FOTD - Spring Nighttime Going-out Look

I love wearing bright lip colors in the spring and summer. In fact, I hardly own a nude lipstick - they are all bright pink or orange! I was going out this Saturday night to see my boyfriend's band play, so I wanted a smokey going-out eye, but I also wanted to wear my new favorite hot pink lipstick - Cover Girl Color Sensational lipstick in Fuchsia Fever. I love how it accentuates tanned skin, and its a great pink for day or night. I sometimes struggle with pairing a bright lip and smokey eye, and I think I successfully did it here! Here's what I did:

First I applied my new foundation, Clinique Perfectly Real Makeup in 22 (P), my new shade for my tanned skin. I then contoured a bit with NYX Matte Bronzing Powder in Medium, and added e.l.f. Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder in Sun Kissed, a shimmery golden bronzer, to the cheeks and cheekbone. I filled in my brows with the Smashbox Brow Tech kit in Blonde.

On the eyes, I smudged Maybelline Color Tattoo cream shadow in Tough as Taupe, a brownish gray, with my finger all over the lid. To set this, I patted Urban Decay Tease (which I find is the perfect shadow to set Tough as Taupe with because it's almost exactly the same color) all over the lid and lower lash line. I accentuated the outer V with NYX Nude Matte Eyeshadow in Confession, a medium-dark matte gray. For the crease and outer lower lash line, I used Ulta eyeshadow in Mesmerize, a cheaper version of Urban Decay Lounge or Mac Club. It's a reddish brown base with a teal duochrome flash. I used it wet because it wasn't showing up dark or duochrome-y enough dry. I lined my upper lashline with Urban Decay Blackout. I coated my lashes with Clinique High Impact Mascara in Black.

I moisturized my lips with a bit of Burt's Bees balm before applying Maybelline lip liner in Clear. I then applied my Cover Girl Color Sensational lipstick in Fuchsia Fever. This lipstick looks just as amazing for a day look with nothing but a bronzed face and a swipe of mascara!

Ready to go out tonight!

FOTD: Elementary, My Dear Watson

On my trip to Ulta today, I saw NYX was having a buy-one-get-one half off sale. I immediately grabbed their matte bronzer in Medium because I was looking for a nice big pan of bronzer with NO shimmer in it for contouring. The second thing I grabbed was their cream blush in Orange. I'm a big fan of this product in Glow, and I love coral and orange blushes on me, so this was a no brainer.

When I got home, I wanted to put a face together using the cream blush. So I was going through my eyeshadows, thinking about combinations that would go with an orange blush. I landed on my Bare Minerals Ready Eyeshadow Quad in the Elements. I've done a look with this quad before, but I didn't use the blue shade in that look. I think this eyeshadow quad is wonderful, and quite "elementary" to apply!

I started off the same way I always do - I prepped my eyelid with Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original. I swept Earth, a matte greenish grey, onto the eyelid, then blended Fire, a matte rusty orange, into the crease. I blended Air, a champagne beige shimmer, into the browbone and inner corner. I lined my waterline with NYX Slide On Waterproof Eyeliner in Tropical Green, then used a flat liner brush to line my lower lashline with Water, a tealish blue shimmer. (Sidenote: I also tightlined my upper lashline with black eyeliner, but I don't think I'll do that ever again because it kept rubbing off on my contacts all day long and irritating my eyes! Any tips on how to tightline for contact wearers?) Lastly, I swept my eyelashes with Lancome Definicils Mascara in Black.

 To finish the face, I contoured my cheeks with NYX Matte Bronzer in Medium and highlighted my cheekbones with Benefit Girl Meets Pearl in Golden Pink. (I also got this at Ulta today - a mini sample size to see if I liked it - and I do!) I blended NYX Cream Blush in Orange into the apples of my cheeks using my fingertips. On my lips, to go with the orange theme, I applied Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti.




What do you think of this look? I definitely think it's more of a summer look, but honestly, who cares what season it is when you look this good? ;)

I think I'll take photos of myself in my car every day! This lighting makes me look awesome!

FOTD - Golds and Greens

I put this look on in an effort to motivate me to get out of the house and get a few errands done today. We have yet to see if that will actually happen.

For the eyes, I used two shadows from theBalm The Balm and the Beautiful palette, which contains the exact same shades from the Muppets palette from the same brand, just in different packaging and with different names. I started by blending theBalm The Supermodel, a shimmery warm gold (a dupe for Urban Decay Baked) all over the lid and on the middle of the lower lashline. I then blended the Balm The Step Brother, a medium olivey green shimmer, into the crease and bringing it down along the outer third of the lower lashline I lined the waterline and upper lashline with Stila Smudgestick Waterproof Eye Liner in Moray, an olive green with gold sparkle. I highlighted the browbone and inner corner with the matte white shade from the Sonia Kashuk Eye on Neutral palette. To finish, I swept my lashes with Lancome Definicils mascara in Black. (I have a sample tube of this mascara. I didn't like it at first, but now I really like the separation it gives!)

To finish the face, I used NYX Cream Blush in Glow, a medium rosy pink shade, on the apples of my cheeks. I've been looking to add to my cream blush collection, because powder blushes look too dry on my skin in the winter. This is a great addition, and for such a reasonable price I will definitely purchase more colors. I applied Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Sweet Tart on my lips.

OK, so I look hot, now let's see if I can actually motivate myself to get out of the house today and get stuff done!

FOTD - quick and easy sparkle liner for a polished 5 minute face!

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a good Monday. We cozied up with some warm brown sugar chili and cornbread muffins that I made for dinner. It's one of my favorite meals that my dad always made for my brother and I when we were kids, and I think the family I nanny for enjoyed it too. Although the girl was saying she didn't like the skin on the beans - the things that kids insist they don't like just to get out of finishing their plate! ;)

Monday for me means getting a week's worth of grocery shopping done, and making dinner early in the morning in the crockpot so it's ready for us when we get home at 6:30 from basketball practice carpool. Monday is a day that I need my makeup to be quick and easy, so here is a look that I do quite often because it literally takes 5 minutes!

I start out by using a tinted moisturizer all over my face instead of a foundation, because I can quickly swipe it on with my fingers. I currently am using e.l.f. Tinted Moisturizer in Nude. I like this product because it is very pigmented, so it offers pretty decent coverage for a tinted moisturizer. It feels very hydrating, and it is also SPF 20 to protect my face from the sun's rays during the day. I pat my HG concealer - Clinique All About Eyes concealer in Light Golden - on under my eyes to cover up my dark circles. If you are blessed with thick, shapely brows, you can skip the next step. However, my brows are so thin and blonde that I simply must fill them in. Using a Mac angled brush, I fill in the brows with Smashbox Brow Tech in Blonde. I do like this product, although I find that the wax does not keep the hairs perfectly in place, so I may try a brow gel when I use up this tub. On my cheeks, I did a quick swipe of Sonia Kashuk Beautifying Blush in Sunset. I used my new favorite product of the week - Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter - in Tutti-Frutti on my lips.

For my eyes, I used Stila Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Rock Candy on the upper lash line. Rock Candy is a bronzey brown with golden sparkle in it. The formula is a bit sheer on the first pass, so I always do two coats to bring it up to opacity. Also, you must remember to shake the tube before every use or else there will be no color or glitter on the brush. I find that because of the sheerness of the liner, it is very forgiving for a liquid liner, and you do not need to worry about being extremely precise like you do with other liquid liners. Although you do need to be careful to let it dry a bit before opening your eye, or else the liner will smear onto your upper eyelid. I can't explain how much I love this eyeliner. It looks gorgeous, and it will. not. budge. Seriously. It will only come off with makeup remover. I forgot to take it off before I showered, and it was still on after my shower!

To finish the eye, I blended some Urban Decay Bootycall into the browbone and inner corner just to give a highlight. Using a flat eyeliner brush, I lined my lower lashline with Urban Decay Busted, and blended it up to join with the slight wing of the eyeliner. I did not use any other eyeshadow on my lid for this look, because the liner is so sparkly that it gives just enough pizzazz for a daytime look. The final touch was coating my lashes with CoverGirl LashBlast in Black.

And with that, I'm good to go! With a face that took me five minutes to put on, I feel fresh, polished, and ready for the day! (Now if only I could do my hair in that amount of time! I attempted a french braid to disguise my not-so-freshly washed hair, and let's just say it was a big FAIL)

What is your favorite five-minute face look?

FOTD - Friday night look!

 I'm going out on the town tonight with some friends! Yay! I can't wait to be outside for the first time in four days! 

I haven't worn color on my eyes in a while, since I recently got the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette and two neutral Duos from Bare Minerals, so I decided to match the bit of blue in my colorful sweater to my eyes.

First, I primed my eyelid with Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original. Then, using the fabulous brush that came in the Naked 2 palette, I swept Verve, a grayish highlighter, all over my lid and in the inner corner. Then I used the fluffy end of the brush to blend Pistol, a medium-dark gray, on the outer half of my lid and on the lower lashline. I then took Urban Decay Haight from the Dangerous palette, which is a tealish dark blue, and blended it into my crease. I highlighted the browbone with Virgin, a beige highlighter, from the Dangerous palette.

I used NYX eyeliner in Gray on the waterline and on the top lashline. I coated my eyelashes with CoverGirl LashBlast in Black.





For the rest of my face, I used Sonia Kashuk blush in Sunset on the apples of my cheeks, and CoverGirl Cheekers in Cinnamon Toast to do a bit of contouring. I highlighted my cheekbones and bridge of my nose with Virgin. On my lips I used Revlon Colorburst lip gloss in Peony (told I use this gloss all the time! Hah!)

Makes your face look like a different face!

Got any plans tonight? What makeup do you like to wear when you go out?