How To Rock Matte Lipstick

Matte lipstick has been a pretty popular beauty fad as of late. We love the matte lipsticks from Dose of Colors, Colour Pop, and Smashbox to name of few. But, to properly rock matte lips, you've got to do some lip prepping. There have just been too many times where our lips look so dry and our skin on our lips starts to break off because we didn't set our lips up properly for the matte lipstick.

Basically, to achieve a matte look on your lips, the chemicals in the lipstick dry out your lips. In order to counter that chapped lip look, you've got to first, scrub your lips to exfoliate it and take off dead skin. We really like this lip scrub from Sara Happ or the Bliss Spa Fabulips lip scrub. Next, apply a lip primer. We are currently trying out Lip Insurance and so far so good! A lip primer works great or even a nice lip balm like the Sephora collection ones. Apply your matte lipsticks and rock those lips to perfection!

Just Brow-zing by Becca

Photography: Rachel Elaine Photography

There are SO many things I can say about eyebrows but let me start by saying I LOVE them. As a Makeup Artist, eyebrows are in my opinion one of the most important elements in a facial beauty routine. Eyebrows not only frame your face, but when properly shaped they can help to define and lift the eye and even slim the face! 

So how do you get that perfect brow?  I’m here to show you how!

To figure out where your brow should begin, hold a pen next to your nose on the inner corner of your brow. This should be your starting point. Now, angle the pen across your iris. This will determine where your arch should be. Finally, angle your pen  to the outer corner of the eye-your brow should end there.

Now that you’ve determined your eyebrow shape, tweeze any stray hairs you may have. Then, using a flat angled brush and brow powder (my personal favorite is Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo) outline your brows and fill in where necessary. If you are a beginner and filling in your brows and freehand seems too daunting of a task, try using a brow stencil (also available from Anastasia Beverly Hills). If your brows seem too dark or overfilled not to worry; take a disposible mascara wand and brush them out to lighten the color! You can stop there or for extra credit you can use concealer to sculpt your brow (this is perfect for special occasions like formals!!!). Using a concealer that is one shade lighter than your skin, outline your brows on the top and bottom blending as you go and voilà, you now have the perfect brow!


Happy Brow-zing!

How to Wear Neon

Skirt: H&M (old, similar here). Tank: Brandy Melville. Denim Vest: Paper Crane (old, similar here). Lips: Sephora. Heels: Forever 21 (old, similar here).

There is just something about wearing neon that has not phased out for us! Neon has been the greatest addition to our closets and adds a level of happiness and flare to anyone's wardrobe. One of our readers, Zenia, asked us the best way to rock neon so it looks more high fashion and less like a walking highlighter {haha}. It Girl, Victoria, is a true neon fashionista. Neon from head to toe is just too much for the eyes, so we suggest contrasting your neon outfit with some neutral colors such as black, ivory, or white like Victoria did in the above outfit. The contrast between neon and neutral colors makes for a more fresh, modern, visually appealing look. Not ready to go full force neon? Then add a pop of neon color to your outfit with a bright shade of lipstick. Neon lips against a soft makeup look like Victoria's let's your face shine with little work (a nice smile like Victoria's always helps too!). Wearing neon is bold, so don't be afraid to be seen and rock what you've got!

What neon ensembles are you loving right now? Hashtag #tssneon to show us your favorite neon look!

Emerald Brushes

Makeup Brushes: Sephora.

Yes, we are among the giddy people who anxiously await Pantone's Color Of The Year announcement, which is emerald for 2013.  But, equally exciting, is seeing the creations made by the Sephora + Pantone Universe each year.  As you may know, the two companies collaborate on a makeup collection annually, in honor of the chosen color.  We weren't sure what to expect for emerald makeup...emerald lipstick?!  Instead, Sephora has created a beautiful collection of vivid eye makeup, as well as nail polish and makeup tools-- and we love it!  Definitely chic, and perfect for 2013.  TSS It Girl, Alyx, tried out the makeup brush set in the collection.  The verdict?  TSS approved... plus, brushes in a pretty color do seem to make everything more fun!

Excited to meet the rest of our It Girls, and learn more about Alyx from University of Colorado Boulder?  Our big It Girl announcement is coming later this week, and we can't wait to share it with you!