Halloween Collaboration- Last Minute Costumes

Posted on October 31, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Here are some fun super easy & quick Halloween ideas for those last minute planners like ourselves!

I wanted to go with something that I didnt have to do much and could use items I already owned seeing as thats the true spirit of it being last minute. I thought of my beloved flower crown that I dont get to wear that often (check out my previous Lana Del Ray post on it). Then it came to me, FRIDA KAHLO! I can dress sexy or cute any other time of the year, this day is the one day you can be completely creative and think outside of the box. Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter best known for her self portraits featuring her infamous unibrow. Picture of the items I used below! If you are looking for something less obscure scroll down to check out Gwens last minute look!

For all of you last minute gals I too have the perfect look for you and the best part is you wont have to spend much money! A creepy doll/clown is super easy to create and all you need is makeup that you already have at home. You can add to this costume by putting on colorful clothing to make it more clown-ish or a ruffly top to create a more doll-like effect. Check out what I created below… (Photos were taken with my phone, please excuse the quality)

Products used: (I added a lighter foundation for that clown/doll effect)

You can make this look a bit more dramatic by adding black eyeliner to your eyes as well as underneath your bottom lash line. I did not for the sake of time, but I hope you all can still get the feel of it.

Hope you enjoyed!
Have a safe and happy Halloween!

-Love
Ari & Gwen

Makeup Looks

Posted on October 26, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Happy Sunday Everyone! It’s been a while since I have done a makeup post so I decided to photograph the looks I did on mis mejor amigas before a casual night out. I am also working on my application skills and what a better way to do it right? Lets take a look at these beauties…

L-R Cinthia, Lucy & Emily

First one up is Cinthia: She has really great skin and normally doesn’t wear any foundation. She asked for the “jlo glow”. Here’s a closer look at what I came up with:

Face: Hourglass veil primer, Covergirl Outlast 3 in 1 foundation shade #857 (golden tan) mixed with Gerard Cosmetics BB plus illumination. MAC prep and prime in bright forecast (undereye brightening), Anastasia Contour kit Shade Fawn and Havanna. BH cosmetics blush palette (peach shade) Mary-Lou- Manizer for highlight.
Brows: Anastasia brow wiz in Dark Brown
Eyes: MAC paint pot in layin low, shadows: Amber lights (Entire lid), Texture (crease) and naked lunch (brow highlight). Revlon matte shadow in Rich Sable (outer corner).NYX jumbo eye pencil in white (base), E.L.F false lashes and Sephora Rio nights gel liner
Lips: Limecrime lipstick in Cosmopop and Gerard Cosmetics gloss in the shade nude.

Next up is Lucy: She and I can talk makeup for hours upon hours! She too has great skin and loves defined brows. Here’s what I created on her:

Products used:

Face: Becca Ever matte primer, Tarte Amazonian clay in the shade tan-deep sand mixed with Bare Minerals Bareskin Foundation in the shade Bare Caramel. Mac pro long-wear concealer in the shade W35 & W30 Anastasia contour kit in the shade Havana, MAC prep and prime in the shade Bright Forecast. BH Cosmetics blush palette (berry shades to the top right) Mary- Lou- Manizer for highlight.
Eyes: MAC paint pot in layin low. NYX jumbo pencil in white. Buff (brow highlight) Rose (lid)from Lorac Pro Palette 2, Revlon Matte shadow in Rich sable (crease) and Makeup geek’s Bitten (outer corner). Loreal voluminous mascara, E.L.F Lashes and Sephora Rio nights gel eyeliner.
Brows: Anastasia brow wiz (dark Brown) and dipbrow pomade (medium brown)
Lips: Rimmel Lip Liner in Cherry kiss, Too Faced Melted lipsticks in the shade Berry.

Last but certainly not least Emily: Doesn’t she have great lashes? (no falsies used). Emily loves bold lips which is why I wanted to give her a softer eye look, Here’s what I came up with:

Products used:

Face: Hourglass veil primer, Neutrogena nourishing long wear foundation in the shade warm beige, MAC prep and prime in Bright forecast, Anastasia contour kit in the shade Fawn, MAC blush in peaches, The Balm Mary-Lou-Manizer for highlight.
Brows: Anastasia brow wiz in the shade chocolate
Eyes: MAC paint pot in “layin low” Naked 3 palette in the shades Dust (lid), Nooner (crease), Mugshot (outer corner) and Strange (brow highlight), Sephora Rio nights gel liner, Mascara Loreal Voluminous
Lips: Rimmel in Cherry kiss and MAC Fashion Revival lipstick

There you have it guys. Hopefully these looks can be of inspiration to you.
If anyone has any makeup looks you would want to me try please let me know down below.

Thanks to these silly girls for letting me experiment with them

Hasta Pronto!
-Gwen

First Look: New Maybelline Products

Posted on October 17, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Many makeup brands launch new items at the start of a new season and boy am I glad they do! I was of course doing my weekly browsing at my local CVS and came across a few new items from Maybelline, they are the Color Sensational Creamy Matte lipsticks, the Instant Age Rewind skin transformer and lastly the Brow Drama brow sculpting mascara.

Lets take a minute and talk about the fact that there is finally an affordable matte lipstick! (very few brands carry a matte line in the drugstore). That news alone is super exciting, but here are some other reasons why these lipsticks are great: texture is creamy and smooth, they set to a demi-matte (not drying like some of MAC’s lipsticks), they are pigmented and can last on the lips for about 4-5 hours (there will be some transfer if you’re eating, but you can easily apply another layer on top without it looking cakey). Here’s a closer look at the four shades I picked up.

Left-Right:
#660 Touch of Spice, #680 Mesmerizing Magenta, #690 Siren in Scarlet, #695 Divine Wine

Lip Swatches:

Touch of Spice: Brown nude

Mesmerizing Magenta: True magenta shade with a hint of a violet undertone

Siren in Scarlet: Cooler tone red

Divine wine: Dark Burgundy

On to the Primer and Brow mascara:

I’ve used this primer a few times and I can say that it has reduced the look of my pores. (Maybelline also claims that it will reduce the look of wrinkles, lines and imperfections but I did not notice much of that). The primer has a velvety consistency as well as a subtle pink tint in order to give skin a little radiance.

The Brow Mascara is meant for sculpting and adding a tint to your brows. In all honestly I only saw a slight difference in color on my brows and I am not a fan of the rounded tip for sculpting (My eyebrows are a bit thin and the “ball tip” wasn’t as precise as I would have liked.

Overall I am pretty happy with my new finds.
I am not sure if all of these items can be found in most drugstores but I do know Ulta carries each of them.

Maybelline at Ulta

Hasta Luego,
-Gwen

Breakups to Makeup/Smashbox

Posted on October 13, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

This past weekend I attended an event hosted by Sephora at the Newport Centre Mall in Jersey City. Smashbox cosmetics was there doing makeovers and demonstrating new products. I of course jumped on the opportunity to get my makeup done by one of their artists. I learned some new tricks on how to create a cat eyeliner (God knows I needed the help).
The creator of “Breakups to Makeup“, Angelique Velez was also there. Angelique launched Breakups to Makeup in June of 2013 with the intent to spread this message: “makeup serves as a creative outlet to those applying and livens the spirit of those wearing it” I couldn’t agree more!. Angelique has quickly made a name for herself with a bunch of fun merchandise. She is well-known for her catchy slogans such as “loved raised me lipstick saved me”, “I would cry but my mascara is designer” and so many more! Angelique was gracious enough to let me ask her a few questions about her brand:

Gwen: What inspired you to come up with “Breakups to makeup”?
Angelique: A few years back I went through a terrible breakup, but the only thing that enabled me to get out of bed was makeup. I have been a makeup artist for many years and I found comfort in knowing that I was getting out of bed to not only make myself happy by putting on my favorite lipstick but also because what I did made others happy as well.
Gwen:How do you come up with your slogans?
Angelique: My slogans come to me through day to day life experiences, for example one day I was getting my nails done at the salon and I thought wow I am totally useless right now (my nails were of course wet) which was when I came up with the “I’m only helpless when my nails are drying” slogan. I also like to carry a journal with me to jot down whatever pops into my head.
Gwen: What advice would you give to someone who is an up and coming artist/entrepreneur?
Angelique: I would say to listen to your heart and keep going. Not everyone is going to understand your path but its ok don’t listen to them, you’ll find your way.

The lovely Angelique and I

Here are the goodies I picked up from her collection as well as some Smashbox goodies.

Angelique will be at the Orlando Makeup show next. Go check her out if you’re in the area, you know Ari will definitely be there!

Quick Links: Breakups to Makeup
About
Merchandise
Products on Etsy

-Gwen

Real Techniques Silicone Liner Brush

Posted on October 6, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

I don’t know about everyone else but I don’t have the easiest time pulling off a cat eye or any other complex liner especially when it comes to using gel. You have to have the right tools in order to get that perfect shape. Ive used bent/angled eyeliner brushes in the past and the bristles would always fray and never gave me the precision I was looking for. In comes this awesome silicone brush from Real Techniques. Featured here on the blog before, this brand is affordable and high quality. I picked this bad boy up at ULTA and immediately noticed how much easier it was to apply my gel liner. Cleaning it is a also a breeze and it eliminates any chances of fraying or shedding like a brush would. I can pick up the right amount and it glides smoothly over my skin without me tugging or stretching it taut like I used to (which by the way is no bueno, who wants premature wrinkles?!). I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to incorporate gel liner but are having trouble applying it precisely.

Quick look at my cat- eye liner! Achieved with this awesome tool!

-Ari

How to: College Football Makeup

Posted on September 26, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Graduating in 2012 from the University of Central Florida was one of the proudest moments of my life. In looking back at my college experience, I wish I had participated in more “college” activities when I had the chance. In comes football games and tail-gating! I attended my first game ever this past weekend and like most people could not wait to don my colors and rep my school (even though Im an alum now). I decided to go all out and finally break out this beautiful gold pigment from NYX I had been waiting to use for some time. It is so sparkly and intense and can easily liven up any look.The “bondage weightless makeup adhesive” from Urban Decay was the perfect choice & worked so well at holding the pigment. No heavy feeling on my lid as I yelled and cheered throughout the evening!

I first prepped my eye for all that color with NYX skin tone primer all over the eyelid, crease, & brow bone
I then used a yellow shimmer shadow from the NYX Mysterious Brown Eyes Color palette all over the eyelid (as another base to make the yellow glitter pop even more)
I then used Urban Decay Eyeshadows “Tyranny” as a transitional color in the crease & “Vengeance” in the crease up to the brow bone for more depth. Remember to blend!
I applied Urban Decay Bondage Adhesive to my eyelid (straight from the tube) and covered the entirety of the yellow.
With a clean flat shader brush, I patted the NYX glitter pigment on the entire lid. I kept adding more and building the intensity until I reached my desired effect.
Optional-Finally, I used black gel liner to create a cat eye and finished off with loads of mascara!

Make sure to clean up afterwards thoroughly seeing as I had a lot of fall out (not after once it was already dried on my eye) I am just messy during my process! These steps can be replicated with any of the variety of pigments depending on your team colors (blue or purple would look spectacular). Links below!

urban decay, nyx, glitter, pigment, cat eye, glitter glue, ucf, college, football, makeup

***On my lips I am wearing Gerard Cosmetics in the color “1995”, also both my Anastasia contour kit and Loreal telescopic mascara were used.

Nyx Pigment

Urban Decay Pulp Fiction

Nyx Primer

Go UCF Knights!

-Ari

Ulta Haul

Posted on September 8, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Over the last month and a half or so I’ve made my way to Ulta a few times to pick up some goodies. Ulta is one of those places where I walk around for hours due to the amazing selection of products they have. Here’s a quick look at some of the ones I picked up.

I tried a mini sample of the Too Faced Better than Sex Mascara and I loved it! It gives your lashes such a full volumized look!

Lorac Pro Matte lip pencil in the shade Merlot

Butter London Cheeky Cream Blush in the shade Ruby Murray

On top is the Lorac Pro Matte lip pencil in the shade Merlot which is such a perfect wine color for the fall. The formula is Matte but it is not a drying one.
On the bottom Butter London cream blush in the shade Ruby Murray is a beautiful rich cranberry shade. It can be a sheer wash of color on your cheeks or you could intensify it by adding more product.

Lorac Pro 2 palette has such stunning shades. The pigmentation is great and the shadows are very easy to blend. The versatility of this palette is also something I really enjoy, you are able to create warm looks as well as cooler ones, and we can forget the pops of color it has!

Swatches of a few shades from the Lorac Pro 2 palette Top color is the shade Plum, followed by Navy, then Rosé and Jade. Shade on the left side is called Beige

Urban Decay All Nighter Spray is my best friend of all time! Keeps my makeup totally intact!
Blow Pro texture spray is a new product for me and so far I am loving it! Perfect for the wavy hair days when you want to give your hair some umph!
John Freida fine to full blow out spray has been working wonders for me! It creates body on the crown of my head, which is where I need the most volume.
Big Sexy Hair sulfate free Volumizing shampoo and conditioner have a lightweight formula which have been helping my hair feel and appear fuller.

And that is all! Leave comments or suggestions if you would like to see a more in depth review of anything or a makeup tutorial.
Again all of these products were purchased at Ulta. Links down below.

Till next time,
-Gwen

Urban Decay All Nighter Spray

Blow Pro Texture Spray

John Freida

Big Sexy Hair –Shampoo & Conditioner

Lorac Pro Palette 2

Lorac Pro Matte Lip Pencil- Merlot

Butter London Cream Blush- Ruby Murray

Better Than Sex Mascara

Sephora Find- Josie Maran Argan Skincare Ritual Set

Posted on September 6, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

I’ve always used the Josie Maran argan oil by itself. This product is 100% organic, chemical free and one of the best kept secrets of Moroccan women up until recent times.Loaded with Vitamin E and fatty acids it helps heal, condition and repair your skin, hair or even nails! I have been suffering from an eczema break out as of lately and decided to try this three-step line of products I found at Sephora. I loved the packaging and also the price! Typically this brand is a bit pricey but for these three convenient sizes I feel like I got a great deal at $24. Link below!

The self heating oil cleanser is applied on a dry face, then with water slowly worked up into a lather. It feels luxurious and my face was baby soft and felt like velvet when I rinsed it off (unlike other drying/stripping products). My face felt balanced and not tight.

The last product’s texture felt like a normal SPF would except its jam packed with vitamins. It protects your skin against the suns rays with SPF 47. My skin was left refreshed but I would not use it as a daily moisturizer for me in particular because my skin has extremely dry patches that need more than this light finish. Its great for when you are on the go or for a light layer of protection on top of your thicker daily face moisturizer (if you have dry patches like me).

All in all Ive noticed a huge difference in my eczema break out as well as the balance and moisture of my skin. It looks and feels healthier when I use these products as a trio.

Toodles

Ari

Josie Maran Argan Skincare Ritual Set

And the Giveaway Winner is…….!

Posted on September 4, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

We’ve chosen a winner for our 200 follower giveaway! The lovely Katie H. has won our Too Faced Beauty Blogger Darlings Collection!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter and leave us feedback and comments! We will definitely be taking those into consideration as well as doing many more giveaways in the future as our blog grows. Next goal is 250!

Love
Ari & Gwen
Itsapplesandorangesblog.com

!!!!!GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!!

Posted on August 27, 2014 by itsapplesandorangesblog

Its about that time again!!!! We are almost at 200 followers and cannot be more excited at the progress and growth that our blog has made. As a small token of appreciation we want to offer a giveaway prize to one of our followers for being a part of the beginning of this lovely journey. The rules are simple, the winner will be chosen through a generator and you can enter multiple times (the more entries the better your chances) by using the raffle link provided below.

Check out our previous two giveaway post’s that were a success! Here & Here

Feel free to comment and like this post if you have any suggestions or ideas for our blog or future giveaways and don’t forget to check out our newly conjoined instagram itsapplesandorangesblog. Once again we would like to thank everyone for making this happen for us and once we reach 200 one lucky person will be getting a makeup treat! Click the link below!!