Champagne Tastes on a Beer Budget: DIY Face Masks

"For Champagne Tastes on a Beer Budget" is the slogan for the youtube channel Vainglorious, a sect of Threadbanger that focuses on fashion. I love it, and it inspired to put together this little post for all you fashionable poor people out there (like me).

A DIY FACIAL USING ONLY INGREDIENTS YOU'D FIND IN YOUR KITCHEN:

For dry skin- This is the method I use, so I know it's tried and true :) Get an avocado, chop it in half, gut it, and mash it up. Mix it with about a 1/4 cup of honey. Smear the yummy mixture on your face, let it sit for 10 minutes, and then wash it off. Enjoy your naturally soft face!

For oily skin: Try Milk of Magnesia. Now, this might not be in your kitchen (for those of you who don't know, Milk of Magnesia is a liquid often used to aid in, ahem, digestive issues), but it is a relatively easily accessible item, even if you don't have it. You can find it at Walmart for really cheap (look in the medicines). Anyway, just rub a little Milk of Magnesia all over your face, let it sit for 10-15 minutes, and then wash it off. According to Paula Begoun in "The Beauty Bible", this absorbs oil even better than clay masks do, and will leave your skin feeling nice and refreshed.

For acne- For this mask, you will need about 3 aspirin, honey, water, and olive oil. Crush the aspirin using a coffee cup or glass, and put it in a dish. Mix in a few drops of water so it dissolves and gets a little pasty. Then, mix in warm honey and olive oil. Rub the concoction all over your face, allow to dry, and then wash off after 10 minutes. This should help dry up any existing pimples and redness on your face :)


Now, take into consideration that FOR ALL OF THESE MASKS, everyone's skin is different. You may have a reaction to something that I don't, and therefore an at-home facial might not be the best. However, I do have really sensitive skin, and I've never had any issues with kitchen facials lol. So, I hope you try one of these and enjoy it!!! Let me know if you do! I'd love to hear it. (Email: faebaby18@gmail.com, Twitter: BelieveMakeup)

Hair guru-dom

We're only two days into the second week of cosmetology school, and I feel like I've already learned so much! Yesterday, I learned the techniques for the three basic curls: 6, 8, and barrel curls. Today, I learned three more forms of hair cuts! I'll be a stylist before you know it.

Before: curly hair

After! I straightened it by blowing it out with a hair dryer.

6 curls

Diagonal graduated cut

Graduated cut

I took an under shot so you could see the layers better

Layered hair!

You know, before I started cosmetology school, I was actually really, really nervous. Living in my apartment means that I have to work my butt off in order to go to school full time and still pay all my bills. But, I can honestly say that I don't regret the decision I made at all. I LOVE cosmetology school. Even theory, which can be boring, is still about things that I'm interested in. Everything I do in school everyday makes me happy, because it's all about beauty, hair, and fashion. I've never enjoyed working on anything the way I love doing this day in and day out. It's gratifying, really, because I finally feel like I found my niche.
Speaking of niches, even in cosmetology, people have specialties. At first, we were doing mostly blow-outs, which was a little discouraging at first, because I.... suck at blow outs. LOL. I mean, they look acceptable, but a lot of the girls in class are amazing at it, and I am not one of them. However, I seem to have picked up cutting hair pretty easily. For every cut we've done, so far, the teacher complimented my cut when she came over to check it. I'm pretty happy about it. I'm glad to be good at something. I was worried it would take awhile for me to pick up on things, but I seem to be a pretty fast learner.
Anyway, if there's ever a picture that I post that'd you'd like a tutorial on, just ask, and I'll make one!! That way, you can learn all about hair vicariously through me, without paying $15,000 to go to school for it, hahahaha... (Of course, you won't qualify for a license to become a professional through me, but for personal use, that's pretty perfect.)
I hope you guys enjoy! Wish me luck!

Love always,
Andrei

First Week of Cosmetology School!!!

Hey guys!
This week, I started cosmetology school. (Just so you know, cosmo school focuses mostly on hair, not make-up.) It's been pretty fun so far. I got the first chunk of my kit, which included an awesome BaByliss hair dryer and straightener.

Classmates Colleen and Cache model our cosmetology tools hahahahaha

BIG bag to lug around. Bleh.

Hair clips galore!

Fancy hair dryer heehee

(I also got an EXCEPTIONALLY SEXY uniform. Yum.)
This past week, we learned how to properly shampoo hair. Exciting, I know. Actually, though, it was pretty fun. We all got to blow-dry and style each other's hair when we were done, and our teacher let us do whatever style we wanted.

We also did LOTS of theory (boo), including professional development (aka "You better show up to work on time. And take a shower first, too"), tricology (hair science haha), and CHEMISTRY... I hate Chemistry. *sigh*
Anyway, on Friday, I got to do my first hair cut!!!! Granted, it was on a mannican, but it was still super exciting- to me ahahah. Yay! Anyway, I'm going to continue to take lots of pictures... I'm sure my fellow students will love me for it. (... not. LOL. Oh wells.)

Disturbing sea of mannican heads lol

Me creepily taking pictures of classmates hahaha

My first cut!!!

My mannican has a mohawk... I only cut the bottom, I swear hahaha

Proof!

So, what do you guys think? Looks like fun, right? Since I have, in fact, started school, I figured I'd mention one more thing... If you ever want to see a particular blog post, or want to know a certain skill, see how I did a certain make-up look, etc., you can always comment on my posts or email me (faebaby18@gmail.com) to let me know! I tend to post for requests immediately, since it gives me focus haha, and being as busy as I am, that is SUPER HELPFUL. Thanks guys :)
Wish me luck!

Polka Dot Nails!!!

My most recent design on my nails was a very cute watermelon pink polish topped with white polka dots. Usually, I opt for dark and/or glittery polish, but this time, I was feeling open-minded. I ended up loving them. They had a very adorable, retro vibe to them. I felt like I should be dressed as a pin-up girl 24/7. Hahaha.

The polishes I used were:

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Polish in "Pink Sapphire." I got this for $0.75 at CVS!

Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen in White

Sally Hansen Hard as Nail Clear Top Coat

I love the Sally Hansen Nail Art Pens. For this design, I basically just colored in big circles, and put tiny little dots in the open spaces. The only problem I've found with the nail art pens is that they fade... FAST. Back when I did the black and white striped nails, the strips came off after, like a half hour. You have to make sure you put a top coat on the design once it's dry, so the color won't rub off. Other than that, though, they're pretty awesome. I hope you like!

Love always,

Andrei

The Basics: Make-up Brushes 101

I finally decided to put up some useful information on my blog (haha.) So, to start with my make-up instruction, I'm going to talk about brushes.

ESSENTIAL BRUSHES EVERY GIRL NEEDS:
1) Flat eyeshadow brush
2) Round crease eyeshadow brush
3) Fluffy powder brush
4) Blush brush
5) Angled eyeliner brush

I use those five brushes basically every time I apply make-up. Here are the brushes I use:

My blush brush. I love this for contouring as well as for applying blush. I got this in a Sonia Kashuk set from Target for $20.

My flat eyeshadow brush. This brush is extremely important for applying your base colors of eyeshadow. It helps the color appear more vibrant, and applies the color much more evenly than the dingy little cotton pads that come with your shadow. Mine is from Sephora.

My round crease eyeshadow brush. I love love love this brush. I use it for smoky eyes, to add dark color to my crease. I also use it to blend my eyeshadow colors. I got mine from Sephora.

This is a dual brush with a flat eyeshadow brush and an angled liner brush in one. It came in my Sonia Kashuk set as well. I mostly use the angled brush for filling in my eyebrows, because the bristles are really stiff and precise.

My other angled eye liner brush. This is from Sephora. It's much softer than the Sonia Kashuk one. I use it for applying eyeliner to my top and bottom lashes.

This adorable kabuki from actually opens up to a blush brush as well. I mostly use it as my powder brush. I prefer big brushes for powder brushes, because they disperse the powder better.

Now, those aren't all my brushes, but those are the ones I use most often. You don't need to spend a lot of money on brushes, especially if you're only going to use them for basic make-up application. There are obviously more types of brushes as well, but as far as basics go, these are all you need.
I don't use foundation or concealer brushes on myself. It's better to apply those with your fingers, because your skin warms up the foundation/concealer, and therefore helps apply it more evenly. On other people, for sanitary reasons, I'll use them, but I always put the foundation/concealer on the back of my hand to warm it up, and then dip the brush in that.
These are the pro brushes that I WILL HAVE EVENTUALLY!!!! (hahaha... As a student, I am currently a little on the broke side... But eventually, they'll be mine.)
15 Piece Professional Set with Designer Case from Crown Brush
I hope this was useful. If anyone has questions, I'd love to answer them! You can message me at my Believe Make-up by Andrei page on Facebook, on Twitter (username BelieveMakeup), or you can simply comment below. Good luck!

Love always,
Andrei

First Photo Shoot Pictures are up!!!!

Yay! I'm so excited to announce that the pictures from my first professional photo shoot with James Andrew Photography are finally done! Here they are!

I hope you like them! I absolutely love them! Now that they're done, I'm ready to start up my online make-up portfolio, and hopefully start getting clients! Wish me luck!

Love always,

Andrei

Believe Makeup Photoshoot with Art School Dropouts!

It's finally up! Last Tuesday, I had my first professional photo shoot for my make-up biz with Jim Yost from James Andrew Photography. My friend, Joey Min, filmed the shoot, and put together a promotional video for me. It came out AWESOME! I am so thankful to both of them for all their help, and can't wait to work with them again soon. As soon as Jim finishes up with the pictures from the shoot, I'll post that, too. You can check both of them out here:
Jim- www.jamesandrewphoto.com
Joe- www.artschooldropouts.wordpress.com

Recently, I started using all-natural products for my beauty routine. I picked up Burt's Bees More Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner, and Burt's Bees Orange Essence face cleanser. (Tada- Burt's Bees More Moisture Raspberry & Brazil Nut Shampoo - 12 oz, Burt's Bees More Moisture, Raspberry & Brazil Nut, Conditioner 12 oz (340 g), Burt's Bees Facial Cleanser, Orange Essence, 4.34-Ounce Tubes (Pack of 2).)  I love them. My hair is super, super soft and shiny, and my face is so soft and moisturized that I didn't even need to use face moisturizer. I just started using them, but so far, I'd say they're amazing. They smell great, too.

I start cosmetology school, too, soon! February 7th, to be exact. February 2nd is my orientation, and I can't wait! Besides, once I'm started, I'll be good at hair, as well as make-up. :) Wish me luck!