Soft Highlight and Contour

Oh man yall, I am sorry about the absence! I've been a bit bust, and honestly, it's not slowing down any time soon. However, I will try my hardest to post more than I have been! My beautiful friend, Carol Ann, asked me for a highlight and contour tutorial a while ago, so here it is! 

The products I used:

Benefit's Hoola Bronzer- The color looks light in the box, but it shows up fairly dark. It is matte with no shimmer, which is a must when doing a contour.
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade- This is a beautiful color that has a subtle highlight.
MAC Mineralize Blush in Gentle- I love this blush. It is a beautiful pink, but highlighting and contouring will work with whatever blush color you normally use.
Sigma F10 Powder/Blush brush- Obviously I love Sigma and all their brushes because I show them in almost every post.
Sephora PRO Contour brush number 74- I really like this brush for contour and highlighting. It makes it very easy to make a structured contour.


I have my foundation and concealer on already when I am going to do contouring and highlighting. When doing under eye concealer, I use a color lighter than my face to help with the highlight effect that I will add later. I will do a concealer tutorial later!

My next step is contouring. I dab my contour number 74 brush in the Hoola bronzer, but I make sure to only get a small amount of product. It is deceivingly light in the box, and comes out much darker on my face. You can use the end of your brush to make an invisible line from the middle of your ear to the corner of your mouth. That is the line you will follow. I make the contour go from the middle of my ear to the outside corner of my eye. If you want a sharp contour, make the line with your brush and don't buff it out. Then, go around your forehead and jawline lightly with bronzer. I squeeze my brush flat or I use a thin brush to go along the outside the bridge of your nose on either side.

I take my Sigma blush brush and put blush onto my cheek bones and back towards my hairline. I use my brush to blend in my bronzer into my blush some. I don't do this too much because I don't want to lose too much of my sculpting I just did.

 














For my highlight, I use the same contour brush 74 and just dust it off on my hand (pants, towels, whatever I can find) and I get a lot of Lightscapade on my brush. I basically make a C from the top of my cheekbone to right above my eyebrow. Lightscapade is fairly light, but it gives just enough to make a beautiful reflective shine.

 

That's all there is to it folks! 

I hope yall like it! Tell me your thought and opinions, or maybe the next tutorial you want me to do!

❤ Taylor

3 Ingredients To Beautiful Skin

I know, I know, there are so many different DIY masks and scrubs all over the internet. I have never tried any of them because a lot of them have either a lot of ingredients, lots of steps, or I don't have the ingredients.

However, I saw this really simple scrub and I had the ingredients already. It is just lemon juice and sugar. I used a cotton pad and poured on the lemon juice all over so all the cotton pad is soaked. I used lemon juice from a bottle, but you can also use fresh lemons by just squeezing the juice on the pad. Then use about a teaspoon of sugar (I used a sugar packet; it doesn't matter what kind of sugar), and pour it on the pad on top of the lemon juice. Lean over a sink because sugar will fall of and it can be a little messy. Use circular motions and scrub all over your face for about 30 seconds to a minute. Rinse off and admire your beautiful skin!


I have done it twice in the last week, and I have already noticed brighter skin, my acne fading away, and my skin feels smoother! Let me know what you think about the scrub!


❤ Taylor

Sephora surprises

So at my latest trip to Sephora, I was browsing all over the store coveting everything I saw. Wouldn't it be fantastic to get a shopping spree there? I would explode from excitement. Anyways, I picked up a few new products (new to me not to the market), and I wanted to rave about them.

The first one I got is NARS Illuminator in Laguna. I have been using it as a liquid contour color, and it is beautiful! I get the world's smallest dot on my finger (less than a pea size), and I put it under my cheek bone, down the sides of my nose, and on my forehead by my hairline. It is easy to apply, a perfect color, and a tiny bit goes a long way!

I also got a sample tube of They're Real Mascara by Benefits. Sephora has this magical section right by the register that has sample sizes of different things they have throughout the store. I think this is my favorite part of the store. It lets you get smaller, cheaper versions of items they have in the store. I grabbed this because I had heard so much about it. Let me tell you, all the hype is true! It takes a few days to get used to the wand, but my eyelashes look SO much longer and more full! I am obsessed with this mascara and can't wait to buy a regular sized tube!

This eyeliner is Kat Von D, and it was an unexpected surprise! When you are a Sephora Beauty Insider (all you do is give them your email and phone number), you get a point per dollar spent. After you get 100 points you can choose from 5 or 6 sample versions of products they have in the store. Well, I chose this, and I love it! I love the felt pen (I have never used this kind before), and it lasts until you wash it off!

I fell in love with all these products! I will do a contour and highlighting post soon, and I will be using the NARS Illuminator! I hope you enjoyed!

❤ Taylor

Soft Brown Eye

Hey! So lately, I have been really obsessed with matte eyeshadows. I still love my shimmers like All That Glitters, don't get me wrong. I also love experimenting with new looks, and this matte eye look is so pretty! I have taken step by step pictures so you can recreate the look! 

Here are the tools I used

 Brushes:
I have a MAC 217, but Sigma makes one exactly the same for cheaper. Its an E35 blending brush.
I also use a Sigma E40 tapered blending brush.

Eyeshadow:
I made a palette at MAC. I had never done this before, and if you are getting all four, it ends up being cheaper! The palette itself is $9, but you only pay for that once. The eyeshadow tins are $12 each, which is cheaper than buying them separately at $15 each! Anyways, starting at the top and going clockwise, there is Soft Brown, Texture, Sketch, and Swiss Cholcolate.

Concealer:
I use MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC20. There are many eyeshadow primers out there, but I like this one the best because it totally covers up everything.


I start by putting the concealer from lash line to my brows. I want to start with a completely fresh base to make the eyeshadow pop.

Then I take the E40 fluffy brush and get lots of soft brown on the brush. I swipe it all over the lid, crease, and a bit above the crease. This color helps everything blend together, so it doesn't have to be precise.

 I take my 217 brush and pick up some Texture on it. Tap it off to make sure you don't get too much. Then go back and forth in the crease in a windshield wiper motion and put some on the outside corner of the eyelid.

I keep the 217 brush and get some Swiss Chocolate on it. I do the same thing I did with Texture with Swiss Chocolate. I go back and forth in the crease and outside part of the lid. I like to put a good amount of this color to make it a bit darker. 

Sometimes, when I want a more dramatic look, I will do the exact same thing as the two steps before with Sketch. I didn't do it today, but its the same motions as the previous step. 

That's all folks! I added some liner, a highlighting shade in the corner of my eye and brow bone, and mascara!I love this look for during the day, and its easy to add some Sketch or other dark shadow and more eyeliner for a night look. 

The finished look:

♥ Taylor

Basic Eyebrows

Hey yall! I thought I would do a tutorial on how I do my eyebrows. I have noticed some eyebrow tutorials are, like, ten steps long. No thanks. I don't think it has to be that complicated. I do think that eyebrows are incredibly important! For a while, I didn't fill out my eyebrows (mostly because I was lazy). Well, after I started doing it again, I realized it really transformed my face. It is a simple part of my makeup routine that will frame your face! Here are my simple steps.


I start by brushing out my eyebrows. I also wiggle the brush to make them a little more fluffy and full.

I just used a Sephora brush, but you can buy an eyebrow brush almost anywhere.


Next, I get my MAC eyebrow pencil in Lingering and start on the outside of my brows. Make sure you are not pressing too hard because you do not want to see any lines. It should just look more filled in.

I absolutely love this eyebrow pencil  from MAC because it is easy, and it scrolls up so you don't even have to sharpen it. I have been using it for probably 5 or 6 years. The pencil looks small, but I can make them last 3 to 4 months and I use it every single day!


Then, I keep going on the inside of my brows. Keep in mind you don't have to heavy of a hand because you do not want any harsh lines.

After I have done this on both sides, I will go back with my Sephora Brow Brush and brush my eyebrows again. It helps to make sure there are no harsh lines and blends everything together. See all you complicated beauty bloggers, it can be done simply and still look great! 

Here is one eyebrow done with the other not filled in, just to see the difference.

Eyebrows help complete your face every time! Don't leave them out!

♥Taylor

Birchbox Reveiw

So, the other day, I was talking to my beautiful friend, Alli, and she asked me if I had heard of Birchbox. Heard of it? Of course! I am a member! So I thought I would do a quick review of it and my thoughts. 


Birchbox is a monthly present with beauty goodies (or at least that's how I interpret it). If there are two things that I love, it's getting mail and getting beauty samples. Each month, it comes with 5 items for a mere $10 a month. They are all fairly small, but have enough in them to get the point across. Most of what is in the box are high end products. Some of them are too expensive to buy out right, but its great to have that sample! I have found many items that I love, and I have been meaning to bite the bullet to buy some of them.There goes me and my procrastination again.

Here are some examples of what I have gotten:

The LAFACE skin primer is AMAZING. It goes on like silk and makes your face look flawless, but, it costs about $65 a bottle! However, the Beauty Protector Protect and Detangle (the red bottle) is also quite wonderful. It makes your hair smell so good, and it protects and smooths. The little gem only runs about $21. Still a little high but worth the quality.

Also, I almost forgot to mention the points you can earn! Whenever you buy anything through their website, you get 1 point per dollar you spend. After 100 points, you can get $10 off your next purchase (not including the monthly box of course)! There are also other ways to earn points. What a deal!


So, to recap, I love Birchbox. I think it is totally worth the $10 a month you pay! I know there are other similar deals out there that do about the same thing, but this is the one I chose, and I am so happy with it!


♥ Taylor

Foundation brush and application

I'm on a roll today! Two posts in one day? Production is my middle name. I wanted to talk about a tool that I use every day and a brand I am obsessed with. Recently, I made the switch from a compact powder to liquid foundation. I had been using MAC Studio Fix since 7th grade! Talk about loyalty. Well, I decided to switch it up so I bought Loreal True Macth Lumi liquid foundation. I like it some, but I have found I am more oily throughout the day.

Anyways, I wanted to really talk about how I apply it. I have been using a Sigma brush called the Flat Top Kabuki F80. It. Is. Wonderful. I use and love many of Sigma's brushes, but this one takes the cake!

 I start by putting two pumps of foundation on the back of my hand. I get about 1/3 of the foundation from my hand onto the brush and dab it on one cheek and half of my nose and chin. I take another 1/3 onto the brush and do the other cheek, the rest of my nose, and the rest of my chin. Then I take almost all of what is left on my hand (I leave a tiny bit) and dab it on my forehead. Then I go back over it and make small circles with the brush all over my face. This blends in the foundation all over and makes it look so smooth and seamless. I take the small bit I have left on my hand onto the brush and hit the troubles areas a second time. 


Having a good base for the rest of your makeup is so important, and this tool makes it easy and looks gorgeous!

♥ Taylor