The Progressive Glo Up

Remember the first time you did a Full Face Glam look? And no one could tell you anything, you just knew you were BAD. Snapping selfies left and right. Posting those same selfies on social media with all the confidence in the world. But now a year later, six months later, shoot-a day later…you look at those photos and think “What was I even thinking”. That happens for me fairly often. I started this blog back in February and had been wearing makeup way before that. But my growth in the past year has been chartable.

So here is a list of five things I have learned based on personal experience…

1. No one wants to see a stubby wing. If you can’t do a winged liner, leave it alone. Please, practice at home but leaving your house thinking you are cute with one millimeter of wing sticking past your lash line is not the business. If you have hooded lids like me, check out Alissa Ashley’s winged liner tutorial. 

2. Your contour and highlight should be friends, there should never be an obvious, stark wall between them. BLEND. No harsh lines, its not cute.

3. Pairing a bold lipstick with a bold eye look detracts from one or the other. I am writing this one, as if I don’t do it still. I know a bright eye is best paired with a nude lip, but I can’t really seem to stop.

4. Set your face. Makeup is fun, but it is not a game. Do you want your foundation sliding off your face two hours after its applied?

5. The tools you use are just as important as the products. Don’t skimp on your brushes or sponges! You get wack application with wack tools.

This was 9 months ago. I know I thought I was cute. Screaming YAS KWEEN as I applied that lipstick. (Echo by KVD)

Me today. I am sure there is lots to learn and I am still taking car selfies but we have come a long way!

Thanks for reading! I know plenty of my makeup enthusiasts can relate. Comment below with your most memorable whoopsie! Until next time!

When the deepest shade is beige…

Let’s talk about shade range. I am sure there are tons of thoughtful posts about this circulating the internet, but I have yet to tackle it so here goes.

In the past year I have gotten deeper and deeper into makeup; and consequently, have become more aware of the obvious shade representation problem in the beauty community. My skin is considered medium deep. So, thats to say I can find makeup that works for me but it took me ages to find a bronzer deep and red enough for my skin tone. Others, have a bit more trouble. My friend Regina is one of those people. She has beautiful dark, rich skin that makeup companies tend to ignore. Her most recent challenge has been highlighting and contouring. The highlight shades are too light and the contour shades aren’t dark enough. Why should Regina have to forgo a part of her makeup routine because of slack makeup companies? But like most brown makeup lovers, she hasn’t given up. It’s been a lot of trial and error but she has been making it work with what she has and that MELANIN POPPIN.

This is Regina, being BAD in some black lipstick and a bold eye. I am forever jealous of her bold day time makeup choices. WERQ, boo!  IG: 1_blacqueen

There is a recent dismissal of brown girls that pops into my head. Tarte had a whole new launch. Their Rainforest of the Sea Collection. The foundation that launched with the collection, Rainforest of the Sea Water Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF 15, sparked my interest. Like who doesn’t want a light weight foundation that is full coverage…that’s ideal for me. Well once the swatches started coming out I knew it wasn’t in the cards for me. The deepest shade is like 6  or 7 shades too light for me. I am always baffled why bigger companies don’t produce more shades. I mean…like I KNOW. I KNOW. (Black Lives Matter) But from a marketing stand point it seems foolish. They are missing so many sales from darker women. And if other brown beauty lovers are like me and hold a grudge, the companies lose my sales until they begin to expand their shades. I forreal just started shopping with Too Faced again once they added shades to the Born This Way Foundation.

Side eye to makeup companies that don’t include my skin but shoutout to the makeup companies that make this glamour possible!

Shoutout to some of my favorite companies that think of the beautiful dark girls. Bobbi Brown, NARS, Lancome, Estee Lauder, Jeffree Star, and Beautylish. That isn’t all of them but just some of my favorites. Thanks for reading, leave a comment telling me your favorite inclusive companies. Until next time!

Spring & Summer Makeup Routine

In my past two posts I have mentioned that I live in South Carolina. Its notoriously hot and humid here. In fact the tag line for my city is “Famously Hot”, and it is so so so accurate. Being that it is hot and humid here I have to take precautions to keep the oil and shine at bay.

It starts with a good base. I choose primers that fill my pores and reduce shine. My two favorites are the Smashbox Iconic Photo Finish Primer and Benefit’s Porefessional. Both of these keep my tzone looking flawless. For the perimeter of my face I use Nivea’s Sensitive Shave Balm. That stuff is magic, my contour and highlight don’t fade at all!

My summer foundation is the Lancome Teint Idole. It claims 24 hour wear, but I have worn it for upwards of nine to ten hours and it has lasted with only 1 to 2 touchups needed. I have been applying mine with a beauty blender and letting it set for a couple of minutes before I add my concealer highlight. It definitely appears tacky at first but once it has a moment to settle it leaves a nice soft matte finish.

The most crucial step in this process are the products use to set the makeup. I have mentioned all but two of them on my blog. I use Sacha Buttercup powder as if my life depended on it. I set all my highlighted areas with it. And sometimes if I am feeling a little extra, I will brush it away and apply an additional layer. For my whole face I use Koyvoca’s KV Classic Setting Powder. I reviewed their products in a previous post. I couldn’t ask for a better complexion product. I mean, it blends all my makeup together seamlessly and keeps my face oil free. AND THE COLOR MATCH 10/10! If you haven’t visited this brands site, please please do. It is well worth it. Lastly, I use the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water. This is the best setting spray I have tried. It takes away the powdery look and leaves a nice natural glow without any oilyness.

So here is my makeup like 15 minutes after I finished. Excuse the selfies, it was not an A1 selfie day and your girl was struggling. It was about 1130 am and already 86…yikes.

This is about and hour and a half after the first photo. I got to hang out with my brother today but he merely tolerated me for these pictures. 

This was taken at 430pm. By this time there was some definite oiliness in my Tzone and my lipstick was due to be reapplied (popcorn) but I did not blot so y’all could see how the makeup stood up to the weather. We saw the new Captain America and there was so much goodness to look at. If y’all don’t care about the action or the story line please go for Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther) and Sebastian Stan (Winter Soilder).

Alright. The last two. The first one was just me being adorable on snapchat. And this one is right before I took off my makeup. And I am so done with the day. It was extra humid here bc it rained a tad bit but the sun never seemed to go away. The high was 94!

All things considered, I think my makeup did pretty well throughout the day. I am pleased with this routine I have developed. Comment below if you have any other suggestions or tell me what works for you! I hope this helped with your summer makeup routine! Thanks for reading! Until next time!!!