Pop of Purple!--Spring Makeup Look--Full Face Tutorial (Pictures Included)

Firstly, I would like to apologize--most of these pictures totally look like mugshots (haha!!), but anywho, this is a full face tutorial on a really simple look for spring. It's just a pop of purple eyeliner--I did this look on a chilly/rainy day last week, and I really liked how it turned out. The eyes are really simple and easy to do, and I tried out cream contouring for the first time (which is totally not necessary for the eyes), and I really liked how it turned out. GossMakeupArtist on YouTube does great contour videos if you want to look him up for reference! :) Enjoy!! PS, sorry for the obscene amount of pictures, I just think step-by-step is so much easier to figure out!

Here is the finished look--if you want to learn how, keep scrolling! :)

First, I cleansed and moisturized my face with First Aid Beauty's facial cleanser and ultra repair cream, and followed with the Baby Skin primer that reduces the look of pores.

Next, I started the cream contour--so I chose a cream foundation by Milani that is 3-4 shades too dark for my skin, and applied it to the hollows of my cheeks (under the cheek bone), my temples and the top of my forehead, under my chin and jawline, and down the sides of my nose. You want to apply the darker shade wherever you want a shadow (a place you want to sink further into your face). Then I added the lightest cream concealer I could find by Revlon, and used it to highlight the places I want to stick out more--so, down the bridge of my nose, between the dark contour colors under my cheekbones and on my jawline, on the tops of my cheeks (the bones about the hollows of the cheeks), above my top lip, under my eyes, and in the middle of my forehead. It looks crazy at first, but don't fret.

Then I took a foundation in my shade with a buffing brush, right on top of the cream contour, and buffed everything together. This type of contouring is very subtle, and looks quite natural because of the foundation you buff on top of it. Just make sure the foundation is not too full of a coverage, or else the cream contour will be lost. Remember--spots/blemishes should be covered with concealer after foundation is applied. So after I buffed in the foundation, I applied under-eye concealer and covered any blemishes that were still poking out.

Next, I applied bronzer down my neck to blend everything together, as well as on my cheeks and forehead to bring the contour out a little bit more; filled in my brows; and added a pink blush/highlight in one to put some color back in my face.

Here is a side view of the contour--very subtle, but still a visible difference!

Now to the eyes!

First, I added an eye primer (I used the 'Bare Study' paint pot by MAC), as well as a shimmery nude color all over the lid and up to the brow bone.

Next, I added a dark purple shadow (with not much on my brush, because I wanted it to be subtle) to my crease and blended it through the crease and into the outer V of the eye. (outer V is a V in this orientation < on the outsides of your eye).

Next, I added a pop of purple eyeliner to my top lashline--just a nice normal line with no wing.

Next, I took the liner and lined my lower water line and under my bottom lashline. I smudged it out, because I find that eyeliner on my bottom lashline can look extremely harsh on me--smudging is personal preference.

Just curl your lashes and add some mascara and light pink gloss, and ta-daaaa!! I simple pop of purple perfect for spring! I hope this was helpful! :)

Brown and Pink Smokey Eye: Step-by-Step Tutorial for Valentines Day

Though I'm painfully single this valentines day, who says you can't get made up and go out anyways? Keep scrolling to see a step-by-step tutorial for a slightly smokey valentines day makeup option! All of the product details will be listed after the tutorial! Hope you guys enjoy! :)

                         Before                                                                                              After

STEP ONE: First things first: you always want to apply your makeup to a fresh face, so I cleansed and moisturized before anything else. I also decided to exfoliate my lips, because they were dry and disgusting.




STEP TWO: Next, I primed my eyes with a white base. Not only with this help prevent your eye-shadow from creasing, it will make the pink shade more vibrant on the eyelid.

STEP THREE: Now that the base is down, I went in with the pink shade all over the lid and up to the crease. The shade I chose was a bronze/pink baked product, because when using pinks and reds near the eyes, it's easy to make yourself look sick or crazy, so the bronze in the shade toned it down.

STEP FOUR: To create some dimension, I blended a shimmery copper color through my crease, and went in with a dark brown with subtle shimmer and smoked out the outer V of my eye. Start with a small amount of the dark color and add more as you are blending. It looks crazy and sometimes terrible at first, but keep blending in small windshield wiper motions/small circular motions and you will get that soft blended out look. After you're happy with the amount of the darkest color you have on the outer V, take a clean blending brush and blend once more to make sure there are no harsh lines--patience equals payoff :)

STEP FIVE: Now, drag the dark shade in the outer V under the lower lash line--don't be afraid to go lower than usual, it looks crazy until your mascara is done! After you have smoked out the lower lash line, add a golden highlight to the inner corner, as well as a white highlight to the brow bone.





STEP SIX: Add a dark brown eyeliner to the waterline, and smudge it into the lower lash line to make the look a little more dramatic. Next, tightline (upper water line) with a black kohl pencil, any black liner in a moderately thin line on the lid (I chose to use liquid liner), and go back in with that dark brown shade and press it on top of the black liner to make it a little less harsh. Apply your favorite mascara to the upper and lower lashes, and that's the eyes done!






After the foundation is done, put on a great outfit, and whether you are single or taken, have a wonderful valentines day and look fabulous doing it! <3







PRODUCTS

FACE:

Base: MAC Pro Longwear: NC15

Foundation: Maybelline FIT me!: 110

Under Eye Concealer: Benefit Erase Paste: No. 1 fair

Face Concealer: Revlon Photoready: Light

Bronzer/Contour/Blush/Highlight: Urban Decay Naked Flushed Palette

Powder: NYX Radiant Finishing Powder: Brighten

Finishing Spray: MAC Fix+

EYES:
Base: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil: Milk
Shadow on lid: Milani Baked Blush: Berry Amore
Shadow in crease: Urban Decay Chopper (Naked 2 Palette)
Shadow in outer V: Urban Decay Busted (Naked 2 Palette)
Liner on lower lash line: NYX Dark Brown
Liner on tightline: NYX black
Liquid Liner: e.l.f. black
Mascara: Sephora Full Action and Benefit They're Real!

BROWS:
Wax: Sonia Kashuk brow kit: 12 arch alert
Setting Gel: Benefit Gimme Brow: light/medium

LIPS:
Lipstick: NYX Lip Smacking Fun Colors: Gala
Gloss: NYX Butter Gloss: Apple Strudel

Using Blush/Bronzer as Eye Shadow--Step-By-Step Tutorial for Summery Coral Eyes

Hello Everyone!

I recently saw Lauren Beauty's tutorial on YouTube for these beautiful coral eyes, but I haven't been able to find any coral eye shadow to try it out...soo, I decided to use blush and bronzer to achieve these beautiful summery coral eyes! Comment and let me know if this was helpful!

Step 1: Use a white base all over the lid to make the coral color more vibrant. I used Rimmel London's Kajal Eye Liner Pencil in 071 Pure White

Step 2: BLEND

Step 3: Pack coral blush on a flat shader brush, and apply all over the lid. I used Cargo's blush in Los Cabos.

Step 4: BLEND

Step 5: Apply a matte bronzer to the crease/socket and the outside corner of the eye. I used Avon's Let It Glow in Light-Medium

Step 6: BLEND

Step 7: Apply a light shimmery highlight for the brow-bone. I used L.A. Colors' Loose Eyeshadow in Honeysuckle.

Step 8: Run the coral blush along the lower lashline, stopping just before the inner corner, and add the bronzer just to the outside of the lower lashline for more depth. Also, add a white shimmery highlight to the inner corners of the eyes. I used Wet n Wild's Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio in 381B Sweet As Candy

Step 9: Line your waterline with a nude eyeliner to brighten the eye. I used Rimmel London's Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in 005 Nude. You could use white for a more dramatic look.

Step 10: Curl your lashes and add mascara to complete the look! I used Benefit's They're Real! Mascara.

I hope you enjoy and recreate! I'll be uploading tons of tutorials soon--both makeup and hair!

Picture of Products Mentioned:

All-Natural Handmade Soap for Sensitive Skin/ Eczema/ Psoriasis

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself at the Mt. Olive pickle festival in Mt. Olive, North Carolina. I came across this little stand with all-natural soaps, and being the body care junkie I am, I stopped to take a peek. I immediately started looking at a vegan soap named "Kinsley" that was specifically for people suffering from eczema (which I am, unfortunately), and took a look at the ingredients. I was really interested to try this soap, because firstly, it was made without any sort of chemicals. Secondly, it is made with almost all oils, which are extremely moisturizing, as well as vitamins and coconut milk. If you have eczema or any sort of dry skin issue, keeping moisturized is the most important thing you can do for your skin--and doing it naturally is a better way to do it.

I kid you not, this soap could pass as a Lush bar soap any day, without question. They look identical, lather nicely, and leave my skin feeling so moisturized, soft, and enriched. I would compare it to the Aveeno Eczema soap, but this bar of soap leaves skin much more moisturized. I am also exposed to chlorinated water daily, so my skin is usually hard to keep from being dry and scaly, but from the two weeks I have been using this soap, I have noticed a difference in my skins appearance and the level of moisture, and more importantly, this soap really helps with the itchiness and dryness of my eczema spots. Though the smell isn't the best (if you've used an eczema soap, you know they do not smell good), the scent does not linger on skin, and I am so pleased with this product.

The best part? This soap is actually cheaper than Lush, and saving money is definitely a plus. Now, I love Lush products, but when the soaps from Sunny Soap are $2-3 cheaper, and are so comparable it's insane, I will go with the less expensive product, because the quality is the same. Click HERE to check out/ purchase Sunny's products--among soap, they also sell sugar scrubs, lip balm, bath bombs, laundry detergent, ect--and click HERE to go to the Sunny Soap Facebook page and check them out, as well as give them a like. 

Ingredient list: Olive Oil, Coconut Milk, Coconut Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Safflower Oil, Tamanu Nut Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, and Vitamin E. 

Enjoy!

LAFACE Laboratories | Beax Yeux Beautiful Eyes Concentrate Intensive -- April Birchbox

"A hefty dose of hyaluronic acid amps up moisture, while an advanced peptide complex halts wrinkle formation"

When I opened this month's Birchbox (the Women's Health themed box) I was really happy with all the items it included. One of which was the LAFACE eye cream. Though the sample pot looks tiny, a little bit of this eye cream goes a long way, so the full sized container would definitely last ages. The formulation of this product is nothing less than luxurious. It feels incredible on the skin--so soft and full of moisture. My skin literally soaks this stuff up. I have seen a noticeable difference in my under-eye area after only four uses of this cream. I apply it at night after cleansing, and (I have terrible seasonal allergies) the bags under my eyes due to swelling have reduced by an incredible amount. I have also noticed that my concealer goes on better under my eyes--it looks much better and doesn't crease as much--and I believe it is because that area is 100x more moisturized than before I got this sample. This stuff really is amazing.

Now for the catch. While is product is incredible, it is also high end, and high end is not cheap. The full size 1 oz container is $160, which is the only reason I won't be purchasing this product. That price is not one that fits well into my budget. However, if you do have the means, I highly recommend purchasing it if you're looking for a luxurious and hydrating eye cream. It would definitely be ideal for more mature women, because it is known to halt under eye wrinkles. *Just a tip: if you are extremely gentle with your under-eye area (as you should be) it will decrease the chances of getting premature wrinkles.*

If you are interested in the product, click HERE --- this website gives you a lot of information and allows you to purchase the product.

Stay lovely!

Milani Lipstick--Great Lipstick for a Great Price

Who knew Milani had lipstick?! Definitely not me, buuut as I was browsing through Target's makeup aisles, I came across an entire Milani section (something I hadn't seen at Target before), and decided to pick up a few to try out, as they are extremely affordable ($4.65). I own some other Milani products (the baked blush and bronzer) and I really enjoy using them, so I assumed that these lipstick would be of nice quality, and I was right. Firstly, there is quite a wide variety of shades in this collection, all of which are gorgeous. This product is extremely pigmented, and has nice staying power without staining the lips, though it is quite drying if the lips aren't primed with balm or chapstick. An added bonus to this product is that it smells amazing! Sweet and fruity--reminds me of a Lip Smackers chapstick, actually. These shades are quite vibrant, especially since I have fair skin, so if you are nervous about striking lipstick, this line does have a lovely selection of nudes and subtle pinks. I do encourage you to try bold lips, though, because in my opinion the only person who keeps you from rocking a style is yourself.

The three shades I picked up were:

17 Plumrose

20 Uptown Mauve--this could potentially be a dupe for MAC's Rebel, but this is slightly more pink toned, whereas Rebel is more blue toned.

16 Flirty Fuchsia

Have fun rocking those bold lips! :)

Rose Gold Watch--Affordable Version via Target

Hello there!

As I was perusing through Target, among other beauty/fashion purchases, a rose gold watch caught my eye. If you guys weren't aware, they are completely on-trend at the moment (the Michael Kors version being the most popular), and I decided to pick it up and give it a try. I knew I liked the look of the watches on other people, but I wasn't sure if I could pull it off--especially because they're quite chunky and all metal. I have always been a Fossil watch kind of gal, so I was on the fence, but it was the last watch left on the display so I got it. It really is a beautiful piece, and goes well with most every outfit.

 I definitely feel more sophisticated, yet edgy and trendy, when I wear it. I think rose gold suits every skin tone, and (if you're like me) this version is WAY more affordable that Michael Kors. The watch I have was $20, where the Michael Kors watches are $250+. I recommend this watch if you feel like you aren't sure about the style--it's good to see what it will go with. Also, I think it's a great looking knockoff, and for those people who want to be trendy without being broke, this is a good find! I have really grown to like it, as well as the way it looks on my wrist/with my outfits. If you want to check out the watch online click here.

Best luck to all of you in your watch endeavors!

Stay lovely.