and the winner is . . .

Thank you to everyone who entered my very first blog giveaway! Congratulations to . . .

 
Pamela please email me your address to kiss.makeup@ymail.com

A Walk Down Contest Memory Lane

So for those of you who follow my Facebook page this is nothing new but they are some of my favorites so I thought I would share them here. A little over a year ago with the encouragement of my bestie I entered my first Facebook makeup contest and I was officially addicted. I found myself entering every single contest no matter what the theme was. It was such a great way for me to meet some truly amazing people but to also really push myself as an artist. Plus with all of the prize packages that I started receiving checking the mail had never been so fun. Sadly I find myself rarely having the time to enter anything these days but they are still fun to look back on.

Sugarpill Inspired

Angels vs. Demons

Pink & Black Hello Kitty

Disney Princess (Snow White)

Music Icon (Lady Gaga)

Masquerade Ball

Masquerade Ball

American Flag

Masquerade Ball

Dramatic Peacock

Drag Queen

Recreate Marylin Monroe Zombie Tattoo

Chaos

Before & After

I Cry Glitter

Its been awhile since I played with my makeup and created a look on myself just for fun. I was feeling very inspired the other night at 1:00 am and I thought that I would share the results with all of you.

I used Pretty Addictions neon pink (limited addition and I will totally cry when I run out of this), Cobblestone Pub (from the limited addition St. Patrick's Day collection) and Pina Colada (I use this color to high light my tear duct pretty much everyday).
I also used Sugarpill loose eyeshadow in Tiara and CatEye False Lashes.

I loved this look and seriously did not want to wash it off. Hope you like it too!

Soft Romantic, Smokey, Colorful Summer Eyes

So a few days ago I had bragged on my Facebook page about how I had just made my newest favorite makeup purchase and that I was going to blog about it. Well I have been so busy that I actually completely forgot until I was reminded last night. 

I was at the mall with my daughter and cannot not go into Sephora. Every time I tell myself that I am just going in to look but that rarely happens. I mainly just wanted to check out the Smashbox BB cream (which I am actually really loving) but while I was walking down the aisle there was what I think just might be the most beautiful palette I have ever seen. It was the Smashbox Shades of Fame Palette. This is a limited edition palette for summer 2012 that I am not sure how I have not seen already.  The shadows in this collection are like my dream come true. Seriously if someone had asked me to put all of my favorite colors for summer together this is exactly what it would have looked like. Every color is gorgeous but sherbert and pacific are to die for.

Included are:

9 vibrant shadows

BLISS (pale golden beige)

HONEY (soft translucent yellow/pink)

SANDSTONE (soft sandy beige)

NUDE (matte soft caramel)

SHERBERT (shimmery coral)

SAFARI (deep golden green)

PACIFIC (shimmery aqua)

PRALINE (bronzed)

MOCHA (toasted brown with gold flecks)

2 luxe cream liners

GOLD

BRONZE

Double ended brush (shado brush on one end and flat liner brush on the other)

Photo Finish Lid Primer (mini size)

When I find something I love this much it is always such a hard decision for me if I want to keep it all to myself or add it to my pro kit. I had a photo shoot the following day and the theme was soft romantic so I already knew this palette was coming with me. Here is a look that I created on one of the beautiful models using Bliss, Honey, Praline and Mocha. 

Photo by Leann Holtsman
Model: Reanna Petroski

This is limited edition so I am not sure how much longer it will be for sale but it retails for $48.00 and is available at Sephora or Smashbox.com

Oh and for you lovely readers of my blog if you order from Smashbox.com use the code FAME2010 to get a free photo finish luminizing foundation primer with any order before 10/31/2012.

GIVEAWAY!!

Remember my post about Stella StarishCosmetics and the mini makeup picture tutorial that I did? If you missed it check it out ... HERE. Well how would you like to win all 5 full sized eye shadows and a NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk so that you can recreate the look yourself?

All you have to do is SUBSCRIBE and leave me a comment on this post telling me what you think about my blog. Do you love it, hate it, anything you would like to see different.

Winner will be chosen at random on August 1^st so that gives you two whole weeks to enter.

Good Luck <3 

Kiss & Makeup Necklace

I am so excited about this, I have officially become a walking Kiss & Makeup advertizement! A couple of months ago I decided that I could not live without a Kiss & Makeup necklace. I started my search by looking on Etsy for someone who could create a custom laser cut acrylic necklace for me. I sent a message to Essem Designs and got a super quick response from her that made me feel like she was just as excited as I was. We emailed back and forth a couple of times about the look that I wanted and I told her that I trusted her to create something amazing for me. When I received it in the mail I was even happier with it than I ever imagined I could be. It was so glittery and she had even used a kiss mark in the design. Overall great packaging and great product.  

Check out her Facebook Page and her EtsyStore. I highly recommend her!

Want your own custom necklace? For the rest of July use code XMASJULY25 in her online shop for 25% off EVERYTHING <3

imPRESS Press On Manicure

I recently received this product complimentary to test from influenster and was actually really excited. I am not typically much of a "fake" nail kinda girl and have not worn press on nails since I was a kid but had seen the the commercials staring Nicole Scherzinger and was defiantly curious. The first thing that caught my eye were all of the different and totally cute patterns. I mean seriously look at these:

photos from imPRESS

Those are just a few of my favorites but there are 36 different colors and patterns to choose from including trendy brights, classic darks and animal prints. I received mine in the color stiletto which is a shade of brown that I personally would not wear but still had to try these out. I started by sizing each nail and laying them out in order. Then all I had to do was a simple swipe of the cleaning pad that is included in the package and then just peel and stick. It seriously took me under a minute to apply a full set and they felt very secure like I could go out and not worry about loosing a nail.
These did look a little too fake for me and I'm sure would not seem long to most people but just felt a little too long and square. 
They advertize that they will last up to a week which is pretty amazing. I only left mine on around the house for the night and them removed them. I placed a polish remover soaked cotton ball on each nail for a few seconds and they peeled off easily without any damage to my nails.
Overall I cant see myself wearing these very often but I think they would be amazing for photo shoots, Halloween or any occasion when I don't have time for a mani. I think if I tried them again in a color or pattern that is a little bit more my style and file them down shorter that I will really like them.


Where to Buy

You can find imPress Manicure at CVS, Rite Aid, Duane Reade, KMart, Walgreens, Walmart and more. For a full list of online and in-store retailers, visit imPressManicure.com, where you can download an exclusive coupon and virtually try on all the colors and patterns!

Suggested retail price: $5.99 for colors and $7.99 for patterns