My Everyday Makeup Routine & Makeup Tips

  Hello!

   Maybe it's just a teenage girl thing, but I love to do my makeup. I love watching YouTube videos and reading Bobbi Brown books and shopping for the perfect lipgloss. So it's probably not a surprise I do my makeup every morning (and actually look forward to it. I'm such a stereotypical girl.).
     I wear a lot of products, but I don't wear a lot of them on my face 'cause that totally makes sense right. Through all my reading and watching and learning about techniques, I think I'm able to do my makeup without it looking caked-on. I use the same group of techniques and products nearly everyday, so I figured I might as well share them! Skip to the bottom for a makeup-tip "cheat sheet". :)
    By the way, I don't use brands like L'Oreal or Maybelline or Covergirl, even though at times it would be more convenient. These brands test on animals, and I'm not into that. Check this out for a full list of animal-testing brands.

1) Eyes & Brows

2) Face

3) Lips

 

Eyes 

Products & Order Applied

1) E.L.F. Eyelid Primer 2) Ulta Eyeshadow in "Trendsetter" 3) Revlon Colorstay Brown Eyeliner 4) Mary Kay Eyelash Curler 5) Benefit "Bad Gal" Mascara 6) Ulta Eye Crayon in "Birthday Girl"

 

Eye Makeup Tips

~ Eyelid primer is perfect for oily eyelids (case in point: me)

~To keep from "raccoon eyes", I only apply eyeliner on my top lids

~ Before I apply liquid eyeliner, I "carve a path" with standard pencil liner, also helping the liquid to stay put

~ Curl eyelashes before applying mascara to prevent eyelashes from falling out

~ Use a creamy-colored eye crayon on the inner corners of your eyes to look more awake

 

Trivia: Your eyelashes stop growing back when you're about forty.

 

Brows

Products & Order Applied

1) Eyebrow brush 2) Eyebrow shadow brush 3) Urban Decay Brow Box in "Honey Pot"

 

Eyebrow Tips

~ Your eyebrows can make or break your entire look, so filling in is vital. Try to find a pencil or shadow a shade lighter than your brow color to do so

~ Use clear mascara to set your brows

Face

Products & Order Applied

1) Almay Clear Complexion Foundation in 120 "Ivory" 2) E.L.F. Concealer 3) Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 003 "Natural" 4) Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge for Lips and Cheeks in 20 "Raspberry" 5) Physician's Formula Bronze Gems Light Bronzer

 

Face Tips

~ A little foundation goes a very long way; using a little gets the job done without looking caked on

~ Use fingers for more precise foundation application

~ Dot concealer over blemishes and under eyes and stipple/pat for maximum effect

~ Set concealer with powder using a small-tipped brush

~ Apply "pot" cream blush with fingers, stippling/patting

~ Make a fish face when applying bronzer to most accurately fill in (your now sucked-in) cheeks

 

Trivia: Young skin reflects light. (So if you want to look young, don't use a lot of powder!)

 

Lips

Products & Order Applied

1) NYC lipstain in "Spice" 2) Revlon Colorburst lipgloss in 008 "Peony" 3) Ulta lipliner

 

Lip Tips

~ Lipstain does the job of lipstick but is lighter and lasts longer

~ Lipliner goes on lips, not on the skin around them (probably obvious, but I've seen too many clown lips to exclude this)

 

Favorite: my favorite lipstick is Revlon Lipbutter in "Peach Parfait".

 

 

 

 

    Welp, that's my core routine. Some days I use different colors of blush or eyeshadow, or don't wear anything on my face except Benefit Porefessional (hey, weekends), but using all these products every school day is the habit I've fallen in to.

 

Do you wear makeup everyday? What are your favorite products?

 

    xoxo,

        Zoe 

Valentine Shenanigans & Baking Ventures

 Howdy!

   Since I couldn't put my Valentine's Day happenings in the actual Valentine's Day post, I decided to make a new one, just for that!

  Aside from making some of Cupid's arrows, I crafted up Valentines for some of my family. I was tremendously inspired by Scathingly Brilliant's, but wanted to make them myself.

   

 I decided I'd bake two Valentine-themed treats on separate days. The first? Whoopie pies! I couldn't believe how complicated they actually were. Since they turned out too large, there wasn't enough frosting. Sigh.

 

 Speaking of pre-14th, on Monday I wore a Pre-Valentine's Day outfit, complete with the heart shoes I got for Christmas. I don't have them on in the photo, unfortunately. I was a big, festive smack of red on the actual 14th, because I love red. Is this my first what I wore mention? I believe so!

  I apologize for how messy they look; one was actually taken in the bathroom, both taken before school. Won't happen again. Honest!

  Have I told you about my obsession with bees? Now's as good a time as any...

   

  How precious is that bee balloon? And look! I freaked out when I saw the bee cupcakes. Oh, and check out that thumb. Pretty festive nail art, if I do say so myself.

    On the real hearts day, I gave Strawberry Puffcakes a shot. And something went terribly, terribly wrong.

  Did you see what they're supposed to look like? Yeah, not like that. I did something wrong, probably with the butter and salt. Oh, well. At least they were dipped in chocolate!

   So, that cat Valentine really did the trick, because my mom got me some presents! She's the best gift-giver, I swear.

Tokidoki Airways Palette, Tokidoki Mints, Tokidoki Mirror, and chocolate Turtles (my favorite!)

The palette is absolutely gorgeous. The colors are so perfect for me, I'm just gonna die.

  Target had some fantastic Valentine things, so I hit it up on the 15th for some hearty clearance (get it?). What I got will be in an upcoming post, I suppose.

    How did you spend February 14th?

  xoxo,
     Zoe

A Look Into: Organizing My Vanity

  Hello, hello!

    Before this afternoon, that mess you see was my vanity. Gross.

 

   See, I consider myself an extremely organized person. I am, however, fiercely unmotivated. Combine those two, and you have what you see here: a week's worth of pileup, untouched. It all started Monday, when I was looking for some orange-y lipgloss. Then Monday night, when I was too exhausted to clean up after myself. Continue to Tuesday, when no mix of concealers could cover up a massive zit. Then Tuesday night, when I was too busy self-pitying and Proactive-using to care about cleaning. The cycle continued until today, when I finally found the strength to go hardcore cleaning.

   The biggest problems I face on a day-to-day basis are my obsessive compulsive issues. I won't say I have O.C.D., but I have something close to it (without such severity.) Like, I have to check the faucet at least three times to make sure it's off after washing my hands. And I can't scratch my nose without pushing it down afterward, perhaps out of subliminal fear of having a pig-nose. Whatever the case, cleaning is a major part of my unlimited problems.

   This, mixed with my unmotivated attitude, creates my uncertainly sporadic personality. I can't avoid it. It can't avoid me.

    Anyway, that's some background into my organizing/not organizing problem. With all that said, let's clean this vanity, shall we?

   BAM! Pretty nice, if I do say so myself. Here are some tips I used when I organized:

1.   Keep out what you use everyday or every other day. Store some of the less-used nearby, and the rarely-used/back-ups underneath....
2.  Unless it's something you've splurged on or has a pretty display. Someone once said, "an enriching person surrounds themselves with enriching things." Or maybe a homeless person said that once; all I know: if it makes you happy, you should keep it out.
3.  Create a separate space for something have a lot of, but use a lot of, too. (My example: lipgloss)
4.  When there's not a lot of something, but you want it all in the same place, put it in a small drawer.
5. When you have things in bulk (cotton balls, Q-Tips, personal items, etc.), put it in pretty storage close by.
6. When organizing every-day items, keep eyeshadow with eyeshadow and blush with blush. It's easier to find when you're running late.

  

     

                            

  What have you organized recently?

 xoxo,
   Zoe

My Birthday (with KeraStraight details) + End-of-the-Month Haul: July

 ---Originally posted on 7/31/11 to Teenage Times--- 

Hello.
                          
   So, yesterday was my birthday. Hooray! With that birthday came festivities, and with those came presents.
 What did I get? Well, aside from Katy Perry concert tickets + meet and greet passes(you’ve read about it here), I got a ukulele(with maracas!), a “World’s Greatest Sister” trophy(hehe), and a gorgeous little ruby ring. My cake was made out of cookie, I saw Crazy, Stupid Love, ate a Mexican dinner, and had a great time.
 
     Also got my all-time favorite Sabriel and cheap shoes at Target (:

    The day before my birthday, I went to Ulta. Not to buy any products, but to get a KeraStraight Smoothing Treatment. What is a smoothing treatment? It’s where your hairdresser basically paints your hair with special product. This product is supposed to make your hair smoother, shinier, and straighter for the next 3-5 months, as well as make it easier to straighten(which is part of my daily routine when school kicks in). My mother had a coupon, and offered it to be part of my birthday. Anyway, WARNING! This is not for the tender-headed! This pulls, yanks, and tears your hair when being brushed at the salon. It’s incredibly painful and time-consuming(THREE AND A HALF HOURS! Of  just sitting there! My hair isn’t even damaged or color-treated, too). I’ll document the wins and fails of this treatment for the next 3-5 months.
    So, maybe I should’ve made a post exclusively for my birthday, but it would’ve been awfully small. So here’s my End-of-the-Month haul for July, made of various little groups of things.

     Sephora

     
   
        What you see here: a StarterKit Brush Set by Sephora(sale: $10 originally: $25); Happy Birthday: Shampoo, Shower Gel & Bubble Bath by Philosophy (free: Beauty Insiders birthday gift), a MiniMergency Kit for Her(no sale: $13); CLEAN Perfume 3-pc set (no sale: $10) 
        I was originally excited about the idea of a TokiDoki sale in the Sephora store. Sadly, it’s online-only, apparently. Figures. However, I did do some major scoring in sale with the Starter Kit Brush Set–I’ve been needing a new eyeshadow brush, and I’ve wanted to try a foundation brush, too (definitely sick of sponges). After more browsing, I found the CLEAN brand of perfume. Oh my gosh, it smells like it sounds. To my surprise, there was a $10 three-piece set. Just what I was looking for!! I can try it without the splurge. Oh, happy happy happy. As we(my mother and myself) were looking through the Beauty-on-the-Go items in checkout, I picked up the MiniMergency kit. It had sixteen little items in it! Whaaaa?! I stared at it blankly for a few moments (trying to decide if I was going to buy it or not), when my mom volunteered to pay for it, stating it was a back-to-school item. It was quite the “Awwww! MOM!” moment. I got my free birthday gift at the cashiers’ desk before we left.
    Ulta
   
    What you see here: Almay Blemish-Heal foundation, Revlon Siren lipstick, Ulta charcoal automatic eyeliner, Ulta camel eyeshadow.
     So I’ve been dying for new foundation, but since I just started using it, I’ll have  to review it later. I got the Ulta-brand eyeshadow in Camel, because I needed a highlighter. I had a coupon, so the Revlon Siren (orange) lipstick was a must. The eyeliner was on sale for $1, so I got it in charcoal. Using it for the first time: It’s the best eyeliner I’ve used to date. No kidding.
     Other little things I’ve purchased recently:

• Seventeen’s Guide to Style
• Rimmel 084 Amythst Shimmer (purple) Lipstick
                     
• U by Kotex wristlet + tin (on sale at Target); the tin is ideal for my iPod.
                      
• Forever 21 Online -Clothes & Accessories, has yet to arrive
• Target shoes on clearance (in birthday picture with ring & trophy)

  That concludes this glorious post.
   xoxo,
       Zoe

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