Smile Darling

Lifestyle and Fashion Blog

Archives for April 2019

Make-up

My “Glam” Make-up Look

Hey chickies! If you watched my stories, you saw I finally posted a make-up routine! I shared my version of a “glam” make-up look, lol. The stories are saved on my Instagram for you to review at your leisure.

I always start with eyeshadow first, to avoid having to wipe off any concealer and foundation if it falls. First, I prime my eyes. I like to use the Urban Decay Primer Potion. Once that is all rubbed in, I do my eyeshadow. I use the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette. I only use 4 colors from it, so I started buying the colors individually to save money and avoid waste. The colors I love are Foxy, Half-baked, Snakebite, and Suspect.

After my eyeshadow, I prime my face. I have a few primers, but I really like the Benefit Pore Professional. Once that is applied, I put on concealer. I love the Tarte Shape Tape! I like a lighter concealer, so I use the colors “Light beige” or “Light-medium honey”. I also really like the Too Faced Born This Way Concealer. The color I have is “Porcelain” but it doesn’t match me well.

From there, I apply my foundation. I use Too Faced Born This Way in the color “Nude”. I use a damp beauty blender to blend it out. I get my beauty blenders from TJMaxx.

Then, I attempted to contour my face. I use the Hoola Contour Stick from Benefit. I apply it in a number 3 formation on each side on my face. Next, use Hoola Bronzer by Benefit to contour my nose. Once that is all blended, I take bronzer and go over what I contoured. I love the Tarte bronzer in “Park Ave Princess”.

We are almost done! I then take highlighter and place it on my upper cheek bones, cupids bow, and my nose. I really like the BECCA “Champagne Pop”.

I then do my brows with Anastasia Brow Pomade, the Anastasia Brow Wiz, and a brow gel. I add a little eyeliner, and mascara. I use It Cosmetics “Superhero”, or Too Faced “Better Than Sex” mascara.

Lastly, I sprits some finishing spray, then boom! I’m done!

Refer to my videos to see how I completed all these step! Shop all the products I use below!

You can shop the below through Sephora:

You can shop these through Ulta:

Places, Travel & Adventure, Skincare

The Invigory: My Cryotherapy Experience

Brrr! It’s cold in here. There must be some Cryo in the atmosphere! Haha, I just had to! A week ago I did my first ever Ice Facial and Cryotherapy treatment. I was invited by The Invigory to try out some services.

The Invigory is a natural wellness studio. They specialize in preventative health and recovery. They use what is found in nature: hot, cold, salt and air. The Invigory has a great variety of treatments that include and are not limited to: Compression Therapy, Cryotherapy, Salt Therapy, Infrared Sauna, Ice Facials, and Spot Cryotherapy. The staff was extremely friendly and knowledgeable about all their services. I was welcomed by Josh, I received my treatments from Toni, and Brian helped me shoot all my photos and videos.

The services I chose were the Ice Facial and Cryotherapy. Ice Facials are an amazing way to achieve healthier and more vibrant skin. A controlled beam of vaporized nitrogen chills areas on the face, scalp, and neck. An Ice Facial is cold, but in a refreshing way. At no point did I think it was too much. The health benefits are fabulous. An Ice Facial stimulates collagen production, reduces wrinkles and fine lines, reduces inflammation, and offers relief for those who suffer from headaches and migraines. The facial was painless, and it honestly just felt like cold air was being blown on my face. I would definitely recommend trying this out. It is a great alternative to Botox, for those who do not want to use needles.

You may be wondering what the heck Cryotherapy is. I am sure you have seen it on social media before. You may have seen one of your favorite athletes or celebrities standing in a tube filled with cold air. Cryotherapy literally means “cold therapy”. It is a technique where the body is exposed to extremely cold temperatures for only a few minutes. Think of it as the new generation of ice baths. This “cold treatment” helps to heal and invigorate. You stand in a tube/sauna and a platform raises you up so only your shoulders and head are peeking out. Your body is then exposed to temperatures as low as -250° Fahrenheit for three minutes.

Before I went in, they gave me a pair of tube socks and some huge gloves. When I stepped into the tube, I took off my robe (you do this naked, wee) and I was raised up so my head stuck out. Since it was my first time, they set it at -170°. At first, I was like I got this! It was really cold, but in a fun way.

I started singing “7 Rings” by Ariana Grande, did some dancing around, and let out some laughter. After about 2 minutes in I thought, “Fuck! This is cold”. My buttcheeks felt numb, my arm hair was creating baby icicles, and I was having a difficult time trying to talk because my teeth were chattering. I would compare the coldness to laying naked in the snow for an hour. When my time was up and I stepped out, I felt a wave of warmth. I was feeling restored, energized, and revitalized. I wanted to do it again!

The benefits of Cryotherapy include: reduces inflammation, boosts metabolism, and accelerates injury recovery. A lot of athletes do this to help their muscles recover.

If you live in the Charlotte area, I highly suggest checking out The Invigory to learn more about the treatments and ways to help heal your body in a more natural way!