Feel Good Friday

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”

Ashley Smith

Shorts by Topshop
Pumps by United Nude

 

Learn the Secrets to Eyeshadow Blending

Let's face it, eyeshadow can be just as intimidating as finding the correct foundation. Especially for those who want to blend two or more colors together with a seamless finish. Whether you wear two or three eye shadow shades or just one, harsh lines anywhere on the eye is a no-no. Below I'll list some tips for flawless eyeshadow application.

Photo Credit

1. Be sure to coat your eyelid with a good eyeshadow base like Too Faced Shadow Insurance or Urban Decay Primer Potion to make the eyeshadow stays in place. You can also opt for pigmented eyeshadow base like MAC Paint Pots or Makeup For Ever Aqua Eye Cream to make the eyeshadow more vibrant. 
2. If you are using three shadows (lid, crease and brow highlight), apply the first color to your lid only. This can be any color you want. I like to pat the color on my eye opposed to sweeping it back and forth across the eye. This way there is less fall out (color falling onto the cheeks) and better color payoff. Be sure to blend his color into the inner corners of your eye, you do not want that dreaded line from the inner eye to the brow.
3. With a blending brush like MAC's #224 for softer blend or a densely packed blending brush like the #217 begin to fill in the crease with a back and forth, windshield wiper motion where the two colors meet. After dipping the brush in the shadow, start applying the color from the outer corner inward. Do not go so low with the crease color that you end up mixing in all of the lid color causing you to "over blend" just concentrate on where the two colors meet. The crease color tends to be a little bit darker than the lid color thus defining your eyes and  making them eyes appear more deep set. Brown shades are great for this because they are neutral and will soften even the most vibrant colors on the lid. 
4. For the brow highlight add a light highlighting color under the eyebrow. Blend downward towards the crease but remember to only blend where the two colors meet (this can be any light nude-ish color). You can wear something shimmery but I prefer to wear concealer about a shade or two lighter than my complexion under the brow. 
5. Practice and patience! 

Eye Shadow by Urban Decay
Brushes & Applicators by M·A·C

Tutorial | Cranberry and Champagne

What I used:
MAC Select SPF Foundation NC50
MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Natural Dark
MAC Sweet Chestnut Eyeshadow
MAC Naked Pigment
MAC Fix +
MAC Blunt Blush (in crease)
MAC Studio Finish Concealer (as highlight)
MAC Blacktrack Fluidline
Rimmel London Noir Eyeliner
MAC Ambering Rose Blush
MAC Magnetique Lipglass
Red Cherry #47 Lashes

Timeless Beauty | Diahann Carroll

Over her long career, Diahann Carroll has distinguished herself as a singer and as an actress on screen, television, and the stage. She attended Manhattan's School of Performing Arts and worked as a nightclub singer and model before making her Broadway debut in The House of Flowers. That year, she also made her film debut alongside Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones. Mrs.Carroll made a number of films during her career and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for Claudine in 1974. She starred in No Strings  and also appeared in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Mrs. Carroll was the first African-American woman to star in her own television series named Julia. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for Julia in 1969 and won the Golden Globe Award in 1968.  Mrs. Carroll is also well known for her role as jet setter Dominique Deveraux on Dynasty from the 1980s.

Mrs. Carroll also appeared in some of my personal favorites like, The Five Heartbeats, A Different World and most recently Grey's Anatomy.

Outfit Post | Complex Simplicity

Life is just complex simplicity
Thug it out...


Everybody's worried bout tomorrow
Will they see tomorrow
I'm just tryna get mine off today
Mama said tomorrow ain't promised
So I'm tryna live like it's my very last day



You can't spend your life
Being in fear of all that may be
You gotta press on, you gotta be free
You gotta breathe
Inhale, exhale, come on



Bounce with me tonight
Get low with me tonight
Put the choke up in the sky
Wave your glasses high cause
We ain't got no choice but to party
Party it all away
We're gonna party for brighter days
Party cause everything's
Gonna be alright



Everybody's worried bout the negative
Lookin at the worst of things
I'm just tryna celebrate my life



Mama said be young while you can be young
Life only gets rougher
I'm just tryna keep my youth alive



Song: Teedra Moses Complex Simplicity
Jacket-H&M, Shirt-Thrifted, Jeans-H&M, Shoes-Sam Edelman, Accessories-Forever 21

DIY Braided Sweater

Inspiration:

This Ksubi Black Braid Sweater is retailing for $198. Below I'll show you how to make it for cheap!

What you'll need:

Sweater (mine is from Forever 21. I think I paid about $8-$10 for it)
Scissors
Sewing Machine (a needle and thread will do)
Thread
Pins



1). Make a small slit about half way between the collar and shoulder on both sides.



2). Continue the slit all the way down to the waist. Then make two slits in between the two original ones, making three separate sections. Snip the three sections at the end detaching it from the waist of the sweater.



3). Braid the three sections. Pin the braid to the waist.



4). Connect the braid back to the waistline of the sweater with a sewing machine or needle and thread.



Final Outcome:





**If you use this DIY, please back link!

Feel Good Friday's

“The fact is, sometimes it’s really hard to walk in a single woman’s shoes. That’s why we need really special ones now and then to make the walk a little more fun.”

Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City

Shoes & Boots by Christian Louboutin

Sephora Friends and Family Sale... My Picks!

Its that time again, Sephora's Friends and Family sale starts TODAY and runs until November 3, 2010. The sale is open to Beauty Insiders only and will give you 20% off of your entire purchase, online only. If you are a Beauty Insider, you'll be emailed a code to use.

Here's a few items off my list. What's on yours?

Eye Shadow by NARS
Face Concealer by Yves Saint Laurent

OPI for Sephora Nail Polishes
NARS Mekong Eyeshadow
Illamasque Creme Blush
YSL Touche Elcat Radiant Touch
Viva La Juicy Perfume
Urban Decay Naked Palette
Make Up For Ever Lipstick (All of them LOL)
Carol's Daughter Hair Milk
Tarte Lip Stains (All of them LOL)
Make Up For Ever Face and Body Foundation

**Update** USE CODE FF2010 to receive your discount at checkout!