Jen Clark

Look No Further for Your Perfect Summer Lipstick! The MAC Huggable Lipcolours Are All You Need

July 4th, 2016 by Jen Clark 11 Comments

I’ve taken a break from the heavy makeup lately, honestly, probably out of pure laziness (pregnancy saps my energy), but I’m kind of digging it! On days that I actually put on makeup, it’s usually dewy skin that showcases my new summer freckles, brows and winged liner (because I will always wear winged liner), some mascara, and an easy-to-wear lipstick like these $14 MAC Huggable Lipcolours.

You know those lipsticks that feel so good to put on that you can sit there for a few minutes and just smear them all over your face? These Huggable Lipcolours feel like that to me.

Weird, I know, but don’t judge me. They just feel so good!

They feel almost like a really luxurious, comfortable lip balm, and with a nice amount of color payoff, they’re the perfect lipsticks to keep in your bag and pop on throughout the day, whether you’re wearing more makeup or not.

I also have to commend MAC on the packaging. The gunmetal tube feels so heavy and expensive. I like it a lot more than MAC’s standard plastic lipstick packaging.

I really can’t believe you get such an amazing product and impressive packaging for only $14. That seems like such a good deal to me!

From left to right: MAC Origami Orange, Bonsai Bloom, Good Luck Mochi, What A Feeling!, Seoul-ful, Cantonese Carnation

There are 20 colors to choose from, and I have six of them here.

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This One-Trick Pony Broke Away From Browns Today and Swapped Them for Mauve #FOTD

June 30th, 2016 by Jen Clark 8 Comments

I have a horrible habit of only wearing browny/goldy/bronzey eyeshadow.

I’m kind of a one-trick pony when it comes to that.

But it’s good to break out of your routine every now and then, so I decided to try using some mauve and taupe shades, and I loved it!

Obviously, I’ve used mauve and taupe before, but I just forgot how pretty they can look! I was super happy with how this look turned out, so I thought I would document it and share the products I used.

NARS Sheer Glow Foundation has crawled its way back into my heart. I always do this — I rediscover things and wonder why on earth I ever stopped using them! Sheer Glow gives such a flawless look to the skin without looking like heavy makeup.

Nars Sheer Glow in Monte Blanc — NARS Sheer Glow in Monte Blanc

Under my eyes, I used Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer, of course, because it’s the only concealer I ever use these days. It’s literally the best concealer I’ve ever used.

I’m pretty sure I’ve blabbed about it a lot before, so I’ll keep it short today. It’s lightweight, lovely and covers everything I need it to without going cakey. I use it to conceal under my eyes and to highlight my cheekbones, nose, chin and center of my forehead.

Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer in Light Neutral

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A Refreshing Watercolor Nail Tutorial to Quench Your Thirst for Color

June 24th, 2016 by Jen Clark 10 Comments

I’m a little giddy today because we’re headed on a little vacation this weekend! We’re headed down south to warmer weather (not that it’s been cold here in Logan, Utah), or should I say, “sweltering weather,” where it’s supposed to be right up around 100 degrees while we’re there. That’s alright with me, though, because I plan to live in the pool.

Since I’m pregnant, there’s been no working out or eating healthy to do (one of my favorite perks), so all I had to do to get ready was just slap on a layer of my favorite fake tan, and grace my usually bare nails with a fresh, summery manicure.

While browsing Pinterest for some inspiration, I fell in love with watercolor nails. You can literally use any colors you want, and it’s so easy! The only special tool you need is a sandwich bag, and I’m pretty sure everyone has those on hand. (See what I did there? Eh?)

Let me show you how quick and easy this is!

1. Start with white nails

Start off with white nails (I’m using China Glaze White On White), and I painted mine the night before to make sure they were completely dry.

From experience, I’ve figured out that if the nails are still a little wet, it’ll cause problems with the rest of the process.

Start off with a white base — Start with a white base

2. Apply your colorful blobs

Working one nail at a time, put a fairly generous blob of each color you want to use on the nail. I put the blobs in different areas so that the nails don’t all turn out looking similar.

I wanted mine to resemble pools of water, so I used two blues — Zoya Blu and Sally Hansen Blue Rose (discontinued) — and a turquoise called Essie Turquoise and Caicos.

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Makeup and Beauty Products That Are Completely Worth the Splurge!

June 22nd, 2016 by Jen Clark 13 Comments

makeup worth the splurge — Save money or buy makeup??

Save money, or buy aaallll the makeup? That is a question I ask myself probably way too often.

When you follow as many beauty blogs and watch as many YouTube videos as I do, it’s hard to not have a giant makeup wishlist! In fact, I have a giant memo on my phone right now of things that I want.

It’s a problem.

A lot of the time, the things I want are on the pricier end, and it’s hard to know whether it’s worth the money or not.

I dug through my collection to look at some of my more high end items to see which ones are worth their high price tag, and I definitely found a few!

makeup worth splurging — My roundup of splurge-worthy items!

1. Clarisonic Mia ($99)

I will always splurge on my skin, because when your skin is well taken care of, your makeup always looks better, and you also feel better with less makeup on!

My all-time favorite skin care purchase of all time has to be my Clarisonic Mia ($99).

Ya, it’s hard to fork out the money, but I’ve had mine for years and years, and it’s still going strong! After I wash my face using my Clarisonic, it feels sooo clean and soft. Nothing else makes my skin feel as good as this does. Totally worth the money.

All foundations are different, but some just work so much better than others. The drugstore does have a couple of awesome foundations that I love, but for the most part, higher end foundations just seem to work better.

2. Chanel Vitalumière Aqua Ultra-Light Skin Perfecting Sunscreen Makeup Broad Spectrum SPF 15 ($48)

When I got married a few years ago, I wanted to find the perfect foundation for my wedding day, and I found Chanel Vitalumière Aqua ($48).

It’s the most gorgeous foundation I have ever owned. When you blend it into the skin, it actually just looks like you’ve got beautiful skin. It doesn’t look like makeup; it’s crazy.

I don’t have this one in my collection at home too often just because of the price tag, but when I do, I fall in love with it all over again.

Chanel Vita Lumiere Aqua Foundation — Chanel Vitalumière Aqua Foundation ($48)

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The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Winged Eyeliner

June 20th, 2016 by Jen Clark 34 Comments

Winged eyeliner is one of my favorite makeup techniques because it makes such a big impact. It’s not always easy to do, though. In fact, sometimes it’s a freaking pain in the butt. Plus, once you screw it up, it’s hard to save the rest of your makeup look.

For those days when I can’t shake the cute, little toddler hanging off my arm, or for the days when, out of pure laziness, I really just can’t get myself to even attempt liquid liner, I use this easy technique to get the same winged liner effect, but with a lot less frustration!

Rather than using a liquid or gel liner, I use an angled brush and a black or super dark brown eyeshadow like Black or Espresso from the Lorac Pro Palette because they’re easy to work with and super goof-proof.

By the way, I think the best brush of all time to use for this lazy girl’s winged liner is the MAC 266, if you happen to have one. It pretty much does the work for you.

The Black shade in the Lorac Pro palette is great!

One of my all time favorite brushes! — One of my all-time favorite brushes!

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A Bad-@ss Blush Saves the Essence How to Make Your Face Glow Makeup Box for Me

June 17th, 2016 by Jen Clark 7 Comments

Essence Makeup Boxes in How To Make Your Face Glow and How To Make Bright Eyes — Essence Makeup Boxes in How To Make Your Face Glow ($9.99) and How To Make Bright Eyes ($9.99)

What up, people! Let’s talk about some affordable makeup today. I’ve been low-key obsessed with Essence for the past little while. I mean, this is only like my third post about them in the last couple months.

I’ve already reviewed the Essence All About Bronze Eye Shadow Palette and the Liquid and Sheer & Shine Lipsticks, and SPOILER ALERT! I love them both.

Next up, a couple of the Essence Makeup Boxes — How To Make Your Face Glow, and How To Make Bright Eyes ($9.99 each at Target). I have lots to say about these, so let’s get started, shall we?

My favorite of the two, by far, is the How To Make Your Face Glow Makeup Box. It’s got a blush, bronzer, and highlighter, and it also comes with cute little instruction cards to teach you where to place the products. That’s always nice for beginners!

I am OBSESSED with the blush, and I would totally spend the $9.99 just to get it by itself.

You know how when a blush is just the most perfect color for you in the world and it makes your face look so bright and awake? I feel like this one does that for me!

The Essence How To Make Your Face Glow Makeup Box ($9.99)

Can you see that blush? Mmm.. so dang good! — Can you see that blush? Mmm… So dang good!

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Products I Have Completely Used Up! Will I Repurchase Them?

June 9th, 2016 by Jen Clark 12 Comments

Do you get that intense feeling of satisfaction when you use the last drop of something you’ve been working on for months? It makes me feel like an actual responsible adult who got her money’s worth! If I completely use up a product, it’s usually a testament to how much I love using it…usually.

Rather than chucking my empties into the garbage, I channeled my inner hoarder and kept my trash in a box to take pictures of and show you all. Totally normal!

1. Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes ($5.99 at Ulta)

Simple Cleansing Towlettes — Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes ($5.99 for 25 wipes, available at Ulta)

I’ve gone through an absurd number of these wipes — like, literally more than 20 packs of 25 wipes! I really should collect the empty wrappers to see how many I actually use…

These are my all-time favorite go-to makeup removers. I’ve tried countless different wipes and even micellar water on cotton pads. Some of them are nice, but I always, always, always come back to these.

The actual cloth wipes are so nice and soft and don’t irritate my skin, and the cleanser they’re soaked in is super gentle and doesn’t burn my eyes, but it still does the job and gets off all of my makeup.

Will I repurchase them? Yes, I already have, and I’m quickly burning through my last pack!

2. Pixi Glow Tonic Exfoliating Toner ($15 for 3.4 oz.)

Ugh, I hate how fast I go through these toners! I get the smaller, cheaper 3.4-oz. bottle because I feel like I’m being oh, so thrifty, but I fly through them in about three weeks (I use it twice a day).

I really should get the bigger bottle, huh.

I fell in love with this toner a few months ago and have been religiously using it ever since. I like that it’s exfoliating and helps get rid of some of the bumpy, uneven texture I tend to get on my skin. It really does leave my skin super soft and glowing.

I’ve talked about why I think toners are so important in my Pixi Skincare Routine post, but you really should use one. Really.

Will I repurchase? Yes! As soon as I make it back to Target, which is about an hour away from where I live!

I know. Feel sorry for me. 🙁

3. Yes To Tomatoes Acne Clearing Facial Toner ($9.99 for 8.5 oz.)

Yes To Tomatoes Toner — Yes To Tomatoes Acne Clearing Facial Toner ($9.99 for 8.5 oz.)

You know how when you use something and you’re trying to decide what you think about it, but you really don’t know? That’s how I feel about Yes To Tomatoes Acne Clearing Facial Toner…

I picked it up when my skin was acting up and used it off and on for about six months until I finished it.

I really don’t know what to say about this one!

Obviously, it didn’t “wow!” me, but I didn’t hate it either. It did the job and got my skin super clean, but I can’t really remember if it helped me with breakouts or not. My guess is that if I don’t remember, it probably didn’t.

I wouldn’t completely write this one off, though, if you’re looking for something with salicylic acid and witch hazel to keep your pores nice and tight. I do really like the ingredients in this.

Will I repurchase it? Probably not…mostly because I wasn’t wow’d by it.

4. Ole Henrikson Nurture Me Moisturizer ($40)

Ole Henrickson Nurture Me — Ole Henrikson Nurture Me ($40)

I wish I remember the name of the guy who helped me that fateful day in Sephora when I was encouraged to give this moisturizer a try because he changed my life!

OK, that’s a little much, but I love this moisturizer so much. I went in looking for something, anything, to help calm the redness that I was experiencing on my skin and came out with this.

First off, I have to tell you how good it smells, because if something smells amazing, that makes me love it 100 times more. It legit smells like the most delicious orange Creamcicles… My mouth waters every time I use it.

Of course, the smell isn’t why I use it, though. Not only does it soothe my skin and relieve the redness, but it makes my skin feel so smooth and comfortable. There are no massive, angry breakouts, no redness, no rough texture. My skin is happy!

Will I repurchase? Absolutely! As soon as all the bills are paid and everyone has what they need, I WILL buy my magic orange Creamsicle again.

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The Absolute Best-of-the-Best Eyeliners

June 9th, 2016 by Jen Clark 11 Comments

Makeup forever xl aqua eyeliner stila liquid eyeliner the balm schwing — My top three, best-of-the-best eyeliners!

Eyeliner has to be my most loved makeup product…or one of them, at least. I have been OBSESSED with winged liner for a really, really long time now, and I’ve tried soooo many eyeliners over the years in the quest to get the perfect wing. Let’s be honest…so many of them just plain suck, but these three are amazing.

The reason I love winged liner, and just eyeliner in general, is because you can use it to really accentuate your eyes. My eyes are a little on the small side, so I try to make them pop as much as possible! I even did a tutorial on winged eyeliner in four easy steps over on my blog.

Eyeliner is one of those things that’s either really good, or really, really bad. There isn’t usually much of an in between. Normally when I buy new makeup, if it isn’t super great, I can usually make it work until I finish it up, but not with eyeliner. To have your liner look good, the liner has to actually be good.

I guess that makes me kind of an eyeliner snob! I only use the best of the best, and one of these three is always in my makeup bag.

1. Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner ($22)

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Eye Liner in Black ($22)

I keep purchasing Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner over and over again because it never fails me! It has a thin felt tip and a fine point, so you can easily get a nice sharp wing with it without trying too hard. By kind of laying it on its side, you can drag it and quickly line along your lash line as well. With the opaque black formula, you never have to add a second coat, either, which is so nice! I’ve also noticed that if you keep the cap snapped on really tight, it lasts for months. I hate it when an eyeliner dries out after just a couple of weeks, but you should never have that problem with this one.

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Eye Liner felt tip

best eyeliner — Push lightly to get a super thin line, or apply more pressure to get a thicker line

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