Happy Valentines Day!

Let's be honest, today is a little bit of a commercialized holiday where people feel like they have to buy diamonds and chocolate. I'm all in for buying a little something special, but it's definitely a  reminder that doing something extra special doesn't happen often enough, haha. It can be easy to fall into a routine and not make it a priority of going out of your way to do special things for people. 

 So don't overthink a Valentines gift, something small and meaningful is just as great.

Today can be about honoring those around you that love you. Your parents, your grandparents, siblings and even best friends that are always there for you and hold a special place in your heart.
Take a moment and reach out to them and tell them how much you mean to you. I think showing someone love is greater than receiving it.

                                                          Happy Valentines day friends!

Classic Cat Eye

Lately I have been wearing different variations of a winged eyeliner looks. 

The most important tool to achieve it is the eyeliner brush. The built in liquid brushes are harder to get a precise line with. I love gel eyeliners like NYX or Venique since they are really user friendly since they are creamy. Don't be afraid of bold eyeliner! :) 

Winged eyeliner really helps open up hooded eyes.

It can be a soft cat eye or a bold night makeup look. 

I love e.l.f's eyeliner brush, it's tiny so you can really get a smooth line.

How to get luminous skin!

There's several things you can do to amp up your glow! Moisturizing before you apply foundation is super important. Also you could try a primer with a hint of shimmer in it. Otherwise dry skin could make shimmer look cakey. And you don't want that! The key is highlight certain areas and not your whole face, otherwise it can make your skin look oily. Applying with a light hand with the right makeup brush will keep it soft and pretty!

For powder highlighters I use elf's tapered brush 

I Love Elf blush in Gotta Glow, it's a great dupe for NARS Albatross

Another favorite is The Balm 's Mary-Lou Manizer 

Magic LUMI primer - put a drop in your foundation to add a light shimmer

Here are the areas you want to focus your highlighting powder or cream.

Have a great Wednesday and don't be afraid to try new techniques! 

:) 

Products to get you Glowing!

NYX butter lipstick in Sugar Wafer - great warm nude color 

Victoria's Secret tan enhancing lotion gives a natural glow 

NYX loose pigments in gold and copper warm up Any eye color 

Urban Decay beauty balm preps your skin before your foundation 

Urban Decay Flushed bronzer, highlight, and blush in one! 

I adore this peachy golden NYX Illuminator 

I can't say enough good things about MagicLumi highlighter

If you like more of a shimmer you'll love Urban Decay illuminated shimmer powder 

Get your glow on!

Golden Globes hair and makeup trends

Between laughing hysterically over Amy and Tina's jokes, I love seeing the hair and makeup choices and gorgeous gowns of course. It was either a sleek blunt bob'or messy updo with tons of texture.
Everyone seemed to be glowing! Spray tans galore for January. Here's some of my favorite hair and makeup looks of the night! Have a great week!

Reese stunned with her blunt asymmetrical bob and copper eyes

Amy Adams braided up-do is lovely 

Kaley's makeup is beautiful, but I would of done soft waves too! 

Kate's skin is glowing without being too dark 

Kate Beckinsale is stunning although a little more "plump" than usual :) 

Kate Mara looking romantic with a soft smokey eye and textured up-do

Amber Heard's bronze smokey eyes are Amazing 

Texturizing spray and teasing makes this look effortless! 

Favorite winter products!

 I don't know about you, but I'm not a winter gal. Ha. I'm already dreaming of a beach trip. But while we brave the colder temperatures, it's important to take care of your skin and hair. These rich Amber scents are great for this time of year and you have to stay extra moisturized with the cold temperatures outside and dry heat indoors. Here are some of my favorite winter rescue products. Stay warm!

Pharmagel scrub helps remove dull skin ( use only once a week ) 

The ELF lip exfoliator makes your lips smooth in a second 

I love all of the eos lip balms, especially Mint 

Bed Head colour goddess oil infused shampoo and conditioner is super moisturizing

This smells SO lovely! 

This body butter is amazing

This hair oil smells amazing and it keeps your ends sealed. 

A few before and afters from this week!

Who doesn't love a great before and after? The new year has brought in some ladies wanting to change it up. Here's a couple of my sweet clients with their new fancy hair colors!

Molly's  Before-

After!- It was so shiny and made her long hair look much healthier. 

Wendy's Before

After! 

I did balayage for Wendy's first phase of lightening. It is so soft and gorgeous!

This is one of my all time favorites! 

My dear friend Denise wanted to warm up her brunette so I added in some deep red violet panels

One way to use empty old frames

My mom gave me this large gold frame she bought a while back from an estate sale, she's pretty much an estate sale expert, I'll touch on that later and the neat finds you can get from them. Anyway if you are like me you collect old frames because you can use them for tons of craft projects. I have a bunch of leftover fabric, so I used a chevron remnant from our wedding. Which now that I think of it is way more sentimental than even intended, haha. Bonus! 

You'll need a light duty stapler to staple the fabric to the wood frame and and some acrylic paint to paint a letter of your choice! It was a fast and easy project to add a big impact to a wall. 

Happy crafting! 

    

The importance of good eyebrows

Tip: to sharpen your eyebrows line concealer under your brow and blend!

Great eyebrows really complete your face. I don't think women realize what great eyebrows can do for their entire look. They should be maintained by either tweezing or waxing and if you want to change the color, your hairstylist can color them for you. Don't try to color them yourself, have a professional match them. I have been mostly brunette the past couple of years and since my eyebrows are blonde, I color them to match my base color. Otherwise they would disappear. For daily maintenance I love to fill them in with a matte shadow or eyebrow pencil.

Jessica Lowndes has a pretty soft angled eyebrow

Here's some of my favorite eyebrow products!

NYX eyebrow cake powder-

NYX eyebrow pencil

Megan Fox has the Best eyebrows! 

Thin eyebrows are out, thicken your eyebrows up and fill them in! :)