What's in My Purse?!

I recently downsized my purse from the huge tote I was carrying all semester long. This cute little Aldo cross body bag is not only beautiful, but extremely function. Despite it's small size it fits a lot. I wear it both for everyday use as well as nights out.

Here are my purse essentials:

• Key chain change purse/ ID holder (Joe Fresh) - I love this because it fits all my essential cards plus some cash and a lip balm. I can just take my keys and phone when I'm running out the door. The strap is also very handy.
• Weekly Planner (Peter Pauper Press, Chapters) - This is essential for keeping my work, school, and social schedules organized. Writing things down and making lists helps keeps me motivated and organized.
• Ballpoint pen (Hello Kitty) - I obviously need a cute pen to write in my cute planner.
• Compact brush with mirror (Goody) - Every girl needs a mirror in her purse. I love having the brush because I can use it to add volume to my hair throughout the day if it falls flat.
• Sunglasses and case (Urban Planet, Aldo) - It's important to protect both your eyes and face from the sun. You never want to be caught driving on a sunny day without sunglasses!
• Lip balm (EOS) - I love this because it never melts! Having a lip balm is essential because their is no worse feeling than having chapped lips (not pictured).
• Eyelash curler and liquid line (Revlon, Essence) - I don't get oily so I don't reapply powder throughout the day, however I will re-curl my lashes and touch up my eyeliner for a pick-me-up midday.
• Lip products - To me, the easiest way to refresh or change up your look during the day is to change your lip colour, so I am constantly switching out products in my purse.
• Megaslicks Balm Stain in pinky promise 128 (Wet n Wild)
• Twistup Retractable Lipstick Crayon in absolute (Annabelle)
• XXXL Shine lipgloss in nude candy 19 (Essence) *my fav gloss ever
• Colorburst Lip Butter in strawberry shortcake 080 (Revlon)
• Lipstick in hue A43 (MAC) *my fav lipstick ever

Elise xo

Style Inspiration- Audrey

Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of my all time favourite movies. Audrey Heptburn is the epitomy of elegance, style, class... and more class. She is the definition of sexy and sophisticated. 

I love minimal eyeshadow with long lashes and bold winged liquid eyeliner and no one does it better than Audrey. Lisa Eldridge has an amazing tutorial for Audrey's look in Tiffany's.

Elise xo

DIY Halo "Flip-in" Hair Extensions

 

I've seen "Halo" or "Flip-In" hair extensions on youtube and blogs for a while now. I was incredibly interested because I have thin fine hair that doesn't hold clip-in extensions well. I love the fullness and extra length of extensions especially for going out at night. The halo extensions I was seeing online retailed for over $300 a set, which is too much for me to invest in something that I am only going to wear occasionally. I watched several tutorials and decided to blend different techniques I had seen to create my own custom halo extensions.

I love the result. The are light and much more comfortable than any clip-in extensions I've used in the past. This method is cheap, easy, and fast to make. They fit secure to your head and are so easy to take out. You literally grab the ends of your extensions and pull them up over your head to remove. You are getting 100% custom measured extensions that you know will fit you perfectly. 

Here was my process:

1. I purchased one continuous weft of Sassy Silky Straight 18" Human Hair Extensions (mine are in dark brown) and Proclaim Super Bond Hair Glue (in dark, use white for blond hair) from Sally Beauty Supply. I picked up some clear monofilament jewelry cord from Wal-mart for a couple dollars. You will also need thread matching the colour of the hair, a needle, and a pair of scissors. The one package of hair plus all the supplies cost under $100 and made two sets of extensions. I keep one set in tight curls (pictured) and the other set in loose waves.

2. Measure the weft of hair slightly above the middle of your ear on both sides so the band of the extensions fits comfortably under the slope of your scull. Cut the weft to size. Use the length of the first weft to cut more wefts of hair to the same length. I used 3 wefts of hair for each set of extensions, but you can use more for a fuller look if you have thicker hair.

3. Face the thinner side of the band of the wefts of the hair extensions down. Run a thin line of the bonding glue along the thick side of the band. Place a second weft of extension on top of the first weft with the smaller band down. Let the glue dry, it will only take a few minutes. Still working on the same side, run a line of bonding glue just below the band of the double weft of extensions. Place the thick side of the band of the third weft just below the double weft band. Let glue dry.

4. Use the needle and thread to create a light running stitch along the top of the double weft to create a barrier to hold the halo wire in place in between the  two bands. 

5. Cut a long piece of the monofilament wire and use the needle to thread one of end of the wire through the stitching to the middle of the weft. Take the other side of the wire and do the same at the other side of the weft. You will end up with a drawstring in the middle of the back of the extensions. 

6. Fit the halo to your head holding the drawstrings in one hand. Make sure the extensions fit tight and comfortably on your head. When you're happy with the fit tie the drawstring. Use the scissors to cut off the excess wire. Overtime the wire will stretch but you can easily tighten it but tying a new knot.

7. Place the halo back on your head and make any adjustments. When it's comfortable, use the pointy end of a rattail comb to pull sections of hair over the weft and halo. Once you have pulled enough hair over the halo it will be hidden. Brush hair together to blend extensions.

I store and style the extensions on a pant hanger. For the tight curled extensions I used a small conical wand to curl hair away from my face, let the hair cool, and brushed it out with a tangle teaser.

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Before and After -  halo extensions are great for extra length and volume especially for curly hair

You can only barely make out the clear wire of the halo in direct sunlight. It is incredibly easy to blend in to your part and hide.

Elise xo

Mermaid Nails - Gel Ombre Nail Tutorial

This vintage box camera is one of my favourite decor pieces

I love the look of ombre nails and I always get a ton of compliments no matter what colour combinations I choose. Back in December, I started doing my own gel nails. It took a while to master what products worked and to find techniques that worked for me, but I love the option of being able to switch up my look whenever I want without having to worry about the chipping of regular nail polishes.

I haven't seen any ombre nail tutorials for gel polish, so I decided to try the typical sponging technique that is used with regular nail polish. I knew after curing the gel it would be a lot harder to clean up around the cuticles, but the end result was not disastrous considering it was my first time. 

1. First I used the Finger Paints gel polish base and two coats of the Finger Paints white polish in Stay True to the Art. I followed the regular gel procedure as if I was doing white gel nails.

2. I picked up white school glue, some paint brushes, and cosmetic wedge sponges from the dollar store. I painted the white glue around my cuticles and waited for it to dry. I see a lot of girls use this method with nail polish ombre to prevent the polish from getting on their fingers. It worked decently well with the gel.

3. I painted two strips of gel polish on the cosmetic wedge. I used Gelaze Swing  Baby on the bottom of the sponge and Finger Paints Aesthetically Teal-sing on the top. I then lightly dabbed the sponge across each nail and cured the polish.

4. I repeated step 3 again to give my nails a more vibrant colour.

5. I used the gold glitter Gelish Mini in Twinkle to add some extra sparkle. I started at the cuticle a brushed the polish lightly three quarters of the way to the tip of my nails and then cured it

6.I finished with the Gelaze top coat. I then went over all the nails with nail polish remover which removed the majority of the glue and extra polish. I was then able to scrub the rest off in the sink. This worked better for me than trying to peal the glue off.

   Elise xo

April 2014 Favourites

Here are some of my favourite things from this month. I've been crazy busy with the end of classes and exams so I've been sticking to a very simple make-up and beauty routine. I feel like when you're using minimal make-up it is even more important to select good products.

Beauty Treats Aloe Makeup Remover Cleansing Tissues- I was skeptical about these wipes because they are often sold at the registers of clothing stores. I picked them up for $3 not expecting them to be amazing, but they are definitely my new favourite wipe. The pack contains 30 wipes which are very saturated and powerful enough to remove waterproof eye make up. I did not experience any break outs for these wipes or from any remaining make up they left behind. They have a very light and fresh aloe scent. At the price point, these are an absolute steal! 

                                      

Gelaze by China Glaze Gel Polishes- I started using the gelaze line a few months ago and I love it for my gel manicures and pedicures. The gelaze line polishes include the basecoat and nail colour in one step making the line super easy to use. My two favourite colours for the month are definitely Fairy Dust(top) and Swing Baby(bottom). Fairy dust is a silvery iridescent fine milled glitter that goes great over any polish colour to give some extra sparkle. Swing baby is a shimmery champagne gold that looks great on both fingers and toes for the summer season.

Body Shop Tea Tree Oil Line- This line SAVED my skin. A full in depth review of the products from the line I use will be coming soon. These products are perfect for people that suffer from mild breakouts, but do not have overly oily skin because they don't dry out your skin. 

Maybelline New York Dream Bouncy Blush in Pink Plum- I was not overly enthusiastic about these blushes when they came out. The texture and consistency is cool, but it seemed gimmicky to me. I picked one of these up in this medium tone pink while they were on sale because I do like mousse and cream blushes for light make up days. I don't see any plum tones in the colour like the name suggests but it well pigmented and beautiful on the apples of your cheeks.The product is incredibly easy to blend. I apply it with my fingers.

Essence Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner- I love essence for their ultra affordable basic make up and nail products. This eyeliner is a great felt tip liner for someone that likes a medium width cat eye. It has great staying power for someone like me who suffers from watery eyes.

L'oreal Telescopic Shocking Extension Waterproof Mascara -  This is my new #1 beauty must have beauty product. L'oreal mascaras are my absolute favourite. I also love fibre mascaras. I'm not entirely sure why it took me so long to try this. I normally go for volumizing mascaras, but I think this mascara still gives you a good amount of volume as well as tons of length. I have extremely straight, hard to curl lashes and this mascara keeps them looking long and full al day long. I always use waterproof because it holds the curl in my lashes better. I pair this mascara with my Revlon Diamond Collection Eyelash Curler. Revlon eyelash curlers seem to be the only curlers that fit close to my eyelid so that I get lots of lift right at the lash line. I've purchased many of the curlers in their line throughout the years, but I could not resist the colourful blinged-out designs in their new diamond collection.   

 

Seeing is Believing by Erin McCarthy - This is the third book in her Cuttersville series which are great easy reads. I read the second book Heiress for Hire years ago on a vacation. I read this book in two nights. It's a fun sexy light read that's perfect for travelling or a vacation. The story follows characters from the previous books, but it is not crucial that you read the books in order.

Supernatural - This is my netflix obsession. I remember some of my girlfriends obsessing over this show in highschool, but I never really got into it. I love anything scary or "supernatural" (lol), so I should have got in to this a looong time ago. I'm currently on the third season and I plan on finishing it throughout the summer. Dean Winchester is my favourite character, for obvious reasons (because he's hot). This is a great replacement for The Walking Dead and Daryl Dixon for the summer. 

Elise xo

Black Lace?

To me, black lace is one of the sexiest and most flattering and luxurious fabrics you can wear. Sexy, but still feminine and delicately beautiful.  It is the perfect mix of sexy and sweet, light and dark, tough and delicate. It seems like the perfect title to capture the soft sensitive side of my personality, but also the daring and adventurous side.

Black Lace is always my go-to choice for both everyday undergarments and  lingerie. I am completely addicted to lingerie shopping, so here are some pieces I am currently lusting after at la Senza:

1. Black Lace Trimmed Chemise 
2. Sheer Black Babydoll
3. Black Pleather Bra with Lace Trim
4. Black Pleather Panties with Lace Trim

La Senza is one of my favourite local lingerie stores. More soon on my favourite bras and panties.

Elise xo