Revamp That Weird Shade of Lipstick

Use That Lipstick You Don't Like
~S.J. Hacker on Youtube



Do you have a shade of lipstick that you thought would look good on you, but didn't really work out? Well, don't throw it away! A simple fix can change how it looks completely so you don't waste your money.

In my case, I purchased a Barbie pink shade from Covergirl at Target. It looked good on the model, so I hoped to try it out. It looks AWFUL against my olive skin. So fake and plastic Nicki Minaj looking. I hate it.

That is until I used this old but often forgotten trick.

What I did was took a black lip liner pencil, mostly for the contrast, but you can use any color you like. I lined my lips with it AFTER I applied the lipstick instead of before. It made a very sexy vamp look that I can definitely use. I coupled it with a tri-color smokey eye (pink silver and black) and it looked so wild and fun!

This can also work with those odd metallic shade that were oh-so-hot in the 80s and 90s.
I did this with gold lipstick (stock photo just to show method):



This mod look works great for exotic dancers and costumes. It's fun but definitely not office appropriate, so please take note of that.

So before you throw out that new tube of lipstick, try lining with a contrast color and be surprised by the results!

Stay beautiful, lovelies!

Maintaining Bright Red Hair

Got Wild Red Hair ?
Let me help you keep it!

So, you went the extra mile and dyed it red. You know it looks great, but you hate looking like Carrie after you get out of the shower? Me too.

While there is no way to make your color stay in forever, I can show you some things (some well known some maybe not) that will help you keep it longer. The picture here is after about 5 washes.

First, invest in a good shampoo for color treated hair. I recommend Riveting Reds from Sally's. It's a beautiful wine color that will deposit into your hair to enrich all red shades from Paramore red to Jean Grey burgundy.

Also, mix a semi-permanent cream dye (I suggest Special Effects or Directions) and mix it into a sulfate free conditioner. I use almond shampoo by Suave. You can use anything without sulfates. Let this soak into your hair for 5-10 minutes under a shower cap and rinse out. It will freshen the color. Note that it won't help your regrowth. Dye that as usual.

When you are between washes, I advise a conditioning treatment. I wash my hair once a week. I don't get greasy until Day 3-4 so I dry shampoo it to get me through the days after. I condition with 1 part rosewater and 3 parts Moisture Rush hair mask.

The rosewater is what I recommend for pink based reds like my Special Effects Devilish is. It's a rose red. If you are a more orange based red or a deeper cinnamon tone just use the hair mask as is. This will really help the damage recovery. Olive oil treatments will work too if on a budget. Condition condition condition!

Using that conditioner really helped me get an additional 3 days out of my hair. I even got some of my natural curl back. I hope this helps you out. 

Stay crimson!

Red and Blonde Ombre Tutorial and Review

Fire Ombre
A Review and Tutorial

Good evening, beauties!

I was perusing the Internet, looking for new ideas to share, when I got an idea to change my hair for the new semester. I realized I couldn't find a tutorial, written or otherwise for someone dying their hair red with blonde tips at shoulder length hair. So, I being really annoyed by this, decided to make one. Let's begin!

This was some of my inspiration so you have my idea:

I will be using intensified colors forthis.So, now that you see the idea, let's begin the process. Pun intended! (Ba dum bum tss)

I started with Manic Panic Wildfire from Sally's Beauty.

I took a tint brush and dipped it into the jar directly. I applied it to the first few inches beyond my black regrowth. Let it sit on my hair for about 35 minutes. The longer its in, the more concentrated the color. Make sure you section carefully, as if you were doing roots!

Rinsed off and Poof!

Enjoy your fire ombre. Step into the wind, it's a great photo!

CoverGirl Blast Flipstick Review

CoverGirl Blast Flipstick Review

As the owner of about 5 sticks of this, I figured it was time for review!

The Flipsticks are not new, they have been around for a while, but I don't see them getting much love on reviews. I will explain a little about why this bothers some.

What many didn't realize is that the lipsticks are creamy in finish, so it's not meant to be worn by nailbiters or girls who intend to do a lot of kissing or sexual relations. It's designed to sit on your lips and look pretty for class or work or a night out.

Now that that's out of the way, I want to stress that the colors shown on CG's site are not all of them. I get mine at walgreens and there are at least 10 sticks to choose from. They are double sided, so that's over 20 options!

They photo well, too!

What I typically do is use one during the day and the other for evening, but it's also great to ombre with when you mix sticks. In the middle photo I layered Plum over Orange using two sticks.

Some things that I don't like are that it's texture is grainy if you aren't careful about scrubbing your lips super well before application. I also don't like that it feathers a little over time. However, the color is there all day!

It's up to you what you choose to put on your face but I give the flipsticks 7.5 out of 10. Good since it's a pioneer idea of double sticks, but Revlon lipsticks last longer with matte finish, so I deducted. 

I hope this helps you decide! Stay beautiful lovelies!

Auburn Color on Mixed Hair

Attempting Ginger Hair on Mixed Hair

I did this several months ago, but I still wanted to describe my experience. I thought about a summery warm tone on my olive skin and thought it would look great. I used Revlon in Bright Auburn. The box looked like this:

So, since my celebrity inspiration was Marcia Cross:

I figured, the color is a bit brighter than hers but since my hair isn't very light it'll like look more like that.
This turned out to be very much false. My hair turned out like this:

Don't get me wrong, the color isn't ugly, but it's not as it said it would turn, even on my bleached hair. So, if you want a wheat dark blonde, this is for you. Otherwise move on to L'Oreal Preference or Garnier, brands that stay true to color. 

Stay beautiful, lovelies! Thanks for reading.

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder Review

Rimmel London's 'Stay Matte' Powder Is Staying in MY Cosmetics Collection!
~S.J. Hacker of You Tube

I was in Target the other day and I was looking to replace my pressed powder, and Rimmel Stay Matte caught my eye. The packaging looked sophisticated and it held a larger quantity of product than it's competitors.




I thought

It delivers on what it promises: MATTE. Photos very well.

 So, what is the catch? It's simple. If you have naturally dry skin, I don't recommend this. It acts almost like dry shampoo for your skin. If you just HAVE to have this, I recommend setting your liquid foundation with it instead of applying directly. Also, the lid has no attachment, so it's not a touch-up product. Apply at home and leave it there. It lasts plenty long enough to do that. 5-6 hours for sure.

I hope this helps you decide what to buy, best of luck to you and stay beautiful!