I’m resurrecting monthly favorites! So, without further ado…here are my April faves! (Direct links to products below!)
I’m resurrecting monthly favorites! So, without further ado…here are my April faves! (Direct links to products below!)
This is a great nail look for winter and the holidays. It’s neutral with a little frosty bling, so honestly, you could even wear it year round. I’ve been sporting this look quite a bit this winter season. It looks really impressive, gets a lot of compliments, and it’s surprisingly easy. Watch the video above to learn how to do it!
(I’m using CND Shellac Nail Polishes, which are a gel hybrid polish. This is a specialty nail polish that I don’t recommend unless you’re willing to put the time into learning how to properly apply it. It’s also more costly than regular nail polish (plus you have to use a UV light to cure each coat of polish), so you have to be willing to put down a little money in the beginning too. If you’re willing to put the time and money into it, then I DO recommend these polishes. 90% of the time, I’m wearing Shellac over normal nail polish. As much as I can be a girly girl, I’m pretty tough on my hands, so normal polish chips way too easily. With Shellac, I can rock a beautiful manicure without chipping for 2-3 weeks!)
Here are the products I used, as well as some alternate polishes if you’re not using CND Shellac.
Here’s a creepy broken doll makeup tutorial I got by request from one of my subscribers! (You guys tell me what you want to see, and I’ll do it!)
The Steps…
1. Generously apply very light, full-coverage foundation to your face and neck (any skin that will be showing). Cover your eyes and mouth too. Choose something that dried matte. I’m using Revlon Colorstay in Ivory. Then, apply a coat of translucent powder all over. I’m using Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder in Translucent.
2. Apply neutral eyeshadow. I’m using my Bobbi Brown SOHO Chic shadow palette and putting white on my lids and brow bones and medium/darker brown in the crease. (Here’s a more affordable shadow palette that’s really similar.)
3. Use a brighter pink blush to create very circular blush marks on the apples of your cheeks.
4. Line your bottom lashes with white eyeliner, like NYX’s Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk. We’re doing this to make our eyes appear larger, so line the waterline, lashline, and beneath the lower lid.
5. Using liquid black eyeliner like Maybelline’s Eye Studio Master Precise Liquid Liner, line beneath the white under your eyes, we’re drawing on a new bottom lashline.
6. Line the top lid with the black eyeliner too.
7. Apply really dramatic, full false eyelashes to the top lashes. I’m using Ardell Double-Up #204.
8. Apply more natural, but “doll-like” lashes to the bottom line we just drew on with the eyeliner. I’m using Ardell Natural #116.
9. Curl the false eyelashes and apply a coat of mascara to all the false eyelashes.
10. Using the liquid black eyeliner, draw on a few cracks and holes. Make these look splintered like broken porcelain!
11. Apply another coat of foundation to your lips and let it dry. Using a matte lip liner (like NYX Slim Lip Liner Pencil #831 Mauve), draw the shape of the top of a heart on your top lip. Make this lip much narrower than your normal lips, but still pouty. Draw on the bottom lip to match the width of the top lip. I filled in my lips using this liner as well.
12. Using the black eyeliner, draw lines from the corners of your real lips straight down to connect beneath the chin.
I’ve always loved the pop art style of art. Roy Lichtenstein is one of my favorite artists (I was an art and communications studies major in college), so I wanted to recreate a pop art style makeup look that you can do for Halloween. This is a surprisingly easy look that you can do completely with some pretty basic makeup items.
Let me know if you have any questions about the look or if you have any requests for other Halloween looks!
My skin has been acting up a bit lately — random breakouts that keep popping up, some of which heal fine, but others have left a few marks on my skin. So I wanted to do something that would give my skin a refresh. I’d been hearing a lot about at-home chemical peels and wanted to give one a try.
If you’re not familiar, a chemical peel (also called an acid peel) uses a chemical solution (usually acid) to smooth the texture of your skin by removing the damaged outer layers. Chemical peels are typically administered by a dermatologist or at a skincare spa — it’s a pretty serious skincare treatment. When you get a chemical peel, the outer few layers of your skin basically blister and peel off…it can look a bit gnarly (seriously, just google it).
Despite the zombie-like appearance, a chemical peel is one of the least invasive ways to improve the appearance of your skin. Sun exposure, acne, or just getting older can leave your skin tone uneven, wrinkled, spotted, or scarred. A chemical peel can help improve acne or acne scars, age and liver spots, fine lines and wrinkles, freckles, irregular skin pigmentation, rough skin and scaly patches, scars, and sun-damaged skin.
Chemical peels are not cheap, and right now, splurging on one just isn’t in the budget for me (plus, I’d have to hide out for like a day or two to avoid exposing people to the zombie-ness, which isn’t super convenient right now). So, I decided to check out some at-home alternatives. The Peter Thomas Roth 40% Triple Acid Peel has gotten great reviews, so I decided to grab a sample at Sephora. For this at-home peel, you apply it once a week for 12 weeks, for optimal results. You only need to leave the solution on your skin for 2 minutes — super quick!
Watch the video for my first impressions and what I thought!
I wanted to share my go-to 15-minute makeup routine. This isn’t my “barefaced minimalist” makeup or my “full-face going out” or “photoshoot” makeup, but it’s my go-to face when I have a lunch meeting, happy hour with friends, and most other activities.
Here are the steps:
It seems like A TON of work, but once you get the process down, it really doesn’t take too long. Let me know if you have any questions!
I use my flat iron to curl my hair all the time. Not only does it create luscious curls, but there are a few other good reasons to use your flat iron to get amazing curls…
Here’s what you’ll need:
Watch the video above for the full tutorial or take a peek at the photos below! Thanks!
We’re heading to Palm Desert this weekend to watch the World Cup, the NBA finals, and lounge by the pool. And that is it. Can’t wait.
Here are some of my essentials for a weekend of lazy pool time…
Havaianas Slim Logo Pop-Up Flip Flops (Also on Amazon)
Ray Ban Wayfarers in Urban Camouflage (Blue) (Also in Grey on Amazon)
Manage Your Day-to-Day from 99u
Neutrogena Clear Face Liquid Lotion Sunscreen with SPF 55
Burt’s Bees Garden Tomato Toner
Lifefactory Glass and Silicone Water Bottle
Triangl Miami Mint Neoprene Bikini
Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer with SPF 15
What are some of your key items for a weekend by the pool? (And who do you want to win the World Cup?!)