Morphe Brushes 35O Palette Tutorial

Happy New Year! I'm so excited to be back on my blog because I've missed all of my readers! Thank you so much for sticking with me.

I wanted to come back with a fun and different post, so I'm sharing a tutorial today using the much esteemed Morphe Brushes 35O Palette! This is a metallic copper/red brick shaded look. As I mentioned in the video below, I'm a big fan of this palette for the variety of shadows alongside the quality and affordability of the palette. If you don't have one yet, grab one now because they tend to sell out quickly!

I hope that you enjoy this video tutorial and if you have any additional requests for me, please leave me a comment!


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Wedding Wednesday: Honoring A Departed Loved One

As we come closer to the big day I want to start sharing details about it here on The Chic Counsel. This new series will be called Wedding Wednesday and could encompass any aspect of wedding planning, bridal events, fashion choices, etiquette and reception activities. I'd love any and all feedback about these topics because brides can be some of the most indecisive people and I am, of course, no exception!

During this first installment of Wedding Wednesday, I want to talk about a topic really close to my heart which is honoring a departed loved one on this special day. My fiancé and I both have family members that, unfortunately, will not physically be in attendance of the festivities, but they will be there in spirit and in our hearts. In my case, this individual is my grandmother, or as I affectionately named her at a young age, Grammy.

Grammy was my very first best friend and taught me countless lessons about life, love, selflessness, compassion, respecting myself and standing my ground. We both have a flair for being strong-willed...I mean we are both Virgos, afterall!

Grammy made a profound impact on my life and it tears me apart knowing that I won't be able to hold her hand, look her in the eye and give her a great big hug right before I walk down the aisle and embark into this new adventure called marriage. This doesn't mean that she won't be present though, she will be on my mind in the days leading up to the wedding and the days thereafter as I live my life and follow in her footsteps.

A few ways that I plan to pay tribute to her on the day is to firstly save her a seat. I want her seat front and center during the ceremony and adorned with a small bouquet of white calla lilies right next to my mother.

I also want to light a candle in tribute to her next to my favorite photograph that you see pictured above with Grammy, my grandfather and great grandfather.

Lastly, I would like to wear a memento that reminds me of Grammy. When my family moved from New York to Texas, my Grammy and I were separated by miles, but she would always write me letters and send me cards and to this day, I still have most of them. I recently found a piece on Etsy that can take writing like a signature and create a piece of jewelry from it. I want to have one created that says "Love, Grammy" how she would always sign off in her letters to me. Everytime I look at it, I'll feel a bit closer to her and feel like she's sharing the moments and memories with me.

Honoring a loved one during the wedding day is very personal and I hope that my Grammy knows just how important she was and continues to be to me. There's no way that I would be the woman that I am today without her.

January 2015 Monthly Favorites

2015 is off to a great start and I'm excited to begin my monthly favorites videos! Today, I'm sharing all of my favorites from makeup, skincare, food, books and health! Cozy up on the couch and check out my latest monthly favorites in the video below.

Let me know, what are your January favorites?

Review: Kat Von D Tattoo Liner

This is a long overdue post as I've found a new liner love in my life. I'd previously been a loyal fan of the Stila Stay All Day Liner, however, after hearing loads of rave reviews about the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner, I decided it was worth a shot.

Kat Von D's Tattoo Liner is a unique brush-tipped liquid liner that delivers a true jet black pigment to the lids...or anywhere else that you'd like to apply it as you can see in Kat Von D's demo video.

There are a few reasons that I adore this liner. I've never encountered a liner that glides on this smooth and consistently. You won't have to deal with retracing your lines due to faded application areas like what you'd encounter with felt tipped liners.  The Tattoo Liner is also incredibly precise allowing you to venture deep toward the inner corner of your eye with ease and no mess. Lastly, it has impeccable staying power and doesn't budge until you remove it. Nuff said!

The packaging is the epitome of quality with a "spring-like" snap tight lid to ensure that the product lasts as long as possible. I've had my Kat Von D Tattoo Liner for months and it's still going strong! As impressive and gorgeous as this liner performs, I don't see myself venturing back to Stila anytime soon.

My only gripe with Kat Von D Tattoo Liner is that it seems to only be available in the jet black color, Trooper. I've heard murmurings of a blue color called Skater being available but have yet to witness it in person. If a few additional colors are released, dare I say, we are venturing into the territory of makeup perfection!

So, what about you? Have you tried the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner? Have you spotted other colors of the product? Let me know your thoughts in the comment below.

NARS Digital World Lip Pencil Coffret Swatches

Over the holidays, I was fortunate enough to snag the NARS Digital World Lip Pencil Coffret. This was a popular limited edition set of five satin and velvet matte lip pencils. If you weren't able to find this set during the holidays, check online and in-stores, but do it fast before they go away!

The set is a bit pricey with a $49 price tag, but the variety of colors, textures, size of the product and product staying power makes the price tag so worth it! I have to say that I really love the consistency and color payoff of both the satin and matte velvet pencils; they are great quality. That being said, I do love all of the colors, but for my specific skin tone, I would skip Descanso, the icy pink rose color, because it is a touch too cool for me.

Satin: Torres Del Paine | Soft Peachy Coral

Satin: Descanso | Icy Pink Rose

Satin: Yu | Electric Pink (Full FOTD here)

Matte: New Iberico | True Orange

Matte: Cruella | Scarlet

Which color is your favorite of the NARS Digital World Lip Pencil? Let me know in the comments below and don't forget to come back tomorrow to check out my first food post on the blog!