I started a new YouTube channel for the Ruth Lee Diary!

You can check out my first video HERE!

In this blog post, I am going to go a little more into detail on this video!

And if you’re ready to get your FREE Mieoko Kabuki Brush (A $24 value! Just pay shipping!) Click HERE!

Step One: Fresh Face

It makes sense, right? You want to have the best possible canvas for your make-up. There is no sense in spending money on quality make-up products, if you abuse your skin! This year, one of my goals was to really focus on baby-ing my skin.

I really recommend the brand OleHenriksen for skin products! If you’re not sure where to start, look into the Three Little Wonders set here.

It includes:

– 1 oz/ 30 mL Truth Serum
– 1 oz/ 30 mL Sheer Transformation Perfecting Moisturizer
– 1 oz/ 30 mL Invigorating Night Transformation Gel

Together, I noticed a HUGE difference in my skin’s brightness, firmness, and smoothness! I also adore the Power Peel system from OleHenriksen if you are looking for an at-home facial with impressive results!

And, the obvious but often forgotten: don’t sleep in your make-up.

Listen, I hear you. I used to be, unfortunately, notorious at breaking this rule. I try and keep a pack of facial wipes near my nightstand in case of emergencies! In worst case scenarios, this is by far better than nothing!

OK, now that we have the basics down, let’s continue!

Step Two: Foundation

In this particular video, I am using Laura Mercier Flawless Fusion Ultra-Longwear Foundation.

TIP: If you notice, the color is quite a bit different than my face’s skin color in the video. That is because… I spray tan. When you spray tan, your face is often the first place that your tan fades from! I like to keep several shades on hand, because honestly, I never know what color is going to match best! This shade is really tan, but it best matched my freshly-sprayed body. And even for people who naturally get more tan in the Summer, your foundation shade will change!

As I say in the video, I like to apply the foundation on my face in five spots- on my forehead, on my chin, on each cheek, and on my nose. A little goes a long way; especially if you have a quality foundation AND foundation brush. I always like to find cheaper make-up products when I can, however, foundation is one that I think is OK to splurge on.

Make-up brushes- now those can get expensive! In my personal collection, I have a varying degree of costs for my brushes! If you’ve looked, then you know. It can get ridiculous! So, I am here to ease the burden of the insanity!

I saw an ad for a Free Kabuki brush (just pay shipping) and I figured it was worth a shot! I paid a few dollars, and to my great surprise, I received my brush a couple of days later!

It’s called the Mieoko Kabuki Brush, and at the time I am writing this blog, you can get yours for FREE as well, click here!!

I am not sure how long this will go on, so I would probably recommend doing this sooner than later!

Anyways, I was really surprised by the quality of this brush. It is a flat-top brush with really high density bristles. This is perfect for medium to heavy coverage- and with the right application, you will get really pretty, flawless and EVEN coverage!

In the video you will be able to see how I “buff” the foundation- these means using really precise and circular motions of the brush to blend the foundation into my skin.

Step Three: Cream Contour

For the past few months, I have been falling in love with the Graftobian HD Glamour Creme Super Palette in Cool. This has a pretty hefty price tag, but for good reason. I have yet to encounter another creme palette that has such an incredible combination of blendability and pigmentation. If you are a MUA, you need this! I actually found out they use this exact palette on TV and Movie sets, and I can see why. If you can’t fork out the money for the whole palette, they also have smaller palettes on their website! Again, I really love to find drugstore products, but if you are looking for a quality and lasting product for your make-up kit, here you go!

In the video, I showed you where I put my light shades for the contour (I use the lightest shade in my kit, buff)- Under my eyes, on my forehead, on my chin, the bridge of my nose, and a little on my upper lip.

To apply this particular formula, I prefer to use my fingers. It is just really precise, and the warmth of your fingertips will allow a really smooth transition from palette to face. Then, I blend it with the Mieoko Kabuki Brush. (I love this brush for blending my contour!)

For the dark shades, I use a combination of Butterscotch and Auburn. I apply this on the outside of my forehead, my cheek bones, on each side of the bridge of my nose, and a little to accent my chin.

LOCK that contour in with some of favorite magic powder- Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder. You can’t go wrong with this stuff, folks! It leaves your skin matte and perfected. By the way, this formula is flashback free, which means your selfies will not suffer!

Step Four: DRAMA

To amp up the contour, and also assist in a more seamless look, I have a few tips. I apply bronzer as you normally would- accenting the places on your face where the sun would naturally shine on you. Your cheeks, nose, forehead. I use Urban Decay’s Beached Bronzer. This is a really nice shade, and doesn’t have any glitter or shine to it.

I also like to touch up with a little powder contour. Que one of my favorite drugstore products- e.l.f. contour palette. I love this because we are just accenting the creme contour, so you really don’t need to over-do it with an expensive powder palette. This one works beautifully for me! Just lightly go over the dark contour that you did previously with the creme palette!

Step Five: HIGHLIGHT, YASSSS!

I can’t even begin to express how the act of highlighting my face has genuinely changed my life. For real! I go from tired, flat, yaaaawn momma to unicorn-fairy-princess momma!

The beauty of highlight is that you are allowed to go as natural or as YAS-QUEEN as you want! So, don’t be afraid!

I show you my love of Marc Jacob’s Coconut Dew Drops Gel Highlight in my video. I have also swatched this on my Instagram if you need to see how dreamy it is! You can achieve the most natural of glows with this product, or build it up for more glow! It is a breeze to blend! Oh, and yes, it smells like heavenly coconut. Need I say more?

Also, where you choose to highlight is totally up to you! The tops of your cheeks are pretty key! I also like to dust the bridge of my nose, a little on my forehead, and again, a little on my upper lip!

OK and real talk, if I was left on a deserted island and had only one make-up item with me, I would choose Diorskin Nude Air Luminizing Powder.

I am 100% in love with this product. I can’t express how passionately I feel about this. It is the epitome of perfection. If words like: radiant, luminous, iridescent, and glowing are how you want to describe your face- BUY THIS. NOW. I top off my highlight with this and that’s it. There’s nothing else you could add to your face to top this. You’re done!

This is definitely not my “every-day” face routine, but if you want a really pretty, glowy, and contoured look for the Summer- this is it.

If you pretties have any questions, ASK ME!

Thank you so much for supporting me and my blog and NOW my YouTube Channel! ❤

xoxox,

Ruth Lee

Let’s talk hair.

I would consider myself some type of hair extension connoisseur. Since my first set at age 18, I have tried just about everything (Bellami, Luxy Hair, Foxy Locks, Tape in Hair, etc.)… Clip In Hair Extensions are my go-to! I love the versatility that is possible with clip ins. You don’t have to have them in 24/7. There are also tricks to get them into ponytails, buns, and braids- which is easier than other types of more permanent extensions.

I initially heard about the Zala Hair company FOREVER ago, and finally just pulled the plug and purchased a set from them.

Zala is a hair company based out of Australia. http://www.zalacliphairextensions.com.au/

Their Clip In line currently ranges from 16″ to 30″. They also offer tape in extensions! It always makes me nervous to order internationally, however I received my extensions one week from the day I ordered them, so- pretty quick! It even arrived one day earlier than the tracking estimated.

Here is what I received in my parcel! The Clip In Range booklet was really cute and includes care tips, before & afters, color range, install how-to, and more! I think this would be REALLY helpful if this was the first time you bought extensions!

They also included a free matte lipstick, which was a nice surprise! I haven’t tried it yet, but it was a cute touch.

I ordered the 100& Remy 24″ inch 5 Piece 130g set in the shade Ice Queen Platinum Blonde #60.

It is the lightest blonde that Zala offers, featuring an ashy tone. Zala has lots of pictures and videos to help you find extensions that will match your hair! And they also offer a color matching service on their website!

**ALSO, I ALWAYS look for coupon codes before I buy ANYTHING! I found coupon codes on instagram before I bought, which saved me a couple bucks! I highly recommend you do the same!

I have not toned the hair at all; however, I plan to. It doesn’t exactly match my hair yet, and because this is 100% Human hair, you can dye/tone it. Although I highly recommend BABYING your hair extensions, and doing as little as possible to them!

Here are my feelings from the initial un-boxing;

I LOVE this hair. 24″ is the LONGEST hair I have ever had. So, I feel like a mermaid-fairy-princess. I’m obsessed! The hair quality feels amazing. It is super soft! To find BLONDE hair extensions that feel this great, is essentially like striking gold. So, I am very happy.

The shade was really great in my opinion. I will have to tone the hair, but I think it will be fairly simple to get them how I want them. (And I expected to tone them from the get-go.) Most brands that offer a platinum blonde typically feature a strong YELLOW tone, and these did not have that! So that is a plus in my book.

MY ONLY CON is that this set is not enough hair, volume-wise. I bought the smaller gram 5 piece set in hope that it would be enough. It was a risk and honestly, I was doubtful it would be enough from the start. I was HOPING though, because my goal was to save money! (I paid a total of $149.30 SHIPPED with my coupon code, which is AWESOME for this hair.)

It doesn’t look bad necessarily, but I really prefer a look with more volume. So, I plan on investing in additional grams from Zala, so I can complete the look that I want!

Thanks for reading,

XX,

Ruth.

Tag: Beauty Blog

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