Fall Auburn Eye Tutorial!

New video is up on my channel for a darker auburn/brown/sparkly everything awesome eye look!
I got the hang of the editing process a little faster than the first video, but still shaky on the talking in front of the camera! It'll get better eventually!! Thank you to anyone who takes the time to watch these :)

<3 abbeygail

Fall Favorites for 2013

Every one of us can agree that fall is one of the best seasons. Leaves changing colors, regular temperatures, cozy outfits, and of course Halloween! :) Fall is by far my favorite season just for the atmosphere of it all. Crisp and comforting. So here are my favorites of the beginning of fall so far! All of these products can be found at any Sephora and Ulta :)

I will first start off with the face! I have been loving the whole matte, pale, yet fresh looking face for the fall season. I purchased NYX HD Concealer in the lightest shade they have. This concealer is wonderful! As light as it is, it definitely does the trick and covers any redness or blemishes the skin has.

To add the "matte" look to the face and yet give it the definition it needs, Maybelline has a gorgeous line of blushes titled "Fit Me!" I choose the dullish pink for blush, and a more matte taupe color for a bronzer. The lighter bronzer will give off not a strong tan color like a summer look would call for.

Next onto the eyes! My hands down favorite colors to use in September have been from my Sephora palette called Primal Instincts. This palette has gorgeous light golden colors, pinks, and even some darker purples.

 I've also loved using my Naked Basics palette to add some highlighting to my brow and inner corners of the eye. This palette is also great for just a simple eye when you want to use a bold lip color, which we will move on to next...!

Bold, dark lips are in my opinion the BEST for the fall! :) My favorite color so far is the Kate line from Maybelline in 107. This color is a deep brick red and is perfect for this weather and of course will be wonderful for Christmas here in a couple months! The lipstick stays on really well and doesn't smudge off when you drink or eat! Highly recommend it :)

 Another current obsession is NYX butter gloss. These glosses are so yummy!! They taste and smell delicious, like donuts or a sweet pastry and they glide on without being sticky! They have a good assortment of colors, the two pictured are Peach Cobbler (top) and Creme Brulee (bottom). Both are great as just a regular coat of gloss or add a lipstick underneath to make it even better!

Another eye favorite is NYX roll on shimmer. I just found these at a trip to Ulta and decided to try them out. They are just wonderful!!! You can easily use them as just the eye shadow or to add on top to another color of a shadow for a more intense look! I will definitely do some tutorials on these two. The two pictured are Chestnut (left) and Salmon (right).

 Now on to nails! For fall I am obsessed with very dark shades of colors, but even more so with reddish browns and purples. I think they have such a romantic, dark look and are a great fit for the fall atmosphere!:) Pictured in the top, is Sephora's nail polish. This color is a deep purple, that is a little red tinted. The polish pictured below it is a dark red mixed with browns. This by far is my favorite polish so far this fall! Another color I loveeeee is navy blue. I believe navy blue is great during any season, but it sticks out in my mind a lot more in fall and winter. I picked up this Essie polish at Ulta and boy did it fit my craving for dark blues!

 I am so excited to be actually keeping up with this blog and soon to be uploading more YouTube Videos! If you haven't seen my very first video (excuse the awkwardness) the link is in the last post! :) I will be uploading a lot more things once I get the handle on how to actually make videos and not sound completely strange. But thank you to who ever is reading this! Beauty is a passion of mine that I have finally figured out how to express and it is one of the best feelings in the world! <3 abbeygail

YouTube Channel: Up & At Em!!!

My first YouTube video is up and running!!! It is a back to school, very quick tutorial for reasons including me trying to figure out how everything works on the website. I felt so incredibly awkward on camera for the first time, but after editing and working with it awhile, I began to actually enjoy it!
All the links for the products are in the description and my other links as well! Look out for more (and way better done) makeup tutorials and hair tutorials as well!

Excuse the lovely thumbnail and awkward mouth hanging open as I do my makeup. Like I said, I'm still learning.

<3 abbeygail

My Day at Warped Tour 2013! Best Day Ever :)

Anyone who has been to Vans Warped Tour knows the feel of the sun crisping your skin, your heart pumping from the beat of drums, and the excitement of seeing your favorite people perform all day long. You would also recognize the sights of smiles from ear to ear, hugs galore, some insane outfits and hairdos, and most of all tattoos! :) To each and every fan who attends one of the many shows, the feeling of belonging and welcome is almost overwhelming.
I attended the Cincinnati, Ohio show on July 30th at Riverbend Music Center. This was my second year at the show and I couldn't be more excited! I will say that 2012's line up had a lot more bands that I was interested in (Breathe Carolina, All Time Low, For Today, Pierce The Veil, & Taking Back Sunday), but this year because we knew what to expect, my cousin and I were able to take our time and just enjoy the day more!

Many stories were to be told after this amazing day at Warped Tour! Pictures go from left to right :)

The entry process was borderline confusing...parking was a pain, the workers at Riverbend didn't really know where to send us because of all the construction and we got pointed in about 3 different directions. Once finding a parking spot, we got up to the front of the building where a line was already forming. I forgot to mention that my cousin and I woke up around 5:30 am to leave at 6 am. We live about an hour and a half away from Cincy and we wanted to make sure we got in at the beginning! Doors opened at 11:30, we arrived at 8:30, and there was already about 20 people in front of us!! 

Feed Our Children Now is a non profit organization that collects canned goods at each of the shows. The program raises food to donate to children from low income families to better their future. Such an amazing organization also gives out a Skip the Line wristband for anyone who donates! So that is what we did! Granted I would have given my whole pantry even if we didn't get the wristbands, it is just too nice of an opportunity to help someone :) Here's the link if you are interested in donating!

http://feedourchildrennow.org/ 

We were one of the first 200 people let in (therefore Vans gave us a free wallet and sunglasses!) and they actually started letting the Skip the Line people in around 10:30, which was awesome for us to go grab our meet and greet passes and any merch we wanted! Now, at Warped Tour people hand off free stuff to you like it's a weird Christmas. I got 5 bags just for visiting tents, signing up for newsletters, or purchasing merch. My Breast Day Ever bag was for buying 2 "I <3 Boobies" bracelets (and I was one of the first 50 people to do so) at the Keep A Breast tent. I was given the Spotify bag (and sunglasses) for just having my picture taken!

                                                

Excuse the awkward posing, I had no idea what to do. 

Now onto the whole point as we all attend this great day- the music!!! 

The main band we wanted to see this year was Sleeping With Sirens and we did! Amazing set and great guys, we were able to get autographs and say hi to them. For being one of the last 480 people they had to sign for at their tent, the guys were still smiling as ever and happy to talk and say hi to us. 

Another band we love, Goldhouse, played an amazing set! It was so energized and fun! After the show, we went to the merch tent and Grant was there signing stuff, but only about 5 people were there! So I bought his $5 CD and had him sign it. He was such a sweetheart and really took his time to talk to us. He thanked us for dancing up in the stands, that he remembered us and gave me a hug and took a picture! :)

In conclusion, Warped Tour 2013 was an amazing experience and will be great memories for years to come! I understand why so many kids of all ages come out to enjoy the music, but it really is so much more than that. Every one of us is different. At Warped Tour, not one person looks the same, and we are able to embrace our weirdness to the world. No one judges, no one stares. It is one of the most carefree, warm hearted places on this planet and I cannot wait to go back next year!! :)

I do plan on making a video eventually about how to prepare for Warped Tour (what to bring etc.) and special things to do! I hope you guys enjoyed reading this!

<3 abbeygail

Natural Hair Care Challenge: 1 Month Update!

One month down with the natural challenge! Here's just my review over the first month!
In one of my last posts I talked about the coconut oil and honey hair mask that I had tried out. Now, I really did enjoy the smell and the smoothness of the mask while my hair was in it and right after I rinsed it out, BUT I do not think I washed all of the mixture out... Therefore my hair became very greasy and started to smell horrid. Not to get absolutely vulgar, but it smelled like vomit. Now, it could have been from the mix or it could have been the smell of my natural scalp oils fighting for what they are normally used to (shampoo and conditioner), which I had not used for about 4-5 days. Conclusion: not gonna try that hair mask again, or if I do, wash my hair very very thoroughly.

On the 8th day of this journey, I could not stand my hair anymore. I was washing my hair with just water either once a day or once every two days, but still that putrid smell would not go away and the texture was so greasy that it almost reached my ends of my hair from my scalp. Disgusting, right? So I gave in and washed my hair with shampoo, Aussie deep conditioning on the ends, and finished with a conditioner.
When my hair dried and I tried to style it and such the next day, my scalp was very itching and dry. So much so that it looked like I had dandruff. By this point, I want to rip all my hair out. It was not doing anything I wanted or expected it to do!

So from then on, I knew I had to just keep going! I continued with just washing my hair with hot water once a day or every two days. My hair would still get kind of greasy fast, so I would just rinse it with the hot water. On the 19th day of the journey, I went to a water park for the day with my boyfriend and his family. Chlorine is NOT fun for hair follicles. I feel like its just getting them drunk...in the water your hair feels kind of soft and nice and then when it dries..its just dehydrated and bloated. Therefore, after all that fun in the sun, I washed my hair with the shampoo, deep conditioning treatment, and conditioner. My scalp, yet again, felt dry, flaky, and quite itchy.

Now for the rest of the month, I did not use shampoo or conditioner! Yay! :) I did however use the Aussie Deep Conditioning treatment and the Ion Effective Hair Care treatment on my ends in the shower. I would then proceed to comb my hair through with a wide-toothed comb, and rinse with very hot water.

Sally's Beauty Supply: approx. $12

Sally's Beauty Supply: approx $2-4 (can get in package of 2)

After my shower, I would put in the Aussie Split End Protector on my ends, which is a MIRACLE worker, I swear! I would then spray a leave in conditioner all throughout my hair, and run a wide toothed comb through my hair, adding dangler if needed.

Every two days or so when my hair would start to feel greasy, I would spray my hair with a dry shampoo. Now I had never used a dry shampoo before so I purchased Salon Graphics and started using that. I liked it, but then got a hold of the Suave and just loved it! The smell is amazing and so is the work it does!

At the end of the month this is what my hair looked like! I had gotten about 2 inches cut off at the start of the month, and I'm convinced that the 2 inches plus some more grew back in just a month! I did use heat on my hair, not as much as usual, but every time used a protection spray. In the pictures my hair is straightened, but it definitely looks and feels so much healthier than it did! 

Thank you so much for reading and leave any questions or comments!:)

I will update on the second month and be posting a lot more blogs and hopefully YouTube videos soon!

<3 abbeygail

Yummy Breakfast For On The Go!

Not everyone gets up at the crack of dawn and throws some bacon slices and eggs on a sizzling pan, toasts some bread or pours a bowl of crunchy cereal. Most of the time, people don't even think to eat a breakfast because of how late they are running or how it makes them feel. I personally don't eat breakfast often at all. It makes my stomach upset and/or it makes me eat more during the day. I have no clue why I feel the need to snack more on days where I have a decent breakfast, but it doesn't help me in my quest to a better body.
For my job, I open up our store a lot of times. Tomorrow being one of those days, I decided to pack my lunch, as I usually do, and share it with everyone! I have learned that packing your lunch at night before you go to bed is MUCH more beneficial than rushing and just throwing junk into a brown bag in the morning...just because you may be running late.
On to the topic of this post! A recipe for on the go! While I was packing my lunch I found some fruits and other yummy things that we had just purchased and decided to try something new!
I call it.... The Strawberry Banana Bagel!
This took me about 3 minutes to make (10 minutes in real life because I'm an obsessive photo taker).
All you need is: 1 mini bagel (or larger bagel if you prefer), cream cheese (I prefer the light Philadelphia), strawberries and bananas.

This snack 4 has steps. (Too easy!)
1. Smear about a teaspoon of cream cheese all over each side of the bagel.
2. Cut up strawberries into slices and place them on one side of the bagel.
3. Cut up a banana into slices and place on the other slice of bagel.
4. Put the top of the bagel on top and smush together! Waaaa-la!

1 tbsp of the low fat Philadelphia cream cheese is approx. 30 calories (Google).
1 mini bagel (white bread) is approx. 120 calories, depending on the brand you get.
Strawberries and bananas have lower calories because they're fruit, but watch out because even though they are fruits with lots of vitamins, they have a lot of natural sugars, which consuming too much is just like taking in processed sugars. So rounding a little, you're looking at about a snack around 180-200 calories, depending on your bagel and how much cream cheese you put on..not bad considering the worse things you could eat for breakfast! (Plus no grease!)
Hope you guys enjoy this little on the go snack or breakfast! I took a pic of the rest of the lunch I packed for my shift tomorrow at work:

If you can't tell I'm on a health kick right now, which I will be writing about more and more! Thanks for reading and hopefully trying out the snack! Adieu :)

A Natural Hair Mask! Coconut Oil and Honey

Ello!

Tonight I decided to try a little special something for my locks.

After hours of Pinterest-ing, I finally found a recipe that I actually had the ingredients in my kitchen.

The hair mask I chose included coconut oil and honey! Two simple products you can pick up at any grocery store in no time. The instructions said to mix together 1 tbsp of coconut oil and 1 tbsp of honey into a small sauce pan on very low heat. As soon as I put the oil in, it started to pop and fly up at me....so I highly suggest putting in the honey first. After heating it, I poured the mixture into a coffee mug. I brushed my hair out thoroughly and started rubbing the substance all over my hair. I recommend trying to avoid the scalp, because the mask is aimed towards helping with dry ends. At one point I just dipped my ends into the coffee mug and worked the mix upwards. As soon as I covered all the hair, I left it sit for about 30-40 minutes.
The smell is pretty good, but after awhile it started to get a little old... after the time limit, I jumped in the shower and washed it out as much as I possibly could! The directions did say to wash with your favorite conditioner afterwards, but since I am trying to not put anything extra with chemicals in my hair, I just rinsed and rinsed until I could rinse no more!

It has been about 4 hours since I did the treatment and my hair feels marvelous! It really does make it feel soft and the ends are not drying out as fast as they usually do. My hair does feel a little rough/sticky..like I still have honey left somewhere in my hair, so next time I will most likely rinse with a conditioner, but all in all I very much like this hair mask and recommend at least trying it once!

Adieu! <3