sunday spark week 2

"Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire!"
Are you guys as excited for the Hunger Games as I am? I swear, I'm gonna wear this look to school on Thursday ;)

Welcome to week two of Sunday Spark, where you can start of your week with a spark of inspiration! You can also leave inspiration for others, just enter your link in the linky tool below! It may be a photo of your makeup for the day, it may be a cool manicure you just did. Anything can be inspirational! The only rules are:

You must take the photos/write the post yourself
the post/photo must be something beauty related (this is a beauty blog after all!)
you must include this button in your post:

<a href="http://bellechicbeauty.blogspot.com/search/label/sunday%20spark"><img src="http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac161/nutty97/sparksundays.png" /></a>

or link to this blog.

Every Sunday I'll pick my favorite bit of inspiration and feature it on this bloggity-blog. I don't expect to get too many entries the first few weeks, if any, but one is better than nothing ;) So link away, I'd love to see what beauty inspiration you guys have for everyone!

And don't forget to check out my latest makeup tutorial series!
-hannah

makeup tutorial: for baby blues

I hear people say all the time that certain shadow colors go best with certain eye colors. Blue for brown eyes, green for green eyes, purple for blue eyes, etc., but I have my own opinions.
Today I'm going to do the first tutorial in a little series of tutorials for certain eye colors. I figured I'd start with the lightest colored eyes (don't know why, but I did ;]) which are blue. Oh, and if you have grey eyes, that's totally and completely amazing and I'm extremely jealous of you, and this look will work for your eyes as well!
Here is a little chart I've put together to show what colors I think work well with blue eyes:

These colors work well with blue eyes because they are on the opposite side of the color wheel. Sometimes cool-colored shadows make blue eyes look washed out.

A quick not: do not be afraid of pink and red eyeshadow! People always say that it makes the eyes look irritated, but it really doesn't if applied correctly.

Anyway, on with the tutorial!

Products used:

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Too Cool

CoverGirl Eyeshadow single in Champagne

Madison Street Beauty Shadow in Red Currant

Madison Street Beauty shadow in Copper

Rimmel Exaggerate Retractable eyeliner in Precious Gold

Wet n Wild pencil eyeliner in light brown (or copper, I forget ;])

Rimmel Lasting Finish blush in Pink Sorbet (I use this as eyeshadow)

e.l.f. eyelash curler

CiverGirl LashBlast Fusion Mascara in Black

step 1: apply a primer all over your lid

step 2: pat a shimmery cream-colored shadow all over your lid

step 3: take a deep red shadow and with a very light hand, dust it into your crease

step 4: define your outer corner with a coppery-chestnut shadow, then blend

step 5: take a gold pencil liner and line your waterline and upper lashline

here's what it looks like with blue eyes so far :)

 step 6: with a light brown/copper pencil liner, make a very thin line close to your lashes

step 7: apply a light pink on the edge of the brown shadow. This will help to warm up the look even more

step 8: curl your lashes and apply mascara

 step 9: with a white eyeliner pencil, highlight your inner corners

done!

I hope you blue-eyed girls found this helpful! Next up, green eyes :)

-hannah

a beginners makeup kit

Hola amigos! I've been getting a few requests to do a "just starting out" makeup kit post. I've thought long and hard, and these are the products I think would be best if you're just beginning to get into makeup. And keep in mind that I'm a drugstore makeup junkie, so all of these products will be affordable (although lately I've been eyeing "sketch" eyeshadow from MAC and the Urban Decay Naked Palettes ;]) So without further ado...

 If you're just starting out with makeup, I totally recommend getting a powder foundation. It's much easier to work with and gives you nice amount of coverage if you buy the right kind. I suggest either Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Talc-Free foundation or Covergirl powder foundation.

I would also suggest using a powder blush. This will give you good practice with brushes, where cream blush you can use with your fingers. I recommend wet n wild color icon blush or milani baked blush.

When you're just getting into makeup, don't go for all the bright eyeshadows. Stick with neutrals until you're confident in your ability to apply makeup, then go for a couple fun colors. I LOVE Revlon Quads, and they just came out with a new line of them, so be sure to check those out. Also, you can never go wrong with wet n wild trios.

 Get a plain black eyeliner. This is a must. You can do so much with black eyeliner. My favorite way to wear it is smudging it on the outer half of my lower lashline/waterline. It really defines my eyes and makes them pop. My very favorite black eyeliner is the Physicians Formula Eyeliner. I got it in the shimmer strips green eyes trio, but they sell singles.
Also, covergirl liquiline blast liner in black fire is amazing!

Get an eyebrow pencil. You may not realize it, but your eyebrows frame your face, and therefore they complete your look. But I have to warn you, do NOT get a color that's too dark! This is the biggest problem people have when buying an eyebrow pencil. Instead of getting one that matches your eyebrows exactly, get one that is a shade or two lighter. I really like wet n wild eyeliner/eyebrow pencils and NYC eyeliner/eyebrow pencils (I have an NYC one and love it!).

This little guy makes such a difference. Curling your lashes make your eyes look bigger and your lashes look fuller. DEFINITELY invest in one :) I LOVELOVELOVE the e.l.f. eyelash curler.

Mascara can change your whole look. It really can. If you had to pick one product to buy in this whole post, I'd go for mascara. One of my absolute favorite mascaras is the covergirl all-in-one mascara in black. It volumizes, lengthens, and stays all day!

And last but not least! If you're starting out with makeup, don't get a lipstick. Get a Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter. They are a-m-a-z-i-n-g!! (Would you like a review?) These are uber-moisturizing and give really nice color pay-off. The colors I would suggest are Strawberry Shortcake, Creamsicle, Sugar Frosting, Creme Brulee, and Berry Smoothie.

That's pretty much it! Those are all you need for a basic makeup kit! I hope this post helps you get started on your love for cosmetics :)

-hannah
p.s. would you like me to review any products? Make any certain posts? Leave a comment to tell me!

high-end vs. drugstore: Lancome vs. CoverGirl

Hey peeps! I'm doing a "compare and contrast" post, where I will be comparing a high-end product to a drugstore product. I think this will become a sort-of regular kind of post, so..... yeah ;)

Today I'm doing Lancome's Le Crayon Khol pencil eyeliner vs. CoverGirl's Liquiline Blast eyeliner.

Prices:
Lancome–$25.50
CoverGirl–$8.79

Holy price difference! Personally, I would never pay for a $25 eyeliner, but this was given to me as a gift in a sample size, so it's all good ;)

Before smudge test:

As you can see in the photo above, the CoverGirl liner is way darker and more pigmented. It also went on way smoother. The Lancome one tugged on my skin and after these photos were taken I noticed some irritation around the swatch area :(

After smudge test:

The Lancome liner intensity reduced considerably after the smudge test, while I can hardly tell a difference in the CoverGirl one. Believe me, I don't want this post to turn into a "rip on Lancome" post, because I have a few different shadows that I adore from that brand, but come on. Seriously? Look at that, just look at it! And the price difference is amazing, too.

And the winner is....

By far CoverGirl Liquiline Blast eyeliner. It has better texture, better pigmentation, it's longer lasting, it really just has everything the le crayon khol pencil doesn't.
What's your favorite drugstore eyeliner? The CoverGirl one is up there, but I'm still staying with my Physicians Formula Retractable liner in black (I have the green eyes trio, but the black is my favorite from the trio and, well, in my whole collection!).

-hannah

makeup tutorial: make me crazy

This is a fun look that would be perfect for a night out!

Products used:
Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow
Madison Street Beauty Shadow in Ocean Coral
Coastal Scents 88 Original Palette
CoverGirl Single Eyeshadow in Champagne
Madison Street Beauty Shadow in Smoky Sapphire
wet n wild liner in Dark Brown
Cover LashPerfection mascara in brown/black

step 1: prime your lids

step 2: sweep a sparkly rusty colored shadow on you whole lid

step 3: pat a light brown shadow all over the rust shadow

step 4: on the upper half of your lid, apply a light, cream shimmery shadow, then bring it into your inner corners.

step 5: take an ultra-dark blue liquid liner and line the outer half of your upper lashline

step 6: smudge a brown pencil liner into your lower lashes and apply several coats of your favorite mascara

done!

Want to see a certain tutorial? Comment and I'll get right on it! I can also review any products featured in this look, so just let me know what you want to see :)

-hannah