apologies!

hello all! sorry i've been so..MIA recently. just wanted to apologize and let you know that i'm in the middle of some transitions right now and hope to start blogging again next week! looking forward to posting something wonderfully exciting :)

edit: i've still been instagramming a bit during this time, so follow me for updates!

photo diary: nail art splurge

light dove grey (OPI's moon over mumbai) with hand-painted gold accents (urban outfitters gold)

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half moon manicure with olive green (urban outfitters) and glossy black (sinful colors' black on black)

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light dove grey (OPI's moon over mumbai) with multi-colored glitter (milani's jewel fx in gems)

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my recent nail art experiments! i can do a tutorial of the first one if anyone would like to learn :)

beauty school: brush up! (part 2)

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sorry for the delay in part 2 of the "brush up!" series, but here it is! these may not be in every beginner's set, but definitely come in handy when doing more detailed and precise makeup. just as paintbrushes are essential to an artist, so are makeup brushes to a makeup artist. 

even if you don't consider yourself one, investing in some great brushes (and keeping them well cared for!) will help you achieve even better and more detailed looks than without brushes.

look out for a tutorial on how to take care of and clean your brushes! :)

don't forget to follow me on twitter / pinterest / tumblr / rss!

eye look #15: the blues

this is a look that uses blue tones yet works really well for everyday wear! just make sure to use neutrals for your main lid color, define with a navy shadow, and you can line with a navy blue liner as well. your bottom lash line is a great place to add a pop of teal or lighter blue, which is what i did after applying a bit of navy blue liner on the bottom corner.

hope this inspires you to try a look with hints of blue as well! :)

products used:

make up for ever aqua cream #15 taupe

l'oreal h.i.p. color truth cream liner in midnight blue

nyx single eyeshadow in frosted ocean

sephora collection retractable waterproof eyeliner in turquoise

find me on these social media sites!

aqua inspiration

Source: tarteletteblog.com via grace on Pinterest

Source: 100layercake.com via grace on Pinterest

Source: eyeshadowlipstick.com via grace on Pinterest

Source: richesforrags.tumblr.com via grace on Pinterest

a few things that have been inspiring me lately, all with a hint of aqua. i love how light aqua makes everything feel so ethereal and light. and how charming are those nautical wedding invitations? i love how they have the hand-painted aesthetic yet they're still very sophisticated and clean.

these are all from my pinterest boards -- i take pride in the fact that my boards are very carefully curated :) so head on over to my pinterest to see more of the things i'm loving!

shopping my closet

sweater: american eagle (aerie), top+bottoms+necklace: forever21, 

bracelets from top to bottom: h&m, luna (local boutique, h&m)

finding ways to shop my own closet and combine pieces i already have is definitely challenging, but i think it's a great way to stretch my creativity and also stick to a budget (because i've been trying to not buy too many new pieces!). 

something i've learned is that even though you might not think the outfit will work when you see the pieces separately, sometimes if you put them on and keep tweaking, the result can surprise you. try just the front of the top tucked in, or just the side tucked in, or roll up the sleeves, or scrunch the sleeves, or belt the bottoms, mix colors, mix prints, add jewelry, add accessories. modify it until it either works or really doesn't work! good luck! :)

let's connect! :)

"hazard" bright + silver

the bright nail look i've been rocking the past few days. this was my first time buying the sinful colors brand polish, and it seems to be pretty good quality for the price ($1.99).

3 coats of sinful colors' hazard nail polish, a swipe of silvery-champagne polish from forever 21, a coating of silvery glitter on the ring fingers, and then a clear top coat. it's holding up pretty well!

have a great weekend! :)

nyx cream shadows review

i stopped by ULTA last week, and miraculously walked out of the store with only two products. (i really tried to restrain myself because i'm not supposed to be spending so much!) one of those was the new NYX cream shadow, which i had been excited to try ever since i wrote this post. to see what i thought about it, and the look i created with it, read on after the jump!

photo diary: recent style & beauty inspirations

a few random photos i took recently that i hope either inspire you to try new things or let you get to know me a little better! :)

+ starry sky nail art (pretty easy, just paint a small star shape using 5 lines and then dots around)

+ rosy brown eye makeup with minimal eyeliner

+ part of my outfit the other day 

(cardigan: gap, tshirt: madewell, belt+skirt+top 2 bracelets: f21, bottom bracelet: diy)

have a wonderful day!

don't forget to connect with me! :) 

beauty school: very berry eye tutorial

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beauty school is now in session! :) here's a great tutorial for valentine's day (continuing with the v-day theme!) or anytime! this is based off one of my previously posted eye looks called "very berry" but i had to modify it a bit. 

to get the look, read on after the jump for the step-by-step instructions!