beauty youtuber

MY 7 MOST USED HIGH-END MAKEUP ITEMS | JANUARY-JUNE 2017

June 28, 2017 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Wednesday!

We have made it to the middle of the week! I hope that you enjoyed my post on Monday (if you missed it, you can read it here) where I shared the seven drugstore makeup products I’ve reached for the most so far this year. Today I want to share the seven high-end, more costly, makeup products that I have been using the most so far in 2017. If you like this post, please be sure to share it : ) I have share links at the bottom of every blog post.

Kat Von D Lock-It Concealer in White Out

I love this concealer for brightening my under eye area, and often use this mixed with a light colored concealer so it isn’t quite so harsh. This is a great choice for others with very fair skin like mine who often can’t find a concealer lighter than their skin for brightening the under eye area. You can read my review on this here and see how I brighten my dark circles.

Benefit Cosmetics Boxed Blush in Galifornia

This is a gorgeous blush! I did an entire review on it (read that here) and can’t stop using it! But, why would I?! It is PERFECT for summer!

Make Up For Ever Pro Sculpting Palette in 20

I don’t always contour, but when I want a beautiful cream contour that looks natural, I reach for this! Read this to see how-to do a cream contour.

Becca Cosmetics Pressed Shimmering Skin Perfector in Champagne Pop

This is an item I have been using for a long time (I first spoke about it in 2015 here)

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Taupe

This is my hands-down favorite eyebrow pencil, and it is always a repurchase for me.

Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder

This is a pricy powder, but I really think it is worth it! This is super finely milled, doesn’t look cakey, and keeps my oily t-zone in check!

Bobbi Brown Lip Liner in Nude

I absolutely love to rock a nude lip, and this lip liner works with any nude lipstick or gloss! You can read my tips for wearing a nude lip here.

Thank you so much for taking time out of your life to read my blog! It means so much to me!! xx

HAVE YOU BEEN CLEANSING YOUR FACE THE WRONG WAY ALL THIS TIME? | TUTORIAL: THE DOUBLE CLEANSE

April 17, 2017 & 4 Comments

Hi there! Happy Monday!

A few weeks ago, I hit the big 3-0, and in anticipation of that milestone birthday I started researching a lot of skincare. I did two large skincare hauls (videos included at the bottom of this post) and since then have been testing out a lot of products. One of my favorite discoveries that I think everyone should know about is The Double Cleanse: The double cleanse is a Korean beauty technique that starts out with an oil based cleanser followed by a foaming cleanser because you need two different formulas to completely and effectively cleanse your face.

What Does Oil Based Cleansing Do?

Gently draws out oil-based debris like makeup, S.P.F, and other pollutants.

Why Can’t I Just Use One Cleanser?

Water-based cleansers aren’t capable of removing oil-based debris because oil and water do not mix.
You are not doing any favors to your skin by not properly removing your makeup and oil-based debris on your skin, and this can cause breakouts. And when you only harsh cleansers they will strip your face of natural oils, and your skin will try to over compensate being dry (yes, even if you’re oily or combo skin and don’t seem dry!) by producing more oil.

My Routine

I use the Skin Fix Oil Based Cleanser and rub it onto my skin in gentle, circular motions before adding water. After I add the water I gentling rub it into my skin again to emulsify the product. Then I rinse the product off. The “oil” part of this made my combo/oily skin self nervous at first, but oil based cleansers are actually gentle and do wonderful things for oily or acne prone skin.

What Does Water Based Cleansing Do?

Gently draws out water-based debris such as sweat and dirt.

My Routine

After the oil cleanser is thoroughly rinsed off, I use my Skinfood Egg White Pore Foam, with gentle upward circular motions and then rinse it off. I like to pat dry with a Kleenex Hand Towel or a clean washcloth (*Tip: Change out your washcloths daily to ensure that you keep your skin clear!)

Shop

Have you tried any of the Korean beauty products? I would love to hear about them in the comments!

HOW TO APPLY FALSE LASHES!

January 4, 2017 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Wednesday!

I hope that you are having a great week so far! I have been getting comments on some of my YouTube videos and Instagram pictures asking if I’m wearing false eyelashes or what lashes I am wearing. Up until about a year ago, I really only wore false eyelashes a handful of times in my entire life, but this past year I’ve been using them while filming certain videos and for special events, so today I decided to tell you about the lashes that I use and how I apply them.

How To Apply False Lashes:

Pictures Wearing False Lashes:

fullsizerender-67 fullsizerender-66

When To Wear False Lashes:

Whenever you want! I definitely am NOT a false lash every day kind of girl, but I really love the way that they look on film and in pictures. I always have very long and dark lashes naturally, but the difference that false lashes can make is pretty remarkable!

How To Apply False Lashes:

1.Once you’ve removed your lash from the packaging hold the lash up to see if it fits your lash line or needs to be trimmed. If it needs to be trimmed you can do so easily with a small pair of scissors from a manicure set. For some, like myself, the lash bands are actually not long enough so I hold the lash up and figure out where to place it so that it starts in the middle and ends on the outer part of the lash line.

2. Apply a very light layer of a mascara to help blend your lashes with the falsies. This step is optional, but I’ve tried this step and it is my preference to do this.

3. Apply a thin strip of lash glue to the band of the false lash and then let the glue dry for about 30-40 seconds.

4. This is the “tricky” step but I promise it isn’t that bad! If one side of the lash has longer lashes, that part should go on the outer corner of your eye. Hold the lash up either with your fingers or if you prefer, with a pair of tweezers, and right about your lash line until you get in where you want set it and then put it down onto your lash line. *TIP: Apply a slightly thicker than usual line of liquid eyeliner that helps to blend the false lash band and gives you a spot to “aim” when placing the lash.

5. Check out your handy work! If the lash is sticking too far out or not where you want it to be, lift it up and try again! If you need to, apply a bit more lash glue and repeat step 3. If you are happy with how your lash looks, make sure the band is pressed down and keep your eye closed or look down for a minute so that the lash can set.

6. Use a mascara to blend your lashes with the falsies, if needed. I like to add a little bit of mascara where the lash doesn’t reach near the inner corner of my eye, and then a little bit on my bottom lashes as well.

Repeat these steps for the other eye. That’s it! I know it is a lot of steps and sounds scary, but I promise it isn’t : ) I usually do one eye super quickly, and often struggle with the other once or twice before getting it how I want it, but it’s worth it for a little added drama to your look!

If you have any questions about how I do this, please let me know! I also re-use my false lashes several times by cleaning them after use, and if you’d like to see how I do that please let me know!

My Favorite False “Natural” Lashes

My Favorite “Glamour” Lashes

My Favorite Lash Glue

My Favorite Mascara

Thank you for reading! Have a beautiful day!

YOU NEED TO TRY THIS BODY WASH! UNDER $5

December 28, 2016 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Wednesday!

Today I want to share one of my “holy grail” drugstore items that I always repurchase and always have on hand. Be sure to let me know your favorite products in the comments section because I love finding new amazing things.

Caress Evenly Gorgeous Body Wash

I prefer this over other higher end body scrubs and body washes that I have tried and I always repurchase this. This is an exfoliating body wash which makes it great for sunless tanning prep or just a good deep clean, but it’s also gentle enough that it can be used daily. I like all of the scents, but my favorite is the Burnt Brown Sugar and Karite Butter. I love this because it leaves my skin feeling smooth, clean, and it’s super affordable!

Thank you for reading! Have a wonderful rest of your week and HAPPY NEW YEAR! I cannot wait for 2017! Cheers love! xx

Kat Von D Alchemist Holographic Palette Review

December 26, 2016 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Monday!

I hope that all of you had a wonderful weekend, and if you celebrate, a very Merry Christmas! I had a wonderful Christmas with my family, and ate WAY too many cookies ; ) Today I am so excited to be sharing the *highly* anticipated Alchemist Holographic Palette from Kat Von D.

Kat Von D Alchemist Holographic Palette

Without Flash:

With Flash:

katvondalchemist-leahtackles.jepg

What It Is:

This palette is being called a “transformer” palette because it can be worn as a highlighter, or as a topper for eye shadows and even lipsticks. Each of the four shades are formulated with “Double Dimension Technology” which catches the light from every angle, given a holographic effect.

My Thoughts:

I was intrigued by this palette because I have been watching Kat Von D slowly share sneaks on her Instagram account. Kat Von D has spent years working on these formulas and has called this palette one of her passion projects. Being a beauty lover, I knew that this was something I wanted to try for myself right away! I have worn two of the shades so far as a cheekbone highlight and it is stunning! A little bit goes a LONG way, but I absolutely loved the way it caught the light. I am excited to try this as an eye shadow topper, and think it would be a gorgeous look over a simple look to amp it up to something a lot more special.

Do I Need It?

I think that this is a must have for the makeup junkie who loves to try new things, play with makeup, and collect makeup. I think that this is beautiful for those looking for something new. I have noticed the similarities between this and the Anastasia Beverly Hills Moonchild highlighters, and after comparing swatches online they do look similar though not exactly the same. I think that if you have Moonchild you don’t need the Alchemist, but Alchemist seems more holographic and Moonchild seems to be more metallic or duochrome to me.

Do you have this? Are you planning to get it? I was able to pick it up on Sephora.com during the VIB pre-launch, but it is now available to everyone. Thank you, as always, for reading! I hope that you have a fantastic rest of your day : )

NATURAL EFFORTLESS FOUNDATION FOR EVERY DAY! MAYBELLINE DREAM MATTE MOUSSE

December 21, 2016 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Wednesday!

The winter months include lots of social functions with friends and family starting with Christmas and holiday celebrations continuing on with things like Super Bowl parties, where I find myself wanting to look put together but not in a full-on multi step makeup routine. I have been “shopping my own stash” of makeup lately (which is how I found my current favorite Too Faced Snow Bunny Bronzer which I blogged about here). I recently rediscovered Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation and had to share it with you today!

Why I Love It:

leahtackles-everydaydrugstorefoundation-leahtackles.jpeg

This foundation is one that I used years ago and had honestly forgotten about until I saw one of my most trusted beauty YouTubers, Emily Noel, mention it recently and I decided to give it another shot. This foundation gives me a great medium coverage without much work at all and I don’t mind the need to touch up much during the day. I will say that this isn’t as full coverage as some of my favorite foundations, but that is why I’ve been loving it lately…it’s EASY, no-fuss and looks very natural. I do like using a primer with this as I do all foundations, but I don’t find this to sink into my pores horribly if I do skip a primer. I do set this with a loose setting powder (my current favorite is the Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder). I like applying this was an ever-so-slightly damp Beauty Blender, but it does also applying nicely with your fingers which is AWESOME when you’re in a rush or feeling a little lazy which is completely acceptable in these cold, dark months ; )

Please let me know your favorite easy, no-fuss foundation(s) in the comments! I LOVE trying new foundations, especially at awesome drugstore prices!! I hope that you have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS if you celebrate! Thank you so much for your support and love, it truly means the world to me! xx

TOO FACED SNOW BUNNY BRONZER REVIEW

December 14, 2016 & 1 Comment

Hi there! Happy Wednesday!

I hope that you have been having a fantastic week so far! Today is my middle little loves birthday! Happy 4th Birthday Connor David! I love you so! Today I want to talk about a bronzer that I used years ago and loved but somewhere along that way got lost in my drawers of makeup. A few weeks ago while decluttering my makeup collection, I pulled out a few products I wanted to try using again and the Too Faced Snow Bunny Perfecting Bronzing Powder has become a rediscovered favorite that I want to share with you today.

Too Faced Snow Bunny Bronzer

First of all this packaging is absolutely beautiful! I actually have the older packaging, but both the new and older packaging is beautiful with simple details. This one of those products that makes me happy just looking inside the compact because the beautiful shimmery shades are stunning. The bronzer is made up of four strips of color in a white highlight, a bronze, a very pale pink, and a light tan. I think that I avoided this because these days I usually use a matte bronzer or at least tend to avoid a lot of shimmer, but this is stunning! You can use this as a blush, a bronzer, or a highlight which is also great. I like that you can use the four colors separately, but I tend to twirl my brush in all four colors and then lightly dust onto my cheeks. Although this has shimmer it is a very subtle highlight and I think it’s perfect in the winter months for a very natural glow. This looks wonderful in the sunlight, especially that snowy sun reflecting light, and lasts on me all day.

Have you tried this bronzer? What bronzers do you like to wear in the winter? Leave a comment to let me know! Have a great day and please subscribe! xx

BEAUTYCOUNTER SAFER SKINCARE and MAKEUP | A REVIEW

November 28, 2016 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Monday! And Happy Cyber Monday to all of you shoppers out there! ; )

I hope that you had a wonderful (and hopefully long!) weekend! Today I am going to be sharing a review of BeautyCounter which is a skincare and cosmetics company that doesn’t use harmful chemicals and sources safer ingredients for all of their products. My good friend, Nicole, is a senior consultant for BeautyCounter and sent me several samples that I used for review purposes. As always all opinions are completely my own and this is not a sponsored post. BeautyCounter also has incredibly gorgeous packaging and amazing kits available for the holiday season!! If you haven’t heard of BeautyCounter, you can check out Nicole’s BeautyCounter website here. You can also see lots of fun BeautyCounter news and enter contests on Nicole’s Beauty Counter Facebook Page.

Nourishing Cream Cleanser

I was excited to try this, because I prefer very gentle cleansers and thought this sounded like a great one. It reminded me a little bit of my Philosophy Purity which is my “holy grail” cleanser. I will say that this doesn’t lather much, which is common for more natural cleansers, but it does leave my face feeling clean. I really enjoyed this cleanser, and would definitely consider purchasing it.

Nourishing Day Cream

This day cream felt great on the skin and didn’t take too long to absorb into the skin which is always a biggie to me when I’m rushing to get ready in the morning. Having “nourishing” in the name did make me nervous, but I really enjoyed this cream. It didn’t find it to be greasy on my oily/combo skin but I can’t speak about how it would work in the warmer summer months.

Nourishing Night Cream

Of all the things that I was sent by Nicole to try, THIS is far and away may favorite! A little goes a long way, and this feels like such a luxurious cream. Also, if you purchase the 1.65 Fl. OZ. costs $47 which compared to other night creams, such as Advanced Time Zone Night Age Revising Creme by Esteé Lauder, that retails for $75 for 1.70 Fl. OZ this is a good value. I only had a small sample, so I can’t speak to how it effected my skin over time, but I did love the feeling of it.

Purifying Charcoal Mask

If you watch our Daily Vlogs you *probably* have seen me in a face mask, because I use them several times a week, so I was very excited to try this mask! I absolutely loved it! This mask is nice because you only need to wear it for 10 minutes, and then rinse with warm water. You can also use this as an overnight treatment. I love this because it helps to absorb excess oil

Tint Skin Foundation

I tried a sample of this foundation in porcelain and I have high expectations when it comes to foundation so I was interested to see how this stacked up. I wore this a couple of times and I didn’t like it without primer underneath, but that said there are foundations that are some my absolute favorites that I don’t wear without primer because I don’t like the way they settle into my pores. However, when I used my Benefit Porefessional Primer and then applied this I loved it! It was light coverage, but I was able to build it up to a medium coverage in areas where I needed it.I found this to be easy to blend it, and it didn’t oxidize on my skin. I think this would make an awesome every day foundation, and also a great pick for those who prefer BB Cream, CC Cream, or just a lighter look.

Nice Do Kids Shampoo

I really liked this shampoo for my three kids! My husband, who is usually in charge of the kids bath time, said that this worked well and rinsed out easily. I love the way that it smells. I really appreciate knowing that this is a safe product without harmful chemicals for my kids, especially because one of my sons has extremely sensitive skin.

Kids Not a Knot Conditioner

This stuff smells so awesome!! I love it for both my daughters long hair that is constantly in tangles, and for my son who has very dry hair. I would definitely keep repurchasing this!

Have you tried any goodies from BeautyCounter? Do you try to shop for less harsh skincare and beauty products? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! Also, you can now find BeautyCounter displays at select Target stores! I saw one recently and was very excited! Thank you for reading and have a beautiful day! xx

STILA STAY ALL DAY SPARKLE ALL NIGHT LIQUID LIPSTICK SET HOLIDAY YAY OR NAY

November 21, 2016 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Monday!

I hope that you had a great weekend! With Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and other holiday sales approaching, I thought that it would be a great time to mention one of my favorite holiday sets of 2016 which is the Stila Stay All Day Sparkle All Night liquid lipstick set. If you have any holiday sets that you would like to see reviewed here on my blog or on my LeahTackles YouTube channel let me know in the comments : )

Stila Stay All Day Sparkle All Night

stilastayalldaysparkleallnight-review-video-leahtackles.jpeg

If you also watch my YouTube channel you know that I also uploaded a video (which I will link at the bottom of this post) but wanted to include a blog post to show more detailed product shots with you.

stilaglitteratiliptopcoat-stayalldaysparkleallnight.jpeg

“Baci” is a beautiful pinky mauve nude. This shade is available in full size.

“Rubino” is a beautiful limited edition shade of rich red that is perfect for the holiday season!

“Fresco” is a more brown-y nude color that is also limited edition.

“Patina” is an absolutely stunning shade! It is similar to the often-sold-out Kat Von D Liquid Lipstick in “Lolita”.

“Bacca” is a deep raspberry shade that I think is a great one to have in a liquid lipstick.

“Transcend” is the Glitterati Lip Top Coat and it is so much fun! I am loving it in the center of my lip for a fun full pout that is perfect for a holiday event!

Overall I really love these liquid lipsticks! These are deluxe sample size at .05 fl. oz. which is about half the size of a full size Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick. The Glitterati Lip Top Coat is such a fun addition & perfect for a little extra sparkle! I do worry that it will run out quickly, but we will see! It is .04 fl. oz. but seems to be running out far faster than a liquid lipstick or lipgloss would. That said, this “lip top coat” is so unique and unlike anything I’ve tried before. You can see more details in the video below.

I hope that you have a wonderful week! Talk to you on Wednesday : ) xx

BEAUTY STOCKING STUFFERS $5 AND UNDER!

November 16, 2016 & Leave a Comment

Hi there! Happy Wednesday!

I hope that you are having a great week! I am in full on holiday mode now in terms of making my lists and adding to them twice ; ) I absolutely love doing stockings because who doesn’t like little goodies that are personally picked for them?! They are so much fun to make, and I like that it’s a little bit of a puzzle to make it all fit together. You will see aisles dedicated to stocking stuffer goodness in most stores, and while they’re fun they can get really expensive! I decided it would be fun to share a few beauty items that you can find at most drugstores or big box stores for $5 and under each. If you have ideas for affordable beauty stocking stuffers, let me know in the comments : )

Conair Head Wrap

Nivea Creme Travel Size

Sally Hansen Cuticle Rebab

(*Note: less expensive in store!)

Montagne Jeunesse Masks

Bonnie Bell Lip Smacker Tsum Tsum

I also wanted to share my Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child Ideas video because this week November 14-21st is collection week! You still have time to put together a gift for a child in need : ) Thank you, as always, for taking the time to read my blog! xx