I went a little crazy at Sephora and Ulta recently so you’ll be seeing lots of reviews in the coming weeks on tons of hot, talked about new products. 
Todays review is on the Alchemist Holographic Palette by Kat Von D! 

I was skeptical to order this at first, but after seeing some swatches and rave reviews online I decided to give it a try.
First off, the packaging is really pretty. 

A holographic opal like rainbow in the shape of a triangle or “pyramid”. 

Very majestic! Very “in”. 
If you are a packaging queen, or lover of pretty things, you’ll love this. It’ll look great on your vanity or in your trolley. 
The highlighter can be used on the face, eyes, lips and is stunning. Very pigmented, shiny, shimmery. They give you a cool ethereal glow. 
This isn’t ALL crazy, holographic hype, festival inspired, pigment though, which impressed me. 
If you use it lightly and blend it you can easily achieve a shiny, dewy, angelic look and let me tell you.. It is blend able! 

It is SO creamy for a powder, which is great. It helps the pigment really attach and appear to have some movement. 
I recommend you mix the colors when you blend, for more dimension and a less “one track” hi-lighter type glow. It’ll look very everyday this way. 
When I swatched the pallet on my eyes, they lit up. Again, very dimensional. 
A little spring, a little pastel, a little fairy. 

Will look cool and more holographic with a dark colored base I bet, too. 
My sister, Jade Alexandra said I look like a unicorn frappucino (in the best possible way). Love it! 
Overall, this pallet is cute, blends easily, you can achieve different looks if you work with it the right way, and the light catches it beautifully. Also, some colors are more subtle than others. There ARE 4 shades. 

Some scream more cheek, some more eye, some more “accent”. 
The pink (opal) reminds me of NARS orgasm if they came out with a holographic spring edition & the green (Emerald) doesn’t make you feel like an ogre. 
So, make your face sing this spring with this palette. 
I’ll be doing a cool look to blog with this product SOON! In the meantime enjoy the swatches! 

There’s an eyeshadow trend that I’ve been seeing on Instagram and YouTube. Crown eyeshadow. Basically when you close your eye you can see a crown and when you open the eye all you can see are the peaks of the crown behind your lashes. Some people add jewels or glitter and usually this look is done in pink or purple or metallic eyeshadows. 
I was looking around online at photos last night while my sisters and our friend were watching this weird, creepy 80s remake of Wizard Of Oz. It hit me.
I’m going to do an Emerald City take on this strange boughetto crown trend. 
What did I think of this look? 
Although it leans tacky and is really more artistry than a wearable look, I’m not going to lie.. I think it’s kind of cute. I wouldn’t necessarily wear this out for a ladies luncheon but I would maybe pair this with some green tipped false lashes for a funky night out. I also thought Nikki tutorials looked really pretty in her crown eyelash tutorial. I love how the glitter comes up right above your lashes and it wasn’t as hard to achieve as you’d think. 
So, this was fun to try and snap a picture of but you probably can’t wear it too many places. Some ideas where you could try it could be for a girls princess birthday party or Halloween or a sexy burlesque photo shoot (think smokey crown eyes and red sparkle lips)

I’ve seen some crown eye hate online and I understand it’s not for everyone, but In the end I think life’s tooshort to hate on a fun little makeup trend like this. I DO love bling. 

Did my look come across a little more Statue of Liberty than Emerald City? 
If you want to hear how I created this look leave a comment and I’ll post about it, my pretty! 

Versace and Cavalli are just a couple designers who sent models strutting and strobing down the runway recently. 

Everywhere where you look lately you’re being sold a new illuminator. Cream, powder, holographic, rainbow. Different hues, glitters, names. 

Women are taking the advice of Sia and Rihanna and literally shining bright like Diamonds. Celebs are ditching the heavy bronzer and cake face routine for a hot and youthful dewy glow. 

I’m obsessed with strobing and think this is one look that should never fade. Illuminator just makes people look a little brighter and more angelic. 

Whether a dewy look, a subtle glow, or a “BAM” don’t stand too close to the light look, it’s fine by me. It’s fun to brighten things up. It can go wrong though.. 

I think the biggest highlighting mistakes I see are when someone has put so much on that it looks like they should play alongside poppy (Anna Kendrick) in the animated movie, Trolls. Can you say Princess Glitter Sparkles? 

Also, when you maybe place the illuminator too low or high on your cheeks or in the wrong places for your particular structure. 

I think it’s also important, like a foundation, to find the right shade (At least for every day use and especially if you have a darker skin tone.) 
My sister Hannah has a much darker (medium/carmel/tan) complexion than me and should always go for more of a beach glow or goddess look, golden or champagne illuminator, where as I use a lighter illuminator like NARS Copacabana (I swear by it).
I think it’s easier for lighter skin tones to use a wider range of shades when it comes to highlighter. I also like to prep my skin with an oil or illuminating primer. 

When you illuminate always remember.. 

Cheekbones, brow bones, Cupid’s bow, nose, forehead.. Do it right! Or as Tim Gunn would say “make it happen”.

When you catch the sun the gods should sing… not gossip! 
As if makeup isn’t fun enough, I think it’s in an especially fun place. It can be hard being a woman. Some days it’s hard to find time to put on a full face of makeup. 
I think if the highlighting trend, unicorn trend has done anything it’s given us a little spring in our step and a little fun in our routine. We are girls after all! 

Throw on some highlighter with a pretty unicorn brush, and sparkle. Throw in a high pony next time you run out for milk, and you’re ready. Very fabulous and very low maintenance.

I’m always playing around with different eye makeup looks, so today I went for lips. 
This look is a little ombré, a little glitter and a little metal. 
I love subtly mixing trends. Ombré lip meets glitter lip, Duh! 
To achieve this look I used:
Mac-
Retro Matte in All Fired Up 

Sheen Supreme In Insanely It

Lip pencil in Ruby Woo 

Chartreuse glitter (outer corners of bottom lip only)

Mineralized eye shadow in Harvest of Greens (pink) on middle of bottom lip 

Urban Decay-

24/7 glide on pencil in Double Team
To Start I also used NARS Copacabana illuminator on Cupid’s bow.  
I personally start with an illuminator on my Cupid’s bow then a light base and liner m like Double Team then coat the corners working lightest to darkest shades blending lightly inward the whole time while applying, glitter comes last! Apply pink glitter in the middle of the bottom lip and blend up and outward. Then the funky glitter in outer bottom corners. 
Keep in mind that although I used these specific products to achieve this subtle ombré/glitter lip look doesn’t mean that you have to!
Just grab different shades of pink and reds that lean pink and some cosmetic glitter and go for it. 

-kiss

Recently I’ve seen some seriously swoon worthy statement sunglasses and am gathering that they are all the rage.

Omg, don’t even get me started on D&G! Roses, Crystals, Geometric, Huge!

Anyone who knows me knows I love a good pair of sunglasses. They make me weak. My whole life I’ve collected them. Gucci, Versace, Chanel, Vintage Dior, Bvlgari, John Lennon limited edition, you name it.

In fact, I once bought a pair of sunglasses just because they were supposedly worn by Audrey Hepburn in a movie. Impulse buy? Maybe.

I would scour the Sunglass counters, specialty shops and auctions and the bigger or the funkier the better!

Aside from collecting, I think sunglasses are the perfect accessory to invest in because, well, first off, everyone needs them and secondly, everyone sees them. They are almost as important as makeup or clothes if you ask me (or at least that’s what I tell myself). They did come in handy when I lived in West Texas for a hot second and needed protection from the horrid mixture of dust and wind. Too bad no one could see me looking fabulous. If only The Ivy’s patio was in West Texas!

In all seriousness, though…
Your sunglasses really do give people a sense of who you are. Fun, serious, funky, bold… Or all of the above depending on the day.

I recently had a pair of my favorite sunglasses stolen along with my purse,
the sunglasses were irreplaceable.
Vintage Versace with the Medusa logo. They reminded me a little bit of Andy Warhol and a little bit Johnny Depp playing Willy Wonka which is exactly why I bought them at Nordstrom long enough ago to be considered vintage and had them back in rotation.

After this theft the first thing I attempted to replace were my Versace’s and I got pretty close, but to give you some perspective into my love of unique sunglasses, I replaced them before ordering new credit cards, before buying a new bag, a new wallet, which was also irreplaceable, etc.

I think statement sunglasses of all shapes and sizes will always be in. I’ll never feel embarrassed when someone compares me to a bug behind my back, or cracks a joke about me wearing sunglasses indoors somewhere (believe me it’s happened).
It’s their problem if they don’t get it, because I know Karl Lagerfeld would be on my side, and you know what they say… “Coco made me do it”.

So, I say obsess over crystallized, cat eyed, bug eyed, violet hued or whatever kind of sunglasses you’re into and at any price point and wear them proud. You can’t see the haters through your shades.

Some days I just wish I was a Hayden Williams drawing. A stick thin glamazon who’s cheek bones could cut Ice.

I’d throw on my Oscar De La Renta gown with fishnets and embellished Giuseppe Zanotti’s. No need for today’s social norms, no need for eyelash extensions or waist trainers because everyone’s perfect in Hayden Williams wonderland. He brings such a modern edge to everyone he draws. Whether an old Hollywood Marilyn or a modern Queen (B)eyoncé, or the fictional Cinderella.

I want to live in a world where Kate moss is a little bit Rachael Zoe and Gigi Hadid is a little bit baby spice.

How can this artist make his illustrations look like they are literally sparkling and strobing? So much dimension! So much movement. So fierce.

A fantasyland where Cinderella and the Prince look like they could attend a soirée with Chuck and Blair from Gossip Girl and Mulan looks like she’s shopping with the girls from Clueless in the 90210.

His illustrations are otherworldly yet lifelike to point of needing no title. One look and you know exactly what it girl you’re looking at.

I love the beauty, style, sparkle, and magic Hayden Williams brings to the world in his drawings. I didn’t think it was possible to out Diva a Diva until I saw his work, making perfect seem even more perfect.

like a hologram, or an alter ego, or well… an illustration.