Ah, the holidays. A time when the weather turns cold, all is festive, and us in the beauty world bust out a red lip. The cold weather, in combination with the wearing of matte-red lipsticks, which are drying by nature, create the need for something to exfoliate and hydrate our lips.

A lip exfoliator is a great thing to use at this time of year, and the Fresh Sugar Lip Polish is my favorite. First, the packaging -  small, sleek, and functional, fitting in well with the rest of my beauty collection. This product not only exfoliates with brown sugar, but also hydrates with jojoba and grape seed oils to leave your lips feeling exfoliated, and hydrated. It also has a lovely sweet-tea scent which makes using this product downright lovely. Of course this is great to use during a pamper session, but I especially like the fact that it exfoliates and hydrates my lips just before putting on a matte lipstick.

Do you use a lip exfoliator? What is your favorite?

Is this look traditional? Absolutely not. In fact, it probably looks more like a spring makeup tutorial, and that might be because in Western New York it's been unseasonably warm this month, and we haven't had any real snowfall yet. The days have been grey and gloomy, and it has made me long for the bright colors of spring and summer. So, if you're feeling non-traditional like me, this should be right up your alley.

I had a bit of a struggle with false lashes this go-round. I thought this would serve as a good example of the fact that even if you're new to false lashes, and are afraid that you are going to mess them up, you can still recover your makeup look and go without them!

I used the Carli Bybel Palette from BH Cosmetics (review here) to create this look, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. You can of course change the lip color to better suit this time of year - but I was truthfully going to a Christmas Party just after I filmed this, and wanted to be true to who I am - a nude/pink lip girl, through and through.

The products used in this tutorial are:

I hope you enjoy this tutorial, and let me know if you recreate it - I'd love to see your look!

Every time I watch a makeup tutorial by MannyMUA or Jaclyn Hill on YouTube I always end up being jealous of their wide collection of Morphe Brushes. Manny recently made a video of his favorite Morphe Brushes and I pretty much just went down the list and ordered everything I needed that they had in stock on Black Friday when the entire site was 20% off. I now have 6 new best friends, let me introduce them...

First, I must say that these brushes are amazing quality for the price - it's hard to believe. I honestly love all of them and have been using them regularly in my makeup routine.

M412 Mini Concealer - This is such a great small multi-purpose brush. Sure, you could use this for concealer, or you could use it to pack on pigments or eyeshadow onto the lid....like me.

E32 Oval Concealer - Yeah, yeah...you could use this for concealer, or you could use it to apply shadow to the lid. I also really like this for highlighting just under the brow.

M507 Pointed Mini Blender - I don't have a brush like this in my collection so I'm really glad I picked this up. There are many times that I want to use a small amount of a dark color in my crease, and all of the brushes in my collection have been too big until now. This is perfect for applying color in a specific area.

E13 Oval Shadow Fluff - This brush is great for general eyeshadow application all over the lid, or for blending out the outline of a color after you've packed it on the lid.

M501 Pro Pointed Blender - Jaclyn Hill uses this brush for highlighting so naturally I had to have it. She's right - it's just perfect for the job - applies and blends color like a dream.

M527 Deluxe Pointed Blender - This was the brush I was the most excited to receive. I was in desperate need of a bronzer brush, and this fit the bill. It picks up the right amount of product and is soft enough to blend out the product perfectly.

The good news? Morphs brushes are great quality and have a very reasonable price tag. So, what are you waiting for? Get ordering! Jaclyn Hill just released a video of her favorite Morphe brushes so I'll be placing another order very soon.

What Morphe Brushes would you like to add to your collection?

The holiday season is here! I am not one to wear red lipstick, but when I heard about Sephora's Cream Lip Stain and the fact that it doesn't transfer, and holds up nicely through eat and drink, I had to give it a try for myself. 

This lip color is incredible, and I wanted to do a look that was focused around it. This look is about perfected skin, a shimmery eyeshadow, and this red lipstick is the star of the show. I added false lashes to this look to make it extra-special for the holidays, so if you've ever been curious about them, I give you a mini-demonstration of how to apply them in this video.

This video is a bit out of focus for the majority of the time (I'm sorry!) but you can definitely see what I'm doing, and I hope the photos above are helpful.

The products used in this tutorial are:

What is your favorite makeup look for the holidays?

A peach-colored under eye concealer....whaaaat? Let me explain.

The Tarte Colored Clay CC Undereye Corrector has a peachy-tone that is intended to offset the blue or green under eye bags that some of us have the misfortune of dealing with...myself included.

Girl, I struggle with my dark under eye circles - but this product works wonders. I used it in one of my makeup tutorials (which can be seen here) and it magically made them disappear. This product is great to use on an every day basis alone, or if you're gearing up for a night out you can layer it under your regular concealer. Since this product has a thick consistency, I recommend using your finger for application as the warmth of your hand will blend the product into your skin more easily than a brush or beauty blender would.

Gear up boys and girls because we're going through some of my trash! In this video I chat all about the most recent beauty, skincare, and haircare products I've used up, and give a mini-review on each of them. 

The Products Mentioned in this Video are:

Click here to catch up on my first Empty Products post.

What are some of the products you've used up recently?

I have been watching Carli Bybel on YouTube for a long time, and when I heard she was collaborating with BH Cosmetics to create an eyeshadow palette, I could hardly wait until it was released. This palette came out 2-3 months ago, and was sold out almost immediately. The palette has finally come back in stock, and with a price tag of $12.50, I jumped on it.

I've heard a lot of people talk about BH Cosmetics as being an affordable, yet quality makeup brand, so I was excited to try something from them. The Carli Bybel Palette has 5 matte shades, 5 shimmer shades, and 4 highlighters. The shadows are pigmented and soft, and blend very well. I have created some beautiful looks using the mauve shades in the crease and a light shimmer shade on the lid. Every time I have worn these shadows they have lasted the entire day without fading, so I'm very happy with the quality. There are also 4 highlighters ranging in color from light to dark tones. Even if a highlighter is too light or dark for your skin tone, they would make great eyeshadows.

This palette is being offered for a limited time so if these colors and the price tag appeal to you, I would grab it before it's too late!