My First GIVEAWAY!!!

So I have some VERY exciting news for my loyal followers and hopefully all the new followers I get from this...I'm FINALLY announcing my FIRST GIVEAWAY courtesy of the great people at Apothica!

What is this GIVEAWAY exactly you ask?  Well for one lucky winner you get a $50 gift card to use at Apothica or it's sister sites - SkinCareRx or SkinBotanica.  With 3 websites to choose from your bound to find something that you want to try out...knowing my makeup and beauty product loving readers I'm sure you'll find LOTS of things to try out and the harder question will be WHAT to spend the gift card on lol!

Might I suggest something from Duwop, Too Faced or Smashbox Cosmetics (some of the great lines available at Apothica).

We all know about Smashbox's amazing Photo Finish Foundation Primer...I mean I literally think it was the Primer that starter the Primer Revolution lol.  But they also have some other amazing products like their very popular Brow Tech Trios, amazing bronzers and great cream liners.  I'm also in love w/ their angled eyeliner brush...seriously this has helped make me a Cat Eye Pro!  I also really want to try out their Step by Step Contour Kit b/c anyone that knows me and my work knows I LOVE a nice contoured cheek lol!

You know what else is REALLY GREAT about this GIVEAWAY!?!  It's OPEN to EVERYONE!  Yes, that's right all  my Canadian Readers (or International Readers) FINALLY we can enter a giveaway b/c it's not just open to ppl in the USA (no offense to my American readers it just really sucks when we don't get to participate in cool giveaways)!  As long as Apothica ships to your country feel free to try your luck!

So how do you ENTER you ask...well there are 3 ways listed below (Do 1 or do all 3 it's up to you just let me know about it)!  Let me know which one you did by linking it me in the comment box w/ your Name & Email and we're all good!  The WINNER will be chosen on Apr 22/11!

OPTION 1: FACEBOOK
1. Visit Apothica.com
2. Write on Apothica's Facebook Wall about what you think of Apothica
Bonus Entry: Opt Into Apothica's Newsletter

OPTION 2: TWITTER
1. Visit Apothica.com
2. Tweet about Apothica on your own Twitter Account
Bonus Entry: Retweet Apothica's Tweet about this giveaway

OPTION 3: BLOG
1. Visit Apothica.com
2. Write something on your Blog about what you think about Apothica
Bonus Entry: Write about the brand I highlighted (Smashbox) and link it to Apothica

GOOD LUCK!!!

PLEASE REMEMBER TO INCLUDE THE LINK IN THE COMMENT BOX OF WHICH WAY YOU ENTERED TO SHOW YOU DID IN FACT FACEBOOK, TWEET OR BLOG - THANKS!

Vincent Longo Water Canvas Base Review

About a mth or so ago the wonderful ppl at Apothica sent me a full size bottle of Vincent Longo's Water Canvas Base/Primer to try.  Anyone who knows me knows I'm kind of obsessed w/ finding the perfect primer...I don't know how this even started.  I heard a lot of good things about the Vincent Longo line and esp. about the primer and their Water Canvas Foundation (which I was VERY tempted to try but worried since I was picking from online I would not pick the right colour). 

Unfortunately, I haven't found anywhere in Toronto (although it is available in Vancouver) that sells Vincent Longo cosmetics and there isn't that many places that sell it in the US either (quite a few places in California) which is a shame b/c there are some great reviews about some of the products...well at least we can all order from Apothica!

So overall I like this primer.  I really wanted to try it out on a number of my clients as well as myself to really get a thorough opinion of the product and I can say there was no one that it didn't work well on.  It feels VERY light...lighter than any primer I think I've ever used!  As you may remember I reviewed Arbonne primer not that long ago and I really liked it b/c it left a really soft almost baby powder sort of feel on my skin while this product I didn't really feel at all although it did work by extending the wear time of my foundation, helping the foundation blend and spread easier, stopping makeup from creasing in my laugh lines and minimizing my pore size. 

Some ppl might like that you really couldn't feel it and I have to say I think it's a really good primer for men's grooming jobs b/c it just goes on so smooth and light and personally when I'm doing men's grooming I try to use a very light hand w/ my makeup and literally only apply makeup where necessary b/c let's be real it doesn't matter who the guy is they usually want to spend as little time in the makeup chair as possible and want to have the makeup feel as light as possible. 

Also in the past I've had issues w/ silcone based primers like Arbonne and Smashbox getting bally on occasion when you layer the foundation on top (usually just using less of the primer solved this problem).  I had no issues w/ this primer doing that on any of the clients I used it on and I used it on ppl of all ages, genders and races. 

Technically, it's suppose to work best w/ the Vincent Long Water Canvas Foundation but let's be real usually that's just a marketing ploy to get consumers to buy both products.  It worked fine w/ any of the different foundations I used on my clients from liquid to powder to cream. 

The price is a little high for some ppl.  It really depends on what your budget is.  It's around $44 and the tube isn't that large but a little bit goes a LONG way.  It has a gel like consistency and it's not greasy feeling at all. 

I think overall I really liked this primer for my Men & Children clients b/c it did feel super light and not greasy but I think for myself I still preferred the Arbonne primer b/c I really liked velvety smooth finish I felt on my skin after I applied it and I think it just worked a bit better for my skin type. 

Kit Organizing!

So for x-mas I got a new makeup kit from my bf Alistair! Thank God b/c my other one was literally falling apart. It was actually quite embarrassing and had been ripping at the seams pretty much from the first wk I got it. It was like a Frankenkit w/ all the ghetto stitching I had sewn on it. My old kit if anyone is interested was the MUFE Professional Bag which was great b/c it was lightweight, clothe over the shoulder bag w/ lots of pockets which I like b/c I do take public transportation so I pack light but the stitching just isn't reinforced enough...apparently it's a big prob w/ the bag I found out from MUFE (they ended up giving me the bag for free b/c they didn't have any in stock when it ripped at first for me and I was leaving for Shanghai).

The new one is a bit heavier but it does seem a lot sturdier and well made but it is still an over the shoulder style bag. I have a ton of room in it and I think for a lot of simple jobs I might be able to pack light and carry a small hair kit in it too! It comes w/ trays in the bottom section but I personally took them out and I'm just putting pouches w/ stuff in there (one good thing I kept from the MUFE bag was all the removable pouches). It's from Yazmo.com if anyone is interested and they sell a ton of great makeup kits whatever your style is.

So I took a bunch of pics of kit so anyone that is interested can see how I pack for a shoot and the kinds of products I like to take w/ me. The stuff I'm showing in the pics is a lot of makeup for me and truthfully most of the time I wouldn't pack all this stuff...as mentioned before I usually like to keep it as light as possible and pack for that specific job if at all possible.

My Kit
The empty bottom where I took out the trays
One of the side pockets. If I do bring hair stuff in this kit this will be a good pocket...otherwise might use it for cellphone, water, apple etc.

Packed Kit
Inside the top of my Kit
Pouches in the Bottom Container (where trays were originally). Can you tell I like Yaby already lol. Seriously condensed my kit SOOO MUCH! I Normally wouldn't bring all the palettes in the pouch to EVERY shoot.
Brush Pouch

Big Pouch #1 - Yaby Palettes and MUFE Flash Palette - 3 Yaby Powder Foundation Palettes (Light, Med, Dark) and Highlighting Palette (Love). 1 Homemade Lip Palette (just took all my lipsticks, cut and smooshed them into empties and put them in a Yaby Freestyle Palette (many different brands). 1 Freestyle palette w/ Yaby Blush and 2 Nixie Blushes w/ a few old MAC Shadows. 3 Eyeshadow Palettes - The one on the far Right is my Neutrals Working Palette w/ cake liners and eyebrow colours too. The others are more fun. They are all a mix of Yaby shadows (pearl paint and reg) and I pressed a bunch of OCC, Face Atelier and Fyrinnae pigments into shadows...plus there's a few old MAC shadows.

Big Pouch #2 - Foundation Pouch - I have another pouch inside that one which holds my Face Atelier Foundations and my Keromask Consealers. 2 RCMA Palettes (which to be honest I don't use that much). Graftobian and Cinema Secrets Palettes and Yaby Liquid Foundations.

Side Pouch Randoms - Mixing Palette, MAC Brown Shadow Palette, Blush Palette w/ La Femme and Nixie Blushes. Benefit Leg Moisturizer (creates a nice sheen on the legs and smells nice :) ). Not shown but also carry hand towel and wipes here too.
Pouches inside the top section of the kit...and there's still more room!

Small Black Pouch - Random Tools - Eyelash Curler, Tweezers, Sharpener, Nail File, Disposables (Lip/Mascara/Spatulas), Scissors, Eyelash/Eyebrow Comb, Tide Stick, Eyebrow Razors Etc.

Bigger Black Pouch - Eye Stuff - Mascara - Black, Clear, Brown, Face Atelier Transforming Gel, Under Eye Brighteners - Benefit and Smashbox, Urban Decay Primer, DUO Eyelash Glue, MAC Matte and Glossy Gel, Fyrinnae Eye Primer and Pixie Epoxy (helps glitter stick)
Lip Pouch - Face Atelier Lip Gloss, OCC Lip Tar in Clear and OCC Lip Balm in Tarred and Feathered, MUFE Glossy Full, Random Smashbox Lip Palette, Face Atelier Lip Putty and Lip RX, 2 Graftobian Lip Palettes, MAC Lip Exfoliater and Benefit She-Laq

Med Black Mesh Pouch #1 - OCC Lip Tars - Black/White and Primary Colours, Alcone Sponges, Smashbox and Benefit Luminizers, Eyelashes, Camera Ready Cosmetics Cream Blush Wheel and Empty Bowl

Med Black Mesh Pouch #2 - Nail Polisher Remover Pads, Makeup Remover Wipes, Eye Makeup Remover, Q-Tips, Various Primers - MUFE, Fyrinnae (Cream and Powder) and Benefit, Cotton Pads, Makeup Puffs, Yaby Translucent Powder, Eyedrops, Mouth Wash, Mini Sewing Kit, Embryolisse Moisturizer, Vaseline, MAC Strobe Cream Etc.

Liquids Pouch - 99% Alcohol, Water, Toner, Glycerin, Final Seal, Brush Cleaner, Hand Sanitizer, MUFE Elixir, MAC Fix + Etc.

Okay so that's EVERYTHING in my kit...and I'm not lying there is still a lot of room in there! Plus like I said before I normally wouldn't bring ALL of this stuff to every shoot. I highly suggest everyone condense their kits...it just makes everything quicker to find and therefore you are quicker on set. I really don't even know what I would do w/ a rolling kit anymore...I don't know if I could fill it lol!