Some photos from my guest host appearance on Channel 9

Check out some of the photos from my guest hosting appearance on Bridge Street yesterday!  It was a great time, and I want to give a HUGE thank you to all the crew for being so good to me!

Talking with Miss CNY 2012

Interviewing Guests

Morning Host Chat

The GOOD type of Nails on a Chalkboard!

If nails on a chalkboard make you cringe, don't worry - me too!  But this is a whole other type, one you'll like!!!

Ciate, one of the leaders in DIY nail art, has released a "Chalkboard Nails" kit for $25, now at Sephora




You get a base 'chalkboard' finish in black & white and then you get these special 'chalks' that work on the dried base coat - you can create all sorts of things!





There are other brands that have come out with similar looks that you can simply create with black matte polish and a doting tool!

What do you think of this type of nail art?  Would you do it?

Currently Obsessing On: Black Matte Manicures

I love a nice, clean, classic black manicure



But what I love even more right now, is a MATTE (read: no shine) Black manicure, which is achieved through using a matte topcoat



What I love even more, is playing up the shine and the matte and creating texture and a look that will be having people do second takes when they see your mani!

To achieve THIS:


Paint nails with black polish, I SWEAR by the inky black fabulousness that is Finger Paint's "Expressionism" (Pick it up at Sally Beauty for under $7) - do two coats and let it dry

Pro Tip: Finish the look the next day when you have time, or in the morning after it dried over night!

Then use manicure tape to tape OVER the tip you want to stay shiny


Then you paint nails with the matte top coat of your choice, after a few minutes, remove stickers, and voila!


My fav Matte Top Coats are:

Chanel Top Coat Velvet


and Essie "Matte About You"


Other awesome matte black looks:








Now you can jazz up your classic black mani!

Tried & True 'Mud' Mask - and an Earth Improvement?

I was in the market for a new pore-clearing mask...

I had been using Murad's Clarifying Mask $37 at Ulta

Which was a good mask, but I was looking to see what was in a bit lower of a price range, I came across this Origin's Mask for under $20



Their "Active Charcoal Mask" absorbs all pore clogging particles and makes skin look and feel amazing!  I like to use once a week, I smooth on before getting into the bathtub and then I gently remove with lukewarm water on a wash cloth.  I think that all skin types can use this gentle product!

The deets from Origins:
When environmental toxins, dirt and debris get under your skin, its waste-filtering system gets jammed, pores get clogged, skin looks cloudy. Nature's complexion clean-up crew gets to the bottom of skins overcast condition and clears the way for it to act its best. Activated Charcoal acts like a magnet to draw out deep-dwelling pore-cloggers, White China Clay absorbs environmental toxins, Lecithin dissolves impurities. Without all that "stuff" down there, skin "breathes a sigh of relief."

So where does the "Earth Improvement" come in?

Check out the Mask on the Origins site:
http://www.origins.com/product/11001/25730/Skincare/Must-Haves/Earth-Month-Limited-Edition-Products/Clear-Improvement/Active-charcoal-mask-to-clear-pores/index.tmpl

You'll see that when you buy a tube for $19, Origins will plant a tree!  How feel-good is THAT?  Now until the end of May!

you'll know you've got the right one, because its in this limited edition packaging


Check it out!

Just locked in an amazing opportunity!

I am THRILLED that I was able to get a [very limited] spot with Orlando Santiago


Celebrity Makeup Artist for a FULL DAY Hands-On workshop in Chicago on June 8th!

The deets on the class are as follows:
For anyone just getting started or interested in pursuing a career in makeup, The Essential for Makeup Artistry is the perfect introduction to the world of professional makeup artistry. In this workshop you will explore all aspects and an application. Starting from the basics, we’ll take you through the entire process of creating a flawless beauty makeup, from foundation to finish help you understand your product and tools, create a strong comprehension of texture and contour and how to design and create a perfect makeup application for every occasion. If you have already been doing makeup, but have never received formal training, The Essentials of Makeup Artistry is a fantastic compliment to your current skills and will fine tune your technique and gain a stronger understanding of the decision making process you will use to become the best artist you can be. Attendees will observe demonstrations, and participate in hands-on application of all makeup technique reviewed while receiving support and feedback from a celebrity artist.


You'll be wanting to book with me when I get back from Chicago so I can use all these incredible skills on you!

If you're not following me on Facebook

Then you're missing fun stuff like this nail art tutorial that I did for Memorial Weekend


Follow me now on Facebook as Rosa M Beauty and on Twitter @RosaMBeauty

Tomorrow on Bridge Street

I hope you'll be supporting me during my hosting debut on Bridge Street, WSYR Channel 9 at 10am tomorrow!  For my blog readers only, here is a sneak peek of who will be on the show...

Committee Members and Guest Appearance Stars for this weekend's "OzStravaganza" which is a Wizard of Oz themed festival in Chittenango, NY, which happens to be the birthplace of the famous story's author!

We will be chatting with individuals and student authors as part of "Say Yes to Education" young authors series that was renewed in finding from the National Grid Foundation.  There will be young authors on the show to tell us about their experience!

I'm particularly excited to interview the winner of the 2012 Miss CNY Scholarship Pageant, Mackenzie, as well as the founder of the pageant, Mia.

We will also be talking to the Home Learner's Association of CNY, which is a not for profit that supports homeschooling in the Central New York region.

Please tune in tomorrow for the full show details!

Testing Out Make Up For Ever Full Coverage Concealer

For this week's TV appearance, I wanted to amp up the coverage of my foundation, but instead i decided to go with a full coverage concealer - and who better than the best in full coverage makeup than Make Up For Ever


This stuff is powerful enough to cover a tattoo


But gentle and blend able enough to really work wonders under the eye area


I dotted it onto the under eye and over some blemish spots and then blended it out with a pointed foundation brush


Then I applied a thin application of Make Up For Ever's HD Foundation

Which not only had this amazing coverage (check out this transition)


but also looks photo ready without any finishing powder (although I always use a finishing powder)

A while back I had blogged about how they did an ad campaign in 2011/2012 that showed real cell phone and digital camera pics that were not retouched

To show the type of HD light reflecting power that this product has.  I had worn the foundation for a while, but forgot how much I liked it (I am always trying new products)

Hopefully this will be just what I need for tomorrow's show!

Ergonomic....EYELINER?!

For those of you who are liquid eyeliner-challenged


Maybe its the applicator you have to use


A few companies have tried to remedy the 'shaking hand' and the "I'm too far away to see" errors with liquid liner and have introduced ergonomic liquid liners!



NYX Cosmetics (Ulta and nyxcosmetics.com) now has "The Curve" $15, which is super easy to control and apply the line!


Here's a nice illustration of how to do it


Other brands have duplicated this design, and also made the liners interchangeable and refillable!  (like this one in Japan, hopefully coming to the US soon!)

If you want to try this design, and you want serious waterproof and long wear inky lines, try Mally's Ultimate Performance Liner

you can buy it on QVC here for $22
http://www.qvc.com/Mally-Ultimate-Performance-Ink-Liner-Eyes-Makeup-Beauty.product.A228232.html?sc=A228232-User&cm_sp=VIEWPOSITION-_-48-_-A228232&catentryImage=http://images-p.qvc.com/is/image/a/32/a228232.001?$uslarge$

If you like a creamy gel liner, you can get a similar effect by using an angled liner brush for applying or smudging (as I've mentioned before, they are perfect for getting up close to the mirror!)

Nail Art Using a Dotting Tool

I was on amazon.com scanning through manicure supplies and saw a pack of dotting tools for $2 and I had to get them!


(these exact ones - look it up!)

So now that I have them, what the heck do I do with them!?!?

So I've scoured the Internet looking for ideas and I found some awesome stuff!

Create a Leaf Design (and add dots if you'd like)


Polka Dot French Mani


Cloud at the end of my Rainbow?  How CUTE!


Flowers


To Emphasize Various Colors


South American Inspired Pattern



What I'd call the "Birthday Party"


layering on various colored dots


Graduated Size Dots (so cool)



There are various shapes and sizes to dotting tools, when you select the size you need, you gently 'dip' into some polish you've spilled out onto an old magazine or whatever

and then lightly 'dot' onto the nails

Remember, thicker dots can take well over an hour to fully dry, I like to do things like this at night, then apply top coat in the morning, so the color is truly dry and won't bleed

Will YOU try a dotting tool?!