Blaq Vixen Beauty

I've forgotten how fun it is to participate in a beauty tag...even if I tend to overthink my answers! The stunning Khadine from Cosmetic Passion recently tagged me on her blog in a beauty preference meme in which I have to choose one beauty product in a series of questions:

[blush] or [bronzer]?

Sure, I love using bronzer as blush, eyeshadow and as a highlight, but nothing beats a gorgeous, ethereal glow you can get with a coral-, orange- or peach-hued blush. My favorites:

Face Blush by Iman

[lipstick] or [lip gloss]?

Purple lipstick please! But I think I might be wearing a host of fun lip tattoos this fall just because I hear they stay on forever with minimal retouching. My favorites:

Lipstick by M·A·C

[eyeliner] or [mascara]?

I know winged eyeliner and its variations is hot right now but give me a great mascara to define my eyes. Too much work to get the perfect cat eye nowadays! My favorites:

Mascara at Target

[foundation] or [concealer]?

Hands down, I have to choose foundation---especially a cream foundation that can double as a concealer. My favorites: In progress.

[neutral eyeshadow] or [colored eyeshadow]?

I love a nice wash of a metallic, neutral eyeshadow just because I'm too lazy to blend colored eyeshadow and make it look presentable. Besides, metallic eyeshadow is a great Fall trend! See below!

[loose eyeshadow] or [pressed eyeshadow]?

I hate loose shadow (too messy) but it doesn't stop me from using the loose eyeshadows that I have. I love pressed eyeshadows in palettes though...granted that I don't break them! [laughs] My favorites:

More Ulta...

[brushes] or [sponges]?

Believe it or not, I prefer using my BeautyBlender over my makeup brushes. I know there are people out there who think the BeautyBlender is nothing special but I have to disagree. First off, you're supposed to use it to stipple foundation, blush, etc. on the skin. If you use it like a regular sponge, you'll be disappointed. I love it because the technique is so artistic to me. My favorites:

More Beautyblender...

Which ones would you choose?

Photo via WireImage

Editor's note: This post is under construction. Thanks for your patience.

Instead of doing a 5-minute face or even a 15-minute face, I did a 10-minute one. Here is what I used:

facial wash. SensiClear kit, which I was supposed to review this past Sunday. I'll have to start scheduling my Skincare Sunday posts just in case I'm too tired to blog.

moisturizer. Clinique Even Better Skin Tone Corrector and Clinique Even Better Skin Tone Correcting Moisturizer SPF 20. I used both products twice today. I plan to use them again right before I go to bed.

foundation + powder. Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation in Dark 2, which I think looks a little too light in this photo...or maybe it's the M·A·C Mineralize Skinfinish in Dark that did the trick. Earlier, when I first applied it, it was too dark. This was even with Black Opal Invisible Oil Blocking Powder. However, it could just be the camera that I'm using...miss my Canon PowerShot!

primer. Clear Prep FX Matte Foundation Primer and Anti-Acne Treatment

eyeshadow. Love My Eyes Roll on Eyeshadow in Copper Mist. Surprisingly, this eyeshadow is pigmented. It also takes care of the metallic lid trend that I wanted to try. Maybe if I feel motivated, I'll smoke it out.

mascara. The review for CoverGirl LashBlast Lash mascara is in draft. I love that this mascara doesn't leave my lashes stiff and flaky.

lipgloss. Korres Jasmine Lip Butter with Lancome Color Fever Plumper in City Mauve over it. I hate that my mom's camera washes out the color. It's a mauve nude shade.

hair. I threw it up in a messy (and I do mean messy) ballerina bun earlier but since I wanted to make sleek down my edges and make it look perfect, I took it down. Then I twisted it up in the back and clipped it. I'm running low on my Soft and Beautiful StyleProtect Sculpting Gel and I'm trying to preserve the little that I have left. That's why my edges are sticking up! My swoop bang is nonexistent since I kept brushing my hair back. No, I didn't go to school like this. It was only after I got home that I decided to fix my hair.

What do you use for your 10-minute face?

Enough with the advertisements and promotions...let's get down to the good stuff!

Today, I received an email from Kush Magazine, which is a publication for women of color in the United Kingdom. I'm the new resident writer for their Beauty Buzz section! It seems so surreal to say that but it's true. This is the first offer that I've received that's actually gone through. I was supposed to write for the beauty section for a local newspaper but that is still in progress.

Next, on August 24th, I'll be attending St. Philip's College in San Antonio. I recently changed my major from pre-nursing to journalism. This will be the first I've stepped into a classroom since high school. For my first and second semesters, I took classes online at Kansas City Kansas Community College. Now, for my third semester, I have four subjects that are in a classroom setting and one online. One of the Airmen from my unit is in my class. I'm excited but at the same time I am nervous as hell. I have Speech this semester and when I'm nervous, talking isn't one of my strengths. We'll see how that goes.

Recently, Tia Lanell and I have teamed up for Brush Talk here on Blaq Vixen Beauty. I don't talk too much about my brush collection but since I'm planning to buy some more soon, I'd figured now would be a good time. The latest brushes I bought were back in April, when I was in Mississippi for TDY. I bought the Face Powder Brush with Folding Mini Brush from Elizabeth Arden as well as their 5-Piece Brush Essentials Set. I didn't bring my ecoTOOLS brush set because I didn't think that I was going to buy any makeup. Since I'm not a morning person, I didn't think that I would be waking up early to apply makeup. I should've known better because I ended up buying makeup! I bought a two lip glosses, six brushes and a foundation. That's not too bad, right? :) Anyway, the first installment is in draft. Stay tuned for that! We'll be talking about brushes that we own, have tried and our favorites. We will also spill what we use to clean our brushes. Just today, Tia told me that she was on a beauty forum when she read that one member uses extra virgin olive oil (yes, the type that you get from the grocery store) to clean her brushes! I knew extra virgin olive oil was good for the hair but didn't know that it was great for cleaning brushes. I hope to have it up either today or next week. But I'm shooting for today though.

Yesterday, I was contacted by BeautyTicket to do a giveaway here on Blaq Vixen Beauty. Now, before, I was swearing off of giveaways for a while, since my last handful of giveaways proved to be a hassle. However, I've changed my mind! For my latest giveaway, I'm giving away a 8-Piece Living Water Spa Set from Borghese. Worth $189, you can snag this luxurious at-home spa set for $49.99 for a savings of $139.01! You can save even more by using my special coupon code for all my lovely blaq vixens! This giveaway starts on Monday so don't forget to stop by and enter your name for a chance to win! For those of you who won my Suave giveaway, trust, I haven't forgotten about you!

Lastly, I volunteered to do a guest beauty review on A Girl's Gotta Spa! I'll be reviewing Freeman's Bare Foot Peppermint and Plum Creamy Pumice Foot Scrub. This isn't the only scent available, as I recently learned. If Peppermint & Plum doesn't sound appealing, you can choose from Iced Teaberry and Mint or Lemon and Sage.  Although it's not as popular as Olay Thermal Pedicure, it is formulated for us who stay up on our foot game. If you have minimal dry skin on your heels and between your toes, you'll benefit from this. If you need something heavy duty, please get the Thermal Pedicure! However, Freeman also has a self-warming version of this product if you're interested. You know, I am instantly reminded of what happened when I went shopping with my best friend. We were at Wal-Mart in the bath aisle. I told her how much I loved Olay Thermal Pedicure and how much I loved the warming sensation. When she saw that it cost about $8, she instantly grabbed the Freeman version. She told me, "$8?! I don't have money like that!" How ironic, when she can easily drop $100+ on sexy lingerie at Victoria's Secret! Let me stop!