Guest Post: My Sister's Birthday Makeup

Hello all, it is Taylor here yet again to tell you that it was my birthday this past Sunday and I am now 19 years old. Well, at least I will be when you read this. Right now it’s actually Friday the 7th and I am two days away from being 19. What a day. I thought I’d share with you all how I will do my makeup to celebrate the day in which the world was blessed with my presence (I kid. Maybe.).

So as many of you know, I’m currently living in Boston because I go to school at Northeastern University. So, for my birthday my family (Mom, Dad, and Kelsey) as well as my best friend from home are coming up (down? Over? I do not know where I am in relation to home) here for the day to celebrate with me. Because the day is going to be full of activity (I’m thinking museums and the aquarium all before dinner), I don’t want to have a full going-out kind of makeup look, but it’s my day and I want to look nice. Here’s how I’m hoping to achieve such a feat.

First, to make sure everything goes on nice and smooth I put on my Vitamin E Aqua BoostSorbet by The Body Shop. I know Kelsey has already talked about this before, but seriously, it’s life changing. I’m not even exaggerating that much. Then I spread a pea-sized amount of the Korres Vitamin E face primer (similar here) to make sure everything stays in place all day. Next comes my YSL Touche Eclat Foundation in Beige Dore 10. As I mentioned in my everyday makeup routine post this stuff isn’t cheap but I’m willing to pay anything to look like I got a decent amount of sleep the night before and this does that. Next comes concealer. It’s the handy-dandy Maybelline Fit Me concealer in shade 20 for around my nose and on any blemishes I have (which, my mentioning my lack of in my last post seems to have jinxed me), and the Revlon ColorStay Undereye concealer in fair, you guessed it, under my eyes just to brighten everything up. To finish off the face is a touch of the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Natural Beauty to give me a nice, natural flush, a dab of theBalm’s Mary Lou-Manizer highlighter on my cheeks, and a sweep of Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in Transparent down my T-zone to further ensure nothing slides around on this momentous day.

Next is eyes, after filling in my natural brow shape with Nyx Nude Matte Eyeshadow in Bare My Soul and a real techniques angled brush. After doing a base of the Lorac Eye Primer (that came with…) I pull out my handy-dandy Lorac Pro 2 Palette. Seriously, if I could only have one eyeshadow palette…let’s just say my Naked Palette has some competition. I start by sweeping a mixture of both Light Brown and Cool Gray (both matte shadows) over my entire lid just to give a touch of color, but only barely. Then on the outer half, I press on a bit of Rose for a bit more shimmer and color. In the crease goes Mocha, and after a touch of Chrome in the very outer corner, my eyes are thoroughly shimmery and defined. A touch of Snow in the inner corner/tear duct area is the final eyeshadow touch. For eyeliner I’m using (you guess it), my Benefit They’reReal! Push Up Liner to give myself a bit of a cat eye (to match with the cat scarf I’ll be wearing. Yes, you read that right.) Next is a quick curl of the eyelashes and two (I’m going to stress this again, only two!) coats of Tarte’sLights, Camera, Splashes Mascara.

Lips are obviously the finishing touch, but I have two options for this one, depending on which mood strikes me. For a more relaxed, natural look I’ll go for my Nars Audacious Lipstick in Anna just pressed into the lips so it gives an almost MLBB- stained effect. If I’m feeling particularly adventurous though, I’ll go for an old favorite in the bright matte bluey-red of MAC’s Ruby Woo, my first MAC lipstick and still my favorite.

So there you have it, my birthday look with an alternate lip option, hope you enjoyed it!

Makeup for Glasses-Wearers

When I was about seven years old, I noticed I was having to squint quite often to see the chalkboard at school or while watching TV at home. After my first trip to the eye doctor it was deemed that yes, I needed glasses. And my vision has gotten progressively worse since then. While most people I know have boxes of contacts with their prescriptions reading around a 0.5-1.5, my number is -8.50. If I'm not wearing glasses or contacts, I can only see things clearly when I hold them up to an inch or two away from my nose. People don't have faces. Clocks don't have hands.

I usually wear contacts on a day-to-day basis, but every once in awhile I like to give my eyes a break and wear my glasses. I like to alter my general daily makeup on the days I wear my glasses since it's such a different look.

My face makeup doesn't change, although I do tend to pay more attention to covering every blemish, just because I don't feel as put together with my glasses on so I want my skin to look as flawless as possible (is that a logical reason?). I've been using my foundations/tinted moisturizers as normal but I've been loving the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer to make sure all blemishes and redness are covered. I put off buying this for the longest time because I was satisfied with a much cheaper concealer, but I got tired of its lack of longevity - it always completely melted off my face by lunchtime. This offering from Nars gives excellent coverage and lasts all day.  I also like to use a brightening concealer under my eyes since glasses will call attention to any darkness there. I alternate between the Marc Jacobs Remedy Concealer Pen and the Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer. I finish off with a neutral blush that won't overpower the look, like the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blush in Exposed.

I focus on my eyes even more than usual when I'm going to be wearing my glasses. I always make sure I define my eyebrows so my thick frames don't overpower my face. I usually always go for the Anastasia Brow Wiz because it's easier to use than the Dipbrow Pomade when it's not exactly easy to see what I'm doing.

Since I'm so near-sighted and my lenses are so thick, glasses make my eyes look a lot smaller than they really are, so I try some tricks to make them look bigger. I like to start with a shimmery champagne eyeshadow all over the lid, like Kitten from the Stila In the Light Palette or Bootycall from the Naked2 Palette, to really brighten and emphasize my eyes.  I also create definition in the crease using a deeper nude shade such as Bliss from the Stila In the Light Palette or Tease from the Naked2 Palette. When not wearing glasses I usually shade the crease and also the outer corner of my eyes, but with glasses on I just leave it at the crease - I don't want to close the eye off at all. I'll usually take a little bit of this same shade on the outer third of my lower lashline to give some definition there.

I think I would love the clean look of liquid eyeliner with glasses, but as I can barely see when doing my makeup if I'm going to be wearing my glasses I stick to a blendable pencil liner. I always use a brown liner, too, because my frames are brown. I love the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencils because they're so easy to apply and stay put all day, even with my eyes getting a little watery. I use the shade Corrupt, a brown with a hint of shimmer to it.  I like to use a nude eyeliner in my lower waterline as well to counteract any redness and also make my eyes appear larger. If your glasses make your eyes look bigger than they really are, I'd suggest lining your waterline with a darker liner instead.  I always make sure I curl my eyelashes, but it's even more important when wearing glasses to open up my eyes and also make sure my eyelashes aren't constantly hitting my lenses. I like to use the mascara that I've found holds a curl the best to ensure this curl will stay, and that is the L'Oreal Telescopic Shocking Extensions Waterproof Mascara.

The lip color I use depends on the rest of my outfit and how I've done my hair. If I'm wearing my typical fall uniform of a messy bun with a chunky scarf, I think a red/berry looks perfect. Like I said, wearing my glasses makes me feel a little less put-together, so I don't mind in this case using a bolder lip color. One of my favorites is the Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Hyde Park (color currently unavailable - a similar color is Majella). If I'm feeling a little more low-key I swipe on either just a lip balm or a MLBB shade, such as the Dior Addict Lip Glow.

Let me know if these tips are helpful, and please let me know if you have any tips as well!

2 New Texturizing Favorites: Garnier Fructis and Toni&Guy

Since my Hair Favorites post, I've been trying to experiment with even more hair products to really get the texture and volume I'm looking for. I've recently added two new texturizing sprays to my collection and despite their similar aim I've fallen for both and use them for different things.

My first favorite is the Toni&Guy Sea Salt Texturizing Spray. I've started using this either in the place of or together with the Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Spray because I find it's a stronger, more effective formula. I spray this through my hair after towel-drying, and I've found I get more texture and waves/curls in my hair than when I would use the Not Your Mother's. Although it's a more potent formula, this still does not leave my hair feeling crispy, sticky, or dry. I also just saw in Essiebutton's latest hair video that she uses a different texturizing spray from Toni&Guy so that's already been added to my shopping list!

My other favorite is the Garnier Fructis De-Constructed Texture Tease Dry Touch Finishing Spray. As the name suggests, this is one to use at the end of your hair routine. I spray this through my hair once it's dry or on second-day hair to get a little more oomph. I've found that this adds loads and loads of volume. My hair doesn't just look thicker, but actually feels thicker as I'm doing my hair. I especially love using this when I'm putting my hair in a ponytail because it makes it look so full and bouncy. I've also heard that this is a dupe for the Bumble & Bumble Cityswept Finish hairspray, but for a fraction of the price.

So there you have it, two new additions to cover any volumizing or texturizing need.

Have you tried either of these products? What are your favorite texturizing sprays?