Common White Girl Tag!

My First Empties!

Target Haul (Number 2)

Christmas Present Nails Tutorial

Christmas time is the perfect time of year to dress up a little more than you would, and you definitely don't want to leave out your nails! The normal red and green can get a little boring, so here is my Christmas Present inspired nail tutorial.

A non-shimmer grey polish (I'm using Recycle by china glaze), a non-shimmer red polish (I'm using Valentine by Heaven Nail Lacquer), a non-shimmer white polish (French White Tip by NYC), a silver sparkle top coat with large hexagon/circle sparkles (BCC655 by L.A. Color), and (this one is optional) a gold sparkle top coat (Gold Rush by CG Boundless Color). And of course some tooth picks!

Now paint your ring finger with the white polish and the rest with the grey polish. You can use whatever colors you'd like, this is just how I choose to do it!

Using the tooth pick, dip it in the red polish. Draw lines across your nails about an eighth of an inch from the top.

Now draw an 'x' on top of the line, using the line as the center of your 'x'. Connect the ends of the 'x' and fill in the empty spaces. You now have bows!

Now, using your silver sparkle polish, take a tooth pick and pick up a large hexagon sparkle and place it in the center of your bows. If you want to finish off your nails with the gold sparkle top coat, do that now. I decided against it.

You now have your super festive Christmas Present nails!

Beauty Buster: Does honey and olive oil really lighten your hair?

This post is the first in the new section of my blog called Beauty Busters. I will take myths pertaining to beauty such as "Does mayo really make your hair shiny?" and do them. Then I'll post them here! I'll take suggestions from Twitter (tweet me @kennyista), Facebook posts, and comments on these posts! 

The first myth I will be testing is Does honey and olive oil really lighten your hair? Here's what you'll need:

You'll need Olive Oil (I used extra virgin), Honey (raw works best, but you can use any), ground Cinnamon, a jar with a lid, a splash of water, and a fork.

So we are going to 1 part olive oil to 1 part honey. Put about as half as much olive oil you'll need to coat your whole head into the jar. It doesn't have to be exact! Olive oil brings out the natural peroxide found in honey, which will help lighten your hair without damaging it like normal peroxides would.

Next put about the same amount of honey in the jar. Small traces of peroxide are found in honey (more in raw honey than in processed honey).

Add a tablespoon of cinnamon to the mixture. Like olive oil, the cinnamon boosts the levels of peroxide in the honey.

Now, add a splash of water. This will thin out the mixture so its not so sticky in your hair. Mix up the ingredients until they are smooth. Put the lid on your jar and let it develop for 10-15 minutes.

Smooth through out your hair, making sure its gets evenly coated all over. Clip it up and let it sit for 30-40 minutes. The longer you let it sit, the more it will lighten. You can leave it in longer than 40 minutes because it doesn't harm your hair! Rinse it out thoroughly (you may need to shampoo 3-4 times).

After I washed out the treatment (I left it on for about 40 minutes) my hair wasn't noticeably lighter, but you could see it a little bit. This process is suppose to be gradual and used frequently. I really like how this treatment makes my hair feel and smell. It does seem to be lightening my hair a little bit. I will have a follow up post to this in a few week, showing before and after pictures and my review and opinions from there.

Thanksgiving Make-up Tutorial

For this look, start out with your normal foundation, concealer and powder routine. I use NYC's Smooth Skin Liquid Make-Up in Barely Beige, ELF's double sided Under Eye Concealer and Highlighter, and Mayballine's loose powder in Light.

Next contour under your cheek bones, along your hair line and on your temples with an angled blush brush. This will give your face a more defined look. I used NYC's Smooth Skin Bronzer in Sunny. 

Now for blush! Using the same brush you did for your bronzer, apply a Mauve color on your cheeks to give your skin a flushed look. 

Using the ELF Under Eye Concealer and Highlighter, apply the highlighter on the top of your cheekbones and gently work it it. This will make your skin glow. 

If you normally fill in your brows, do this now. I use ELF's Brow Kit in Medium. First apply the wax with the angled end of the brush to add color and set the hairs where you want them. Now using the fluffy end of the brush, set the wax with the powder. 

Eye shadow primer is a great tool to use when you will be wearing your make-up for long periods of time and you don't have to spend a fortune on a high end brand! I use ELF's Eyelid Primer in Sheer. Dot it on the lids then spread it evenly with your finger tip. 

Take a spongey eye shadow brush and apply a white shadow to the inner corner/tear duct area and under the brow. This won't be very noticeable, but it will make a huge difference in the end. 

Using a normal eye shadow brush, apply a shimmery champagne color all over the lid. 

Use the same eye shadow brush and pat a medium brown color on the outer half of your eye to give it some depth. 

Using a blending brush, take a matte chocolate brown and apply it in a V shape on the out half of your eye. 

Now its time for eyeliner. My favorite liquid liner is Maybelline's Waterproof Ultra Liner in black. With your favorite liquid liner, make a simple winged line. 

Once your black liner has dried, take a gold sparkle liner and apply it on top. I used ELF's Liquid Liner in Copper. 

Curl your lashes and apply your favorite mascara. For mascara, I used ELF's Lengthening and Defining in Black. 

You are done with your eyes! Now for lips. Apply a red lip stain evenly to your lips. I used ELF's Lip Stain in Nude Nectar. 

For a little shine and color, apply a sheer brown lip gloss over the top. I used Bath and Body Works Almond Cocoa. 

You are now done with your Thanksgiving Make-Up look! 

Midnight Fever Palette by Profusion Review

I was on a hunt for an affordable neutral palette for a while. Over the summer my sister and I went shopping at Ross and I found this palette for about $5! I loved the colors, but I wasn't expecting much considering where I purchased it and how much it was.

Surprisingly, I loved everything about this palette! The colors are very pigmented (even the black, though it didn't show up too well in the picture) and they aren't splotchy. There is a good mix of shimmers and matte shadows, but there are mostly shimmers. The only downside to this pallet is that it doesn't really have a matte highlight color, all the lighter colors that could be used as a highlight are shimmery, and personally I don't like using shimmers as a brow highlight. Overall, for the price of this palette, I am super happy with it and recommend it to anyone looking for a neutral palette.