Lauren Conrad Inspired Makeup

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Hello lovelies! Today I have a full-face makeup tutorial for you all (my first!).  It's a makeup look inspired by Lauren Conrad. I've never seen the Hills, so I can't say I'm a fan of Lauren Conrad, the person; but I read People and her makeup is always gorgeous! Fresh, natural, and dewy. Without further babble, the tutorial!

1) Start off with a foundation-ready face. Lauren has clear skin, so be sure to use a good concealer, especially under the eyes. Lightly sweep a sheer powder on the t-zone to set and mattify, but avoid the cheek area because we want that to be as dewy as possible! (Sephora tinted moisturizer in bronze, Benefit boi-ing concealer in 02, Dulce cosmetics powder in 02)

2) Lauren has simple eye shadow, so start by concealing your lid with a base or concealer, then use a light shimmery color on the lid and browbone. (MAC painterly paint pot and naked lunch eyeshadow)

3) The most drama in Lauren's makeup is the liner and mascara! Use a liquid liner to draw a thin line across the upper lash line, then make a small wing at the end angling up towards the brow. Then use a coating of mascara for volume. (MAC PenUltimate liquid liner, CoverGirl LashBlast Volume mascara)

4) Apply a soft pink blush. I'm using a cream blush, for more dewiness, and applying with my fingers. Then highlight your cheeks (I go into more depth here!). (Nars Penny Lane cream blush, MAC naked lunch shadow)

5) Lauren always has very natural, glossy lips. So I used a peachy pink lipstick, blotted, and used a clear gloss over! (Revlon ColorBurst lipstick in Peach, CoverGirl lip gloss in clear radiance)

Done!

Hope you liked the tutorial! Leave me any request you can think of, and I'll talk to you soon!

Love, Val

How To: Highlight, Blush, and Contour

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  Hello readers! I hope your summer is going well. So today I have a bit of a tutorial for you all on cheek makeup - highlight, blush, and contour. You can do all three things with an angled blush brush; I use the MAC 168, but Sigma, Essence of Beauty, and Sephora carry angled blush brushes too. I only got the brush in the first place because I knew if I was going to invest in a MAC brush, it needed to be multifunctional, and the 168 seemed like the best choice. (If you don't own an angled blush brush, any ordinary blush brush will do.) So without further ado - the tutorial!

1) Contour. Find the hollow of your cheek (the slightly concave area next to your ear) and follow it for about two inches. (If you have no hollow just follow the line from the top of your ear to your mouth.) This is the line you'll want to contour along. Dip your angled brush into a matte bronzer a few shades darker than your skintone - I used Benefit Hoola - and contour along that line. Use your fingers to blend until the line appears natural when in full view. Your face will now appear slimmer and better structured - the contour gives the illusion that your cheekbone is casting a shadow. Cool, huh?

2) Blush. Clean your brush on a paper towel and this time dip it into the blush of your choice (I used Benefit Coralista). Smile to find the apples of your cheeks, and using short downward strokes apply the blush all along your apples and up to your temples. Be sure not to put the blush too high and blend with your fingers if necessary. This will bring a dose of color to your cheeks.

3) Highlight. Clean your brush again, but now select a highlight color. For light skin tones, I'd recommend a pink-toned highlight; for medium skin, more of a champagne color; and for darker skin, a golden highlight. I like Naked Lunch eyeshadow by MAC. Pick up some product again and sweep it across your cheekbones at a 45 degree angle, right on top of the blush. This will add a healthy glow to your face.

Done!

Hope you liked the tutorial! I've been loving putting emphasis on cheek makeup lately and hope you try it out.

Love, Val

The Many Uses of White Eyeliner

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Hello lovelies! I have always loved my white eyeliner. My mom still doesn't understand how extremely useful it is. You'll want to get one that lines easily so you don't irritate your eye; I use Rimmel Soft Kohl eyeliner in Pure White (I've heard NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk is good as well, though I can never seem to get my hands on NYX!).Well, I use it for three purposes:

1) As a base for shadows. Gently use the eyeliner all over your lid, then smudge with a finger to create a white base. Any eyeshadows used afterwards will appear more vibrant against the white 'canvas.'

2) As a matte highlight. Use your white eyeliner in the inner corner of your eye and to highlight the browbone, then blend. You've created the perfect matte highlight!

3) To give the illusion of bigger eyes. Find your lower waterline (the flap of skin between your lower lashes and your eye) and gently place a figer under your eye. This should reveal the waterline. Line it in white, giving the illusion that the whites of your eyes extend farther down than they do.

Well, all for now! Hope you enjoyed my super-quick post. :) Please take the poll in the left sidebar, or leave requests!

Love, Val

How To: DIY Makeup Brush Holders!

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  Hello blogging world! Sorry it has been so ridiculously long since I've posted. Eleven days, to be precise. And I feel awful about it. But... (excuse time) I was on a week long vacation in Vancouver, which has the best shopping by the way!
  So I'm back, and I hope to cram in a bunch of posts before my next vacation in a couple weeks!
  Now on to the topic at hand... how to make your own makeup brush holder. Now, I've wanted a brush holder for ever, as my brushes were taking up space where makeup should've been. A trip to Sephora inspired this post, because they store their brushes so fabulously in clear containers with clear beads to hold the brushes in place. Well, in the dollar section at Target today I found some cute little pails that looked appropriately brush-sized, causing me to look for something to fill them with. I found some small stones called 'vase filler' which work amazingly. Now the rambling ends and the how-to begins!

1) Materials. First you'll need a container (I have two, one for face brushes and one for eye, but it's up to you). Try Target or office supply stores; anything from pencil holders to small vases will do. Just make sure your container is tall enough to support your brushes. Next, you'll need something to fill the container with; I'd recommend looking for 'vase filler' (available at Target and craft stores), which varies from rocks like mine to marbles and beads. You can choose from a variety of colors and styles, but I'd recommend relatively small beads for more comfortable brush storage.
2) Fill your container. Put the filler into your container, filling about three-fourths or four-fifths of the way.
3) Put your brushes inside and you're all set! It's that easy! You now have a cute brush holder. :)

Hope you enjoyed and are having amazing summers! Leave any requests you can think of. Also, thanks to all my followers, new and old, as well as everyone who's commented on my posts! Your support keeps me going and gives me a smile every time. :)

Love, Val

Stila Giveaway!!! **CLOSED**

  Hey everyone! Today I'm super excited because... I'm having a giveaway!

  Over a month ago I bought some Stila makeup at Costco. I've been using everything and I love it all! Well, I just went back to Costco and saw the same set. I was struck by a brilliant idea - I bought it again to give away to one of my lovely readers!

In this picture - me (finally! wearing lululemon tank and hollister cardigan), the prize, my new coral-pink walls! You like?

Rules
1) You must be a follower of my blog to enter - because I want this to be a gift to a follower. :) It's easy and free!
2) You must be a) 18 or over, or b) have a parent's permission (so I can ship it to you).
3) Just leave a comment on this post and you're automatically entered!
4) Only one entry per person. I won't give you bonus points for linking to this contest from your blog, though that would be nice!
5) This contest is open internationally and I will pay shipping!
6) Contest closes August 1st at 12:00 AM PST. I will choose the winner using this website by numbering off the comments and then generating a random number.  So if I had 6 comments, I would generate a number between 1 and 6, and the corresponding comment would win!

Prize
Now the fun part... your prize! One lucky winner will receive, in an unopened package, all authentic Stila makeup:
 -an eyeshadow trio, including three eyeshadows: lamé (bright yellow), chloe (chocolate brown), and kitten (gold/pink, Stila's most famous product!), all with finely milled shimmer
-a double-ended eyeshadow brush #30, one side for lid/highlight and the other for crease/outer v
-lash visor waterproof mascara in black
-smudge pot (combination cream eyeshadow/gel eyeliner) in black (note: not full sized)
-.10 oz. sample of 'one step' foundation in medium (doesn't look like much, but has lasted me 5 applications and still has plenty left!)

Click 'read more' to see pictures and swatches of my copies, plus an eye look using the products! Good luck!

Love, Val

Outfit of the Day! (6.22.2010)

Hello readers! I'm off to the MAC counter at my local Macy's in a few minutes (!! my first MAC trip ever) but I thought I'd give you a quick outfit of the day - or OOTD - before I'm off.

   This is my typical summer wear! A cute, floral tank (brand is h.i.p., bought at Nordstrom) paired with denim shorts (Vigoss Jeans, Nordstrom) adds just enough cute to casual wear. I added a gray jacket with three-quarter length sleeves (gift, I believe the brand is 'Lady Hathaway') so I can adjust to any possible weather. Topping it off is a gold floral necklace (Target), black sunglasses (CVS), and of course a strawberry popsicle! (I like Dreyer's and Trader Joe's.) I'm also wearing dark gray Havaiana flip-flops!

Picture taken with my new MacBook Pro! Pretty decent quality for a webcam pic, no?

Hope you liked! Nars/Benefit/Sephora/MAC haul coming soon!

Love, Val

Review: CoverGirl Smoky Shadow Blast

Hello lovelies! Sorry I've been gone so long, the last few weeks of school were brutal, and then I was a camp counselor for a week. But now I'm free to blog as much as I want!
So, I went to CVS a few days ago and picked up three things. Two Revlon ColorBurst lipsticks in 'soft nude' and 'peach' - I love them both!! Then, on my way out I saw CoverGirl's Smoky Shadow Blast, and I picked it up as well because I thought a cream eyeshadow would be nice for summer.

The color I chose is called 'Purple Plum.'

The 'gimmick' here is that you can easily achieve smoky eyes by applying step one (the rounded side) all over your lid, and step two (chiseled) into the crease and upper lash line.

This is going to be a long one, so please read my entire experiment/review after the jump!

Final Score: 1/5 Stars

Haul coming soon! Thanks for reading-

Love, Val