How I depotted my Mac Eyeshadows

Hello Beautiful,

I recently purchased some mac eyeshadows and some Makeup Geek Eyeshadows (will review and swatch the MUG shadows in another post) and realised I had quite a good number of shadows of the same size. Would be great to have them all in one place instead of having to open one pot after the other. So, I purchased a Mac Palette from Accessoriesng.com.

So, here's what you'll need:

A Palette (doesn't have to be a Mac Palette)
Mac Eyeshadow(s)
A flat iron
A tool with a sharp point (I used an old pair of eyebrow scissors)
Foil paper

How'd I do it?

Push the sharp point of your tool into the groove between the actual pot and the plastic pan which holds the eyeshadow and wiggle it until it makes a 'click' which means it has been released. Then pop this out.

Take out this plastic insert and place atop some foil paper and heat it up on the flat iron to melt the adhesive used to hold the metal pan in the plastic pan.

Next, pry your sharp pointed tool into the teeny weeny space between the metal pan that holds the shadow and the plastic pan to pull out the meatl pan. This should pop out quite easily as the heat from the flat iron should have melted the adhesive considerably.

 
Then I just popped the metal pan into one of the wells in the Mac Palette. Voila! :)

Note that I did not use any magnets as I did not feel the need to. The pans fit in perfectly into the palette and I even had a difficult time tryin to take any of them out. The need for magnets might differ probably depending on the type of Mac Palette one purchases.

You are beautiful,
Reni.

Review: Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade

Hi beauties,

I follow Anastasia Beverly Hills (@anastasiabeverlyhills) on Instagram and have kept up with her products for quite a while now. Her products have been highly praised by beauty bloggers and personas on Instagram, from her Hypercolors to her brow kit to her concealers and others; so, imagine my excitement when I found out her Dipbrow Pomade could be purchased here in Nigeria! I just had to get myself one.

So, I got it in Dark Brown. I didn't really like the way it came up on my brows. I should probably state here that my brows are pretty full and one may immediately think: lucky her, she can get away with almost any eyebrow product. Well, I don't get off that easily. Most times, it's easier to just clean up my brows and get on the road that take time out to fill in sparse areas. If I'm not careful not to apply too much of any product, I might end up looking really angry or just like a mean girl.

So, (thank you for reading my epistle about my brows :) ) I got too excited and applied more than a decent amount of product on my brows and I ended up looking like I had hair growing over tattooed brows. It was horrid, if I dare say.

I was too disappointed but I just had to try another shade. I wasn't going to give up that easily. So, I went ahead and got it in Chocolate. Ahhh! I love love. One of the very few brow products that are brown without a red undertone. I was starting to give up on brown brow products already...(except I couldn't use anything too light or dark. I just had to get the colour right!)

Now, this is really getting long, let's get right to it.

The Dipbrow Pomade debuted in five shades, now there are about  (at least, as at now. She keeps adding more shades to her product lines. Genius!). From lightest the darkest, the shades are: Blonde, Auburn, Taupe, Soft Brown, Chocolate, Medium Brown, Dark brown and Ebony. It comes in a cute black packaging with the shade labelled on one of the sides. The 4g product is contained in a transparent jar with a black cap.

What I think:

These Dipbrow Pomades are amaze-balls. Everyone should own at least one. I'd recommend checking out lots of swatches of the shades before purchasing one as it is quite pricey. You do not want to spend all that money on a product you cannot use. It is really creamy, super long wearing, water-proof and smudge-proof. I tried going to bed with this product once just to be sure everything I had read and heard about it were true and this product did not move or shift, or slide orwiggle or dance, or anything. It stayed put!

Quick tip, if it dries out, Anastasia says a bit of baby oil will revive it. How cool is that! No long thingees like trying to revive a dried up gel liner!

How I use it:

For this product, less is definitely more, I realised that if I used just a little product, especially of the dark brown which I initially didn't like, my brows look really natural. I use an angled brow brush to apply a little of the product in defined lines at the top and bottom of my brows, starting a little bit after the beginning of my brows, extending to the tail to define my brows. Then I go over my brows with the product in short strokes to mimic the growth of the hairs to make it look as natural as possible, making sure to apply very little product to the beginning of my brows (usually what's left on the brush). Then I clean up with a concealer.


Hope this helped someone.

You are beautiful,
Reni.

Review: BH Cosmetics 6 Color Concealer and Corrector Palette in Medium

Hi beauties,

So, I've been wanting to get some corrector shades for a while as I had only one in a salmon shade (L'Oreal Studio Secrets Anti-dull primer in medium) and thought that put me in too much of a box, especially as I had come to understand that african women do not suffer from hyperpigmentation and dark circles alone (although those are the most common).

This palette comes in a glittery case with six pans of concealer and corrector. the top three pans have concealers in them while the bottom pans contain correctors. It says on the pack that its net weight is 5.8grams, that is roughly 0.97grams per pan which is not a lot but considering that not much is needed, especially for the correctors, it is pretty decent.

The first three are the concealers and the last three are the correctors

What I think:

I don't really care much for the concealers as I got the palette specifically for the correctors . That being said, from the swatches of the concealers, I don't think they'll do much for anyone looking for a good coverage, especially as they turn up looking a bit ashy even on warmed up skin.

For the correctors, I didn't expect the moon from this product but I am pretty disappointed as it is not as pigmented as I would have expected. Also, like the concealers, it turns up ashy on the skin once applied. Thank God foundation is to be applied over this, if not, sigh!

How I use it:

For those wondering what these weird colors are meant to do;

The salmon/peach shade should correct hyperpigmentation
The green shade should correct redness and
The yellow should correct dark under eye circles

To combat the ashiness a little, I first pack some product on the back of my palm to warm it up a little and then apply wherever needed. I wait for a few seconds to allow it warm up further before applying foundation over it.

I usually use the yellow corrector first under my eyes, leave it to warm up and dry for a few seconds before packing on the salmon/peach corrector over it and then, apply my foundation once this is dry as well. I also use the salmon peach corrector slightly around my mouth to correct the slight darkness there.

Hope this helped someone.

You are beautiful,
Reni

How I depotted my NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil (in Milk)

Hi beauties,

So I gave into the hype and got the NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Milk recently and boy, am I glad I did! It's been my go-to eyeshadow base since I got it as it makes any shadow placed over it pop in a really unique way. The wonderful creaminess of this product which is a major plus, could also be a minus as I had heard (and read) about how sharpening it wastes so much product.

So, I decided to depot my Pencil. There are a number of ways to depot this wonderful product and after some research, decided to go with the least messy and effective method (in my opinion) - 'microwave' the pencil!

Here's what you'll need:

NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil (any colour you have)
A 5g jar or slightly bigger (as the net weight of the pencil is stated as 5g)
A cup/mug
A microwave

Here's how I did it:

I twisted the bottom cap of the pencil till it came off.

I broke off the tip of the pencil in the 5g jar and mashed it. I stuck the pencil in this mash to make the pencil stand upright.

Then I placed the jar with the pencil in it in the microwave for 6 minutes on high heat, making sure to check on it after every minute.


And voila!

Here's the hollow pencil

 

All of the product in the jar. Noting gets wasted! :)

I must warn that the microwave method works really well with the NYX Jumbo pencil but be careful with other products as applying heat to some products could change the consistency of such products.

Hope this helped someone.

You are beautiful,
Reni

Lagos Make Up Fair 3 Haul

Hi beauties,

So I was able to steal about an hour to attend the LMUF3 at the Anchor Event Centre , Agidingbi, Ikeja. Even though I was not able to stay for long, I actually had quite a good experience being there. There were so many stands, with so many products, live demonstrations, a maybelline masterclass (which I did not attend), and all that good stuff.

I visited Taries makeup world, Accessoriesng, Stella's Addiction, Gifty's Daughter, My Makeup, Hegai & Esther and Ease Cosmetics stands. I did not take pictures though as I was in a hurry and wanted to visit as many stands as I could.

Even though I told myself I was only going to get important things only to curb my spending, I betrayed myself. *covers face* These are the items I purchased and at good prices I must say:

Rubbing Alcohol, gel eyeliners (in emerald and breeze) and a palette from Hegai & Esther
 

L.A Girl Glazed lip paint, Magnolia pigments (in Puddin and Desire) , Griffin40 cotton thread and Bdellium tools crease brush (781) from Stella's Addiction

Milk of magnesia, shea butter, coconut oil, L.A Girl pro concealer (in Toffee) and Wet n Wild lipstick (in Bare It All) from My Makeup

 Elf cosmetics Makeup Mist and Set from Accessoriesng and a powder brush from Ease cosmetics.

You are beautiful,
Oluwabimbola.

Ghana braids

So I made a second attempt at ghana braids. I have posted a few pics of my first attempt. My second attempt is not perfect but I think it's quite some steps from the first attempt. I'm not quite there but I think I'm making good progress. :) 

The very first time I was going to make ghana braids on my head by myself, I remember cutting the braiding hair in the living room and my when my flatmate asked, I told her what I intended doing. I remember she looked at me like I didn't know what I was saying or doing and I probably didn't but I was bored and needed some challenge to do. So at about 9pm that night, I went in on the hair and to my greatest surprise, the first one came out much better than I'd expected. So I went on and made the rest.

Making ghana braids myself was my  first attempt at braiding my own hair with hair extensions and boy, was I happy with the results. It wasn't perfect but it made me realise I could do anything I set my mind to (with God of course). My first attempt took me about 6 hours +/- and I used about 2 - 2 1/2 packs of braiding hair (X-pression) which I cut in 3 equal portions.

My frist attempt: the braids were much bigger than my second attempt

My first attempt: All done :) *whew*

My second attempt took me about 6 hours and I made a little more than I did the first time. I just realized ghana braids is actually not as difficult as a lot of people paint it to be. But remember, practice does make perfect. I have made ghana braids for 2 people now and even though it wasn't extremely perfect, I'd say it was actually faster, smoother and easier than making it on my own head.

I keep learning though. :) ♥

I'll just try to explain the process. I took a few pics but they will probably not suffice as I had to make my own hair and take pics as well which was not exactly easy but let's see if words will explain better:

▪ I took out the front and middle portions of the single braids I had on and left the back. Then I washed, conditioned and all that good stuff. Then I sectioned out the portion I intended weaving and re-installed single braids to the remaining left out hair just to have the hair directly beneath the weaving look neat. :)

▪ I cut the braiding hair in 2 equal portions (yes, that long since the single braids I had in previously had the front and middle protions that long) :) and stretched it.

▪ I started off with my own hair as I felt it would be easier on my edges and would stop my braids from lifting at the top (I really hate when I have ghana braids with lifted tips).

▪ I braided down about 2 sets  (1,2). Then I added the braiding hair when the hair was in my left hand, bending the strand in 2; then I took the strand on my right under the index finger of my left hand with my own hair  and then taking the second part of the strand along with the hair on the laft part leaving the middle. Then continue with the '1,2 step' (that is, adding braiding hair then weaving '1,2' and then add another strand of brainding hair and conrinue that way)

▪ Dn't fret about leaving the middle without braiding hair cos as you go along, the three portions get passed along and will eventually get braiding hair attached to them. 

My second attempt: the 1,2 step process

My second attempt: Still on the 1,2 step process

My second attempt: All done :) (my forehead of life though :D)

My second attempt: Close up (not perfect but I think it's a decent attempt)

Hairrr

Sooo... I made my hair! Braids! Yeah, I made single braids on my own head all by myself! I cannot exactly say what 'possessed' me to make it but I did make it anyway.

All you need to know about the hair:

▪ It took me about 12 hours +/- to make.

▪ I used 5 packs of braiding hair; X-pression to be precise in colors 1, 33 and 99J.

▪ I cut the braiding hair in 3 equal lengths for the back and 2 for the middle and front.

▪ I made 2 side parts on each side of my head to allow for a bit of change.

▪ Lastly, I do not think I'll be trying this again in the next 5, 10, 15 or even 20 years :-( Cos my hands hurt like nothing in this world!

I have taken the braids out (well, most of it). I had the braids in for about a month. I just re-did the front braids after 3 weeks to keep it looking neat.

I now have ghana braids which I made myself again *:-D* and will be posting info in my next post.

After doing this, all I can say is I thank God for even letting me finish it cos at some point, I just wanted to stop. Plus, my respect for hair stylists just doubled!

The process :]xx 

Fresh from the 'kitchen' ;) Think this was about 2am :]xx

Next day (please ignore the flash :/)

About 3 weeks old

Estée Lauder I-Match Foundation

So, I got my Estèe Lauder I-Match Foundation 10 day supply foundation. I got 'tested' for my shade at the Estèe Lauder counter by the sweetest lady and I liked what I saw and happily took my sample home.

But my bubble burst! :( I got home and looked in the mirror in natural light and found the foundation dark and a bit ashy on my skin. *Sigh* It kinda looked like I slapped loamy soil on my face :'(

I wonder why it's so difficult to find my right shade in foundations. :( I should probably stick to brands that cater considerably well to women of color.