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I used to play with makeup a lot when I was little. I had a Bratz glitter makeup set that everyone was jealous of. But I didn’t start ~seriously~ wearing makeup until my sophomore year of high school, and it was super gradual. Over time, I’ve learned more and figured out what works for me, but that never included eyeshadow. It just kind of confused me, to be honest.

Then, I got Urban Decay’s NAKED3 palette for Christmas, and I started wearing eyeshadow almost every day. I feel like my look is incomplete without it! Even if I don’t go all out with a cute blended look, I’ll try to rub a light pink in the crease.

Long story short, I completely underestimated how much I used Strange, the pale color in NAKED3. Since I don’t use anything on my eyebrows (yet), I rely on a nude shadow to make them pop. I also use it to prime my lids and highlight my inner corners. So when I realized that I literally couldn’t get anything else out of my pan (RIP), I decided to try a new nude shade.

After wandering the aisles of Sephora and rubbing an absurd amount of lipsticks on my hand, I decided to try something from Anastasia Beverly Hills, since they sell individual eyeshadow shades and I’ve heard awesome things about their products. Their nude shade Fresh, an ultra matte “ivory pink,” was perfect for me since most of the other shades I use are rose gold-y. It was pretty close to Strange.

Guys, I love this eyeshadow SO MUCH. I love how soft it is and how it glides onto my eyelids. I honestly love it more than Strange! The color is still relatively even with my skin tone, but it pairs so well with the other shades in NAKED3 and gives things that pop that I need in a nude shadow. I need to head back to Sephora soon to get a full palette from Anastasia Beverly Hills. If you have a favorite ABH palette, let me know in the comments! I’m really disappointed that I hadn’t tried them until now.

I also just really love the fact that Anastasia sells eyeshadow singles. In this case, it wouldn’t have made sense to buy an entirely new palette just for one color. And for it to be so high-quality too? I’ve been blessed.

I honestly don’t even have that much left to say. I was just so happy with this eyeshadow, and I use it almost every day. It’s literally never let me down. I highly recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a new nude shade, or really any new eyeshadow color.

formalities

May 14, 2018KristenComment

dress (no longer being sold by Camille La Vie). shoes (I don't remember I'm sorry!). eyeshadow palette. lip crayon. perfume.

Happy Monday! It’s a brand new week, which means a week full of new opportunities! I know I keep saying it, but I’m seriously so happy it’s summer. Life is so much more fun when the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and everyone has a bit less on their plates.

A couple weeks ago, my sorority had their Spring Formal! I love Formal because everyone gets extra gorgeous and it honestly makes me cry. This year’s theme was Old Hollywood, so everyone was looking so classically beautiful.

As soon as I got word of the theme, I thought of this dress. I saw it in the Prom issue of Seventeen a couple years back and fell in love. I bought it immediately, even though the only one left was two sizes too big and unable to be altered or returned! I ended up wearing it to my Junior Prom, even though it was a little big, and wore it again for my cousin’s wedding a couple years ago. Now that I’ve gained some weight and height, the dress fits me perfectly! I’m so happy I got to wear it again. I genuinely feel like a princess in this dress.

My shoes are also another blast from the past! I wore these to two Proms with a different dress. I loved them as soon as I saw them because they’re beautiful, classy, and dressy, but they’re not heels! I have knee problems, and heels really irritate them, so I try to go for classier flats. These are super comfy, and I don’t have to sacrifice style for comfort.

I kept my hair simple, just straightening it (it looked better before Formal, I took this pic after I got home!), and my makeup relatively simple, but glamorous. I contoured a lot more than usual, took extra time on my sparkly eye shadow, and bought a new lip crayon that I’ll post about soon! Spoiler alert: I’m obsessed.

Overall, the night was amazing! I had such a great time from beginning to end. This was the first year I was able to bring my boyfriend instead of just a date! He’s amazing and made the night twenty times better. Have you been to any ~fancy~ events recently? Let me know in the comments!

Let's Get Naked

January 9, 2018Cruelty-FreeKristenComment

This Christmas, I asked for a ton of makeup. I've always been into beauty (obviously) but I definitely got more interested in it this semester. One of my roommates and her sister are crazy good at makeup, and they always try to teach me things when they doll me up before we go out. A couple of my sorority sisters are also super gifted and they've been teaching me things, so I figured I'd ask for a couple high-quality products to start actually getting into it. The Urban Decay NAKED 3 palette was one of them!

Though I had wanted this palette for a long time, I never actually got it because I never really wore eyeshadow. Every time I tried, I would just mess it up and it would look so bad. But this semester, my sorority sisters taught us a makeup class, and I learned a little more about blending and which types of colors to put where on my eye. I started playing around, and now I feel empty without eyeshadow!

NAKED 3 is honestly perfect for me! On a normal day, I wear neutral colors on my eyes like beige and tan, which is exactly why I wanted one of the NAKED palettes. I loved the rose gold tones in NAKED 3, and there's honestly a ridiculous variety. The palette goes from super light shades like Strange, which I usually use under my eyebrows, and Burnout, my go-to, to darker crease shades like Factory and Darkheart. Honestly the names of these are super cute too, like Mugshot, Liar, and Trick! It just makes getting ready in the morning that much more fun.

I also really like that every color has a sparkly complement; it makes it really easy to pair shades together and play around on my lids. They're more shimmery than sparkly, with just enough shine to add a little pop to your look but not so much it looks like you're attending a red carpet at the grocery store, if that makes sense.

And the BRUSH! It's double-sided, with one end for applying and one end for blending, which completely revolutionized my eyeshadow game since I've never had a blending brush! I've never had an issue with my brushes, until recently I realized they get really dirty really quickly, and they're really difficult to clean (what the hell, e.l.f.?!). One of my sisters told me that I'd never realize how crappy my brushes were until I used quality ones, and I completely believe her now that I've used this brush and the one that came with my Cocoa Contour palette. It's so soft!!! I feel like a literal princess when I use this brush.

I'm so so happy I was fortunate enough to get this for Christmas, because it's seriously changed my makeup game forever! And as a bonus, Urban Decay is cruelty-free! If you’re interested in going cruelty-free, check out PETA’s Searchable Database and Cruelty-Free Kitty’s alphabetized list of cruelty-free brands. If you have any cruelty-free recommendations, please comment them below!