Shameless Plug

Fort Lauderdale Beauty Products Examiner

Just in case you hadn't heard, I now write for the Examiner.com! Check out my Examiner page at the link above! 

[I'll go back to writing real posts tomorrow. It's Memorial Day, so I took a day off too! ...Sorta]

Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day for those of you in the US.

Memorial Day Sales!

Click here to shop AVON

  Click here to shop LORAC's VIP sale

Twitter

I totally caved.

The Beauty Ally on twitter.com

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XOXO

Cannes Film Festival Looks

[image sauce]

I was going to write a post about the Cannes Film Festival beauty looks that I loved the most but as I kept glancing through the pictures, I realized that the amount of pictures I liked were NONE! Nothing inspired me or made me go I wanna try this! To me it was just more of the same.

Yes, there were people who I thought looked great on the red carpet (Salma Hayek, who can do no wrong in my eyes), but this is not a fashion blog... sorry.

Then, as I was wasting time this morning while I should have been getting ready for work, I came across this picture on Hot Child In The City and said Eureka! [Ok, I didn’t say ‘eureka’, but that doesn’t matter; my general reaction was the same].

E.L.F. FREE brush set promotion

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to let you know of a promotion going on at E.L.F. Spend $20 between now and Tuesday, May 25th at E.L.F. and you'll get a FREE professional brush set containing about 12 brushes! All you have to do is enter EGBST at the checkout!

That's pretty awesome!

Summer Beauty Must-Have's

Phew! It’s been a minute since I’ve been here. Gotta brush the dust off this place. But I’m back and I’m ready to get you guys ready for these warm summer months. If you’ve read my article from the Examiner.com, than this list will look familiar. But keep reading, I’ve made a few changes to this list for The Beauty Ally.

(Side note: My Examiner.com articles and The Beauty Ally might run parallel in topic from time to time, but the content will not be completely the same, so be sure to check out both!)

[click photo to view larger]

So here it is, my top recommendations for a beautiful-faced summer!

Recreated Looks: Mila Kunis

WELCOME BACK!

[love this show]

Sorry I’ve been quiet for a bit (almost 2 weeks!), but I’ve been preparing for a few big dates that are coming my way. I’ve got a wedding, a birthday and lots of working out to do before hand which has been eating up a lot of my time. Did I mention that I still have to get my taxes out too? Yeah, well...


So I’ve been working on a few things; one of them being my wedding makeup! No, it's not my wedding, but I still want to look good none-the-less; its been a long time since I’ve attended one (not to mention worn a dress!) so I’ve been buying lots of makeup and seeing how I like them (which reminds me: tons of product reviews coming up). I’ve also been doing a shit-ton (that’s a real word, right?) of shopping lately, despite my dwindling bank account and all I have to say is, its been worth it. There’s nothing like buying new makeup that makes me feel excited, creative and motivated. 


I've bought the dress, picked the shoes, I'm still deciding on the hair, but now I'm playing with the makeup. I save images that inspire me, go through my iPhoto album and look through the photos I've saved of celebrities in makeup looks that I love and want to recreate. This look 
<----- here is a variation of a look I saw on Mila Kunis.


Now, I do not resemble Mila in the slightest, but that doesn't mean I can't try. 

 So here's what I did...

Beauty Icons: Bianca Jagger

[image source]

With her big brown eyes, her unbelievably plucked eyebrows and her incredible sense of style, Bianca Jagger is probably my #1 beauty and style icon.

When I'm unsure of how to dress or what kind of makeup to do for an evening out, I will scroll through the pictures in my iPhoto and ask, What would Bianca do? 

Favorite Looks: The 'Slept-In' Look

[Angelina Jolie with baby Knox]

Can we talk about favorite looks?

There is no look I love more than the I just rolled out of bed™ look. It’s little laissez-faire, it’s a little sultry and its a little punk fucking rock!

I’ve always found this unkept look to be sexy. I love that its the complete opposite of the No hair out of place™ look. And whats hotter than a care-free girl who’s look says, ''I’m so busy I just had to throw on these clothes I found on the floor and my hair and makeup? Eh, fuck it''. 


Nothing.

Inspiration: Purple

There are few things on the planet that I love more than purple. Even as a wee child, I can remember demanding my mom to buy me the purple (insert item here). No matter what it was, if it was purple, I liked it and I had to have it.

So it should be no surprise that I buy purple makeup. Lots of it.

Tutorial: The Kate Moss Look

Many moons ago I stumbled upon this site and was really intrigued by what I saw. I love when makeup artists in the biz take the time out to do video tutorials because, well, I'm a very visual person and I learn by seeing (you can also download the sketch and color swatch which I love). The thing I really liked about this video was... everything! The gunmetal eyeshadow color, the dewy skin and big lashes... reminds me of getting dressed up to go clubbing out in the city. And I'll do anything to look a little closer like Kate Moss, amirite? 

ReLOOK TV: The Kate Moss Look (4)


[end of post]

The First Time: Buying Foundation

One of the things I really wanted to tackle was how to pick out the right makeup colors for your skin tone and choosing the right foundation colors. I remember always being fascinated with makeup as a kid, but as a young teen the thought of how to pick the right shade for your skin and then what to do with it was overwhelming. It was at this age that I made a major makeup faux pas: wearing the wrong shade of foundation. I wish that when I was younger I had youtube tutorials and instructional blogs to turn to about how to buy and apply makeup. I’m sure I would have avoided many makeup blunders, like wearing a dark brown powder foundation with red undertones while I was a medium tan with yellow undertones or the dreaded makeup line. And don’t get me started on over-plucked eyebrows...

So let’s get started!

Product Review: Nail Polish

I apologize in advance for the crappy Photobooth photos - I cleaned my room and lost my camera! (I hate how I always misplace things after I clean...)

[Milani Nail Art:  #709 / Green Sketch]

While trying to get in the Saint Patrick's Day spirit, I thought I'd buy some green nail polish! I've never been a big nail polish person... until recently. I don't know what got into me, but one day, all of a sudden, BAM! All I wanted was a rainbow assortment of nail polishes at my disposal.

So I went shopping.

Spring Cleaning: Makeup Bag Edition

While going through my handbag today, I thought to myself, Holy hell, my makeup bag is in serious need of a makeover! –Or rather, a make-under! I have no concept of less is more and my makeup bag is proof of that – it’s practically a mini pharmacy! It’s massive, heavy and completely illogical (more than half the weight of my handbag is due to my makeup case)! I have to squeeze my hand in it in order to get to anything and contains waaay too many items! So while I have some time on my hands, I figured I’d try to shrink that sucker and make it more handbag friendly.

SPF (Part I)

I was hoping to get this post about SPF out sooner, but the truth is, doing a lot of research on the topic has made it difficult and time consuming for me to review, but here it is!

I love any product with SPF, but the truth is, shopping for sun block can be daunting, and believe me, I know. Have you been down the sun block aisle? SPF 50, 70, 90+, Ultra Defense, Sensitive Skin, Ultra Sheer Finish, Oil-Free… it’s enough to make anyone give up! I try to always buy products that have a high SPF and I try to avoid the sun, which is not easy living in South Florida. The higher the SPF, the more likely it is that I'll buy the product. I stock up on that stuff the way that most beauty addicts always leave the beauty aisle with a lip-gloss or eyeliner pencil. I'm always looking for the perfect sunscreen, but I have yet to find my favorite kind.