Spring Favorites 2016

Hello. Yes I've been gone a long time. Sorry. I moved. Back in March I moved from College Station back to San Antonio. I spent two months living with my sister and her family before finally getting back in my own house. I'm now pretty much settled in and have time to myself again to blog and read and spend time with my cats. So here I am!

During these last three months I have bought kinda a lot of makeup...I don't want to add the total because it's scary, but these are my favorite purchases of Spring that I have been using and abusing.

Here we have pretty much a whole face worth of stuff and that wasn't even intentional, I just grabbed the items I've been using the most and loving the most.  I have two Urban Decay products which is weird for me because I'm not normally the biggest UD fan, but I'd heard too many good things about the UD Naked Concealer. I actually bought this twice, the first time the shade was just slightly too dark but works great on my sister and the second time I got the perfect shade for me. This stuff is beautiful and I goes beautifully on top of my color corrector under my eyes. My under-eye concealer always used to crease but this stuff does not crease, it's fabulous. I highly recommend.  Then I also have the UD Gwen Stefani palette that I'll talk more about later.

Next up I have a Wet 'n Wild eyeshadow primer which I am loving! I used the Wet 'n Wild Fergie primer a few years ago loved that one too and since then had been using the Milani, but when that one ran out I jumped to try this one after hearing rave reviews. This primer is fantastic, it makes my shadows look great and has just enough tackiness to help your shadows stay all day.  Above that I have an IT Cosmetics Ulta Exclusive Concealer brush. I don't usually use a brush for concealer but saw people using this brush for highlighter and it's perfect for that! The highlight brush I had been using was way too big, but this is perfect, super soft and fluffy. I also have another IT Cosmetics product the Superhero Mascara that I had also heard great things about. This is definitely one of those mascaras that gets better with age. It started out super wet and underwhelming, but after about 2 weeks it started to dry out and now it's a fave. It's great at voluming and lengthening. I'm not sure it'll replace my Benefit Roller Lash, but I really love it.

Then the two palettes. I bought both of these are birthday gifts for myself back in March. First up the UD Gwen Stefani palette. I was so tempted to get this when it first came out but didn't hear a lot of reviews on it. No one seemed to be talking about it and the people who were said it was just a good neutral palette with a couple of pops. But I got it with my Ulta Birthday Giftcard and discount so I got it for less than full price. This is a gorgeous palette! The texture of the shadows is beautiful. In the pan they kick up a lot of dust but on the eye I have not had a problem with fallout. I feel like the colors (besides the blue and black) are all very usable and create pretty looks. One complaint I heard was that you always get the same look with this palette, and that's fine with me, because I like neutral looks and only rarely branch out so this is great. Love love love.

And now my favorite favorite! My Benefit Cheekathon palette! This thing is fabulous and I hate that my phone takes such horrible pictures, but it's fabulous. This palette has all the traditional/classic Benefit box blushes/bronzer in one place. I missed out on the Christmas palette like this two years ago and always hated that, so I'm so glad I snagged this one up. I have used this almost daily since I got it. Dallas and Rockateur are my most used blushes. Dallas is a gorgeous dusty rose that looks good daily. Rockateur is a pink rose with some gold sheen in it. Another natural but glowy blush that is great when you don't want to wear a highlighter. Dandelion is a pretty pale pink, but more of a fall/winter shade for me so I haven't used it much. And Coralista is a blush I may never use...I just can't pull off coral.  Hoola Bronzer is just as good as you've always heard it was. I use it daily as my light contour/bronzer. I love this palette and it was totally worth the price. I've heard the formula may be different on some of these colors than the original box blushes, but since I don't have those I don't know the difference.  

So those are my favorites. Sorry it's been so long since I blogged, but hopefully I'll get back in the swing of things now that I'm more settled. 

Beauty Trash #3

Ooops I got behind on posts, I took these pics in December. My Sephora Beauty Trash bag was totally overflowing-

So a lot of usual characters that I wont spend too much time on, but I did go through so makeup and random things too.  So this is about 5 months worth of trash, I have my usual face/skincare stuff, hair dye stuff, makeup stuff, and randoms.

So if we start with the usual characters I used up 6 makeup removing wipes. My usual Neutrogena that are my favorite 2 of those, 3 different types of Up & Up formulas they're fine for removing makeup swatches or when I use my fingers to application or back of my hand as a palette, and then some Simple Miscellar wipes. I love the Simple Miscellar water, also pictured here, so much I thought maybe the wipes would be good too. They were fine and kept me from running out of my bottle version as fast, but probably wont purchase again unless there's a sale. I'm constantly trying new makeup wipes so nothing new there and I'll probably repurchase a variation of these again.  The Simple Miscellar Water I'm on my last back up right now, so I'll probably repurchase again soon.

I have two empty packages of Up & Up cotton rounds, one in exfoliating and one regular and they're both fine. I don't like the exfoliating one as much I feel like it falls apart too easily, but it's great for nail polish removal. I've already repurchased both of these.  Then I have my holy grail moisturizer that Cetaphil cream love I have 3 back ups right now.  Then the odd man out in this group is my Deodorant- I use Secret Outlast and it's scent is just the fresh clean one- nothing special I've been using it for years. The only thing I don't like about it is if I'm not careful I get white deodorant marks on my clothes- I wear too many dark colors.

I dyed my hair A LOT these last 5 months. Still trying to get it back to its normal color from the bleach blonde Tyler episode of 2014. I only saved one of the hair dye tubes because the others were messy and gross, but I love this brand One 'n Only Argan Oil Hair Color it's very reasonably priced at Sally's and I've bought it at least 6 times since after I went blonde. It's very gentle and that's probably why I had to dye my hair so much because it did wash out very easily the first 4 applications. I've used the 20 and 10 Developers and hopefully I wont need to again but I think 10 is the way to go for me. I was using the 5 level at first and it would not take, it washed out so much that my hair kept ending up red, so I slowly moved up to 4 and then this last time did a 3 and it's finally stuck. I did expect it to wash out a little more but I'm fine with it and don't think I'll have to dye it again.  I also went through many packets of hair color remover wipes for my face because I'm a mess when I dye my hair. I used the Colortrak Wipe Off Color only a buck and they did the trick, they're not as wet as some but they worked fine.

For makeup I feel like I went trough small things but two I'm very proud of.  I finished a bronzer. NYC Bronzer in Sunny and after almost 2 years- I think it was about 20 months I made my way through that thing. I'm kinda sad it's gone because I feel like it's a great contour shade for me, but it has freed me up to try more. Also it's super cheap if I do feel the need to purchase it again. Then I also went through a Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser in medium. It took me three tries to get my shade right but I miss this guy. I didn't use it every day because it was too drying but on the weekends I used it for a quick fix. I have other concealers I'm working through right now so I don't need it but I'll probably repurchase eventually.

Then I have three mascaras- 2 I love and 1 I hate. Maybelline's Lash Sensational  people said this was a drugstore dupe for Benefit's Roller Lash...they LIED. I hated this stuff it was too wet and never curled my lashes, I waited to it to dry and still hated it. Not for me. Urban Decay Perversion however is for me I loved it. This is the Mascara to use if you want the false lash look without the false lashes, I had this guy for over a year- tempting fate- because it would never dry out! Eventually it did and the big bushy bristles started sticking together but this guy it totally worth the $22 price. Then a sample size of Benefit's They're Real- love this mascara have already repurchased and will continue to do so. The sample size is the perfect size for me, I find it just as easy to use as the full size. This is one of my holy grail mascaras and I love it.

Then the last product is a huge dud. It's a Wet 'n Wild Coverall Concealer stick that smells like crayons and is so greasy and dry at the same time. I bought this for covering tattoos and it failed at that job. I probably had this thing for two years and I just finally gave up trying to use it, I hated it and have found much better ways to cover up tattoos that does not include this fail of a concealer.

For the last group I have some random things. My beloved hair clip! I have super super thick hair and usually go through hair clips like they're going out of style, but this monster is rubberized and I have 3 others at home because I was terrified it would break. Well luckily this guy is a work horse and I got a good year out of it before it broke. This is the Scunci No-Slip Grip Hair Claw usually about $6-8 depending where you buy it. Great clip for big hair and I cannot be without it.

Then I have a Norwegian Hand Cream I heard on YouTube was great for super dry hands. This did nothing for me. I can't complain too much it was under $5 but this was greasy and then disappeared without adding moisture to my hands, I was so disappointed. I'm still searching for the perfect hand cream.

And finally I have a sample of Lancome's Bi-Facil eye makeup remover.  I miss this stuff. Full size is priced over $20 and I just can't justify it, but anytime I get a sample of this I use it. This removes eye makeup so wonderfully and completely with no tugging or anything. I love it. If you just talk to the people in the Lancome section at Ulta they almost always offer you a free sample of something I recommend taking them up on it and getting the Bi-Facil. It's amazing.

So that's my trash! I miss a lot of these products. I'll try not to wait so long next time.

Fall Party Makeup!

Ooops. I guess it's been a little bit since I blogged. I've had a very busy September. I've been busy with work stuff and after work stuff, so there hasn't been a lot of time for makeup creativity.  Until this weekend. I'd gotten in a rut of easy fall makeup and decided that I needed to spice it up. Luckily I had a Theatre Karaoke Party to go to and decided I'd go all out.  What do I mean?

I mean I wore I all the makeup.  This bag is filled with all the stuff I applied to my face. There was quite a bit. I hadn't worn this much makeup in a while and it kinda showed. It was indoors and kinda darkish party so luckily unless I was in full sunlight it didn't look like as much makeup as it actually was...at least that's what I'm telling myself.

So starting with my base. Primer. I primed. I had put my usual day cream on earlier in the day. But about 10 minutes before applying my makeup I used my IT Cosmetics Feel the Moment Primer Serum. This needs to soak in a moment. I also applied my CeraVe Eye Repair Cream- I'd recently heard it played well under concealer so gave it a whirl. It's my usual nighttime eye cream. After the those had sunk in a bit I added my Maybelline Master Prime in Blur + Smooth where my pores are the worst- around my nose and tops of my cheeks and my Milani Eyeshadow Primer to my eyelids and a little below where my concealer goes.


Once all that set in I moved on to my next face products. Bring in the IT Cosmetics team. I love IT Cosmetics. I combine both the CC Cream regular and Illumination in Medium to make a delightfully glowy full coverage effect. I also use two Bye Bye Under Eyes in Neutral Medium and Tan. I apply the CC Cream with my fingers one pump of the regular and half a pump of the Illumination. I use about a pinpoint size of each Bye Bye Under Eye and mix them together on the back of my hand. Then I apply a thin layer to each under eye and blend out with a fluffy concealer brush. I love the look of this combo. It's incredibly full coverage and very long wearing. The CC Cream doesn't need any setting powder by the time I get to my face products it's set fine, but the Bye Bye Under Eye definitely needs to be set. It will remain very tacky and I'd worry it would move around if I didn't set it. My favorite way to set it is with my NARS Translucent Crystal Powder.

Normally I would move onto my eyes next, but this Saturday I did it reverse and did my face powders next.

I used my usual and ALMOST gone NYC Sunny Bronzer to contour and bronze up my face. Then I used the gorgeous highlighter from the IT Cosmetics Live, Laugh, Love Vitality Face Disc. This highlighter is not joking around. It is in your face and shiny and gorgeous. Then I finished it off with my Tarte Blush in Savored from last year's Tarte Holiday set from QVC. Combined these face products are gorgeous. I chose the IT Cosmetics highlighter because it's more champagne based and less gold than my usual. This is not a highlighter you'd choose for a natural day or if you were wanting to be subtle. I will also use up my Sunny bronzer this year if it kills me. I'm so tired of that thing and have so many other bronzers I want to use. Now that it's fall I've started to pull out my deeper blushes and this is one of my faves.

For my eyes I knew I wanted to do something special. Something fun and sparkly. I also wanted to use my Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette that I've been neglecting. I started with White Chocolate all over my lids for a smooth base. This helps the shadows blend together too. I then took Salted Caramel in my crease to just warm things up and give a transition. On my lids I used Strawberry Bon Bon. Then I took the star of this look Black Forest Truffle in my outer V and kept adding and blending and adding and blending. I got rid of some of the lightness of the Strawberry Bon Bon so I added on top some Champagne Truffle in the inner part of the lid to brighten things back up. Not satisfied with the depth of the outer V I added a smidgen of Dark Chocolate and then more Black Forest Truffle. It ended up being a super pretty eye look but not as party worthy as I'd been hoping so I reached for my ELF Long Lasting Lustrous Eyeshadow in Gala to add some sparkle, just to the outer edge.

To finish off the eyes I used my NYX Dark Brown Gel Eyeliner along the top lash line and Dark Chocolate on the lower lash line. I then let the gel liner set and filled in my brows with my NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Taupe. For mascara I doubled up with my Covergirl Super Sizer and Benefit's They're Real both in black. Not pictured is my NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Walkyrie.  To finish off the whole fancy pants think I was going for I used my Armani Si from Scentbird as Perfume.

Here is how the look came out in various stages in the evening. It was fun, but at the end of the night a pain to get off. I broke out the cold cream because it was just a lot of makeup.

      

*None of the links above are affiliate links, just where you can buy this fabulous stuff!

Makeup Madness! Part 6! Concealers

It's Makeup Madness Time again! This time it's all about concealers! I only have a few to get rid of but have some I really love. Now I'll be the first person to admit like all my makeup adventures, concealer is still something I'm working on. I have not perfected my concealer game but it's getting better.  I wrote briefly about concealers once upon a time here.

So what do I use concealer for? Well I have terrible sleep problems and so I constantly have big blue bags under my eyes that need to be covered up.  And while acne isn't something I struggle with I do suffer from the occasional face planet that needs to be covered up. One of the biggest concealer tips I ever learned, a little late I might add just two years ago, was that you do not use the same concealer all over your face. There's a reason they make concealer specifically for under your eyes and specifically for covering blemishes.

Up first we have stick concealers or concealers with wands. I feel like stick concealers are the style of concealer handed to ever pubescent teenage girl when they get their first breakout. These concealers are usually a little dry or waxy, but provide fuller coverage.  I cannot use these, they're too drying for my face so I pretty much steer clear, however they do make excellent tattoo cover ups.  I use the ELF and Wet 'N Wild for one of the many layers of concealer I use when I have to cover up my tattoos for shows. Then the creamier concealers with either a wand or the ball thing the Maybelline has are much more hydrating and easy to use.  These concealers are hit or miss some are too shear (ELF HD) and some don't blend in well with the rest of your foundation (Age Rewind).  But I feel like these styles of concealers are definitely the easiest to learn how to use when first starting out with concealer.  So here's what I have (not int he order pictured)

• ELF Studio Concealer stick in beige. This $3 concealer is great. Excellent coverage, perfect shade match to me and a non-waxy stick formula. I can use this on my face and before I knew any better use to slather this under my eyes- but I don't recommend that because it'll dry your under eyes out like no ones business. If I was recommending a drugstore concealer for someone just starting out I'd recommend this easily- love it. This was also the first ELF product I ever tried after a theatre friend's recommendation.
• ELF HD Lifting Concealer  in light. Another $3 ELF product that is not great. This stuff sucks. It is so sheer. It applies with a doe foot applicator and is just awful. It also smells too face make-up-y which I hate. I have no use for this concealer and have no idea why I've kept it. In the trash it goes. 
• Wet n Wild Coverall in 804. A $2 concealer! Ummm this is not good either. The shade match is fine and the texture I'm sure would work for really oily people, but my Sahara desert skin cannot handle this, it's so waxy and you can just feel it sucking all the moisture out of your skin. This is another excellent tattoo cover up and literally the only reason I bought this thing too. I'm going to hold onto it just for that reason, also it's only about a year old so if I do another show I'll pull it out. 
• NYX Wonder Pencil in light. I didn't really know where to stick this $4 pencil, I think I might have also included him in my eyeliner madness, but that's because that's how I usually use this guy.  NYX advertises it as a "wonder" because it's supposed to do lots of things- conceal, line your lips and be an eye brightener.  It doesn't really do any of these things too terribly well.  It's too light for it to be a concealer for me, but the formula is too hard. I hate using it in my inner rim of my eyes because it's stabby. I have to warm it up first, and I don't use it to reverse line my lips but if I had the right color I may. I don't think it's anything special but I'll hold onto it and see if I can figure out a use for it.
• Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Eraser in medium. I have a love hate relationship with this product. It's $9 and after 3 tries I finally got my color right, but...I don't know. I've almost used up this tube and while I like it and use it I wont be repurchasing it right away.  It's a creamy concealer, non-drying and made specifically for your under eyes, but I don't find it plays well with the rest of my makeup.  On days I'm just using concealer it's fine, but if I try to blend it in with different foundations for a seamless appearance it just doesn't work. So I'm just torn. I think it's a good concealer it does conceal but after using a full tube of it I'm not in love with it enough to spend $10 on it again.
• Benefit Fake Up in 02 medium. Oh my $24 concealer I love you. I sometimes forget about you in the back of my drawer and whenever I pull you our I remember how much I love you! This is a stick concealer unlike any other I had tried when I got it- it's a super creamy stick concealer surrounded by vitamin E and moisturizer gel. So it's hydrating! OMG I love it. I use this bad boy under my eyes and they feel so hydrated and are lightly concealed. This is not a full coverage concealer it's very light coverage but feels heavy (in a good way) but can build up to medium coverage. To me it just feels so good under my eyes and is perfect for weekends when I don't feel like wearing a full face of makeup. This was my first high end concealer purchase and after it I realized what my problem had been. Don't buy cheap concealer- they're just not worth it. Because I use this so infrequently I've had it over a year and will probably finish it up before Thanksgiving. I love it. I may not purchase it again right away but I definitely will again before next Summer because it's delightful. 

Up next I have potted concealers. Or panned concealers. These come in two types- at least that I've found- waxy and creamy.  There are some other variations in there but I think both really have their place and I've found a use for them that I didn't expect. So lets just jump into what I have.

• Benefit Boi-ing in 02 medium.  This $12 duo is 1/2 Boing concealer and 1/2 eye bright brightener.  Since I already knew I loved my first Benefit concealer I thought this duo was a great way to try others and it is. While I don't have much use for the eye brightener I may just not know how to use it, but the Boing concealer is a very interesting full coverage concealer. This stuff is thick, not hydrating but not waxy. I sometimes would use this on top of my Fake Up for a little more coverage and it works fine for that. I don't reach for this much anymore. I've hit pan on the concealer and will probably use it up but I've found other stuff I like better. This stuff isn't bad I just don't really need it in my stash. I think the Boing concealer texture and consistency would work on oilier skins better than dry.
• Benefit Erase Paste in 02 medium.  There's a theme here with Benefit. Their products are good. This $26 pot of salmon colored gold is amazing. I bought this after seeing several videos by EmilyNoel83 using it in tutorials or highlighting it in concealer videos. 2nd important concealer lesson I learned- if you have dark blue/purple circles under your eyes, you should use a salmon or orangey colored concealer to hide them. Something about being on different sides of the color spectrum makes them hide each other. This concealer has a creamy almost gel like texture it's very slippery and smooth. I don't think it's adding hydration to my face but it feels very moisturizing.  This stuff is made for the under eyes and since it's in that salmon color does a great job. During the school year when I'm super pale I use this under another concealer, but in the summer when I get a little pigment in my skin I can wear this by itself. I think it does a great job, if you set it it doesn't crease.  The only thing that is weird about this concealer for me is every review and the instructions online all say to use a little bit of this and that it'll go a long way...not the case for me I have to put a layer of this on my skin. I use the back of the spatula they give you to get it out of the pot and I cover the back of the spatula once for each eye. So I don't know. But I love it, I only use it under my eyes and I imagine this pot will last 2 years unless it goes bad first. I love it and as of right now I'd repurchase it- we'll see how I feel in another year.
• Pixi Correction Concentrate in brightening peach. This is a semi-drugstore option for Benefit's erase paste. This is $12 at target and YouTube told me it's a dupe for my Erase Paste.  I actually bought this first before I tried Erase Paste and loved it. It's creamy it's a salmony-peach color and it doesn't dry out my under eyes.  For me after a while I found the color wasn't as pigmented as I'd like and while my dark circles normally pop back out a few hours after concealer I feel like this almost made them look grey half way through the day. I like it though and find it a great option if you don't want to spend $26 on a concealer which I agree hurts. I'm holding onto it because it's another one of those concealers I'll break out on the weekend when I don't want to use my really expensive stuff. I imagine this stuff will last a little less than 2 years because it's slightly smaller than my erase paste.
• theBalm timeBalm Concealer in light/medium. This is an $18 concealer that I got for $10 on Hautelook (referral link). I heard about this from JenLuvsReviews and Tati on YouTube. Jen uses this as her under eye concealer and Tati uses it as an eye base/primer. I'd been wanting to try it so when I saw it come up on Hautlook I decided to try it. Well it's not good for my undereyes and then it creased on my eye lids.  This is a fairly dry and very lightly waxy concealer. Sigh. It's a perfect color match which was awesome and it lasts forever but I just found I couldn't use it under my eyes or on them.  Then one day- I decided to be adventurous and use it as a redness corrector around my nose- the one area on my face that is dry as hell but not as dry as say my cheeks and eyes.  So I took a concealer brush and lightly spread it over the area- instantly my redness vanished! It's a miracle! So that's how I'll use this guy up. I probably wont repurchase him because I know there are better redness correctors out there but it'll do for now.

And lastly we have tubed concealers! So now that I have more experience with tubed concealers I expect them to be full coverage and really hydrating. However that is not always what you find.

• Flirt! Glamouflage Healer/Concealer in who knows. I've had this concealer well past the recommended 36 months. I'm pretty sure I've had this for about 7 years. I'll be getting rid of it. This was a gift from a friend back when I was having acne issues, this concealer was really thick and has salicylic acid in it. I used a lot of it because the tube feels pretty hollow. I don't know if you can get it anymore- a quick Googling shows it on Ebay, but it was good then I wouldn't purchase it now because I don't need that type of coverage.
• Maybelline FaceStudio Master Conceal om 20 light. This $9 is also going in the trash. I do not like this. I got this because it was on sale when I got a Face Studio primer that I love. However this concealer does nothing. It is so wet and watery and would be great if I wasn't to go full on highlight the under eye area but that's not my style. I couldn't get this to work and I didn't like the formula enough to try a different color. It's sad because I hate to waste money on crappy products I can't find some way to use, but life is too short to use bad concealer. 
• It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Anti-Aging Concealer in neutral medium and tan. This is a $24 concealer. And I have two of them. I'm actually surprised it's a little cheaper than my Benefit because I definitely thought it was more expensive. I have however never purchased these concealers at full price. I've bought both of them with $9 of Ulta rewards so $15 is much easier to deal with considering I need two of these.  This is a great concealer, a VERY thick, creamy concealer. This stuff will cover up anything and it's moisturizing. I always do but people will less dry skin would not need an eye cream before using this. Also this stuff stays moist throughout the day! If you don't set this stuff well it'll stay tacky all day long. I love this stuff. I bought the neutral medium last fall and fell in love with it, it covers amazingly and really disguises those dark circles and blends in with other foundations beautifully.  But a few months ago I noticed it was a little too light, it was starting to highlight more than conceal so I saved up my rewards and bought the next shade up tan.  Right now I can use tan by itself and it's great but I imagine if I blend it with neutral in the fall I can probably get a little better shade match. Even though I love these concealers and out of all of mine if you told me I could only keep one I'd pick one of these, I do still find in the afternoon my bags start to peak back out. I don't know if I just have really resistant dark circles or what, but I do sometimes double layer this with my Pixi or my Erase Paste for extra concealing power. But I love that this formula like all of ITs stuff has good for your skin properties. I do feel like it helps tighten my under eye area and keep my fine lines a little less line-y. I hope I don't have to purchase either of these again anytime soon, but I will unless I find something better, but right now this is the best.

I wanted to throw in at the end quickly my concealer brushes. I use an old flat Bare Escentuals brush when I used my Time Balm as redness corrector.  Then I go back and forth between my ELF concealer brush and an Eco Tools one. The ELF is fluffier and is good for blending and the Eco Tools is a little more structured and good for placement and tapping in concealer. I am definitely a conceal with your fingers kinda gal and use my ring finger most of all, but sometimes I'll use a brush and when I do these guys are what I use.

 So that's my concealer stash! I got rid of three and I'm happy with that. I use all of the ones I have so I think it's fine to have options. If there's something better out there let me know! I would love to be able to conceal my under eye circles better, but based on the research I've done I'm doing what I should be it's just not perfect.

Previous Makeup Maddnesses include Blush, Bronzers & Highlighters, Eye Liners, Lippies and Mascara!

*The HauteLook link is a referral link and the only one in this post. All other links link to Ulta, Drugstore or the brands site. I also link to a couple of my favorite YouTubers if they're who I saw the product with first! 

Makeup Madness Part 5! Mascara Monday!

It's been a minute since I did a makeup madness right? Ooops. Summer has been kinda busy.  But I figured I need to get rid of a lot of Mascara so a makeup madness would be really productive right about now.  I have 15 mascaras and only use about 3...also some are old...like a year old it's time for them to go! Now I will be the first to admit I keep mascaras past their recommended expiration date. Most people recommend getting rid of your mascara after 3 months to avoid eye infections, but a lot of mascaras have a 6 month expiration date printed on their tubes. (I just learned the cool makeup code that looks like a jar with the number of months it's good on it. My benefit products have it and they say 6 months.) So I'm going with 6 of when they dry out.

Here's what we're working with...

Wow this is a terrible picture...sorry.

Now I've never finished a mascara tube, I've never used one so long that it ran out- how much mascara are you people putting on?!?! I'm a two coat girl. So usually my mascara has to go bad before I pick up a new tube, but I'm going to be very forceful with myself and get rid of mascaras that are old...hopefully.

Let's start with my faves. Benefit makes some good mascara. My first Benefit mascara was the They're Real This little sample came in my Sephora Favorites kit that I got a lot of fave products from- good job Sephora. And it changed my eyelash life. I already have pretty curled lashes and they're relatively thick, but I lack length. I talked about it a little bit here. When it started to get dry-ish was right about the time the Benefit Roller Lash came out and I thought you know what I'm going to get that instead.  AND OMG it was even better than They're Real! This is a $24 mascara and it is worth every penny. Length, volume and curl! Like I said my eyelashes don't need a lot in the curl department but this stuff is amazing. My lashes look real and flawless with this on. I don't know how it does it. You can also use it in tandem with They're Real for more amazingness. I have a backup sample of my They're Real so I wont be repurchasing either right now, but both of these are over 6 months old now and need to be retired. I'm keeping both wands to try to help some of the weaker mascaras we'll talk about soon.  Both of these wands have rubberized bristles and they're kinda hard stiff bristles that hurt like a mother if you ever poke yourself in the eye.

My first foray into high end mascara came at the hands of my first Ipsy bag. Urban Decay Perversion Mascara. This stuff gives you false eyelash looking eyelashes with just two coats. I even used this stuff during a show and got away with not having to wear eyelashes! It was amazing. When the sample started to dry out I bought the Pervserion/Subversion Duo from Ulta. The Subversion is a lash primer that's supposed to give added umph. I used it but I don't think it didn't anything too magical.  The full sized version of Perversion however is incredible. It's like the never ending tube of mascara. I have had it since September and it is still rich and creamy and applies as well as the day I got it.  Now considering it's been 10 months I am going to let this mascara go but it pains me because there isn't anything wrong with it! It's just old.  The bristles on these mascaras are fibery traditional bristles very tightly packed. Your lashes do clump a little bit it makes them so thick is doesn't really matter. Right now I don't need to repurchase but if I ever do a theatre show again I'll totally shell out the $22 for this mascara instead of buying flash lashes.

Maybe she's born with amazing lashes...or maybe it's Maybelline. Maybelline is the gold standard of mascara for me. I've used Maybelline my entire makeup wearing life. My first tube was one of those pink and green Great Lashes in Blackest Black and also Royal Blue. The Great Lash classic mascara tube isn't going to do anything spectacular for your lashes, it'll color them and add a little bit of length and separation, but beyond that you're on your own. This is a perfect mascara for no makeup makeup days. Pictured here I have Royal Blue that I purchased for the 4th of July. It's good for the lower lashes but not much else.  Maybelline's the Rocket is another great standard now with rubber bristles that are super short and get great separation in the lashes. This was my go-to before I found the high end ones. Then I've tried a few others the Colossal Pumped Up was a hand me down from my sister and like her I didn't find it too impressive and the Lash Sensational I got because it's supposed to be a dupe for the Roller Lash. I love the formula of it but the brush sucks, I'm keeping my Benefit brushes to see if they'll work with this formula. I'd probably purchase all of these again given the right circumstances or money limitations. Maybelline makes great mascaras. I'm only keeping the Sensational.


My last little group of high end mascaras leave something to be desired. I wish I had my Tarte Lights Camera Lashes because I love that stuff, it's right up there with my Benefit Mascaras. Another $20 mascara I got in an Ipsy bag and that stuff is the shit, so I had high hopes for another Tarte mascara Gifted. This stuff sucks! It's not the worst mascara I've ever used we'll get to that, but it's awful and should not be $20. Then I have a Clinique sample from my sister and a Lancome sample. All three of these are bristle brushes and all three have the same problem. THEY FLAKE! The Clinique one was really good for about a month but then started flaking terribly and the other two flaked from day one. I hadn't had a mascara flake on me in so many years I almost didn't no know what all the black specs on my face were from! I don't have very oily eyelids so I didn't know why my undereyes suddenly looked grey- these mascaras were smearing too! So they just didn't work for me so I will not be purchasing any of them and they're all being retired.

Last but not least my total failures. So two of these are cult favorites! The L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes in Carbon Black is what so many people go back to time and time again because they love the length and volume it gives. This did nothing for me. Spikey rubbery brushes that I usually like but the formula is so wet it wont dry and my lashes stuck together! It was the saddest thing ever! Then the CoverGirl Super Thick Lash was supposed to be a dupe for my Tarte Lights Camera Lashes and whoever said that should shut their dirty mouth because it's not.  Then the last one Volume Eyes from Model Co I got in an Ipsy bag and it just flaked and transferred so I didn't give it much of a try at all.  All three of these bad boys are going in the trash because one they're old now and two they suck.

So at the end of this Makeup Madness I know what I like and what I don't like in mascaras. I prefer a thicker dryer mascara formula with either short rubberized bristles or long fibery ones that are packed super tight together. I have ones I like in both the High End price and the Drugstore range. I hate spending $20 on mascara especially when a $10 sample will usually last me just as long. I'm currently working through my Lash Sensational and another tube of They're Real (sample size) and so I'm set for right now. I'll probably buy another Roller Lash next...it was just so good!

Previous Makeup Maddnesses include Blush, Bronzers & Highlighters, Eye Liners and Lippies!

Stuff I'm loving right now. April 2015

Instead of doing a full favorites post, I want to just highlight a few items that I'm really enjoying right now.  Some are a surprise and some are not.  But they're all cool products I want to share about.

We'll go biggest to smallest.  So first up are the Neutrogena Makeup Remover Face Wipes. Now I've been a fan of my Up & Up cucumber face wipes for years and rarely try different ones because I know they wont be as good, but these were on sale one day and I tried them and fell in love. They don't dry out my face as much and I feel like the towelettes are larger so I get more and more product off because of them.  I still follow up with my Simple Micellar Water- that I've blogged about before...and yes makeup still comes off after I've used both sides of these wipes, but I really feel like there's less than with the Up & Up. I am going to try the Target version of the Neutrogena ones in the purple bag, but I still have two Neutrogena packs to go through before then.  So if you're looking for a good makeup wipe I recommend these, they're gentle yet strong.  They're usually around $6 but I always find coupons or Cartwheel deals for them.

Next up is a new one- my Jojoba Oil. I got this one from Trader Joe's but you can get it anywhere and it's a really nice oil.  I've been a fan of coconut oil and sweet almond oil for a while now and use them for makeup remover, moisturizer and hair treatments and apparently you can do the same with this.  I've been loving it on my hair because it doesn't make your hair greasy but gives good shine and supposedly helps the health.  I bought a sample of Josie Maran Argan Oil and din't like it for anything- I felt like it made my hair dryer and my face felt like I'd done nothing to it- maybe I'll use it for a cuticle oil, but I feel like this Jojoba Oil like my coconut and almond oil is a multitasker that can do just about anything so I'm really liking it. It absorbs fast too! It's about $8-10 depending where you buy it.

I've been loving switching up my blushes lately. I used to use the same blush day after day after day and not think anything of it, but now I love switching up my blush depending on what I'm wearing or how I do my eyes. It's been fun.  So I'm loving the Milani Rose Powder Blush in Tea Rose. It's a beautiful soft dusty rose, but can still be bright if you apply a little more. I love this for early spring, it goes great with navy blue and my usual natural eye, but it's just gorgeous. The Blush in the pan is in a pretty rose shape that makes it feel extra fun and fancy. You don't need a lot to get it to show up and it's not powdery at all, it sticks perfectly to my Real Techniques Blush Brush.  The blush is only $7 and I have a feeling it is going to last and long long time.

I have two new ELF Brushes I'm just loving. The ELF Studio Contouring Brush is a great short bristled, stiff, flat brush. It allows for really precise placement of contour powder and you can really cut your cheek bones with it and get super close to your hairline. I don't use it for blending to much but I have and it works great, but I love using it to just place my contour color is a sharp straight line and then I'll bring in a fluffy brush to blend up.  It's also great for getting around my temple and hairline because I don't have a very large forehead and so most brushes are usually too big to contour and bronze above my eyebrows. But not this guy- he is a little more expensive for ELF brushes at $6 but I don't mind because it gets the job done and ELF brushes are excellent quality.  The other ELF brush I've been loving lately is my ELF Studio Eyebrow Duo I love this guy too. It's got a mini spoolie on one side and a flat angled brush on the other. The spoolie is perfect eyebrow size! I hate with eyebrow powders come with full size spoolies for your brows because they're always too big, but this little guy is exactly the length of the width of my brows so it's perfect.  The angled brush is also an excellent size and works well with both brow powders and creams.  I use it frequently with a product I'm going to talk about later.  This guy is only $3 so that doesn't both me either.

Oh Benefit Roller Lash how I love you. I hate to love this product because it's not cheap...$24 for a mascara is ridiculous...but I had a gift card and a coupon so I got it and love it. I've been a fan of Benefit Mascaras for a brief minute starting with the They're Real Mascara I talked about in January and this does not disappoint either. I've even used the two together and shut the front door it's awesome. So the gimmick with the roller lash is that you're not supposed to have to curl your lashes beforehand and while I don't really notice it curling my lashes extremely I do know I haven't used my eyelash curler in over a month now so that's a big plus for me. I feel like this mascara got better after I used it for about a week and now it's just perfect. I don't find it clumps at all and it's great at separating my lashes. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the curved shape of the wand and the bristles but I like the formula as well.  So while I wont be purchasing another tube of this right away when it runs out because like I said it costs $$$ but I do like it and if I ever have some extra Ulta $ aroud I'll totally get it again.  

Next up is a different thing for me. Even since I cancelled my Ipsy bag I've been looking for another subscription that would be kinda cool and had heard about a perfume one that sounded interesting. I go in phases where I wear perfume and don't, but I've been trying to do it more often because I do like the way it smells and there's just something fun and sexy about perfume.  So I didn't want to spend a ton of money on a full bottle of perfume and then get tired of it half way through and then I remembered hearing about Scentbird from a couple of youtubers.  It's a $14 monthly subscription where you get a 30 day supply of designer perfumes in a fun little atomizer.  This is a great way to try a lot of perfumes at a fraction of the price.  So you get to fill out a little survey with the perfumes you like and the notes that interest you and then they recommend scents you might like. You can read comments and look at the notes and then fill out your schedule so you get the scents you want.  For this first month I got Si by Giorgio Armani. Oh it's delightful I cheated and smelled it at Sephora first and so I knew I wanted it to be one of my selections. I've filled out my calendar for the next four months to test is like I did Ipsy. Now they say they give you enough for a full month but it looks like more to me and especially if I don't wear it everyday, so I'm interested to see how long the samples they give last, but it's a fun little thing and kinda different so I wanted to share it as well.  The first link is a subscription link and if you use it I get points towards a free month I think- never understand how those work.

I am in constant search for the perfect concealer. I feel like it's a never ending journey because I'll use one for a while and then it seems to just stop working for me! It's so frustrating.  So I bounce around a lot, but I think one of my problems could be that I just don't use enough or I don't prep my eyes well enough. So lately I've been using my Benefit Erase Paste but a pretty generous amount of it. Instead of just dabbing the tip of my finger I'm using the spatula that came with it and getting a good later of it on each eye.  It's super creamy and smooth and so a little does go a  long way, but I found if you put on a generous layer it covers the blue under my eyes better and it lasts all day.  I use shade 02 Medium and it's a great match. It is kinda peachy but when you put on a thicker layer it seems to match my actual skintone better. I sometimes will top it with another concealer but this week I've been using it on it's own and I really like it.  Now it is $26 at Ulta but I have a pretty good dupe in my Pixi Correction Concentrate from Target and it's a bit dryer so it naturally applies thicker and it's great as well, but my Benefit definitely has been getting a little more love this month.

And lastly my NYX Tame and Frame brow pomade in blonde...yes blonde. I had the chocolate which is the lightest brow shade and it was laughably dark. I love this stuff. It takes some getting used to but like my concealer quest I am always in search of better brow products. I love brow pencils because they're easy and I love brow powder because it's forgiving but the pomade does so many things at once. It fills, it draws and it holds those suckers in place.  I feel use this with my ELF brow brush duo and its great, but this product is so soft in the pot that I frequently get too much and have to rub it around in the cap to get it how I want it.  I find this stuff lasts all day and doesn't budge. The color match is a bit annoying because my hair is not blonde but the lightest brown was too dark but that's okay because the blonde is pretty taupe so it goes with lots of shade.  This product is $7 from Ulta and if you can find a display that has it then you're in luck. I seem to be going through it pretty quickly, but the price makes that okay.

So those are all the fun things I've been enjoying lately.  Its a lazy Saturday morning right now, the cats are lounging by the windows, I'm doing laundry and drinking coffee but now that this post is out of the way I guess it's time to put on my makeup. I'm trying to do more minimal makeup on the weekends but it's so hard, I really just enjoy my usual full face of makeup, but I also know my skin needs a break, so we'll see what I come up with.  Happy weekending! I'm going to try to do my lip product makeup madness clean out later this week.

tarte Tartelette Matte Palette Redux

So this is going to be a combination post. I've been promising to re-review my Tartelette Palette since my first review that I changed my mind on. And also this morning/last night I got a request for a step by step Matte Eye look.  So two birds one awesome eye palette. So I am not an expert at all when it comes to makeup, but I do watch a lot of Beauty Gurus on YouTube and read a lot of makeup blogs so I feel like somewhere out there I have back up for what I'm about to say and do.

I know Matte Eyeshadows are something a lot of people are afraid of because you have to be really careful, blend a lot and they just aren't as forgiving as shimmer shadows.  I think that's why at first I didn't like my Tartelette palette, I didn't know the trick yet.  So I added them to my eyes and wherever I put them they STAYED! Like they did not want to blend and the just wanted to chill in my crease all patchy and sad like.  So I scoured the internet to figure out what I was doing wrong and it wasn't till about 2-3 weeks after I had the palette that Tati shared this eye shadow changing tip on her channel. POWDER. After you primer your eyes, powder your eyes this makes all the difference. I swear! So I'll share in the photo's below how I do this, but I don't just powder my eyes once, I do it twice. And I can tell when I do a crappy job of it cause I get patchy shadow as a side-effect.  On to the step by step process.  (also this could be a little long because I captured the whole process) If you're just here for the eyes skip to Step 10.

Dangit I forgot to capture my BB Creams...sigh

Here's the majority of the products I used today I'll list them all with their shades along the way.  The most important step though is the base. You have to have a good even foundation to start with or the rest of the face falls apart, or melts off.

1.) Start with a naked face. I've added Josie Maran's Argan Oil Light all over my face with my usual ELF under eye Primer.  I also have on some chapstick.

2.) After this I add my allover face primer. I'm still using my Maybelline Master Prime Blur and still enjoying it.

3.) Then I start working on my base. Before I apply any BB creams I add my Lemon Aid primer from Benefit on any discolorations. I use this to neutralize my eyelid shadows and on any blemishes (which right now I seem to have a few)

4.) I also use this time to add my first of many layers of undereye concealer. I'm currently using Benefit's Erase Paste as my salmon based color corrector for under my eyes.



Here you can see my eyelids are a little lighter and my under eyes look a little yellowish but less blue.

5.) Now I add my BB cream. I'm using a mix of my Olay Fresh Effects BB cream and my Smashbox BB Cream.

6.) More concealing. I'm using a sample of Lancome's Effacernes Waterproof Undereye Concealer. Not sure how I feel about it yet. I like the texture but I still think we can do better...I think I have my color correcting down but it's the concealing now that's the problem...sigh

7.) More primer. Now I prime my eyes. I'm still using Wet N Wild's Fergie Take on the Day primer but it's almost out, so on standby I have Milani's eye primer.

8.) Powder! I do not powder my whole face, my skin is too dry for that nonsense but I do powder my eyes and undereye area and anywhere else that has concealer. It's called setting your concealer and it's important. I use Palladio Rice Powder for this, it's light and translucent.

So now we get to the good stuff, now we get to the eyes.

9.) First step to my eyes is to fill in my eyebrows I know I know sometimes I go to far and have very dark eyebrows and sometimes I do just enough and you can't see where I'm missing hair- today is somewhere between. I've been using and loving the NYX micro-pencil it's fabulous I use the shade Taupe.

For the next few steps you'll need a neutral palette I'm going to name the shades in the Tarte Tartelette palette but I'll also describe them and have a shot of the palette later highlighted with the colors I used.

10.) Take Free Spirit or your favorite light cream color all over your lid. I mean all over from eyebrow to lash line. This is the second layer of powder I spoke about earlier this doesn't need to be a thick layer but it needs to be there, your entire eyelid should be the same shade now and smooth when you run the brush over it, no skipping across the eye. I use a fluffy shader brush from Real Techniques called The Base Shadow Brush.

11.) Next I take Caregiver a pale but pigmented baby pink and cover just the moving part of my lid till the crease. I don't carry it into the crease here but cover the who eyelid again till the crease.  I use an ELF Essential Eye Shadow Brush but any short and flat brush will do.

There is now a pretty good amount of powder on my lids. It's not thick, you can't see it but if you run a brush across your lids it would feel very smooth- that's what you want.

12.) Now we attack the crease. I go in with my two medium colors and blend them together with a fluffy short brush by Real Techniques called the Shader Brush. I take this into Force of Nature and Wanderer  and tap off the extra and just start blending it into my crease. From inner corner to outer corner with windshield wiper motions. I go over this as much as I want.  This color covers the crease and goes about it and below it just the slightest. When you open your eyes you should see just a little bit of the crease color above your crease. This will be hard if you have fully hooded eyelids, mine are partially hooded so it works but the more real estate above your crease the easier this will be for you.

Here's how it'll look with eyes open and closed with just the first three eye steps.







13.) Okay here's the test to see if you have enough powder on your lids. Take a medium to dark brown color I used Dreamer on a fluffy domed crease brush I used my ELF Essential Eye Crease Brush. I dip just the top domed part of the brush in the color- start slow- and tap it off. Then I dot this on the outer corner of my eye. Do one eye at a time here, you can ever it out later. And I make a small triangle of shadow here.  (please see very unattractive picture here my lighting was hating me)

14.) Then Blend, blend, blend. Use the same brush, don't add anymore product and blend again into the crease, try not to go above the crease this time, but use the same windshield motions back and forth till it's completely blended out.

15.) Almost done with the eyes- next clean it up. Keep blending till you're happy and see an pretty gradient from one color to the next. No harsh lines, you want it to look smooth and effortless. I always go back into my pale pink and my cream color to re-highlight my browbone and brighten up my inner corner of the lid.

16.) Eyeliner time! I like to use NYX's Dark Brown Gel Liner, it's dark and smooth and goes on like a dream. I apply this with any liner brush right now I'm using my Sephora Liner Brush from high school so I have no idea if they still make it but it works beautifully. I do the very thinnest line I can do, just to darken up the base of my lashes, I don't use a very thick line.

17.) Lower eyeliner- I don't usually use eyeliner on my lower lash line I just take the darkest color eye shadow I used and an angled brush to pop it down there. Today I used Dreamer again and a no-name angled brush.






17.) The final eye step is to add mascara! I'm in love with my Benefit Roller Lash. It's like my Benefit They're Real but curlier. It's fantastic. However before I could finish using it- disaster struck!!!

Oh the tears. 

18.) After I cleaned up my mess. I continued on with the rest of my face. Which pretty much is always the same. Bronzer from my NYX Sunny, Blush from whatever is closest- today was my new Milani Tea Rose this stuff is strong! Then I finish with my ELF highlight in Moonlight Pearls.

And done! Geesh it always seems like such a long process when I write it out! But it really doesn't take me more than 15 minutes. 

Here's a close up of the Tartelette Palette and the colors I used. 

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PS So sorry I've been neglecting my beauty blog! I've been working on an excessive movie project on my main blog . It'll be done by the 30th for my birthday. But this is the most action my other blog has gotten in a while, so it's good for it. Once that project is over I also promise to continue my Makeup Madness series with my liners.