Rainy day ootd

Its finally getting warm in New York. A rainy day like today means hair in a bun and a jacket. Even though its raining, I still try to find ways to throw a cute look together. I throw my hair up so it doesn't frizz out.

I also wanted to let you all know that I started a Loobook.nu account. Please check it out at this link

Leather jacket: H&M | Blouse: H&M | Boyfriend jeans: Forever 21 | Booties: Target

DIY: non-slip hangers

I love clothes and I have a lot that seem to fall right off the hanger. You can buy those felt hangers that are super expensive or you can use those little string loops on some shirts but those are annoying and get tangled. I have found a super easy way to make your own non-slip hangers.

You're going to need some hangers, an old shirt, and some scissors.

Here is the finished product. 

Start off by cutting the very bottom of shirt off. You should have a giant loop. I cut off about two loops for the whole hanger but it may take more or less depending on how stretchy your fabric is.

A tip i have is to try to cut the fabric with about a 1 cm thickness. Any more and it won't stretch enough and any less and you risk it ripping and ruining everything.

This next part is some serious stress relief. Grab the loop of shirt and stretch it as much as you can. As you can see from the photo, it almost triples in size.

Cut the loop so that you have a long string of fabric.
Tie the string around the hook part of the hanger and make sure it is secure.

Start wrapping the string around the hanger until you run out of string.

You want to keep the string pulled tight and keep doing this until you come to the end of the string. At this point you will tie the other string we cut to the first. Then continue wrapping until the hanger is covered.

The cloth from the old shirt will help to hold the garment in pace on the Hanger.

This is a great alternative of nice clothes on the floor of your closet of creases and wrinkles from folding them.

Best ELF products: makeup

This is the third part of my Best ELF Products series. These are my favorite makeup products. Elf is a great brand and it is so affordable. They have so many products that are accessible for beginners or pros.

The first product is the Contouring blush and bronzing powder. I wrote an entire review and comparison. Find it here. 

Next is their blush. All of the shades are quite pigmented and amazing. The one I have shown here is 'pink passion'. I have a swatch to the left and the blush is on the right. This blush is super bright and neon. The camera really does't do it justice. 

Next is the matte lip colors. These are twist up lip crayons. I  really like them because they are almost a mix between a lipstick and a lip liner. They have a slim point so its easy to get control. The swatch of the shade 'rich red' is to the left. 

Complexion perfection is a powder that con taints four tinted powders in yellow, blue, green, and pink. They each color correct for things like discoloration in acne, or under eye circles. It is a nice setting powder that helps to control oil, bright and perfect the face, and hold your foundation on longer.

Finally the mineral booster. They sell different sizes of this and I buy the largest one that retails for $8. This is probably my favorite product. It is so comparable to the Bare Minerals mineral veil powder yet is a fraction of the cost.

How to stretch out shoes

Do you ever come across a shoe aisle and find a pair you need? Then you notice they're on sale so you really need them? But then they only have a 7 1/2 or 8 1/2 but you wear an 8? Because this happens to me constantly. Maybe a normal person would just sigh and walk away but how can you leave behind the world's cutest shoes that are on sale for $25?! Really I'm asking because I can't. When this happens I always buy the smaller size and stretch them out.

Today I'm going to teach you have to stretch your shoes.

Method 1
You will need:
♡The shoes that are too small
♡Thick socks- at least 2 pairs but the more the better (I'll explain later)
♡A hot blow dryer

♡Put on your socks. You want the have one pair for now. This will start the stretching process. Put the shoes on. This may be difficult because they're already too small and you've just crammed a big socked foot into them.
♡Now turn on the hair dryer on high and move it around the outside of the shoes. Try to move your feet in any way you can to get the leather more pliable. Do this for a bit and make sure to move the dryer around. You don't want to burn your shoes or your feet.
♡See how well the shoes fit without the socks on. If you still need them stretched more, throw on the first pair of socks then a second and repeat the process.

Method 2
One of my friends taught me this one forever ago and this work if you don't have the time to sit around blow drying your feet but do have overnight.

You will need:
♡The shoes that are too small
♡Plastic ziploc bags
♡Water

All you need to do for this method is to take a bag and fill it halfway with water. Next squeeze all the excess air out and place the bag in the shoe. I normal double bag it just for extra measure. Now throw your shoes in the freezer overnight and the water will freeze and expand.

The best everyday lipsticks

YLBB: your lips but better: a term to describe lipsticks that are pretty much your lip color but like better than your natural lips. They're natural, neutral pinks and nudes. They're the colors you wear every day.

From the left:

Demure - Revlon | 14 - Rimmel by Kate | Airy Fairy - Rimmel | Centerfold - Buxom* | Viva Glam Gaga 2 - Mac* | Fairest Nude - L'oreal

Demure from Revlon is a really nice almost-coral color. It has just enough color to add something extra but still looks natural and fine for everyday class or work wear. Revlon makes amazing lipsticks. This one is  a satin finish but doesn't appear shimmery or frosty. 

14 from the Kate line for Rimmel is a darker nude. I tend to stay away from lighter nudes because I think they can make you look dead and sickly. Rimmel lipsticks are a bit more dry than the Revlon ones but they apply smoothly and add a nice color. 

Airy Fairy from Rimmel used to be really popular but I don't see it mentioned often. It is definitely a nude pink. This was my go to for forever and has a very subtle satin finish. 

Centerfold was a limited edition shade from Buxom but you may still find it in some stores or online or something. In the swatch it looks like a berry magenta shade but, on my lips its a dark pink nude. I've seen this look very different on different people. Buxom lipsticks are very hydrating and have a beautiful shine on the lips. Some of them are a bit sticky but nothing like a lipgloss. 

Viva Glam Gaga 2 was one of MAC's limited edition viva glam shades. The viva glam line is normally endorsed by a celeb and they proceeds go to fighting AIDS. I am not a Gaga fan but this lipstick is nice. Again it isn't sold anymore but it can still be found online some places. This is a true light nude. I rarely wear this on its own but its the perfect color to wear under a lightly pigmented gloss. 

Finally is Fairest Nude from L'Oreal. This is very similar to Airy Fairy but a bit darker. Its not quite as dark as 14 though. L'Oreal lipsticks are very basic; they're not too dry to too hydrating. They aren;t glossy or matte either. L'Oreal however is made by Lancome so the quality is normally good. This color is my favorite, go-to lipstick. 

What are some of you favorite YLBB lipsticks? Let me know

OOTD: warm winter day

The other day it was warm in New York. During the winter.  

I love Union square.

Spicy peanut noodles recipe

Ramen, Sriracha, and peanut butter. What could go wrong?
I'm in college. I try to avoid ramen but somehow its in my cabinet. It's not really good. I mean it costs like 35¢ a pack. I found this recipe online somewhere forever ago and its really pretty good. This turns out something like thai peanut noodles or cold sesame noodles depending on how much of everything you put in. I know you can just buy a pack of those for less than all the ingredients but think of how many times you can make this.

You will need:
1 pack of ramen
~2 tbsp peanut butter*
~2 tbsp sriracha*
salt
*you can adjust these to your liking. I like a little more sriracha and a little less peanut butter.

-Start by making a pack of ramen according to the instructions provided then dump out the water.
-Add the peanut butter, sriracha, and salt

-Stir it really well. It can be difficult to stir the peanut butter but keep mixing until its well combined.

-Enjoy

The best under eye concealers

Oh my god I have the worst under eye circles ever. I’m layers deep in eye cream, corrector, concealer, foundation, correcting powder, setting powder, etc and you can still see them. I have made it my life’s mission to find the best under eye concealers. While I still haven’t found one to completely cover them, these are the absolute best and will work for any normal person.  

1.First up is the Mac pro long wear concealer. It really will last forever. It isn’t cakey or too thick. Mac has a huge array of colors to choose from. If you have super dark almost black-eye darkness this won’t cover them but it will cover anything else. I like to use this over a corrector to make it last long and much my skin. ~$19 at MAC

2. It cosmetics bye bye under eye does exactly what it says. You can say ‘bye bye’ to your under eye circles.
They only offer 4 shades. This has such amazing coverage.
 Its very very thick so a little bit goes a long way.
I’m mac nw 25 and found the color neutral medium perfect for me.
My only complaint is that the light one seems to only match paper.
$24 on amazon

3. Ok this is a crappy concealer so, why am I including it? Because it’s amazing at brightening and highlighting under the eyes. If you put on some of the highlighter over your normal concealer, it will really brighten up the area. If you don’t have very bad dark circles and just want something to brighten and make you look a little more awake this is the way to go. They offer 3 shades and it can be found in most Target stores or online at their website. 

4. Such a cult favorite. Benefit erase paste. They have three shades in light, medium, and dark. Each one is orange toned to help cancel out blueness. This is more of a corrector rather than a concealer but it still works wonders. I have strayed away from this but still keep coming back to it. It costs $26 from Sephora/Ulta

5. Maybelline the eraser is really getting popular. They make a few types of this. There is the under eye eraser, the dark spot eraser, the eraser foundation, and the eraser brightener. This one is the under eye one. As you can see from mine, I removed the little spongey applicator. Doing this allows you to waste SO MUCH less product and its generally more sanitary. This has some really good coverage and I would recommend it if some of the others are too expensive for you. ~$7 from drugstores.

DIY body chain

Body chains are becoming so trendy. Celebrities like Rihanna and Vanessa Hudgens have seen spotted wearing these. I wanted one but they can be crazy expensive. I found a way to make my own.

All you will need is some old necklaces that you can take the pendant off of. How many you need depends on how long the chains are, how big you are, what you want the body chain to look like, etc. I would up using 3 necklaces and one chain bracelet.

I chose a mix of sliver and one gold necklace. The lengths all vary.

You want to attach two necklaces to make one long circle. Then do the same thing with the other two. You should have two very long chain necklaces. Take on of the clasps and attach the two so that theres two connected long necklaces as pictured above. 

I strung mine so that one side hanging down is silver and the other is gold.

You could also spray paint some of the chains to add some color.

That's it! Now you have your body chain.

I like to wear this under a cropped shirt or over a normal shirt.

Simple Naked Basics Look

I have tried to buy this palette so many times. Seriously, I've walked around Sephora with it in hand over 10 times then last month, I finally actually brought it to the register and bought it. If you haven't heard about this yet, (how is life under the rock?) It is a mostly matte, all neutral
palette.

This has been my go to look recently.

♡Foxy♡ I used this to highlight my brow bone and inner corner. 
♡WOS♡ All over lid color.

♡Faint♡ crease shade. 

♡Crave♡ (this isn't shown) I put this under my lower lash line as liner. 

Best ELF products: eye brushes

This is the yet another part of my favorite ELF products series. You can check out the other parts of this series by clicking here

From Left:

1. This is a brush from the studio line. It has an angled tip. Its stiff yet still movable. I find this great for highlighting with eyeshadow or doing one color all over the lid. Its also great for contouring smaller areas like the sides of the nose. My favorite use for this is to set my under eye concealer. 

2. This brush is so tiny I don’t see how you could possibly use this for concealer. Its really stiff and has a rounded tip. I have probably 3-4 of these. I have one use it to line my eyes with gel liner. Another is to smudge eyeshadow under my lash line. Another is used to fill in my brows and I’m sure my dog is harboring the other somewhere. This is my absolute favorite eye brush.

3. Finally the blending eye brush. This isn’t the softest and I don’t use it to blend eye shadow. I think this makes a great pencil brush to pack color into the crease. This one you could live with out but I included it because I use it.