Eyeliner aka Don't Be a Raccoon

Eyeliner aka Don't Be a Raccoon

Ok, lets talk about eyeliner.

It doesn't matter who you are- young or old, hippy or hipster, you wear eyeliner. Everyone wears eyeliner. If you don't, I don't get you as a person.

But I think everyone in their experience with eyeliner has always had a problem one way or another with the dreaded "raccoon eye".

Either your liner has smudged into your eye-bags, you didn't notice your eye shadow had fallout, or you wore 800 pounds of pure jet black eyeliner and you let that shit goooo and maybe your eyes watered or you didn't set it to begin with and now you're in the bathroom trying to fix it with a wet paper towel while your friend tries to say supportive word like, "It's fine. You look like you're rocking the heroin chic look!"

That friend is a liar. 

Let's get you the help you need. 

Here's a few things you'll need: 1) concealer- liquid, cream, whatever 2) Concealer brush 3) eyeliners in whatever color you like and also a nude liner 4) Brushes- liner brushes, angled brushes, smudger brushes, whatever 5) shadows in whatever color of eyeliner you're rocking. 6) Liners of the non-pencil persuasion. Liquid, gel, etc.

Tight-lining.

Ok, so the first problem I always see is when someone spends hours doing their beloved winged liner, and there is a big ol' gap of skin showing underneath it.

The fix is simple- tight line that shit.

It's basically the same idea as putting liner on your lower water line (or inner rim of your lower eyelid) but you're putting it under your lashes on the top lid. You can lift your eyelid if it's easier, I'm ok doing it like this.

You really could stop there and that would be a really nice everyday look. It makes your lashes look thicker without adding any excess.

Setting Cream with Powder

A LOT of people apply liner from the pencil- self included, but it's an easy way for things to get out of hand. 

Instead, try applying it with a brush.

Just dip dip dip....

And lightly flick your brush across your lash line. Build up to whatever intensity you like.

Now here's the important part- Set your friggin' liner with powder and it won't go ANYWHERE.

Again, dip dip dip...

 And then pat it on top of your liner.

Bam, easy. This is a nice easy way to get a liquid look that's softer and easy to do if you have the coffee shakes in your hands.

But let's rock it out.

Take a smudger brush...

And run it back and forth across the top of your line to smudge it out. Very rocker, yes?

 At this point if you wanted to go over the bottom lash line, you could use whatever is left on your brush. I line slightly under my waterline because my eyes are small and it makes them look more awake. I even ran a nude eyeliner across the waterline to take away redness and look extra fresh.

Clean up any fallout or messes with concealer and a brush.

And here's a big step too: Put on a little powder under your eyes.

It takes away some of the natural oils so your liner is less likely to crease up.

Let's talk about liquid and gels.

Liquid and gel liners were sent down to us from the cosmetic Gods to make our lives easier. Gel is great for people with shaky hands especially because you can smudge it out quick or quickly erase it.

I'm gonna use liquid because it's faster.

So here's what usually happens:

It all starts normally- you apply straight from the tube with the brush given to you and you might even get one eye to look normal...but then you do the other eye AND IT'S THICKER. So you go back to the first eye to try and match it- but now the wing is bigger! So you change the second one again...

Long story short you look like a panda and you're crying in the bathroom.

Girl it's ok- here's the deal.

The brushes in liquid liners suck. Like really suck.

Think about it, why spend money developing a good brush on a liquid liner that costs roughly $9?

Especially when there are AMAZING liner brushes out there.

So here's what to do:

Lightly dip your THIN liner brush into the liquid (this is my personal eyeliner so I dip my brush straight into it- obviously I would not do this for a client).

Paint a super thin line from the center eye to the outer corners. I start with this, because odds are you're gonna want it thicker here- so if it gets out of hand it's not a big deal. Now dip your brush again and scrape off a lot of excess. Now here's how I do the inner corner without it getting too thick- place the metal part of your brush as well as the bristles on top of your lashes, then slide the whole thing up towards your lash LINE and gently drag it towards the center of your eye.

Bam, done. You're welcome.

From there it's just a matter of connecting the dots, or extending the wing out a little.

Now lets say your dog bumped you and the liner has the dreaded bump. Where most people would panic and start adding liner- I say, subtract it.

Stephanie taught me a great trick:

Dip a stiff brush into concealer...

And just go over where the bump is. Then pack on the eye shadow color that was once there.

 Crazy right?

I love that one.

 Now you could leave that, add a red lip and be the queen of life, or you could add a tiny bit of pencil and smudge it out across your lash line for some balance. I normally just do the outer corners because my eyes are a bit small.

BUT FOR THE SAKE OF THE BLOG (and also because I was gonna shower right after this), lets saw you lined the water line and you smudged and you got RACCOON PANDA EYES.

Oh sweet Lord in heaven.

Don't panic.

Grab a makeup wipe and drape it over a finger. Use the tip of your finger to wipe away what you don't want.

Now just go back over the edge with a little eye shadow. Viola. No biggie- just remember to put on concealer and powder to set it like we did before.

Now just to point out the difference between lining the water line and... not. If you want the color of your eyes to pop or you have bigger eyes that can handle it- I say go for it. Why not. Just remember to find a good pencil or gel that holds up to watery eyes- or else it'll get EVERYWHERE.

If you don't want the hassle or prefer a more "wide awake" look- line with a nude color and then apply shadow below it.

You're welcome.

And last but not least- let's talk about makeup removal.

Cause some of ya'lls are nasty.

Removing makeup at the end of the night is important enough- clogged pores, reddness, iritation, etc.

But eyeliner is so much more important to remove. You can give yourself a sty, or an infection...just....gross, seriously. The guy who's house you're staying at, or your friends at the sleepover party are NOT going to care if you're not wearing makeup. I promise. And if they say something- those guys are dicks.

I promise what will happen is one girl will say an offhand comment like, "Oh, I didn't know your eyebrows were thin!"

And you're like, "oh, um, well..."

And then she'll wipe off her makeup and say, "I have sooooo much redness/acne/whatever. You're lucky you have nice skin".

And then you'll all bitch about your own skin and all in all- bond in the process.

As for guys? They won't say a damn thing because they know they're lucky you're even there.

When it comes to eyes though, be gentle.

Press your makeup wipe or remover on top of your eye and let it sit for a second. Then gently wipe away. Giving it the time to sink it helps to remove it easier. Be nice to your eyes now before they wrinkle up and then you're mad cause you look like you're 80.

And I know you're all- whatever, my face wash will get it anyway.

HAHAHAHAHA. No it won't. 

Unless you're washing your face with Dawn dish soap- I doubt it'll get everything. Trust me- remove first, wash after. I promise you'll see the difference.

-SamanthaK

Working Out and Other Things I'm Doing to Stop Being Gross.

Working Out and Other Things I'm Doing to Stop Being Gross.

So like you probably already saw, one of my new years resolution was to start running. Let me tell you something about running- it sucks and it's hard to get into and people always give you a bunch of BS like:

"After the first 2 weeks, you'll look forward to running."

Horseshit.

"After I work out I feel so energized. I have so much extra energy!"

Probably because you snorted a bunch of coke.

"There's a moment where you think you can't run anymore but then you PUSH through it and you end up running further than ever!"

Again, how much coke did you snort?

And to be fair, I generally think exercising is for people who are easily addicted to things. You have to be, really, to put yourself through it. A lot of people say they're addicted to the adrenaline or the dopamine and I'm just not really like that. 

I don't get addicted easily, and I don't stay in love with things easily either- and I'm just pretty skeptical about anything that changes you.

And maybe I just haven't been doing it long enough to feel any of that, but here's the universal truth about running:

You do feel better- one way or another.

Honestly it took a lot just to get started, and I had to do a lot of self motivating. And seriously, once you move past all the excuses you made for yourself and the bullshit you've collected- it just suddenly clicks in that you can't do it anymore. You have to just suck it up.

Here's how I did it:

I went shopping for workout clothes.

A lot of my gripe about working out was that it was uncomfortable. I don't care what anyone says- working out in a t-shirt and shorts sucks. And let's be frank here, I'm not skinny. I am pretty chubby, especially in the thigh region. Shorts=chafing. Whatever, sorry I burst the bubble. And really, buying the clothes kind of motivates you to use them. Do yourself a favor and buy legit clothes meant for the activity you're doing... especially a sports bra. Seriously.

And don't bother with the high end retailers. Go to outlet stores for Adidas and Nike or places like TJ Max and Marshall's, or try out http://www.fabletics.com/

It's high end stuff, and you can sign up to either spend $50 a month and they send you outfits in your size, or you can just buy the individual items (or full outfits) whenever you feel like at a discount. The quality is fab, and the price isn't bad. I'll probably start trying it this month because I think the clothes are really cute.

For reference (and I hate writing this down because people always have a snide comment): I am 5'9", 185 pounds, and a size L top and XL bottom. Roughly I'm a 12-14 pant size. Yeah, I'm kind of all over the place.

I bought this sweet Adidas jacket at a outlet store for like 30 bucks, and mine is all over bright yellow with white accents. I love it. It's comfortable, it's long enough to actually cover some of my butt (nothing worse for a tall girl than a short jacket) and it has thumb holes! I super like this. I want to go back a get a couple more.

Then I grabbed a sports bra while I was there too. The color I got was black with purple and yellow accents. I think I bought it for $15, and it matched the jacket! Like, hello! Honestly though, it's a great bra. Supportive but not tight, flexible but not enough to stretch it out. All in all, this is really ice. I DO sort of wish it had cups just because I forsee myself running in the summer and it might be nice to NOT give the neighborhood a show. 

And I found some running pants from Old Navy, but I won't show them on here because frankly, I don't think they're that good for running. They're better for yoga I think. I'll probably buy a pair of running capris that are slicker.

I didn't start cold turkey.

Yeah, I don't believe the bullshit of "just get out there and do it". No, sorry. I am a chunky girl. I'm not made for running, I'm not in shape to even START.

So I started doing something I actually know how to do and like- Yoga. And I got smart and went on Pinterest to find yoga moves specifically for runners. 

There's actually great stuff on there and I find the ones where it opens your hips and stretches your shins are particularly helpful.

So I did a lot of stretching for a week or so before I started. I felt like it really helped me get in the zone and there's something about yoga that just generally makes you feel stronger. And to be fair, I have a knee and shoulder injury that I have to be careful of- so stretching for me is pretty important.

I made a sick playlist.

That's one thing I think people underestimate- the power of music. I am not one to discriminate against music. Everyone seems to have hangups like, "I NEVER listen to country" or "I hate Kesha, Lady Gaga etc". To me it's like, I couldn't give 2 shits. I listen to a lot of different things, and yeah- I friggin' love top 20 hits. I do! They are catchy and fun and because I don't listen to the radio where I'd hear it 10 times a day- I don't get sick of it.

Music pushes me a lot. In band we learned to feel a lot of pieces and that's still stuck with me. Tones, beats per minute, that stuff is so damn important. And in terms of working out, use whatever you can to just keep you going. No one will judge you for using Katy Perry, I promise.

So here's a playlist I made, and yeah it's eclectic and crazy and I love it.

1. Let it Go- India Menzel

2. American Girl- Bonnie McKee

3. Call Your Girlfriend- Robyn

4. Come and Get It- Selena Gomez

5. Dancing On My Own- Robyn

6. Get Myself Together- Robyn

7. Heavy Cross- Gossip

8. I Love it- Icona Pop

9. No Church in the Wild- Jay Z, Kanye, Frank Ocean

10. Peacock- Katy Perry

11. Roar- Katy Perry

12. Radioactive- Imagine Dragons

13. Starships- Nicki Minaj

14. Dark Horse- Katy Perry

15. 19 and Crazy- Bomshel

16. Pompeii- Bastille

17. Kerosene- Miranda Lambert

It's a mix really. Some songs will make you feel powerful and some are more "In your face! I'm amazing!" and there's a couple that simply just make you feel like a boss ass bitch.

I downloaded an app that a) sort of keeps me accountable and b) is fun to use.

It's called Nike+ and it's actually pretty neat. It's meant strictly for running. It has like a built in coach and you can set it up for if you eventually want to run a 5K or something in 8 weeks. It has higher goals but I honestly haven't set it to anything, I'm just using it as a running tool. You click on "run" and it tracks your time, how far you've ran, your pace, etc. And at the end of the run it shows you where you ran on a map and honestly just seeing how far you went- it's pretty empowering. PLUS, you can sync it up to the music on your phone (and you can select specigic playlists, which is cool) and when you hit the "run" button, it automatically starts your playlist and still has the option to skip songs. I LIKE THAT. It's a cool app and sometimes I just want to run so I can use it and feel like a boss.

I tell someone I trust that I'm running.

I super, super, super HATE when people post on facebook or instagram pictures of their skinny selves looking adorable in workout gear with tag lines like "beast mode" or stupidly inspirational quotes like, "it's all about motivation" or something equally as dumb. I get why they do it, because people like the pictures and say nice and supportive comments- but honestly it feels like they're shaming themselves into working out. "If everyone sees the picture of me doing it, then I HAVE to do it." You shouldn't "have" to do anything. You should do it because you need to. You don't even have to like it, but you should know it's for you.

However, I agree with telling someone what you're doing to hold you accountable. People who loose weight do well when they do it together. It's not because it's a competition- it's because you genuinely want to support your friend.

But keep in mind, people who gain weight or do other bad things usually do it because they're doing it together with their friends. So it's important to sort of tell people who are supportive and maybe even doing the same for themselves.

And don't, for the love of God, get involved with a "pusher". Pushers are people who always text you like, "did you work out today?" or they always try to drag you to a gym. Eventually, you grow to resent the activity, and frankly the person too. You shouldn't have friends who shame you into doing stuff- you should have friends who support you.

I would rather have a conversation like this:

"I ran today, proud?"

"UMMM YES! You're awesome. Do you feel all strong and beefy?"

"Well, I walked 5 minutes, ran 1 1/2 and then walked 5 minutes again...so, I really didn't run..."

"Bitch, you were outside doing an activity for 12 minutes- you are owning life in the face right now."

"Yeah! I am! You're awesome."

"No bitch, you're awesome".

Than this:

"Hey, did you go to the gym yet?"

"Well, no. I'm just going to run outside for awhile after I finish eating."

"I'm going right now, you better come with me."

"Yeah I'm not doing that. I'm just going to go outside..."

"You're never going to loose weight like that, it's about lifting and (insert other words I don't know about)"

"I'm not trying to loose weight, I just want to feel good."

"You'll feel good after a good sweat in the gym."

"Stop texting me."

Seriously, I have lost respect for friends who were too pushy with me. It's why I really stopped going to the gym in the first place. (Although, I did enjoy when Skylar and I went together and when Kaylene and I went because they make me not feel bad about myself or my body or what I can physically do. But our schedules never lined up enough to make it a thing.)

I'm using a schedule that works for me.

I found this on pinterest and I'm giving it a shot. I'm not really going at this with the idea that I'll ever do a marathon because frankly, I don't want to. However, I do like that this regime starts from the ground up. Literally it starts with the idea in mind that you probably aren't active...at all.



 I think resting every other day might be a good idea for me and I like that it skips weekends in the first half because honestly- I do a lot on the weekends and eventually by the time I start adding in that 4th run day in the week, I'll be ready for it and I can get away with adding it earlier in the day.

So I hope your new years resolutions are starting strong. Mine are? Sorta?

-SamanthaK

Review Time: TheBalm Instain Blushes

Review Time: TheBalm Instain Blushes

I like blushes, I do- but sometimes I feel like with blush it's very much a "don't go fixin' what aint broke" and I have been rocking my ELF studio blushes for awhile. However, my gripe with ELF lately and with makeup in general actually is WHAT is with all the glitter lately?

Don't get me wrong, a great shimmer and shine is definitely something I enjoy- hell even a little glittery eyeshadow on the lid is up my alley, but I don't like looking like a damn disco ball. I don't. Most girls don't. Hookers do, but seriously- Are makeup companies actually going to go where the hooker demands are?

So really when it comes to a blush, I like something either luminous or matte because normally I have either a strong eye or a rockin' lip look OR I'm going insanely natural.

Now, I orginionally heard about TheBalm when it was in Sephora but I never really paid much mind until I saw a makeup artist using the products. After that I scoured youtube for reviews and found a girl named EmilyNoel83 (love her reviews, you should check her out) and she raves and raves about TheBalm. So one day she did a review on these blushes and in my mind I was like, "Looks amazing, but $22 a blush? You're freaking kidding me".

Til I was walking around Kohl's with Crystal and found a set of them for $35 AND I HAD A DAMN COUPON.

Yeah, worth it. (Frankly even $35 is still a crazy good deal).

So typical to TheBalm, the packaging is pretty adorable- but unlike Benefit, it's actually functional and easy to store in a drawer.

The set came in a big box but each blush was in it's own sleeve, and on each blush it's printed like a magazine.

Each blush is named after a fabric type and then they print the same namesake fabric inside each boxed blush. I think that's stupid precious.

In the kit comes (left to right) Toile, Houndstooth, and Argyle. I think in the full collection of blushes there are 6 total, so for $35 you're pretty much halfway there.

From left to right: Toile, Houndstooth, Argyle.

Toile is very much the quintessential "peachy pink" but it's pretty dark, I think it looks better a bit sheered out or applied with a light hand.

Houndstooth is so damn pretty. It's definitely a mauve tone, but it actually picks up as a very natural looking color. For as pale as I am it still looks very believable. 

Argyle is the most natural color. On fair tones it's noticeable but not overly so. Although it's a cool toned pink, I think it'd look nice on just about everyone.

So here's the claim:

TheBalm's longwearing, STAINING powder blush is a fashion must have! With six shades, perfect for all seasons and skin tones, it will give your cheeks color that won't quit.

And here's what I think about that:

Totally, freaking, accurate.

I know it's pretty rare for me to agree wholeheartedly because companies love to stretch their claims rather than just saying what it really is- but theBalm is pretty damn accurate on this one.

The blushes hang on all day, they apply easy and just look good.

Now, my only downside thing is that these aren't totally fool-proof. They are heavy on their pigments and on some of the darker tones it's better to build up slowly or apply on the more sheer side. These aren't like ELF shades where you can just swish your brush around like crazy and go to town. This is like a "tap tap tap, apply" situation.

But all together, these are great. I wish their prices weren't so damn hefty, but they are selling theBalm at Kohl's now so at least you'll get good packaging deals and you might be able to use coupons here and there. I would definitely check it out- especially if you got christmas gift cards to blow.

-SamanthaK