Christina Martinez Wedding

My dear friend Christina asked me to do her makeup for her bridal shower and wedding. I was so excited she asked me! We didn't have time to meet previous to the bridal shower to do a proper trial so that day's makeup was the trial! Everything turned out great though. I also did her hair for the shower, but not her wedding day. Here are some photos: 

The Bridal Shower // Hair & Makeup by Me

Wedding Day Makeup!

Makeup Looks featuring ME!

Hello hello! I hope everyone's doing fantastic! I just wanted to write a little update on what I've been up to and also post pictures of how I've been doing my makeup. So for the past month, I actually have been trying to avoid wearing too much makeup because my face was breaking out a lot... I had run out of almost all of my skincare products (makeup wipes & benzoyl peroxide gel) so I bought some random products to try from the drugstore. Boy, was my skin mad at me! I am currently back on my regular regimen and my skin's recovering, but it's taking some time. Other than that, I've just been busy with work and bridal stuff, but I'm truly grateful that I'm doing something that I truly love! Anywhoo, here are some makeup looks that I've been rocking:

 

Brown smokey eye & lots of bronzer;
I wore this look at my friend's bridal shower

Neutral/Gold eyes & red hot lips!
I wore this to my friend's wedding

Same look as above, but with pink lips

I did a very dramatic blue smokey eye for my friend's birthday.

Here's another picture to show how dark the eyeshadow was...
It was a candid photo obviously haha

I was a bridesmaid for my friend's wedding  & opted to do my
own makeup. I kept it really clean and simple..

After my hair was done :)

I always tell people that makeup should be fun. You can always take it off if you don't like it so go ahead, play with different colors, play up your eyes, play up your lips... that's really the only way you're going to find what looks good and works for Y O U. People always compliment me on changing up my look and being bold enough to wear bright, intense color or not being afraid to wear very smokey eyes, but in all honesty, I have been there-- where my makeup looked like a hot mess! I remember looking like I had black eyes when I first tried to do smokey looks. But I didn't stop trying to make it work for me. Another funny thing is that when I first started getting into makeup, I would always gravitate toward bright colors... neon pinks especially! I used to think browns were boring, but now I have truly come to appreciate neutral shades! And ladies, remember, practice makes perfect! <3

<3, kimtran

BTW, hope everyone has a great Independence Day!

Corina

My friend Corina asked me to do her makeup for a photoshoot and I couldn't say no to her! She's seriously one of the sweetest girls I know! She asked for a smokey eye so we went for a Kim Kardashian makeup look. Tell me she's not channeling Kim K in this photo:

I absolutely love this shot of her.  She oozes fabulous-ness!

Review: Blinc Mascara

Hello beauties!

This review is going to be on the Blinc Mascara I have been trying it out for the past week and I wanted to share with you guys what I thought!

First, let me begin by telling you guys what I look for in a mascara. I want something that is going to give me volume and length. My lashes are a bit sparse, but unlike other Asian eye lashes that I have seen, they are not stick straight and they hold a curl pretty well. I do not like watery, goopey mascara formulas because that will take the curl right out of my lashes. I like a drier formula to make the curl last; that also helps so that my mascara does not run or flake.

Now let's take a look at what Blinc claims this mascara will and will not do:

What it does:
Blinc Mascara is the original tube-technology mascara. It's invented to form tiny water-resistant "tubes" around your lashes for maximum amplification and hold, rather than painting them like conventional mascaras. Once applied, the tubes bind to your lashes and cannot run, smudge, clump, or flake, even if you cry or rub your eyes.

What else you need to know:
This mascara adds both volume and length, to give you a radiant natural look that lasts all day. Neither water nor pressure alone will remove Blinc Mascara. Only the combination of lots of warm water and gentle pressure (no need for harsh makeup removers) will slide the tiny tubes effortlessly off your lashes into your hand. Upon removal, you will actually see the tiny tubes slide into your hand.

Source: Sephora

Okay, so, on to the review. I like this mascara, but I was hoping to fall in love with it considering all the hype it's getting. Even some of my girlfriends have told me how much they love this mascara. I find that the Blinc Mascara is nice if you want natural-looking lashes. It adds a little length and a little volume. I also noticed that it dries very fast. When I went in to put on a second coat, it felt like there was a lot of tension created between the brush and my lashes- it didn't run through my lashes smoothly, so I would recommend going in with a second coat BEFORE the first coat fully dries. The mascara did not smudge on me at all, no matter how long I had it on for. Really, the only way to get this mascara off is with warm water and a little pressure from your fingers. It's actually pretty cool seeing the little tubes coming off your lashes. I also noticed I did not have any lash fallout, which is great!

Overall, I like this product for daytime use and would recommend it to anyone looking for a mascara that will give natural-looking lashes. I probably will not be repurchasing this mascara, however, because I know there are mascaras out there that will give me natural lashes with one coat and I can get more dramatic results if I put more coats of it on. This is for natural-looking lashes, period.

the mascara come in this tube

natural lashes

natural lashes

my lashes after I curled it 

first coat of the Blinc mascara

second coat of the mascara

warm water and some pressure and the tubes of mascara
comes right off

St. Patty's Day Makeup

I didn't have anything green to wear for St. Patty's Day so I improvised and used makeup! :)

FACE:

makeup forever mat velvet foundation
mac prep and prime loose translucent powder
smashbox suntan matte bronzer
mac peaches blush

EYES:
mac brow in strut
mac teal pigment
mac sassy grass eyeshadow (limited edition)
mac penultimate liner

LIPS:
mac way to love lipstick (limited edition)
mac nymphette lipglass

Update & What I've Been Up To

Heeeeeeeeeey! Seriously, it's been way too long!

I have been kind of M.I.A. on this blog. Sorry guys! But I'm back and I wanted to share with you guys what I've been up to.

Many of you already know that I got a job at MAC Cosmetics and well, it's kind of my dream job! At first, it was really intimidating being around so many makeup artists and even if you've done makeup before, working at a counter is totally different from freelancing for yourself! Working at a counter, you learn that your main job is to MULTITASK! So that's what I've been training myself to do, but it is so absolutely FUN! Every single day is different and you meet some really cool people! My coworkers have all been really friendly, helping me out since I didn't know where anything was! So yea, for the past 3 weeks, I've been concentrating on working and getting better at my craft.

Other than that, I've also been kind of down, dealing with negativity from people who think what I'm doing should be my hobby, not my job.. Don't you hate that? Why can't people just be supportive and happy for me? But that's just the way life goes sometimes.

This past week, i had my basic training for MAC and it was so incredible. I feel so inspired and, quite honestly, I feel like I'm (for once) doing what I really love. It all feels right. I know the direction I want to take in my life and I know what I need to do in order to get there. It's exciting and I'm glad to have all the support from you guys. I'm truly blessed to have had all the opportunities I've had thus far. :) *feeling grateful

I will try my hardest not to neglect this blog again. Just know that I love writing for you guys, even if only one person reads it, that's enough for me.

Have a fantastic day,
kimtran

Urban Decay's Naked2 Palette Review

Hello world!

I'm finally reviewing the Naked2 Palette for you guys today! I didn't want to do it the day after I got it because I wanted to really test the product.

Here are some photos I found of the Naked (original) Palette and the Naked 2 Palette.

photo by: temptalia

Naked 2 at the top // Naked (original) at the bottom
photo by: musingsofacitygirl

Naked (original) at the top // Naked 2 at the bottom
photo by: xsparkage

Okay, on to the review. The original Naked palette has more warm tone shades and a few cooler shades. I can't say I love specific colors because, well, I seriously love every color in this palette! I have warmer undertones to my skin so I think the colors look great on me. Even the cooler colors like gunmetal and creep look good because of their texture. There's not a lot of grittiness to them; they go on super smooth and blend well. Sidecar is the only one that has a chunkier kind of glitter in it so it does have some fallout, but it doesn't bother me too much.

As for the Naked 2 Palette, I absolutely love the packaging. It's a hard aluminum case as opposed to the velvet case of the first one. It just seems sleeker and heavier duty. The velvet case of the first one attracts a lot of dust and gets scratched really easily. So, I do like this palette as well, but I find that there are cooler tones that don't look too flattering on my skin, like verve, YDK, and Pistol. It probably has to do with the texture as well. These shadows don't seem as jet-milled and fine as much as the other colors; they have a grittier look to them and I don't like that too much. Another thing I don't like is that Urban Decay decided to keep the color half baked in the second palette. It's kind of like a cop out. They should have just created a new color. What I do love is that the two last colors (Busted and Blackout) are so heavily saturated and rich, great for the outer corner for definition and to smoke out any look you create. I also like the highlight colors Foxy and Bootycall as well as Tease (great for defining the crease).

All in all, I believe that you just need one palette. If you like cooler tones, go with the 2nd one. If you like goldier/warmer tones, go with the 1st one. In my ideal world, I would have the packaging of the second one but with the colors of the first one and I would add the matte black to it. :) If only... 

Well, that's the end of my review. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed testing out the products and reviewing it for you all. <3

kimtran