2 Looks, 2 Tutorials, 1 Face

Yes, I actually named this post "2 Looks, 2 Tutorials, 1 Face". I really need to come up with better titles if this is what it's come to. No matter what the title is, I am excited to bring you these tutorials. They're 2 completely different looks. One bold and retro, One a bit more subtle yet makes a statement.

I was racking my brain trying to figure out what look I wanted to create or recreate next so I decided to just do two. Even that was difficult. There are so many possibilities and looks, it's hard to decide. I knew I wanted to do two drastically different looks and I think I accomplished that with these. I bring you RETRO CHIC (look 1) and SUNKISSED SUNRISE (look 2).

Lets start with the supplies I used for these looks (you can adapt the look using the items you have on hand).

• Coastal Scents Mirage Palette
• Essence I Love Punk Jumbo Eyeliner Pen
• Essence I Love Extreme Volume Mascara
• Essence I Love Stage Eyeshadow Base
• NYX Eye Shadow Base in White
• NYX Born to Glow Liquid Illuminator in Sunbeam
• Bella Terra Mineral Shadow in Goldfish
• Revlon Colorstay Foundation
• Coastal Scents Concealer Eclipse Palette
• Cover Girl Loose Powder in Translucent Medium
• Avon SuperShock Max Mascara
• Maybelline Single Shadow in Pink Petal
• Starlooks Lip Pencil in Tipsy
• NYX Cream Blush in Orange
• e.l.f Studio Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder
• Wet n Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in Cherry Frost 514A
• BeaBombshell Lipgloss in Hot Mess
• Lash Cards
• A really great set of brushes. They don't have to be high end, the set just needs to have a wide variety of brushes.

Ok, Ok. I know it seems like a lot but when ya think about it, it's two completely different looks so it's really not that bad.

So let's get started shall we?

You're gonna begin with prepping your face. After priming my face with a Pixi Primer and eyes with Essence I Love Stage Eyeshadow Base & NYX Eye Shadow Base in White , I used Revlon Colorstay Foundation in medium beige and started buffing it in with my stippling brush using circular motions to really get into my pores.  Then using my Coastal Scents Concealer Eclipse Palette, I concealed any small imperfections or redness. I used the same palette to contour my face. Using an angled brush I used the next to darkest shade and applied it on the outer edge of my forehead, slightly below my cheekbones, on my temples and down the sides of my nose . I also used it under my chin to define my jawline a bit.

After contouring, I used my NYX Born to Glow Liquid Illuminator in Sunbeam to highlight my under eye/upper cheekbone area. The T section of my face was highlighted and I also applied a dab on my chin. I used Cover Girl Loose Powder in Translucent Medium to set it all and used my angled brush again to apply the powdered contour shade on my lower cheek. The light pink blush went on the Sunkissed Sunrise side of my face.

(sorry this image is so small, I could get it to be bigger for some reason. Click the photo to enlarge the pics)

Next, I applied NYX Cream Blush in Orange lightly (a little goes a long way) on my Retro Chic side. 

Now to begin the Retro Chic look. 

At this point you can use whatever brushes you feel will get the job done. My brushes don't have names or numbers. I used the lightest matte white shade in my Coastal Scents Mirage Palette and dabbed it all over my lid working it up to my brow line. I then went back in and reapplied the white several times on just the lid building the color so that it really pops.( brush a small amount in your inner tear duct area to make your eyes appear bigger). I went back in to my palette with a fluffy crease brush and worked a taupe color into my crease area. I used a slightly darker brown on the outer corner.



Next, It was time for the key component to a retro look... The Eyeliner! I used my newest liner, which I quickly fell in love with, the Essence I Love Punk Jumbo Eyeliner Pen. Start at the inner corner of your eye and work your way to the outer corner using small, smooth strokes along your lash line. Once you get to the end of your lid, draw a line up and outward as far as you'd like. This will create the guideline to your "wing". From the outer most point of your "wing", start drawing a line back towards your lash line. All you do next is fill it in and smooth out any lines that don't look clean. You really can't mess it up and if you feel you did, just keep building that line until you get it right. Go over your line with a black shadow to set the liner.

Take a slightly lighter shade of black and connect your lower lash line to the upper. Smudge the black out halfway across your lower lash line. Line your waterline with a white liner. I used Rimmel ScandalEyes Shadow stick in Witness White. Grab your best mascara... we're almost done.

Essence I Love Extreme Volume Mascara is what I chose for this look. It creates length and add the right amount of volume for this look. I felt like this was the perfect chance to try out the Lash Cards that I got in one of my Ipsy Bags. It really helped eliminate any clumps that I may have gotten and also separated my lashes. I was really impressed. I then lightly coated my lower lash line with Avon SuperShock Max Mascara.

After filling in and shaping my brows, my eyes were done!

My lips were simple yet BOLD. I don't have any red lip liner so I skipped that step, filled in my lips with Wet n Wild Silk Finish Lipstick in Cherry Frost 514A and coated them with BeaBombshell Lipgloss in Hot Mess. This created the perfect shade of red with just the right amount shine.

The finished look.

Retro Chic

Website coming soon!

How to TWEEZE your TWEEN!

Let's face it, there comes a day in every girls life when its just time to turn those fuzzy caterpillars over your eyes into beautifully arched eyebrows. Today was the day for my daughter. I never thought that she would want me to be the first to do them, I thought she would want me to take her to get them waxed or even threaded! So naturally I was thrilled when she asked me to give her brows a little plucking. Actually, I probably got too excited. The look on her face said "Calm down, Mom. It's not that serious." and I'm sure she was rolling her eyes on the inside. Maybe even on the outside but I was so happy that I didn't notice. Oh well, moving along.

Despite what my daughter may have thought, I decided this would be a great opportunity to turn this into a tutorial. Now I'm sure there are some moms that are gonna scoff at the fact that I'm tweezing an 11 year olds brows. I'm also sure there are people who are going to judge me as a mother. To those women (or men) I say this... You do what you want for your daughters, I'll do what I want for mine.

My daughter is going to middle school and if this is something that is going to make her feel good about herself, so be it! I'm not saying to fill them or color them, I'm just saying to shape em up and keep them tamed. We all know by that age it can be A JUNGLE UP THERE! So with that said I give you....

How to TWEEZE your TWEEN.

Step 1. Make sure the area is cleaned with your tweens usual cleanser. Also, good lighting is crucial.

Step 2. Brush the brows several time following the natural hair growth pattern.

Step 3. Once they are brushed, you will see a natural arch within the chaos. Follow that natural line.                   Everything else must go.

Step 4. Begin above the brow and clean up the fine hairs that tend to grow on your upper browline. This will help you to form the arch. Make sure that you're pulling in the direction of the hair growth. It's less painful.

Step 5. Once you're done with the upper browline, begin plucking the outer, lower area of the brow and work your way to the inner brow following the natural arch that you noticed in Step 3. 

Step 6. Shape the inner most part of your brow so that it aligns with their nostril. (follow the diagram below if you need more direction)

Step 7. Clean up between the eyes and take one more look to make sure you didn't miss anything.

The result is a youthful and tamed brow.

Thanks for stopping by The Messy Vanity,
Kat

Curling Rods are back!

Ok so way back, waaaaaaay back when I was in about 3rd or 4th grade, my mom used to put curling rods in my hair to enhance my perm. Yes. I had a perm. But hey it was the late 80's and it was the style then. She would put them in after my shower the night before and the next morning I would have bouncy curls that lasted all day long. No heat. No Aquanet. Well they're back! Everywhere I go, I see curling rods and ladies with perfect bouncy curls that they got without damaging their hair with heat or chemicals. So I thought, what the hell. I'm gonna try them again. I've got nothing to lose. My hair is pretty long now and if it doesn't turn out, its fixable. Everything is fixable. So here it goes...

Tools You'll Need:

• A Spray on Leave-in Conditioner
• A Detangling comb or brush (I use Con-Air)
• A Rat Comb
• 10 or more curling rods (I'm using Con-Air brand)
• Argan or Moroccan Oil
• Hairspray if needed

Step 1. Towel dry your hair after washing. Step 2. Spray on your favorite leave-in-conditioner. Step 3. Begin detangling your hair. Step 4. Start at the bottom and work your way up until your hair is completely untangled. Step 5. Part your hair into 3 sections. Step 6. Secure each section with clips or ties. Step 7. Starting with the bottom layer, begin taking small sections and comb through to make sure each section is untangled.

Step 8. Take a curling rod and about halfway down the section begin wrapping your hair, rolling it toward your scalp. Bend the ends to secure. Step 9. Continue doing this, working your way around your head doing the same for the middle section of your hair. Step 10. Take the top section of hair and roll the wand away from your face and secure the rods. FINISH! Wrap your head with a scarf or shower cap to help from getting too many fly aways while your sleeping. (This was the only scarf I had that was large enough to cover. DON'T JUDGE ME!) Lastly, cross your fingers and hope for the best in the morning.

Maui Babe

Yesterday, being my first day at the beach this season, I decided to try a tan accelerant that I've heard my best friend talk about for years. It's called Amazing Maui Babe  Browning Lotion. 

At first I was sketchy. The label looks a bit generic and the color of the bottle is actually the color of the lotion! I read the back of the label which assures you that it is not a self tanner and is not a stain. 

I personally thought it smelled pretty good. Like a nutty coffee, which is about right since its made with ingredients such as: Mineral Oil, Kukui Nut Extract and Kona Coffee Plant Extract (coffee is also good for cellulite. [so I hear]) and a few more natural ingredients. I slathered it on, sat back and relaxed.

The formula looked gross going on and really made my fingernails look dirty and unkempt. It also got brown smudges on my towel which I'm really hoping comes off in the wash. It tends to be a bit streaky going on and if you're not thorough, it could leave a brown blob that will have people staring I'm sure. 

After a couple of hours in the sun, I checked to see if there were any results... Nothing. I was pretty disappointed. I packed up and headed home. 

Holy Tan Lines! When I got out of my post beach shower, I was shocked by the amount of sun I actually had gotten! I left the beach thinking that I had wasted my money but shortly after, my mind was definitely changed. Not only did this "magic" tan reveal itself after my shower, but it seemed to continue to increase for hours after. I will definitely be using this one again. This summers goal? To look like a Maui Babe!

Thanks for stopping by The Messy Vanity,

Kat

Well isn't that just beachy.

I have been dying to try this new "beach hair" spray that I saw on Pinterest. I absolutely love my hair after leaving the beach and I thought it'd be awesome to use in those rare occasions in the summer that I'm not lounging at the beach. So I picked up a spray from the Not Your Mothers line of products. I read the back of the bottle.

**Description

It adds sexy, tousled waves and a light matte finish to any hair type. Infused with natural dead see salt and sea kelp this salon formula has you and your hair on the boardwalk all year long.

Directions

Mist generously onto clean, damp or dry hair. Comb through evenly and style with fingers or a brush to create random texture, waves and body. Air dry naturally, use a diffuser or lightly blow-dry. Oh and don't forget your sunblock (wink).**

As always, I followed the directions to a T. I chose to air dry instead of use my diffuser because I wasn't sure if the spray would leave a stiff residue. I didn't want a stringy look.

I hoped to look something like this:

The Good: 

•The mist was fine and the nozzle really made for easy spraying. 

•When dry, my hair was soft enough to run my fingers through. Didn't feel dry or stiff. 

•I felt no residue at all 

The Bad:

•While I was spraying, the plastic labeling on the bottle began to creep upwards which made for a not so easy grip. I scooted cover back down and continued. After a few frustrating label replacings, I ended up taking the whole label off and now have a plain white bottle that is driving me nuts!

The No-So Ugly:

Did I get the beach hair look I was going for? No. But that won't keep me from trying it with the diffuser before giving it the thumbs down. Plus, I really liked how my hair felt after it air-dried. It's a great product to keep around for those wash n go days. The OCD in me is probably gonna go crazy if I have to keep looking at the blank bottle though....I'm sure I can fix that in some way. 

Thanks for stoping by The Messy Vanity, 

Kat