Beauty Guide: Hair and Makeup

Hello loves! I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from my last couple of posts asking where I get my makeup from? What products I use? How do I style my hair? How does it stay styled for so long? So today I am going to share with you guys my beauty guide: all my makeup tricks and hair tricks as well as the products I use.

Disclaimer: I do want to let you know this post does contain affiliate links. Meaning I will receive a commission if you go through them and make a purchase at no extra cost to you. You can read my full disclosure by clicking on the word here.

Having a Good Canvas

Your skin is truly a blank canvas for your makeup. There are SO many options for skin care out there from your local drugstores to the department stores. Find a product that cleans your skin, keeps it healthy, and most importantly you can use on a daily basis.

I struggled with acne as a teenager and found that for my skin type Proactiv+ was the best product for me. Their 3 step formula works amazing and keeps my skin clean, clear of acne, and isn’t harsh on my skin.

My Weekly Face Cleansing Routine

• Every day I use the Proactiv+ 3-step formula to clean my face for the day ahead.
• I work out 4-5 times a week, so I wash my face at night after a shower to get rid of the excess sweat and dirt in my pores. (always wash your face after a workout)
• Every Sunday, I use Boscia Luminizing Black Mask to remove any dead skin and impurities from the week.

Boscia’s Luminizing Black Mask is my new favorite product. I love putting the mask on and feeling it work on my skin. It is recommended to leave it on for thirty minutes, so I usually put in on while watching Sunday Night Football or Revenge Body.

After the thirty minutes, you literally just peel it right off and can see the difference. My pores look smaller and my skin brighter, plus you can see all the junk your skin collects right on the back of the mask.

Finding the Best Product for You

To be perfectly honest, makeup is something you have to go into the store and try first. You can’t just buy it and hope it works. Quick tip: I first started by asking for samples or buying the small travel sizes first.

Makeup is SUPER expensive, so I want to make sure the product is right for me before I buy the whole bottle. Also what is right for me, may not always be the best product for your skin. Try different brands and see which one your skin reacts best with.

Through this experiment, I found that Smashbox is my favorite face makeup brand. I use it every day and it never makes my skin oily, dry, or irritated. It goes on smoothly and does not give me that “caked on” feeling. I honestly feel like I’m not even wearing anything, it’s so light.

Be Healthy with Makeup

Makeup is definitely fun to play around with but can obviously leave your face with blemishes, dirt, impurities, etc. It always good to take an extra step to avoid any more makeup from going into your pores. Personally, I use a primer before applying any makeup on because it adds a shield on your skin to help protect it from the makeup.

After the primer, I use a CC cream with SPF in it because makeup doesn’t prevent you from getting sunburn or wrinkles from the sun and you want to protect your skin from the sun daily. Also make sure at the end of every day before you shower, to remove all of your makeup.

Neutrogena’s Makeup Remover Cleansing Towels works great and helps wash your face too.  Quick tip: WASH your brushes! I like to wash my brushes every month. Using a clean brush is key to keeping your skin healthy! Personally, I use GVLD Brush Pro cleaner and it’s a really good investment to make. If not simple soap and water work too!

Products I Use

Face:

• Primer: Smashbox Iconic Photo Finish Foundation Primer
• CC Cream: Smashbox Camera Ready SPF 30 Dark Spot Correcting
• Foundation: Smashbox Studio Skin 15 Hour Wear Hydrating
• Concealer: Smashbox Photo Op Under Eye Brightener and Maybelline Cover Stick Corrector
• Bronzer: Smashbox Warm Matte Bronze Lights
• Blush: Kylie Jenner Barely Legal
• Highlighter: Kylie Jenner Cotton Candy Cream

Brows:

• Smashbox Brow Tech to go and Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara

Eyes:

• Lids: Kylie Jenner Bronze and Burgundy Pallet and Urban Decay Naked 2 Pallet
• Eyeliner: Smashbox Always Sharp Waterproof Kohl
• Mascara: Smashbox Eye Brightening and Better than Sex
• Liquid liner: Kat Von D Tattoo Liner

Lips:

• Jeffrey Star Celebrity Skin (the best matte nude)
• Kylie Jenner Lip Kits
• Victoria Duke Beauty Lip Gloss

Mix and Matching Products

As you can see from my list, I do use different brands. It’s all about what works for you and its definitely okay to try other brands and mix and match. I recently was introduced to Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder and OMG! It is literally amazing! It totally helps lock in my liquid makeup without adding extra weight.

When it comes to my eyes and lips, I like to play around with different pallets and lip colors. I found matte lips really do look better on me but can cause your lips to get dry. For this I use Jeffery Star’s Velour Lip Scrub before and after applying my matte lipstick. It helps get rid of the dead/dry skin on your lips and keep your lips soft and smooth. Plus, it tastes AUHMAZING! 

Also note I don’t use all these products every day. Normally just my primer, CC cream, foundation, bronzer, and eyes are my go to makeup looks for work.

Let’s Get Hairy:

My hair is naturally straight. It used to be pin straight and all black. I dyed my hair to the balayage color it is now and it has changed my hair a bit. Knowing, the risks of dying your hair a lot, I only do it about 2-3 times a year to keep it healthy and not brittle. Plus, my girl Erin Quillin is a hair guru! Hit her up if you’re in the local West Palm Beach area, she’s the best.

I use head and shoulders for my shampoo and condition because it doesn’t irritate my scalp or skin like the other drug store brand do. I also use a variety of living proof products to keep my hair clean, silky, smooth, and healthy.

For my straight hair I use a Chi straightener, but if your hair is already mostly straight any hair straighter will work for you. Always use a heat protector when working with any styling tools or just blow drying your hair.

Bombay Bombshell

Now to curl my hair. . . that’s a WHOLE different story. I always loved curly hair but it just would never work for me, from using various curling irons to drenching my hair in hairspray. It would all FALL OUT! I would go to salons and they would curl my hair but within the hour GOODBYE CURLS.

It wasn’t until I stumbled upon Bombay Hair that I decided to try their curling wand. After reading all the reviews of how many different women loved their products and also they were having a ridiculous sale too at the time, I bought one over 5+ years ago and still use it today.

I bought their 5-in-1 curling wand! BEST BEST BEST investment, I ever made. Keep strolling for a discount code! The wand worked for me, now I had to learn how to properly curl my hair and practice it but once I had it down packed. I was in heaven.

Bombay Ambassador

I can offer you guys a discount with Bombay hair for any of their products if you use my code, “KARENB30” I do earn a commission if you buy their products and use my code, but you’re saving good money for a product I honestly always use and definitely recommend.

My last post was all about my experience in the Miss Florida USA pageant, and in all the photos my hair is curled. Bombay’s 5-in-1 curling wand made my hair last in curls all day, with a quick 10-minute touch up because we literally had NO time to be in our rooms. It was worth the investment for me because I literally have 5 curling wands in 1 and I can experiment with different volumes of curls.

Full List of Products:

• For Heat Protection: Living Proof: Restore Instant Protection
• Volume in a can: Living Proof: Full Dry Volume Blast
• Hairspray: Living Proof: Flex Shaping Hairspray

Beauty Guide

With the products I recommended today I have personally tried them all. Living Proof is my favorite hair products because it truly works for my hair, it smells great, and doesn’t have parabens, sulfates, or any other damaging chemicals. They also work great for dyed hair.

My makeup brands are all based on my experiences. I used to be the girl who would rock the drug store makeup brands and still use some, but I realized some of these brands were actually bad for my skin. I know some girls who only use drug store brands and literally I’m envious because their skin wears it so well and they save SO MUCH MULA.

Makeup is about how you feel in it and what works best for you. Rihanna’s line is the new makeup on the block and I know a lot of girls who are rushing to buy it, but not me. It doesn’t work for me simple as that. Don’t follow the trend brands. Just be yourself and use what you know works for you!

Your beauty comes from within and if you’re not comfortable with what you’re wearing it’ll read all over your face. Play around and try different brands. It’s okay to experiment. Just don’t feel obligated to have to get the newest brands. Have fun experimenting!

Let me know what your favorite brands are in the comments below… I’m always dying to try other products.

XOXO

Karen Giuliana