Five Blogs I Stalk Daily

1. apartment therapy & ohdeedoh

Hands down the blog I stalk the most. My day is no longer complete without visiting this site and gawking at all the beautiful home design, nursery and birthday party ideas. It inspires me and my family and I'm so happy to have found it. My favorite thing? No contest, the house "tours", like this home from Portland:

See the whole tour here.

2. Hostess {with the mostess}

Featured on this blog are by far the most creative and adorable parties and hosting ideas I have ever seen. 

The free printables & awesome giveaways don't hurt either.
Party planning becomes a true art form on this site.

Like for example this "Orange & Chocolate" birthday party:

Or this "Cirque de Bebe" Baby shower:

3. Sephora's Beauty & the Blog

Its no secret that if Sephora was a leg and I was a dog, I'd hump it. So naturally, this is my FAVORITE beauty blog to read. The blog features new products, awesome tutorials, informative v-logs, interesting articles, great beauty tips & fun ideas for spicing up your makeup life. 

View Givenchy's new Bloom Collection at Beauty & the Blog.

4. Makeup and Beauty Blog

Karen (your friendly neighborhood makeup addict) brings fun to exploring the latest and greatest in the beauty world. I like to visit M&BB to see new products and of course, enter the giveaways! For example today's chance to win a M.A.C Dare to Wear eyeshadow!

Find out how to win here.

5. The 818

Admittedly, I may be slightly bias as Morgan from The 818 is my home girl BUT her popularity among others will prove her blog street cred. If that isn't enough perhaps her BlohHer nomination for "Voice of the year" will? The 818 brings you style, sincerity & hilarity. 

Follow the modern life of Morgan, Scott and the adorable little miss Dee. 

Check out Dee's adorable nursery tour here.

Makeup Artistry by Tiffany Reese (Fancy Face) from Fancy Face on Vimeo.

M.A.C Made in Heaven!

M.A.C & Disney lovers UNITE! Lucky for me I happen to love both. Yes, this is actually happening. Do not be alarmed. Squealing is perfectly acceptable.

Debuting September 30th M.A.C is releasing four collections inspired by 1937′s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Maleficent from 1959′s Sleeping Beauty, Cruella de Vil from 1961′s 101 Dalmations and Dr. Facilier from 2009′s The Princess and the Frog — MAC based the color stories on the original Disney character sketches and Pantone color guides.

Venomous Villains Sneak Peek of MAC Cosmetics

Preview of the collections (!!!!!)

Image Source: Makeup & Beauty Blog

My son turns 1 the day before this collection comes out. I'm thinkin' this will soften the blow a bit :)

Target Daily Deals

So, we've talked about my obsession with Target, yes? Well my little frugalista heart skipped a beat when I found out about Target's Daily Deals. Everyday they feature a new item, at least 50% off with FREE SHIPPING. Umm, ya. This is not a mirage. Like for instance today they are featuring a deal on jeggings:

I figured, I had to get a pair. I mean... they are so cheap AND its going to be freezing again in no time (FALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) so I know I'll make use of them. Do not be alarmed, this girl will not be wearing leggings as pants. At least not in public. You can follow Target's Daily Deals on Twitter.

Brides: Kelly

As mentioned in the below post, I recently got the honor of doing a dear friend(Kelly) of mines makeup (aside her foundation) on her big day! We went with a gold & bronze smokey eye, light bronzed cheeks for contour and a simple but kissable pink lip. I wanted to share more photos, especially because I think her photographer, Kelli of Kelli Lynn Photography did such an adorable job.

What gorgeous woman. Inside & out.

Congrats again Kelly & Kyle.

Wordless (Well, kinda) Weekend Wrap-up

I got one of the best surprises of my life this past Thursday. 

One of my dear friends Kelly was getting married in Seattle & I simply couldn't afford the ticket. I was bummed because Kelly has asked me to do her makeup AND my two besties were able to go, so I was even more sad at the thought of missing such a major life event for our little family of friends. Well, my friend April hears about how I can't afford to go from a friend and offers to pay for my ticket so I can go. Usually, I am not one who can accept a gift of that magnitude (due to a massive amount of pride when it comes to being able to "provide" for myself) but after talking with my husband and thinking about what a sweet and generous gift was being given, I accepted....under the condition that April lets me do her makeup for her wedding, funeral, bat mitzvah, quinceanera, etc.

The weekend was amazing, I was so thrilled & giddy like a 5 year old. I literally danced to "I'm so excited" in my kitchen.

See how epic our weekend was here:

Kelly was so freaking beautiful. She is such an amazing spirit that totally shines in every way. I was SO lucky to get the honor of doing her makeup on her big big day! So thank you to my wonderful friends, I love you guys!!!

Also, if you are curious we took Jude to the Zoo today :) 

How was your weekend?

Ask Fancy: Back to Workin' It.

"I was thinking about when I go back to work (from maternity leave), and it occurred to me that I have nothing to wear... on my face. I haven't really been wearing makeup this past year or so, and so I totally need to re-build my stash. I don't have much money to spend though, so is there any way you could put together some sort of "starter kit" for me? Pretty pretty please?I don't wear foundation at all, and mostly just focus on my eyes, so really, I guess what I would need is a good mascara, a few eye shadows, and a couple of shades of lipstick?"

-Marie-Helene, Canada

Marie-Helene,

I know too well about coming out of the newborn-baby-coma you speak of. Us Mamas' spend so much of our time thinking about our precious little ones, we can get a little lost in the process. I'm more than happy to help you pick out some new confidence boosting goodies to help get you back in the zone!
Let's do the damn thang.

Face: Since you are a no-fuss makeup gal, I would highly recommend using a tinted moisturizer (with SPF a 'course) in place of a daily foundation. You only need about a dime size of this product each day, therefore a tube should last you about 5-6 months. I love Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturizers (also available in an oil free formula if you are combination/oily) I know- the price point is higher- BUT when taking into account how well it works and how long it will last (if using the correct amount with a foundation brush) it isn't as terrible as it seems. However, if the price point is too much (completely understandable)
Sephora also makes a great tinted moisturizer for about half the cost.

Eyeshadows: I know that you are medium complected with beautiful green eyes, so I am going to encourage you to play a bit because you have a lot of range when it comes to what colors you can pull off well. In terms of the office I think: simple, pretty & easy. A great place to re-build your makeup wardrobe is to purchase a pallet (or two). This is generally the most cost effective way to be able to achieve variety and the colors are already paired for you so it takes away that "Does this go with that?!" anxiety.

Smashbox has an amazing natural eyeshadow quad on sale at Sephora for $6!!!

With his pallet you have the ability to line, highlight & contour your eyes in a very natural but still sultry way. I love to use dark shadow in place of liner, especially for everyday looks. Do you have a thin angle brush? If not e.l.f is great for inexpensive but get-the-job-done brushes.

Now once you have a few natural/nude shadows then I would reccomend branching out and also getting something like this beautiful "Vegan" palette from Urban Decay.

 

I like this for you because while it still has some beautiful rich earth tones that are great for everyday, there is also some fun here for experimenting and branching out. As a bonus it comes with a travel size version of Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion (in Sin) which I LOVE and a mini eyeliner for travel which is great for a hot Milf on-the-go such as yourself.

Mascara: I'm not sure what you are using now but for the most part mascara is a matter of opinion/preference. It's hard to pinpoint something for everyone because a lot of us ladies look for different things (drama, simple, curling, soft, etc). I do know you are looking for simple, effective & affordable. In my humble opinion you can't get a better low price point mascara like Clinique's High Impact Mascara ($14 USD). It works, it lasts & its cheap...and if you time it right they might be in gift and you can get some free crap. I'm not usually a huge fan of Clinique but in the case of this product, I'm down with those god awful lab coats.

Lips: Things I look for in a good lip: moisture and wear-ability. When I was working in an office, I liked to use lip stains and put gloss or chap stick over the top. The reason I prefer lip stains is because they last, really last, all day and you can't feel(or taste-vom) them like I've experience with "long wear lipsticks".

Sephora Collection makes some great lip-stain/gloss duos that are also on sale actually for $7 USD. I think Coral/Gold would be beautiful on you. Additionally, Cover Girl has a great line of lip stain sticks around the same price point. Nude Kiss & Flirty Nude are great everyday shades!!

I hope this gives you a starting point to jump off from.
Please don't hesitate to e-mail me with further questions.

XOXO, Fancy

Would you like to submit a question to Fancy Face? I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to e-mail me!

Five M.AC. Tutorials I love:

How to properly apply false lashes by M.A.C Senior Artist.

No-Makeup Makeup


Power Powder Brows.


M.A.C Goes to the Beach


Color Trends Spring 2010

Simple Golden Smokey Eye Tutorial

This one goes out to my homegirls @the818 & @K_Rose22 aka (in the non-Twitter world) Morgan & Kathleen. So here it is as promised, a step-by-step guide to a golden smokey eye. 

First things first: Groom/fill brows. Personally, I always fill my brows with wax and powder. I am currently using:

Tarte the toolbox: brow know-how Brow Set, Dark

-Cover entire eye area (from lid to under brow) with eyeshadow primer. I used  Benefit's Stay Don't Stray.

-Apply black or dark brown eyeliner in upper & lower water line as well as along the lash line. I LOVE Benefit's Get Bent Brush to apply liner with. It makes life so easy. I simply swipe the brush tip on the end on my Prestige Professional Eyeliner (black) then apply as I would with a pencil.

*Note: I got a few inquiries as to why I am putting on liner BEFORE shadow. For natural looks, I put liner before and smudge shadow into the liner to make it look less lined. When doing a more "going out look" I apply it after.

-Jude throws shoe at the back of Mommy's head. Continue.

 Yes, that black brush hair on my forehead is really happening. 

-Next, I generously applied M.A.C's Cocomotion pigment focusing on the crease area (see below) of my eyes. I use Stila's #2 shadow brush.

 -Now I load up my whole lower lid with LORAC's Serenity Eyeshadow (think shimmery pinky/bronze). You could also use a shimmery white or pink shadow.

-Jude has something on his face. Wait, what is that? Insert scene of me finding A DEAD M.F.ING FLY stuck to the side of Jude's cheek. Yes, it had been in his mouth.

-Vomit. Continue.

-Of course, we gotta highlight under our brows, so I generously swept an apparently nameless white matte shadow by Maybelline from the inner corner of my eye to the end of my brow.

-Can you tell I'm  still upset about the fly? Good.
 
-So we are done with eyeshadow for our "day" look. Next, concealer. I apply Benefit's Erase Paste with my favorite concealer brush by Stila.

-Time to apply a fair amount of mascara. Today I used Benefit's BadGal Brown mascara. I like this mascara (especially for summer) for two reasons: 1. It does not come off. Like, good luck taking it off without professional remover or cold cream. 2. I like deep brown for summer when I wear less makeup.

 *Note: I always crimp my lashes before applying eyeliner. Today I used an eyelash curler by Lancome, although I usually use 
Shu Uemura 24k Gold eyelash curler

-Before putting on bronzer I apply  

Guerlain's Meteorites Powder for Face, which I ADORE.

-I use this fan brush by e.l.f (Only $3!!!I used to use an expensive one from Benefit but then it died and I bought this one to hold me over until I could afford a new one and have yet to find a reason to need to replace it.) to apply bronzer.  To contour my face, I make the "fishy face" and brush the bonzer into the hollows of my cheeks. Then I swipe the brush lightly across the bridge of my nose, top of my forehead and bottom of my chin.

-Ya, I just got out of the shower so my hair isn't done.

-Lips: we are gonna take it way back to the old days of 1995. I promise we are going somewhere with this.

1. Cover lips with concealer. I use M.A.C's Studio Finish Concealer.

2. Outline your lips chola style with a nude lip pencil. I am using one by Model & Co.

Sexy, right?

-Now I take my index finger and blend the concealer & liner together.

-Then my son throws a tantrum because its nap time.

-Lastly I apply a golden peachy gloss, Sephora's Desert Gold.

Ta-Dahhhh!

-Okay, now what if we want to jazz this simple look up for gettin' yo freak on aka going into evening? No problem. Just simply dip your angle brush into some dark brown, copper or black and smudge it into your top & bottom lash line, like so:

Apparently I suck at applying makeup, taking a picture and singing Bootylicious to Jude all at once.

So basically adding the smokey brown amps your sex appeal as seen below. Listening to Bootylicious has the same effect ( X 'jillion).

Since this look is so "safe" you can easily add a bold, fun lip for day or evening. Y'all know how I love me some red lips so I choose M.A.C's Ladybug to wear today.

Not sure why this is blurry but alas we have reached our destination. Are you tired? Jude is.