"Radiant Orchid" Inspired Makeup Tutorial!! (U)

     Having little inspiration for this next tutorial, I went on Sephora's website for a little exploring. In my time on the website, I stumbled across the "2014 Color of the Year." When I first saw the bubblegum orchid, I was a bit taken back. How in the world could someone base an entire look around a shade of pink? But then I remembered that even though it seems far, spring is just around the corner. Pastels and bright colors are going to be appearing everywhere, helping us out of the winter rut we've all been in. Adding a little bit of that color to your face will get you looking ready for spring.

Directions:
     1. After washing your hands and completing your skin routine, prime your complexion with an illuminating primer. This will prep your skin for your foundation and it will draw a natural glow to your skin. Apply this to your forehead, nose, cheeks, chin, and partially down your neck. (Laura Mercier Foundation Primer Radiance -- $33.00)
     2. Considering you're going to want that light, "barely there" makeup look, a BB cream would be best for your skin. Depending on how much coverage you need, of course. If you need a lot of coverage, you can stick to whatever products work for you (foundations, concealers, etc.). Apply an appropriate amount of the product to your fingertips and warm it up. Then, put the product all over your face and blend out. (Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream -- $8.00)
     3. Conceal any imperfections (not under your eyes yet) with a concealer close to your skin tone. (Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer -- $6.00)
     4. Under your eyes, whether you have dark circles or not, you're going to want to add a lightness there. Keep most of the product close to your inner corner because that's where you're going to want the light. (Bare Minerals Stroke of Light Eye Brightener -- $22.00)
     5. Lightly set your makeup with a translucent face powder and a fluffy kabuki brush. (Make Up For Ever HD Pressed Powder -- $22.00)
     6. Prime your lids with a neutralizing base. (Dior Backstage Eye Prime -- $28.00)
     7. For the shadow, you're going to want to keep it fairly neutral. Avoid using pink on your lids because it could cause your eyes to appear swollen or sickly. A champagne cream shadow with gold flecks would be best for this look. Apply this all over your lid using your ring finger. (Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo Metals in Barely Branded -- $6.00)
     8. Fill in your eyebrows using a powder. Avoid using pencils or gel products because you want this look to be soft. Use an angled brush and a light hand to draw small strokes, filling in any sparse areas your eyebrows have. (Anastasia Brow Powder Duo -- $23.00)
     9. Now, we're going to get into the colors. With a bubblegum pink liquid blush or tint, dot a fairly small amount on the apples of your cheeks and quickly blend. (Benefit Cosmetics Lollitint -- $30.00)
     10. Moving on to lips, you're going to want to prep them with a lip balm. It can be tinted if you would like a brighter and more pronounced color, but in this case I would use a sheer balm. (Maybelline Baby Lips Doctor Rescue in Too Cool -- $3.00)
     11. After allowing that to set into your lips, you can begin with your lipstick. This part is completely up to you-- if you'd like to use a bright pink or a dark pink, it's your choice. Two great options are a magenta color and a "Barbie" pink shade. (Buxom Full Bodied Lipstick in Swinger -- $24.00 or MAC Cosmetics Nicki Minaj Lipstick in Pink Friday -- $16.00)

Ariana Grande Inspired Hair Tutorial!! (U)

If you know who Ariana Grande is, then you definitely know her signature hairstyle. A sleek half up, half down pony tail. Ariana sports this look where ever she goes; concert, award shows, meet and greets, or just on an average day of shopping. It's the perfect go anywhere hairstyle, that works all year long. Although you can wear this hairstyle whenever you want, I think it is the perfect do for the spring time. It is sweet and simple, yet sleek and glamorous as well which makes it the go to hairstyle whether you are staying home with your friends, or going out for a night on the town.


Hair Directions:

1. Ariana's hair has been dyed multiple times, and her color is always so bright and vibrant. If you have colored your hair, like Ariana has, I would recommend with starting out by washing your hair with a shampoo and conditioner that helps your color stay in and last longer. Garnier Fructis has a color sheild fortifying shampoo and conditioner that will keep your hair vibrant for a very long time. You can pick them up at your local grocery store/ drug store for around $4.
2. After getting out of the shower, you can either blow dry your hair, or let it dry naturally on its own. If you have the time, letting it dry naturally on its own will save your have from getting any extra, unnecessary heat damage. But if you don't have the time to let your hair dry on its own, blow drying it is your next best option. 
3. Before you do so, don't forget to put a decent amount of heat protectant in your hair to lessen the amount of damage that will occur to your hair. TRESemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Protective Spray does a great job of protecting your hair while you put heat on it. It only costs about $5 and it will last you a while. Spray it throughout your hair and make sure it is evenly distributed to protect all of your hair.
4. Blow dry your hair on a medium heat which will also help keep your hair from getting damaged. The hotter the hair dryer, the more damage will be done to your hair. Brush through your hair with a round brush as you dry the hair.
5. When you finish drying it, plug in your favorite curling wand or curling iron. While you are waiting for that to heat up, Take the Kenra Platinum Silkening Gloss, which can be bought at any beauty store for around $16 and pump one or two pumps into the palm of your hand. Rub your hands together and put the gloss into your hair, focusing on the middle and ends of your hair. Too much of the gloss on the roots of your hair will make it look greasy or oily. This gloss will add extra shine to your hair and make your curls look soft and silky.
6. Now taking your hot curling wand, I recommend using one that has a rather large barrel. The bigger the barrel, the bigger the curl, so if you want curls like Ariana has, you want a barrel that is at least 2 inches. Take two inch sections of hair and begin to wrap them around the barrel of the curling wand. Hold it in place for a few seconds, and gently let the curl fall off of the curling wand. Continue this all the way around your head until you have curled all of your hair. Remember to alternate curling one curl towards your head, then one curl away rom your head. This will prevent the curls from all clumping together and looking like one giant curl.
7. Now that you are done curling your hair, take a small section oh hair at the front of your head. If you have bangs, gather that hair, but if you don't have bangs, take some hair from where bangs would be. Split the hair into three sections and braid it until the bottom. Secure it with a small elastic that matches your hair color to disguise it.
8. To create Ariana's signature half up pony tail, gather the hair, starting right above your ears, and work your fingers back to the back of your head. Separate that top layer of hair from the bottom layer of hair. Make sure that the braid you put in the front of your head, is smoothly tucked along the upper/side of your head, and secure it into a half pony tail.
9. Ariana's hair never has any bumps or loose hairs sticking up, so to achieve this make sure you comb through the pony tail to get the smooth look.
10. For extra smoothness, put some hairspray on the tips of your fingers, and run it over the top of your head. Be careful not to put too much! You don't want it looking greasy. To finish off the look, spray a little hair spray over all of the curls, and the whole style, to make sure it stays picture perfect ready all night long!!

Selena Gomez Hair Tutorial!! (T)

Hair Directions:

1. Depending on your genes and the makeup of your hair, you will obviously need to take a shower either the night before or the morning of. I recommend using the Garnier Fructis - Hydra Recharge shampoo and conditioner. It will keep your hair soft and silky which is extremely important, especially in these cold, dry winter months.
2. After you shower, an extra step for those of you who have easily tangled and matted hair, is to use the Garnier Fructis -sleek and shine, leave in conditioner. When your hair is still damp, and brushed through, distribute the product throughout your hair, focusing on the middle and ends of your hair. Too much of the product at the roots of your scalp will make your hair look greasy. Comb through your hair one last time with a wide tooth comb to get all final knots and tangles out. (Don't rinse this out!)
3. If you wash your hair at night, you can let your hair air dry, so it will be ready to style in the morning, but if you shower in the morning, you probably wont have time to let your hair air dry so you will need to blow dry it. Before you apply any heat to your hair, you should always use a heat protectant. I like the Difiaba Pro Heat Shield spray. Just spray it through your lightly dampened hair before you begin to blow dry it. Taking your favorite hair dryer, set it on the middle heat setting if you have the option of doing so. I use a round styling brush when I am drying my hair, because it helps to keep all the frizz down, and tame the hair. Begin by taking small sections of hair in the brush, and putting the mouth of the hair dryer to it, and brush down the section of hair. Continue with this until your whole head it dried.
4. Now to get the waves that Selena has we are going to be using the Gold'n'Hot Ceramic Deep Waver. Once again, you are going to be using heat on your hair, so to protect it, spray it lightly once again with the Difiaba heat protectant. Depending on how thick your hair is, you might need to section it off in order to have better access to the layers underneath.
5. After letting the deep waver heat up, begin by putting sections of your hair into the deep waver at the roots of your head. Move the waver down little by little until you reach the ends of your hair. Continue doing this until you have done each layer, and all of your hair.
6. In order to achieve the volumized half up do that Selena has, you will need a teasing comb, and some hairspray. I like the Kenra firm hold hairspray. Starting at the crown of your head, spray some at the roots of your hair and comb it with a teasing comb to gain extra volume. Lightly comb over the top of your hair to get rid of any frizz or fly aways.
7. Taking half of your hair, from the tops of your ears, to the back of your head, gather the top layer, and secure it with a small elastic that matches your hair color. To make the style look more put together, and finished, take a very small section of your hair that is in the pony tail. Wrap it around the elastic to hide it. Tuck the end of the section of hair inside the elastic under the hair in order to hide it, and so it doesn't stick out.
8. A small amount of hairspray over the whole look will help it stay all day and night long.  

Katy Perry "Roar" Makeup Tutorial!! (T)

     Katy Perry has recently been in the spotlight for her new album Prism which features songs such as "Unconditionally" and "Dark Horse." The more popular single from the album, "Roar," was accompanied by a safari themed music video where Katy keeps her look fairly natural. This look is eye-brightening and bronzed-- perfect for the upcoming spring season!


Directions:
     1. This isn't necessarily a makeup step, but drink lots and lots of water. Katy's skin is nearly glowing. If you want to achieve her skin type, you're going to need to commit to drinking at least eight cups of water per day and cleansing both morning and night with the proper formula. This won't happen overnight, it will take time to achieve. But if you really stick to a routine, you can achieve a close to similar look.
     2. After you clean, exfoliate, and moisturize your skin thoroughly, prime it. Katy's skin is flawless in this video and that will be the main focus. With a primer, you can smooth out your skin and prevent your foundation from becoming blotchy or inconsistent. (Benefit Cosmetics POREfessional  Face Primer -- $36.00)
     3. Using a foundation with a dewy finish, dot the product all over your forehead, cheeks, nose, chin, and neck. Then with the pads of your (clean) fingers, blend in the product. Using a brush or sponge is not necessary because your fingers contain warmth which allows the product to blend easier. Be sure to bring the product by your ears and close to your hairline so that it looks as natural as possible. (Maybelline Fit Me Liquid Foundation -- $8.00)
     4. Conceal using a brightening concealer beneath your eyes and add a small amount of the product down the bridge of your nose.This will draw light to your face and give you the highlight you need. (Givenchy Mister Light Instant Light Corrective Pen -- $34.00)
     5. Conceal any imperfections with a product closer to your skin tone. Avoid using the brightening concealer on your blemishes because that will draw more attention to them and lessen the natural element. (Maybelline Fit Me Concealer -- $6.00)
     6. An optional step is to set your face makeup with a powder, but I only recommend it if your skin is oily. If not, you don't have to set it. It could potentially withdraw the dewy finish you have created. If you do use a powder, however, lightly apply a translucent powder all over your face and neck with a big fluffy brush. (Revlon Photoready Pressed Powder in "Translucent" -- $13.00)
     7. Prime your eyelids to even out your skin. (Urban Decay Primer Potion -- $12.00)
     8. Cover your lid with a color close to your skin tone to set the primer. (Urban Decay Naked Palette in "Naked" -- $50.00)
     9. With your ring finger, apply a shimmery champagne colored cream eyeshadow in your inner corner and beneath your brow bone. This will start as a beginner for your eye highlights. (Maybelline Color Tattoo in "Barely Branded" -- $7.00)
     10. With a small flat shader brush, apply a slightly shimmery ivory color over the cream shadow you have applied on your brow bone and your inner corner. This will not only set the product, but make it appear more pronounced. (Urban Decay Naked Palette in "Virgin" -- $50.00)
     11. This step varies depending on the thickness of your lash line. If you have thick eyelashes, then you will be able to skip over this step. However if your eyelashes are thin or light in color, this step would be necessary. With a black kohl eyeliner, begin drawing a line as close to your lashes as possible. It doesn't matter if it's messy or not because you will be blending it out. (Covergirl Queen Collection Eyeliner in "Black Onyx" -- $6.00)
     12. With a smudging brush, begin blending the line you created into your lash line. This will make it appear more natural.
     13. Curl your lashes.
     14. Apply a lengthening mascara. Volume isn't a major priority due to the fact that Katy has spidery lashes in the music video. Use two to three coats. (Maybelline Falsies Mascara in "Blackest Black" -- $7.00)
     15. For this look, you will apply blush first. This will allow your bronzer to be the focal point of this look, as it should be. With a fluffy blush brush, apply a coral color to the apples of your cheeks very lightly. (Benefit Cosmetics CORALista -- $28.00)
     16. Next with an angled sculpting brush, apply a matte bronzer to the hollows of your cheeks, hair line, down the sides of your nose, the bottom of your chin, and down your neck. This may be more than what you normally would use but again, this look focuses on the face. (NARS Laguna Bronzer -- $32.00)
     17. Lastly on your face, you will need a final highlight. Dot a liquid highlighter on your cheekbones, down your nose, and on your chin sparingly. Blend out with your ring finger. (Benefit Cosmetics High Beam -- $26.00)
     18. Apply a moisturizing lip balm to your lips. (EOS in "Sweet Mint" -- $3.00)
     19. With a light hand, apply a frosty coral color to your lips. This will finish off the entire look. (Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in "Demure" -- $8.00)

Sick Day Hair and Makeup!! (S)

Winter is in full effect and that only means one thing: people are getting sick. You might have the flu or just a common cold but whatever it is, you don't want people to know it by looking ill. This tutorial will teach you how to look like you're as good as new, even if you're not feeling like it.

Makeup Directions:
     1. Your face may be feeling especially dry since you're sick. After you cleanse your complexion, try adding an exfoliator. This will assist in getting rid of any dry patches on your face. (St. Ives has an awesome apricot scrub that is gentle on sensitive skin.)
     2. Use a heavier moisturizer if you can. You want your skin to stay hydrated as much as possible. With Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing lotion, blend it in all over your face and neck. If necessary, focus it on especially dried areas.
     3. Avoid using foundations at all cost. You don't want to feel like you're wearing a mask when you're sick, and you'll probably feel too tired to wear all of that makeup anyways. Look for a BB Cream or tinted moisturizer such as Urban Decay's Naked Beauty Balm Broad Spectrum BB Cream. Using a new, clean sponge would be best due to the fact that you don't want the bacteria and germs being reapplied to your face. Blend the product down to your neck.
     4. Conceal with Perfekt Skin Perfection concealer. Apply it beneath your eyes to erase dark circles and around your nose to get rid of any redness you may have.
     5. Set your makeup with a translucent powder such as Revlon's Photoready translucent powder. This is a light product that will keep your skin feeling clean and fresh.
     6. If necessary, fill in your brows and keep them looking natural with a brow pencil.
     7. You're going to want to keep your makeup as light and as natural as you possibly can, but you're still going to want to prime your eyes to cover up any dark areas that were created from being tired or sick. As usual, prime your lids with Urban Decay's Primer Potion.
     8. Looking awake isn't as hard as you may think. Go into a matte white eyeshadow such as Make Up For Ever's matte white single shadow and apply it into your inner corners and on your brow bone. This will draw light back into your face and make you look like you're not half asleep.
     9. This is a tip for those of you who have irritated, red eyes, which is common for people who are enduring a cold. Taking a blue eyeliner (yes, blue) such as Maybelline's Eye Studio Master Drama Eye Liner in Sapphire Strength, line your water line. The blue will contrast the red and make it look like your eyes aren't at all irritated.
     10. Curl and apply mascara to your lashes. Stick to only one or two coats for your lashes because you don't want them to become any more irritated than they already might be. Covergirl's Flamed Up Mega Curl mascara is light but still gives you long lashes.
     11. Your skin might appear pale or lacking color. Bring it back to life using a tint such as Benefit Cosmetic's Posietint in Poppy Pink. Dot a small amount on the apples of your cheeks to give yourself warmth for your complexion.
     12. You're most likely not going to want to wear lipstick or lip glosses all day, so stick to something natural and manageable such as Maybelline's Baby Lips Dr. Rescue. If you're not looking for color, stick to the color "Too Cool," which is a clear balm that smells like mint. If you want color, go for "Pink Me Up," which is a soft pink that will supply you with the right amount of color.
     13. Get well soon!

Hair Directions:

1. With the harsh winter dragging on, so is the season for colds and sickness. For those days that you need to go somewhere, and you aren't feeling the greatest, you are most likely wanting to keep your hair up since it will be much less maintenance for you throughout the day.
2. Dry shampoo will definitely be a necessity if you haven't washed your hair in a day or two, considering you have been sick. The dry shampoo from Lush is my personal recommendation. Taking the product, shake it onto the roots of your hair, where ever it looks oily or greasy. With your fingers or a comb, run it through your hair and the dry shampoo do distribute the product.
3. After making sure that your hair no longer looks oily, you can begin with the simple hairstyle. Gather all of your hair at the top of your head in a ponytail, and secure it with a hair tie.
4. Split the ponytail into three sections and braid it into a regular braid. (You can always do a fishtail braid, or any other braid you want, if you desire.) Tie the end of the braid off with a small rubber elastic that matches your hair color.
5. Pull the strands of the braid lightly to make it appear to be bigger, fuller, and more loose.
6. To make the bun, begin wrapping the braid around itself at the top of your head where you put the first hair tie. You will almost be making a ballerina looking bun.
7. After the whole braid it wrapped into a bun, take another hair tie, and wrap it around the bun, making sure it stays in place. (Make sure the ends of your hair, and the small elastic are hidden somewhere under the braided bun).
8. Play with the bun a little until the desired look is achieved. If you are going for a messier look, pull down a few strands of your bangs to help frame your face. If you want to keep the look more clean cut, then taking a little hairspray, spray back any fly-aways or loose hairs that might be sticking up.
9. To finish off the look add a clip in bow to the back of your head underneath the braided bun. Its a cute and easy way to make it look like you spent a lot of time doing your hair, when in reality it only took you a few minutes.

Formal Dance Hair and Makeup!! (R)

The time of year has come where school formals and dances are occurring. Finding a good hair and makeup look that will go with your dress is tough but you can't go wrong with a textured up-do and a smokey shadow look. This look is modern and will go perfectly with just about any dress!

Makeup Directions:
     1. As usual, start off with a clean face. Try using an oil reducing cleanser such as Neutrogena's Oil Free Acne Wash. This will unclog your pores and prevent any more oil from developing in your skin while you're at the dance.
     2. Moisturize your skin with an oil free lotion as well such as Neutrogena's Oil Free Daily Moisturizer. Apply it to your face and neck. Also, apply a lip balm.
     3. Prep your skin with a long lasting primer. Smashbox's Photo Finish Foundation Primer will lock your makeup in place for the entire night.
     4. Considering you'll be at a dance and you will be getting pictures with your friends, you want your skin to appear flawless (if it isn't already). Pump Revlon's Photoready Foundation on the back of your hand and with a sponge, begin applying it all over your skin. Blend it up to your hairline to avoid the dreaded "makeup mask" and blend it down to your neck as well. You want this to look as natural as possible. Having a heavy, cake-y face isn't something you're going to want.
     5. With the Amazing Cosmetics Concealer, dot a small amount beneath your eyes, down your nose, and on any blemishes you may have. Blend outwards using your ring finger for a flawless coverage.
     6. Set your makeup with a translucent powder and a kabuki brush. Try using Revlon's Photoready Setting Powder and apply it all over your face and neck, keeping the product light.
     7. Taking an angled sculpting brush, suck in your cheeks and begin filling in the hollows with Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer. Also, blend the product up to your hairline, creating a "C" shape that is mirrored on the other side.
     8. To begin with the eyes, prime them with Urban Decay Primer Potion. (Regular or Sin can be used.)
     9. This look doesn't require bold brows, but it would be suggested that you fill them in if necessary. Groom them with a spooly brush and with Maybelline's Eye Studio Master Shape Brow Pencil, lightly fill in your brows with soft strokes. Then, run the spooly over them again in order to keep them in place.
     10. Using a flat shader brush, pick up a shimmering nude color such as "Grace" by Stila and pack it on to your lid generously.
     11. Going into the Too Faced Natural Eye palette, dip a fluffy crease brush into the color "Velvet Revolver," which is a matte medium brown, and apply it to your entire crease. Bring the shadow beneath your eye as close to your lashline as possible and blend out the color for some definition.
     12. With a smaller flat shading brush, apply Urban Decay Naked 3's "Blackheart" to the outer V of your eye. Don't worry about blending just yet. Take the product beneath your eye again, only focusing it on the outer corner.
     13. For blending, use a tapered blending brush and circular motions to disperse the darker color. Keep the color focused mainly in the outer V.
     14. Sticking with the Urban Decay Naked 3 palette, go into the color "Stranger," which is a matte ivory color, and apply it to the inner-corner of your eye and beneath your brow bone for a highlight.
     15. As for liner, stick with a black gel such as Maybelline's Eye Studio Master Gel Liner. Dip an angled liner brush into the product and begin lining above your lashline, but keep it as close to your eyelashes as possible. Wing out the liner just slightly, creating a dramatic effect. The thickness of the line is up to you and whatever you believe looks best on you.
     16. Ditch the fake lashes and head straight for the curler-- you don't want to have to worry about them falling off all night, do you? Curl them and hold it for about five seconds, then carefully release.
     17.  Go into L'Oreal's Voluminous Butterfly mascara in black and begin coating your lashes, top and bottom. After waiting about fifteen seconds, go in for a second coat that focuses mainly on your outer lashes for a whispy effect.
     18. This step is completely optional and you should only do it if it really goes with your dress. With MAC's Viva Glam Rihanna Lipstick, begin sweeping the color across your lips. This is a matte red product with a blue finish that will look great in pictures.

Hair Directions:

1. Start off this look by brushing out your hair so you don't have any knots or tangles in it.
2. Taking a section of hair at the crown of your head, spray the hair with hairspray, and taking a teasing comb, begin to tease the hair focusing it on the roots of your hair to add extra volume to the look.
3. Gently run a comb over the top of your hair to put all of the loose hairs that were sticking up, down.
4. After adding the volume to your hair, you can begin with the braid. Split your hair into two sections at the side of your head. Taking a small section of hair from one of those sections, cross it over to the other large section of hair. Now take the second large section of hair and do the same, with taking a small piece of hair from the outside, and cross it over to the other side. Repeat this process until you are all the way down to the ends of your hair. Secure the ends with a small elastic to match your hair color so it isn't visible.
5. To add even more volume and texture to the look, begin to pull at the braid to loosen up the braid. Do this all the way down the braid, to achieve an even look.
6.  Now to take the look a step further, we are going to take the braid and put it into an up-do. Taking the braid, bring it to the back of your head on the opposite side and secure it with a few bobby pins.
7. With the remaining braid that is left unpinned, bring it to the opposite side of your head, and pin it once again, with bobby pins. Continue overlapping the braid back and forth until the braid is all pinned at the back of your head.
8. Don't forget to tuck the very ends of your hair under one of the crossed over sections of the braid, to hide it, and finish off the look.
9. If you have bangs, a great way to finish off this hairstyle is by taking some of that hair, and using it to frame your face. Let a few strands hang next to your face, and after lightly spraying them with a heat protectant, curl them with a very large curling iron. You don't want them to look like complete ringlets though, so brush them out with your fingers until they are just loose curls, almost waves.
10. Hair spray all over this look will ensure that the braid stays in place all night long.