Natural Beauty with Barely Any Makeup!

Hi there!

Today's post is going to be all about natural makeup. I can barely get myself out of bed lately, let alone put tons of makeup! So in the spirit of being tired... here's the tutorial!

Wash your face! This is really important, you need to get all of the gunk off of your skin. (I use Cetaphil's Daily Facial Cleanser)

Tone your skin by using witch hazel or a toner. This helps to get dead skin cells off without shredding your face! (I use Burt's Bees Garden Tomato Toner.)

Now use a moisturizer or organic hand lotion. This helps to calm your skin and also add some extra moisture. (I use either Eucerin Everyday Protection with SPF 30 or Burt's Bees Baby Bee Buttermilk Lotion. I know this isn't meant for the face, but it's great!)

This is the time to use concealer if you need it, the key word is need. If you have dark circles (like über-dark) put a little on under your eyes and around your nostrils. This will help keep your skin looking calm all through the day! (I use Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in 15)

Now curl your eyelashes gently. Don't go ripping them all out.

Next if you want to, apply a tiny bit of mascara to the base of your eyelashes. You just want some definition. (I use Maybelline Great Lash Mascara in Black)

That's it! You're finished and still look like yourself. This is quickly becoming my favorite look!


(All of these products were bought and I'm not being paid to mention them. Just so ya know.)

Downton Abbey: Lady Mary Crawley

Hi!

Today's look is going to be Lady Mary Crawley from Downton Abbey. This will be the first installment in a series of Downton Abbey looks. Lady Mary's makeup is really natural and toned down. It's all about playing up natural beauty!

Start out by washing and moisturizing your face. (Wait a couple of minutes before moving on to the next step.)

Foundation: Apply a powder foundation a couple of shades lighter than your skin tone. Use a large, fluffy powder brush to do this. The less you use, the better!

Eyeliner: Put eyeliner on through your upper lashes. Try to get the eyeliner right where the base of your eyelashes start.

Mascara: Apply mascara only to the roots of your upper and lower lashes. Use a light touch!

Eyebrows: Brush your eyebrows up and out and use either brow gel or hairspray (sprayed onto your eyebrow brush or fingers) to keep them in shape all day.

Lips: Swipe on a rosy-pink lip gloss and a balm over the top to keep things looking natural.

Skip the blush, Lady Mary likes a pale look :)


All of the awesome photos for the Downton Abbey posts will be coming from Jane Austen's World (http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/2011/01/06/upstairs-in-downton-abbey-the-three-crawley-sisters-pbs-masterpiece-classic/).

Thanks for reading!

Elizabeth Bennett Makeup

Hey!

Today's look is going to be Elizabeth Bennett from the movie Pride and Prejudice. She is played by Keira Knightley and the look is so pretty! It's natural with rosy cheeks and full lashes. This is a great movie, and in my opinion, very close to the book. When I did a little research about makeup and skincare of the day, women were very into the natural look. It was all about using cosmetics to enhance your beauty. "...a fresh and windblown face was no longer considered the province only of dairymaids." With that in mind, let's get started!

 Wash and tone your face.

Conceal:
Use a concealer on any red spots and under your eyes. I used a concealer brush to blend it in, but your fingers work just as well :) If you have any redness or acne, use a green concealing powder. Use a small fluffy brush to blend it into any red spots. Next, sweep a light dusting of loose powder onto your t-zone (that's your forehead, nose, and chin).

Blush:
Use a blush brush to put blush on the apples of your cheeks and blend it backwards towards your temples. The goal is to look like your blushing, don't overdo it though!

Eyeliner:
Use eyeliner to line in between your eyelashes. Don't line your tightline! We want this to look super natural! Barely line your bottom eyelashes, then smudge really well so most of it rubs off and you're left with a slight shadow.

Mascara:
Use a black mascara and put the wand at the base of your eyelashes, wiggle the brush and pull it out. Keep this all at the base of your eyelashes! You don't want any at the tips of your lashes. It gives the illusion of really thick eyelashes, without a spider leg effect. I blotted my mascara wand so that I wouldn't get so much product onto my eyelashes. Once it's dry, brush it out.

Eyebrows:
Brush your eyebrows outwards and then smooth the tops of them down.

Lips:
This sounds totally weird, but it works: put a little of the blush you used earlier onto you lips, then swipe a clear lip balm over it.

You're done! Now go off and find your Mr. Darcy!

Products I used:
Coty Airspun Loose Face Powder in 071-25
Physicians Formula Multi-Colored Corrector in Green
Rimmel London The Max Volume Flash Mascara in Extreme Black
Zuzu Luxe Obsidian Eyeliner
Zuzu Luxe Concealer in C-10
Bubble and Bee Organic Orange Lip Balm
Blush from Sephora (Sorry, I couldn't find the color. It's very raspberry-ish :)

Thanks for reading, please comment! I'm sorry there aren't any photos, my computer isn't recognizing the memory card from my camera.



Image from http://costumedramas.tumblr.com/post/1649210883/keira-knightley-as-elizabeth-bennet-in-pride-and
Quote from http://hibiscus-sinensis.com/regency/cosmetics.htm

Midsummer Night's Dream

This nail tutorial is inspired by William Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. It's always been my favorite play! I also love the movie (A Midsummer Night's Dream) and how they portray the fairies. They are little sparkly floating lights that just kind of appear and gracefully float on the wind. Since I love the play and it's midsummer, I thought it would be the perfect nail art tutorial to do! This is the basic diagram of how to do it.

You're going to need:
Silvery purple (You can use a shimmery blue also.)
Shimmery Green
Bright Yellow
Shimmery White
Gold Glitter Topcoat
Clear Topcoat

To start off, remove any polish from your nails and clean and clip them. Push your cuticles back as well. I keep my nails short most of the time, but that's just personal preference. Wash your hands after you're done with all of that.
Paint on one thin coat of the silvery purple color on to all of your nails. Wait for it to dry and then paint a thin coat of the shimmery green on. Once that is dry, use a small paper plate to mix 3 drops of the bright yellow color with 4-5 drops of the shimmery white color. Use a ball point pen to dot this onto the right side of your nail. You want the dots to start out wide at the bottom, and then thin out towards the middle and then flare out towards the top. Kind of in the shape of this parenthesis ). Once that has mostly dried, dot the gold glitter top coat (with the ball point pen) onto the yellow dots. Once dry, cover with the top coat. I also used a quick dry coat.

The products that I used:
Mary Kay Color Shield in Silver Wear
NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel in Big Money Frost
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Lightening
Pure Ice in Frosted Ice Platinum
CoverGirl Boundless Color Nail Sparkle Topcoat in Gold Rush
Wet 'n Wild Wild Shine Clear Coat
Mary Kay Quick Dry

Please comment! Let me know what you think and if you tried it!

Molly Ringwald Makeup

Hi!

I'm new to this, but I figured that I'd start this blog up with a makeup tutorial of one of my favorite actresses, Molly Ringwald! The look that I'm going to be doing is from Sixteen Candles. This is a really great look for school or work because it's light and easy to do. Your going to need:

Light Pink Eyeshadow
Light Brown Eyeshadow
Dark Brown Eyeshadow
Light Gray Eyeshadow
Black or Brown Eyeliner (I used a pencil eyeliner.)
Brown Mascara (You can use black, but brown is what Molly wears most of the time.)
Concealer
Cheek and Lip Stain
Lip Balm
Eyebrow Brush
Eyeshadow brush

Start off by washing your face and then apply concealer wherever you have a red spot and also under your eyes.

Use the eyeshadow brush to sweep the pink eyeshadow all over your lid and up to your brow bone.
Next, brush the light brown color into the crease of your eyelid. Do the same with the gray eyeshadow. Now take the dark brown eyeshadow and pat it onto the outer corner of your eyelid. Blend this really well!

Holding the eyeliner pencil near the end, gently line the bottom and top of your eyes. Do this pretty heavily on the lower lash line.

Use a cotton swab to smudge it.

Apply mascara to your top and bottom lashes. Only do one coat, and comb through it when it's dry.

Now your eyes are done!

Apply three dots of cheek stain to the sides of your cheeks. Molly's blush in the movie is swept along the sides of her face. Blend this in!

Apply three dots of the cheek stain to your bottom lip and two for the top. Blend it in and apply your lip balm.


Products that I used:
Mary Kay Eyeshadow in Whisper Pink, Clove, Truffle, Gray Flannel
Zuzu Luxe Obsidian Eyeliner
Mary Kay Endless Performance Mascara in Brown
Zuzu Luxe Concealer in C-10
The Balm Staniac Cheek and Lip Stain in Prom Queen
Bubble and Bee Organic Orange Lip Balm
Clinique Brow and Eyelash Comb
 EcoTools Eyeshadow Brush

Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it! Please comment and let me know what you think or if you tried it :)

The image is from http://www.backtotheeighties.net/images/molly-ringwald-sixteen-candles1.jpg