Electric Blue Eyeliner Makeup Tutorial

I've been desperate to get in the swing of spring lately. Minnesota winters are brutal and this one especially. I just placed an order of dresses and flats/sandals to get ready for warm weather, and wanted to do a tutorial on a look that would be perfect for the summer. 

I love "pop of color" looks and since blue is my favorite color, I decided to show it off. Blue can be a tricky color on the eyes, because the last thing you want to do is overdo it and look like Mimi from the Drew Carey Show. 

Yet when done right, blue eyes can be drop dead gorgeous. I'm a huge fan of using deep or electric blues yet keeping the look as a whole very bright. 

I decided to use a blue liquid liner for the upper lid and blue mascara on the lower lashes. Blue on all the lashes would definitely be too much, but by keeping it subtle, you can highlight your favorite color and still keep it classy ;)

Enjoy!!

 

Red Ombre Hair Tutorial

I've been in desperate need of a hair change. I'm normally pretty impulsive when it comes to what I do with my hair, but I've been putting a real effort in to finally growing out my hair and keeping it looking relatively healthy. Much easier said than done when I get the urge to color/cut it about 5 times a month!

In the last 5 years, I've brought my hair to hell and back. I went from 100% all natural virgin hair, to every color under the sun (including winter white bleached, a la hair school). With all that color processing, I've had to chop chop chop it off constantly. I practically had a pixi cut at one point after coloring over my bleach blonde and dealing with the uneven tones it left behind.

Since hair school, I've settled on coloring my hair a little more conservatively and for the most part haven't touched it with bleach. I've gone back and forth from brown to auburn over the last 2 years, but that's about it. I've really come to love having red hair, but it can get a tad boring with no variation to it.

I grew my hair out to a very good length for my wedding, but I knew a good 4-5 inches of the ends were secretly trashed from my blonde days and after every shower I was still de-rattifying it and fighting against it's urge to poof out like cotton candy. So I made the decision to cut a ton off again, ending up with a bob just about chin length.

Since October, I haven't touched my hair with scissors and have only gone over it with my usual red color. It's now just past my shoulders (with the help of daily vitamins) and I've been really happy with it. Yet still, the urge to change things up was there, and I finally felt it was safe to get back in to the bleach.

I decided on doing an ombre-red look, keeping it all over red, but a brighter auburn at the ends and deeper from the roots. Here's how I did it, what I used, and the useful tips I came up with!

This is my hair before bleach...

Step 1:

Prepare to bleach!

My hair has been colored over time after time after time, so I knew my ends would be a bit troublesome to cut through. I originally went in with the ColorFix color remover to see if I'd have the same luck I had in my last lightening job, but was disappointed. Not unexpected, but it only lifted the ends barely half a level. I know if I used the color remover another 3-4 times, I'm sure I would have got a much more significant lift, but I wasn't in the mood to deal with that much stink (seriously, the stuff STINKS).

Instead, I caved and decided bleach was the way to go. I used to use the Wella brand blue bleach and absolutely LOVED it, but it's only available to licensed beauticians. I graduated, but never got licensed. Instead, I decided on the L'Oreal Super Blue Creme Oil Lightener. I'd never read a review for it, but after reading the box I figured it'd be okay. The box made it seem like it had everything you'd need to lighten your hair (aka the bleach AND the developer) but this apparently wasn't true...

After I got home, I realized the liquid lightener it came with was just like, an enhancer, but not the actual developer, a fact I was only made aware of after opening the box, taking everything out, and reading the directions on the INSIDE of the box... *mumblegrumble*

Normally I'd recommend going with a 20 volume developer for bleaching, to ensure you got even lift, but I didn't have 20 vol at home. All I had was 10 volume, which is what I used when I colored my hair. Crabby as hell, I decided to try a test strand with the 10 volume developer before getting in my freezing car and driving back to the beauty store. THANKFULLY, the 10 volume lifted my hair plenty, and in the end, isn't nearly as damaging as a higher developer.

Satisfied with the results of my test strand, I got to work on the rest of my hair. As seen in the tutorial, I focused most at the ends, feathering the bleach up the hair about 5-6 inches. I did this to my whole head, using up the entire box of bleach. My hair is very thick, so I was lucky I made it with the 1 box.

This is my hair ON bleach...

Step 2: 

Wash that #$&* out!

I chose not to shampoo/condition after the bleach because I knew I was coloring the same day. It's just my personal preference, because I sometimes feel like washing your hair affects the color processing all the way. Instead I thoroughly rinsed my hair for a good 10 minutes until I was sure all the bleach was gone.

After towel drying my hair, I sprayed the ends well with the Its a 10 Leave in Product spray to make brushing through it less traumatizing. I used a wide tooth comb and got through it all with minimal breakage.

I then dried it completely with a hair dryer on medium heat.

This is my hair AFTER bleach...

Step 3:

Once all my hair was dry, I got to work on the color.

The color I've been using for over a year now to keep my hair red is the Clairol Professional Liquicolor in 5RR - Lightest Intense Red. I mix it with equal parts of the 10 volume Clairol Professional Pure White Creme Developer.

After mixing it all up, I split my hair down the middle and clip 1 side up. It's smart to color the perimeter of your face first to ensure you get all the pesky baby hairs. Then I just go down one side, front to back making sure all the hair is equally covered in dye.

Do this to the whole head, clip it all back and wait another 20 minutes.

Step 4:

Wash that $*)# out!

Tip: before jumping in the shower, get as much of the color spills off your face as possible. There are a few ways to do this. The absolute easiest, is to just take a little leftover color on your finger, and rub it in to where there are spills on your face. The color actually cancels out the color on your face and it will wipe away clean. 

If you don't have left over color, I usually take a cotton pad with some makeup remover while the color on my face is still wet and wipe it with that. It's worked really well for me. I don't mind if there's still some left on my neck/arms/etc, but this method gets it off my face really well. 

Then hop in the shower!

This time I did use both shampoo and conditioner. I actually conditioned using the free sample hair mask that came with my Its a 10 spray. It really worked wonders... 

Fun fact, my bathtub drain decided to clog up right then and there, so once I hopped out of the shower, it looked like a murder scene. 

Again, after towel drying my hair, I sprayed in more It's a 10 spray to detangle and give it some much needed moisture. I then blow dried it on a medium setting. 

Then voila! Red ombre hair!

It turned out about exactly like I thought it would. Also to note, the color lightens up about another good level after another wash, that's why I included a few pictures from right after the coloring to a few days later. 

Overall I really like this look. A few things that you could do to get a slightly truer ombre look would be to go over the hair a 2nd time with bleach and just focus on the bottom 3-4 inches, leaving the feathered sections near the middle alone. This would brighten the ends even more and make the ombre effect even more apparent. I was honestly just too lazy to do it, but I'm very satisfied with the look I got. 

 I hope this tutorial was helpful! If you try your own look or have any questions, feel free to ask any questions or leave a comment below!!

 

Shimmer Rose LOTD

So I haven't done a look of the day in quite a while, and felt like changing that. I once again highlight some of my favorite shadows in the Naked 3 Palette. Enjoy :) 

I cover my lid with Strange, which is probably one of my favorite colors in the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. It matches my skin tone pretty perfectly and I just use it as a wash so the rest of the shadows have an even base. 

Dust + Magic Eyechange mixing medium. Adding a mixing medium with this shadow helps avoid fallout and applies the glitter/shimmer to the lid in an even layer. 

 I apply it all over the upper lid and along the outer half of the lower lash line. 

Next I take Darkhorse with a flat brush and apply it to the inner and outer corners of the lid, blending out any edges. 

I line my waterline and lower lash line with Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Empire. This is a muted plum color. 

I curl my lashes and apply a black mascara. Here I'm using one of my favorites, Maybelline Mega Plus Volume Express in Blackest Black. 

I use Clinique's soft pressed powder blusher in New Clover on my cheeks. 

Last but not least, I use the NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Nude Peach. 

And that's my finished look! 

Happy Belated Valentines Day!

Per my usual, I'm posting this late :) HAPPY BELATED VALENTINES DAY!!!

I 

Easy "Flip" Curl for Medium Length Hair - Tutorial

Medium length hair can be difficult to work with. It's not too long to really just let go without work, yet too short to offer the simplicity of a quick up do or ponytail. 

It takes a bit of creativity to rock medium length hair, but can be super cute on all face shapes. 

I'm in the middle of growing my hair out after having to take off about 5 inches after my wedding. the ends of my hair were trashed due to previous bleaching, and had to go if I wanted any hope of actually growing out long, healthy looking hair. 

The worst stage of growing my hair out has always been when the hair at the nape of my neck is longer than the front and gets the mushroom shape caused by layers. To avoid that, I decided to cut it in to a slightly angled bob so the front is always longer than the neck, and only added very subtle layers just to remove some of the weight at the ends. 

My hair is extremely thick, and when it's damaged it poofs out like crazy, so I can't go without some layers when it's shorter. It's not an issue when long, as the weight of the hair counteracts the poof. 

Since my haircut, I've toyed around with several styles to add some variety to my daily look. My issue is I never have time to do my hair in the morning, and prefer styles that I can sleep on that still look good on day 2 and even 3. 

In this video, I use a large barrel curling iron to smooth out the majority of my hair, while adding soft loose "flip" curls in the front to frame my face. The flip usually lasts to day 2 and by day 3, I just have a smooth, straight bob. Overall, it only takes me about 15 minutes total to style this look so it's quick, cute, and long-lasting!

 

If you liked this video, please "like" it on Youtube and subscribe to my channel and blog so you don't miss out on future styles! I plan on doing a few more hair looks that are simple, cute and stylish. 

XOXOXO

Naked3 Swatches & Tutorial

Dun dun duuuuuuuun!

I'm back! And I'm the proud owner of the gorgeous, perfect Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. When I saw the teaser images for this palette, my little heart skipped a beat... 

I'm happy to say I'm absolutely in love with every single shade in the Naked 3 palette. Where the Naked palette was aimed at golds and warm neutrals, and Naked 2 was silvers and cool neutrals, the Naked 3 is all about rose gold! Every shade has a slight pink or mauve undertone to them, and I love the way it works with my skin tone. 

Here are the swatches! I took the descriptions from Urban Decay's site.

Strange: Pale, neutral pink matte-satin

Dust: Pale metallic pink shimmer w/ iridescent micro-glitter

Burnout: Light pinky-peach satin

Limit: Light dusty rose matte

Buzz: Metallic rose shimmer w/ silver micro-glitter

Trick: Light metallic pinky-copper shimmer w/ tonal micro-sparkle

Nooner: Medium pink-brown matte

Liar: Medium metallic mauve shimmer

Factory: Pinky-brown satin

Mugshot: Metallic taupe shimmer w/ slight pink shift

Darkside: Deep taupe-mauve satin

Blackheart: Smoky black matte w/ rosy red micro-sparkle

Like I said, I'm in love with every single color. They're all amazing quality, as is expected with Urban Decay shadows, and all of them are pretty accurate to their descriptions. Blackheart is a little misleading just because if apply the color normally, you really won't catch any of the red glitter in your look. It is pretty much invisible, even in a swatch, but may possibly stick out more if you use some kind of mixing medium or something like that. It's still a beautiful color, just don't expect to notice the glitter when your actually wearing it. 

I have been using this palette for the last few weeks as I've had all my other makeup boxed up for our move. We just bought a house (pictures to come eventually!) and I've had very little time for makeup, but have used this palette for my daily eye looks. It's very versatile and I've come up with a ton of beautiful new looks. I did a tutorial of one of my favorites!

Woo for silly face :)

Until next time!

XOXOXO

DIY Paper Flowers - 3 Different Kinds of Paper Roses

Eep - I know I'm a week late, but absence makes the heart grow fonder... or something...

 

Any'who, I decided to make a tutorial showing how I made my DIY flowers or my upcoming wedding (2 weeks away!!)

 

I used 3 different types, fancy roses, swirly roses and fancy swirly roses :)

 

I'll post the link to the blog I got the template for the stencils of the fancy roses, otherwise I just learned by youtubing/pinteresting.

 

Going with paper flowers was a very affordable, but time consuming decision. I decided on them about 2 weeks in to our engagement, and finished everything I needed about 4 weeks before the wedding... So about a solid 5 months of off and on work. The centerpieces were by far the worst, and the bouquets took me about 3-4 hours a piece. It was worth it though, because I paid about $150 for all the materials used instead of $600-$800 minimum of what it would have cost to go with a florist for everything. WIN!

 

I hope this DIY is helpful!

 

 

 

XOXOXO

Wing/Cat Eyeliner, 3 Looks!

So it's no secret that I.Love.Winged.Liner! I pretty much wing my liner out on a daily basis and I think it best fits my eye shape. I know there are people out there though who don't know how or of any good ways to rock the cat eye without defaulting to pin up or 50's-esque looks.

Now granted, while I'm also a huge lover of retro makeup, I tried to come up with 3 modern and relatively easy ways to style the eye.

I got my inspiration from a makeup magazine I purchased a few weeks ago (I'll post the name soon, I left it at work!) and the outfit I was wearing.

The first is definitely the easiest, a simple black on white cat eye. I LOVE really toned down eye looks like this because then you can do whatever you want with your lips and get away with it. You could go from violet, to fire engine red to barbie pink lips and it'd all look good with such a subtle eye look.

Next I went with a look I've been meaning to try for FOREVER. I love yellow shadows but have found a yellow eye is extremely hard to pull off. The color rarely looks good on most skin tones and you really need to get the perfect bright, not muddy yellow to do it right.

Last I did a toned down smokey eye with some thicker liner. Being as pale as I am, I normally never wear black shadow (or liner for that matter, I usually go with brown) as it always makes me look too harsh or punky. To avoid that issue, I went with cool browns and taupes to build up the smokey effect and added the drama with the liner. Still very wearable but not as subtle as the 1st look :)

I hope you enjoy, I'll stop blabbering now!

XOXOXO

Snazzy Eyes, Coral Lips Makeup Tutorial

I said I'd be back quick with a new tutorial and here it is! A snazzy, shimmery eye look with bright coral lips!  I decided to do this look after getting the new L'Oreal Colour Riche Caresse Aqua Lip Lacquer in Coral Tattoo. I've always been a huge fan of coral lip colors, but have had the worst time finding a shade that suits me without looking too orange or harsh against my skin.

I've finally found it, this color is beautiful and the formula feels amazing!! I've heard from other bloggers/youtubers that these lip lacquers are supposed to be dupes for a YSL lip line, but I can't really speak to that. YSL is far too rich for my blood! I'll take their word for it though, because for the price, this is a wonderful lip product! 

OK, enough babbling, enjoy the tutorial! Don't forget to comment if you like the look!