Tag Archives: makeup

Ok, so today I’m going to share something a little embarrassing for me… some close up, no makeup, photos of my blackheads.  Plus, my pores and red blotchiness!  But hopefully it will be for the benefit of all of you!  I’m sure many of you have seen this DIY blackhead remover photo circulating around Pinterest lately…

Clearly, this before and after shot is showing some pretty amazing results.  I was a little skeptical, but also secretly hoping these results were true.  I decided, what the heck, I have all the ingredients, and I would LOVE to get rid of my blackheads.  So I decided to test this DIY out – check out my results below!

Here’s what you need:

• 1 Lemon
• Baking soda

Here’s what you do:

1. Mix about a tablespoon of baking soda with enough lemon juice to make a thick paste.  Adding more lemon juice or baking soda until you reach desired consistency.
2. Gently massage the mixture into blackhead prone areas.
3. Leave on for up to 20 minutes (I did it for 10 minutes), and then gently rinse with luke warm water.

Here’s my before shot…

And my after shot…

As you can see, not really the kind of results pictured in the original photo.  Although, I can see a little improvement, even with some of my redness.  So perhaps if this DIY blackhead remover is used several times, it may prove to be effective in eliminating blackheads.  I’ll continue testing out this DIY for a few weeks and let you all know if I have improved results.

Do you have any tried and true DIY’s for removing blackheads?  If so, please share in the comments section!  I’d love to try them out!

Hey guys, so I know it’s been forever since I posted my first Highlight and Contour results, BUT I have been continuing to add highlighting and contouring into my makeup routine.  I’ve also continued taking pictures, so when I finally kicked my butt to make another post I’d already have the photos ready to go!

I’m still mostly following the techniques I’ve learned from Maskcara, but in this second round of photos I’ve also implemented a blush technique I learned while watching videos by The Makeup Chair.  Basically the technique is to apply blush straight out toward your ear, instead of following the natural curve of your cheekbone.  This will help anyone who has a long face.  What do you think, can you notice a difference between my before and afters?

[Sorry for the bad lighting in these photos!  I still haven’t been able to find the best lighting to take makeup photos in my new apartment.  Hopefully I’ll be able to create better lighting next time!]

In this photo, I’m not only showing a before and after of HAC, but also a before and after of filling in my eyebrows.

Not sure if I notice much of a difference in the set above, but I think my face definitely looks a bit more wide than long in the set below.

In this next set, I see a general difference in bone structure between the before and after shot (even though I’m completely washed out).  My features are definitely more defined and my face looks thinner.

I’m still deciding whether or not HAC makes much of a difference in the long run.  I can’t seem to exclude it from my makeup routine anymore, but I’m not entirely sure if it’s worth the extra time.  There is a fine line of:  if you don’t do enough, there isn’t a noticeable difference.  Yet if you want a big difference, you can easily do way too much and look like a clown.  I guess we’ll see as time goes on and I continue to become better at this technique!  I will also be trying to experiment with different products more in the future.

I’m still using the highlight and contour products I mentioned in my original post, which are the L’Oreal Paris True Match Foundation Powder in Deep Cool and Maybelline New York Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in Nude.  While they still work pretty well, I am on the lookout for a better bronzer for my complexion, and a concealer with better coverage (but still inexpensive).  If any of you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments section below!

Bonus!  I’m including this photo because I managed to capture the eye shadow pretty darn well.  So I wanted to share this awesome 60-second smokey eye by Maskcara, which is seen in the photo below!  It’s become my go-to whenever I want to do something extra with my eyes, but don’t want to spend too much time on them.  The only difference is that I used the Sephora Collection Pro Lesson Palette for Brown Eyes.

In case you’re interested, here’s a list of some of the other makeup products I used in these photos:

• Clinique Superbalanced Makeup Foundation in Ivory
• Clinique Superbalanced Powder Makeup in Natural 2
• L’Oreal Paris Voluminous Million Lashes Waterproof Mascara in Blackest Black
• CoverGirl Perfect Blend Eye Pencil in Mink
• Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer in Raisin
• Ben Nye Eyeliner Pencil in Black

I’m sure many of you have seen the wondrous trend of Highlight and Contouring (HAC) on Pinterest, and probably want to see if it’s all it’s cracked up to be.  I know I did!  I really wanted to see if it worked because I don’t feel like my bone structure stands out on film that well.  If successful, perhaps this could be a camera friendly trick to land more roles!

As I’ve mentioned before, Maskcara is my go to blog for beauty videos, and was one of my first introductions to HAC.  So I’ve only followed her tips on how to Highlight and Contour thus far.  She basically does it in every makeup tutorial, each time a little differently and with different products.  The two products I bought upon her recommendation was the L’Oreal Paris True Match Foundation Powder in Deep Cool for Contouring, and Maybelline New York Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in Nude for Highlighting.  Being a beginner, I’m not sure if these colors are working for me, since I don’t notice much of a difference in my before and after shots.  Take a look!

This is the first time I tried HAC out.  Not really noticing much of a difference here, maybe a little more definition on my cheekbones.  Because I’m new to this, I think I’m a little worried about going too heavy, as I don’t want it to be obvious in person.  This could be why there isn’t much of a contrast between the two photos.  I also think my Highlighter could be one shade lighter.

This is my second attempt.  I think I got a little better, or am I just imagining it?  I think I’m seeing more definition on my cheeks, a sharper jaw line, and a thinner nose.  I find it so hard to tell though!  Is it the makeup or the angle of my face?!

Third time’s a charm, right?  I think so?  I definitely notice more of a difference between the before and after shot.  Overall it looks like my bone structure is more defined and my face is a little thinner.  I also have a bump on my nose (thanks to the Austrian side of my family), which looks less noticeable after HAC.

All in all, I was expecting more of a drastic difference after seeing all those side-by-side comparisons on Pinterest.  Beauty blogs make it look so easy!  Either my bone structure is already more defined than I think it is, or I’m just doing it wrong (most likely the latter)!

If anyone has any tips or tricks, or know what I’m doing wrong, please share in the comments section.  I’d love to hear from you!

I plan on coming back to this topic again in the future with another HAC series, to see if I’ve improved at all (and if I can take better photographs of makeup).  Stay tuned!

One of my absolute favorite beauty blogs is Maskcara, and as I’m trying out new makeup looks, I find myself constantly gravitating to all of her videos.

One look I thought I could pull off (and had almost all the right makeup for) was this Megan Fox inspired look.

I really loved how soft and natural this makeup was, while still being incredibly sexy (of course, maybe that’s just because it’s Megan Fox).

Here is how Maskcara’s completed look turned out.  Gorgeous, right?

As much as I wish I could go out and buy all the products she uses in every makeup video, the sad truth is I can’t.

I’m sure many of you can’t either, so at the end of this post I will list what I used.  Who knows, maybe you have some of the same products too!  Or maybe they will just give you an idea of how you can substitute with what you have!

I have to say trying to find good lighting in my house is impossible!  So I apologize for the light switch, but this seemed like the only halfway decent spot.

Hard to tell because I’m a little washed out, but in person it looked more like the examples above.  Hopefully I will learn how to take better pictures as I do more tutorials!

Here is a list of what I used:

Clinique Superbalanced Makeup Foundation in Ivory
Clinique Superbalanced Powder Makeup in Natural 2
L’Oreal Paris True Match Foundation Powder in Deep Cool
Maybelline New York Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in Nude
L’Oreal Paris Voluminous Million Lashes Waterproof Mascara in Blackest Black
CoverGirl Perfect Blend Eye Pencil in Mink
Sephora Collection Pro Lesson Palette: Brown Eyes
Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer in Raisin
Ben Nye Eyeliner Pencil in Black

This is the Part 2 of my post Lil Bit More Skills.  This was a little hard to write, as it’s very personal and delves into to some not-so-great feelings.  But I felt it was important to share, since I know many of us feel similar things at some point in life.  Often simply being able to relate to someone going through the same thing can instantly make you feel a little bit better, and I hope this post has the power to do so.

3.  Get Back to Me

It sounds a bit cliche, but after living in Los Angeles for 4 1/2 years, I feel like I’ve lost myself and a huge chunk of my self esteem.  I’ve known what I’ve wanted to do since I was 13 years old (be an actor), not only did I know, but I passionately pursued this career with an unwavering determination.  Which, lucky for me, proved to be fruitful and continued to be so throughout college.  Without thinking I was the best and had no room for improvement, I still had confidence and believed in my abilities.  Without thinking I was gorgeous, I knew I was attractive.  I did not feel inadequate.

I’m not sure when it happened exactly, but LA changed all of that.  It was not only the lack of performing, but the complete lack of auditions that made me question my abilities and my choices.  It was not fitting into a particular beauty mold that suddenly had me criticizing everything about myself.  I had never felt bad about myself when I saw celebrities in movies or magazines, but when you are completely immersed into so much of that superficial nonsense, it’s hard not to feel bad about yourself.  It’s hard not to lose yourself.

Well, there’s only so much of that you can take, and I needed a break from it.  I happily moved to Portland for that break, and I plan to use this transitional time for new beginnings.  While I’m working on the self improvement and skills mentioned in Part 1 of this post, I will also be working on health, beauty, and fitness.  For extra confidence boosts, I will be trying out various makeup and hair tutorials, diy treatments, fitness plans, and basically anything I find on the oh-so-addictive Pinterest.  They may be wrought with trial and error in the beginning, but hopefully you’ll stick around to see me master new techniques!