I’ve been obsessed with the Artis brushes since they came out, but I always considered them way too expensive. I even went as far as to buy Amazon knock offs of the brushes.

Then Gilt City offered 20% off discount code. I promptly decided to purchase some brushes! I bought the palm brush in smoke, and the oval 8. I also got the the oval 3 and the circle 1R from they’re newer less expensive line Brush Craft.

The Artis brushes are way thicker that all of the knock offs that I purchased on Amazon. I could tell the difference immediately. The oval 8 and the palm brush are my two favorites right now. They make it quick and efficient to apply makeup. However, the Artis brushes are definitely a luxury item and I would never recommend buying an entire set.

For most of my life I’ve had my hair colored by only one man, a good family friend name Brian. He is a hairdresser, belt and bag designer, and is going to start a skincare line. However, he has always been really expensive, and it costs me around $500 all in for cut and color for one appointment with him. I’ve never wanted to go the “cheep” route with my hair because I have fine hair that can damage quickly. I also prefer to get my hair highlighted using the balayage treatment, which is more expensive and time consuming but I like it because it looks more natural.

I purchased a Living Social deal for Kolor Bar on 86th street after I messed up my color at another salon. I bet everyone at most Kolor Bars in Manhattan do a great job, but I loved the recent highlights that Casey gave me. I’ve gone back to her twice and I love my hair every time she touches it. Casey also gives great haircuts.

I was invited to a special app launch even for the app The Glam Archive. It was a really awesome event filled with independent makeup artist and beauty entrepreneurs. There they served Vodkila cocktails, a new mixed alcohol that has 70% Vodka and 30% Tequila. There were also several independent vendors advertising their products. My favorite brand was Gem Cosmetics, a cosmetics line formulated by Shakema Cyrus. The lipsticks were pigmented and smelled awesome. The lipstick I purchased from her I put on at the event and it lasted the entire night. The Gem eye shadows were very pigmented as well and all looked so bold and awesome that I purchased one in addition to the lipstick.

The hair care brand Haircredible also had featured products for purchase. Haircredible was formulated for thinning hair and is used to thicken hair strands while adding volume with out weighing the hair down. Also, the cosmetics brand Wunderblender featured their cover-up concealer at this event. This concealer does a great job at covering up major skin issues. I tired it on my tattoo and it worked quite well.

Because I am a VIB Rouge member at Sephora, I got a chance to go to a makeup forever event for 750 Sephora points. They rented out a pretty big space in the city for the event. Makeup artists that work for makeup forever doing special lip applications, and you could even mix your own shade of lipstick. There was also a photo booth and photographers. It was such an awesome atmosphere as well. There were cocktails, wine, little hors d’oeuvers, and a DJ. I was able to bring a friend, and we each got a small gift bag with makeup forever goodies inside. I had such a blast!

It’s my 28th (ugh) birthday tomorrow on Monday! I went out with my friends yesterday and had a really nice casual dinner. I didn’t really plan anything this year because I had no idea what I wanted to do or even what I wanted to get for a present. My boyfriend James always has a hard time finding me a present, so now he includes me in the decisions. I had looked for a long time but never really fell in love with anything. I normally ask for jewelry, but my taste has gotten a bit more sophisticated over the past couple of years. I now prefer real 14K gold or sterling silver to fashion jewelry.

My boyfriend decided to take me to Tiffany’s on 5th Ave. He got a Tiffany’s heart bracelet, and a Tiffany’s heart necklace. These are two great classic pieces that are timeless and will be great everyday jewelry. I’m very happy with my birthday presents and grateful to have such a generous boyfriend.

I had been seeing a lot of ads for Glossier makeup on Pinterest and on the NYC subway. I caved and decided to purchase the Glossier phase 2 makeup set which includes their Boy Brow, Stretch Concealer, and Generation G sheer matte lipstick. I really like two out of the three products that are in the set. The lipstick is pretty amazing. It goes on super sheer, and builds the color as you apply it to your lips. I honestly don’t know if I would consider it a “lipstick” because I used it more like a tinted lip balm. The Boy Brow is a great product for the women on the go. It just takes a couple of quick swipes with the wand, and your brows look naturally full. The concealer is the only one that I’m still on the fence about. Its pretty light coverage, so I have the tendency to want to add more product to my undereye area, but doing that makes the product crease really badly. Its ok when you use a very small about to conceal scars or blemishes on your face.