Kat Von D Saint & Sinner- Random Color Challenge Round 2

Since I filmed the first round of the Random Color Challenge, I've received so many requests to do a second round using the Kat Von D Saint & Sinner Eyeshadow Palette. I honestly never expected for the video to gain 7,000+ views, let alone get requests to do a second video with the same palette. I honestly I don't blame any of you though, this was definitely one of the palette launches that left a lot of people scratching their heads when they first saw the colors and the layout. This time around I let a computerized generator that I found through Google pick the five colors I would use in this video.

Drivers License Makeup Tutorial

It was about time that I finally changed my drivers license photo! I kid you not but I have looked Donald Trump orange in my drivers license for the past 10 years. I know some of you are not going to believe me but I did used to rock the orange glow once upon a time thanks to my obsession with the NYC Sunny Bronzer (shout out to anyone who remembers that bronzer). So thanks to the orange glow, whenever I used to show my license to people they would always have to do a double take because I look about five shades paler now. In this post I'm going to show you an all-matte look that will photograph well even with the shitty DMV cameras.

Everyday Look feat. L.A.B.2

Despite the fact that I work at a makeup boutique, I do get quite lazy with my makeup at times. When life gets busy, my makeup routine becomes more minimal and quick. As you may remember from previous posts, I am in love with stick products because of their versatility and ease of use but recently I've been using some new stick products on the market. My new stick obsessions are none other than the Fenty Beauty Match Stix which have an incredible cream to powder formula that holds up beautifully on my oily skin. In this post I'm going to be sharing with you how I use the Fenty Beauty Match Stix to achieve an easy everyday look and I'm also going to be using some affordable brushes from L.A.B.2.

August 2017 Favorites

My regular monthly favorites are back! The format will remain the same for the most part, so I'm going to be sharing the five products that stood out to me the most. The only minor change that I made this time around is that I'll be applying said products on my face. So it's basically a monthly favorites meets Get Ready With Me video. This past month I discovered my favorite foundation and ~surprise, surprise~ it's from bareMinerals. Despite the fact that I work for the company, it truly is a bomb foundation for my oily skin. And if it can survive 90ºF weather, then that makes it pretty much holy grail material.

Yet ANOTHER ABH Subculture Review

I honestly can't think of a palette in recent years that has been more controversial than the Anastasia Beverly Hills Subculture Eye Shadow Palette. Apart from their brow products, I've never really had Anastasia Beverly Hills in my radar until the release of this palette. I was immediately attracted to the autumnal color scheme, particularly the orange tones and greens. It's actually quite rare when I buy a product the day it launches because I always like to watch or read reviews before spending my money on it, but I made an exception for the Subculture Palette. Upon watching the first round of video reviews on YouTube I began to worry that perhaps I made a mistake placing my order, but was it a mistake? Is this palette really as bad as the YouTube elite claim?

Playing With New Makeup | Milk Makeup, ColourPop, Anastasia Beverly Hills

It's not often when I treat myself to a lot of new makeup but let's just say that I was feeling extra spendy in July. There were a slew of exciting makeup releases last month that I just needed to get my hands on, the most exciting being the Anastasia Beverly Hills Subculture Palette. Yes, the controversial palette that people either love or really hate. When I first saw pictures of the palette I started freaking out (I'm not even joking). The color palette really spoke to me, plus I was just happy to not see another warm tone eyeshadow palette since that was pretty much all that was being released this summer. Apart from the palette I also got my hands on some of Milk Makeup's latest releases.

Review | bareMinerals barePRO Performance Wear Liquid Foundation

It's here! The foundation I've been waiting for is finally here! You have no idea how long I've been waiting for a matte liquid foundation from bareMinerals and let me tell you the brand new barePRO Performance Wear Liquid Foundation was well worth the wait. This is the company's first matte full-coverage foundation and the first natural foundation that provides 24-hour wear. In this review I'm going to go over practically everything, such as: application tips, ingredient information, foundation comparisons, and opinions/personal experience. It's a long review but it's packed with information and pictures.

Gradient Smokey Eye

On rare occasions I'll get tutorial requests based on looks I wear out, this was one of those rare cases. I originally did this gradient smokey eye when I headed out to Fashion Valley for a fashion show celebrating the Latino Film Festival back in April. Since I went with quite a casual outfit, I decided to do a darker eye to pull the whole look together. This smokey eye is a bit different to the other ones I've done a tutorial on because it's a monochromatic gradient. I played around with a few of the brown shades in my favorite eyeshadow palette of all time, the Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Palette. If you're not super comfortable with smokey eyes, then I suggest you give this easy technique a go.

Summer Favorites

Since I haven't filmed a favorites video since March, I've decided to gather all my frequently used products and share them with you in one summer themed video. I've been very loyal to the products that I will be sharing and many of them are starting to show signs of wear. Since it's summer I will be sharing not one but two sunscreens that are fantastic options for oily skin. I also will be talking about other long wearing products that are perfect for any skin type.

March 2017 Favorites

I told you that I would upload my March favorites soon! It's still early March so I think I'm posting this in a reasonable timeframe, right? Well this time around I have a lot of bareMinerals products to share with you, two of them which are brand new. I had been waiting for the new bareMinerals bronzers and highlighters since I first heard about them in the fall of 2016 and they're finally here! Apart from my makeup favorites, I also discovered a new toothbrush that will change your life if you have a small mouth like I do. Yes, I will be raving about a toothbrush. Are you surprised though? This is the same girl that raved about a toothpaste not too long ago.

Very Chatty Makeup Tutorial

I've never been someone to shy away from being honest, although I do tend to be quite a private person. I know I haven't gone into much detail about how I've felt and how I've been doing after my break-up, so I have decided to talk about it a bit more in this video. I also wanted to discuss what I've been doing lately in order to work on bettering myself both physically and mentally. I still have a long way to go before I start feeling more like myself, but I'm quite happy with the progress so far.

Outfit of the Day | Earth Tones

You all know that I tend shy away from color a lot of the time, but this year I really do want to challenge myself to wear just a little more color. While I'm not planning on going all out with a yellow cardigan and hot pink pants like Kimmy Schmidt, I do plan to start off by wearing playful makeup and experimenting toned down colors in my wardrobe. And yes, I'm currently binge watching the show as I type up this post and I'm loving how silly it is. Back to this post though, in this outfit you're going to see how easy it is to incorporate color by pairing Earth tones.

January 2017 Favorites

This year I'll be changing the format of a few of my videos in order to make them much more helpful for my blog readers and YouTube subscribers. The first video series that I'm going to be tweaking are my monthly favorites videos, which in the past have been extremely rambly and oversaturated with products. I also realised that I would mention just a few things about each product for times' sake, but not really explain how I use it and what the product is supposed to do. The monthly favorites videos that you'll be seeing this year will only feature five products, so you'll only be hearing about the things that really made a big impression on me. Limiting myself to talk about five products will allow me to give better feedback on each product, instead of trying to rush through a long list of products. This change will hopefully make these videos a lot more helpful and enjoyable to watch.

Purple and Orange Smokey Eye

This year will be the year that I'll start being a little more daring with my makeup. I don't longer want to be intimidated by colorful eyeshadows, metallic finishes, and things that are considered a bit "out there." I want to play with bright shades, dark colors, and try different makeup techniques. One of those techniques that I wanted to try out is the halo eye. This isn't anything new or particularly groundbreaking, but it is much different to what I usually do with eyeshadow. The beauty about the halo eye is that you can use any eyeshadow combination that you want! I've tried a more subdued version with browns and a metallic gold eyeshadow and the look still came out beautiful. Hopefully this colorful look will inspire some of you to give the halo eye a try.

December 2016 Favorites

Guess who's back from a month-long hiatus? This girl. To be completely honest I didn't intend to take that long of a break. In fact, I didn't even intend to take a break at all but the holiday craziness just really got in the way of creating new video and blog posts. Long working hours, preparing for Christmas, my 27th birthday, Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve... I think you get the jist of it. The month of December was honestly such a blur, but despite of how busy I got I still managed to enjoy it a lot. Although there was a lot going on in my life, makeup-wise I kept things very simple. I just didn't have the time nor energy for a complicated makeup routine, hence why I focused on practical products and skincare.

Outfit of the Day | Double Denim

I don't think there's a more quintessential Laura outfit than this one right here. This is pretty much what I always wear whenever I'm not working and have to go out of my house (otherwise I'll happily wear pajamas all day). Give me a good pair of jeans, a t-shirt, a jean jacket, and comfortable sneakers and I'll be one very happy tomboy. Another thing that makes me super happy are dorky pins and if you follow me on Snapchat, then you know that I have a wide array of the most random pins. I have pretty much everything from a llama pin, to a wacky wavy pin (you know, those things that you often see in front of used car lots). In this post I'm going to show you how I style my favorite denim jacket with more denim and some pretty dorky pins.

November 2016 Favorites

Am I the only one who feels like panicking right now? We only have one month left to go! One more month before 2016 officially comes to an end. While part of me is relieved that this year is almost over, the other part of me is completely shocked by how fast this year went by. Before I know it I'm going to be turning 27, I'll have to deal with all the crazy holiday shoppers, and then just like that it'll be Christmas. But before we start all the holiday related videos, I want to reflect back on my favorite products of November. This past month I gravitated towards products that really simplified my morning routine, which I desperately needed since I'm not a morning person whatsoever.

October 2016 Favorites

Last month I predicted that October might be the month that could turn this year around and well... I can safely say that it definitely gave me a brand new outlook on life. This last month was so enjoyable and it allowed me to have so much fun. First of all, my new job at bareMinerals has been absolutely incredible! This last month I also got the opportunity to make new friends and reconnect with one of my oldest friends. As far as makeup goes, I had so much fun playing with more colorful looks thanks to the Juvia's Place The Nubian 2 palette which I recently used in a tutorial. I'm feeling more and more like my old self as time goes on, which is definitely a really good thing.

Fall Makeup Using the Juvia's Place Nubian 2 Palette

After uploading my Top 5 Eyeshadow Palettes post, the requests to recreate my makeup started pouring in on Snapchat and Instagram. I honestly didn't think anyone would comment on my eyeshadow look, but little did I know that you guys were going to love it. This is a much different makeup than what's been circulating on YouTube, so I can definitely see the appeal. For this look I decided to play with plum and pumpkin tones, aka two fall basics. I don't think many people would think of pairing plum tones with a "pumpkin spice" type of color, but I personally think the both colors look amazing together. All the eyeshadows used for this look come from the incredibly affordable Juvia's Place The Nubian 2 palette which I've been obsessed with as of late. 

Playing With New Makeup | bareMinerals

Guess what guys? I have a new job! I just started working for bareMinerals and I honestly couldn't be happier about it. I love working for one of the first makeup companies that I ever got hooked on back in high school. And so far I'm absolutely loving my new job! My favorite part is educating women about our products and applying them to their face. Seeing people's faces light up after I do their makeup honestly makes my whole entire day. So in honor of my new job, I've decided to dedicate an entire Playing With New Makeup video to all the new bareMinerals products that I received and purchased recently. I'll try my best not to sound like a bareMinerals commercial but I honestly can't help but to share my excitement with all of you.