Blogging, Business and Life Goals for 2016

My 2015 Goal

Just to start a blog...that was my SINGLE goal!

After graduating with my Master's degree in May, I felt the need to do something intensely creative after years of studying textbooks, reading scholarly articles, and writing highly structured research papers and reports.

Makeup, beauty, style, and writing have always been my true creative passions; the things I LOVE to do instead of HAVE to do.  When I came up with the idea to start a beauty blog I knew it would be a lot of work, but I didn't quite realize how much time, effort and organization goes into making any type of blog successful.

With a lot of encouragement from friends and family (and especially my support from Brandon, who encourages me to be true to myself every single day), this little thing that I started at the end of August has really grown into something amazing!

 Blogging and Business Goals for 2016

1. Create a YouTube channel.  I am starting off this list with one of my most important goals.  I have felt for some time now that a YouTube element to this blog is increasingly necessary.  One of my favorite types of posts to create are tutorials, and this might be best served in video format.  Not to worry!  Tutorials will remain here on this blog, only there will also be a video component involved as well.

2. Create and send a weekly newsletter.  I need to get my crap together and just do this!  I have so many ideas, but have not put them together in any kind of organized manner.  My goal is to invest in a mail service to create a newsletter that is inviting, informative, and will drive more visitors to my blog.

3. Increase my blog subscribers and social media followers. The goals: 1K Bloglovin' subscribers, 20K Twitter followers, 10K Instagram followers, and 500 newsletter subscribers.

4. Enroll in e-courses.  In order to turn this blog into a full business, I know I will need to hone in on more entrepreneurial skills.  There are two lovely bloggers that I follow religiously, The Nectar Collective and Helene In Between, who both offer e-courses that look amazing and very informative.

5. Reach 75K monthly page views by the end of 2016.  My monthly page views have been increasing at a steady amount since my first blog post at the end of August, and I am happy with the direction.  I hope to reach this number (or higher!) by taking initiative with my other blog goals and driving more traffic towards this site.

6. Collaborate with more bloggers.  While I feel that I have been active in the blogging community, I know I can do more to reach out to fellow bloggers in terms of forming friendships and creating collaborations.  Interesting in creating something amazing together?  Drop me a line! contact@ashleyelizabethbeauty.com

7. Publish an e-book.  It has always been a goal of mine to become a published author.  I do not expect publishing an e-book to be easy.  As a matter of fact, I expect it to be intensely time consuming, but also incredibly rewarding.  I have many, many ideas in the works for this, so stay tuned! 

8. Start freelance writing.  I absolutely love writing, and I have for as long as I can remember.  My goal for 2016 is to get my freelancing business off the ground.  I am still in the process of searching for platforms and working out the design details.  Suggestions from any readers experienced in this area are happily welcomed!

9.  Create my first free info product.  I want to be able to offer my readers the most they can possibly get out of this blog, and that absolutely includes offering free stuff!  My plans are to create helpful info products to help readers navigate the basic of beauty, makeup and style, and to offer it at the end of every blog post.

Life Goals for 2016

1. Read more physical books.  I love to read, I always have, but somehow in the shuffle of the every day hustle I tend to put this love on the back burner.  Instead of scrolling through Facebook and checking my Twitter and Instagram feeds every night, my goal is to read a book.

2. Improve upon my running.  I have never been a "runner."  I have always struggled with this area of exercise, which is probably why I have gravitated more toward yoga and Pilates.  Brandon is great at running, and I always feel a little twinge of jealousy towards "those people" that can run for miles and miles without a second thought, while I start heaving not even one mile in.  I will do more research on proper running techniques, learn to build up my stamina, and perhaps have a 2017 goal of a 5K or half marathon.

3. Turn an apartment into a home.  Sounds vague, right?  It's actually meant to be...Some very exciting "things" are going to be happening in early 2016.  Don't worry, details to come in time!

4. Travel more.  These plans are already in the works with details to come!  However, I will say that my current travel list includes: United States - New Orleans, Las Vegas, San Fransisco, Yellowstone National Park, Sierra National Forest, Sequoia National Park, and Yosemite National Park.  Europe - Germany, France, and Belgium.

 

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New Year's Eve Simple Glam Makeup Tutorial

While everyone has been posting this beautiful ultra-glam makeup tutorials for the holidays and New Year's Eve, I have decided to share this natural and simple glam makeup look for those girls that don't need anything too glittery, sparkly or over-the-top.

For this look I decided to keep the face and lips neutral and cool toned, while making sure to emphasize the "glam" part of this look all within the eyes.  The eye makeup is made more gorgeous with deep browns, beiges and greys, and made flawlessly elegant with lengthening mascara and fluffy falsies.

As they say, if you fall in love with someone's eyes you will fall in love forever.  This is especially important for those midnight kisses on New Year's Eve.

Let's get this tutorial started!

The Face

Primer, Foundation and Concealer

1. I moisturize my face with Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Cream and my under eye area with Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream.

2. I prime my skin with NYX Angel Veil Skin Perfecting Primer and prime my under eye area with ELF Studio Hydrating Under Eye Primer.

3. Using a Beauty Blender, I apply a mix of the Kat Von D Lock-It Tattoo Foundaton in Light 49 and Maybelline Fit Me Foundation in Soft Tan to my entire face.

4. To highlight and conceal I use the 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.

Powder Setting, 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.  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.

3. 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.

4.  After blending I apply the NARS Blush in Orgasm, a peachy pink shimmer, using the BH Cosmetics Blush Brush.

Highlight

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

2. I highlight over this with NARS Albatross, a white highlight with gold shimmer.

Brows

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

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

3. Finally, I set my brows into place with the Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel.

The Eyes

Transition Shade

1. Using the Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye Contour Palette, I take the shade Lazarus, a cool taupe, with a BH Cosmetics Fluffy Blending Brush into the crease of my eye and start blending upward.  This is going to be our transition shade.

Crease and Lid

1. I apply the shade Ludwin, a peachy bronze, directly across from lid from inner corner to outer corner.

2. I then apply the shade Solas, an espresso brown, directly into my crease with a BH Cosmetics Small Tapered Blending Brush using windshield wiper motions.  

3. I reapply Solas a couple times into my crease to build the color, making sure it blends into my transition shade but stays directly within the crease.

Outer Corner, Liner and Wing

1. I use the shade Shax, a jet black, to define my outer corner.  I apply this directly to the outer third of my eye lid with a BH Cosmetics Tapered Blending Brush in the shape of a sideways "V."

2. While I make sure to concentrate Shax only to the outer corner area, I take it up into my crease and down into my lower lash line ever so slightly so as to enhance the deep eye effect.

3. I take the NYX Gel Liner in Jet Black with a BH Cosmetics Small Eye Defining Brush and draw a thin line as close as I can to my lash line.

4. I continue the gel liner and make a small defining wing ending just shortly past my outer corner.

Highlight and Lower Lash Line

1. I use the shade Shimma Shimma by Makeup Geek, a metallic champagne, to highlight the inner tear duct with a BH Cosmetics Fluffy Blending Brush, and a small flat shadow brush to highlight my brow bone just below my eyebrow.

2. I take the shade Shax again and glide it below my bottom lash line using a small eye defining brush, making sure to blend into the outer corner of my eye to give the entire look a rounded out eye. 

3. I go over the bottom half of Shax with our original transition shade, Lazarus, to blend out any harshness.

Mascara and Falsies

1. I apply Benefit Roller Lash Mascara to my upper and lower lashes.

2. For my falsies I choose Huda Beauty lashes in Giselle and apply them using the Vegas Nay by Eylure Waterproof Lash Glue.

The Lips

1. For this look I wanted something that was wearable in texture and color.  I fill in and line my lips with Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in the shade Bow N Arrow, a fawn nude.

2.  I apply several dabs of Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Noble, a petal pink nude, to my inner pout.

3. Using my ring finger I blend Noble outward into Bow N Arrow until the two colors are evenly blended together.

4. I set the entire look with the Mario Badescu Facial Setting Spray. 

I Want To Know...

Tell me about your New Year's Eve!  What type of makeup will you wear?  What plans have you made?

 

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