I’ve used Cover Girl cosmetics. I like Cover Girl cosmetics. But never before did I feel TRANSFORMED by Cover Girl, than at the CVS Reinventing Beauty lounge, when makeup artist Jake Bailey sat me in his chair and worked his magic on me.

Me and Julia of All About The Pretty

BAM!

Keep in mind, I’d already done my own face. But by the time Jake was done with me, I felt like a brand new woman.

Do you like? Here’s what he used:

Jake highlighted the apples of my cheeks with Cover Girl Simply Ageless blush #230 (or Lush Berry) – I was a bit apprehensive when he was putting it on. It seemed like A LOT of blush, but it photographed beautifully.

Then he went over my existing liner with Cover Girl’s Outlast Eyeliner in Indigo.

After that he used Cover Girl eyeshadow in Purple Pop, and WOW. Purple shadow with brown eyes FTW. Now there’s even more reason for it to be my favorite color.

On my lips, Jake used delicious Amazemints gloss in shade # 605, AKA Everything’s Rosy.

I was absolutely thrilled with my makeover, and Jake was so sweet and friendly and warm. He made me feel beautiful, and now it’s my turn to pay it forward!

TWO lucky Afrobella readers can win the four items Jake used in my Cover Girl makeover. All you have to do is tell me — do you have a favorite Cover Girl makeup item? If yes, what is it and why?

I’ll close these comments on Monday afternoon. And I’m about to make it rain with giveaways, so get ready! This will be an epic month!

Edited Monday 8:45 pm — Comments are CLOSED! I’ll choose winners at the end of this week!

Whew! I needed days of recovery after the madness that was Lollapalooza. More to come on this soon — you can read my first review here!

Over the weekend I dealt with the extremes of Chicago weather. Rain on Friday and blistering heat Saturday and Sunday. But through it all, my eyemakeup stayed in tact. How? I’ll tell you my latest little secret.

Gel eyeliner is my new best friend.

My hands are too shaky for liquid, and eyeliner pencils are frequently too waxy and smudgy for me. So when I want to get that kapow! liquid liner cat’s eye look, I reach for the gel. It’s forgiving and easy and lasts forever. Add a little eyeshadow primer and it gets even better!

Most department store brands have a gel or powder liner amongst their stock, but these brands are my favorites!
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I get frequent e mails from ladies asking me questions about makeup. What’s the best brand? What will last the longest? Where can I find the brightest colors?

I know what works best for me, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to turn to some true divas who know makeup from makeup. Beauties who use makeup to transform their look completely from day to night. I reached out to my amigas in gorgeousness — three of Miami’s most fabulous drag queens.

My last post on drag queen makeup was forever and a day ago, so I’m long overdue for a fresh update.

Who better to ask than three of my favorite divas who live, love and entertain in the 305? As a special bonus, I’m gonna throw in my two cents with a special makeup recommendation for each of these faboosh ladies.

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In the world of eyebrow shaping, there are the laypeople (the ones who wax you at any standard day spa or mall outlet), and there are the superstars — Anastasia, Damone Roberts, and Miss Rashida B., among them. Rashida flits between Miami and Chicago, beautifying the brows of the truly fabulous in both cities. When she isn’t plucking, shaping, holding down her popular Chicago salon, The B Spot and getting namedropped in the likes of Vogue magazine and Daily Candy — Rashida’s keeping it real on Twitter as @beautyschooled. AND she’s got an awesome blog of the same name — where she drops knowledge and interviews professionals in the world of makeup and the beautifying industry.

My interview with Rashida was unconventional in the sense that we were cracking each other up and bonding like old friends (even though we hadn’t met yet!) So without further ado, here are some of Rashida’s best tips and quips.

I had to ask her about the infamous eyebrow weave video — despite the repeated promise of “celebrity status,” Rashida is not feelin’ it.

“I don’t recommend it. It doesn’t look good in person. Maybe you can use it for photography, to achieve a certain look for a photo shoot…” she suggested. Oh, Rashida you are being too kind.

What about the latest no eyebrows trend, as identified by the New York Times?

“I’m gonna say no to that as well, unless you’re a runway model. If you absolutely have to achieve that look, there’s this stuff called spirit gum which you can use to smooth them down.”

One of the things I loved about interviewing Rashida is, she is no nonsense. She broke down her feelings about waxing and threading, without hesitation. And she got this formerly wax-happy bella to think twice.

“Tweezing is my preference, but I’ll give you the facts. The saddest thing I’ve been hearing lately is about clients going to get their eyebrows waxed and walking away with scabs. That’s when you go to a place that isn’t professional. There should be a consultation form when you go into a professional waxing salon. They don’t do that. What if you’re dealing with a diabetic? Diabetics, you don’t wanna lift the skin off them for fear of infection. Are you on Retin A? Are you on Accutane? These are questions that need to be asked before you get waxed. And don’t get me started on the double dipping and the stick… if you think about it, they’re using the same wax for your eyebrows, your upper lip, and your bikini area. And they’re just double dipping the stick into the same wax.”

Um, EW. I never even thought about that before.

I had to mention a popular chain of wax salons that ahem — I had a ghastly experience with back in Miami. Now they’re offering “celebrity brows,” where you can go in and ask for let’s say, the Megan Fox brow. It sounded ridiculous to me. And Rashida agreed.

“That’s… insane. You don’t have Megan Fox’s face, or her eyebrow shape. You can’t go into an eyebrow shaping like that. Don’t think thin, don’t think thick. Beware of eyebrow trends. It should be all about your face, your brows, and what’s gonna look right on you. It happens all the time, where ladies will say to me “I want eyebrows like my friend.” Well, unless your friend’s gonna give you her face, that’s probably not gonna work.”

So what are the perfect brows, according to Rashida B?
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Blue. Plum. Platinum. Fuschia. Teal. There’s a colored mascara on the market to match just about every shade of the rainbow. But maybe you’re cautious with your makeup, or reluctant to part with your hard-earned bucks for a product that isn’t guaranteed to make a visible difference to your look. You’re wondering — is it worth it?

Depends on what you’re looking for!

I enjoy wearing colored mascara from time to time, it’s such an effortless way to switch up your look. And it can be surprisingly subtle, too. Depending on the shade of colored mascara that you wear, people may have to do a double take, or catch you blinking in the sun before they notice — hey! Your lashes are a different color! Colored mascara is fun, it’s a trend that comes in and out of style, and it’s a trend that (in my funky opinion) works just as well for teenagers as it would for someone old enough to be a teenager’s mom. Just because you’re not a girl anymore, doesn’t mean you don’t still want to have fun!

I’ve been around the colored mascara block a time or two, so allow me to share with you the outstanding ones, and the ones that could use a little more oomph.

Blue mascaras make big promises. Supposedly they make blue eyes bluer, brown eyes appear golden, and hazel eyes look green. I dunno about all that. But I do know they’re fun, especially if you’ll be in the sunlight.

Benefit’s BADgal blue mascara is rich, royal, and instantly noticeable IMO. I love a bangin’ blue on my lashes, and this delivers pigment from root to tip. it’s $19, but worth it if you want a noticeable shade. This is a true blue through and through, unlike CoverGirl LashBlast in Black Royale, which is really just a black with a hint of blue. The LashBlast Luxe shades are subtler, good for an office or professional environment. But if you’re looking for bam! in your face color, you’ll be sad.

CoverGirl Black Platinum was honestly, a disappointment. I noticed hardly any shimmer or color, even in the sun my lashes just looked kind of washed out. Not even close to “platinum,” as I was hoping they’d be.

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I missed the BET Awards but I didn’t MISS the BET Awards, if you know what I’m sayin’.

Judging from the various indignant responses on Twitter, it seems I didn’t miss much. But thanks to some of my favorite sites — Oh No They Didn’t and Crunk & Disorderly, I saw all I needed to see. Red carpet fabulousity! And if you’re like me, you might be wondering — exactly how did these stars get so amazingly dolled up?

Today’s your lucky day. Celebrity makeup artist Ashunta Sheriff wanted to share her special makeup tips and tricks exclusively with Afrobella readers, and here’s the scoop on her lush looks for humanitarian award winner Alicia Keys, and one of my favorite child stars who’s gorgeous and all grown up, Tatyana Ali!

Take it away, Ashunta!

Alicia Keys
Inspiration: Moroccan inspired due to her recent trip there in May for the Mawaline Festival. Alicia’s short bejeweled shift dress in its soft aqua truly brought out her golden complexion. I wanted to give her a touch of sun kissed glow and egyptian/moroccan eyes with coral lips remniscent of the colors of a Moroccan Paradise.

Body: my secret weapon body glow mix is a combination of Dior Bronze Sun Powder Spray, Smashbox Bodylights body Lotion shimmer and Girlactik Beauty Gold Shimmer powder. The combination gave Alicia an amazing bronzed sun kissed glow to make her legs and declertage look flawlessly stunning.

Client: Tatyana Ali
Inspiration: Bollywood Princess, bringing out more of Tatyana’s Indian heritage I used metallic earth tones to shape and frame her eyes. Radiant bronzed skin works for her toffee complexion and an iridescent nude topped the look off.

Body: Palmers Organic Olive Oil Body Cream and Smashbox Bodylights Lotion body shimmer to make her legs look flawless.

Did she say Mary Kay? Palmers? Olay? Cover Girl’s Queen Collection? Black Opal? Ashunta is my kinda bella! There’s something so wonderful about knowing celebs are using the same products a bella on a budget might swear by, am I right?

I promise to fill in the complete list of products with links where you can check out these items ASAP! Right now it’s 1:30 a.m. and this blogging bella needs her bed.

Click here to visit Ashunta’s website to see even more of her amazing work, and click here to follow her on Twitter! Look out later today for even more BET Awards looks from the red carpet and the ceremony itself — Janet, Beyonce, Nichelle Nichols and more!