Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Trending: Hair Accessories

Trending: Hair Accesories
Hair Pins, Flower Crowns,  Gypsy Headpieces, Bows, Embellished Headbands






Hair accessories have been a growing trend this past year. One of my favorite actually, because it is an easy way to take your simple hair style up a notch and totally be on trend at the same time. The trend is not limited to these styles either, these are just some of my favorite.  Turbans, scarves, pony tail holders, cute hats, and bedazzled barrettes are all must have accessories!What's the best part of this trend?!? You can easily D.I.Y. most of these accessories. Don't have time for a D.I.Y.,?!? Head over to Forever 21 for some really cute and more importantly, AFFORDABLE finds! Here are some cute ones I found on F21's website, and all the links for everything featured on this post can be found below!



Trending Hair Accesories






Dying to try the trend but not so sure about how to rock it!?! Check out how some of our favorite celebs have been putting their hair accessories to work. 




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 What's your must have hair accessory for the summer!?! Let me know in the comments section below!


XoXo,
Amanda






Trending: Hair Accesories by beautynthebronzer featuring a gold leaf headband

Monday, June 24, 2013

RiRi Hearts M•A•C Lipsticks + RiRi Woo Tutorial

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 Photo credit: maccosmetics.com


 A couple months ago Rihanna and MAC launched their first product of the 4 collections we can expect from them this year. RiRi Woo was the first to be released-- a gorgeous red similar to its mama Ruby Woo, but a little darker, a little less drying, and a retro matte finish. I don't have Ruby Woo and I don't believe I need it after getting RiRi Woo on my team! Love, love the color and it looks amazeballs on everyone!


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 RiRi Woo                                  RiRi Boy                                    Heaux


Just this past week MAC launched the second round which included 2 additional lipsticks RiRi Boy and Heaux (and the re-release of Riri Woo).  Both are also retro matte finishes and they are both just as stunning as RiRi Woo! MAC also released a blush/bronzer duo in Hibiscus Kiss ($26.00 SOLD OUT on MAC online) and Lustre Drops in Barbados Girl ($20.00 SOLD OUT on MAC online). Basically, the whole collection sold out within hours!

All I had a serious interest in was the lippies! Especially after having and loving RiRi Woo so much, I knew they were MUST haves!! Okayyyy... and of course I was right! Check them out for yourself!

    RiRi Woo, RiRi Boy, HeauxIMG_0702


All of the lipsticks were $15 and were only available online. If you missed out this time around, don't worry, you'll have another chance. Two in fact, because there are still 2 more collections that will be launched, and it's rumored that lipsticks are going to be featured in those too!!

My favorite overall, and maybe it's because it's summer, is RiRi Boy. I love purple on my skin tone and it wears the most comfortable of the three. They are a bit drying, but they are matte and that finish is known to be a bit drying. Keep a light balm on your lips and around when you re-apply and you will be fine! I didn't use liner for these swatches, but they are highly recommended for the darker colors. 
RiRi Woo                                        RiRi Boy                                         Heaux
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The only thing I didn't like about this collection was the ridiculously long processing time on the MAC website...um as if I didn't have anything better to do then clench my teeth at my desk for 3 hours waiting for my order to go through...not cool MAC...not cool! And on top of that, the RiRi Woo I ordered to include in my giveaway came UNATTACHED to the base..frickin unacceptable with such a limited collection!


Other than that, I'm beyond pleased with my purchases and highly recommend getting your hands on these if you can catch them! Good luck beauties!
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If you need an idea for how to wear RiRi Woo, here is a tutorial for how I like to wear it! A bold red lip calls for lashes and winged liner......nothing more classic ♡



XoXo,
Amanda

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Smashbox Heat Wave Palette Review

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Let me just tell you guys, I have been eyeing the Heat Wave palette for sometime now. Was a little bit unsure because A. I currently have more than enough eyeshadow (so why can't I stop?!) and B. it's price tag! (Retails $48.00 at Ulta). Neither of those two problems got in the way though, because I got this baby as a birthday gift from my bestie!

The Heat Wave palette is limited edition. It has 10 colors< that can be worn wet or dry> and comes with a double ended eyeshadow brush.

The packaging is pretty sleek and simple. It's light and though it could be smaller, the size is pretty functional for travel. Plus it has a ridiculously huge mirror in the compact-- that makes up for it!

When I was looking at the palette, I was instantly drawn to the neutral tones in the palette, especially the peachy and metallic tones--very on trend. All of the shadows are very soft, perfect for summer makeup looks.

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The top 5 colors are warmer tones.
Color Descriptions L-R: soft matte peach, soft champagne beige, soft matte caramel, golden pink, gold

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The bottom 5 colors are cooler tones.
Color Descriptions L-R: pink beige with silver flecks, soft pewter grey, soft golden sea blue, shimmering purple taupe, deep golden brown


Swatches

Dry
L-R: soft matte peach, soft champagne beige, soft matte caramel, golden pink, gold
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Wet (Spritzed a tad bit of Fix + on my RT base shadow brush)

L-R: soft matte peach, soft champagne beige, soft matte caramel, golden pink, gold

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Dry
L-R: pink beige with silver flecks, soft pewter grey, soft golden sea blue, shimmering purple taupe,deep  golden brown
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Wet
L-R: pink beige with silver flecks, soft pewter grey, soft golden sea blue, shimmering purple taupe, deep golden brown
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Final thoughts on this palette. It's very pretty and has been welcomed into my collection. It is a summer palette so the colors are meant to be light, but there are a couple of colors in the top row-soft matte peach, soft champagne beige, soft matte caramel-that don't show up well on my skin tone wet or dry. That was a drawback for me, that's 3 out of 10 colors I can't really use. The other 7 colors are very gorgeous though, my favorites are soft golden sea blue, gold, and golden pink.  I would not rank this up there with my Naked palette, but this is a nice seasonal addition to a collection.


XoXo,
Amanda



*Color descriptions from Smashbox.com

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Welcome!

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Hey Beauties!

Welcome to my new blog page! It was time for me to venture into the blogosphere on my own and I am very excited for my new chapter. Per usual, you can expect to see my beauty vlogs and makeup posts...but I will also be doing more outfit posts, DIY's, and more inspirational posts (personal blurbs and lifestyle posts--here and there). Make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel and also follow the blog by email! Your support is BEYOND appreciated and I cannot wait to share my journey with all of you!! Connect with me by following me on Instagram and Twitter as well (all links can be found in the sidebar).

XoXo,
Amanda

Monday, June 17, 2013

Must Have Monday: Concealers



CONCEALER! This is kind of getting up there as one of my fave products. I never really used to buy concealers, now I just have to try them all. Here are some of the ones I have come across that I thought were must haves out of my collection. I also share some tips! Thanks for watching!

XoXo,
Amanda

DIY Brush Cleaning Board





Hey Beauties!

So I saw this brush cleaner idea on Instagram and it reminded me of the new Sigma brush cleaner glove, so I had to try it. It was super easy and cheap to make and it really did a great job cleaning my brushes in about half the time.  Needless to say, I will NEVER go back to the old way of cleaning. It also works great for cleaning makeup sponges like the GlamourSponge and the Beauty Blender.

Altogether it was under $10, and worth every penny! Let me know if you try it!

XoXo,
Amanda

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Must Have Monday: Bronzers




Hey Beauties!

In the spirit of summer, this week is all about bronzers! I makeup staple for contouring and achieving a natural sun-kissed glow. Bronzers are multi-taskers and can be used for several different things! In this video I talk about my must have bronzers for contouring, highlight, and for some color on the face.
Hope this is helpful!!

XoXo,
Amanda

Products Mentioned:

NARS Casino
Benefit Hoola
Flower Beauty Blush/Bronze Duo in Shimmering Goddess
Wet N Wild Bronzer in Goddess
NYX Matte Bronzer in Deep Tan
ELF Contour Powder Duo in Blushed and Bronzed
MAC MSF Give Me Sun
Maybelline Dream Sun in Glow Light and  Glow Medium
Tarte Park Ave Princess