September Favorites

Wet 'n Wild Color Icon Palette in Vanity

Maybelline Super Stay 24 HR Concealer

Ardell Brow Sculpting Gel

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

CeraVe Moisturizing Cream

L'Oreal Paris Clean Artiste Waterproof & Long Wearing Eye Makeup Remover suitable for sensitive eyes

Bare Minerals Mineral Veil (translucent face powder)

Laura Mercier Oil Free Foundation in Blush Ivory

Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Nourishing Moisturizer with vitamins A, C, & E SPF 30 UVA/UVB Protection

Differin Gel

Clean & Clear Continuous Control Acne Cleanser 10% Benzoyl Peroxide Daily Formula

Face of the Day: DivaMakeupQueen Style

Today I wore a look based off Divamakeupqueen's Back 2 School Tutorial. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OSxjFifUl8. Her look is using the Maybelline Chai Latte Quad. I don't have that quad, but I found some dupes as usual. This look turned out really pretty and perfect for this beautiful fall day. It was a teacher work day, so I wore this during the staff meeting and I felt very professional and appropriate for work.

This quad also has dupes for several Mac colors. And I have the dupes for the Mac colors so this is how I came up with my copy version.

1. She put on eye primer. I used Too Faced Shadow Insurance.

2. She used the crease color on the inner half of her eyelid. The Mac dupe for this is Tempting. I used the crease color from Wet 'n Wild Walking on Eggshells.

3. She used the outer corner color on the outer half of her eyelid. The Mac dupe is Burn. I don't have a dupe for this, but I thought Wet 'n Wild Color Icon Palette in Vanity's 3rd color looked similar.

4. She used the lid color in the crease. The Mac dupe is Wedge. My dupe is the 2nd shade in Wet 'n Wild Color Icon Palette in Vanity.

5. She used the brow bone color on her brow bone and tearduct. The Mac dupe is Brule. I used the 1st shade in Wet 'n Wild Color Icon Palette in Vanity.

6. Next, she used the crease color on the inner half of her lower lash line. The Mac dupe for this is Tempting. I used the crease color from Wet 'n Wild Walking on Eggshells.

7. Then, she used the outer corner color on the outer half of her lower lash line. The Mac dupe is Burn. I don't have a dupe for this, but I thought Wet 'n Wild Color Icon Palette in Vanity's 3rd color looked similar.

8. She used a brown eyeliner in her waterline, tightline, and upper lash line. I don't think I look good with eyeliner in my waterline, so I just put a brown liner on my upper lash line. I used Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Trio for Hazel eyes in the taupe color.

9. She put on mascara. I currently am loving L'Oreal Voluminous Waterproof Mascara in Black Brown.

10. Then, she used e.l.f. Mineral Moisturizing Lip Tint in Blush. This is a pink lipgloss that I think looks similar to e.l.f. Luscious Liquid Lipstick in Pink Lemonade.

11. For blush she used a light pink blush in e.l.f. beauty school blush and bronzer the first shade. I used a pink blush that I owned called Physicians Formula Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Blush in Natural.

12. Finally, she used e.l.f. Radiance Enhancer in Sunrise to highlight the top of her cheekbones. I used Wet 'n Wild Everything Under the Sun Bronzer with a fan brush.

Jesse's Girl Julie G Collection: Mermaid's Lagoon

This is my new nail polish of the moment. I heard about this collection from this blog: http://fairytale-charm.blogspot.com/2011/09/swatchreview-jesses-girl-julie-g.html. What really got me hooked was the Mermaid's Lagoon description about it being teal with gold glimmer. My favorite color is teal, and the idea of it having gold glimmer sounded so pretty. I found this collection at my local Rite-Aid. My pictures make the polish look lighter than it is. It is much more of a blue-green color. Also, the gold shimmer is barely noticeable which was kind of a disappointment to me. It is a very shiny beautiful color though. It doesn't look glittery. Julie G is another Youtuber that I'm obsessed with. In her video about her nail polish line she said she named this shade after one of her tutorials: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekbGgKoqJo8&feature=channel_video_title. In my pictures you can kind of see the gold shimmer.

Added Note 9/24: So I've been wearing this nail polish and I feel very weird with it on. It isn't a color I normally would wear. I guess it was a little out of my comfort zone. Now tonight I'm trying to take it off, and it has stained my fingers blue! I honestly don't think I will be wearing this color again. I still have another polish in the Julie G Collection that I will try. I just think this polish wasn't suited for me.

Face of the Day: Fleur De Force Style

Today I am getting ready to go to church. I have been copying looks on Youtube that are labeled "Back to School." These are good looks to copy because usually they are very easy and look pretty natural. Today I copied Fleur De Force's back to school look she posted a year ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_98qJK-DvhY. It is supposed to be all affordable brands. She is mainly using e.l.f.'s Ethereal Quad. This drives me mad because I've looked everywhere for this quad, and I can never find it. Maybe you have that problem too? There are lot of great Youtube tutorials with this quad, so I decided to dupe it using e.l.f. shadows that I do have. Maybe this will be helpful for someone.

She used cheap products for bronzer, a tinted moisturizer, concealer, and powder. I used what I normally use for that.

1. First, she used the white shade in e.l.f.'s Ethereal Quad in the inner corners of her eye. This is a white, glittery shade. I used the first shade in e.l.f.'s Beauty Eye Manual Bright Eye Edition.

2. Then, she used from the same quad the peach glittery shade. There is a peach glittery shade in e.l.f.'s Butternut quad that looks similar to me. It is the second color. Put that shade all over your lid.

3. After that she used the darkest color in the quad along her lash line and outer corner of eye and blended it out. This looks like a plum shade to me. There is a beautiful plum shade in e.l.f.'s Day 2 Night quad, again the second shade.

4. She then put an eyeliner in her waterline. I skip this step because I think this makes my eyes look smaller. Instead I put the same shade as step 3 on my lower lash line.

5. Then she put on mascara.

6. For blush she used e.l.f. Contouring Blush & Bronzer Powder on the apples of her cheeks. I have this so I did it too. This is a really pretty, peachy pink color that looks like a natural flush on my skin.

7. For her lips she wore e.l.f. Plumping Lip Glaze in Peach Passion. I don't have this, but I do have a plumping lip gloss by Bare Escentuals Buxom Lips called Amber. It has a neat minty, tingly feeling to it. It's one of my favorite lip glosses. It is more on the expensive side though.

Overall, the look turned out very pretty and casual. This would be a good look for school.

Fall Loves Tag

This is based on a tag video I've seen on Youtube a couple times. First, from macbarbie07 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viQpGAAvlGI and second, from eleventhgorgeous http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQl0s21FIss.  They answer Fall related questions about beauty and random things. It looked like fun, and I wanted to do it too.

Top 5 fall makeup items?
1. Laura Mercier Oil Free Foundation
2. Bare Minerals Mineral Veil
3. Wet 'n Wild Color Icon Palette in Vanity
4. Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso
5. Too Faced Shadow Insurance

Favorite fall hair product? Tresemme Frizz Shield Finishing Spray
 Favorite fall nail polish? Revlon Edgy Elegance Nail Polish Collection in Fierce

Favorite fall scent? Liv Grn Earth Eau de Parfum

Most worn clothing item & accessory? jeans and Keds

Who's your fall style icon? I don't have one. I just get what I like and what I think looks good on me.

Going to a corn maze, what do you wear? hoodie, jeans, t-shirt, tennis shoes

Favorite Halloween movie? The Grudge (Japanese version)

Favorite Halloween candy? I love the Hershey chocolate variety packs that come with Mr. Goodbar and Krackle.

What are you being for Halloween? myself :)

I tag anyone who read this post!

Revlon Edgy Elegance: Fierce Nails

Last night I painted my nails. This time I used Revlon's Fierce Nail Polish from their new collection Edgy Elegance. It's the one with Halle Berry as the model on display. I went to two stores to find this color. It is a beautiful purple. I only needed one coat for it to show it's brilliance. I don't have any purple nail polish. I thought this would look pretty with all my green tops. I have a lot of green shirts for some reason. Also, it always seems purple is a popular color for the fall. I wonder why that is. Is it because grapes are becoming ripe? If someone reading this knows the answer or has an answer please leave me a comment.

This is a picture with one of the flowers in our garden. It is still morning so the dew drops are on the flower. You can see how pretty the nail polish gleams.

Face of the Day: Pixi2woo Style

Today is a Monday and I'm back to work at the elementary school. I'm wearing casual clothes, and it is supposed to be as high as 83 degrees, which is very nice in my opinion. For my makeup I copied Pixi2woo's newest Back to School Makeup Tutorial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6olDXsIUCwQ This look is very fresh and pretty. A good look for school and sunny weather. I didn't have all the products she had, but I duped the ones I didn't have.

For foundation, concealer, powder, and eyebrows, I feel like it's already a given to use whatever products that you normally use unless you want to buy exactly what she has.

For her eyes she used Sleek Storm Palette which is not available in the U.S. so I found what colors I had to use. Also she used the Mac 217 brush, but I have the dupe which is the Loew-Cornell 1/4 amm mini mop (green handle) art brush I found at Michael's.

1. I put Milani Drenched in Gold across the lid.

2. With my little finger I used Covergirl Shimmer Sands Trio, the third color and popped it on my tear duct area.

3. I used Maybelline Eye Studio Quad in Taupe Temptress, second color in my outer corner and through the socket for a tiny bit of definition. Some people would call this the "outer v."

4. She used a mascara for lengthening so I used my Covergirl Lengthening Mascara.

5. For blush she used Rimmel Spring Flower 001. This looks like a pink color, so I used my Wet 'n Wild  Pearlescent Pink Blush. I love how she applied the blush. She smiled and dusted the brush across her cheek leaning more so that she wasn't too close to her nose and blended outward onto the cheekbones. She said if you put on too much blush just use whatever is left on your foundation brush to blend it out and make it look more natural.

6. For the lip gloss she used Revlon Colorburst Lip Gloss in Peony, which I have and love. I also put on Soft Lips SPF 20 lip balm underneath.

I really want to wear shoes to show off my "toes of the week" (jean nails), but I know it's not practical since I'm going to be on my feet a lot at work so I should probably wear tennis shoes.

What is your face of the day? What youtube beauty guru do you like to watch or copy their tutorials? I used to just watch, but it is fun to try to copy and you learn a lot about makeup.

Toe Nails of the Week

Last week I did a blog about my nails of the week. They are still lasting on my nails. I don't want to take them off. I work at a school and the children keep complimenting my gold nails.

This week I wanted to show off my toenails because I'm using Sally Hansen nail polish strips again. This time I'm wearing them in Skinny Jeans. I always wear jeans, and this week is promising to be just as hot as last week, so this nail polish will look good with jeans I think.

Birchbox September 2011

I was so excited my Birchbox arrived today!

You receive a little package in the mail every month with samples. Every box has it's own theme. The theme for this one was to thank the subscribers for one year of Birchbox. I think it is the anniversary. Everyone gets something different in their box, based on a little survey you fill out when you first subscribe.

1. Starting at the top, I got a friendship bracelet. It has the cute little Birchbox logo on it and a pink yarn.

2. Then, going from left to right. I have Pangea Organics Facial Cream for Normal to Combination Skin. It has Nigerian ginger with lavender & tyme. I'll try this tonight and add how I like it later. So I tried this on and it smells like soil. I put it on my face after cleansing and my face didn't feel moisturized. I waited for it to "work", but it still felt dry so I put on my regular moisturizer over it. I don't like this cream at all. I gave this to my mom and she loves it. She said she put it on in the evening and the next morning her face felt wonderful.

3. Next, is Jouer Lip Enhancer. It is a lip balm that is supposed to hydrate, plump, and condition your lips. It feels good.

4. The next item is called, "Liv Grn Earth Eau de Parfum." Ten percent of sales go directly to Global Green, an environmental non-profit. It smells amazing. It isn't too harsh. The scent has jasmine and sandalwood.

5. Lastly, Incoco Nail Polish Applique. These are so much fun. These are like my Sally Hansen Strips. I already used my cheetah print nail polish strips, so these can replace those. These ones have cheetah print and they are gold, magenta, and black. Sort of tacky maybe, but lately I've been wearing pretty tacky looking nails for some reason.

To be honest I haven't gotten anything in a Birchbox yet that has really "wowed" me. I do like to try different products and see if I like them or not. This has been my third Birchbox. My favorite thing about them is just getting something cool in the mail. Also these products are expensive things that I normally would not buy. Like, the Pangea is normally $36. I wouldn't spend that much for a face cream. It is fun to have expensive samples.

Do you get Birchbox? What did you get in your Birchbox this month? Or do you get something similar to it that comes in the mail with samples? What is your favorite thing to get in the mail?

Tag: 7 Beauty Sins

I found this tag from Everyday Makeup Blog. It had some fun questions, so I've decided to do it.

1. What is your cheapest beauty product?
-My cheapest products are the ones I get from e.l.f. that are only $1.

2. What beauty product has made you mad?
-I got a strange eyelash curler once, and I couldn't figure out how to use it!

3. What is your most delicious beauty product?
-Soft Lips Sugar Cookie

4. What beauty product are you very lazy to use.
-Sunblock on my hands.

5. What beauty product gives you more self-confidence?
-My foundation because it helps cover my acne and scars.

6. What beauty attribute in men is the most attractive to you?
-Their smile.

7. What beauty product would you love to be gifted with?
-The perfect foundation that matches my skin, has the best coverage, and is the best formula.

I tag everyone who reads this post!

Nails of the Week

Since this week is supposed to be very hot and sunny, I wanted to make my nails glitter in the sunlight. I work at a school, and it is starting this week. Children appreciate a little glitter on the nails too.

This is Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips in Glitz Blitz. I have tried these before, and they really do last for a long time. When you first put them on, they feel sort of fragile like they wont stay stuck, but they actually last longer than real nail polish for me.

Have you tried nail stickers before? What nail polish are you wearing?

Look of the Day: Complementary Colors

I've seen a lot of people post these as well, so I decided to give it a go. Today I'm getting ready for church. I'm just dressing casually. I'm wearing my new brown top. It has sort of a square neck line, and fake clear jewels along the top. It has peasant style sleeves and a drawstring at the bottom to pull it tight. I have autumn coloring, so brown is one of the colors that looks good on me. Then I'm just wearing jeans and probably my blue Keds.

For my hair, I'm just wearing it up in a ponytail. Today is supposed to get really hot.

Now for my favorite part: the makeup. I have been doing this new thing lately where for whatever color top I'm wearing, I wear the complementary color on my eyes. I found this at Makeupgeek's website. I’ll find you the link.  http://www.makeupgeek.com/tutorials/q-a-with-makeup-geek-your-burning-questions-answered/     Someone asked her if she should match her eyeshadow to her clothes and she said no. Actually, it looks nice when you wear the opposite color.  

I already have heard that makeup artists largely say the same thing about how to complement your eye color. You wear the complementary color (opposite) of your eye color. So I applied this to my clothes. This has been really fun, so instead of only wearing colors that suit my hazel eyes, I'm wearing colors depending on my clothes. My clothes already complement my warm coloring.

So since I'm wearing a brown top, it is as though I have brown eyes and I need to wear colors to complement the brown. According to my research (i.e. obsessively going around the internet trying to figure out what colors complement brown eyes), I've found out that one color that looks good on brown eyes is green. So my makeup look today is a mainly green eyed look. If you look on the color wheel the opposite of green is red and brown has a lot of red in it, which is why green is considered a good opposite of brown.

Another thing I found out about my own color of eyes (hazel) is that there are a lot of colors that go good with my color. The only color I should avoid apparently is blue, which washes the hazel out. I think wearing navy is ok though.

I found a beautiful makeup artist on youtube that has a makeup look for each eye color. Here is her link to brown eyes:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N15d67SA-RY&feature=channel_video_title       

I took notes on her look so I could copy it using my own colors.

Eye Color Series: Makeup for Brown Eyes by carahamelie03

1. Mac Bare Study paint pot inner corner

2. Palladio Olive Crayon outer half of lid, blend with finger

3. Nyx creamy, soft beige inner half of eye over Bare Study

4. Nyx Herb, dark green base, blend into creamy color (this is an olive color)

5. Palladio Olive Crayon on lower lash line

6. Nyx Herb over top

7. Nyx Aloha inner corner highlight (this is a shimmery, light pink-brown)

8. Nyx Beauty Queen, fluffy crease brush in the crease (this is a plumy purple color)

9. Azure by Stila using a small pencil brush to darken the crease dimension in eye, not over powering but blend it out (this is a medium blue color)

10. vanilla matte white highlight

11. Mac Smolder eyeliner in waterline

12. Winged Mac Black Track Fluid Line on upper lash line

13. Mascara

14. Bronzer to bring color to face, contour, neck under the chin

15. Mauve cool toned blush because eyes are cool toned on the apples, blend back

16. Rimmel Vintage Pink, cool toned matte lipstick, dabbing on lips

17. Prestige soft peach lip gloss

My Thoughts: I'm going to copy this look, but not exactly. The only products I have the same as her is the Palladio crayon and the Prestige lip gloss. I'm going to skip the black in the waterline because I don't think that looks good on me. I also think it's a little too much for daytime at church. I don't want to look like I have tons of makeup on. Instead of black liner, I may use brown instead. Brown looks more natural on me. 

Also, I have a new obsession when it comes to wearing blush and lipstick. This is from the makeupgeek as well. Here is the video that inspired it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOhfYM2p99E 

It shows how to match your lipstick to your eye shadow. So according to her you want to wear cool toned blush and lipstick if you are wearing warm eye shadow and warm cheeks and lips if you are wearing cool toned eye shadow. So, since this look calls for cool eye shadow, I'm going to wear a peachy blush and peach lip gloss. She used the lip gloss that I will wear, but I won't copy the mauve blush.

When I start applying the makeup, especially when it gets into putting on the purple and blue shades I may skip it because I don't want too much makeup on. Today is supposed to be 91 degrees!!! That would be silly if I wear a smoky eye, also I don't think it's appropriate for church. I know that's probably silly considering I'm wearing casual clothes to church, since a lot of people would consider that inappropriate. I guess it would look weird if I had on a lot of makeup with such casual clothes too.

This is the makeup look that I actually did wear:

1. Revlon Not Just Nudes, 1^st color inner half of lid

2. Palladio Shadow & Liner Herbal Crayon in Olive, outer half of lid blended with finger

3. Wet ‘n Wild Color Icon Palette in Vanity, 1^st color, put over inner half cream

4. Maybelline Enchanted Forest, green color, put over outer half olive color

5. Palladio lower lash line

6. Maybelline green color lower lash line

7. Wet ‘n Wild The Gilded Age trio, browbone color as an inner corner highlight

8. Wet ‘n Wild 8-Pan Palette in Petal Pusher, 3^rd shade in crease using a fluffy crease brush

9. e.l.f. 32 Eyeshadow Palette, 3^rd row, last color, using a small pencil brush to darken crease dimension in eye, not over powering, blend it out

10. Wet ‘n Wild 8-Pan Palette in Petal Pusher, 1^st color under brow as a highlight

11. Physician’s Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Liner for Glam Hazel Eyes in black (no wing)

12. L’Oreal Voluminous Waterproof Mascara in Black Brown

13. NYC Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder in Sunny to bring color to my face, contour, neck under chin

14. Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso

15. Prestige Skin Loving Minerals Lasting Moisture Lip Gloss in Soft Peach

My Thoughts: This is so pretty! You should try it! Even though I don’t have brown eyes, I felt like it made my hazel eyes pop. I didn’t use a lipstick because I felt like my eyes were all ready pretty dramatic, and I wanted to go light on the lips. I decided the black liner on top wasn’t too bad to do, and I did the purple and blue because I was curious to see how it would look. Hopefully this isn’t too much for a daytime look. I put Too Faced Shadow Insurance so let’s see how well it holds up.

What is your face of the day? Do you over think things like I do? What do you think about the complementary colors idea? Please, feel free to leave me a comment!