Art Lesson: Complementary Contrasts

In art terms, complementary colors are colors directly opposite each other on the color wheel. They are called complementary colors because although they are opposite from each other, they go together harmoniously. When placed directly next to each other, these colors tend to "vibrate" (try it with color swatches from the paint section).



For the primary colors (Red, Yellow, Blue) their complementing colors are the secondary colors (Green, Violet, Orange).

Being a designer and an artist I have a knack for colors and I see colors in their entirety. If you point out any color to me I can tell you just how much of each color is mixed in and if you give me paint, I can replicate it. (Crazy huh?)

The traditional color combos are commonly seen anywhere colors are used - fashion, makeup, and nail trends.

For this week's manicure, I wanted to display my love and understanding for color in the most basic of ways. Complementing them.

Using summer hues, I went with the Blue-Orange approach. What do you think?

You can try the same combination or experiment with other combinations like Red-Green or Yellow-Purple (Violet). If you don't like to be limited to just primary/secondary colors, look at opposing colors in the color wheel and combine those. Have fun with it!

Good luck & Stay Maganda!<3
-K

Wet Weather Hairstyles

New York, along with other parts of the East coast, has been hit with a series of humid weather, thunderstorms, and plain rain. On these days, trying out your latest sleek style may not be the brightest idea because you're actually going against your hair's chemistry.

When there are high levels of moisture in the air your hair naturally curls up aka, frizz. Even the straightest hair experiences frizzy hair. However, you don't have to have a "bad hair day" on these days, just try a different approach.

Some hairstyles you can try to have yourself a good hair day are:
1) Tie your hair in a side ponytail. This classic look is very elegant and can match with just about any outfit. Dress it up with cute hair accessories like clips or headbands. For a little sass, add a hair scarf.

2) Sport the wavy hair. Beach waves or even the classic bed head waves are highly supported by humid and wet weather. This would be the perfect day to finally try out the hairstyle and you'll notice that it will stay longer than on a dry day. For this look, spray on salt spray or use a pomade/wax and scrunch up your hair until you achieve the desired wavy look.
Check out this article to make your own salt spray or how to achieve the wavy look if you have stick straight hair.

3) Braid your hair. Braids are so versatile and can also be worn with any type of outfit and style. Any type of braid would suffice. My favorites are the Fishtail braid or the classic French braid. (Comment for a tutorial on either braid!)

What hairstyle do you wear on rainy days?

Stay Maganda!<3
-K

It's officially summer time meaning you're going to be spending a lot more time in the sun. However, spending that much time in the sun doesn't mean you need to give up on your makeup. Makeup doesn't adapt to the seasons, you have to change your makeup depending on how your skin responds to weather changes. In the summer, your skin tends to be more oily, leading to more shine. The trick is using the right type of makeup.

Weekly nails: Sephora inspired

I was in Sephora the other day and came across their booklet with all these sweet nail trends to try. They even come with step-by-step instructions on how to achieve the look. It was time for me to do my nails again and I decided to try one of their trends a try - the Nude nail.

Here's the original:

And my spin-off:

This was probably one of the more time consuming designs I've done due to the super steady hand you need when doing this look. I wanted to make each nail slightly different from the next, but I still kept my personal favorite trend of making one nail totally different from the rest of the nail.

Nude nail colors are another hot trend for this season along with bright colors, neons, and pastels. Nude nails are a personal favorite of mine because they go with everything and are appropriate for every occasion! At least one nude color is an investment worth making.

What do you think of this look? What's on your nails this week? 
If you'd like to see a tutorial, let me know in the comment box!

Stay Maganda!<3
-K

My "Lazy nails"

For someone who's always painting her nails, one wouldn't suspect that I do get lazy doing it sometimes. However, lazy never equals sloppy in my book. Check out a quick and easy nail look you can achieve with your favorite glitter color. Here I used Essie's Luxeffects in "A Cut Above", which is actually pink glitter.

All you need is base coat, your favorite glitter polish, and top coat - that's it! You paint half your nail and depending on how much glitter you want, you can go over it once or twice. I did it twice.

What's do you do for your "lazy" nails?

Stay Maganda!<3
-K

Flashback Friday: Hair AND Makeup

It's Friday, the start of your weekend, so kick it off right! Here are two looks you can try if you're going out tonight or this weekend to hang out with friends. They're so versatile that you can wear them to any nighttime occasion. You can even combine the two for a sexy hair/makeup combination.

Natural Waves Look: 

*Tip* Always pair bright lip colors with a basic eye. You should always pick a feature you want to emphasize and stick with it. 

Quick Sexy Eyes:

*Tip* If you want to tone down the look, stick to brown tones instead of black. You can also switch up the look using different base colors, have fun with it!

What's your favorite weekend look?

Good luck & Stay Maganda!<3
-K

Less blowdrying equals healthy hair

If you want to cut down on your blowdrying, opt for a microfiber towel.

These towels absorb much more water than ordinary cotton towels because of the fibers intertwined within, essentially cutting down on your blowdrying time. They're fairly inexpensive and can even be purchased at drugstores like CVS or Wal-Mart, in addition to beauty supply stores.

The brand I use is "Turbie Towel" which is the same brand that created the "Turbie Twist". All I do is pat/blot my hair and tie it into a little turban for 5 minutes. When I take it out, the amount of water removed is very noticeable. It's even cut down on my air dry time!

Less blowdrying = less heat = less damage = HEALTHIER HAIR!

How do you cut down on the heat? Do you use microfiber towels?

Stay Maganda!<3
-K

Tip of the Day: Changing your BB Cream

For those of you who never tried BB Cream because of the limited skin tone colors available, there are ways around it.

A little background: The reason why BB Cream comes in limited colors is because of its origin and where it is popular today. BB Cream was developed in Germany and then became highly popular throughout Asia, where skin tones are fairly light for the most part. BB Cream is supposed to oxidize to match any skin tone perfectly, if not closely.

For darker skin tones, BB Cream probably won't oxidize to that point of matching the skin tone perfectly and may leave a gray cast, but no worries!

There are several ways to fix this:

1. You can mix your BB cream with a tinted moisturizer or liquid foundation that is your skin tone, just enough to tint the cream.


2. Set your BB Cream with a powder that is your skin color


3. Use bronzer over your face after you apply the BB Cream

So go ahead and try BB Cream! If you don't want to shell out so much money at first, buy cheap samples from Ebay so you can try this technique before you commit to a full size.

Good luck & Stay Maganda! <3
-K

Weekly Nails: Cupcakes

I've gotten many compliments on my nails this week from both guys and girls! These fun, quirky nails remind me so much of a cupcake with sprinkles. It's so easy and simple to achieve this look, yet it looks pretty and eye-catching.

 I used Essie nail lacquer in "Figi" and Deborah Lippmann's "Happy Birthday".

What's on your nails this week?

Stay Maganda!<3
-K

Tip of the Day: Puffy Eyes

If you ever wake up in a rush or didn't get enough sleep the night before you may suffer from puffy eyes.

A quick way to relieve this is to immediately wash your face with cold water. This will tighten up the skin on your face, including the eye area. If you need an additional boost, try a chilled eye mask and place it over your eyes for 10-15 minutes. You'll notice the eye area slowly reducing and it will continue to reduce as you go about your morning.

Garnier's Anti-puff roller is a product you can also use to de-puff your eyes, especially if you're in a rush.

Another classic is the old cucumber trick which works because it hydrates your eye area.

Have you tried these tricks before?

Good luck & Stay Maganda!<3
-K

This is a first for me, but being it's Saturday I thought I'd share with you what I've been up to this past week.

Tuesday: I had a job interview and this is the look I wore. It's simple and clean, which is a must for a job interview. You never want to be over the top or else you'll scare away your employer! Those are heels by the way, not flats. I also wore no jewelry, other than the necklace. (I got the job!)

I was eating blueberries and found this - it's green! Has anyone ever seen a green blueberry before? This was a first for me. It look kind of like a grape, but I knew it wasn't so it freaked me out.

  

Wednesday: This was my outfit and jewelry of the day, with a focus on the owl ring. If you follow me on instagram (@kelx0) you've definitely seen my staple high-low skirt before. It's my favorite piece for this season and can be dressed up or down. I wore this look to lunch with my mom and sister, and then to dinner later with friends.

Flashback Friday: Beachy Eyes

Happy June 1st! It's almost summertime so to celebrate I'm taking you back to a look I did last summer inspired by the beach at sunset. I love the color combination of blues and oranges/corals. What do you think?

What inspires you?

Stay Maganda!<3
-K