All posts filed under: Tips & Tricks

My Eyeshadow Diagram

So, Tellie asked me to make a quick diagram of my “eye makeup” because she was confuddled about where to put what color. I was kind of surprised she asked me because I don’t think my technique (lol) has evolved that much, but here is a general sketch of how I do things ‘round these parts. Here are my eyes. As you can see, I have just a little bit of lid space. It’s pretty fun to add different shades and levels of haziness (more on that later) right above the crease, but for the lid space, I observe the rule of thirds. By the way—I tried so many times to make a video demonstration of this. It was really hard, and I had to wash my right eye three times before I gave up trying because it was itching so damn much from all the soap. So, I did it some other day. YER WELCOME. When I was starting out, I would shade in the inner third with a darker color as well, but …

Lazy Girl Makeup: Pops of Color

Non-neutral colorful makeup can be intimidating when you look at other people’s faces who are at ease with it. But not everyone can pair a hot pink lip with a hazy purple smokey eye. But fear not! There is an easy way to add some color into your look. If you’re unsure about combinations or are just too lazy to bother, I suggest doing your makeup the same way, but focusing the color action on just one part of your face. Sort of easing the rainbow in, if you will. EYES This is the most obvious way to me, since I don’t usually go crazy with lip colors. You don’t have to look like a rainbow barfed all over you. I usually just rim my lower lash line with a colored liner and call it a day. You can also switch out a neutral shade you always use for a beautiful color you don’t usually use. USED: Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Deep End flicked out on the outer lash line. Here, I’ve …

Lazy Girl Makeup: Quickly

A look for all y’all who need to get out of the door quickly! Here’s the look, with my old hair, still: It’s pretty basic and safe-ish, but passably put-together if I may say so myself. I don’t tend to fuss too much with base/complexion products when I’m in a hurry, but on a real bad skin day, I will pick up a concealer and target problem spots and areas. Here’s a video in which I talk a bit more about the products and show you how I use them: Products Mentioned: — NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer (Ginger) — Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder (shown: Luminous Light) — K-Palette Real Lasting Eyebrow 24H (02) — MAC Paint Pot (shown: Constructivist) — MAC Eye Kohl (shown: Prunella. Teddy) — Illamasqua Cream Blusher (shown: Dixie) — BECCA Beach Tints (shown: Raspberry) — Addiction by Ayako Cheek Sticks (shown: Revenge) — NARS Pure Matte Lipstick (Montego Bay) What are your go-tos for a quick makeup look? 🙂 Follow me: Bloglovin' • Twitter • Instagram • YouTube • Facebook

Lazy Girl Makeup: Day to Night Using MAC Mythology

Ever since I posted my first Lazy Girl Makeup post, I’ve been wanting to make a new one. Alas, I had been too lazy to actually make the posts. Here’s a pretty easy Day to Night look that centers on only three MAC eyeshadows: All That Glitters, Sketch, and Mythology. I actually used one more—Smut—but only as a really subtle wing for the Day Look. Speaking of which, here’s the Day Look: I’ve got All That Glitters all over the lid with a bit of Sketch lightly buffed into the outer corner of the lid and the outer 1/4 of the lower lash line. Like i said, I used Smut on the upper lash line for a little definition. Rest of the makeup: The Body Shop Brow & Liner Kit (02) for brows, MAX Factor Masterpiece Max Mascara*, MAC Blush (Springsheen), MAC Lustre Lipstick (See Sheer) lightly dabbed on lips. I had a completely different thing I had in mind for a Day to Night look, but I saw this look by Karima of Shameless …

Lazy Girl Makeup: One-Shadow Smokey Eye

Launching (very late) today is a series I’m hoping to keep doing for a long time: Lazy Girl Makeup! It’s basically a post every two weeks in which I share with you my lazy ways. Here, for example, is a one-shadow smokey eye look. I did a similar look last year, which you can find here. The main difference with this look and the old one is that I used a kohl/creamy pencil first. Draw a messy, rich line near your lash line. Don’t worry if it’s not neat! Smudge dat liner. I used the e.l.f. Eyeshadow “C” Brush, which if I’m not mistaken, is really made for a smokey eye. Pat on your chosen shadow (here, Le Métier de Beauté’s Midnight Sky, which is a deep sapphire-navy) all over the lid, going over the crease a tiny, tiny bit. Again. Don’t worry if it’s not neat. Use a clean blending brush (here, the MAC 217) to blend all of the edges and haze the shadow out. Apply the same liner on the lower lash …

Helping Each Other Out: Blogging How-To’s

Blogging has grown into such a different monster from what it was when I first found out about it. It used to be every nerd’s outlet but now most of it’s sort of been an extended arm of PR and advertising. When I started blogging, it was kind of really easy because you didn’t have to think of content; you just wrote whatever came to mind. Blogging these days, however, requires a little bit more forward-thinking. I’m still trying to understand the blogging world now, but I have found a lot of helpful people whenever I read my feed. I thought I should compile them all here, in case you’re hankering for some help setting up your super cool new blog, but don’t really know where to start. THE BASICS — Blogging for Newbs by Lipstick With Some Sunshine (pretty basic, straightforward & concise) — How to Start a Beauty Blog by Lily Pebbles — An earlier version of How to Start a Beauty Blog by Lily Pebbles — The Luxola Guide to Starting a …

Never Forget Mascara Expiration Again!

This tip is so simple that I almost feel like a criminal for even sparing one whole post for it. I think the picture even says it all. Basically, like every other beauty nut, I tend to have more than one mascara tube open at a time. As such, it’s hard for me to keep track of their “expiration dates.” Most mascaras expire 3 to 6 months after the tube is first opened, and while some tubes helpfully state what particular time frame the mascaras should be kept, I doubt that we all remember when we first opened that delicious tube. Writing down the date when you first opened the mascara can help with hygiene. The washi tape just helps with cuteness. As we can see here, October 2013 was a great month for mascara sampling for me. Sometimes, you can go with smelling the mascara (Too funky? Too bad to use!) but I think this is a more accurate way to do things. Here is the why: Mascara is one of the beauty products …