September Favorites!

Hey girls! I want to start off this post by saying I am SO sorry for not posting in a while, AND that this is so late, I've been really stressed with school work, dance and other activities that this blog has been the last thing on my mind. That makes me so sad because I really do enjoy writing these posts as free time and every time I thought about it, it was just another task for me to do. BUT, I barely have any homework tonight so I am so so ready to write this lovely post!

September has seriously flown right by, I feel like it just started! It's my favorite month of the whole year because it's still warm, but cool at the same time, Fall weather is my absolute favorite! Also, September is my Birthday month- why wouldn't that be a reason for it to be a good month!

Beauty/Fashion Favorites

The first thing I've been loving lately is my watch! I only got it for my birthday-which is toward the end of the month-but I am so in love with it! It's the Michael Kors Mini Blair watch in Rose Gold. I've wanted one for so long and I am so happy about this you don't even know! I know you can't always pair it with every outfit, but that's okay with me. I want to wear it a lot, but not too often that it becomes boring.

Okay the next thing you might not understand, but you will soon. It's a Miranda Sings T-shirt that Kristin gave me for my birthday! We love watching Miranda Sings, she is HILARIOUS. I'll write some more about her later in this post.

 

 

I have also been loving my Benefit They're Real Mascara, which Francesca gave to me for my birthday! I have been wanting to try this for a whole and almost purchased it at Ulta a few weeks ago-good thing I didn't! It makes my lashes super long and voluminous and I adore the way it glides on to my lashes.

 

 

This month I have been using my Nars blush in Deep Throat almost every day. It's a beautiful shimmery peach color and is perfect for everyday. It gives me just enough color, but not too over the top. It is a very summery color so I'm trying to squeeze out the last few times I can use it!

 

 

I also wanted to include my bag that I use for school, we are allowed to carry tote bags or backpacks with our books and the one I got this year is so perfect. It's the Kate Spade Daycation Bon Shopper in Paint Blocks and it fits everything I need without being too big or bulky-I love it!

 

 

Non Beauty Favorites

 

 

The first thing I must talk about is candy corn! This is my absolute favorite candy and for some reason I can only eat it in the Fall. I know this is going to make me sound like a pig but I've already gone through 2 bags of it since mid September. The one that's my favorite is by Brach's, all the other ones are too waxy to me, but I found a recipe to make it so I might try that!

 

 

The things I have been drinking all month are seltzer and water! I've always liked seltzer but lately, I'm drinking it a lot more when I want some bubbles (I've been trying to stay away from junk food and soda just to stay healthier). But everyday I bring a water bottle and usually buy another at lunch time, then I drink it at home too! My favorite kind of seltzer by the way is the Vintage Lemon Lime, Raspberry or Raspberry Lime-so good!

 

 

My favorite show has been Abby and Brittany! It's on TLC and it follows conjoined twin girls Abby and Brittany Hensel as they graduate college and pursue a career in teaching. It just ended but I hope the next season will be aired soon! It's so inspiring to me that they are so physically different from everyone else, but in every other way they're 2 normal 22 year old girls! They don't let anything stop them and try to accomplish anything they want. You can check some episodes out here.

 

 And lastly, my favorite songs of the month! I am a huge fan of Ke$ha and after I saw her in concert last year I felt like she dropped off the face of the Earth! But she's back with her new song Die Young! It has a great beat and catchy lyrics-I love it! My other favorite song has been Light Up The Sky by Duncan, my dance teacher put this on in class one day during warm ups and I've been listening to it non stop! It's super catchy and just a fun song to listen to!

 

I hope you enjoyed my September Favorites and stay post for a new post real soon-I promise!

 

Xoxo
Audrey :)
"One of the best parts of growing up is finding the freedom to model yourself on what feels the most true rather than mirror what’s around you." -Lauren Conrad

 





Fall Shoe Staples

Hello everyone, and happy fall! Fall is easily my favorite season, I love the weather, the smell, the fashion and most importantly Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks. As mentioned, fall fashion is my favorite fashion ever.  Because of my little obsession, I wanted to share with y'all my top four fall shoe selections! From casual to dressy, I am basically living in these shoes everyday in the autumn. 

First shoe staple would have to be riding boots! I absolutely love the elegance of these boots. They are extremely practical, you can wear them with a pair of skinny jeans and your favorite crewneck sweatshirt, or a pair of black jeggings, button up shirt and some pearls! The pair of riding boots I own were made by Audrey Brookes, and I purchased them at DSW last year for about $150. Riding boots can get pricey, but for a super cute pair of boots that are all leather is totally worth every penny!

The next pair of shoes I wear all the time would be my Uggs. I have them in the 'Classic Tall' style in gray. I think every girl has a pair of shoes like these! They are super comfortable, and you can throw them on with anything and it will look perfectly fine! Uggs can be found at Nordstrom, Zappos, and most likely, any local shoe store!

The next pair/style of shoes I will be talking about will be ballet flats! I think these are super cute and you can put these on with jeans, a skirt, or a dress.... definitely a multi-purpose shoe! I recently got a new pair of flats from Lucky Brand Jeans, and they are a raspberry-colored leather pair. I am so excited to wear these in the fall with a pair of skinny jeans and an oversized oxford top. I think flats are perfect for fall because the weather is still fluctuating a bit, and you don't want to show up to school one day in Uggs, and the next day in sandals. I purchased my pair at Nordstrom's at the end of August, but I'm sure they have similar styles (or maybe the same shoe!!)

The last pair of shoes I will be talking about will be rain boots. I love rain boots. End of story. I absolutely love the look of rain boots and I always jump on the chance to wear them! I have a pair of the Hunter rain boots in the classic style. They were my moms (she purchased them on Zappos.com) but they were too small, but the perfect size for me! They are in a eggplant purple color, and they go with practically everything! I have more of a preppier style, and one of my favorite outfits is a pair of darkwash skinny jeans, my rain boots, and a striped navy blue sweater with a bigger statement gold ring! I feel like I'm walking out in Nantucket :).

So there you have it, my fall shoe staples! I literally wear these shoes everyday in the fall, and you can wear them with any outfit. What are your fall shoe staples? Leave them in the comments below or tweet them to us @SparklySecret. Don't forget, stay classy everyone!

-Landon

*****I want to make a huuuuuuuuge apology for the lack of posts! I have been really busy with schoolwork (lame excuse, I know) and I have started dance again, so I am at the studio 3+ days a week! Please forgive me :) Love you ladies! 

What's in my School Makeup Bag

Hi Ladies! Long time, no post!

So today I thought I would show you all what necessities I keep in my makeup bag for school. In my town specifically, the weather seems to change daily during the fall season. One day you're in shorts and a tank top sweating profusely and the next day you're in a sweater wishing you were curled up in a ball in bed. Our school is also very awkwardly heated so some rooms are much hotter then others. Keeping makeup easily accessible in my backpack gives the the opportunity to do little touch ups throughout the day to make sure I'm looking and feeling my best. 

The first thing I have is a mini bottle of lotion. I always make sure I have lotion with me because I get dry spots on my face and specifically around my nose that get really flakey in the fall, so when I get the chance to put a little lotion on it to sooth it i do. I sometimes get the chance when Im changing for gym :) 

The next thing I like to keep with me at all times is at least one concealer and a powder. When it's hot in school, I sometimes get a little sweaty or shiny and my makeup starts to fall apart by the end of the day. If I notice that I have a blemish that popped up or I'm starting to look a little shiny I can fix that real quick and not feel self conscious.

For lips I always have a few chapsticks and lip glosses that are thrown around in my bag because you never know when you're gonna need them. ;) Lip products are my favorite! Also if I plan on wearing a certain lipstick that morning I would throw it in my makeup bag to do touch ups as I see needed.

Another thing that I ALWAYS have in my bag is a mini mascara. Mascara is one thing that I cannot live without, I wear it everyday and I think its a good thing to keep in your bag in case you are going out after school and need a little extra something to look more put together. My favorite is the Benefit They're Real Mascara. It's amazing! I think even one extra coat of mascara can make any girls eyes POP!




Other things that I like keep in my makeup bag for school is a mirror *for obvious reasons :)*, oil absorbing sheets, tissues, a nail file and hair ties. This makeup bag also kind of works as a mini emergency kit as I just tend to throw anything I think I might need into it. I like to be prepared for the worst. :)

I hope you guys enjoyed this little show and tell and let me know in the comments below what kind of things you guys like to keep in YOUR makeup bags for school. :) Have a great day!

xoxo, 
Kristin

Polished Picture Day Look

Hello all you lovely ladies! It's back to school season, and one particular day is coming up that some of us dread...picture day. I thought that I would dedicate todays post to giving you some cute outfit ideas, and makeup to ace your picture! Without further ado, let's get started!

Makeup
Your school picture usually follows you through the rest of the school year, so it is important to make it look as good as it possibly can! I am going to start by applying my 'bareMinerals Oil-Control' primer. I have oily skin and this product really helps keep my face makeup on all day... you do not want to go to take your picture and have your makeup sliding all over your face! I am then going to apply my 'Laura Mercier Secret Concealer' for under my eyes and any other problematic areas, and my 'Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream' which gives your face a flawless finish. Contour your cheeks using your favorite bronzer, and apply a mid-tone pink blush, like 'Dame' by MAC to your cheeks.

For eyes, I am going to take my 'Stay Don't Stray' primer from Benefit and apply an even layer all over my eyelid. Then, take a champagne/gold shimmer color (like 'All That Glitters' by MAC) to your lid, and a soft matte brown ('Charcoal Brown' by MAC) to the crease. I am also taking a brown one shade darker ('Drama' by bareEssentials) to place in the outer v. Line your tightline and lower lashline, and apply 2-3 coats of your favorite mascara!

For lips, put on a sparkly peachy-toned nude gloss like 'Opal' by Laura Mercier. Now your face is ready for closeups! :) 

Hair
I like to keep my hair straightened for my pictures. My hair can get frizzy when curled, so to reduce any chance of having a frizzy picture, I straighten it. Although pin-straight hair is my personal choice, style your hair so you feel comfortable. You absolutely love your curly locks? Then curl it! Go into picture day feeling super confident with your hair!

Outfit
As for an outfit, you want to keep it simple but elegant. This year I am going to be wearing an oversized black shirt that I purchased at Nordstrom, and a cream colored lace bandeau underneath it that I bought at Francesca's Collections. I linked you to the exact clothing pieces, but they currently do not have the bandeau in the ivory, but they they do have them in some really cute colors! Even though my picture is only going to be the upper half of my body, I am going to wear denim shorts and some sandals. For jewlery, I am going to wear my pearl stud earrings, and my 'Return to Tiffany' silver heart necklace.

I hoped this helped you get a better idea on what to wear for picture day! I've had my share with bad pictures, so I'm hoping this year's will be good! :)  Leave any requests/comments down below and make sure to follow us on twitter. Stay classy everyone!

-Landon

Selena Gomez Inspired Makeup Tutorial!

Good evening ladies!

As you can tell from the title above I am going to be doing a makeup tutorial today! YAY! This look is from a while back, but Selena looked absolutely gorgeous that night and I love the colors, so I thought it would be a fun idea to show you all a spin off of her look. She wore this beautiful, jewel toned purple dress that made her lilac smoke eye pop against the rest of her outfit. 

Here's what you'll need:

Eyes: 
-Some sort of primer. I used both Too faced Shadow Insurance and the NYX jumbo eye pencil in milk. Having 2 layers of primers insures that the color will stay on all day, PLUS the NYX pencil is a shiny white, which applied underneath your color, makes the shadow appear more vibrant.
-Next I applied a light lilac color (Too Faced's Cut the Cake) across my whole lid and underneath my lower lash line. I used Sigma's E55 brush which packed on the color nicely since the lilac was a little sheer. also I took the gold from a Maybelline quad in plum smokes and blended that into the lilac to give it a little bit of shimmer.
-After that just to give a little bit of dimension to the look I took a little bit of the Party girl shadow to my crease to give a little bit of a smokey effect. I also blended the violet from my lower lash line into the party girl color in my crease.
-Lastly I applied a thin line of black liner to both my upper and lower lash lines and a few coats of my go to mascara and voila! 

The eye portion of the tutorial is already done! The finished product should look something like this:



and now...ONTO THE REST OF THE FACE! 

Face: 
-The first step would be to do your everyday face routine. Your foundation/bb creme, concealer, pressed powder whatever you are most comfortable with.
-Apply a sheer pink to the apples of your cheeks. I used Nars's Mata Hari and MAC's soft and gentle highlighter as a sublet highlight.
-Feel free to contour a little bit as well if you feel necessary, but in this look contouring isn't necessary.

Lips:
-Selena paired her very intense eye with a natural lip which is nice because they balance each other out very well. I liked the pink-y nude look Selena had on that night, it seemed perfect to be worn as an everyday lip too. I used Laura Mercier's lipstick in Pink Label with a sheer layer of Hue by MAC on top.
-Top it all off with a sheer pink gloss and you are ready to go for the evening!

Here is the finished product of the lips. It's really subtle, but looks nice paired with the intense smoke eye.





And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and let me know if there are any other celebrity makeup ideas you would like for me to try in the comments below! Thanks ladies love you all, talk to you next time!
xoxo,
Kristin :)

OOTD/FOTD: My Cousin's Sweet Sixteen!

Hey girls! Today's post is going to be an Outfit of the Day/Face of the Day post of my outfit and makeup for my cousin's Sweet 16 party! I'm writing this after because I just didn't have enough time beforehand. I was babysitting and then had to rush and get ready in time! Plus it took me a little over an hour to straighten my hair because I wanted every little bump out (big mistake). So without further ado, let's get started!

Dress & Shoes: Both my dress and shoes were purchased at a local boutique that I am going to choose not to mention the name of for privacy, but both I'm sure you could find close matches too almost anywhere! My dress was a royal blue lace body con dress, I had to wear blue because I was in her "court" and that was the color we had to wear! I fell in love with this dress the minute I tried it on, it fit just perfectly like it was made for me. The shoes were just a pair of black patent leather pumps, but they weren't that high because I wanted to make sure I could still walk and dance in them with ease (even thought they were off most of the night) The pictures included were taken at the party because, again, I was rushing and didn't have time for pictures!












Jewelry: I just wore some simple silver jewelry to compliment my dress.
~Earrings-I wore my pearl earrings, just in my first hole because I couldn't find any good combinations to wear in my other ones.
~Necklace-I had on a silver interlocking heart necklace that my older sister gave to me last Christmas.
~Rings-On my right middle finger I wore a heart/knot necklace that Kristin gave to me and I did mix metals here, on my left middle finger I wore my gold crucifix ring that I wear every single day, so it was an exception :)
~Bracelet-On my left hand (I only wear big bracelets on my left hand because I'm a righty and hate if I have a bracelet clanking around while I'm trying to do something) I wore my silver Tiffany and Co. Return to Tiffany Oval Tag Bracelet

Makeup: I went for a neutral look so my makeup didn't overpower my outfit.
~Face-I used my Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream in Light/Medium, Physicians Formula Conceal Rx in Fair/Light and Too Faced Amazing Faces powder in Vanilla Cream. For blush I used Benfit's Bella Bamba Boxed Powder.
~Eyes-I used my Naked 2 palette and applied Half Baked to my whole lid, YDK in the crease and Snakebite to the outer corner/outer v. I applied Mac Zoomlash mascara to the upper and lower lashes.
~Lips-I put on the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Sweetheart/Valentine and Nars Sweet Revenge Lip gloss on top.
I don't have pictures of my face, again, in the sake of time, but if you check out my Marilyn Monroe tutorial the eyes are almost the same just a little toned down and no eyeliner. :)

Thank you so much for reading and don't forget to share our blog with your friends! I love you guys!
Xoxo
Audrey :)
"Laughter is America's most important export." -Walt Disney

Tune in to Tan Skin!

In the summer, nothing is better than lying out in the sun, and tanning with your best friends. But once that summer sun and heat dies down, your faced with pale skin only a month into the school year! Today’s post is going to tell y’all some tips and tricks to extend the life of your tan, especially so you don’t have to go back to school with dull skin. I realize I should have put this post up a lot sooner, but I just came up with the idea recently… and besides, who wouldn’t want tips on extending your tan?! Put your favorite sunglasses on and get readin’ :).

Use SPF. I can’t stress this enough. Some think that if you use a sunscreen instead of tanning oil you won’t get any sun! We all know that tanning oils typically have an SPF of 8 or 15. Using an SPF of anything lower than 30 can put you at a risk for getting seriously burned! When you first get out in the sun PUT ON SUNSCREEN, wait 5 to 10 minutes then put on your tanning oil! The key is to wait until your sunscreen has soaked in and then go all out with your oil. You still get the same results- but you know that your skin is being kept safe!

MOISTURIZE. Moisturizer is going to be your best friend when it comes to maintaining your tan. In my opinion the best moisturizer for the summer is “Banana Boat Aloe Vera Moisturizer”. This leaves your skin feeling soft and silky, and the aloe vera in the lotion is going to help preserve your tan. If you don’t want to go out and buy a lotion that has aloe in it- just use aloe! I find that Aloe is super moisturizing on my skin, and it will still help you preserve your radiant glow!

Exfoliate! I like to exfoliate my skin once a week. I know that some people like to exfoliate every other day, or even every day but I find with my skin once a week is all I need. You want to have radiant tan skin, but if you exfoliate multiple times a week it can take off the tan skin. Audrey’s DIY: Body Scrub is amazing! You all seriously need to try this out, it makes your skin perfect!

Self Tan. Don’t be afraid of this little phrase. I like to use the Jergen’s Natural Glow line because it doesn’t make you insta-orange. The key for self tanners is to use one that gives you a gradual glow. With the Jergen’s you will not see an instant result, but after a week you will see your tan start to darken! If you aren’t afraid of a quick self tanner, take a look into the St.Tropez line. I have never used this line before, but my mom and cousin have. They absolutely love it, and it doesn’t leave you streaky! You can watch a bunch of reviews on the St.Tropez here!

NEVER GO TO A TANNING BED. Ever. This is completely terrible for you, and you can get cancer extremely easily from going into a tanning salon. So many teenagers are obsessed with having tan skin- and then they get deadly skin cancer. Besides, it’s totally obvious when you use a tanning bed…your skin just doesn’t look natural and it the color does not always seem to be the right shade. I’d rather be pale then have cancer!

Hydrate your skin. In the summer, your body is loosing essential vitamins because of the heat. You need to replenish your body by drinking A LOT of water. I try to drink about 2 ½ bottles a day in the summer, but if I feel dizzy or headache-y, I grab a Gatorade or something like that to replenish my body. Radiant skin doesn’t come in a bottle- you need to be hydrated!

These are all of my sparkly little secrets to help y’all maintain your tan! I find that all of these play a key role in keeping your color for a while. It’s never too late to grab a bottle of a gradual tanning lotion and aloe vera…it can work wonders! I hope you guys enjoyed todays post! Don’t forget ladies, stay classy!

-Landon