April Ipsy Review!!!

Hello everyone!! I'm back today with a review of my most recent Ipsy glambag. Ipsy is my all time favorite beauty subscription hands down. You get 5 customized products each month for an incredibly reasonable $10! It's an amazing way to boost your makeup collection and discover new brands you haven't heard of before. And you get a cute little makeup bag to boot! 

1) Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk ($19.50 for a full size)- Dry shampoo is one of those products that I don't use too regularly, but would probably die if I didn't have in my arsenal. I think it's really unique that this one contains oat milk, and with the drought going on in California, I think that this could be a really great product to use between hair washes!

2) theBalm Cosetics Nude Dude Eyeshadow Single in the Shade Flirty ($36 for full palette)- I think it's really awesome that all Ipsy subscribers received a single eyeshadow from the new theBalm palette! It's a really great way to try out a new brand without investing in the full palette, and theBalm is definitely a brand I've been wanting to check out. At first glance, I wasn't too excited about this color, as I thought it was just going to be another gold tone to add to my collection, but I was so wrong. Once swatched, I realized it's lowkey purple- it looks to be a purple/taupe with gold shimmer. It's gorgeous! Very similar to Urban Decay's Dark Horse, but a bit lighter. I think I'm going to get a lot of wear out of it.

3) JulieG Nails CORE Collection Nail Polish in the shade Damsel ($3.99)- Ipsy describes this shade as a "mid-tone pink creme" and that sounds about right. It's a very bright, rosy tone which will be perfect for spring! It reminds me of tulips and I love that.

4) MICA Beauty Eye Primer ($44.95 for a full size)- A full size is double the size that I was sent, which was already so large I will probably never finish it, which is insane. That gives this one product a value of $22. It's nice to have received a matte nude eye shadow primer, especially since I know in the summer I tend to like to stick to mattes and get away from the shimmery shadows!

Hikari Cosmetics blush in the shade Tango ($15)- This is such a pink blush!!! It's almost intimidating to look at it in the packaging, but that was also how I felt about my City Color blush and now it's one of my favorites. And this one isn't quite as scary as that one. Just from swatching it seems like you get a lot of pigmentation, so hopefully I like this one! I've received quite a few blushes from Ipsy recently and haven't been too wowed yet.

And that was it! I feel like this month I got really excellent value in my Ipsy bag- between the blush and the eyeshadow primer alone the bag value was almost 4x what I paid! I honestly just forgot to take a picture of my dry shampoo, and I apologize for that haha! Do you think beauty subscriptions are good value? Let me know in the comments!

Also, don't forget I'm giving away a Naked Basics Palette, a Maybelline Brow Drama, and a L'Oreal highlighter!! Original post is here, but you can enter below!  

Stay beautiful y'all!!

- Whitney

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Favorite SS15 Trends: Denim on Denim!!

         

Dress: Topsop

Top: Cotton On

Jacket: Cotton On

Shoes: Keds

Hey guys! I'm back today with another one of my favorite SS15 trends, denim on denim! Conceptually, this is a weird one for me to wrap my head around. I feel like for so long, it was super taboo to wear denim on denim, but it's really grown on me! Particularly when your different pieces are completely different washes. So for today's look, I went with three different denim pieces, all of different textures/ washes. Go big or go home, right?

The dress is really quite shapeless, but I like the way that the collar of my chambray top looks peeking out over the top. I went ahead and added the jacket just to help define my shape. It's definitely a very preppy, spring kind of look!

How do you guys feel about the denim on denim trend? Be sure to let me know in the comments! Also, don't forget that Naked Palette Giveaway is definitely still going!! Click here to enter if you haven't yet!!

I'll talk to you guys soon, stay beautiful!!
- Whit

How I Do My Eyebrows + GIVEAWAY!!

Hey guys!! I hope you're all enjoying your weekend so far. I've been doing a lot of style things recently on this blog which has been really fun, so I thought today I'd kind of bring it back and do some beauty! Since I'm giving away a few of my March Favorites (details below!!) including the Maybelline Brow Drama, I figured I'd show you a little tutorial of how I like to use it. I'm not pretending to be any type of brow expert, but this is just what I find works for me. I do like quite a strong brow too, fair warning!!

I like to keep my Brow products separate from the rest of my makeup, so I keep in this cute little Rebecca Minkoff makeup bag I got from Ipsy!

1) Pencil in my brows. The first thing I like to do is line/ fill in my eyebrows with a pencil. I find that this step is really where I define exactly where I want my brows to be and just how strong/dark I would like them, which is probably most important. I've been using the NYC Classic Brow/Liner pencil in the shade Jet Black, which is a huge bargain for 99 cents for two! My hair is quite dark, so the darker colors/ blacks work well for me.

2) Fill in my brows with eyeshadow. After I've finished penciling in my brows, I like to go back over them with a dark eyeshadow. I find that this serves to fill in any gaps, and to also make them look more natural and less harsh. My favorite is the accent color in the Neutrogena Nourishing Eye Quad (shade 140, Sea Shell), which I think has been discontinued, but there are definitely several suitable alternatives in the Maybelline the Nudes Palette! I just use a cheap (but very cute!) angled brush from Forever 21, and I find that's perfectly suffice, but it would definitely be nice to spring for a MAC 266 when funds are less tight!!

3) Ensure brows stay in place with an eyebrow gel. My very last step is to go over my brows with an eyebrow gel, just to make sure they stay in place all day and also to tame any stray hairs I may have. The one I've been using is the Maybelline Brow Drama in the shade Deep Brown, which I am giving away (amongst other things!!) The brush has quite a unique shape, with a little ball on the end of the wand, and the way I like to use this is to start at the end of my brow closest to my temple, take it lightly against the hairs torwards my nose, and then go in the opposite direction in a windshield wiper motion. This gel has really amazing staying power, I really find that my eyebrows look the same at the end of the day as they did when I did them in the morning!

And that's it!! It's really very awkward to take a picture with only one eyebrow done, but I really wanted you guys to see the difference, so I've done this for you.

And this is my makeup done! As is the story of my life, one eyebrow has come out infinitely better than the other. Doing my brows is one of my favorite parts of doing my makeup, I just think it really adds structure to your face and makes everything feel complete. I know this tutorial was very picture heavy, but it was my first one, so let me know what you guys think!! 

And now, for the giveaway: I will be giving away a Naked Basics palette, a Maybelline Brow Drama (shade of your choosing), and a L'Oreal Paris Magic Lumi Highlighter (also in the shade of your choosing), all in a little makeup bag, and I will be shipping anywhere in the world! This giveaway will be open until the last day of April, good luck!!

I hope you guys have enjoyed this post, please don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't already!! 

Stay beautiful!!!!

- Whit 

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Favorite SS15 Trends: Fringe!!

Top: New Look

Kimono: Charlotte Russe

Shorts: Topshop

Shoes: Topshop

Hi guys!!! Happy hump day, haha. I'm back today with my second favorite SS15 trend: fringe. Fringe always comes into season around festival time, but I know for me personally, it was a hard trend to incorporate into my wardrobe for day-to-day wear. That's part of the reason I bought this kimono- I felt like it was a statement piece with the fringe (and the lace as well!) but that it would be easy to dress up or down because it was black.

For today's outfit I definitely went pretty casual with just just a pair of shorts, a striped crop top, and a pair of black slip-ons. I know black on black isn't very spring like, but it's so hard to want to break out of that monochromatic shell!

I think this outfit would definitely still fit in at a festival though, I'd just swap out the slip-ons for a pair of black knee boots, throw on a floppy black sun hat, and add a fun pair of statement sunglasses.

I hope you guys enjoyed this post, and my Naked Palette Giveaway is definitely still going!! Click here to enter if you haven't yet!!

I'll talk to you guys very soon, but in the mean time, stay beautiful!!

- Whit

Favorite SS15 Trends: Distressed Denim!!

Top: Urban Outfitters

Jeans: Zara (distressing DIY)

Boots: boutique buy (similar here)

 Hello all! Today's post is a little different- I thought I'd start a segment where I show you guys how I style a few of my favorite SS15 trends! I do apologize for the low quality of the photos, you've got to do the best with what you've got (or don't!).

The first trend I thought I'd show you guys is how I style destroyed denim. This trend is everywhere lately- it seems like the more ripped up and grunge your jeans are, the more trendy! The nice thing about this trend is that you definitely don't have to break the bank on new jeans (unless you want to!), you can always do what I did, and take an older pair of jeans, or maybe thrift a pair, and then simply bust out the knees yourself!

I paired these jeans with a work style white button up, and a simple pair of black ankle booties. I figured I'd class up the more destroyed bottoms by keeping it clean and simple up top. This is definitely a fun but comfy/casual look- shoutout to the girl at Kate Spade the other day who told me she was obsessed with my outfit!!

I hope you guys enjoyed this style post, I'll have a few more up over the next couple of days :) And be sure to let me know in the comments if you guys are liking the destroyed denim trend!! I'll talk to you guys soon!

Oh- and if you haven't entered my Naked Basics Palette Giveaway, be SURE to do that here!!!!

Stay beautiful!!
- Whit

March Faves + GIVEAWAY!!!!

Hello all, happy April!! It seems like 2015 is just flying by. It's hard to believe we're already four months in! A lot has happened in March, both in my life and just in the world (Zayn LEFT One Direction!!! What?? Why??), but not much has changed for me in terms of makeup products. I found it hard to stick to one makeup regiment this month, and on top of that, I felt really lazy, quite frankly, about 90% of this month. So a lot of the products I'm going to talk about today have been mentioned on this blog before, but as such they are tried and true favorites :) And YES, this is my first giveaway!!! Blogging has really helped me become more confident and it's something I really enjoy, so this month, I will be sending a few of my favorites (spoiler alert- there's a NAKED palette in there!) to one lucky reader! That having been said- let's get on with it!

1)  L'Oreal Paris Magic Lumi Highlighter in the shade Medium ($12.94)- I mentioned this product in my November favorites, and it's still a frequently used product for me. What really made it standout this month for me, however, was the fact that as I got lazier (and I'll admit it- I got quite lazy, like a five-product face everyday) this concealer was acting as my base makeup all on it's own. It's very brightening, so I can just slap a massive amount under my eyes, blend away, and that was my base done!

2) Skin&Co Roma Truffle Therapy Serum ($75 for a full size)- I am not a serum type of girl. I mentioned this when I first received this product in my January Glossybox, and yet, I think I've been converted. My skin just drinks this stuff up! It doesn't feel sticky at all, and it rubs into the skin really nicely and feels really lightweight. It does smell a bit of coconuts, which I really like, but which might put some people off. I'm really gutted that my deluxe size is almost out, $75 seems like a massive amount for serum? If anyone knows of a good, more affordable one, let me know in the comments!

3) Maybelline Brow Drama in the shade Deep Brown ($7.99)- I've waited a real minute to talk about this product on my blog. When I first started using it, I absolutely hated it. Some of you may remember that I was very seriously committed to my Benefit Gimme Brow, but I was open to the idea of a new brow gel. I'll be honest, this one takes a bit of work. It's not as quick and easy as the Gimme Brow, but it's definitely got some advantages. For one, I do find the brow drama lasts all throughout the day. And I also like that it really defines the shape of your brows (the key is to place the ball end of the brush at the far end of your brow, by your temple, work in a windshield wiper motion towards the other end by your nose, and then swipe again back towards your temple). It also doesn't leave your brows feeling stiff with product either, which is nice! I don't know if I can say it's replaced the Gimme Brow, but it is quite a bit cheaper and definitely an awesome product.

4) Be a Bombshell Cosmetics Eye Base in the shade Submissive ($14)- I mentioned this product when I first received it in an Ipsy bag back in November, but I don't believe I've mentioned it since, which is strange, seeing as I use it everyday. It's a very sheer base, so I wouldn't recommend wearing it just on it's own- but it packs a lot of shimmer in, and is definitely awesome at increasing the wear of your eyeshadows. I find because it's sheer, it works amazingly under a variety of colors, and is especially lovely under mattes, because it gives them a bit of shimmer without losing color pay off!

 5) Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette ($29.00)- The moment you've all been waiting for! I did name this product in my 2014 favorites, so I'll try not to go on too much about it. My favorite shade is still Naked 2, which I wore almost everyday this month over the Be a Bombshell eye base. I found this combination to be super natural, but still really pretty. All of the colors in this palette are amazing and you can definitely build a huge variety of looks with it, and as with all of the Naked palettes, the formulation is pretty damn close to perfection. I've gone ahead and swatched all the shades for you, and if you guys are interested in a review or maybe an everyday makeup look featuring this palette, let me know!

From left to right (or bottom to top): Venus, Foxy, W.O.S, Naked 2, Faint, and Crave

And now, for the giveaway: I will be giving away a Naked Basics palette, a Maybelline Brow Drama (shade of your choosing), and a L'Oreal Paris Magic Lumi Highlighter (also in the shade of your choosing), all in a little makeup bag, and I will be shipping anywhere in the world! This giveaway will be open until the last day of April, good luck!!

I hope you guys have enjoyed this post, please don't forget to enter my giveaway!! 

Stay beautiful!!!!

- Whit

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