I have finally passed my 150 subscribers mark on my Youtube Channel and as a big THANK YOU to all my viewers I have decided to do a giveaway! Please keep in mind this is open to only Youtube users in the United States and Canada ONLY.

1^st Prize: A Brand New, Naked 2 Palette from Urban Decay and I will do a video tutorial of your choice!

**There will also be two runner up winners for whom I will also do a video tutorial of their request**

Contest Begins: 2/17/2012 12 a.m. PST

Contest ENDS: 3/2/2012 12 a.m. PST

Winner Announced: 3/9/2012

Requirements…

You must be a Youtube user and subscribed to my channel.

There are 5 ways you can enter, and you can only enter once per method, any extra submissions will be ignored and deleted. You don’t need to do all of these options, but the more entries the greater your chance of winning! Maximum total entries are 5 per user.

1. Comment on this Youtube video and also “like it”; include your username as well as the answer to my question I asked in the video.
2. Subscribe to my Personal/Vlog Channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/onmaimind and leave a comment on my page with your username and the answer to my question in the video.
3. Like my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Makeup-Session/229641897083556 and leave a comment with your Youtube username as well as the answer to my question from the video.
4. Follow me on twitter here http://www.twitter.com/michelle_mai and tweet at me with your Youtube username as well as the answer to my question in the video.
5. Lastly, you can create a video response from your Youtube channel, tell me your name, username, and answer the question for my video and tell me why that is your choice!

This contest will run for two weeks, and once the contest is closed I will sort through and tally all the entries. I will announce the winner 1 week after the contest is closed with a video posting so keep tuned!

Thanks for watching!

Below is a list of products, as well as some reference pictures.

Tools You’ll Need:
-Stipple Brush
-Kabuki Face Brush
- Blush Brush
-Medium Eyeshadow Brush
-Small Eyeshadow Brush
-Angled Eyeliner Brush
-Dramatic False Lashes
-Tweezers

Products Used:
-Revlon Colorstay Foundation 240 Medium Beige
-Makeup Forever High Definition Microfinish Powder
-Coastal Scents 10 Blush Palette – Matte Peach
-NARS Bronzer in Laguna
-Yaby Dramatically Neutral Eye Palette – Light Peach, Medium Brown, and Dark Brown
-L’Oreal Voluminous False Lashes Mascara
-L’Oreal Infallible 16 hour Eyeliner in Noir
-L’Oreal Lineur Intense Liquid Eyeliner in Black Mica
-Smashbox Lipliner in Smashing Content
-Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Love that Red

I was turned onto Pinterest a few days ago by a new colleague and I can’t get enough! She told me that it would suck me in, and it sure did. Pinterest is basically just a cool new way to organize photos you find online. You can categorize them onto boards and they are basically an online vision board for your inspiration, or just even collecting your ideas into one place. As a visual person, this is such a perfect medium for me to collect ideas.

How it works is that when you find a picture you like and want to save you can basically “pin it” to a board. I have my Pinterest button up on my bookmarks bar, and whenever I see a photo I like or want to save for later, all I have to do is click my “pin it” button and place it onto a category and voila, it is saved! No more need to download photos, or remembering links or urls, it is all right there.

I just thought it was super cool and wanted to share it with you all. If you want to follow me on Pinterest and take a peek at my inspiration boards you can follow the link below. I have boards on wedding hair and makeup ideas, my makeup inspiration, and much more.

http://pinterest.com/themakeupsesh/

My very first Birchbox delivery! January 2012

I was really intrigued and excited when I first heard about Birchbox,  they are a subscription membership website where each month they send 4-5 deluxe samples of well known beauty brands as well as up-and-comers; and did I also mention it’s just $10 a month?! For a beauty junkie like me, how could I resist?
The greatest thing about it for me is that I can try out new products without having to necessarily commit to a full-size buy if I don’t want to, and because Birchbox sends previews every month of upcoming boxes I can also skip any month that I’m not interested in.  With a lot of other great incentives like their Birchbox Points program, there are plenty of reasons to sign up.

C.O. Bigelow: Lavender & Peppermint Shampoo and Conditioner, Jouer: Moisturizing Lip Gloss in Birchbox Pink, Juicy Couture: Viva La Juicy; Zoya: Nail Polish in Kristen, plus! a mini Larabar in Blueberry Muffin

This is my very first Birchbox delivery and I was so delighted by the cute packaging, and I’m really excited to try out the products on myself.
Watch my video for even more  info on the goodies I got this month!

Last year I worked on a film project on the Olympic Peninsula (Yes, where they shot “Twilight”), hiking through the Rain forest, dealing with horses, hanging out in log cabins doing hair and makeup, and did I also mention I was 7 months pregnant? Anyhow, the music video/short film has finally been released, and I think the work is incredibly beautiful.

If you haven’t heard of the band, Mt. St. Helen’s Vietnam Band, go ahead and check them out, they’re talented, and a great group of people to boot. Bravo to writer and director Tristan Seniuk for his excellent work on the video!

The Naked 2 Palette, along with 24/7 Glide-On Eyepencil in Bourbon, and Lip Junkie in Naked

Sorry this has taken so long to do this review, I’ve been pretty busy, but it’s finally up nonetheless. I must say, I was pretty excited when I heard Urban Decay was coming out with a new Naked palette. As much as I love the original, I still had a few quibbles regarding it and I was looking forward to seeing how UD would improve on their hit (See my review of . Within hours of it’s first release the Naked 2 was sold out, so I missed the first round. After perusing eBay and seeing the palette being sold for sometimes double the price, I decided I would wait for the next round to be released. (I can’t actually believe that Urban Decay would only produce such a limited quantity of palettes after the hubub of the original palette; my thought is they just planned this “selling out” and “re-stocking” business to create a little more buzz). After a few weeks of waiting, once I was notified that the palette was back in stock, I ordered right away. I even got a 10% discount from Urban Decay so I got a better deal than I’d anticipated. When my Naked 2 palette arrived in the mail, I was not disappointed.

Reflecting back on the original Naked palette my biggest complaint was that it didn’t have enough matte shades to balance all the shimmer and glitter. The eye shadows were also much more warm-toned, and the velvet casing gathered lint easily. When comparing the palettes, at first glance you might feel that it looks very similar, and they are, but there are many subtle updates and additions. First off, the velvet casing was replaced by a clean, metallic “art-school” inspired case. I like the fact that this makes it much easier to clean the palette off. Second, the palette also comes with a larger mirror, and the included a good-quality double-ended brush is also great for when you’re on the go. Also included with my palette was a sample of UD’s 24/7 Eye pencil in Whiskey, as well as a mini Lip Junkie in Naked (minty and plumping!).

But let’s talk about the colors, the Naked 2 palette introduced 5 brand new shades in this palette and repeated 1 shade, Half-Baked. I would have much preferred them to be all different/new shades, but I can’t complain too much. They also have less glitter, and more matte shades in this palette, so my “not enough matte” complaint with the original palette was definitely addressed…
Here’s my run-down of the colors.

1. Foxy - A matte cream, good shade for highlight on light to medium skin tones.
2. Half-Baked – The only repeated eyeshadow, subtle golden bronze.
3.  Bootycall – A light beige highlight with hints of peach, very similar to Virgin in the original palette, just warmer.
4. Chopper - Light copper with shimmer and some glitter, just imagine a darker and warmer version of Sin.
5. Tease -  Matte medium taupe.
6.  Snakebite – Dark bronze shimmer, like a combination of Smog and Darkhorse.
7. Suspect -  A dark champagne with bronze hints, similar to Sidecar but just a bit cooler in tone.
8.  Pistol - Medium and warm metallic grey.
9.  Verve – A beautiful in-between gold and silver with soft shimmer.
10.  YDK – Warm and coppery brown with a frosted/glittery finish, very similar to both Sidecar and Toasted, just a bit warmer.
11.  Busted – A very dark burgundy brown with light shimmer. Very similar to Hustle in Naked 1.
12. Blackout -  An extremely dark matte black.

Overall, this is a great palette for a good value, you get over $200 dollars worth of eyeshadow, brush and lipgloss for $50. It can stand alone or compliment the Naked 1 palette. I think this palette is friendlier to the cooler skin tones as well. If you’re the average girl, do I think you need both palettes? Probably not, I say try the colors out on yourself and see which palette is better for you. (Just a hint, if you’re a warm-toned girl or have a darker skin tone go with Naked 1, cooler or neutral skinned ladies can go with Naked 2).

For more thoughts and reactions watch my video here:

The Original Naked Palette and the Naked 2 Palette

A Side by Side Comparison, The Original on the Left, Naked 2 on the Right

Swatches of the Naked 2 Palette: From Left to Right – Foxy, Half Baked, Bootycall, Chopper, Tease, Snakebite, Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout

Tools You’ll Need:
-Stipple Brush
-Kabuki Face Brush
- Blush Brush
-Large Eyeshadow Brush
-Medium Eyeshadow Brush
-Small Eyeshadow Brush
-Angled Eyeliner Brush
-Concealer Brush

Products Used:
-Face Atelier Pro Ultra Foundation in Sand/#4
-Makeup Forever High Definition Microfinish Powder
-Mark Custom Pick Powder Blush in Good Glowing
-Urban Decay Original Eyeshadow Primer Potion
-Urban Decay Naked Palette – Gunmetal, Naked, and Virgin
-Yaby Dramatically Neutral Eye Palette – Silver and Dark Brown
-L’Oreal Voluminous False Lashes Mascara
-Maybelline Master Drama by Eye Studio Eyeliner in Midnight Master
-Makeup Forever 5 Camouflage Concealer Palette #1
-Smashbox Lipliner in Pro
-Maybelline Color Sensational High Shine Lipstick in Coral Lustre

Enjoy the video for the details, and I’ve also posted more pictures and swatches below. I’ve included a bit of a mini-review here and there among the photos as well.

Thanks for watching and reading!

Face Atelier Ultra Foundation Pro: (From Left to Right) Zero Minus,#1 Porcelain, #4 Sand, #7 Tan, #9 Toffee, #11 Mink, Zero Plus Plus

Beautiful, smooth and blendable foundations, I’m so glad I snatched up this deal! A great purchase from Haute Look. Saved a bunch of money to boot! These are normally $32 dollars each, and I got them for almost half the price!

All the eyeshadows from my haul.

Swatches of the i-mark Metallics.

After trying the metallics out, I really love them! Super soft, velvety and blendable, they’re almost comparable to some of the Urban Decay shadows. Hopefully they’ll come out with even more colors!

Swatch of the Neutrals

Swatches of the Colors

I have a feeling “Retro Peacock” and “Plum Velvet” are going to become some of my new favorites.

"Luvstruck" Forgot to Include it in my Original Swatching!

Violent Lips, Temporary Lip Tattoos!

Bought on sale at Sephora, these look so cool, can’t wait to get a chance to try them out!

My Sephora Mascara Staple (Lash Plumper)

I first got this as a sample, although skeptical at first, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality. It did a great job at both volumizing and lengthening; better than many mascaras that I have tried. I had to go and get the full size once I ran out!

My Sephora 500 point perk! In the bag: "Beauty with Benefits Set" - Tarte Smooth Operator Micronized Clay Finishing Powder w/PM20, Korres Quercetin & Oak Age-Reversing Primer, Anastasia Hydrafull Gloss in Sorbet, Josie Maran Organic Argan Oil, Anastasia Illumin8 Youthful Synergy Complex Eyeshadow Palette #5, Fresh Brown Sugar Eau de Parfum, Korres Wild Rose 24 Hour Moisturizer SPF 6 Packette

The majority of my purchases from Forever21 where sale items, they were having a great promotion of Buy 1 Get 1 Free!

My accessory purchases from Forever 21: Maroon Knit Hat, Large Cocktail Ring, Tribal Chunky Necklace, Long Fossil Necklace, Chunky Stone Bracelet, and Two Finger Pearl Ring

Cute Yellow and Cream Striped Sweater

Cute Green and White striped Mini Dress

Blue and White Striped Blazer

Red and Black Mini Skirt

Blue and Purple Floral Romper <3

Just letting you all know.

I am so excited for what I have planned for the next year, especially the expansion of my makeup company. There is so much I am looking forward to, so stay tuned!

<3

Enjoy, and have fun!

Tools You’ll Need:
-Stipple Brush
-Kabuki Face Brush
- Blush Brush
-Large Eyeshadow Brush
-Medium Eyeshadow Brush
-Small Eyeshadow Brush
-Angled Eyeliner Brush
-Tweezers
-Eyelash Curler
-Lash Glue

Products Used:
-Revlon Colorstay Foundation in 240 Medium/Beige
-Makeup Forever High Definition Microfinish Powder
-Coastal Scents 10 Blush Palette in Terracotta and Matte Pink
-Urban Decay Original Eyeshadow Primer Potion
-Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette – Tease, Pistol, Verve, YDK
-L’Oreal Voluminous False Lashes Mascara
-Maybelline Master Drama by Eye Studio Eyeliner in Midnight Master
-Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles in 50/Neutralizer
-Smashbox Sheer Lip Pencil in Smashing Content
-Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Rum Raisin and Love that Red