Beauty On A Budget: Drugstore Holiday Makeup Tutorial

After spending all your money getting gifts for family and friends, a trip to Sephora might not be in your immediate future. That being said, sacrificing your annual right as a beauty addict to go full-on glam during the holidays is not an option I will allow you to take. Though you might have to dig a little deeper to find gems in the drugstore, they are there. For instance, my search this past week has led me to find some new favorites in the NYX Nude Matte Shadows and the Covergirl TruNaked Palettes. For being so budget-friendly, they certainly pack a punch and I'd definitely recommend them even if money isn't an issue. Also, before I get on to the tutorial, I wanted to stress how important it is to utilize all of your options--use your products for more than one thing, look out for sales and cash back, get creative. There are no limits unless you create them ♥


Tutorial

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1♥ I primed my eyelids with the ELF Shadow Lock Eyelid Primer, which reminds me somewhat of my favorite Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer, except it has a slightly drier texture and it blanks out the color of your lids a bit more.

2♥ When you're on a budget, my best bit of advice is to multi-task your products! There are so many ways to use one piece of makeup, so break the "rules" a little. As my transition, I'm using the lightest contour shade from the NYX Highlight & Contour Pro Palette and sweeping that through my crease up to my brow bone using a medium sized blending brush.

3♥ Again from that same palette, I'm taking the darkest contour shade on a smaller blending brush and concentrating that directly in my crease. I make sure not to take this color too far in--I go about halfway into my crease with this shade.

4♥ To futher define my crease, I take the NYX Nude Matte Shadow in Skinny Dip (medium plum) on an angled shader brush and trace over the area that I just defined in the last step. Once again, I don't take this shade in any farther than halfway through the crease. If the definition creates any harsh lines, feel free to take the smaller blending brush and gently blur out the edges.

5♥ Now it's time to clean up and polish the look a bit. Taking Shell (light beige) from the Covergirl TruNaked Nudes Palette, I swept that over my lid with a large flat eyeshadow brush. Doing this creates a blank slate on your lid. If you want, you can blur out the edges with a blending brush, but I wanted to keep the edges crisp so as to give the effect of a cut crease.

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6♥ I liked the faux cut crease effect so much that I wanted to intensify it just a teensy bit more. Taking an angled eyeliner brush, I took Sable (deep dark brown) from the same Covergirl Palette and defined that same area some more. Be sure to blend out the edges with the small blending brush again.

7♥ Create your winged eyeliner. For looks like this, I like to create a thicker more pronounced eyeliner so that when I add the glitter, you can still see the liner peeking out. Lately, I've been trying out the Milani Eye Tech Extreme Liquid Eye Liner in Blackest Black and I've really been liking it. I would go so far as to say that it might eventually replace my Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner because of its affordability.

8♥ Now for the part that takes this look up a notch--glitter, of course. Directly above where I created the winged eyeliner, I drew a line following the same direction and curvature using the NYX Liquid Crystal Liner in Crystal Gold. If the glitter goes over your winged eyeliner, you can always use your black liquid liner to go over it again and correct the shape.

9♥ As always, every look is about balance, so I smoked out my lower lash line. I didn't have a black kohl or gel eyeliner from the drugstore, so feel free to use whichever one you like. I, then, smudged out the eyeliner with a pencil brush and the Sable eyeshadow. Afterwards, I took Skinny Dip on the angled shader brush and blended out the dark shadow to make it more seamless.

10♥ Last up are the finishing touches--the lashes I used were from Elite Eye Lashes in style # 18 Black.

Face Deets

♥ Foundation - L'Oreal Infallible Pro Matte

♥ Concealer - LA Girl Pro Conceal

♥ Brows - NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Taupe

♥ Bronzer - ELF Contour Palette

♥ Blush - NYX Baked Blush in Ignite

♥ Highlight - Wet n Wild Hollywood Boulevard

♥ Lips - Milani Color Statement Lipstick in Matte Naked

XO♥

The Red Lippie Wardrobe: My Top FIVE Red Lipsticks

Since the holidays are fast-approaching, more festive makeup looks are flooding my social media feeds. Personally, I would rock a red lip all year long, but I can completely understand why most people reserve it for special occasions. It's a bright, in-your-face pop of color that commands attention, not appropriate for your everyday wallflower. And while you might get tired of seeing all the red lippies, don't be fooled--not every red lipstick was created equal. There are red lipsticks with a blue undertone that make your teeth look whiter and there are also red lipsticks with an orange base that bring warmth to the complexion. As you can see most of my favorites come in liquid lipstick form and that's simply because they tend to provide an ease of application, as well as increased longevity. That being said, these reds are all my favorite as they suit me differently depending on the look I'm going for. See for yourself!

Left to Right: Covergirl Lip Perfection Lipstick in 305 Hot, Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipstick in Hoe Hoe Hoe, LA Girl Matte Flat Finish Pigment Gloss in Secret, Sephora Cream Lip Stain in 01 Always Red, & Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Fiery

Left to Right: Covergirl Lip Perfection Lipstick in 305 Hot, Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipstick in Hoe Hoe Hoe, LA Girl Matte Flat Finish Pigment Gloss in Secret, Sephora Cream Lip Stain in 01 Always Red, & Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Fiery

♥ Covergirl Lip Perfection Lipstick in 305 Hot - While some drugstore lipsticks are good, I've never been WOW!'d before by them...that is, until I tried this lipstick. I remember taking a risk and trying it out the same night I had a date and boy did that risk pay off. This lipstick has such a glossy formula that it glides on like a dream, yet it also doesn't feather outside my lip line (what voodoo did you put in this stuff?!) Not only that, but it lasts through eating and drinking. It was still there at the end of the day! This is hands down my favorite lippie if I'm feeling like a shiny red lip.

♥ Jeffree Star Velour Liquid Lipstick in Hoe Hoe Hoe - The brand might not be the most accessible, nor the most clean-cut, but the rockstar edge certainly allows for the uniqueness that brought about this shade. The dark base contrasted against the pink micro glitter seems to attract the light like a highlight does for your face, making your lips look instantly more plump, while still remaining matte. And you don't have to worry about any grittiness; you don't feel the glitter at all. However, I have found that it takes some work to make the glitter really show. If you wait some time for the lipstick to completely dry down, you can run your finger over your lips and BAM, the pink glitter "activates".

♥ LA Girl Matte Flat Finish Pigment Gloss in Secret - When I first saw these pop up at a local beauty supply, I was instantly made a happy camper. LA Girl is so insanely affordable, so to see them enter into the liquid lipstick trend was pleasing. More people would have access to this trend and enjoy its benefits--I love it! Now I picked up this particular shade because I was going for the "vampy" look and I think this lippie succeeds in that area. It is a beautiful wine shade that is as matte as matte can get. And while being the most affordable, I find this lipstick to have the best applicator--it's long, yet slightly rigid, which is perfect for getting sharp lines AND it distributes just the right amount of product to cover my entire lips.

♥ Sephora Cream Lip Stain in 01 Always Red - I know that blue-based reds are a standard must-have, but if you have yellow or olive undertones, you need this! It is an orange-red, which is more flattering on warmer skin tones. I just love how much it pops on me compared to my other reds and yet I would feel comfortable rocking it at any time. Generally, Sephora Cream Lip Stains are much more affordable compared to higher end alternatives, but they're my absolute favorite formula because of how comfortable they are. I don't feel like I sucked all the hydration out of my lips when I wear them.

♥ Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Fiery - Stila was the first brand of liquid lipstick I ever tried and as such, it holds a special place in my heart. The formula is much different than all of the others as it is a thicker cream consistency. The Stay All Day Liquid Lipsticks are incredibly pigmented, which means you probably won't even need nearly as much as is dispensed on the applicator. As for this particular shade, I was expecting a warmer red based on the name, but on me it looks like your classic red. And who doesn't need one of those in their arsenal?


That sums up my top five. What are your favorite reds?


XO♥