Hunter, Author at VITAL BLONDE

Hair Saviors for Fine Hair

Feb 12

There are two truths to having fine hair. It is tangly and it is limp. My childhood smells like Suave kids’ detangler spray from my mother’s desperate attempts to de-knot my hair while I screamed. If you have fine hair, you probably know exactly what I’m talking about. As I’ve gotten older, my hair is still just as prone to knotting, and teasing it from lack of natural volume has not helped either. Combing my hair out after showering used to feel equivalent to having my scalp mauled by a vacuum.

But then I found two products that have quite literally become my hair saviors.

1. It’s A 10 Miracle Leave-in Product. They sure got the “miracle” part right. Just a few sprays of it makes a HUGE difference. My hair colorist, Chris, was the first to use this on me and I think I ran out and bought it that day. No other product has ever de-tangled my hair in the way this does. There is literally no tugging or pulling through knots. This product is also great because it contains keratin, which adds natural strength back into your hair. This is super important if you use a lot of heat tools.

2. Kevin Murphy Body Builder Mousse. The main reason why fine hair doesn’t have volume is because there isn’t really any texture to it. Any sort of volumizing mousse helps add texture to give your hair more body. However, a lot of these products give your hair that dreaded “crunchy” feel and make your hair feel heavy. Kevin Murphy’s does not- it’s lightweight but still adds volume. I put about a golf ball sized (or more) amount in one hand and take small amounts from that to work into my roots all over while my hair is still wet. Adjust how much you use to how much hair you have; I don’t have a ton of hair unfortunately. Then just blow dry your hair and natural looking voluminous hair is yours!

Both of these products are great even if you don’t have fine hair, they’re absolutely suited for all hair types. The It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-in product you should be able to find easily at Target or Walgreens, but you’ll have to visit a salon to get your hands on any Kevin Murphy products, and you can locate one near you on their website. If you’re in Austin, head to Luxe Apothetique in the Domain for Kevin Murphy! I just picked up this product there the other day and I’m already loving it.

What are your must-have hair products? I hope you are all having a great week and thank you so much for reading!

Wednesday Wishes // Spring

Feb 11

one | two | three | four | five | six | seven

1. Kendra Scott Isla Necklace in Blue Lace Agate.

Kendra Scott beautifully captured the season in her Avant Garden collection. I loved every piece with the Blue Lace Agate stone, and this necklace is perfect for layering.

2. Rebecca Minkoff Marlowe Mini.

You’ll be seeing a LOT of marble this Spring, and I’m not complaining about it one bit. I want all the marble. Since Rebecca Minkoff is probably my favorite handbag designer, I think I almost cried when I saw this gorgeous marble bag. I’m apologizing to my bank account in advance for this one because I don’t think I can resist…

3. “Beverly Hills” Sonix Case.

Is it possible to look at this case and not feel happy? I’m loving this chic Beverly Hills print wherever I can find it. I go through phone cases way too fast, and this is definitely the next one I’m getting.

4. Steve Madden “Rosana” Sandals.

If you know me at all, you know I am extremely clumsy. I trip over my own feet, on flat ground. This is the exact reason I believe the chunky heel trend was made for me. These sandals are perfect for spring and I love that the heel is low enough for you to bear walking a lot in them.

5. Rebecca Minkoff Crystal Ring.

A whole area of jewelry I’ve found I tend to ignore is rings. I’m not sure if it’s just that I don’t ever really find any I love or if I just don’t like wearing them too much, but I’m pretty sure I only own a total of maybe 3 rings. I decided that the perfect way to fix that starts with this little beauty that popped up on my Pinterest feed the other day. It’s the perfect blend of girly and edgy.

6. Free People Wild One Kimono.

Spring weather here in Texas is pretty warm, but not yet blistering hot. You still need something on your shoulders but you by no means need a full on coat. Meet the perfect solution for weird Texas weather, the kimono. Lauryn Evarts from The Skinny Confidential was wearing this one in her insta the other day, and because I’m mildly obsessed with her I decided this is the kimono I need, obviously.

7. Deborah Lippmann “Blue Orchid” Nail Polish.

I do not need another nail polish. I do not. But I just NEED this one. You could call me a nail polish ~~hoarder~~ collector. Seriously. I own too many. But I cannot get enough of this gorgeous blue color for spring this year. P.S. This polish is actually from last year’s spring collection, and this year’s is great too.

Ok. I have one more thing. My bff Tori released this really great song (it’s been stuck in my head for like five days now) and made this really great music video. Show her some love and check it out 🙂

I hope you like this little “Wednesday Wishes” that I’ll be sharing every so often of my wishlist featuring current trends. Spring is my favorite season, and it cannot get here fast enough. What’s on your wishlist for spring? Thank you so much for reading!

Cleansing Oils

Feb 09

I’ve been really trying to focus more on skincare lately. I used to think just using a face wipe to take off my makeup at night was okay, and now I cringe at the thought. Recently I’ve adopted the “double cleanse” method, which comes from Korean skincare. I know, washing your face twice seems like serious overkill. The trick is to use a moisturizing cleansing oil as your first cleanser since it will strip away makeup, but not your skin.

I know what you’re thinking. “Hunter, I have oily skin. PLEASE do not tell me to rub more oil on my face.” Hear me out- you need this. I was not a fan of the idea of using oil to clean my face. I have very oily skin and usually always opt for oil-free products whenever possible. Plus, the thought of rubbing oil on my face just seemed… wrong. However, oil attracts oil so believe it or not using a cleansing oil actually helps remove unwanted shine. Of course, I wasn’t completely sold on this idea but I had to try it out.

I bought the Garnier Cleansing Oil, since I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a product that I was nearly certain I wouldn’t like. (Surprise, I was wrong.) First off, the oil smells great. It’s kind of tropical and summery, which is refreshing in the middle of winter. To use it, make sure that your hands and face are completely dry, and get about 1-2 pumps of oil on your fingertips. Then, just massage it into your skin to remove makeup. It’s safe to use around your eyes, too. Once I feel like I’ve covered pretty much everywhere that needs to be cleansed, I add water so that it emulsifies and rinse the oil off.

And poof. All makeup gone. Even every last bit of my mascara, and my skin feels incredibly clean- not oily or gross at all. I then wash my face a second time with my Boscia Detoxifying Black Cleanser to ensure that my skin is super clean and to remove any of the cleansing oil that I may have missed. This step is what really helps deep clean your skin better than just washing your face one time with your usual cleanser.

I thought for sure that using an oil to clean my face would do more harm than good, but I swear my skin has never felt so clean. My skin has even gotten softer over the past month that I’ve been using a cleansing oil. It also doesn’t feel like I’m having to scrub at my skin to get rid of all my makeup, it takes it off SO easy. I highly recommend using a cleansing oil especially if you have oily or troubled skin. I promise you it’s worth the extra time invested in your skin. I double cleanse morning and night since my skin is pretty oily when I wake up, but if yours is drier you will probably only want to at night. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to just washing my face just once again.

I’ve been sampling this Josie Maran oil recently, and so far I think I like the Garnier version better since it has a little bit thinner consistency and seems easier to get all of my makeup off. I also really want to try this cleansing oil– apparently one is sold every ten seconds worldwide.

Have you ever tried a cleansing oil, and do you have a favorite one? Let me know if you have one I should try, and thank you so much for reading!

10 Makeup Mistakes You Might Be Making

Feb 05

{photo via pinterest}

I’ve been obsessed with makeup since I knew what it was. I’m about 98% sure that I wore makeup every single day all 4 years of high school, and probably almost every day that I’ve been in college. I am that girl in class dressed like a hobo and wearing a full face of makeup. Not sorry. I think it’s pretty safe to say that I’ve made my fair share of makeup mistakes in my lifetime- however heinous they may be. Did I wear glitter eyeliner everyday of 6th grade? I’m not so sure I wanna own up to that one… (Unfortunately the answer is yes.) I’ve gathered up ten makeup mistakes that seem to be the most common, but there’s no shame here. I’ve been guilty of all of these at some point, so learn from my mistakes and get one step closer to flawless makeup.

1. You don’t prime.

If your makeup isn’t lasting all day, use a primer. It will keep your makeup in place. This one is my favorite, and I’m dying to try this one.

2. You use your fingers to apply face makeup.

Use a makeup brush or Beauty Blender sponge to ensure even coverage of your makeup. Using your hands or fingers to apply face makeup can leave you splotchy. Also, you don’t want all the oils and germs from your hands on your face- especially if your hands aren’t clean.

3. You don’t clean your makeup brushes.

Having problems with breakouts? Your makeup brushes could be the culprit. Try to clean them once a week to prevent bacteria from growing and spreading on your face.

4. You don’t match your foundation correctly.

You want to match your foundation to three places: your driver’s side jawline, underneath your eyes and around your nose. Your “perfect” foundation color should seemingly disappear into all three of these places. Remember, you don’t ever want your face to be a different shade than the rest of your body.

5. You’re using the wrong coverage foundation.

Don’t use more coverage than you need. If you don’t need full coverage foundation, don’t use one! I love using tinted moisturizers or BB creams just to even out my skin color a little, and then adding concealer under my eyes and wherever else needed.

6. You apply concealer under your foundation.

If you apply concealer before foundation, you’re just blending it away. Apply your foundation first, and then concealer in any areas you want a little more coverage.

7. You wear black eyeliner on your waterline.

Black eyeliner on your waterline can make your eyes look smaller. Try a white or cream color eyeliner instead, your eyes will look bigger and you’ll appear more awake. I love this one.

8. You powder instead of blot.

If you have oily skin like I do, you’re constantly worried about looking shiny. Carry oil blotting sheets with you and use those to get rid of the shine. Powdering to get rid of shine can make you look cakey and powdery.

9. You don’t ever wear lip products.

Don’t let your lips disappear into your face! AT LEAST wear a lightly tinted lip balm or gloss to prevent this. (This one is perfect if you’re not used to lip products yet!) I’m also a firm believer that just one swipe of lipstick will make you look ten thousand times more put together. See here– I swear anyone can pull of casual red lipstick if they want to.

10. You don’t fill in your eyebrows.

You don’t have to do anything crazy with your brows, but lightly filling them in with an angled brush and powder to match your hair color will give more dimension to your face. I personally like my brows to be a little darker than my hair color, but this choice is up to you. I use a MAC 266 brush and MAC Omega for my brows, and Omega is a great color for blondes. But honestly, I’m kinda liking this trend too for all you fair haired beauties…

Of course, if you find that you do one or more of these and it totally works for you- keep doing you! I have just found that these things do not work for me or a lot of girls I know. What makeup faux pas bugs you the most? I’m curious!

P.S. Thank you all SO much for the overwhelming love and support you’ve given me about my blog! I could not ask for better family & friends (since I know you’re probably the only ones reading at this point 😉 ) I love you all, and stay tuned for regular posts from me!

Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Feb 03

{photo via pinterest}

Hi, I’m Hunter and welcome to my blog! Here’s a little about me.

I’m a sophomore this year at the University of Texas at Austin. (hook em!) I’m double majoring in Public Relations and Retail Merchandising, which is a fancy way of saying I’m a Fashion major. My classes for my major are all creativity based, and I can’t complain about having classes solely learning about clothes. I’m also doing a program called Business Foundations which is essentially minoring in business. At this point you’re probably thinking I’ve lost my mind- 2 majors and a minor?! Luckily for me, I love learning and I want to absorb as much as possible in college. With all of this education I hope to delve into the field of Fashion PR after graduation and I can’t wait for that day.

I also serve as co-director of apparel for my sorority. Essentially this means I design all of those oversized t-shirts that sorority girls live in. I know what you’re thinking now, a fashion major that loves oversized t-shirts? Blasphemy. It’s a look that is only acceptable for four years of college, so I’ll take the comfort while I can!

I am absolutely obsessed with makeup. When I was barely a year old, I found my way into my Meme’s (my grandmother, but she hates the g-word) makeup and horribly attempted to apply her red lipstick myself. My Mom and Meme found me with it all over my face and hands, screaming because I thought it was blood. I guess that experience didn’t traumatize me too much since I now have more lip products than one human being could ever need, and usually have at least 3 different ones on me at any given time. This is obviously the inspiration behind the name of my blog, since I am usually never without lipstick. I see makeup as an art and am a firm believer that the right shade of lipstick can turn any day (or night) around.

So what am I doing here? Well, that’s a good question. I’m here to ramble and share info about things I love, mainly beauty and style. I also want to inspire others through what I share, as I have found inspiration myself from other blogs. Although fashion and beauty are generally regarded as highly superficial, I don’t see it this way. I love dressing up and wearing makeup because it makes me feel good, not because I think I have to. If you look and feel great, you’ll be a lot more productive and successful. (I swear I’ve done better on the exams I wore makeup to- because I felt great.) I hope that I can inspire girls to be the truest version of themselves, and feel great along the way.

So there. That’s me, and welcome to The Lipstick Tales.

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