Life – Page 6 – Mackenzie Billington

November Favorites

December 5, 2015 by Mackenzie

one. over the knee boots | two. duo chrome eyeshadow | three. little velvet dress | four. luxie makeup brushes | five. whispy false eyelashes (out of stock- but here is a similar pair)

Hello, hello! Sorry I have been a little behind on posting. We are currently having final exams, and I’ve been swamped with studying. I decided to take a little study break from Accounting to share a few of my favorite things from the month of november. November was such a fantastic month because I got to enjoy some much needed time with my family. It was great to finally have a week at home after six long months away, and Thanksgiving break was such a huge blessing.

Now that it is December, I decided it would be fun to share my monthly favorites this past month. I have shown most of these on my public snapchat, which you can follow at @mackenzieken. Without further ado, friends, here are some things I have been loving this past month:

When you’re 5’0 tall, it can be hard to pull off every single fashion trend. I’ve always loved sky-high suede boots, but I have been hesitant on trying them out because of my height and short legs. Over the break, I went shopping with my mom and sister in Nordstrom at North Park Mall in Dallas. I walked by these gorgeous, suede over-the-knee boots and decided to try them on just for fun. As I walked across the store to find a mirror, two different strangers approached me and told me how much they loved the boots. These boots actually were surprisingly flattering- and super comfortable. I would definitely say they fit true to size if you nervous about deciding on a size to order. I love that they are higher in the front, and that they have subtle stud embellishments. I couldn’t resist buying myself a little early Christmas present as shows are definitely my guilty pleasure. I am so obsessed with these suede boots, and I get compliments every single time that I wear them. If you are looking for the perfect pair of over-the-knee boots, especially if you are petite like me, you have to check these out!

I mentioned these stunning Moondust eyeshadows in my mini sephora haul (which you can see here). These mega-shimmery shadows have had my heart these past few weeks, and I just ordered a few more to give as gifts! There is something so special and unique about them, and I absolutely love the shade selection as well. I definitely plan on buying this little ‘build your own palette’ so I easily take my Urban Decay shadows on the go!

I had a formal a few weeks ago and was struggling finding the perfect dress. My sister found this velvet bodycon dress online for me, and I ordered it nervously. I usually opt for fit-and-flare style dresses, so bodycon dresses tend to be a little out of my comfort zone. When the dress arrived in the mail, I was so excited that it was actually flattering and the right size. I decided to order an XS, and I definitely think it does run pretty true to size. I like that it has a bodycon fit and a fun cutout at the top, but it is still a little conservative with the high neckline and long sleeves. This little velvet dress a great mix between sexy and classy, making it the perfect go-to piece for a multitude of versatile occasions. I would recommend using fashion tape if you have a larger chest because it does tend to gape open a little in the front. I enjoyed the velvet dress so much in royal blue, that I ended up purchasing it on Cyber Monday in the burgundy color (because it was half off). I wore the burgundy one last night for another Christmas formal, and I was very glad I ordered it in another color! When I really love a specific clothing piece, I always purchase it in more than one color. I really love both the royal blue and the burgundy versions of the dress, and it also comes in black too!

Luxie Beauty, a paraben and cruelty free company, reached out to me over a month ago about trying out a few of their new makeup brushes. I do get sent productions to try out pretty frequently, but I only mention the ones that I actually do really, really love. I always give y’all an honest opinion on what I think about each product. Luxie sent me five different brushes from their new Luxury collection called ‘Onyx Noir’. In addition, they did send me a few eyeshadows, but I did not love them as much as I do the other eyeshadows in my collection. I’ve been trying out these Onyx Noir brushes for several weeks now, and I can honestly say that I really enjoy them (and prefer them over my MAC brushes). My very favorite brush is the Tapered Highlighter Face Brush. I love to apply my MAC ‘Soft & Gentle’ highlighter with it! I also really enjoy the Tapered Face Makeup Brush. I use it to apply setting powder and blush. It reminds me a lot of my MAC 150 brush. I actually prefer the Luxie Tapered Face brush over the MAC 150 because the Luxie brush doesn’t shed whatsoever. The MAC 150 sheds like crazy, and I find myself never reaching for it anymore. Also, the Luxie brush is cheaper as well! If you’re looking for a new makeup brush brand to check out (that’s also cruelty free), definitely check out LuxieBeauty. (P.S. You can use the code ‘mackenzieken’ to get a discount on these fabulous Onyx Noir brushes).

I was unfortunately not blessed with dark, long, or voluminous lashes. But I can definitely fake it with the help of some glam false eyelashes. False eyelashes can be intimating at first, but it definitely helps to watch youtube tutorials and practice. You’ll get the hang of applying them before you know it! I find that they make any makeup look pop and really open up the eyes. After trying tons of different styles and brands, I’ve really fallen in love with the whispy stye of false lashes. I’ve been obsessed with these affordable whispy eyelashes from Walmart. I picked them up on a whim when I saw them labeled with a sticker that said ‘blogger favorite’. They are reusable too, which is great because you can get tons of uses of out them. They are currently sold out online, but they are available in Walmart stores. In addition, I love Ardell ‘Whispies’. You can get them at any drugstore or Ulta, and they look so glamorous, but still natural. I recommend applying false eyelashes with Duo glue. It’s my very favorite, and I find that works very well (while still being very affordable)! If you love false lashes, let me know what your specific favorites are!

I decided to narrow down my favorites to five for the month of November. Some other things I loved this month included the Soapy South Wash House ‘Charcoal Facial Detox Soap‘ and ‘Shave Soap Tablet‘, Neutrogena Triple Age Repair Moisture with SPF 25, Milani Lipgloss in the shade ‘Nude Touch‘, and Chi Silk Infusion. I thought all of these products were awesome and are all things I would definitely repurchase in the future!

I hope you all are having a fabulous weekend so far! Let me know what your favorite things were during the month of November!

Gift Guide: Gold & Glam

November 19, 2015 by Mackenzie

Happy Thursday! The holidays are just around the corner, so I thought I would start on a mini gift guide series. This has been highly requested over the past two weeks, and it’s never too early to start shopping for the holiday season. Gold is one of my favorite colors- there is something just so glam and exciting about it. My favorite gift out of this set is the gold, scratch off map. I purchased one for my dad last year for Christmas, and he absolutely loved it. It’s a really unique gift!

I hope y’all enjoyed this little post. If you have any suggestions for any of the future holiday gift guides, definitely comment and let me know. I would love to know what you would like to see!

Free & Easy Gold Font Tutorial

August 6, 2015 by Mackenzie

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Hello friends! I’ve had so many of you request for an easy tutorial on how to make ‘gold font’. For months I kept seeing gold-foiled font on so many blogs, and I was desperate to figure out how to make some for myself! Every blog/website I went to at the time only had photoshop tutorials. Also, most of the tutorials were incredibly complicated to understand and figure out. I used photoshop back in middle school because I was on yearbook staff, so I knew the concept of layering. However, without photoshop it can be tricky to make gold font and use layering. I decided to make a quick & easy tutorial on how I make gold font. Best part? It’s 100% free!

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*PLEASE READ: I just wanted to mention real quick that this tutorial is only for white backgrounds! I hope to make a tutorial in the future for colored backgrounds, but this specific tutorial is for white backgrounds only

ALSO

PicMonkey has recently changed their policies to where you can only have a free trial now (it was 100% free when I created this post 2+ years ago. As of October 2017, this policy has changed and PicMonkey is no longer completely free)!*

1. Go to www.picmonkey.com. This is my favorite photo editing website. My sister and I share a ‘Royale’ account, which we really like. Every time I create something on Picmonkey, I usually go to the ‘design’ tab and select the square.

2. Write out your text. Definitely use a black font. It’s also best to pick a thicker font! For this little tutorial I used three of my favorites- ‘Lilly Belle‘, ‘Bebas neue‘, and ‘notperfect‘. They are all free fonts, and I linked them so you can check them out!

3. Combine the layers. Okay, so after you put town your text, click this little button (that looks like two pages and an arrow). This will flatten the layers and get your font prepared for the gold layer.

4. Next- find a gold texture to use! I just googled ‘gold foil texture‘, and then saved my favorites to my computer. I also searched ‘gold glitter texture‘ for the 3rd font. I recommend saving a couple of different ones, so you can try out a few and see which texture you like best!

5. Go to the ‘Overlays’ tab on picmonkey (it looks like a little butterfly). Click on ‘Your Own’ which is at the very top of the Overlays tab. Select your gold texture that you want to use.

6. Select ‘Lighten’ under ‘Blend Modes’. This is on the Overlay popup that should come up once you upload the gold texture. You’ll see a category called ‘Blend Modes’, click on where it says ‘normal’ and then scroll down. You’ll want to click on the ‘Lighten’ option. Drag the gold over the black font!

You can also apply this little trick to any black objects/clip art! I used a little black leaf from the ‘Leafy Stems’ section on Picmonkey (Leafy Stems is one of the options on the Overlay tab) to show you an example of using shapes.

7. Save your masterpiece! You’re done & now you have some gorgeous gold font!

I hope that could help! Let me know if you try it out! If you have any questions, please send me an email at

ma******************@gm***.com

! Thank you for checking out my blog!

xoxo,

Mackenzie

P.S. Check out my post ‘My top twenty favorite free fonts‘

Screen Addiction

July 13, 2015 by Mackenzie

‘Screen addiction’. It’s a struggle for so many millennials, myself included. We are glued to our phones and laptops, constantly checking our texts and twitters. In our generation, we have become so technology-dependant, which sometimes causes us to miss out on reality. The average teenager spends around 7 hours a day using technology- that’s almost 1/3 of our entire day. We seem to spend so much time focused on comparing ourselves to others, obsessing over how many likes on instagram our photos get, how many ‘friends’ on Facebook we have, and how long it’s been since that boy has read our text without replying. Our lives become consumed in this technology trap that we have grown so comfortable with.

I didn’t really realize I had a ‘screen addiction’ problem until this past summer. When I headed off to Tanzania with my family, I was more concerned about ‘not having wifi’ than not having running water or air conditioning. I noticed my happiness was so dependent on my technology, which is so incredibly sad to admit. Sometimes I feel like I miss out on life because I am too busy behind the glowing screen of my iPhone. The internet is a wonderful thing, don’t get me wrong, but it seems to be one of those things best used in moderation. I’ve been thinking a lot over the past week- about everything. About life, my goals, my friends, my perception of the world, and my worries. I started to realize the source of a lot of my stresses and concerns. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our ‘technology’ world that we forget to really enjoy and appreciate the world around us. I have decided I want to make it my goal to limit my time spent on the internet a little less. I want to read more, walk more, shop more, do yoga more, cook more, draw more, meet new people more- I want to do it all. But how can I appreciate these things to the fullest when I am too busy checking my phone every ten minutes? Our obsession with technology really can cause so many more unnecessary stresses to our lives. When I sat down and really thought about my worries and stresses in lives, the majority of them were centered around technology. I am making it my goal for the next few weeks to try to limit my technology use a little, and live life a lot more. I’ve actually decided to delete one of my instagrams, which I know may confuse some of you. I think having two is really just unnecessary for me right now with how busy life has been. Instagram consumes too much of my time as I find it hard to resist scrolling and scrolling for hours. In addition, I feel like technology distracts me so much from my studies. When I go to the library, I always bring my laptop and iPhone. However, I find myself checking every social media platform every ten to twenty minutes for a ‘study break’. I can’t imagine how much more I would learn and soak in if I could just make it an hour or two without needing to check my phone. Also, I need to stop sleeping with my electronics in my bed with me. I am an insomniac, but I really think my ‘screen addiction’ is to blame. When I was in Africa without technology, I slept so much better and never had a hard time falling asleep. But now that I am back in the land of internet, I realize I don’t go to bed until 3:00 or 4:00 am on average. As much as I would love to blame it on the time change or loud city night life, the truth of the matter is, it’s my technology.

So in summary, here are my goals for the next few weeks:

Spend less time on the internet, and more time enjoying life
Limit the time I spend each day checking my phone/social media
Turn off my phone when I go to the library- don’t just turn it on silent
Don’t sleep with my phone or laptop in my bed, and limit my technology before bed
Try new things and explore new places

I recently saw this video, and it really made me self-reflect on my time and my life. If we’re being completely honest, it actually made me tear up to realize how little free time we actually have in this life. How much time have I wasted completely wrapped up in my online world? What else could I have been doing with that time? “The Time You Have” video really, really inspired me, and I hope you all enjoy it too!

I’m sorry if this post was a little negative/personal, but it was something that I wanted to share. It’s been on my heart these past few days. Hope you all are having an awesome, awesome Monday!