So after watching endless youtube videos tagging makeup and beauty gurus on what they are loving at the moment, from products to fashion, I've decided to do my own, only blog style instead of vlog.
Makeup:
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Barely there makeup: you want to look like you aren't even wearing any. Skip the cakey foundation, the powder, and just let your skin breathe. All I wear is a dap of concealer under my eyes and anywhere where there is redness, half a shade lighter than my skin tone. Then, to blend in my concealer and make it look natural, I use a orange-y toned bronzer. Mostly on my cheeks and under the eyes, but also on my nose, forehead, chip and jaw line. I just use cheap a cheap Cover Girl concealer stick in "light" and cheek bronzer in "golden sun".
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Defined brows: I truly believe that all long as your skin looks flawless, the only other thing you need is defined and bold brows. Ladies, save your money on going to the salon for eye brow waxing and go au naturale. That's not to say you need to throw out your tweezers, too. Just use them only about once a week to clean up any straw hairs outside your brow's natural shape and you're all set. Full, thick brows are so in. If you feel your eye brows are too thin for your face or overplucked, you can always fill them in with a brow pencil a shade darker than your hair color. Use soft feathery strokes. Only fill in within the outline of your brow. Do not "draw" on your brow. This will make you look like a drag queen. For my brows, I brush them into shape using a eyebrow brush and fill any sparse areas with a pencil from Annabell in "Rhone".
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Natural or Bold Lips: Choose a clear gloss or balm for casual days or even a slightly tinted lip moisterizer. For night, a matte lipstick in a warm color (red, pink, peach, coral) will do the trick. For day, I use a dollar store lip balm (no joke) in orange or a moisture lipstick by Rimmel London in "soft coral". Nighttime, I use a shocking red matte lipstick by Revlon in "Classic Red"
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Doe Eyes: Curl your lashes with eye lash curlers and use a mascara which will add immense volume and length to your lashes. LashBlast by Cover Girl (the non-waterproof one! Waterproof is IMPOSSIBLE to take off at night) is something you will swear by. Sometimes, if I go out, I'll add a liquid black liner by Almay.
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Bold eyeshadow colors (for nights out on the town): I can't wait to go to a m.a.c store and buy some of this. Bold eye colors are AWESOME for summer, especially with a nude sheer lip :) Has anyone seen the "rainbow eye" look a lot of youtube beauty gurus are doing now? So nice. I can't wait to order my coastal scents 88 palette to get this same intense, matte color look. When I had my retro-themed shoot with Kaleigh, I also did an intense rainbow eye. I think had I had the coastal scents palette, it would have looked 10 times better. But I still rocked it without:
Hair:
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Dove Moisture Therapy Shampoo and Conditioner: This is great is you have dry, limp and frizzy hair but can't afford to spend money on excellent quality salon products. Dove is a reasonable price and it kicks the moisture back into your hair. It also smells really clean. I condition my hair with this every day and shampoo my hair once a week.
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Quantum Hairgel (for when my hair is curly): Alot of people ask me how I get my curls so defined and frizz-free without making my hair look like wet cement from products. One, I do not brush my hair. I condition it and pull my fingers through and then I leave a
little bit of condition in my hair even after I've rinsed it. I pat it down with a towel when I get out of the shower and put it in a loose bun on
top of my hair while I do my makeup (helps to keep it's moisture and volume). Then, I put a streak of hairgel across the line in my hand and rub it between my palms. I start off at the roots and work my way down to the ends. Once it's been worked through my hair I get a dime-sized dab of gel and do the same thing again, only this time I just work it through my ends. I find this hairgel holds the curl without making it hard as a rock and it's not sticky either when applying it.
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Aussie Hi-Shine Hi-Volume Hairspray: I'm sure there's better hairsprays out there in the world, but this is the one I use. It adds volume to my curly hairstyles and holds curls made from a curling iron when my hair is straight. It's cheap and does the job. All I really need.
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Got2Be Smooth Operator Straightening serum / Smoother (when my hair is straight): Perfect for when you have SUPER curly and coarse hair you want to straighten. Makes your hair feel silky smooth, and it also helps to calm the frizz down a bit when the weather is humid.
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Chi Sraightener: Works WONDERS for really coarse, curly hair you'd never thought was possible to straighten. It's well over $120 to buy new, but it's worth every penny. Also, you can find cheaper ones if you search enough on ebay.
Body:
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Juicy Body Wash in raspberry): It's only $5 at Wal Mart and can be used as a shower gel, bubble bath or shampoo! Plus it comes in a HUGE bottle, so it lasts a longgg time. The smell is amazing and it's gentle on your skin and doesn't cause any irritation (I would know because my skin is SOO sensitive).
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Body Shop Raspberry Body Butter: I LOVE Body Shop body butters.They feel so nice on your skin, are made from all natural products, do not irritate your skin, and smell great. Also, the Body Shop uses all fair trade products. The only downside is that Body Shop products tend to be pricey. I usually keep an eye on sales there, because that's how I'm able to afford most all their wonderful products. I got their body butter in raspberry for $10 (It normally costs $20). It also doubles as a perfume because of it's greaattttt scent.
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Avon makeup remover: A white cream. Very inexpensive. Not too greasy. Works well at getting your eye makeup off instantly.
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Persa-Gel Acne Spot Treatment by Clean and Clear: WORKS WONDERS! Okay, I suffered from acne for eight years before I found something that actually worked AND I didn't have to spend a ton of money on. I literally had tried EVERYTHING and this is the ONLY thing that works for me! It's got 5% Benzoyl Peroxide (the same ingredient in the Proactive acne products), which is the miracle ingredient that dries up all your acne. This stuff saved my self-esteem and for the price of around $7 at a drugstore! It does the same work as Proactive products do for a VERY small fraction of the price. Also, Proactive products are known to cause extensive drying to your skin, whereas Persa-Gel, if used only on problem areas, does not cause side effects. I used to slather this cream all over my face, which eventually led to me developing dry flakey skin with red irriated and itchy rashes. But only use a small amount of your problem areas and you should be fine! Be careful cause this stuff and bleach your clothes and fabrics, though!
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St. Ives Apricot Blemish Fightiing Cleanser with Microbeads: For only $5 at Wal Mart, fights your acne, gets deep in your pores, giving you that deep clean feeling without over drying your skin. I use this in combination with the Persa-Gel.
Teeth:
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Crest Whitestrips with Advanced Seal: Whitens your teeth without fail, usually after 5 or 6 strips (comes with fourteen). I usually go through a pack of these every two and a half months just because your teeth get so white so quick, you don't need to use them every day! About $40 at Wal Mart, but worth every penny. Also, does not strip away the essential layer of enamel off your teeth.
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Arm and Hammer Baking Soda Toothpaste: Love the taste. Love the way it makes my mouth and teeth feel clean.
Summer Fashion:
+ 1940's inspired fashion:
- gingham print (think Dorothy's dress from the Wizard of Oz)
- "vintage" dresses
+ dainty earrings
+ soft feminime colors in coral (LOVE color this season!), baby blue, and baby
pink and red
+ Oxford Jazz flats - OMG! LOVE these.
+ floral printed scarfs and bags
+ pastel colored shorts
+ rompers
+ pearls
+ lace gloves
+ wide brim straw hats with flowers
+ nude heels
+ cotton baggy sweatshirts with the neck cut across the shoulders (think ofJennifer Gray's grey sweatshirt from "Flashdance")
+ cotton baggy tee shirts cinched with a thin belt at the waist
+ leggings
+ shorttt dresses
+ hobo across the shoulder bags
+ bandeau bikinis in a bright solid color that are vintage / retro inspired :)
That's all :)
