05.15.2014

Urban Decay Naked 2: The Smokey Eye for Dummies.

A typical Saturday night in my apartment consists of:

5:00 pm- Jump in the shower
6:30 pm- The girls show up
6:31 pm- Start pouring drinks
6:45 pm- Start doing the hair whom ever calls first
9:00 pm- Finish all the girls' hair
9:01 pm- Start on everyone's make up.
10:00 pm- Finish makeup (feeling accomplished and a little drunk at this time)
10:01 pm- Drunkenly attempt to do my own hair and makeup (end up looking like crap)
10:30 pm- Everyone yelling at me to hurry my ass up and get out the door (even though I just devoted hours of MY time to them)
10:35 pm- Out the door and in a cab (on a good night)

So I was thinking, I could save myself A LOT of time by teaching them all how to do their own makeup!  This opens up more time to devote to myself :) as well as mix another drink or two.  Plus, Heather has been begging me to give her a step by step tutorial on how to use my Naked pallet.  So here we go- a literal step by step (pictures included) of a brown smokey eye using my Naked 2 pallet, my bdellium tools 777 make-up brushes, my AMAZING Mary Kay gel liner, and Clinique mascara.

I typically start by taking the light color, Tease, and cover the entire lid, crease, and upper portion of the eye.  This light color is good for an everyday eye if you want to wear it alone.  Or, if applied heavily it can achieve the smokey look by itself.  This is one of the most commonly used and versatile colors in my Naked pallet.

The next color I chose is called YDK. It looks relatively dark in the pallet, but when you put it over Tease it gives you a shimmery brown look.  You have to apply it pretty thick to darken the eye, or again just put it on by itself for a light shimmery brown eye.  The picture on the right is my #1 FAVORITE beauty secret.  Just take tape (any type) and apply it at an upward angle on the eye.  This eliminates quite a bit of clean up in the end (when using pigmented colors) and gives a perfect cat eye appearance.

The next color is the darkest and last color I used for this smokey eye-- Busted.  I thought it was better for my first tutorial to keep it simple and only use 3 basic colors.  Since we applied tape as a barrier, you can apply as much or as little of the dark color as you want.  I tend to go over board and put on multiple layers of this shade.  It's also important to really blend this color, failure to do so may give less than desirable results.  Once you have applied Busted to your liking, it's important to take a CLEAN brush and lightly blend the entire eye.  I usually take a light color (in this case Bootycall) and clean up the eye.  I apply it right below the brow, on the inner corners of the eyes, and on the edges near the winged shadow.

The last (but definitely not least) step is my personal favorite, the eyeliner.  I recently broke down and bought Mary Kay black gel eye liner for $18 after some serious debate.  This is one of the BEST investments you can make if you are  obsessive about your eye liner, like myself.  It takes quite a bit of practice to get the the perfect winged eye liner down.  And since I've been doing it almost every day for a few years now my friends tend to ask me for help.  All I can say about winged eye liner is practice, practice, practice.  And there you have it; a complete step by step look using the Naked 2 pallet or what I have decided to call 'The Smokey Eye for Dummies'!

Here is a quick look at the colors that I talked about within the blog.  Above is YDK and Busted.  Below is Bootycall and Tease.

I will brag and brag all day about these AMAZING bdellium tools 777 brushes ($16 on amazon).  I recommend them to anyone who wants to attempt a smokey eye.  Don't believe me?  Ask Heather! She bought them and admitted they are life changing.  Also the Mary Kay black gel liner may look small, but you only use a little bit at a time so this bad boy will last me about a year-- (and I use it DAILY).

05.08.2014

All white everything..... and yes, BEFORE Memorial Day.

It turns out my one free night this week (Wednesday night, that is) is the hottest day we have had yet this year.  And in this steaming hot apartment I managed to cook my child (Kelli) dinner (Italian sausage sandwiches), did Heathers make-up, and picked out her all-white outfit.  Yes, you can go ahead and pencil me in for the next season of The Real House Wives of Des Moines.  Anyway, I digress.  I've always gown up listening to the "written rules of fashion".  You know, the whole don't mix black and brown, no socks and sandals, and the really old one: no white between Labor Day and Memorial Day.  Well after years and years of watching What Not to Wear, I have decided I am 100% embracing the idea of all-white everything.

So following the trend of my last few posts, I'm going to show you how to wear a beautiful white skirt (BEFORE MEMORIAL DAY) for a fun night out or as casual daywear.  Basically I'm showing you how to get your money's worth for this elegant, yet versatile piece of clothing (you're welcome).  The first outfit is really pushing the 'white before Labor Day' limits.  I am going white on white for this one.  If you follow social media at all (or basically if you don't live under a rock) you have seen the white on white trend EVERYWHERE this spring.  Heather had this amazing all sequins white and gold skirt that I fell in love with the moment I saw it.  Here's the kicker, it was $8.  So this first, more "dressed up", look is what I decided to piece together to incorporate this beautiful sequins skirt.

After this pretty white on white look, I decided to toughen this skirt up a little bit.  I've always been a fan of graphic or band tees, so I thought that would be the perfect mix for this all white skirt.  Then, because I love accessorizing and I can't go a day with out a little bling, I thought adding a classic jeweled necklace would bring this outfit to life.  Yes, I HAD to post this picture of Heather with Boo.  For you who don't know my little baby Boo, she HATES every one except for Kelli and I.

I also decided I would break out a little makeup as well.  Last weekend I wanted to switch it up, so i decided to give Kelli's eyes a purple, smokey look.  I love, love, love purple shadow with green eyes; it makes them pop like you wouldn't believe!  So I kicked it up a notch and gave Heather extra dark, smokey, purple eyes.  I also used my AMAZING stippling foundation brush (see here) to give her a flawless, air brushed look.

04.30.2014.

Rainy day gray eyes and vodka vodka vodka.

So this weather is really starting to PISS me off.  How am I suppose to take pictures of my friends in minimal amounts of clothing when it's constantly raining?  Well today I had to go a different route since the weather isn't expected to change for the next few days.  Also my boyfriend keeps telling me to branch out from only talking about clothes (because he knows I can go on for days), so I decided to go out on all limb and focus this post on makeup.  Disclaimer: I DO NOT claim to be any sort of makeup pro, but I do enjoy it, and my friends "say" they like what I do (really I think they are all too lazy to do it themselves).  Plus, I have tried all the cheap, crappy makeup out there and have found some good brands that are reliable and affordable.

I mentioned a while back that I would also be talking about my favorite cocktails.  Well since we have been neglecting our vodka stash on top of the fridge, I thought it was time we get reacquainted. So after a LONG day of work, I texted Kel and let her know, "WE ARE DRINKING TONIGHT". She like always, agreed and we decided since it was just Easter and we have a ridiculous amount of leftover peeps, we would attempt to make the ever popular Pinterest peeps martini.  I really want to lie to you all and tell you it was the greatest thing I've ever had, but I'm not that good of a liar.  It was not good.  The recipe called for vodka, peeps, cream, and vanilla syrup.  We had the vodka and the peeps, but we had to wing it from there.  After adding a splash of milk and vanilla extract, we choked down a very STRONG but pretty peeps martini.

Okay, back to the makeup.  For my birthday this year, my best friend gave me the Urban Decay Naked 2 palate.  For those who like/know makeup, THAT IS AN AMAZING GIFT.  I was so excited/still am that I have been neglecting my other beautiful eye shadows for the last few months.  I've tried dark eyes on Kelli, but her being a red head and all, it just doesn't work all that well.  Luckily my friend Heather has the perfect eyes for dark makeup, so she let's me go a little over the top.  I typically gravitate towards browns, golds, and coppers but with Heathers eyes, I changed it up a little.  The naked pallet has beautiful silvers and blacks so I went all out with these for the look I'm featuring tonight.

I know this isn't a look that you can wear everyday to work, or school, or whatever you do during the day, but it's super easy to do.  Most likely you would want to do this for a date night, a weekend out on the town, or in Heather's case--a random Tuesday night after your friend begs you to model for her.  The naked 2 pallet is amazing, the colors are super pigmented and blend like you wouldn't believe.  Even though I'm ultra cheap and hate wasting money, this is definitely WORTH IT.  I also recently brought some amazing new make-up brushes off amazon for $16 (see here) that I'm obsessed with and definitely recommend for people trying to achieve a sultry, smokey eye look.