Jane & Ben Engagement Session

I had the honor of doing Jane's makeup for her engagement photos. I met Jane and Ben when I used to attend CPC and remember thinking of them as little sis and bro (even though Ben is only one year younger)...lol. Now they're all grown up and getting married this summer!! Jane is a sweet, smart and pretty gal who works as a news anchor for NBC in Michigan and Ben is a smart one too, attending U of Michigan for dental school this year. They seem so young and happy, it's infectious. I wish them the best and happiest marriage and I can't wait to see them getting hitched! Stay tuned for wedding pictures...

If you want to see the full engagement session, here's the link to go to Sweet Mia's site.

http://www.sweetmiablog.com/2012/04/27/ben-and-jane-engagement/

Makeup by: Amenda Beck Makeup Artist
Photography by: Sweet Mia Photography

The Poor Man's Eyebrow Pencil and the Rich Man's Eyeliner

Hello to all the netizens out there. I apologize for the neglect and lack of upkeep of this blog to the online world. It's definitely been awhile...

Jumping right in... I wanted to talk about my 2 current hearts with makeup. The products were introduced to me by my friend Cats and sister-in-law JH.

The first product I want to talk about is the "Poor Woman's Eyebrow Pencil" that I referenced in my title. I say this since it's so darn cheap for the wonderful product that it is. It's the Sanford Design Ebony Sketch Pencil in 14420 or 14425. This is not an actual makeup product, but is an art product for sketching. Price point is anywhere from $1-$2 for a 2 pack and $5-$6 for 12 pack. You can't beat that! The color is a perfect grayish charcoal and has an excellent smudge factor for filling in and drawing Asian eyebrows. Your eyebrows look natural and doesn't look too gray. These pencils are easily accessible to the general public since you can buy it at Michaels and any neighborhood art supply store. Plus, for those of you who watch "Get It Beauty" with Yoo Jin of SES, most of the makeup artists that are featured on her show use the Ebony Pencils. Just in case anyone is worried about it not being a makeup product, I read up on the components to make sure it's not hazardous to the skin and it seems to be fine. Also, I've been using it for a good 4 months and my eyebrows are intact and not misshapen. :) I mix this pencil into my routine for a quick draw on since I can be messy and just smudge it out to neaten it.

My next item of choice is the Rich Woman's Eyeliner. The Chanel Ecriture de Chanel Automatic Liquid Eyeliner. I don't know how I lived without this product for so long. I've tried all sorts of eyeliners during my 19 years of makeup discovery and this one definitely takes the cake! No smudging, intense color, great brush tip, easy application, longevity in wear, good packaging, the list goes on...The price isn't so pretty though. It's $34 and for something that I use every day, I doubt this will last me 3 months. Still...it's definitely worth the $$ to have your eyeliner last through a cry fest at the movies and look as good as new. :) However, for those of you who are more thrifty and are looking for an economical alternative, my other good friend Hans suggested to me the Loreal Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner. You can purchase this  for $7-$8 at a drug store. This liner is supposed to be very similar to the Chanel. I personally can't testify to this, but I'll try it out once the Chanel is out.

Enjoy the rest of the week in our not so sunny SoCal! It'll be summer before we know it! xoxo