Makeup – Over The Deep End

How to get perfect brows all day long: a DIY eyebrow putty

July 3, 2017 No Comments

Ever wonder how people get flawless eyebrows that seem to last all day long? It’s really simple! Eyebrow putty, eyebrow gel or eyebrow wax is a quick way to achieve fierce brows that last all day long. For a customized brow color with an impeccable look try this simple DIY eyebrow putty.

I recently dyed my hair red, and while the hair color was fairly natural, my eyebrow color made it glaringly obvious that my hair was dyed. Now, using this DIY, I simply create a red brow putty using a matte red shadow from my Naked Matte Palette. Combining the matte shadow with some hair putty tames my brows all day long. The color is spot on with my hair, and completely changes the look from dyed to natural again. It’s the easiest way to get amazing brows that last all day long.

Makeup, Mom Style, Review

Lancôme Définicil Mascara & Drama Liqui-Pencil Review

November 16, 2016 2 Comments

Every now and again I get sent some awesome things through influenster* to try out in exchange for a review. This is one of those times. Although I received these products for free, these are my own unfiltered opinions.

An in-depth beauty review of Lancôme's popular Définicils Mascara and two of their top selling shades from their Drama Liqui-Pencil line.

I love makeup. As a teen I would often hole up in my room on school-nights and give myself grand makeovers. Bold and daring lip colors, wild eye-shadow combinations, and trying my hand at the latest makeup tricks from the trendiest magazines. It helped that I had an older sister who paved the way into luxury brands for me. I would often get in trouble for sneaking into my sister’s room to raid her ever-growing luxury product collection in hopes that I could save myself some money but still wear the good stuff. As I got older and my preferences got more defined, I felt comfortable splurging on high quality makeup products, always with the help and guidance from my sister, the lovely Sephora staff, and of course Youtube’s top beauty guru’s.

Now, as I’m gearing up to leave my 20’s and enter my 30’s I feel very confident and comfortable with my makeup skills and product selection. As a SAHM, or Stay At Home Mom, it’s important to me that I still wear makeup because it makes me feel put-together, confident, and normalizes my life in bouts of sickness. I know I can still look decent even if my Cystic Fibrosis makes me feel like an 80-year old chain-smoker. Because of this, I still love trying new brands and new products I wouldn’t normally purchase myself. Sometimes all we need is a little nudge outside of our comfort zone to discover a groove we didn’t know we had!

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When I was chosen to review some Lancôme products I jumped at the opportunity. A luxury brand that I haven’t ever really dabbled in. I have used one of their mascaras in the past, but that was about it. So when I was greeted with a bright purple eye-liner, I was ecstatic. Just what I needed to leave the comfort of my daily neutrals and vamp up my everyday Mom look.

My go-to for eyeliners that last all day, have intense color, and glide on your face like butter is Urban Decay’s 24/7 line. I’ve tried quite a few other liners but these still win out every time. Imagine my surprise when I use Lancôme’s Drama Liqui-Pencil for the first time and I had to double check to make sure I didn’t accidentally pick up my UD 24/7 liner. The texture was creamy, easy to manipulate and the color payout was fabulous. It was easy to smudge on my lower line and most importantly it stayed put all day long. I even had my daughter poke me in the eye several times for the sake of the experiment. Okay, so that was purely coincidental, but Emmie really did jab my eye lids a few times since she was pretty enthralled with my new purple eyes. While the purple colored pencil was beyond my expectations, the deep noir color dissappointed me. I had high hopes for a comparable Urban Decay Zero type black, but it lacked the intensity I hoped for. The pencil was also not quite as easy to use when lining my waterline and needed a few passes. Overall, if I’m looking for a colored eye-liner to add to my collection I will definitely be considering Lancôme’s Drama Liqui-Pencils.

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Mascara is another item that I am ultra picky about. I have decently long lashes, but they’re pretty thin. I like my mascara’s to be volumizing, dark, and non-clumping. I aim for a very natural look. If there’s one thing I can’t stand it’s clumpy, flaky lashes. I am also pretty picky about my brushes. I find that the little spiky brushes lend themselves well to my goal of natural-looking lashes. Lancôme’s Définicils Mascara claims to be a lengthening and defining mascara for a natural, yet striking look. It definitely lengthened my lashes but one coat was not enough to cover my need for volume. I swiped on 2-3 coats. There was minimal clumping and hardly any fallout over the course of the day. My biggest gripe was the brush. I found it awkward to use and hard to manipulate my lashes to get an even coat. My final verdict is a pass. I love that it stayed on all day, but it just doesn’t suit my specific needs for fuller lashes. If I needed luxuriously long lashes I would be singing a different tune!

*this is a referral link: if you sign up via this link and I get points. Points for what? I don’t really know, honestly, but I figured if they have a referral link, why not use it? And this has been your honest disclosure statement *

Fashion, Favorites, Makeup

5 Minute Makeup

September 29, 2015 No Comments

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.

As a stay at home mom I find that our best days start when I feel good about myself. Days where I enjoy wearing the clothes I picked out, fixing my hair and putting on makeup. I feel much more put together, my confidence rises, and I feel ready to face whatever challenges the day has in store. When you look good, you feel good.

Looking good doesn’t have to break the bank. I do believe in spending a little extra money to get quality products like a great eye shadow palette & a good matte bronzer. Yet, the majority of my favorite makeup essentials are drugstore brands. Without further ado, here are my top choices for the busy mom:

1. Wet-n-wild Balm Stain: this stuff is amazing. It’s smooth, it’s moisturizing, and it lasts all day long. I loved it so much for my lips, that I started using it as a tinted blush as well. Works great, and takes literally a few seconds to apply. Forget about reapplying, one swipe and you’re good to go!

2. Sephora’s Pro Bent Liner Brush: I use this brush for lining my eyes, and also for filling in my brows. It’s easy for my brows to get lost in the frames of my glasses. A well defined brow helps fix that. Using the two darkest shadows in my Naked Basic palette and this brush, it’s a cinch to get a polished look in minutes.

3. Elf’s Small Tapered Brush: At 3 dollars a brush, this is one of my favorite cheapy, but oh so good, items. I use this every single day when applying my bronzer. It’s small enough to really help contour my face.

4. Tarte’s Amazonian Clay Bronzer: this bronzer is amazing. I am always pretty pale, but this is the perfect matte shade for contouring.

5. Urban Decay’s Naked Basics Palette: the only eye shadows you ever need, all in a convenient palette. I use this palette for my everyday look. I not only use it to create my eye shadow looks, but I also use the black to line my eyes, and the dark brown to fill in my brows.

6: Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer:This is magic for your eyes. It’s so good, I went out and bought the foundation, which is equally amazing. It’s like smearing silk on your face, if silk could take you from looking tired/having been beat up since your bags are so extreme you look like you’re walking around with black eyes….. to looking fresh faced and dewy. It’s unique sponge applicator makes it super fast and easy to swipe on in the morning. You need this in your life.

7. Mascara: This is my backup mascara. I typically use whatever high end samples my sister gifts to me, but when I’m out of those, I always choose this one. Fuller lashes without clumping.

These 7 things are just about the only things I use everyday. It takes just about 5 minutes to put on a “full face” of makeup. Being busy doesn’t mean I have to be frumpy or messy. With these simple makeup essentials I can put myself together before Emmie has time to pull out everything from the sock drawer.