"A Look For Everyday and Holidays..."

Happy Monday All!  Another week has passed and just like that November is going to be over.  I am so excited for Thanksgiving.  My family goes camping with my in-laws.  It has become my all time favorite tradition.  It also helps that we go to my all time favorite place in the entire world. I am just excited to be taking a break from thinking about packing, cleaning, and moving for a week.  I can't wait to watch my kids make more memories with their cousins, aunt's/uncles, and grandparents.  Can you tell I am excited?

On Election Day I posted this picture with the captions, "Look 1 or Look 2?  What should I post on?"

 Look 2

Look 1

By popular vote Look 2 won.  I was excited and nervous at the same time that this look won.  The main reason being...I suck at doing "Winged," liner.

Wearing winged liner they are supposed to be a clean sharp line that can cut glass.(No dramatics here.)  I have a hard time accomplishing that.  I am normally a simple straight across liner girl, or a simple cat eye.  I just have a hard time getting my wing liner to look the same every time I do it.

As I was sitting there thinking about how I didn't want to do this liner, I remembered my own advice, "Make up is trial and error.  You do what works for you."  I also remembered that makeup wipes off.  If I really dislike how something comes out I just take a makeup wipe and start again.  It is what make makeup so amazing!

This is what I did:

Of course I started off with a clean slate by using Mabelline Fit Me Matte Foundation!  If you want to know what I think of this foundation you can go back and read, "Is it worth it? Let me work it." post I did last week.  

I also concealed with It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Concealer to cover up the fact that I hadn't been sleeping due to stress and my little dude getting 3 new teeth at once. (Yes, he is a part shark.)

Then came the, "fun" part...The Eye Liner!!

I find that using a product with a felt tip is easiest when doing a wing liner.  This product I am using here is a $1 matte black liner with a felt tip that I got off of Cute.  

First I do my normal straight line across my lid, but I don't take it all the way to the edge of my lid.  I stop where my lashes stop.  If you take it across all the way and then add the wing it can make your eyes appear more hooded.  So here is where I am finding it difficult to explain...you go to the outer corner of your bottom lash line.  You are then going to take your liner and follow the natural curve of your bottom lash line up to create the out side of the wing.  Once you have that set you then make an obtuse triangle. Then all you have to do is fill in that triangle and Yay! You did it! (I am all sweaty just writing about this.)  If you mess it up and it is not straight or it is more curvy then angular; take makeup remover or concealer and cover up the mistakes.  Again,  it is why makeup is so great!

My next step is to tight line my upper lash line with a black pencil liner.  

Now, most people can get away with tight lining their bottom lashes with that same black eyeliner.  I have learner over the years through trial and error, and by that I mean, so many bad bad pictures, that I should STOP doing that.  All that does to me is make my eyes appear smaller then they already are.  So instead of a black liner I use a nude or white pencil liner. (Wet n Wild or Remil London make those colors for cheap and they have worked will for me.)  Not only does makes my eyes look bigger then they are, but it also gives the appearance of them being more awake. After this last week I could really use that.

Then I go on with the rest of my routine.  (Look back at earlier post if you would like to see my routine.)  

Here are the results...

I love how this look came out and my winged liner, not perfect by any means,  is getting better every time I do it.  This look is perfect to pair with a nude lip for work, or brunch or you can jazz it up for your work Holiday Party with a bold red lip. You really can't go wrong.

I hope I you try something daring and difficult for yourself.  There is noting wrong with trying something new.  Thank you guys for reminding me of that.

Remember readers, I maybe a jack of this trade, but I am a master of none.

Natalie

"Is it Worth it? Let me Work it..." Missy Elliot

Happy November Everyone! The holidays are in full force and we are weeks away from Thanksgiving, and a few short months away from bringing in a new year.  My family has had a long couple of weeks.  I didn't post last week because we had lot of construction happening for our move. You read right. We are moving!  We are leaving our home of 3 years in Texas and heading back to our home state of California.  My husband is still working for the same company, he just put in for a new position, and he got it!  So, after having one of the craziest year of our lives, we decided to end it in the craziest way possible...moving across country in a short amount of time. Why not?!

So this week I am finally going to review 5 products that I have been using consistently for the last month or so.

They are...

From Left to right.

 1 Maybelline Fit me Matte Foundation. (Shade-125 Nude Beige.) Price: $5.94

2. Maybelline Fit me Concealer. (Shade- 20 or Sand.) Price: $5.94

3. Pysicians Formula Butter Bronzer. (Shade-Bronze) Price:$13.92

4. Wet and Wild megaglow HIGHLIGHTING POWDER (Shade-Precious Petals) Price: $3.99

5. it Cosmetic Superhero Mascara (Shade-Black) Price: This was in my ipsy bag two months ago. If you want a full size it is $24.00

Let the reviews begin.

For the first two days I took pictures through out the day to show how all of these products held up during my regular life.  Lets be honest, my life is not regular right now.  Ha ha ha! Then I took off my makeup with a Kirkland Makeup Wipe (they are seriously the BEST!!!) to show how much of the product was left on my face at the end of the day.

Day 1.

At the end of day one I was impressed with all of the products.  They seemed to stay in place.  The real test was the makeup wipe,  I was in shock to see so much of a "Drug Store," product was left on my face.  I will be honest though, the concealer didn't hold up like the rest of the products.  I felt that it creased quickly and didn't cover the dark circles as well as my regular concealer.  

Day 2.

As you can tell from the pictures it was a stressful day.  We had doctors appointments, we got caught in a down poor, and my 18 month old was, and still is, getting 4 teeth at once.  I was exhausted by the end of the day.  I feel like you can tell more on day 2 then day 1.  To be far I was caught in a massive 15 minute storm while putting my groceries in the car. (Real life.)  Again, I look to the makeup wipe, and again I was super impressed with how much make up was left at the end of the day.  I will say that I felt like the concealer still let me down. I wiped my under eyes first and nothing was there.  Wa Wa Wa.

My final thought after giving these products a month to impress: 

1. Is it worth it?

Yes! Yes! Yes!  I am so in love with this foundation.  It actually stays matte all day long.  It is so light weight that I would forget that I had it on.  What I loved most was that it has build-able coverage.  On days where I needed very little, it was perfect. On days that I needed more coverage due to HORMONES!!, it was perfect.  I felt and feel flawless every time I wear it.  For a foundation that I spent 6 bucks on, I was happily surprised. 

2. Is it worth it?

For me, this is a big fat NO!  I never felt fully concealed with this product.  It went on smooth, but when I went to bled it out it would disappear and look like I didn't put anything on. (Not in the good way either.)  Maybe it is because I am getting older and I have more bags under my eyes then I used to. I don't think that's it though. I gave the college try, but it left me looking tired and...tired.  I would not flip it and reverse it for this product or pay another $6.

3 and 4. Are they worth it?

I am going to review these two products together because they were made for each other.  OM Goodness! It's like the sun and the moon made a bronze shimmering baby!  The name of the bronzer is spot on! It is like butter!  It smells like you just came back from a tropical paradise.  It is also one of the few drug store bronzers that DOES NOT have glitter in it!  I have been using it as my contour and bronzer at the same time because it is so pigmented.  Now once you bronze your cheeks, it is important to highlight so angles can see you from on high.  And this $3.99 wet and wild highlighter will do just that.  It is a perfect color for all skin tones.  It stays on all day and did I mention that it is $3.99. I used this on the high points of my cheeks and for my inner corner highlight.  There were days where I used this for my eyeshadow and it looked so simple and beautiful.  You get so much product for an amazing price.  I was in shock when I swatched this for the first time.  I thought it was a joke.  You can use these products seperately or for best results, in my opinion of course, use them together.  Perfect for all season.  So worth it!

5. Is it worth it?

You guys know me.  I am a L'Oreal Voluminous mascara girl, and I have been for year. I was always let down by the higher end brands.  That was before this mascara.   Let me tell you girrllll, this mascara has me shook!  It made and make my lashes longer and fuller at the same time.  It is great for  coating my lashes before putting on fake ones, and if I  don't want to put that much effor in it still  makes my real lashes look like I have fake ones on.  There were days, when it wasn't 90 degrees, this month were I felt my real lashes touch my eye brows.  It didn't smear, clump, or flake.  It stayed on and looked amazing all day.  When I was caught in the rain storm it didn't budge.  I thought it was a fluke so I did something I never do and wore it to the gym.  You would have thought I had waterproof mascara on by the end of my workout. Yet it came off with ease at the end of the day unlike waterproof mascara.  Yes, this isn't the most budget friendly mascara at $24.00, but it is so worth it.

These are all 5 products used and shown midday without any filter.

I hope that these reviews will help you the next time you are in the makeup ail at Target or Walmart.  Remember that makeup is trial and error. What works for me may not work for you, but that is why makeup is amazing.  All you have to do is wash it off and it's like it never happened. 

 Let me know on my Twitter or any other social medias if there are any products that you want me to try.  Drug Store or Higher End. I am more then happy to be your canvas. 

Remember readers, I may be a jack of this trade, but I am a master of none.

Natalie

Twitter: masterofnone17

Snapchat: nataliehwillis

Instagram: masterofnonemakeupmom

Email: masterofnonemakeupmom@gmail.com

Keep it Simple, or Don't...

Happy Monday to All!  Another week has gone by and I still feel like I have accomplished nothing! Ha ha ha!  I usually have days or a week where I feel that way, but lately it has been feeling month long. Hahaha!!!  You guys, I have so much to do and am doing none of it.  That's not true.  I am getting things done. It is just that even though I am getting things done, my house still looks like all I do is watch T.V. while throwing dirt, cloths, and garbage everywhere.  I think I found my new talent.  Being about to clean without anything looking clean. Yahoo! 

A couple of weeks ago I put this picture on my Instagram:

I had so many of you requesting for me to recreate this look for you.  Your wish is my command. 

This is what I did:

1. I primed my face with my $1 primer from Wish.  I love how this stuff feels on my skin and it smells yummy.

2. I used Maybelline Fit Me! Matte Foundation.  I have only been using this foundation for a week and so far it is kind of amazing. I will be doing a full review on it in next weeks blog.  I still want to try it longer to see how my skin reacts.  So stay tuned Y'all.  (My third eye is from PMS. Not the foundation.) 3.  My absolute FAVORITE concealer combination.  I have been doing for a month now and my under eyes have never looked better.  I first do a thin layer of Its Cosmetics of Bye Bye Under Eye.  Then I dot Covergirls Beautify Gorgeous concealer on top of that. (Making both into a triangle shape of course.) Then I take my beauty blender and blend till my forearms burn.  I don't know what it is about this combo, but it stays all day with little to no creasing. 

5.  You can't stop those creases without BAKING!

I just used another $1 translucent powder from Wish and took the skinny tip of my damp beauty blender, and applied a generous amount to the under eye area.  Then took a powder brush and set the rest of my face with the same powder. 

6. Now this is what I think took this simple look and really made it stand out.  My eyebrows. Most of you sent me questions about what I did differently. So here it is.

I first grab my trusty $2 eye brow gel, in light brown, from Wish.  It has a spoolie tip. I comb my brow lightly at first.  If they are not dark enough I go in with more of the colored gel. I then take a clean spoolie and brush my eye brows back to normal and get all of the excess color off.  When I am happy with how that looks, I take my Covergirl Beautifully Gorgeous Concealer and cover up all the mistakes I have made and give my eyebrows and actual shape. Then I blend that in with either a angled brush or my fingers.  And that dear friends is the story of my brows. Someday's it is like, "Daaaaaang!" and other days it is like, "Dang it!!!!!"

7.After I have cleaned the powder under my eyes and apply bronzer to my cheeks, temples, forehead, and under my bottom lip.  I get to apply HIGHLIGHTER!!

Now, this $3.99 powdered glow is AMAZING!  It is also made by my favorite cosmetic company when I was in middle school, Wet n Wild.  This stuff makes you look like you are made out of Rose Gold.  I will review this product in more detailed along with the foundation, but as you can see I am already gushing.  I applied the highlighter to the high point of my cheek bones and eye brows. Then applied it to the tip of my nose and cupids bow. Also, we can't forget the inner corner of our eye!

8.  It is time for the lashes. I applied L Oreal Voluminous Mascara in Brow. I then tight lined my eyes.  To do that I used ScandalEyes by Rimmel London in dark brown for my upper lash line and nude for my lower lash line to make my eyes appear more wide a wake. 

9. Lips Lips Lips!

In this picture I show three products, but I only used the top two.  Lolita by Kat Von D and Oh My Gloss (How cute it that name) by Rimmel London.

This is the result:

I love this look so much.  It is honestly what I my day to day make up looks like.  It is simple and easy.  You can darken the eyebrows or change the lip color to make it more dramatic or to take it from day to night.  Remember that there are no rules in make up so make this look your own.

Remember readers, I may be a jack of this trade, but I am a master of none!

Natalie

"A Snapchat Halloween..."

Is it really Monday again?  I feel like I was just writing yesterday.  We had a crazy week here. What else is new? Am I right?  Seriously though, we have some amazing things happening for us at the end of the year, (Not a baby,) and I can't wait to be able to share with you what they are.  Until the amazing stuff happens we still have to deal with the crazy stuff.  That includes going under construction again, but this time it is on the outside of the house.  I can't believe we are into our second week of October.  It is like I told my husband last night, "Once October hits it might as well skip to January." 

This weeks post was so much fun for me.  All of my favorite beauty YouTube stars are doing Halloween looks.  So I decided, even though I am no Laura Lee or Jaclyn Hill, that I wanted to do one as well.

Remember readers that I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP ARTIST by any means. This was just me having fun.  Please be nice.  

This is what I did:

First I found the lightest foundation I had and covered my face with it.

Unfortunately, all I had was generic BB cream.  I didn't get the full coverage that I wanted, but I didn't let it stop me. 

I then found the lightest concealer and powder that owned and applied liberally on my face.

I used Covergirl Ready Set Gorgeous in the shade light/medium for my concealer and Maybelline Fit me! Powder in 100.  This helped me get the desired skin tone I needed for this look.

This is where the fun begins. (and so so much black eyeliner is used.)  I took my Tattoo Effects liquid liner in black and traced my eyebrows.

At the end of my brow I traced a pointed edge to get the the drama I wanted.  Once that was done I filled in my liner with Mac pencil liner in Black. 

I took that same Tattoo Effect liner and started placing lines and shapes in certain places.

1. The C shape close to the left eye brow. Do not put it in the middle of your brows. 

2.  I followed the natural curve of my nose next to the inner corner of my right eye.

3. I drew slightly curved line from my ear to the center of my cheeks. (I u shamed curve)

4.On the left side of my nose i drew a line down and made a curvy L shape at the tip

5. I drew two lines from my nose to my lip.  Making sure they were not to far apart. 

6.I then drew on line on the outside of my nostrils.

7. Did an upside down smile (or a Frown Face. ha ha ha) on the middle of my chin.

Once those were done I took my MAC pencil liner and drew a group of cartoon tear drops under my right eye.

I finish the eyes by adding a wing liner to both and only lining the bottom lashed on my left side.  Once that is complete, I took blue eye shadow and fill in the tears. 

Next came the lips.  I used Kylie Jenner Liquid Lip in Mary Jo for the red I wanted. 

(I have the NYX in the picture, but it was to dark. So we are just going to pretend that is not there.)

Once my lips were dry I took the MAC pencil and lined those puppies.  Then I placed black lines on certain wrinkles in the bottom and top part of my lip.

These are the results:

YASSSS!!!  If you hadn't guess by now, I took this look from one of my favorite Comic book themed Snapchat filters.  I think it is such a fun and different look for Halloween. It was also fun and easy to do.

I hope you love this look as much as I do.  I had a blast creating it and doing something out of the ordinary for me.  I hope it inspires you as well to get crazy and try something outside your comfort zone!

Remember readers, I may be a jack of this trade, but I am a master of none.

Natalie

Snapchat: nataliehwillis

Instagram: masterofnonemakeupmom

Twitter: masterofnone17

"Pumpkin Spice...Everything..."

Happy Monday Everyone!  It truly is a happy one at that.  We had such a family quality time filled weekend.  It was just what the Doctor ordered.  We went to a Dinosaur Park near Austin on Friday.  It was entertaining for the kids and parents.  It was definitely a trip to remember.  (Thank you to Chat Book for making those memories a less work for me to remember.)

I was having a rough time choosing what I wanted to do this week.  I had done the green eyed look that a lot of you responded to.  I tried recreating it, but it kept coming out wrong. If I am going to show how I do something I liked it to at least be right. It was so frustrating! 

I was trying out this new color pallet that I bought a couple of weeks ago when my sister Emma Face-timed me.  As we were talking she showed me her Starbucks cup and told me what she was drinking.  (I personally do drink coffee, but she works there and knows all the good things to get.)  After I hung up with her, I realized that her cup reminded me of a Jenna Marbels Youtube sketch called, "What All Girls Have in Common in the Fall..."(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMkpTOSp88k)  
Then like a smack on the head...the inspiration hit me.

A very all hilarious video has ended up being   one of my favorite looks to date.  So thank you
Emma and Jenna Marbles for the smack in the head

Here is what I did:

First things first:  I primed. My pores have been unnecessarily massive the last couple weeks.  So much so that I have lost a child or two in them.  (Just Kidding.)  Seriously though...ew!

This is the same sample bottle that I got from benefit 5 months ago.  It is still going strong.  It is my favorite primer for when my pores are offending other people. (Again, I kid.) I just use a small amount and cover my t zone.  

Then I start with my eye!

You  might be gasping or thinking, "Whaaat?"  When I am working with darker colors and shimmer colors at the same time I tend to have more then normal fall out.  Since I don't want to have to do my foundation and concealer twice, I do the eyes first that way I doesn't matter what I have to wipe away because there is nothing to mess up.  

This pallet of warm buttery goodness is just a nameless pallet.  Not even the colors have names. Lame I know.  I have read that it is similar to the Morphy 350 pallet.  I spent $7 on this instead of $22.99.(For how much colors come in the 350 pallet is a fair price.)  I went in with the light shade first and then started to blend and build the color that I was looking for.

I took a blending brush with shade 1 and swept in across my entire crease of the lid.  Shad 2 I went half way in on the crease.  With shad 3 and 4 I stayed on the corner of my crease because I have small eyes and eyelids.  If I bring the dark colors into the middle the smaller my eyes will look.  With color 5 I used a flat eye shadow brush and pressed the color on my entire lid.  I do that twice.  When I am done with that I take my blending brush and make sure there are no harsh lines and that everything looks like it was supposed to look like that.  

When I am satisfied with the blending of my shadow I do my least favorite part.  The eye liner.  Don't get me wrong I love a good cat eye or winged liner.  I just have the hardest time doing them.  The liner I did today took me a good 15 minutes to get it even and not looking horrible.  (Thank goodness for nap time. Am I right Mom's?)  

The combo that I have found made this process a little easier is first drawing my wing with a thick felt tip liner, like the eyeko london liner that I got in this months ipsy bag, and paring it with a very thing almost paint brush tip liner from e.l.f  for the rest of the liner.  Like I said before, I have teeny lids.  The heavier I go with the line the less you will see the shadow that I put so much hard work into.  It is something I have to be careful about if I am doing both a shadow and liner. 

Once the liner and lashes are done I do the rest of my face.  

Now that the face is looking good, it is time to smoke out my under eye.

I used to be terrified of this.  I was always afraid that it would down out the natural shape of my eyes and make me look aged.  I have now seen the error of my ways.  Taking a pencil brush and dipping into color 1 and blending that to where my bottom lashes stop.  Then I took color 2 to the middle of my lower lash line and then blended color 3 to the outer edge of my lower lash line.  By doing this, I am actually giving the illusion that my eyes are bigger then they really are! Don't be afraid to blend that puppy out.  

Once I am satisfied with the eyes I add a simple demi lash just on the outer corner of my eyes to really make that liner pop!

Just because I can, I go in with more high light to make sure that people on plans can see the shine from my cheeks.  Hello Glow!

\

This is the final result:

I am so in love with my Pumpkin Spiced Latte inspired look for fall.  I think it is a great way to show even more love for fall and our Pumpkin Spice Everything obsession.  

I hope you guys try it out.  If you would like to see what I do on the daily with my make up you can follow me on Snapchat and Instagram.

Remember readers I may be a jack of this trade, but I am a master of none.

Natalie

Snapchat: nataliehwillis

Instagram: masterofnonemakeupmom

Twitter: masterofnone17

Behind the makeup...

Happy Tuesday!  I cannot believe that this week is the last week of September!  Where did the time go?  

I used to love this time of year.  I mean, I still love it, but it is also a reminder of a horrible time in my life. 

I went through serious postpartum depression last summer and fall after having my second child.  It was so bad that I was hospitalized.(By choice.)  A month after being hospitalized, everything went from horrible to horribly horrible.  Slowly, but surely I got better and have been better for a little under a year.

Even though that has all come and gone I am coming up on a day last year that I am more ashamed and horrified by then any other day in my life.  I know that I was sick and not of sound mind, but as this week has approached, I have been having bad flash backs and triggers of this day.  Even now typing I have tears streaming down my face because I hate that it even happened. 

I am normally one that tries to stay up beat and positive about trials I have gone or go through.   I know that I am who I am because of them.  I am all about speaking out and not being ashamed of our ailments and things that we can't control.    This one though...I know for a fact that I wasn't in control on this day.  I know for a fact that my postpartum had completely taken over.  I know that if I could go back and change this one event in my life I would in a second...faster then a second, but I can't.  I can't stand that I can't just let this go!  I want to so badly. I have been depressed and anxious for almost two weeks.  Sleeping is a thing of the past, along with a normal heart rate.  It is all because I haven't forgiven myself.  

It has taken a lot of therapy and people not giving up on me to have come out on the other side of postpartum.  I know that I am a blessed and loved women.  I need to learn to apply my rule for forgiving other to myself. "It is okay to forgive without having to condone."  (It is an alarm on my phone that pops up at 10 am everyday.  At 12 it is "I can do hard things." ha ha ha)  I can hate what happened, and still forgive myself.  It is just something that is going to take time. At least I am aware of it right? Ha ha ha!

Lets move one shall we.

I couldn't think of anything knew or exciting to write about because of all the other feelings that where taking over my brain and heart.  I was starting to get discouraged that I was letting my emotions take over so much.  I was sitting in front of my mirror and I picked up a makeup brush and just started doing what I do every time I try out a new look or just practice a technique.  I sat there and then took a picture of each step. 

I make crazy faces because you guys normally don't see these pictures and I don't like taking myself to seriously.  (Yes, I just came from the gym and smelled awful!)  After I am satisfied with what I have accomplished, I hop in the shower and wash it all off.  (I seriously do this about 3 to 4 times a week.)

After the shower I put that same look, if I liked it, back on my now clean face.  Once it is back on I head to the my living room with my phone and stand in front of the window with the best lighting. 

 This is when the selfie taking begins...

and then...

 more and 

more selfies!!!

Once I am done making myself feel self conscience about my selfie game, I sit on my couch and pick my favorite ones that show off them make up, and lets be honest, my face the best. (Ha ha ha! It is the worst! The things I do for you guys.  Ha ha ha!)  

After I am done picking my favorites and arrange them the way I want them for the blog, I go threw my photos and delete about 100 selfies!!  I am so lame! Ha ha ha!

Then when Monday comes around I sit and write. It is stressful and so much fun all at the same time.   I love it!

That is it.  That is how I come up with and practice for this lovely blog. I know that it was nothing exciting, but I wanted to give you a behind the scenes look.  I love doing this for you guys and myself.

Thank you for reading and letting me open and honest, and still have fun at the same time. It is important for my heart and soul.  

Remember readers, I may be a jack of this trade, but I am a master of none.

Natalie

When Summer and Fall Kiss...

Happy Monday to All!  It has been another crazy, but productive week, here at my house.  We are slowly but surly getting things put back together.  It is frustrating moving into a place that you already live in.  It is time consuming, everything is dusty, and want to throw most of our stuff away.  Yet, I wake up to my beautiful children laughing, I have a husband who loves me, and we are getting back to a structured life.  The good, as always, out weighs the bad.  That is what is important and that is what I choose to focus on. (Even knowing that we have a possum up in our addict. AHHHH!) "All good things. All good things." -Olaf from "Frozen"

I have been looking for inspiration all week.  Something to jump out at me and say, "Write about me!" I have been in a funk, and I needed something pretty to get me out of it.  So yesterday I sat in my bathroom and looked at my mess of a makeup collection.  As I was digging through the mess, two beautiful colors popped out and called my name.  I sat there and played.  I then posted a picture of my where my imagination led me and let me say, you readers really responded to it! (Thank you for the encouragement.  You are always there when I need you.)

This is what I did:

Before I get to into it. A little disclaimer first.  I didn't do my entire routine for this post.  I did, however, show you the steps that I tried something new.  I always want to keep you readers in the loop. 

 I primed my face using the Nivea Men Sensitive Post Shave Balm mixed with e.l.f illuminating Face Primer.

My skin has been looking and feeling dead.  I wanted to give it life with the e.l.f illuminating Face Primer, but I still wanted my make up to last.  That is why I decided to mix the two. 

L'Oreal Infallible Pro Glow was perfect to use to bring my skin to life again, or at least make it look that way. "Weekend at Burnies," type of situation. I also tried out this Oval Foundation Brush for the first time.  First impressions: It spreads the product out pretty evenly, but I felt that it didn't get in all the small surfaces of the skin.  

I used It Cosmetic, "Bye Bye Under Eye" Cream and Garnier "Renewal Anti-Dark Circles Roll on Concealer."  Both in Light/Medium. My two personal favorites. Then I used a generic Banana Powder to set my highlight and concealer. (Mine is Ben Ney Luxury Powder. It is from Wish and I spent $2 on it.) 

My dark circles and wrinkles are showing their ugly heads all the time now.  It's like I have a stressful this happen in my life recently or something.  Ha ha ha?  I have to do more then just a simple routine now. (Sad face!) I dabbed my It Cosmetic, "Bye Bye Under Eye" on my dark circles and then blended it in with my handy dandy Beauty Blender!! We love the Beauty Blender don't we readers? Yes we do!  After I blend. I take my ring finger and dab my under eye, then wipe off with a makeup wipe, and repeat until I feel like the oils and any excess product is taken off. After that I apply my Gernier Roller Concealer under my eyes to my temples, middle of for head, on the chin, and down the nose.  Then I take my Beauty Blender again and BLEND!!

This is where it got fun for me:

I used traditional colors for my crease using a bending brush.(It is from a generic palette so there is no name for it. Sorry!)   I then use a flat brush, NYX Matte Finishing setting spray and the color, "Smog,"  from Urban Decay Naked Palette for my lid and lower lash line. I  lined my lid with a black $1 waterproof liquid liner from Wish, and finished it off with a generic black mascara for my top and bottom lashes. 

I first took the light color and blended it across my entire crease.  I took the second transitional color with the same blending brush, and took it to the middle of my crease. I don't take this color all the way across because I don't want my eyes to look to hooded. I have extremely small lids, so I have to be careful with the darker transitional colors. That is why blending is oh so important.  The third transitional color I use just on the outer corner of the crease. Again, I don't want to look hooded.  Once I have blended so much that I can see through my own eye lid, I add "Smog," by Urban Decay Naked Palette.  I want this color to pop on my once again, extremely small eyelids.  I take my NYX face setting spray, spray my flat eye shadow brush, and then dip it in the color.  This is such a great hack for making your shadows last longer during the day and giving the shimmer colors a little help popping!  Once I am happy with the amount on my lids, I add the liner and mascara. 

Time for the main event:
I use Dose "Berry Me 2," liquid lip for my base color and then Jeffree Star Cosmetic, "Watermelon Soda," liquid lip for the center.  These two are close enough in color to where they wont clash, yet different enough to make that Ombre look that I wanted to achieve. 

Both of these liquid lip formulas are so pigmented and creamy that I only needed to do one coat of each.  First the of all, this "Berry Me 2," color by Dose is so perfect for this time of year.  It is dark, dramatic and will leave an impact.  I am sure you will see me wearing this color a lot.  Now we can't forget "Watermelon Soda," by Jeffree Star Cosmetics. This was in his summer collection he did this year. (Bought it during his Labor Day Sale. Score!) First of all, it smells and tastes so yummy! It doesn't dry out your lips, and the color is just perfect for those hot summer nights. It is also just the ultimate summer pink that we all need in our lives.   I put Berry Me 2 all over both lips.  I even had fun and over drew them to make them look bigger. (as you can see on the bottom right handed picture. Concealer fixed that right up.)  I then took "Watermelon Soda and followed the shape I created with Berry Me 2.  I just did it on the inner part of my lips. I pressed my lips together, before "Watermelon Soda," dried. It helped with the "Ombre," effect I was looking for.  I added a Wet N Wild clear gloss over them. (The liquid lips are Matte. My lips have been super dry, so I added the gloss to had that fact.)

This are the result when you mix summer and fall:

I am so in love with this summer/fall mash up creation of mine.  I love the way my eyes and lips just compliment each other so well. I hope that it inspires you to try something new!

Remember readers, I may be a jack of this trade, but I am a master of none.

Natalie

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