A Kiss of Holly

If you're anything like me, you hate the combination of green and red. Of course, my school colors were green and black, and then for colorguard we wore bright red lipstick and it was just a big hot green and red mess. However, I do think there is a proper way to wear green and red together, and this glamorous look is perfect for any Christmas parties you may be attending this season!

Before doing anything, I took some scotch tape and pressed it on the back of my hand, to get some of the tackiness off. Then, I placed it along my eye, following the lower lash line upward, to help create a crisp, clean cat eye shape.

Next, I took the Maybelline Color Tattoo Metal in "Inked in Pink," and placed this all over my lid, stopping at the crease. On top of this, I took the Makeup Geek pigment in "Sweet Dreams" and patted this all over the lid, again staying below the crease. Then I used the "Fawn" shade in the Anastasia Contour Kit and buffed that into my crease to add depth and help the next colors transition. Using a fluffy blending brush, I took my Makeup Geek eyeshadow in "Envy" (which I totally forgot to take pictures of, but it's like a deep blackened green color) and blended that into the crease, avoiding going too far into the lid. Finally, I took "Corrupt," also by Makeup Geek, on a small pencil brush, and placed that in the outer V to really help give some extra depth.

For my liner, I decided to do a double liner featuring this shimmery liquid liner by Prestige Cosmetics in the color "Envy." With the tape still on my eyes, I did a thick winged liner, not worrying too much about getting a little messy with the wing since the tape was there to help me out! Then, after letting this liner dry a bit, I went over it with my Maybelline Line Stiletto in "Blackest Black" and drew a line that was about half as thick as the first. After the black liner dried, I carefully peeled off the tape to reveal a perfectly crisp winged liner!

To add a bit more drama, I used my L'Oreal HiP Color Truth Eyeliner on my upper and lower waterline, as well as along my lower lashline, which I then smudged out with a cotton swab. To finish it all off, I applied generous coats of the Maybelline The Mega Plush Mascara, and topped it with one good coat of the Maybelline The Rocket Mascara. I definitely would have preferred to add some false lashes to this look, but go figure, I couldn't find my lash glue!

For my brow highlight and undereye concealer, I used my Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer, then set it with the "Banana" shade from the Anastasia Contour Kit. As a contour, I used "Fawn," which is the same color I used on my eyes earlier, then I finished of my skin with the Milani Baked Blush in "Luminoso," to add a beautiful glow to the skin.

And for the cherry on top (-buh dum tss-), the red lips! As a base color, I took MAC's "Russian Red" all over the lips, using a lip brush to keep it from getting everywhere. After I applied this lipstick, though, I felt like it was missing something, so I added the Rimmel Show Off Lip Lacquer in "Big Bang" on the center of the lips. To clean up any edges, I used my MAC Studio Finish Concealer and ran this with a small brush around the edges of my lips.

That's it for this look! I really loved doing this look, and felt it was a cute little twist on the classic holiday tutorials that are going around everywhere right now. What is your go-to holiday look? 

- D. 

Holiday Decor!

This year is my first year all on my own. Well, sort of. I live in an off-campus apartment complex that is owned by my school, so I kind of live on my own, but kind of not. My roommate and I decorated a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving this year, because we knew we wouldn't have a chance after Thanksgiving break because she is playing the Sugar Plum Fairy in our school's production of The Nutcracker, and she's super busy with rehearsal. I thought I would just show you some pictures and tell you all about the various decorations we put up this year, and hopefully inspire your own cheap and easy decor!

My favorite decoration that we put up this year are these super affordable clear string lights that we wrapped all the way around our living room.  It only took two sets of these lights to wrap all the way around the room, and I'm kind of thinking about asking my roommate if we can keep them up till the end of the year, because I just love them that much!

On our floor lamp, we decided to make a super skinny Christmas tree by wrapping basic unlit garland from the bottom of the lamp all the way to the top. Because this garland is on a wire, we just used the end of it to wrap around the switch on the lamp to hold it all in place! 

On the side table, we got these fake flowers from Dollar Tree, which is my favorite place for artificial flower arrangements! We got these pretty red flowers that look like poinsettias, along with a white flower as an accent, and some glittery pinecones! To top it all off, we threw them in a tall, cylindrical vase and wrapped a sparkly gold ribbon around the middle. 

Between our living room and our kitchen, we have this little counter where we place things like tea, fresh fruit, candy, etc. We thought that the perfect way to frame this would be with these adorable blue and white snowflake lights! My favorite part about these lights is that they alternate colors, but unfortunately, these specific ones are no longer sold. The closest ones I could find are these, from Home Depot, or these, from Target.

Last, but definitely not least, is our little tree! This amazing little 4 foot artificial tree is from Amazon! It is an unlit tree, so we used a fairly short 50-ct string light, and of course, we decorated with very simple red and silver ball ornaments! While we wanted to get a tree topper, I'm not really sure this tree is sturdy enough to handle the weight of a topper without falling over. I think it's super cute regardless though!

I'm super excited for the holidays! In just a few days, I will be flying back home to San Diego, and I am very excited to see my family and friends. What are you looking forward to this year?

- D. 

Chocolate Cranberry Cutcrease

Nothing says the holidays like a bold lip and a golden eye! It's been a while since I've used my Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette, so I decided to bust it out again and do a fun look that's perfect for any holiday parties you may be attending. This isn't a super bold cut crease, so it's great for people who are still not quite comfortable with going that defined!

Before applying any shadow to the lid, I used my NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in "Milk." I swiped this all over the eyes, stopping at the crease, and made sure to only use a small amount.

Next, I took my Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette, and used the shade "Champagne Truffle" (shimmery, pink champagne shade) all over the lid. In reality, you can simply place it on the inner third, because it gets covered up anyway. Next, I took "Creme Brulee," (shimmery, warm golden bronze color) spritzed it with a little bit of MAC Fix+, and patted this on the center of the lid, to get a vibrant, metallic effect. I then took "Milk Chocolate" (matte, light, cool toned brown) and began adding that into the outer corner, to deepen up the look.

To help the next shade blend more easily, I took a mix of "Salted Caramel" (matte warm, camel shade) and "White Chocolate," (matte cream color) and buffed this into the crease. Then, I took "Cherry Cordial" (glittery deep burgundy) on a small pencil brush, and began to place it in the crease. I took this color pretty far in, almost to the inner corner. I felt that this color was too brown, and not enough of the pop of color that I was wanting, so I added in just a bit of the Wet n Wild Color Icon Blusher in "Mellow Wine," which brightened it up a lot.

I felt that this look still wasn't dramatic enough, so I took "Dark Chocolate" (matte cool, dark brown) and blended it into the outer corner, really focusing the shadow in the outer corner. For liner, I used my Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner in "Blackest Black" and drew a very thin line. Then, I took a clean pencil brush and blended the very edge of the liner in the outer corner into the "Dark Chocolate" color in the crease. I also used the gel liner on the lower lashline, fading in toward the center of the lashline, and then blended the color out. To give everything a clean, finished look, I took my L'Oreal HiP Color Truth Eyeliner in "Black" and lined both my upper and lower waterline. Then, of course, I used my Maybelline The Mega Plush Mascara, following it up with the Maybelline The Rocket Mascara.

For my face, I did my foundation and my brows as usual, using my CoverGirl 3-in-1 Foundation on the skin and "Dark Chocolate" in the brows. I also used my Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer under the eyes, and under the brow bone to help highlight and define.

On my cheeks, I went back to the Wet n Wild Color Icon Blusher in "Mellow Wine," and really blended it out, because it was a bit harsh and contrasted with the rest of the look. I contoured using "Fawn" from the Anastasia Contour Kit, and used "Banana" to brighten up the undereye area. At this point, I felt like I just looked far too pale and that I really needed to add some color to my face. I added just a hint of theBalm Bahama Mama Bronzer on the points of my face that would naturally get sunkissed, to help warm up my face and help me look just a little more alive!

Finally, on the lips, I used Maybelline Creamy Matte Lipstick in "Divine Wine," although this look would also look amazing with a warm, brown nude lip.

I hope your holidays are going well so far! Let me know in the comment below what you would like to see in future posts!

- D.