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.

February 2017 Favorites

I know what you're probably wondering... "Girl, shouldn't you be uploading your March favorites?" Don't worry, you'll get my March favorites next week but I still wanted to upload my February favorites because of the products that I talked about. Last month was truly the month of new beauty and skincare discoveries, but these are the five products that stood out to me. I was particularly impressed by an amazing mineral sunscreen which can be found in an aisle that I normally would never get near to- the baby aisle. Let's get this out there, I'm not a baby person at all but those little derps have some of the best skincare products which work just as well for adults with sensitive skin.

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.

Winter Makeup

When people think about winter makeup they can go one of two routes: minimal makeup with a bright red lip or heavy makeup for nighttime. In my case, I do enjoy keeping things very minimal and focusing a statement lip color. If you've been following me for a while. then you already know how much I love a good red lipstick. I actually don't care how bright, dark, warm-toned, or cool-toned a red lip is- I just want a good red lipstick. So when I first saw the Milk Makeup Lip Color in Dip Out, I knew I needed it in my collection. This shade is a wearable vampy red and I personally think it would compliment nearly every skin tone. I honestly love this shade that much that the whole look was made so it would complement the lip color. That's true love right there.

What's In My Bag? | Everlane The Twill Zip Tote

Today I decided to film one of the YouTube beauty guru classics, a simple "What's In My Bag?" video. It's been over a year and a half since the last time I filmed one, so it was time for me to show you what I'm now carrying inside my bag. I also have a new everyday bag which is practical, simple, and very minimal. I personally don't like carrying something that has the brand's name or emblem splattered throughout the whole bag, it's just not my cup of tea. My new everyday bag is the Everlane The Twill Zip Tote, which is roomy enough for all my belongings and built very well. This is by far the most comfortable handbag/tote bag that I own, and I love knowing that it was made ethically.

3 Ways to Wear Red Lipstick

The 3 Ways to Style videos got a little beauty makeover. When I started brainstorming the "3 Ways to" video series, I always knew that I wanted to take that video concept and adapt it to makeup. I feel like many people will purchase something that is out of their comfort zone and rarely wear the product or always wear it the same way. For example, I still get so many questions about how to wear red lipstick since it's so bright and in your face. I understand that people can get intimidated by such an intense shade, so my goal for this series is to show the versatility of a specific makeup product. I'm starting out this series with a classic warm red lipstick, which has become somewhat of my signature look. I also teamed up with my friend Will Cook for this video, so you'll be seeing a total of 6 ways to wear a red lipstick.

Outfit of the Day | Black and Blue

Hi, my name is Laura and I'm the minimalist and tomboy version of a plain Jane. I swear I'll never get sick of just rocking jeans and a t-shirt, aka my uniform for the past 20+ years of my life. Although there really isn't much going with this outfit, I did decide to play around with silhouettes a little bit. My love for the mom jeans is still going strong, but this time around I paired the loose jeans with a fitted black top. And to round up my basic outfit and make it a bit more modern, I decided to go with some round sunglasses and my old platform sandals. What can I say? Basics are the new black.

Get Ready with Me: Spring Edition

It's the first day of spring and I'm bringing back the Get Ready with Me videos! For this Get Ready with Me I'll be showing you this very easy spring makeup and also styling some frizzy 3rd day hair. While recording and editing this I started thinking of my past Get Ready with Me videos and boy have I improved my videos since then. The first one I ever made was recorded and edited on my iPad mini and it featured one very awkward voiceover. Kind of crazy, huh?

Outfit of the Day | The Midi Skirt

It's not often when a skirt catches my eye since I'm hardcore jeans and t-shirt girl, but when I saw this midi skirt from Target I knew I needed it in my life. I had been looking for the perfect midi skirt for a while now, but most skirts in general feel too short for me. I'm definitely not into showing skin, so that's why midi skirts appealed to me. This skirt not only fits like a dream, but I was able to envision a few ways to style it once I tried it out in store which is something I always have to do now that my closet is considerably smaller. I was definitely missing a more feminine pieces like this one in my capsule wardrobe but now I've filled my skirt void with this affordable gem.

Top 15 of 2015

Last year was an amazing year for both myself and the beauty world! 2015 was the year of highlight on fleek, contouring the crap out of your face, matte lipsticks, and messy hair. I tried out and purchased many products throughout 2015, but in today's post you're going to hear about the best of the best (well, according to me). These are the products that I would reach for the most, and some which I repurchased several times. All of these products have been mentioned in previous monthly favorites, but they're so good that they deserve yet another shoutout.

December 2015 Favorites

The time has come to share my very last favorites video of 2015. I honestly can't believe how fast this year has gone by and within a few hours we're going to be in 2016. I feel like I'm not ready for a new year to begin, but before I say goodbye to 2015 I want to share with you my standout and most used products in the month of December. There's certainly a few holy grail products in my last favorites video that you won't want to miss. Some of these products might even pop up in my "Top 15 of 2015" video that I'll be recording and uploading in January. If that's not enough to entice you to click on this post, I don't know what will.

Holiday Makeup

I'm finally getting around to uploading my very first holiday look and this one features a lot of my high-end favorites, so you'll finally get to see a few of them used on a video. I was requested to do a tutorial based on the look I'm wearing in my profile picture on social media, and that's exactly what you'll see today. I made sure to use all the same products that I used when I first took pictures with this look. This makeup up is not your typical holiday makeup, I actually consider it a modern take on it. We're going to be using a lot of cool toned eyeshadows and a very deep red lip color.

Luxury Products Worth the Splurge

For the longest time, luxury products were uncharted territory for me. Slowly but surely I've dabbled into more pricey items and let me tell you, there's something about them that make me feel like a million bucks. While luxury products aren't a necessity, you get a very high quality product and something that looks absolutely stunning when displayed. In my latest video I'm going to be sharing my all-time favorite luxury products that are definitely worth the splurge. I have a hair product, skincare product, fragrances, a brush, and some makeup bits. The video was in collaboration with two of my greatest YouTube friends, Jonathan Curtis and Will Cook. If you want to hear about even more luxury products that are worth the splurge, then don't forget to check out their videos.

Top 5 Lipsticks for Winter + Dupes

With winter approaching I thought this would be the perfect time to take out the shades that have been getting lots of love lately and share them with you guys! This was a video that was requested over on my Spanish channel and being the lipstick lover that I am, I just couldn't say no. Some of my picks are high-end, but don't you worry because I got you covered! I dug through my whole lipstick collection and managed to find some dupes or some extremely similar shades. There's a bit for any type of girl, so I hope you enjoy today's video.

How To Buy Makeup On Poshmark and Haul

It's no secret that I love makeup, but what I love more is saving money. Thankfully Poshmark has my back now that sellers can list various makeup products. You can find an incredible array of makeup products from brushes to highlighters, and there's literally every brand you can think of. I was personally on the hunt for luxury products from brands such as Burberry, Marc Jacobs, and Charlotte Tilbury. I've managed to save $10-$20 off products by simply shopping on Poshmark so in this video I'm going to share what I've purchased, as well as share some of my tips so you can start saving on makeup as well.

October 2015 Favorites

I still can't wrap my head around the fact that in 2 months the year will be over. October was not the most exciting month for me, but at least it lead to some awesome beauty discoveries. I've been gushing over the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushes since I picked up two on Poshmark and you'll get to hear more about them once again. This month I was reaching for my high-end makeup more than any other month this year, which is a good thing considering that I used to have this weird fear of ruining my high-end makeup (I told you it was weird). Apart from the plethora of makeup hits, I also have some disappointing products to share with you in this video. October was not a good skin or hair month at all.

Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipsticks

By now you all know what a huge lipstick addict I am. I easily have over 100 tubes of lipstick in my collection, and there's definitely no sign of stopping any time soon. Lipstick is the one makeup item that makes me feel like I can take over the world, and the Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipsticks certainly make me feel that way. These lipsticks have been available in the UK for some months now, and most recently were released for a limited time back in April in the United States. But don't you worry because the lipsticks will become permanent in North America come September and they will also become available at Nordstrom. I think it's time to start saving your pennies, because once you buy a Matte Revolution Lipstick you'll definitely want a few more.

April 2015 Favorites

Ahhhhhhh... It's gonna be May! Well it already technically is May, but I just felt like starting off a blog post with that because I'm a 90's kid for life. Before we begin a brand new month of beauty discoveries and rediscoveries, it is time to look back the my most-used products in the month of April. There's a good mix of new and familiar products, as well as drugstore and high-end makeup. And how pretty is the flower arrangement? An event planner dropped it off after an event finished up outside of work and now I get to use it to make my pictures much more springy. 

Makeup Swap with Sarah S

I have another makeup swap to share with you! Today I have a UK-USA makeup swap with my friend Sarah who lives in England. I sent her some of my favorite drugstore makeup that she either can't get or is hard to find in England, and she sent me some British and European products that I can't find here. Not only was I super excited when I was opening the package but I went a little swatch crazy, so you'll have to go watch the video to find out what I got from Sarah.