I'm going to share a little secret with you. I didn't watch The Great Gatsby up until recently and it wasn't a re-run at the theater or even on a nice flat screen tv. It was a freebie on an airplane. Shameful, I know. But better late than never!

Being a huge fan of Baz Luhrman, it's a wonder it took me so long to soak in the glitz and glamour of the roaring 20's but boy was this movie stunning or what?! I mean, seriously. There's just so much visual inspiration to pull from here and my heart has been stuck with the idea since.





Readers, do you have a particular style in mind for the holidays? What do you think of 20's style? I'd love to hear what you think in the comments!

Hey everyone! Did you enjoy Valentine's Day last week? My husband and I were unexpectedly stuck in NYC but ended up having a chicken-n-waffles date of the most delicious and romantic type. ;)

Today I wanted to share a lookbook with you that is centered around the concept of love. These could be cute outfits for wearing on a date with your significant other or as an AWESOME single person out with your lady friends or family that you love with SO MUCH LOVING LOVE. Love doesn't come in only one type so we can all celebrate by dressing beautifully! ;)

Check out the short film below!

Hey everyone! Today I wanted to share with you a makeup tutorial I've been loving lately using the Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette (Review & Swatches). Although you could do this look anytime, pairing it with a red lip makes it a perfect rose gold twist on traditional glamorous holiday makeup. Can I use the cliché and say these are a few of my favorite things? Yeah, they totally are.

Hi guys! St. Patrick's Day is only a week away and the last few years I've been wanting to do a green St. Patty's Day tutorial. I've always said that green and purple are the easiest colors to introduce into your daily eyeshadow routine but somehow the day slipped by in the past. Not this year!

Since I already did a very vibrant look using green in my Turquatic Inspired Look, I decided to do something a little bit different. One of my favorite ways to wear eyeshadow lately has been to do a smudgey winged line so I thought I would translate that into a vibrant kelly green befitting the holiday.

See the video (with a cameo by Cherry, my chihuahua) and more photos below!

Valentine's Day (or Single Awareness Day, as some might say) is right around the corner and as I was thinking of what makeup to do this year, I came back to an old color favorite of mine, purple.

In my humble opinion, if you are going to wear a color but still want to look classy the easiest colors to reach for are purple and green. One just happens to be a little more romantic than the other and therefore became the inspiration of today's look!


PRODUCTS MENTIONED:

Skin79 VIP Gold BB Cream
Neutrogena Healthy Skin Foundation in 60
Tarte Smooth Operator Powder
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Trucco Holographic Color Collection Palette
NYX Eyeshadow in Purple
L'Oreal HIP Duo in Electrified (plum)
MAC Shroom Eyeshadow
Wet n Wild Gel Eyeliner
Stila Kajal Pencil in Topaz
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Cottage Cheese
Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler
Urban Decay Cannonball mascara
NARS Danmari Palette (Desire)
Dior Shimmer Powder in Amber Diamonds
Lioele Blooming Pop Cherry Tint
NYX Round Lipstick in Circe

Here are the pics of the final look!

See what I mean about purple not being too flashy? I think it's actually really flattering for daytime wear, especially if you have brown eyes. :)


You can also see the lips better in this image. Layering the nude lipstick on top of the red lip stick gives a soft milky pink look. These gradient lips are done frequently in Korean videos and dramas and I think it's a fun way to gracefully wear red on your lips without looking over-the-top.


Here you can see the glow of the holographic eyeshadow. It has a really lovely energy to it when you see it in person.


Thank you so much for reading and even if you are alone this February 14th, I want to send lots of warmth and love in your direction. Love isn't always just romance and candy hearts, it's reaching out to others, appreciating your friends and family, and sharing hope and happiness.

I know it's impossible for me to physically touch all of you through my little computer screen, but just know that if I could, I would hug you. I appreciate you and you give me hope on days where I do feel lost and alone.

Now lets all spread that love like a virus! Fighting!

Hey guys! I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and restful break if you had one. It's time to gear up for 2012 so I wanted to start it off right with a fun makeup look.

Today's tutorial is another dramatic look that is perfect for the upcoming New Years celebrations. I've had tons of requests for a New Years party look and when I grabbed my NYX Glitterati Palette, the hot pink spoke to me. Who am I to refuse very compelling hot pink glitter?

Products mentioned:
L'Oreal Studio Secrets Primer
Neutrogena Healthy Skin Foundation in Natural Beige 60
Nars Concealer in Custard
Tarte Smooth Operator Powder
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Milani Liquif'eye Eyeliner Pencil
Urban Decay 15th Anniversary palette (Blackout, Junkshow, Midnight 15)
Urban Decay 24/7 Liquid Liner in Woodstock
NYX Glitter Cream Palette
Sugarpill Cosmetics loose shadow in Lumi
Eyeko Pen Eyeliner
Urban Decay Cannonball mascara
Darkness Wxos lashes
Urban Decay Urbanbrow Setting Gel
Urban Decay Urbanbrow Brow Tint in Brunette
NARS Danmari Palette (Desire) individual blush here
Urban Decay Stardust Sparkling Lipgloss in Andromeda

Here are some pics of my look:

I'm a fan of the yin-yang thing going on with the inner corner of my eyes and the outer corner wing at the end. With makeup, it's all about balance. Heavier smokey eyes need this balance to not look overwhelming on the face.


Here's a close-up of the eyes. Can I just say that I'm totally obsessed with the Sugarpill Lumi pigment? It's so glowy and iridescent, but not too shockingly teal that it clashes with other brights. I need to use this as a main part of a future tutorial!



I hope you guys enjoyed the tutorial and have an incredible last few days of 2011! I have so many new projects in store for 2012 including more Kpop looks, "basics" tutorials, and some HIGHLY requested tags that I know at least a few girls will be looking forward to. Until then you will just have to sit here and patiently wait, and ponder, and maybe also consider giving me suggestions for videos you'd like to see in the new year.

*cue mysterious music*

Hi everyone! I'm so excited for this weekend! My birthday is the 14th so I'll be celebrating tomorrow with my family and I'm actually really looking forward to it. I even think I may record some vlog footage just because hubby and I special ordered a cake and it's just too awesome not to share. As another year has gone by, I somehow feel like I am comfortable being the age that I am although being officially in the upper 20's probably means I should stop posting my age, right?  ;)

Anyway, this time of year is also the time for a lot of celebration and tons of holiday parties! In lieu of that, I thought I would create an updated holiday look my Naked 2 Palette (review here) which also has a modern twist!


Products mentioned:

Skin79 VIP Gold BB Cream (also here)
Tarte Smooth Operator Powder
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette (Verve, Snakebite, Foxy, Bootycall)
Wet & Wild Gel Eyeliner
Lioele Artist Auto Eyebrow pencil
Urban Decay Cannonball mascara
Covergirl Lash Exact mascara
Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner in powder pink
Darkness Wxos lashes
Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed
NYX Mosaic powder in 01 Highlighter
Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter (Peach Parfait and Lollipop)

Here are my pics of the final look:

Somehow I feel like I can't get the exact true color of Lollipop to come across properly, but it is somewhere between these photos and the video. It's a vibrant orchid fuchsia pink with plenty of pigmentation, which I feel is a fun take on the classic red holiday lip!


Here's a close-up so you can see the shading of the eyeshadow. Verve really is such a pleasing oyster, silver-taupe color that brings a lot of light to the eyes.


Gotta love those holiday lights! Classic makeup during the holidays is always a no-fail look. For those of you who shy away from bright lipsticks, I encourage you to take a step out of your comfort zone and try a bright fuchsia or red! I love Cherry Tart and Lollipop from Revlon's Lip Butters, but I also really LOVE NYX's Round lipstick in Fusion, Snow White and Eros (swatches here) as well as Black Label lipsticks in Orchid and Cherry (swatches here).


Happy holiday partying and I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Let me know if you decide to try out this look, or at least attempt a bold lip this season. ^__^

Hey guys! I was originally planning on recording a green St. Patrick's Day tutorial but somehow my weekends always seem to be busy busy. The good news is that I did the second best thing, a "face of the day" from the actual morning of March 17th to show you how I really did my makeup. I feel like it's been a long time since I did a good 'ole FOTD without a video, am I right?

Here's a second little preview of my ombre hair which I am really loving so far. It's not too intense in real life that I feel uncomfortable with it, and it looks nice even when I don't do anything at all to it like in these photos.


Here's one with eyes closed so you can see the shadow. Although I actually do this a lot, it's actually a technique that I haven't used in a video yet so I might go ahead and show it in a video anyhow in the future. As you can see, the concentration of shadow is pretty horizontal as opposed to the rounded shape that I did in my smoky pink eyes tutorial.


Colors used:
Inglot shadow in AMC Shine 15 (orange-gold) for inner lid
Inglot shadow in Pearl 418 (dark green similar to MAC humid) for outer-v/contour
Teal shadow from Josie Maran Natural Wonders Palette in center of lid (looks bright green when layered)

When eyes are opened you see just a hint of color on the lids. It's a pretty effect when you are blinking.


I also used the NYX Mosaic Powder in Highlight for the browbones, inner eye corners, and tops of cheeks. Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Lucky is on my lower lash line. Lashes are Pretty & Cute Korean High Fiber Lashes in M146 which look nice and fluttery. I just have Blistex Silk & Shine lipbalm on my lips.

Here's a close-up of the eyes. You can click to see it larger.


Since I was totally kidding in my last post about talking about my hair here, I will do a hair post VERY SOON for real, and also have a review and swatches of both my Inglot palette (thank you sis!) and a few Josie Maran items including the one I used for this look.

:)

Skin79 Hot Pink bb cream (not shown)
Urban Decay Primer Potion
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean
NYX Single Eyeshadow in Hot Pink
Wet & Wild Color Icon Palette in Night Elf (matte black and white shimmer)
NYX Single Eyeshadow in Wildflower
Eyeko Graffiti Eyeliner in black
FAIRYDROPS Scandal Queen Mascara
Darkness lashes in VXA
Lioele Artist Auto Eyebrow pencil in Grey Black
Rock & Republic Contrived Pressed Blush in Kinky
Lioele Real Vivid Matte Lipstick in 6 Sandy Beige
Dior Addict Ultragloss in 517



Obviously, this isn't the most complicated look but it works with any other color as your basic colored smokey-eye. It's not too difficult for those experimenting with doing smokey eyes for the first time as well. To get a more wearable Valentine's Day look, check out my video from last year. ^_^

Happy pre-Valetine's Day to those in relationships, and for those not in a relationship, you can do a green or blue smokey eye in protest. Angst!

Hope that was helpful and have fun practicing. Let me know in the comments your Valentine's Day plans are and whether they are pink or blue. ;)

Disclaimer: Lioele products provided by prettyandcute.com. Fairydrops mascara provided by a rep of the company. Everything else I bought myself. :)

Probably one of the most requested looks that I've gotten in the last couple of months is to do a pinup-style red lipped look, particularly the one that I have as my youtube profile image here. What better time than the holidays to do this type of tutorial? :)

I'm not one who usually wears really bright lipstick on a daily basis but hubby's company holiday party gave me a good excuse to don this really classic makeup look. For this iteration, I pulled inspiration from the always effervescent Taylor Swift. She has done this type of look a few times on the red carpet, including fairly recently at the Academy Country of Music Awards, and seems to really embrace it! I love a good excuse to get all dressed up, so here is my take!


Products mentioned:

Skin79 Super + Hot Pink bb cream
Lioele Help Me Dark Circle Concealer
MAC Blot Powder in Medium Dark
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Urban Decay Naked Palette (Sin for lid, Buck for crease, Gunmetal for lower lash line)
Lioele Real Stick Eyeshadow in White
MAC Shroom eyeshadow
MAC Blacktrack Fluidline
Majolica Majorca Lash Expander Frame Plus Mascara
Model 21 lashes in #21
Revlon Matte Luxurious Color Pencil in white
NYX Auto Eyebrow Pencil
Rock & Republic blush in Bedroom
NYX lip pencil in Plush Red
NYX Round Lipstick in Eros

Here are some of the images that I used for reference. I really love Taylor's natural cat-eye shape! I think she wears bold makeup so easily and her face can handle a lot of makeup without looking over-the-top.






Here are some of my favorite ornaments on our tree this year. Squirrel! =^.^= He also has matching hedgehog and mouse friends.