Today's post is all about a super hot make-up technique right now: strobing.
Essentially, it's highlighting to the max, and not contouring... but I definitely still go in with the bronzer so I have colour and glow.
The technique is super simple, and I'm showing you how with drugstore products. Ultimately, you want to highlight any areas of your face that light would reflect from it; the high points of your cheekbones, brown bone, temples, the bridge of your nose, cupid's bow, etc.
One final tip: strobing is going to make the features you highlight really pop and come forward. If you want to recede a feature, darken it, to bring it forward, highlight.
Check out the video to see how I achieve the look.
URBAN PLANET SWEATER (SIMILAR) | BRANCH NECKLACE
Things I mentioned:
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I recently tried out Younique mascara which promises to add crazy length and volume to your lashes with their two-step routine. As someone who loves a dramatic lash, I was really impressed with the length I got with this in just three coats (but you can do more or less). Check out my video above to see more.
Today I'm sharing my kind of go-to look with my Naked 2 palette using three of my favourite shades. It's pretty simple, with a ton of blending to achieve a very neutral, pretty and light everyday look.
Thanks for watching! xo
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THINGS I MENTIONED
Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk & Cottage Cheese
Rimmel Scandaleyes Pencil in nude
Maybelline Master Precise Liquid Liner in black
Elf Liquid Liner in black
Rimmed Scandaleyes Mascara in Extreme Black
Hardcandy Fox in a Box blush/bronzer
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MUSIC
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Packing is something that stresses me out and since I'm constantly having to do so when I stay at Marco's, he suggested we duplicate my make-up kit so I would have one less thing to worry about when packing. I thought this would be the perfect time to share my new--but everyday--make-up.
1. Equate Moisturizing Lotion with SPF 15 | I have been wearing this SPF on my face and neck for almost seven years daily. You can find it at Walmart, it absorbs well and isn't thick. I have dry and un-sensitive skin and this works great for me as a base layer.
2. Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream in Light-Medium | I love this for days when I don't want full foundation or for heading to the gym. It also works great as a primer.
3. L'Oreal True Match foundation in Natural Buff (n3) | This seems to be my go-to for foundations despite having a few. This shade is definitely for when I have a bit more colour, but I could always mix it with some lotion to lighten it up.
4. Hard Candy Fox in a Box bronzer & blush | This is the perfect split powder combo; you can swirl your brush in it or pick up the colours separately if you want to contour and flush. I personally love the baby pink colour of the blush and often use that alone.
5. NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk & Cottage Cheese | I use the milk pencil to prime my eyes which helps the shadow stay put but also offers a great base for the colour to be more vibrant. I use the Cottage Cheese pencil for the inner corners of my eyes and to highlight my brow bone.
6. Hard Candy concealer pencil in Light | I love this pencil for lining my waterline to get rid of redness and prefer it over my Rimmel waterproof liner in the same shade. The only downfall is it comes with the Hard Candy Glamoflauge concealer, which I find is far too much coverage for me so it doesn't get used.
7. L'Oreal True Match Super-Blendable concealer in Cool-Fair/Light (C1-2-3) | This has been a go-to for me as I like the creamy, smooth and blend able formula that covers well.
8. Maybelline Master Precise liquid liner in Black | I switched over to this liner within the last six months after suddenly developing an allergic reaction to a cheaper brand (Essence) I was using. I like the long, thin felt tip on this but the pen doesn't last long, maybe a month, and I find I use my Elf liquid liner for the wing.
9. Timmel PRofessional Eyebrow Pencil in Hazel (002) | This is a newbie for my kit as I couldn't remember what I had at home. After searching and holding up several pencils to my eyebrows to determine a match, this one fit the bill. I used it this weekend and really liked it.
10. Rimmel Scandaleyes in Black (001) | This has been my preferred mascara for a couple years now. I used to switch it up each time and try something new but found myself going back to this so now I don't bother trying anything else. It has a thick brush which gives a lot of volume and doesn't make your lashes too spidery.
11. Pencil Sharpener | This is a no name brand that was $2 but definitely a necessity for the kit. I was hoping to also score a eyelash curler as I use mine daily but they were sold out.
12. NYX Eyeshadow in Sahara (ES18) | These eyeshadows are my favourite but this is the one I buy over and over again to highlight the inner corners of my eye and sometimes my brow bone.
| I didn't include any other eyeshadows as I had an extra neutral palette that I've always kept at his place which works great. Also, since receiving the Naked 2 palette for Christmas, I can imagine I'll tote that around with me every now and again too since it's all the colours you could want--if you're a neutral lover.
Before & After
My friend's wife, Tahmina Miah, is starting her make-up business and so I went to see her to get mine done for a Christmas party yesterday. I requested a bold, smokey eye and a pink lip.
She totally nailed it and I was in awe of how cool my eyes turned out (talk about a blending genuis!). If only I could do my make-up like this on my own (ha!).
(click photos to enlarge)
Outfit deets: Jessica Simpson dress, J.Crew bubble necklace, unknown tights, Liliana pumps (close-up) & vintage (thrifted) clutch.
I have been doing the spray tan thing for almost two years. The biggest struggle is getting my tan to last longer. Usually after three or four days, it starts to fade out and you're in that weird in-between phase where you're not ready to exfoliate it off already but would like a bit more colour.
The other day I remembered seeing something on tv saying how there is alcohol in shaving cream. Alcohol of course is drying, and in turn doesn't help prevent your tan from fading.
We all know that shaving removes a thin thin thin layer of skin, aka the spray-tanned layer. So, while in the shower the next time, I decided to try something out:
Replace my shaving cream with body lotion instead.
And guess what?
My tan lasted two to three days longer on my legs (the part that seems to fade the fastest, other than my face, of course) than before! Success!
Now, before you start thinking I used some special lotion or fancy-smanchey razor, I didn't. I used the Equate 'Total Moisture' lotion (above) that is sold at Walmart (found this one in Florida) and a regular Bic 'Pastels' two-blade razor.
Once in the shower, legs wet, I slathered the lotion on one leg (about a pump and a half), and shaved it and repeated with the other leg. Bonus: extra soft and smooth skin!
Will you try out this tip?
* Don't forget, the best way to prolong your spray tan is to moisturize on a daily basis, especially after you get out of the shower, which zaps a lot of moisture from your skin. Water-based moisturizers are best.
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I wanted to do a quick product review on a few (drugstore*) products I'm loving that I recently picked up.
NYC 'Smooth Skin' Loose Face Powder
Love. This. Powder. It's the second time I've bought it and I love it. I think this is just a loose powder, but I like to use it as a setting powder for my foundation or as a light bronzer. I haven't used many loose powders before so I can't compare, but I love that this doesn't have any sheen or sparkle to it, it's matte; goes on and stays that way. Another great part? It's $2.67.
Wet 'n' Wild 'ComfortZone (738)' Palette
I purchased this after seeing YouTuber LolaMarie using it multiple times (and it just looked so good). It was $3 so I figured I couldn't go wrong. And I was right. I'm super picky with eyeshadows; favourites being NYX and MAC (I also like Mark by Avon & CoverGirl). FYI I cannot stand Maybelline eye shadow (not enough pigment transfer).
After using this palette just once, I'm hooked and wish it came in more varieties (they are three different palettes to choose from). There are a total of eight eye shadows per palette and they have handy words written in the shadows (eg. brow bone, crease, etc.) in case you're like me and unsure where things are 'suppose' to go. The lasting power is great and only after a sweaty workout at the end of the day, was my shadow creased.
Fructis 'Hold & Flex: Body Boost' Hair Spray (level 5)
I'm a huge TrèsSemmé fan so when I ran out last time, I initially went to the store to pick up my regular can. However, it wasn't on sale and this kind was (half the price of TS), it smelt pretty good so I figured why not.
I have used it a few times and love it so far. It's a pretty heavy spray (compared to TS's 'fine mist') but doesn't goop and get really sticky or stiff. The scent is great (slightly floral) and it has great holding power. I will definitely buy this again.
Revlon 'PhotoReady' Foundation
I love this foundation. I initially purchased it about a year ago when PharmaPlus had a 50% off sale. Since I was new to using foundation, I wasn't ready to spend almost $20, but I was willing to spend half that. I ended up getting the 'Nude (004)' shade which turned out to be a little be on the light side for me (especially if I'm trying to add some colour to my face), but mixed in with a slightly darker shade of foundation (Maybelline 'Instant Age Rewind' in 'Sandy Beige (1)'), it worked out okay. I was excited to see another 50% off sale and snatched up the next shade up, 'Natural Beige (005)'.
Something about this foundation that I love is that it's creamy and not too thick. It covers well, but depending on the amount you use, it can go from a light to medium coverage foundation. I find it really lives up to it's 'Photo Ready' name as I feel like it smooths out my skin and makes it look much more even. I like to use this alone or mixed in with another foundation to give it lasting power.
* I mainly buy all my make up from the drugstore/Walmart. I just have a hard time spending a small fortune on make up (I'd rather buy shoes) especially when you can buy something like the Wet 'n' Wild palette above for $3 bucks and be so darn happy with it.
I entered Ann's give-away months ago and won a whole slew of make-up goodies. She gave away three different packages (all with similar items but in different shades and colours) and I won this one. I've been wanting to try out the Cover Girl mascara and I'm absolutely in love with my new Mac fluidline liner (look at that green! Pure love). On top of that, I've never tried any Stilla products and the two Cover Girl lip products are fantastic and the perfect (coral-y) colours. Thanks so much, Ann!
Ever since discovering NYX eye shadow over a year ago, I've been hooked. So hooked that I consistently choose it over all other eye shadows I own, including MAC. The formula is a fantastic, it goes on smoothly and lasts. The variety of colours is excellent, and they run about $7 each (at drugstores). I ran out of my favourite colour ('Ultimatum') about a month ago and have been using a combination of what I already have, as they'd been sold out when I tried to replenish my stash earlier. I popped into the store to pick it up and was on the hunt for a cool, grey-silvery shadow. Mission accomplished (and the grey goes on exactly how it looks in the pictures, it's perfect and exactly what I was looking for) and while there I picked up a sweet baby pink shadow too. Bonus, all the shadows were $2 off - score.
153A Ballerina Dream - 25 Silver - 155A Ultimatum
A blogger friend of mine, Katie from Fashion's Maven, recently had a 100 Followers Give-Away providing us with the opportunity to win some goodies from Sephora, so of course I entered. Well guess what? I won! I'm super pumped too because I have never bought anything from Sephora. I know, I know, some of you might have just fallen off your chair, but it's true. I've already been using the eye shadow frequently (almost religiously, I really love it!) and the mascara daily. Thank you so much, Katie!
{ Katie even included a super sweet note - love that }
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