Prom/Formal Hair and Makeup

 

The prom season is upon us! My favorite little prom test subject has graduated but this year she happened to have a formal banquet the same night as prom so we got her very glammed up.

This look could work for a variety of different events, she even made the hairstyle last until the next day for 2 bridal showers she had to attend. It's classy and fun and most importantly, very easy to do.

I started with her hair. I took a 1 inch curling wand and curled her entire head. After I removed each curl from the wand I kept it wrapped and bobby pinned it to her head for it to cool. Once her whole head was in pins we started on the makeup.

We didn't want anything to dramatic or "sexy", her event was at a religious school and "modesty" was requested. This girl has lashes for days and we thought we'd do a lighter smoky eye and focus on those lashes. I used:

• Estee Lauder matte primer
• CoverGirl 3in1 Foundation
• Maybelline Fit Me Concealer (great dupe for the NARS creamy concealer)
• Rimmel Stay Matte powder on T zone
• NYC Sunny Bronzer
• Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in Exposed
• BECCA highlighter in Moonstone 
• NYX Eyebrow pencil in Taupe
• MAC paint pot in Bare Study
• Urban Decay Naked and Naked 2 palettes on eyes
• Urban Decay Perversion mascara on top lashes
• CoverGirl Clump Crusher mascara on bottom lashes
• L'Oreal Pencil Perfect eyeliner in Carbon Black (not great for a precise line, but great for smoking out)
• NYX lip liner in Nude
• Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Precious
• Urban Decay setting spray

Then we moved onto the hair. I took all the pins out and was left with a stunning head of perfect curls. I finger brushed most of the curls loose and used Beyond the Zone texturizing powder at her roots for volume. Girl loves big hair and I was happy to oblige her :)

I then used a teasing brush for extra volume at the crown. I pulled all of her hair to one side, leaving a small section out which I fishtail braided. I worked that over to the side and began pinning sections of curls. I basically just pinned each curl to her head about half way down the length so that she had some volume but it still looked loose and "sexy messy". I finished it with John Frieda Luxurious Volume hairspray. It's very fine but SUPER STRONG HOLD without getting crispy. Kept her hair in place for 2 days but still looked soft. She has a ton of hair so this ended up being a gorgeous style on her.

Cavegirl Costume Hair and Makeup

Happy Monday!

We threw a Halloween party at our house again this year. We decided to go as a Caveman and Cavewoman. We've been dressing up for Halloween with our friends for years and it's getting harder and harder to come up with costumes that no one has done yet. Surprisingly no one ever went as a caveman before.

We kind of lucked out, my uncle had gone as a caveman before so my husband borrowed his awesome costume and I found this one premade and fitting like a glove at Goodwill for $5.99. SCORE!!!!!!!!!!

I ended up still buying one yard of fuzzy leopard from JoAnne's to make my belt and some bracelets for me. I think I got it on sale for $9. I also picked up a bag of bones from the Halloween store with holes predrilled in them and got some faux leather straps from JoAnne's. I made our own necklaces, anklets and my hair bone with those.

The hardest part of this costume for me was the hair. I kept googling for cavegirl hair tutorials and there's literally NONE. So I thought I'd share what I did in case it would be helpful to anyone. Ducklip kiss included :)

Basically I washed my hair but skipped conditioner. I didn't brush it out and let it air dry as much as possible. Then I applied some Pureology styling lotion and blow dried it, still without brushing.

I then took small sections and used my flat iron to get random bends in my hair. No pattern, just kind of bent it forward then bent it backwards until it had a good wave. I then took my 1/2 inch curling wand and curled random pieces but only in the midshaft of the hair. Nothing at the top and left the ends straight. That gave me lots of volume but wasn't "pretty", if that makes sense. Then I took Beyond the Zone volumizing powder and sprinkled it into my roots all around my head, got a good "dry" feeling from that and then put a little more powder in my hands and put it on the ends of my hair in different spots for more fuzzy texture.

I pulled the top section of my hair up into a high pony and wrapped a small section of my own hair around the band to hide it. I then took my backcombing brush and basically back combed the ever living life out of my hair, stuck a bone in the top (I wrapped a bobby pin to the bottom of the bone using the faux leather) and was left with some serious Cavegirl hair!

 

For my makeup, I did use my Tanwise self tanner for about a week before the party to get a little glow. I used my Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 hour foundation in shade 200. I like this because there's no SPF so you get very little, if any flash back in photo's from it. I used my L'Oreal concealer pencil in the darkest shade to contour my forehead, down my nose and to carve out some serious cheekbones! I then used the Wet N Wild bronzer in Rosy Gold for an all over warm glow. ELF baked highlighter in Moonlit Pearls down my nose, on the top of my cheeks and cupids bow. Maybelline Bouncy blush in Hot Tamale. 

For my eyes I started with brows...of course. I wanted them a little more dramatic than my normal brows so I used my Maybelline eyebrow pencil in Medium Brown (perfect for a warmer eyebrow when you have red hair!). I then used my Maybelline Color Tattoo in Creamy Beige as a base. I then used Smog from my Naked palette all over my eyelid. I used Half Baked right in the middle of my eyelid and Sin in my inner corner. I then used L'Oreal Infallible in Eternal Sunshine to blend those out into my crease and used L'Oreal Infallible in Iced Latte on my browbone. Rimmel ScandalEyes in black as an eyeliner and I just did a smudgy flick, nothing too perfect. Same colors on my lower lashline. Then I used Maybelline The Falsies mascara in black on my top lashes and Jordana Best Volume Extreme mascara on my bottom lashes. I then used KISS Ever EZ lashes in number 11. These are human hair lashes so they look really real, you don't get the tell tale glossy texture of fake lashes.

On my lips I used Jordana lipliner in Bordeaux all over my lips as a base. I applied Wet n Wild Mega Last lipstick in Cherry Bomb, one of my favorite fall lipsticks and it lasted ALL NIGHT.

Now for my favorite part...the leopard spots! I just couldn't resist...It just had to be done you guys. So for these I used an old ELF eyeliner in pure white to mark out the spots. I then applied Half Baked from the Naked Palette over the white spots using a Q-Tip to get a really bright pop of true gold. Then I used my NYX liquid eyeliner in black to do little "c" patterns around the gold, making sure to leave 2 openings on each one and try not to make them too uniform in shape or size. I then put a few little black spots in between to even out the shape and ended up with this:

 

So there you have it! Cavewoman hair and makeup! It ended up being one of our favorite costumes we've ever done. Super comfy and fun.

Yabadabadoooooooooo!

Fight Like A Girl

Not sure if I have shared this before but my mom is a breast cancer survivor. She actually got breast cancer two different times and ended up having complete mastectomy's and reconstructive surgery. So this month is near and dear to my heart. My mom is a fireball. A Gypsy, Gold Dust Woman. A wild woman, fearless, individual, completely her own self and strong as a lion. I know people say that all the time, but if you know her you know that to be true. She's the honest to god definition of fierce.

Her motto during her cancer was to fight like a girl. When she finally did beat it and was in recovery, she got two pink boxing gloves tattooed on her inner wrist with the quote "TKO 2006". The year she kicked cancer's ass. Pink boxing gloves have been her muse to keep her fighting, to keep her strong and to remind her of how far she's come and how strong she truly is. One of my favorite shirts of hers says "Hell Yes They're Fake! The Real One's Tried to Kill Me!". It's just so my mom.

I actually got a Breast Cancer ribbon tattoo while she was going through chemo and to this day, faded as it is, it always reminds me how serious breast cancer is and how lucky we were with my mom's recovery and how lucky we are to still have her with us.

Her amazing plastic surgeon recently asked her to be the face of a breast cancer awareness campaign this month and her photo shoot for it was today. I was so honored when she asked me to do her makeup. I didn't even think, of course I said yes as fast as I could.

She wasn't picky, just wanted to look pretty. I decided to go for super flattering colors and warmer neutrals. As you can see in the pics, I didn't need to add any pink to the makeup, she had enough pink going on already (such a bad ass).

I wanted products that would give her a lot of coverage and color payoff and would last through hot lights and a long photo shoot. I used the following:

Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation
Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer
CoverGirl Simply Powder Foundation
Mabelline Define-A Brow Dark Blonde
MAC Bare Study Paint Pot
L'Oreal Infallible Amber Rush
L'Oreal Infallible Iced Latte
L'Oreal Infallible Bronzed Taupe
Urban Decay Naked Basics palette (Faint and Crave)
Rimmel Scandaleyes Black Eyeliner
Rimmel Scandaleyes Nude Eyeliner
NYX Dusty Rose Blush
Milani Luminoso Blush
Maybelline The Falsies Black Mascara
Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes from Younique
Wet n Wild Mega Last Lipsticks in In the Flesh and Bare It All
L'Oreal Infallible Lipstick in Forever Frappe

Love You Long Time LADY.

Daily Makeup-Mostly Drugstore!

It's been a while since I did a little "Daily Makeup" post. I think the last time it was during the spring and A LOT has changed since then.

Obviously these all change if I'm doing anything special, this is just my daily "head to work" face. I can get it done in about 5 minutes and don't have to touch up other than lips at all during the day. These together really work well for me and I am super impressed with the Covergirl foundation. Full review on that coming soon. This is a very quick and easy look for me but one that looks polished and pretty.

CoverGirl 3-in-1 Foundation (Creamy Natural)
Rimmel Stay Matte powder (Creamy Natural)
Maybelline Age Rewind Under Eye Concealer (Fair)
Maybelline Bad to the Bronze Cream Shadow
Urban Decay Naked Basics for browbone and eyebrows (Venus and Naked 2)
Maybelline The Falsies mascara
Rimmel ScandalEyes Liner in Nude on the waterline
NYX Dusty Rose Blush
Milani Luminoso for Highlighter
Vaseline Rosy Lips (Coveted on Pinterest, finally found it and bought a ton. Adorable and amazing little pot of pink goodness!)

Drugstore Rose Gold FOTD

I have always loved Rose Gold jewelry (see rose gold watch and bracelets that have been on my wrist for the past 3 years), but have just recently started trying out Rose Gold looks for my makeup. Sparked mainly from my love of the L'Oreal Rose Gold cream blush.

I feel like this shade is flattering on blue eyes in particular, but would be pretty on anyone. The eyeshadow has enough bronze in it to really compliment the blue. Also, this blush is just amazing. So gorgeous and unique. Perfect for sunkissed, summery skin!

NYC Sunny Bronzer, UD Naked Basics, L'Oreal Rose Gold cream blush, Maybelline Color Tattoo Barely Branded, L'Oreal Infallible Amber Rush eyeshadow, Maybelline The Falsies mascara, Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer/Highlighter.

 

This is an all drugstore look, apart from the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette, but I only used it for my eyebrows. So, feel free to replace that one thing with your favorite drugstore eyebrow product!


How gorgeous is L'Oreal Infallible Amber Rush eyeshadow??

 

I am also wearing Revlon Lip Butter in "Juicy Papaya" on my lips, but it was in my purse for the photo. Such a gorgeous orangey melon shade that perfectly pulls the rest of the look together! 

I feel like this will kind of be an all summer go-to look. It's very easy, wearable, bronzey and summery. I really love it.

 

 

Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

I had a gift card for Sephora burning a hole in my pocket. I wanted to get something I wouldn't normally buy for myself. So, instead of blowing it on bottles of nail polish, I was smart and actually purchased something awesome.

I know everyone in the blogosphere has already reviewed this, but I thought I'd throw my little 2 cents in there too.

For me, this is a great companion to the other 2 Naked Palettes, but also super great to throw in your makeup bag and have one palette for several different looks. Naked 2 even works great for my brows, so this really can be an all inclusive eye palette for me.

This is my first real adventure with mattes, aside from Naked and Buck in the original Naked Palette. I'm a satin finish kind of girl. But the mattes in this palette have reformed me. It makes such a soft, wearable look. So nice for day/work and I especially like it with my reading glasses. Sometimes the glare off glasses with a shimmery eye look is too much. Matte's just look polished and done.

 

I like them all except for Foxy. It is the only one that feels "chalky" to me and it just doesn't show up on my eyes at all. Even with a primer. I haven't found a good use for Foxy yet, so if you know of one, let me know.

Day to day, I wear W.O.S. on my eyelid, Venus (the only one with shimmer) on my inner corner and browbone and Naked 2 in my crease and lower lash line. Naked 2 packs more punch than you think it would, a little goes a long way. I like using Faint on the outer V, but seriously, just a small amount.



Prom Hair and Makeup

This year my super gorgeous cousin Allison went to her first prom. I was so excited when she asked me to do her hair and makeup for it. I don't actually remember if she asked or if I insisted...either way :) We've done hair/makeup for homecoming, but prom is a major deal and so much more exciting.

Her dress was this gorgeous, poppy pinkish red hue that just looked stunning on her. Because it had one shoulder of rosettes, we decided to do her hair all to one side. She chose a voluminous side swept style and I think she chose the perfect hair to compliment her dress.

This was the inspiration picture she chose. I think we got pretty close, with a few little changes because her hair isn't as long as the picture.

I started on her dry hair. I split the hair in sections by layer and sprayed each section with heat protectant. I then curled the hair with my flat iron  and curled it in different directions so it wouldn't clump together. I think curling in different directions was the most vital step to this look. It really gave her hair more volume and kept it big. Which is what she wanted.

Once I got about 1/2 way up her head, I started slightly backcombing each section before curling to give it a little more "oomph" since she wanted volume.

When we reached the crown section, I used Backcomb in a Bottle by Big Sexy Hair. I sprayed at the roots and then slightly backcombed that as well for extra volume. I flat iron curled all of those sections and allowed it all to cool in clips.

Once it was cooled, I started pinning the bottom section. She didn't want a "ponytail" look, more side swept. So I just very loosely (don't pull) started pinning pieces to the side while working with the curl. As I worked my way up I tried to pin on top of the already pinned pieces to create more of a cascading look instead of an updo.

I finished by taking my backcomb tail, inserting it on the crown section and lightly pulling up to get the top to loosen. This created the final bit of volume at her crown. I then placed 3 rhinestoned pins in the twist section of the hair and sprayed the ever loving hell out her hair.

 

 

Now on to makeup.

 

 

 

Because her dress was such an extraordinary shade, we didn't want to try to match or go bright with the lips. So, a traditional smokey eye seemed like a good choice for some drama. This girl has crazy long eyelashes so we didn't have to use fake eyelashes. 

 

I think the combination of a smokey eye with a lighter lip kept her look youthful and fresh but still dramatic and special enough for prom. I used the following products for her makeup look:

 

Face:

Revlon ColorStay Foundation

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder

Rimmel Match Perfection Highlighting Concealer

NYC Sunny Bronzer

Revlon Coral Reef Cream Blush

Wet n Wild Reserve Your Cabana Highlighter



Eyes:
Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Branded and Bad to the Bronze
Urban Decay Naked Palette (Sin, Virgin, Halfbaked, Smog, Toasted, Hustle and Creep)
CoverGirl 24 Hour LashBlast Mascara on top lashes only
Sephora Flashy Eyeliner in Ultra Brown on ower lashes and waterline
L'Oreal Carbon Black Lineur Intense liquid eyeliner

Lips:
Bonne Bell Lip Lites Strawberry Parfait

Overall, I was so pleased with how it all came out and was so lucky to be able to be a part of Ali's special day. She's a gorgeous girl who I love so very much and I can't wait to do it again next year!!

Girls Night Out

 

This past weekend a bunch of us girls went out to celebrate the upcoming wedding of one of my girlfriends. I was feeling daring and decided to do a gold and black smokey eye.

I don't usually like a black smokey eye. If I do one, it's typically a bronzey one as I just find it to be more wearable on me and not "too much". But, if you can't do a fun eye look with your girlfriends, when can you really? I used the black more toward the outer corners of my eye to keep it looking open and not too raccoony.

I didn't use false lashes, but you definitely could if you wanted to amp the look up.

For this look I'm wearing:

Face:
L'Oreal True Match Foundation mixed with Clinique Even Better
MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural powder
Revlon PhotoReady Concealer
NYC Bronzer in Sunny
Revlon PhotoReady blush in Coral Reef

Lips:
Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Precious

Eyes:
Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Branded as a primer
Urban Decay Naked Palette:
1. Virgin on Inner corners and browbone
2. Half Baked on the middle of the eyelid and bottom lash line
3. Smog on outer 1/3 of eyelid
4. Hustle on outer V
5. Creep to intensify outer V
6. Naked to blend and on eyebrows
Maybelline black gel eyeliner on top and bottom lashes and also tightlined
Maybelline black The Falsies mascara on upper lashes
Maybelline black The Rocket mascara on bottom lashes

My hair was done using a 1 inch Hot Tools flat iron.

Pink Spring Fever

photo courtesy of weheartit.com

Oh, the weather here has been so beautiful. As a true Pacific Northwesterner, I know this is only a tease and indeed, woke up to 32 degree weather this morning. But still, the blue skies make it so hard to resist spring fever.

One of my favorite looks right now is flushed cheeks, long black lashes and a pop of bright lip color. My go-to for that look is Revlon Lip Butter in "Sweet Tart". It is the perfect girlie bright pink without going into neon territory. It's just a perfectly flattering and wearable pink. It can be sheer with only one swipe, but builds to a buttery opaque pink with a few more layers. It gives the shine of a gloss but feels like a lip balm. Best combo ever.

I've said it before, the Revlon Lip Butters are some of my favorite lip products. They feel so nice on and come in such a great assortment of colors and finishes. Sweet Tart is definitely going to be my favorite this spring.

 

 

The rest of my products for this look are:

• Revlon ColorStay Whipped Foundation
• MAC MSFN
• Urban Decay Naked for Brows
• Revlon PhotoReady Cream Blush in Coral Reef
• Maybelline "The Falsies" Mascara
• Maybelline Color Tattoo in Barely Branded on browbone and inner corner only.



February Favorites

In honor of the first day of March and considering it is gorgeous out today (hallelujah), here are my favorites for the month of February.

I was, admittedly, very lazy beauty wise in February. We have about 14 birthdays this month and the weather was cruddy and we had basketball and yadda yadda yadda. Makes for a super lazy mom. So, honestly the things I used were very low maintenance, quick and easy.

1. Urban Decay Naked Palette. I used it for my eyebrows, highlighting and eyeshadow. All month long...I've been doing Halfbaked or Sin on my eyelids with Naked in the crease for a super easy but flattering look. Anything with a bit of gold I love against my gray eyes. Naked is also perfect for my eyebrows!

 

2. Revlon Kissable Balm Stain in Honey. Such a pretty, flattering color. Stains with a lovely rosey shade and is a bit minty. It also fades away perfectly without needing to be touched up all day long.

3. I haven't been wearing eyeliner at all, so I need a good BLACK mascara that won't smudge and makes my eyes look awake. Maybelline The Falsies has been my go-to since I bought it. Gives the pretties, flirty lashes and I love that freaking brush!!!!

4. Revlon PhotoReady Cream Blush in Coral Reef. Again, the ease of this product, the longevity of the wear and the pop of bright color have just made this my go-to blush all month. I apply this with a duofiber brush, I find it gives the most natural finish and doesn't move the rest of my makeup.

 

 

5. Suave Dry Shampoo. I think this has officially replaced Tresemme in my dry shampoo arsenal. It smells so good and does not leave that tell-tale dry shampoo texture in my hair. Where Tresemme can sometimes leave my hair looking clean but feeling gross, Suave leaves it feeling refreshed, looking clean and smelling so good.





Lazy Smokey Eyes with Urban Decay Naked Palette

I have been in a makeup slump lately. Not so much with being bored with it, just not wanting to wear a whole awful lot of it. I'm still trying not to wear foundation unless we are going to a special event or I need it to last. This has trickled down to me not really wearing much eyeliner or wanting to do a lot of steps resulting in a pretty low maintenance look.

This is the look I've been sporting lately. It takes about 10 minutes and lasts really well. It's mostly flushed cheeks and a very lazy smokey eye. Fresh and easy.

 

 

To get this look I used the following products:

 

Revlon PhotoReady Concealer (around nose and on any spots)

MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural in Medium

Revlon PhotoReady Cream Blush in Coral Reef

Revlon ColorStay Under Eye Concealer in Light

UDNP "Naked" for eyebrows

UDNP "Halfbaked" all over eyelid

UDNP "Smog" and "Darkhorse" on outer V and lower lashline

UDNP "Virgin" on browbones and inner corners

UDNP "Naked" to blend on crease

Maybelline The Falsies Mascara in black

 

By using a dark brown on the outer V and lower lashline I get the effect of eyeliner with none of the hassle. It's a very wearable smoky eye that's even appropriate for daytime. I love this look with a pinky lipgloss, something sheer. No fuss.

 

What are your lazy day makeup tricks? 

 

Mistletoe Makeup

 

 

Warning: This is NOT a tutorial. I was at home Saturday night organizing my makeup stash when I pulled out the Wet n Wild Comfort Zone palette. An idea for smokey green eyes popped into my head so I tried it out. I ended up loving the look and wanted to pass it on. It's **almost** 100% drugstore and so festive, but still very wearable I think. I tried it with a nude lip but it didn't pop for me like I wanted it too. I tried a red lip and viola...Mistletoe Makeup!

 

 

 

 

Here is a list of the products I used:

 

1. Clinique Even Better Foundation

2. Revlon ColorStay Under Eye Concealer

3. Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Powder

4. NYC Sunny Bronzer

5. Clinique "Cupid" Blush

6. Sephora Waterproof Eyeliner in Glitter Green

7. Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Palette (3 green shades)

8. Urban Decay Naked Palette (Virgin as a highlight, Naked as a brow powder and Buck in the crease)

9. Maybelline Blackest Black Gel Eyeliner

10. L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara in Black

11. Benefit Prrrowl Mascara Topcoat (you can see the shimmer in some pictures)

12. Clinique "Merlot' lipstick



100th Post!! My Dream Makeup Kit

It's my 100th post here on Lovely Dalliances. YAY!

I thought it would be fitting to do a fun post. I love a lot of things, but if I had to pick only one kind of each item, these are the ones I would absolutely HAVE to have. Holy Grail, money is no obstacle kind of "Dream Makeup Kit".

1. Foundation- Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet +

 

 

 

2. Concealer for blemishes- MAC Studio Finish Concealer

 

 

 

3. Concealer for under eyes- Maybelline Dream Lumi

 

 

4. Powder- MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural

 

 

 

5. Bronzer- NARS Laguna

 

 

 

6. Blush- Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Glisten

7. Highlighter- Too Faced Candlelight 

 

 

 

8. Eye Primer- MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study

 

 

9. Eyeshadow- Urban Decay Naked Palette

10. Eyeliner- Lancome Art Liner

 

 

 

11. Mascara- Lancome Hypnose (original version)

 

 

 

12. Lipgloss- BareMinerals in Cupcake

 

 

 

13. Lipstick- Tarte Glamazon in Inspired

 

 

 

14. Brow- Anastasia Brow Wiz in Medium Ash

 

 

 

15. Brush Kit- Real Techniques (every single brush!)

 

 What's in your dream makeup kit?