Makeup Archives | Alexandra Adams

November 1, 2016 — No Comments

Fall Beauty Favorites

We’ve entered November and it is so gorgeously fall outside. It’s finally dropped below 60 degrees, and I've been loving getting dressed in the morning. I love seeing the trees change color and enjoying everything pumpkin and apple. It’s the perfect prelude to my favorite season, winter, and definitely holds a special place in my heart.

When the seasons start to change, so does my makeup look. I put away my brighter pinks and nudes and start reaching for my deeper reds, berries, and burgundy shades. Most of my makeup base remains the same, although I usually transition into a slightly lighter foundation once whatever semblance of a summer tan I had fades away. The biggest changes for me are always lips, eyes, and nails.

I love a good deep lip color in the fall. Here I'm wearing YSL Rouge Volupte in Forbidden Burgundy, a deeper berry tone. This lipstick is one of my favorites because it can start off slightly sheer but it easily be built up to match the opaque color in the bullet with an extra swipe. It’s also really moisturizing for being such a strong lip color. And the packaging is to die for. Other favorites include: Sephora’s Luster Matte Long-Wear Lip Color in Mulberry Luster, Revlon’s Super Lustrous lipstick in 740 Certainly Red, and Pat McGrath’s 004 Lipstick in Venom 1.

SHOP LIPSTICKS:

For my eyes, I love warm golds, deeper reds and plums, and browns for the cooler temperatures. My favorite eye palette at the moments is Morphe’s Fall into Frost palette. It’s a great, affordable collection of shimmery fall tones that work really well together. The bottom row is all mattes, which really help blend everything out and create more depth in a look. I’ve also been loving shades from Tarte’s energy noir palette as well. I feel it’s always easier to get away with a more dramatic look during the day when the weather is cooler.

My nails change color almost every week in the fall, but I always come back to a few favorites. Lately I’ve been wearing and rewearing Essie’s Smokin’ Hot, it’s a really great dark gray that leans toward purple. I also love berry colors, like Bahama Mama and O.P.I.’s The One That Got Away, and warmer reds, like Russian Roulette and O.P.I.'s Got the Mean Reds.

What are your fall beauty favorites?

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Published by Alexandra Adams in Beauty, Makeup, Nails

May 10, 2016 — No Comments

Favorite Pink Lipsticks for Spring

Lipstick is probably my favorite makeup product. It has more options for formula, color, and finish than almost anything else I put on my face. I love the way it can change the mood of my look and really add to my entire outfit. While I tend to lean toward the darker end of the spectrum during the fall and winter months, my spring lipstick choices are much lighter. I like to do a "face refresh" for the season and switch things up, and these are the colors I've found myself reaching for over and over.

I've been trying to figure out a way to show you these pink lipsticks without this post just being a bunch of selfies, and well...it's a bunch of selfies. But I think it's the best way to show the true color of the lipsticks, rather than just a swatch on my hand or arm. Let me know what you think!

Hibiscus Pop by Maybelline
I absolutely love this pink; I wear it all the time! It's the perfect shade to add color to my lips without overpowering the rest of my face. It just brightens everything up and goes with everything from jeans and a white tee to a flirty sundress.

Showy Flamboyante by Revlon
I love how bright this pink is. It's dramatic, yet not so loud that it distracts from anything else I'm wearing. It's a great choice for a bold lip for spring, because it's not as dark as many of the colors I lean toward during the cooler months. One thing that pleasantly surprises me every time I put this lipstick on is its minty flavor. It's a definite refresher.

Lovesick by Kat Von D
If you don't already know how incredible Kat Von D's liquid lipsticks are, then where have you been? The formula for these is incredible. This lipstick is incredibly long lasting, which is great because it's so lightweight it's easy to forget I'm even wearing anything. It dries quickly and then it's on for good. This color is maybe a touch dark for spring, but that hasn't stopped me so far. I'm just waiting for my Sephora to get more colors in stock!

Petal Plush by Maybelline
This gloss is subtle and fresh, a great combination for the springtime. It's also the perfect color to pair with a smoky eye for a night out.

I'm Blushing by Maybelline
I just picked this up on a whim one day, and I'm so glad I did. I love this shade of pink, and it's so easy to apply. It comes with a smudger on the opposite end, which helps blend it into another shade if you're combining them. I haven't used it yet, but I love the option to create more custom lip colors.

What are your go-to pink lipsticks for spring?

Published by Alexandra Adams in Beauty, Makeup, Products, Style

December 7, 2015 — 1 Comment

Holiday Beauty

The holiday season is a great time to try something new with your makeup. This sparkly time of year allows for bold lips and bright eyeshadows, and the party scene is the perfect place to test the waters.

The two looks I'm showing you today are perfect opposites–one plays up the lips, and the other focuses on dramatic eyes.

For this look, I start out with my normal primer and foundation. Add some bright white/silver eyeshadow all over the lid, and line the top lid with a heavy, dramatic wing.

Add blush and highlighter, and finish with a bold lip. I'm using Maybelline's Red Revolution–it's the perfect Christmas red!

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation | Urban Decay Naked Flushed Blush and Highlighter | Lorac The Royals Eyeshadow Collection | Lorac Front of the Line Pro Liquid Eyeliner | Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor in Red Revolution

For the second look, I keep the foundation and blush the same.

To get the smoky eye, layer a few dark gray eye shadows in the crease and outer corner of the lid. Sweep a little of the gray under the eye–don't be scared! It's intimidating, because you definitely don't want to look like a raccoon or a panda bear, but adding a little of the gray underneath really helps blend out the eyeshadow and prevents it from having a sharp line. Then add black on the outer half of the lid, and a lighter silver on the inner half. Blend it all out with a fluffy brush, and add a little white to the inner corners to brighten them up.

Add a pink or a nude lip to balance out the drama of the eyes. And don't forget the mascara!

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation | Urban Decay Naked Flushed Blush and Highlighter |Urban Decay NAKED 2 Eyeshadow Palette | Lorac Front of the Line Pro Liquid Eyeliner | Sephora Luster Matte Long-Wear Lipcolor in Petal

Are you planning on trying out either of these looks this holiday season? Let me know if you'd be interested in a more detailed tutorial in the future!

Two Makeup Looks for Holiday Parties | Alexandra Adams

Published by Alexandra Adams in Beauty, Christmas, Holiday, Makeup, Style

October 12, 2015 — No Comments

Beauty Haul: October 2015

I hadn't purchased any makeup in a while, and I've had quite the list of products I wanted to try and things I was running out of, so I took a trip to Sephora and Ulta and got some exciting new things!

FOR YOUR FACE

First things first: primers. I got two travel sizes of Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primers, one colorless and one color correcting. The color correcting formula really helps balance out the redness on my skin, and both help my foundation stay on extraordinarily well. A little goes a long way, and it really helps smooth out and soften your skin without getting oily.

Next up: foundations. I got two new ones, NARS Sheer Glow in Montblanc and Sephora 10HR Wear Perfection in Light Delicate Beige.

The NARS foundation blends so beautifully and is really buildable, so the coverage is really up to you. The only thing I regret is that it doesn't have a pump, it's just an open top. You can purchase one to add onto it and I opted out of it at the time, but I might go back and get one just because I think it'll help me use less product and make it last a little longer.

The Sephora foundation is great for my skin; it doesn't stick to any dry patches and definitely lasts all day. I will say though that the skin ID system Sephora uses matched me with a much darker and yellower foundation than I could ever wear. I'm super pink and usually use the lightest color foundation available, so we had to test quite a few to finally get to a color that matched my skin. But once we did, it worked out well, so it was all worth it in the end. I will say though to not be afraid of telling the employees what you know about your skin! You know your face better than anyone, and it can definitely help you find your perfect match faster.

And lastly, highlighter. I got Too Faced Candlelight Glow Highlighting Powder Duo, and I love it. I have very fair skin, and this adds the perfect glow to my cheekbones without being overly glittery. It looks really natural and reflects light so well. A little goes a long way, so don't be too heavy-handed with it, but it works well on the cheeks as well as on your brow bone and the inner corners of your eyes.

FOR YOUR EYES

I only got one new eye product, Too Faced Shadow Insurance Candlelight Primer. I meant to get the Champagne color but ended up with Candlelight. Too Faced's Shadow Insurance line is incredible; it's like a magnet for your eye shadow and never, ever creases or emphasizes any lines. The Candlelight color is a shimmery gold, and honestly works well alone as a base shadow. Talk about a great lazy day product. That being said, if you just want to use it as a primer, it's easily covered up by whatever eye shadow you want to put on over top of it. Highly recommend! When this runs out, I'm eager to try the Champagne color–it has a little more pink in it, which is great for me.

FOR YOUR LIPS

I got three new lip products this trip–which honestly is me showing restraint. I love love love trying out new lip colors, and I always want to try all the colors available. But for this haul, I got the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Lovesick, Sephora Luster Matte Long-Wear Lip Color in Petal, and Sephora Cream Lip Stain in Blackberry Sorbet.

Clearly, I'm on a liquid lipstick kick, and I love these colors. I have several Sephora lip products, and they've exceeded a lot of my expectations in terms of having great staying power and pigmentation, and not transferring onto everything my lips touch. The Petal color is the perfect pinky-nude for my lips, and the Blackberry Sorbet is a great dark fall berry color. Love them both!

The Kat Von D liquid lipstick was a little disappointing, if only because it's been so incredibly hyped up recently. I found it to be more drying than other matte lipsticks I've tried, and the color didn't last as long as I wish it had. The color and pigmentation is gorgeous, however, so I do love it–I just have to make sure to keep an eye on it to make sure it stays on all day. This color did make me feel a bit like Kylie Jenner at the beginning of the day, which I kind of liked–take that for what you will!

FOR ALL OVER

Last but not least, I got some brushes. I'm still super hesitant when it comes to the nicer, more expensive brushes, because I'm not an expert on my favorite kinds of brushes or the best ones to get. (If you have any must-have recommendations, please let me know!) I tend to stick to the Real Techniques brush line because they're inexpensive but still of great quality. They never shed and they're dense enough to hold and distribute product without absorbing it into the brush. This time around, I got the Core Collection Brush Set, an Angled Foundation Brush, and a Setting Brush. They've proven valuable additions to my makeup routine and are all great for a variety of purposes, which I love.

Let me know what new things I should try or what products to get next time! What are some of your new faves or all-time holy grail products?

Published by Alexandra Adams in Fashion, Hauls, Lifestyle, Makeup