Coachella Hair and Makeup Addiction

Flowers, hats, feathers and headbands galore! Since Coachella is a weekend festival where attendees camp around the festival site hair and makeup must be low maintenance and embody all that is Coachella. 

Hair
Start off with 70% dry hair and apply any sea salt beach spray by twisting pieces with your fingers and scrunching with an old t-shirt. (Using a t-shirt rather than a towel will cut down on frizz and damage) If you need extra help in the wave department use an 1"1/2 curling iron without holding down the clamp. Wrap hair around the barrel holding the ends away from the heat until the very end. Make sure there is gaps between where the hair is wrapped around the barrel. The larger the gaps the looser the waves. Try and stay away from prom curls, ringlets, and hair sprayed curls. Add volume and texture to the roots by using a backcombing comb to gently rat underneath the top sections of the hair. This can be created by spraying in dry shampoo if backcombing is not for you. Blend in the waves to make the volume look natural. Since the summer weather is generally humid use a humidity resistant hair spray to keep the hair from falling.

Tiny braids through out the underpart of your hair add a cool textured vibe. Secure the braids with tiny clear elastics. For a bohemian feel stop the braid half way and while securing with an elastic wrap in a feather to hang down the end of the braid.

Turbans and head wrap scarves are a key essential in any Coachella hairstyle. Wrap flowers around an elastic or lacy headband to keep flowing tresses controlled.

Makeup

Keep it simple, natural and glowing. Focus attention on either colorful designs near the eyes or a red/orange lip with soft eyes. Stay away from glosses, fake lashes and smokey eyes. To make eyes pop use a colored liner with long-lasting staying power or winged eyeliner in brown instead of black. If you are using colored liner, apply on top a similar shade in a duo-chrome eyeshadow with an eyeliner brush and gently smudge out the liner. Use a natural mascara in a dark black.

For the face, don't bother with foundations. BB Creams not only improve your skin with Vitamin C but give you coverage between the level of a tinted moisturizer and a foundation. Blending and applying is effortless and quick! Highlight cheeks with a bronzer, highlighter and blush combined blush for a subtle glow. 

1. Physician's Formula Happy Booster Glow and Mood Blush $12

2. Hard Candy Meteor-Eyes Baked Eyeshadow $6

3. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil $19

4. Garnier BB Cream $12

5. L'oreal Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara $6

Since Coachella styles call for sunglasses and floppy hats it's key that lips make a punch. Red/Orange lipstick foot the bill. If you eyes are done up in bright colors use a lip balm with little or no color. 

1. Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment Lip Balm $10

2. NYX Matte Lipstick (Shade: Indie Flick) $5

3.Clinique Chubby Stick (Shade: Chunky Cherry) $16

4. Smashbox Be Legendary Lipstick (Shade: Electric Coral) $19

Coachella Fashion Addiction

Even though the festival is over for this year, that does not mean that the Coachella vibe has to come to a halt. Keep the bohemian, vintage and free flowing fringe going strong into the summer. Coachella sets the tone for almost all summer fashions. Bold prints, floral headpieces, western style, vintage accessories and red lips are just a few of the many styles being rocked at this Southern California music festival in the valley.

The Fashion

The Copycat
You don't have to live in sunny California to find these looks. Here's some inspired pieces to pull off your own Coachella fashion.

1. ASOS Maxi Skirt in Grunge Floral Print $54.54

2. ASOS Maxi Dress with Triple Strap Back Detail $54.54

3. River Island Chelsea Girl Chambray Shirt $32.72

4. ASOS Crop Textured T-Shirt $21.81

5. ASOS Crochet Village Fringed Top $63.63

6. Jarlo Cut Out Shoulder Floral Maxi Dress with Belt $127.25

7. River Island Tie Front Crop Shirt $45.45

8. Deena & Ozzy Felt Floppy Hat $34.00

9. Mint by Goorin Belted Panama Hat $24.00

10. ASOS Leather & Beaded Across Body Bag $ 90.90

11. ASOS Straw Boater With Removable Garland Headband $27.27

12. High Waist Denim Shorts $16.00

13. Tortoise Shell Round Frame Sunglasses $14.00

14. Fly Away Skirt $29.99

15. Rimless Animal Print Sunglasses $14.00

16. Headband $13.99

Mascara 101 Addiction

Ever walked into the makeup aisle and are instantly overwhelmed by the millions of mascaras available and are lost in a half hour whirling decision over waterproof versus lengthening? Don't worry your'e not alone!! This still happens to me so I created a list of my favorite and least favorite mascaras to help your decision go a lot smoother and to weed out the disappointing contenders. Did your current mascara make the cut??? I also created tips and tricks for you all so you can now know everything you've wanted to know about mascara! So get ready to read!!

And yes... I have tried every mascara mentioned.. and yes it is somewhat embarrassing.

VOLUME

Give it a try:
L'oreal Voluminous Carbon Black: Hands down the best. Many professional makeup artists to celebs call this the holy grail of mascaras!

Covergirl Lash Blast: I don't know a girl who hasn't tried this trusty orange tube!

Maybelline Volume Express Falsies: Thanks to the scoop shaped brush this mascara holds curl perfectly and gives a thick voluminous look mimicking false lashes!

Maybelline Volume Express Falsies Flared: Extremely similar to the original Falsies, this brush gives a flared out effect that helps widen the width-span of your lashes. 

Rimmel Volume Flash Scandaleyes: As featured in my quick makeup post this mascara is easily build able and is a couple bucks cheaper than other drugstore mascaras. 

Too Faced Lash Injection: If your willing to spend the money this mascara will give your lashes a big boost!

Don't Bother:

Covergirl Lash Blast Luxe: Apparently covergirl wanted to marry the original lash blast tube and wand with their exact eye lights formula... the result is dried out lashes with an odd grey sparkly color thrown in.

Maybelline Volume Express Colossal: This one is not that bad but I did notice a lot more flakiness and clumping compared to other volumizing mascaras from Maybelline. 

Maybelline XXL Pro Volume: Although the product comes with a white primer on one side and the black mascara on the other the result are ultimate spider eyes! The white primer is hard to cover up and very noticeable if you happen to miss a spot. Also the amount of formula that is in the product is about half the amount that is in a mascara without primer. I figure it's not worth spending the money for spidery lashes. Nexxxttttt!

Loreal Extra-Volume Collagen: For the longest time I tried to tell myself I liked this mascara but the truth is I hate it. The wand does not spread out the mascara evenly and lashes clump together so much you'd think you only have 3 lashes by the end of the day. 

Lengthening

(As you can tell I'm not a fan of buying lengthening mascaras because I already have naturally long lashes)

Give it a try:

Maybelline Lash Stellito: This mascara is great when building length onto an already existing volume mascara. The results are great when used alone as well. 

Don't Bother: 

Maybelline Define-a-Lash: There's just something about this wimpy rubber bristled brush that just rubs me the wrong way. The only thing that this mascara has going for itself is its ability to separate your lashes. Perhaps it's a great way to fix clumpy lashes without loosing any layers of mascara. 

Natural

Give it a try:

Covergirl Exact Eyelights: I learned about this mascara from my roommate and fell in love. It's perfect for summer or days when you don't want bigger than day lashes. The formula comes in different shades of sparkling reflections that automatically bring attention to your eyes. 

Maybelline Full and Soft: Soft bushy lashes are in store with this mascara. Just beware the waterproof formula is very hard to get off and is super flakey!

Don't Bother:

Maybelline Great Lash: I know this mascara has been the prized possession of many makeup lovers and has won many awards, but I'll be honest with you and say it does nothing for me. 

Covergirl Lash Exact: Wah. Wah. Wahhh. Nothing more to say about this one. 

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Now that I've hopefully guided you in the correct mascara direction here's what to look for in wand styles:

Curved: If your looking to hold curl and make your eyes pop this is the wand you need to look for. The spoon like shape grips onto your lashes and swoops them upward.

Rubber: These are great if you want a lot of volume because they are flexible and don't easily create clumping. 

Small Bristles: If you have short lashes opt for a shorter length in bristles. This will help grab each lash closer to the root for a maximum boost.

Comb-like: Perfect for lengthening because they separate each individual lash so you get all the length without the clump. One down side to this style wand is the lack of volume you will get but if you have naturally thick lashes this may be perfect for you!

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Here are some tips and tricks for the application process:

• Stand or sit close to a mirror so that you can see the lashes better and have the best chance of not leaving any behind. 

• Start with apply the mascara to your lower lashes because if you start with the top ones first and you move onto the lower you will get wet mascara all over your eyes. This is a perfect tip for avoiding accidents that would ruin any eyeshadow on your lids already. 

• If you have a stand mirror that can rotate upward, slant it toward the ceiling so that you will not have the raise your head upward which will leave you with black smears all under your brows.

• Wiggle and zig-zag the wand back and forth starting with the root all the way up to the tips to separate your lashes.  

• Make sure you take the wand in three directions (diagonal to your temple, straight up to your eyebrow arch and diagonal to the highest part of your nose) to assure that you will expand your lashes as wide as they can go. 

• Lay the wand on the back of your lashes while looking slightly down and curl up and out making sure the lashes grip to the wand. This will make them thicker and bigger. To fix any clumps that may come from this repeat wiggling your wand on the front to separate. 

• DO NOT pump the wand in and out of the tube to put the mascara on the wand because this will push air into the tube and make your mascara dry out quickly!

Braid Addiction

I've gotten a lot of requests for more braid tutorials and here is my favorite one currently! It's a normal braid with a pre-existing braid intertwined. This gives your typical braid a boost allowing your hair to look thicker and more highlighted! I don't think I would ever go back to a normal 3 plait braid again!

Happy Braiding :)

Quick Makeup Addiction

For all you girls....or guys (i'm not judging) that are slow pokes like me and sleep in till the very last second and are left with what seems to be 4 minutes to do your whole morning routine I have created a list of tried and true products that will help you rush out the door! I believe that spending more time on your face makeup then eye makeup in this case will actually give you a better result than whipping on some eyeliner and mascara over a bare face.

So lets start with the face:

Sadly, I am prone to an oily face about 2 hours into my day. It's terrible! After reading plenty of reviews on Urban Decay's De Slick I decided to give it try. It works wonders!! De Slick is an oil-control makeup setting spray that you spritz before and after makeup to keep your makeup from slipping off your face. How gross does that sound? If you have normal or dry skin, Urban Decay also makes a setting spray for all you lucky non-oily girls out there with called All-Nighter.

Tinted moisturizer is my favorite for those scrambling out the door days. Don't worry about sponges, brushes and excessive blending with this one. Just squirt out on your (clean!!) fingertips rub all over your face and viola! While picking a tinted moisturizer I recommend finding one with spf protection so that you can check off sunscreen, coverage, and moisturizer all in one step! Oh wait did you all know I'm a mark represenative? ;) Well... my favorite tinted moisturizer is Mark's get a tint tinted moisturizer with spf 15. I use the shade buff/natural and it evens out my skin tone while keeping makeup looking light and dewy. Click on the side button that says mark representative and it will take you to my e-boutique where you can purchase your own get a tint.

To add to the wonderfulness of an oily-face, I also am blessed with these hideous dark circles under my eyes 24/7. On a recent trip to Wal-Mart I stumbled across a new product I have been dying to try: Maybelline's DreamLumi Touch Highlighting Concealer (Where on earth do they come up with these silly names?) The concealer comes in a twist pen with a brush applicator. This means no fussing with extra concealer brushes! YAY! The product doubles as a concealer and a highlighter so as your fixing your dark circles feel free to swipe that baby down your nose and above your cheekbones. Blend with your fingertips under your eyes by gently patting down. If your on a serious budget, Covergirl's Smoothers Concealer works great too! Don't be afraid to mix both for maximum coverage as well.

I usually set my face with a powder then move onto blush. For quick days I always rely on my Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush. I prefer to use a blush brush instead of my fingers because it's quicker and looks more natural when your blending.

Now on to the Eyes:

For my everyday look it's usually just liquid eyeliner and mascara. I do like to use a bit of Covergirl's Smoother Concealer on my eyelids to cover up any red or blueish areas from lack of sleep or allergies. For those of you that have not mastered the liquid liner yet: keep practicing and apply your favorite kohl pencil liner. My favorite liquid liner is Rimmel Glam Eyes Professional Liquid Liner. The brush makes it easy to flick out the corners into a subtle cat eye. If your just starting out with liquid liner I recommend a felt tip brush because application with be a lot easier.

Quickly curl your lashes and apply a few coats of mascara. I have been using Rimmel Volume Flash Scandaleyes Mascara. I am in a love/hate relationship with this mascara due to the fact I love how you can easily build layers without compromising clumping but when you pull out the wand from the tube you get tons of excess mascara clumping to sides of the bristles. This mascara is easily comparable to everyone's favorite Covergirl's Lash Blast (including the fact they both sport the orange tube!) The difference is the brush bristles as you can see.

Lastly Lips:

If you haven't run out of time yet go for some lip color! I know I am far behind on jumping on the lip stain train but nevertheless I love my recently bought Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain. I picked up the color Frenzy which is one of those "your lip color but better" shades. The product comes with a lip balm on one side and the stain on the other. Apply the balm first then apply the stain. Sometimes I go back and blend any spotty coloring with the balm again. You can build up this color very easily which makes it a great day to night lip color! It doesn't dry out like a regular lipstick and doesn't transfer on cups, food, straws or anything you've got your mouth on! Since it's a stain the color lasts way longer than lipgloss and most lipsticks. Definitely worth a try in my book.

Contouring Addiction

Here is one of the big tricks of the trade: Contouring! For those of you that don't know what contouring your face means, it's simply applying a darker color such as a non-shimmery bronzer to areas of your face to create the illusion of a shadow to slim or reduce the look of a feature. You can use contouring to slim the appearance of a wider nose, create the look of higher cheek bones, reduce the size of a large forehead or slim down double chins.

The key to contouring is starting out with a light hand and building the color then BLEND BLEND BLEND!! Less is really more because it's better to have a subtle contour if your a beginner than having streaks of brown all over your face. Practice makes perfect! Contouring your face is all an illusion so just like any good magician, make it look real! Instead of confusing you all and trying to write out instructions on how-to contour I found a helpful tutorial that will show you all how!

My favorite contouring bronzer is Benefit's Hoola. Its a non-shimmery or sparkly bronzer. The bronzer runs for $28 which may be a bit pricey for some people but its a worth-it-splurge. (Just be sure to kick the brush already in the package because its impossible to apply with and makes a streaky look) If this is your bronzer of choice make sure you do not have much product on your brush because the color is very pigmented and can look muddy. If applied correctly the outcome is great!

To compliment the look of darker shadows you can also highlight your features such as cupids bow, above your cheeks and the top of your nose. Highlighting is adding a lighter color to the face to give a more raised that accentuates your features. Some contouring products come with a duo of bronzer and highlight. Its a great starter combo for budget friendly beginners.

Here's some face charts based on the triangle of light theory to help you all know where to add the lighter shades and contour. Good luck contouring and let me know if you have any questions in a comment below!

(picture credit: http://shessmart.com/beauty/how-to-contour-your-face-with-makeup/)

Maybelline Babylips Chapstick Addiction

A must have ladies! The only problem I have with these chap sticks is that I want to keep running out to buy more. Oops? :) Maybelline came out with these cute little chap sticks that leave your lips baby soft...funny right..? Haha so anyways the line comes with a red, pink, peach and dark burgundy tinted collection and then two clear tubes, one in peppermint and quenched. These little guys are around $4 and believe it or not I prefer them over Esos lip balm spheres! Not to mention they are also SPF 20!! I can totally see myself throwing the tinted collection in the beach bag this summer! 

Macadamia Oil Addiction

Holy softness! So Organix hair care products came out with a another new styling line, Macadamia Oil. While shampoo shopping I ran across the hydrating macadamia oil dry styling oil and seriously I am so impressed. You can apply this oil in your hair while it's dry and it becomes silky smooth, shiny and with significantly less frizz. This product makes it so easy to get soft shiny hair anytime because you can apply it when hair is damp or dry. Make sure to not apply much or at all to the upper top of your hair to your roots because it will weigh it down and easily become greasy. I've only gotten to use the product on straight hair but I am excited to see what it can do when my hair is curly. If you haven't checked this line or brand they are all organic and you can find them at most any drugstore for around $7. I think they are definitely worth the trip and the price.

Ombre Nail Addiction

I thought I'd take it upon myself to share with you all a fun spin on the ombre trend that is just about everywhere. Apparently society has now deemed it "trendy" to have two different colors going on at the same time. It's been appearing in hair dye jobs and even lipsticks thanks to Covergirl's Blast Flipstick Lipcolor which lets you use an all over lip color then add a second shimmery color to create an ombre blending effect. Let me just tell you I'm not a big fan of the whole ombre lipstick thing but if you like it who am I to stop you. Back to the point...ombre nails and how to do them!

Standard Ombre

1. Choose two colors you want to create the ombre effect. I would recommend colors that are in the same hue or color family but make sure they aren't too similar in color because the they will blend together and honestly, only you will be able to tell that they're ombre... yes.. sadly that was what happened on my first attempt.

2. Paint your base color all over your nail. 2 coats of polish would be ideal.

3. Once your base color is dry take your second color and paint from the top of your nail down to the bottom of your nail in light sweeping motions but stop the brush stroke somewhere in the middle of your nail. It helps if you hold your hand with your nails facing you and your wrist facing away because it makes the already awkward painting feel just a little less awkward and it's easier to make the sweeping motion. If you choose to hold your hand this way technically you will be now painting upwards. To all of you that I have completely confused I am very sorry!

Here's a picture to help you with placement of your hand: (Hint: if you have your hand placed like so, paint upwards toward your wrist.)

4. Once the second color is ALMOST dry take a clear color or top coat and in the same motion starting from the top of your nail drag down. This step will blend the two colors and create the ombre effect. 

Once you get a hang of it you will find that it is a lot easier than you thought!! The better you get at this the more colors you may add, just repeat steps 3 and 4. I would limit yourself to three colors because the more layers of polish you add the longer it will take to dry and your nails will easily get messed up. 

Gradient 

Another ombre effect that you can do that is a lot easier is the gradient. Take 5 colors in the same color family ranging in shades and start with the either darker shades and move to lighter or vise versa! You might want to make sure the colors are all in the same hue and are all either metallic, or standard or glittery. If you mix different types together you may just end up looking like a 5 year old gave you a manicure!

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Subtle Day Addiction

So if your like me you love going all out with bold colors for the weekends and evenings but have sadly realized those same metallics, dark purples, bright blues and red lipsticks don't go over well during the day. Therefore I put together a list of products that give you nothing but a wash of beautiful color that is ideal for during the day. 

Revlon Lip Butters

Can I just start out by saying that I can not wait to go pick up more of these lipsticks! If you haven't heard of the Revlon lip butter buzz already I am here to tell you.... They. Are. Amazing! Unlike the majority of other lipsticks that dry out your lips in what seems to be record time these lip butters keep you moisturized and give you a perfect wash of color without looking like you took some acrylic paint to the lips. Please if you haven't tried them out, go pick one up!!

I posted a picture of some swatches to help you chose your right shade!

I bought the nude color in the shade Creme Brulee and I love it. Although it is a nude lipstick, it does not wash you out or make you look like you have no lips. The color is not matte and gives a little hint of shine and sheen without needing a lipgloss. It is the perfect starter nude color for anyone that has been on a nude lipstick hunt... like me!

Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush

So I must admit I am a sucker for cute packaging and fun names. Luckily in this case the product is awesome too! These blushes not only have a fun, squishy and bouncy consistency but they be applied with a brush or your fingers (clean of course!) The color comes out with the wash and sheen of a creme blush but they stay on as long as a powder blush. I'd say its the best of both worlds! 

The color I just picked up is in the shade Hot Tamale! I love it although it is on the brighter side so if you don't want something dramatic I suggest grabbing a different shade. Here are some swatches!

Covergirl Smoothers

Sometimes during the day you don't want to clog up your pores with foundation and powder but still want to have a bright even appearance. If you do choose to wear any face makeup I would say to use a under eye concealer. This concealer stick is the best under eye circle coverup I have ever used!!! I recommend this to anyone who suffers with dark under eye circles like myself. The application couldn't be easier because of the convenient lipstick-like shape. Just swipe it on and gently pat it down to blend. The smooth consistency makes it easy to blend without pulling on the delicate skin under your eyes. I wouldn't use this to cover up major blemishes because it is very light reflecting. If you have lighter skin I would recommend to buy it in the shade 705 light because it is a pinky-beige color which counteracts any previous blueish color (your under eye circles). If you have darker skin or using it during the summer I would recommend buying the shade 710 light because you still have the lighter pink beige color but it will blend in better with tan skin. 

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Bare It All Addiction

Alright girls I know we all have a problem so its time to step away from the bottle...

If I haven't confused you already I'm not talking about your precious bottle of Burnetts or Malibu but rather your nail polish. Its time to let your nails breathe!! If you're like me you definitely can't remember the last time you haven't worn nail polish a day in your life. I invite you to bare it all (just your nails please! :) ) for one week. This thought came to me when I was routinely painting my nails  the other day and I noticed once my color was gone my original nails were tinted yellow and already tearing. Sure I use a base coat every time but that does not mean that the polish isn't ruining your nail beds. Most every nail polish has dangerous chemicals such as formaldehyde which when mixed with the keratin protein in your nails can make them brittle and turn yellow. If that isn't bad enough when you remove your nail polish the powerful remover can strip away the enamel from your nails. My nails have been bare for almost two days and I can already see a difference in my cuticles as well!

Here are also some tips to get rid of yellow discoloration:


1. Whitening Toothpaste
This works with the same idea of whitening your teeth. Your nails enamel has the same properties as your teeth. Apply thick layers of a whitening toothpaste on each nails and "clean" with an unused or old toothbrush. Leave this on for ten minutes or so then rinse off. Don't forget to moisturize your nails as these processes can be very drying.

2. Baking Soda and Water
Same process as the whitening toothpaste!

3. Buff your Nails
You can buy a buffer at any drug store or beauty supply store. Simply rub your nails and buff out the surface. You are not only removing any discoloration but improving the surface of your nails!

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Now after reading this don't be afraid to paint your nails ever again because don't worry I will and always will be a nail polish lover, but just take this week give your nails a little rehab.

PS. If you wanna get extra crazy ;) take the week to also stay away from any heat products or your blow dryer on your hair!