Snapchat Deer Halloween Makeup

If you're looking for a last-minute, easy-breezy Halloween costume, may I recommend my favorite Snapchat filter??

Katie's going to show us how to do it! And I promise, it's way easier than the mermaid look. (p.s. and the recipe for those deer ears is in my last post, so you're all set to be the cutest Halloweener around.)

Step 1: Apply orange face paint on the lower portion of your forehead and the top bridge of your nose. If you don't have the orange paint, you could use a matte bronzer as well. Below the orange portion, apply white face paint all over your nose and on the sides of your cheeks in the shape of a snout.

Step 2: Color in the tip of the nose, making a "V" shape on the front. You can use a liquid eyeliner to outline the area you will fill in with black face paint — this will make the tip of the nose more likely to stay on and less likely to smudge. Both good things!

Step 3: Using the end of any eyeshadow brush, dip it in white face paint and apply to the forehead above the orange. This will help you get even dots that are the same shape.

Step 4: Apply the orange face paint in round circles on cheeks. If you think about the first time you ever applied blush when you were about 13, that's the shape you're going for here.

Step 5: Apply white eyeliner to your waterline and below the eye to mimic the larger-than-life eyes on the Snapchat filter.

Steps 6-7: Apply eyeliner directly above lashes, and create two wings going up toward the brow with a liquid liner. This is the trickiest part, so we'll share a close-up below.

Step 8: Apply false lashes, and you're good to go! This part can be left off if you choose, but it makes the eyes look even bigger!

This eyeliner look is to mimic the Snapchat filter, but you could just create one large wing if you wanted, and people would still get the i-dear.

Don't forget to snap all your friends when you're wearing your cute costume! What are you going to be for Halloween?!

Read More

Modern Mermaid Halloween Makeup

I'm gonna be honest with you guys: I've never really gone “all out” for a Halloween costume. Usually I’ll just do something where I can wear clothes I already have, maybe DIY a little floral crown or steal my dad's old cowboy boots, but nothing that I'd ever be too embarrassed to wear to Target.

But y'know what? I think Halloween is a really fun excuse to get creative. And my friend, Katie, is increeeedibly talented at getting creative with makeup.

Um, told ya! Katie is a licensed esthetician and a makeup artist at Sephora. (If you've been reading for a long time, you might remember her from this post!) She's going to share a little about how she achieved this killer look.

Step 1: "Apply an eyeshadow primer to the eyelid and set with a matte nude shadow. Then, with a fluffy brush, apply a matte peach shade to the crease. Afterward, apply a darker pink to the inner and outer corner with the same fluffy brush, taking extra care with blending. The key is to gradually go from lighter to darker in the inner and outer corners to create the "halo" effect. I went from light pink to a deep purple. Then, taking a white liquid liner, create a wing and fill the wing in until the white is completely opaque. After the white liner, you can apply mascara or lashes if you so choose."

Before moving on to the scales, Katie highlighted the tops of her cheekbones, tip and bridge of her nose, her cupid's bow and above her brow. Don't be afraid to go overboard — mermaids live under water!

The sneaky-smart makeup artist trick here is to use fishnet pantyhose to create the look of scales. Brilliant, huh? Katie achieved this look using lime, green and teal shades. This surprisingly isn't difficult to achieve, but you'll want to pay attention to how you use your brush. Katie says you'll get the most texture and color payoff if you use patting motions instead of swiping the color over the fishnet.

The last step is adding purple lipstick, which Katie topped with a little more of the purple shadow, to set it and enhance the color. In Katie's words, "Voila! You're a mermaid!"

Personally, I think one of the things that makes this look SO fun on Katie is her mermaid hair. If you're into the pastel hair trend, a mermaid would definitely be a fun look for Halloween. Isn't she just gorgeous?! I love how this look turned out so fun and bohemian — definitely a 2016 mermaid, although I've gotta be honest and say I love the traditional Ariel look too. (Also I just googled and discovered The Little Mermaid was released in 1989. What?! How!)

You guys can see more from Katie on her Instagram; she lives in Springfield, MO, and she's available for freelance work! Oh, and if you feel like this whole mermaid thing is an "Expert" level and you're a little more of a beginner... I relate to you. We'll have another look coming soon!

Products used: Benefit "Stay Don't Stray" Eyeshadow Primer, Inglot Peach Matte Eyeshadow, Makeup Geek Duochrome Eyeshadows in Blacklight and Rockstar (for eyes and highlighter), Urban Decay Electric Pallet for Lime, Green and Teal Scales, Suva Matte White Eyeliner, Gerard Cosmetics Lilac Moon Lipstick

Read More

How to Brow

My friend, Katie, recently graduated as an esthetician and got a sweet job as an Ulta Prestige Beauty Advisor and Benefit Arch Expert. Since she's officially an expert on brows (wow), she gave me the lowdown on how to maintain awesome arches.

So, here's how to brow:

You start by painting a weird tribal mask above your eyebrows. This is important to get into the mood, so you'll have the whole Amazon woman thing going for you. (Just kidding.)

Katie suggests making these lines to guide your brows, which is a great idea for anyone who may not have a super well-defined natural arch. She uses a white pencil to guide where the lines should go, so it's easier to wipe off when she's finished. (Smart girl.) First, she holds a pencil straight up and down from the side of her nose, and draws the line where the pencil would hit. This guides where the brow should begin. For the second line, she holds the pencil from the side of her nose, and continues as if it would make a line through her pupil—it is approximately a 45-degree angle. She draws this line to see where the arch should go. Then, she holds the pencil again from the side of her nose and ends at the corner of her eyelid. That is where she draws the last line, and where her brow stops!

After the lines are drawn, Katie tweezes what's outside her guide. She recommends that you alternate between brows as you pluck, so that you don't over-tweeze one brow, and then have to play "catch up" with the other. Also remember, "eyebrows are sisters; not twins." It is more important that you follow your natural arch line than pluck each brow to look exactly like the other. Trade secret: It hurts less if you tweeze close to the root and in the direction of hair growth. Another trade secret: It also helps to have a cute cat to hang out with you.

Katie draws a sharp, straight line from the beginning of her brows and continues it until she reaches the highest point of her arch. She stops drawing the line at this point, and she uses a small brush to blend the liner both at the front and into the ends of the brow. Katie has learned that this looks most natural because eyebrows tend to grow in softer closer to the nose and darken a little as they complete the arch. Interesting, huh?

Katie uses a variety of brow products (I didn't even know brow products were a thing.. Look at how much I'm learning!), but she says the necessities are a good pair of sharp tweezers (for obvious reasons), and either a pencil or a powder to fill in your sparse spots.
Products from left to right: Anastasia Brow Powder Duo in Caramel, NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk (to make the white guides around her brows), tweezers, Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter (to make corrections), e.l.f. Small Angled Brow Brush, MAC Cosmetics Eyebrow Pencil in Spiked (this is what she used in this post), e.l.f. Clear Brow Gel, and Naked 3.

Like you probably noticed earlier, Katie uses a pencil to fill in her brows instead of a shadow. Either is fine to use, but it is usually easier to get a well-defined brow with a pencil since a pencil makes sharper lines and is easier to control than a shadow. You don't need a fancy-schmancy "made-specially-for-brows" pencil, either; an eyeliner is just fine! Katie finishes her brows by covering up any color that made it outside the lines.

Picking the right color to fill in your brows is mega important. Best-case scenario, you'll find one that matches your hair color perfectly. But if this isn't the case, use this as a guide: Ladies with dark hair tend to look best with eyebrows a little lighter than their hair color, and blondes tend to look the best with brows just a tad darker. Katie recommends that you pick a brow color within two shades of your hair color. She also said one of the biggest "no-no's" is choosing a brow shade that is too red. So, when in doubt, choose a color that is a little more ashy than red-hot.

Ain't she just the prettiest?? I'll take beauty advice from this girl any day! If you want to see more of her makeup looks, you can check her out on Instagram @katielitter. Happy brow-ing!

Read More