VLOGMAS: Holiday Beauty Tips and Products

Hiii! It’s me, Remi!

This post is all about BEAUTY! While I haven’t had many opportunities to get ready this year, I’m thankful for that because it’s given me the opportunity to let my skin breathe. During the holidays though, hair and makeup can be fun to play with to add a little extra shine. But here’s a non -negotiable- I always want it to look natural!

For me, makeup is not about masking or changing anything about your face! It’s about enhancing your features and creating a clean, natural look. That’s why I love to focus more on skincare and only use a little bit of makeup. I love using a number of very natural-looking products (which I’ll show you today!) with just a little bit of sparkle added.

I also reach more for clean makeup products when I can!  I recently did an entire product line review for the clean makeup company Ilia, which you can check out here. If I’m going to be wearing makeup on my face all day- why not have the reassurance that the ingredients are non toxic and working for my skin not against it, ya know?

For today’s Vlogmas post, I’m so excited to share my makeup routine with you. There are so many products that are tried and tested, and I think you’ll love them too. This is my everyday makeup look, but it’s also perfect for the holidays because it adds just a little bit of shimmer and sparkle!

Beauty Tip #1: Prep the Skin

I start off the process with my favorite Caudelíe Beauty Elixir. This toner smells SOOO GOOD (like peppermint) and is so refreshing !!! It just evens everything out and makes my skin look really radiant and glowy! I like to take a deep breath in after spritzing it as an added energizing bonus.

After that, I go in with my serum! Lately, I’ve been using this Multi Hyaluronic Antioxidant Hydration Serum from Allies of Skin. It gives my skin a lot of really great hydration and gives me a bright, healthy look! I can just feel my skin absorbing all the water and I like to tap that into my face with light piano fingers.

For the final step before I start applying actual makeup, I always put SPF on my skin! This just protects my face from harmful sun rays and keeps my skin healthy. I really like EltaMD’s UV Clear Broad-Spectrum SPF 46. It’s a perfect, lightweight sunscreen, and it’s just a little bit tinted to look nice on my skin! (But they do have a regular white option that still blends in well) 

Beauty Tip #2: Makeup!!

Once I’ve prepped the skin really well and it has a nice hydrated base, I can start putting on makeup!!!

I like to start with a little liquid foundation. I’ve been using this Covergirl Vitalist Healthy Elixir Foundation. I discovered this product through a brand deal with Covergirl, but I’ve actually continued to use it long after our contract was up! It gives me great medium-full coverage and has a lot of ingredients that are really good for your skin, too. It’s actually been discontinued since I started using it, so some other I recommend is Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint and Kjaer Weis liquid foundation

After that, I like to put on a little bit of bronzer just to add a little depth back into my face. I really like Tarte’s Amazonian Clay Matte Waterproof Bronzer. It’s really beautiful, and I can just put a little bit on my cheeks, forehead around my hairline, and nose.

Next, I add a little bit of highlighter! Right now my favorite is Lorac’s Light Source Mega Beam Highlighter. Here’s the cool thing about this highlighter: I can use it as a highlighter AND as eyeshadow! I use a small brush to put a little bit on my eyelids, the bridge of my nose, and my cupid’s bow, and then I just use my fingers to put a little bit on the inner corners of my eyes. And voila! The perfect little touch of sparkle for the holidays!

After that, I go in with my favorite bareMinerals Blush. And here’s a little secret: I’m so minimalist that I use the same brush for my bronzer, blush, and highlighter every single day! I can’t be bothered with more than one brush, and honestly, it’s just easier this way, lol.

Okay, now it’s time for my eyebrows! To start, I like to fill out my eyebrows with this Brow PowerFULL Volumizing Eyebrow Pencil from It Cosmetics. This product is great for filling out my brows, but here’s another secret: I also use it to contour my nose! I’ll draw a thin u-shape all the way down my nose, and I’ll just gently blend that in. It’s subtle, but it makes a difference!

For my lips, I love this Water Lip Stain from Clarins. These lip stains are super SUPER pigmented, so you don’t need very much, but the color will still last for a long time and look really nice. I really like their color “red water!”

Now it’s time for eyeliner! I LOVE the Clean Eye Liner from Ilia. I use their brown eyeliner every day, and I like to just make a long angled look. (I know, I need to stop pulling my eyelids!)

Finally, I’ll pull my bronzer back out and use a small eyeshadow brush to put just a little bit on the corners of my eyes, and I’m done! It’s a perfect look just for your every day, but it also has just a little bit of shimmer and sparkle — perfect for the holiday season!

If you want to see me applying these products, definitely check out my vlog! And if you have any questions, I’d love to hear from you. You can leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram, @rrayyme! Let me know what you think of this simple and subtle makeup look!

Now Let’s Talk About Hair!

But makeup isn’t the only important aspect of a beauty routine. There’s also HAIR! I recently had a big hair appointment where I did three things: I touched up my roots, I lightened all of my hair, and I got… EXTENSIONS!!!

I really love having light blonde hair, but I have to get it dyed regularly because the color will eventually fade to a more yellowish/orange color. So, when during my recent hair appointment, I had my roots bleached, and then I had all of my hair dyed sort of an ashy blonde color. That way, when it faces, it will be that light blonde color that I love so much!

But I didn’t just have it dyed. While I was at the salon, I had my stylist, Ara (you can follow her on Instagram, @araako!) give me extensions!!! Which leads me to my final beauty tip for today…

Beauty Tip #3: Use Clip-In Extensions

When it comes to hair extensions, I highly recommend using clip-ins! That way, your look can become totally versatile.

The last time I got hair extensions, I got the tape-in kind. They were okay, and I liked the look, but the tape just made everything feel really immovable and itchy. I spent a lot of time wearing my hair half up or swooped over a certain way, but then you could see the tape, and it was all a bit of a mess. 

But this time, I decided to get clip-in extensions. With clip-ins, I can put them in when I want to rock a long-hair look or take them out when I want to return to my normal length! It’s easy-peasy! I highly recommend these clip-in extensions from Secret of Medusa. They’re made out of real human hair, which my stylist was able to dye to perfectly match the rest of my hair. They’re absolutely beautiful!

I love having the freedom to change up my look whenever I feel like it. It’s so fun to wear my long extensions for special occasions (especially at the holidays!), but sometimes I just want to have my normal, shorter hair!

Have you ever had hair extensions? Do you prefer the tape-ins, or the clip-ins, like me? I’d love to hear about your experience with them! As always, you can leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram, @rrayyme, to show me all your extensions!

Any More Questions?

I hope you enjoyed reading about my makeup routine and hair extensions today! I love this makeup look because it’s sooo natural and it makes me feel really pretty while also keeping my skin glowy and healthy. And I’m really enjoying my new hair extensions! I love having the choice to wear my hair long or short depending on how I feel that day.

Do you have any questions about my hair or makeup routines that I haven’t answered? Do you have any products that you love and want me to try? I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment below this post or tag me on Instagram, @rrayyme! I always love hearing about your beauty tips, tricks, and questions!

Thank you again for reading this post! I hope you learned a lot and that you have FUN playing with your hair and makeup this holiday season! I can’t wait to see all your beautiful Instagram posts <3.

Until next time — LOVE YOU LOTS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!