A Beauty Lover's Comfort Guide To Thanksgiving

 

On this day, one of the busiest travel days of the year, we are going to talk about the one thing that everyone (including you, beauty lovers) want for their holiday: comfort.

I don't know about you, but I have never eaten a Thanksgiving dinner in a dress and heels.  Knowing I will be gorging myself on turkey stuffing the inevitable food coma that will follow, I always opt for some of the most comfortable clothing pieces and makeup products I own.

 
Madewell Aya City Cotton-Jersey Sweatshirt

Soft and stylish, but loose enough to hide my bloated after-dinner food baby.  This charcoal and white cotton-jersey is going to be perfect for when my over-stuffed American arse hits the couch for a nap, but will still look great during dinner.

Kat Von D Lock-It Tattoo Foundation

 This foundation is guaranteed to last you throughout Thanksgiving day and well into a night of Black Friday shopping.  This full coverage foundation has long been one of my favorites and keeps my skin smooth and matte.

Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask

  Holidays, as wonderful as they can be, can also be stressful.  I notice my face breaking out in my T-zone even more during the holidays, which is probably due to a combination of poor food choices along with stress.  Use this at least once per week or whenever you want a nice skin refresher.

Soap and Glory The Righteous Butter Body Butter

 This body butter makes my skin feeling amazingly hydrated and moisturized, and I absolutely love the scent.  I usually keep this body butter handy for special occasions when I want my skin to remain smooth and soft for long periods of time.  While I'm standing out in the freezing cold in a Black Friday line at Target, my skin won't be cracked or dried out by the time I make it inside.

Zella Live-In Slim Fit High Waisted Leggings

  High wasted yoga pants on Thanksgiving.  Need I honestly say more?  I have basically been living in yoga pants for the past year.  Pair this with the cotton-jersey sweatshirt and you can go right from the dinner table to the couch after your Thanksgiving buffet meal.

Beauty Blender

 I cannot live without my Beauty Blender on a daily basis, and Thanksgiving is no exception.  Even when applying a small amount of makeup (which is my usual for Thanksgiving) it will evenly blend and cover your entire face.

Benefit Cosmetics Roller Lash

So, you've just woken up from your food coma and it's time to get ready for some shopping.  If I have absolutely no time to get ready, I am reaching for this bad girl.  This mascara is lengthening and curling, allowing you to appear wide awake and refreshed (even if that could be further from the truth).

UGG Australia Ansley Knit-Bow Suede Slipper

I don't know about everyone else, but I wear my slippers to the dinner table on Thanksgiving.  Again, the goal here is ultimate comfort.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream

While wearing stylish and classic red lipstick is what we would all like to wear on this American holiday, it's not realistic.  I do not need red lipstick smeared across the side of my face while I'm shoveling food down my throat.  This lip cream adds the perfect touch of color while being able to easily remove and reapply after dinner.

Too Faced Primed and Poreless Face Primer

Apply this primer before your foundation and you will have no trouble taking your makeup into Black Friday shopping.  It will keep your face smooth, oil-free, and long lasting, so that instead of worrying about your makeup sliding down your face, you can instead worry about those fantastic deals.

 

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Smokey Cranberry Gold Makeup Tutorial

This smokey cranberry gold makeup look will inspire you not just for Thanksgiving, but throughout the holiday season.  This warm tone look has just enough shimmer and just enough smokiness that will make getting ready for an early dinner (and the inevitable food coma to follow) something to feel good about.

Need more holiday beauty inspiration?  Check out my Holiday Vintage Glam Makeup Tutorial, which is my favorite go-to holiday makeup look!

My itinerary for this Thanksgiving is going to be quite different.  Brandon and I will be taking his mom down to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC!  Stay on the lookout for a possible future post detailing this amazing experience.

Let's Get Started!

The Face

 Prime, Foundation and Conceal

1. I moisturize my face with Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Cream and my under eye area with Clinique Moisture Surge.

2, I prime my skin with Bare Minerals Prime Time Foundation Primer and prime my under eye area with ELF Studio Hydrating Under Eye Primer.

3. Using a Beauty Blender, I apply Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation Light Medium in Sand to my entire face.

4. To highlight and conceal I use Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Concealer in Light Warm in a V-shape beneath my eyes, in the middle of my forehead, down the bridge of my nose, on my chin, and on my eye lids.

Highlight, Contour and Blush

1. To set everything I take the Real Techniques Setting Brush and place a mixture of the highlight shades Lucid and Lyric from the Kat Von D Shade and Light Contour Palette and place a generous amount over the areas that I highlighted with concealer.

2, I also add a generous amount to my jaw directly below my contour line.

3. I allow the extra powder to sit on my skin for a few minutes to "bake" before brushing off with a Morphe Brushes G23 Soft Fan Brush.

4. With the Real Techniques Sculpting Brush I take the contour shade Sombre from the Kat Von D palette and contour beneath my cheekbones, underneath my jaw bone, along the hairline on my forehead, down my temples, and alone the parallel sides of the bridge of my nose.

5. After blending I apply Sephora Colorful Blush No. 5 Sweet On You using a BH Cosmetics blush brush.

 Highlight and Brows

1. Using the same fan brush as earlier, I then apply Jaclyn Hill and Becca Highlight in Champagne Pop highlight to the tops of my cheekbones, my forehead just above my brows, and the bridge of my nose.

2. I highlight over this with the first highlight color from the Carli Bybel Palette by BH Cosmetics, a shimmery frosted pink.

3. I shape my brows with the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz Ebony.

4. I fill it in with the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo Dark Brown.

5. I set it into place with the Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel.



The Eyes

 Primer and Transition Shade

1. I prime my eyes with the Urban Decay 24 Hour Eyeshadow Primer Potion Eden

2. I take the shade Peach Smoothie by Makeup Geek, a soft matte peach beige, with a fluffy blending brush into the crease of my eye and start blending upward.  This is going to be our transition shade.

 Lid

1. Staring in my inner corner and using a flat shadow brush I take the shade Pearl by Morphe Brushes, a frosted off white, and press it onto the center of my eye lid. I take this shade about 1/3 of the way across my eye lid.

2. I then go back in with a flat shadow brush and apply the first highlight shade from the Carli Bybel by BH Cosmetics palette over top of Pearl to increase the bright shimmer.

3. Staring in the middle of my eye lid and using a flat shadow brush I take the shade Marbleized by Morphe Brushes, an intense frosted brown gold with shimmer, and place this on the inner 1/3 of my lid.

4. I carefully make sure that Marbelized is evenly blended into Pearl and creates a nice gradient of color.

5. Staring in my outer corner and using a tapered crease brush, I apply the shade Bitten by Makeup Geek,  a matte deep maroon red, to the outer 1/3 of my lid.

6. I make sure that Bitten is evenly blended into Marbelized to create a nice gradient effect from one shade to the other.

7. I also take Bitten outward slightly to where I will be drawing my wing line, and then very carefully into my crease about 2/3 across my lid.

8. With the tapered pencil brush I take the shade Black from the Lorac Pro Palette and apply a small amount of product to the outer 1/3 of my lash line across the bottom of the shade Bitten and outward to where I will be drawing my wing line.

9. Using small swiping motions I make sure the Black is evenly blended into Bitten to give the gradient effect of the two colors fading into each other.

Wing and Highlight

1. I take a small angled brush to draw on my eye liner using the NYX Gel Liner in Jet Black .  I get as close to the lash line as possible and press down on the lid to create a black line.

2. I wing this out when I reach the outer corner of my eye and continue it until I reach the end of where I have place the black eyeshadow.

3. I then use the shade Shimma Shimma by Makeup Geek, a metallic champagne, to highlight the inner tear duct with a fluffy blending brush, and a small flat shadow brush to highlight my brow bone just below my eyebrow.

Lower Lash Line, Mascara and Falsies

1. I take the original transition color, Peach Smoothie, and place this along my lower lash line with a slim tapered pencil brush.

2. Over top of this, and as close to the lash line as possible, I take the shade Black again and blend this into Peach Smoothie, ending at about the halfway point of my lower lash line.

3. I take the ColourPop Creme Gel in Get Paid , a metallic rose gold, and place this on my lower lash line from the inner corner to the halfway point, making sure to blend where Get Paid and Black meet.

4. I apply Benefit Cosmetics Roller Lash mascara to my upper and lower lashes.

5. For my falsies I choose Ardell Double-Up No. 206 and apply them using the Vegas Nay by Eylure London Lash Glue.

The Lips

For this look I wanted a bold, statement lip, but not one that would overpower the smokey eye.

1. I line and fill in my lip with the Kat Von D Everlasting Lipstick in Bow 'N Arrow , a fawn nude.

2. I set the entire makeup look with Mario Badescu Facial Spray.

Let Me Know!

Tell me your plans for Thanksgiving!  Or, if you aren't celebrating Thanksgiving, let me know what you are doing this weekend to kick off the holiday shopping season!

 

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DIY Beauty: Easy and Natural Dry Shampoo

Don't have time to wash your hair?  Hair appears oily or needs volume? Dry shampoo is your new best friend!

Dry shampoo usually isn't super cheap, which is all the reason better to try a DIY recipe.  While essential oil is the one thing you may not have easily accessible in your kitchen, it is easy to find in any grocery store and will last you a very long time. 

These DIY recipes will not only get rid of the oiliness in your hair but will also clean it, which is something that baby powder alone will not do.  Plus, as a dark haired girl myself, baby powder alone makes my hair appear lighter and unnatural.  The addition of cocoa powder allows it to remain dark and unnoticeable.

The powder substances will help alleviate any oiliness, while the essential oil will help to clean your hair. 

Dry Shampoo for Light Hair 

1/4 cup Cornstarch

1/4 cup Baking Soda

5-10 drops of your choice Essential Oil

Dry Shampoo for Dark Hair

1/4 cup Cornstarch

1/4 cup Cocoa Powder

5-10 drops of your choice Essential Oil

Directions

1. Chose either the light hair or dark hair recipe and mix all ingredients together in a small bowl until combined.

2. Use a makeup powder brush to apply the product to your hair, similar to the way you would apply baby powder or talcum powder.

3. To store, place in an air tight container or mason jar.  Frequently check for any off smells and discard product if expired.

DIY Gift Idea

Turn this DIY into a beauty product that you can give as a holiday gift!

Grab an adorable mason jar from your local craft store, tie some beautiful ribbon around the top, and label!  You can make this a part of a DIY Beauty Gift Set, complete with ELF makeup brushes, a  Sephora green tea face mask, and Eucerin body lotion. 

 

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DIY Hair Care Tutorial: 7 Steps On How I Cut My Long Hair

 

Cutting your own hair at home can save time, money and frustration.  If you have the patience and are willing to invest in a decent pair of hair cutting shears, you are 100% capable of cutting your own hair.

My Hair Story

I have been getting my hair cut and dyed for years.   My first hair stylist was a woman named Sue, who, to this day, still lives about 10 minutes down the road and cuts hair out of the basement of her house during evenings.  She gave me my very first haircut when I was a toddler, bangs when I was 10, highlighted my hair Christina Aguilera style in middle school, and went through every single one of my adolescent hairstyle fads with enthusiasm.

During college I was away from home and started frequenting Super Cuts.  It was at this point that I started to become frustrated with the way my hair was being cut.  Each time I would go I would get a random stylist, and each time he or she would cut my hair completely different.  I have been keeping my hair long since about the age of 19, and every time I went to the stylist I asked them to only take off as little as possible while trimming up my few shorter layers.  Many, many times I left with my hair at a shorter length than I desired, feeling as if they had taken off more than necessary.

How I Started Cutting My Own Hair

Wanting to keep my hair long and have it turn out exactly the way I wanted, I started cutting my own hair at home about six months ago.  I invested $15 in a pair of hair cutting shears from Ulta and a six pack of plastic hair sectioning clips.

The first time I cut my hair I was nervous.  Very nervous.  I imagined myself over-compensating for mistakes and ending up with lop-sided hair.  But instead of making my hair a disaster, I took my time and it turned out great.  I did some pre-research and watched several You Tube hair cutting tutorials.

I am not a professional hair stylist, nor have I ever been trained in how to cut hair.  The purpose of this tutorial is to simply show you how I cut my hair at home, and encourage you to look into it for yourself!  I suggest researching on You Tube the exact type of cut you want to try on yourself and becoming well informed on how to find guides and how to properly make a cut.

Let's Get Started!

Step 1

I wet my hair and comb thru it with a wide tooth comb, making sure everything is smooth and untangled.

Step 2

I separate my hair into three even sections.  I pin the top two sections into a bun to keep them out out of the way while I start work on the lower section first.

Step 3

I separate the lower section into two parts and bring them forward in front of my face.

Step 4

I take one of the two parts, bring it in front of my face with a comb, and make an even upward cut at an angle.  I then repeat this on the other side.

Step 5

I clip back my bottom section, un-clip my middle section of hair, and then clip back my top section to keep that out of the way as well.  I then repeat Step 3 and Step 4 on this middle section.

Step 6

I clip back the middle section with the bottom section to keep them out of the way.  I then un-clip my top section.  Parting my hair down its natural part, I then repeat Step 3 and Step 4 on this section.

Step 7

Un-clipping everything and bringing my hair in front of my face, I recheck the angle of each side with a comb to make sure they align evening.  I make any additional small clips in order to even out the angles on both sides of hair.

There you have it!  I just showed you the techniques I used to easily cut my own hair at home.  My goal in cutting it this way to to keep my locks trim and slightly layered, while still allowing my hair to stay as long as possible.

In the end, this is usually the small amount of hair that I trim off:

Let Me Know!

Do you or have you ever wanted to cut your own hair at home?  Do you do any other salon services yourself, such as dyeing hair or hair treatments?

 

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