Haulin': Sally Beauty Supply and Sephora

Seeing as how yesterday was payday, I spent my Saturday like any other normal college kid would.

I went shopping! And I picked up some super-cool things to share with you all =)

My first stop was Sally Beauty Supply. This awesome chain offers beauty and cosmetic products that are somewhat equal to their salon counterparts at a fraction of the price because there are no super-fancy names stamped on them. Recently, I spent the $5 it costs to join their Beauty Club which is a special rewards program that actually saves you about 10-15% on each item you buy at the store. I originally only went into Sally today to find a good damage repair shampoo as my hairstylist told me that with my constant bleaching and coloring, my hair was becoming dry and brittle. I was totally fine with that, until she tried to sell me a $24, 7 oz. bottle of name-brand shampoo. Umm... I don't think so!

So I went to Sally's and found this awesome product:
In all honesty, this product wasn't THAT new (I already had bought and fell in love with the brand's 2 Minute Repairing Mask). Since I loved it so much, I figure the shampoo must be awesome too. Aphogee's Shampoo for Damaged Hair cost $7.39. I'll try it out tonight and let you know how it goes.

I then walked down the nail polish aisle and these two products caught my eye:
Beauty Secrets' Base Coat (left) and Top Coat (right) came highly recommended from numerous Youtube makeup gurus and nail salons, so I knew they were the real deal. Each bottle cost $2.79. I just tried them out this evening (as I painted my nails with OPI's Teal We Meet Again) and they worked like magic! I especially impressed with the top coat, which helped my nails dry in thirty seconds.

Recently, I really needed a new pencil sharpener for my eye pencils. So, I picked this one up at the check-out counter:
I really like that it has an attached piece for all of your pencil shavings. At $2.99, it was slightly pricey, but it looks like it will work much better than my current sharpener.

I also got a strange impulse to buy this:
It's a 'Lip Crayon', which basically means it doubles as a pencil and lipstick. I bought one in the shade Coral Shimmer for $1.89 and so far, I really like it! It's a peachy-nude, slightly on the orange side, but still very wearable. I'll probably layer lipstick on top of it to ensure that it stays on for longer and doesn't make my lips look dry.

After Sally's, I drove over to Sephora. I originally intended to only buy this:
When I got my Urban Decay Naked Palette, it came with a mini Primer Potion and I fell in love with it. So, I went back to Sephora today and shelled out the $18 to buy a full-sized one. I think it's a smart buy, though, because it works so incredibly well and really holds my eyeshadow in place all day.

I also grabbed this in Sephora:
Though I have been cleaning my brushes weekly, I've been scared to clean them daily because the formula could dry them out and destroy the quality of the brush hairs. This brush cleanser ($6), however, is mild enough to use every day, so I will test it tomorrow and let you know how it goes!

And then my FABULOUS boyfriend bought me the COOLEST Valentine's Day gift ever:
Uh-huh. That would be the Nars Orgasm blush/Laguna Bronzer ($40). I AM SO EXCITED! For those who don't know, this duo is famous for being suitable for practically ANY skin tone (okay, maybe not Laguna. It can be a bit too dark for some skin tones. But Orgasm is definitely appropriate for everyone). I've been lusting after it forever and my darling boyfriend knew it would be the perfect Valentine's Day gift for me. How cute is that?!

So that's my haul! I did do some other shopping, but it was for clothes, so that doesn't really fit on this blog. Have you bought anything super cool lately? Share it in the comments!

Super Bowl Sunday: Go STEELERS!

To be honest, I'm not a big fan of matching my makeup to my clothing because it just looks too matchy-matchy to me. But when you're a die-hard fan* of any sports team, it's natural to want to show your colors in any and all ways possible (even if it means matching your eyeshadow, lipstick, and team jersey) right?

Well, sort of.

For example, in this year's Super Bowl (the biggest, most important American football game for all of my foreign readers), I favored the Pittsburgh Steelers. But instead of wearing a look that was centered around black and yellow, I wanted to do a more unique, wearable look that would look good for a football game or any other fun event.

So, since I was avoiding black and yellow, I did a look based around my team's name and made a "steely" gray look!



Eyes: First, I primed my eyes with Urban Decay's Primer Potion because I wanted this look to not have fall-out or flake off as the day progressed. Then, with a thick, flat brush I patted UD's gray Gunmetal shade (from the Naked palette) all over the lid. It's REALLY important to use patting motions because there is so much glitter in this shade that if you try to brush it on, you'll wind up with glitter all over your face! I then blended the shade at the edges, into the sockets, so that it didn't look like a harsh gray blob on my eyes.

Next, I took a smudging -- or pencil -- brush and ran the black Creep shade (also from the Naked palette) just above my upper lash line. This also has glitter, so be careful!! After I applied it, I blended it upwards, creating a silvery, smokey eye. To balance out the dark lids, I then used my clean blending brush to lightly apply the shimmery, light beige tone from the same palette, called Virgin, just underneath my brows and down into the inner corner of my eyes. I also highlighted the brow bone with just a little bit of Sin -- a very light, shimmery pink shadow.

I lined my eyes with a thin line of black gel liner on the top lashes and then used an angled brush to apply the Gunmetal shade on the outer two thirds of my lower lash line. Lastly, I curled my lashes and applied a lengthening mascara.

Face: Because the eyes are so dark for this look, it's really important to use a good concealer under the eyes. Apply it with patting motions using your ring or middle finger so that the concealer blends into the skin but isn't rubbed off. Then, I used a tinted moisturizer since I didn't want my makeup to look too over-done (after all, this was just for a football and food party). To lock in the concealer and moisturizer, I applied a mineralized face powder all over my face with a fluffy brush. I then used bronzer to sculpt my jaw line and a very light, raspberry-toned blush on the cheeks.

Lips: I went really simple, and just applied a sheer gloss. The idea of this look is to have the eyes really pop!