Summer Makeup Routine for Oily and Combination Skin

Hello everyone! Summer is here and that can be rough for us with combination and oily skin so I thought I’d share the products I’ve been using to try to prevent my face from melting off. This is a very full face of makeup, but “natural” enough to wear to work.
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My Summer Makeup Routine

Primer for Oily Skin

Apply moisturizer, SPF, and primer. I’ve been trying different combinations of these 3 and haven’t yet found my perfect prep and prime products yet. I will say I was very disappointed with Becca’s Ever Matte Poreless Priming Perfector which is also super expensive so I definitely would not recommend that. The next one I will be purchasing and trying soon is the Giorgio Armani Maestro UV Skin Defense Primer SPF 50 ($64, but hey, cheaper than Botox!).

Giorgio Armani Maestro UV Skin Defense Primer Sunscreen SPF 50
Giorgio Armani Maestro UV Skin Defense Primer Sunscreen SPF 50

Foundation for Oily Skin

Apply foundation and concealer. Lately I’ve been using Continue reading “Summer Makeup Routine for Oily and Combination Skin”

My Airport Beauty Hacks – Hair, Makeup, and Skincare

I know the words “airport” and “beauty” don’t typically go together, but today I’m going to show you my secret hacks! Just don’t tell anyone, ok ;)?

Continue reading “My Airport Beauty Hacks – Hair, Makeup, and Skincare”

Beauty Trend – Rainbow Highlighters Part Two

On the last post I talked about the rainbow highlighter that was all over social media which has all the colors of the rainbow in one pan to make you sparkle like a beautiful unicorn fairy rainbow princess. Today I want to talk about highlighters that have been coming out in non-traditional colors.

Jeffree Star Skin Frost Highlighters

I talked about Jeffree Star who you might remember from MySpace on my previous liquid lipsticks post, but since then he has started his own YouTube channel which is SO ENTERTAINING I watch A LOT of YouTube and I HIGHLY recommend checking out his videos he is hilarious. Anyways, he recently came out with 4 highlighters which sold out very quickly. They come in King Tut (gold) and Ice Cold (white highlight that’s light enough for extremely fair skin) which are typical highlight colors, but since it’s Jeffree Star they are extremely pigmented and you’ll be able to be seen from space.

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Jeffree Star Skin Frosts in Ice Cold, Peach Goddess, King Tut, and Mint Condition. They are $29 each or 4 for $100

He also came out with Peach Goddess which is a peachy shade which is a little different, and then the most unique shade Mint Condition which is a mint blue color, so fun!
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iconThese were released on May 25, 2016 and are currently sold out, but Jeffree always tries to get products back in stock ASAP. Here’s some swatches from one of my favorite Instagrammers @trendmood1:

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Swatches of Jeffree Star Cosmetics Skin Frost Highlighters. Pic by @trendmood1 on Instagram.

Continue reading “Beauty Trend – Rainbow Highlighters Part Two”

Eyebrow Threading and Tinting

One time when I was about 16 years old I was getting a pedicure at a nail salon when the tech asked me “You want eyebrow?” (as in eyebrow waxing) I told her no thanks to which she replied bluntly, “You need it.” I had no clue how to tweeze my eyebrows so I didn’t do it and here was this woman telling me my brows are a hot mess. Obviously I agreed and have been grooming my brows via waxing, threading, and tweezing ever since. You’re probably familiar with waxing and tweezing, so let’s talk about eyebrow threading.

Eyebrow Threading

Eyebrow threading is similar to eyebrow waxing in that you are removing hairs in order to groom and shape your brows for a more polished look. The person doing the threading uses a string or thread that they double and then twist. The person doing the threading holds the string in both hands and hold the loose end of the string in their teeth to pull it taught. They then roll the twisted part over the eyebrow hairs they are removing which snatches the hairs they are removing by plucking the hair out (similar to tweezers) at the follicle level. Unlike tweezing, they can remove several hairs at once. Here’s what it looks like:

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Continue reading “Eyebrow Threading and Tinting”

Play! By Sephora

Rejoice beauty lovers and try-ers of new things, Sephora has it’s very own monthly subscription box! The box is called Play! By Sephora and it started September 2015, but the caveat is that you can’t just sign up and get it, you have to be on a wait list first (womp womp). It took me about 2-3 months to get off the wait list (they email you and let you know when that happy day comes). I haven’t received my first box yet, but I can’t wait! The box has about 5 samples along with a Play! book that explains what they are and how to use them. You also get a card called a Play Pass that you can bring into Sephora to get a free personalized tutorial and 50 bonus Beauty Insider points (which means even more samples!) when you make a purchase. The box is totally reasonable at $10 a month plus sales tax and shipping is included. Hurry up and sign-up for the wait list for Play! By Sephora so you can get in on the next box! Also a little hint, when you get the email that says you’re off the wait list and you click the link to get the box it looks like you’re signing up for the wait list again, but don’t worry that’s the correct box to enter your email address into. Here’s what the May 2016 Play! By Sephora box looked like: Continue reading “Play! By Sephora”

Beauty Trend – Rainbow Highlighters

So we’re all looking like sparkling mermaid unicorn princesses more and more everyday and I’m loving it! The latest beauty trend is rainbow highlighters. If you’ve never used a highlighter or are unsure what I mean by highlighter, let’s break it down. A highlighter can be liquid, cream, or powder and is meant to draw attention to wherever it is applied by catching and reflecting light and sparkle. Highlighters are what give you a blinging cheek bone and a jLo glow (you may remember them from my Lilly Ghalichi makeup post). They can be subtle, or lately people really want them to be seen from space so an INTENSE highlight is hot right now on Instagram and YouTube. You apply highlighters with a brush, a sponge/beauty blender, or your fingers. You can apply it before or after your face makeup (or both!) You can also layer multiple highlighters to make them more intense. If I want to really glow I will prime my face, then use a liquid highlighter on the tops of my cheekbones and down the bridge of my nose which I blend in with my fingers. I then apply foundation/concealer/powder/bronzer/blush and then put a final layer of highlighter on top to make it pop as a finishing touch with my makeup. Check out this post to see how I get a nice intense glow.

Previously everyone was wearing highlighters in more neutral shades- champagne, gold, bronze, rose gold, opal, pearl, etc. but lately highlighters have been taken to the next level for those brave enough to rock the Rainbow highlight. Here’s what it looks like: Continue reading “Beauty Trend – Rainbow Highlighters”

Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Color Review

During the Sephora VIB sale I went to the store and watched the Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Colors and they were SO gorgeous I had to pick one up myself. I ended up getting Moonlight a metallic champagne beige and I have been wearing it daily! I used to use MAC Eye Kohl in Teddy and just make a thin line on top of my upper lash lane and usually skip eyeshadow, but ever since buying the Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Color in Moonlight ($29) I’ve been wearing that instead DAILY.

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I take the stick and basically color my entire lid with it, then take a fluffy eyeshadow brush and blend the colour slightly, but only in the crease because I want the rest of the lid especially near the lash line to look intense. The color lasts all day and looks so beautiful! This weekend I decided to use it in a different way and used it to line my bottom lash line quickly to give it some definition and I loved that too! I can’t wait to get more of these things it’s amazing! Here’s a picture where you can see the sparkle on my bottom lash line: Continue reading “Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Color Review”

Colourpop Sale!

Attention everyone, this is not a test! Colourpop, the incredibly affordable American made beauty brand is having 20% off their entire sale today only (4/30/16 and ends 5/1/16 at 7am PST) with free shipping on orders of$30 or more! That means their Lippie Stix, Lippie Pencils, and eye shadows are now only $4 each! Their bronzers, highlighters, and blushes are now only $6.40 each! They also recently launched brow pencils and brow colour, creme gel liners (in pot and stick eyeliners), and Ultra Satin Lip colors which are $4-4.80 each.  I decided to just go for it and get a little of everything so I can try it out and talk about it on the blog! Here’s what I’m ordering: Continue reading “Colourpop Sale!”

Where to Buy Makeup in LA

If you’re a beauty junkie that’s planning a trip to Los Angeles you might be wondering where to buy makeup in LA. I’m not a makeup artist or really “in the biz” so all of these places are also open to the public. I’ll start off by saying that Los Angeles is a large city and even though 2 locations may seem close distance-wise, it can take forever to get between them especially if you are going during rush hour. I’ll start with a few of the big ones you may have heard of that are unique to LA. These are all located in the Valley. I’ve made a Google Map of the best makeup shopping in LA. If you’re coming in from out of town you may arrive at the LAX airport and the Valley is going to be the furthest possible place from the airport so I would not recommend making these your first stops, but here they are:

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Tiny map to show you the LAX airport (lower left hand corner) compared to where to good makeup shopping is at.

Continue reading “Where to Buy Makeup in LA”

Best Deals at the Sephora Spring 2016 VIB Sale

Sephora has 2 big sales a year and one of them is upon us – the Sephora VIB Sale from 4/8-13/16 you get 15% off all purchases. If you’re like me you want to maximize that in order to get the best value possible so you can feel like you beat the system.

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Here are some really good deals:

Sephora Favorites Deluxe Perfume Sampler ($65)

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Let’s take a look at those savings:

The price of this set is $65 ($114 Value) -15% off with VIBNOTE (must be Sephora VIB) through Wednesday 4/13/16 = $55.25 and -10% off for everyone else with code BINOTE through Tuesday, 4/12/16 = $58.50

– 0.24 oz Atelier Cologne Sud Magnolia Cologne Absolue dabber (Scent certificate redeems for 1 oz bottle ) 0.25oz Rollerball is $25, 1oz is $85  Continue reading “Best Deals at the Sephora Spring 2016 VIB Sale”