Makeup I'm Using Update | Beauty Favorites 2017

Last week's video on my beauty Youtube channel was my Ride or Die tag, where I listed all my favorite ride-or-die, can't-live-without makeup products.  I know the majority of you who read my blog don't also watch my beauty channel (but if you're interested, please check it out!)  Therefore, I was really inspired to bring my favorite makeup products to the blog in the form of a Makeup I'm Using Right Now post.  

My taste in beauty, as well as my makeup skills have evolved, and I've found so many products that I love with all my heart.  These, in my opinion, are some of the best makeup products on the market.  ALL are cruelty free- I would never use or buy anything else.  Also, I've finally worked up the courage to start posting my makeup looks on my Instagram instead of just my outfits.  I'm not sure what I'm really doing, but I know that I love sharing the art that I spend time on.  Makeup artistry is really a form of self expression and I love putting my makeup looks out there.  

I tried to arrange this post according to people's different makeup tastes.  There's warm tones, naturals, edgy, and even just a little bit of everything.  Without further ado, here's my favorites right now.  

Anastasia Beverly Hills Palettes | Subculture // Modern Renaissance // Master Palette by Mario

Anastastia Beverly Hills palettes are, in my opinion, the best of the best.  Modern Renaissance is the warm tone lover's dream, with a mix of neutrals, rosey pinks, and burnt oranges, all with one of the best formulas on the market.  The pink velvet outer is particularly stunning!

Subculture is its sister palette.  The formula sparked some controversy as it's a little harder to work with compared to the Modern Renaissance.  I'd say its more formulated for pro makeup artists.  Personally I love it- the pigmentation is superb and I was able to handle it without any problems.

Their Master Palette by Mario is from last year and it's such a gorgeous neutral palette.  Created in collaboration with Kim Kardashian's makeup artist, this is one of my holy grails.  When I want a simple but perfect look, this is my favorite.  

Warm Toned Beauties | Too Faced Just Peachy Mattes // Anastasia Modern Renaissance // Marc Jacobs Scandalust // Anastasia Nicole Glow Kit

My personal favorite type of color scheme is warm tones.  I cannot get enough of them.  The Modern Renaissance falls under this category once again- like I said, its versatility is what makes it one of my favorites.  

The newest release is the Too Faced Just Peachy Matte palette.  I like matte shadows and the color scheme of this one is stunning.  Beautiful burgundy shades mixed with peach transitions, and the formula is super pigmented and smells like peaches.  

Marc Jacobs Scandalust is a really gorgeous luxury option.  It's pretty pricey, but in my opinion, the formula has beautiful color payoff that makes this palette worth the splurge.  I also love this Anastasia glow kit filled with stunning pink highlighters created by Nicole Guerriero.  

Ride or Die's | Morphe Jaclyn Hill Palette // Tatcha Camellia Cleansing Oil // Cake Face Beauty x Kim Thai Lionhearted Lashes // Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick in Red Carpet Red // Kylie Cosmetics Lipgloss in Literally // Fenty Beauty Pro Filtr Foundation 140

These are some of my favorite products ever.  I did a full video talking about my Ride or Die makeup, and these were the standouts.  I love the Morphe Jaclyn Hill palette so much- all the colors I could possibly need are in there.  The new Fenty Beauty foundation created by Rihanna herself is also amazing.  

Rosey Nudes and Naturals | BH Carli Bybel Palette // Stila Magnificent Metals Kitten Karma // Cake Face Beauty x Kim Thai Lionhearted Lashes // Anastasia Liquid Lipstick in Stripped // Kylie Cosmetics Lipgloss in Literally

If it's a more natural, understated look you crave, these products are my favorite nudes and naturals.  The Carli Bybel BH palette is absolutely stunning and has face shades in there too.  I also included my two favorite nude lip products from Anastasia and Kylie Cosmetics.  

What are your makeup favorites?  Let me know in the comments.  

Trench Cape & Scalloped Pants // Redone Classics

Trench Cape (℅): Banana Republic // Pants (℅): Banana Republic // Bag: Stella McCartney // Shoes: LC Lauren Conrad // Watch (℅): VOTCH // Bracelet (℅): Kristine Lily // Full Makeup Details on my Instagram

It is finally shifting out of the heat wave that is a California summer, and this week was the first with temperatures below 85 in Southern California.  I'm so ready for fall, and so, it seems, is the fashion scene.  Today I'm teamed up with Banana Republic to bring you the perfect look to transition into fall.

First off, I seriously can't believe I'm collaborating with a brand like Banana Republic here on my little blog.  This is seriously a dream come true and I had such a fun time working on this project.  Banana Republic's new fall collection is seriously stunning, and these pieces I'm wearing today are my favorites.  I wanted to put together a look that reinvented classics like the camel trench and skinny navy pants, and these two pieces really did that for me.

This trench cape is everything: the perfect combination of a standard wardrobe staple and a high fashion piece, and wearing it made me feel so chic.  I paired it with these skinny navy legging pants with the most gorgeous scalloped hem.  I personally love the look of long, tailored skinny pants with a great pair of heels.  This look is such a go-to and I've already worn it to class a few times!

I've started posting my makeup looks on Instagram: something I've been nervous to do for a while but I finally decided to take the plunge and just do it.  I run a beauty Youtube channel and I'm a self-taught makeup artist, so I've been wanting to share my looks on social media for a while.  In this one I stuck with the classic theme and did a gold and neutral eye look with a classic dusty mauve lip.  Full details are going to be on my Instagram if you want to know what I used.  

What are your go-to fall transition looks?  

Thank you to Banana Republic for partnering on this post.

Smiling Brilliantly with Smile Brilliant

This review is something I've been really excited to share with you guys for a while now.  I've never tried out any kind of teeth whitening before, so I was really excited when Smile Brilliant reached out to let me review their kit for my Beauty Channel on Youtube.

After trying out the kit, I noticed such great results that I wanted to share it here on the blog as well!  I know that not all of you watch my Youtube channel (please check it out if you are interested though!) and I wanted to share my review and opinions here.

As always, I want you to know that I deliver unbiased and honest reviews on all products sent to me in PR.  The beauty Youtube world is so saturated with content and many top influencers get sent bucketloads of PR, and to avoid being taken off these PR lists, they might sway their opinions to the positive side.  I'm still a small channel but I'll never ever jeopardize my honest reviews in return for free stuff.

Before (left) and after (right, above)

After just two uses, I noticed that my teeth were already a few shades whiter and brighter.  The before picture is from a selfie just a few days before I started my kit.  This picture has a very light brightening filter on it, which means that it was supposed to make my teeth look even a little bit better, but as you can see they were still yellow.  The picture on the right is from last week's outfit post and after I finished my teeth whitening kit.  So much better!

How it all works is they send you a kit with putty and trays to make your impressions.  Once you send those back to them, they send you your custom fit trays (like Invisalign liners) and you can get started with whitening.  You first inject the desensitizing gel into the liners and keep that on your teeth for around 20 minutes.  This numbs your teeth and gums so the whitening gel doesn't hurt them.  The whitening gel stays on from 45 minutes to 2 hours.  I won't lie, I couldn't make it past the 1 hour mark.  My gums are a little sensitive after I brush my teeth, which is when I used this kit.  But despite the little bit of discomfort for a short period of time, I noticed amazing results after just a few uses.

If you want a more in depth review, please watch my video below on my skincare routine and teeth whitening review.  (Bonus- you get to see me looking like a potato without makeup!)  And if you are interested in picking up your own kit, Smile Brilliant is offering my readers a 15% off discount on their products!  Just use this link and you'll claim my custom code, or use littlemisshautecouture15!

Love you all!  Always and forever.  

How Much Is Teeth Whitening

Paper Crown Summer Florals

Dress: Anthropologie Paper Crown x Rifle Paper Co  // Bag (℅): 88 Handbags // Shoes: LC Lauren Conrad // Bracelet (℅): Kristine Lily // Lips: Natasha Denona Lip Pencil in L4 // Eyes: Urban Decay Naked Heat Palette

THIS DRESS.  I was so sad that I missed the Paper Crown x Rifle Paper Co collaboration at Anthropologie from a few years ago.  Living in NYC this summer, I got to shop around the city and one of my favorite stops was a cute little vintage shop called Beacon's Closet.  It's located right by Greenwich Village in Manhattan and it's an amazing hub of vintage, highly discounted designer pieces.  I also bought a gorgeous top from Carolina Herrera there during my stay.  

I was so happy to find this Draped Bouquet dress hidden away on the rack there.  It's so hard to find pieces from this collaboration anywhere, and I was so lucky to get my hands on this dress, and for such an amazing price too!  Obviously this particular dress isn't available anymore, but I found some similar versions here from Missguided and here from ASOS to get a kinda imilar look. 

This summer has been absolutely crazy and I have a feeling that my life won't be slowing down any time soon either.  I'm sad to say this, but it's been hard to maintain a regular posting schedule on LMHC now that my student life has really been kicked into high gear, I'm starting a new job soon, and I've also launched my beauty Youtube channel (please check it out if you haven't yet!)  I think that I'm going to have to scale back on blogging for now.  I won't be leaving it behind by any means- I love sharing my life and style with you and interacting with amazing women.  But I think I might have to scale back to one post a week so I'm not forcing myself to take on a workload I know I can't handle.  I hope you guys understand.  

Much love to you all this week!  I can't believe summer is already winding down to an end.

Cinderella // Off the Shoulder Floral Grey Midi

Dress: ASOS  // Shoes: LC Lauren Conrad // Bag (℅): 88 Handbags // Bracelet: Kiel James Patrick // Rose Bracelet: Vintage // Eyes: Anastasia Beverly Hills 'Modern Renaissance' // Lips: Colourpop 'Aquarius'