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11-Minute Makeup

6/16/2019

I like to change up my quick, out-the-door makeup routines every now and again, and this time filmed a video showing you just how I apply these products! The types of products are always pretty similar, but since I’ve never actually created a video showing how I can create a look in a shorter amount of time, I decided it was worth the repeat!

Check out the video and the list of products I’m currently using in my “everyday” makeup looks! I've also linked each product for you in the post below!

Young Living Hydrating Primer
This has quickly become a staple in my makeup routine! This primer is a perfect moisturizing primer that makes you skin feel fresh and helps your makeup glide on smoothly! I can never apply foundation without primer these days! Even though the temperatures are getting warmer and more humid, I still go with this moisturizing primer rather than mattifying just because I prefer the lotion type of feel rather than silicone.

Cover Girl TruBlend Matte Made Foundation
This is definitely my go-to summertime foundation! First of all, it is my tan shade. Second, it really is a matte finish without feeling dry or uncomfortable. It gives more of a satin finish and no cakey looking skin either! There is a huge selection of shades to choose from, too!

Too Faced Born This Way Concealer
I just can’t get away from this concealer! It is a perfect color for a slight highlight and gives full coverage, especially for my dark circles under my eyes! The amount of product that you get is incredible, so definitely worth the splurge if you’re in the market for a new concealer!

Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder
Another product that I have been using for quite awhile is this setting powder. Unless I am “baking” my concealer (in which case I use a loose setting powder) this powder from Charlotte Tilbury is super luxurious and looks beautiful on the skin. I apply this mostly in the areas where I apply concealer, but will usually blend it out with a large face brush to put all over my face to help set my foundation.

Benefit Hoola Bronzer
The perfect contour/bronzer exists in the Hoola Bronzer by Benefit! This was actually the very first high-end bronzer that I ever purchased when I first started getting into make up! I go back to this stuff again and again because it is the perfect tone and shade to create a shadow to contour, but also light enough to use as an all-over bronzer. With a quick look like this, I use it as just a bronzer and apply in my contour areas, but with a large, fluffy bronzer brush.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz & Benefit Gimme Brow
My normal combo always includes the brow wiz to fill in my brows, but lately I’ve been using the Gimme Brow by Benefit since my Anastasia Brow Gel ran out. I first go in with a spooly brush to comb my brow hairs up, fill in the sparse areas, and then comb through with the spooly and set with the Gimme Brow. This formula also adds some coverage/color to the brows as well as setting the hairs in place.

MAC Blush - Melba
I love this color blush because it is the matte version of MAC Margin which is my other staple blush color. I don’t go very heavy on blush, but just this little splash of color on my cheeks makes a pretty big difference in terms of pulling the look together!

Arbonne It’s a Long Story Mascara & Maybelline Falsies Waterproof
When I do a quick makeup look, I skip the most time consuming step (eyeshadow/liner) and go straight to curling my lashes and applying a few coats of mascara to my top and bottom lashes. Even without any other make up on my face, adding mascara makes a huge difference in making my eyes look a big more awake!

Young Living Savvy Minerals Lipgloss - Journey
This lip gloss is the perfect shade for my skin tone to wear just on its own to give some color, shimmer and shine to my lips, while at the same time looking natural! This formula is super comfortable and made with clean ingredients, while also leaving a minty smell on your lips. I always grab this to throw in my purse as an everyday lip color.

Tatcha Satin Skin Mist
I am always on the lookout for a good setting spray and I think I’ve found a new favorite! The Tatcha Satin Skin Mist is a toned-down version of their dewy skin mist that has become pretty popular in the makeup world. I love this one because it gives the perfect finishing look to my make up without making me look too oily. It is quite pricey (which is why I waited until I had a Sephora gift card to purchase) but it will not disappoint you!

So that is my current 11-minute makeup routine! I hope you guys enjoyed and let me know in the comments if you’d like more videos like this (sped-up getting ready with me videos) or if there is a specific make up look you’d like to see in the future! Have a great week & Happy Father’s Day to all of those dads/grandpas/godfathers/fur-dads out there!

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Half-Up Top Knot Tutorial

6/3/2019

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I started wearing a half-up top knot hairstyle over the past few years and I have had multiple people ask how exactly I get it to look the way that it does! Honestly, the technique is pretty simple with just two tips that make the styling process a breeze!

Check out the video tutorial & subscribe to my Youtube channel!

Prep Hair
As with most of my hairstyles, my hair needs to already have product in or just basically not be freshly washed. Styling just washed hair is a bit difficult with my hair texture, so I started of with hair that already had product and had been curled from the morning.

Section Hair
Using my natural side part, I try to mirror the part on the other side of my head to get the section of hair that will go up into the top knot.

Tip 1: It is important to grab the right amount of hair. You need enough so that the top knot won’t be too small, but you don’t want too much so that it looks like a complete half-up ponytail. It might take a few tries, but like I said, try to just mirror a side part and then go back to about the front-crown section (front part of where your skull starts to curve down in back).

Bun Hair
Time to pile that little ponytail into a nice messy bun right on top of your head, but here’s where my other tip comes in: tease/backcomb the ponytail a bit first!

Tip 2: Teasing/backcombing the hair that will be in the top knot will give you more texture to work with, which is essential in any messy bun! I just use a round-brush with wire bristles to gently tease the hair from the base to the ends a bit before piling it into a bun on top of my head.

Curl/Wave/Straighten Hair
For the section of hair that you’ve left down, you can do whatever you’d like at this point! I typically will curl my hair or at least put some wave spray in if I already have my hair wavy from my signature braid look! For this time, I had already curled my hair to wear down in the morning, so I just brushed through the curls to get rid of some frizz and make it look a little neater.

That is it! I love this look, especially for a dressier event because it makes you stand out a bit, but still looks classy and youthful! I hope you enjoyed this hair tutorial and stay tuned for more to come!

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Bronze Eyeshadow Tutorial

5/14/2019

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We can all use a quick-but-glam makeup look that is versatile enough for day or night, and this is the perfect one! This brown/bronze eyeshadow look only uses three of my favorite MAC eyeshadows, and is quick and easy to achieve! It is also a great color combo for the warmer weather to give you a gorgeous glow. Check out the tutorial and follow along for your next day or night out!

Off-Camera
I did all of my normal makeup routine except for my eyeshadow before filming! Here is what I used:

Young Living Savvy Minerals Hydrating Primer
NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation (applied with Real Techniques sponge)
Too Faced Born This Way Super Coverage Multi-Use Sculpting Concealer
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder
Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer
MAC Blush- Margin
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz & Brow Gel

Eyes
Before applying shadow, I brought my concealer onto my lids and set it using the Charlotte Tilbury Setting Powder. I decided to use some of my OG eyeshadows that were among my first investments in the makeup world: my MAC palette! These shadows are a little more pricey, but I still love the colors and the quality. Using a Morphe M452 Blending Fluff Brush, I put Soft Brown into the higher part of my crease as a transition shade. I blend this from outer to inner corner. Next, I use a Sigma E35 blending brush to apply Saddle (camel brown shade) into the lower crease, outer corner and outer portion of the eyelid. I go back and blend with the first brush to make sure there are no harsh lines.

For the lid color, I used the shade Amber Lights on a Sigma Firm Shader brush. I spray my brush with MAC Fix Plus after packing on the shadow to help give the shadow a bit more of a shine and also help with the staying power of the shadow. Then blend once again with the E35 to blend Saddle and Amber Lights together. You may also need to go back in and touch up the shimmer after blending.

I am using a different technique than normal for my liner and just using a matte black eyeshadow called Carbon on a Sigma Flat Definer brush. I apply a thin line of this along the upper lash line. This helps to define the lashes, make them look a little thicker, but without having a thick winged liner. It can be messy and blended out too! It just helps to pull everything together and look more finished.
Of course, go back in and blend once again in the crease. Then, use any light shade or powder to highlight the brow bones. Next, curl the lashes and apply mascara. I used the Arbonne It’s a Long Story Mascara. This mascara truly helps with growing your lashes and in comparison to similar products, is a fraction of the price. It makes your lashes look long, separated and voluminous.
For the bottom lash line, I apply the L’Oreal Voluminous Black liner in the water line, and used a Sigma Pencil brush with a bit of Saddle to help blend underneath the lash line. This helps to keep the liner in the waterline and to help from any mascara sticking under the eyes. Clean up anything under the eyes with a sponge or brush, and then apply mascara to the bottom lashes. I always go with waterproof (Maybelline The Falsies Waterproof).

On my lips, I applied the Bite Beauty Agave lip mask just to quickly hydrate my lips, but wiped off the excess so that the lipcolor doesn’t slide around. For the color, I used MAC Velvet Teddy (brownish nude) and topped it off with Young Living Savvy Minerals Lip Gloss in the shade Journey which is a shimmery bronze color!

So that completes this look! I hope you guys enjoyed some of my old MAC favorites and give this type of bronze eyeshadow look a try soon!

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Large, Loose Curls: Hair Tutorial (Beachwaver)

5/9/2019

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Have you heard of the Beachwaver? I hadn’t until my sister-in-law told me all about it and all I have to say is: wow! I’ve always used a curling wand to curl my hair (on those rare occasions) but this one is a game changer. It was invented and founded by celebrity hair stylist, Sarah Potempa and her sisters Erin Potempa-Wall and Emily Potempa in 2010. It is the perfect size, and super quick and easy to use! I wanted to share this with all of you and filmed a tutorial of how it works! Check out the YouTube video linked below!

Beachwaver S1.25
This is a large-barreled curling wand which is perfect for longer hair and larger curls. They make a variety of sizes and style Beachwaver, but this one creates the exact wave in my hair that I’ve always wanted! It heats up quickly (you can raise the temp up to 410 degrees) and has two direction buttons that spins the barrel for you.

I tend to wash my hair every other day (or sometimes 2-3 days) and I always put product in it while it is wet just in case I need to style it in the coming days. I typically will spray the Ouai Wave Spray in it and then put it in a side braid or two braids and let it dry that way. That way, I am starting out with some body and texture to my hair. It also has some product to help with holding the curl.

To start curling your hair, all you do is you do is section your hair, clip the small section leaving about an inch out of the bottom, and press the arrow in the direction going away from your face. One of the best features of this is that you don’t have to hold your arm over your head while curling the opposite side! Just push the opposite arrow button, and you’re in business without your arm getting cramped and exhausted!

Great Barrier Heat Protectant Hairspray (Beachwaver Co.)
I can’t get enough of this heat protectant hairspray! The smell is just incredible and it is made without all of the ingredients that we don’t want to see in our haircare, skincare, etc:

Paraben free
Formaldehyde free
Sulfate free
Cruelty free
Recyclable cans

Mineral Oil free
Benzophenone free
Vegan
Phthalate free

I spray this all over the sections of my hair before curling it to protect from heat, but also give some added hold for the finished product! It leaves your hair soft and without that typical hairspray “crunch”.

Styling After Curling
You can really do whatever you want after curling all sections of hair, but make sure to allow the curls to cool whatever you choose! For my look recently, I have just been brushing the top part of my hair gently to get rid of any frizz or flyaways, and using my fingers to comb through and shake out the curled sections at the bottom.

I hope you guys enjoyed this hair tutorial and learning about the Beachwaver! The company is coming out with a new line of hair products next month that I am very excited for too, so I will share my thoughts when those come out! Go check out the Beachwaver if you’re in the market for a new hair styling tool! Have a great weekend & Happy Mother’s Day to all the mamas out there!

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Highlight & Contour Tutorial

4/26/2019

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Even though I’ve done a post on how I highlight and contour, I decided to film it and create a tutorial to show a slight variation to my previous routine! This is how I highlight with concealer and contour with bronzer on a more daily basis--without cream contouring! I have also switched up a couple of the products that I use and wanted to share those as well! If you’d like to learn how to create some dimension to your everyday make up look, check out the video linked below and read up on the summaries of how I highlight and contour!

Highlight - Too Faced Born This Way Multi-Use Sculpting Concealer
After applying primer and foundation, I go to my Too Faced Born This Way Concealer to highlight/conceal under my eyes, forehead, upper lip and chin. I draw a triangle shape under each eye and bring the concealer up onto the sides of my nose. I also draw a few lines on the center of my forehead, down the middle of my nose, my cupid’s bow (upper lip) and chin. I then blend this out using a damp beauty sponge.

Set the Highlight - Charlotte Tilbury Flawless Finish Setting Powder
Using a tapered setting powder brush, like Morphe X Jaclyn Hill JH07, apply a thin layer of powder on top of all of the highlighted areas. This will help to avoid any creasing of the concealer and keep everything in place.

Contour - Hoola Bronzer by Benefit
When you are contouring your face, you are creating “shadows”, so you want a bronzer that has more of a dark brown/gray tone as opposed to a orange-toned bronzer. To get this effect, you need a smaller contour brush to avoid applying too much bronzer or applying to too large of an area. I use the Morphe X Jaclyn Hill JH04 for this part because it has a narrow, angled surface that is perfect for carving out the hollows of my cheeks. To give you a guideline, suck in your cheeks, and follow that line with your brush and bronzer. Blend this in an upward motion. Next, apply bronzer along the hairline on your forehead and temples. Then, along the jawline and blend down into the neck. The last part to contour is your nose. I use a very small brush for this, and the technique varies for each person, but for me, I draw lines along the sides of my nose and try to round out the tip of my nose as well.

Blush - MAC Cosmetics Melba
Next, I add just a little blush to the outer portion of my cheekbones to give a bit more dimension and color. The shade melba is a shade that is close to my skin tone, but still makes a difference! You could also apply blush to the apples of your cheeks depending on the shape of your face.

Glowing Highlight - CoverFX Perfect Light Highlighting Palette (Similar product here)
To give a natural glow to my cheekbones and center of my face, I use the fourth shade in this highlighting palette. With a small brush, just apply a bit of highlighter to the tops of cheekbones, tip of nose, chin and a little on the center of the forehead. This step is optional, but as long as you apply a light amount, it will give your skin a beautiful glow in all the right areas!

Finishing Spray/Bottom Lash Mascara - Tatcha Dewy Skin Mist
To set this make up look, I spray the Tatcha Dewy Skin Mist all over my face and allow to dry. This spray keeps your make up in place, but also gives a beautiful moisturized look to the skin. After the spray is dried, I apply mascara to my bottom lashes to avoid any smudging onto the skin. (If this does happen, wait for the spot of mascara to completely dry and then use a cotton swab to remove. If you do this while mascara is still wet, it will smudge more and make a bigger mess, so just be patient!)

I hope you enjoyed this highlighting and contouring tutorial! Let me know any other make up or beauty tutorials or tips you’d like to see!

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Purple Eyeshadow Tutorial

3/30/2019

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The birds chirping outside of our bedroom windows in the morning is literally music to my ears! Spring is so refreshing, so exciting and so much more enjoyable than anymore snow!

It is also time to just be a little brighter all-around! Now don’t get me wrong—I love me some fall and winter beauty and fashion—but there is just something about brighter colors and lighter layers that just makes you want to take s deep breath and enjoy!

I wanted to share this spring eyeshadow look in honor of all you lucky spring breakers who get to enjoy a little vacation in the coming weeks! I actually made a video tutorial for you to watch as well! So if you’d like to learn how to get this lighter, brighter makeup look, keep reading, watch the video and follow along! [I still need to figure out how to not have such an awkward thumbnail for the video so any experts out there please send me instructions! :) ]

Eyes- Morphe X Jaclyn Hill Vault Collection: Bling Boss Palette
After moisturizing and priming my eyes and face, I decided to go in with this palette called Bling Boss from Jaclyn Hill’s Vault Collection by Morphe. These purple tones might be intimidating, but blending is everything!

Above and in crease- transition shade
I first used a light mauve shade called Hush Hush on a Sigma E40 fluffy blending brush to lay down the transition color. This really won’t show up very much in the end, but will be super helpful with helping to blend the more vibrant colors out later!

Crease- outer corner to mid/inner crease
I then took a more dense blending brush, the Sigma E25, to go in with this darker maroon shade called Mystic and concentrated this darker shade on the outer corner and blended to just about the middle of the eye. To keep your eyes looking larger and brighter; you want to avoid dark colors in the inner corners. Same technique, i build and blend gradually until I achieve the depth of color that I want and go back again ton blend the other colors with it. Tip: start off light-handed with color and then gradually blend out and build up to the color that you want! It is much easier to build slowly than take away. Once I built up to the desired color, I again blended with my transition shade and fluffy brush to get rid of harsh lines.

Lid- inner ¾ of eye
I wanted to use something nice and sparkly so i used this pink/purple pressed glitter shade called Bling Bling on a Sigma E57 firm shader brush on the inner ¾ of the lid. To give the color some extra payoff and staying power, after I pack on color to the brush, I spray it with MAC Fix Plus to wet it. This spray can help intensify shimmery shadows, glitters and can be used as a setting spray for the whole face too!

Winged Liner- Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper
Winged liner is always a challenge, even for the most practiced hand! I wanted just a subtle wing for this look so I use this liner starting at the corner of my eye and draw a diagonal line down to the lash line and then draw another line straight across to connect the wing down to the lash line. I go all the way into the inner corner. Tip: it does help to get a straighter line if you slightly tug at the corner of the eye to smooth out the lid. Don’t tug too hard, but this will help to achieve a smoother look.

Lashes- Curl & Maybelline Lash Sensational
You can use any eyelash curler but this definitely makes a difference in your lashes! Squeeze the lash curler a couple of times right at the base of your lashes. Next, I go in with one of my favorite mascaras, the Maybelline Lash Sensational Waterproof. I know that not everyone likes waterproof mascara, but with proper makeup removal using a cleansing oil, I have never had an issue with losing lashes or removing it effectively!

After the eyes, I went through my normal foundation, concealer, contour and eyebrow routine to finish off the look! (If I made an entire video with my current editing skills, you’d be watching an hour long video!) I hope this eye look gave you some inspiration to tackle some colors that are outside of your comfort zone! If you’d like a video on the rest of my foundation/highlight/contour routine, make sure to comment and let me know! I hope you enjoyed this!

Happy Spring!

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Forward>>

Beauty

11-Minute Makeup

Half-Up Top Knot Tutorial

Bronze Eyeshadow Tutorial

Large, Loose Curls: Hair Tutorial (Beachwaver)

Highlight & Contour Tutorial

Purple Eyeshadow Tutorial

Jamie Haley

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