The Tuesday Ten: Favorite Concealers

Hey guys! Today I've got another Tuesday 10 for you, this time I'm sharing 10 of my absolute favorite concealers, both from the drugstore and from high end brands.

1. Sonia Kashuk Concealer Quad - This is a great drugstore concealer. It comes in a quad (either light or dark) and gives you two different concealer shades, a redness reducing concealer, and a setting powder. This is a great product to pop in your bag and it's great if you're in between shades because you can mix and match and swirl the concealers. {$10}
2. Make Up Forever Full Cover Concealer - This is one of the best concealers out there. Not only is is great for under-eye concealing, but it works fantastic on blemishes across the face. I love this for zits and pimples and redness. {$32}
3. L'Oreal Magic Lumi Concealer and Highlighter Stick - This is a favorite of mine that works both as a concealer and a highlighter. It works best under your eyes and on the high points of your face, making your skin glow and your eyes pop. {$10}
4. Maybelline FitMe Concealer - This is a dependable drugstore concealer, and it's creaminess almost matches the NARS creamy concealer. {$6}
5. Kat Von D Lock-It Concealer - Another fantastic concealer for both under-eyes and blemishes. I love that this stays in place all day long and never wears off. {$25}
6. L'Oreal Visible Lift CC Concealer - I really have been loving this concealer lately and I think it's perfect for under your eyes. It's not great for blemishes, as it's very liquidy and highlighting, but it's cool tip and the product itself work wonders on the blue and puffy tired eyes we all experience {$10}
7. NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer - A tried and true favorite of those in the beauty community, this concealer is fantastic for your under-eyes. I also love using it to cancel out redness and cover up blemishes for hours. {$29}
8. Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Under Eye Concealer - I've mentioned this a million times and it has to be my favorite concealer of all time. It's affordable, long-lasting, and dependable and is the absolute best for covering dark circles {$8}
9. Tarte Creaseless Concealer - I love this concealer for really canceling out redness under the eye and providing hydration that a lot of concealers lack. Plus, as the name suggests, it gets rid of those pesky creases you get from long-wear of concealer. {$24}
10. Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - From the UK, this concealer has been talked about a bunch by those across the pond and I can see why. It's super highlighting, creamy, and long-lasting. I love using it under my eyes and on the high points of my face for highlight. {$5}

♡

What are your favorite concealers?

xo Emily

The Tuesday 10: Things to do in New York during the Holidays

Hey guys! I've got another Tuesday 10 for you today, this time with 10 things to do in New York during the holiday season. New York is one of the most magical places to be during Winter and the holiday season, and there are countless places to visit and experience to make it even more special. Whether or not you celebrate Christmas or not, these are some amazing places to just take in during December!

1. Rockefeller Center {this is an obvious one, but experiencing the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and the surrounding holiday decorations at 30 Rock is truly special}

2. Bloomingdale's Windows {the Bloomingdales at 57th and 3rd puts up spectacular Christmas lights each year, with the entire side of the building lit up in glittery holiday spirit. It's such a fun sight to go see and going inside for Christmas shopping is just as fun}

3. Chelsea Market {this market is fun to visit at any time during the year, but during the Holidays, there are decorations and lights up everywhere. Grabbing a hot chocolate or coffee and browsing the shops is fun during Winter}

4. Love Sculpture {located in Midtown at 1359 Avenue of the Americas, this is one of the most iconic pop art images by Robert Indiana. It's a great place for a photo op, plus it's cute to pose in front of with your loved ones}

5. New York Botanical Garden {each year, the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx puts up beautiful scenes from across the city, using the gorgeous flowers and plants from their garden}

6. Bryant Park Holiday Market {The ice skating here is great, with the surrounding holiday market making it even more special. There are countless booths of vendors with holiday gifts and the Christmas tree near the rink is beautiful}

7. Ice Skating {there are a ton of great places in New York for ice skating. My favorite is Bryant Park's rink because it's the biggest and cheapest. Rockefeller Center and Central Park are also great places to skate, though a bit more crowded}

8. Christmas Lights {the city does a fantastic job decorating for the holidays and everywhere you look, there are Christmas trees with lights strewn about and ornaments on every branch. I love how colorful and lovely the lights make New York}

9. Columbus Circle Holiday Market {located right by the 59th street entrance to Central Park, this is one of the best holiday markets in the city. It's perfect for finding little gifts and just exploring}

9. Central Park {the park is gorgeous in the Winter, especially when the leaves have fallen and there's snow in the air. Grabbing a hot cocoa and walkign around the reservoir and then visiting the Ice Skating rink is one of the best ways to experience the holidays in New York}

♡

What are your favorite things to do during the holidays in your city?

xo Emily

Today's Face Tuesday: An Everyday Summer Makeup Look

Today's Face: Tuesday 

My Everyday Summer Makeup Look

In today's makeup post, I'm showing you my go-to summer makeup look. Since it's hot and humid out during the summer, this look is really simple, light and perfect for sticky weather. 

The Before Look 

Again, like in my other makeup looks, I start with moisturizer and primer and then foundation and concealer. For today, since I want my complexion glowing, I'm using the L'Oreal Magic Lumi Light Infusing Primer which basically makes your face shiny and glowy (which is perfect for this look). Next, I went in with the Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream instead of full foundation because BB cream is much lighter on the skin, has lower coverage, and contains sunscreen which is absolutely perfect for sunny, summer weather. 

My face post-BB Cream

Face Thingies!

Next, I went in with my Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Under Eye Concealer and covered my (cute as heck) under eye circles. I then went in with the same concealer but in the 'brightener' tone and popped that on my t-zone, upper lip, and under eye area just to brighten up my look.

I used the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealer and brightener for my under-eyes

My pressed powder, blush, and bronzer that were used in this look

 Next, I use just a TINY bit of Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder to set my BB cream and concealer. I used enough to keep the concealer staying all day but not too much so that I would lose the glow from the primer and BB cream so that I would keep that summer glow. To brighten and color up my face, I used my e.l.f. studio contouring blush and bronzing palette in the color St. Lucia. I absolutely adore this palette not only because it's $3.00(!!!!!!!!!) but also because it's beautiful! So using that, I gently bronzed my face, cheeks, and temples and then blushed up the apples of my cheek.

 Now for eyebrows!!! I've been trying out the Milani EasyBrow to fill in and shape my brows. It's a really affordable product and is easy to apply! I'm loving it so far. 

To do my brows, I first use the spoolie side of the EasyBrow to shape and tame the caterpillars. Then I use the other side of the brush to actually fill in the brows so that they don't have any gaps in color. After that, I go in with a dark brown eyeshadow to just smooth it out and finish with my Sonia Kashuk Brow Gel to set it all!

Here's the look with my brows done up!

It's time for my eyes! Because I want the look to be subtle, sweet, and summery, I'm using a light pink/champagne eyeshadow all over my lid. It's shimmery and soft which is perfect. To darken up the look and give it dimension, I used brown in the crease and just blended that out. Instead of a harsh eyeliner, I took that same brown eyeshadow and just lined my upper lid slightly.

Lastly, I used Benefit's They're Real and Maybelline Pumped Up Colossal Volume Mascaras and made my lashes really dark and pretty.

To finish, I made sure my lips were coated in Chapstick and then I went in with a peachy blush and gave my lips a little bit of sparkle using it.

The finished look:

Hope you all enjoyed this look!!!

xo Emily

Today's Face Tuesday: Dark and Stormy

Today's Face: Tuesday 

A Pink Touch: Makeup Look

In today's post, I'm doing a look I like to call "Dark and Stormy". It's a really shimmery and sparkly silver and black look with just a tiny bit of shiny pink tossed in. I finish the look with a frosty, sweet pink lipstick. The look is perfect for an everyday, more dramatic look or for a fun night out!

Again, like in my last Today's Face post, I start with moisturizer, primer, and then my foundation routine. Feel free to use whatever foundation and concealers that work the best for you but today's look is best with your skin looking nice and flawless and matte. For the best results, I'd finish your foundation and concealer with Rimmel's Stay Matte Pressed Powder because it gives you the perfect finish to your skin. (It's also really cheap and lasts forever, a must-buy in my opinion!) Next is touching up the eyebrows then I go in with a bit of bronzer and blush and voila! Face is ready for eye makeup!

Before! (Look how matte my skin looks!!)

After I do all that, I just prime my eyes with and start in with a base eyeshadow. I used a light pink matte shade from the Naked 3 palette called 'Limit' and place that all over my lid and up into the crease a bit.

My lid with just 'Limit'

Next I go over just the lid (not the crease) with the silver shadow from L'Oreal's Studio Secrets HiP Studio Secrets Metallic Eyeshadow Duo in Platinum. I love this duo because you've got the most gorgeous, sparkly silver color and an equally gorgeous black color that works amazingly well with the silver. 

This is a very well-loved eyeshadow

I go over my lid with the silver shadow on the left. Black will be used later!

Here's what the silver adds. The picture doesn't do it justice but everything just sparkles beautifully. Note that I only put the silver on my lid, not the crease.

Next, we'll go in with the the Naked 3 palette again with the color 'Blackheart', the very darkest shadow in the palette. I love this color because it isn't as really as dark as black, but more of a dark dark purple with little specks of gold. 

We'll take Blackheart into the farthest side of our lid (near where our eyebrows end) and pat that on very very lightly and then go in with a big, fluffy blending brush and blend blend blend away! 

Take Blackheart up into your crease and it'll give really great definition to the look, giving it a twinge of pink and purple. 

Next, we'll go back to our metallic eyeshadow duo but this time take the black shade and bring that on top of Blackheart and blend blend blend it out even further, darkening up the look. 

I find the best thing to do when you're using a dark black is to go in with it on top of another dark color and just keep adding and patting it in until you get the darkness you want. It's always easier to add more black and not so easy to take black off your lid.

Now, we can't forget liner so we're just going to add a deep wing using Maybelline's Master Precise Liquid Liner, making the line fatter and fatter as it gets closer to the wing. I touched up the look with NYC's liquid liner as well as added a highlight on my brow bone and inner eye with the NYX white eye liner pencil.

To finish the look, add whatever your favorite mascara is. Today I used a few coats of Maybelline's Mega Plush Volume Express Mascara as well as They're Real by Benefit. 

And if you so choose, you can add a lipstick or lipgloss. I'm wearing MAC's Frost - Angel which is probably my most favorite lipstick I've EVER owned. If you can get your hands on this lipstick, BUY IT. I love it so much.

It's such a simple, pretty pink that works with literally any look. 

My pride and JOY!

Voila! We're done!!!  

The Final Look!

So that's today's face. Let me know if you like the look because it's one of my favorites and a go-to look quite often!

Yikes! I should go clean up the mess I made!!! Hope you guys enjoyed :)

xo Emily