NOTD: Nail of the day

LOVING this nail color combo! 

Essie Bikini So Teeny + Essie Pure Pearlfection

No Heat Hair Quest: The Headband Trick

After the foam curlers I decided to try the "headband trick" for a great overnight, no heat hairstyle. Unfortunately, this one did not fair very well for me :-(. Basically the whole front portion of my hair came out of the headband so in the morning I just had some lame waves in the longest parts of my hair that fell out very quickly. This headband really doesn't stay on my head over night, this is the second time I've tried this trick and both times the headband has come off in the night. This is surprising because your hair is wrapped around the headband so you would think it would hold it in place. I have seen this work really well for some people, it just doesn't seem to be the best option for me. I may try putting the headband underneath my hair, as you would a regular headband, and then wrap the hair---this may keep the headband in all night.
How To:
Take a stretchy, comfortable headband. Put the headband around your head over your hair (hippy style). Take the hair underneath the headband and wrap it around the band, gradually moving from front to back. When you reach the back, if your hair is long like mine, there will be quite a bit of excess that doesn't quite fit into the headband. In the picture below it shows that I braided this remaining hair, after I took the picture I changed my mind and wrapped it into a tiny bun. Try applying a conditioning treatment/shine spray/hair oil or something along those lines before doing this trick. This will give your hair great shine and reduce frizz in the morning. Also make sure your hair is somewhere between damp and completely dry...if your hair is too wet it won't dry overnight. Another tip: apply a root lifter and then blow dry your hair for a bit, this will give you more volume the next day.

Pros:
-Very, very quick (maybe 2-3 minutes)
-Very easy
-Extremely comfortable to sleep in, more comfortable than foam curlers

Cons:
-Headband has fallen out repeatedly resulting in bad hair :-(
-Does not create a lot of volume, creates more of a relaxed wavy look

Morning After

Morning After...wake up sleepy!

Boo, just thew it up into a bun for the day

No Heat Hair Quest: Conair Foam Curlers

I am on a quest to find a great, fool proof no-heat hairstyle! I typically wash my hair at night and have been going to sleep with it wet in a bun or down. Then, when I have to get up for my internship the next morning I end up just putting it up because I don't want to spend a lot of time straightening it/curling it ect. I really want to find a "no heat" hairstyle that I can do at night, sleep on, and then have it look great the next morning. I have tried a bunch of techniques I have seen other bloggers do such as the sock bun, the headband wrap, braids... My main problem is that these hairstyles fall out during the night or make my hair look way to wild and crazy the next morning (like curls and kinks going all different directions). I saw these Conair Foam Curlers and decided to give them a go! They have a foam center and both ends have wire inside, so you wrap your hair around the center and secure it by pushing the wire ends together. 

Pros:

-Comfortable to sleep in

-Mostly stayed in my hair throughout the night

-Inexpensive ( about $13.00)

-Looked decent the next day, not fantastic

Cons:

-Curls had some weird kinks, mainly at the ends 

-Time consuming: it took about 15 minutes or so to put all of these little curlers in

-Each curler doesn't hold much hair, so you need to do small sections of hair at a time

*I blow dried my hair quite a bit before putting in these curlers, if I didn't my hair wouldn't be dry the next day. My hair was still damp in the morning even after blow drying it. 

I will try the all of the no-heat hairstyles I can find so you guys can see how they look before and after and try them yourselves! 

Night Before

Morning After

How I styled it

Complementary Colors

Some very simple color tricks can help to make the color of your eyes pop and can also help with concealing!
So, what color eyeshadows will bring out your eye color?

Eyecolor:
    If you have BLUE eyes: The direct complement of blue on the color wheel is orange. Orange based eyeshadows will help to make your blue eyes stand out. This does not mean you have to go out and buy orange eyeshadows (you will not see many of those because orange eyeshadows are pretty ugly). More of an approachable color that will work just as well is brown. Browns and bronzey colors will do wonders for your blue eyes, especially when they have warm, orange undertones.

   If you have GREEN eyes: The direct complement of green is red. Similarly to orange eyeshadows, red eyeshadows would be a bit scary. To make green eyes pop you want to go for rich, deep purples. Colors that are a mix between purple and red (try Cranberry by MAC) will also work very well!

   If you have BROWN eyes: Brown is a tricky one because there is no brown on the color wheel. However, I have found that navy blue makes brown eyes pop so nicely. Brown eyes will also be enhanced with black and dark purples.

   If you have HAZEL eyes: Hazel eyes are another tricky one because there are so many different colors that come with hazel eyes, brown, green, yellow. What colors you wear depends on what colors you want to enhance. I think the best colors for making hazel eyes pop are dusty rose type colors- deep pinks and purples. Purple is the direct complement of yellow, so purple will make the yellow in hazel eyes look gorgeous.

Concealing:
   Information about colors can be extremely useful when concealing!

   If you have unwanted redness, blemishes, Rosacea: Go for a green concealer (which they do sell, try Make  Up Forever concealer palette or Coastal Scents colored concealer palette) or a green based primer (Smashbox sells this). The green does wonders for neutralizing redness!

  If you have blueish dark circles: If you look at the circles under your eyes, they will look more blue or more purple (for a reference mine are more purple). If your circles are more blue, find a yellow based concealer.

  If you have purpleish dark cirlces: If your circles have more of a purple look, find a more orange based concealer.

Get Ready With Me!

Products used:
Garnier BB cream in Light/Medium
Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque
Bobbi Brown eye setting powder in Pale Yellow
Urban Decay eyelid primer in Original
MAC paint pot in Painterly
L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Pink Sapphire
L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Iced Latte
MAC eyeshadow in Antiqued
Maybelline Define-a-Line eyeliner in Brownish Black
Maybelline Eyestudio Color Plush silk eyeshadow in Give Me Gold
L'Oreal Telescopic Clean Definition mascara in Black
Stila Convertible Color blush in Peony
Maybelline Dream Matte powder in Sand Medium
Benefit's Watts Up highlighter
Revlon Lip Butter in Creamsicle
Buxom Big and Healthy lip polish in Samantha
Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer in Illuminating (sample from Sephora)

Individual False Lashes

Individual false lashes can be a great way to bulk up your lashes with a bit more of a natural look. You can use the longer ones on the ends and the shorter ones throughout the middle to add volume and length. To use them you simply take a tiny dab of DUO glue and place the false lash at the root of your natural lashes. Just let it sit there for a moment and it will dry and stay for as long as you need! The great thing about DUO is that you only need a tiny amount and it holds the lash on incredibly well. These do take longer than normal strip lashes to apply because you have to do each one individually. You can grab these individual lash packs at any drugstore for a cheap price or you can get nicer ones at MAC or Sephora. I like to get the cheap ones because then you can just toss them out after you wear them :-). If you want to explore with false lashes but haven't mastered the strip ones yet, I would give these a try! Enjoy!

Reduce eye puffiness with this product!

I have tried all kinds of different products to reduce under-eye puffiness and darkness from gels to creams to anti-dark circle eye rollers. Some of these products have been expensive and others have been drugstore. They all do a little something, but not really enough to notice a big difference.  Most of us do not get enough sleep and our eyes definitely give us away! A lot of people just have puffiness right when they get up and it gradually fades. My eye problems are, unfortunately, hereditary which means no matter what I do they will always be there to some extent. After trying all sorts of different products, I resorted to a cold spoon under each eye every morning. This was time consuming, but it was effective until I found my new favorite product. It is the Sephora Instant Depuffing roll on gel. It is the same concept as the eye rollers I have used before, but it actually works! This gel contains ingredients that moisturize, brighten and reduce puffiness. I have a very sensitive eye area and many other products I have tried have been irritating, stung, even caused little bumps to form. This product has not had any negative side effects! I put a small amount on in the morning and pat it in gently so it absorbs quickly. I then put a moisturizing eye cream over the top (my eye area also gets very dry). I think that splashing cold water on my face after washing it in the morning has also helped to reduce the excess fluids that build up in our faces over night. This product is only $15.00, which is totally worth it in my opinion, and can be found at your local Sephora or online! Different products were for different people, just because it worked for me does not mean it will be effective for you. But from someone who has tried TONS of under-eye products, this one has been the best so far!

*I am going to try and get before and after pics but I am not sure my camera will pick up the difference! xx

5 minute hair: Quick and Sleek!

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics: Lip Tar

My friend mentioned to me that she may be working with a company called Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics and that I should check it out because it looked interesting. I had heard of OCC before so I decided to give it a second look. This company is very cool because all the products are Vegan and 100% cruelty free, so needless to say I had to try something out. I decided on the Lip Tars because the description sounded intriguing: A stunning new innovation in lip color, OCC Lip Tar combines the longevity of a lipstick, with the ease of application of a gloss. Goes on slick and moist, and dries down to a satin finish. After much deliberation and research on Youtube I finally decided on two colors, Malange and Grandma. This product is definitely not like any other lip product I have tried. I would describe it as paint for the lips. The research I did on Lip Tars suggested that a tiny bit of product goes a very long way and to apply it with a lip brush. This is not the type of product you can put directly on your lips like a gloss or a lipstick. In fact, the dispenser is shaped like a small nozzle, so it would be really hard to put it directly on your lips with neat application. I found that a tiny bit of product did go a long way, I needed about 1/2 of a pea sized amount. I found that this product was drying so I would recommend applying a chapstick of some sort to the lips before application.. These Lip Tars are highly, highly pigmented, so you do not have to worry about these not showing up. I took pictures of my lips regularly and then with the Lip Tars. I found it so difficult to capture the correct color with my camera. The pictures made the color look to bright or too dull. It even changed in different rooms with different lighting (artificial v. natural). But hopefully you can get an idea of the way these look. I think these Lip Tars are wearable, definitely certain colors more than others. Both of the colors I got are relatively tame, but like I said, in some light they look brighter than in other lights, so it is really hard to tell how they would look out and about during the day or night. I guess I will have to try them out and see! Once I do, I will let you know how it goes in terms of longevity, wearability ect. I am still figuring out if the Lip Tars are better suited for makeup artists/runway/other artistic events or if they can work for the average gal because they are such a unique product. I am always drawn by new types of makeup and really like trying new things. These seemed like such a new and different idea. If you are like me and like new stuff, I would try one of these to start...I think that you can mix these with lip gloss to tame them down a bit too! Anyways, here are the pics and please leave any questions about these in the comments section!!

Pics order: Normal, Melange, Grandma, Full face pic with lip gloss over Melange