eSalon First Impression

Hair is the best accessory. In my opinion your look isn't complete without your hair done. You can have the cutest outfit on, but if your hair isn't done the look won't flow together.

I am constantly changing my hair. Whether I'm styling, coloring, or cutting I always get bored with my hair. I am always researching and testing out new products and techniques. I first heard of eSalon from Silvia Reis, one of my favorite YouTubers.. I love getting inspiration and learning new techniques from her hair videos. eSalon is an online salon for us at-homers! They sell salon quality products at an amazing price. I got hair dye, shampoo & conditioner, and a hair mask for only $25!! That is insane for hair products and hair color these days. Unless you go to the drugstore and use box dye which we all know can be very damaging for our hair. But trust me I have been in a pinch before where drugstore was as good as it was going to get.

So far I have tested out the hair color, and conditioner. First off the smell of these products is to die for!!!! I don't know about you but I am a sucker for good smelling products. I have very dry, over processed hair so when I buy conditioners I look for repairing, hydrating, and color safe products. The At Full Strength Conditioner is exactly what my hair needs in a conditioner. I like to massage the product throughout my hair, but focusing on the ends. That's where the most damage is. I leave my conditioner in for 3-5 minutes and usually take that time to shave and exfoliate. This conditioner really hydrated my hair. I only used it once so far so I don't have too much of a review on it right now but in the next few weeks I will continue to test it out and then, I'll give you guys a full review.

The custom colored hair dye was what really drew me in to eSalon. My hair is over processed and dry so it can be resistant to color. I am currently obsessed with Blue Black so that has been my end goal when coloring my hair. The color I was using before faded extremely fast.. eSalon has you fill out a survey about your hair and then I uploaded a picture of my current hairdo lor to get the best result. I then chose Soft Blue Black. My hair took really well to the color, it is very deep black with a tinge of blue. I let my hair dry overnight to really be able to see the color. Overall I like the color, it is definitely blue black! I think with a few more dyes I will achieve the color I really want. The color was very easy to blend throughout my hair when applying. It was also really cool how all I had to do was put the two bottles into my bowl and mix.

Once I style my hair I will post an updated hair picture for you all to see the color! Typically after coloring my hair, I try not to use heat for a few days... but I'm pretty excited about this color so I may just have to break my rule. 😘

www.esalon.com

Soft Bridal Smokey Eye

My beautiful cousin is getting married this August, so we decided to do some soft glam to give her some ideas for her wedding! I am so in love with how this look came out! 

I started with the eyes today so I was able to wipe off any shadow fallout. Using my favorite eye palette, I put Flower Child in the crease with my blending brush linked in my previous post. Then I packed Charmer on the lid to brighten the eye. With another favorite palette, I mixed Mousse and Truffled and blended it into my crease to darken it. Then I wanted to finish the shadows with this shadow. To finish the look I smoked out brown eyeliner in her upper lashline to enchance her lashes. Lastly, I smoked out Mousse and Truffle in the lower lash line. My go to mascaras are in my previous blog post.

I prepped Alex's face with this Too Faced primer! It really hydrates the face, and the coconut smell is really refreshing! 

After I primed her face, I made a little cocktail on my hand of this foundation and this liquid highlighter. Then applied it to her face and blended it out with my sponge. Make sure your dampen your sponge before using, it helps blend and soak up and excess product. 

For her brows I kept the shape, I just extended the tail with pomade. And set the hairs with gel.

To highlight her face I start with applying Urban Decay concealer under her eyes (in a upside down triangle), bridge of her nose, and on her forehead. I also use my sponge to blend this in. Before blending, I dampen my sponge again.. make sure you ring out any excess water. Then I set the highlighted areas with setting powder. 

I lightly contoured with medium cocoa and warmed up the face with hourglass bronzer. For the contour I used the ita brush and for the all over bronzer I used BOBBI BROWN bronzer brush. 

For the lips I applied snow cap and topped it with So Cute Kylie Gloss. 

To set the look I used smashbox primer water. 

Amra Olević Inspired Eye

Amra Olević is one of my favorite makeup artists out there.. if you don't already you need to follow her on instagram.. she has one of the most talented artists out there! I always get inspired by her looks so today I decided to recreate this smokey eye. We both used the Tartelette in Bloom Palette. This palette is my new go!! The shadows are so pigmented and cream so they are super blendable!! You can get it Here! With my blending brush I blend Jetsetter into my crease. When I blend Jetsetter into my crease.. I do "windshield" wiper motions to blend it all throughout my crease. Then I blend Activist and Smokeshow into the outer corner of my eye. shadow brush I tap Rocker onto the lid.

After my eyeshadow is all blended, I add a small wing to enchance my lashes and eye. One of my favorite liquid eyeliners is this one. This eyeliner does not budge and is very black. A good drugstore liquid eyeliner is this one.

I like my lashes extremely long and full of volume! So my go to lash routine is to start with this serum. I let that dry for a minute or two and usually fill in my brows real quick, then I first use this mascara and then finish with this mascara.

INSPIRATION

PRODUCTS

MY LOOK

Gimme That Glow: Favorite Highlighters & Bronzers

Hello my loves!!
So for some reason my iPad isn't letting me upload my new video onto my channel 😣 I decided to post up on my blog until I can figure out what's going on.. I promise once I get my iPad working, I will be uploading asap!!!!!! 🎥🎥🎥

SOOOO today I will be posting up my favorite thing about makeup.. That Summer G L O W 🌞🌞
As you all know, I am o b s e s s e d with anything that glows, shimmers, sparkles, shines, you name it...if it's glitter and glowy, I'm gonna try it!

Here are my go to products to create this look! Starting in order that I put it on my face.

 Josie Maran Argan Tinted Moisturizer in Medium 1: I blend this out with my damp beauty blender for a dewy finish. This product is my HOLY GRAIL!!! This has a medium coverage, and is made with Argan Oil which is great for your skin.. And hair!


 BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector in colors Opal and Rose Gold: These highlighters are A. M. A. Z. I. N. G!!!! They are so pigmented and creamy...especially for a pressed powder! They are a bit pricey ($38), but are SO worth the price! I wear Opal on a daily basis, it is the perfect champagne shimmer!  And some days when I want to really glow, I will wear both 😍


 Too Faced Cocoa Contour Palette in Medium and Dark Cocoa: First off..who doesn't love makeup that smells like chocolate?! Ahhh every time I use it I smell like sweet chocolate, it smells so good I wanna eat it. But don't worry I won't! I mix these two colors together for the perfect color all around my face..then I will take the darker shade and contour.


 Smashbox Primer Water: I got this on my previous Sephora haul and I am definitely loving it! It's a setting spray so once you finish your makeup you spritz it on the face and it sets your makeup and gives you a little glow 🌞 A cheaper alternative, not a dupe! But a drugstore setting spray I love is NYX Setting Spray Dewy Finish.



What are some of your go to products?! Any requests on a post?! Will be posting my Spring Lip Collection next 💋


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Haley Elliott

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YouTube Channel up and running!!!

I am SO excited to share that my YouTube Channel is now up and running with my Highlighting and Contouring video 🎥😻

This is my first ever video.. So it's far from perfect but once I start filming more I will get better at it 😉

I am now going to be filming make up tutorials, product reviews, daily routines, and of course any special requests! ❤️

Be sure to like and subscribe to my channel!!! Also share with your friends so we can build Design The Life You Love! 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8vW3-w6JjwI

Make Up Haul #2!

So this week I have been going crazy with make up hauls.. A little over board but you can never have enough make up ;) 

This week I got some great new products! Some I have tried and absolutely loved, some not so much.. And others I haven't had the chance to try yet! 

AHHH come to mama!!! <3

So I will start off with my fave NYX! 

OF COURSE I had to get some more lip products.. Since you all know I am turning into a Lipstick Queen.. (Or maniac haha) As you all know I LOVE LOVE the soft matte lip creams.. So I added a few more to my collection! I also tried the Butter Gloss and instantly fell in love! It feels amazing on your lips! The one down fall is it doesn't last to long.. But it's super easy to apply so I don't mind :) and lastly, I got a butter lipstick which I also loooovee! NYX has the best smoothest lip products.. They feel soo good on and also leave your lips silky smooth ;) 

Here are the swatches of this weeks finds! I really love the colors on the left! The ones on the right I'm not too sure about because I like having a bold lip. Amsterdam and Milan are both the soft matte lip creams. Tiramisu is the butter gloss. And Pops is the butter lipstick.

For my other NYX products, I got the Matte Finish Setting Spray (absolutely love it and works amazing and feels refreshing when applying!) for those of you who don't know what this product is.. It's a spray you put on after you are done with your make up. It keeps your make up lasting all day and also hydrates you! I also got the HD Studio Photogenic finishing powder (this is very light weight and is a great way to set in your highlighting and contouring.. Or concealer a and foundations in general) I also got the Rose Garden blush. It is such a beautiful shade and gives the perfect touch. Definitely one of my favorite blushes! It is also light weight which you know is a big thing for me! And lastly, I got the Eyebrow Crayon which I'm surprised I fell in love because the crayon is a little bigger then what I like but the color goes great with my brows and it lasts all day! I got it in the color dark brown. 

I really like to stick with the drugstore products, one because I am just starting out.. And two because honestly they work just as well as the expensive kinds. (Well some do!) but I do have my eye on a few expensive products which you will hopefully see in the near future ;)

Next I got a few L'Oreal products. I really like L'Oreal's foundations and concealers.. They work really well with my skin type and skin tone. I got new foundations to try out on my new craze highlighting and contouring. I have always loved the true match collection so I got true match creamy natural C3 for my all around foundation.. And true match powder C6 soft stable for my contouring.. I'm not too sure if I like the powder contouring, I think I get better results with my contouring true match crayon concealer in medium/deep. (I feel like creams last longer than the powders)

I have heard some great things about the L'Oreal Revitift Moisture Blur so I decided to give it a try. I was in the market for a new face moisturizer and stumbled upon this. I love how light weight it is and it makes your skin so soft and hydrated which I love so much.. But my skin may be having a reaction to it so I may not be able to use it anymore.. (Which makes me super sad since it's such a great moisturizer!)

Now onto Maybelline!

My new obsession is lipstick and my favorite colors in lipsticks are bold dark colors, like Browns and reds.. And Maybelline has AMAZING colors which makes me so so happy because it has been hard to feel the colors I have been looking for! 

This is the Buff collection and I am love with the colors. My absolute favorite is Espresso Exposed! I'm sure you will be seeing me wearing this often ;) These lipsticks feel amazing on. They are creamy and ahh just beautiful pigment <3  And of course I had to get some lip liners to go with my new lipsticks! I got Toast and Rose and both are the perfect color for these beauties.

Well that's all for this Make Up Haul! I hope you enjoyed and got some inspiration to start adding to your collection! I am still working on getting that Contour and Highlight video up!! (My iPad is driving me nuts! I so need another MacBook) I promise I didn't forget about the video, I will have it up as soon as it can <3

DIY Shellac

So these past few days I have been going on crazy make up hauls! Which I will be writing about after this :) But after the many products I got, I am SO excited about this one!!!! I am obsessed with not only having my Make up game on point.. But also my nail game! Shellac is my allll time favorite! I love everything about it.. The all day shine, long lasting, and I love how thick it is. 

Soooo today when I went to CVS for another haul and I decided to look at some nail polish (since all my nail polish has disappeared).. And TAH DAH!! I saw that Sally Hansen has come out with a gel nail polish set! I love Sally Hansen nail polishes to begin with because the brush is amazing and fits perfectly on my nails! And not only that, but it's an affordable polish! 

I love dark colors so obviously I had to go with "Wine Stock" and the color is beautiful! 

The best part about this gel set is you don't need to waste your money on a lamp!! All you do is apply to coats of the color, then one coat of the top coat and you are good to go my friends :)

I got them for $9.99 at CVS.. (A bit more pricey, but so much cheaper than any nail salon!)

I am so excited about this product, I can't wait to get more! 

AHHH so pretty and shiny :D

Stay tuned.. More of my Make Up Haul is on its way <3

Highlighting and Contouring

Hey guys! 

Sorry I slacked on the posts last week.. I was away on a family vacation. I got a recent request to show how to highlight and contour so here is my way of creating this look :)

At first I was hesitant about highlighting and contouring because I don't like to wear a lot of foundation on my face.. But after trying it with the products I have, I definitely have to say it may just be added onto my daily routine! The products I used were so light that it felt as though I wasn't wearing as much make up as I was! 

Here's a look of the outline:

And here it is after I blended it all in! (Much better!) 

I have terrible lighting in my house so once I upload a video tutorial the lighting will be a lot easier to see! (Hopefully!!)

Products used: 

Loreal true match crayon correcteur- medium/deep

NYX incredible waterproof concealer- fair

Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush- fresh pink

And for brushes: a round buffing brush to blend the contour, a concealer brush to blend the highlights, a sponge to also blend the highlights, and a powder brush for the blush. 

Stay tuned for the video tutorial! Aiming to have it up by the end of the week! 

Where Our Light Began

I wasn't sure if I wanted to post about my tattoos on my blog.. But since I'm so obsessed with my thigh piece, I just had to share it with all of you! 

Everyone has their opinions about tattoos.. But mines as simple as this.. Your body is a blank canvas, some may choose to keep it that way.. But me, I like my canvas to be filled with masterpieces. If I'm not judging your blank space, then I hope you don't judge my artwork in return ;)

Lucky for me, I married my artist <3 My husband doesn't do this for a living, he only tattoos as a hobby..(crazy huh?!) once you see his work.. You would think he's a full time tattoo artist! 

I have been wanting to get a thigh piece for a while now but wasn't quite sure what exactly I wanted to put there (too many ideas) but as soon as my husband gave me my Valentine's Day present 

(My beautiful painting of Nubble Lighthouse) I was instantly inspired! 

When he asked me to marry him, he asked me at my favorite spot in the whole wide world!! (Nubble Lighthouse)  I used to go to Nubble to clear my mind and have time for myself.. The scenery is beautiful and quite. (Perfect spot to relax) to make a long story short.. Sunday July 13th, 2014.. My husband asked me to spend the rest of my life with him, and of course I said YES!! This is where Our Light Began <3

Last night, my husband added our beautiful beginning to my canvas. 

This is just the start to the outline. Once this heals, we will add more to our masterpiece! 

To all my make up lovers!

CVS is having a buy 2 get 1 free on Cosmetics!!!! Including my favorite brand.. NYX 😍 Ah I love when my friends see deals on makeup and automatically tell me as soon as they can! I have the best friends!!  Obviously I am going to be taking advantage of this deal.. But who else is going to?! Post a picture of what you get, mine will be up later today 💋

DIY Make Up Vanity

So I decided to dedicate Friday's to blog about my DIY projects! What do you all think?! 

DIY Make Up Vanity: 

I am obsessed with makeup and looking beautiful... But never had a station to create the magic.. Instead I was standing in front of my bathroom mirror with terrible lighting! I knew I had to put this to end so I decided to create my own vanity. Since I wanted my makeup to look flawless and as if someone professional did it. I knew I had to play the part and make a station!

Here it is! Where all the magic happens ;) 

I used a table I had in the past, and it is the perfect table for the job! I bought this table a few years back at IKEA ($20) before I used it as a bedside table but I didn't really need one so I took it for my vanity! 

For my brushes, eyeliners, mascaras, and lipsticks.. I used candle holders and jars and decorated them.

Brushes: I bought square glassware from the Dollar Tree ($1 each) and mod podged the inside and poured glitter inside to give it a glitter glow! (I'm obsessed with glitter BTW). Then I took a pink ribbon and tied a bow just to finish the look.

Eyeliner: For my eyeliners, brow pencils, and concealer pencils.. I used candle holders that I actually had for centerpiece a at my wedding! (So so glad I kept a lot of my decorations, I've put them to good use!) for these I did the same as the brush holders but instead I mod podged the glitter on the outside.. I love both looks, but mod podging glitter on the inside of the jar is definitely the way to go if you don't want glitter everywhere! 

Mascara: For this, believe it or not I actually cut one of those Arizona Iced Tea cans in half and then mod podged decorative paper from a gift bag! It was so easy and came out awesome! And of course I added ribbon to finish the look!

Lastly, my lipstick: I am obsessed with candles.. And my favorite candle finally burnt out :( so I used the tin the candle was in.. Painted it and then I had a lipstick holder! (Super easy and fun!)

I used an organizer I had got from Walmart forever ago.. (Sorry I don't remember the price!) it was originally white but over the years it got dirty and was in need of a makeover. I painted the top and the inside of the shelves with black acrylic paint.. You can buy a pack of 6 colors at Walmart for $5! Then of course I had to mod podge glitter on the sides to give it my touch ;)

Since my bed side table used to hold my jewelry, I had to find a new spot for my necklaces.. (statement necklaces are a must have!) so I simply used tacks and hung my necklaces up on the wall :) 

For the pictures on the wall, a few I had and found them a new home on my vanity wall! But the flower picture, my husband painted for me!!! So of course I had to hang it up on my vanity wall <3 

Well that's all for now! Stay tuned for some new DIY projects :) 

DIY Wall Of Love

Happy Friday everyone!! Today I decided to write about one of my favorite DIY projects! I call it the wall of love! My husband and I recently got married in October :) and we have so many beautiful photos of our day that I had to find a way to make a wall dedicated to our story! I got inspired by a few photos on Pinterest and from there our wall was created! A lot of the decorations on our wall are actually from our wedding (which I love!) some were decorations and some were gifts <3 I used different sized frames to make the wall look as if it were a collage. And then added accents so the wall wasn't just all photos. 

This is our wall so far! I'm thinking of adding a clock and some other accents to tie it all together :) 

I found a picture on Pinterest last night that is a perfect model for those of you who want to create a similar look 

If you are inspired by this post and create a gallery of your own, post it on my blog! I would love to see :)

Make Up Haul Continued

Of course I didn't just buy lip creams when I went on my haul yesterday.. I also bought two new concealer pens! I heard that if you use a green concealer on a blemish, then it will take away the redness.. So of course for those awful random breakouts I knew it was a must have! I bought the Incredible Waterproof Concealer in Green and Fair. I havent used the green yet..(so I will post an update when that day comes!) but the fair was a perfect shade! I used it for under my eyes and the shade was perfect! And the application was quick and easy!

The next item I bought was of course another NYX product (I'm on a NYX kick!).. I bought the Wonder Pencil in Light. I am OBSESSED with this pencil!! It gives the perfect highlight! Today I used it in the creases of my eyes and then under my brow bone and it made both of them pop! Definitely a product I will never live without!!! 

And lastly, I bought NYX SPE906  Eye Pencil in White.. I absolutely love using white eyeliner in my daily eye make up routine.. I put a little swipe of white eyeliner on the waterline of my eye. Using white makes your eyes naturally look bigger and POP! I have big brown eyes, so I like to take advantage of this trick and make them even bigger :) The bigger, the bolder, the better!

Make Up Haul

So yesterday I did my first "official" Make Up Haul.. And I have to admit I am still excited about it!! I follow a lot of Make Up Artists and junkies(like myself!) on Instagram and Pinterest. And NYX Cosmetics seemed to be a good brand for people(like myself!) ballin' on a budget! ;) I LOVE Pinterest and Instagram! I love to find new ways to do my make up and both sites are perfect for that! I love how you can research and then show off what you learned! But most importantly, I love how both sites inspire.. It's like a braiding line, the inspiration keeps braiding on!

Now back to my new products! I first heard of NYX Cosmetics when I was at Sally's and was looking for a Chapstick with the perfect red tint.. The consultant then told me about NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams. I was so excited to try them, I made my husband stop at Ulta the next night! The first colors I bought were "Monte Carlo" which is a beautiful rich red! The thing I love most about these creams is that the applicator is the same as a lip gloss.. So first, I outline my lips.. Then I fill in the rest to give a full lip look. The applicator is so easy to use, and the cream feels like there's a little bit of chap stick on your lips.. And once it comes off your lips are so smooth!! The other color I got was "Athens" it is a nude shade and gives you the perfect touch to finish a casual look.

                                                                       Monte Carlo

                                                                           Athens

Yesterday, I bought four new colors! In the order of the pictures below: Antwerp, Toyko, Abu Dhabi, and Ibizia.

My Six Month Old Blessing

Now I know my blog is mostly going to be about Beauty and DIY Projects.. But I had to share my little bundle of joy with all of you! My niece Peyton Emily turned 6 months old today! Peyton has been such a blessing to our family.. When she was 2 months old, our beloved grandmother passed away. I know everyone has different beliefs in after life, but I truly believe my grandmother is always with her. She is the happiest and most beautiful baby girl I've ever seen..(and I'm not just saying that because she's my niece!) So here is my first "official" post! Happy Six Months Babygirl <3

About Me

Hi guys!! My names Haley Elliott. I have always had a passion for writing, beauty, and of course DIY (who doesn't love that!).. So I decided to blend all of my favorite things together and share them all with you. I will try to post as much as I can, but Monday's and Friday's are the two main days I will blog. I'm new at this so take it easy on me 😉 I hope my site brings you inspiration 💋