Halo Eye

Halo Eye Eyeshadow Tutorial + Lip Option

I've been really wanting to try out doing a halo eye look, and the shade Girlie in the Hard Candy Look Pro Neutral Eyes palette looked like it would be perfect for a pop of shimmer in the middle of the lid, so I created this look using that palette. I experimented a bit with using shadows wet as well, so I'll note which shadow I did that with when we get to that step.

Using a blending brush, buff the shade Chatty into and above the crease as a transition shade so that your crease shade will blend easier and look more gradient.

Put the shade Toying in the crease, working in light layers and slowly building up color.

Sorry this picture is out of focus, I didn't realize until after I had completed the next step so I couldn't retake it. I took the shade Philander and placed it on the inner and outer thirds of the lid, staying away from the middle of the lid entirely. I did take the color up into the crease a little bit.

Next, I wet my brush with the Hard Candy Fast & Fabulous Setting Spray and dipped into the shade Girlie before putting it on the middle third of my lid. I wet my brush so that the color would be more intense and metallic looking. It doesn't look nearly as good on camera as it did in person, but believe me, it makes a huge difference. Make sure to blend the edges of the lid colors together.

After that I blended my crease some more so that everything looked more put together.

I put the shade Coy on the lower lashline because I think it makes everything look a lot more complete.

Adding the shade Bashful as an inner corner and browbone highlight pulls everything together nicely!

Blend some more, add liner and mascara, and you're done!

For the lips, I applied Wet' n' Wild's Mega Last lipstick in Just Peachy under Stila's Stay All Day Vinyl lip gloss in Nude. I think this look would also look nice paired with a red lip.

Lip Product Addict Tag

Lip Product Addict Tag

As you may know if you read my blog regularly, I am absolutely addicted to lip products. Nobody tagged me to do this but I wanted to do it so I am.

Favorite balm/treatment?

I apply the Nivea lip butter every night before bed so I wake up with soft, smooth lips. I also have Raspberry Rose Kiss, but I'm currently trying to use up this one. It's super moisturizing and it smells great too!

Best eye-catching red?

I love the Tarte LipSurgence Power Pigment In Flush when I'm going for a red. It's more of a berry red, and it's really pigmented. It lasts a long time on the lips but it's super creamy and comfortable.

Best luxury and drugstore lipstick?

MAC's Brave and NYX's Extra Creamy Round lipstick in Castle. Brave only needs to be reapplied once or twice throughout the day whereas Castle has to be reapplied more frequently, about every 2-3 hours. Both of the colors are gorgeous, and they're both really comfortable formulas. I think that Brave is definitely worth the splurge but if you're on a budget you should try Castle out if you want a fun color.

Best MAC lipstick?

The only MAC lipstick I currently own is Brave. I do have two more on the way, but they're in colors I probably won't wear as often, so I think that this one will remain my favorite. It's a really pretty color with a satin finish. I've already worn this one so much that the lipstick is starting to wear down to my lip shape.

Most disappointing lip product?

I wanted to like these Rimmel Keep Calm lip balms so bad because of how cute and inexpensive they are, but I just can't. They're greasy but not moisturizing at all.

Lipliner - yes or no?

Most of the time, no. I do own a few, though. These Kleancolor ones are actually really good, and only a dollar from ShopMissA. I don't find that lipliners tend to do much unless I'm wearing a lipstick that bleeds a lot, in which case I will wear a lipliner, but most of mine don't do that.

Best lip gloss?

Buxom Full-On Lip Polish in Margaret! It's a gorgeous brown nude with little gold shimmers, and I absolutely love it. I rarely wear gloss but when i do it's almost always this. A family member got it for me because it has the same name as me and they thought that was cute, and now it's my favorite gloss ever. The formula is so great, and it's a plumping gloss, but it makes my lips tingle without burning. I don't notice much plumping but I already have pretty full lips anyways so I don't mind.

Something extra!

Nobody ever seems to talk about how great Lip Smackers are. They're actually quite moisturizing, and they go on really smoothly. They have a nice soft texture and they come in so many yummy scents that there's one for everyone. At $2.50 USD each (or 6 for $12 or 12 for $20 on their website) they're not that expensive and they're surprisingly high quality for what many would consider "play" or kid's makeup. The one's in this picture even have SPF, although I haven't tried them out yet.

This Or That Tag

This Or That Beauty Tag

Although I wasn't tagged to do this by anyone, I really wanted to do it, so I'm doing it it anyways, I tag anybody who wants to do it! This tag is basically a series of questions about whether you prefer one thing or another that is related to beauty.

Makeup

Blush or Bronzer?

Blush! I'm so pale that bronzers are really hard for me to find and I rarely wear them. And because I am so pale, I find that blush adds some much needed color to my face.

Lipgloss or Lipstick?

Lipstick all the way! Lipstick is pretty much my favorite makeup product ever. I just forget to put on lipgloss most of the time, and when I do put it on, I forget to reapply it when it wears off.

Eyeliner or Mascara?

Mascara, not because I prefer it, but because I feel an eye look can look complete without eyeliner but not without mascara. If I don't wear eyeliner then I feel like my eye makeup can look fine but when I forget mascara I always hate my eye makeup. That being said, winged eyeliner is something I live for.

Foundation or Concealer?

Foundation, because I have a much easier time finding it in my shade than concealer. I know that seems odd but I honestly can't seem to find a drugstore concealer light enough for me.

Neutral or Color Eyeshadow?

Can I say both? Because even though I usually wear neutral shadows much more often, there's a special place in my heart for brightly colored shadows. They are my true love when it comes to eye makeup.

Pressed or Loose Eyeshadow?

Pressed, since loose is so messy.

Brushes or Sponges?

Sponges for most liquid foundations, brushes for everything else.

Nails

OPI or China Glaze?

I've never tried either out enough for me to have a real preference.

Long or Short?

I love how long nails look, but short nails are much more practical for me.

Acrylic or Natural?

Natural for me - my nails are already so brittle that I can't justify damaging them further.

Brights or Darks?

Brights! Brights all the way! Bright corals and pinks are my thing.

Flower or No Flower?

Does this mean as in a flower nail art? If so, flower.

Body

Perfume or Body Splash?

Body splash/spray. I like the variety of scents the Bath and Body Works body sprays come in, and the fact that those are cheaper than perfume. Perfume does last longer (both throughout the day and over time) but they just don't come in as many fun scents.

Lotion or Body Butter?

Body butter. It's usually much more moisturizing, and I like that.

Body Wash or Soap?

Body wash, as it tends to come in more scents and I prefer the texture.

Lush or Other Bath Company?

I don't think I've tried enough products from Lush to know yet.

Fashion

Jeans or Sweat Pants?

If I'm leaving the house - neither! I love jeggings. If I'm in the house, sweatpants.

Long Sleeves or Short?

Short, year round. In the winter I still wear short sleeves, I just wear a coat over them. I own almost exclusively short sleeved shirts.

Dresses or Skirts?

Dresses. I like how they look on my body more than skirts most of the time. Plus you don't have to find a matching top because it's all-in-one!

Stripes or Plaid?

Plaid for tops, stripes for bottoms. Not at the same time though, since I don't like to mix patterns.

Flip-Flops or Sandals?

I literally never wear either, but I guess sandals if I had to choose.

Scarves or Hats?

Scarves. They're a great accessory and I think they're prettier than hats most of the time. I'm also just bad at matching hats to my outfits so that's part of it.

Studs or Dangle Earrings?

Studs, because they can still be a statement without getting in the way of things. I do still like dangle earrings quite a bit though.

Necklaces or Bracelets?

Necklaces, since I find they don't get in my way as much.

Heels or Flats?

I'm bad at walking in most heels, but I still absolutely love them!

Cowboy Boots or Riding Boots?

Riding boots, because I associate them with horses, and I like horses.

Jacket or Hoodie?

Hoodie. Oh my God, I have so many hoodies. Like, at least five or six.

Forever 21 or Charlotte Russe?

I've never shopped at Charlotte Russe so I can't say.

Abercrombie or Hollister?

Neither.

Saks 5th or Nordstrom?

I can't remember ever shopping at either.

Hair

Curly or Straight?

I currently have a pixie cut, so straight. But when my hair was long, I loved how it looked when I curled it!

Bun or Ponytail?

Back when my hair was long, I hated the feeling of my hair behind my ears, so neither.

Bobby Pins or Butterfly Clips?

It depends on what I'm going for.

Hair Spray or Gel?

I actually just use a hair pomade, but I do occasionally use hair spray.

Long or Short?

Super short! I have a pretty short pixie cut with one of the sides shaved currently.

Light or Dark?

I like having light hair, although my true preference is bright pink.

Side Sweep Bangs or Full Bangs?

I prefer side swept bangs like I have now.

Up or Down?

Down when I had long hair, but now it's too short to put up.

Random

Rain or Shine?

Sunshine, but not so hot that my makeup melts off.

Summer or Winter?

I like them both for different reasons. In summer there's nicer weather, but my makeup melts off more easily. In winter there's snow and my makeup stays on, but it's cold and rainy at times too.

Fall or Spring?

Spring, because that's when my birthday is, and there's flowers. Except I also get allergies.

Chocolate or Vanilla?

Chocolate. No debate on that whatsoever.

East Coast or West Coast?

There's ups and downs to both.

Eye Look

Hard Candy Neutral Eyes Palette Look

In a recent haul I showed you the Hard Candy Neutral Eyes palette I got from WalMart. I wanted to do a look using the pretty copper-gold color in it, and I decided to do the look using only colors from the same palette.

Use the shade Chatty as a transition shade, making sure to blend it out well and get it all over the crease and a bit above. This gives the crease shade something to blend into.

Use the shade Toying in the crease, blending it up into the transition shade.

Put the shade Coy all over the lid, blendig it into the crease slightly for a more blended, less harsh look when you close your eyes.

Use the shade Bashful as an inner corner and browbone highlight. This shade reminds me a bit of the shade Champagne Truffle in the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette, which I also use as an inner corner and browbone highlight a lot.

Use the shade Frisky on the lower lashline to pull everything together. I think this look looks much better with something on the lower lashline.

Add finishing touches like mascara and eyeliner and the look is done!

I paired this eye look with the Hard Candy Velvet Mousse Matte Lip Color in Sweet Pea. I haven't tried it out much yet but so far I really like it. I haven't worn it long enough to know if it dries matte yet, but I'll update you on it in a later post.

An Unnecessary Haul

I Did More Shopping That Didn't Need To Be Done

The drugstore has been releasing tons of new stuff lately, and I wanted to try it all, but I restrained myself and only got a few of the new things. I went to WalMart for most of this, but I'll also be showing the stuff I got at Dollar Tree first. My justification for going to the dollar store is that I recently threw out tons of old nail polish, so I need new ones to replace what I got rid of, and the dollar store carries the L.A. Colors polishes I like.

I've been wanting to try the e.l.f. Lip Balm Tints, and my local Dollar Tree had a bunch in the shade Grapefruit. I've heard good things about these, and I wanted to see if they were comparable to the Nivea lip butters.

I'm running out of nail polish remover so I got some more, and I'm trying out the strengthening kind this time because I have the crappiest nails ever and I want to do something about it. I don't know how much it will help since in the past nail hardeners haven't done much at all but I'm willing to try it since it's a dollar and will still at least work for removing polish.

I don't tend to wear fake nails because I find them irritating, but I thought these ones were super cute and I could wear them for a special occasion if I wanted longer nails that day. They don't come with glue, but I already have some.

Since I got rid of so much nail polish, I figured getting three new ones wouldn't be excessive. The blue and coral seem like nice summer shades, and the red seems like a red I would actually wear since I don't tend to go for bright reds and this one is on the darker side.

I got more candles at WalMart! Because I totally need more candles! These ones smelled super good though, and they were on sale for $3.00 USD. I don't know if they'll actually make the entire room smell good like a Yankee candle does, but they'll be pretty.

This is the other candle I got. I like the first one a bit more, but I didn't want to get two in case I get sick of the scent by the time it's used up. Both of them are more summery scents, but if I like a smell then I'll like it all year long, so I don't pay much attention to whether or not a scent is seasonal.

I've really been wanting to try this Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water ever since it came out and everybody started raving about it. I have the Sephora Triple Action Cleansing Water, but that stings my eyes, not to mention that you get half the product for almost double the price. I'll probably do a post comparing them once I've tried this one out thoroughly.

I wanted to get an e.l.f. Lip Kiss Balm so I could try it out and make a post comparing it and the L.A. Colors Color Balms to the Baby Lips lip balms. It was only $2.00, and the L.A. Colors ones are just a dollar, so if they end up being dupes then that would be great. I got mine in the shade Bare Kiss. I wanted to get more makeup brushes from e.l.f. because I think they're fantastic but all of the brushes I wanted to get were sold out so I didn't end up getting any.

These Hard Candy Velvet Mousse Matte Lip Colors looked new and interesting, so I got one in the shade Sweet Pea. I'm not sure yet if they dry down to a matte, transfer-proof finish like I'm hoping they do, but a review will be coming either way. It was only $6.00 so if it's a good liquid lipstick then that's not a bad price.

I'm running low on my first Hard Candy setting spray, so I got a second one for when that runs out. For only six bucks, it's a really good setting spray that actually really helps my makeup last longer.

I've had my eyes on this palette for a while and I finally decided to get it because it's only $8.00 and I'm feeling a bit uninspired by my current palettes at the moment. It has a really pretty gold-ish shade that I can't wait to play around with. I'll probably do a review post once I've tried it out.

Makeup Declutter

The First Makeup Declutter Of 2016

I just posted a nail polish declutter, and I wanted to post the results of my makeup declutter as well. I think I did pretty well considering the amount I previously had, and I'm happy with what I decluttered. Most of this is lip products, but there's a few other things as well. I know I still have way too much, especially of lip balm, but I do use most of what I have left and what I don't use I will probably declutter next time.

This just doesn't look good on my skin in the winter, and I have things that work on me in the summer that I like better, so I'm getting rid of this. It's also starting to get near a year old, which means it wouldn't be sanitary anymore. I'll try to find a friend who can use it before it gets old, but if I can't find anyone who wants it, then I'll toss it.

It's painful to toss these eyeliners because I loved them so much, but I honestly just don't use them, and they're way too old to use even if I ever ended up wanting to. These are colorful eyeliners that I used to use a lot, but now I tend to use brightly colored shadows as liner if I want a colors liner, so I don't reach for these. They're getting old, so I'm tossing them.

This quad was only a dollar and I've literally never used it so I'm getting rid of it. Since I think it smells off (despite the fact that I only got it a few months ago) I'm throwing it away.

I got these Milani liners at the Dollar Tree, and oh my God, they stain so bad. I never use them because I hate how bright the stains they leave are and if I use them I have a blue or green line on my eye for two days. I'll give my friends a chance to take them if they want, but otherwise these will go to the trash.

I never use this blush, and it was only a dollar so I can easily replace it if I start to miss it. I doubt I will though, because it's not very good. I'm tossing it because I doubt anyone would want it.

I haven't use this mascara in a while, which is probably for the best because when I looked at it I realized it's nearly a year old. I used to use it on my brows when I had purple hair, but I don't anymore so I have no use for it. Since it's unsanitary to share mascara, I'll be tossing it.

These liners are so old it's embarrassing. They need to be thrown away.

I got all of these at Dollar Tree and all of them smelled off as soon as I got them, so I'm finally tossing them. It's a shame because they're all super pretty, but it doesn't seem safe to use something that smells so bad.

I'm passing these glosses along to a friend because I never use them. They're just nice smelling clear glosses, but I almost never use gloss, so there really isn't a point in keeping them around anymore.

These lip stains are all really pretty, but I just never use them and I think a friend would get better use out of them, so they're leaving my collection. I've only used them a handful of times, and that was only to do a review of them, so I know I probably won't miss them.

I think these were discontinued a while ago, so they're definitely too old to keep or pass along to a friend. It's a shame, because the colors are pretty, but I have enough similar shades that it's not a huge loss.

These glosses are all old and I never use them so there's no point in trying to justify keeping them. They're going to the trash due to their age.

These glow-in-the-dark glosses are both super cool and super old, so they're being tossed. I think I wore one of them to a dance once and it was awesome, but most of the time I'm not wearing makeup in dark places, so there's not a huge point to having them anyways. It's a cool concept, though!

These lipsticks are all being thrown out because they're all mangled from me scraping bits off to mix with other lipsticks in a palette. I can't be bothered to use a lip brush and I doubt any of my friends would want them, so into the trash they go!

These lippies are all in the same situation as the last three. They're also not in colors I would really wear anyways, so I have no problem tossing them.

The first lipstick here is broken, and I have too many similar colors that I like the formulas of more to justify keeping it and using a lip brush. The second one never gets used, and the third one is all mangled for the same reason as the ones in the last two pictures.

I'll be tossing the first and last lip balms because the first one is all melted and gross and the last one is one that I hate with a passion. The two middle ones never get used but they're still good so they'll go to friends.

If anybody is upset that I'm throwing out products that are technically still useable, keep in mind that if I didn't throw them out, it's likely nobody would want them, and then they'd just end up going to waste in my drawer anyways. So it's not any bigger of a waste than it would be anyways, and this way I'm making space for new products that will actually get used. Also keep in mind that although this may still seem like I'm throwing away money, the money is already spent. If I kept the products and didn't use them, it would still be a waste of money, so at least this way I'm not keeping what I see as trash around in my drawers. All the salvageable makeup that I feel isn't too unsanitary will go to new homes (A.K.A my friend's makeup drawers) and be much more loved. Thanks for reading!