Bronzed Beauty

Summer is just around the corner and if you are like me, I am still as pale as the winter snow. To get ready for the warmer weather I think it is nice to add a little glow to your makeup look. Adding bronzer adds more color and detention to the skin. A big trend for makeup is doing crazy contouring. This is not really necessary to do all the time and I personally don’t think it looks super natural either. A better way to give your face shape is a nice blended, overall bronze. A tip on how to apply the bronzer around your face is in the “E3” shape. This basically means that on the left side of your face you will create an “E” and on the right side a “3”. What you will do is take your brush and go around the boarder of the forehead (by the hairline and temple). Then bring it around to the hollows of your cheek bones (From your ears outward to the middle of the cheek). Finally take your brush and drag it underneath the jaw line. This will give the jaw line more definition. After this you simple repeat on the other side of the face.

How to apply bronzer 3 or E method

Another little trick that I like to do is to place a little bronzer on each side of my nose and leaving the middle untouched because that is where the highlighter will be. This tip will make the nose look smaller but also the most important thing, giving the nose more contrast to the rest of the face so it does not get lost in the rest of the face.

Some products that are highly raved about is the ‘Benefit Hoola’ bronzer. This product cost $29.00. Like every high-end product that is pretty outrageous. I have found that the ‘NYC Smooth Skin Bronzing face powder’ in color ‘Sunny’ is a major dupe for the ‘Benefit Hoola’ bronzer. The NYC bronzer is only $3! This is a $26 dollar difference. It is insane to me that someone would pay that much when there is the exact same product for more than half the price.

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Birkenstock Sandal Dupes

Another trend that has come back from the early 00’s is the Birkenstock Sandals. I remember having a pair around middle school. It is weird to think they are back in style. Although, it is fine by me because I think they are still cute and comfortable. Something that I do not remember from years ago was how expensive they were. Just looking on the Birkenstocks website, a classic pair of their sandals cost $99.95. (Below is a picture of what a Birkenstock Sandal looks like)

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I do not know many people who would feel right about spending one hundred dollars on sandals. Unless you only care about having the real brand name of course but I think the overall look of the item is what matters when looking at dupes, not the brand name. Since I have been wanting a pair of these shoes for awhile now, I did my own research on other brands that make sandals that look just like Birkenstock’s but with a much better price tag. That is when I came across Targets shoe selection. I could not believe it but I truly found a Birkenstock sandal dupe. They are called Women’s Mad Love Keava Footbed Sandals and they only cost $22.99 at Target. That is a $77 dollar difference for shoes that look and feel the same. Also right now Target is having a BOGO sale for their sandals so you can get one in each color. Not to mention you can still buy two pairs of the Mad Love brand for much less then just one pair of Birkenstocks. (Below is a picture of the pair that I got from target)

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Tips and Hacks to Get Marked Down Clothing

Getting fashionable clothes can be expensive most of the time if you do not know where to look to get a deal. I mentioned in an earlier post that one of the first tips to buying clothing cheaper is buying them when they are out of season. Right when the seasons are changing, store always move the last seasons clothes to clearance. This is a great tip because they usually have the new clothes coming in before the last season was actually over. So if you find clothes you like you can still wear them before the weather changes are you are too cold or too hot.

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Speaking of clearance, another tip that I found super helpful is knowing the days of when stores mark down their clothes. For example, Target can be pricy sometimes but still fairly low prices and finding mark down items can be a steal.

Their schedule or marking down is: Monday– Kids clothing, crafts, and electronics, Tuesday– Women’s clothing and domestics, Wednesday– Men’s clothing, toys, health and beauty, Thursday– Lingerie, shoes, housewares, Friday– Cosmetics.

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Another helpful tip along with knowing the days something will be marked down but also knowing if it is at its lowest price. Which there is an easy way find out, that many people never knew. So when looking at a clearance sticker if the price ends in a 8 it will be marked down again and if it ends in a 4 that is the lowest price. (see the picture above for an example)

Highlighter Dupes

A big trend that is happening to take your makeup to the next level is adding highlighter. A full face of makeup can look incomplete without the finishing touch of highlighter. It adds a nice glow to your face and it adds more dimension. Putting a little highlight on the high points of the face (cheek ones, down the middle of your nose or the tip of the nose, and on the cupids bow) gives a more natural look to your makeup. A product that is extremely raved about in the online beauty community is the BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighter in the color Champagne Pop cost $38 off of Sephora.com.

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I have to admit this is a beautiful product. If I had about forty dollars laying around I would love to buy this high-end product. But since I do not, I have found a product that gives me the same look for less.

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The Elf baked eye shadow shade called Enchanted. Even though this is actually an eye shadow you can still use it as a highlighter. This product only cost $3! That is a $35 difference for two products that look the exact same! The photo below shows the comparison of the two.

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Elf also offers actual highlighter products that I also love. They have three highlighter shades. Pink Diamonds (a pink/ blush shimmer), Moonlight Pearls (a light golden shimmer), and Blush Gems (a darker golden brown shimmer). They all cost $3 as well. These are all great products from Elf that I personally use everyday. All these shades including the baked eye shadow ‘Enchanted’ would only cost you about $12. You can get all four for still half the price of one BECCA highlighter.

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Primer Dupes

One of the best ways to get the most out of your makeup is to always start your makeup routine with a primer. A primer is applied to clean skin first then your foundation or BB cream over to smooth out imperfections, make your pores disappear, keep your face matte, and to make your makeup last throughout the day. I have noticed a big difference on the days that I do and do not wear a primer under my makeup. If I don’t, by lunch time some of my foundation has probably rubbed off of my nose because that is where I usually get the most oily. Therefore there are obviously high end primers that will do the job but in reality I have found dupes at the drugstore for have the price. Here are some dupes that I have found and have tested out myself.

First is the Benefit Porefessional vs. Maybelline Baby Skin. The light blue packaging of both looks very similar along with the product inside. The Maybelline Baby Skin does just as good of a job erasing the look of pores as the Benefit Porefessional. But there is a big price difference. Benefit Porefessional cost: $12 and the Maybelline Baby Skin cost: $6. Save your money and go for Maybelline. You could buy two for the price of one Benefit Porefessional.

 

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Another dupe would be the Smashbox Photo finish primer vs. the Elf Mineral Infused primer. Just like the other primers above Smashbox and Elf are the exact same. They both do a great job making the skin look matte even with flash photography. But here is the price difference, Smashbox Photo finish primer cost: $16 and the Elf Mineral Infused primer cost: $6. Also Elf has different colored primers too for the same cost that help with color correcting of the skin.

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Knit it yourself

Since it is still a little chilly outside wearing chunky knit scarfs is not only practical but also fashionable. Finding knit scarfs out in stores now is one way to get the look for less. Buying clothes that are starting to be out of season is a great way to get it way cheaper. Along with finding scarfs on clearance, you can also make it yourself. I taught myself how to knit and I have made a lot of scarfs. Plus it is a good gift idea for friends and family. I think a scarf is an easy way to add a little something to a look that otherwise would have been boring. Not to mention it is pretty simple once you get the hang of it. It is another DIY that you can put your own personal touch to it if desired.

What you will need to create the scarf: About two balls of yarn for about $3-5 and Knitting needles for $3. Both found at Walmart or Jo Anns. The beauty of making it yourself is that you can use any knitting needles or yarn you want. The thicker the yarn the more chunky it will be which is the way I like my scarfs to look.

As for direction for how to make the actual scarf I am more of a visual learner and I think it is easier to watch someone else knit rather then reading directions. Therefore below is the link to the video that helped me learn how to knit my scarfs.

DIY Choker Necklace

A fashion trend that is popular lately is choker necklaces. This look was very popular back in the day during the 90’s and early 00’s. Since it is making it is way back into fashion, many high end stores are charging an arm and a leg for something as simple as string. For example, a store like Nordstrom I found online charged $28.00 for a necklace like this:

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This necklace is so simple to recreate for way less. What you need is leather trim. You can get two yards worth for only $2.99 at Jo Ann Fabrics. This is the part where you can add your own style to it. You can make it how long or short you wish. Once you know your desired length just cut off any extra length. Next you simply wrap it around your neck how ever tight or loose. There you have it! Your own long string cocker. The nice thing about this style of choker is the different possibilities with tying it. You can have a loose knot like the picture shows or you can tie it into a bow because that is another look at is popular.

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Another style of chokers that can be a DIY is a band with a charm. There are charms available on Amazon for about four to five dollars. Same concept as the last necklace, buying the same leather trim material and adding the charm. To make a necklace that has a clasp in the back it is also a simple addition. Once again found on Amazon for about $3 and can be applied to the end of the necklace, squeezing it with a tweezers. Overall, getting a look for under ten dollars when it could cost almost $30.

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Soft Plump Lips

Having fuller, plump lips is the popular look among celebrities. Along with bigger lips, matte lip stick is the latest trend in the world of makeup. Therefore, you need healthy soft lips to apply the product on top of. Also because it is still chilly outside lips can become extremely dry and flaky. Having boring, pealing lips is not only annoying but it is not very cute.

The first tip is getting rid of rough dry lips. What I like to do is use a lip scrub. Similar to a body scrub, a lip scrub exfoliates the dead skin off. There are lip scrubs available in the stores but there is a much easier and cheaper way to make the same product yourself. All you need is equal parts of coconut oil, raw honey, double the amount of raw or granulated sugar and a hint of lemon juice. Mix this all together and gently rub around on the lips. Then simply rinse off the residue and just like that you have soft kissable lips. This homemade lip scrub is easy to make and use. Not to mention it taste pretty good too.IMG_0624 (The photo on the left shows how smooth my lips look after the scrub and before I applied any lipstick.)

With this in mind, I like to get a supple look without obviously getting cosmetic surgery. A trick I have to get fuller looking lips is to apply a lip volumizing gloss by Soap and Glory. It is called “Sexy Mother Pucker XL Extreme-Plump” and it has natural ingredients that give a fuller lip look. It is priced at around ten dollars which is a cheap solution to achieve this look. Also there is the secret of over lining the lips. This trick does work as well but only if it is done right. The way to pull this off is to only go over our natural lips at your cupids bow (highest point of the upper lip) and the lowest point of the bottom lip. If you only over line the lips in the middle areas of the lips it looks more realistic than going over the whole boarder of the mouth. (The photo below is what it looks like after applying the plumper and doing the over lining trick on top of it)OUWE9861

High-End vs. Drugstore Lip Stick

liplingerie_main The latest trend in make up is matte lips. Matte lip stick has a nonglossy smooth finish typically with lots of pigment and a stay that last all day. Many think that this kind of quality has to come at a high price tag but that is not always the case. Some of the most raved about high end products include the Kylie Jenner lip kits, Makeup Forever, Mac, NARS, YSL, Dior, and a few others. This list of products range from fifteen to forty dollars. In my opinion, as a college student, paying more than ten dollars for a lipstick is way too much. Those products might be worth the money in some ways but when comparing them to some drugstore products the quality is the same, with a much more manageable price. NYX is a drugstore brand that is just as good if not better quality then the lipsticks worth forty bucks. NYX is my personal favorite drugstore brand. I think this cosmetic line offers great products overall in addition to their lipsticks. The NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams and the Lingerie liquid matte lipsticks are the two products that I have purchased and the ones that I reach for the most when doing my makeup. There is over forty different shades to pick from. They offer the perfect nude to bright pinks and vampy dark purple, reds. The Soft Matte Lip Creams are five to six dollars and the Lingerie liquid lipstick are about seven dollars. Both are found at stores like Ulta or Target. The main difference between the two product would be the pigment of the colors. The Soft matte lip creams need two coats when applying to the lips but the two coats have just as much color as one layer of the liquid Lingerie lipsticks. Each last all day and do not rub off when eating or drinking. Hands down the best lipsticks for less than ten bucks. For sure gives the exact same look for much less.

Both images found off of nyxcosmetics.com

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