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When I did a quick poll on my personal Facebook page recently, friends wanted to see a lot more drugstore/affordable products, as well as, quite a few wanted to know more about hair extensions. With New Year’s Eve quickly approaching, I figured it would be a great time to really show how versatile drugstore products can be. Today, we’re combining more drugstore products with my new favorite hair extensions for this half drugstore super glam NYE makeup and hair look. I also managed to snag a discount code for you to try these extensions, too!
A few weeks ago, I did a ‘polished’ makeup look using ALL drugstore products and everyone really responded to it well. In this post, I wanted to showcase the same palette I used in that natural makeup for a more dramatic style. I also pulled in a couple new products – like the Revlon Photoready Eye Art and the L’Oreal True Match Liquid Foundation. Literally, HALF of the products used in this look are drugstore… I’d say that’s PRETTY awesome!
I started with my eyes for this look because I knew there’d be a lot of drama going on and I didn’t want glitter or shadow to fall on my perfectly applied foundation. Prime the lids with MAC’s Painterly Paintpot (or whatever primer you feel comfortable with). Set the primer with face powder of your choice (I used this one) to ensure shadow does not drag/skip on the lid. Sweep a mid-tone brown (I used the matte tan shade in the CoverGirl Goldens palette) through your crease using a fluffy brush… this creates the soft transition/blend from the lid to the dark brown. Apply the shadow side of the Revlon Eye Art duo in Topaz Twinkle to your lid quickly – this stuff sets and will get patchy if you don’t work fast. Let it dry for two solid minutes (not a second sooner or it will look bad… I had to do this look twice because I went too fast). Apply the glitter side of the Revlon Eye Art to your lid and tap with ring finger to blend evenly – again, working quickly or it gets patchy. Allow to dry for two additional minutes.
Use a gel (or liquid) eyeliner to create your wing. Pick up the darkest brown shade in the CoverGirl palette with a narrow blending brush for more precision and apply through the crease, to meet the end of your winged liner.
Take a cobalt blue eyeliner (I used this one in My Boyfriend’s Jeans) and line your lower waterline. Take your finger and smudge into the lower lashes for a smokier effect. Use a microfine, pewter glitter liner like this NYX one to line along the lower lashes.
Apply a light coat of mascara on top and bottom (I used essence Lash Princess) and then pop on a pair of false lashes. I used Ardell Double Up 207s. Without false lashes, this look can be a little overwhelming… but the falsies really bring it all together.
If you have trouble with falsies, my best tips are to trim them from the outside ends to make them shorter to fit your eye better, and to get a GOOD lash glue. I ONLY use Revlon or House of Lashes. I hate duo.
For the face, apply L’Oreal True Match Super Blendable Foundation (my shade is shade W6). Let me tell you… I’m obsessed with this foundation. It reminds me A LOT of the Armani Luminous Silk – except this one has more coverage and is approximately $45 cheaper, lol. It’s beautiful and I’m so glad it doesn’t break me out. I then concealed under my eyes with the Tarte Shape Tape concealer (I use shade Light/Medium Honey). Dust a pressed powder to make sure nothing creases. Apply bronzer to the forehead, cheekbones, tip of the nose and jaw line for definition. Nothing works as nice as the Kat Von D Shade + Light contour kit – put this baby on your holiday wish list because it now comes with refillable pans! Finish it off with a pop of highlight on the cheekbones. I used the LE Victoria Beckham for Estee Lauder highlighter, but this is a close $4 dupe. Pop on a glowy blush like Milani Luminoso and you’re done with the face.
I filled in my brows with my Benefit Precisely My Brow pencil in shade 02 and set them with Gimme Brow in shade 01.
For lips, just a swipe of my go-to drugstore nude… Maybelline’s Stormy Sahara!
When I realized how many of my friends were interested in hair extensions, I was actually pretty surprised. I always assumed hair extensions were something that was a bit high maintenance and ‘extra,’ but I have to tell you – I’m now obsessed with them and totally get the hype. For me, the extensions aren’t as much for the length (although who doesn’t love mermaid hair!?) but the volume. I have thick hair naturally, it just is very heavy. Therefore, my hair lays flat unless I do some work to it.
I did a lot of research on hair extension brands; comparing price, quality, reviews and overall website information and felt confident in partnering with Luxy Hair* because they had the best combination of those factors. Luxy hair is 100% Remy Human Hair. You always want Remy hair because it will look and feel the most natural (read more about why Remy hair is important here). It is silky, tangle-free, and thick from top to bottom. Luxy is a direct-to-consumer company… which is a big part of why their extensions were more affordable than other, simliar Remy hair extensions I found. I also spent literal HOURS watching all of the tutorials and helpful videos on Luxy’s site. I really felt I could trust this brand outside of the dozen others YouTubers may recommend (not that they’re bad… I just had to really do my due-diligence here, ya know? Good extensions aren’t cheap.)
If you’re having trouble deciding what color Luxy Hair to get, don’t worry. They will help match you! I was torn between Dirty Blonde and Ash Blonde and my Luxy lady looked at my Instagram and confirmed I’d be best with Ash Blonde, but I’d have to tone the top to match my balayage/ombre. YAY! She was literally SPOT ON. When the hair arrived, the blonde matched my ends exactly. I just went to my local Sally’s and picked up some demi-permanent dye to ombre the top of the extensions (that was a project in itself… for another post).
For this look, I’m wearing the 220 gram (thick… to match my hair texture) Ash Blonde extensions. These are the most expensive, but they have two cheaper (less thick) options if your hair is thinner. Once they were clipped in, all I did was use my standard 1.25″ wand and curled pieces alternating directions – leaving the bottom 2″ out. That is IT! Having so much more hair makes your hair style so much more glamorous without doing anything extra! I’ve been able to wash, straighten and curl this hair and it’s holding up amazingly well and the texture is perfect to my own. My husband was even shocked how naturally the Luxy extensions blended in.
I realized I needed to do an ENTIRE HAIR EXTENSIONS-DEDICATED POST after I did this makeup + hair look. I want to show you all how I dyed them to match my hair, how I clip them in and how I style them. Check back for that coming soon. 🙂
If you are loving the way these extensions look, then I highly encourage you to place your order with Luxy Hair. They even ship worldwide [ yay for my Canadian and UK readers 🙂 ]. Hair extensions like these can cost $300+ (from my research) but Luxy’s are only $129-209 and if you have to DIY dye them like I did, expect to pay another ~$10-15 in supplies from Sally’s. I think it’s totally worth it if you’ve been dying to have thicker, fuller, longer hair. I’m a total convert now! When you’re ready to order your set of Luxy Hair, just use this link and code BRIGHTERDARLING5 at checkout to get $5 off your order.
I hope you all have the best New Year and enjoyed my half drugstore super glam makeup and hair look! I’ll be taking a blogging break through the Christmas week, but will be back on Dec. 28 for a couple quick posts before the holiday weekend.
-Steffanie
