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TheBalm Meet Matt(e) Trimony Palette

I’ve been lawfully wedded to my husband 8 years now. If I wasn’t married to Jake, maybe I’d be married to theBalm’s Meet Matt(e) Trimony palette? I mean, I don’t know. I’m not a psychic medium. 

When BeautyBridge first sent me this eyeshadow palette, I was selfishly only in love with it for myself. But as they say, if you really love something, you have to set it free. So I decided to add it to my freelance kit and share it with the world. I’ve been using it a lot lately and…you guys. I think this might be the perfect matte palette?! It’s the most comprehensive offering of shades and I can’t think of what it could possibly be missing.

I’ve reviewed the first incarnation, Meet Matt(e) Nude, and I really love it too, but there are some gaps in the shade range.

Throwing Shade

  • Matt Lin: cream color for lids and brow bone
  • Matt Thomas: true pastel pink, very bridal.
  • Matt Rossi: purple-toned taupe
  • Matt Lopez: go-to crease/transition shade, peachy brown
  • Matt Kumar: true berry burgundy. It could be too red for some.
  • Matt Moskowitz: deep plum that for some reason, I use the least.
  • Matt Evans: great cooler-toned crease color.
  • Matt Reed: rich, plummy espresso shade
  • Matt Ahmed: mid-intensity black, not the richest ever.

If I have any criticisms at all, I just wish Matt Reed was more of a true deep brown with no purple undertone. It looks pretty on everyone, especially at the outer corner and lash line, but sometimes I just want an espresso brown with no shift.

Also, I love so many of theBalm’s products and though I may be in the minority, I find their branding cringey and even sexist at times. I would honestly love to see a complete rebrand. theBalm makes high quality, high performance products that deserve chicer packaging.

And now for some Meet Matt(e) Trimony swatches.Shown above, from left: Matt Lin, Matt Thomas, Matt Rossi Shown above, from left: Matt Lopez, Matt Evans, Matt KumarFrom left: Matt Moskowitz, Matt Reed, Matt Ahmed

Do I recommend this?
Definitely. The pan sizes are generous, the colors are flattering, the shades are comprehensive. You can do soft and natural looks or smoky eyes. I’ll say it again; theBalm is underrated y’all.





Favorite Aveda Products

What’s that lovely, spa-like scent? Must be Aveda! This is the last day of their 20% off sale, you guys. Better stock up on your faves while ya can! Use code LOVE at checkout to score 20% off + free shipping. Today only, you also get a free full size Hand Relief Creme which I use every night. The sale runs through midnight tonight, pacific time, so better get on it if you’re an Aveda fan. ALSO! It’s 4% cashback on Aveda’s site through Ebates.

I’ve had the pleasure of trying many Aveda products through the years and there are a few standouts I want to share. I’d love to hear your favorites in the comments too!Smooth Infusion Nourishing Styling Creme I applied this before blow drying in this post. It creates smoother, sleeker strands with no frizz factor. This is a great product for summer.

Pramasana Purifying Scalp Cleanser I recently started using this for my scalp issues and I like it. I talked more about it here.

Pure Abundance Hair Potion This really is a magic potion! I love it for creating gritty texture and volume without back combing.

Damage Remedy Split End Repair I don’t struggle with split ends myself but have seen this do amazing things for models on commercial shoots I do. It’s an instant fix and gives your hair a healthier appearance between cuts.

Tulasara Wedding Masque This brightening, hydrating mask set is awesome. I have been using the eye masque every night and the face masque when I feel like my skin is looking dull. I reviewed them here.

Pure-Formance Grooming Clay This is my husband’s favorite hair product and I concur. I love the matte look it creates, it has great hold in his coarse hair and it smells masculine and wonderful.

Shampure Thermal Dry Conditioner This is a newer product that I’ve been really enjoying for protecting hair before heat styling but also calming frizz. I blogged about it here.

Chakra 3 Balancing Body Mist I eye rolled at these hard when I first got them but once I sprayed them, I was in love. I don’t believe in chakras necessarily but the essential-oil based scents are not only wonderful but long lasting! I love 3 because it smells kind of like a gin and tonic, very refreshing. I’ve been spraying these around the house and I’m shocked at how long the scent lingers.

I hope you get to take advantage of the Aveda sale and score some hair and skin treats for the summer!

Easy Makeup for Brunch

Last weekend, I had a rare morning off so my husband and I had brunch at a darling local French place for our anniversary. I threw on this quick, easy makeup, a look I’m calling “brunch makeup”. It follows 3 key principles of a new acronym I’m using to simplify everyday makeup. So pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea and read on.Minimalist, makeup beginners and busy people, listen up. I’ve broken easy makeup down into 3 key goals. The whole point of makeup can be explained as EDC. If you do nothing else, do these 3 things and I bet you can do it in 10 minutes or less.

E=Even, as in even out your skin tone, dark circles
D=Define, your lashes, brows
C=Color, add to cheeks and lipsEVEN
To even my skin tone, I used Cozzette Infinite Makeup cream foundation in C3 and LimeLight by Alcone Perfect Concealer in 0 on my under eye circles, redness and to cancel out veins on my eyelids. If you use super high pigment products like these, you can accomplish a lot in very little time.

DEFINE
I used Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer to fill in my brows and Thrive Causemetics Liquid Lash Extensions mascara to define my lashes. You won’t always have time for shadow and liner but lashes make all the difference.

COLOR
After evening out your skin, adding some color back in will give your skin a healthy appearance. I feel like this step makes the biggest difference, especially on light skin tones like mine. I used Too Faced Love Flush Blush in Love Hangover to add color to my cheeks and Pixi Beauty Mattelustre Lipstick in Classic Red over lip balm on my lips. So easy.
My husband took these photos just with his iPhone 7+. I am pretty impressed with this portrait mode! Simple, quick makeup and brunch food-what could be better?!
Here is what I ate for brunch. I don’t know if you can tell but it was freaking BOMB. I had the mixed berry crepe, twice baked sour cream potato cake and salad. I can’t wait to try the omelettes next time.
Thanks so much for reading and I hope this brunch makeup post helped simplify your weekend routine a bit!




Friday Faves: Eczema and other embarrassing problems

Before I was blogger, I was a blog reader. Friday Favorite posts were some of my favorite to read. Drink every time I say favorite. So, here’s an edition of my own and I’ll keep doing them if you like ’em. I used to call these Loving Lately but they were random, few and far between. I like having things to look forward to on certain days so maybe Friday Faves will be one of them! 1. Glossier Stretch Concealer The hype is real. I finally tried it this week and I already love it. I have the shade Light and mostly use it to brighten my under eye circles. I thought the texture would be too emollient and crease like crazy but it doesn’t. It blends into skin seamlessly. If I have any criticisms I guess it would just be that it’s not super full coverage but that’s nitpicking. Click here to save 20% on you first Glossier order.

2. Aveda Pramasana Purifying Scalp Cleanser My skin is dry but my scalp is oily, and it’s gross. Even the word ‘scalp’ kinda makes me gag. This leaves my scalp feeling clean and refreshed. I like the cool feel and scent and the ingredients are great. It has salicylic acid to exfoliate, lactobacillus, tamanu oil and seaweed extract.

3. Pixi Beauty Peel Polish It’s rare to see results from a skincare product after only a few uses but that was the case with this. I prefer chemical exfoliants like this over gritty scrubs. This utilizes lactic and fruit acids to eliminate dead skin. It only takes minutes too! My skin looks smoother, brighter and clearer. Head to my Instagram page to enter to win one!

4. e.l.f. Beautifully Bare Highlighting Dewy Drops This totally took me by surprise, quickly becoming one of the favorite liquid highlighters. It’s non-sticky, reflective but not in an Instagram way and truly dewy. The shade is a nice champagne that is appropriate for my skin tone and not too dark as many are.

5. Cortizone-10 Eczema Lotion I saved the best for last. This product has truly changed my life, as dramatic as it sounds. As a result of serious stress, at the end of April, I developed very bad eczema on my face, all the way around my mouth and under my nose. I looked like Yosemite Sam with my red mustache. My skin was flaking off, there were red blisters and it was painful and itchy. I’ve never experienced anything like this before and it made me feel really ugly. I tried a lot of things, products that all seemed to be helping soothe but not heal. I finally grabbed this out of sheer desperation this week and OMG. IT FREAKING WORKS. In just days, my long battle with eczema is basically gone. I am so thankful to have found something that works and I already feel much more confident.

Aveda, Pixi Beauty and e.l.f. products all provided for review purposes.

Beauty brands you won’t see here

Throughout my 4 1/2+ years of beauty blogging and working as a makeup artist, I have learned a lot. I’ve learned by doing, trial and error and through research and extensive reading, something I strongly encourage, not only when it comes to beauty brands, but any topic in which you want to be well informed.

I’ve discovered brands that I absolutely adore and admire. I have even had the opportunity to work with some of them directly. I have also been quite disappointed with other beauty brands, so much so that I won’t be talking about them here. Today I’ll tell you which and why.

Disclaimer: Please know that I am not writing this post to be judgmental but rather to be as honest as possible. If you love any of the brands listed here, I don’t fault you at all and there is certainly no shortage of bloggers that do too. Some of the following brands make great products. Some don’t and some have just done some sketchy things. Read on. Kylie Cosmetics
Many have asked me my opinion on this brand. Clients have asked me to apply their Kylie Lip Kits, which I’m happy to do. They’re not bad products and most of the shades are pretty. However, I won’t be offering any sort of press to the brand here, not that they need it 🙂

There is evidence to support that Kylie Cosmetics uses Spatz Laboratories, the same ones that Colourpop uses. I’d buy Colourpop 100 times over before I bought marked up Kylie Cosmetics products.

More than anything though, I won’t support someone who profits by ripping off a truly talented and hard-working makeup artist. Kylie Cosmetics has ripped off Vlada Haggerty’s creations, time and time again. It infuriates me as Haggerty, an independent artist, cannot possibly stand up to a Kardashian/Jenner legal team but instead watch someone profit (a lot) from her artwork.

More eyebrow-raising issues with Kylie Cosmetics can be found here, here, here and here. I shouldn’t have to link so many things.

Morphe
Simply put, I avoid cheap, paraben-filled, made in China products. I have one Morphe palette that I had to purchase last minute to use at fashion week. I bought it because it was cheap and had the colors I needed. It doesn’t perform badly but it smells heavily of chemicals.

As for the brushes, I only have one, which again was an emergency fashion week purchase and it’s fine. I’ve seen multiple people complain about their brushes shedding and overall quality issues.

The ingredient list for the Morphe 35W palette should tell you why it’s cheap: Talc, Mica, Mineral Oil, Kaolin, Titanium Dioxide, Magnesium Stearate, Isopropyl Palmitate, Lanolin, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.

Morphe produces in China to cut costs, instead of creating jobs in the U.S. They’ve relied heavily on influencers to build brand recognition, who are happy to share their affiliate codes. I have no problem with codes; I’ve had them too, but I can no longer take a brand seriously who is so reliant on influencers.

Though it may have changed, for most of their life, Morphe was private label makeup, with the same formula as Crown Brushes, Sedona Lace, AliExpress and others. If you don’t want to take it from me, take it from Stephanie Nicole, who is now blocked from all Morphe social media for making her honest review video. This video will also show you how clear the private labeling is. I see Morphe as a very cheap consumer brand but one I wouldn’t purchase myself in the future or use on clients.

Jeffree Star Cosmetics
When you support a cosmetics company, you are supporting the founder. While I support Star’s history as a working artist and his role as a creative, his history of racial slurs, threatening violence and documented bullying and harassment is not in line with how I think we should treat each other. I won’t put money in unkind pockets. I could perhaps forgive these mistakes if he made a truly heartfelt apology but I’ve yet to see that.

Product alone, I don’t see any issues with quality but I also don’t care that much about more liquid lipsticks or highlighters. Also, this is 100% blackface. Don’t even trip.

Racism, violence, bullying; I don’t condone it in any way and it doesn’t belong here.

Brands tested on animals/sold in mainland China
At the beginning of 2016, I made the decision to no longer offer blog coverage to brands who test on animals. As a passionate animal advocate, I realized that I was only contributing to the problem by giving press and money to these brands. Without getting too deep into this, animal testing is just not something I want to be a part of.

When a brand or PR company emails me requesting to send product for possible review and coverage, if I do not already know, I respond with the following:

“Can you share more information about the brand’s animal testing policy? As of 2016, Wake Up For Makeup does not offer blog coverage to brands that test on animals or retail their products in mainland China. Thank you for the information!”

Cruelty Free Kitty has an excellent, comprehensive list of all of the brands who do test on animals if you are curious.

I do have faith that things are changing, with many brands leading the way. I truly hope that someday, animal testing is a thing of the past.

ZPalette
Long before ZPalette lost their damn minds and and rudely insulted their customers via Instagram, I decided to stop using their products. I did so as their magnetic palettes are not made to last and are nowhere near durable enough to withstand travel in a freelance makeup artist’s kit. Time and time again, the plexiglass windows would shatter. I have a graveyard of ZPalettes to prove it. They are cheaply-made and I can get far more durable palettes for my money.

Makeup artist Kevin James Bennett has spoken about the quality degradation before and I agree. After their Instagram fiasco, ZPalette was dropped by it’s retail partners Boxycharm and Makeup Geek.
Moral of the story being, if you bully people, you lose in the end. Makeup Revolution
This is a brand 100% built on replicating more expensive and successful counterparts. If there is one thing that has always bothered me, it is unoriginality, especially for profit. I don’t find this brand to be inventive, original or innovative in any way. I’m not impressed at how well or how often they rip off other brands. These are beyond “dupes” and it’s just uninspiring to see.

Summary
 This post won’t benefit me in any way. In fact, it will do the opposite. I will never have a collab or discount code with these brands.  My pockets will be emptier but I’m ok with that. Unethical, unkind, shady or harassing actions don’t get to sit with us. And now back to our regularly scheduled programming 🙂

Find your best foundation at the drugstore

One of my favorite past times is eavesdropping in the cosmetics aisle. I know it’s creepy, but it’s research. The other night at Target, I overheard a conversation that reminded me how hard it is to find your best foundation at the drugstore and it prompted this post. It went a little something like this. Some language may not be suitable for children.

Friend 1: “Fresh Beige? Golden Beige? Which am I?”
Friend 2: “Sh*t, I don’t know! I feel like maybe this one??”
Friend 1: “Or maybe this one is closer? Sh*t. Why is this is so hard?”
Friend 2: “Ugh, like how can you tell? This is confusing.” Most foundation shades are broken into warm (yellow), cool (pink) or neutral (even mix of both yellow and pink) undertones. Look at the veins on your wrist. Are they more green? You’re probably yellow. More purple/blue? You’re cool or neutral. Yellow undertones tend to tan easily and rarely burn. Pink undertones tend to burn more easily. You can usually tell if a foundation looks more yellow/golden or pink in the bottle.

It’s important to know your undertone because brands are getting smart and starting to elaborate on the shade names, particularly on their own websites. I’ll just let you know, it’s hard to find good yellow-undertone foundations at the drugstore. It’s getting better but you’re going to find more in the pink and neutral range for sure. Did you know that you can return makeup you’ve opened to Walgreens and CVS? You can do this at Ulta as well. If you’re shopping drugstore foundations, these are the places to buy them. Don’t get me wrong; I adore Target, but you can’t return makeup that has already been opened there. Return until you get it right. No shame in that game. If you have dry skin, look for foundations that use words like glow, dewy, radiant. If you’re combo to oily, you’ll likely happier with formulas that are described as matte, long-wear and oil-free. You can find a wealth of swatch photos as well as those with similar skin tone to you by searching Instagram hashtags. Some examples: #macnc40, #lorealtruematchw6, #wetnwildphotofocusfoundation. There are also some amazing swatch-dedicated accounts. @cocoaswatches and @willitlookgoodonmetho are both helpful accounts. You can also utilize the OG, Google image search. If you currently own a foundation, or even a concealer that is a great match, bring it along in your purse so you can compare bottles side by side. You can also put a swatch on your hand or an index card and bring it along if the store you’re shopping at has testers available to compare with. If testers are available, first of all, hallelujah! Swatch on your jawline, not your neck, wrist or hand. To swatch, swipe a thin, even stripe along the jawline and compare it against 2 other options. The one that disappears most is a winner.

Though I do not purchase from these brands as they test on animals, both L’Oreal and Maybelline seem to be doing the best job at delivering large and varied shade ranges. Their respective True Match and Fit Me lines come in a wide spectrum of shades. CoverGirl’s Queen Collection offers the deeper shades that other brands are lacking. Here are a few good cruelty-free drugstore foundations:


I sure hope this post has been helpful and that it prevents you from having a mid-aisle freakout, muttering the s-word to yourself over and over.

Glossier Invisible Shield Review

There are certain things I have no business doing. Sharing fitness tips, teaching cooking classes and giving style tips, to name a few. I also have no business prancing around sans SPF, but you know what, I sorta have been. When Glossier unveiled their new Invisible Shield, promising it wouldn’t feel or smell like sunscreen, it was on. I’ve been using it for a few weeks now and I’m ready to give you my review.

THE BASICS
Glossier Invisible Shield is packaged in a 1 oz. airless pump and retails for $34. It has an SPF protection of 35 and uses Avobenzone, Homosalate, and Octisalate to shield from UVA and UVB rays. It contains vitamin E, vitamin P (yep, didn’t know that was a thing), broccoli-no clue, fermented yeast, vegetal extract, hydrolyzed wheat protein (sorry celiacs) and aloe.

THE RUNDOWN
First and foremost, I purchased this with my own money. I really like Invisible Shield. It wears great under makeup, doesn’t feel heavy or sticky and smells pleasant. I see a lot of reviews complaining about it being a chemical sunscreen vs. a physical one, and to that I say, some is better than none. I honestly wasn’t wearing it before (I know, I know!) and now I am. Unlike others I’ve used in the past, this is cruelty-free and paraben-free and that is pretty damn good to me.

PRICE
Others are pissed about the price and I can empathize with this one. Here are some cruelty-free comparisons for reference.

Here is a close-up blob pic for ya. The texture is lightweight and would be best described as a water-gel. The texture is probably my favorite thing about it. I really don’t even notice I’m wearing it and there is no slip n’ slide effect under makeup.

Do I recommend it?
Yes. Overall, I’m really happy with Glossier Invisible Shield. If you haven’t ordered from Glossier before, click here to save 20% on your first order here. That will help if price is a bit of an issue and you still want to try it. As always, thanks for reading and I hope to see you again soon!

Memorial Day Beauty Sales

Hope you’re enjoying your Memorial Day weekend! I did wedding makeup today, per the usual and now my husband and I are hanging out binge watching our new favorite show, Last Man on Earth. If you’re couching it too, check out these Memorial Day beauty sales while you’re at it.
Oh and this is my cat Miles. Not really a valid reason to use his photo in this post other than the fact that it’s awesome and I love it. See more of him and his brother Pixel here.
HEY!! GET UP ON THESE SALES!

Before we get into this, you have to use Ebates. Ok, well I guess you don’t have to, but why wouldn’t you want to?

Real Techniques
20% off with code ORIGINAL
I’ve always loved their brushes. Refresh your memory with this post.

Tarte
15% off
Need some help with what to buy? This post should do it.

Too Faced
25% off
Their Better Than Sex mascara really is bomb. It’s in my all time faves for a reason.

Sigma Beauty
40% + 2 free gifts with $30+ purchase
Here are some of my faves.

Dermstore
20% off sitewide with code MDSALE20
This would be an excellent time to store some LIFTLAB goods. Their Day Cream makes my makeup look so good. See full review here.

Urban Outfitters
There are a lot of beauty items on sale. Stock up on them sheet masks! This one looks really cool.

BH Cosmetics
30% off brushes, 35% off eye products, 25% off Studio Pro
I recently got this brush belt for my freelance kit and it’s been awesome. Crazy good deal.

InStyler
20% off everything with code WEEKEND
Remember this guy? And this one too?

Thanks for reading! I hope you score some mega deals. Even if you don’t do any online shipping, I hope you enjoy a day off from work maybe, barbecues, brews, what have you.