Find a great style on either a celebrity or something you’ve seen in a magazine that you’ve always wanted to try, and go for it! There are only a certain number of days in the year that you can go all out and try new things, why not make Christmas one of them?
Is there one look you’ve seen over and over again but never had the opportunity to try? Is there one celebrity whose style is so amazing that you’d want to give it a whirl? GO FOR IT! Whether it be their clothing, hair or makeup that you’re super impressed with, try your best to embody the style and make it your own.
Clothing, as mentioned in a previous article, has been sequined up, and I don’t see the trend ending anytime soon. Wear something that a celebrity who inspires you is known for, and bring their confidence with you wherever you go.
Soft curls have been all the rage this year (I can’t wait for my hair to get long enough so I can rock them myself!) and the one tool I can’t wait to try when my hair does get long enough is Infinit by Conair’s You Style Multi-Functional Styling Iron ($41.99).
This tool straightens (or de-frizzes) and creates perfect soft curls at the same time. I was absolutely amazed by the ads I've seen on television, and I feel it'd be perfect for people like me who have to straighten before curling, Like every Conair product I’ve tried, it’s inexpensive and gives you great value.
The makeup looks I’m hearing that are favorites this season? Plain and simple: Victoria’s Secret. The dreamy, sexy bedroom eye look has always been in, but the Victoria’s Secret fashion show this year blew everyone away.
To get this look, use soft and luminescent colors (pearly, not shimmery) in neutral tones close to your skin color. You will only need three shades besides your regular eyeliner and mascara: a highlighter, lid color and contour color. I’ve created my take on the Victoria's Secret eye below:
Shadow Color: Being True’s Eye Shadow Pan in Sandstone
Contour Color: Being True’s Eye Shadow Pan in Myrrh
A few tricks to get this exact look (*NOTE: the flash has made the colors appear lighter):
• Apply a pencil that can smudge right into your lash line on the top as well as the bottom. Line your water line on top, but stay away from your water line on the bottom.
• Take a densely packed eyeshadow brush and add some color along the bottom lash line of your eye. I used the lighter color to add a little highlight.
• Pick a great mascara to volumize and lengthen your lashes. Try some false lashes for an over the top look.
Follow these steps pictured to get this great look! Want to make it a little extra sexy? Use some darker shades and stay with a nude lip.
Whatever it is that you’ve been dying to try, pick it out and try it out for Christmas! I know you will get tons of compliments, ensuring yourself of how beautiful you truly are!
I've received a request on Facebook to show how to do a sexy smokey eye in either purple or black/grey...so I'm making this post to help a sista out! You will be surprised at how easy it is to apply these shades and to make this look work for you.
This look is one I use all the time when applying my makeup, and you can tweak it slightly to make it a really sexy look for any party. You can use any colors that are similar, but in this tutorial I've used two MAC shadows, Shale and Beauty Marked. Purples often enhance all eye colors, but specifically green and blue eyes. I will also be using my Emani Minerals White Gold as a highlighting shade.
STEP 1: After applying primer, foundation and powder to your eyes, apply your lighter color (in my case, Shale) to the entire lid with a regular shadow brush. Make sure to get the inner most corner of your eyes, while dragging it slightly over the crease of your eyes. Apply your highlighting color to your brow bone all the way to where the contour color ends. Don't do any blending yet, and don't overlap your contour color, or you will have to darken it again.
STEP 2: Now it's time to apply the contour shade (Beauty Marked) to the crease of your eye. Since my eyes are so deep, I turn my shadow brush sideways with the contour color on it, and apply a thicker line to the crease. Drag this slightly up onto your lower brow bone, being careful not too cut too far into the color on your lid. Also, try not to drag it too deep into the corner of your eye.
STEP 3: Time to add in the extra sexy: Take the same shade you contoured with and drag it straight up to your brow (not INTO your brow!) on the inner corner of your eye. While a lot of looks call for the colors to be flared out on the outer corner of your eyes, I find that by bringing it up in the inner corners, your eyes look much deeper and sexier. It also keeps the darker color closer to your iris, which, if the color you choose compliments the color of your eye, will enhance much better than on the outside corner. It may look a little crazy when you first put this on, but we'll fix it with some great blending.
STEP 5: Now it's time for that blending. Use a soft eye contour brush with long bristles to make your colors mesh perfectly. First, start by going onto your lid and softening the color variation between your lid and the bottom of your crease. This blending doesnt have to be perfect, just enough to not leave a harsh look.
Take your soft contour brush and dip it lightly into your contouring shade. Work your brush into the inner corner of your eye in small circular or dabbing motions, softening the color and taking out some of the harshness. Move your way down the crease of your eye in dabbing motions with the same brush. If you find that the color is starting to lighten or come off too much, feel free to continue dipping in your contour shade while dabbing. The blending you do here will effect the finished look. Try to really 'smoke it up' with your contouring brush, being careful not to drag it much further than what you originally applied.
STEP 7: If you've cut into your highlighter too much, you will need to reapply or touch up. Clean off your soft contour brush and reapply your highlighter lightly.
STEP 8: Apply your liner. You can either use a great liquid liner or smudge on a pencil liner. I use black and go for the liquid liner look, but you can use purple as well. As mentioned earlier, if you're looking for a really smokey look you will get better results with a pencil. Apply a great mascara and you're finished! If you want extra sexy lashes, apply some false eyelashes using my last tutorial!
Here's a video on how I've followed the steps listed. Don't mind my gaping mouth, I have a cold!
Wednesday, the work week is almost over, everyone!
I've received a request on Facebook from a reader who was asking me to tell some secrets about false eyelashes. False eyelashes are the one thing friends ask me most about, or ask me to do for them, since they can be trickly little suckers if you don't know how to apply them correctly. Here are a couple of tips I follow to apply strip falsies:
1. Pick the Right Style. There are tons of false eyelashes out there...expensive, inexpensive, crazy, natural, brown, black, separate and half-eye lashes...it can get confusing if you don't know which ones to pick for the look you're going for. When you get to your store of choice to purchase lashes, look at all available and imagine yourself wearing them.
If you pick ones that look full and voluptuous, beware: you may end up looking like a babydoll. If you pick ones that are too sparse, you may look like you're wearing nothing. My favorite ones for an every day look are from Walmart or Target and have a pattern of short and long lashes that will blend perfectly with your natural lashes. My favorite brands are Salon Perfect or Ardell Fashion.
If you're going all out with some crazy falsies, I say you go all out. Go for extra long and thick, rhinestone banded, anything you think is extra awesome.
2. Throw Away the Applicator! The applicator that comes with some falshe lashes makes no sense to me. I've actually attempted to put lashes on with this applicator, and got so aggrivated I gave it up. Some people use tweezers, I use my good ol' fingers- it gives you the best control.
3. Apply ALL of Your Makeup First. Put your eyeshadow on exactly how you want it to look when your makeup is completely finished. When putting on your eye liner, I tend to put a little bit of a thicker line than usual, so you can make sure the strip of your lashes is completely covered. If you read the directions on the packaging of your lashes, it will usually say that you should apply your mascara after your lashes are on...I don't follow that rule. Put on your mascara first, so you can see exactly how your lashes will look when you're finished.
4. Check the size of the lashes. When you first take the lashes off the tray, wiggle the band around with both hands to get the strip ready to bend naturally onto your lash line. There will be a little adhesive on the lashes that kept it on the tray, use this now to push the strip onto your lash line to get the perfect size. It won't stay on your eye, but will give you a good idea as to whether or not you have to trim them.
If the lash strip is too long for your eye, you're going to have to cut them. Size them up on your eye and place your fingers at the exact point where your lash line ends. I usually don't have to cut my lashes, but if I did I would most likely cut from the inside, or the shortest lashes.
5. Give the Glue Time to Tack Up. One of the biggest mistakes you can make when applying false lashes is putting on the glue and sticking it right to your eye. It's not going to stick! You should wait up to a minute before attempting to put the lashes onto your lash line. Also, you only need a THIN strip of glue. Don't overdo it! This will lead to more excess on your eyelid and more drying time.
These are a few essential steps when applying your false lashes. Onto Application:
I start from the outside in. After your glue as gotten sticky (you can test this with your finger) push the end of the lash strip to the outside corner of your eye, as close to your lash line as possible but not ON your lash line. Since your glue has gotten tacky, you're not going to have to hold this section on as you move onto the rest of your eye.
Continue pushing the lashes onto your lash line using both hands. Keep your eye half closed; if you angle your face down slightly it can give you a better view of your lash line. Push the strip onto your lash line in little sections until you get into the inside corner of your eye. Once you're there, make sure you don't shove it into the corner of your eye.
Stop where your lashes end naturally (this should be simple since this is where you cut the lashes before to fit perfectly) and hold the corners on your eye for a couple of seconds. Keep your eye closed so you're not blinking and moving the strip around. Move onto your other eye and follow the same process.
Once you're finished, give your eyes a good look. Make sure there is no gap between your lash line and the lashes you applied. If you feel like you want your lashes to blend better, give them a couple of minutes to completely dry up and apply an extra coat of mascara.
Hey Ladies! Today I will be sharing another picture tutorial on how to do a sexy brown smokey eye. Until I work out the lighting with my webcam for video tutorials, I will be loading picture tutorials- definitely more effective in my eyes.
I've chosen to do brown today as a more natural alternative than a grey or black, but this can be done with any color you choose! Creating a smokey eye is very simple, and I feel women may just be afraid of the blending that is needed to create the 'smokiness'. You don't need expensive brushes to do the techniques I show, you just need soft bristled eyeshadow brushes. They will make it so much easier to blend and apply the color to your eye area.
You really only need two color eyeshadows, I will be using gold and brown, and I decided to use shimmer instead of matte today. My cake eyeliner will be put away for a black eyeliner stick, and of course, black mascara. It's important to remember that you will also need to line your waterline on both the top and bottom of your eyes (the water line is the inside brim of your eye) and to also line with your shadow on the bottom lash line as well. I will be doing this with a smudge brush, since I don't want the shadow to make me look like I have black eyes!
After applying your foundation and concealer to your eyes, shaping and coloring in any thin areas of your brows:
Step 1:
Line your eyes with your black eyeliner. I've used Being True's dual eye liner in 'Yin'. I smudged this into my top lash line, and lined my bottom lashes all the way to my tear duct. If your pencil is dull, it will give a better smudged look. After lining the outside, I pulled up my lashes and lined my upper water line. If you're having difficulty doing this, you can leave this step out, but it will definitely give you a more defined look. I carefully colored in my bottom lash line, and brought it as close to my tear duct as possible. By lining before applying your shadow, it will make the liner less pronounced while still defining your eyes.
Step 2:
Apply your highlighting color. I've used gold on my brow bone area and dragged it down all the way into the crease of my eye with my usual short bristled shading brush. This gold color is called Citrine and is also by Being True. If you're unsure where to stop the highlighting shadow at the ends of your eyes, color all the way to the ends of your eyebrows and come down in a diagonal line. Brush away any excess gold that may have fallen on your lid.
Step 3:
Brown shadow time. I applied a good amount of my dark brown shadow (Tarte's Brown Derby) from the lash line up by taking onto my brush and applying heavily. I brought this color all the way to the crease of my eye, being sure the shade is even throughout.
Step 4:
Now that I have both shadows on my eye, I need to drag the lighter application of brown up over my crease. I dragged the shadow from my lid over my crease with even, tapping brush strokes. By going from my lid to my brow bone, I'll bring the color from my lid to my lower brow bone area. Again, I started from the outside of my eye. I shaded the brown higher onto my brow bone on the outside of my eye and gradually brought it lower going inwards. I used a smudge brush to bring some of the Brown Derby shadow onto my lower lash line.
Step 5:
Now that I've finished my blending and shading, The only thing left to do is clean up any shadow that has fallen onto my cheeks and apply some great thickening mascara. I used Prestige's My Biggest Lashes mascara. I used two coats on my top lashes, and used one coat on my bottom lashes. Finished look:
What do you think of the smokey eye look? Have you ever tried to do a smokey eye?
I decided to try something different with my eye makeup today, and wanted to go bright and bold. I purchased a pallet called Bold and Bright quite some time ago from Shany Cosmetics that has beautifully bright matte and shimmer eyeshadows, and I wanted to experiment with some of the off the wall colors. These shadows are AMAZING, the pallets are SO cheap, and the color payoff is the best I've found. When looking for matte, bright shadows, sometimes it's hard to find bright colors that come out on your brush as vibrant as they are in the pan, and these definitely do the job.
I decided to do a sunset inspired eye with yellow, orange, red and purple. This pallet does have some white/off white shimmer colors, but I decided to use my Emani Minerals color dust in White Gold as a great highlighting shimmer for above my bright colors right up to my brow. I've had this color dust since I went to a networking event in New York City, but haven't had a chance to work it out. I applied this shimmer first with my soft eye contour brush to my brow bone area and the corner of my eye, and the sheen to it was fantastic. Surprisingly, unlike other mineral eyeshadows, it stayed ON my brush and didnt dust all over my face or eyelid. I love this mineral dust and can't wait to try it again!
(Please don't mind my high-def camera showing you every single pore I have in these pictures!)
STEP 1 - After shaping my brows and applying my mineral dust in White Gold to my brow bone, it was time to start the bright color application. I've used regular clear tape on the edges of my eyes to keep a clean end line and avoid shadow dust on my cheeks. I started with a regular shadow brush with soft bristles, and applied yellow from the inner corner of my eye to the center of my eye lid. It's always easier to drag the color further than you intend to show, since it will be easier to blend a darker color over it rather than into it. I brought the yellow up slightly over my eyelid onto my brow bone to ensure all colors would be seen when my eyes were open all the way. STEP 2 - Following the sunset theme, I chose a bright orange to take with the same shadow brush from right around where my iris starts to the edge of my eye. Again, I've dragged this across to the edge of my eye to blend easier for my next color. To blend into the yellow, I used my soft eye contour shadow brush and gently patted the colors that were already on my eye right where the two met. By not trying to apply and blend at the same time, the color with gradate together perfectly. I also dragged this orange up over my eye lid with my shadow brush a little higher than the yellow, and met the two with the same blending technique. STEP 3 - RED! I love red eye shadow for some reason, and love how it contrasts against my blue eyes. I started applying the red from the outer edge of my iris to the end of the eye. I dragged this higher than the orange onto my brow bone area, and used the same patting technique with my soft eye contour brush to blend the orange and red together. STEP 4 - I could have stopped right here and left the eye like this, but when I think of sunsets I always think of the magentas and purples that go high into the sky when the sun is going down. I decided to blend some purple onto the ends of my eyes. With the tape placed at the edges of my eyes, I guaranteed myself a sharp edge to my shadow application. I put purple halfway into the red shadow I applied all the way to the edge of the tape. I blended this slightly lower than the red to give my eyes a great, open shape.
After all of the shadows were applied, I pulled the tape off the ends of my eyes, and applied my liner. I tried to keep it clean and tight to my lash line, attempting to draw no attention to anything but the beautiful colors. I used my regular Maybelline mascara and got final results that I fell in love with!
Let me know what you think of the new look I tried! Have you tried Shany Cosmetics or Emani Minerals? What did you think of them?
As promised, here's my first tutorial on how to do a natural eye with brown shades. I know it's not perfect, and it was impossible for me to pick up that crazy shaped pallete I had. Since you may not be able to see the colors I picked on the brushes, I've posted a picture of the pallet with the colors I've used on this eye. I've also posted some pictures on how the eye looks finished. Please give me some feedback, since this is my first tutorial! I'm open to any suggestions!
The makeup looks I’m hearing that are favorites this season? Plain and simple: Victoria’s Secret. The dreamy, sexy bedroom eye look has always been in, but the Victoria’s Secret fashion show this year blew everyone away. 
