racheal doucette beauty

Madison K. Philadelphia

A few days ago, I had a rib injury which has prevented me from enjoying my daily river runs. Today I decided to just walk a few miles, so I headed out towards NoLibs to visit a nail salon I used to frequent and have always loved. While walking north on 2nd street, about a block north of Spring Garden, I discovered this most eye catching pink/black/white designed boutique, Madison K.

Initially, I had never heard of Madison K. Later, while browsing the stores website, I realized I have seen the standout boutique in Bucks County a few years ago. The Philadelphia location has been open for a handful of weeks.

The boutique is adorable. Its filled with all types of beauty products and accessories and even has a small section for men! How adorable!

Check out the Madison K. boutique at 600 N. 2nd St. in Philadelphia!

Marc Jacobs Highliner Gel Crayon

I remember being so excited for the Marc Jacobs cosmetic line to debut. I even wrote a post on how the line was previewing early at Sephora.

I also remember when I received the Highliner Gel Crayon in Brown(out) as a free gift shortly after the debut. I may have used it once, was not very impressed and tossed it in my kit thinking I’d use it for something. Which, I’d like to add, was very upsetting seeing as how I was so excited about the line, and the press the brand was receiving was incredible.

Well, until yesterday, I had not used it. I randomly saw the pencil and decided I’d play around with it. Immediately I was reminded of why I didn’t like the pencil to begin with and ultimately decided I was going to write about it.

Now, almost all of my posts are about products that I love and think everyone should know about. I rarely have negative feedback and tend to only write about the positive.

However, I think this pencil needs some critiquing.

First, the pencil, which is called a “gel” liner, is incredibly hard and far from other gel liners I have loved in the past. The first time I used the twist-up pencil, It broke.

The color looks beautiful, with hints of gold. However, the color does not directly transfer to the skin. It’s very light and hard to blend.

I was really expecting this product to be more “high-end” and of better quality.

Now, in the products defense, I have not used another Highliner color. There is a possibility that different colors hold different qualities, and may be a softer material or truer to it’s color. This is something I’m curious about and am looking forward to exploring next time I’m at Sephora.

I’m curious if my readers have used any of the Highliner Crayons and if so, did you like them? What colors have you tried?

I love interacting with my readers and it’s always fun to receive comments and emails! Please feel free to contact me… let’s discuss!

Thanks for stopping by, everyone! Until next time 🙂

-R

Shooting with StoneKap Production for The National Inventors Hall of Fame

Hi Everyone!

Something I’ve been trying to find time to write about, is a recent shoot I worked on in Philly with StoneKap Entertainment for The National Inventors Hall of Fame.

StoneKap is located in Ohio and films throughout the country. The National Inventors Hall of Fame is located in DC with their home office also located in Ohio. StoneKap and The National Inventors Hall of Fame have been working together for a few years.

The shoot took place in a really cool office space that housed the Bresslergroup. The Bresslergroup homepage describes the company as “A research-driven product innovation lab.” And it was just that. A completely open floor plan with high ceilings and large industrial styled windows, a beautiful common space greeted me upon entering. The work space and desks of employees sat behind a glass cube of a conference room, where we shot our interview. The desks themselves were really modern and rather spaced out. The walls were littered with huge white scratch pad paper that I can only imagine to be projects and ideas and work. We also did a few takes in the lab area.

When I was contacted by and accepted the offer from StoneKap, I was beyond excited. I received very little details about the shoot, my communications were mostly about who my contacts were and who I’d be working with.  Upon arriving and meeting the team, I met JD Albert. JD was the subject for our shoot and is being inducted into The National Inventors Hall of Fame for creating E-Ink, the ink that is in e-readers such as the Kindle.

Male grooming is fairly easy and JD needed very little makeup and few touch-ups, mostly to control shine. He was very soft spoken and didn’t mind the makeup. Shortly after, we began filming.

During those two hours of shooting, I learned a lot about JD, what he has created over the years, and what Bresslergroup works on. And I was beyond fascinated.

Between filming, and while the crew was setting up their gear in the lab area, JD showed me a product that the Bresslergroup had recently created. Designed for Temptu, his group created an all-in-one handheld airbrush machine. JD also mentioned that a professional version of the product was in the works, and I cannot wait to purchase one!

We wrapped the day with a few shots in the lab area.

I’m so happy to have met and worked with the team at StoneKap, The National Inventors Hall of Fame, the freelance sound guy and of course JD Albert. I hope to have some stills and reels to share with everyone in the next coming months, after JD is inducted. I also really look forward to seeing what the team has created with our time. I absolutely love working on production based projects!

Hope you all enjoyed reading about the shoot! As always, thank you for reading!

-R

New Images

Hi Everyone!

 

So excited to share some new work with you!

Check out recent Images of the Lovely AnnaLisa and Emely, shot by Chris Loupos In Philadelphia.

Enjoy!

-R

New Studio Work

Hi Guys!

 

I recently linked up with a Photographer new to Philadelphia, Chris Loupos, and we’ve been playing around shooting at a pretty little studio in Fishtown.

 

Chris is super cool and easy to get along with. His ideas intrigue me and he’s incredibly open to hearing mine. We hope to work on a lighting series and a decade piece soon.

 

I’m so excited to share these images. I’ve been putting together a decade mood board for a while now, but with a dedicated photographer on board, I’m really focusing on designing the shoot and getting it in studio asap.

 

I hope to post some new images soon.

 

Thanks for reading, everyone!

 

-R

Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette

A product that I’ve recently acquired but have yet to write about is the Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette.

kat von d

Available at Sephora and retailing for only $46, this magnetic palette is a key item to throw in my bag and keep with me all day. Unlike the Anastasia contour kit, this palette has a huge mirror which is great for on the go applications and touch ups.

 

3 lighter shades and 3 darker, all provide fabulous pigmentation while still keeping their blend-ability. The lightest highlight and banana colors, Lucid and Lyric, are pretty standard to most contour kits in the past year or so. The third lightest shade named Levitation is more of a peach color. I find this color to work well for under eye circles, layered as a base blending the other lighter shades out. The 3rd tray in most other powder palettes, is usually some kind of shimmer highlight. I rarely find myself using those shimmer shades however, they do look nice on Brides.

 

Now, all of the contour colors in the palette are great. The darkest shade, Subconscious, reminds me of the deepest color in my Master Class palette, just slightly warmer. The medium shade, Sombre, is fabulous for all over bronzing. And the lightest contour shade is Shadowplay. This color reminds me of the muddiest color in the Anastasia palette, but again slightly warmer with some orange tones. Blending all 3 of these colors starting with the deepest into my highlight, sculpts the perfect cheek bone. I also like the tiniest bit of the deep Subconscious shade around the hair line and jaw bone to bring color and shape to the face.

 

Something fun I’ve used this palette for: Smudging out my eyeliner using the darkest shade Subconscious. Personally, I love to wear my eyeliner to the shape of my eye, not too overdrawn, and smudged out. To achieve this look I first start with a gel pencil liner. After smudging my liner with a brush to the shape of my eye, slightly higher on my outer corners, I then set the liner with a black shadow. Using the darkest color in the Kat palette, I create a shadow above my liner, ultimately blending the black shadow with the brown shadow, blending up towards my crease. The color seems to fade out with no distinctive lines. Give it a try!

 

Overall, I really enjoy this palette. The price point of $46 is incredibly reasonable for the size of the pans but the colors are truly what make the Kat Von D Shade + Light Palette shine. Long lasting and rarely requiring a touch up, this has been my favorite highlight and contour purchase thus far. I don’t know that I’ve found anything negative about it and would highly recommend it to others! 🙂

 

Have you tried this palette? Please share your reviews!

Questions? Leave a comment!

 

Thanks for reading!

Stay fabulous, friends!

 

-R

Blogspot

Hi Friends!

 

Hope everyone is off to a fabulous start of the year!

 

As I’ve been working on transferring older blog posts from my blogspot to the rachealdoucettebeauty.com blog, I wanted to invite you to browse previous posts I’ve written over the years at rachealdoucette.blogspot.com.

 

As always, I love seeing comments and receiving emails about different products, tips and tricks, trends and advice.

 

Please feel free to comment on older posts I’ve written and lets discuss!

 

Stay fab, Beauties.

-R

Quickie post: some late night thinking out loud

Hi guys!

Thanks, as always, for stopping by and reading my posts! I really appreciate all the inquiries, emails, comments, shares and likes I receive! This blog wouldn’t be much without that critical feedback 🙂 Keep it coming!

 

… I was just restlessly sitting here thinking about how much I love writing, updating, editing and posting new content on this site. It’s literally like a dear diary sometimes.

 

It’s such release to sit here and think out loud. I think, I type, I dont like it, I delete. Too easy. And then I start all over again…

 

…I’m dying to purchase and write about these new NARS Audacious matte lipsticks. I think I’m going to raid Sephora tomorrow for some new purchases. I’ve also been seeing a lot of the holiday kits and palettes… And we all know how much of a sucker I am for an awesome palette.

I’ll keep you guys updated on my purchases. Keep a look out for some more “old blog content” posts, I have a few more id like to add to rachealdoucettebeauty.com

Stay fabulous babes 🙂

Thanks for reading!

-R

Smashbox Master Class Palette III

I recently purchased the Smashbox Master Class Palette III at Sephora and I can’t believe that I haven’t written about it yet!

This Palette is absolutely amazing! One side contains your contour, bronzer and highlight along with 16 neutral toned shadows. The right side is the color palette.

As always for Smashbox, the colors are highly pigmented and intense. Both the matte and shimmer colors are beautiful. I’ve literally used the palette everyday since I bought it.

Each side snaps out from the book-like case for easy transport. Too easy! I actually just bring the entire palette with me in my bag or kit 🙂

This baby was hard to find… I had to stalk it out at Sephora for a while but it was totally worth the wait and for only $65, a total steal.

If you’re into palettes as much as I am, go check this out at Sephora. I promise you’ll fall in love 🙂

 

master class 3

Old Blog Content

Hi There Everyone!

 

Recently, while going through my old blogspot.com site, I found some articles I had written that I think are so fun, they needed to be on rachealdoucettebeauty.com! Check out this write up on ELF products I wrote a while back and let me know what you think!

 

Cheap Trick- ELF Review

In my Make Up For Ever post I mentioned a product that is comparable to the HD finishing powder. Well, here’s a few products that I think are worth the review and write up. I would highly recommend checking these bad boys out. 

ELF HD Finishing Powder- Easily comparable to the HD Make Up For Ever powder. I actually bought this one day at Target just to compare. At $8, I wasn’t too concerned about tossing it in the junk drawer if it sucked. I was beyond surprised and super excited when I discovered how similar the two products were. Best part, its only a fraction of the price and double the size and this powder lasts me way longer. Awesome find. I have seen ELF products for retail in a few different stores, including Target. The powder retails for $6 on the ELF website and you can purchase itHERE.



ELF Makeup Cleansing Cloths- Ok, so I feel like these cleansing cloths are basically all the same. I chose to buy these because of the $3 price point. Enough said. Non-greasy and works great, even on waterproof liners and mascara. Purchase them HERE. 

ELF Studio Powder Brush- Of all the brushes I own, this might be my favorite. And guess how much I paid for it?! $3. I use it for foundation to get an airbrush effect. I have yet to see a bristle fall out. Find it HERE. 


ELF Cream Eyeliner- These little jars are great. I would compare it to MAC’s fluidline gel liners- incredibly similar. I’ve only seen colors Black and Brown in stores however, the ELF website has a whole variety of colors to choose from. Retails for $3. Purchase them HERE. 

ELF Essential Waterproof Eyeliner Pen- Compare to MAC’s Penultimate Eye Liner. A felt tipped eye liner pen that makes application a breeze and lines sharp as can be. As much as I loved the MAC pen, it only lasted for about a week before it dried out. Granted, a felt tip pen is going to dry up rather fast but I really thought for the price, it’d last a bit longer. The ELF felt tip liner outlasted MAC’s by weeks. The color is not as intense on the first swipe, but a second application and viola! The cat eye has never been easier. Retails for $2 and at that price, who even cares how fast it dries up! Purchase yoursHERE. 



ELF Studio Blush- I dont know what it is about this little compact of blush that I love, but I do. It’s inexpensive and the colors are great. It retails for $3. I would suggest finding a shade similar to your everyday color and compare them. I’ve ditched my Nars Orgasm (fave) and picked up one of these guys a few months back… I’ve been loving it ever since. Purchase ELF Studio BlushHERE. 



These are just a few products that I find very comparable to more expensive lines. I’m basically a makeup junkie so I buy, buy, buy. But it’s always nice to come across a product regardless if it’s drugstore or department store, that deliver. There’s nothing worse (ahem, MAC’s eyeliner pen) than a product that fails or just isn’t at all what you thought it would be.

Have a product that you think is comparable to a higher end line? Comment below and let’s discuss it! 

-R