Birthday Makeup Tutorial!

Hey y'all, I recently celebrated my 19th birthday and I decided to make a new tutorial using new products that I got for it!

I apologize for looking un-awake... I decided to do this one right out of bed! 

This face cleanser was one of the free samples I got when I went to Sephora! It's a good product but I think I'm going to stick to my typical Neutrogena face wash :-) 

Facial masks are one of my favorite things to do and the Goji Berry formula is definitely one of my favorites. It hydrates and leaves my skin feeling really soft and refreshed! It goes on clear and dries kind-of white (it looks like the peels from a bad sunburn lol). 

I left this on until it dried!

Since I only used about half of this packet and I want to reuse it in the future, I put it in a bag (hopefully it doesn't dry out!).

So the mask has dried and my face looks all peel-y. I washed it off with some warm water!

This was the other free sample from Sephora. This face moisturizer is nice but I'm not sure that I'd buy the full size. I'm too attached to my moisturizer! 

I put this all over my face after I washed off the mask. 

Next step before foundation is always face primer! I'm using the Victoria's Secret Pro Primer that I mentioned in my other posts. Just waiting for this one to run out so I can try out a new one! 

I happened to stumble upon this new foundation formula by Neutrogena. It's supposed to cater to normal-oily skin (which I have-yay!). I have been using this foundation for about a week and I already love it. It looks very natural to my skin :-) 

I saw this e.l.f. stipple brush at Target for $3. It was a bargain for sure and I love it already.
99% of the time I use stipple brushes for my liquid foundation and this one is the perfect size. 

After I applied the foundation :-)

After 2.5 years, I finally ran out of my primary eye primer and so I had to get more while I was home. I expect this one to last me another 2.5 years :-) Very  happy with this product. 

First eye shadow I used is the L'Oreal infallible. I've used this one in other tutorials! It's a really great brightening eye shadow. Also, it is almost cream texture so it isn't as dry as normal powder shadows. 

I only put it on the main lid. 

This is in fact my very first eye shadow from MAC. I'm super excited about it and I've fallen deep in love with it already. The shade is Haux. It's a subtle color but it does a lot in the end.

I used these two brushes: (top) for the bottom lid along eye lashes; (bottom) for along the top crease and blending upwards towards brows. 

I then used my socket brush with Brownie from Makeup Store. It's important with this kind of brush to only apply the shadow on the tip so that the surrounding bristles will blend the eye shadow. 

In the top frame is a highlighter from benefit. This was a part of my birthday gift from Sephora. Here, I applied it on my brow bone and just on the top of my cheek bones. It's a very nice product and I would most likely buy this product. It really adds a youthful glow!

At this point, it's optional if you want to add eye liner or not. The eye shadows are independent enough to be it's own look but since I typically use liquid eye liner, I continued to use it! But it's all your taste :-) 

This was the second birthday gift from Sephora, it's a mascara also from benefit. This mascara is really strong and quite honestly, I'm not sure I'd commit to it in the end. I find that if I work too much at my lashes, they end up sticking together and not looking natural. But it is a good product-just not my fave!

Finally, I added a bit of the white eye shadow on the inner corners of my eyes. The color is Candlelight by Coastal Scents. 

 The finished product! Definitely my go-to look. So easy, simple, and pretty. 

I ended up getting a couple of really cute nail polishes from Target: Sugar Daddy from essie and Revlon's 580 Eclectic. Both are gorgeous colors.

All the while, I had this guy burning. It smells like happiness :-) 

I hope your guys's summers are going well and I hope this tutorial was at least a little bit cool! 

Good luck! 

Kara

Makeup Tutorial 02

Hey guys, I've been lazy about making these but I was planning on going on a date today but it ended up not happening so I figured I'd do a makeup look as if I were to go on the date. Enjoy :)

I already applied my foundation and concealer but sometimes it helps to let those liquids sit on the skin for a little bit before you apply any powders on top. It really makes a difference. So I let my foundation sit while I do my eye makeup.  

Also, I applied Makeup Store Eye Primer.

I'm doing my makeup from my bedroom because I like doing my makeup to natural sunlight. It's a better guide to how the colors blend than in light from my bathroom. 

If I could, I'd have a vanity in my bedroom but I don't have the room :-( 

These are the products I'm using:

• Makeup Store Eye Shadow-Muffin
• Makeup Store Blending Brush 117
• NYC Liquid Eye Liner (my fave)
• NYC Eye Pencil
• Maybelline Falsies Mascara (love it)
• Vaseline (for my damaged lips)
• Revlon Lip Stick in Matte 012 Sky Pink
• Coastal Scents 252 Eye Shadow Pallete
• Coastal Scents 22-Piece Brush Set

First, I'm using MS Muffin to apply it all over my entire lid as a nice brightening base. 

This pallet is great since there are 252 choices of colors. It's quite a lot but a good variety.  

I'm using this mid grey-brown color on the main lid with a normal eye shadow brush. 

It's very subtle which is good. 
I'm trying to achieve a sweet look-not a strong one. 

Since it is summer, I decided to go with a little orange on the outer 1/2 of my main lid. It's such a sweet color and it's so warm-it's perfect for a summer date look. 

I used this light brown on the crease and the upper part of the lid-blending upward towards the brow.

I also used this shadow on my bottom lid and blended it well.   

I tried out this color on the outer corner to add some dimension. 

I forgot to take the picture of the purple I used but I put the purple right in the crease and blended it well. 

I also added more of the orange at the end to make sure the orange was visible. 

I took my NYC eye pencils and tight-lined my top lash line with the black liner and I lined the bottom water line with the brown liner. I don't typically line my bottom water line with black-it closes my eyes up too much. (I apologize for the redness in my eyes). 

I then lined my eyes with my NYC Liquid Eye Liner. I didn't want it to be too thick so I lined very close to my eye lashes and slightly winged it at the end. 

Lastly, I put my mascara on. I don't curl my lashes because I don't think my lashes need to be curled. Plus, I like having the natural look instead of lashes that are bent at 90 degrees... I don't find that flattering. 

This is what it would look like with the lights in my bathroom. It's a lot darker. 

And this is what it looks like with some sun light. I love how it brightens because you don't want your makeup to only look good indoors.

I hope you guys liked this look. I think it's probably one of the best makeup days I've had. If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know that I did this goofy face mask after I took my shower: 

I had never used this kind before but I think it really did justice to my skin. Made it soft and glowing :) It was like $2-ish at Walmart!

Follow me on Twitter if you haven't already: @karamcarlson

Additionally, I've been in a constant war against acne lately but I'm finally winning all because of this amazing product: 

Of course, it's another Neutrogena product and for good reason. It works extremely well. It is a little pricey at $8 at Walmart. I definitely recommend this is you're having blemishes if you're willing to cough up $8 (it's worth it-I promise!)

Anyways, thanks for taking the time to look at this! If you're going on a date and you need a cute look, maybe this is enough inspiration! 

Good luck!

Kara  

My Hair Growth Journey!

Hey y'all, I'm going to take you with me on my journey to longer hair! My hair grows at a normal rate of 1/2 inch per month but it tends to break off at least an inch from the end so my hair doesn't really get long. So! I'm starting this new hair growth routine and maybe you'll want to join me in it too! :-) This method is completely natural and a lot safer for your hair than products made for this type of thing. Also, it's pretty inexpensive!

I'm going to start off by listing my initial hair lengths at various areas of my hair. Unfortunately, my hair is layered so I'll have multiple measurements for some sections to get the longer and shorter lengths. 

First,  I'm going to measure the length of the Nape of my hair as shown here. 

Mind you, my measurements may not be super accurate but they are pretty good estimates I'd say. I also measured them in centimeters because I personally prefer to measure in centimeters. So I'll convert to inches too!

Length: 27.5 cm  /// 9.25 in

Next, I'm going to measure the hair by my temples. This is where my hair length is variable since I had it cut to frame my face. So I'll have two measurements for the short and the longer lengths of it. 

Length: 16.0 cm  ///  6.3 in ~~~ 20.5 cm  ///  8.07 in

I do have uneven bangs as well. I have about 3 different lengths for some reason or another!

Outer hair length: 19.5 cm  ///  7.67 in

Middle hair length: 15.5 cm  ///  6.10 in

Longest hair length: 29.0 cm  ///  11.4 in 

And finally, I measured the length of the crown of my hair! 

Length: 27.5 cm  ///  10.83 in

















Now that the grunge work is done, now it's time for the magic! Here's what you need:

You're going to need 100% Pure Peppermint Oil. This is super important and the main ingredient! I got this kind from Amazon.com for $3.75. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002RUH3OM/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

How many drops depends on how much oil you use...

Next, you're going to need a good oil. You can use 100% Almond Oil, Olive Oil, or here, I'm using Coconut Oil. This is a little more pricey ~$6-$7 at Walmart in the cooking oil section. I prefer to use cocunut oil because it's better suited for hair than other oils since their molecular structures allow the oil to really penetrate the hair under the surface. 

You need about 1-2 tablespoons of it - depending on how long your hair is. I used 1.5 and I think it was a little too much. Next time, I'll use just 1 tablespoon. 

As far as the peppermint oil goes, if you use the full 2 tablespoons, use 8 drops of the pep. oil. If you use 1 tablespoon, just use 4 drops. 

As it seems, the oil is solid at room temperature so all you have to do is throw it in the microwave for about 15 seconds until it turns clear. 

And to hold all the oil in, I used a glass measuring cup! 

First, you're going to want to dampen your hair with warm water just to  help the oil spread out. But don't get it too wet! 

Then, dip your fingers into the oil and begin massaging your scalp generously to get the oil into the scalp. The peppermint oil wakes up your scalp and the coconut oil helps to bring oxygen to the hair to promote growth!

Continue to massage the oil generously on your scalp, the body of your hair, and the ends of your hair. Spend some time doing this. Pamper yourself :)

(Be sure not to add so much that it is dripping because that's just too messy and unnecessary.)

When your hair is thoroughly covered in the oils, put your hair up in a braid or however you'd like since we're going to sleep with it over night! 

I haven't washed mine out yet but tomorrow I will wash it out with my normal shampoo and conditioner. Hopefully the oils come out nicely unlike others I've experienced in the past. If your hair is a little oily after you wash it, you could consider re-washing it the next day. 

I'm going to keep a log of the lengths of my hair through the months that I use this method. I plan on doing this every weekend so hopefully I'll have beautiful locks of love soon!  I'll keep you posted on here or on my twitter >> ( @karamcarlson )

Good luck <3 

Kara Marie


UPDATE:

Hey y'all, I told you I'd keep you posted about how it goes and after I washed out the oils, my hair turned out better than anticipated. It's super clean and soft and the oils washed out really nicely. If you're looking for a good general hair mask to use to rejuvenate dead hair, this is something you should try! Also, I just used my normal shampoo and conditioner and styled it like normal as I describe in my other post! This is definitely a routine that I'm going to do every weekend!

<3