{natural} smokey eye makeup.

by 6 Comments

Lately I’ve really been enjoying experimenting with new makeup looks. I don’t know if it’s because of the holidays or just getting bored with my normal routine, but trying new colors, brands, and makeup techniques is just so much fun!

I often go with a dramatic smokey eyes for a night out, but I recently saw this tutorial on Refinery29, and it inspired me to try a more natural take on my favorite eye makeup look.

To achieve the look was pretty simple. I used three shadows -

FOXY and FAINT from the Urban Decay NAKED Basics palette:

and the bottom, golden shade from the Almay Intense i-color Bold Nudes kit (for blue eyes):

6 steps to a natural smokey eye:

1. I started by applying a base of the Faint shade on my eyelids with a medium-sized eye shadow brush.

2. Then I used a smaller eye shadow brush to apply Faint under my eyes.
It’s trickier applying to the bottom (which is why you want to use a smaller brush) – try to keep it from going past the ends of your eyelashes to avoid looking like you have a black eye.

3. Then I went over the top and bottom with a light dusting of the gold-toned Almay shadow.

4. I applied the final, lightest shade (Foxy) right under my brow for an extra pop.

5. Eyeliner is optional. I used a light brown (Cover Girl) liner.

6. Finish the eyes with mascara. I swear by Rimmel Lash Accelerator.

To make the look complete I kept it simple with some bronzer and a nude lip.

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What’s your go-to eye makeup look?
What makeup styles/techniques have you been wanting to experiment with?

ask G, part 2.

by 2 Comments

1. Makeup tutorial.. You look flawless day or night… So maybe some tips on what you do or recommend with your routine for either? – Dana

Wow, thanks Dana! Honestly, I’m not super talented or experimental in the makeup department, and my routine has been the same for as long as I can remember. If you check out my beauty category you’ll find a handful of posts I’ve done in the past about makeup reviews, my routine, etc. But to sum it all up, here are my top makeup tips!

  • in general, but especially for daytime, less is more.
  • I know this isn’t for everyone, but I try not to use foundation. My face feels better and my skin happier when I stick to some concealer under my eyes and on my nose, plus some blush or bronzer.
  • use eye shadows that compliment your eye color. For my blue eyes, that means I stick primarily to shades of brown (for liner, mascara, and shadow).
  • my go-to look for nighttime is smokey eyes. To do that I get a thin eye shadow brush and apply a dark drown shadow to my eyes as if it were an eyeliner.
  • if I want to have some fun or be a little more experimental with my look, I do so by changing my lip color rather than my eyes. Would rather not mess with a good thing, and a good shade of lipstick goes a long way!

And some of my favorite makeup products that I always use are:

  • mascara: Rimmel Lash Accelerator
  • bronzer: Benefit Hoola
  • concealer: Pur Disappearing Act
  • face: Almay Smart Shade Mousse
  • eye shadow: Urban Decay Naked and Almay Intense i-Color (bold nudes)
  • eye liner: I try new ones all the time, but always stick to browns
  • lip balm: Maybelline Baby Lips
  • lipstick: NARS Schiap (bright pink), Sephora Rouge (red), and Loreal Colour Riche Mering Mauve (light pink)

(FYI, most of those products can be found on GML’s Amazon store!)

2. How do you change your life when you realize it’s not working anymore? I’m 27, very unhappy, in a job I don’t like but more importantly I don’t like the relationship I have with myself. – Anonymous

I’m so sorry to hear that :( I’m definitely not an expert and can only speak from times that I’ve felt I wanted to change something about my own life. For me, the most important thing was having someone to talk to about it. Simply letting our what I was feeling was the first step in making a change. I confided in people close to me so I knew that I could trust them, and they knew me well enough to give sound advice.

As far as your job goes, have you tried looking into other options? It can’t hurt to just see what opportunities are out there and maybe sending your resume out. Changing jobs can be a really scary and difficult thing to do, so it’s okay to take your time and really think it through. But when I was in that position with a previous job, I came to the conclusion that my quality of life was more important.

Lastly, I would suggest you start journaling, if you don’t already do so. Journaling as been pivotal in my own life because it helps me pinpoint what areas of my life I’m happy with, which ones I’m not happy with, what I want to change, and how I plan on doing so. Simply starting to write down your feelings can really help bring clarity to your situation.

3. Do you still use fresh diet? – Anonymous

I wish! I can’t afford it right now.

4. Where do you get your hair cut? – Anonymous

Nowhere. I have my mom or a friend trim it for me about once a month.

5. How long did it take you to build a blog audience? Would you say that is one of the harder parts of blogging? –Andrea

Yes – absolutely. The difficult part isn’t just building the audience, but also keeping yourself motivated to keep up with it even when barely anyone is reading. When I first started blogging I was constantly asking myself “why am I doing this again?” I decided to stick with it no matter what, and it paid off after about 6 months.

I would say that the most important things for building a blog audience are 1) consistency 2) relatability and 3) aim to make friends, not just readers.

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Please note that I’m *not* an expert and that this advice is based solely on my own experiences and thoughts.

Have a question? Feel free to leave it as a comment on this post or ask me anonymously.