I think i’ve found my holy grail lip chap!! I recently had a ten dollar gift card for shoppers drug mart. I went in to buy a moisturizer, but i ended up with this. One swipe and my lips were soothed! It is a bit herbal smelling, but the results are worth it. This will be a longstanding part of my bedtime and morning rituals, i’m sure. It retails for $25, so im grateful for the gift card, but i think it will last a very long time. Pick this up and ditch the maybeline babylips (which, contrary to many reviews, is terrible and leaves no lasting improvement).
How i dry my makeup brushes:
So I’ve heard drying your brushes upside down prolongs the life of your expensive tools because the glue is dissolved less than horizontal or upright drying. But… I always struggled with how to make this happen… Until i saw this useful trick from yayalifestyle’s youtube channel. So i thought i’d pass on the gem to save you all some $$!
One of my occupation’s busy seasons is currently upon me, so you will notice I have been posting less lately. BUT i had a revelation yesterday I needed to share!
Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a charity fashion show and, seeing as how I would be among the fashionable, thought it might be a good idea to step it up from my daily work look (air dried hair, no makeup). For inspiration, I began to do something my friends have been doing lately: figure out who would play me in a movie of my life. In the process of deciding that I would be played by Carey Mulligan, i also came across a picture of Michelle Williams at the Oscars (for her role in Blue Valentine).
While I don’t look anything at all like this beauty, I do have similar eyes to her. I have what I call “chubby eyes.” Not the deepest crease and kind of a heavy lid, and a large undereye area. The good news is I couldn’t get over her beautiful eye makeup! It is actually a smokey eye and while I always felt I could NEVER wear a smokey eye, I have determined I’ve just been wearing it the wrong way for my eye shape.
I did some research about this makeup look and all of it is chanel (which my small city doesn’t even sell), but I managed to have similar shades in my very full makeup drawer and started to play. These shades will likely be more cost efficient, too.
So chubby eyed ladies here are my tips for pulling off a beautiful smokey eye:
1) moisturize and use primer. moisturize lips.
2) I used a quad from lancome that i got free with purchase. I brushed “style selection” from lid to brow. Then using a flat stiff bristled brush, patted “grey sparkle” only on the lid, not up any higher into the crease. this way, when your eyes are open you are still seeing a very light color except near your lash line. Next take an angle brush and swipe it in “grey sprarkle” and “the new black” and line your upper lid. You may want to line one more time over top mostly with “the new black” for a slightly darker line. Next swipe your angle brush in ONLY “grey sparkle” and line your lower lashline. You want the brush to start where you want the most concentration of color. Start at the outside of your eye and work inwards towards and around the tear duct. USE A TISSUE TO WIPE AWAY ALL SHADOW DUST FROM YOUR UNDEREYES AND CHEEKS.
3) apply foundation and concealer.
4) use Cargo blush in “catalina”
5) apply a hint of your foundation to your lips and blend well. top with mac lipstick in “scanty.” Blend well.
6) curl lashes and coat with black mascara. coat your bottom lashes too!
7) fill your brows (I like the anastasia stuff from sephora)
I can’t tell you how many compliments i got last night! If you don’t have chubby eyes like Michelle and I, find your doppelganger and look at how they rock the smokey eye. It might open up a whole new makeup world!
New favorite concealer!
On saturday i purchased smashbox’s high definition concealer. It was completely on a whim and based on the texture i saw as i smeared it on to my very dry hand. It was so smooth and didnt settle into the wrinkly lines of my poor cracked handy pandies.
Now, i am sure this concealer is meant for undereyes, as it has a glowy quality about it, but i selected it for the broken capillaries around my nose. Other concealers seem to settle into the crevasses around my nose or sit in my pores (little concealer dots = the worst). This one kind of blurs out the redness and has a dewy smoothness about it. I used it before i went to a stagette dinner and i got so many compliments about my “porcelain” skin. If you see me without makeup i mostly look pale with red eyes and red nose, so this was a big compliment.
My only warning is to place it at the sides of your nose, not too much underneath. Or you may end up looking like you have a sweaty upper lip from all the glowiness.
I have found a new favorite concealer! I actually rarely use concealer. Only for special occasions, or evening i want to look especially flawless (in a dream world). That being said, i have really enjoyed the quality of coverage from this vichy stick. I use it for the area around my nose, which is full of broken blood vesseld and it is pretty goid at Minimizing the redness. AND unlike makeup forever’s hd concealer, it doesn’t settle into my pores. The trick is to use it with the proper brush- flat stiff bristles- so you can pat it on. Try bobbi brown concealer brush.
Dermablend was purchased from shoppers drug mart.
Sephora inspired makeup brush organizer diy!
This has been floating around youtube. But i will show u my version.
I bought a ceramic vase and sale vintage tile. I used tile glue to glue on my arrangement. Then i took colorfil (2 lbs worth) and dumped it in the vase. Colorfil will be found in the floral section of your craft store and they are very small beads Voila! Just like sephora. I purchased all my supplies from michaels and this took 15 mins! So easy! Now my brush bristles will stay nice and smooth.
Twenty-something young professional female seeks outlet for thoughts and opinions that must be stifled due to her crazy, private, and uber uptight occupational choice.
Dig in.
style crush, Alexa Chung
Typhaine of Cuillère à absinthe
jade of these days
