I'm the curling master!

Hey guys! My 10 day work stretch is finally over and I can't wait to hit the beach for a few days! I'm so pale that I could pass as a Cullen from Twilight, so i'm really happy i'll finally have time to work on my tan! I hope you all had a great week and have great plans for the weekend.

Grace in full hair & makeup for Senior portraits

The other day, I did my friend Grace's makeup for her senior portraits (she's in my Makeup Transformation post). She asked me to do her hair for the pictures too and of course I said yes because i'm always up for a challenge. I have done people's hair before, but never for anything major. I have NO hair training whatsoever, so I was a little nervous but like I said - i'm game for almost anything when it comes to the beauty community. I used to think that the trick to keeping your hair in curls was hairspray... lots of hairspray. As I have educated myself online and with magazines, I now realize that tons of hairspray is unnecessary. As long as you know how to work a curling iron, the curls will stay!

Okay, so i'm not going to take you guys through the makeup process because that's obviously not new to me. That being said, if you like the makeup look featured in the picture, leave a comment or e-mail me and I will tell you what products I used and how to achieve the look! The first step in this hair process was to part the hair at the crown of the head. What I do is start at the temples and move around to the back of the head, then I put the hair on the top in a bun or a clip to keep it out of the way. My favorite curling iron to use is a wand that I got from one of those stands in the mall. It heats up quick and makes the curls last all day. I also like that there is no clamp because I think it's easier and quicker without one.

I typically curl smaller sections towards the face and larger sections towards the back because I just think it looks better that way. The sections usually go from about 1 inch to 1 & 1/2 inches so they're not drastically different, but I think it makes a difference in the long run. My friend's hairdresser taught me a trick when it comes to curling hair. By doing it the way she explained to me, you will achieve a Kardashian style look as opposed to a Shirley Temple look. First, you start the curl about 2 inches from the scalp - this will make the curls have a looser feel. It's important to make sure that you keep the hair flat as you wrap it around the curling iron. If you twist the hair, the curls will be small and springy instead of loose and glamorous. I also like to end the curl about an inch from the end of the piece of hair that you are curling. As the curls cool, I hairspray them and when I've finished curling the whole head I brush through all of the curls one by one.

Brushing through the curls may sound insane to some people, but it makes the curls look so loose and pretty. I use a round nylon brush and I just start at the top of the curl and follow all the way through the curl. This immediately adds to the length of the curl and definitely produces a Kardashian-like effect. This process may sound complicated, but I promise it's so easy and so worth it. I was super pleased with how Grace's hair and makeup came out and I will definitely be using this curling method more often because it turned out amazing! If you would like to see a video tutorial of my curling method, leave me a comment or shoot me and e-mail at glitterocity@gmail.com. Everyone have an amazing weekend and be sure to put on sunblock and stay hydrated if you'll be out in the sun! Love you all!



Peace, Love, & Glitter
Catherine

NOH8 photo shoot with my best friends!

Me, Jimmy, and Maci

Hi everyone, I hope you all are having an amazing week. I have been working non-stop & I have two more days of work to go until i'm off :) Anyway, this post is not really makeup related, but it does include something that is close to my heart. A couple of months ago, my friends and I went to a photo shoot for the NOH8 Campaign. For those of you who don't know, this campaign was created in response to Proposition 8 in California. It is said to be a silent protest to the proposition which bans gay marriage. I myself am not gay, but some of my friends are and it hurts my heart that they do not have the same rights that everyone else does. They did not choose who they were going to love and it is so unfair that this kind of harsh judgement is allowed to still occur.

I love the idea of these photos because it represents how people have been silenced because of this law. It also shows everyone that it is not acceptable to hate anyone no matter what they look like or what their sexual orientation is. I come from a very Christian family, so even though I strongly support gay marriage - my parents have a different view point. That being said, they still accept people for who they are even if that person is gay.

Me and Maci

This was not my first NOH8 shoot. A couple of years ago, I did one too and both times were completely amazing. To me, these photo shoots are so inspiring because you get to witness people coming together for something important. Not everyone that is there is gay, and that's the cool thing. Even if you are not being affected by something personally, just acknowledging that others are suffering is a big societal step in my opinion. I will forever support gay marriage and equal rights for everyone. The government should not have the right to tell people who they can and cannot love... all I can hope for is that more people open their minds and start pushing for equal rights.


If you have any questions, e-mail me at glitterocity@gmail.com & if you want to see when the next NOH8 photo shoot in your area is, you can visit the website here.




Peace, :Love, Glitter, & Equal Rights for ALL,
Catherine

Makeup Transformation

As you all probably know, makeup can completely transform the way that a person looks. Earlier, I was sitting on the couch with my friend Grace and I had no idea what to blog about. When I asked her, she said that I should blog about her so that's exactly what i'm doing! I have known Grace for almost 10 years now, so it's safe to say that she is like a sister to me. She's basically the first person that I ever practiced doing makeup on, and now i'm honored that I get to do her makeup for every major event that comes up. Makeup by no means defines how pretty a person is, this post is about the transformation that occurs from a makeup application.

Grace is one of those people that is absolutely gorgeous with or without makeup on. Since we grew up together, I was always used to seeing her without makeup so even I was shocked to see how much it really transformed her. The "after" picture was taken on a laptop, so it is not the best quality, but you can definitely see the differences. The three main differences that I saw were: the eyeliner opened her eyes and brought out the color, the blush defined her cheekbones immensely and gave her face a more angular look, and the lipstick (I used OCC Lip Tar) defined the shape of her lips and made them look fuller. I'm really happy with how the finished look turned out considering I also did her hair in the bottom picture which i'm pretty proud of! :)

Makeup is so fun for me. I love transforming the way someone looks and making them feel better about themselves. For my whole life, I have enjoyed making people happy and doing makeup definitely makes that happen. One of the best feelings in the world is watching someone look in the mirror for the first time after their makeup is done. I know that I will have a passion for makeup for the rest of my life.

Thanks Grace for always letting me practice on you! You gave me the inspiration to keep going and i'm so honored that I get to do your makeup for all of the important things that happen in your life. I hope one day i'm doing your wedding makeup! Love you!



Peace, Love, & Glitter
Catherine

My Everyday Makeup Routine!

Hi beauties! I hope you all are having an amazing weekend. It's getting hotter by the minute in New Jersey & my siblings are almost done school so my house will be filled with complete summer madness in a couple of days! I have been wanting to post my everyday makeup routine for awhile, so i'm finally going to share with you guys what I do almost everyday!

Step 1: Moisturize! Depending on how much coverage I need for the day will determine how I moisturize my face. If I want less coverage I will just use a regular moisturizer (usually Ponds), if I want more coverage I use my Garnier BB cream.

Urban Decay Naked Palette

Step 2: Eyes. I always do my eyes before my foundation because that way if your eye shadow falls down onto your cheeks or whatever, you can just wipe it off with a makeup wipe and it doesn't ruin anything. To start my eyes I always use an eye shadow primer (Urban Decay Primer Potion or NYX Primer), this just holds your shadow in place all day and I can't imagine not using it. Then i'll do my eye makeup. Usually I will just use one of the shadows from my Naked palette during the summer because I like to keep a more natural look, but if i'm going out i'll definitely amp up my look with bolder shades. I usually don't wear eyeliner on my top lip everyday, but I do use the Maybelline Master Drama on my water line.

Step 3: Concealer/Foundation/Bronzer. I usually dab some concealer under my eyes because I have under eye circles, and sometimes I will apply it to imperfections on my face such as pimple or red spots. I have been using the Maybelline FIT concealer and I really like it, I usually pat in into my skin with my finger and then blend it with a sponge. Then, I apply my foundation. I have been using Pur Minerals forever... it is a powder foundation any you can buy it at any Ulta store. This foundation covers extremely well for a powder and I love it! I use the Pur Minerals foundation brush with it and it perfectly blends the powder into my skin. If i'm wearing bronzer, I will apply that next on my forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin with a foundation brush. I like to apply bronzer before blush because it adds a nice glow under the blush when it is applied.

Step 4: Blush & Highlight. My favorite blush at the moment is Pinch O' Peach from MAC. It is the perfect summer blush and I use it everyday! I obviously just apply this along my cheek bone. Next, I apply my Natural Glow by Physician's Formula. This gives my the perfect glow that I like. I apply this product with a fan brush above my blush and up towards my forehead (if that makes sense) and then I apply a little bit on my nose.

Kat Von D Setting Spray

Step 5: Setting spray. I always use my makeup setting spray by Kat Von D. This spray is refreshing, smells good, and keeps my makeup in place for hours even when i'm sweating at work. I love this stuff and it is essential to my makeup routine.

Step 6: Mascara. I always curl my lashes before I apply my mascara. Right now, my two favorite mascaras are Maybelline Falsies and Maybelline Mega Plush.

Step 7: Lipstick & Liner. I always apply a lip liner because I think it makes my lipstick look 100 times better. The liner helps to define the shape of your lips before you apply your lipstick. I am a lipstick addict, so I wear it almost everyday. For the summer, I like to wear light colors such as Angel and Pink Nouveau by MAC. I also love Sephora's lip liners because they have tons of colors and they are only $5 a piece.

I would love to hear about your everyday makeup routines and what works for you guys! If you have any questions or would like to see a video tutorial of this please leave a comment or e-mail me at glitterocity@gmail.com :)



Peace, Love, & Glitter
Catherine

Meet my kids!

Okay, i'm only 20 years old so I don't have human kids BUT I wanted to introduce you guys to my furry babies that I love as much as if they were "real" kids. Whoever suggested that cats don't get along with dogs has clearly never met my animals. All of my animals get along amazingly and I seriously don't know what my life would be like without them!

The picture is kind of hard to see, since when I woke up they were all sleeping like this and I had to take the picture with my camera on my phone! If you can't tell, I have two dogs and three kittens. I was only supposed to get one kitten, but there are six people in my family and somehow we ended up with three because everyone liked a different one, haha! Moving on.... my two dogs names are Ginger and Riley. Ginger is a little shih-tzu poodle mix and she is the love of my life! I got her when I was in 7th grade so I've had her the longest. Riley is a lab golden retriever mix. She is the sweetest dog I have ever met. She loves everybody and is super patient with the kittens. Now for the three babies! The black and white ones names are Elvira (Elvie for short) and Punky Head. Yeah, I know it's a weird name but when she was little her head was gigantic and it reminded me of a pumpkin! Last but not least, is my little grey kitten, Luna. They are all so precious and it is so fun watching them grow!

If you like personal posts like these, or would like to see updated pictures of my animals once in awhile e-mail me at glitterocity@gmail.com or tell me in the comments! I would also love to see pictures of your pets, so if you have an animal blog or whatever, send me the link!!!




Have a great rest of the week!
Peace, Love, Glitter, & Furry Kids!
Catherine

Multi-Purpose Product Review!

BB Creams have been taking the beauty world by storm. Many cosmetic brands have been releasing BB Creams and of course I (the curious product obsessed makeup artist) had to try it! What I learned is that BB actually stands for Beauty Balm and BB Creams are tinted balms that are designed to smooth out imperfections on the skin and cover blemishes while still giving the face a natural glow. The BB Cream that I decided to purchase is from Garnier. I got the Light/Medium cream (since I am as pale as Edward from Twilight) and it matches my skin tone almost perfectly. I think that as you rub it in, it allows some of your natural skin tone to show through, so even though Garnier only puts out two shades, they are pretty much universal.

I do not have perfect skin by any means. I have some red spots and discoloration, dark circles under my eyes, and i'm always getting pimples. It took a few times using this product before I realized how to use it that would benefit me the most. At first, I applied it over my moisturizer and after a few hours I realized this was a mistake. If you have oily skin, you do not need to apply a moisturizer before applying this product. I have been using this as a moisturizer when I wear it and it actually works very well. Not only does this act as a moisturizer, for me it also works as a primer for my powder foundation. Because of all of my skin imperfections, I feel that I still need to apply my powder foundation over the BB Cream. I would definitely wear the cream by itself if I was going to the beach, the movies, or to a friend's house to hang out. But, when I am going somewhere more "fancy" I definitely apply my powder to give me a flawless look.

So basically, I found out that this BB Cream has three uses. A moisturizer, a primer, and a foundation. It is priced at around $12, which you can't beat for all the things that it can be used for! I would definitely recommend this product if you prefer a more natural look or if you're looking for a good primer. If you try any other BB Cream brands, or have any questions about this product feel free to e-mail me at glitterocity@gmail.com!



Peace, Love, & Glitter
Catherine

Hi my lovely readers!

I have been having a bit of writer's block lately! I am scouring my brain for ideas, but I would LOVE your input! Let me know what you would like to see and I will try to accommodate all requests! Thank you so much for reading, have a great week!

Top 3 Summer Nail Polishes!

Hi my loves! I hope you all are having an amazing week! I just finished working a six day stretch at the stadium so I plan on posting more soon! I definitely want to post my everyday makeup routine for you guys & I have a product in mind that I want to review so definitely stay tuned for that. I also LOVE to hear what everyone's favorite products are at the moment, so if you have a must have product that you want to share with me, please e-mail me at glitterocity@gmail.com!

Now, let's get down to it! I am always on the hunt for new nail polishes. I would definitely call myself a nail polish junkie because I am completely obsessed and would buy a new bottle everyday if I could. I tend to steer towards darker colors, so most of my nail polishes are more winter colors. I am completely obsessed with black nail polish no matter what the season, but as I was going through my collection earlier today I decided I would share my 3 favorite summer colors with you!

1. Sweetheart by OPI - this color is absolutely gorgeous. It's kind of a pale pink mixed with white and i'm obsessed with it. I think it gives your hands a classy look and makes your skin look tanner. You do have to apply about 3 or 4 coats to make the color stand out, but it is definitely worth it.

2. Pink Friday by OPI - this color was in the Nicki Minaj collection and it is literally the perfect bubblegum pink. It has kind of a neon feel to it - which I love! I am completely obsessed with this color and if you are thinking of getting it definitely act quickly because it won't be available for much longer. I ordered mine off of amazon a few weeks ago and I am sooo happy that I decided to get it.

3. Mermaid Tears by OPI - the name alone makes me love this nail polish. This color is such a pretty sea-foam green mixed with turquoise. I'm obsessed with this color and I always find myself going back to it during the summer months. This color was released in the Pirates of the Caribbean collection, but i'm sure you could find it online as well.

I hope you guys like the colors I picked. I would love to hear what some of your favorite summer polishes are, because I am obsessed with nail polish! Please e-mail me and tell me what some of your favorites are!



Peace, Love, & Glitter
Catherine