Literature Looks: Hermione Granger

I'm not going to lie. I am a bigger Harry Potter fan than I am of beauty and fashion. LeakyCon is on my bucket list. I'm going as Luna Lovegood for Halloween. The person I like is as big of a fan as I am. So yes, I will be ranting quite a bit.

My thoughts on Hermione:
Hermione is my second favorite character after Luna. She is a strong, independent woman who proves that brains surpass the need to have any sort of man in your life to protect you. I chose a look from Deathly Hallows Part One. Not only will I show her makeup, but I'll give you some ideas on how to do the hair and find some similar dresses. Let's hop right in!

I chose to do a look from Bill & Fleur's wedding. The general idea of the makeup is very casual but flawless. Even though I have three main face primers, I always seem to end up using my Magic-Lumi one in my tutorials! As you probably know it's a fabulous primer, and I love the way it makes my skin look.

Next I wanted to use a very light coverage foundation. It's so light you can still see freckles, like Emma's, but it gives a nice amount of coverage.

Tip: I use a foundation brush from Smashbox as well as a blending sponge. It's important to make foundation natural, which mean blending into your skin and getting rid of foundation lines. After applying it with a foundation brush, clean it up with a blending sponge. You can find sponges at Target or regular drugstores. You've all heard the sayings like "Wear your foundation, don't let the foundation wear you", so here's another one. "Foundation should help you have flawless skin. It shouldn't be the flaw."

Use whatever concealer you think works for you. I use Neutrogena's 3-in-1 concealer for my under eyes and whatever else I have on my skin. Recently I have been using a great new double sided brush from Smashbox to blend concealer.

Now, if your skin is oily or you like using Powder, go ahead and use whatever powder and brush you might need. I'm going to skip it and move right into our eyes!

In the look I went for she is wearing a darker combination of colors, but not a smoky eye. To start off, I used a lid brush to push "Cement" from Bobbi Brown on the inner 3/4 of the eye. It's a basic gray, matte shadow that looks fabulous as an all over the lid color, or you can pair it with a champagne or silvery shadow and put it in the crease. For the crease I want I chose the color "Velvet Plum", also from Bobbi Brown and put it in the outer corner and deep into the crease. Blending it out with a lid brush or a Mac 217 brush is necessary to give it a subtle, soft look.

I chose not to a gel liner on the lid, but instead I picked out my Ulta Liner in Chocolate and Deep Brown. Using the Chocolate end, line your water line & upper tightline. I like using brown instead of black because it's not as harsh and less racoon-y.





To me, mascara is like the finishing touch to an eye look. It makes them pop, look beautiful. It's like the stamp on an envelope or a kiss goodnight. For this look I used Maybelline's Mega Plush mascara.

As for blush, use whatever pink blush suits you the best. I chose ELF's Pink Passion and swirled it onto my cheeks and up towards my temples. Next I used a pale pink lipstick. It's A L'oreal Color Rouge Lip Balm in Cotton Pink, and it's beautiful! Here is our finished look:

 Pretty, right? As for hair, use whatever you think would make your hair that "curly, wavy effect". Here are some tips:

1. Use a small barrel curling iron and curl your hair completely. After spraying hairspray, brush through your hair so you no longer have curls, just waves. Next take two small pieces of hair from the front and pin them to the back of your head.

2. Or you can wash your head, put in two braids and sleep on it. When you wake up, take it out, put whatever product you want in it and hairspray. Pin the pieces back with a clip.

As for the dress, I have some similar products that are just as beautiful!

These two dresses are very modern but have similar necklines to that of Hermione's.

Bloomingdales

Bloomingdales #2

Zappos

For a fancier, more "wedding" version, try this:

Bloomingdales #3

or this:

Bloomingdales #4

Love you guys!

xoxo Anna





My Lipstick Collection!



First off, I want to apologize. I haven't posted in weeks! I've been super busy and I'm finally getting back in the swing. I have my lipstick collection nownand my favorites of July to come soon (I know, I'm only like, a week late) and a new series of tutorials focusing on makeup for characters in literature! You can expect to see tutorials for Luna Lovegood, Katniss Everdeen, Beatrice (from Divergent), Hermione Granger, even Snow White and so much more! If you have any requests, please don't hesitate to tell me  :) I'll take requests in the comments & on my twitter (innerbeautyout1) using the hashtag #BallerinaBeauty.

Let's hop right in!

I have a decent sized lipstick & lip gloss collection. It's more than enough, and I love all of the colors I have! I took a picture of different brands, types and miscellaneous.

Starting off I have my Maybelline Lipsticks. This is and my Covergirl are my biggest collection of their brand.

Starting from the left we have Coral Lustre, which is more brown than coral on camera, then theres Make Me Pink. This is my second Make Me Pink, and I have never repurchased a lip product before in my life. On camera it looks more purple but it's a very pale pink. Moving on there is Warm Me Up, Coral Crush (the prettiest of all of the colors), Born With It and Pink Me Up. I really truly love all of the colors. I would wear Coral Crush the most if I had more confidence to wear it to the grocery store. It's so beautiful on. My swatches are much more representative of these gorgeous colors.

This is my Covergirl collection of lipsticks and these are even more pigmented and beautiful than the Maybelline ones. We have Darling, Enchantress, Siren, Spellbound, Temptress & Delight. My favorites are Enchantress, which is a very pale, lilac-y pink, and Temptress which is a coral/pink color. If you can't already tell, I am a sucker for all things coral!

Now I have my Rimmel Lipsticks. These lipsticks are so pigmented, and beautiful, but I only have three! Actually I have five but I only have three of these Moisture Renew Lipsticks. The ones I have are 235 Pink Star, 220 Pink Chic, and I think the red is Red Alert. Even though I only have three of these, this red is the only red I will use for performances. I have never found anything as perfectly red and has wonderful staying power. On a regular basis I wear Pink Star the most. The best part is? They have SPF 18!

Next up I have my other two Rimmel lipsticks. There are both Lasting Finish Intense Wear Lipsticks in the colors Celeb & Pink Blush. Recently Celeb has become one of my most reached for lip sticks this summer. It's smooth, creamy and a beautiful dark rose color.

As far as Elf products go, their lip products are usually pretty good. I do have a few problems with the glosses. I have my Lip Balm with SPF 15 in Pink, which is good but sort of chunky when it goes on, my Conditioning Balm in Strawberry Creme, which has the same problem, my Lip Stain in Birthday Suit, which I like, a Lucious Liquid Lipstick in Pink Lemonade and a Hypershine Gloss in Flirt. I like these glosses because of the colors but my biggest pet peeve with lip products is they are sticky! D: They feel gross, and not something I want on my lips.

For my Ulta collection, I have not bought any of these seperately. My two silver tube lipsticks (colors Romantic Red and Nude Spice) and my gloss all the way on the right (color is Princess) are from an old makeup set my mom got me years ago that came with a bunch of eyeshadows & blushes and lip products. I like Romantic Red but I will admit to not really using the other two very much. As for the nude lipstick and the lipgloss duo there was a great sale at Ulta where you purchased Ulta products worth $20 and recieved a bag of free Ulta products, including mascara, two eyeshadow palettes, this lipstick, the lipgloss and a lot more! I use the lipgloss duo all the time, and I use the lipstick somewhat often.

Up next is probably the most familiar brand of lipstick to you: Mac! I don't have an extensive collection of these lipsticks but the ones I do have are beautiful and amazing! I have (from left to right as always) Snob, Pink nouveau, Viva glam gaga 2, Blankety, Angel and Hue. I used to have Cream Cup and a few others, but I did not repurchase them as of now. My favorite is easily Pink Noveau, but I've only just bought it so it's not used up as much as the other ones.

I apologize, the swatches are hard to see because I have two balms that are extremely sheer and my nude that is not getting picked up by the camera. This is the first miscellaneous section, and I have L'Oreal, Revlon and an Estee Lauder. My L'Oreal products are my Color Riche Lip Balms in Pink Satin and Rose Elixir, and my lipstick in Tickled Pink. I especially love the Lip Balms because I can pair them over top of a lipstick for moisture and a glossy effect without being ridicuolus. My Revlon Lip Butters are my favorite out of all of these though. I love the colors, and how beautiful they are on. I have Creme Brulee, which is a nude, and Pink Parfait, which is a lovely Peachy pink color. Finally my Estee Lauder lipstick is in Pinkberry. I don't actually use this often but I do like how it looks for performances where I don't use red.

The next micellaneous section is more high end products. I prefer drugstore because of how cheap they are but I do splurge on things like my Mac lipsticks and of course, these! First off is a really pretty Chanel lipstick in Charme. It's a dark pink with a rasberry tint to it. Wow, that didn't make any sense ;). Anyway, I also have my Bobbi Brown lipstick in Pale Pink and my Dior lipstick. I have no clue what the Dior Lipstick is, please forgive me! But it's a pale, peachy pink that comes off almost nude on the hand but very pretty on the lips. Finally I have a Sephora lipstick in Sweet Embrace (this has the most fun packaging- the lid is magnetic!) and I have a BobbI Brown sample lipstick in Sweet Nectar. All beautiful lipsticks!

Our final section is all of my lipglosses and stains that don't fit into any other category! First off is an NYC lipgloss in Prospect Pink. I'll admit I really don't like this. I don't mind the fomulation and everything but the color is way too pale and shimmery and glossy for my liking. The Dior lipgloss is in 116 and I rather like it. Next is a Maybelline Forever Metallics Metal-Shine Lip Color in Blush Beam. This is a really cool product because you can either line your lip with it (it has a really creamy formulation) or you can put it all over your lips like a gloss or a stick. It's really beautiful. I have two stains, both NYC 16 Hr Stains in Champagne Stain and Persistent Pink. They are nice but really drying so you have to wear a chapstick. My last two glosses are my NYX Goddess of the Night gloss in French Kiss and my Bobbi Brown lipgloss in Rosy. I like them both but even though I wear the Bobbi Brown one more (I like the color better), the NYX has a better formulation.

Wow! I'm done! That was a mouthful and I have so many lip products! Remember to subscribe to the blog and comment down below what your favorite brand of lipsticks are! Love you :)

-Anna
xoxo

 



















Summer Intensives- 6 Tips for Preparing and Surviving!

Summer classes & Intensives are always my favorite part of the year. You go into classes and everyone is tan and cheery and you've had a nice break and your ready to get back to work. That is something your teachers will use to their advantage.

They are going to work you hard, but if you follow these suggestions for rest, and beauty, you'll be prepared!

1. A colorful leotard! I've been searching for a really bright, but all I've bought are dark blues, maroons and purples. I'm sure places like 'Discount Dance Supply' or any sort of performance supply store near you.
Find leotards here: http://www.discountdance.com/dancewear/leotards/page1


2. Jet Glue- I can't stress this enough!!! For those who don't know, Jet Glue is for a Pointe Shoes. We all know that pointe shoes are EXPENSIVE! But you can make them last longer by using Jet Glue. Put a little bit on the soft parts of the shoe and let it dry and it'll harden it to make them last longer- a miracle, right? Remember, don't wear them right after glueing! You can find Jet Glue here:
http://www.discountdance.com/dancewear/style_JET764.html?pid=670&Shop=Style&SID=358962549


3. Ice buckets- for your toes! If your toes are killing you one night or at the end of the week, fill a bucket (or a large bowl) with cold water about just under 3/4 full. Then put a few large handfuls of ice into the bucket. Brace yourself- it will be cold! But it'll make your toes feel much better and hurt less. Band-Aids and Neosporin help too......

Ice picture from:
http://www.layoutsparks.com/pictures/ice-0

4. Crunches- I know what your thinking. Crunches? Really? I though this was supposed to be enjoyable! Well, as annoying as crunches are, they are brilliant for engaging and toning your core, which is obviously a huge deal when it comes to dance. They might hurt but they pay off in the long run! For those who are un-familiar with crunches, you start out on your back with your feet near your behind, like sit-up position. Instead of going all the way up to your knees, instead put your hand on your ears and go only partially off the floor without taking your lower back off.

5. Drink lots of water! The summer heat is undeniable but it can be overcome with a lot of water. Don't get dehydrated at any point during the summer, whether your dancing or not. A fun and motivating way to keep drinking is to get a reusable, personal and fun cup to refill with water!

6. Finally, don't focus ALL your energy on dance. Save most of your energy, but get out and have fun! Once Intensives are over go on vacation, hang out with friends, head to the pool! Nothing helps you survive a tough week like a swim, a tall glass of lemonade and your best friends!

Stay safe and have fun over the summer! If you have any requests or questions please tell me in the comments or tweet me on Twitter @innerbeautyout1!

Xoxo
Anna

Summer Intensity- A Tutorial

A few nights ago I was asked by some friends to go see a fireworks show. Not only were the fireworks spectacular and we jumped in the pool right afterwards, but I was the most pleased I've ever been with my makeup. So, I'm going to post my first non-performance related tutorial on this blog. But, to set the mood, listen to this song while reading the tutorial!



1. I started off by priming my face with L'Oreal Paris Magic Lumi Face Primer. This is a great nighttime primer because it gives a soft light illusion and is very pretty under any type of lighting.

2. I don't like using foundation during the summertime, because I feel like summer should be about natural skin and less cakey. I picked up my first BB Cream for this summer, and it is L'Oreal Paris's BB Cream. I wear the shade "Light", because even though it looks extremely pale, I goes on the skin a bit darker. I applied this all over my face with a foundation brush.

3. To cover up my dark circles and the redness around my nose, I'm going to use Neutrogena's 3-in-1 Concealer in the shade "Fair". I actually really like this concealer. I used to use my Nars Stick Concealer but I've slowly been realizing that I prefer liquid concealers. I bought this in Target and I really like it. As for coverage I think it provides a good amount and will work for most skin types.



4. I went onto to use my Mac Mineralized Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle. With a Mac 100 brush I brushed it on to the tops of my cheekbones to create a sort of sculpted effect. It's very shimmery and catches the lights so it looks gorgeous as a highlighter.

5. Next I wanted a very suddle pink blush on because the eyes and the highlighter were so shimmery. I picked out my ELF Studio Blush in Pink Passion and used my Sonia Kashuk Blush Brush on the apples of my cheeks.





6. The fun part is the eyes, at least, in my opinion. I went for a shimmery silver, and gold look. Starting off with a lid color, I picked out this color from the Bobbi Brown Palette I have. (Names are slipping my mind). I believe the palette was the "On the Go" palette that came free with purchases over $50 or something. This is the top left-hand color. It's a white-gold shimmery color that looks beautiful on and it's very easy to work with.

7. Next I took a Sonia Kashuk pencil brush and in the crease I put on a color from NYC's Individual Eyes Palette in Union Square. I used the shimmery (I swear, everything I use in this tutorial is shimmery) dark brown color. I put quite a bit of this color in the crease because when I blend it out it'll look smooth but defined. And yes, I know the primer and illuminating highlighter part of the palette are pretty....gross. When I blend it out I'm going to use a flat lid brush.





8. With a dense little brush from Sonia Kashuk I took yet another shimmery Individual Eyes color, except from the Smokey Browns Palette. It's the silver highlighter color and I'm in LOVE with this color. It's ridicuously beautiful. With the dense brush I'm pressing the color into my lower lash line. It's a real cool effect to get a smokey look and very..chic.



9. To darken up the look, I'm bringing in one of my favorite gel eyeliners: Bobbi Brown's Black Ink. A medium to thick line will do the trick, and I did wing it out a teeny bit.

10. Now to "seal the deal", curl your lashes and use your favorite mascara!

11. To finalize the look, I wanted a nude lip. Nude lips are tricky for me because with minimal makeup it makes me look washed out, and it has to be the perfect nude lip. This seemed like a dark enough tutorial for a modern nude lip, so I went with my Revlon Lip Butter in Creme Brulee. It's one of my two favorite nude lipsticks- that, and the Mac Lady Gaga Lipstick.

And we are done!