Voluminous, Long-Lasting Curls PERFECT for Valentine's Day!

Two posts in one day? No, I haven't lost my mind. Just excited to share my new absolute favorite way of doing my hair with you all! Just in time for Valentine's Day! Or a girls' night... Or the grocery store.
You know, whatever.

I can't say enough good things about this method of curling hair. It's easy, it takes 10 minutes, and it lasts until you wash your hair next. Seriously. I've rocked these 2 days in a row before. Sleeping on them and everything. It's crazy.
I've been doing this for a few months now. So for those of you that have been curious about my hair in any of my recent Instagram pics where my hair is curled (ahem, you should totally follow me if you don't! I post pics daily), my recent Sigma Beauty store event, or from IMATS, this is the method I used! Basically any curled hair photos from the past few months, this is the technique.

I know I sound way too excited about this, but seriously, those of you who have ever had issues curling your hair, whether it's the difficulty or the fact that it looks great for an hour and then suddenly turns to crap, this technique is SO worth a try!
My issue with curling hair isn't the ease or that I can't spray the heck out of it to make it last, but because I have super straight and hard to curl hair, curling it could be stressful.  Stick with me... What I mean is that, sure it looked great when it was fresh, but wherever I was going, I would worry that it was falling or that depending on the weather (HELLO southern humidity), it would look totally different and curl-free when I got to wherever I was going.
This method is so great because I can BRUSH my hair. Yes, brush it...  It stays soft and super curly. For days.
and days.
Oh and it doesn't look like crunchy curls. Soft, easy, carefree hair. I love it.
Ok, you get it. I'm a little excited about this technique and so happy I've got a go-to method for curling my hair now.

Check out my video below for a full step-by-step tutorial so you can perfect this method too!

Here's a few things you'll need to get the look...

Paddle brush (mine is el cheapo by Conair. Don't spend your life savings on a brush. Just sayin.)
Paul Mitchell Hot off the Press heat protectant spray (miracle stuff)
Hot Tools 1" curling iron (any 1" curling iron will do)
TreSemme Tres Two Hair Spray
small claw clip

NEW Sigma Eye Shadow Bases SWATCHES & Review! (and new discount code)

Hello and happy Monday, everyone! So excited about this post... You guys have no idea how hard it has been over the past several months not being able to share these beauties with you all. I mean technically, I could have, but like I've said before, who wants to see someone raving about something that isn't available?
Not this girl.

So Sigma Beauty is now selling Eye Shadow Bases! They are available in 9 gorgeous shades that are sold both individually and in color-coordinated sets of 3. I'm obsessed.

Individuals.

I store mine upside down to see the color ;)

Before we get to the swatches and eye candy, here are my thoughts...

Over the past few months I've been using and loving these so much. They are seriously great eye shadow bases.
And yes, they are truly BASES.  It irks me that most cream shadows call themselves "bases".  I'm guilty of it as well.  But to me, eye shadow bases are a product that both grabs and intensifies your eye shadow color while preventing creasing throughout the day. Most products lack that whole crucial "preventing creasing" thing.

I've really been objectively testing out every shade and I can honestly say without a doubt that these are my new favs.  Even with my very oily lids that are super prone to creasing, these babies hold up all day. Whether worn on their own or with a shadow layered over it, they stay true to color and prevent creasing. 

And let's talk about the packaging.. I LOVE that they have figured out the whole "drying out" thing. We've all had a Paint Pot (or 6) that have dried out into a little shrunken mess before you can even get through a quarter of it. With these, while the lid seals tightly, there is also a little extra "cap" over the product itself to keep it fresh until you use every bit.

Ok so without further ado, here's the details and the swatches!

Sigma Beauty Eye Shadow Bases

available individually, $13

 available in 3-piece kit, $36 
use discount code "BASE2013" to save 10% off your order!!

 

3-piece kits.

  I think these are the best buy because you get a cheaper price per base, and you get a little brush to apply them with.

Here's the inside...

 

Flare Eye Shadow Base Kit

 

(l-r) Provoke (Matte nude-peach), Spy (duo-chrome green-maroon), Pursue (shimmery purple) 

Bare Eye Shadow Base Kit

 (l-r) Persuade (matte nude) , Sculpt (shimmery charcoal), Pose (shimmery brown)

*Persuade is a  color dupe for MAC Painterly Paint Pot

 Dare Eye Shadow Base Kit

 (l-r) Unveil (shimmery gold), Dash (matte plum), Strike (shimmery burgundy)

Click here for all the eye shadow bases on the Sigma Beauty website and SAVE 10% off your entire order with code "BASE2013"

 So what shades are your favs?? My most-used shades so far are definitely Persuade, Pose, and Sculpt... Which happen to all be a part of the Bare Kit.  I'm also LOVING the Pursue and Strike shades. It's kind of awful to try and pic my favs. I love them all! 

So which shades are you eye-ing?? 

Expect to see these used in a lot of upcoming tutorials!

New Sigma Individual Eye Shadow SWATCHES

So I've been meaning to swatch these beauties FOREVER! It's been tough not using them... (I usually try to keep makeup items I plan on swatching brand new until I photograph them for you all)  So now I'm super excited to be "allowed" to use them. ;)

So basically, Sigma has started selling individual eye shadows. You may recognize some shades from their palettes.  To me, the formula is even better on these and the pigmentation is amazing. It's a great range of 30 shades. I love the packaging... it's slim, yet it doesn't feel cheap. I also love the little boxes they come in.

...Presh, right?

So without further ado, here's the eye candy...

*I photographed these in groups of 3 because there are so many. I just grouped them into similar shades so you all can better compare the colors.

(l-r) Approach, Elope, Escape

 (l-r) Publicize, Chase, Beware

 Versailles, Command, Act

Notre Dame, Resist, Hitch

Elysees, Gossip, Allure

Grasp, Catch, Reveal

 Vanish, Shout, Triomphe

 Define, Orsay, Oversee

Crush, Louvre, Seine

 Control, Eiffel, Snoop

Click here to check out all the shades on the Sigma Beauty website!

Eye shadows are $11 each, but as always you can save 10% using the monthly code "BASE2013" (valid through Feb. 28th)

*I always keep a current Sigma Beauty monthly discount code in my sidebar. So check back if you ever need a current one!

LOTS of great things are in the works for this month! Can't wait to share them all with you... Talk to you soon!

MIdnight Blue Makeup Tutorial- Loreal Infallible & NEW Eye Shadow Bases

Hello Loves! Hope you all are having a wonderful start to your week!
So since I've had my hands on a few shades of the Loreal Infallible eye shadows, I've been dying to do a tutorial with them to show you all how I make them work. The formula is a bit different than most shadows (almost like a moist powder), which can make them a bit difficult to get the hang of applying. So I used a few of my fav shades to create this gorgeous, velvety blue look while demonstrating some of my best tips for applying them.  Hope you guys love it!
Oh, and don't miss all the info on some new eye shadow bases at the bottom of the post... I'm in love.

Products Used:
Sigma Beauty Eye Shadow Base in Pose (more details at bottom of post)
Loreal Infallible Eye Shadows in Midnight Blue and Endless Pearl
Chestnut eye shadow from Defining Eyes palette I created for Sigma Beauty
Loreal Carbon Black Liner Intense
Urban Decay 24/7 pencil liner in Perversion
Neutrogena Healthy Volume Mascara
Nars Laguna Bronzer
Nars Madly Blush
Nars Velvet Matte Lip Color Pencil in Bolero
not shown:
Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream
Sigma Beauty Eye Brow Kit

OH and other BIG news....  So the past few months I've been lucky enough to have my hands on the full set of the new Sigma Eye Shadow Bases. I've waited until now (I used one for this look) to talk about them or show them in a video because let's be honest... It's absolutely NO fun watching someone rave about a product in a video that isn't available yet.

While I haven't showed them in videos, I've been using my sets like crazy.  Let me tell you, they are the best colored shadow bases I've ever used. I'll admit, when I received them I was very skeptical. Not only are they completely creaseless, but they come in 9 gorgeous shades.

So I figured since the release date is coming up VERY SOON (February 4th), I'd give you all a little peek. ;)
While these beauties release February 4th, you all can PREORDER THEM NOW from the links below! and of course, save 10% with my January discount "JAN2013".

PREORDER "BARE" KIT  (contains shade I used in the video)

PREORDER "FLARE" KIT

PREORDER "DARE" KIT 

Expect a full review video on my channel after the release date!

My Foundation Routine for Glowy Skin

Hello Loves! Hope you all had a great week! I know I'm SO ready for the weekend...  On another note, thank you all for the sweet "feel better" messages! I'm actually feeling a lot better. Today I've been mentally willing myself to get back to 100. Mind over matter...
Anyway, I'm planning on a day of shopping with a friend tomorrow and I am SO ready to get out of this house!

So back to the makeup... I wanted to share an updated foundation routine tutorial with you all sharing my new fav application method and products that give me a natural glowy look. Which is my favorite look for foundation.
The tricky part? I have oily skin. So I've always kind of steered away from that look or products that promise it. Just because sometimes, glowy equals shiny... and shiny is NEVER good.
So using this method with these products gives amazing results and awesome staying power. I'm completely loving it and I hope you all do too!
Oh, and the best part? The main products that give the glowy effect (primer and foundation) are CHEAP and available at the drugstore. Can't beat that.



What I Used:
Origins Vitazing Moisturizer
Loreal Lumi Primer
Loreal True Match Lumi Foundation (I'm shade N1-2)
Sigma F84 brush
MAC Studio Finish concealer
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Undereye Circle Eraser (shade fair)
Sigma F86 brush
Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder #1
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural (medium)
Nars Laguna Bronzer
Nars Multiple stick in Orgasm
Too Faced Candlelight
 MAC Sheen Supreme Lipstick in Supreme Style

Collective LA Outfits of the Day

Hello Everyone! Hope all of you are having a great week so far! So I've been battling a bit of a funk since I returned from LA... Feels like bronchitis coming on but it's not getting any worse. So that's great. It's just enough to be incredibly annoying.
So basically I'm in bed, taking it easy.

...and sharing some outfit-y goodness with you all from our trip (and one random look from before our trip that I had not blogged about last time). If you missed my last post, check it out here for lots of photos from our trip!

As always, you can check out my previous OOTD posts by clicking the "OOTD" link in the "Labels" section in the right-hand sidebar.

Hope you guys enjoy!

So this was my look for dinner the first night in LA. I also wore this outfit to shop IMATS "Pro Night" with my cream Tory Burch flats because lets face it, would you want to shop in those heels?? ;)

Tinley Road leather jacket, Club Monaco silk short-sleeved top, Forever21 burgundy pants, Colin Stuart heels (VS Online), Louis Vuitton Eva Clutch

 This was my outfit for IMATS on Saturday. I LOVE this striped top. Kind of obsessed with it. I love the contrast against the bright blazer.

J. Crew blazer, Forever 21 blouse, J. Crew "pixie" pants, Sam Edelman shoes, Louis Vuitton Neverfull GM

I absolutely LOVED this dress I chose for the Sigma Beauty VIP party Saturday night. I have had this dress for years and had never worn it! It was super comfortable and easy to wear. 

Bailey 44 dress, Forever 21 necklace, Henri Bendel ring, Sam Edelman shoes

 This was my look for IMATS on Sunday. Kind of forgot to take a good up-close photo of the outfit itself. Anyway, I absolutely LOVE the shoulder details. Forever 21 has had some of the cutest blouses lately!

Forever 21 blouse, Club Monaco "Tasha" sparkle leggings and necklace, Sam Edelman wedges

 This was my travel outfit heading home. Isn't the phone case precious? It was a gift from Camila (MakeupByCamila). SO sweet!

Club Monaco knit hat, Krisa jacket, Club Monaco silk top, 7 For All Mankind skinny jeans, Tory Burch flats, suitcase- Ricardo Beverly Hills (a TJ Maxx find), Louis Vuitton Neverfull GM

 ...and finally, an outfit I wore out and about before we left. I'm usually not huge on florals where clothing is concerned, but I thought this top was precious.

J. Crew navy blazer, Forever 21 floral top, 7 For All Mankind skinny jeans, Tory Burch flats, Express necklace, Henri Bendel studded bracelet, hammered cuff bracelets from thecurrentcustom.com

 Well that's it guys! Hope you all have a fabulous rest of the week!