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GLITZ & GLAM AT THE GLOBES

Award show season has finally begun! It’s time for the stars to bring their A game for the red carpet. Honestly, who really cares about the actual award show? My favorite part is watching the pre-show and seeing what stars are wearing and who they are with. If you follow my tweets (couldn’t stop tweeting during the show!), you would know that I had some pretty strong opinions on the stars choices of the night. 

Some not so favs:

• Sarah Michelle Gellar: I’m not down for that fluffy/swirly prom dress look.
• Emma Stone: I know people loved it but eh…
• Freida Pinto: The hair, the makeup, and even the Prada (yes, I said it!) wasn’t impressive. Seriously, I really really want to root for her, but she makes it so hard sometimes. I’m waiting for the day she wow’s me on the red carpet!

Some favs:

• Paula Patton: I loved the yellow on her skin, but I think I just love HER so anything she wears is automatically perfect.
• Sofia Vergara: Vera+ Sofia= masterpiece
• Mila Kunis and Charlize Theron: J’adore Dior..enough said!

The stars above definitely impressed, but there were two show stoppers of the night that I have to highlight. They literally took my breath away. Here they are: 

ANGELINA JOLIE

Not many people can pull off that high of a slit and still look like pure class. The red accent on her Atelier Versace dress went perfectly with her crimson Christian Louboutin clutch and scarlet lip color. Her skin looked like porcelain, and I love the way she did her top eye liner. It was just the perfect amount to keep the focus on her plump lips. She went simplistic with Lorrain Schwartz jewelry, well that is, if you count 25 carat earrings and a 12 carat ring as simple…

BTW, did anyone else notice how Lorrain Schwartz was the clear celeb favorite of the night? I felt like every other person on the red carpet was wearing her jewelry this year. 

LEA MICHELE

I hate to admit this because I think this girl is so ridiculous on a red carpet with her posing. I’ve never seen a celeb scold, pucker, and swing as much as her, but I have to give credit where credit lies. Lea Michele killed it in this Marchesa dress. It’s so different and bold, but at the same time so elegant. Her hair and makeup definitely topped off the look. By putting her hair up, we were able to focus on the beauty of the dress and her stunning makeup. Love the contouring, love the smouldering eyes, and love love love the nude lips. Shout out to fab Lancome makeup artist Melanie for a job well done!

P.S I’m really annoyed that Kim Kardashian and I have the same two favorites of the night. Really Kim, couldn’t you have picked any other two people to love?! Click here to see Kim talking about her thoughts on being called out during the monologue of the award show and why Angelina and Lea Michele were also her favorites. 

Who were YOUR Golden Globe favs? Do you have the same ones as me?

OVERRATED VS. UNDERRATED: HAIRSPRAY EDITION

Everyone has different hair problems. Some deal with oily hair, some dry hair, some damaged hair, or some grey hairs (yikes). It’s important to find the products that works best for YOU rather than whatever the “it” product is at the moment, but of course the only way to find that is through experimentation! After years of trial and error, I found my go-to hairsprays that I’ve become very loyal to. Before I give my picks for most overrated and underrated hairspray, I want to share what I look for in my hairspray so you can evaluate whether these products are what you’re looking for. First off, I would describe my hair type as long, thick, and oily (and by oily I mean vs. having dry hair). I mainly use hairspray for the purpose of frizz-ease. I like to wear my hair with my natural waves, and hairspray is a great way to calm my hair down and let me wear it naturally without doing much work. It’s an easy, effortless look in which hairspray plays a large roll in. That being said, it’s an added bonus when a hairspray is multi-purposeful and adds lift, shine, and holds my hair in place, so when I try out different products I look for one that gives me these benefits as well! Here are my picks my most overrated and underrated hairsprays: 

OVERRATED: L’Oreal Elnett Satin Hairspray

It’s all over every social media outlet with celebrities like Kim Kardashian claiming they love it, but I don’t know if L’Oreal Paris is just shoving out millions of bucks towards product placement or what, but I am NOT a fan of L’Oreal’s Elnett. I started seeing all these ads and magazine articles about this new miracle hairspray that’s supposed to be “the best kept secret for gorgeous hair” so I had to see what all the hype was out. I must say that I was severely disappointed. From the awful old school hairspray smell to the actual hold, it didn’t live up to my expectations. Also, one of the promises is that it’s “so fine, it disappears at the stroke of a brush” in which I’m calling BS! It makes my hair feel tangled, rough, and extremely dry. Don’t believe me? Go ahead and try it on your own, but be ready to shove out 14 bucks for a drugstore product. If you want to try this product out on your own, I recommend getting it at Amazon for half the cost. 

UNDERRATED: Garnier Fructis Flexible Control Anti-Humidity Aerosol Hairspray

LOVE IT! This is a MUST HAVE and might I add super affordable hairspray. Like I said above, this hairspray really does reduce my frizz (one less product I have to buy woo), but I also love that it doesn’t weigh down my hair. It gives me everything I am looking for in a hairspray for an unbeatable price. I mean, can you really go wrong with a product you can get for under 4 bucks at CVS? 

UNDERRATED: Oscar Blandi Lacca Hairspray For Volume, Hold, and Shine 

This is the first product I’ve tried from the Oscar Blandi line, and I’m officially obsessed. What makes it so great is the ingredients used in it including sugar creating it anti-static effect. I LOVE using this hairspray after I straighten my hair to add just a little lift at the root, especially at the crown on my head. Some might not like the distinct honeysuckle scent of the product, but I happen to like it and get tons of compliments for it. The downfall? I would say the price. It is pricier than your average hairspray, but I do love that it’s a unisex product that men can use as well, so think of it as half the price? There are all different sizes of this hairspray too which makes it great for travel or to just throw in your purse/clutch. You can get this and other great products apart of the Oscar Blandi line (like dry shampoo!) and Sephora.

What’s YOUR favorite hairspray?

DIY HAIR TRENDS: SLICKED BACK CHIC

How many times have you gotten ready to go out and were so frustrated with your hair, just wanted to put it up, and not deal with it, but you couldn’t figure out how to and still look cute? Being that it happens to me hmm maybe twice a weekend, I decided to follow a common Hollywood trend of slicking my hair back. Here are a few different ways it’s being done:

SLICKED BACK AND DOWN: Megan Fox at the MTV Movie Awards looking greasy fab

SLICKED BACK PONYTAIL: Beyonce on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar UK (P.S How AMAZING is her navy blue eye shadow?! Watch the behind the scenes footage of this shoot here)

SLICKED BACK BUN: Kim Kardashian on virtually every red carpet event these days from her endorsement launches to the Teen Choice Awards (notice how you can go from elegant to fun with this look just by the height placement of the bun)

For starters, NOT a fan of the way Megan Fox did the slicked back look. It looks like she hasn’t showered in days or decided to put oil randomly on the top of her head, but I must say props to her- she is probably the only woman in America who can wear her hair like that and still look stunning. #notfair

If you decide to rock this look, stick to the bottom two. Beyonce and Kim are just two of many who have been slicking their hair back these days. My favorite part about this is how much it brings out your face. By slicking your hair back, you’re bringing a lot more attention to your face, in a good way of course, but here’s a tip:

• For those of you who aren’t a fan of the hair line on your forehead, you can still wear this look! Just wear your hair the way Beyonce has it in the Harper’s Bazaar picture. By parting your hair down the middle and tightly pulling it back, your disguising your hair line by covering up all those little hairs that just won’t stay down.
• For those of you who have a more defined hair line on your forehead, I definitely recommend wearing it like Kim. It’s the best way to accentuate your BEST facial features.

P.S I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this, but who else loves Kim K’s hair line? Are celebs just born without baby hairs? #poweroflaserhairremoval

What’s YOUR fav slicked back hair look?

LOOK LIKE A CELEB, CONTOUR YOUR FACE

It’s the trick used by every girl walking the red carpet to make their nose look thinner/longer or their jaw line/cheek bones more defined. Rhinoplasty isn’t necessary to make that bump on your nose go away. You’d be surprised at how many plastic surgery rumors circle around (granted in Hollywood, most are true) when in reality it was a fab makeup artist who knew how to restructure a celebs face simply with the use of cosmetics. You don’t have to be famous or pay someone a crazy amount of money to get the same effect. Learning the tricks are simpler than you think. By using specific products in distinct parts of your face, you too can make your round face more prominent. 

Having a round face myself, I learned these tricks to help certain features of my face stand out. Instead of looking through your favorite magazine and wishing you had certain features of your favorite celeb (we are all guilty of it!), make note of these simple techniques to help define your face using bronzer, blush, and highlighter: 

BRUSH: Before you can think of contouring, having the right tools will give you the best results. An angled brush is your best bet. I recommend MAC’s 168 Large Angled Contour Brush. What I love is that this brush is that it is great for blush and bronzer, so you’re really getting your moneys worth.

BRONZER: Bronzer is great for contouring because it is usually a shade or two darker than your actual skin tone. My favorite bronzer is bare minerals warmth, but you can use whichever you feel works best with your skin! A substitute to this is buying a foundation or powder that is two shades darker than your skin, but I feel like that is a waste of money when most people already own a bronzer. Here are different places to apply the bronzer: 

• Under the apple of your cheek bone diagonally or parallel to your jaw line to make your cheekbones pop.
• On the sides of your nose from the bridge coming straight down. This will make it look longer and thinner. BLENDING IS KEY HERE!
• On your jaw line and under your chin will make your round face look more elongated and who doesn’t want that?!

BLUSH: Blush contrasts well with the bronzer or any shade you chose to you that is two shades darker. By applying the bronzer under the cheekbone and putting the blush directly on the cheekbone, you really make the apple stand out. Applying this has the same guidelines as the bronzer except it should go one level above where you applied the bronzer going parallel to the jaw line. 

HIGHLIGHTER: If you want more details about highlighter, read my post on how highlighter can make you glow like the stars do. In the post, I mention the power of highlighter and how versatile it is. It can be used to: 

• Line the bottom and top middle portion of your lips to make their shape more prominent.
• Cover a small bump on top of your nose (used by so many stars like Kim Kardashian and Jessica Simpson)
• Line the top of your brows, acting almost as an eye shadow
• Make your cheekbones stand out even more. This is the last touch in making those apples pop. After applying the bronzer and blush, the line above that is where highlighter should go, and once again parallel to your jaw. I added just a little dab right on the apple on top of the blush just to add a little more pop. 

After reading this, you will start to look at pictures of celebrities differently. You’ll notice the line of bronzer, blush, than highlighter as you move higher up and to the inner portion of their faces. The first person I really noticed it on was Tyra Banks but virtually every celeb does it. I think the reason people love going to get their makeup done is really because of how good the makeup artist is at contouring. It’s a trick that takes practice and perfecting to fit your specific face shape, but once you do, you won’t feel the need to go to MAC and buy $50 dollars worth of makeup just to get your makeup done for free anymore! Hope the diagram (although rough) helps you better understand contouring: 

What are YOUR thoughts on contouring? Do you contour on the same parts of your face as I do?

THE KARDASHIAN…NAIL POLISH?

Earlier this year it was announced that the Kardashians would come out with a line of nail polish shades for OPI. Kim Kardashian took to her blog today to talk about their latest business venture and post a preview of the line. The nail polish collection titled ‘Kardashian Kolors’ stays true to their enterprises theme of labeling words with their signature letter ‘K’. This time, the two younger Kardashians, Kendall and Kylie, joined in on the project. 

Kris Jenner seriously knows how to turn 15 minutes into 30. Smart move by adding the next generation of Kardashian ladies to the line. She’s gotta make her ‘momager’ ten percent from someone when the Kim obsession dies town! 

You won’t believe the names of the new shades, which are personalized to each of the Kardashian ladies themselves. Kourtney has a shade called “Kourt is Red-y For a Pedi” and Khloe’s shade is called “Khloe Had a Little Lam-Lam”. I honestly cannot wait to hear what Kim came up with. I will die if it has anything to do with her no name fiance Kris Humphries, but in true Kim fashion, I have a feeling it’ll revolve around her!

The line will be out just in time for Christmas (stocking stuffers anyone?) for $7.99 each at Nicole by OPI. Let the Kardashian reign continue!

UPDATE: CHECK OUT THE LIST OF ALL 14 CREATIVE SHADE NAMES ON COCO PEREZ.

What do you guys think of the OPI collection? Will YOU buy the ‘Kardashian Kolors’? 

KIMMY POUTS RED!

Kim Kardashian, known for her signature nude lip color, showed off a new look on her blog today. Kim’s hot and can pull off any look, but I have to say that I’m a bigger fan of the nude lips over the red! To read the full post, check out Kim Kardashian’s official blog page.

What’s your fav. look on Kim—nude or red?!

NUDE LIPS: THE SAFE, SEXY WAY

Everyone has that lip color that they love and usually resort to when nothing else looks right. It’s that color that makes you feel confident and ready for a night on the town. My go to lip color is the neutral look with a little gloss. It goes with every outfit and compliments heavy eye makeup well. My routine is usually to do a nude lip stick and top it off with a gloss. **BEAUTY TIP** For those of you who usually just put on a little gloss before going out, I recommend you try this out! It brings the right amount of attention to the lips and accents the rest of the face well. Here is my usual lip routine:

1. Pick my favorite neutral lipstick color: Lancome Color Design Pale Lip
2. Apply from left to right on both bottom and top lip. 
3. Pick my favorite neutral lip gloss color: MAC Florabundance A80
4. Apply to the middle of bottom lip and dab lips together spreading the gloss evenly across both the bottom and top lip. This allows the gloss to feel goopy on your lips (especially important for MAC glosses because they are so thick).                                 

LIPSTICK: I’ve been through several MAC VIVA Glam shades, and they work great too! I wanted to experiment so I tried out a new brand, and there was  something about the pigmentation of the Lancome Color Design that I loved. I don’t like using shiny or shimmery lipsticks; I believe that is the job of the gloss (not really a fan of glitter on lips anyways). The lipstick should just provide a base coat and be matte. 

LIP GLOSS: What I love about the MAC lip gloss is how thick it is. You only have to use a little bit and it goes a long way. It stays on a long time too! The annoying thing about lip gloss is that we all want to take it with us when we go out. When we look in our purse the next morning, it’s usually gone. I hate when that happens after spending almost 20 bucks on a lip gloss. That is why I’ve learned to take a cheapo lip gloss out with me. I know the idea sounds annoying because you don’t feel like it gives the same impact as the MAC gloss, but I really think it’s the smart thing to do (after losing 10 too many). My favorite cheapo lip gloss is L’Oreal Paris Color Riche Soft Nude. It comes on very light compared to the MAC lip gloss but the color matches PERFECTLY with the Lancome lipstick I use. 

Favorite celebs rocking the nude lip color. You can see how the nude lip adds the perfect shine but brings the attention to other features of the face (like the eyes)!

SIDE NOTE: Instructional videos coming soon!

What’s YOUR go to lip color? 

RED LIPS— IS IT FOR YOU?

I know everyone sees all the celebs wearing the cherry red lipstick and wants to try it out but scared to because it is SO bold. I personally think it’s a great look! It’s different, fun, and daring. I feel like red lips are all about confidence. If you believe you look good in it, everyone else will too. That being said, BOYS HATE IT! I don’t know if its too different for them or they just don’t understand fashion, but I have yet to meet a guy who actually thinks red lips looks good on anyone that isn’t on a runway. My two personal favorite red lips are below: 

Personal Favorite 1: YSL Rouge Pur Couture

Personal Favorite 2: Bobbi Brown Vixen Red

My advice is that if you are doing red lips for a date or before dinner/ drinks, carry the lipstick with you throughout the night! Although these shades are HIGHLY pigmented (when I say highly, I mean HIGHLY), it’s never a good look when your lip color fades. The purpose of red lips is to be BOLD, so to maintain that look throughout the night, make sure to throw your lipstick in your clutch. Below are some of my favorite celebrities rocking cherry red lips:

 Least Favorite: Kim Kardashian

I think the best look on her is nude lips, but it’s always fun to change it up every once in awhile!

 Most favorite: Rihanna

That girl can pull off ANY look, but because she has amazing plump lips, this red really works on her. 

Are you daring enough to wear red lips?

MAKE UP DO’s AND DON’Ts: VANESSA HUDGENS

Has anyone else noticed how different Vanessa Hudgens looks post break up with Zac Efron? Did she break up with her glam squad too? She cut off her gorgeous hair, started dressing “edgy”, and completely changed the way she does her make up. I thought celebrities up’ed their style after a public break up. I was looking at some pictures of her pre-breakup and post-breakup and it made me sad. Vanessa, you are naturally stunning, BUT if you are going on the red carpet, look in the mirror first! She’s the perfect celebrity for my first “Make up Do’s and Don’ts” posting. 

MAKE UP DO’s: You don’t always have to go dramatic with the eyes. 

Vanessa goes for the natural look and sometimes that’s the best approach. You don’t want to always looked caked on. A nude lip, subtle shadow, nice lashes, and glowing face is a great way to look naturally glamorous. I am obsessed with her entire look in this picture. Her dress, hair, and make up accent each other perfectly. I love that she wore a long necklace with the low cut neck line too. 

MAKE UP DON’Ts: Don’t wear a dark lip color with smoky eyes

Combining the two can lead to a clownish look. My advice is to stick to one or the other. Either wear dramatic eyes or dramatic lips— NOT both (unless you plan on doing a photo shoot for vogue). Smoky eyes in my opinion looks best with nude lips (learned that from Kim Kardashian). 

SIDE NOTE: Has anyone else noticed how amazing her cheek bones are? She always knows exactly how to smile to accent them too! 

Which Vanessa do you like better? Pre or post Zac Efron?

DISCOVERY OF THE DAY: A GREAT SMOKEY EYE KIT DOES EXIST!

My friend came over and asked me to teach her how to do smoky eyes. I’m all for helping my friends learn to do proper smoky eyes because a. then I don’t always have to do it b. its such a glam look if done properly and a trashy look if done wrong. She came to my apartment with a new makeup kit she bought from ULTA earlier that day. She said that she had no idea where to begin and figured this had all the things she needed. I was reluctant at first but I thought I would give it a shot since I had never personally used the kit she bought.

The kit is called “Close Up: Real Life to Red Carpet Tutorial” by LORAC. I have always been a fan of LORAC bronzer but am now officially obsessed with the whole line! The kit contains everything you need for the perfect smoky look. Granted, the pigmentation isn’t as great as MAC, but the primer you apply before helps do the trick. ALSO, the kit tells you exactly how to apply the eyeshadow down to applying the mascara. Every product in the kit is worth it—even the brushes! The best part about it all is that the WHOLE kit (including primer, 3 eye shadows, 2 sided brush, liquid liner, and mascara) is $36.00! You can find this kit at ULTA.

SIDE NOTE: I only suggest purchasing this kit if you feel like you need a lot of the items in it. Many of you may just be looking for a strong black eye shadow. If so, I say stick to MAC.

By the way, I seriously feel like I have tried every single smoky eye kit there is out there besides LORAC, and I NEVER really found a kit that really fits everything that I am looking for. Usually the kits contain items that are useless to me that just get stuffed to the bottom of my makeup bag. Here is a list of smoky eye kits that I think are NOT worth it: 

1. Stila Talking Eye Kits
2. Covergirl Smokey Eye Kits
3. Smokey Eyes Sephora
4. Kim Kardashian’s Smoky Eye Kit

I was REALLY disappointed with the Kim Kardashian’s kit. How can someone who always has such fab makeup on at all times sell a product with such crappy pigmentation? Seriously Kim, you have enough endorsement deals under your belt. No need to market a bad product #justsaying 

Have you ever tried a smoky eye kit? Thoughts?