Repost of the popular Makeup forever flash pallette vs kryolan

Hello people, 

I hope that this post finds you all doing well.  It is fridge cold in Texas.  My poor puppies don't want to go outside.  Maybe the weather is better where you are.  Let me jump right in with my dilemma.  I have just started out as a makeup artist.  I haven't yet begun to work.  But I would like to start building a kit to do freelance work.  Many of the well known artists sites say that in their kits they have the Makeup forever 12 color flash palette.  As you may know, this is pricey and only available at sephora.  It comes in at a whooping $93 dollars.  I knew that there had to be a comparable product available for less money.  After some research I found the Kryolan 18 color shimmering visions cream palette for $53.00.

I don't know about you, but the Kryolan seems like a way better bargain.  More colors for less money, and 12 of them seem like exact dupes of the Makeup forever palette.  Being pretty new to the industry, I hope some of you can tell my why one would be better than the other.

top pic- makeup forever 12 color flash palette, bottom pic-kryolan 18 color shimmering vision palette

If you look at these side by side you can see the gold, silver, peach, blue, turquoise, red, yellow, green, pink, magenta, white, and brown from the mufe are also in the kryolan.  The kryolan has bronze, purple, orange, cream, sea blue, copper in addition.  I have heard great things about both products.  They both contain the same amount of product per well.  So the price difference can't be based on that.  I just would really love your opinion People.

As Alice's door mouse would say ,
Thank you muchness,

Leslie

Fiber mascara review and what I am listening to on my i pod.

Hello my people, How are you all doing? I hope you are having a fun Summer filled with travel, barbeques, pool parties and beach trips. I have had some house guests and some barbeques. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go to the water park. It isn't safe for me with my bone metastasis to go down water slides (broken bones and such) Instead I have been doing some shopping and online ordering (Amazon, hautelook ect) I will do a recent loot video soon. I really want to share these great finds with you! I am embedding a recent review on fiber mascara and the NYX eye marker, plus a couple songs that are getting a lot of play time on my cell phone lately. Thanks for stopping by the beautiful life, Please take a moment to subscribe or leave a comment, Leslie

June favorites

Hello People, There are sooooo many products that I use that are really wonderful. For now I thought I'd just focus on eyes. Since my eyebrows and lashes are growing back I have been having a lot more fun using shadows, liners and mascara. Plus it has been great to define my eyebrows as I have a hair "guide" to draw them in. Here are the products that I have become dependent on to create lash and brow looks. Take a look and see if some of them may be useful to you as well. Leslie

April 2012 favorites, things I am trying for May, and products that are great for traveling

Hello people, It has been a very busy month. I have been running around getting medical tests done, and doing some shopping for Spring and Summer items. Preparing for and planning trips for the season ahead. I wanted to share with you all the things that I have been using and how I like or don't like them. Plus some great ideas of things to take with you when traveling. Smaller TSA approved items. I think that you will like these ideas a lot. Some of them are ideas that I gleened from other YOUTUBERS. Let me know what you think. Leave your comments below. Here are some links of people that are mentioned in the video. And this is the site where I learned the information on where to apply blusher when you have "matured" Enjoy the videa! Thanks for stopping by. Take a moment to subscribe. Leslie

Bad hair day

Hello people, We all have what we call a "bad hair day" from time to time. I never really appreciated the blessing of a bad hair day until I lost my hair to chemotherapy. Now my hair is growing in thinly and there are a few spots that are still very much scalp exposed! Here is a photo that is a few days old. It gives you a solid idea of how long my hair is and how thin it has become.

I wear hats often to hide the little bald spot at the crown of my head. I have an upcoming event wear I will get to wear an evening gown, and really don't think it would look lovely with a ball cap or a cancer hat. So, today I am retrying the wigs I have. Right now I am wearing the long blonde wig. I really wish I hadn't cut the bangs. But I did, so there ya go. Here is a picture of what that looks like.

What do you think? Should I wear a wig with my fancy dress or just go for it and be semi bald? If you have style advice for me please place a comment below or send an email to the email link that is in the side bar to the right. I look forward to and appreciate your insight and advice! Thanks, Leslie

Basic day and night cleansing and moisutizing routine.

Hey people! I am uploading a new video outlining my daily beauty routine. I am trying out the software that came pre-installed on the Dell my sweet hubby got me for Christmas. So far the Dell is a hit!! Forgive the goofy cover screen of a theater curtain and a sign. I had already begun filming and could not get it to go away. I have figured out how to prevent that from being there in future videos. For now let's you and laugh at the silly screen!! Please let me know what your thoughts are on this video and tell me what sort of subjects you would like me to cover in the future. Thanks for stopping by, Leslie

Keeping YOU posted

Hello my people,

It has been ages and ages since I have vlogged to you.  The time has come.  In all sincerity, it has been my self conciousness at being bald, eyebrowless, and lashless that has kept me from feeling like it is time for a close up!  LOL!  But, I truly felt that you deserved to know what has been going on and how I am doing.  In the weeks ahead, I will post more videos and blogs.  They will be more personal and less cosmetic heavy.  Look for those soon!  Thanks for stopping to view my video.

Leslie

Makeup forever flash palette-vs Kryolan shimmer vision palette, the ultimate smack down!

Hello People,

A while back I purched the Makeup forever 12 color flash palette.  As you may know, this is pricey and only available at sephora.  It comes in at a whooping $93 dollars. I also bought the Kryolan palette that seemed to be a duplicate of the MUF flash palette.  I got frustrated with the Kryolan shimmering vision palette.  It was indeed much more shimmery, and despite using a terrific eye shadow primer, it still rubbed off everywhere but the crease.  Using the same eye shadow primer with the makeup forever flash palette held it in place for hours.  Plus I would get so many compliments from my fella and others when I would wear it out in public.  Now that is an awesome feeling to have others tell you you look great.  So despite the expense, I would say that MUF is a better makeup and a better value.  I still have it.  It lasts forever.  I have even used it to do fantasy makup on my son for Halloween. 

Eric made a terrific zombie, but my cellphone pic didn't do justice to how great he looked.

top pic- makeup forever 12 color flash palette, bottom pic-kryolan 18 color shimmering vision palette

If you look at these side by side you'll see the gold, silver, peach, blue, turquoise, red, yellow, green, pink, magenta, white, and brown from the mufe are also in the kryolan.  The kryolan has bronze, purple, orange, cream, sea blue, copper in addition.  

The MUF is more solid and waxy than the kryolan.  This Kryolan palette is more creamy and sheer when applied. 

Overall I'm still really enjoying the MUF.  The kryolan didn't make the cut during a makeup clean out when I moved to Colorado.  It just didn't seem worth packing and moving cross country when I was only keeping it because it looked pretty in the container.  LOL

Thanks for checking


Leslie

A day with coffee is so much more beautiful than a day without.

Hello people,
I am sure by now that you have heard me mention my love for coffee.  Looking back in time, I think I was 7 or 8 when my mom allowed me to have coffee that was mostly milk with a bit of coffee in it.  I believe that is what we call a latte now days.  From that moment on I wanted caffeine in my life. It became a quest of sorts.  As a teen I took my java with real cream and lots of sugar.  Talk about a jolt of energy.  Later I switched to coffee with milk.  Now days it is about a quarter cup of chocolate silk soy milk and then strong coffee.  I guess that would be a soy latte.  It is awesome.  So good, you should try it.  I am not apposed to having a shot or two of espresso.  I love tea as well, but coffee is my favorite of the two. I found an interesting link with information about coffee, and other interesting articles. I have pasted the information below.  But I'd be remiss if I didn't give you the link as well.


http://theoatmeal.com/static/coffee.html


The oatmeal is a fun site to check out.  If you have any interest in caffeinated beverages.  Have a steaming hot cup of coffee with me.  It tasted great on a cold winter day.


Leslie

All the little things that make this the beautiful life

Hello people,
Primarily, I tell you about  all the stuff that makes life beautiful.  Surface level stuff like make up, clothes, candles and fun things that I do and experience.  Today I want to go deeper.  Yawl know that I have metastatic breast cancer.  The past 10 months have been extreme.  I have 3 weeks of chemo a month with a pretty intoxicating witches brew of science to try and shrink the tumors.  Those tumors are in my right arm bone, both lungs, both hips and in right chest wall.  I've lost my hair, eyelashes, eyebrows and all traces of femininity.  It is much harder to put on my face or do my hair.  In the  midst of all of the treatment, being sick, and physical pain, I have made myself get dressed up and do my makeup and hair almost every day.  Trying to feel noral is my new normal. 

By making myself stick to the routine of being normal, I have managed to move from Texas to Colorado.  I have gone to England for the week of the royal shin dig.  Traveled with m daughter to Dothan Alabama.  Recently traveled with my husband to New Mexico for a family celebration.  I have forced myself to do more outside of my comfort zone  in the past 10 months than I have done in the past 5 years.  Because of these excursions, I have seen a more beautiful life than ever.  Sunsets, snow drifts, cactus, an amazing owl that lives on our land, lots of deer.  Even more beautiful are the people that I have spent time with.  My closest family members, old friends, and new friends, church too.

Oh don't get me wrong, I am still a girl to the core and love shopping, clothes, make up and all those superficial things.  This week I got news that made the beautiful life positively glitter.  I am in remission!  No I am not cured.  It will most likely come back, but God only knows when.  I get to stay on chemo to keep myself in remission, with a short drug break from one of my chemo drugs for a couple of months this Spring/Summer.  It may be tacky to see so much beauty in life when you know that you are dying.  But the beauty I see is less fake sparkle and more true beauty.  Less things and more moments.  I had to share this great news with my beautiful life people.  Thank you for sharing in this news.

Leslie

Christmas, what a perfect day

Hello people!  It has been forever since I have posted.  This blog is supposed to be about all the ways you can make life more beautiful. It seems that most of my blogs have been makeup related.  I DO have other things that happen or that I do that I think make for a beautiful life.  So, future posts will be  a little less cosmetic related and more mishmashes topics that I find interesting and think you will find interesting as well.

Recently I watched a show on hgtv that I hadn't seen before.  It was called Donna decorates Dallas.  I found it pretty interesting.  I would watch it again.  Anyhow, they made some feather trees and they Rocked!!!  It was something that totally fit the nitch of making life more beautiful.  So, off to hobby lobby I went.  Once I had my supplies (bags of feathers, a new hot glue gun and a Styrofoam Christmas tree) I went home and whipped one up.  Below you will see a photo of the finished tree.

Feathered Christmas tree

These feathered trees are Victorian in origin.  They started making these trees in Germany in the 1800's.  They made them out of goose feathers and a paper tree form.  The Victorians used black feathers because they considered them to be more elegant.  These trees became a popular and cheap option in the United states in the 1920.  There are antique trees from that time still around and lots of people collect them.  Maybe someday I can get a fortune for my cheapo feather Christmas tree. LOL.  While I am waiting to make my fortune, it is just a tree that decorates my home and give me a more beautiful life.

Should you decide to make one, just let your imagination go wild.  The one I saw on Donna decorates Dallas had feather, leopard skin ribbons, and lots of glitter.  Mine just is fancy feathers.  You can find all sorts of example on youtube, and other craft sites around the web.  Happy Crafting!!!!


Thanks for stopping by missditz-thebeautifullife.com

Leslie

Updates, new products, and Christmas cheer.

Hello People,
It has been a while since I have posted.  Since You last heard from me I have moved (twice, because we stayed with my mom between moving to Colorado and moving into our house)  The whole moving process took a long time.  I have already settled into a routine with my new oncologist.  I have a whole month of treatment under my belt.  So far Parker Colorado is pretty decent.  This country living is an adjustment though.  Everything takes a lot more planning.  When you run to the store it takes half the day to drive to town and do the shopping and return.  You don't just run for a gallon of milk!  Other than making me a better planner, I am hoping this new life helps me to relax more.

It gives me plenty of time to search my favorite sites.  Such as www.limecrimemakeup.com.

Here are a few of our favorite things:  Loop-De-Loop (midnight blue with iridescent sparkle), Cherry On Top (pink-red with rainbow sparkle), Golden Ticket (lamé gold),  Kaleidoscope (plum-purple with turquoise sparkle) and Candy Apple (ruby red with crimson glitter).

Carousel Gloss is Limited Edition and expected to last through the end of winter, so be sure to put it on your Christmas list! Retails at $17. Vegan & cruelty-free.

They are always coming up with new things.  Recently they came out with the candy eyed shadow primer.  This works great as a lip primer too!  But for the holidays they have created a new lip gloss.  The colors are fantastic.  Very whimsical and fun.  I can see myself using the orange and red or even accenting with the gold.  Heck, I might even use the purple.  Blue is a bit bright for me, but I know that there are some brave fashion forward people who read this blog, and for them blue is the bomb!  So, if you are looking for a great stocking stuffer, or a little gift for yourself, it is very affordable at $17 for the whole set!!

Here is a recipe for a drink that you can use for holiday toast.  It is called Christmas cheer.  But you could have it at Thanksgiving.  Remember, Don't drink and drive!

Servings:

9 

per drink

• 1 1/2 fluid ounces green apple vodka
• 1/2 fluid ounce triple sec
• 1 teaspoon grenadine
• 3 fluid ounces cranberry juice

per pitcher

• 12 fluid ounces green apple vodka
• 4 fluid ounces triple sec
• 2 tablespoons grenadine, plus
• 2 teaspoons grenadine
• 24 fluid ounces cranberry juice

Directions:

1. 
   
   Drink makes one and the pitcher makes 8 (unless the drinks are large, then maybe 5-6).
2. 
   
   Mix and serve over ice.
3. 
   
   Happy holidays!

you could probably remove the alcohol and make  a virgin rendition of this drink.
Have a happy thanksgiving.

Leslie

Here are a few of my favorite sites.

Hello People,
I have a confession to make.  I am a purpose driven shopper.  Yes, that's right.  I don't usually like to go shopping unless I have something in my mind.  It is usually something that I have made up in my head.  For instance I may want a shirt and have an image of what it should look like.  I go shopping, and of course I won't find what I want.  There won't be anything that is exactly what I want.  This makes me cranky!  It makes me not want to go shopping at all.  Another confession is that I love presents!!!  When a package arrives in the mail with  my name on it it makes me giddy inside with excitement.  You would thing this would be a temporary rush, but nope.  It is long lasting.  I buy for long term enjoyment.  The clothes I buy are investments to me.  If I buy something to wear I usually go for something classic that can be added to or taken away from and will not go "out of season".  So there are a few retro or vintage type sites for clothes.  Here is a little list of some of the clothes sites I like to shop at. 
Pinup girl clothing is a great site for all shapes and sizes.  It is great for a girl like me who has curves.  You can easily order clothes there and not worry that it will be the wrong size.  There are clothing charts and the outfits are very tailored and stylized.  You will LOVE the retro-ness of the site.  The clothes are very "mad men" looking.  I enjoy day dreaming.  To check it out personally follow the link below:

http://www.pinupgirlclothing.com/

You also may have heard me mention Mod cloth a time or three.  LOL!  My daughter and I really LOVE this site.  There is such a wide selection of fun and funky classic clothing.  You'll also find housewares, jewelery, shoes and other accessories.  They have a blog with recipes, fashion and decorating ideas. It is fun to read, the writers are interesting. There is even a section of vintage products.  It is a popular part of the site.  They get snapped up pretty quickly.   The link is:

http://www.modcloth.com/

The third place on line I like to shop for clothes is Ruche.  It is a beautifully done website with great sections.  There are great clothing varieties, home and office, swim suits, curvy and plus sizes.  It also has an interesting blog to read.  I always learn a little something when I visit the blog. It has great people writing.  The photos and layout are really exciting! 

 http://www.shopruche.com/


It is a bit more expensive than my usual haunt of Target.  http://www.target.com/  They have some pretty fun clothing in their campaign international line.  But it isn't that much more pricy.  When you spend a few more dollars at these sights you will find clothes that have double seams, blind hems, french seams, and beautiful decorative stitching and embroidery.  All high quality items that you can wear for many years because retro never goes out of style.  Style never goes out of style.  Plus Fun clothes are always fun. 

Thanks for stopping by.  Take a moment to subscribe.

Leslie

Fried pasta with sun dried tomatos and artichoke hearts

Hello people,
This is a simple 10 minute meal from start to finish. It is what I call jar cooking or dump and stir. Using the ingredients you keep stocked in your pantry, you can create a bunch of different versions of this recipe. It is super yummy, easy to make and quick!! Enjoy. Also, if you do make your own version, post a video or share the written recipe.

Leslie

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Tee shirt revamp project

Hello people,

I have a project for making over a basic tank top tee shirt.  What I have done is taken a2 yrd tulle trim edging and sewn it it into a a circle by sewing the ends together

Then I have taken a 3/8 inch wide elastic, measured my waist and removed 3 inches.  Taking the elastic and stretching it as I sew, I have sewn it to the the tulle.

By stretching the elastic as I sew a zig zag stitch (at the widest and longest setting) to the tulle, it creates a gather and makes the tulle ruffly. 

After turning the tulle into a ruffled circle I pin it to the tee shirt and then sew using the existing stitch line at the hem of the tee shirt as a reference point to sew the two pieces together. 

Then viola!!  Here is a picture of the finished shrt. 

This is a nice little pop of whimsy to just a plain tee shirt!  I love being a girl.

Can a girl ever have too many ruffles?

Thank you for stopping by to check out this project.

Leslie

Advice on makeup primer and a little advice on life

This is a quick video with a little makeup tip and a bit of advice on living!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

RapidLash experiment

Hello people,
As You know I have lost my lashes and brows due to chemo.  My brows never really grew back healthy after my chemo in 2001.  So, with this round of chemo the eyelashes are gone and the brows are not far behind.  I can easily get a prescription for the latisse.  It isn't something that they do a lot of at my chemo office.  For now I think I will try the over the counter option.  The Rapid lash ranks second under the latisse as an eyelash and eyebrow regrowth product.  Starting today I will begin using the rapid lash at bedtime.  They say that it takes 14 days to begin to see results.  That is the pretty much the standard with the top four lash products.  They all say that they take 14 days to begin showing results. 

Gross close up, but you can see that I have only 8 or 9 lashes left and the other eye is bald.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fall Fashion hunt

Hello people,
I have been on a Fall fashion hunt.  My current search is for Long sleeve tee shirts that are fitted and feminine looking.  I have had a little luck finding shirts at forever 2, I got two long sleeve shirts while there I also treated myself to some awesome boots that will be trendy but in style for a long time if I take good care of them from mod cloth.  I also got a really cute messenger bag that is tan and red. It smaller version of a standard messenger bag.  It gives it a delicate, feminine style.  Last Spring I purchased an adorable coat that I haven't gotten to wear yet.  I'm waiting for cold weather to get here.  Hurry up Autumn!

So, here are the photos of the shirts, boots and purse.

this is a hoody tee shirt.  I love these, because I can cover my head and stay warm

This is a really roomy purse, with lots of pocket.  It should match a lot of outfits.

I love the detail of the buttons and how the flap folds down, the double stitching and the nice heel pegs on the heel.  Plus they sent extra heel pegs for when these wear out.  

 

 

 

 

 

So, my plan is that with jeans I already have and pants and skirt, I just need to add long sleeve shirts and sweaters to the equation.  Do any of you have ideas of online shopping or places that are chains where I can get shirts that are cut in a bit at the waist line to make the sweaters and shirts more feminine and less boxy looking?  I would Love for your to share your advice with me.

thank you for stopping by to look at my photos.  Take a moment to subscribe or follow.

Leslie

Eyebrows are the windows to the soul.

People,  my transformation is complete.  The chemo I have been going through has completely removed my lashes and brows.  My current fixation is with finding ways to make  my eyes have the two little accessories they were born with.  So, I purchased a benefit brow zing.  I have used other eye brow products in the past.  They are great if you already have brows to accent, but the brow zing is different.  It is more suited to drawing in brows that don't exists. 

The product is in a nice small kit.  It comes with two small brushes and a small pair of tweezers.  I use the rounded brush to put the dark wax on and then use a longer brow brush of my own to apply the lighter color that simulates the individual hairs that you shade into place.  It looks quite natural when you practice a bit.

How do I look with my newly drawn eyebrows?  I think the chemo chic hairstyle is what makes the whole look flow.  LOL!

Thank you for stopping by,

Leslie

Shelac manicure

I intended to post this last weekend, but couldn't get the picture to load from my cellphone to blogger.  I am home now and able to load the photo.  Here ya go.


You won't believe what I did today People! I went amebas one of those fancy new Manu heed. It is called shellac.it is just like polish and comes I'n a wide array of colors. I chose a light purple. First comes a clear base coat of shelac. Next they applied two coats of the prple.'then a couple of top coats. The final step is to cure it under av light. The final thing the nail tech did was to put some shiny oil on with acotton ball and buff the polish to shine. That sort of freaked me out. Cause you know you would never run cotton through your freshly polished nails!?! But this just made them so sparkley.
The difference between a regular Mani and a shellac Mani is that the shellac is thicker. More like acrylic in a sense. They tell me I won't have to polish for 4 weeks. The pplush will not chip or peel lime polish. It will stay newly manicured looking other than a little gap at the base of the nail with new nail growth. I didn
T take the time to ask for sure, but I suspect you'd use polish remover to get it off at home. I'll find it and let you know in a future post. Here is a photo of the finished product.

You won't believe what I did today People! I went amebas one of those fancy new Manu heed. It is called shellac.it is just like polish and comes I'n a wide array of colors. I chose a light purple. First comes a clear base coat of shelac. Next they applied two coats of the prple.'then a couple of top coats. The final step is to cure it under av light. The final thing the nail tech did was to put some shiny oil on with acotton ball and buff the polish to shine. That sort of freaked me out. Cause you know you would never run cotton through your freshly polished nails!?! But this just made them so sparkley.
The difference between a regular Mani and a shellac Mani is that the shellac is thicker. More like acrylic in a sense. They tell me I won't have to polish for 4 weeks. The pplush will not chip or peel lime polish. It will stay newly manicured looking other than a little gap at the base of the nail with new nail growth. I didn
T take the time to ask for sure, but I suspect you'd use polish remover to get it off at ho
E. I'll find it and let you know in a future post. Here is a photo of the finished product.
You won't believe what I did today People! I went amebas one of those fancy new Manu heed. It is called shellac.it is just like polish and comes I'n a wide array of colors. I chose a light purple. First comes a clear base coat of shelac. Next they applied two coats of the prple.'then a couple of top coats. The final step is to cure it under av light. The final thing the nail tech did was to put some shiny oil on with acotton ball and buff the polish to shine. That sort of freaked me out. Cause you know you would never run cotton through your freshly polished nails!?! But this just made them so sparkley.
The difference between a regular Mani and a shellac Mani is that the shellac is thicker. More like acrylic in a sense. They tell me I won't have to polish for 4 weeks. The pplush will not chip or peel lime polish. It will stay newly manicured looking other than a little gap at the base of the nail with new nail growth. I didn
T take the time to ask for sure, but I suspect you'd use polish remover to get it off at home. I'll find it and let you know in a future post. Here is a photo of the finished product.