Graduation/ Commencement Ceremony Tips/Tutorial

Ah Graduation!  This event can and is (for me) one of my top ten life events.  An event that is momentous and one works so hard towards it for it to pass by like a blur. 

I decided to post on graduation ceremonies and give tips and tricks.  This is just so my blogreaties can plan ahead and soak up every last second of the experience so you can create great memories.

These tips are for all graduates, of both high school and college.  You can choose to accept them but I encourage everyone to be yourself, be creative but still abide by all rules that can be associated with it.  (But at least try to push it).

I would recommend your look for the day to be clean and classic.  Automatic thoughts that came to my head on graduation was just go crazy,  this is my day!  Now I think back and wish that I didn't dye my hair bright red!   (Man what was I thinking)  BUT i also regret that I didn't dress up just a little for my college graduation.  My photos are reminders of my regrets.  "Ewwe Red Hair" for high school and "awe,  you look tired" for college.

In regards to makeup,  for this occasion, it should only be used to enhance your natural beauty.  This is not prom so your makeup should not copy that.  Though you should work on your techniques for making your makeup last.  Look into long lasting formulas and a foundation that has a SPF.  You will be in the sun and your makeup should hold up for photos after.

My Suggestion - Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation: Primer, concealer and foundation in one.  The coverage is fantastic and the finish is flawless, plus it has an spf of 20. 

Keep application light and even if the makeup makeup melts a bit it will give a flawless natural look for the photos at the end.

For hair -  also keep it simple and classic.  I put rollers in for cute face framing curls.  Stay away from up-dos. You want to keep the top of your head flat and minimal on product to put your cap on and stay in place for ceremony.  Since the cap is so close you will get major hat hair.

Your graduation cap or motor board as scholars want to say is standard regardless of color. The pointed end should go in front. Bobbi Pins should be helpful for both guys and girls to pin that sucker to the head. This is the fun part. If the ceremony permits, your motor boards is sometimes the only place you can decorate. Be creative, but really make it your own so your family can identify you from the sea of students that are dressed exactly like you.

If you do not want ruin your cap or want to regret your design, electrical, painters and or duct tape should do the trick. These types of tape are sticky yet removable with minimal residue.

Here are my BIG tips for you.

• Tip #1 - Know and the follow the Rules. -  This is for you and for your friends and family.  All ceremonies have rules and they all have the consequence of to either not participate or be ask to leave. Read the commencement website if they have one and/or call the hotline provided on the information you get regarding the ceremony.  Read the rules on decorating your cap and things like that.  Also I don't know what else will be the fastest way to piss off family members if they get to the front  of the line and find out that the balloons they brought are not permitted and they have to bring it BACK to the car. 
• Rules to ask about:
• what guests are allowed to bring to the venue (i.e. strollers, balloons, coolers etc.)
• what you can or cannot wear and/or put to decorate your cap & gown.
• What time to tell your guest to show up.  ( you don't want to be embarrassed that YOUR family are the disruptive late ones)
• Tip #2  Wear Sunscreen -  Must must must!!!  Your guests may be undercover but you the graduates will not.  You can even get sunburned on a cloudy day.  Sometimes they have photographers there to take a pic when you receive the diploma and you do not wan to look like a sunburned frat boy.  (yes,  that happened to me :(
• Tip #3 Wear Comfortable SHOES!!! -  Your gowns are based on height if you need to wear heels because of your gown then you need to get ANOTHER gown.  Think about it,  you will be standing in line for sometimes up to 2 hours prior to walking out and it won't be on smooth pavement.  Your procession may have you walking on gravel and/or uneven flooring.  Your Louboutins will kill your feet and any hopes to have happy memories.

This post might sound like a bunch of orders but these are merely suggestions based on my own experiences.  I want my blogreaties to enjoy and cherish the experience of graduation.  You guys worked so hard and devoted so many years for this moment to walk across the stage and receive your diploma.  (secret info: no one actually receives their diploma during the ceremony.  It will either be picked up after or sent to you,  check with your school)

Congratulations, Graduates!  Have Fun -  I would love to read comments on your experiences.  Also tell me if you agree with my suggestions.

NEW Bare Minerals Liquid Foundation

BareMinerals BareSkin Pure Brightening Serum Foundation ($29.00 USD)

Thats BareMinerals?!?  Isn't that liquid?!? Wait BareMinerals has a liquid Foundation?  Oh yes my blogreaties. It hit the market May 1st.  Silly me put  my online order April 30th to finally receive it May 8th.

CLAIMS(BareMinerals): Clinically proven tone-correcting mineral foundation and brightening serum in one. Created with exceptional purity in mind, this ultra-thin, skin-perfecting fluid provides seamless adjustable coverage, a natural finish and the look and feel of beautiful skin while delivering a noticeably brighter, more youthful appearance. Made with the bare minimum ingredients and formulated without oil, silicone, parabens or fragrance. It's like nothing you've ever felt before.

I spent the extra money and also bought the Perfecting Face Brush. ($28 USD)  I was surprised on the size of the bottle. The bottle is smaller and thinner than I thought.  Look at the comparison of some known sized products.  Also the cap of the bottle is a screw top, making it very secure for travel.  The brush,  I believe you can do without.  A standard flat top Sigma F80 or ELF flat powder brush will work perfectly.  But the brush is soft and does not scratch my red face.  Also the brush is dense enough to not have streaking and you can stipple very easily.

This foundation must be shaken.  I added a few drops of foundation to the cut out of the brush.  This pic shows that its thick enough not to fall through the bristles. I used sparingly and only used 4 drops of this foundation for my face.

Application wise if I stippled the product on I would use alot more product but painting it only I was able to get better use of the the production with little foundation.  Though not in coverage.  The finish is natural I assumed I might get more coverage when the foundation sets.  Nope, very natural finish.

As you can see it did even out my skin tone but it did not cover up my scars and blemishes. :(  But look, it brightened my face, thats for sure. Next I wondered, why spend the money on this serum foundation with all of it benefits and cover it with nasty powder products.  What I did was use the original bare minerals mineral veil to set the foundation.

 

 

Lasting power?  Um I guess its just like any moisturizer on the face  what do you think.  I took pictures thoughout the day to show the progression. Read it right to left then down left to right.  This foundation looks fabulous in flash photography BUT you can see that I turn into an oil slick.

 

 

 

The last picture at 3:35pm I thought I would finally touch up and get rid of the shine.  All I did was pat on my Mally Beauty Poreless Face Defender.  But look what is did to the make up it tacked onto dry spots and made it more noticable Yuck!

 

        


My final thoughts are this.  BareMinerals bareSkin Pure Brightening Serum Foundation does match up to the claims.  My skin did brighten and made it look fresh and young.  But of course this fresh and young look also brought the cons, oily skin that made me break out if not properly cleansed.  It is pricey for what you get.  I think a comparable dupe is the Physicians Formula Spotless Foundation.  It claims to do the same thing at half the price though not as nearly much color selection.(see my post here)  BareMinerals Serum Foundation can be found at Sephora, Ulta and of course on BareEscentuals.

Summer Makeup Guide: Skin Care Prep

 

Summer is coming up and I don't know about you but my skin does a one 80 from the dry winter season and I get OILY. Spring to me does a snowball effect of time after Easter, where I get a few week of perfectly balanced skin. Yet in southern California summer weather comes early and the hot sun and dry air freak out my face once again. The problems i experience start from breaking out to keeping that makeup from melting that is covering those breakouts. So join in my journey as I try different tips and advise from the experts to see what will work for me and at the same time help you get through the summer.

Cleanse - Prep - Moisturize - Sunscreen  ALL DONE!  Thats it!

Just Kidding -  There is no way beauty companies make billions of dollars to make it that simple.

Similar to winter, its time again for the changing of the products.

Prep:  To wipe the makeup off for the day.  I use makeup remover wipes.  I like the Target up and up brand it doesn't contain cucumber which tends to break me out.  Yet this does explain why I have been eerily dry and oily at the same time.  Whoomp!  I guess I too have to look into others. :(

Cleasnse: I never feel as if I cleared off all my makeup so I love using a  deep cleanser like Biore but since it dries my skin I have to stick with something like Cetaphil


Moisturize for the Summer:
Ah to find the right moisturizer.  I am still trying to find the right one.  At this moment I am LOVING the Garnier Rescue refreshing Gel Cream EXCEPT its the CVS generic brand (Same great quality and half the price) The huffington post has this very informative article on moisturizing What You Need to Know About Moisturizing Your Face

 

 

Toner or Astringent:  I had to look into this.  Did you knew there is a difference? I am still confused on what to get for my combo skin.

 

Toner: Gentle, cleansing and hydrating - great for sensitive and dry skin ( Now that my skin is getting older I opted for stuff my mom and grandmother used, L'oreal Hydrafresh Toner)

Astringent: Stronger, some alcohol based, soaks up excess oil and is antibacterial which helps with breakouts. (I went old school and busted out with the Sea Breeze!)

 

 



 

Depending on how my skin behaves for the summer I may have to change out this product to help balance out my face.  I love using the cotton round pads to swirl that on my face compared to a cottonball.  I notice that I waste too much product and apply in blotches when applied with a cotton ball.

 

I may be dating myself but you 90's kids will remember the spoken song from Baz Luhrmann, "Everybody's Free, (To Wear Sunscreen)"  Sunscreen!  Very important for me pale gal from So Cal.  Argh but I don't know if you are like me and don't like the feeling with layers and layers of products all having equal importance on the face.  Sunscreen is the most important. What layers am I taking about?

 

 

I would never skip the Sunscreen but I can put extra protection with a Foundation/BB Cream that contains a SPF.  This can give you a better reason to retouch your makeup because It is recommended to reapply sunscreen every 3 - 4 hours. Since Summer trend is the no makeup look and keep things minimal I suppose I will have to give my face a break.  So I can balance out this extreme combo skin but like the winter I wish you luck on finding the right combination of products to you won't have to worry about keeping bueatiful for the Summer. 

 

 

 

 



Summer Makeup Guide: Trends

 

Summer is coming up and I don't know about you but my skin does a  one 80 from the dry winter season and I get OILY.  Spring to me does a snowball effect of time after Easter, where I get a few week of perfectly balanced skin.  Yet in southern California summer weather comes early and the hot sun and dry air freak out my face once again.  The problems i experience start from breaking out to keeping that makeup from melting that is covering those breakouts.  So join in my journey as I try different tips and advise from the experts to see what will work for me and at the same time help you get through the summer.

Summer Makeup Trends:

Many of the same Spring trends will carry onto the summer, keeping the bright colors and flawless dewy skin.  yes the orange lips will still be around for the summer season.

Though I don't plan on getting it myself. Only due to I'm not there yet in venturing out my comfort zone of color. If you do want to go bright and bold for the summer,  I suggest getting the Electric Palette from Urban Decay.  You can play up or down these colors for any summer outing. 

 

 

Great tutorials are plastered all over YouTube from my favorite Gurus like Promise Phan and Michelle Phan are some of my easiest looks that I myself try to recreate from other bright color that I already have.

Michelle Phan Color Explosion Party Makeup Tutorial

 

Promise Phan Katy Perry Urban Decay Electric Tutorial

 

Hair Trends:

  It's freakin hot now,  why in the world would you want your hair to drape in front of your face?  Your hair will just put more gunk and oil on your face making it twice as hard to sweat and melt proof. 

 

BRAIDS!!!?!  Can you do them?  Most can't.  But braids seem to be the rage now.  My guess is due to the Disney movie FROZEN those girls are sporting nothing but braids.

 

Pic from ImogeFoxyLocks and Walt Disney Studio Motion Picture 

Walt Disney Studio Motion Picture

 

This is very subtle compared to others I think I need to pick up more NYX milk jumbo pencil and or a white primer to help pick up the summer colors.

 

 

Prom Edition

Ah tis the season, PROM!  It has been a few years since my own prom.  (I am not going to say how many)  But man I wish I could do it all again.  Honestly, my prom wasn’t the best formal dance I attended during  my high school years but please don’t tell that to my date (who happens to be my NOW husband)

 

My senior year was crazy I was finishing all I had to do from high school while setting up my life for the next few years for college.  I wish I could tell you that I spent all day in preparation for this big day like a typical girl but sadly no.  It was my senior year, I was involved in extracurricular activities, theatre, science club and ROTC which all had things that needed to be done that very same day.  So I had no time to get prim or proper.  Looking at that picture, did I even wear makeup that night?

 My skin freaked out that week,  I was so busy and stressed that I broke out.  Back then I didn’t wear makeup and man I wish I did.  This makeup look is something I wish I DID do.  This makeup is simple but fun, will last the night and is all affordable drugstore brands

FACE MAKEUP
1.        Foundation -  Cover Girl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 Foundation (842 – Medium Beige)	4.  Cover Girl Cheekers Blush (150 – Party Peach)
2.        Setting Powder – NYX Stay Matte Not Flat (SMP03 – Natural)	5.  ELF Shimmering Facial Whip (Spotlight)
3.       Bronzer/Contour – ELF Contouring Blush & Bronzer Powder (blushed/bronzed)	NOT pictured: Cover Girl + Olay Concealer Balm (350 Medium)

I opted for no primer because the cover girl foundation works so well to cover and last.  Due to excess oil (I was an oil slick in high school) I blotted any oil from the face after I put on my foundation and concealer.  It helps set the makeup and make it look more like skin than makeup.   I set with powder contoured and blushed.

For those that are intimidated by makeup looks this is very easy that doesn't really take a professional artist to do.  I primed the lid only for the lasting powers and the fact that there is alot of eyeshadow on these lids.  I put (2) in my crease not precise just so that color can be seen with my eyes open. I CAREFULLY patted (4) on the lid. ( you will have to brush the excess on your cheek). I put (3) below (2) in the crease you can blend the colors but if you don't it won't make a difference. Now the Color!  My suggestion is to pick a color that will accent your dress but I love me some purple

All of these eye products are drugstore brands that can be found at CVS, walgreens, riteaid, walmart and target. This look can last the night but even if it doesn't it can settle into a rockin' smokey eye that will still look great in photos.  Don't worry you can add fake eyelashes but most can be very intimidating that I reccommend you practice weeks before if you are new to them.  Waterproof mascara is a solid be.

 

EYE MAKEUP
1.        Eyelid Primer – Eyeshadow Base (skintone)	5.        Eyeshadow – NYC Sparkle Eye Dust (opal dust)
2.        Eyeshadow – Milani Powder Eyeshadow (11 Caramel Brown)	6.       Lower liner - Jordana Glitter Rocks Retractable Eyeliner & L'oreal 24hr Infalliable eyeshadow  - 555 Purple
3.       Eyeshadow – Milani powder Eyeshadow (04 Brown Stone)	7.        Eyeliner – Milani Eye Tech Eyeliner
4.       Eyeshaow – NYC Sparkle Eye Dust (Amber Glitz)	8.        Mascara lower – L’oreal Telescopic Shocking Extensions waterproof
	9.       Mascara upper – Almay One Coat Get up & Grow waterproof

I used (6) to line and set the lower eye and added a bit on the upper line to peek through above the black eyeliner (7).  If you have great eyebrows "Lucky You!"  but I needed  to show I have brown brows not grey. Apply your mascara and my favorite touch was to add (5) to the inner corner of the eye (it totally helps and make the eyes big and bright, which you will need by the end of the night WHATEVER may happen,  Now you are done with the eyes.

 

This it totally optional but instead of adding glitter of a funky gem by the eyes I took (5) from the face makeup to add a gleam to my upper cheeks.   Lipstick is not going to last regardless of lasting power but for pics it should be bright!  it looks young and fun!  I used revlon's Colorburst matte balm in 205 Elusive matte last longer and has a staining effect that can last regardless if you reapply. To match the sparkle I added gloss Rimmel Stay glossy.

 

But wait! wait Prom is not only about the face but the hair!  What do i do about the hair.  If you look at my prom pic, diregard the fact that I have no makeup on but what was I thinking on the hair.  I think back then I rolled my hair into old cardboard rolls that gave me a nice wave but SO did not last.  I loved my long hair i wanted to show it off plus I didn't have the time to go to a salon for a banging up do.  I do reccommend to pin back the hair somehow.  Letting the hair down is great but will fall flat by pictures.  ringlets, side swept bangs things like that will get greasy throught the night and fall in front of your face.  Pin it back if you could.

 

 Borrow hot rollers if you don't have them it's quick & easy.  It will give you curly body that will fall but give you beautyful waves at the end of the night.

After taking out the curls I sprayed my hair with a dry shampoo this will absorb the natural oils and keep the hold to tease the crown of your hair. I

 

I teased the front and used 2 bobby pins to pin down the front hair and let the rest of the hair fall creating a girly curly do. Set with hair spary.

 

 

This is not about the dress.  The dress is everyones'n individual choice.  I wish i could have pushed the limit.  I think I recall someone dressed up in a older historical style dress i think it was Irene.  But thats is what i remember.  years later i can't tell you what my friends wore, my own dress was lavender I got from a mall from a store that closed months later.  My shoes were white and were the same shoes that i wore in junior high. 

 

Final recommendations: 

• Bring your ID (bring school and state ID) and the school does care who your date is so regardless they should have ID on them too.
• Try to cram those Dr. Scholls flats in your tiny purse.  Your feet will love you for it.
• Have cash on you but not a wad but talk to your parents, I reccommend to bring those refilliable credit cards.  (just in case ladies you never know what will happen on prom night.  It can read as good or bad.)
• makeup wise I think you will only have time ans space in your purse for lip gloss and a powder compact for a mirror or blotting sheets it's the only thing that you can give a guy that they will find cool and play with to eliminate shine.  clean and clear blotting sheets, you guys can watch them tun clear from the oil, its fun while you are waiting for pictures.
• Bring a camera,  yes you will have your cell but that battery will be sucked dry by the end of the night with instagramming posting and taking selfies.

 

Its prom make it a night to remember.  I spoke to my date/husband about the night.  He couldn't remember anything about it (that refreshing :{)  I remember moments but it was nothing actually about the prom.  I am glad I went,  i can say that I went but that was it.  So take it from a girl who thinks back to her prom as a night of regrets from schedule of event that day, to makeup, hair to the end,  where we ended the night falling asleep at dennys,  make it memorable.

 

 

 

NEW Physicians Formula Youthful Wear

I purchased these products at CVS. It was a crazy discount, 40% off the original price.  SCORE!  I only picked up the concealer and the Foundation.  I love the packaging,  purple, my fave.  I normally do not pick up Physicians Formula products only because it’s one of the most expensive brands in the drugstore.  Normally these products would retail 12 – 15 dollars a product.  I have used the BB line which is okay.  (Comment if you would like my full review on that)

CLAIMS:  Look 10 years younger instantly.  The formula helps UNDO the visible signs of aging, restore firmness and elasticity and improves skin’s appearance.

Even the package has the word “spotless” that it is supposed to reduce the appearance of spots,  but products never say what types of spots it will reduce.   I hoped it would clear up my scars from old blemishes.  My first impression was very skeptical,  how can a foundation from the drug store INSTANTLY make me younger.  If it claims that I will look younger by ten years then that means that I will look 22 again.  Don’t hate but what if I still look like I’m 22?  I knew that I had to zone in onto the subtle differences and focus on other aspects of the foundation.


This is a BEFORE.  You can see some reddness, scars and a blemish above my eye

This foundation is very “liquid-y” instead of a pump PF put a dropper so you can drop the product onto the provided brush.  I won’t mention it again but the brush SUCKS, don’t use it.  This brush will hinder more than help.  Does it smell?  Oh my YES.  I will try to describe the smell.  It smells as if I left my carmel Frappuccino out for a couple of days and it’s starting to turn.  It smells like a moldy sweetness!  Eww, Sorry but it’s not so bad that I gag.  Moving on.


This is the AFTER as you can see it evened and covered fairly well with a dewy natural finish.

Coverage is light to medium I have to build up if I want to cover up something. It gives me a dewy finish, at times sometimes I think it’s too glow-y.  If you are wondering if I am talking about the concealer or the foundation, it’s the foundation.  I am still working with it, but I am not impressed with the concealer.  I thought that the concealer would be a bit thicker than the foundation to actually cover, but it’s more liquid-y than the foundation?  WTF,how am I suppose cover spots? If I am not careful enough I can wipe, stipple or dab away the product?

I notice I pick up this foundation as a quick fix to even out my skin tone that results in real look skin.  Also it moisturizes my face very well and does not accentuate my major dry patches.  I am still in need to powder my tzone because it's to shiny.  I like this foundation,  I am not sure it this well be part of the regular line a products but I suggest you try it blogreaties.

 

Skinn Cosmetics - Old Hollywood Look

So Sorry my Blogreaties,  I have totally neglected posting  this month.  Honestly I haven't really had a chance to even put on a full face because i have been so busy at work.  Lately I have been playing with a brand that I am not familiar with, Skinn Cosmetics.  I bought two sets from the brand on Hautelook.com and finally received it in the mail. ( Darn Hautelook “hella-long” standard processing and shipping)

Skinn Cosmetics is the beauty brand from creator Dimitri James. Dimitri James is a professional make-up artist whose work has graced the runway and the red carpet as well as national and international television shows and magazines.  He is also the author of Becoming Beauty and Naughty Makeovers for Nice Girls. 

Skinn Cosmetics is a brand that claims to have high quality ingredients in their products.  Skinn sells both skin care and makeup.  Looking at this website it is more skin care based rather than makeup. Skinn Website.Yet just looking at the ingredients I automatically see that the eye shadows do not contain TALC.  That is a good sign.  Talc is commonly used in cosmetics as a filler or color additive.  Though it is said that it clogs pores, it does explain a good difference between prices of makeup. 
 

DEFINITION – Talc: very soft mineral that is a basic silicate of magnesium, has a soapy feel, and is used especially in making talcum powder

When I first opened the packaging I honestly freaked out.  I spent a decent amount of money on a brand that I didn’t know to realize that the packaging reminded me of something that I would pick up from a 99 cent store.  Wah Wah!  Cheap plastic case even some of the shadows popped out if the case.  Thank goodness it didn't break but cheap glue was used to secure the products.  See the picture below,  can you tell which packing is which?  Left is Skinn, right is a very cheap makeup brand.  The palette on the right retails for 10-15 dollars.  The left I will feature on my Palette Series at a later time.  Skinn does claim on their website that it focuses on the quality of the actual products not the packaging.  But really packing is apart of the product, thats my opinion.  All products are said to be ani-aging, anti oxidant

 

Skinn Cosmetics Three-Piece "BB Your Best" Color Collection

 This Set included:
Absolute Perfection BB Cream - 1.3oz
Luxe Premier Eyshadows - Seduction - 0.4oz
Hollywood Lip Palette - 0.3oz

Absolute Perfection BB Cream -  there was no color labeled on the bottle.  But it was a perfect light medium color for my face.  Did it cover OMG yes.  This was practically a foundation it covered well.  It didn’t  cake onto my face and looks like healthy skin.  This was great. This is not a matte finish and I did use a setting powder on my look.

Luxe Premier Eyeshadows - Seduction: Has 12 eye shadow shades, of all finishes.  The colors honestly are all similar to each other and are neutral browns and creams.  very pigmented not chalky.  but I can do without it the colors didn't offer enough variety to make tons of looks for later.

Hollywood Lip Palette:  All red colors.  Cool and warm reds thats it.  you can mix them together but you will just create another red color.   All have a staining effect and did'nt dry my lips but it's still nothing to go out and get specifically. 

Usually this set can run you up to 80 bucks.  But I got it from Hautelook at a ridiculous discount.  Also the type of BB Cream it came with is the older version.  The newer version has more color selection and a change in formula.  I hope they didn’t change it too much because I love this stuff. The BB is the only thing that impressed me for my first review of Skinn.  The BB gave great coverage and it held up to all the benfits that the calims stated.  But other than that,  I wouldn't go for this set.  It's a great gift for a makeup wearer but honestly it not a gift that a person will remember.  Wah! Wah! For my look, I took the inspiration from the name of the Lip palette "Hollywood" and created an old hollywood look with a cat eye, red lips and a Veronic Lake-like hairstyle to top it off.