Recent Beauty Purchases! April - May 2015

I really do try not to go too crazy when purchasing beauty products. I usually allow myself one medium priced beauty product purchase a month. And when I do that I'm usually really good about not going crazy the rest of the month. When I don't do that I tend to buy lots of little random beauty things here and there that eventually do add up...my bad.  So I went super beauty crazy in March and the end of March for my birthday. I don't think I've even done a haul of all that stuff...but most of it's been integrated into my routine so they do pop up here and there, but I was really trying to be good in April. I think I succeeded in only getting a a few things...but when I look at all the small things I got between Mid April and the end of May...ooops.

So I wanted to share them here...In no particular order because I'm terrible about remembering when exactly I bought certain things...

Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil Walkyrie I got this lip product when I went to Sephora one day hoping to buy a Nars Audacious lipstick. I was really wanting a perfect every day lip stick that was long lasting, non-drying and in the my lips but better color. I had heard a million great things about the Audacious lipsticks but knew they were super expensive and wanted to be 100% sure before I purchased one.  The woman at Sephora and I had a long conversation about my needs/concerns and she told me that actually the cheaper Nars Lip Pencils were probably the better way to go based on my needs. She helped me try on several shades and I ended up going with one probably a little darker and redder than I was originally hoping for, but it ended up being a great choice and very long lasting. Now the sad thing is it's a little darker than what I was hoping an everyday color would be and so I haven't worn it as much as I should...I am going to make a conscious effort to wear it more, but it's beautiful. (I also got a free Matte and Satin Nars Lip Pencil for my Sephora Bday gift, the Matte is in a too bright for me red but the Satin is lovely)

Twoish weeks ago I went to Ulta one day with the only purpose to buy Tarte's Amazonian Clay Blush in Fearless...of course they were out.  So I ended up instead getting a new highlighter that I've heard a ton about lately.  Laura Gellar's highligh in Gilded Honey this stuff is gorgeous. It is GOLD, like GOLD shimmery goodness on your cheekbones. I love this stuff and basically look like a gold disco ball every time I wear it- and I'm okay with that. I went back later to get my Blush and they had it in stock this time.  So I did get both.  Fearless is a bright pink I think it just perfect for summer.  It's super easy to go too heavy handed with it, but again I'm cool with the heavy makeup sometimes, although I did look a bit hookerish the first time I wore it...needs a fluffy brush and a light touch.

At the beginning of April I ordered some theBalm products from HauteLook. I'd been wanting to try some of their stuff forever but never could decide exactly what I wanted. Knowing I was looking for a brighter blush I looked at swatch after swatch and finally settled on Cabana Boy it looks like a deep plum in the pan but is really a brighter purple-ish pink.  Good for summer. I also have heard so many good things about their Time Balm Concealer, it can be used as a concealer and an eye primer. It was half off so I decided to snag it too. I hate to say it but this concealer is just a little too dry for me. I'm going to try it more in the summer when my skin isn't as dry, but I'm thinking this is going to be an excellent tattoo cover up but not much else...but I'm loving the blush!

Back Ups- I got a few back up products this month too because I'm nervous when I like things too much that they'll be discontinued...like my BB cream from Olay that I love...so I buy more when I can.  Three products that fall into this category right now are my Wet N Wild Take on the Day Eye Primer, Simple Miscellar Water, and Maybelline Instant Age Rewind.  This is my second Take on the Day eye primer, I loved my first but at the end it started to get a little special. I'm finishing up a Milani eye primer that I'm not terribly impressed with now but I have this for immediately when that one runs out.  I'm on my 2nd bottle of Miscellar Water now and this is my 3rd, I had a coupon and love this stuff, so I wanted to make sure I had it just in case.  Then my Maybelline Age Rewind this is my second, I have two others, one in a shade far too light for me but that I can use in the winter and one in a shade that's like my skin color, so this one I got in a neutralizer shade that will be hopefully a little more universal.

I've been trying to get more into serums and oils and skin care with better stuff in it. I used to be so good at serums when I was getting my monthly facials and buying all the products my facialist recommended, but since stopping those I've let it all slip.  So I was killing time in Ulta on Cinco de Mayo and not intending on buying anything, but I was testing some IT Cosmetic Serums and the moment I put this one on the top of my hand and rubbed it in, I knew I had to have it. Feel the Moment Anti-Aging, Ultra Hydrating, Sensory Awakening Primer Serum has changed my life. It smells just like one of the serums my facialist used to use, it has a deep relaxing herbal scent. It feels so silky smooth but sinks into the skin beautifully. I feel like it is very hydrating and I'm in love.  I've tried it as an evening serum and a daytime primer and I love it as a serum.  As a primer I feel like it doesn't actually fill or blur my pores so I still need something a little extra on top. But it's a great moisturizer and I'm absolutely loving it.  I did end up getting it for about $12 off because I cashed in some points for it, I don't know if I could buy it full price, but I'll keep checking on QVC because they always have amazing deals on IT products.

One of the many reasons I love Ulta is that I feel like they always have such great deals, with their buy one get one 50% off sales on Drugstore Items and their rewards program, there is never a reason to spend full price on anything. I just love it. So during one of their sales recently I got two Garnier Products.  Garnier Ultra-Lift Miracle Sleeping Cream which I had a sample of a few months back and loved. This is a great night cream and I can't wait to finish up my Olay one I'm using right now so I can use this one. The other thing I got was another serum type product the Garnier Skin Renew Dark Spot Overnight Peel. Now I know it says peel, but it's not really...it's a leave on peel and works overnight to fade dark spots (Which I don't have), to even skin tone (which I kinda need), brighten skin (yes please) and smooth texture (omg yes, my skin texture is horrible right now). So I read some great reviews on this and decided since I had wanted to buy the sleeping cream anyways, had a coupon for it, it was on sale and you can always use the $3.50 off Ulta coupon on drugstore items, I decided why not.

Bliss Triple Oxygen Facial in a Box I just saw this cute little 3 step Bliss kit on sale for $12 with 2 applications and thought I had to try it. It's basically a mini-facial you can do at home yourself. I have been wanting to do something with my Sunday nights to pamper my hair and skin and thought this would go nicely with that routine.  You get a mask, a peel and a treatment in this and it has great reviews.

Once I see them all together it doesn't seem nearly as much.  As long as I don't add up the prices I feel any better.  One thing I didn't really talk about were the mountains of Face Wipes I bought. There was a sale...I needed them and I hate running out. I can't believe it's June tomorrow. I'm going to hopefully be good over the summer and not buy anymore makeup...but I'm just trying. I already know I do need a new primer after my Maybelline one runs out, my IT one is really for hydration, so I'll probably get another one of those, but I have a coupon.  Other than that I'm going to try to limit beauty purchases to skin care this summer. I want to go it under control!

A quick history of my life with makeup.

I'm obsessed with makeup.  Of course I am, I'm so obsessed I started a blog about makeup.  In the last 8 months specifically my makeup obsession has grown to outrageous proportions. It's grown so much that strangers have started commenting on my makeup and friends/family ask me for makeup advice.

So how did it all start...I guess you can say it's my mom's fault (love you mom!).  Growing up we weren't allowed to wear "makeup" till we were in middle school.  And right before 6th grade my mom took me (and years before my sister) to the Clinique counter at Dillards or Foley's in the mall to get our first makeup.  I was so excited for my "makeover".  Clinique declared me and countless other teenagers in the 90s as "Tawny" I remember the blush, the eyeshadow duo in a sparkly orange bronze and a matte cream, and the black honey lipstick.  I also got all set up with their face care products, their standard face bar soap, the toner for dry skin and the regular yellow grandma smelling lotion.  This makeup routine carried me throughout middle school but as I slowly had to start supplying my own makeup I downgraded to a little more affordable items and also a little more nontraditional items like purple mascara and all the glitter. Anyone remember those True Color kiosks in the mall? They were loose pigment shadows before we called them that.

For as long as I can remember I've loved watching people apply makeup.  I used to love watching my mom put on her makeup.  I thought it was so cool how she blended her eye shadows together and used the dark brown as shadow and eyeliner. I learned how to apply mascara by watching her too- she'd start at the base of her brows, wiggle the brush and pull up. She wore cream blush  that looked super red till she blended it out and always put lipstick on then blotted it with a tissue.  These are things I remember.

Growing up my sister was the one who was better at makeup than me.  She used to rim her eyes with black liquid eyeliner and it made her look like she had rabbit eyes.  I thought it was so cool and pretty but could never recreate it- to this day I still suck at liquid eyeliner.  I loved watching Haley apply eye makeup too.  She wore a lot of greys where as my mom wore a lot of natural colors, so of course I stared wearing more greys, silvers and blues with black eyeliner.

In high school I still experimented with makeup a lot and at the same time not.  For a couple years every spring for Lent I'd give up wearing makeup.  But I also did musical theatre in high school so there was lots of experimenting with what stage makeup could do for you.  Whenever there was something fancy or formal to go to in high school I'd ask my mom or sister to do my makeup, I just always felt like they did it so much better than me.

It wasn't until college and after that my makeup use and abuse sort of leveled off.  I started just wearing pretty neutral colors, browns on the eyes, mauve-y cheeks and no lipstick.  Still at any chance I had I'd let someone else do my makeup though. I just always felt if I tried to do something out of my usual I'd mess it up and look like a clown.  There are numerous times where friends would tell me I had a little excess blush on.  I went through tons of different brands of makeup, for a while I was obsessed with Victoria Secret's Very Sexy makeup line, I still have tons of their quads and palettes. I tried Bare Minerals for a while but I was too clumsy for loose pigments. I used Glo Mineral Makeup for sometime and loved it, but not the price. Those brands got me pretty much through my early and mid 20s.

It really wasn't until 8 months ago that I started becoming obsessed with makeup, I was content wearing my natural looks.  Immediately prior to 8 months ago I was wearing very little makeup, some Too Faced natural eyes, Lancome Terra-cotta blush, brown eyeliner by whoever and black Maybelline mascara. I never wore foundation and my skin has always been too dry for allover powder.  Then 8 months ago I was cast in Little Women as Amy- a character 16 years younger than myself but more importantly Blonde.  Instead of doing the logical thing and just wearing I wig I volunteered to dye my hair Blonde. Not just Blonde, but platinum blonde. I went from dark dark brown hair to white blonde hair in about 5 hours. It completely changed the color of my face! Or at least my perception of the color of my face.  I felt washed out all the time and started applying more blush (always a mistake) and so I took to the internet to figure out what makeup works best for blondes.

And then I fell into the rabbit hole...

Down and down I went.  Starting first with Beauty Bloggers. There was so much great information out there! Bronzer, I needed bronzer! All over bronzers like Wet 'n Wild's Ticket to Brazil it was perfect for all over color, just enough to make me look less dead. Then I needed highlighter, just on the tops of cheekbones, brow bones and cupid's bow. I needed to put blush above the apple's of my cheeks and back towards my temple.  It was also painfully obvious I needed to start filling in my eyebrows, how had no one ever recommended it to me before! How dare a blonde have light eyebrows, they must be darkened up! Then one day a beauty blogger reference her favorite Beauty Vlogger.  YouTube.  I fell into YouTube. So many videos, so many product recommendations. Have you heard about this contouring thing? Matte lipsticks? Where have you been all my life!  I spent hours watching YouTube videos and making my lists of products I needed.

8 months later I haven't stopped. I dyed my hair back after 6 months, 6 months of being an unnatural blonde was plenty- fun- but I'd had enough. Going back to brunette I worried all my new makeup knowledge wouldn't be needed anymore, but luckily that proved not to be true. If anything it's gotten a little worse. As a brunette I feel like there are so many new colors available to me. I still have a classic natural look I like to throw on when I'm in a hurry, but life's too short not to have fun with  makeup! Time in the morning is often frequently too short to play with makeup too long. I've found myself rushing more than usual with the rest of my morning routine because I spend so much time playing with my makeup.

So I guess while I can blame my mom for my initial introduction into makeup, I can also blame the theatre, the internet and especially YouTube.  I haven't asked anyone else to do my makeup in quite sometime, but I still love watching other people do their makeup and love hearing about products other people are using. So this is going to be my makeup outlet, where I can share what I've learned, what I've discovered and what I'm trying and sometimes failing at.