Tutorial: Defined, Smokey Everyday Burgundy Look using the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette

Hello Loves!

Today, I am going to be a tutorial of a more natural look. Shocker, eh? I am all about dramatic makeup so doing a look like this doesn't happen often for me. I did this look first for a job fair I had at my university and posted it to Reddit. SO many people wanted a tutorial and I have finally delivered. I had a presentation for one of my classes and found it to be a perfect opportunity to redo this look. I really don't like redoing looks because I get bored easily doing the same look, but I gotta tone down the makeup for classes. This should be mentioned (well, it is in the title) but I only used eyeshadows from the Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette so whip that out if you have it :)

Anyways... 

Here is the final look:

Tutorial after the jump!

Review: Lena Lashes in Naomi

Hello Loves!

Back with another Lena Lashes review. Today, I will be wearing and testing out the Naomi style and I am pretty excited to try these. I had a similar style by another company and wore them on my 3rd anniversary with my boyfriend, so this pair of lashes reminds me of the anniversary dinner. The dinner was fabulous but we ate WAY too much (a bottle of wine, 2 appetizers, entrees, and beer as a "dessert"). I pretty much had a gigantic food baby. Ok, story aside...

I got sent four pairs of lashes from Lena Lashes and have decided to review them. I want to say all opinions on these reviews are my own and nobody else's. Now that we have that out of the way...

ONTO THE REVIEW!

Review: Lena Lashes in Ellarie

Hello Loves!

Guess who's back with another lash review! I am very excited to try out some mink lashes, again. I haven't worn minks in a while because I had a bad experience with two pairs I have bought previously. The adhesive keeping the mink hairs on the band was defective and cause the lashes to easy shed its hairs. One of the lashes I had basically disintegrated after its first use. Let's hope this time I have a good experience with the lashes I got.

I got sent four pairs of lashes from Lena Lashes and have decided to review them. I want to say all opinions on these reviews are my own and nobody else's. Now that we have that out of the way...

A little background since I haven't previously reviewed any products from this company. Lena Lashes is a lash company selling lashes of different types of hair (mink, fox, human, etc.) and it is owned and operated by Marlene Aymone. It is indicated on her website that the human hair lashes are cruelty free but doesn't specify if the mink/fox hairs are. According to her IG, it is a cruelty free company. If you are unsure about this, shoot her an email. It never hurts to ask.

SHIPPING/CUSTOMER SERVICE

These lashes are a press sample and were sent out to me so I have no experience on either of these issues. If you want to input your experience on this company, email me about it! 

Ok, onto the review!

Tutorial: My Anniversary Look (Smokey Eye and Winged Liner Combo)

Hello Loves!

I am very excited to be posting this! I went to my Instagram to ask my followers to vote on their favorite of four trial looks that I would be doing for my anniversary. This one was the most liked, so I went ahead and did it. As a little bonus for my lovely followers participating, I wanted to make a tutorial for the look! After doing my trial looks, I actually loved this look the most and am really glad others thought the same :)

Here's the final look:

From the anniversary dinner <3

Tutorial after the jump!

Tutorial: How to Use Color - Neutral and Mint Cut Crease

Hello Loves!

This is the second tutorial that I have done for my IMAM (Indiemakeupandmore) exchange partner and this tutorial is to help introduce her to color! One of the best ways to use color is to pair it with a neutral. The looks are a bit more toned down whenever you use a neutral with a color. I know this look may be a tad dramatic (I am ALL about the drama) but the beauty of makeup is that you can modify it to your liking. The world is your pickle (Laura Vitale got that stuck in my head...)! I would recommend adding black winged liner to this to complete it a bit more. I was trying to get something done before I lost sunlight to take photos, which still happened. That is the worst thing about winter, the fact that you wake up when it is still dark and it is dark soooooo early. Also, the cold. The winters are harsh were I live. Anyways...

Here is the final look!

Tutorial after the jump!

Tutorial: Simple Duochrome Smokey Eye

Hello Loves,

Today I got a tutorial for you! I haven't done one in a long time cause I've been so busy with class! I did manage to get some time to do tutorials. I actually made this and the next tutorial for my IMAM exchange partner to introduce her to rainbow of colors and duochrome. Colors can be intimidating and it takes time to get used to using them. I used to be strictly a neutrals girl but now, I LOVE color! :)

Today, I am doing a simple smokey eye using ONE eyeshadow. Yes, one eyeshadow was used for this whole entire eye look, but if desired, you can add a transition color and a highlight to the inner corner and browbone. The trick is when and when not to use your brush wet because it changes the intensity of the duochrome shimmer. If you want something quick, simple, yet still sultry, this is for you. I recommend using any darker duochrome colors you want but the eye product I used is Diggy, Diggy Hole by Shiro Cosmetics.

Here is the final look:

Tutorial after the jump!

Review: KoKo Lashes in Iris

Hello Loves!

I know... it has been 2 months since I have done a post of any kind on my blog. I have been extremely busy from the combination of work, school, and maintaining a LDR (aka long distance relationship) that I have not had much time to do much makeup related. I still keep most active on my Instagram (which you should most definitely check out, click the stuff on the side) if you want to follow my makeup journey of mine. My Youtube channel is a different story; I basically post a video once a month there. There is a recent haul there if you are interested in watching :)

ANYWAYS, stop babbling Elle.

So this style, Iris, is the last pair of Koko lashes that I will be reviewing from the set of lashes I got ages ago from Lady Moss Beauty. I want to try more of the newer styles whenever the lashes go on sale and am really eyeing Misha, Bella, and Goddess. 

Ok, onto the review!

Review and Swatches: Glamour Doll Eyes Eyeshadows in Ahoy Sailor, Courageous, Arrogant, Tawdry, Spikes and Pearls, and Pretentious

Hello Loves,

Today, I finally got to try some Glamour Doll Eyes (GDE) eyeshadows! I have been really wanting to try them for a while, especially some shades from their matte squared lines, Matte Squared Feminine and Masculine. More generally, I just wanted to try their matte shades. I have been wanting to try almost every matte formula I come across because I am trying to find the best matte formula. Matte is my favorite finish, if I haven't already said that before in a blog post. I'm putting all six shades to the test and seeing how they perform. As a disclaimer, all products are press samples but all opinions are my own.

The shadows I will be reviewing and swatching are Pretentious and Tawdry from the Matte Squared Feminine collection, Courageous and Arrogant from the Matte Squared Masculine collection, Ahoy Sailor, and Spikes and Pearls.

Close ups, swatches and review after the jump!

Swatch and Haul: NYX Cosmetics 4th of July Sale with First Impressions

Hello Loves!

I bring you guys the makeup that I bought from NYX for their 4th of July sale (as the title suggests). Before I get onto to the goodies I have to tell you guys a story... a story about how insanely difficult it was for me to make a purchase not only during their sale but off their website in general. I guess this is my first impression for their customer service as well.

ORDERING/CUSTOMER SERVICE
Alright, so NYX was holding a 40% off sale during the 4th of July (which is USA independence day) and I have been wanting to pick a few different things for a while. However, they did not prepare their web servers the for the mass influx that is savvy shoppers. I would try to buy what I want whenever I got home and went for this for maybe an hour at a time. No luck during the sale and it ended. Thankfully, NYX was awesome and provided me with a 40% code whenever I emailed them about having difficulty purchasing off the site. All things seem good, right?
NO. Ugh, I tried for at least a week to buy online and every single time I had an "invalid request," which I assume means my card does not want to process. I call NYX and they tell me to give it a day to try again because they are fixing their website. I try again the next day with no luck. What happened is that everything worked perfectly over the phone and my computer basically does not like the NYX website. This steers me away from ordering off the website because of how difficult it was to place an order.

Not related to customer service or ordering of NYX but... (prepare for a mild rant) FedEx takes FOREVER to get your packages to you. Grrrrrrr, dammit I want my stuff.
Alright, end rant. Let's continue.

THE STUFF:

Left to Right: Taupe Blush, Macaron Lippies in Orange Blossom, Earl Grey, Pistachio, Violet, and Lavender, Velvet Eye Pencil, and African Queen Mega Shine Gloss

Closeups and all sorts of swatches after the jump!

Review: KoKo Lashes in Risque

Hello Loves!

Another lash review. I have been really enjoying going through my lash purchase from... almost two months ago and gradually reviewing it for you. I have been loving wearing the lashes and really using what I have purchased. On the note of using what you purchased, have you ever bought something and then just forgot about it? I have a really bad tendency to do that with nail polishes. I will use them once and forget about it for a while. Ok Elle, don't go off on a random tangent.

Before the lash review, I recently purchased lash glue from House of Lashes and have plans on reviewing it. If I am wearing all these lashes, why not test lash glue? So look out for that sometime in the future.

ONTO THE LASHES!

Review: KoKo Lashes in Koko

Hello Loves!

More lashes! This pair that I am reviewing may be my favorite so far. I have Eylure lashes that I ADORE that are very similar to this style I am reviewing. However, the Eylure ones have a little bit of color depending on the style so its nice to have a basic black of this wispy pair of lashes. Because I have been meaning to use the KoKo lashes each time I do a makeup look to review them, I am growing to feel like a lot of my makeup looks are incomplete without lashes. Guys, once you try false lashes, you will get hooked! The pair of KoKo lashes I will be reviewing today is the "Koko" style.

ONTO THE LASHES!!!

Tutorial: Blown Out Smokey Eye

Hello Loves!

Today, I am going to be doing another tutorial! I haven't done one of these in a while so, it's kind of nice to be doing one again. I am currently doing a series of smokey eyes called "rainbow smoke" on my Instagram (which you can check out on the side). I am basically doing smokey eyes but of different colors and adding an element of uniqueness to each one. While I have not posted anything about this here, I will be doing a summary post on it once I finish it (which may take a while...).

Anyways, here's the final look!

Pictorial, full product list, and more after the jump!

Review: KoKo Lashes in Ariel

Hello Loves!

More lashes! I have been growing to love false lashes lately. I am not genetically gifted in the lash department so sometimes some enhancement is appreciated. But I digress...
In my last post, I mentioned how I purchased 5 different styles of Koko lashes from Lady Moss during their Memorial Day sale and will be testing out style as I wore them. Well, today, I wore the style in "Ariel" and will be reviewing those for you today!

ONTO THE LASHES!!!

Review: Koko Lashes in Foxy

Hello Loves!

Today, I have a review of a pair of false lashes that I purchased off of Lady Moss during their Memorial Day sale. Why did I purchase these lashes? Well, I have been wanting to try House of Lashes but didn't want to pay their prices. So, I stumbled upon these lashes just casually browsing the website and I really wanted to instabuy the lashes. I had enough willpower to wait until they had a sale, which thankfully wasn't too long. I purchased 5 styles of lashes in Foxy, Ariel, Iris, Risque, and Koko. I will be reviewing Foxy today.

ONTO THE LASHES!!!

Swatch and Haul: Shiro Cosmetics Anniversary Sale with bonus FOTD

Hello Loves <3

It has been way too long since I last posted some goodies for you guys! Today, I finally got my Shiro anniversary sale purchase. It has been a long time coming (took about a month to ship out). Not only did I get the sale order but I got my false lash order from Lady Moss in at the same time! I came back from work and arrived to two packages. I was too excited for the packages that I forgot about the food I brought home, and I was pretty hungry. Makeup is pretty important y'all. Anyways...

ONTO THE GOODIES.