Once Labour Day hits and it’s September, summer quickly fades! 🙁
It also means that it is New York Fashion Week again! There are even more people on the streets, in taxis, eating out and the city is buzzing. I hope to find out about any new makeup products being used backstage.
This is also the weekend for the Essence Street Style Block Party in DUMBO, Brooklyn. I promised myself to go to as many events this summer and I think I did a pretty good job! It’s one of the last events happening while the weather is still warm so I need to get my las’ lap in 🙂
Finally, I have to mention 9/11 on this day. I was living in NYC at that time and I remember it quite vividly. Thoughts and prayers to those lost……
Here’s just a small haul of two, indie brands that I have wanted to try in forever! I love that more an more companies are coming out with different products, colours and textures and filling the void that major companies don’t. Colour Pop and Makeup Geek have been two brands that have gotten the beauty world buzzing with their unique offerings.
Let me just say this one time….I am absolutely impressed with both of these brands. I can tell a lot of work and thought went into creating these pieces. Amazing quality, amazing textures and what is the best part, is the price. I have not problem paying more for products from small companies, especially if they are minority-owned or they release products that work well on dark skin, but the eyeshadows are between US$5 and $6! Hella cheap! And they are cruelty free too! Makeup Geek was founded by Marlena, who is a makeup artist and YouTuber and I have been following Marlena for years! She is one of the OG YTers when video was shot in 240p. She has grown a lot and I am happy to see her being so successful. She clearly puts in a lot of work and knowledge into her shades and products and I love that she is so aware of the needs of people of colour and has some amazing colours that work so well with my skintone. Colour Pop just celebrated their 1 year anniversary a few months ago and they have been on every one’s lips! Their Eye Shadows and Lippie Stix are almost legendary! And I love the fact they they have swatches of their products on light, medium and dark skin! There are some amazing colour selections and the packing is so cute!
Anyway, here are the things that I have bought so far. I highly recommend checking them out, and I will be purchasing quite regularly. There is also a video of me reviewing these products and will be available below once live. And I have already used some of these products in a tutorial, take a look!
Makeup Geek Cosmetics: foiled on the left, other 2 are mattes
I love a matte brown eye shadow for crease work and blending. And her mattes are divine! So buttery, smooth, not chalky and so richly pigmented! The regular eye shadows are $5.99 each and the foiled ones are $9.99 and come in pan form only and MG ships worldwide! So my Caribbean people, doh sleep!!!
Cocoa Bear
MG: Cocoa Bear
This is a matte, very warm brown colour with strong red undertones. This is gorgeous, especially and tan-to- dark skintones. This is a great transition colour especially for those cool, smokey looks.
Bitten
MG: Bitten
This is an unusual and unique colour, a matte, burgundy red. Red shades can sometimes be hard to wear, but this is another great blending/transition colour. Women with deep, dark skinniness, this is an amazing colour. Works well with brown and purple looks.
Masquerade
MG: Masquerade
This is a foiled eyeshadow. Very high shine/metallic factor. Shimmery, but not chunky, very smooth. A stunning, stunning rich red-purple colour! And it can be used both dry and wet to amp up the intensity. Ugh! This is beautiful! Very regal! I used this in one of my latest looks.
Swatches
From the top to bottom: Bitten, Cocoa Bear, Masquerade
This kinda blew my mind when I saw that this was coming out! Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics has made their name in the beauty industry off of tubes of lip colour called Lip Tars. These are heavily pigmented, vegan lip colours in squeezable tubes made to mix and match. A myriad of gorgeous and unique colours but dammit they were always leaking everywhere! I have Lip Tar stains in my handbags, in my kit, on my clothes…Even when they changed to the needle-nosed tubes, it made life a lot better but when I make a colour mix on a client, I always have trouble telling them how to replicate it. For the beginner or the on-the-go girl, the tubes were not the best to throw in your bag.
OCC has just taken 25 of their top shades and created Lip Tar Ready To Wear.
OCC’s Lip Tar RTW
Same amazing, minty formula but now housed in a regular cylindrical tube with a doe-foot applicator. SO…EXCITED! These colours are still available in their original form for the makeup artist, but this new version is great for the average consumer.
I received a couple of colours to try. I think you can totally guess which one is my favourite! 🙂
A note: these Lip Tars have a long drying time. They take more than a minute, which gives you enough time to mix other colours. When they dry, the finish is matte, but not the desert dry of your typical liquid lipsticks. They also dry down to an opaque finish. Because of that, I would suggest pairing with a lip liner to help prevent bleeding. In these pictures, they look shiny as they had not dried fully.
Here is what they look like.
OCC Lip Tar/RTW
I love the packaging! The tubes look like syringes! The applicator is you typical doe-foot and you can control the amount of product on it using the wiper on the inside of the tube.
This product junkie has been made very, very happy! I am sooooo excited!
Vivrant Beauty is a brand new boutique that opened about 3 weeks ago. Located on 121st and St. Nicholas, Vivrant curates skincare, haircare and cosmetic products that cater to all skintones and hair textures.
This upscale, gorgeous beauty oasis is bright but calming and peaceful and is nothing like your typical beauty supply store. Vivrant’s owner Desiree Verdejo has carefully selected brands that are black owned or carries an extensive colour range. Many of these brands or sold online or in a limited number of brick-and-mortar stores. Some of them I had never heard of.
Earlier this year, fellow Caribeña, Afro-Latina and model Joan Smalls gave all kinds of face with this look for the Met Gala.
Joan Smalls, Met Gala 2015 via The Zoe Report
I was immediately smitten! Very dramatic and smokey for evening, but quite bright and definitely a great look for warm-weather evening. Joan is a brand ambassador for Estée Lauder, so her makeup artist used all Lauder products, but I used what I had available, mixing and matching when needed. If you love a look, you certainly don’t need to go out and buy the exact makeup to make it work. I also took the opportunity to try out the brand new, 4K/UHD compatible foundation from Make Up For Ever. I will be writing a separate review on this one. I also got some new shadows recently, including my first taste at the Makeup Geek eye shadows. I have been a fan of Marlena for years and I am really happy to see her being so successful with her line. She is very smart and knowledgeable and I love that she has a serious love for makeup and even though she has her own line, she is all about great makeup from any brand.
Anyways…here is what I came up with.
It is actually quite a simple look, just lots and lots of blending to get that swept look. All details of the products used are below and remember to substitute your own products when needed.
Image via FB, Essence.
