Monochromatic Striped Manicure

there's nothing chicer than monochromatic. monochromatic patterns, monochromatic decorating, monochromatic outfits - this tone on tone style cannot be beat!

one of my favorite manicures for the last year has been a classic white polish. to offset the look of whiteout, i usually opt for a marshmallow white or a white with a very slight beige undertone. however, combining my off-white with my stark-white had my favorite results. a monochromatic mani that has the best of everything.

check out the simple tutorial below to see how you can achieve your own monochromatic mani.

xo,
kristie

Camouflage Nail Tutorial

one of fall's hottest trends of the moment is camouflage - and what better place to wear it than your nails? the great part about this nail art is that it can be done with just about any color combination. no perfection is needed, camouflage is naturally irregular and uneven. the perfect nail art for any nail art novice!

all you will need for this tutorial is:

two camo colors - i am using Laqa & Co. Anklebiter & Fancypants
one base color - i am using COVERGIRL Snow Storm
top coat - using Seche Vite (natch.)
toothpicks

follow these simple steps below to get your camouflage nail art in three easy steps:

xo,
kristie

Double Color Bronzing Technique

bronzing is such an essential part of a summer face. well, any face really. for those of us who are past our twenties and looking to add color to our sleep deprived, care deprived and all around deprived skin, this is your solution. better than any amount of diet coke. promise.

so it is with great pleasure that i am going to share with you my favorite bronzing tip:

use two colors.

yes, it is as simple as that. let's imagine you are painting a picture of the sky. do you use only one color blue to create the depth and beauty of that vast escape? no, you use as many colors of blue as you can. so when you apply your bronzer, why would you only use one shade? adding a cream blush under your bronzer will help give it depth and a touch of sun kissed glow without the fake-ness of highlighters and shimmers. it is essential that you use a cream blush for this technique. it is going to apply a stronger color as well as really 'grab' your bronzer once you apply it. remember, cream and powder are a marriage made in heaven.

below are the amazing cream blush and powder i have been using this summer courtesy of Make Up For Ever. you should know by know that i am a MUFE junkie and refuse any other foundation but their cream blush and bronzing powder a true winners as well. the essential ingredients to a good bronzer is lack of shimmer and a slightly grey undertone. done and done. the cream blushes come in a variety of shades to match your needs and they have amazing pigmentation and last for. ev. er.

so ladies (and some gentleman) shared below is one of my favorite makeup-ing tricks:

 hope that helps you in your bronzing journey!

xo,
kristie

Easiest Smoky Eye Ever

who doesn't love a smoky eye, or a smokey eye (tomato, tomahto). if you are a makeup rookie or an old hat at makeup, you can always make use of the smoky eye technique. quite simply this is the easiest, fastest, error proof way to get your smoky eye. using only two products, an Aqua Shadow in 4E (grey) and a medium brown shadow for blending:

 

summertime is the time of year i bring out my Make Up For Ever Aqua Shadow because of its ability to stay on under pressure, underwater and under duress (sweat). that is some amazing eyeshadow. a go-to during the summer months every makeup bag should hold one of these Aqua Shadow sticks.

follow this step by step eye makeup tutorial to create your easiest smokey eye ever:

1. apply grey shadow stick to eyelid from lashline to crease
2. blend grey using the medium brown eyeshadow
3. done!

xo,
kristie

DIY Lucite Vanity Makeover

“This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Sharpie, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia  #PaintYourWay http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV”

my makeup needed a makeover. okay let me clarify, my makeup storage needed a makeover and after having seen a great DIY Lucite tray tutorial on Pinterest i decided that was exactly what my vanity was missing.

what works best with lucite? more lucite. and glass. and gold. 

so i headed to Michael's to pick up the necessary products. to begin you will need an inexpensive acrylic frame. they come in a variety of sizes and i selected two, one 11x14 and a 5x7. in addition to the frames i picked up three different glass containers as well a delicate wood box. i decided the solution to tying all of these products together would be the new Sharpie Paint Markers. my current favorite color palette includes gold and white so naturally those were the two Sharpie Paint Markers i selected. 

painter's tape, pencil and ruler are additional items needed for this tutorial however most of those can be found in your kitchen junk drawer, so please proceed.

first you will do a little deconstructing. remove packaging from Sharpie Paint Markers, frames and any stickers from glass jars. proper prep is essential for any DIY project. the Sharpie Paint Markers are an oil based product and will paint on any surface so the sky's the limit.

to begin your lucite tray you will need to mark off the areas you would like to paint. i am working on a striped tray so my ruler comes in handy to measure the strip distance. i decided to paint on the underside of the tray so that the paint would not get scratched or chipped from products placed in the tray. the blue painters tape works well to mark off the lines but be sure to use the eraser end of your pencil to seal the tape down, otherwise the paint from the Sharpie Paint Markers may leak under your tape.

above is the finished tray. i love the white stripes with the lucite, it is a perfect combination. i decided to paint the bottom of my smaller tray a solid gold. i mean, it doesn't get any better than gold paired with white stripes.

to tie in the wooden box and glass containers i added a gold or white stripe to each. i am going to warn you one last time, make sure to press the edge of your tape with the pencil eraser to seal the tape to the glass. no matter how hard you press with your fingertip it seems you just cannot get the tape to seal as well as it does with a pencil eraser.

give your products a few minutes to dry and go ahead with the vanity top makeover. i decided to place my jewelry favorites in the round wooden box, this way they are quick and easy to get to on a daily basis. my makeup brushes have plenty of room in my glass jar. i later added my mascara and liner to this jar as well to make them even more accessible on a daily basis. my summer lip color by MAC (Nouveau Pink),  Make Up For Ever Bronzer and Yves St. Laurent Touche Eclat take up vital real estate on my small gold tray. my mini glass container (designed for votives) has been repurposed to hold my small jewelry essentials, i.e.: rings & earrings.

the entire vanity top is completed with the skinny vase filled with lilies from my garden. enjoy your new lucite vanity!

xo,

kristie

DIY French Manicure

easy nails are worth their weight in gold. okay, maybe not but easy nails are definitely worth it. this nail post is one of my most popular yet (thank you, Pinterest).

every once in a while i find a product that i LOVE and i cannot wait to share it with you. some past favorites include Seche Vite, Make Up For Ever, and St. Tropez. with that same enthusiasm, i am excited to introduce you to Dashing Diva French Wraps. these tiny little French Manicure tips give you the perfect French Manicure, quickly and easily.

my sisters are always a trusted source for beauty advice, and on my recent trip home to Washington state, my sister recommended these little beauties to me. let me say that they are so easy to apply, and they are fast, but the downside is that they only last a few days. this would make a great solution for Prom, graduation dinners, any sort of special event you may have approaching. with up to 14 manicure applications per box, $1 per manicure is a small price to pay for professional looking nails.

here is how they are applied:

select the appropriate size "housing" for your nail size

add some brush-on glue ONLY to white tip

with the easy grip tab, place housing in desired spot on nail tip. wait a few seconds, then gently remove "housing" and only white nail tip remains.

salon quality french manicure for a fraction of the cost!

so easy, so fast, and inexpensive. those are the key ingredients to a perfect product.

xo,
kristie

Rimmel Makeup Looks at SoFabCon

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.

last weekend was spent at SoFabCon14, a blogging conference put on by #CollectiveBias and its blogging division, Social Fabric. in attendance were some amazing food, lifestyle, parenting and beauty/fashion bloggers. while the sessions were amazing some of my favorite moments happened during the breaks where we could visit brand salons. naturally my favorite brand salon was the Rimmel room where you could get amazing makeup looks in an instant.

my go to station was the Rimmel Show Off Lip Laquer station. included at the station was a complete lineup of all of Rimmel's show-stopping, holy grail of glosses Show Off Lip Lacquer. though it may seem simple (you might be thinking, how difficult can lip gloss be?) getting good gloss has a technique! giving lips depth, color and fulness takes a little layering and positioning. at this station i had the gorgeous makeup artist Brooklyn (@lovelybrooklyn4) to teach me the ways of lip glossing.

first, you want to begin with a great product - thankfully Rimmel had that problem solved. prior to the conference i picked up a few Rimmel products from Walmart to keep me looking good. i decided on two colors: Nude Eclipse and Nova.

starting with a clean slate you apply your brightest shade over your entire lips. the strong color of the Rimmel Show Off allows for smooth straight lines and the longest lasting pigment. follow that with a lighter color applied only to the center of your lips. finish by blending the two shades together and voila! perfect lip color. how's that for #beautyinspiration?

xo,
kristie

Day To Night #BeautyInspiration Tutorial

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.

as a mom my goal is find ways to make my 'get ready' routine quicker and easier. i like wearing makeup and i like getting dressed up, however convenience and time are always an issue. finding products that will do double duty, last all day, or cut down on maintenance time are essential. finding this new Stay Matte foundation from Rimmel has been a game changer.

apply it in the morning and once evening rolls around it will still be fresh. Rimmel Stay Matte is no joke.

to make my days and nights a little simpler, i've created this Day to Night tutorial for #CollectiveBias showing how you can go from 'fresh faced' to smoldering without doubling your steps.



begin by applying your morning makeup. my morning makeup routine always includes the following: foundation, mascara, blush & lip gloss. other elements are always optional but those four always make the cut.

evening is where it becomes a bit more complicated. it is the extra steps that bring on the wow factor, and these extra steps are worth the time. first, contouring is a must. adding some extra bronzer to your hairline, cheek bones and neck will give your face structure more depth. define your brows. adding definition to your eyebrows will bring more interest to your eyes, which is basically the area you always want to draw attention to! a little eyeshadow in the crease will help to give your eyes more smolder and eyeliner will help make lashes appear bolder and longer. add some concealer for porcelain skin and define your lips to create some pout. your day to night transformation is complete.

these products below are honestly going to save you time and money. head to your local Walmart to find your #BeautyInspiration match.

they can be found at this display:

to celebrate their 180 year anniversary Rimmel is offering a giveaway that you don't want to miss! 25 readers will be selected to win a gift basket filled with Rimmel product valued at $50. the odds are forever in your favor, so you should definitely give it a go.

lucky or not you can find $1 off coupon in the Sunday newspaper for each of the two products mentioned above. that helps make an affordable product even closer within reach.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xo,
kristie


NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. The Coty® Rimmel® Giveaway starts at 4/2/14 at 12:00 A.M. (midnight) ET and ends on 4/25/14 at 11:59:59 PM ET. Open only to (i) members of the Social Fabric community, (ii) legal residents of the fifty (50) United States, the District of Columbia, and (iii) who are at least 18 years old at the time of entry. Click here for Official Rules and details including how to enter, entry criteria, prizes and restrictions, etc. Void in PR and where prohibited. Sponsor: Collective Bias, Inc.

Easter Manicure / Nail Art Idea

here's a post i created last year for a Easter nail tutorial. i was thrilled and honored to find that this tutorial was featured on Yahoo!'s new page shine.yahoo.com as one of seven suggestions for Easter nail art. hope you enjoy this beauty blog backtrack.

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with Easter quickly approaching i wanted to create a mani that incorporates some of my favorite spring-y easter-y colors. using the China Glaze Electropop collection, i selected my colors:

with a disposable paper, i brushed on dots of the three colors to dip my toothpicks into. make sure you have as many toothpicks as colors. paint your nail with a white color polish to act as a base.

dip your toothpicks into the polish and apply dots in a randomly scattered pattern. cute, right?!

happy Easter. now if only i can do this to all of my easter eggs...

xo,
kristie

Flawless Face Tutorial

a million thanks to my gorgeous friend Lacey for allowing me to use her beautiful face on my blog, as well as for allowing me to give her a blushing basics makeover. she was a great sport as i piled on the makeup and gushed over her amazing eyelashes and cheekbones. we were going for a wearable, everyday makeup that would leave her flawless and glowing. 

to see how i achieved this flawless face makeup follow the video tutorial below:

xo,

kristie

Monochromatic Mani

there's nothing chicer than monochromatic. monochromatic patterns, monochromatic decorating, monochromatic outfits - this tone on tone style cannot be beat!

one of my favorite manicures for the last year has been a classic white polish. to offset the look of whiteout, i usually opt for a marshmallow white or a white with a very slight beige undertone. however, combining my off-white with my stark-white had my favorite results. a monochromatic mani that has the best of everything.

check out the simple tutorial below to see how you can achieve your own monochromatic mani.

xo,
kristie

Beauty Blog Back Track - Eye Makeup Tutorial

if you haven't noticed already, my daily basic shadow tends to be pretty subtle. i like to add hints of color here & there, but overall i like it wearable.

with this step by step eye makeup tutorial, i added a hint of blue to the corner of my eye. it's an easy way to coordinate your shadows with your clothes, or to add just a bit of in trend eyeshadow color.

1. apply a nude shimmer shadow to your entire eyelid.
2. follow with color of choice (i used blue) to the corner of your eye.
3. finish with a light brown contour color to your crease (this adds depth)

have fun with this, experiment with different shades, and enjoy!

xo,

kristie

for more makeup tutorials, click HERE

How To Fix Broken Chapstick

let's start off the New Year right with a quick and easy tutorial - the bread and butter of Blushing Basics! i decided to create this simple how-to due to the outrageous amount of chapstick we are currently using and the outrageous amount of chapstick that is getting destroyed by my toddler. if you have found yourself in the annoying predicament of having the entire chapstick stuck in the cap, here's how to fix it.

stand the chapstick upright and blow dry for 30 seconds. yep, it is that easy. the chapstick will melt and fall back into the chamber. let it stand until it solidifies again (roughly 30 minutes) and your chapstick is as good as gold.

hopefully this will help keep a few tubes of chapstick out of the chapstick graveyard this winter.

xo,
kristie