Beauty By Krystal: Top 10 Posts of 2011!

I thought it would be interesting to share my top read blog posts of this entire year. It still blows my mind how many Google searches get directed to my reviews, but I'm oh-so-grateful because I've gained a lot of loyal subscribers this way.

Here's a screen shot of the Stats tab on my Blogger:

If you are interested in checking each one out, I'll include a screen shot below that will direct you to the blog post when clicked on.

ELF Essentials Lipstick - May 2011

ELF Essentials Lipstick

E.L.F. Essentials Luscious Liquid Lipstick

ELF Mineral Lipstick

Krystal's March Birchbox Review

Krystal's July Birchbox Review!

Benefit They're Real! Mascara

Krystal's September Birchbox Review!

ELF Studio Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20

Pandora Jewelry

Guest Blogger Friday: Lunacy & Best Wishes

This week's guest blogger is Gigi from Lunacy & Best Wishes - be sure to check out her links below to see more of her work

BLOG: http://www.lunacyandbestwishes.blogspot.com

3 Variations Of My Everyday Makeup Look

By Gigi over at lunacyandbestwishes.blogspot.com

On a busy day, or when I’m just being lazy, I have a go-to makeup look that can easily be upgraded from a simple daytime look, to a nighttime look, and then into something more dramatic. I think these are great looks for makeup newbies and anyone who doesn’t have a lot of patience. Let’s get started!

The first thing I did was my regular moisturizer, primer, foundation, and concealer routine.

Next, I used my Clinique eye shadow duo in “posh squash.” I applied the orange/nude shade across my entire eyelid, followed by the chocolate brown shade on the outer v of my eye. I used a cream color (seen on the upper left of the makeup palette above) on the inner corner of my eyes and along the brow bone.

I followed that with a bit of black eyeliner and two coats of my favorite mascara.

This is the final look for my eyes, for the daytime look. I think it’s still glamorous while being subtle.

To complete the look I use a berry pink blush (the upper middle of the palette) and a touch of Sally Hanson Lip Inflation gloss in “Sheer Cherry.”

Voila! A super simple daytime look, that (after some practice) only takes a few minutes.

It is really simple to take this look from day to night. The first step is that I lined my upper and lower waterlines with black eyeliner. Since I’m out of red lipstick at the moment, I colored in my lips with red lip liner, followed by lip balm.

This is my simple go-to nighttime look. It’s not too complicated and takes less than a minute. Next is a more dramatic look which I love to do when going out to the club!

First, I added A LOT of white shimmer powder to my eyes under the brow bone. I say the more glitter the better! Next I used some long false lashes. On a side note-I liked these Revlon falsies, but the “No Glue Required” is a total lie!

And this is my final dramatic makeup look.

What I like about these looks is that they can be easily adapted to different skin tones and your favorite brands of makeup. It’s also fun to play around with different eye shadow techniques and with matte products or ones with extra shimmer. So if you’re short on time, just try one of these makeup looks and I’m sure it’ll make your day just a little bit easier.

If you are interested in being a Guest Blogger on Beauty By Krystal - apply on my Facebook page under the tab Become A Guest Blogger!

New Year's Eve Tag!

My girl, Nancy-Lee over at FashionCHICsta, created this New Year's Eve tag this week. If you read my Holiday Tag, then you might know I LOVE doing tags!

I copy/pasted her lovely tag, so if you are interested in doing this tag as well, please be sure to link/credit it back to FashionCHICsta.

Plus, I'm sure she'd love to read your answers, so head over to her New Year's Eve Tag post and leave a link/URL to your tag post so she can check it out.

Check out her answers here: http://fashionchicsta.blogspot.com/2011/12/new-years-eve-tag.html

When it comes to NYE do you makes plans / reservations or do you just wing it?

If I go out NYE, I'll plan on going to a party or meeting friends at a bar/club. But, once those original plans start to get old or boring (which they tend to do), we begin calling/texting other people to see where they're at and what's going done on their end. NYE can take me to multiple parties and spots, but they are always full of friends and fun!

What are your plans for this New Years Eve?

Well, being 30weeks pregnant aka 7 1/2 months pregnant, I'm not in the partying mood... we're planning on lounging around at home, maybe have some wine, snack on popcorn and cookies and watch the New Year's festivities on TV.

Whether it's a night on the town or a night in, do you get glam?

Going out - I always have to glam it up - NYE or not! haha, I'm a makeup addict, of course I glam up every chance I get!

But, staying in, I probably will be sporting my go-to nighttime moisturizer, Eucerin Dry Skin Therapy Original Moisturizing Creme (I might just curl my lashes and rock some Wild Rose Korres Lip Butter too)

Found a makeup photo from NYE 2009 (I always forget to photograph myself on NYE, haha)

Shimmer shadows are from my MAC Fafi palette, lashes were most likely Mod Lash, brow highlight was MAC Brule, foundation was probably Neutrogena Healthy Skin liquid foundation in something Honey (might be Toasted Honey) with Neutrogena Healthy Skin Loose Powder in Medium (my go-to powder!)

Do you have any New Years Eve traditions?

Um... lol, drink? Haha! I'm not a lush, but usually my NYE's are for letting loose and enjoying my time out with my friends. I don't really have any traditions though... OH! I guess, one would be getting ready with my BFF - doing our hair and makeup while listening to music and getting pumped up for the night's festivities.

Did you make a resolution entering 2011 and did you stick to it?

2011 was the first year I made any type of new year's resolution, and it wasn't all that serious either... just an idea I had that I ended up sticking to all year long. You might have seen this on my Twitter already, but my 2011 resolution was to start up my beauty blog and keep up with it all year long. This was a huge deal to me because I had no idea how to blog or where to blog. It was a brand new thing to me, and I found my way through the web to create my own blog and how to become a part of this amazing online beauty community. I never would have foreseen myself as a blogger - or even sharing my beauty obsession with the world, but I'm glad I did it.

Are you making a resolution(s) for 2012?

I wasn't planning on it, but a few of my blog related goals for next year include finding new ways to be a part of the online beauty community. I have a few personal goals for next year; learning to parent two children, completing little DIY projects in our new home to upgrade it a bit, finding a way to use my crafty skills to make money while being a stay at home mother, and a few more goals I can't think of at the moment (I should probably write these down).

A few of my crafts (DIY baby room decorations - these were made in 2010)

How do you plan on being successful with your 2012 resolutions?

I think so. I usually set realistic goals for myself, and I discuss it with BF so that he can give me his opinions on how attainable my goals really are. When there's someone supporting you the whole way, your confidence sky rockets and it's so much easier to accomplish things - plus when you get proud of yourself, they are proud of you too.

All the accomplishments I've made with my blog and websites, I share them with BF and he's always so happy and proud of all the work I put into my project(s). Even when I hit a new level of subscribers, he's right there to say good job and feel just as excited and grateful as I do!

Do you get 'healthy' with the New Year?

Haha, nope! I'm anti-diet. I believe in being conscious of what you eat, make good choices, stay active (even if you're just going on walks, or putting in some time on your Wii Fit), don't overdue your indulgences and have fun with your flavors. The more flavorful your food is - most likely it's healthier than the bland/beige foods you get from drive-thrus.

What was your greatest success of 2011?

Aside from learning to be a parent (and excelling at it! LOL), I think my main success of 2011 is my online life. I started 2011 with a personal Facebook page (that I rarely even visited) and I'm ending 2011 with a couple of blogs that people actually read, a YouTube channel that people actual watch, a Facebook fan page that I'm addicted to, a Twitter account that I drown with randomness, and a handful of beauty websites that I have become a loyal member to. I've built new relationships, new friendships, and met people from all over the world that share the same interests and loves as I do! My greatest success of 2011 is being brave enough to put myself out here.

Madilyn - February 2011

Did you learn from a challenge that will make you stronger for the coming year?

This year was actually the first year of my entire life that I wasn't struggling with drama or hardships. I wasn't sad about my life or situation. I wasn't pep-talking myself everyday to be strong and stick it out, hoping for good Karma to come my way sooner than later. 2011 was the best year in full - from start to finish it has been all blessings for me and my family. I'm beyond grateful for everything because I have literally dealt with more than one person should have to in their first 25yrs of life.

What are you hoping 2012 brings?

I'm hoping to stay on this good path, maintain the positiveness that is surrounding our family.

Do you kiss at midnight, even if it's a stranger?

YES! Haha, I always have to have a New Year's kiss! Even if I'm single, I'm grabbing a friend and puckering up - no strangers though, that's just a little awkward to me, lol ;)

HAPPY NEW YEAR'S!

haha, that's my kissy face!

Thank you to Nancy-Lee over at FashionCHICsta!

Orly Chocolate Martini

A little background:
In my latest Ulta shopping spree, I picked up 9 mini Orly polishes during Ulta's B2G1FREE sale. These minis are priced at $3.50 each and have .18 oz. of product inside. Ever since I received mini Zoya polishes in my Birchboxes, I have been preferring the smaller polish bottles because to-date, I have never finished off a full size bottle of polish. I know these bottles will last me a long time, considering I gain new polishes every month, I rarely wear a polish twice in a month (or even twice in a year for some polishes in my collection).

Orly Chocolate Martini
Transdesign.com says this polish is a glitter polish, although it's so micro that I would have just called it a metallic polish. Surprisingly, Chocolate Martini is not chocolately at all, more of a warm golden bronze. Yes, a GOLDEN BRONZE! At different angles this color changes between gold and bronze, it's amazingly gorgeous! I'm not normally one for metallics, but because this shade doesn't hold to one color it doesn't have that pure metallic effect that I find boring in so many metallic polishes out there.

Base Coat: CND Stickey Base Coat
Top Coat: CND Super Shiney Top Coat
Cuticle Oil: ELF Essentials Nourishing Cuticle Pen

Shopping - I-Candy Couture

A few weeks ago I watched Honey's videos on her latest eye shadow colors, which she makes herself. I was so impressed with her swatches that I jumped on her website and ordered samples of every shade she had to offer in her Eye Candy Collection, Winter Wonderland Sweets Collection, and Twilight Saga Collection.

She was even sweet enough to make me a couple pairs of earrings to throw in with my order :)

I plan on playing with these more this weekend, so I'll photograph swatches and a shades later on this month to share the beautiful colors she makes.

* * I just won one of her giveaways on Facebook today! So, I'll post up that little haul, and include swatches of the new shades and gloss I picked out! :)

Ahava Light Foundation

I've been wearing the Ahava Light Foundation on/off for almost 4 weeks now. I really had no expectation for it's consistency or formulation. I don't really wear mineral makeup so I didn't have much to compare this foundation to expect for my everyday foundation, MAC's Studio Fix Fluid (currently in NC20). I have come to adore this foundation! When I first wore it, I squeezed a small dot out onto my finger tips and began smoothing it over my skin, all over my face. It feels amazingly smooth, almost airy. It applies like butter, it doesn't streak or smear, it's literally a pleasure to apply. I've applied it with a paddle foundation brush and stippling brush, I prefer the stippling brush because it's quicker to blend into my skin - the paddle brush created a more medium to full coverage.

What I love most about this foundation is that it lasts all day and all night. At about half way through my day, the foundation and coverage begins to look even better than when I applied it in the morning. It begins to melt in with the natural oils in my skin and almost looks like my-skin-but-better! By night time, my skin looks glowy, fresh, supple, all the amazing good things you wish your foundations would actually do for you! I was utterly shocked that I could love it when first applied, and then love it even more 6hrs later! Another fantastic quality, when it begins to fade away after 10+hrs of wearing, it doesn't fade away in a splotchy type of way, like many liquid foundations can do. It begins to just fade into your skin, leaving you with a sheer coverage but still making your skin look alive.

I've worn this foundation on its own majority of the time. A couple times I used the Ahava Compact Powder just to mattify and add more coverage, but I truly do prefer to wear this Light Foundation on its own.

I meant to get a photo of my skin after 8hrs of wear - but being a mommy means when I'm tired at the end of the day - the last thing I want to do is photograph myself ;) But trust is looks just like the last photo of my face, but glowy and perfect!

AhavaUS.com:
LIGHT FOUNDATION
- Formulated with Dead Sea minerals, natural pigments and Dunaliella algae, this sheer to medium coverage helps minimize the appearance of pores and imperfections
- Tinted by minerals and contains no oils, allows for long-lasting color that strays true all day
$28.00 / 30 ml
4 shades: Dune Bright, Sand Medium Light, Clay Medium, Terra Dark

*Product(s) were received for trial/review; these are my honest opinions