Dreaming of Spring -- Affordable Fashions

With winter still in full force here in Pittsburgh my wardrobe has become increasingly drab and boring. I now cringe every time I throw on another oversized sweater and shimmy my pants over one pasty-pale leg at a time. I dream sweet dreams of warmer weather filled with pastels, skater skirt dresses, high waisted shorts, and cute sandal wedges.

Since half the time it's been too life threatening to leave the comfort of my home (slight exaggeration) and enter into the arctic tundra, I've been perusing the wonderful world of the Internet to fulfill my own version of at-home window shopping. I've come across some awesome clothes and shoes for Spring and thought I'd share them with you. One of my favorite little corners of the world wide web to plan where I'll spend my tax return money? TOBI. You'll understand when you see below (I could've easily shared just about their entire collection of clothing and shoes).

Also, if you'd like to see two of my latest videos from my YouTube channel, you can click here or scroll to the very bottom of this post. Enjoy! :)

Rina Romper / $66

Callie Cutout Cami Jumpsuit / $49

In the Meadows Dress / $39

8 Steps to Looking Better When You're Sick

Ok I promise after today I will be off my sick soap box and on to something better -- this cold has just been consuming my life lately so it's putting all these ideas in my head and been the topic of conversation the past few days. My apologies. 

If you haven't visited my channel lately and seen my latest video, I uploaded a tutorial yesterday for how I attempt to make myself look somewhat normal when I'm under the weather (if you haven't seen the tutorial you can watch it below).

When I'm not feeling well I don't want to take an hour to get ready and I certainly don't want to pack on the makeup. I sure as hell won't be doing a smokey eye or a winged liner. I'm lucky that I can even lift a makeup brush to my face. Here are the 8 simple steps I take to look like myself again:

1. Moisturize. My nose (and for some reason) my eyelids get super dry. I like using Cetaphil's Ultra Hydrating Lotion for Sensitive Skin all over my face, concentrating around my nose.

2. Conceal. I don't even bother with foundation when I'm sick. I use Dermablend's Smooth Indulgence Concealer in nude because it covers up EVERYTHING. You can also use a concealer with a green tint to help hide redness, but make sure to apply a regular concealer over top as well. Don't forget to do the under-eye area! Concealing is absolutely necessary if you're applying makeup when you're sick.

3. Set. Depending on where I'm going I will set my concealer with a loose powder (I feel like loose powders provide more coverage than a pressed powder), that has a tint to it so my face doesn't look so pale. I love Bare Minerals for this step (I used a Maybelline loose powder in this tutorial because my Bare Minerals powder is a couple shades too dark for me right now).

4. Contour & Blush. Call me crazy but I hardly ever skip this step. I think applying a contour and a blush just helps to warm up your complexion, bring color to your face, and makes you look much better than you feel. In this tutorial I used a matte brown shadow for my contour and a pink baked powder from Milani for my blush. You can definitely skip contouring, but at least add a little blush to bring some color back into your face.

5. Eyes. I always like to have a little something on my eyes besides mascara. I use a matte shadow (either grey, brown, or whatever you prefer), and apply it to my upper lash line using an angled brush. To finish, I apply a couple coats of mascara. I used my favorite, the Maybelline Rocket Volume Express.

6. Eyebrows. No matter what I will always take at least 30 seconds to do my brows. For this look I skipped the Brow Wiz and used a powder from Lorac to just lightly fill in my brows. I set them using Anastasia's Brow Gel in Brunette.

7. Lips. You can totally skip a lipstick and just apply any chapstick or lip balm and be good to go. I love Burts Bees chapstick because the kind I use has a minty/tingly feeling that makes me feel like I put Vicks Vapo Rub all over my lips (despite the description it is actually a pleasant feeling). Sometimes I'll apply a nude lipstick over top just to give me a hint of color.

8. Hair. All I can say is: Keep. It. Simple. If your hair isn't a messy grease ball, go ahead and leave it down. For me, I think pulling it up just gives you a more polished look. My go-to is the sock bun and you can see how I achieve this look in the video.

 

What do you do to look better when you're sick and have to leave the comfort of your bed? I'd love to hear your tips!

xoxo

Foundation 101 | Everything You Need to Know!

The task of finding the perfect foundation can be daunting and overwhelming. How are you supposed to know what undertones are in your skin? What type of coverage are you supposed to look for? How do you apply it? Well, I have (hopefully) the answers to all those questions and then some! Watch the video below or read on to learn how to find your perfect foundation.

Finding the Perfect Shade
Do you need a warm, cool, or neutral toned foundation? Finding out the answer to that question can be a little tricky but there are a couple things you can do to arrive at the solution. Look at your skin tone -- all over. If you see more olive, yellow, or gold undertones, you will most likely benefit from a warmer foundation. Pink undertones? A cool foundation may be better for you. If you have a mix of both a neutral foundation is a great place to start. Still not sure? Head to Sephora, Ulta, or your favorite makeup counter to get color matched. They will be able to tell you exactly what you need.

Color Matching
A huge mistake women tend to make is attempting to match a foundation to the color of the back of their hand. To that I say; NONONONONONONO!

The best place to test a foundation is your jawline down to the top of your neck. You want to make sure the color matches along your jawline and blends nicely into your neck in order to avoid that "mask" look. I highly recommend trying out a couple different shades by blending the foundation slightly (all you need is a small swatch) into your jawline/neck area, letting it dry, and comparing the colors to determine what is best for your skin tone.

Finish & Coverage
Foundations can leave a natural, dewy, or matte finish on the skin after application. The type of finish you want to have is entirely up to you. However, I would definitely recommend matte foundations for those who have oily skin (like me!), and dewy or luminous foundations for those with combo or dryer skin.

Determining the type of coverage you would like is also personal preference. In my experience, it seems that most foundations have a medium coverage, but there are also foundations that provide light and full coverage. The types of coverage are pretty self-explanatory...a foundation that is medium to full coverage is going to cover up more than a light coverage foundation.

Drugstore or High End?
I've had much more experience with drugstore brand foundations and I must say that they definitely get the job done. I don't think you can go wrong with Revlon's Color Stay Whipped Foundation, L'Oreal's True Match (and True Match Lumi if you have dryer skin), and Covergirl's 3-in-1 foundation.

As far as high end is concerned, I am OBSESSED with Make Up For Ever's Mat Velvet + foundation because I am super super oily. I love it and it was well worth the investment. I will certainly update when I have tried more high end brands.

Tools
While your fingers are always a great tool for applying makeup, my hands down, holy grail, best brush of life ever is the Sigma F80 Flat Top Kabuki brush. I could go on, and on, and ON about this amazing tool. My foundation goes on so much smoother, easier, and has a flawless appearance when I use this brush.

Another great line of brushes is from Real Technique -- I know they have them at Ulta and are very inexpensive. My favorite foundation brush they make is the Expert Face Brush. Another great option!



Hopefully this post helped you if you are in the market for a new foundation! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to leave them below or e-mail me.

xoxo

Dramatic Smokey Eye

Hello beauties! This tutorial is WAY longer than intended, but it gives you a super in-depth, step-by-step tutorial for how I get this dramatic, go-to smokey eye look. I love doing my eyes like this, and it's definitely a versatile look that you can switch out with other shadow colors, lips, and hair styles. Watch the video below or read on for a list of products I used. Also, check out my new page on beautylish, too for detailed product information, photos, videos and more! Hope you enjoy!

Get Ready With Me | Full Face & Hair

Hello lovlies & Happy New Year! Today's video is a typical get ready with me -- how I get ready for work, a night out, etc. It's super easy to do and is totally versatile. It would look great with a bold lip or bolder eye shadows. If you don't want to watch the video but want to know what products I used, read below. Hope you enjoy! 

xoxo

It's Judy Time Palette Look | Update

Hello lovelies! It has been a hot minute since I blogged or filmed a video -- I started a new job, which I love, but it's consumed most of my life as of late. I also was unfortunately in a really bad car accident a little over a week ago and was injured so I've been laying super low trying to recover. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I'm anxious to get back into the swing of blogging and filming makeup tutorials so stay on the look out for all that!

For Christmas one of my favorite gifts was my It's Judy Time eyeshadow palette. If you don't know who Judy is, you MUST check out her YouTube channels -- she is amazing! She has a vlog channel with her husband Benji and sweet little cutie bear daughter Julianna. She uploads daily vlogs and I have to say I'm completely addicted. She also has a mommy channel and a beauty channel. Recently she worked with BH cosmetics to create her own eyeshadow palette and it is BEAUTIFUL! Watch the video below or read on to see the look I created using her palette.

xoxo

2-in-1 | Holiday Hair & Gold Glammed Up Eyes Tutorial

I've been loving this gold eye look lately that I created using the original Urban Decay Naked Palette. It is so incredibly easy and versatile -- definitely one of my favorite looks for the holidays. I also included a holiday hair/retro wave tutorial in the video. Watch below or read on to see how I did it :)

Glam Holiday Makeup Look

I'm loving bold lips for the holiday season so I decided to film a makeup tutorial using Urban Decay's Vice 2 Palette and two bold lip options. Watch the video from my channel below and read on for more information about the products I used! :)

Oh and by the way, I linked-up with Kristin over at Your Beauty Fix for her new link up Tell All Tuesdays! Check it out :)

November Favorites!!!

November Favorites video is now up on my channel (filmed with my *NEW* camera so get ready for HD quality! Yay!). Full descriptions and information on the products I mentioned are listed below the video, so just click "read more" if you want all the details! Enjoy ladies -- and hope you all had a wonderful holiday! :)

Holiday Hairstyles | 3 Tutorials for This Season

I was just thinking about how I wanted to wear my hair for Thanksgiving and decided to sit down to play around with some ideas, so of naturally I decided to film them. They are relatively easy and quick to do. Watch the video below to see how I got these three looks! :)

xoxo

How I Wash My Hair Extensions

Most days I rock my fake hair. I just clip it right in and I instantly have long, beautiful locks that I miss so much. Since I wear my extensions so frequently, I like to wash them every one to two weeks just to keep them looking semi-normal and not so much like a rats' nest that they can sometimes resemble. Watch the video below to see how I wash my extensions or read on for more information! 

Neutral Eye Look | Day to Night

I filmed these two eye looks using Urban Decay's Vice 2 palette. Although both are neutral looks, I added a couple things to take the first look up a notch for a more night-time smokey effect. Watch the video below or read on for more information!

Update & Wavy Hair Tutorial

First, let me address the elephant in the...blog? I decided to change the name and design of my blog. I simply liked the sound of Glam Candy much better than The Queen Life and I found this amazing design at Mlekoshi Playground. I love it! I switched my Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube accounts over to Glam Candy as well, and links for those are in the side bar in case you were wondering! :)

.....

Now for the hair tutorial:

Blonde to Brunette!

I've been wanting to change up my hair lately so I made the bold, brave move to go brunette! I haven't had my hair dark in over 6 years so this was a huge change but I'm absolutely loving it! To see my transformation using L'Oreal Paris Excellence Creme Hair Dye in 5AR Medium Maple Brown, watch the video on my channel or read on for more information and to see my before and after picture! :)

Easy, Pretty Hair with Rollers!

Remember that post I did on velcro rollers a while back? Well this time I filmed a video and didn't have in my extensions. Watch the video below or click the link here to refer back to my original post! Enjoy! :)





xoxo

How I Get Ready For Work!

So I filmed this video YESTERDAY before I left for work and didn't get to edit until really late last night. If you want to see how I get ready for one of my jobs in the morning, watch the video below or read on for more information about the products I use! xoxo

Current Favorite Lip Products

As of right now, I have six lipsticks that I am completely obsessed with.

While I usually stick to nudes (as I tell you on my YouTube channel), I have some favorite bright pinks, plums, and reds that I'm trying to include in my lipstick rotation more frequently. Take a look at my vlog below or keep on reading to see which lipsticks I'm loving from my collection!

L'Oreal Colour Riche Lipstick in 181 Sheer Linen

Love this L'Oreal lipstick. I like to think of it as more of a lip butter, though because it's super shiny and super smooth just like a lip butter. This is a go to product for me and is an awesome nude color. Although I'm in love with this, I've found that I have to keep reapplying due to its texture. 

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in 613 Just Enough Buff

So I'm starting to think Revlon has discontinued this shade or it's just sold out everywhere because it was next to impossible to find a link to it online except for Amazon. Regardless, this is my favorite nude shade I own, so if it is discontinued I'm going to have to attempt to find a new drugstore nude color to replace it...which won't be easy to do. I just can't say enough good things about this lipstick, and I constantly carry it with me. I feel weird if I leave the house without it, sadly.

YSL Rouge Volupte Silky Sensual Lipstick in 1 Nude Beige
So proud to own this baby! My very first YSL lipstick, and I'll admit, it was a little tough to splurge on this but I just love this lipstick. It's so smooth, creamy, pigmented...and did I mention it smells good!? You can't go wrong with this gorgeous pinky-nude color.