "pp056 Dragon Fruit"
Heavenly Naturals "Morpho" pigment

Cheeks:
W&W "Heather Silk" Blusher

Lips:
W&W "901B" Lipstick
Sally Hansen "Twinkling" Smile Brightening lipgloss

Eyebrows:
Jordana eye pencil in "Coffee Bean"

To purchase Yaby please visit:
http://www.camerareadycosmetics.com

Need AFFORDABLE BRUSHES?
Purchase Sigma through my link! Get a FREE GIFT with $30 purchase!
http://www.sigmabeauty.com/?Click=10473

PLEASE WATCH IN HD!





Monday, October 4, 2010

Disneyland Vacation Time!



Hey guys, I'm leaving out of town for a much needed Vacay!! After bustin' my butt on illustrations for my last work.. I needed to treat myself. Our iPad book app is now #9 in top free iPad books!! That is so awesome and I feel like I accomplished so much to bring to the next project. My dreams have come true!!

So... My friends and I were like "Hey, we should go to Disneyland!" I was like hell yeah! Perfect timing, since it's also my birthday! yay! So off I go to LA.

Anyway, I'll be out of town, but I'm still going to be recording some fun stuff! I'll be back by this weekend and be sure to post a new YouTube tutorial as well!

Thanks so much for the support on the last video, really means a lot to hear feedback and have your comments!

Thanks Again,
Alejandra aka Queenbmakeup



Saturday, October 2, 2010

African Sahara Inspired Look feat. NYX Cosmetics


I got some Ardell false eyelashes to try out. I recently wore them to a wedding and loved how they came out. So since, I've had a lot of requests to try falsies in a video.. I thought hmm I'll wear them for this look.

Although.. it didn't end up that way haha I had already applied my left eyelash when I went to go record my tutorial. As I was setting up for the tutorial, I noticed my other eyelash was missing!! OMG, Tulio and I spent like 20 minutes lookin' for this damn eyelash! Needless to say, I couldn't find it. So thank goodness I had a pair of dollar lashes I have had for awhile. It worked out, even though really you can't tell I'm wearing them lol but hey, I felt fancy ;D

I hope you like this tutorial, mind the buzzer in the video lol that's to cover up my swearing haha Thanks so much for all of your comments!


PLEASE WATCH IN HD!



What I used:

Base:
MAC Painterly Pot
NYX "Yellow" Jumbo Pencil (lid)
NYX "Yogurt" Jumbo Pencil (crease)

Eyes:
NYX "Sahara" (crease/brow bone)
NYX "Sunset" (crease/brow bone)
NYX "Africa" (crease)
NYX "Rust" (crease)
NYX "Eggplant" (crease)
NYX "Algae" (lower lashline)
NYX "Chick" (lid/brow bone)

Cheeks:
NYX "Orange" Creme Blush

Lips:
Revlon "Coral Glow" Lipgloss

Eyebrows:
Jordana eye pencil in "Coffee Bean"

Directed & Edited: Tulio the most amazing man ever!

Need AFFORDABLE BRUSHES?
Purchase Sigma through my link! Get a FREE GIFT with $30 purchase!
http://www.sigmabeauty.com/?Click=10473