All About My Makeup Routine!

Hi Beauties!

I hope your holidays are going well! I have been hanging out and getting ready around many friends and family this holiday break. Common questions that I have been receiving and have received many times before are "What order do you put your makeup on?" "What highlighter do you use?" "Wait, what is that orange gunk that you're using under your eye?"

All of these are questions that I find myself asking other girls when they are applying their makeup, too. I was going to compile these questions in a "Beauty Chit Chat," but I thought it would be more informational if I dedicated it its own post! 

Disclaimer: I am by no means a makeup expert. I am a regular girl that loves and finds it therapeutic to experiment with new makeup and looks. I have a lot to learn and would love to hear your personal tips! 

What order?

My makeup order depends on whether I am going for a full-face look or a casual daytime look. My full face/night-out look requires more products in comparison to my casual daytime look.

Full Face Order: Moisturizer, primer, corrector, concealer, foundation, concealer again (to highlight), eyebrows, bronzer (to contour), blush, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, highlight, and lipstick

Casual Face Order: Moisturizer, corrector, foundation, eyebrows, eyeliner, mascara, blush, and lipstick

PS: If you are wondering what I mean by "corrector", please refer to my Beauty Chit Chat post from last month! |HERE|

What brands are you using? 

Primer: NYX

Corrector: Orange Shade NYX

Concealer: Maybelline 

Blush: City Color Cosmetics

Foundation: Kat Von D

Bronzer Contour: Anastasia Beverly Hills

Eyebrow Pomade: Anastasia Beverly Hills

Mascara: Maybelline

Gel Eyeliner: Maybelline 

Highlighter: The Balm Cosmetics

Makeup Tools:

I have realized over the years that your makeup is helpless without the right proper makeup tools. My favorite and most frequently used tool is the Beauty Blender. I literally use this sponge for everything, from blending out my concealer and foundation to applying my contour and blush. I have essentially stopped using face brushes completely! 

For the eyes, I use an angled eyeliner brush to apply my gel liner and to conquer the brows, I use an even thinner angled brush to apply my dipbrow pomade.

I hope you try out some of the products that I mentioned above. If you can only try one, you must try the Balm Cosmetics Mary-Lou Manizer highlighter! Please tell me your makeup order and favorites in the comments!

Beauty Chit Chat: Winter Skin Battle!

#13

♥Can I still use foundation on dry winter skin?

No matter how dewy a foundation may be, it will never look good on dry winter skin. The flakes beneath will poke through your foundation and look obvious. Before applying foundation, exfoliate your skin with an exfoliating scrub to get rid of the dry skin and apply a thick moisturizer. The thicker, the better. Leave it on your skin for at least 15 minutes before applying your foundation. If your skin is too greasy after 15 minutes, wipe the excess off with a makeup wipe or toner. 

♥How can I fix my rough, cracked hands?

This happens to the best of us, don't worry. If you need extreme repair, apply a thick layer of hand lotion or body butter and cover your hands with a pair of tight winter gloves overnight or as long as you can. This will help lock in the moisture. For daily care, apply lotion after each hand wash and a little cuticle oil around the nail beds at night. 

The dry winter air can take such a toll on your skin so stay warm and moisturized! 

Timeless Jewels Under $50!

Happy Holidays! 

Last year, I complied a trillion gift guides for anyone in your life. This year, I have really been into quality and timeless jewelry pieces that I can cherish and wear for years. Quality and timeless comes for a hefty price at times, however, I scoured the internet and found pieces that would make perfect presents for a friend or even yourself for under $50. If you accessorize all the time, sometimes, or only once in a blue moon, these pieces will serve you year after year!  

ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE | SIX | SEVEN | EIGHT

I hope you find something you love from here! 

TOP 8: Fall & Winter Trends!

Happy Thursday!

I have officially finished my third semester in pharmacy school and I could not be happier! Being a busy-bee with school, I was not able to upload as much as content as I intended to. However, I am excited for this break because I have so much to share with you from my favorite skincare line to my thoughts on a popular drugstore makeup brand. Today we will begin with eight Fall/Winter Fashion trends that you should add to your wardrobe...or maybe even put on that Christmas wish-list?

Ponchos: I like to think of them as open-front women capes! The weighted knit is awesome at creating an image of a slender body figure underneath. Style them with a pair of heeled boots and black skinny pants, you'll be golden!

Buttoned skirt: The first buttoned skirt that we all were introduced to was the tan buttoned skirt on Instagram. All the bloggers were wearing it and now they come in so many different styles and colors. 

Long vest: Reminds me of one person, Victoria Beckham so, I mean, it's definitely in. 

Faux fur stool: I just love the way the hair and makeup can glisten neck above a faux fur stool, is that kinda weird? I don't care because it is so true! The warm and fuzzy stool is very elegant and formal and would look great on a cold winter day with a heavy coat. 

Turtle Neck: These sweaters are back and look comfier than ever.

Open- Front Coat: The coat was inspired by classic mens blazers. I have one without the flaps in the front and it looks so clean and proper with a basic color ensemble.

Formal Satin Joggers: Perfect for a night-out look for the cold chilly nights. I love wearing my camo-green pair of joggers with a solid colored top and a pair of wedges, open toe heels, or even small booties.

Over-the-knee boots: They are in, everywhere! I especially love the skinny over-the-knee boots that give any outfit a classy touch.

My favorites from this list have to be the faux fur stools, open front coats, and buttoned skirts! What are yours? Let me know down below! 

Bearpaw & Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse Holiday GIVEAWAY!

Hi Fashionistas!

First off, there is a SURPRISE giveaway at the end of this post, so stay tuned!

I hope you all are conquering the cold and staying warm this fall. I have learned to appreciate the fall weather over the years. It is that conditioning period before the winter blizzards smack you right in the face. Living in a city without a car, walking is the best source of transportation so it is important to have comfortable and warm shoes to accompany me on my travels.

For the past month I have been on the hunt for a certain pair of gray BEARPAW boots (Emma) that I was eyeing on www.Bearpaw.com. After searching online for nearby stores, I was so lucky to have found a store called Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse that not only carried BEARPAW boots, but also a wide range of other shoes!

OBSW seemed like a perfect store for someone like me who hates shoe shopping and is on a tight budget. I prefer everything to be under one roof, all brands, all styles, and all for great prices. Google maps told me that there was an OBSW store near me, but I had no idea what to expect.  Their website is the epitome of shoe heaven but I could not imagine all those shoes under one roof.

But boy, was I wrong...

I knew immediately that this was going to be the most dreamy shoe shopping experience when I saw the following:

1. an endless tundra of heels greeting me at the door
2. a pair of gray Converse for $26!
3. a plethora of high-end brands on clearance for 40-70% off!
4. best of all, a fully stocked BEARPAW boots display front and center

I literally ran in and grabbed all the BEARPAW styles I could find in a size 8 and mocked my own little runway (see below lol). Overall, I am now a proud owner of the gray EMMA boots that were for sale for a ridiculously low price of $59! Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse is definitely on the top of my list for all my shoe shopping necessities. The store was incredibly organized, up-to-date with the trends, offered awesome brands like BEARPAW, and this was all for discounted prices! Definitely check out their selection. They offer coupons and discount codes as well so you're definitely going to be saving on your next pair of shoes -- CRAZY SAVINGS HERE!

GIVEAWAY BELOW! 

After I bought the boots, I had to wear them the very next day. The weather was beautiful, but a little chilly, so I decided to take the Emma boots on a little stroll to a historic part of Philadelphia near the Liberty Bell. Yes, my bun is cray...please look past it, whoops! 

           

GIVEAWAY TIME! 

Now for the fun part! BEARPAW and Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse wanted to give all my readers an opportunity to have the same great shopping experience that I had by sponsoring a giveaway! They will be giving one (1) reader a pair of Bearpaw boots AND a $250 gift card to Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse! 

Rules: EASY, just comment underneath on this blog post with your holiday plans, favorite christmas song, or whatver! 

The giveaway will run till 12/04/15 and a winner will be chosen SATURDAY 12/05/15! 

WINNER IS:
Candace Lynn!
Thank you all for entering! Sorry for not interacting much, finals week is taking over my life but I had a great time reading all of your comments. This was the first time I hosted a giveaway on my blog, but it definitely will not be the last (HINT: Keep a look out within the next couple of months!!) PS: A random number generator (picture below) was used choose the winner. I counted down on the comments to verify!

I hope you enjoyed this post! Don't forget to enter, good luck!