DIY Rainbow Highlight

How To Make Your Own Rainbow Highlight

You may have heard the hype about the new rainbow highlight from Bitter Lace Beauty, and you may have also heard about how quickly it sells out every time it's restocked. Because the highlight is made by hand, this is understandable, but it's also understandable to want to get your hands on one immediately because it's absolutely gorgeous! I don't own the original product so I can't say whether or not this DIY makes an exact dupe or not, and I'm guessing it doesn't, but I can say that it makes something pretty darn cool. Reddit user The Kitten Butcher seems to be the original creator of this DIY from what I can tell, so all credit goes to her for this idea! I simply took her idea and twisted it a bit so that my highlight would turn out more wearable than the rainbow one (although I ended up making a few in the end, including a rainbow one).

These were all of my supplies. I used the muffin cups to keep the colors separated while I was mixing them, but you could use any small container. Muffin tins work well and are washable. You will need -

-A container for each color

-Eyeshadows in the colors of either the rainbow or the colors you want in your highlight

-A highlight you don't mind crushing up

-Isopropyl alcohol (mine is 97% because that's what I had on hand)

-A compact for the finished highlight

-Toothpicks, a spoon, or preferably both

I also used blushes in place of eyeshadows because I had more blush colors that I wanted in my first highlight than eyeshadow colors.

Choose your colors (I chose six for my first highlight) and crush them up as best you can, each in their own separate container, and mix them with your powder highlight of choice. Use an equal amount of highlight and eyeshadow in each container if you can. More highlight means less pigment but more highlight-y-ness/shimmer. Using a spray bottle or dropper, add small amounts of alcohol into each container until a paste is formed. Add the pastes into the compact in stripes in the order of the rainbow or whatever order you want. The great thing about this DIY is how customizable it is! I wanted my first highlight to be very wearable and warm tones so I stick with orange and pink shades.

If you want to you can press he top of the highlight gently with a paper towel to absorb excess moisture. The original creator of this DIY said to do this until the color stopped transferring but that was taking forever so I just stopped after a few minutes.

This is my highlight still wet. I let it dry overnight...

...and it was done! The swatch I show here isn't the best because it wasn't in great lighting and it's pretty subtle but in person this highlight turned out gorgeous. I love how I can just use certain colors, swirl all of them together, or layer them for different effects!

Here are two more of the highlights I ended up making.

This is a swatch of the rainbow one. It's more colorful than illuminating but if you want a rainbow on your cheekbones then this will do the trick! I would love to make tons more but I'm currently almost out of powder highlight so I have to wait until I'm able to get some more. I actually just use this giant eyeshadow from ShopMissA in the shade 4 as my powder highlight, but it's my only one so what little I have left after this DIY is for my face.

Beauty/Craft Haul

Beauty and Craft Haul

Because making crafts is one of my hobbies, I've decided to include a bit about it on my blog. I've really gotten into making stationery lately, so when I went shopping and picked up some beauty items, I picked up some stationery-making items as well. I will include the craft items at the end of the haul in case you're only interested in beauty. This is a collective haul from a few stores - Ross, Dollar Tree, and Michael's.

The great thing about Ross is everything is at a lower price than it usually would be, so this toner that the label says would usually be $17.00 was only $6.99. I've been using DIY toners for a while now and I kind of just wanted to try something that is actually made for your face.

I've been wanting to try a mud mask for a while now, and this was only $4.99, so I got it. The instructions on the back don't tell you how long to leave it on, though, so I'll have to figure that out somehow. After doing some research online, this is supposedly a dupe for a GlamGlow mask that I don't want to pay over $50.00 for, so if it ends up working then that's an added bonus.

I've had the Rejuvenate version of these makeup wipes before and they were great and at $3.99 for 60 I think they're a steal. I hope these ones are as good as the ones I tried before because if they are then I'll have some great makeup wipes that will last me for a few months.

Starting with the Dollar Tree items, I finally found the undereye masks! I've wanted to try these for forever.

I was even lucky enough to find both kinds. I have pretty dark undereye circles, so I'm hoping these could help speed up the process of getting rid of those. My Origins GinZing eye cream gets rid of them when I use it regularly, but I've been slacking on using it lately. My undereyes are also a bit dry, so maybe these can help with that.

I found these pretty floral print fake nails, so I picked them up as the Sassy + Chic nails fit my nails perfectly. They don't come with nail glue but I have my own so that isn't a problem for me.

I also found this design, which I thought was nice. It's very spring appropriate and also very pretty.

People on YouTube have been hauling this eye makeup remover from Dollar Tree, so I thought I'd give it a go after seeing a few good reviews. Apparently it doesn't sting your eyes, which I think is fantastic for a dollar. I figured that at such a low price it was worth giving it a chance.

Moving on to craft things, I found some pretty decorative tapes! I've been really liking washi tape lately but it can get expensive so if I can find any washi tape or any sort of decorative tape for a low price I grab it. A dollar for one roll isn't the absolute best deal you can find, but it also isn't the worst.

I absolutely couldn't resist these owl stickers. They are so smol. Look at them. They are the most innocent owls I have ever seen. I needed them in my life.

Onto the stuff from Michael's! Clear stamps are new to me, so if they're new to you, I'll attempt to explain, but it might be a bad explanation - the non-stamping side attaches to an acrylic block and you use it like a normal stamp and it's kind of like magic I think. I'm not sure how it attaches by itself without adehesive but it's probably magic. I don't have my acrylic block yet because it's still in the mail but I have found that a Tic-Tac box works pretty well.

This set of notecards was $1.50 and far too related to makeup for me to not need. If something has lipstick on it then I want it and this combines lipstick and stationery which are two of the best things.

I found these pearl stickers that I thought would be great to put on the corners and borders of stationery. They were $1.50 and came in a few more colors so I do kind of regret not getting more but this is what I have for now.

Stamps!

More stamps!

GOLD ink!

I had a coupon for 40% off Recollections washi tape so I got a couple packs. These were the main designs that appealed to me so I went with these. I also got some cardstock and decorative paper but I don't have pictures of those.

DIY Drawer Organizers

My DIY Makeup Drawer Organizers!

I want to start this post by saying that I absolutely didn't come up with this idea by myself - I found it on YouTube when I was searching for DIY lipstick storage. A really good tutorial is this one, although I skipped the spray adhesive and just used hot glue for everything. I did that because it's best to use spray adhesive in a well ventilated area, but the only well ventilated area I would have had enough space would be outside, and it's been raining a lot lately, so I chose to just use hot glue. I also was able to find pre-cut trim at WalMart rather than getting two different fabrics. Other than the things I already had (like the hot glue gun and scissors), I got all my supplies from WalMart, and I'll list everything down below or something similar if I can't find the exact thing I got.

The Paris-Themed Trim (I couldn't find it on WalMart's website, but this is what I could find. It is definitely available in my local store). I got two packs.

Fabric - I can't find a link to the fabric on the site, but I believe I got the color So Mauve or something along those lines. I got four yards, although three would have been more than enough.

Foam Board - My WalMart was selling single boards for about $2.00 each, so four of them came out to about $8.00 while ordering two packs of two online would cost almost $16.00, so I suggest checking out your store rather than ordering online.

I already had everything else I needed, so now I'll show you before and after pictures of each drawer along with measurements and details about my drawers. I have the Ikea Alex 9 Drawers and I made organizers for the top three drawers. When I measured the bases of the drawers, they were about 11 3/4 in x 16 3/4 in inside. I cut the base pieces of foam board to this size but I did end up having to trim them all down a bit. I made the sides of my organizers 2 1/2 in tall, but you have too keep in mind that the base piece will add about another quarter of an inch to the height. I measured some of the dividers for my organizers in centimeters and some in inches, depending on what would fit my products better.

Here is my face drawer before (the before pictures are from January)...

...and here it is after! I'm super happy with how it turned out. Everything fits perfectly where I want it to and I can find things really easily. The powder organizer is 9 1/4 in x 3 1/2 in and the other section is 9 1/4 in x 8 in (approximately). I just put extra products in the remaining space and I was satisfied with how it looked.

This is my eye drawer before...

...and this is it after! It's still quite messy, but at least now I have a much better idea of where things are. The mascara area is 4 in x 5 1/4 in and the eyeshadow/tools/brow stuff area next to it is 7 1/2 in x 4 in. The eyeliner area is 6 in x 6 1/4 in. I store lashes and quads/trios/duos in the remaining space.

My lip drawer is the one I'm the most proud of. Here it is before...

...and here it is after! The lipstick holder is 12 cm x 25 cm and each square is 2 cm x 2 cm. It holds 40 lipsticks. The sections to it's right are both 3 1/2 in x 8 in and the back section holding all my sample size lip products is 12 cm x 6 in. I'm storing extras and bulky things in the remaining space. I know that the last four lipstick holder squares are a bit off but I measured them a bit wrong and I honestly don't care because it looks mostly fine anyways. I would suggest possibly making your lipstick holder squares 2 1/2 cm x 2 1/2 cm because mine fit some of my lipstick a bit tight and they can be a bit hard to get out, but otherwise I think this drawer is perfect.

Coconut Oil Uses

Three Ways I Use Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is super great for you, inside and out. In addition to using it for cooking, I wanted to tell you about three ways I use it on the outside - for my hair, skin, and lips!

#1 - Sugar Scrub Cubes

One way to use coconut oil for your skin is these sugar scrub cubes. I found the recipe here. One of the bigger ones can do my arms and legs, although I would recommend using two if your cubes are smaller. I just used some ice cube molds I got from the dollar store and put the mixture in them and then put them in the fridge for a few hours and bam! Sugar scrub cubes made from coconut oil and regular household ingredients. They exfoliate, moisturize, and clean at the same time.

#2 - Lip Balm

I was obsessed with lip balm for a while, and during that time I mashed together a few DIY lip balm recipes and made my own. All you need is a crayon, a teaspoon of coconut oil, and a quarter of a teaspoon of vaseline. Melt those together, adding any optional ingredients like vitamin e or flavoring, and pour the mixture into a container or mold. It will most likely go on the lips the same color as the crayon, so it's kind of like a lipstick in that way, except it's super moisturizing.

#3 - In Your Hair

Once a week, usually on a Sunday, I like to put a ton of coconut oil all through my hair a few hours before I plan to shower. This makes my hair super soft and shiny, as well as making it so that I don't feel the need to use any conditioner. I've never tried using it in a DIY hair mask, but I want to try it some time and will post the recipe here if I do.