50 Shades Of Grey...Eyeshadow Tutorial (Waka Waka)

For this month's Allure Insiders video, I'm doing 50 Shades in my own way. Which means I'm using grey eyeshadow. No kinky hijinks or book clubs.

Watch on if you want to get all grey-ed out for your freaky deaky (or non-freaky deaky) times.





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I Woke Up Like This: A Story Of Magically Voluminous Hair

Please disregard just about everything about this picture of me: from the cornucopia of tangles that I neglected to brush, to that zero makeup face, to a hint of a double chin -- there's a lot to take in. Man, I need to get better so I can at least walk, or something. But forget all of that -- check out the hair volume that I woke up to this morn! (Or, kind of afternoon. Life is a journey.)

via buzzfeed

I have not been shy about my flat, thin, sad sack hair probs. This shit is typically limp (heh) as hell, and I'm always fighting the good fight against it.

So while I've been in my post-surgical haze, I've been experimenting with different hair products to see if I could pump up the jam a little in this b. Plus, there are many a drugstore in a close proximity to my house of illness, and I've been using them as my "let's see how much I can move about today" testing sites. And buying a bunch of drugstore beauty shit kind of goes hand-in-hand with those outings. Uhhh doy.

Magically, one of my combos actually really worked! Here's my routine from yesterday that led to my semi-accidental overnight volume situation. And there were zero Lucky Charms involved. Or rabbits' feet.

Step one of this journey involved this Thicker Fuller Hair Shampoo. It's a clear shampoo that smells like soapy plants. (You know how those unisex hair products do.) It has caffeine in it, which supposedly makes your hair stand up, or something. You know, science-y shit. I don't really know the deal, but something wondrous happened.

I used it only on my roots, because I didn't want to dry out my already thirsty-ass ends. On the rest of my hair I used Macadamia Oil Flawless, which is a cleansing conditioner that I ADORE, and found for a friggin' steal at Marshall's for $14.99. Get out there, fellow cheap mofos. There's good good to be had.

When I got out of the shower I used this Fekkai Full Volume Mousse on my roots. I've been using Sally Hershberger's Supreme Lift Root Spray, which I adore, but I'm about to run out, so I thought I would give something new a whirl. I also found this at Marshall's for $9.99 (!!!), but it looks like it's discontinued, so I'll just go start researching hair transplants now, because I give the eff up.

This stuff is pretty boss. It gives great volume, while keeping hair shiny, which is a rarity in the volumizing product world. I'm usually kind of anti-mousse, but I'll totally let this one slide right into the regular hair stuffs rotation. That's really saying something. Except for the whole "discontinued" thing. There's also the whole "my life sucks" thing.

The next couple of things have nothing to do with volume, but I used it on my rug, so I feel obligated to mention them. I've already told you about L'Oreal Professional Mythic Oil, and I'm still toot-tooting along on that silky train. It's light and extremely moisturizing, and I want to bathe in it. With a loofah.

A new hair spritzer for me is this Not Your Mother's Way to Grow Leave-In Conditioner, which is pretty much a detangling leave-in conditioner with some extra grow-y stuff in it. I can't really speak (type???) to the hair-growing part, because I've only used it twice, but it makes your hair feel soft like woah. And it smells pretty delicious. So that's something.

Now play on, playa with your big-ass hair. You're welcome, my fellow flat-haired friend.







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Baby Bieber Sent Himself To Time-Out, Is Now Sorry

Post by Justin Bieber.

Did Biebs make this video after a good nap and tum tum full of Koala Yummies™, or something? Because he is pretty, pretty emo over being such a bad b for the past year or so, and wants you to know that that isn't the real him. He was just playing it up for a role on a "ripped from the headlines" version of Law & Order: SVU where toddlers throw tantrums for a year, maybe. I don't know his life.

So, all we know about the real and mysterious Mr. Bieber (old sport) is that he cares about people and emphatically uses the f-word. Totes kewl.

Play on, Sir Biebs, play on. I guess. I can't really be bothered right now.

I'll be back when I'm feeling more spirited. Until next time.



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I'm Having Surgery And Going To Be On Bed Rest, Here's How I'm Preparing My Beauty Life

I have to have surgery on Thursday. But before you start a massive (or tiny) kickstarter to fund a parade in my loving memory, know that I should be fine. It's going to take me a few weeks to recover, but please save your carnation get well bouquets for someone more deserving.

It turns out that I have a GIANT (like, 4.5 inch) ovarian cyst growing inside my body. I took a picture of it, but I don't know how delicate your sensibilities are, so if you like to peep weird, gross shit, you can check it out here. I know you don't know the normal state of my abdominal area, but that ain't it. It's pretty much like I shoved a grapefruit into my belly through osmosis. Or some other kind of science that I clearly don't understand.

I've known that I have this surgery coming up for a week or so, so I've been trying to prep myself for being laid up for a while and not being able to do my usual beauty nonsense. I was already a big ol' dummy and painted my nails, thinking it would make me feel better. Then I remembered that you have to take all of your polish off before surgery to...check your oxygen levels? Monitor your nail beds? Evaluate your cuticle situation? Shit, I don't know.

So, I started focusing on things that I needed to get done to make myself less of a MF-ing horror show after this process. Looking (relatively) human is the end goal.

The Lazy Razor

I hate shaving my legs, and I rarely do it. It's just so time-consuming for something that I give zero to few shits about. But since professional strangers are going to be doing things to my unconscious body, I thought I might as well clean up all ye olde parts. 

And let me tell you a little something -- if I'm using a razor, the only one I want slice up my ankle bones with is the Schick Intuition Razor (especially this Pure Nourishment with Coconut Milk & Almond Oil one -- it's so moisturizing you'll want to hug it). It's a one-stop shop. You don't need freakin' shaving cream, gel, soap, shampoo, conditioner, or whatever the hell you use, and I've tried it all. It's the razor of my people -- the lazies.

Poppin' Bottles of (Dry) Shamps

I'm kind of anticipating not being able to wash my rug on the daily, and that's going to be rough for an oily mofo like myself. Luckily, I've been stockpiling some of my favorite dry shampoos to remedy this sure-to-be-tragic situation.

I've already mentioned my love for the cult classic Pssssst! Dry Shampoo. It's cheap, it smells good, and it's mild. If you're OILY oily, you'll probably need something stronger, but this is a good pick-me-up spritzer.

My newest cheap(ish) ride-or-die is Batiste Dry Shampoo. I got this one at Marshall's for $5.99, and I'm pretty, pretty into it. It banishes grossness a little more than the Pssssst!, so I like it for second day hair. And I'm anticipating third/fourth/fifth day hair up in this mother. HALP.

Anti-Pasty Legs

CVS Beauty Club was kind enough to send me a whole gaggle of new drugstore beauty stuff, and that included these spankin' new Jergens Natural Glow products. Because you KNOW that I'm in a deep and undying love with Jergens NG stuff, I was pretty jazzy jazzed. Also, my legs are so pale right now that they're weird and purple-y, so I'm all about getting tans on my legs and not on my face RN. You know, to look un-bedridden and whatnot.

I used the Jergens Natural Glow Color Primer In-Shower Scrub for pre-tan exfoliation, and it's pretty fantastic. I'm usually pretty staunchly "I Don't Want No Scrub" when it comes to self-tanner exfoliation, but I really liked this stuff. It has a light and non-annoying scent, and totally gets the job done. I couldn't find it to purchase online, so just check your local CVS if you want to give it a whirl. Or a scrub.

I then used the new Jergens Natural Glow Instant Sun Sunless Tanning Mousse, which is completely different from their standard NG lotions, in that it works instantly to deliver that bronzy good good. And this is a mousse, which I LOVE. They dry faster and are way easier to apply. I rubbed it on with bare hands, just to see how orange it made my palms. It was mid-level, so I would wear gloves, especially if you want to do your whole bod.

The final result is very natural and not-Lohan-esque, but also not crazy dark. So if you want something deeeeep, you might need to apply this stuff a couple of times.

The last product is the Jergens Natural Glow Tan Extender Daily Moisturizer. I haven't tried this yet, because I JUST rubbed my damn tan on, but I'll report back and let you know if it allows my laziness to grow leaps and bounds by extending my fake tan. It sounds promising.

Fancy-Ass Feet

My feet are a HOT ass mess, mostly because I haven't had a pedicure in years on years on years. So when I got this Micro-Pedi (also sent to me by CVS Beauty Club), I was like:

My feet are literally and figuratively rough, and I didn't want to be scratching myself up like I live in a sandpaper factory while I lie in my sickbed. N'thanks.

I didn't really know what to expect when I used this contraption. You use it on dry skin, but I did it over the bathtub, because I didn't know how much skin fallout (BRB vomiting) to expect. Let me just fill your beautiful brain with this: THIS THING IS AMAZING.

It's like a little baby sander for your feet. It doesn't hurt, and it really gets the Josie Grossies off. I was very impressed, and that is rare. I love this so much, I want to elementary school marry it.

That's it. I'm as ready as I'll ever be for this shit. I'll catch you on the flip side, so in, like, a week or two. I'll keep you updated!

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Allure Insiders Outrageous Beauty: The Rock 'n' Roll Massage

I don't do well with massages. I'm super uncomfortable and talk the whole time and pretty much make everyone involved feel weird.

But for this months' Outrageous Beauty, I GOT A DAMN MASSAGE. Did I survive? Did I act like a creep? Is there a shot of my tramp stamp? All of these answers and more on this video. Watch if you're into it.



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SNL Making Fun Of Baby Bieber Is The Best Thing They've Done In Years

Very few things bring me more joy than watching Kate McKinnon bring the hardcore douchey-baby-vibes with her Justin Bieber impression, and this is her masterpiece. This is the GD Mona Lisa of faux Bieb-ing.

"Yo, my pee-pee's in there," is my new mantra. I'm going to chant it in yoga and shit. While wearing a codpiece.

And just in (Justin? Sorry.) case this is too Bieber-adjacent for your tastes and you need to get the stank off, here's your palette cleanser.

You know I never leave you on a shitty Justin Bieber note.




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Who Wants To Win Something Up In Here?

Allure is giving away some of their January Sample Society boxes. If you want to see what's inside that bad little baby and how to win, watch this vid.

What would you do if I said "WINNING!" right now? You better say you would slap me. Bonus points if you said slap me with Amal Clooney's white satin '90s prom gloves from the Golden Globes.



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