Charlie Tamara Piper

I've been having a ton of fun using my new iPad Pro (9.7 inch model). I've always wanted to make some prints for my crafting projects but admittedly don't have a gift for drawing. But with the Amaziograph app and my Apple Pencil, I suddenly have a knack for creating the swirling, scrolling patterns I've always wanted to make. And here's how I used one of my favorite designs to make a cool birthday card. First, after making an Amaziograph design that I loved, I downloaded the photo and used Microsoft Word on my MacBook Pro to format the picture and prep it for printing. I used a sheet of sticker paper to print out the design, and then adhered the sticker paper to a sheet of white card stock to bulk up the card stock. I used a bone folder to make a crisp fold for the card.  On to the fun part! There's so much happening in this pattern that it didn't need much to make it special. I grabbed some self-adhesive rhinestones in small and large ...

Left: Shade + Light; right: Shade + Light Glimmer Kat von D powders have more than earned their reputation as some of the best in the game. Whether it's a face power or an eyeshadow, the formula is creamy, pigmented and blendable. I own a few KvD powder products and they're all really wonderful to work with. The Shade + Light series, which kicked off with the contour palette, is a range of contouring products for face and eye. The series launched at the height of the contouring and matte trends and easily won a top spot in my makeup collection. It's so smart of KvD to release the Shade + Light Glimmer palette when makeup's leaning towards a shimmery, glittery look. I have a soft spot for shimmery shadows and neutral shades and this palette more than fits that bill at first glance. First, here's a comparison between the original Shade + Light palette and its Glimmer counterpart: The palettes really struck me as being quite similar to one an...

(Left: Clarisonic Mia 2 Fit; Right: Foreo Luna 2) For makeup lovers, people with problematic skin or even as we get older, skin care is key. You have to take care of your skin in order make your makeup look its best, fix any problem areas or combat the signs and effects of aging. Just washing your face with cleanser and water won't cut it. Sonic brushes for cleansing your face have been on the market for several years now and there are so many options to consider. The top two sonic brushes options are made by  Clarisonic and  Foreo , and I've used both devices in the past to . In this week's post, I'll share why I left Clarisonic for Foreo - and why I came back. Clarisonic Pros and Cons I've always had blemish-prone skin and realized that I needed to step up my skin care routine to help improve my skin. I purchased my first Clarisonic several years ago and really enjoyed it - here are the benefits: It deep cleans and exfoliates skin in just one minute e...

Summertime is in full effect and we're all thinking about adding to or refining our sunglasses collections. Protecting our eyes is important all year long - sunlight can damage our skin and vision over time, so while this is the time of year that we think about picking up a new pair of shades we should be in the practice of wearing them every day.  I've started to experience light sensitivity which is a first sign that I need to do better about wearing my sunglasses. And hitting up a few favorite stores can give me a fantastic designer sunglass collection at a fraction of the cost.  The lead photo shows you all 10 of my sunglasses. I'll share each pair in more detail and provide links to purchase them if I can find them (I've owned a few long enough that I'm not sure if they are still being manufactured or sold.) But first, here are my favorite tips for buying sunglasses: Shopping Tips and Tricks: Save money by buying cheaper versions of tre...

Makeup addicts rejoice! There's always a ton of buzz whenever Urban Decay launches a new palette in their Naked series, and the release of the Naked Heat palette (above) is no exception. Designed to be really warm and fiery, the Naked Heat palette is a welcome new addition to the Naked collection. The Naked Palette Series Overview Here's a picture of how the Naked Heat palette stacks up against the first four Naked entries: Note: I don't own any of palettes in the Naked Basics series since most of those colors repeat in the other palettes or I found I had too many duplicates in my makeup collection to justify owning them. The original Naked palette was the one that launched a thousand neutral palettes across the makeup industry. It's an old faithful palette for me and likely my favorite one - it has a good blend of warm and cool shades to be able to create a ton of looks.  The Naked 2 palette is largely a steely, cool-toned palette that includes some gr...