I started back my “Worth the Hype” series on my YouTube channel last week, so I thought I would bring it to my blog as well. Check it out to see if I think the Pat McGrath foundation is “Worth the Hype.”
Nordstrom Sale 2020
CommentTo be completely honest with y’all, the last couple of years I haven’t been impressed with the Nordstrom sale. Since they started doing the sale even earlier for bigger spenders, everything I want is sold out and they don’t ever restock. I also noticed that a lot of the stuff I buy or want goes on sale even cheaper later on. There still are some really good deals, so I do want to share a few things with y’all that I am going to try and buy.
One thing I will say I like this year is that they are letting EVERYBODY preview it early. So what I would do is go through everything and add it to your wishlist so you don't have to search for it again, then when you are able to shop you can add it to your cart.
I know a lot of people want a Barefoot Dreams blanket but don’t want to pay full price, so the sale is the time to get them. They are usually the cheapest during the sale. Still expensive for a blanket, but if you want to splurge, now is the time. I absolutely love mine. I saw that they have a dog sweater on major sale too, so y'all know I will be trying to get one for Daisy!
Another great item during the sale is the Spanx faux leather leggings. They are a great staple piece and definitely worth the splurge. They suck everything in and go with some much!
Something I got last year that is on sale again is a super cute pair of Adidas. Right now they are sold out, but if you love them definitely keep checking back when you are able to shop the sale. I have posted all my picks below and if you want to shop just click the picture.
If you have a Nordstrom card you can shop Thursday, August 13 and then it opens to everyone on Wednesday, August 19.
Shoes & Accessories
Clothes
Beauty & Hair
Men
So those are all my picks for the 2020 Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. I know it is over shared, but I still wanted to share the items I wanted and the items I thought were a good deal. Let me know in the comments if y’all plan to shop it. Be sure to follow me here on instagram to see behind the scenes of me shopping and also subscribe to my YouTube channel here to see my vlog when I post it!
My Favorite Eyeshadow Brushes
CommentShape Tape Glow Wand Uses
CommentHydrating Milky Collection by Pixi Beauty
CommentValentine Outfit Ideas
CommentTarte Sale | My Top Picks
CommentTarget Try-On | Vlogmas Day 1
CommentHey y’all! If you watched my Vlogmas Day 1 I did an in store try-on at Target and shared some of my favorite jackets and cardigans. I thought I would do a blog post too showing y’all each item I tried on. I will link my vlogmas down below if you want to watch it!
Wild Fable Sherpa Jacket Pink- wearing a small | Kendra Scott Miley Necklace | Loopy Case discount code “aliciabice” for 10% off
Wild Fable Sherpa Jacket Black- wearing a small
Wild Fable Fuzzy Cardigan Pink- wearing a small
Wild Fable Fuzzy Cardigan Rose -wearing a small | Guns N Roses Graphic Tee- wearing a medium | Jeans are Old Navy
Wild Fable Sherpa Sweatshirt- wearing a large but need a medium, TTS
A New Day Blanket Scarf
Who What Wear Leopard Puffer Jacket- wearing a medium | Jean are Old Navy | Kendra Scott Miley Necklace | Loopy Case discount code “aliciabice” 10% off
Tarte Holiday Collection
CommentI know it’s a little early to be talking about holiday products, but you can already buy all these cute products online and in store. Everything I’m sharing with y’all will make great gifts if you are already starting your Christmas shopping. I should start early, but I’m a procrastinator in all aspects of life, haha. I usually don’t start Christmas shopping until December. Anyways, I also did a Youtube video unboxing all these products that I will link for y’all if you want to check it out. If you want to shop any of the products, all you have to do is click the picture and it will take you straight to the website to purchase. You can always go to the shop tab above as well.
I think Tarte always has some of the cutest packaging year round, but during the holidays it’s even cuter. This year everything is rose gold, and rose gold is my favorite so y’all know I’m obsessed!
Here is a close up of all the products, along with pricing.
9 Ways to Shine Cheek Set $35
Chrome for the Holidays Chrome Paint Shadow Quad $24
Gift & Glam Collector’s Set $49. Each eyeshadow palette pops out and is magnetic to put in the little palette for traveling.
The Lip Glossary Lipgloss Set $29. (Ulta exclusive)
Merry Metals Brush Set $35. (Sephora exclusive)
Winter Wonderglam Eyeshadow Palette $54. (Sephora exclusive)
Finger Foil Eyeshadow Quad $32. (Sephora exclusive)
Seaglass Shimmer Body Gel $29. (Sephora exclusive)
I really hope that y’all enjoyed seeing everything! There are still a few holiday items that I didn’t show, so y’all can always check them out on Tarte’s website. Let me know in the comments what your favorite product is or what you want to add to your wish list!
Valentine's Day Outfit Ideas
CommentI think Valentine’s Day is fun and romantic, even though some people don’t think it’s a holiday. I probably like it so much because everything is pink and I am a hopeless romantic. Anyways, I thought I would share some of my favorite outfit ideas for any Valentine’s Day activities you may have coming. Whether you have a date with your significant other or you are just hanging out with some friends, I hope you will find something for inspiration. A lot of these outfits you can dress up or down too. I wanted to add some shoes and accessories as well in case y’all need any ideas accessorizing. Most of the outfits are from The Pink Lily Boutique which is online or a store front in Bowling Green, KY. All the clothes besides the pink jumpsuit are under $50, and all the shoes are too except for the red heels with the cut-out. They are from Nordstrom and pretty expense, but gorgeous! All the accessories are from Target and all the shoes are too except for the pair from Nordstrom. Everything in the entire post is under $100.
$44/$35
I think this sweater would be super cute with white jeans how they have it styled.
$27.99
I have a dress similar to this and I love it with red heels. I think this would be a great option for a Valentine’s Day dinner or get together.
$48
$99
$24.99
$19.99
I wanted different options for y’all for those who don’t like heels. I think these are so cute and at Target! They also come in a bunch of different colors.
$10.39
$11.99
$16
$40
I have this pullover and I love it. I think the colors are so pretty and will be great transitioning into spring. I love wearing it with leggings.
$38
I really love this dress. I am considering buying this for myself. This is definitely a piece you can dress up or down. I think both pairs of shoes below this would be really cute with this dress, but especially the red booties. You could even do black over the knee boots if you wanted to dress it up a little more.
$37.99
$24.99
$52
I am really really considering buying this jumpsuit because I AM OBSESSED! I love this color and I love jumpsuits so it is pretty much perfect for me. I would pair this with the black scrappy heels.
$19.99
How cute is this wristlet?? I love the gold wrist piece because it will look like a bracelet on. This would be perfect for a night with your friends so you can keep up with your purse.
11.99
$16.99
I thought this shirt was really cute. It is cropped, so I think this would be great paired with high-waisted pants or leggings.
$46
I love the color of this dress. It also is very flattering because of the wraps. This would be great transitioning into spring and even summer.
$29.99
$48
I have this dress as well, and I think it’s so pretty too. I love lace and I think it is perfect for a date night. I have an event in May I actually might wear it to, but who knows where I will wear, but I have it for when I find something, haha. I think this would be cute with the black heels below or black booties as well.
$29.99
$26.39
I thought this crossbody was super cute too. I love a pop of red not just for Valentine’s Day, but for anytime. I especially love it if I am wearing all black. This is another piece I might have to get for myself. It is also super affordable.
I really hope that you enjoyed this post and it gave you some outfit ideas of your own. I actually have a Galentine’s event coming up next week that I can’t wait to share. I will have a blog post on it and a vlog, so keep an eye out! Let me know in the comments if you consider Valentine’s Day a holiday or not.
2018 Beauty Favorites
CommentWhile I was putting items together for this post I noticed that I didn’t really try a lot of new makeup this year, so that is something I want to do different this year. I feel like I wasn’t as excited about buying new makeup as I was clothes and shoes in 2018 since I started my blog. I kind of felt like I “needed” new clothes so I could post them. Since I bought so many last year, I am going to try my best to not get as many clothes and shoes this year. I really would like to try and save more, but I am terrible at saving. Let’s see how long that lasts, haha. One of my goals for 2019 is to pay off my makeup school loans, so maybe that will encourage me to save. I want to try and incorporate more drugstore makeup into my content as well, because I hardly ever use any. I know not everyone likes to spend a lot of money on makeup and y’all know I like to give y’all affordable content, so I want to be able to give you more budget friendly options on makeup too.
Anyways, let’s talk about some makeup. It is probably no surprise that almost every favorite for the year is Tarte. I’m only going to do my top 10 favorites. I am always open and honest with y’all so I am not just picking Tarte products because I work for tarte, they are my favorite products for a reason. Tarte has always been one of my favorite brands even before I started working for them. With that being said, let’s get started. I will share my non tarte item first.
Estee Lauder- Double wear foundation. This is one of my favorite foundations and I usually am not a fan of matte, but this one is more of a natural matte. It lasts all day and has a big shade range. For a dewy foundation, I love the tarte shape tape hydrating formula.
Tarte- Shape tape concealer. I have talked about this for years, but it is still hands down my favorite concealer ever! There are a couple drugstore ones I want to try for a cheaper price point, but in my opinion shape tape is worth the $27.
Tarte- CC undereye corrector. I have terrible dark circles, so I do not do my makeup without this product. It corrects the darkness and instantly brightens. Sometimes I will even wear just this by itself under my eyes if I am going for a more natural look.
Tarte- Park Ave Princess bronzer. As I have gotten older I wasn’t too crazy about shimmer bronzers until I started using this one. It also comes in matte and I like both, but the shimmer one gives you more of a glow, and I am all about that life. It is more of a sheen though, not glitter. It gives a really pretty sun kissed looked. I wear it year round, because I love to look warm and sun kissed all year.
Tarte- Park ave princess chisel palette. For my bronzer I have going back and forth between this and the park ave princess single bronzer. This one is a palette that has two matte bronzers, two shimmer bronzers, and two matte highlighters which I use to set my undereye. One has a yellow tint that helps brighten the undereye, and I need all the help I can get in that department. I also love the shade ranges because you can use it for your winter color and your summer color.
Tarte- Maneater mascara. I have used probably about 4 tubes of it, it’s that good. It has triple-black pigment and it gives you the drama without having to add 10 layers. It gives you 23x the volume with just two coats. It also doesn’t get clumpy because the brush gets in there and separates your lashes.
Tarte- Be a mermaid and make waves palette. I wore this palette all summer because I am so obsessed with it. This is one of my all time favorite limited edition palettes. I just loved the whole mermaid collection since we are talking about it. I already can’t wait to bring it back out for spring. The packaging is also so cute, it’s a seashell! I’ve been trying to wear the new pro remix palette lately, but I didn’t add it just because I got it towards the end of December and haven’t played around with it much.
Tarte- Love, trust, and fairy dust palette. This is another limited edition palette that I love. I think I still like the mermaid one better, but this is probably a close second. It has a lot of pinks which are some of my favorite colors to wear, probably because it’s just my favorite color in general. The packaging is also pink glitter!
Tarte- Maneater palette. This palette is a smaller one, and one of my favorite smaller ones. It has mainly light neutrals, but also a few dark shades if you want to deepen up your look or use them as eyeliner. I think this one is great for traveling since you can do a daytime look and a nighttime look with it.
Tarte- Glam on the go palette. This is another small palette, but comes in a little gift set called ‘Jetset in a jiffy.’ It comes with a makeup bag, this palette that has 6 shades, 3 shimmer and 3 matte, a travel size roller ball perfume, travel sized maneater mascara, and a butter lipstick. I usually tell people that the colors in this palette are fall in a palette. I love all 6 colors and use them all!
As you can see A LOT of tarte, but that is mostly what I use. As I mentioned earlier I am going to try and use other products this year so I can let y’all know my thoughts on them. I really want to try the Maybelline age rewind concealer because I have heard a lot of good things about it, I just can’t make myself buy another concealer, haha. I also want to try the new Morphe concealer that is coming out. Jaclyn Hill said it is comparable to shape tape, so I want to see just how close and if I like it just as much. I think she said it was going to be $6 or $7, so definitely a better price point, but I’m just wondering if it will be a match for shape tape, pun intended. I have already started a list of stuff I want to try, so I need to start getting a few things at a time so I can start trying them out on tutorials.
If there are any products you want me to try out just put them in the comments! What were some of yalls beauty favorites for the year??
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Favorite Holiday Shoes
CommentI have been buying quite a few pairs of shoes lately, so I thought I would share some of my favorites I have gotten that would be great for the holidays. There are only a couple pairs that aren’t the most comfortable, but if you wear them to a Christmas party you should be able to sit some, haha. I will go ahead and talk about those two first.
The most uncomfortable pair is definitely the Jessica Simpson rhinestone booties. They are gorgeous and are completely covered in rhinestones. That is what makes them not the most comfortable because they are pretty stiff. I haven’t worn them a whole lot, so it’s possible they may get less stiff after wearing them a while. For this outfit I’m just wearing black jeans, a black sweater, and this beautiful hot pink faux fur jacket. This outfit is in the middle of casual and dressy in my opinion. The shoes kind of dress it up a little.
The second pair is actually not too bad because the soles are cushioned, but they are still heels so after a while they will probably hurt. They will also really hurt if you hit your leg or ankles with the other shoe because they have sharp spikes on them. In all honestly, I think these would make great self defense shoes and they are so cute too! They even came with a warning paper about being sharp, so I thought that was funny.
The shoes I probably wear the most and go with the most outfits, is my black over the knee boots. Y’all are probably tired of seeing them but I love them. They truly do go with so many different outfits and the ones I have are so comfortable and I can wear them all day. I don’t think they are available right now, but they come back every now and then. I can leave a link for them and you can put in your email to let you know when they come back in stock. They were only $35, so that makes them even better! I got them in taupe too. As you can see I have them over jeans and the other picture I’m wearing a dress. I have also worn them with shorts and rompers.
The last pair isn’t really “holiday” attire, but I love them and I think they dress up a more casual outfit. They are leopard print booties. I think they go with so many different outfits because leopard is a neutral. If you would rather dress casual and comfy for your Christmas dinners/parties, these are a great way to add a little something without dressing it up too much. There are also several different pairs at different price points. The pair I’m wearing below are from Target and the picture of just the shoes are from Wal-Mart!
I think any one of these pairs would be great for a Christmas party or for New Years. I especially love the rhinestone ones for NYE. Like I was saying, those are probably the most uncomfortable, but the rest should be fine for standing/walking in. If you wanted to get one pair on this post, I would do the over the knee boots or leopard. They both go with so many different outfits, but black is a solid color that would probably go with more. It also depends on if you want to stand out a little more or not. Let me know which pair is your favorite!
Ugly Christmas Sweaters
CommentWho else loves ugly Christmas sweaters?? I have actually never worn one before, but every year my husband and I say we are going to wear them to our family Christmas dinners and we never do, haha. I almost went to an ugly sweater Friendsmas, but I decided not to go because it was pretty far away for me. When I was planning on going to the party I went shopping for one at none other than Target. They had some of the cutest ugly sweaters and I probably stayed in there an hour trying to decide which one to get. I finally decided on one with my husbands help, I needed his input since I couldn’t decide, then I saw a cuter one. Then I couldn’t decide whether or not it was too cute to be an ugly sweater, but knew I would wear it more, so I decided on that one. I sent a picture of it to a friend and she said it was too cute, but I could make it tacky. I hadn’t even thought of that, so I thought I would show y’all my favorite truly ugly/tacky sweaters, and the one I ended up getting and ways to tackify it.
The ones I’m showing are from Target because I know they will be good quality or I saw them in person. Most of them are also 40% off until December 8! I did look on Amazon, butI liked the Target ones better. If you need one quick Amazon did have a lot, some a little inappropriate if you want one for an adult only party, haha. Some were kinda creepy too. Click each image to shop.
Now I will show y’all the one I got that I love and I can wear all the time. This is also a great option if you want a cute Christmas sweater to wear to work or holiday parties. You can also click this picture to shop.
You can either add ornaments or bows to this sweater if you want to make it tacky. You could probably attach them with safety pins that way it won’t ruin the sweater and you can take them off. You can even use them for presents when you’re done with them.
This pack of bows is only $5. You can click to shop.
These are mini ornaments for $3. You can also click this picture to shop.
I thought I would add a few men’s ugly sweaters too in case y’all go to any parties together or you decide to do them for your family dinners. These are also from Target.
I hope y’all like these ugly Christmas sweaters. Be sure to tag me if you buy any of these or use the bow idea so I can see how cute y’all look!
Basic Skincare Routine: Guest post with Skin by Jonathan
Comment(Links are AFFILIATE links and i do make a small commission if used at no additional cost to you)
I love skincare and I know some basics, but as I mentioned in a recent post it’s not my area of expertise. With that being said, I asked my friend Jonathan Wolfenbarger who is a licensed esthetician to do a guest post on basic skincare. He explains more about skin types and how to figure out which one you are if you aren’t sure. He also shares some products you need to start a good skincare routine. He mentions high end products as well as more affordable options. I will link his instagram here for y’all to check out. He has more tips on his story highlights labeled tips. Without further ado, here is Jonathan’s information.
The first step to caring for your skin is to determine your skin type: Dry, Normal, Combination, and Oily are the main skin types, and each need different maintenance. Dry skin is characterized by tightness, dullness, and lack of elasticity. Normal skin is supple, few to no visible pores, and is seemingly radiant with low level maintenance. Combination skin types can be a combination of: dry/oily, normal/dry, or normal/oily. Combination types tend to have larger pores focused in just the t-zone, often with blackheads. Oily skin can be recognized by having large pores, thick complexion, and are prone to blemishes. Humidity, stress, and puberty are a few non-hereditary causes of oily skin.
If you’re still uncertain, that’s okay! Here is a basic routine you can do that is good for helping regulate all skin types.
•Resting Cleanser (day & night)
•Active Cleanser (every other day/night)
•Moisturize (day & night)
•SPF (day)
Resting cleansers are cleansers that are pH balanced but do not contain exfoliating properties such as acids or enzymes. Two of my favorite resting cleansers are the Sanitas Lemon Cream Cleanser (high end) and the CeraVe Foaming Cleanser (more affordable). The Lemon Cream Cleanser contains an antioxidant blend that helps detoxify and promote skin renewal. Both are great for all skin types.
Active cleansers are cleansers that contain acids (glycolic, salicylic, lactic, etc.) or enzymes. These should be used only every other day/night to help exfoliate and renew skin and decongest pores. My favorite active cleanser is the Sanitas Glycolic Citrus Cleanser. It encourages cell rejuvenation, exfoliates dead skin, and removes impurities. It works well with all skin types.
Moisturizing is a key point in treating your skin and maintaining a good complexion. People who have oily/combo tendencies tend to stray from moisturizer; however, it’s crucial to training your skin and regulating oil production. For the past two years, I’ve been using the Vita Rich Serum. This hydrating, reparative serum retextures skin and accelerates skin renewal. It contains only vitamins and essential fatty acids to strengthen and repair. It works great as a stand-alone moisturizer, and should be paired with SPF!
Your choice of SPF is important. You should always make sure your sunscreen contains only Zinc Oxide and/or Titanium Dioxide. These are the safest natural protection for the skin. I recommend the Solar Block from Sanitas or the CeraVe Sunscreen. The Sanitas Solar Block contains an antioxidant blend (protects DNA from UV damage and environmental exposure). Both contain Zinc Oxide to provide UV protection.
This is a simple start to working on your complexion at home. Once you regulate your skin using this routine, you can further assess your skin type and see if there are any changes.
I hope y’all enjoyed reading Jonathan’s great advice! I will also link his website here if y’all want to check out all the services he offers. He is in Knoxville so if y’all are local you should definitely stop by! He sells Sanitas products where he works, so if you want to purchase any of the products he mentioned you can stop by and if he doesn’t have what you were looking for he can order it for you. If you want to read more about Sanitas I will link their website here and if you aren’t local to Knoxville I will link a website where you can buy Santias online here. CeraVe is sold at Ulta and most drugstores such as Walgreens, Rite Aid, Walmart, Target, CVS, etc. If you have any other skincare concerns or questions you can message me or you can reach out to Jonathan on Instagram. Let me know if y’all want Jonathan to do another skincare post in the comments!
Foundations for your Skin Type
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Since I did a post on how to get a flawless foundation, I wanted to do a post all about foundations. If you missed the flawless foundation post I’ll link it here. There are so many foundations out there and I honestly haven’t tried a ton, but I wanted to talk about some of my favorites. I will be explaining the skin type each foundation is best for and the best way to apply them.
I wanted to start off with foundations for dry skin since the weather is starting to get colder and most everyones skin tends to get more dry during the winter.
Tarte- Shape tape hydrating foundation. This foundation has hyaluronic acid in it which helps produce moisture and it also has collagen in it that helps plump up the skin. This formula is a light-medium, buildable coverage. The best way to apply this is with a damp beauty sponge. Especially if you want to add another layer for more coverage, because sometimes when you add another layer with a brush it just moves the product around. This foundation is $39.
Tarte- Rainforest of the sea water foundation. This foundation is good for all skin types, but since it’s water-based it helps retain the skins natural moisture. You can apply this foundation with a brush or sponge, but a sponge is my favorite way. It is a medium coverage foundation, also buildable. It has marine plant extracts in it that helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. This product is $39.
Too Faced- Born this way foundation. This foundation is full coverage and has coconut water and hyaluronic acid in it. Both of these ingredients help produce moisture, so it is great for dry skin. This product is $39.
L’Oreal- True match lumi. I have to say it has been a while since I have tried this, but when I tried it before I really liked it. This foundation is 40% water to give the skin hydration. It also has vitamins C and E to help brighten the skin. This product is normally $11.99 but on sale at the time of this post for $8.39.
I’m sure most of y’all don’t want to spend a lot of money on foundation, but I thought I would share my thoughts on a higher end foundation, the Giorgio Armani luminous silk foundation. This one is $64 and it is a medium coverage. If you like a fuller coverage I wouldn’t recommend this one for you. It does make your skin glow and looks very pretty, but it just wasn’t enough coverage for me so I had to mix it with a fuller coverage one.
Now that I gave you a few options for dry skin I’ll move on to foundations for oily skin. Like I mentioned in the flawless foundation post, if you have combination skin and have dry areas I would go with a foundation for dry skin, and if you have normal to oily combination skin I would try a foundation for oily skin. Also remember that you can use primers to help achieve the look you are going for, matte, natural, dewy, or hydrated.
Tarte- Amazonian clay. This foundation is great if you have oily skin because the amazonian clay helps balance out the skin. If you have larger pores I would recommend a primer with this one. I would also recommend a buffer brush to apply this product because it helps give it an airbrushed look. This foundation is oil-free and it is a full coverage, matte finish. This product is $39.
Estee Lauder- Double wear. This foundation is also a full coverage, matte finish. This last all day and all night and doesn't look heavy or cakey. If I want full-full coverage I will use a brush with this one, and if I want a more luminous/medium coverage I will use a damp beauty sponge. Like I have said before, it’s all personal preference. I tell people all the time just play around with it and try both ways, one day with a sponge, one day with a brush. This product is $42.
Even though my skin is more normal-oily, combination, I like a dewy look, so I actually do steps someone with dry skin should take when I do my foundation. That’s why I have more dry skin foundations, because I honestly don’t like matte ones. I don’t think I have even tried a matte drugstore foundation. I need to get some new drugstore makeup to try out for y’all. Anyways, I know that I tried one Maybelline foundation and it broke me out so I didn't want to try any others, but as I mentioned before L’Oreal is my favorite drugstore brand and I know they have matte foundations.
So those are a few of my favorite foundations for oily and dry skin. I always try and give y’all different price ranges, but on my makeup I don’t mind spending more so I rarely get drugstore makeup. I do love me some Morphe though. Morphe and L’Oreal are probably my two favorite drugstore brands. Like I mentioned earlier, I’m going to try and buy some drugstore products to try out for y’all, specifically foundation and maybe concealer. I have heard good things about the Maybelline age rewind concealer, but it is so hard for me to use anything other than shape tape. Let me know if y’all would want to see a drugstore makeup post and if there is anything specifically you want to see! Also, if there is a foundation you are wanting to try and want to know my thoughts on it you can always comment here or go to my contact tab! Hope y’all enjoyed!
How to get a Flawless Foundation
4 Comments
I know there are so many foundation primers out there and sometimes it’s hard to know which one you need and if they really make a difference, so I thought I would share some of my favorites. I wanted to break it down by skin types and I also wanted to go over different makeup tools and which one is the best fit for you. These are all things you need to think of when achieving a flawless foundation. Before I start, I do want to stress how important skincare is. You can spend hundreds of dollars on foundations and primers, but if you don’t have a good skincare regimen your makeup won’t make you happy. It’s like an artist with a painting, if the canvas has marks and lines, the painting won’t be smooth, your face is your canvas, so you need to take care of it to have a smooth surface for your makeup. I have to admit, skincare isn’t my strongest area so I don’t want to talk too much about, but I know a few things. For skincare tips y’all should follow my friend Jonathan here on instagram. He usually does daily tips and has a tips highlight on his stories of all the past tips he has given. I actually have a post with Jonathan where we talk about a basic skincare routine. I will link it here.
The few tips I do want to give is always, always, always, wash your face before bed. You never want to sleep in your makeup because your face repairs itself at night and if you have makeup on your skin can’t do its job. It can also clog your pores and cause breakouts. With that being said, you also need to wash your face in the mornings to wash all the old skin away to make room for the new. In Jonathan’s guest post he gives recommendations on a basic skincare regimen and explains a little more on what you need based on your skin type.
Anyways, back to makeup. I will first start out with primers for dry skin. Since tarte cosmetics is my favorite I do have a lot of their products to talk about, but I will add in other brands as well.
Tarte-Rainforest of the Sea quench hydrating primer. This product is vegan and has hyaluronic acid that helps produce moisture. It is also anti-aging, helps calm redness, and has antioxidants. This product is $32.
Tarte- Maracuja Oil. There are so many uses for this oil and using it as a primer is one. I actually have a post where I talk about all the different uses for it here. It helps your foundation go on so smooth as well as giving you skincare benefits. This is good for all skin types. It has natural vitamin C to help firm, smooth, and brighten the skin. It is also a natural anti-inflammatory so it helps to soothe and calm redness. This products has two sizes at $16 and $48 and a little goes a long way. My $48 bottle has lasted me over a year.
Too Faced- Hangover replenishing face primer. This primer is infused with coconut water that helps to hydrate the skin. It helps to smooth, brighten, and hydrate the skin. This product is $34.
I know most of those might be a little too expensive for some people, but in all honesty I haven’t tried any drugstore hydrating primers, so I don’t want to recommend any I haven’t tried. I have heard good things about NYX primers and one of my favorite drugstore brands is L’Oreal. If you want a more affordable primer check out those brands and look for hydrating ones if you have dry skin. Most of the time brands will have products in categories based on skin types. Now on to primers for oily skin.
Tarte- poreless mattifying primer. This primer is vegan and besides helping control oil it also minimizes the look of pores. It is a waterproof, silky, gel-like formula that also has antioxidants to help protect the skin from free radicals. If you aren’t familiar with free radicals, it’s the pollution in the air that causes wrinkles. This product is $32.
Benefit- POREfessional matte rescue. I have actually only used this a couple times but I like the original porefessional as well. They both help minimize the appearance of pores but this one also helps absorb excess oil. This product and the original porefessional are $32 but you can buy mini sizes for $13 if you want to try it. A drugstore dupe for the pore filling primers is Maybelline baby skin instant pore eraser primer that is $6.99.
Tarte- timeless smoothing primer. This primer is actually good for all skin types but it does help control oil. This primer is a little pricier, but I call it the Instagram filter in a jar. The main purpose of this primer is to blur out large pores, fine lines, and wrinkles, and it really does. This will make any foundation smooth and flawless. It also has antioxidants in it as well as peptides that help make the skin firmer and smoother. This product is $39.
If you have combination skin you could use any of these primers, but if you are more normal-dry I would do a primer for dry skin and if you are normal-oily I would try one for oily skin. Of course there are a ton of primers out there and they do different things so it just depends on what you are wanting your primer to do for you. A lot of people like smashbox primers and they have several different ones, but honestly they aren’t my favorite. Urban Decay also has several different ones but I haven’t tried them. Like I mentioned before I don’t like recommending products I haven’t tried, but I like to give y’all options.
Once you have your primer picked out the next step for a flawless foundation is foundation. I want to do a separate post for foundations for different skin types since this is already a lengthy post so I can go in depth for that as well. Since I am skipping foundation in this post I want to go over foundation tools next and I will be quick. I actually only have two I want to talk about and I won’t get into too much detail because I don’t want to overwhelm anyone. The two different tools you can use for foundation is a brush or a beauty sponge. It is really a personally preference, but it also depends of what type of coverage and finish you want for your foundation as well. If you want a fuller coverage you will want to use a dense brush and if you want a lighter, more dewy finish you will want to use a damp beauty sponge. If you have more dry skin I would recommend using a damp beauty sponge to give more moisture and it will help your foundation go on smoother. There are a lot of different types of brushes but my favorite is a flat top kabuki, mine is by tarte. There are also round brushes, paddle brushes, those new silicone ones, I haven’t tried a silicone one yet just because it seems weird to me, haha. It also depends on weather you are using cream, liquid, or powder foundation. I know that is a lot of information but almost all brushes tell what type of foundation they are best for. It cosmetics has good brushes and I also love Morphe. It cosmetics has different price ranges but are usually cost a little more and Morphe is the drugstore option. You can get both at Ulta. Real Techniques is also another drugstore brand of brushes that I like and they have a good beauty sponge as well as Tarte. I personally use Morphe brushes the most and they are very affordable. They also do a monthly brush subscription for $20 a month that is good if you are just starting out with makeup or just starting your brush collection. I used to do it, but after doing it for over a year I started getting very similar brushes.
After you have your primer, foundation, brush or sponge, you next want to set your foundation. I personally always use a translucent setting powder, this is because I don’t want to change the color of my foundation or add more coverage, I just want to set it. If you want more color or coverage you could use a powder foundation or tinted setting powder. This step is especially important if you used a liquid or cream foundation and you plan on using powder products on top of it, such as powder bronzer, blush, and/or highlighter. If you use one of those products directly on top of your cream/liquid foundation it could turn out splotchy. A couple of my favorite setting powders is the tarte smooth operator amazonian clay finishing powder and the Laura Mercier translucent setting powder. The tarte one comes in loose and pressed and it also helps blur the appearance of pores and stays on for 12 hours or more because of the amazonian clay.
Ok, I know that is a lot to take in, so that is all I’m going to talk about for this post. I hope y’all know you can always contact me on here or comment if you have any questions about anything or if I didn’t explain something well enough. You can also send me requests for posts anytime. I do what I do for y’all! I want to help make things easier for y’all and I want to help you feel beautiful and confident in all things you do!
Online Boutique Reviews
CommentIf you are like me you get so nervous ordering clothes online, so I thought I would share a review of 3 different online boutiques I have ordered from. I know sometimes it is easier to hear from someone who has actually ordered and worn the items.
I would have to say my all time favorite is Pink Lily Boutique. They are a husband and wife team based in Bowling Green, KY. They started out as an online clothing boutique and they now have a retail space that opened in May 2017. Sadly I have not been to the retail space yet, I have just shopped online, but hopefully one day I will get to go. It is probably best if I don’t go though because I could do even more damage seeing everything in person, haha. One of the reasons I love them is because they are family owned, but I also love that they are great at their sizing descriptions on all the products. A lot of times when buying online you just have to pick your normal size and hope it fits, most don’t have a good sizing chart, but Pink Lily does. They have the measurements of each item and they also give the measurements of the model wearing the pieces and tells what size she is wearing. By going off their charts and measurements everything I have ordered so far fit perfectly! They also have reasonable prices, so I would definitely check them out! I will link their website here for y’all.
Next online clothing store is Shein. I’m sure y’all see their ads all over social media and I’m sure most of y’all are nervous to order from them. I have ordered a few things and I actually have a cart full as we speak. You definitely get what you pay for with Shein, meaning the quality isn’t the best, but all the prices are super cheap. I think it is worth it honestly, and they usually have sales on top of their affordable prices. The clothes are Forever 21 quality and the prices are as well, if not cheaper. If you aren’t familiar with Forever 21, most of their items feel lower quality but the prices are pretty cheap. If you end up ordering anything from Shein I would size up though, because everything I have ordered so far has fit a little small. Click the shop now if y’all want to check it out.
(**The link is an affiliate code, if you order anything from the link I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you**)
The last online boutique I want to talk about is Vici Collection. They are based in California and they currently have 2 retail locations. I have been following them for a while and I always see cute pieces I want, so I finally broke down and ordered a few things. I ended up ordering 3 things and I sent 2 back. My first impressions were not that great, but I am going to give them another try. Like Pink Lily they also have measurements written in the descriptions as well as model measurements, but I don’t know how accurate they are. When I ordered I went off those measurements and one of the pieces did not fit that great and is one I returned. It was a bodycon dress and if you aren’t familiar with that style it is supposed to be more fitted, but it was a little too tight for me. I have hips and a booty and it just did not work with my body type. The other item I returned was an oversized sweater. It was cute, but it bubbled right at my hips making me looker bigger than I am. The one piece I decided to keep is a super cute fuzzy jacket in a taupe color. It reminds me so much of a teddy bear! I did a try-on session of all these items on my instastories, so y’all be sure to follow me there so you can see more content! I will link my IG here and the try-on of these items is under my fashion highlights. Anyways, I am usually pretty good at reading return policies, but for Vici I didn’t read and you can only get store credit for your returns, so I have to try them again based on that, but I want to try again anyways just because I always hear such good things about the company. I will just know to size up next time. I think for oversized items I can get my normal size, but for more fitted I think I will be sizing up. I will definitely let y’all know when I get my second round of pieces what I think.
So I know I said I was just going to talk about online boutiques, but I wanted to talk just a little about Nordstrom. I know it is a huge department store, but y’all, they have the BEST return policy ever! It is always free shipping for online orders and free returns. Every time you order they ship your items with a return label. I don’t have a Nordstrom close by so I always order online, probably a little too much, haha. If anything doesn’t fit or I’m not happy with it I can return it no problem. That’s why if you have watched my instastories I have ordered the same thing in two different sizes a coupe of times so I can see which fit I like better and just return the other. Another great thing about that is you can order items when they are on sale, then when your size gets restocked you can exchange it for the correct size. Even if it isn’t on sale anymore you can still get it for the sale price. I have to admit I did that a couple of times during the Nordstrom anniversary sale. The only downside is you do have to pay again, but when they get your wrong size item back they will refund you the second payment.
I hope y’all enjoyed my online boutique review and I hope this helps you decide weather or not to order from any of these websites. As always feel free to reach out to me if there are any questions you may have that I didn’t answer.
Tarte Mermaid Brush Set
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Since I am giving away this brush set on my Instagram I thought I would talk about it and tell y’all why I love it so much. I am always honest with y’all so I have to say that this is not my favorite “practical” brush set, but it is definitely my favorite limited edition Tarte brush set! I love all the pink and that the handle is a mermaid tail.
The set comes with a powder brush, cheek brush, highlighter stippling brush, domed eyeshadow brush, and a pencil brush. The powder brush is great for setting your foundation with a setting powder, the cheek brush you could use to contour with or for blush, the highlighter stippling brush I actually use to blend out my blush and highlighter. You could also use it for highlighter if you want a more natural highlight. The domed eyeshadow brush is great for packing color on the lid and I love the pencil brush to smudge out my lower lash line. I think this is a great kit because it has eye and face brushes. The only thing that would make it better would be a fluffy/blending eyeshadow brush. That is probably the number one eyeshadow brush I recommend to people just starting out in makeup or starting their brush collection. This set is also vegan an cruelty-free.
My giveaway on Instagram ends on Halloween, so you still have some time to enter. If you are reading this after halloween you are still able to purchase this brush set on Tarte’s website until it goes out of stock. I hope y’all enjoyed reading more about these brushes, and good luck to everyone entering my contest. Click here if you want to enter!
Scary Little Red Riding Hood Tutorial
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I’m sure there are a lot of you out there like me who are procrastinators, and Halloween is no exception. I thought I would help y’all out with a last minute costume idea with some pretty cool makeup that anyone can do. I know it looks a little intimidating but it is so attainable. It is just a little time consuming, so if you want to do it for Halloween get started early.
I first just wanted to let y’all know that I did not come up with this look. I found it on Pinterest and went off of that picture. I never want to take credit for something I did think of on my own. I will link that pin for y’all here.
All you will need for the scratches is tissue or toilet paper and liquid latex or duo lash glue. If you can’t make it to a Halloween store or anywhere that would have the liquid latex, the lash glue will work just as good. As far as the costume, I’m pretty sure they did have an actual Little Red Riding Hood costume at Party City, but I just got the cape there for $20. You could wear pretty much anything you wanted because people would know who you were with the cape and the makeup.
For the face makeup I just did my normal makeup and just added false lashes. You of course do not have to add the lashes, I just wanted to make mine a little more glamorous. That is what’s so great about this look/costume, you can customize it to what fits you best. You can do no makeup, full face, smoky eye, simple eye, false lashes, no false lashes, more zombiefied, yes that’s a word, however you want to do it. You do you, boo boo.
Now onto the scratches. First, I drew where I wanted them to be on my face with an eyeliner to help with the tissue placement. If your tissue has layers you want to pull them apart so they are as thin as they can be. Once you have the marks figured out you want to put your liquid latex or lash glue on the lines, then add tissue. Try and make the tissue pieces as small as you can. I made mine a little too wide in my opinion. I would just do one line at a time so the glue doesn’t dry so the tissue sticks good. I went ahead and put one layer on all my lines, but you can do one at a time if you want. However you want to do it. I used a hair dryer to dry the glue between each layer. After the glue is dry you want to add more glue, then more tissue, and repeat several times. Just use your own judgement on the layers. I honestly lost track of how many I did, possibly 5? After you do all your layers you are going to take small scissors and CAREFULLY cut through your layers. You don’t want to start at the very end, you want to go up a little and stop before you get to the other end. Be VERY careful not to cut your skin and be super careful around your eyes! I’m sure y’all will be, but I feel like I need to say it, haha.
After I cut each line I went in with my foundation and put it on top of the tissue so it blended in better with my skin. Next is the fun part, adding color and blood, fake blood of course. I just used red and black eyeshadow and just shaded around the “cuts” and inside the cuts. I also added a little “bruising” around my eyes and mouth. If you don’t have red and black eyeshadow just use whatever colors you have. When I was finished with the shadows I stippled the fake blood all over the cuts, then I just added some lipstick. In the center of my lips I added a little black to make them look bruised and smeared it a little too. You can use whatever lip color you want. Black would look pretty cool too. Last, I dripped a little of the fake blood inside all the cuts to finish off the look.
See, super doable. It is just very tedious, so like I said if you want to do this for Halloween I would give yourself at least an hour and a half. Maybe more if you want to do a more glamorous look like I did. I do have a tutorial on this look on my youtube channel if y’all want to see each step and hear me explain while I do it. I will link it here for y’all or it will be on my homepage as well under recent youtube videos.
I hope y’all liked this look and I hope y’all have a fun and safe Halloween. Comment what you are going to be down below!
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetleju.......
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I had mentioned on my instagram last week that I wanted to do 13 days of halloween this year but it didn’t happen. I should have started last Friday, the 19th, but I am just now posting looks. I actually sat down last Thursday night to film a look and it was just not working out for me so I gave up. That was my first mistake just giving up, but I decided that I would just take my time with 5 looks. This look I am really happy with, but looking back there is one thing I would have done different/add, but I think it still turned out pretty good. I did not come up with this myself, I went off a picture I saw on Pinterest so I will link it here for y’all.
What I like about this look is it’s pretty simple for anybody to do. All you really need is white face paint or a really light foundation, purple, green, and black eyeshadow, green hair spray, and that’s pretty much it! I actually used a very light foundation for my base and then I set it with a powder so the eyeshadows I used on top of the white would blend out better. After that you just add a bunch of shading around the hairline, the mouth, and the hollows of the cheeks. I also added some on my neck and a little on my chest as well. I used green and brown eyeshadows for the contouring and shading. I actually used one of the palettes from the Jaclyn Hill x Morphe vault collection because it was the perfect mossy green. You could use the Armed & Gorgeous palette or Dark Magic, they both have perfect greens for this look.
For the eyeshadow I just did a few different shades of purple and added black to the crease and a little on my lower lash line. That is the beauty of halloween makeup, you can be creative with it and use whatever you have at your disposal. You can also be messy with it, it doesn’t have to be perfect. The eyebrows you could do green or I ended up just doing black and just filled them in like I normally would. For the green gooey, mossy things on my face and neck, I used this stuff called zombie rot. That sounds so gross doesn't it, haha. It worked perfectly though. I got it from Halloween Express and Cinema Secrets is who makes it. It is just a powder substance and you mix it with warm water. You have to work with it pretty fast though because it drys quickly. Once it drys you can’t shape it. I learned that the hard way. That is why the one on my neck looks kind of weird, haha.
You can do a couple of different things for the hair. I just used some green hair spray, but you could do green clip-in hair pieces, or the easiest thing to do would be to get a wig. The spray is probably the cheapest but messiest. I actually did my hair before the makeup that way I didn’t mess up the makeup. The spray was very easy to get out, it washed right out with regular shampoo. I did wash it a couple times just to be safe because I had a bad experience with temporary hair color before.
That is all there is to it though! See how easy? If there is anything I didn’t go over or you need me to explain something better, definitely reach out to me by commenting here or you can always send me a message under the contact tab as well.
