Vintage Up-do

Ok - can I just say how much I am in love with the wave of vintage that has been coming around?! Classic, timeless, polished - mmm, dreamy. So, when I had the chance to play around on some hair, OF COURSE I am going to try something with a vintage flair! Please tell me you love this as much as I do... *swoon*

p.s. - thanks to my beauty of a sis-in-love for being my guinea pig :) I love her hair!







Also, be on the lookout for a post soon with some fashion shoot hair and makeup goodies - LOVE! I had the chance to work with some amazing people, I cannot wait to show you some of the fun! I will also have another favs post coming up within the next little bit.

Make sure you check back soon so you don't miss all the fun that will be coming on the blog!

Much love and until next time... Toodles!

Time for more FAVS!

Hello to all my beauties out there! I've missed you all... I've been quite busy this wedding season so I'm sorry I haven't been around as much these past few weeks!

As always, I've been trying new products (never too busy for that!) and cannot wait to share some of them with you. I hope you enjoy, and as always - ask away!


How does my hair know that it's summer?! It seems like as soon as May rolled around, my hair almost instantly decided that it wanted to hold little to no moisture. No bueno, senoritas! So, of course, I had to do SOMEthing about this huge problem. I came across this little wonder worker at - where else - Target! I am in love. You rub a few squirts in before bed at night and it's a little magic worker... moisture when you wake up in the morning! I also want to try the mask treatments L'Oreal has, maybe I'll tell you about those in the next favs post!
L'Oreal EverStrong Overnight Repair Treatment, $5.99 (on sale right now, at Target!)



I am constantly on the lookout for a mousse that doesn't crispy-fy my hair. I know you know what I'm talking about - you put a big dob of mousse in your hair expecting volume, and all you get is crispy little sticky-outy pieces all over the top of your hair. NOT attractive. Alas, I have once again come to the rescue! I LOVE this mousse... I just picked it up last week and have been using it every time I straighten. It gives the perfect amount of volume without, well... the crispies. Plus - added bonus! It's a heat protectant too! LOVE!
Tresseme Thermal Creations Volumizing Mousse, $4.39 (find it at Target)

*glam tip: add a few dollops of this in damp hair. Blow dry in sections using a big, round brush to add smoothness and volume. Va-va-voom, baby!


I love finding that perfect lip color that's also the perfect consistency. This balm has just enough pinky color without looking too Barbie. We all love Barbie, butttt, unless you're 10... you don't really want her makeup palette - bright blue eyeshadow and pepto bismol lips. No thanks. Back to the balm - it's the perfect color and adds a ton of shine! No need to even add gloss over it. And no worries, it doesn't taste like cotton candy. Bleh - I hate when lipgloss tastes (or makes an attempt to taste) like 1. cherry 2. cotton candy 3. chocolate. EW. You will love this balm, and it comes in lots of other pretty colors, check them out!
Palladio Tinted Lip Balm in Cotton Candy, $3.99 (find it at Ulta)


Woohoo, another great mascara find! I am ALL about the L'Oreal mascara. They have got it DOWN, sisters! This mascara may look really, really strange... but let me tell ya! It is awesome. It separates and adds volume/thickens without clumping. Plus, it's great for getting those hard to reach little shorty lashes that hide in the corners of your eyes because of the weirdo ball shape that the wand is in. I was very skeptical when I first tried it, but I am a firm believer now! A friend also told me that I need to try L'Oreal's eyeshadow - that's next on my list so be on the lookout for it sometime soon here on the bloggy-blog!
L'Oreal Telescopic Explosion Mascara in Blackest Black, $7.59 (find it at Target, or Ulta!)

Well, that's all for now my beautiful friends. I'll be back soon though - my list of "must try" is growing by the day! Stay tuned for more posts!

Swept Curls

Another beautiful sis-in-love. Do you see how much beauty I am surrounded with?! I love it, and I especially love when they let me have fun with their tresses and faces! We did curls and then swept them all to the side for a fun yet still elegant look that suits dancing quite well :) Throw in a smokey eye and wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am: a big time beauuuuuuty!



Oh, and p.s. - look at at my 3 beauties all together! Thanks sisters for letting me have fun with your hair and makeup! Sad I didn't get a pic of just Sarah, but doesn't she look AMAZING?!

Shortie hair UPdo!!!

I love playing with short hair because most of the beauties I get to work on have long hair. I do love me some LONG locks, but I just love the challenge of short hair! This beauty (one of my amazingly gorgeous sis-in-loves) has hair that sits just barely above her shoulders that is marvelously thick and voluminous, which equals about a bajillion bobby pins by the end of it all :) add a flower, smokey/sultry eyes, and a little oomph to the lashes - VOILA, a gorgeous beauty ready for a ball (or surprise party :D)!

"Chauvgnon" twist... with a twist!

I helped this beauty out with re-creating her wedding day look for a bridal photoshoot. We did a twist on the Chauvgnon twist (ha - I like saying that!) and dramatic copper eyes. She is BEAUTIFUL, don't you think?! Loved working with her!

Smokey Eyes = Easy!

Who doesn't want to know how to master the smokey eye?! I hope this "how-to" post will help you in becoming a smokey eye pro! :) In this post, I will be introducing "glam tips." Make sure you look out for these in future posts as well. These are lovely little tidbits that should make your beauty life easier! Enjoy! And, as always... ask away if you'd like!

Step(s) 1

Ok, ok... so this is technically more than one step. I'm bad at math... ok?! :) These 3 really can actually be combined because they are very simple and I don't want this smokey eye how-to being 1,200 steps!
Start out with hair out of your face, base/bronzer on. Spread primer over eyelid (note: all products used are displayed/explained below). Apply sheer/neutral base shadow all over lid, making sure to get inside corners and brow bones. :)

Step 2
Using one of my fav new products, Maybelline's eyeshadow quad, start out with the shade closest to the top labeled "Lid." Sweep over the top of your lid, extending out a little farther than your lash line.

Step 3
Using the shade labeled "Crease," press into corners of lids, extending a little farther out beyond your lash line.

*Glam tip: A good guide to avoid catty eyes is to open your eyes and sweep above lashes in a round fashion (this sounds silly writing it out - but you get the point!).

Step 4

Line your top lash line, lower lash line, and inner lid with eyeliner. A good guide is the middle of your eye... I never extend eyeliner (unless I am going for a SUPER dramatic look) beyond the middle of my upper and lower lid.

*Glam tip: Don't worry about being messy with eyeliner. Perfect eyeliner makes for a too defined look (in my opinion) and besides - our next step is to smudge!

Step 5

Use the shade labeled "Liner" to smudge eyeliner on your top and lower lash line.

*Glam tip: for a more dramatic look, press this shade into the corners of your lids.

Step 6

Mascara! My fav! Don't forget to open your mouth... this ALWAYS aids in putting mascara on oh-so-perfectly ;)

Annnnnd, the finished product! Smokey eyes that are perfect for day or night... and so super easy, right?!


Now, for the products! Listed in order below:



Revlon Creme Eyeshadow in Not Just Nudes, Ulta Eyeshadow in In The Buff, Maybelline Expert Wear Quads Eyeshadow in Natural Smokes, Avon Smooth Mineral Eyeliner in Earth, Maybelline The Falsies mascara in Black Drama. (All of these items have been mentioned in posts before with prices/where to find them! Take a looksie down below :D)



I hope you were able to follow my steps and achieve your own smashing smokey eye. I'd love to hear about it! Leave me a comment here or on Facebook. Love hearing from all my beauties out there! Also - let me know what other "how-to's" you'd like to see. I'd love to help out!

Much love! Toodles!

*All photo credit must go to my amazingly talented best friend/husband! Props to him for enduring the smokey eye how-to ;)

A few of my {current} favorites!

Hi beauties! So, these items have stepped up to be very strong contenders to be placed pretty high up on my "loved list." Take a look and see if you deem any of them worthy of lovvve! :)



This shampoo and conditioner... ohmyword. Let me just tell you! I have fallen in shampooconditioner love! I am dead serious. This is the perfect combination of moisture and volume. And it smells just delicious! You have to try it. Plus, since it's new... I've seen lots of coupons to save a few buckaroos! Go get it, you won't be disappointed. Promise. And if you are, um. You can give them to me :)
John Freida Full Repair Shampoo and Conditioner, $5.99 each (find them at Target)

This shade is the perfect "it's springtime - yippee!" color. Every beauty out there needs coral nails right now... Mr. Winter has run away, far far away, and Mr. I'll-pretend-to-be-spring is here! (I say that because it's already summer here in sunny ole FL, no joke. Today was 90 degrees.). Love this new line that Revlon has come out with. Dries super fast (for those of you like me who do not have the PATIENCE to wait 3 hours to fold laundry/do dishes/button your pants after painting your nails), lasts multiple days, and just makes me happy! Plus, it encourages you to get a tan. Let me teach you some of the only math I know: coral nails + perfect bronzey tan = BEAUTIMOUS! :)
Revlon Top Speed Nail Enamel, $4.99 (find it at Target)

Don't be scared... eyelash curlers are easy AND your friend! Best way to use this little miracle worker (in my opinion, of course): get as close as possible to your eyelid and clamp down for 7-10 seconds... before AND after mascara (wait for it to dry!). Voila - pretty eyelashes that look - gasp - a smidge like the mascara commercials!!!!!! :)
ELF Eyelash Curler, $1.00 (find it at Target)



A little disclaimer: this mascara is not for the faint at heart! If you are looking for a dramatic eyelash, this little purple cutie is for you! If you do not like the dramatic look of bold lashes - skip this part :) This mascara is good for a GNO (girls' night out, for you non-acronym-ers) or a hot date. The good thing? It only takes like... ONE coat, barely! Love it! I'm definitely a mascara lover, and I am loving this one more and more each time I use it. Be careful when applying, it tends to be a little messy at times.
Maybelline The Falsies Volum'Express Mascara in Black Drama, $5.94 (find it Target - hurry! It's on sale!)


Don't you wish someone would tell you step-by-step, exactly what colors of eyeshadow go where? Well! You are in luck. Maybelline has done just that (I might be out of a job as a make-up do-er soon!). Kind of hard to mess up when they have the colors labeled! And, while I am normally a rule-follower... sometimes I bend the directions on these a bit :) get creative! Loving these colors, perfect for a night out but can just as easily be toned down for the office! And - big plus... this eyeshadow stays on very well! Love Maybelline.
Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeshadow Quad in Natural Smokes, $4.99 (find it at Target... are you surprised?! Target should pay me for all the advertising I am giving them... right?!)

Well, there you have it! Hope you were able to find a new lovable product as a result of my raves on these products! Now go out and get pretty for the weekend. Stay tuned for a smokey eye how-to coming very soon!

Toodles, much love!