I was recently asked to do this blog by the amazing beauty blogger, Charlotte Crowder [charlottecrowder.blogspot.com] and I have received many questions from people on how I edit my instagram pictures.
Here are the basics:
> I mostly use my Iphone 6 to take my Instagram pictures
> I always use the "square option" on the camera app on my phone
> I normally do not use Instagram's filters and settings for my pictures
> I use two apps, Afterlight and Picsart
Afterlight = .99 on the appstore
Picsart = free on the appstore
I mainly use Afterlight unless I need some extra help from Picsart. I personally love Afterlight and think it's the best editing app out there.
Now here are the steps I go through on Afterlight.
STEPS FOR AFTERLIGHT
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1) Open the app and select the "Take a Picture" or "Choose From Library" option on the main menu.
2) Once you have chosen an option ( I chose to pick one that I already had taken on my phone)...
Select it and start editing! I chose this picture of an alley way I took in Little Italy, Boston.
It allows you to preview the picture and you can actually left swipe and preview other pics from your camera roll as well. Now select "USE".
3) Play around! I usually like to start by upping the brightness on my photos just to make it easier to see.
You can play around with how much you think you need for the picture by sliding the bar around. You can adjust the amount of a certain setting for a lot of them.
4) Then, I normally add a saturation filter to make the colors in the photos pop.
Now as you can see, the redness on the sign is more prominent than it was as well as the green awning.
I usually just play around with all of the settings and I really enjoy making a picture look different or enhanced by this app.
I like to mess around with the temperature (the little thermometer icon) to make the picture look warmer or cooler. I gave this pic a warmer tone. So you can see the browns and oranges in the buildings.
5) Sometimes I add an overall filter to my picture.
My favorite one to use, especially for selfies, is "Russ". That has to be the one I use in a lot of pictures. I like to control how much of it I want in the picture. It gives it a slightly faded look.
*** There is also an option to create a "dusty" look or add streaks as if it was manually printed and it gives a really vintage feel to the photograph. I like to stay away from this feature because it distracts the viewer and it isn't real dust or streaks anyway!
As seen above, that was just to show you what it looks like to add a dust filter but, I am just going to go back to the one I was using before.
6) Now you are given a cropping option. You can manually free crop it or crop it to a certain size. If I have a picture that was not originally a square photo, I can crop it into a square or any other shape.
7) And finally for the editing process is adding a border.
There are so many borders to choose from and so many shapes. If you have seen my Instagram, you'll find that all of mine have a slight white border all around every picture (I chose the first one given). I really like this border because it doesn't look as sloppy as having 10 different borders shown on my Instagram plus you can see the whole entire picture clearly this way.
8) FINAL STEP: SEND TO SOCIAL MEDIA! (And add image resolution size)
Et Voilà !!!! You have just edited your first photo! Congrats!
Here is what the Picsart app looks like if any of you are also interested. This is also a great app to use. It has so many other options and features. You can also make corrections on pictures like removing red eyes from the flash or whitening teeth and what not. I am not that interested in using it as much as Afterlight because I feel like the app just has so many features that I don't end up using and don't really like.
In addition, Picsart is actually a photo sharing app itself. There's a big community on Picsart that just share photos they have taken and edited. It's a really cool idea! You can make personalized albums and share them straight from the app!
I hope you all find inspiration from this post to up your game in photo taking and editing and I hope this answered a lot of questions! If not leave comments below and I'd gladly get back to you!
Thanks for reading!
Xoxo Nat
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Maybelline Cosmetics is one of my favorite drugstore makeup brands and I have recently heard about these 24 hr color tatoos and was pretty impressed. They are cream eyeshadows that tend to work as a primer as well! I personally think these do stay true to the 24 hour staying power.
They retail each at Ulta for $6.99. Here are the three I picked up. (Out of about 10 different colors).
"Creamy Beige" is a pretty taupey color that is matte. I like to use it as a base color and build off of it.
"Bad to the Bronze" is my favorite out of the selection. It's a pretty shimmery bronzey gold color and Sometimes I use this as an all over lid color or use it in my crease.
"Inked in Pink" is a very pretty rosegold shimmer and i love using this as a statement shadow and for my outer crease. This and a nude lip is a classy yet simple look for day or night.
As for the formulation, it is creamy but the application of it is a bit chuncky when I am using an eyeshadow brush. I find myself having to just end up using my fingers to thoroughly blend it all out.
These shadows stay on all day and do not crease and the colors are just so beautiful. (See swatches below from Inked in Pink, Leather, and Bad to the Bronze).
These shadows are perfect for any event and I highly recommend these to everybody to try out! Maybelline fails to disappoint me! Keep on making makeup!
Xoxo
Nat
It's that time again!! My mom and I just went to Bath and Body Works for their semi annual sale and gosh did I find a lot! From candles, body sprays, lotions, creams, candles and much much more. Having a giftcard to BBW already was a total plus because I needed to stock up on my favs!
The sale goes from today until July 6 so grab all your goodies before they're sold out!
The first thing that I always look for are body gels and creams. I go through so many body gels and creams that I had to stock up on them!
All of them were under $4! It was a steal compared to their original prices of $12.50!!
The ones I picked out above were White Tea & Ginger, Lush Pink Dragonfruit, and one of their classics, Country Apple. And they smell amazing (especially in a hot steamy shower).
The last things that I decided (it took a long time based on the options in the store—all amazing) were candles.
Candles at BBW are my number 1 priority because you can't go wrong with a whole stock full to save for the upcoming seasons and they burn so well and smell so good.
I grabbed Honolulu Sun, Guava Colada, and (one of Zoella's favorites) Honeysuckle Bouquet! These were originally priced at $22.50 and were on sale for 50% off for $12.50! The smaller one wicks were $6 each.
With all my purchases at BBW, I saved over $75! (Using a $10 off spend $40 coupon).
The sale will be going on for a long time so don't rush on over because they do keep everything well stocked but, a lot of scents have gone over the past two days at my local BBW. The selection of things they have are pretty beachy which is awesome for the summer! They do have a lot of classic scents as well like Peach Bellini, Country Apple, Cucumber Melon, and so fourth.
This isn't a sale to miss! Happy shopping!
Xoxo Nat
What's your go to scent at BBW?
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Doing my nails is like mowing the lawn. It's a chore ladies. However, when I do my nails I have some of my favorite nail polishes for summer to share with you guys!
This first nailpolish is one of my favorite blue shades for the summer. It is a bright cobalt blue and you only need one to two coats. It reminds me of the ocean!
>Essie's "Butler Please" $8.50 at Walgreens
I have been really into metallics lately and I know I know Selena Gomez blah blah blah... But her OPI collection is pretty great! I love coppers and golds on my nails and this is definatley one you should pick up for the summer!
> Nicole by OPI Selena's "Kissed by Midnight" $9 at Ulta
Don't worry! Not all my nail polishes are really expensive high street brands, but Sinful Colors has a great collection of colors and the quality is really good! This is my favorite bright neon pink color to wear on my toes and is great for the beach! It does take about 3 coats to apply but the color payoff is amazing!
> Sinful Color's "24/7" $1.99 at Walgreens
This is one of my newer favorites that I just picked up and I am in love. I describe it as very "juicy" haha I look at it on my nails and want to just eat it off (but I don't). It's one of Essie's newest summer shades.
> Essie's "Peach Side Babe" $8.50 at Walgreens
And lastly, this is one of my yearly favorites because I love it so so much is OPI's Cajun Shrimp. This is a popular favorite in their collection and I just discovered it. Lately I have been really into bright watermelon-y, orangey reds. This summer I will definatley be looking out for some more OPI colors to come!
>OPI's "Cajun Shrimp" $9 at Ulta
Thanks for reading my top nail polishes for this summer! I hope you enjoyed and try out these awesome colors!
What's your must have nail polish for these hot summer months?
Xoxo Nat
Photo by: Ellaby Rohde
Flying anxiety. The fear of flying. I am scared of being airborne.
Ever since I was really little I have had a fear of being trapped in an aluminum tube that is shot into mid air and I have had to tolerate the terrifying ups and downs of turbulence.
Thoughts that go through my head:
1) I am going to crash and die
2) Who on the flight looks like a potential terrorist
3) Where are the exits
4) I am okay
5) I am not okay
6) If I die, who is going to remember me?
7) I'll be on the news...
8) I can't say goodbye to my family
9) What about the people I left at home... and much much more...
Now don't get me wrong, I love travel. I love the feeling of being in a new place with new people and new sites to see. When I'm older hopefully I get to travel around the whole world. Now why did we have to invent the airplane, well for one thing, I could be at my aunt's house in less than three hours by plane and I don't have to listen to my little sister blast Ariana Grande on a 14 hour car ride. Air travel is one of the world's greatest privileges. I just hate it.
I hate going through security and having to feel guilty and scared like they're going to suspect I'm a terrorist (I'm not thanks). I hate taking off my belongings and trusting the airport with my things. I hate having to eat before I fly because my stomach is already twisting in knots before we reach the terminal. I hate waiting to board the airplane, it's like waiting for my death call. I hate entering the plane and and everybody staring at me like I am a criminal. I hate having to decide where to sit. Window seat or aisle seat. Never the middle. I hate the sounds on an airplane. The blasting air conditioner and beeps and revs of the engine. I hate driving to the runway. I hate lift off. I hate the whole ride.
I love landing. Land. Sweet land.
Now how did I cope with flying to experience all of that? Well when I was little I had many stuffed animals and my parents with me to keep me moving and distracted. I even had Mr. Sketch markers and would bring them in my little barbie backpack so I could smell them whenever, wherever. Yeah it was probably promoting hallucinogens and wasn't good for my health every time I got nervous but, damn was it a great placebo effect. (Now c'mon people I wasn't addicted to smelling markers. Hasn't every kid done something like that?). As of today, I have my phone, music, books, homework (lots of it), and my journal.
> keeping myself distracted
> keeping myself comfortable
> keeping myself from having to go pee
Are all the things I try to focus on and do while I'm traveling. Flying is just something all humans are going to have to do at some point. I just need to learn to overcome this fear of flying because the chance of actually crashing on a plane are 1 in a million. I always focus on the destination. What I am going to do and who I am going to see.
Flying will be okay. I am okay and everything will be fine.
Xoxo Nat
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