Dynamic Duo

I love when I find 2 things that equal a perfect pair, don't you? Especially when I have found a pair of 2 that makes the perfect transition lip color into fall. It is quite trendy at that.

ELF Lipstick in Classy: 

A beautiful medium pink bordering on the deeper side with cool undertones. I have heard it is a dupe for Angel by MAC, by the way. Cream finish. Smells like candy. Only $1. 

NYX Lip Liner in Dolly Pink:  

Gorgeous pink with very cool purple tones. I like to line my lips with this, then fill them in slightly before I put on Classy over top. The 2 of them really compliment each other and create a really unique shade on the lips! Plus, if you apply your lip colors in this fashion, the color will last on your lips longer.

Soft Lips: 

 I thought I would slip this in here since I apply this 15 minutes before my lip color. It makes your lips smoother (obviously) so your less likely to have chapped lines to worry about your lipstick sinking into. It also makes the color stick even better once that creamy texture is gone from the lipstick.Didn't know that!

(not pictured)

Plus, this combo makes your teeth whiter from the cooler undertones. The trick is, to find a lip color with blue undertones (or with cooler undertones) to counteract the yellow on teeth. Now saying you have yellow teeth (: They also sell sheer blue lip glosses too which I find to work the same. Too bad I lost mine!

How to find your perfect lip shade:

Identify your undertones: warm or cool. 

-Veins that look more greenish indicate yellow undertones which means that your skin tone is warm. Olives skin tones are generally warm.

-Veins that look more blue indicate blue undertones which means your skin tone is cool. Red undertones are generally cool.

Now that you know your undertone, find a lipstick that is 2 shades darker than your skin tone. When choosing a lip liner, choose one that is either the same shade as the lipstick, but 1 shade lighter would be ideal. That is why Dolly Pink and Classy are the dynamic duo for me!

I hope these really quick easy tips make your lips happy this season! 

I talked about this in my last favorites video that I did not yet put up on the blog. Enjoy (:

Whats your dynamic duo?

kisses,

Erica

NOTW: Shabby Chic Floral Print

No, this is not a nail sticker. Yes, it is extremely easy to do! Do you guys visit The Beauty Department? You should if you like nail art! That is where I got this idea from!

Nail Polishes used: left to right: SH White On, SH Green With Envy, SH Sun Kissed, Avon Speed Dry in Strawberry. This picture is very true to color.

Quick Review: I hear a lot that it is hard to find an opaque white nail polish. Sally Hansen's White On was quite opaque after the first coat! I did 2 coats just because I always do, but if your in the market for a good white, here's your polish! Plus, it's only like $2.

You will also need: Nail Polish Remover, a piece of paper, & A small eyeliner brush you do not use. They used a normal paint brush. Just make sure your brush is tiny or has a fine point. I used an angled liner brush that I got with the Wet n Wild cream liner. It worked perfectly. I used the very tip of it and had no problems whatsoever.

1. Paint your nails the base color (white) 
2. When that dries, add a dab of the first color you want to use (pink) to create your flowers on the piece of paper.
3. Pour a little bit of the nail polish remover in the cap so it is easily accessible. 
4. Dip your brush into the nail polish remover 
5. Transfer the nail polish remover you have on your brush to the pink nail polish on the piece of paper. Mix it together.

-The idea here is to mix 1 part nail polish with 1 part nail polish remover. Once you did so, you will create little flowers on your nails, obviously. The mix will make it look like a faded/watercolor type of floral print.-

        6. Use a dabbing motion when your creating the flowers as opposed to a sweeping motion. That will make them look faded even more so and you may even be able to skip the last 2 steps.    
        7. Once your done with your first color (pink), repeat steps 2-6 for the next 2 colors.  

-It doesn't mention to change out the nail polish remover with each step, but I think that would be ideal. You will notice the nail polish remover will be tinted the colors of your nail polish and we wanna stay away from mixing colors at all costs!-

-I used the same brush for all the colors. If your going to do the same, just be sure that your wiping the brush off really well between each color. I didn't use any soap/water/brush cleanser to clean it off. I simply dipped the brush into the nail polish remover, then wiped it off with a tissue until there was nothing on it.-

        8.  Now your going to add a dab of the white nail polish on the piece of paper. Mix 1 part white nail polish and 2 or 3 parts nail polish remover. 
        9. Make the slightest little dot at the center of each flower with the white mixture. If you have used enough nail polish remover, the white will slowly spread over the flower when you put the drop down, which in turn makes it look faded. I only did this step with some of the flowers. (see step 6)

Ok! Now just add a top coat and your good to go! If your more of a visual person check out The Beauty Department for pictures to go along with the directions! I do recommend checking the real tutorial out, But still read my tips which are in italics to have an even better understanding! I hope I helped! I have a feeling im all over the place! LOL!

Good Luck!

xoxo

Erica

14: Something Glamorous: Turning Eye Dust into a Mani

 This hit me like a ton of bricks today. Why have a I never thought of it before? I have a couple of Jesse's Girl Eye Dust's & only break them out on special occasions. I have been eying that caviar manicure for weeks now & while looking through blogs online, I seen a post about Jesse's Girl Eye Dust's & then it hit me! I could put that on my freaking nails!

It's quite simple really. Paint your nails whatever color you desire. In this case I used L'Oreal's Club Prive. I I am also using Jesse's Girl Eye Dust in Pixie Dust

• This polish color is pretty sheer and while I painted around 5 coats on every nail, I only did 2 coats on the nail I was going to put the eye dust on, aka my bling finger. 
• Once that dries, paint your top coat on. Your only going to want to wait around 15 seconds for the top coat to dry because you don't want it to dry fully. Just enough so it is slightly dry but also tacky enough to hold the eye dust in place. 
• Then, grab a brush you never use & dip it in your eye dust (or any loose pigment) 
• Now, carefully put it in your nail(s) in a dabbing motion. Don't use a painting motion. It will mess up your nails!
• Add another top coat once that dries fully. 
• Show off your nails! Tell everyone you thought of it all by yourself! I wont tell : )

The Paint job you see is one that was done a day before. The Pixie Dust I done an hour before the pictures. As you can see L'Oreal's polish as already chipped. Not too bad but I mean c'mon!

It's Alex's birthday tonight so we are having a bon fire here. Alex's birthday always marks to the start of summer to us. Mine always marks the end, Oct. 8th. I guess it works out perfectly! What are you guys doing tonight? Anything fun? As always, thank you so much for stopping by!

Have you ever thought of anything wildly creative such as this?!

What's on your Nails?

sending lots of creative Pixie Dust your way,

xoxo

Erica

FOTD: Picadilly Purple & Dolly Pink

I haven't done one in so so long! I have been so busy and half the time I do 1 shadow, liner & mascara- good to go! The other 1/2 of the time I do get ready, & do a nice eye look, I dont have any time to take pictures!  I dont know about you guys but it takes me like 15-20 minutes to get good ones lol

Like always, I have been loving purples on my eyes. I really feel my best when I wear purple and yes I do have brown eyes (obviously). I think they really compliment well. So Alex (bfff) bought me this sweet little palette. for 3 bucks. A great Christmas present! I think im going to showcase it in my Christmas buying guide because I have some swatches and some pictures I already took.

I thought it would be fun to also include what brushes I used for each step- ever since I ordered new brushes from Sigma and Elf, I took my talent up a notch! My Aunt Lori always says "it's not the makeup you have, but the brushes you use" in her philosophical tone....well she doesn't have a philosophical tone,  I just thought it sounded right.

Face:

Maybelline 24/7 Concealer- Actually just put this around my eyes as they can become red- I apply this with my finger with a patting motion as opposed to rubbing it on.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup- I apply this to the back of my hand and then dab my blush + bronzer brush from mark. in the product. This brush is basically a flat top kabuki. Then with a stippling motion, go to town. I always like to start on my neck line and then go up my face. I personally like to use sponges better then any brush. I find it applies much more evenly and smoother. Maybe I just haven't found the right brush. 


Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer- I actually have been putting this on before and after I apply my foundation/concealer. I heard it will help mattify your face. I personally do think that it may but I think it is a combination of this and my ELF HD powder.

ELF HD Powder- Like I just mentioned, it will help mattify your face and does so, I really love this stuff. I find that the puff it comes with works best to apply it.

ELF Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder- I like to dip my Large Angled Contour Sigma brush (F40) in both side's twice, shake off the excess and contour my cheeks bones, taking it around my fore head and also behind my ears, swiping it towards the center of my neck. If you are new to Contouring, I highly recommend watching all of the videos you can find on it. Take what you want and leave the rest- that's how I learned.

Light Pink Blush- This is a generic blush that I got last year in a Markwin's Christmas Gift and I love it so much. It reminds me a lot of Dandelion by Benefit (which I dont have, but want so badly!) a perfect pale pink for a lighter skin tone like mine. I Apply this on my apples and then sweep up towards my hairline, Following right next to where I contoured. I use ELF's stippling brush (picture) which works well.

Eyes:

YBF Automatic Brow Pencil in Universal Taupe- I got this in my Birchbox and I have been loving it ever since

Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer- I apply this with my finger's on to my lid.

Nyx Jumbo Pencil in Milk- I went underneath my brow and near/around my tear ducts. Then with my ring finger, I blended it out- perfect.

Physician's Formula For Blue Eyes Shadow- With my Sigma Eye Shading E55 Brush (a dense flat shader brush) I grab the lightest color you see highlighted in the picture below and apply that exactly where I put the Milk Jumbo Pencil. I do not tap off excess- I first go in near my tear duct and then what ever is left on my brush, take it to my brow bone. 

Hot Looks Glamif Eyeshadow- This is the palette that is only $3 at Dollar General. With the other clean side of my E55, I pick up the color you see highlighted below from the palette. I simply pat this right next to where the silver color is on my lid. I took this color all the way to the end of my lid. I like to blend the 2 colors together, switching sides of the brush and pulling colors opposite direction of each other until blended.

Mark. Piccadilly Eyeshadow (matte Purple)- If I could go back and do it differently, I would have made this my last color that I apply in the outer v with my Small Tapered Blending E45 by Sigma (which is a tear drop shape). But with this FOTD, I applied this in and above my crease with my Sigma Tapered Blending Brush (E35) in a windshield wiper motion, pulling up towards the edge of my eye brow to create come contour on my eye. 

  

Physician's Formula For Blue Eyes Shadow- The darker color you see highlighted (in the above picture of the palette), I did the exact same thing with that as I did with Piccadilly

At the very end, I wiped off my E35 really well and picked a generic color that matches my skin tone to blend the previous 2 colors. I just went back and fourth on the harsh line right below my brow bone. 

Wet n Wild Cream liner in Black- I tightlined my eyes with a slanted eyeshadow brush which I find works really well - I got it from Icing, it's awesome! Then I squished the liner in between the top lashes to make sure I dont have any gaps of my skin color showing.

Revlon Colorstay Liner in Black- I put this in my water line and also adding another layer on the top too. I didnt concentrate that much on the top water line, I just closed my eyes and ran the pencil across it.

Lastly I took my ELF Waterproof Eyeliner Pen to line my lids. I just bought this a couples weeks ago and as you can tell, it is very splotchy and separates which makes it hard to draw a straight line. I worked a little better when I first got it, but since then it has dried out. I don't recommend this thing to anyone......

Lips

Nyx Lip Liner in Dolly Pink - Lined those fuckers

Nyx Matte Lip Cream in Tokyo- Put on my lips.....easy enough! Waited for it to dry.....

Revlon Lipstick in Prim Rose -over top of it all

that completes my how-to look! I hope you guys liked this format for my FOTD and took at least one thing away from it - what have you guys been wearing on your face today? We would love to know! 

Till next time,

xoxo Erica J

NOTD: Water Marbling

hey there everyone! So I have seen everyone around the internet trying out the water marbling technique and I knew I had to try it out- It took me a few tries to get it exactly right but once I got the hang of it- i didn't wanna stop! There's something about making designs in the water with all the different color nail polishes that is so fun! So here's the end result:

Here are the nail polishes I used l2r: Bubblegum Pink, Blue Me Away, Lacey Lilac, Strawberry Fraise

You Will Need:

1. A small container with around a 2" radius, or smaller! Just make sure your finger fits into it. 

2. A Toothpick

3. Scotch Tape

4. Nail Polish

After countless Youtube video's I watched to see what I thought would work the best, here's is what I came up with:

1. The smaller the container, the better. If you use a bigger container, your gunna have to use a lot more nail polish- unless your doing all 5 fingers at once, which I don't recommend. Do one finger at a time with the smallest container you have that you can fit your finger in.

2. Fill the container with water, leaving some room at the top so it doesn't spill once you have your finger in it.

3. Tape as much as your finger as you can, leaving only the nail exposed. I even pushed some tape underneath my finger nail. So that way, when you dip your finger into the marbled water, the excess polish will stick to the tape instead of your skin. Your fingers will feel a bit sticky tho after you take off the tape. I would recommend doing one nail at a time, it looks like much more of a controlled design and much more clean. I didn't do this on a couple of the nails, I wish I did.

4. Drop a few drops of nail polish in the center of the container of nail polish #1. Then immediately drop a few drops of nail polish #2 in the center of the container. Same with nail polish #3 & #4.You want to work quickly so the nail polish doesn't dry on the surface of the water. I would say you have like 20-30 seconds for this part.

5. Once you have all the colors you want on the surface it is time to start creating your design! Taking the tip of the toothpick, carefully drag on color into another. You can make any kind of design you want to! All you need to make sure of is to stick your design to the edge's of the container. All you need to do is drag your toothpick to the side of the container, pull the toothpick slightly upward, and it should stick just fine. do this on 4-5 different sides to ensure your design isn't going to mess up once you have your finger in it. You wanna work quickly here too but this doesn't take all but 5 seconds once you get the hang of it.

6. When the design is ready, put your nail down into the water, being that your nail goes in to the water first- not the tip of your finger or nail. Stick your finger down into the water until the end of your tape hits the beginning of the water. If you do that your nail should have the design on it inside the water.

7. Dont pull it out just yet! Before you take your finger out of the water, make sure you grab the rest of the polish design on top of the water with a toothpick. If not, the excess will stick to your already marbled nail, making your design you created look distorted. Something I learned a little late on! haha

Ok! so there yah have it! I hope my step-by-step tips make sense. If they do, then I have given you what you need! If you have no idea wtf water marbling is, just You Tube "water marbling" it will bring up a million videos. Everyone does it slightly different. The steps I mentioned is what works best for me. Good Luck Nail Technicians!

Has anybody else ever tried this? What tips do you have for the rest of us?

Nail Tutorial: Cute Cupcakes

 Hey Ladies! This is my own take (the same thing, really) on MissGlamorazzi's Cupcake Nails! I had a lot of fun creating them, so if you decide to try it out- watch the video. Thanx For Reading!

        

        

How To: Easy Fishtail Braid - Spring Trends

          

Instead of putting up a bunch of pictures on all the latest hair styles I just figured I would go a step further & post a video the latest hair style on how to achieve the Fish Tail Braid. Hope all you ladies enjoy!