Finally ... the hair tutorial for the "in" hair we all love! We love a good hairstyle that is quick and easy - especially those that work very well with day 2 (or 3) hair! This almost effortless half-up top knot works perfectly with short hair, long hair, thick hair, thin hair, curly hair, straight hair - you get the picture. It pairs perfectly with a plaid or ripped jeans and tee for a more casual look, but can also be dressed up with a bold lip and some date-night clothes! Basically, it is my go-to hairstyle and I want to share with you just how easy it is to achieve!

I typically start with less-than-fresh hair, which gives me a little more texture anyways, and I don't have to fret that my crease is getting a tad greasy - because it disappears!

What you will need:

• 2 hair ties
• 1-2 bobby pins
• A comb/teasing brush
• (optional) Texturizing spray

Step 1: Gather the top section of your hair into one hand. I like to go from the receded corners of my hairline.

Step 2: Take a comb and make those part lines straight.

Step 3: Take that same comb and smooth out the top of your hair.

Step 4: Take a hair tie and make a pony tail. I like to use the small, clear bands so they can't be seen. A note to all of my twins out there with insanely thick hair - these do break easily so just beware as you are putting them in.

Step 5: Tighten the pony.

Step 6: Take your comb and tease the hair in the pony. This will make the bun more full!

Step 7: Twist the pony until it begins to twist up on itself.

Step 8: Follow the motion of the pony twist and wrap it around itself.

Step 9: Take another hair bad and tie hair in the bun you've made.

Step 10: Take bobby pins and pin in the tail, as well as any stray hairs that won't stay down in the bun.

Step 11 (optional): Spray in a texturizing spray. I like to use my Catwalk sea salt spray to give myself a more textured and messy look!



I hope you guys found this helpful! Let us know if you want to see any other hair tutorials!

xoxo, your pal Mal

Hey pals! Welcome to my vanity tour!

I have a pretty extensive makeup collection, and being the organization freak I am, I have to have a good way to keep everything organized or I will be too overwhelmed and will pull my hair out!

Because of my lack of space in our master bedroom, my vanity is smaller than I would like, but I know one day I will have the space to expand my vanity to my dream setup! But for now, I have improvised and have made the best and most functional vanity for the space I have - and I LOVE it.

My vanity is currently made up of 3 main pieces: 

1. Ikea Micke desk
2. Vanity Girl Hollywood Starlet Lighted Mirror
3. Ikea Alex Drawers

Additionally, I have a small vanity chair that was my mom's, a wire trashcan and letter organizer from the Target Dollar Spot, miscellaneous decorative containers to use as brush holders, a lamp, a small acrylic drawer set from The Container Store, an acrylic holder from Lady Moss Beauty, and acrylic drawer inserts from Lady Moss and Sonny Cosmetics.

So let's dive in!

The Desk

I don't keep a whole lot on my desk, because I like to have space to put the makeup I am using for the day. What I always have right in front of me on my desk: brushes, Beauty Blender, a makeup remover (for correcting any errors in my winged liner), a setting spray (the brand changes constantly for me) - currently I am loving the Gerard Cosmetics Slay All Day spray in their Green Tea scent, and my Mario Badescu Rosewater Face Spray. I also have 2 hair clips to pin my hair back while I beat my face.

I keep my face brushes and eye brushes separate, simply because I have so many brushes  - this makes it easier for me to find what I am looking for. I also keep a small mason jar to drop my dirty brushes in so I can easily locate which need to be cleaned.

Some of my ultimate, ride-or-die brushes right now are:

Bronzer: Mac 135
Contour: Real Techniques 301
Blush: Morphe B78
Baking: Morphe MB30 & Morphe M438
Loose Powder: Sephora #91
Highlight: Luxie 522
Cream Shadow: Bobbi Brown Cream Shadow
Shadow: Sugarpill Large Eyeshadow, Bobbi Brown Angle Eye Shadow
Crease/Blending: Sigma E355 & E40, Sephora #73, Morphe M433 & M441
Smaller Blending: Morphe E17, Younique crease brush, Real Techniques 203
Packing: Morphe M210
Pencil: Sigma E30, Morphe E36 & E37, Sonia Kashuk #202
Liner: Makeup Geek Bent Liner Brush (liquid) ; Morphe M559 or Sigma E65 (gel)

One of the major appeals to this Micke desk from Ikea was the fact that there was a *functional* drawer! Again with the I hate clutter thing, this allows me to have more at my fingertips without crowding my workspace.

In the drawer, I keep things like my empty Ipsy bags, melatonin (my vanity is right next to my side of the bed, so its nice to have this easily accessible), ibuprofen, Bite Beauty lipstick remover cloths, Q-tips, hairbands, a mini pocket mirror, my Lumee selfie phone case, a photo of Jeffree Star that came with a shipment because that bitch is FABULOUS, my favorite makeup remover wipes from Simple, a small, double-sided mirror from my mom with a magnified side - perfect for lash application and eyeliner, my Beauty on the Fly bag, an every day makeup  bag, tape for when my eyeliner game is so weak, scissors, a few other makeup remover tools, a Sharpie (not totally sure how the Sharpie ended up in here).

Next to the desk, in-between it and the drawer unit, I have a small trashcan which is crucial! 

I also keep a Lush bag because, if you know Lush, you know that if you take 5 empty containers back to them, you get a free mask! So I just drop my empty pots in that bag so I don't accidentally toss them!

Also, I keep my empty Birchbox boxes stacked here as well, and a few item lists/guides that came from Sigma and Sephora.

The Drawers

*Angel singing commence* These drawers have been on my wish list for years, and I finally picked them up and they are everything I dreamed of and more. 

On top of my beloved Alex drawers, I have a couple of things I can easily reach:

My Lush Charity Pot body lotion and BECCA x Jaclyn Hill Shimmering Skin Perfector in Champagne Pop - I keep these 2 together because, especially now that it is summer and legs are out, I like to mix the Champagne Pop with my lotion to give myself a gorgeous, all-over glow.

The acrylic brush holder from Lady Moss Beauty is perfect for holding my pencil products - lip liners, eye liners, and eyebrow products.

I use a cheap, Target Dollar Spot letter organizer for some of my palettes, because its a much cheaper alternative to buy a specific palette organizer. Plus it matches my trashcan!

The Container Store acrylic drawer unit is good, aesthetic storage, so I like to put lipsticks because those are the makeup item that make me the happiest!

Drawer 1 - Too Faced Melted lippies

Drawer 2 - Colourpop liquid Mattes & Satins

Drawer 3 - Lipsticks I just LOVE right now - Melt, Mac, Bite, Covergirl, Urban Decay, and Nars

Inside the Drawers:

Drawer 1 - False Lashes, Glue, Tools for application

If you haven't jumped on the Falsies train - DON'T - once you start you just can't stop! Needless to say, the train swept me away a while ago. 

I keep a cheap-o, Walmart craft organizer in here and store my used (and cleaned) lashes!

I also keep my glues and tweezers in here as well. My 2 favorite glues right now are the Esquido glue and the Velour rose-scented glue in black (the white glue came to me dry, and has terrible reviews on Sephora, so I returned it).

Drawer 2 - Primers, Foundations, Concealers, and Setting sprays

Ok, Ok, I admit it - one of my favorite things to hoard is foundations. I love becoming my own scientist and mixing to find the "perfect coverage and color" for my skin. My current faves are the Josie Maran Vibrancy, Make Up Forever Ultra HD Stick, and L'Oreal Lumi Cushion. And every day, I use the IT cosmetics CC cream - it is definitely my go-to!

As for primers and setting sprays, I also have a few favorites:

Primer: for matte skin, I love the Naobay Mattifying Cream! I discovered this babe in a Birchbox one month and have since purchased the full-sized. For dewy skin, I love the L'Oreal Magic Lumi Light Infusing Primer (this is a great, affordable dupe for the coveted BECCA Backlight Priming Filter).

Setting Spray: in addition to the Gerard Cosmetics Slay All Day, I always love love love Mac Fix +, as well as UD All Nighter.

My all-time favorite concealer is, obviously, the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Custard. I just always seem to find myself running back to this one. My go-to drugstore concealer is definitely the Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer (my 2 favorite shades are Radiant and Nude).

I also have a ton of samples of foundations and primers that I keep in this drawer to try!

Last, but certainly not least, I have my ultimate eyeshadow base - Mac Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Soft Ochre. You guys - this is my everything. I just love it so much.

Drawer 3 - Bronzers, Blushes, Highlighters

To keep myself organized in here, I have a Sonny Cosmetics Alex 39 acrylic organizer that allows me to easily see what I have to work with!

Right now, my favorite bronzers are the Physician's Formula Butter Bronzer (guys - it smells SO good), the new Urban Decay Beached Bronzer, Too Faced Chocolate Soleil (also smells delicious - like chocolate), and, naturally, Benefit Hoola.

I am currently loving the Milani blushes - they give a nice deposit of color without being too too pigmented and making you look like a doll.

As for highlighters - man this is a hard one. I literally LOVE to be seen from outer space, so I have a ton of faves. First and foremost, BECCA x Jaclyn Hill's Champagne Pop I literally wear every day. It is a problem. I love it so so much. I especially am currently loving to dust it on top of the Marc Jacobs Glow Stick in Spotlight! I am also loving  The Gerard Cosmetics Star Powder in Audrey,  Bobbi Brown Highlighting Powder in Pink Glow, and oddly enough Kat Von D Thunderstruck eyeshadow is a STUNNING highlight.

I have a Jeffree Star Skin Frost en route current (shade: Ice Cold) and canNOT wait to bathe in that baby.

Drawer 4 - More Palettes!

Because not all of my palettes fit in my letter holder, I have a whole drawer dedicated to house all of my other stacks and palettes, such as the Morphe 35O, Makeup Geek x MannyMUA, Melt Dark Matter stack, UD Vice 4, BECCA x Jaclyn Hill face and eye palettes (I got one of the good eyeshadow palettes! I hate to hear some of you didn't!), more custom Z-Palettes, and more!

Drawer 5 - Single eyeshadows, Shadow sticks, Loose pigments, Eyeliners, Mascaras, Glitter glue

I used to not play much with loose pigments and glitters, but have come to love them! My absolute favorite at the moment its the Sugarpill Lumi powder! I also am loving the Dose of Colors loose powders that come with a tacky base in the same shade! My favorite glitter glue is currently the Too Faced Glitter Glue.

As for eyeliners, I have tried tons of liquid and creme/gel liners and have come to love a few in particular. 

Gel: I just can't find one better than the Anastasia Waterproof Creme Color in Jet.

Liquid: for a loose liquid, I actually have been using Jeffree Star's Velour Liquid Lipstick in Weirdo and my Makeup Geek Bent Liner Brush and it slays! For a brush/pen duo, I really like the Eyeko Skinny and Schwing from the Balm.

For Mascara, I still am totally loyal to my Benefit They're Real. I canNOT find anything better. I do, however, love the L'Oreal Carbon Black Mascara for a good drugstore formula. And I recently got a sample of the YSL Vinyl Couture mascara and I hate that I am loving it so much.

Drawer 6 - MORE LIPPIES

What more do I need to say - I love lipsticks! And I am a serious connoisseur of new brands. Some of my absolute ride-or-dies currently are: Anastasia Beverly Hills liquid lipsticks, Bite Beauty Amouse Bouche lipsticks, Urban Decay Vice lipsticks, Jeffree Star Velour liquid lipsticks, Gerard Cosmetics Hydra Mattes, Mellow Cosmetics Matte Liquid Lip Paint, Colourpop Lippie Stix, Dose of Colors matte liquids, Tarte Lip Paint and their new Lippie Lingeries, and Too Faced Melted, including their new Mattes line. Yes, that is a lot, but I am telling you - they are everything.

AND - miraculously I am starting to love a good lipgloss, after 27 years of shunning them. Currently super into Nyx Butter Gloss (Eclair in particular), followed shortly by the Dose of Colors and Gerard Cosmetics formulas! 

Drawer 7 - Lip treatments, Setting powders and Banana powders, Z-Palette pot magnets

My favorite lip treatment of all time (yes, this overshadows my former love for Bite Agave Lip Mask) - Hanalei. It is so buttery and soft and tastes like sugar! I discovered this through Ipsy and immediately bought 2 full sized ones! 

A friend introduced me to the Jersey Shore Cosmetics lip scrub and OH MY GOSH is it magical.

For setting powders, I am officially loyal to RCMA powder. It is SO cheap for the amount you get, and it works SO well, especially if you are into baking! I also love the ABH Banana Powder, but don't have the need for the rest of the contour palette, so I buy the single pans and put them in a mini Z-Palette.

Drawer 8 - Brush cleaners, Extra baskets

I guess this could be classified as my "junk drawer" - I keep my extra organization baskets (super cheap from Walmart), and my brush cleaners.

Drawer 9 - Travel bags 

This drawer holds my serious travel bags - like my Morphe BCS30 Brush Case and my Sephora Weekender makeup bag.

That's it, loves! I hope you enjoyed this tour and look at my makeup collection! What are your favorite makeup items right now? How do you have your vanity set up? We would love to hear from you guys!


xoxo,
your pal who would prefer to live inside the Ikea warehouse, or a Sephora - either will do