Thursday, October 31, 2013

My Favorite Halloween Tutorials!


Happy Halloween, lovebugs! Still stuck on what to wear tonight? Or better yet, be like me and have a costume and makeup all set but can't settle on how to do my nails. Or maybe you want to change up your makeup. Either way, I've put together some of my favorite Halloween tutorials for makeup and nails for you! Check 'em out :)



Nicole Guerriero - Sweet Sugar Skull


MacBarbie07 - Despicable Me Minion

Julia Graf - Vampire

CoffeeBreakWithDani - Frida Kahlo

Shaaanxo - Pop Art

ChrisspyMakeup - Lady Frankenstein

MadeYewLook - Voodoo Doll
Note: Do not start watching her videos if you don't have like, a week to spare. ADDICTING is an understatement. She's amazing!

Promise Phan - Skeleton

KissableComplexions - Mermaids & Fairies
(Picture courtesy of Perrywinkle Photography)

Chalkboard Nails - Over Top Eyeballs Tutorial
(Picture courtesy of Chalkboard Nails)

ChristyRose84 - Blood Splatter Tutorial

One Nail To Rule Them All - Pumpkin Tutorial
(Picture courtesy of ONTRTA)

The Lacquerologist - Sally Tutorial
(Picture courtesy of The Lacquerologist)

They're amazing, aren't they? I hope they helped. Have a safe and awesome Halloween! Also, post your Halloween pictures on my Facebook page - I would love to see them and feature my faves!
Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Halloween Make-Up: Ring Leader Tutorial


Hello my little ghosts and goblins! Halloween is in t-minus two days and this girl is getting excited. Ahh! Costume? Check! Halloween candy for the kids almost eaten already? Check! Pumpkins carved? Almost! Halloween decorations up? Getting there! See? I'm totally prepared. 

Honestly, I planned on doing a million Halloween beauty tutorials this month but it seemed like everyone beat me to the same ones I wanted to do (sugar skulls, zombies, etc.) so I decided to just do a tutorial of the makeup I'll be wearing. I feel like this makeup could go with just about anything: Ironman, burlesque - hey, if you're gutsy enough, you can even wear it during the day! So what am I dressing up as? A ring leader

Let's check out how to get the look below!


Face Time: I started by priming my face with Benefit The Porefessional (of course I forgot to take a picture of that) and then used my new favorite foundation Maybelline Fit Me! Foundation stick in 120. I concealed all my under eye circles and imperfections with L'Oreal True Match Crayon Concealer in N1-2-3. Lastly, I sealed everything in with Starlooks Mineralized Translucent Powder.

To contour my face, I used Benefit Hoola and using my RealTechniques Blush Brush, swiped this on my cheekbones, chin and forehead. For blush, I used Bombshell in Sweet Cheeks and brushed this on the apples of my cheeks.

I love, love, LOVE NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk. I think everyone needs this. I used this to prime my eyelids because I really wanted my eyeshadow to pop and be bold.

Using my Sigma Beauty E56 Lid Shader brush, I patted a bright red from my Coastal Scents 88 Palette all over my lid.

Then with my Sigma Beauty E47 Crease brush, I made half moon motion and blended this into my crease. Lastly, using my E36 Blending brush, I blended both eyeshadows so there were no harsh lines.

Now for my lower lash line! I really wanted to incorporate gold into this look somehow to match the buttons and gold cord on the costume. Taking my Sigma Beauty E21 brush, I used Half Baked from the Naked 2 Palette on my lower lash line and smudged it out a bit. I also used WOS on my inner corner and as my browbone highlight. For my waterline, I used a random Wet N Wild white eyeliner to my eyes appear brighter.

I dread lining my eyes with liquid eyeliner so I try to use gel eyeliner when I can. Taking Ulta Extreme Wear Gel Eyeliner in Primetime, I created a double winged cat eye.

Lashes can make or break a look. I really wanted to go for the dramatics here, so I took my Eyelure Naturalites in 205 and carefully put them on. I always use Duo eyelash adhesive and let the adhesive get tacky on the lashes before I put them on.

This look wouldn't be complete without a bright red lip! I used NYX Indie Flick. I didn't experience any feathering or bleeding with this, but the lasting time was only about three hours before reapplying.

The Costume: A big huge hug and kiss to I Love Sexy for sending me this amazing costume! They have so many choices for really cute costumes; I had the hardest time narrowing it down to this one. This costume is called the Ring Mistress and is by the brand Leg Avenue. It comes with a bustier, a tutu skirt, sleeves and a Epaulette neck piece. I received a large and white the neck piece was a bit tight, the bustier was too big. I'll just pin this in the back to wear it and not have the fear of falling out. The tutu is, um, well you'll definitely need to wear something underneath it. Overall, this costume is really cute and with a few slight adjustments, I'll be able to rock it on Friday night!


ILoveSexy.com: Shop | Facebook | Instagram
* Music: Better Dig Two - The Band Perry

Monday, October 28, 2013

LCN Charade Collection - Swatches & Review


Hello sweethearts! Today I have for you a collection that is inspired by four iconic Hollywood beauties of their time - Rita Hayworth, Audrey Hepburn, Liz Taylor and Marilyn Monroe. Let's check out LCN's Charade Collection!


 LCN Charade Collection

LCN Charade Collection
Rita - a timeless yellow-gold.
I would describe this as more a yellow-green. I was convinced I wasn't going to like this but once on my nails, I actually quite liked it. This is two smooth coats and holy cow - talk about shine! There is no top coat on this baby.

Audrey - a mysterious jade with subtle gold shimmer.
How gorgeous is this? I was a little disappointed because the gold shimmer was much more bold in the bottle but on the nail, it kind of of disappears. Again, this is two coats with no issues and incredible shine!

Marilyn - a show-stopping deep orange.
This is one coat! Holy cow. It's so pigmented and again, look at the shine!

Liz - a powerful and dramatic plum.
I don't know why, but there's something about this that is so pretty and different than anything else I have. This is two coats.

Overall, I love a good earth-toned collection! Every polish in this collection is so pigmented and so shiny.

Availability: In stock on LCN
Price: $7.50 each or $24.90 for quad

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Zoya Zenith Holiday 2013 Collection - Swatches & Review


Hello my gorgeous babes! Tonight I have for you swatches and a review of the Zoya Zenith Holiday 2013 Collection. I know, I know. It's not even Thanksgiving yet. Don't kill me!

Zoya Zenith Holiday Collection

 Cassedy - is a celestial pewter metallic.

Seraphina - is a  Polaris silver metallic.

 Belinda - is a cosmic purple metallic. (Originally designed for designer Zang Toi / AW2013)

Mosheen - is an astro ice blue topper, great for layering over other hues.

Dream - is a deep space blue with holographic glitter.

Payton - is a galactic cranberry with holographic glitter.

Overall, I'm pretty much in love with this entire collection, especially Payton and Dream. Each one was amazing to work with with no issues at all. It's such a refreshing and unconventional holiday collection! 


Price: $8 each or $48 for the sampler
Availability: Zoya

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

October Ipsy Bag - Review & Swatches


Hey guys! Guess what day it is? Woot woot! It's October Ipsy bag review day! 

October's Ipsy bag's theme this month is "The Art of Beauty" - Get ready for a month of masterful makeup tricks and delightful beauty treats. Whether you're headed to a fancy Fall ball or impressing the crowd with a jaw-dropping avant-garde costume, this month's brand partners have something to help perfect your Look!

The Bag - Pretty darn cute except definitely not what I expected for an October bag. I can't tell if I'm happy Ipsy went a different route than the typical Halloween bag or disappointed. Either way the bag is adorable and can be used every day instead of something I could only use in October again if it were Halloween-themed. 

LA Fresh Eco-Beauty Oil-Free Face Cleanser
Yay for some face cleansing wipes! I'm always down to try new ones. This one isn't much of a make-up remover although it does take off light make-up pretty well. This boasts to refresh and purify all skin types with aloe, cucumber, papaya, pineapple, marshmallow, jojoba, vitamin c and vitamin e. No wonder why it smells amazing! My face felt clean and refreshed after using this.

Coastal Scents Medium Shadow Brush
And another brush?! How lucky can this girl get? This brush is made of natural, soft fibers that are perfect for shading the crease and highlighting the brow bone. I really like this because of how dense yet fluffy this brush is. I don't really have anything like it in my brush collection.

Sexy Hair Blow Dry Volumizing Gel
I lurve Big Sexy Hair so I was excited to see this in my bag and because I'm always in the market for volumizing products to use on my flat, thin hair, I was double excited! I use this alcohol-free thickening gel on damp hair and then blow dry and boom -  Holy volume! I've used this quite a few times already and have never experienced my hair feeling dry nor crunchy from the gel. 

Wet N Wild Fergie  Photo Op Eyeshadows in Desert Festival
Do you guys know how many times I've eyed this palette in Walgreens? SO many times. This palette includes two matte (a chocolate brown and a burnt coral), a highlight and two shimmery shades (a copper and brown) that are so incredibly pigmented without a primer. I had no idea! This palette is so perfect for autumn.



Zoya Neve
Neve is a gorgeous metallic sapphire blue polish. I already had this and reviewed it here and absolutely loved it. Super smooth formula and no staining! 



SO, what did everyone get in their bags? Not subscribed to Ipsy yet? What are you waiting for? For $10 a month, you'll get a bag filled with 4-5 deluxe-full sized beauty products at your door. Sign up here!

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