This month’s Ipsy Bag was supposed to look like a carnival ticket. The theme was sideshow. Although I think the bag is cool and different, I don’t see myself ever using it. However, I appreciate the creativity. As for the products, I really liked my bag this month.
Now, let’s get into the products
This EM Cosmetics felt tip eyeliner got me so excited, however it was a bit of a let down. It’s okay but I generally use Stila, and it’s nowhere near as good as that one is. One positive is this one dries super quick. I won’t be rushing out to buy this but it was still nice to get a different product than I usually get. You can purchase this Here for only $15 while Stila liquid eyeliner will run you about $22
First of all, my apologies for this pic, I could either get it to show the logo and be blurry or it would look nice but you couldn’t read it. This is a Ciate bronzer, it’s nice. A little pale for me at the moment because I have been tanning, but I know as soon as I stop this will be my go-to. It’s nice and matte. I definitely would recommend. you can purchase this here for $28.
This is a highlighter by Mica. I was super excited to finally get a highlighter in an Ipsy bag. It’s a nice neutral shade with a lot of shimmer, basically everything you’d want in a powder highlighter. However, this is not something I would purchase. It costs $50 for a small tub of it. It’s a nice highlighter but to be honest it isn’t worth $50 for this one product that I don’t even use on a regular basis. The product isn’t even available yet so I feel super lucky to have gotten it in my Ipsy bag this month. This is one of the things I love the most about Ipsy. If you’re interested in dropping the $50 yourself, it will be available here.
This No Poreblem Primer, which is obviously supposed to reduce the appearance of pores is an Urban Outfitters product. I find that strange… However it works fine. I would say it’s no better or worse than other primers I have used. At $18 it’s also at an average price point. I appreciate that this was in my bag because I never have to buy primers anymore, Ipsy is my only source for them. After that raving review I’m sure you’d like to purchase one for yourself (; you can buy this poreless primer here
This is my WTF product of the month??? Aloe costs like $2 at the drug store so I’m confused as to why it’s in my ipsy bag… It smells even weirder than regular aloe, it’s just an all around no. At $30 for a tube….. I’m not even justifying it by putting a link in here. Again WTF IPSY????!!!
Overall, I’m happy with this month I got some good products. I feel like the highlighter alone gave me more than my $10 worth so I consider it a win. As always if you are interested in getting your own Ipsy bag sign up here and earn me some points (;
We’ve all been there, you chopped off all your hair channeling a more mature vibe. Sure you were rocking that crop for a couple weeks, maybe even a couple of months. But then… the time comes. You miss your long hair, you wish you never cut it in the first place. Hair doesn’t grow overnight, we all know that. If you’re looking for an overnight fix, this isn’t the post for you. However- I do have some tips a tricks for healthier, therefore longer, hair.
1. MANE AND TAIL- now you may be saying what… the…? that’s horse shampoo. And you would be right, however Mane and Tail can be used on humans too.
This shampoo is only $6 at Target, and I have found that my hair is stronger, shiner and grows faster when I consistently use it. They also make a slightly more expensive version for color-treated hair that I’ve only been able to find at Sally Beauty Supply.
2. HAIR OIL- At one point in my life I was deep in the youtube universe and I stumbled upon this girl with incredibly long hair. She went on and on in this video about the use of hair oil. I’ve tried quite a few brands since then and have come up with a personal favorite.
I actually got this Moroccan oil in a sample size in my Ipsy bag at one point and it has since become my favorite hair oil. It’s thicker so you don’t want to go crazy, but I apply it to my ends after a shower to keep hair from breaking and to reduce split ends. Doing so helps your hair grow longer over time.
3. GET A HAIRCUT- this may seem like the most backwards hack ever, but honestly trimming your ends will help in the long run. This reduces breakage therefore leaving hair thicker and eventually longer. As much as you want to hold on to every bit of length you have when growing your hair out, trimming your hair regularly is for the best.
4.VITAMINS- there are many vitamins that claim to grow your hair skin and nails. I can’t personally say which works better because I’ve only tried a few but I would say anything that has Biotin or Vitamin A in it is a good starting place. You don’t have to shell out tons of cash to get the sugar bear hair supplements that the stars use because essentially a vitamin is a vitamin and those are very gimmicky.
5. WASH HAIR SPARINGLY- Yes you definitely need to shampoo your hair sometimes because not washing enough can lead to all kinds of issues-not to mention greasy hair. But you really shouldn’t be shampooing your hair every day if you’re trying to grow it out. Shampoo strips natural oils in your hair. These oils keep the hair healthy and strong. So I suggest every 3 days if you can swing it. I know sometimes by the 2nd day I can’t take it anymore but I usually try to wait 3.
That’s all I’ve got for tips for growing your hair long. I hope this helps!
Have you heard of the latest trend in gel nail polish? I know I saw this color-change nail polish at my salon and thought that it was gimmicky and wouldn’t work or would barely change colors. However, I’ve recently started buying temperature changing gel polish online and I am obsessed.
It totally works, my nails drastically change color and it’s not only when I run them under cold water (as I had feared). Sometimes even when I’m at home my hands will just get a little chilly and it’s enough to completely change the color of my nails. I think it’s the coolest thing ever.
Here’s some before and after pictures of color changing polishes:
There’s some cool things you can do with this polish, I found this picture and am thinking of trying this myself–
If you do the design in a similar color to the warm one then it shows up more when your nails are cold which I think is super cool.
I’m sure there’s tons of other things you can do with this so be on the lookout for this new nail trend!!
Brows are so in right now, many girls are spending a lot of time in order to perfect the shape of their brows and ensure that they look thicker. I spend a lot time on my brows myself so this is just some insight into my brow routine and my brow opinions!
1. Wax, thread or pluck
I think that threading is the way to go. Obviously you can pluck and wax in between threading because… let’s face it threading hurts like a b****. I usually get my brows threaded every few months and wax and pluck in between to keep them cleaner looking. I just think that threading is much more precise and I always think it looks better. I definitely get the most compliments after my eyebrows have been threaded. All in all this is a personal decision and this is just my opinion.
2. Filling in your brows
I personally fill in my brows every day, but I try to remain subtle. I just prefer the more blended and natural look. I use 3 products on my brows regularly.
I start with Gimme Brow by Benefit Cosmetics. It is a gel but it has little fibers in it to make your brows look more voluminous and I really like it. Also, it’s only $12 for mini at ulta or sephora, which lasts me a couple months.
Then I go back in with a pencil. I am not particular regarding my pencils, as long as it matches the gel color and isn’t TOO bold, I think it’ll look nice.
Finally, I finish up with a clear gel to keep everything in place. I use Control Freak by Nyx, I bought this at target for $6 and it works like a charm. I think that, even if you aren’t a person that needs help shaping or filling you brows in, this product could be useful to you. It keeps my brows perfectly in place all day.
3. Tinting your brows
If you’re like me and you were born with flesh colored eyebrows, you may appreciate this helpful hint.
Every few weeks I tint my brows with Just For Men beard dye. This will run you about $8 and if you seal everything up it should last you around a year. It works great but the downside is that it doesn’t last long. It fades out after a couple weeks and you have to do it again. However it’s not too time consuming or difficult. I just bought a little mascara wand and I mix a small amount of the dye then comb it into my brows. You only want to leave it for like 5-10 minutes. Being that it’s your face and near your eyes, you need to be careful that you’re keeping it contained to just your brows and that you’re following the instructions. Afterwards you want to make sure it’s completely off your brows because it will burn if it’s not fully removed (found that out the hard way) Overall this is quick and makes it easier if you are like me and have very light brows naturally.
4. Shaping
My opinion here my not be very popular but I feel like you should at least try to trace your natural brows. I see so many girls drawing shapes on their faces that could never actually be a real eyebrow. I’m all for embellishing or building upon what you have but I just think it looks so much better when it looks real. So for shaping, I say try to keep it looking natural. Here’s some general guidelines regarding shaping that I stole from Buzzfeed:
Step 1: Hold the tweezer vertically from the outermost part of your nostril straight up to your eyebrow. The place where the tweezer hits is where the head (or innermost part) of your eyebrow should begin.
Step 2: Hold the tweezer horizontally at the top of each brow to make sure they’re at the same height. If they don’t match up, you can fill in the lower eyebrow to match the higher one.
Step 3: Hold the tweezer diagonally from the outermost part of your nostril to the outermost part of your eye. Where the tweezer extends past your eye is where the tail (or outermost part) of your eyebrow should end.
So, that’s about it. Let me know in the comments what you do to ensure your brows are always on fleek (;
There are a lot of different ways to do your nails, it may seem like it’s just putting on polish but for those who really like to do their nails or get them done a lot of thought goes into it.
First there are different shapes for nails, usually when you’re discussing shape it’s with acrylic. Acrylic nails for those who don’t know are built on top of the real nail creating a longer, harder nail.
Shapes:
Round-
Square-
Almond-
There’s also “Louboutin Nails”- This is inspired by the shoe, the top is black and the underside is red.
Matte Nails are really in right now as well, instead of a glossy finish it’s dull and matte.
Negative space nails are one of my favorite trends, this involves leaving empty space on the nail to create a design.
Jewel Nails-
Ombre Nails
There’s plenty of other nail trends these are just some of my favorites.
I naturally have very dark brown hair, for the past year or so I’ve had at least some blonde in my hair. Anyone that has bleached their hair knows how hard it is to keep it looking salon fresh. Bleached hair is toned to make it look prettier, and eventually that tone fades out leaving you with a copper-brassy-UGLY look. If you don’t want to spend tons of money every month to re-tone it…. I have the perfect solution.
Purple Shampoo. Purple shampoo cancels out the copper tones and leaves you with a cleaner, brighter looking blonde. Many say that you just wash your hair with this every day and that will do this trick, I haven’t found that to be the case. It helps but doesn’t fix it.
Here’s my process:
Joico Color Balance
I use this Joico Purple Toning Shampoo, which I buy from Ulta. It runs around $15 a bottle and lasts me around a month.
I wash with this every day as recommend but I also do more than that. Once a week I do a deep tone. On completely dry hair, I pack the shampoo on. I make sure every blonde spot is fully saturated and I leave it on for 20 minutes to half an hour then shampoo as normal. I wouldn’t recommend leaving it too much longer than that because I’ve seen videos of girls accidentally giving their hair a purple tint and that’s obviously not the goal. I’ve found complete success with this and I can get my color to last months longer than it does without the shampoo. They also make conditioner which I’ve never used but I assume it would only make the effect better if you’re willing to spend the extra money.
Most people know that there are a couple kinds of eyeliner, there’s gel, liquid and pencil eyeliner. Certain kinds are better suited for specific looks. This post is going to discuss some of the most popular eyeliner trends of 2017.
1. The one that is so hot right now… Winged eyeliner.
The length and angle of you wing is completely up to you, this look is proabably a little dramatic for every day wear but it’s definitely personal preference. This look is easiest to achieve with a liquid or a gel eyeliner. Doing a wing with pencil doesn’t give you the clean lines that are desired.
2. The smudged look- this is usually used to make your eyes appear more smoky or grungey.
Smudged looks are usually done with a pencil and a blending brush. You can smudge as little or as much as you like.
3. Colored liner- this is a fun look to make your eyes pop or to add drama or a whimsical feel. Some colors are made to compliment your eye color but my favorite colored eyeliner looks are with neon colors or white.
As you can see from the picture, this look varries. You can add the color on top of black, instead of black. I’ve even seen people blend from one color at one corner of their eye to another color at the other corner. These looks take more practice but are extremely unique and fun.
4. Thick underlining- this is an edgier look, one I don’t rock myself but I find it’s super hot on the runway this year.
This look is achieved by lining your water line with a pencil, this is a quick way to draw attention to your eyes and make your eye color more noticeable.
There are obviously other ways to wear eyeliner, but I feel like these are the trendiest at the moment!
This month my Ipsy bag came with this cute little card that said “you are beautiful pass it on.” overall, this bag was a bit of a disappointment (which I will get into in a moment) however, this is the cutest and most spacious bag I’ve ever gotten from Ipsy. I’m in love. Now let’s get into the products:
First let me say, this is probably the 8th blush I’ve gotten in a year of getting Ipsy bags. That’s way too much and no one in the world needs that much blush. I don’t even wear blush every day so why in the world would I need 8 of them. I barely even use the ones I have. So anyway, I can’t actually review this product because I’m giving it to a friend. I’m sure it’s a nice enough product but for the love of god Ipsy…. QUIT SENDING ME BLUSH
Next…
My second blending brush from Ipsy… I don’t wear eyeshadow so not useful. I am gonna keep it around in case I need it some day because I’m a makeup hoarder but my guess would be this will never be used.
This is a repairing hair mask by Ouai haircare. It retails for $32 for a pack of 3 masks which can be purchased here. I liked this product but I’m going to be completely honest (which is the point of this blog) I like the hair mask I use from the drug store better. This one has a strange scent and the other one makes my hair way softer. This mask is supposed to be made with way higher quality ingredients so if you’re into that this may be the product for you. However if you wanna save a lot of money and are looking for a hair mask… My suggestion is the L’Oreal total repair 5 damage treatment which can be purchased for a mere $5 here
The most redeeming product of my bag this month is this tarte liquid lipstick. 1. I love tarte. 2. I love liquid lipstick and 3. this shade though>>> I don’t have anything negative to say about this product whatsoever, it’s a yes from me. Can be purchased here for $20.
Finally…
If you know me, you know I’m a complete sucker for a mud mask. I’m obsessed. This one is really nice, it goes on thinner and dries pretty quick. It’s not a huge time commitment because they recommend you leave it on for around 10 min, it’s important to wash it with cold water for the full effect. It left my skin oil free and feeling really good the next day. Overall you can tell it’s a high quality product however… I’m not going to be running out to purchase more at WAIT FOR IT…… $74 a bottle. Ouch. If you’re crazy and you still really want it you can purchase it here
All in all, this was one of my more disappointing glam bags, however I still feel like I got my money’s worth so that’s a win. If you want to start receiving your very own glam bag hit up this link and get me some points!!
Ahh the age old question that I didn’t truly know the answer to until last year when I got a primer in my Ipsy bag and did some research.
There are plenty of different kinds of primers and everyone knows you put them on before you do your makeup but.. like why??? For this post I’m going to strictly discuss primers for foundation. There are primers for lips, eyes, pre-mascara primers, etc, but primers that go on as a base for your whole face of makeup are the most popular so I’m going to dive into that.
Types of Face Primers:
There are different types of primers for beneath your foundation. My favorite kind is the thicker more gel-ly like kinds, but there are sprays and liquids. Primers vary by what your goal is. There’s
Poreless- obviously to reduce the look of pores
Oil Reducers- if you have oily skin, you know it can ruin even the best foundations. These primers are meant to keep those oils to a minimum
Moisturizers- on the other end of the spectrum, if you have dry skin you know that your foundation might just flake off sometimes because your skin is so dry. These types are meant to keep this from happening.
Dewy/Matte- these are to increase either the dewy glow or the matte-ness of your foundation. This is totally a personal preference thing.
All primers have the goal of making your makeup look better and last longer and if you can find the right one for your skin type it’s truly worth the extra money. Primers can get very expensive, but I’ve tried many different ones at different price points and it’s not really about cost it’s more about finding the one that’s the right one for your skin type. So in summary you don’t need to splurge to find a nice primer, you just need to know what your individual needs from a primer are.
Braids are super trendy these days. All the celebs are rocking what has been deemed as “boxer braids” so I figured I’d make a post about different kinds of braids.
French Braids
French braids are probably the most popular and well known of all the braids. They look like:
French braids are made by pulling the hair over the middle when you’re adding to the braid. A lot of people wear french braids as shown in the picture, one single french braid.
Dutch Braids/Boxer Braids/Dino Braids
These are very trendy right now and many celebs like the Kardashian/Jenner fam can be seen rocking these braids.
Dutch braids are made by pulling the hair under rather than over when adding to the braid. One of my favorite dutch braid looks is paired with space buns like you see in the first picture, although I feel I couldn’t personally pull it off and I tend to rock the pigtail dutch braids you see in the second pic.
Lace Braid
Lace braids are very popular when trying to do a braid with most of your hair down.
These braids are created by only pulling from one side rather than both, they can be done dutch style or french style.
Finally, the last style I want to cover is..
Cornrows
Cornrows are very well known, however, they take a lot of skill to execute.
One of the coolest things about cornrows is those that are really skilled at it can make designs and shapes using the braid. These are essentially very small and tight dutch braids. The precision it takes to have nice looking cornrows surpasses any other type of braiding in my opinion.
There are many other types of braids, such as fishtail and 4-strand braiding, I just decided to cover a few for this blog post!
