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Frugally Fabulous: Sweet Deals at Sephora for $10 or Less

Dec 27 - 12:22AM · Posted by BlaqVixenBeauty

Celebrity makeup artists Denise and Janice Tunnell (of the famed Illusions Cosmetics line) each swear by the Tarte The Toolbox Brow Kit ($32). This set contains brow gel, a brow pencil, tweezers, a brow brush, brow powder, brow wax, and three brow stencils, plus a mini mirror. As an added bonus, each of the products contain Skinvigorating ingredients such as cocoa seed butter, shea butter, palm oil, mineral pigments, and vitamin E. With benefits like these, it's almost impossible to believe that you can get it for $6!

Of all the Korres products I've tested this year, a clear winner for me is the Lip Butter in Jasmine ($9), a sheer, neutral pink. This product also doubles as a cheek stain, providing a luscious, natural glow on the apples of the cheeks. However, I love using it as a base for when I'm in a "Think Pink" state of mind. Applied underneath pink lip gloss, it's divine. Designed as a lip treatment, I think your lips will appreciate the shea butter! Remember to use code BLAQVIXEN at checkout at Korres to get 30% off your order. Expires 12/31.

Beautyfix babes scored a blissful treat in the third installment: Bliss The Youth as We Know It Concentrate ($70). If you tried this product or any other products from the Bliss line, than you know that this brand is amazing! Although I have one product in my possession (the concentrate), it's my go-to product for when I want my skin to glow naturally. For a limited time, get the Bliss The Youth as We Know It to Go for $10.

Filed under: Frugally Fabulous Tagged with: sephora, Bliss, korres, tarte, BeautyFix, Illusions Cosmetics, Denise Tunnell, Janice Tunnell

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Skin Care Sundays: Press Play on Your Skin Care Routine!

Nov 01 - 12:00AM · Posted by BlaqVixenBeauty

A fellow beauty enthusiast spilled an invaluable beauty secret: the "pat/press" method. Finally, there's a way to "get your skin care down pat."

Risi Leanne, one of the editors of the Palacinka beauty blog, revealed, "I learned from the Clarins skin care team to always apply cleanser, eye cream and moisturizer (this is the correct order) with the "pat/press" method. Instead of moving the cream around my face in a circular motion, I warm it up in my hands - then press on. It gives my skin an instant glow and I find the product absorbs much better. My favorite is Clarins Multi-Active Early Wrinkle Correcting Lotion with SPF 15." (beauty secret #5)

I was lucky to receive a deluxe travel-size new Multi-Active Day Early Cream from the Clarins' Facebook fan page. Unfortunately, this offer is no longer avaliable. If you missed out on this sampling promotion, I would recommend that you join the fan page as Clarins is planning an exclusive offer to their loyal Facebook fans on November 8th. You can also sign up to receive additional information about Clarins offers and products. Clarins recommends that you check their Sampling tab frequently so that you won't miss out on subsequent sampling offers and promotions.

Of course, I being the die-hard SPF 30 woman that I am, was less than pleased that this cream contained a SPF of 15. Recommended for all skin types, Clarins recommend that you apply this in the morning. I much rather use Clinique Even Better Skin Correcting Moisturizer SPF 20 (who loves ya, baby?), as I am still testing this product.

In fact, an hour prior, I applied the "pat/press" method to my routine. I patted and pressed (firmly) the Clinique Even Better Skin Tone Corrector serum on my scars instead of rubbing it on. Like Risi, I warmed the moisturizer between my hands and pressed it on as well. While I did feel the product absorbed better, I can't say that I noticed an instant glow. Maybe that was because I applied it in the dark? Don't judge me. I even pressed Smith's Rosebud Salve on my lips. Denise Tunnell, co-creator of the Illusions Cosmetics line, sent this beneficial balm some months ago. It is the perfect "cease-and-desist" balm you'll need to fight off chapped, peeling lips this winter. And you (should) know this, wo-man!

Do you think you'll jump on this "press play" bandwagon?

Filed under: Skin Care Sundays Tagged with: facebook, Clinique, clarins, Illusions Cosmetics, Denise Tunnell, Smith's

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BeautySchooled: Eyeshadow and Lip Gloss

08/24/2009 - 9:40PM · Posted by BlaqVixenBeauty

Today was the first day of classes. I didn't even have time for my 5 minute face this morning. Bummer! But I did have time to apply eyeshadow and lip gloss. :)

All is not lost though. I don't have any on-campus classes tomorrow but I decided to tag along with my mom. I'll be spending my time blogging...and buying books for my classes. This semester I have Government (state), Art Appreciation, Speech, and History, for a total of 12 credits. The last two semesters, I took 17 credits. While I still want to get my degree as soon as possible, I'm trying not to take on more than I can handle at this time. God-willing, I'll have the energy to create my 5-minute face tomorrow. Here is what I'm thinking about using for each of the following:

eyeshadow. Love My Eyes Roll On Eyeshadow in Copper Mist or Tarte Cosmetics hEYE Impact Waterproof Creaseless Shadow/Liner Duo in Bronze. Didn't used a base but if I remembered to, I'd grab It Cosmetics Eye Base.

lip gloss. Used Korres Jasmine Lip Butter as a base. Applied Illusions Cosmetics Lustre Lip Gloss in Carmen (from the Cinematic Faves collection) over it. However, just now, I applied Lancome Color Fever Plumper in City Mauve over the Jasmine Lip Butter and I loved how it turned out! Normally, I'd be turned off by the fact that I'd have to dip my finger in a lip product. However, this time, I either just sanitized my hands or applied the lip butter with a lip brush. I'll have to buy a retractable lip brush to retouch my look on the go.

I have mentally prepared a list of products that I'll be using tomorrow. I already know this will take me more than 5 minute so I might be able to do it in 15! First, I'll use the SensiClear kit, which consists of the Purifying Cleanser, Balancing Toner, Blemish-Free Acne Treament Lotion and the Acne Spot Treatment Cream. To moisturize my face, I'm whipping out the Bright and Clear Moisturizer for Acne Prone Skin from Dr. Susan Taylor's line, RX for Brown Skin. Korres Silicone Free 99% Natural Face Primer is next. It's one of my new favorite primers. If I want matte skin, Cover FX has their Clear Prep FX Matte Foundation Primer and Anti-Acne Treatment. For my foundation, I'll choose Cover FX Total Coverage Cream Foundation SPF 30 in B25. I'll apply it with Cover FX #160 Cream Foundation Brush. Even if I change my mind and use my Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation in Dark 2 (Caramel), I'll be using this brush. I love that I can apply my foundation without worrying about streaking. The finishing touch will be MAC Mineralize SkinFinish Natural in Dark. You notice that I didn't mention concealer? Well, with these foundations, I can build natural coverage without applying a concealer! My choices for mascara and lip gloss are CoverGirl LashBlast Length and Korres Jasmine Lip Butter (base) and Lancome Color Fever Plumper in City Mauve. That's it!

What do you use for your 5-minute (or 15-minute) face?

Filed under: BeautySchooled Tagged with: Lancome, Covergirl, korres, maybelline, rx for brown skin, Tarte Cosmetics, sensiclear, It Cosmetics, Illusions Cosmetics, Cover FX

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Get Like Her: Chrisette Michele's "Epiphany" Promo Look

07/22/2009 - 5:06AM · Posted by BlaqVixenBeauty

To get this look, Blaq Vixen Beauty recommends that you try the following products:

mass: MILANI Shadow Wear Quad in a Touch of Brown ($6.99, cherryculture.com); L'OREAL HIP Color Truth Cream Eyeliner in Black ($11.99, walgreens.com); ARTEMIS WOMAN Double Curl Gentle Heat Lash Curler ($14.99, artemiswoman.com), L'OREAL Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara in Black ($10.99, walgreens.com); COVERGIRL QUEEN COLLECTION Natural Hue Minerals Pressed Powder ($8.18, drugstore.com), MILANI Minerals Blush Powder Blush in Sweet Rose ($6.49, cvs.com); NYX Girls Round Lip Gloss in Doll Pink ($2, cherryculture.com)

prestige: COASTAL SCENTS 88 Piece Makeup Palette ($18.95, coastalscents.com); ILLUSIONS COSMETICS Gel Eyeliner in Black ($12, illusionsbeauty.com); SHU UEMURA Eyelash Curler ($19, shuuemura-usa.com), LANCOME Definicils High Definition Mascara in Black ($12.95, brigettesboutique.com); BLAC MINERALS Mineral Foundation ($22.50, blacminerals.com); BLAC MINERALS Mineral Satin Blush in Raisin ($10, blacminerals.com); TARTE Vitamin Infused Lipgloss in Apple-A-Day ($21, sephora.com)

Of all of the looks I've seen on Chrisette Michele, this one has to be my favorite. If I'm not mistaken, I think first saw this picture in Essence magazine. It was the issue that Jill Scott interviewed Chrisette Michele! I love how celebrity makeup artist JJ Jacobucci banged out Michele's crease. And don't even get me started about that pink lip! Let's see what I can come up with to recreate her look using mostly drugstore/affordable products so that my frugal vixens can get it on the action as well!

Filed under: GET LIKE HER Tagged with: Lancome, Shu Uemura, L'Oreal, coastal scents, tarte, NYX, milani, Chrisette Michele, CoverGirl Queen Collection, celebrity makeup looks, Illusions Cosmetics, Artemis Woman, celebrity makeup artist, JJ Jacobucci, blac Minerals

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Promotions: On the Set of The Preacher's Kid with Celebrity Makeup Artists Denise and Janice Tunnell

Jan 29 - 12:00PM · Posted by BlaqVixenBeauty

"In The Preacher's Kid, actress Tammy Townsend's look is glamorous from start to end. For most of her makeup look we used products from Illusions Cosmetics," Janice Tunnell told Sophisticate's Black Hairstyles in the March 2009 issue. "We used a lot of powders, and we have a blush in the color Terra Cotta (right) that I like to use on her. I also like to apply a gold shimmery eyeshadow under Tammy's brow bone. I use a lot of Cargo's Bronzer on her cheeks. My best tip for applying bronzer? If it's a shimmery bronzer, I like to apply it in the cheek area. But if it's not shimmery, I like to use it in the area where I normally contour - the forehead, the jaw line and the cheeks."

Denise described Essence's character in The Preacher's Kid as "very bright and loud!" On Essence's makeup, Denise says, "Her eyes have a lot of color on them! We'll do sheer lip glosses, light pink blush, but then I'll use a lot of Illusions Cosmetics Eye Dust on her in colors like light yellow, light blue and green. I also like to use Precious Eyes Eye Color Pencils from Colors by Cynde Watson in Amethyst and Gold. I'll use it on the lower portion of her top lid so when she opens her eye, you can see just a flash of color! Sometimes I'll just use a lot of liner just as her eyeshadow and pump up her eyes with faux lashes and mascara.

LeToya Luckett also stars in the movie. "Actress/singer LeToya Luckett's character in the movie The Preacher's Kid is a young lady who is heavily in the church. Throughout the movie her character develops into a young lady...who plays with a little more makeup and becomes more glamorous," explains Denise. "The character grows up from being a Daddy's Girl and into a woman. LeToya likes Chanel blush in a light, pretty coral color. We loved to use faux lashes on her. As her character developed we used Ardell Fashion Lashes Strip Lashes in 110. LeToya also loves Revlon's ColorStay liquid foundation. It's really good for her, and we actually applied it by airbrushing it on her!"

More pictures from the shoot:

Filed under: promotions Tagged with: revlon, CARGO, Cynde Watson, ardell, Vix Fix, Illusions Cosmetics, Sophisticates Black Hair Styles and Care Guide, Denise Tunnell, Janice Tunnell, The Preacher's Kid

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BVB Wants to Know: My Best Giveaway Yet?

06/03/2009 - 9:36PM · Posted by BlaqVixenBeauty

I need this info so that I can plan better giveaways in the future!

Tagged with: giveaways, surveys, BeautyFix, crest, Clairol, Cantu Shea Butter, isABelt, PZI Jeans, Illusions Cosmetics, BVB Wants to Know

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The Beauty Closet: Illusions Cosmetics C159 Angle Liner/Chisel Fluff Brush

04/19/2009 - 1:37AM · Posted by BlaqVixenBeauty

Steadily building my makeup brush collection, one of the newest additions is Illusions Cosmetics' C159 Angle Liner/Chisel Fluff brush ($8). It is one of the brushes that I took with me on my trip. The Tunnell sisters so graciously blessed me with this double-headed brush which has made eyeshadow application as well as applying eyeliner easier.

Consequently, I find myself experimenting with bold combinations from the Skinn Luxe Premier Eyeshadow Palette that I reviewed earlier in March. Both brushes are conveniently soft - they don't irritate my eye area and I can focus on blending and defining my crease without thinking about how much it hurts to use them!

One of my my favorite tricks is to take the eyeliner brush and outline the outer v of my eyes with a dark color, like teal or violet. I do this several times. Then I take the fluffy side and blend the corners out. If I had remembered to bring my camera, I could have posted a step-by-step tutorial which may help if you're trying to perfect your crease-cutting technique. I know I am!

Do you own any of brushes from Illusions Cosmetics? Priced at $5 to $18, these high quality brushes are a steal!

Filed under: The Beauty Closet Tagged with: Illusions Cosmetics, Denise Tunnell, Janice Tunnell, Skinn

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Valentine Vixen: Young Hollywood Lustre Lip Gloss Collection

02/23/2009 - 2:37AM · Posted by BlaqVixenBeauty

If you remembered, in my first contest, I teamed up with the Tunnell sisters (creators of Illusions Cosmetics) to giveaway their entire collection of lustre lip gloss named after the leading ladies of their cinematic favorites - Brown Sugar, Carmen, Dreamgirls, Mahogany and Sparkle.

Now they have created another captivating lip collection, this time by the name of "Young Hollywood", which celebrates some of Tinseltown's young leading ladies: Drew Sidora, Lauren London, Meagan Good, Malika Haqq, Khadijah Haqq and Khloe Kardashian.

Each gloss is $10. If you are tempted to buy the entire set, Illusions Cosmetics is having a beauty deal for the week of February 22-28 - Buy the complete set of the "Young Hollywood" collection of Lustre lip glosses and receive $5 off shipping!

Premiere Of Warner Bros. "ATL" - After Party

Filed under: Valentine Vixen Tagged with: Lauren London, khloe kardashian, meagan good, Young hollywood, Illusions Cosmetics, Malika Haqq, Denise Tunnell, Janice Tunnell, Drew Sidora, Khadijah Haqq

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FOTD: Illusions Cosmetics and Mary Kay

02/11/2009 - 12:00AM · Posted by BlaqVixenBeauty

face. The next shade that I was sent was IC11*. I mixed it with a bit of my Mary Kay Medium Coverage Foundation in Bronze. I primed my face with Motives Foundation Primer* and applied it with a sponge as well. Seriously, the Black Opal Invisible Oil Blocking Powder is my favorite loose powder. However, next time, I'll pick up the compact. Last but not least, I decided to test my CoverGirl Queen Collection Natural Hue Minerals Bronzer in Light Bronze*. I started at my eyebrows and then made a "3", ending at my chin. I did this for both sides of my face.

eyes. I was wearing navy blue, teal, and brown so I decided to use L'Oreal HiP High Intensity Pigments Bright Shadow Duo in Showy on my lids. Finally got a chance to test the L'Oreal Paris Double Extend Beauty Tubes Technology* and I swear, I'lll never have to worry about falsies again because this is glamorous lashes in a tube. I'll tell you more about this mascara in an upcoming post!

I got my eyebrows done at J Nails in San Antonio so I was able to fill them in with Elke Day Brow Shadow in Dark Brunette*. Instead of an angled eyeliner brush, I opted to use Artistry's Essentials Eyeliner Brush*. This tool really is a miracle! I was able to fill in my eyebrows and apply eyeliner perfectly.

lips. I mixed CoverGirl WetSlicks AmazeMint in Everything's Rosy* with Kissable Couture Luxury Lip Gloss in Dylan*.

*Received the following products for editorial consideration from Illusions Cosmetics, Motives Cosmetics, CoverGirl, L'Oreal (through Total Beauty's Sneak Peek program), Elke von Freudenburg, Artistry Cosmetics and Kissable Couture.

Filed under: Face of the Day (FOTD) Tagged with: Covergirl, L'Oreal, elke von freudenberg, mary kay, Kissable Couture, Artistry, Black Opal, Motives Cosmetics, Illusions Cosmetics, face of the day (FOTD)

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Blog Talk Radio: Illusions Cosmetics

02/10/2009 - 5:35PM · Posted by BlaqVixenBeauty

If you don't have anything to do Thursday, February 19th, please tune in to Illusions Cosmetics Blog Talk Radio. The Tunnell sisters will be exploring Red Carpet Looks with celebrity makeup artists Ashunta Sheriff (Alicia Keys) and Mylah Morales (Rihanna). According to Denise, there will be a surprise guest so that should be incentive for you to call in to see who the mystery person is, right?

Also, on March 6th, they will be talking about beauty talk and skincare for women of color with Dr. Angelo P. Thrower who is a medical doctor specializing in skin. He is also the creator of the Heritage Skincare Line. Please join us with your questions, comments and concerns!

Stay True to the Vixen in You! ♥

Tagged with: Ashunta Sheriff, women of color, Illusions Cosmetics, Denise Tunnell, Janice Tunnell, Mylah Morales, Heritage Skincare Line, Dr. Angelo P. Thrower

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Blaq Vixen Beauty

March 2010 | Volume 2 | Issue 3
Keep your eyes on the final hour.

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