Affordable Makeup-Everyday Eyes Tutorial

Hey Everyone!

Makeup is an amazing thing! It really helps us ladies amp up our look and accentuate the features we like the most! Whether you like to play up your eyes, have nice flushed cheeks, or brighten up those lips, makeup can add a lot of fun and versatility us ladies who want to look fresh and cute everyday!  I love switching up my makeup all the time to create new looks. One thing that is always consistent with my makeup is that I always play up my eyes more than anything else, because I like the focus to be on them! While makeup is a great and fun tool for daily use, it can get expensive! I love to snoop around stores like Sephora looking at all the amazing options out there, but I usually can't afford to buy those things all the time, though I occasionally like to splurge. So this is a tutorial for super affordable and easy everyday eyes. I got most products mentioned at Walmart for a total of about $10-$12, which is amazing because it's something you can wear all the time! So here we go!

Step 1: On a fresh clean face, start by putting on a base. This is really optional, and I didn't include it in my $10-$12 price range, but it does make your makeup last all day without creasing or smudging off, so I do suggest it. You can buy an eyeshadow primer, use a concealer or foundation you already have, or even a cream eyeshadow (I suggest Maybellines 24 hr eye tattoo, its amazing!) I use the Palladio eyeshadow primer from Sally Beauty supply. One tube costs about $8 and lasts for about a year, so it really is a great investment!

This is the Palladio shadow primer, which is a great more affordable option compared to the popular Urban Decay Primer Potion, or Two-Faced Shadow Insurance. Note: if you buy this, it seems like you run out of product after about 3 months, but all you need to do is rip out the plastic stopper at the top and you can get almost a years worth of use out of it! It's a bit tricky to get the stopper out, but definitely to it! I used tweezer to yank the top out of mine!

Step 2: Get yourself an eyeshadow trio from Wet n' Wild. The truth is, these are actually amazing eyeshadows! I think they get a bad rep because they are so inexpensive and they are sometimes placed with the younger girl makeup in the stores, but I'm telling you they are great! They can sometimes be a bit powdery, but they have awesome pigmentation, are really smooth, and look beautiful on! I'm using the trio called "Walking on Eggshells" which is perfect for a natural everyday look. This is what it looks like:

Step 3: swipe the bottom colour that says eyelid, all over your eyelid! Imagine that! 

 Step 4: take the middle shadow that says crease, and yes, swipe it into the crease! This really doesn't have to be super clean or perfect because you are going to blend it out after, so just go for it!

 Step 5: take the top colour that says browbone, and swipe it onto the brow bone while blending out the crease colour. And also place a small amount into the inner corners of your eyes to lighten them up.

 -This should be what it looks like so far:

 Step 6: This step is optional! If you like a really neutral/natural look you can skip this step, if you're like me and like to make the eyes a little more dramatic, even on natural eye days then go ahead an get yourself a black eyeliner. For this I used an NYC waterproof Black Eyeliner. NYC is another company that gets a bad rep for the same reasons, but go ahead and give it a try, because this eyeliner is great! It comes in several different fun colours and costs less than $3! Awesome!

 Ok so go ahead and line your upper lash line, and if you like go for the lower lash line too!

 Step 7: Now get a black mascara, I use the Maybelline Great Lash "LOTS OF LASHES" in blackest black. 

Put the mascara on your upper lashes, and again if you want to your lower lashes

And that's it! Pretty easy and very affordable! Here's the final look!

Hope you like it and try it out!

 

Beauty tip of the day!

Hi all!
So I'm going to start posting regular daily beauty tips that I've come across over the years and find very useful! 

Beauty Tip #1:

If you have trouble with your mascara running by the end of a long hot day (Also known as "panda eyes").. or you're going to a funeral/wedding and don't want your mascara running all over your face.. water-proof is the best solution right? Well it is and it isn't. If you're anything like me,  trying to get waterproof mascara off of your eyelashes is a difficult process. I'm pretty sure I lose about 10 eyelashes every time!!

Solution?
Coat your eyelashes in regular non-waterproof mascara first & let dry.
Second, put a waterproof coat of mascara over top of the regular mascara! That way your mascara is still waterproof but will wash off MUCH easier!

New Trend: Bright Colored Pants

I'm loving this new trend of brightly colored pants! I was SO close to buying a pair of pink jeans today but I decided against it. I really want to find a pair that's light mint green or baby blue..but those seem to be harder colors to find. Many stores are selling these pants at the moment. A few I've come across include: Forever 21, Fairweather (for 50% off), Garage, Dynamite, Aritzia.. most popular clothing stores it seems.

LOVE this color.

For those who don't feel comfortable
in super tight skinny jeans (like myself), the baggier colored
pants look pretty awesome as well.

Super Easy DIY Wrap Bracelet

Helllooo!

So I've noticed that wrap bracelets have become really popular in the last few months. You can get them at a ton of stores and even big designers are creating wrap bracelets. But these designer ones can get really pricey, and all the ones in stores can are sometimes overpriced for what you get. While I love buying new jewelry, sometimes its kind of fun the create your own. I'm not claiming that this bracelet is going to be as adorable as some of the ones that you can find in stores, but I made its extremely inexpensive, only takes a couple minutes and will look great layered up with some of the other ones you might get when you're out shopping.

Things you will need are: Other than the scissors (which i already had) all the rest is from the dollar store! All dollar stores are different but you can usually find a pretty decent craft section, and these are pretty basic supplies. It only cost about $4 for all the supplies and i have enough to make a ton more bracelets if i want! If you can't find the things you need a dollar store near you, beads and string are generally fairly inexpensive at Walmart or any craft store.

So this is what i used:

Scissors

3 pieces of string (pretty much any kind of string or cord would work, even embroidery thread would work! I used some waxed cord which i thought worked really well and helps the bracelet hold a bit of shape)

1 larger bead to create a sort of clasp

A few smaller beads to put throughout the bracelet. These can be all the same colour or as many different colours as you like (I used 12 but you can use more or less depending on how you want your bracelet to look)

How to make:

Step 1: Measure out three pieces of string. I wanted my bracelet to wrap around twice so i loosely wrapped it around my wrist twice and then added an inch or two to that and cut it. If you want your bracelet to wrap more than that, then just wrap it loosely around your wrist as many times as you want and then add a couple inches and cut. Make sure you have 3 pieces of string that are the same length.

Step 2: line the three string together and make a loop at the top big enough so that your large bead can fit through it when forced, but small enough that it can't just slide through on its on,  and than tie it. It should look something like this

Step 3: Once you have your loop complete and the knot tied you should have the three strings like above.You can trim off the extra strings hanging from the knot. Now all you have to do is start braiding them. If you don't know how to braid you can just youtube it and there are a ton of videos that can show you how! It should look like this

Step 4: Braid as much as you like until you think that its time to put on a bead. For me that was about 2 cm but it's really up to you. So once i braided a little bit i put on a bead. Always put a bead on one of the outside strings, because it looks a little weird when on the middle ones. So here is what it should be like

Then just cross the string over the top and continue with the braid. Like this:

Step 5: continue braiding and adding beads like this until you reach the end. You can either put the beads all on one side of the braid or put them on both sides either way it will look good, I put them on both sides in no particular pattern. 

Step 6: once you've braided with 2-3 inches left, tie up the ends so the braid doesn't fall out. You can tie it up anyway you want as long as it looks alright and won't fall out. Then string on your large bead and tie the ends so it won't fall off.

Step 7: wrap your bracelet around your arm and slide the large bead through the loop to secure it! There you have a super cute and easy homemade wrap bracelet! Here's how mine turned out!

Wear it alone or pile on some other bracelets for a more layered look! Hope you have fun making your own wrap bracelets!

Trendy Purses for Spring and Summer

HI!

So far this Spring I've been noticing and increasing trend it a certain kind of purse. The trend is extremely cute and will most definitely be continuing into Summer! Have you been noticing any trends, and have you already figured out what trend I'm talking about? There are two trends I've noticed and they go great together. The first trend I've noticed is very small purses that have long straps that can go over the shoulder; cross-body or can be removed completely to change the purse into a clutch that can be carried or tucked under your arm. The second trend is bright coloured purses. I absolutely love bright colours, and they seem to be popping up all over this year in accessories, clothing and shoes! So awesome! These small and bright purses can be found at pretty much any store that sells purses and come in all different shapes and colours. Whether you only have $10-$20 dollars to spend on a new spring and summer purse, or you have plenty of extra cash to splurge on a trendy bag, you should be able to find some great ones! Anyways here are a few examples of these small and/or bright trendy purses that I currently own, and a few recommendations that I think are super cute and that I wish I had!

I bought this really cute envelope style pink purse of Ebay. The gold chain is long enough to wear cross body or to hang off the shoulder. It is also removable so i can carry this bag as a clutch. I also ordered the same purse in yellow because I loved it so much, but it's still in the mail! It fits pretty much all the essentials like your wallet (mine is fairly thin, so if you have a big one, you might need to downsize for this purse), your phone, your glasses or sunglasses(maybe both), whatever lipstick and/or gloss you're wearing that day, your keys. etc. This purse was only about $9 and as I said it was purchased off Ebay, so pretty much anybody can afford it and have access to it. It comes in about 11 colours, so you can pick one that you like best or even get a couple like I did! Here is the link: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/110788818380?var=410049651985&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_12913wt_1010

This is another purse I bought recently. If you aren't a big fan of bright colours, but want a trendy purse for spring and summer than this is a great option. It is a great size to fit whatever you need to take along and even though it's just a basic black, the gold hardware and gold chain detail make it a little trendier than just an all black bag. I bought this one at Walmart for about $14 and it also comes in an Ivory colour. 

I actually bought this purse last summer, but i thought it was still on trend with this season so I included it. This one is really cute and feminin with the floral pattern and the little bit of frilly-ness in the fabric. I bought this for probably around $10 at a store called "Stiches" I'm not sure if there are many of these stores around but purses like these can be found in many stores, just keep an eye out!

 I bought this purse off the Forever 21 website a while back. I love this purse because it has the removable silver chain and it has a few different openings to hold all the things I carry around! I love the fold-over style and the silver closure. This is the perfect purse for pretty much any occasion because it can be used at a more formal occasion or just everyday use. 

This is another bag I purchased off of Ebay. It was also from last fall so I'm not sure if it's still available. It costs about $12, so again very affordable and accessible to everyone. Its really nice because the chain can be switched to be a long over the shoulder bag, into 2 shorter length shoulder chains or also tucked inside for a clutch style, or as you can see in the middle picture with a very small and short chain to use as a handle.

Ebay has a lot of great trendy things to buy, whether it be the purses  meantioned here or jeweley and clothing, sometimes it just takes a lot of browsing to find things you like.

All four of these purses are on the Forever 21 website and they are all under $25. All are great options whether you want to get colourful or stay neutral with you purse. 

 These four are all the Rebecca Minkoff Mac Mini purse. I think it is soooo adorable and I wish i could get one. As you can see it comes in some really fun colours, and a lot more fun colours not shown here. This bad boy costs about $200, so if you really want to splurge on a trendy purse this season, than I think this is a great option! 

Well those are just a few of the hundreds of purse options there are out there. Hope these examples were a little bit helpful in trying to decide what kind of on trend purse you want to invest in for the upcoming seasons!