Tutorial Tuesday: I made a skirt

This is not a tutorial per se in the classic sense, more of a tutorial review. As part of my year of empowerment and self discovery- also known as my unexpected year off- I decided that I want to learn how to sew. I wish I could say that the desires stem for want to make things for others (like Tabitha in the Bible) but I really just like clothes (Like the adorable vintage looking clothes on Mod Cloth.com) but have a limited budget to spend on them. The solution? Learn how to make them myself so I can expand my wardrobe and save money.

I decided that my first project would be to make a skirt. Skirts looked like simple items to make for a beginner like me and I can always use a new one. So, I took to the Pinterest to find a tutorial and I came across this one from This Big Oak Tree. It was a simple, high waisted skirt with a bow- perfect for what I wanted.

So, on this past rainy Friday, I attempted to make my first skirt. I say “attempted” because, though I have a finished project, it is far from perfect and actually unwearable. Whoops. My stray sewing skills (I do like alliterations) were not reflective on her blog tutorial, but the fact that I can't draw or cut a straight line (though I blame the first on my yard stick- I’m 99% sure it’s not straight).

I decided to tweak her original skirt by making it sit on my hips instead of my waist. I also decided not to make a bow, but that had more to do with running out of fabric.

My first problem was probably my fabric choice. Cute as it is/was, it was probably too thick for the type of skirt I was trying to make by following the tutorial exactly. When worn, it bunches up on my hips in a very unflattering way and makes them look bigger. Not really what my self-esteem needs. I tried to work the skirt up onto my waist instead, but it was too big and still bulky.

My second problem came in the zipper. I do not have a zipper foot- pause for the outrage- my old machine did, but it has since gone to the great sewing shop in the sky. I've put on zippers with a regular ole normal, comes with every sewing machine foot before, so I tried to do it again this time. Well, that probably wasn’t the smartest this seeing that the fabric was already thick and then folded over with a zipper behind it. I actually broke a needle and got it caught in the fabrib, as well as totally un-aligning the back of the skirt. And the zipper still isn’t even complete attached, there are holes where the needled didn’t get through it and the fabric. I will be purchasing a zipper foot on my next trip to a craft/fabric store.

So, what to do know that I have a wonky skirt? A) I’m going to try again with thinner fabric and actually make it a waist skirt- with bow- this time and B) If I succeed at attempt two, I’m going to try to rework my existing disaster. My thinking it that if I rework it to a waist skirt and remove some fabric to make it less bulky as well as fix the disastrous zipper, I might, might, be able to make it into a respectable skirt. I really hope I can because it would be SUPER cute.

The moral to this story is that her tutorial was GREAT- she was very easy to follow (minus one of the first steps where her wording was confusing) and included picture for every step to help you on your way. For any beginner-like me- who’s looking to make a skirt like this, it is DEFINIETLY the tutorial for you. Unfortunately, my skirt didn't turn out as a wanted it but that is not because of the tutorial- I’m just a lousy seamstress.

Until my next adventure-

XX Catherine 

Tutorial Tuesday: Leia Inspired Hairstyle

In case you unfortunately missed in, Sunday was Star Wars Day! A nerdy holiday celebrated throughout the world with Star Wars food, shirts and, of course, viewing of the movies. It was also a Sunday and, though my mother wouldn’t let me wear my Star Wars t-shirt to church, I decided to wear a Star Wars inspired hairstyle. No, it’s not Leia’s legendary buns or the ridiculously awesome braided up-do that I absolutely LOVE (pictures of both below) but a mixture of both. And this hairstyle can be wore not only on a nerdy holiday, but for anything from special occasions to sweaty, summer days outside. It keeps you both cool and cute while keeping your hair out of your eyes- useful when you are fighting against the empire.

Supplies Needed:

The little helix pins are Simple Styles Spin Pins made by Goodys. I got them around 4 years ago and I LOVE them. I highly recommend them for anyone who wants/needs pins for buns and other up-dos.

The How-To (with pictures)

Step 1: Brush the ever loving crap out of your hair. If you have a thin or silky straight hair (I am totally jealous of you then!) spray some texturing spray. Braids hold better when you have some sort of texture. Today I’m working with second day hair that hasn’t been styled because I’ve only been cleaning and running errands, so it’s either been up or in a braid. Please don’t judge it.

Ugly hair! Oh what to do!

Step 2: Part your hair as normal and tie off the side with less hair (the side closest to your part).  Run a brush through your free hair a few more times, then part it with your fingers for braiding. Start French braiding close to your scalp, grabbing small sections and working them through your hair. Braid behind you ear, stopping at the base of your next and pinning it off with bobby pins. You could try to tie the braid off with a ponytail holder/ hair tie, but I find bobby pins to be the easiest.

Step 3: Repeat on the other side. Start high up on your scalp and braid using tiny sections. Braid the hair at an angle towards your opposite shoulder. When you meet up with the other braid, hold the current braid with one hand and try slip the pins out of your hair. Try to not let the completed braid get too undone, but start incorporating the remaining hair into your bigger braid.  Once you meet the other braid, you can start using larger sections until you have a completed braid over your shoulder on the side of your part and tie it off.

Step 4: You are almost done! Yay you!!! Fluff out you braid a little bit by gentle (gentle being to key word) pulling the plait from either side. Then roll the braid up counterclockwise, wrapping the end over the braid and towards your head. Wrap it up to the side of your head and secure it with bobby pins or spin pins.

Now, you’re DONE! See, wasn’t that easy. I get so many complements on this hairstyle. It’s quick, easy and looks quite impressive when finished. Now, you are ready to attend a dance, day at the pool or fight some stormtroopers, whichever you chose.

If you do this, I would to see pic to tweet me or post them below.

XOXO,

Catherine

My new beauty trend: The Calcium Bentonite Clay Mask.

More than a year ago I purchased a tub of calcium bentonite clay from a local GNC. I had seen an idea for a body wrap on pinterest and decided to try it for my brother's upcoming wedding. Well, I never did it and the powder eventually got lost in my bathroom cabinet only to be rediscovered a few weeks ago. Curious about this mysterious powder that's supposed to be very beautifying and beneficial, I took to the Google to figure out what it did. It seems that calcium bentonite clay has a list of benefits of which it boasts with its biggest one being that it's the "World's Most Powerful Facial"! Yes, I had the world's most powerful facial under my sink and didn't even know it! One YouTube video later and I was whipping up my new mask. 

The calcium bentonite clay mask works by supposedly pulling the toxins in your skin to the surface so that you can wash them away. It also increases blood flood to you face and I can say for experience, it sure does. You can actually feel your face pulsate, which is what the bottle (tub? container thingy?) says!

It was surprisingly easy to whip just. Just add equal part clay and water/ apple cider vinegar (what I use) in a plastic bowl and stir with a plastic spoon. That's it. And the bowl and spoon must be plastic or paper or wooden- not metal. Not to get to sciencey on you but calicum bentonite clay carries a negative charge- which is what makes it beneficial for beautifying. If the powder was to be added to a metal bowl, the charge would be transferred to the bowl and therefore not have the beautifying power it needs!

Almost dry mask of pulsating fun!

Once whipped up, just smooth in on your skin and relax. You will quickly start feeling the blood pulse through your skin as the mask does its work. After 5-20 minutes, depending on you skin type, rinse it off. I personally follow up with my usually face care routine and apply toner, then moisturizer. It's just that simple.

I have only been doing this mask for a week- only three times- and I already love it. It's quick, easy, doesn't break out my skin, and it removing toxins! How much better could you get?

I hope you all try it out and let me know how it work for you!

Peace, love and beauty,

Catherine 

  

My Love Affair with Makeup:

Hello lovelies! I am back from my unexpected hiatus.  Lucky for me, all of my professors this semester decided that my exams were best scheduled two at a time with no breaks! Yay! I honestly don't know how my mind has survive until now. However, I think that the worst is over now so you will be hearing a lot more from me. I know, I know- you're excited but please, try to contain yourself.

So, I have made an executive decision about my blog. So far I have written about my poor attempts at finding love, my favorite men and a little on my favorite fandoms. But, from now on, I think I am going to switch gears on my little pink blog and actually swerve into the beauty lane. Yes, this will partly be a beauty blog. Now, of course I will still have my hot men rants and Disney post and funny stories regarding my life and the life of those around me, but I will also be dealing out my knowledge and tips I've learned regarding makeup, hair, skincare and fashion. I super excited about this because I love all things girly as well as all things nerdy! So, here we go with my first beauty post.

Since a very young age, I have loved makeup. In fact, one of my favorite pictures of myself as a toddler was one where I was standing on my parent's toilet with baby powder on my face and bright red lipstick smeared all over my lips. Even at the rip old age of three, I could wait to be a big girl and wear makeup.
I'm am now 24 and have been wearing makeup for at least the last 11 years. And through those 11 years, I have learned many tip and tricks of the makeup world. You see, no one taught me how to put on makeup. My poor mother-who is the most beautiful women in the world- never wears any makeup. And if she does, she is absolutely clueless as to how to apply it or buy it. (I'm completely serious, a few years ago she sent me to the store with a handful of cash to buy her makeup because she didn't even know what to buy) Because of this, I had to rely on observation and later YouTube videos to teach myself about the wonderful world of makeup. And I don't want to toot my own horn, but I think I have gotten skilled at doing it- on myself at least.

Now- before I go any further- I have to tell you that my makeup routine is exactly that- a routine. Yes, I mix it up a little now and then, but I usually don't venture far. Let me explain why. I feel like many girls use their makeup to try to change how they look. They use over exaggerated colors, liners and contouring to change their entire face. I am not like that. I believe that make up should be used to enhance every girls natural beauty. Every single girl out there is beautiful! It really breaks my heart when I see girls out their trying to hide themselves and change themselves by overdoing their face and not letting their true beauty shine through. Less really is more, especially when it comes to a basic day look, and that's how I feel like I do my make up.

Okay, little rant over. Now onto the real meat of this post- me and my make routine. As my maiden voyage as a beauty blogger I am going to show you how I do my makeup and share a list of my favorite products.

My Daily Makeup Routine:

First thing, always start with a clean face. Cleaning your face is really important when it comes to doing makeup because this stuff literally clogs your pores which can lead to ance- and no one like ance. (One day I may do a post on my skin care routine and how I determined which skin care routine was good for me.)

Look Mom, I'm on the internet with no makeup

First step first- concealer. Now matter how clean and clear your skin is, every girl is bound to get a few zits in her life time. Then, on top of that, with age comes dark circles that no one particularly wants peaking through. Through trial and error, I have discovered two concealers that I absolutely love!!! They are the Maybelline 24-Hour Concealer and Hard Candy's Glamoflauge. Though they are both liquid concealers, I really consider them to be in different forms. The Maybelline concealer comes in a tube and has an application wand for, well, application. For the past few months, I have been primarily using Glamoflauge but the Maybelline tubes are great to through in your bag for touch ups- which is why I am including them in this post. The Glamoflauge has stolen my heart. You only need a little bit to go a long way and it stays on a long time. Yay! It comes in a tube and can be applied with a sponge or, my preferred way, by using a beauty blender. Now, if you don't know what a beauty blender is, it is that little tear shaped pink sponge you see on the makeup aisle. They can be used dry or damp to apply liquid make up and they blend magnificently! (Just in case you were wondering) These products are both cheap ($6 for the Glamoflague and under $8 for the Maybelline) and are both products I would recommend. 

Now, for foundation. Back in March, I took the plunge and entered into a relationship with Bare Essentials. From then on, we have been in love. Yes, it is more expensive than normal powder or foundation you can buy, but it is totally worth it. It covers like a DREAM!!! It's light and, like the Glamoflague, it stays put all day. And I mean it, there are days when I would come home from school and still look fresh. Applying it might seems intimidating- they do give you a brush and specific instructions- but it really is simple. You pour a little in the cap, swirl your brush in it, tap off the excess then buff it onto your skin. After applying it, you might feel like a wizard with the crazy make up magic you just performed. 

Now, this next part is a little controversial. Some girls do their blush next, I do my eyes. First, I use an eyelid primer. I recently started using eyelid primer and so far I really haven't noticed a different in my length of stay for my eyeshadow but I am still using it so, who knows. Here comes the next controversial part! I don't use eyeliner in the conventional sense. I personally hate the way that eyeliner looks- it looks unnatural and actually makes most peoples, mine included, eyes looks smarted. Who wants to make their eye look smaller? They are the "gateway to the soul". Instead, I tight line. Now, tight lining is something that I can get behind. Instead of applying eyeliner in the conventional sense, I only use eyeliner to fill in the little gaps between my eyelashes. This doesn't make your eyes look smaller and, instead, really fills in your eyelashes to make them look thicker! How awesome it that? 

And now for the third controverisal part, I only wear brown and neutral eyeshadow tones. Most guys notice a girls eyes before anything else. Using colors that compliment your eye colors will really make your eyes stand out and really pop. That's why I, a blue eye girl, use brown whereas brown eye beauties should use more purples and blues and green eye girlies should use more greens and golds. By choosing complimenting colors, people will look at your beautiful eyes instead of your eyeshadow. 

Then I apply blush. Blush is about the simplest part of my makeup routine. Now, with blush, it's important to choose one that compliments your actually coloring and won't make you look, well, like a clown. Oh man, I actually saw a girl today at school who hadn't learn this concept and I could only look at her bright pink blush, and not her face. My personal favorite blush is Pink Blush 04 by Clinque. It's simple and soft and would probably match with most skin tones. 

After blush I apply a bronzer, if needed. Did you all read that- if NEEDED! We have all passed girls that are two different colors- tan faces and pale necks. Though I am probably guilty of doing that at least once, make sure to match your makeup well and blend it appropriately into you neck to avoid this common mistake.  Believe me, it's okay to put makeup on you neck ans even your chest- you won't be breaking some unwritten rule. When applying bronzer, apply it to you neck and chest also so that everything matches and to avoid that carnal makeup sin. Then set your makeup with powder or mineral veil- for us Bare Essentials users- to complete your look with you favorite lip stick or gloss. I personally love Utla's Brilliant Color lipgloss in 15. It's a beautiful shade that looks more like a shiny lipstick when on instead of a shimmering lip gloss. Sometimes, if I want a little shimmer, I'll layer a shimmery gloss over it- particularly a Revlon Shade that I can't find at the moment. 

And done! That's better.

Sorry for the bad lighting- blame my bathroom.

And now I'm ready to face the world. (Get it, face? Because I put on my face!)

I hope you have enjoyed my first beauty post. Comment or subscribe/ follow if you really enjoy post like this and I'll be sure to write more. 

Lots of love,

Catherine