Makeup and pictures

Okay, we've all been there. Step one. We get up, take a shower, shave our unwanted hair, scrub our faces, and deep-condition our hair with three different good-smelling products. Step two, we dry off, put on some cute clothes, and spend the next hour and a half doing our hair and makeup.
Then, someone gets the brilliant idea to pull out a camera. Chances are, you saw this coming.

You cannot wait for the pictures that were taken to be shared with you, because you know you look absolutely fabulous.

And then the pictures come up, and every single flaw on your face is showing. Things you didn't even know you had going on. Since when did I have that zit? My face isn't THAT pale, is it? What's up with those puffy purple circles under my eyes?! SINCE WHEN DO I HAVE A MOLE ON MY CHEEK?

If you're one of those people who loves to have good-lookin' photographs of you and your friends, then this is a website I recommend.
http://www.picnik.com/

You can do lots of cool edits on your photos for free, and for a little bit extra, you get tools like airbrush, wrinkle remover, sunless tan, etc. You can fix up crappy looking eyes, whiten your teeth, and even make it look like you've lost weight.

You can choose how natural or made-up you want to look. So, check it out!

I just found this extremely entertaining - "How to trick people into thinking you're good looking."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYpwAtnywTk

Jenna Marbles is probably one of the funniest gals out there. :]

My basic day-to-day look

Step 1: Use a toner. It helps makeup stay smooth and even on your face. And, if you're like me and have serious shine by the end of the day, it will help to dry out your skin. This is a must for fall, because the "in" look right now is a matte finish.

Step 2: Apply a foundation (or two.) I like to sponge on a liquid foundation first, let it set, and then apply a loose powdered foundation on top.

Step 3: Bronzer and contouring are something I do on a daily basis. I personally feel like my face is too full looking if I don't. So I sweep some bronzer along my temples and down my jawline, and on the sides of my nose. Then, I suck in my cheeks (think fish-face) and apply some lightly in the crease. Because I'm so pale, I usually have to sit there and blend it really well.

Step 4: Making the fish face again, I apply blush. I start at the apple area of my cheeks, and from the crease in my face, I sweep the brush up and out in short little strokes. Everyone applies blush differently (or should) because face shapes are different. Not every look flatters you. So make sure you know where to apply to best sculpt your features!

Step 5: I then put Urban Decay eyeshadow primer potion in SIN all over my lids. This is one of my recommended products, and you can find it here: http://www.urbandecay.com/eyeshadow-primer-potion/296,default,pd.html   The cool thing about this stuff is that I can wear it as eyeshadow, because it is tinted and has a natural shimmer to it that darkens in the crease of my eye and catches the highlights at my brows.

Step 6: I take a liquid eyeliner and apply a thin line along my top lashline. Sometimes I will drag the line upwards and out very slightly, for a look that is called "kitten eyes." I take a white pencil and line my inner waterline with it, sweep on a few coats of mascara, and viola!

Wen Hair Care Review

Pros:

1. Wen works on ALL hair types. Thick, medium, thin, straight, curly, wavy, coarse, ethnic, and fine. And it honestly does the trick just by using their cleansing conditioner.
2. Wen does not use Sodium Laurel Sulfates, which is what strips your hair and causes it to dry out when you shampoo. (That's why you're not supposed to shampoo every day.) Wen is gentle enough to use daily, and effective enough that you don't have to!
3. My hair has never been softer, shinier, or more manageable than when I used Wen to clean it. 
4. There are different, more specified formulas for especially difficult hair types, but the Sweet Almond Mint works for everyone as well.
5. It smells great and is all-natural.

Cons:

1. It has to be shipped to you and ordered online or over the phone. Wen is not sold in stores.
2. When you make your first order, the company assumes you will continue to place orders and they will bill you and ship out Wen on a monthly basis. This is great if you decide to keep it, but easy to miss in the Terms and Agreements, so keep an eye out! 

Overall, I give this product five stars and I DO recommend it to everyone! Men too! 

Glam Rock

Tutorial on Rachel's hot look:
MAKE-UP:
1. Pull hair back
2. Using foundation brush, apply liquid foundation and blend under jaw and into hair line.
3. Using powder brush, apply loose powder foundation and blend in. This sets liquid foundation and dulls any shine in your T-zone.
4. Using angled powder brush, apply blush to hollows of cheeks. Normally one contours with a bronzer or darker foundation powder, but I used blush.
5. Highlight and contour nose with a small blending brush using bronzer and a highlighter.
6. Fill in brows with angled brush using a dark brown or black powder and draw them out further than they naturally go. This creates and intense look that will immediately draw attention to your eyes.
7. With a flat brush or a small blending brush, highlight brow bone.
8. Prime eyelids. If you don't have a primer, use cover-up.
9. Use a blending brush to apply a flat black shadow (I used Kat Von Dee) to your lids, creating a false apex that is closer to the start of your brow, rather than the middle where your lid naturally apexes.
10. Create soft wings with a steel or charcoal shadow using an angled brush. Blend into black at the false apex.
11. Using the blending brush, add a small amount of silver to highlight the very inner corner of the eyes.
12. Using a liquid liner, draw a thin line from the inner corner to the outer and then draw a light wing that is parallel with the steel shadow one.
13. Apply glue to false eyelashes and wait 30 seconds before applying from the inner corner out as close to the natural lash line as possible.
14. Adjust any smudges in the shadow or liner.
15. Curl lashes for 3-5 seconds, then apply a light layer of mascara. This helps blend your natural lashes with the false ones. Also, build lower lashes.
16. Line lower waterline with black or charcoal pencil. If you can, line upper waterline as well.
17. Line and fill lips with ruby red liner, accentuating the cupid's bow and natural curves of the lips.
18. Gloss lips with a dark pink or red.
HAIR:
All you need is a teasing comb and a lot of hair spray and some creativity. Just make it as big and sexy as you can!

All credit goes to the lovely Rachel, of course. :]

Kayla's Fall Look

How to get Kayla's look:

1. Prime your eyelids. I use Urban Decay's eye primer.
2. Cover the entire lid in a shimmery pale yellow/white shadow. This includes corners, crease, and brow bone!
3. Choose a deep, vibrant tangerine colour and dab it on to the inner corners of the eyes, sweeping towards the middle of the lid.
4. Take a medium orange colour and sweep from the outer corners inwards. Blend the two colours well! This could take extra applications of shadow, depending on how concentrated your shadow is.
5. Find a red-orange colour and blend it into the crease, dragging outwards at the ends to create a more winged effect.
6. Take an eyeliner brush and dab it into the tangerine shade, and use it to line your lower lids. Bring the lower corners up and blend them into the corners of your top lids.
7. Apply a black liquid liner to the inner corners of your eyes. Keep eyes closed until dry, or else the liner will smudge fairly easily! Then line the rest of the top lid, and drag the outer corner out and upwards slightly to create "kitten-wings." Make sure you let this dry before moving on to the next step!
8. Now it's time to line the lower lid. First, use a black pencil for the inner corners and a white pencil for the waterline. Then take your black liquid liner and CAREFULLY drag out a thin line as close to the lashes and waterline as possible. Drag this upwards so it blends in with the wing from the top lid.
9. Curl your lashes and sweep on a few finishing coats of black mascara.
10. Find a nice red colour to make your lips pop, and sweep on a light coat of blush on your cheekbones. Viola!

How-To: Rainbow Rave Eyes

This is a great look if you want to bring attention to your eyes!

Things you'll need:

• Coastal Scents 88-shade palate (Or another palate with many vibrant colours)
• Urban Decay primer potion
• Liquid eyeliner pen (black)
• Mascara (black)
• Eyeshadow brushes

First, I prep my eyes by covering them with a light coat of Urban Decay's primer potion, which is by far my favorite eye primer because the shadow lasts for days, if needed, without smudging. Then, starting at the inner corner of the lid, I take a small shadow brush and dab on the first colour. (I normally start with yellow, then go to green, blue, purple and red, but this picture is of my sister Kodi, who started with red and went orange, yellow, green, blue.) Make sure the colours do not extend past your crease! Wipe the brush off and move on to the next colour. Each colour should be no larger than the width of your brush.

When I get to the last colour, I use a slightly larger brush or a crease-brush, and drag the colour out and around the outer corner of the eye.

Next, I line the top lid with liquid eyeliner, and create wings on the outer corner. In this picture, Kodi added a few branches and a heart.

For under the eye, get a super-thin brush (I like to use ones for brow line and eye line) and dab it in a darker version of one of the colours you used for the lid. In this picture, Kodi used a dark green. Look up, and carefully line your eye with this colour.

Add a couple of sweeps of mascara, and you're done!

This look is great for going out to parties, and looks amazing with a neutral outfit because then the colours REALLY pop!!

Coastal Scents

http://www.coastalscents.com/cfwebstore/index.cfm/product/1677_122/88-piece-makeup-palette.cfm

I currently own this palate and recommend it to everyone who uses eyeshadow. The colours are super concentrated and long lasting, and there are 88 different ones to choose from. 80% of what I post here will probably have something using this palate, it is super cheap and a must-have!!