Bohemian Queen Using Only Drugstore Products!

A few weeks back, my friend Alana (who did a guest blogger post about a year ago) requested I do a look inspired by the lovely Stevie Nicks. It's so funny to me when I do looks like this, because I feel like other people look absolutely lovely with this kind of makeup, but it's not something I normally gravitate towards! However, I think the soft and smokey style of Stevie Nicks is timeless, and can easily be worn during the day, or smoked up even more for a fun night look! For this tutorial, I chose to stick with only drugstore products, aside from my brows, so everything I used is super affordable and easy to get a hold of!

My look was inspired by this video, but I also screencapped a couple shots for reference!

Oh the 80s...How I could never pull of that hair.

To start out this look, I used my Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Stick in "Bulletproof Beige" as a base all over my lid, stopping at the crease, and using my fingers to blend the product out. Then, I took my Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Collection in "Comfort Zone" and used the left browbone shade all over my lid, covering up the "Bulletproof Beige" pencil. Then, I took the left eyelid color and patted this on the outer third of my lid, as well as taking it through the crease to warm up the eyes a bit more. Then, I took the left crease shade, and buffed that into the outer V, to really help smoke out the look a bit more. To help define the crease a little more, I used the Milani Eyeshadow in "Bella Caffe" and really blended this through the crease on top of that bronzey pink shade. For my brow bone highlight, I decided to stay matte, since all of the lid shades are generally shimmery, and i used the Milani Eyeshadow in "Bella White," as well as using that in my inner corner for a pop of white.

For the smokey liner, I used the left definer shade on an angled brush and smudged that along the outer parts of the upper and lower lash line, stopping about halfway in. Then, I took a small pencil brush and smudged out that definer shade, to really help smoke the look out. If you wanted to wear this on a night out, I would definitely recommend using this shade in the outer corner to help deepen it up, but for the sake of this tutorial, I only used it as a smudgy liner. On my waterline, I used my Rimmel Scandaleyes Kohl Kajal in "Nude," and then finished off the eyes with a few soft layers of the Maybelline The Mega Plush Mascara.

Since I didn't want to contour for this look, I used a concealer to highlight the high points of my face -- almost like a backwards contour. The concealer I used was the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer, and I used this under my eyes, on the high points of my cheekbones, down the bridge of my nose, and on my cupid's bow. For blush, I used the Milani Baked Blush in "Luminoso," and, in a very 80s fashion, used this almost like a contour, and placed it in the hollows of my cheeks, blending upward. It helps to add just a subtle warmth to the cheeks without becoming overpowering!

For my lips, I used my Maybelline Color Senstational Lip Liner in "Rose," lining my lips and filling them in. To imitate Stevie's naturally pouty lower lip, I very slightly over lined my lower lip, drawing just outside of my natural lip line. To add a gentle shine, I used my Burt's Bees Lip Shine in "Blush."

I hope you enjoyed this look! I'm sure it's definitely a bit different than what you normally see on my blog, but I think it's definitely fun to try to branch out and play a bit more with makeup!

- D.

Snow Day

So this post doesn't really have anything to do with a snow day other than the fact that I was basically cooped up in my apartment for 36 hours because we had a snow day and my car isn't prepped to be driven in snow...Of course, North Carolina, being a part of the South, doesn't really get a lot of snow, so ANY snow seems to be a lot. I don't think our roads were cleared until almost 24 hours after the snow had begun. Now everything is just icy and frigid, and after being cooped up for 36 hours, I decided I needed to get some of my creative juices flowing!

As you can see, I definitely wanted to do a more colorful look, so I had some fun mixing warm and cool colors. That's my favorite part about using my Coastal Scents 252 Ultimate Palette -- it really gives you so much variety when you just wanna have some fun with your makeup!

I labeled everything because I can see how this would get a little confusing. To start, I primed my lids with my concealer. This is a great technique because it also helps to reduce any veins or discoloration on your lids. Then, all over the lid, I took the slightly pearlescent corally orange color and placed that all over the lid. At this point I just wanted a general wash of color to get me started. Then, I took the dark caramel color and rocked that lightly in the crease, to help deepen up the crease while helping to add a subtle transition. I really blended that out, then used the darker warm brown color on a pencil brush in the outer V, really buffing it back and forth to help create a lot of depth in the outer corner of the eye. Then, I decided I wanted more dimension in the crease, and I took the Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadow in "Bella Caffe," and layered that on top of the original caramel color. Because this shadow is more pigmented than the original caramel color, it really helped to add some dimension that the first color couldn't add on its own. Then, I took the light matte coral shade and, using my fingertips, placed that on the inner third of the lid, but not all the way onto the tear duct.

For my lower waterline, I used the Stila Smudge Stick in "Bluefin." If you have sensitive eyes, I do not recommend this liner for the waterline because it has tiny specks of glitter in it! It bothered my eyes a bit at first, but the feeling went away after the liner set. I also took the "Bluefin" liner and applied that to my upper lash line, staying as close to the lash line as possible, before winging it out on the edges. I chose to keep the wing very crisp because I wanted to add a lighter color below it. Because I wanted to use false lashes, I took my Lorac Front of the Line Pro Liquid Liner and created a super thin line just alone the base of the lashes.

For the lower lash line, I first used the NYX Slide On Eye Pencil in "Pure White" and ran that along the lower lash line, winging it just below the dark blue liner. I just needed it as the base for the shadows to go on top. On the outer two-thirds of the lower lash line, I used the shimmery pastel blue color, and patted that on top of the white base, as well as winging it out slightly in the outer corner and blending it out. Then, on the inner third of the lower lash line, I used the shimmery lavender color and patted that on top of the white base, blending it with the light blue shadow. Finally, to finish off the eyeshadow, I took the pale golden color and dabbed that on the inner corner to bring an iridescent glow to the eyes.

Finally, I used the Laura Geller GlamLASH Mascara on both my upper and lower lashes, then used the Andrea Modlash Lashes in "53 Black" to really amp up the glamour!

To keep with the coral theme, I used the Rimmel Stay Blushed! Gel Blush in "Peach Flush" as a base, and popped just a bit of Milani's Baked Blush in "Luminoso" on top to add a subtle glow. On my lips, I initially went for a nude, but you really can get super creative with your lips for this look! First, I lined my lips with the Maybelline Lip Liner in "Rose" and topped it off with Milani Color Statement Lipstick in "Nude Creme."

Like I said before, though, you can totally push this look to the next level by adding a bright lip! The lip colors that I played with were Urban Decay Super Saturated Lip Color in "Punch Drunk" (the orange on the left), and Milani Matte Moisture Lipstick in "Matte Diva" (the bright fuchsia on the right).

I hope this gets you as in the mood for spring as it's gotten me! I can't wait for the warm weather to start setting in again -- I need some sun!

- D.

Milani & Rimmel Haul

The other day, I had a few different coupons for CVS, so of course, I had to step in and take a look -- especially since I had been eyeing the new Milani Color Statement Moisture Matte Lipsticks. I love Milani's traditional Color Statement Lipsticks, so I was super excited for yet another drugstore brand to come out with a matte formula! I also had a couple of things that I actually needed to stock up on too, so I got those while I was at CVS as well, and I thought I would share it!

Starting out with the "boring" stuff, I had to get some face products from Rimmel. Well, really, I only bought one of the items in the picture. My Revlon PhotoReady Translucent Finisher is on its last legs, and I decided to finally try a new powder! I've used the Rimmel Stay Matte Powder on other people when I've done hair and makeup for various musicals, and I've always been happy with how it performed (buh dum tss). I finally decided to give it a try to myself! I've always been a little turned off by the packaging, but I figure, for the price, I might as well give it a try!

The other two things from Rimmel that I got were my favorite Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer. Like I said, I didn't actually purchase these -- Andrew did. When I was back home, every single time I tried to purchase a new one, they were out of stock in my shade! And there's no place nearby here in North Carolina that sells it. So when I received a care package from Andrew the other day, I saw that he had sent me a new one, plus a backup! I had already bought the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in an attempt to replace my Rimmel concealer, so I'll have to use that up before opening one of these, but I'm so glad I have extras now!

For the most part, I don't tend to purchase single eyeshadows. But I had heard good things about the Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadow, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. The colors I purchased are Bella White and Bella Caffe, which are both a Satin-Matte finish. I would definitely say they lean more toward matte, but they are incredibly pigmented! It applies especially well with your fingers. For a matte, drugstore shadow, I'm totally impressed, and I'm definitely going to have to get my hands on more of these, especially since they have so many colors!

I'm so excited about these lipsticks! I literally sat in my room playing with them for an hour or so before I realized I should probably stop procrastinating and just do my homework... Anyways, the new Milani Moisture Matte Lipsticks are phenomenal. They're super creamy and apply like a breeze, but have that lovely matte finish after being on the lips for about 30 seconds. The shades I purchased of the Moisture Matte Lipsticks were "Matte Diva," a super vivid fuchsia color, "Matte Confident," a deeper, blue-toned red (think MAC's "Russian Red," but easier to apply!), and "Matte Orchid," which is similar to "Matte Diva," although a bit more deep and muted.

I also picked up one of their classic Color Statement Lipsticks in "Nude Creme," because my nude lipstick collection is pretty sad (as in, I have like, one or two nudes), and a Color Statement Lipliner in "True Red," because for whatever reason, I completely forgot I had just bought a red lipliner from NYX. Whoops.

What have you purchased lately? Is there anything in the drugstore that you have your eye on?

- D.