Soft & Romantic Valentine's Day Makeup

Hi readers!! So of course Valentine's day is around the corner! I know I will be going all out with my makeup when I go out with the hubs that night :)! Today I was playing around with makeup, trying to come up with a good look that I can share with you guys.  I'm obsessed with purples and lilacs at the moment so I decided to go with that.  Keep reading if you want to achieve this beautiful and soft look for Valentine's day (or any other day!).

1: First moisturize and prime.  I used Maybelline's Baby Skin (of course) and applied all over with a foundation brush.

2: Next comes foundation.  I used my Rimmel Stay Matte foundation and applied with my Real Techniques stippling brush.

3: Conceal and highlight under eyes with a good concealer.  I used the Rimmel Match Perfection underneath my eyes and the Physician's Formula Perfecting Concealer Duo for any blemishes.

4: Now the finish: apply a good face powder anywhere you applied concealer to seal it all in.  I used NYX's Radiant Finishing Powder (LOVE btw!).

5: Can't forget the brows people! Define your brows with anything you like to use... I used my e.l.f. eyebrow kit.

6: Prime your lids.  I used my e.l.f. eyelid primer all over lids and crease.

7: Ok now for the eyes. For this look, I used my Too Faced In Your Dreams palette.  First, I applied Pink Peacock all over my lid (or any light shimmery pink will work of course) with a flat shader brush.  Next, apply a dark purple to the crease (I used Dream On) with a fluffy crease brush.  Then, a dark grey to the outer V of your eyelid (I used Fishnet) using a small accent brush.  Keep blending! Blending is the most important step!

8: Now line the top of your lash line with a black cream liner and add a little flick at the outer corner (I used my e.l.f. cream liner).  Line your waterline with a brown pencil liner (like the NYX eyebrow and eyeliner pencil in Medium Brown) and then using an angled brush, apply a brown shimmery eyeshadow underneath your lash line (I used Rapture) to smoke it out.

9: Mascara time! I used my Makeup Forever Smoky Extravagant mascara, but of course any kind will work.  You can also apply false lashes here too (I might do that on Valentine's day).

10: Now for the cheeks.  Use a good bronzer to the hollows of your cheeks, under the jaw line, and up to the top of your forehead.  Next, apply a highlighter to the tops of your cheekbones (like NYX's Liquid Illuminator). Then, last but not least, a pink blush to the apples and blend out to your hairline (NYX's Baked Blush in Spanish Rose).

11: Now for the best part! Lipstick! I used my all-time favorite lipstick here... EM Cosmetic's lipstick in Violaceous.  It is the most beautiful lilac color and I am obsessed.

There ya go! Don't you look pretty? I'd love to know if anyone tried this look and how it worked out for you! Thanks for reading :)

<3 Miriam

Products used:

My Nighttime Routine!

Hey guys! Thought I would share my nightly routine with you! It's extremely exciting I know lol.  Anyways here goes!

1: Every night I literally look forward to taking a shower before jumping into bed.  I always use my Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy Sleep body wash. It smells like lavender and vanilla and it's so calming and the smell just reminds me of sleep and getting into bed!

2: After a shower, whenever my lips are really dry (especially now in the winter) I like to use my e.l.f. lip exfoliator.  It leaves my lips feeling so soft and it gets rid of all that dry skin.

3: Next I use my No.7 lash serum.  It says to use every night and eight weeks later, your lashes will be thicker and longer.  I've only used it for a few weeks, but I guess I will find out.  I'll of course by posting my review on here with some before and after shots.

4: Next is my Genove Fluidbase Retinol face cream.  I use this every night to fight against wrinkles (I don't have any yet, but it's good to start early!) and I am OBSESSED. It leaves my skin so soft and it really brightens up my skin.  If you want to check out the Genove skin care line, visit: http://www.genoveusa.com/Products.html you will LOVE it!!!

5: Next is my Julep hand exfoliator.  Just like the lip exfoliator, it's great to use in the winter (and smells really good)!

6: I always moisturize every night and especially at this time of the year, I go to a thicker body butter formula.  My favorites are the Bath and Body Works body butters, here I have my Japanese Cherry Blossom one.

7: Last but not least, if I washed my hair, I always put a bit of my Garnier Moroccan oil in my damp hair and then blowdry.  I am so attached to it that now I legit can't wash my hair without using it!

There's my routine! I hope you enjoyed :) Please leave me a comment if you liked it!!! Thanks for reading!

<3 Miriam

A Slice of my Makeup Bag

Heya :) So I thought I’d do a “what’s in my makeup bag?” kind of thing to start off my blog. Here goes:

1. Primer: e.l.f. Mineral Face Primer, which is AMAZING by the way and I’ve tried A LOT of primers. And for some reason I have two eyeshadow primers: my e.l.f. shadow primer and NYX eyeshadow base. Both are great, but the e.l.f. one is much better, plus I’ve noticed that many people rave about it.

2. Foundations: I have two for some reason. My trusted Rimmel BB Cream in “light” because it’s amazing and then my new Almay Wake up liquid makeup in “ivory” because I just got it and to be honest I’m not sure how I feel about it yet.

3. Concealer: Right now I toting around my Physician’s Formula Perfecting Concealer duo that I got for literally like $2 at CVS.  It has a green tone that you apply below the actual concealer that hides redness and blemishes.  Then on top of that you just add the normal skin tone concealer to cover any minor flaws.  When I apply this, I usually use a concealer brush and then blend it out with my beautyblender makeup sponge. IT IS SUCH A GOOD PRODUCT.

4. Powder: the amazing Rimmel Stay Matte powder - seriously one of the best that I have ever used.
5. Blush/bronzer/highlighter: My favorite product has to be my new Ultimate Glow Face trio by Victoria’s Secret that I just bought at the Semi Annual Sale.  It has a bronzer, blush, and highlighter shade (that I apply at the top of my cheekbones and down my nose) and it gives such a pretty glow and color to my face.  Also have NYC Cheek Glow in Central Park Pink and NYC Color Wheel Mosaic Face Powder in Pink Cheek Glow (these are ok, they’re inexpensive so what do you expect?).  Not to mention my Covergirl blush (I think the color is “pink”?) that I have literally had for years and it still has not run out. It is a beautiful color and very pigmented - one of my faves for sure.  Almost forgot my new NYX Liquid Illuminator in the color “sunbeam.” Not sure how I feel about this yet, but I will definitely let you guys know.

6. Eyebrows: e.l.f. Eyebrow kit which I am obsessed with.  I don’t feel like my makeup look is complete without a good defined brow. Basically I take an angled brush into the waxy part, apply it to my brows creating the shape.  Then, I take the powder to set it and it stays all day I love it! I also have a new product: the NYX “pushup bra for your eyebrows” yeah that’s literally what it’s called.  Basically it’s a two sided pencil, one side to fill in your brows then the other is a highlighter that I like to apply underneath the arch to give a lifted effect and not to mention a nice highlight (I don’t like filling in my brows with a pencil so I only use the highlighter).

7. Eyeliner:  I have a few for some reason: my Sephora kohl expert and my Hard Candy Take Me Out Liner.  Both are good, but what I mainly use is my e.l.f. Cream Eyeliner which I definitely recommend if you have trouble applying any type of liquid eyeliner it’s a life saver.

8. Eyes: I always use my Revlon eyelash curler before applying mascara, it creates a more dramatic curling effect to any mascara.  Right now I’m using the Loreal Telescopic Shocking Extensions mascara which is amazing.  I used the Maybelline Cat Eyes mascara for a long time which is also AMAZING.  I decided to try out a new one because I have this thing where I always need to try a different mascara and I really don’t know why….

Ok so that’s my makeup bag :) And I realized that maybe I keep too many things in there lol.  Hope I maybe gave you guys some inspiration…. ask me any questions you might have!! <3