DIY Sugar Skull Pt. 2

It's barely mid-September, but it's seriously never too early to start thinking about Halloween. I mostly like Halloween because it's a day to dress up and be something (or someone) different, and for me, I like transforming myself into different things to see how much different from myself I can look and how closely I can get myself to resembling whatever (or whoever) I am. 
I decided to paint myself as a sugar skull from Dia de los Muertos again (see my first skull from last year) because I was inspired by a couple sugar skull designs that Paper Source carries on some of their Day of the Dead products. (However, please note that this post is not sponsored by them. I simply work in one of their retail stores and stare at these products every time I work!)

 So it's pretty simple. 

+ Start with a clean face, with no makeup (I had my eyebrows done in this photo & realized I had to wipe them off after). 

+ Use a sponge and apply white face paint all over your face, or half of it, whichever is comfortable with you. I did half of my face last year, so I decided to go full face for this look. (Forgive me for looking so creepy). 
+ I did the eyes next, & unfortunately I got so into doing my face that I forgot to stop & take photos at each step. I painted my eyes as red hearts using a paintbrush and then I filled them in before outlining the outside of the heart. 
+ I took yellow paint afterwards & painted flower petals & also outlined them with black paint.  
+ I did the teeth next by simply drawing a line through the natural line of my lips & slightly extending them past my natural lips. I filled in a little bit of pain in the inner portions of my lips to show a slight space between the teeth.  I then drew lines through it to represent teeth. 

+ I painted the flowers at the top of my forehead next, and they were the part that I was most excited about. I simply used a sponge to create a space of orange or pink (I demonstrated an orange rose in this case). I then took my brush and did an uneven spiral to represent rose petals. For the pink flowers I did in this look, you simply paint a circle for the center of the flower then paint the petals coming out of that. 

+ You can really customize the look doing whatever you want after this. I did a few squiggly lines, a few petals, a few dots under my eyes, and a purple heart for a cool color to balance out all the warm colors on my face. 
I'm still working on my face painting skills so my face doesn't look as perfect as a lot of the photos that come up on Google, BUT the good thing about that is to let you know that it's okay if your face doesn't come out as picture perfect and evenly spaced like what you come across on Google, because chances are if you're reading this you typically don't do face painting or makeup for a living. You're probably just someone looking for an easy but cool look for Halloween, and that's totally fine. 
I got at least one more Halloween look coming up on the blog, but that won't be until next month, so keep an eye out! If I get inspired, I might do some more looks :) 
I still don't know what I'm gonna be for Halloween though. Do you have an idea? 

The 2nd Day After Christmas: Top 13 Beauty Moments of 2013

On the 2nd day of Christmas... I looked back on my top 13 beauty moments of the year!

This year was actually a huge deal for me as far as beauty and makeup and all of that goes. I slowly got into wearing foundation more regularly towards the end of 2012 last year and started catering to my eyebrows and applying all I knew from watching Youtube videos this year.

With that being said, let's go!:

1. I am a BeautyInsider with Sephora and while walking around San Francisco earlier this year, I decided to redeem some of my points to get myself some new goodies! I got this BareMinerals pack for 500 points and a Clinique mascara for 100. The BareMinerals mineral veil (setting powder) was amazing and I was so sad when I ran out a couple months ago.

The pack came with:

• bareMinerals mineral veil (valued at $20)
• bareMinerals PrimeTime Foundation Primer (sample valued at $1 and full-sized valued at $23)
• bareMinerals blush (valued at $19)
• bareMinerals Well-Rested Highlighter (valued at $22)
• Clinique High Volume Mascara (full-sized valued at $16)

2. Another one of my favorite beauty moments: my "debut!" Back in October, my roommate and my friends threw me a 19th birthday party for me since I didn't get to have one for my 18th, and my lovely friend, May, did my makeup and I did my hair. I curled my own hair and by the end of the night this picture is how it turned out [:

New Girl Expo Winter 2013

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go to my first-ever expo! It was entitled the New Girl Expo, hosted by fashion blogger Roxy Limon and presented by Klix.

The expo was all about anything beauty and fashion--there was an eyebrow bar, free body/face art and makeovers, fashion shows, panels with beauty/fashion bloggers/vloggers, and so much more! I had the opportunity to go as a blogger just visiting (not part of the panels), and I still thoroughly enjoyed my experience.

The bloggers/vloggers that were at the expo: Jaime Walsh of @GlamLatte, Kasheera Hickson of @KashTV and Wild Sunshine Bliss, Melanee Shale of @Melanee, Dawn McCoy of @BeautyFrosting, Melissa Rodriguez of ModanistaJunkie, Joann Doan at Love Fashion | Live Life, Laura Yazdi at lauralilly.net, Kier Mellour of Fashion Addict, and Elizabeth Keene at A Keene Sense of Style blog. I was able to quickly stop by for one of the vlogger panels, but I focused mostly on the vendors for the expo.

I had the opportunity to meet with and talk with Kasheera (better known as Kash) of @KashTV within the first few minutes of my arrival. I'd just started looking and walking around the booths when I ran into the booth she had for her shop and website, Wild Sunshine Bliss. I talked with her and her boyfriend about what they do, how living in SoCal is like (they're originally from Philly), and of course, blogging related things. I found out that we both had quite a few things in common other than blogging, like boyfriends who help us with photos and videos. I hope we get to keep in contact and that I get to work with her or meet up with her again sometime in the future.

HUGE Elf Haul!

I don't wear much makeup daily, but that doesn't mean that I don't enjoy it! Last week, I got a package in the mail for a huge order of Elf Cosmetics that I got in the mail! If you don't know what Elf stands for, it's EyesLipsFace. It is one of the cheapest, but still great quality makeup brands out there.

I decided to buy a whole bunch of stuff, plus the 100-piece eyeshadow set for free if you entered in a coupon code. 

So what did I get? 

• Elf Studio Eyebrow Lifter & Filler Pencil in Dark // $3
• Elf Studio Kohl Eyeliner Pencil // $3
• Elf Studio Concealer Pencil & Brush in Light // $3

• Elf Studio High Definition Powder in Sheer // $6
• Elf Studio Mineral-Infused Face Primer // $6
• Elf Studio Makeup Remover Cleansing Cloths // $3

• Elf Essentials Professional Complete Set of 12 Brushes // $12 // They consist of:
• Eyelash Brow & Wand, Smudge Eye Sponge, Defining Eye Brush, Blending Eye Brush, Eyeshadow Brush, Lip Defining Brush, Concealer Brush, Eyeliner Brush, Brow Comb and Brush, Foundation Brush, Bronzing Brush, Total Face Brush

Last but not least, I got the Elf Everyday Eyeshadow Palette (not currently for sale). If you want it, use the coupon code BDAYFREE on purchases $15 and over.

I'm so excited to get into using all of these products and try out some makeup looks with them!

What do you need in your makeup collection?

Pocahontas Look

I finally got around to doing my first makeup tutorial! I am not a beauty guru by any means, but I like having fun with makeup. As a result, I made my first tutorial on looking like Pocahontas. Just in time for Halloween!

There was so much more that I wanted to do with the look and video but I was pressed for time. However, I still had a great time with my friend Sammi for it! By the way, special thanks to her for doing lighting and recording for me!

I kept the look simple with some contouring, eyeliner, and lipstick to highlight her really big lips. I didn't realize it until I stared at some ten or so pictures of her. I tried to do her outfit too with what I had: a dress and necklace I borrowed from two of my friends. 

Something that you don't have to do but is suggested is to recreate Pocahontas' tattoo! I would use body paint if I had it, but in this case I just used a pinkish-reddish lipstick and used concealer to fix the lines.

Please watch, comment, like, subscribe, anything! I'd love some love on my video [: I'd love to make more like these in the future!

My First Beauty Haul!

Last week, I stopped by Sephora and decided to get some stuff as a result of being part of Sephora's Beauty Insider program. I was so excited! I initially went to receive my birthday gift, but I also decided to redeem some Beauty Insider points for a really nice red nail polish from Formala X for Sephora. I was given a few free samples as well, which I can never refuse if it's free. [:

This is the birthday gift that Sephora has been giving out for this year! In it: 

• Benefit They're Real! Mascara - 0.14 oz. bottle $10
• Benefit Watt's Up! Highlighter (The one featured in link is the regular-sized product.) - $30

As a result of some extra Beauty Insider points I had, I was able to receive this Formula X for Sephora nail polish. This is exclusive to Sephora.

• Formula X for Sephora New Classics in Pyrotechnic - Dynamite Red - $10.50

Everything I got, including the three free samples!

The samples aren't pictured individually, but: 

• Fresh Black Tea Age-Delay Cream (next to birthday box) - full size $95
• Christian Dior Hydra Life BB Cream - full size $56
• Perricone MD Photo Plasma - full size $69

Along with this post, I also did my first haul video! It's literally (and figuratively) a mini haul, but I was so excited to get this stuff that I had to document it! I don't shop at Sephora very often due to its high prices so I always appreciate any opportunity to get something from there. 

I actually recorded this whole video from my iPhone's camera. I think I will start doing videos through there and editing on my computer until Darell or another friend of mine can help me. This was a great way to start off my birthday month! If you want to see more videos like this, subscribe to my channel [:

Everything is available in Sephora stores and on Sephora.com. This is not a sponsored post.