"How" Series

My last blog got me thinking about how we apply makeup and skin and hair care products. I think a lot of the time we're so focused on what prodcuts we're buying, that we overlook how to use them. I'm not suggesting the "what" doesn't matter; it does. There are products out there that don't work for everyone and there are some that just aren't good quality. However, at times I think we're too quick to judge a product and say it isn't good before really giving it a chance, so I'm going to make a "how series" where I describe different ways of apply different products. Obviously, I haven't tried every way possible to apply products, but I'll go over what I've done and what works and what doesn't work. If you have any tips or tricks for appling makeup, etc, respond in the comments--I would love to know what you guys do!

Thanks!!

Fast and Easy Tip 2: Hot Water

I'm sure we've all seen those Biore nose stips that are suppose to take care of blackheads and gunk in our noses....well I've been using them for years and while they do remove dirt and oil deep in the pores of my nose, and I can see a difference when I haven't used on for a while, I've always had little blackheads on my nose. Nothing has been able to get rid of them--even the nose strips. That is, until I tried using hot water on my nose first and then the strip--all I can say is "wow." I can't believe in all these years I never thought to do this. It made a huge difference and blackheads are almost completly gone! If you're having the same problem I was, give this a shot. Just don't use water water so hot that you burn yourself.

Thanks!

Road Trip Makeup

Been traveling the past couple days, and while I don't need makeup on to sleep in the car, we did get out to eat a few times and I wanted a little something on--and I had to do something with my hair because my hair was very flat each night after a days worth of driving.

For makeup I didn't bother with concealer. I have a few pimples on my face right now that I would prefer to cover up, but it wasn't worth messing with concealer and then reapplying it. I did dust on some of my MAC MSFN in Light, then put on Painterly pp, black waterproof eyeliner on top, and waterproof mascara on top. I wouldn't recommend the mascara. Even though it was waterproof, it smudged after I fell asleep the first day, so the second day I didn't bother with it. And then on my lips I just used MAC tinted lip conditioner--the light pink one (I'm sorry, I can't remember what the color is called at the moment).

For my hair I pulled up my bangs, gathered them together and twisted them just a tad at the ends, then I laid them down on my head, and used two bobbypins to secure them in place. Allthatglitters21 on youtube can do this with just one bobbypin (she has a recent hair tutorial with, I believe, the word "bangs" in the title of it), but I haven't figured it out yet. But I like the little poof this creates in the middle of my hair because the sides of my hair were flat, so this balanced everything out.

I'm going to try to update my blog as often as I can, but I am on vacation, so not promising anything!

Cheers!

Project Eye Complete!

I'm happy to report I am done with my eyeshadow project is done! It was fun at times because it forced me to think outside the box and use colors in new ways, but at the same time it was annoying if I was in a hurry and just wanted to rely on one of my basic eye looks. I didn't wear eye makeup every day the past month, but I think I did good. It was nice seeing what eyeshadows I tended to reach for and which ones I used rarely or not at all.

I think this project would be worth trying, and not only with eyeshadows, lip and cheek products as well. If a month sounds like too long, try a week. If you have tons of lip products, make it a goal to wear a different one each day. Or take an eyeshadow quad and try to come up with as many differnt looks with it as you can in a week. I'm going to try to do this when I go on vacation for a couple weeks. I'm going to see how few products I can live with.

Alright. Just wanted to update. Tell me what you think are some ideas you can do with makeup.

Thanks!

June 12 and 13 Eye Looks

June 12:

1. MAC Painterly pp
2. MAC eyeshadow in Carbon on lid
3. MAC eyeshadow in Scene over Carbon and into crease
4. Revlon eyeshadow matte Peach Sorbet on brow bone and inner corner
5. Revlon black eyeliner pen on top lashine

The verdict: I thought it would be too dark when I first started, but it turned out good. I liked it. I don't think I would go to school with it on, but it was nice for going out with friends.

June 13:

1. MAC Painterly pp
2. The pink from MAC mineralize duo Pink Split on inner 1/2 of lid and crease
3. The purple from MAC mineralize duo Earthly Riches on outter 1/2 of lid and crease
4. Mix the two lightest colors from Smashbox eyeshadow quad in Bright Eyed and use as highlight
5. Dark brown shadow as eyeliner on top lashline

The verdict: Bright and fun. I liked this.

Friday May 11 Eyes

1. MAC Coral Crepe pp on lid
2. MAC Bare Study pp from lid to brows
3. Mix the two lightest colors in Smashbox eyeshadow quad Bright Eyed and place on lids and crease
4. Black eyeliner on upper waterline

I was a in a hurry this morning (surprise, surprise) and this was a really easy and fast look. It was a bit more bare than I'm used to, but it worked. Adding the eyeliner just on my waterline helped. I chose to put it on my waterline rahter than top lashline like I usually do because it's pretty much fool proof. It's easy to mess up a line on your lid, but placing eyeliner on your waterline is fast and easy, and not messy once you get the hang of it.

Thanks!

Today's Look

1. MAC Painterly pp
2. MAC eyeshadow Honesty on inner 1/2 of lid and crease
3. MAC eyeshadow Amberlights on outer 1/2 of lid and crease
4. MAC eyeshadow Mulch in crease and outter corner
5. MAC eyeshadow Grain to blend edges and bring under brow
6. Revlon black eyeliner pen with dark brown shadow to smudge it out

I'm not sure how much I like Honesty and Amberlights together...but it worked. I wasn't crazy about it though.

Thanks!

June 7 & 8 Looks

Monday June 7:

1. MAC Painterly pp
2. white shadow from Smashbox trio in Twilight in inner 1/4 lid to crease
3. pink side of MAC mineralize duo in Pink Split middle of lid to crease
4. pink from MAC mineralize quad in Girlish Romp on outer 1/4 lid to crease
5. purple from MAC mineralize quad in Girlish Romp in crease
6. Revlon eyeshadow in Peach Sorbet as highlight color
7. Black liner top lash line and top waterline

Okay, so a lot more color than I normally do! This was really pretty. I wish I had had the time to put them on with water because that makes the color more intense, but it was a day time look so it worked. I think from far away you couldn't really tell I was wearing any color on my lids, but up close it was a very soft iridescent look. I liked it a lot!

Tuesday June 8:

1. MAC Painterly pp
2. Benefit Hoola on lid and crease
3. MAC bronzing powder Golden over Hoola
4. pink from MAC mineralize quad Girlish Romp just on lid
5. white/yellowish color from Girlish Romp on brow bone
6. Brown eyeliner on top lash line

I like the way brown and pink play with each other.

Thanks!

Sephora and Ebay Haul

In Photo from top left going counter clockwise: Smashbox eyeshadow quad in Bright Eyed, Smashbox Brow Tech in Taupe/Soft Brown, Smashbox angle brow brush, and Benefit Hoola bronzer.

I've been wanting something for my brows for a while because they're awful, so I was browsing Sephora online and decided to get Smashbox Brow Tech and a brush since I didn't own an angled brush. Then, while looking at Smashbox I saw this eyeshadow quad for only $6, and while I'm technically not suppose to be buying eyeshadow, I had to get this--it was such a good deal! I have used it a few times, but I'm still using my other eyeshadows in different ways for my project. So that was Sephora and it came last week.

I've mentioned before that I recently bought my first bronzer (MAC in Golden) and I've been experimenting it and I really like it. While the shimmer is fine (it's not too much, it's a fine shimmer, but it is there) for my cheek bones, I don't like using it all over because I feel that's too much shimmer, so I've been thinking about getting a matte bronzer and I've heard good things about Benefit Hoola. Still, I've also read that matte bronzers can make your skin look dirty, so I really didn't want to pay full price for an item I had never tried....cue eBay! I got this for $12 off eBay when it's usually $28, so it was more than 1/2 off which is great, and shipping was free! Always a bonus. So now I own two bronzers...haha...it's silly but I feel so giddy about it.

So that's the haul. I may do a review of the products as I use them more, and I definitely plan on doing one on bronzers. I'm thinking July because by then I should have some kind of clue about what I'm doing ;)

Cheers!

Sunday June 6 Look

I used Smashbox Bright Eyed eye shadow quad for this look too. I'm really happy I bought it--it's great!

1. MAC Painterly pp
2. The peach color all over lid and crease
3. The dark color on the lower lid, blended up
4. The highlight color under brow and inner corner
5. Revlon Colorstay black eyeliner pen on upper lash line
6. MAC eyeshadow in Carbon over black liner to soften

UPDATE

Hey, I finally took the time today to take pictures and I just got some up! I still haven't managed to get good pictures of my eyes when I have makeup on but I'm going to try to put up pictures when I can. I'm sure it's annoying to read about makeup looks and not know how exactly they look, but I'm doing my best. I hope the pictures I have put up help!

Thanks!

(Is there anything you want to see? Let me know!)

Saturday June 5 Eye Look

Very simple--3 products only! I didn't even bother with mascara today because I just ran a few errands then spent the rest of the day cleaning and writing. It looks good though and has lasted me all day (I still have it on), so definitely something I will do in the future when I need an easy look.

1. MAC Coral Crepe pp on lid, blended slightly towards crease
2. MAC Bare Study pp above the coral color and up to brows
3. Revlon black eyeliner pen on upper lash line and winged out a bit

That's it!

Thanks!

Eye Looks Past Few Days

Oi, I'm falling behind...too much homework. Suddenly reality hit me and I have 3 big papers due in the next two weeks! But, two weeks and I'm walking...I can't believe I'm graduating college...finally! It's been a long four years haha. Anyway, here are the eye looks I did the past three days:

Tuesday June 1:
1. MAC Painterly pp
2. MAC eyeshadow in Mulch on lid
3. MAC eyeshadow in Sketch in crease
4. MAC eyeshadow in Grain to blend edges and use as highlight
5. Bright white shimmery eyeshadow in corner of eyes because this look is a bit dark
6. NYC waterproof brown eyeliner pencil

As I was doing this look I was worried it would be too dark, but I liked it. And I wore it for the day time, so it was daytime friendly. I think adding the shimmery white helped lighten the look though, and would recommend when you do darker looks, to keep the inner corner bright.

Wednesday June 2:

1. MAC Bare Study pp
2. MAC mineralize eyeshadow duo in Burning Ambition--the darker color on the outer corner, and the light color on the rest of the lid
3. Revlon black eyeliner pen

I was in a hurry yesterday to get ready so this was a very rushed look, and I wish I would have had more time. Note to self, don't use mineralize shadows when I'm in a hurry--a lot of fall out, but the colors are beautiful.

Thursday June 3:

1. MAC Painterly pp
2. Smashbox eyeshadow quad in Bright Eyed. OK, quick note, I wasn't going to purchase any eyeshadow until after my 30 day project, but I was looking at Sephora online and this was $6--seriously, so I had to get it. I'm so glad I did, I expected it to be the size of the trios, maybe a bit bigger, but this thing is the size of a MAC blush! It has a dark brown in it, a peach color, a highlight color, and a shimmery pinkish or light rose(?) color. So technically I did cheat, but I think my purchase is justified. They still have this eyeshadow quad online so I would recommend getting it, especially if you like neutral pallets.
3. Okay, the actual application of these colors: I used the peach on my lid, the highlight as a highlight, and the dark brown in outer crease and outer 1/3 of lid.
4. Smashbox brown cream liner (from one of their cream liner pallets) on top lash line.

This was a really pretty look. I look forward to doing it again....after my project of course :)

Thanks! Sorry I've been slacking. I have a couple other blogs I want to get up, but maybe I'll wait til this weekend. Have a good evening!