Start Wearing Purple

For Spring I decided to make this pretty dramatic, but still really wearable look inspired by purple pansies.

The entire face can be any concealer or anything you feel comfortable with. I use bronzer basically all the time, but especially in the Spring and Summer because that healthy, outdoorsy glow is kind of what you aspire to when the weather gets hot. So I used my bronzer by sweeping it with an angled brush toward my temples.

Now for the eyes. I used my Urban Decay primer (as always) all over my lid and up to my brow bone. Then I used an eyeshadow brush to put Branzen's Karma (a violety type of purple) all over my lids. I then put Brazen's Paradox (this is hard to explain, it's a blue-ish purple) in the crease. I tried to blend it so it didn't look so severe. I put Brazen's Millennium ( an off-white that shimmers pink) on my brow bone and in the inner corner of my eye. I didn't use eyeliner, I didn't want this to be a club look or anything. Finish off the eyes with mascara on the top lashes, and you're good.

I just used clear lip gloss for my lips. Ta da!



Song Inspiration
Start Wearing Purple - Gogol Bordello

I'm a Jayhawk

My friend Maggie, and a ton of the people I knew in high school, went to kU. I've blogged about the rivalry between my alma mater Mizzou and kU a few times, and I can't articulate how much it pains me that kU is in the championship game of the NCAA tournament tonight. Yes, for the most part, I grew up in Kansas. I lived very close to the border of Kansas and Missouri, but about half of my high school attended the University of Kansas anyway and only around 13 attended the University of Missouri. But, because I still love and respect my friends despite their poor college affiliations, I created this make up look for tonight's game on Maggie's request.

Funny story too. When we were in elementary school, our choir teacher thought that it was a great idea to teach my grade the kU fight song called "I'm a Jayhawk." To this day I still remember every word of it. Especially the line, "Got a bill that's big enough to twist the tiger's tail." Rude. Also, jaykawks aren't real, but if they were they would probably only be about the size of a turkey and would probably be good for punting. Enough said about their stupid mascot.



First off, I used my handy-dandy Urban Decay primer all over my eye lid, up to my brow bone, inner corner and even some under my eye. I then put Brazen's Cat Call all over my lids. to the crease - easy peasy. It's a red shadow, so if you have a favorite red, go with that. I like the orangey reds because they don't make you look like you're going out for Halloween as the devil and are surprisingly wearable for everyday outings. Then I took my gold shadow (Brazen's Pharaoh) and put that on the inner corner of my eye and then on my brow bone as a highlighter. I used my navy blue eye liner cream pencil which is Revlon's ColorStay Eyeliner in Navy, for the top lid (see picture for thickness.) I also put it on the inside of my lower eye. I then used Maybelline's EyeStudio Color Explosion Luminizing Eyeshadow in Blue Blowout. I used the brighter light blue shade and wet an angled eyeshadow brush and then applied it under my eye as shown in the picture. I did this until I was satisfied with the brightness of the color and the thickness of the line. Put some mascara on your upper and lower lashes and then you're done!

For the rest of your face you can essentially do whatever you want. I do recommend using Maybelline's Baby Lips in Cherry Me over your lips though. It's a lip balm with SPF 20, it makes your lips super duper soft, and this color is red, which goes with your eyes and kU's colors. I mean, it's a sporting event here, no need to go with intense lip gloss. This gives you color and protects your lips as you scream your heart out.



Song Inspiration
I'm a Jayhawk - kU Fight Song

Safe and Sound

I created a special make up look for the premier of The Hunger Games, and the pictures just don't do it justice. Probably because I can never get the lighting right, but if you saw me in person, when I close my eyes, it does look like fire. It's actually wearable though. I know this because I wore it to work. I like to be able to wear, even outrageous colors, out in public. So it's noticeable but I'm not going to scare people away.

So, here's how I did it. I started off with my regular face routine. That's personal preference what concealer and stuff works for you and what you're comfortable working with. I then brused my bronzer with an angled brush toward my temples. The end for the face.

The eyes are the focus anyway. I put my Urban Decay primer over both lids, and put a little under my eye. Then I used a shadow brush to put a red pigment loose powder shadow all over my lids, yes ALL over my lids. I used Brazen's Cat Call personally. I think the Brazen color Fleet Street would also work well. I used a slightly smaller brush to brush an orange pigment loose powder in my crease. Actually, I put it in my crease and all the way around toward the inner corner of my eye. Think of this as building a rainbow of three different eyeshadow colors. So follow the curve of your red lid color all the way around. I used Brazen's Perfect 10, but Brazen's Frisky would be perfect. I then put Brazen's Pharaoh, a gold pigment loose powder on my brow bone and all the way from the brow bone to the inner corner of my eye - following the outside of the orange pigment. I also put it in a thin line under my eye. To finish off I put a very thin line of black eyeliner and finished off with black mascara.

I know the pictures suck, but in person this really does look good and is just striking enough. All of the shadows I used have sparkles in them and the gold is shiny and metallic. Perfect for the look of fire.

For my lips I put Revlon's Super Lustrous Matte lipstick in Really Red.

You're done! I sprayed my Urban Decay Dew Me finishing spray and was off to work. I can't stress enough that this does look cool. I also have China Glaze's Capitol Colours in Stone Cold on my fingers. It's a matte greyish black.

Did I mention if you want to get Brazen cosmetics you should click on the banner off to the right? Because you should totally do that.

Song Inspiration
Safe and Sound - Taylor Swift feat. The Civil Wars

St. Paddy's Makeup

I wore my St. Patrick's Day makeup to work today because I will not be going anywhere tomorrow night because I'll be at work all night. Yay! That's besides the point. I made this awesome St. Paddy's look, and I have never been happier about a green eye color. It is absolutely gorgeous.

Here we go. First of all, always put primer over your lids. I am using Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Original. It made my eyeshadow stay on ALL day even when I was laying out and it was like 80 degrees. Seriously, it didn't melt off my face. So just use a bit on your finger and put it all over your lids. Then, I used Brazen's Charmed green shadow all over my lid from my lash line to my crease. That's pretty enough, but then I put Brazen's Get Lucky along my crease. To finish it off I used Brazen's Pharaoh, this beautiful gold shadow, on the inner corner of my eyes and then I swiped it from the inner corner up toward my brow. It's really really super pretty. I put my black gel liner just on the top lid in a moderately thick line. See the bottom picture.

I used bronzer swiped toward my temples over my foundation and Brazen Hi-Def powder.

Then I put an orangey chapstick on my lips. I used Covergirl's NatureLuxe Gloss Balm in Anemone. Then I put Brazen's Kiss Me, I'm Irish gloss over that. It's a shiny and incredibly glittery gloss that looks clear from a distance but when you look closer you can see little green flecks of flitter on your lips. It's very pretty. It sounds odd, but the whole thing works really well.

Over all of that I sprayed my new finishing spray from Urban Decay called Dew Me. I like a dewey, youthful finish, so this is perfect and worked really well. I went outside and laid out today and was super sweaty and shiny and my makeup looked just as nice as it did when I put it on. I was shocked.

PS. Sorry about the pictures, my cell phone is still my picture-taking mechanism.





These are some of my Brazen tools. The bottom green is Charmed, to the left is the Kiss Me, I'm Irish gloss, and the top color is Get Lucky.

Every True Son

Pardon my terrible photos right now of make up. My cameras are both out of commission so I'm forced to use my phone and the lighting is NEVER right. So, this is the best I could get to capture my make up I wore to watch the Big 12 Championship that Mizzou won!

Let me just say, MIZ! SEC!

The whole lid is covered in L'Oreal's HiP Studio Secrets Professional Metallic Duos in Gilded, the gold side. It's by far my favorite gold and has always gotten me compliments from tailgates to parties. I actually put it on the inner corner of my eye, and really close to the lashline under my eye as well. Now, you have a choice. You can either use the dark side of Gilded in your crease or you can use a bronze in there. I like the bronze for a slightly less dramatic look. The bronze I always use is the dark side of Maybelline's Eye Studio Color Pearls Marbelized Eyeshadow in Bronze Blowout. You can use the light side to highlight your brow bone and inner corner of your eye.

Over eye shadows like Gilded I like to use a gel eye liner. Maybelline's Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black is my favorite and is incredibly easy to use. It's good to create a pretty thick line that follows the natural lash line. Then, use whatever mascara is your favorite in black. I actually swiped some on my lower lashes this time even though typically find it unnecessary.

I used Brazen's Hi-def powder powder (click the banner on the right to get some yourself) then I put my own concealer on my face, used the hi-def powder as a finish powder (because my skin is still really bad and the powder defuses the imperfections) and swiped bronzer from my cheeks toward my temples. The bronzer I love is Covergirl's Trublend Minerals Bronzer. I've tried both shades and I can't decide which one I like better, so choose whichever would work best for your unique skin tone.

And for the lips I did a bright, flirty pink to give my face some color. I prefer Revlon lipsticks. I used Super Lustrous Lipstick in Gentlemen Prefer Pink. Then over it I used Express' Lip Gloss in Passion Punch. It smells delicious and is super shiny. I just got it and I love it.

Song Inspiration
Every True Son - Mizzou Fight Song

Happy Ending

I've decided to name all of my make-up looks after song titles that I relate to them. Today in Alabama it was 80 degrees, seriously, it was gorgeous. It felt like a beautiful Summer day. I created this look because it was just so nice. Now, however there are a tornadoes everywhere, so I am freaking out, but that's OK. Here's the look:

There is Tease, a strong pink pigment shadow by Brazen (go to the banner on the right to check out their stuff) on my crease. Then, because Tease is so strong, I brushed my Millennium shadow by Brazen, the light, light pink color from my brow bone to my lashes. It blended the crease color a little. I didn't use any eyeliner because the color was enough to make my eyes pop. I did put black mascara on, however.

I started out by putting Brazen's high-def powder all over my face and then my own concealer. I put a cream pink blush on my cheeks and blended it toward my temples and then brushed my whole face with a bronzer.

I hope you try it out, it's a fun look.

Song Inspiration

Happy Ending - Mika

Snow White

This is my first post about make-up, and how to achieve a certain look. This particular look is modeled for a casual day, it's quick and easy, and looks terrible because the only camera I can use right now is my phone's so sorry about that.

On the eye lids is a shadow called Millennium by Brazen Cosmetics, look to the right for the banner to buy Brazen yourself. It's a soft, light shimmery pink. I then used a bronze shadow in the crease between my lid and brow bone. I brushed Millennium on my brow bone too because it works as a highlighter. The eyeliner line can be whatever look works with your particular eye shape, or whatever look you favor. I used a navy pencil, which just gives a little different look than the standard black, but it's not a dramatic look. It's softer and more subtle. You can brush on your favorite mascara and your eyes are good to go.

For the blush I used an angled brush and just swiped bronzer across my cheeks up toward my temples.

The lips are just a Brazen lip gloss called La Femme. It's a pinky, orange gloss that is going to be absolutely perfect for the warmer Spring and Summer whether, but is neutral enough to go with this look.

My obsession with make-up

I absolutely love make up. It's an issue, and I know how vain that is, but really it is so fun to play with. And even if you have complexion issues, like me, make up magically covers them up! That way, I can go around outside without people wondering if I've just hit puberty and without teenagers calling me pizza face. Seriously, it's that bad. But with make up I look normal!

I just became a Brazen Beauty, essentially me helping promote this awesome make up I stumbled upon. They have vegan make up and the colors are really interesting and unique, and I am pretty much in love with them. If you want to visit Brazen Cosmetics, click on the banner off to the right.

Right now, I'm totally obsessed with the tipsy glosses. They are so pretty and shiny and they are flavored like drinks. I'm completely in love with them. There's a Red Headed Slut flavored one, and it's the prettiest bright pink color that would be perfect for Spring into Summer. I have the La Femme gloss, it's really nice and smooth, not too thick and sticky.

Fierce + Flawless HD power is my favorite product right now to help cover the tiny, angry bumps on my face. Currently, I use it as a primer to even out my skin tone, but maybe someday I'll have a nice, smooth complexion and I'll get to use it as a finishing powder.

I think from now on I'm going to add a few make up tutorials to my blog as well. In college one of my favorite things was to do make up for my sorority sisters. I like how make up can make people look a little different and boost confidence. If you're a make up doubter and think I'm being shallow here, I totally understand and in my defense I didn't really start doing make up until high school and I definitely wasn't into doing hard core doing it until college. I'm not one of those people that thinks Toddlers and Tiaras make up is a good idea.

Also, if anyone wants any tips on techniques, let me know! Off to the right there you can find some of my favorite blogs. Productista reviews different...well products, this includes make up, I highly recommend checking her blog out if you're looking for some advice on which stuff to pick up.