12.11.13

 

Brows for days!!! If you know me personally at all, you know that I am obsessed with a good brow. Today, I hope to share with you my simple steps for a natural and defined brow.

1. I begin with grooming. I use a double sided brow brush to comb them upward and find my natural line. Tweeze anything underneath that looks out of place, while still leaving the shape. I use this brush along with a pair of small scissors to trim them. Comb upward and downward, trimming anything that appears above or below the tweezed lines. Be gentle to not trim much near the end; most brow ends are sparse. The biggest tip I can give, is to never over-tweeze, especially on the top. I leave my arch there, as I remove maybe 5 hairs from the top of my brows.

2. Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade is the best product, in my opinion! I have it in auburn.
It doesn't move but it's easy to get dimension, and isn't too harsh. Tarte Waterproof Clay Mousse is my next choice in product.
I dip the end of my angled brush in the pomade and start by drawing a line along the bottom of my brow. This should be the darkest part. Start a finger width apart from the inside of your brow because the inside should be lighter.

3. Next, I find the tip of my arch and shade it in. I drag my brush (pencil, if you prefer) from the point of the arch to the end of my brow.

4. Now I gently shade in the top, beginning from the same point as the bottom line drawn earlier, and connecting it to the arch.

5. For the middle, I turn my brush to a 90 degree angle from my face, so it is flat. I don't use any more product than what was on my brush from the previous step. I create a slightly rounded square, that is noticeably lighter than the rest of my brow. To blend, I take the brow comb and brush through them.

6. Clean-up is last. A highlighter pencil is my choice, but a concealer stick or concealer on a brush works great as well. I dust around my brows with this, defining them and removing any unwanted smudges. Blend this well.


Thank you so much for reading.
xoxo

9.30.13

In November of 2011, an awkward, curly-headed girl walked up to me as I was doing make-up at Dillards and asked, "Are you Alexa?"
Tyler refers to her as my "other boyfriend", but we just have everything in common. She's become one of my best friends, and over the course of the few years we've been close, we have grown together in so many areas of the fashion industry. Jessa is a knockout in front of the camera, and a wiz behind it.

We snapped these after a long, beautiful day, and we barely caught them in the last 10 minutes of sunlight. I sped sped sped to our location and then we tracked through the woods. These few shots are definitely worth the trouble.

Goodnight September. You've been good to me.

xoxo

9.24.13

 Yesterday, I had coffee with a very close friend of mine. We go way back.
It's absolutely hilarious now to think that my young teen self thought Lydia hated me, but I was so wrong. Her glances at me were not mean, just shy ones. She's awesome. We're from the same area, but we eventually bonded over our love for ALL CAPS CONVERSATIONS on facebook. We both ended up in Springfield, and I'm proud to call her my friend.
Behind her small voice is a sassy attitude and a big heart. I hope to be the wife and mom she is some day.

 Here is her lovely blog.

  

 I had a 'sweet momma sip' on ice. It was a raspberry|dark chocolate latte, and it was incredible.

If you haven't been to Big Mommas on C street, I definitely recommend it.

It was some much needed girl time, and it fixed my sweet tooth for the day. What more could I ask for?

xoxo

9.22.13

 It's officially the first day of fall!
I love bold lips because the rest of my makeup can be simple, and I still look polished. These are some of my favorites of the season.

 1//2//3//4

Thanks for reading,
xoxo

9.20.13

Makeup is my favorite! Skin care is important.

I get this overwhelming sense of joy when I step into a Sephora or Ulta. A child-opening-a-christmas-present kind of happy, guys. My life goal is to have a swimming pool filled with gobs of makeup, so I can swim in it like Scrooge McDuck.
As much as I die over that stuff, I wasn't always the best at taking care of my canvas. A fresh, flawless face starts with healthy skin.

 I start with a daily routine of a cleanser, a toner, a moisturizer, and I use tea tree oil as a spot remover when blemishes sneak up on me. After that, I prep my eyes.
This is the greatest tip anyone has ever given me.
Start with the eyes.
I live by this, and if you don't do it already, I'm begging you to try.
The fall out from the eyeshadow and mascara can be super messy, so if I do the eyes first, I can simply wipe it away, instead of trying to cover it up post-foundation.

When the eyes are done, I apply a primer.
Not only does primer help my makeup stay on all day, but it also helps me use half as much foundation as I normally would. This is the primer I'm currently using, but my favorite cheap-o is this! Don't knock it until you try it.

I apply a dime sized amount, and apply; starting with the nose, and working my way out.

Foundation time. I use Mat+Velvet by Make Up Forever.
This is probably the most important product you will use on your face. It doesn't only cover the whole face, but it stays there all day. This is not something I skip on. Cheap foundation contains harsh and toxic chemicals that will clog the pores and damage the skin.
Investing in a foundation is a big step, but one you will not regret.

Concealer! I have horrible dark circles. If I'm not wearing it, people normally ask me if I "feel okay" or if I'm "tired". No, my face is just discolored, thanks for asking.
Lifesaver!

I have a nice ole' case of "foundation lips" going on here. I have to define my lips after foundation or I just lose them (and thats hard to do with my lips..) For a natural look, try a nude lipstick or lip-liner.

To finish off my simple, fresh look, I added my favorite blush underneath my cheek, and blended upward to the bottoms of my apples. Next, I added a highlighter to my cheek bones, and the corners of my eyes.

Plus some lipstick to polish!

 Thanks for reading!

9.10.13

“Too Good For Fish Sticks?”

I almost didn’t go that year. It was 2007, and I remember it being especially hot that summer. My birthday had just passed and I was 15 years old.
I almost didn’t go, but I convinced a couple of my good friends to come up with me, and we headed to church camp for a week.

I asked the cafeteria if I could have a hotdog one night, because they were serving my favorite, fish.

“Too good for fish sticks,” were the first words Tyler said to me. Nerves filled me stomach, and honestly after he spoke to me, I lost my appetite anyway.
“No, I’m allergic… Jerk”

This was the conversation that started a lasting relationship.

The first time I saw him is embedded in my mind. It was love at first site. I could make a pizza with all the cheese oozing from this post, but I haven’t and won’t exaggerate.

He wasn’t a camper, he came to tell his story (more on that later), and play us some lovely tunes. I got his “msn addy” and I went home with my head in the clouds.
I’m really close to my mom; both of my parents, really. I’m lucky enough to have parents that have been together for close to 30 years.
I told my mom when I got home, that I met the man I was going to marry.

Six years later, here we are.

Chapter 2 coming soon. Xoxo

Thank you thank you THANK YOU Katie Shanice Photography for the amazing photos. I love you, girl.

9.5.13

 Okay, so a little more background here. I grew up in southeast Missouri, in a town that sits on the current river. My summer days were filled with floating, boating and wading.
When I found this piece of driftwood at a neighbors yard sale, I was instantly smitten. For a steal of $2, I snatched up this natural piece of art and the small white mug beside it!

My beautiful fiance and I are in the process of making the move to Nashville, and are currently living with one of our best friends! It's been great here; the bills are split 3 ways, there are 3 people to do the dishes (thank goodness), but it's difficult to buy anything home interior when you're living in someone else's home. Luckily, Katie's style is eclectic, making it easy to place things here and there. When the time comes, and Tyler and I move to our future home in Tennessee, it will be filled with lots of black and white, lots of wood, and lots of love.
These pieces fit perfectly!

This morning I went out, grabbed some pebbles, and filled the bottom of the mugs with them. Then, some good ole' potting soil went in around the tiny succulents.
Kitty (our nephew), the 16 pound Maine Coon cat, was trying to help me. That is a full on chomp, folks.

Thanks for reading. xoxo

9.2.13

Hello,
My name is Alexa, and I’m soon to be called Mrs. Montgomery. I have a small town soul with a love for all things fashion. I aim to use my creative outlets to not only grow myself, but to capture the beauty around me and that is in others.

I’m a hair stylist, a makeup artist, fashion enthusiast and part time photographer.
Through my blogging journey, I hope to give you a little glimpse of my world.