My January GlamBag

For those of you who aren't familiar with the glambag brought to you by myglam.com, let me give you a quick synopsis. Ten dollars a month gives you a subscription to a company that brings beauty products straight to your front door (or mailbox!) This company was created by the now famous YouTube beauty guru Michelle Phan. Basically you take a quiz which asks you all kinds of questions about your beauty and fashion style, as well as skin type. You're then matched up with a stylist and given personalized beauty advice (I havent utilized this feature of the site so no comments here). Then you use the website as a makeup community, reviewing products, watchings videos, etc. To get the full scoop on the program visit http://www.myglam.com
This month was only the second month since the subscription started, but I have recieved both December and January glambags. At this point I am very happy with the service, even after an unexpected mix up at the company delay in shipping my package (and many others like me) to me this month. While I definitely prefered the contents of the December bag, I am equally as excited about the January bag. Here are a few pictures of the bag, along with it's contents. Hopefully I will be back soon with some product reviews :)

Nail of the Day: Wet n Wild How I Met Your Magenta and Pure Ice Spit Fire

Think Outside the Box Thursday: Bring the Kitchen to Your Powder Room

Today's Think Outside of the Box Thursday will give ya some unconventional beauty uses for 3 household items you most likely already have in your pantry. You may already know some of these tips, but you just may learn something new. Of course there are tons of other food and household items that can be used for beauty however I have a full-time job--and will have to save the others for a different day. For now enjoy these quick home beauty treatments:

Olive Oil:
1. Olive oil makes a great makeup remover, even powering right through water proof and longwear makeup. Massage onto skin and wipe off with a warm wet washcloth.
2. Olive oil can also be used to condition dry hair. Smooth some onto the tips of dry hair being careful not to get an excessive amount near roots or your head can quickly go from smooth and silky to creepy and greasy. Can also be applied and left on like a masque, heat with a hair dryer to ensure deep penetration, then shampoo as usual.
3. Smooth olive oil over dried or cracked feet at night and cover with socks. You'll wake up wih softened skin.
4. When my lips are super dry or sunburned I coat them in a layer of olive oil and a dusting of granulated sugar. Massage the mixture in and wipe off (or lick if you must!).
5. Combat dry or peeling nails by soaking them in olive oil or simply thoroughly massaging olive oil on the entre nail surface and cuticle. Not only does the olive oil moisturize the nail, but the massage helps up circulation and nail growth.



Tea or tea bags:
1. For tired puffy eyes with bags-brew two bags of black tea for about 5 minutes. Put tea bags in freezer long enough to chill them, but not freeze them. Next apply one bag per eye and relax for about 15 minutes to let the tea bags go to work on your puffies. Remove and toss teabags, and rinse any residue from your eyes. Try using the tea bags when they are still warm as an equally soothing alternative.
2. A warm teabag can soothe and give relief to a swollen and inflamed pimple
3. Give your stinky feet the one two punch with a tea soak. The tannin in tea is a potent odor fighter.
4. Use tea to rinse dark hair to deepen your color gradually and add shine and highlights.
5. Tea can also be used as an astringent for acne prone skin.


Eggs:
1. Mix one egg and one tablespoon of honey to create a tightening mask for your face. If your skin is dry or sensitive add a teaspoon of olive oil to the mixture to add some moisture back to your skin. This is great for all skin types, but honey is especially effective on acne prone skin.
2. You can make a skin tightening mask by applying one beaten egg to your face. Leave for 15 minutes, then rinse thoroughly.
3. Acne prone skin can benefit from combining one beaten egg and a few teaspoons of oatmeal as a mask wherever your skin breaks out. Leave the paste on until it dries, then rinse thoroughly.
4. A combination of egg and honey makes a great strengthening conditioner for your hair. Simply shampoo as usual, apply the egg and honey, cover with a shower cap and allow the heat and steam in your shower get to work. The longer you wait before rinsing, the more effective the treatment.
5. An egg and lemon mix can also be massaged into the scalp and rinsed out to combat flakie scalp or dandruff.

I realize not all of these will work or everyone, but if you're anything like me, sometimes it's just as much fun reading about different ways to beautify on the cheap I'd love to hear any of your unconventional beauty tips.

...Amy...

Wet n Wild Wednesday: Pride Palette

   When trying to plan for my next Wet n Wild Wednesday I had such a hard time deciding which eyeshadow to feature next.  I am not exaggerating when I say I own every shade in the collection and many now discontinued products, so my choices seemed endless.  After some deliberation, I simply shut my eyes, reached into the container that holds my Wet n Wild shadows and pulled whichever one my hand was clutching.  So by luck of the draw, this week's post will feature the Pride palette.
   The Pride palette is a gorgeous 6 pan palette of shadow featuring blues, greens, and shades of white.  This palette features a matte and shimmer version of each shade included.  The colors are uber pigmented and blend easily.  You can pick this up for a few bucks at any retailer that sells Wet n Wild.  Here is the breakdown of the EOTD (eye of the day for those of you who aren't familiar with the beauty lingo) I created using the palette. 
 Thanks for viewing!

   ...Amy...

I used each shade in the palette to create this softly cut crease look which works great for my hooded lids. 

The white shades were blended in my inner corner as well as lightly dusted alone my browbone. 

I added the dark matte navy to cut my crease and blend throughout my crease and under lashes.

Then i added the matte sea foam green to my outer third as well as bottom lashline, then used the shimmer version to add a pop to the center of my lid. 

Then I blended the top of my crease color, softening it with the matte sea foam green color.

I finished the look with Wet n Wild creme black liner on top and outer third of waterline (though it had worn off at the time of this picture because my eyes were super watery today).  

Tutorial Tuesday: How to Fill in Brows

  One the most often neglected areas on your face can be your brows.  Perhaps you don't have them regularly shaped, you have too much, or not enough hair, or you just don't like the shape of your brows.  Despite the current status of your brows, it is important not to ignore them when applying a full face of makeup. 
  I am a firm believer in strong brows, but what ever your preference for your face-shape and style, embrace what you have (or have created) and showcase them as a part of your daily makeup routine.  I'm not saying you should Chola it up like I jokingly did in the picture above,  but you should fill in and shape what ya got! You wouldn't believe the difference a little shaping and filling in will make even on days that you are otherwise wearing little to no makeup.  One of my biggest pet peeves is a woman who bangs out an amazing makeup look, but leaves her poor little puny brows looking less than stellar. 
  You have to figure out which style of brow works best for you.  Whether they are thin and arched, straight and full, or anywhere in between, find what works best for your face shape and enhance it! I am no expert, for the best advice on brow shaping check out your best friend Google.  Here are the must haves for beautiful brows no matter the shape you decide on:

1.  A small angled brush: My absolute favorite is the MAC 266.  This brush makes brows a breeze for me, but you could easily use a cheaper brand of your preference.  As long as it is thin, angled, and stiff, you should have success.

2.  Brow powder or a matte eyeshadow: Now you can get a perfect brow using a brow pencil.  However, I feel that powder brow products are much more forgiving, natural, and easy to work with.  I use an eyeshadow made by L'Oreal simply because it is the perfect color for me, but plenty of companies make brow products designed specifically for brows if you prefer.  Make sure that your brow powder is one to two shades lighter than your actual brow color if you have dark brows.  And two or so shades darker if you have pale or blonde brows.  For example, my actual brow hairs are jet black.  But to avoid looking like the gorgeous pictured I opened this post with, I use a dark brown powder instead of black. 

3.  A spoolie or small brush: This smooths out the color you applied and ensures that your application is blended and flawless making the powder virtually undetectable.

4.  A great highlighter: Everyone could use a little lift to their brow, regardless of your age.  It brightens your eyes, lifts your lid, and the contrast against your brow color really makes the work you just put in to your brow really pop.  You choose if you want a shimmer or matte, just make sure it is light and well blended.  My favorite matte highlight is Wet n Wild Brulee, and my current favorite shimmer is Urban Decay Booty call.

As far as application of your product, check out my YouTube tutorial on filling in brows

Don't let me down beauties! I promise to look at you crazy if you walk out the house with some crazy brows :)
Here's my before and afters

   ...Amy...

MAC Monday

It's just another MAC Monday (to the tune of Manic Monday, cheesy I know, but i couldn't resist!).  Today's post will be a quickie, so you'll enjoy the world of less words from me =) I own a ton of MAC lippies, as you can tell if you watched my Mary Poppins'esque What's in my purse video.  So i couldn't miss out on sharing my current favorites with you for my first MAC Monday.  Check again with me in a week as I tend to rotate favorites like clockwork.  I'm including swatches, as well as pictures of me wearing the lipstick where possible. 

My Top 5 Favorite MAC Lipsticks:

1.  Faux:  Faux is a satin finish lipstick, although I don't feel it has the typical dry texture of some of MAC's satin finish lipsticks.  It's a pretty neutral milky MLBB pink that I find myself pairing with tons of eye looks. It is my most reached for MAC lipstick, I even wore it on my wedding day, and I love the way it looks on me.  I love topping it with a sparkley lipgloss, like babysparks or pleasure principle. 

2.  Gem of Roses:  Is a lustre finish, which gives it a gorgeous slick texture.  Kind of like the feel of a gloss, with the pigmentation and application of a lipstick.  It's pretty unremarkable in color, just your basic pretty MLBB pink shade, but I love it.  I can pair this with any eye look imaginable and it will always looks great. 

3.  Lickable:  A bright blue based fushica with a cremesheen finish.  This color is gorgeous on it'ts own but also makes an amazing stain when blotted down.  I love to wear this with a simple neutral eye with thick winged liner to create a modified pin-up inspired look. 

4.  Hibiscus:  This is a bright orangey coral cremesheen that feels buttery smooth on the lips  While it is an awesome color to pair with your summer tan, I find it equally flattering on fair complexions as well.  I love it paired with a bold graphic eye liner and minimal makeup elsewhere.  It is an attention grabber, so not for those afraid to make a statement with their lips. 

5.   Pink Nouveau:This lipstick is a satin finish.  So make sure your lips are in great condition before applying, as MAC's satin finish lipsticks tend to show every flake and crack of dry lips.  Applied normally, it is a bright blue based bubble gum pink, but makes a gorgeous punchy lipstain as it wears off or is blotted.  I think it looks amazing on fair complected ladies but can be made to work for any complexion in different forms of application. 

  Pretty obvious that I'm a lover of pink lippies, with the exception of Hibiscus, as all of my current favorites are pinks.  Don't get me wrong, I wear every color lipstick imaginable from orange to deep plummy purples.  However, I constantly find myself gravitated to my favorite pinks.  I would love to hear from you guys down below about your favorite lipsticks!

   ...Amy...

Skincare Sunday (a day late, oops!)

 Dearest Blog-viewers,
My apologies for missing my first installment of Skincare Sunday. My day yesterday was much busier than anticipated and the time got away from me. In lieu of the post I had planned to write, check out my YouTube video on my skincare routine. It is basically the same now, except I have added an additional product (Philosophy Hope in a Jar). I'm getting to work on MAC Monday shortly and will hopefully stay caught up :)

...Amy...