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!

My favorite lip products!

Let's revisit lip stuff! So I wrote a few months back about all my lipsticks...here. For someone who doesn't wear a lot of lipstick I had a whole heck of a lot of lipstick, but the post was already so long going through them all that I had a friend ask me to go into more detail about my fave lip products- Okay! (she's also the friend who requested my Matte eye look walk through). So here I'll walk us through my lip prep, my favorite drugstore lipsticks and my favorite/only high end lipsticks.

Lip prep is really important. I am a chapstick/lip balm junkie. I hate when my lips get dry but one of the millions of things I've learned in the last year and a half watching beauty gurus is that your lips have to be prepped and primed just like your face to get the results you want.  So here we have two lip balms, a primer and an exfoliator. The ELF Lip Exfoliator is $1 and you could make it at home, but its cheap and comes in a lipstick format so it's just easy. It's little sugar grains surrounded by a waxy balm. Rub this on your lips whenever you start to get chapped and top immediately with your most hydrating lip balm. Whenever you exfoliate anything on your body always follow it up with a good moisturizer you just lost a layer of skin and a layer of moisturizer so tim to replenish.  After I exfoliate I need something kinda thick and that will really get the moisture back in my lips quickly- the Smith's Rosebud Salve is perfect for this. It's like $6 or $8 at Sephora and lasts forever...I've never known someone to go through one of the tubes or the tub...I'm gonna try. It's basically a lip mask it's so thick, but it's amazing and it comes in a tube now so you don't have to dig into the little tub or worry about it getting stuck.  I still have two tubs that I also use, but I love my tube! Leave this one overnight preferably or at least 1/2 an hour before applying anything on over it. My favorite chapstick right now is the Lypsyl I've already gone through a full one and am half way through the ones I have at home and work. I keep one at the office too- I told you I don't like my lips to feel dry.  I put Lypsyl on the moment I wake up and usually by the time I'm done with my makeup it's set enough on my lips that I can apply my lipstick right on over it without wiping any off.  This stuff has beeswax in it and it's amazing maybe $4 at Wallgreens and lasts me probably about 3 months.  Then the little pencil I have is Milani's Anti-Feathering primer maybe $4 too and I only use this when wearing red lipstick.  I'm not a big lip liner girl but with red lipstick it's really important and this acts as a primer/anti-feathering/liner so when I need it I use it.

Next up I have my favorite drugstore lipsticks! I'm a huge fan of chubby pencil lipsticks, they're easy to use and precise and Revelon's Colorburst Matte Balms are amazing they're $9ish each but you can always get them on sale at Ulta. I have shades 250 Standout which is a great brick red that works really well with my undertones and 225 Sultry thats a great everyday nude color.  These last super well and fade somewhat gracefully, when they start to fade I usually rub some lip balm over them and extend the life a little longer but these last through water drinking but not through eating. This is not a moisturizing lip product so chapstick before is definitely needed. Then I have a NYX High Voltage $6 in 05 Flutter Kiss. I really love this formula, very long wearing and very moisturizing. I think I'll love this more nudey brown in the fall, but I love the formula and while it does transfer a little bit to wears beautifully. Another nudey brown I love is Wet 'n Wild's Bebot Love $2 and amazing. Creamy, creamy formula very moisturizing but it doesn't stay on well. I maybe get 3 hours wear time if I put it on after I drink my coffee.  Another color that will be great in the fall.  Then the last drugstore lipsticks I just love everything about are the Kate Moss Rimmel lipsticks in Matte and Satin. I have numbers 08 a beautiful natural everyday color and 104 a gorgeous everyday light pink.  These are $5 and again you can get them on sale all the time at Ulta. But these have everything going for them.  They last forever, they don't transfer and they don't dry my lips out.  The Black tubed Satin in 08 is definitely the more hydrating one than the Matte but they are both very comfortable and smell delightful. I lost of my first 08 at work and had to buy another I enjoy it so much.

For high end lipstick I only have a two brands I think, but I only like my NARS Velvet Matte and Satin Lip Pencils.  These puppies are $26 each...I got my first two in my Sephora Birthday Gift in a bright red and a shimmery nude, I love the shimmery nude but the red was too blue for me.  So I bought these two guys (on different trips) The colors are not this similar in real life, but the first one I bought is a very dark nude- Sephora calls it a Warm Coral Red it's name is Walkyrie and it's going to be gorgeous in the fall. I love it and anytime I wear it I automatically feel fancier. I got this at the end of spring and always thought it was too dark but when I tried it on in the store I just fell in love with it so a few months later I went back and got a better everyday color Bettina, a pink mauve, is literally the color of my lips. My lips have a lot of pigment in them already and this just evens out the skin tone a little better and I can wear it and not worry about it wearing off unevenly because it's my lip color. Now the formula on these is kinda dry, it's not drying but I always need a lip balm under them usually my Lypsyl and I usually reapply balm a few hours after wear.  These have a great wearing time I usually get to lunch very easily and after lunch just a quick touch up is all I need.  I can drink water and coffee easily without them wearing off.  It does hurt my heart that they're so expensive but they're worth it- as I've found with most NARS products...

So the other day I was going through my back up stash and found my favorite lipsticks every in the history of life that I thought I had lost when I wrote my makeup madness lipstick post...

Very Sexy. Yes you are. My beautiful Victoria's Secret lipsticks from 100 years ago before they were discontinued.  I have two reds. One a brick red that closely resembles my Revlon red called Don't Stop and a sparkly fire engine red called On Fire- there is glitter involved. I love these lipsticks so much, I know they're expired but I can't throw them away they still smell good! And they're sooooo pretty. So they're bonus lipsticks just for fun since you can't buy them anymore.

So that in a nutshell is my lipstick post. I am not a big lipstick person but I try, I enjoy the look but I always end up with lipstick just on the edges of my lip so I feel like I have to check up on them a lot when I wear them.  But these are the lipsticks I reach for the most out of my vast collection and if I were to repurchase any of them again it's probably be the NARS and the Revlon, I do want to get a few more shades of the NYX, but I'm on a makeup No Buy for a while because I DO NOT NEED MORE MAKEUP. I have plenty for now and I want to save up some $$$ for the holiday palettes that will come out in the fall- I love those. So for right now I'm good. 

If you have any suggestions or questions you want answered about my life with makeup let me know! I love getting asked questions it's easier than me coming up with ideas all on my own! 

My February Face!

Here are the products I was using and abusing in February.  I didn't want to necessarily do a Favorites post because I think sometimes we use products that aren't our favorites because they're what we have, so since I using most of this stuff for a month. I now have an opinion on them.  I'm going to take us through my whole face routine.

Skincare:
I am terrible about washing my face every night, I'm lazy and I don't like to get my whole face wet.  So I use face wipes.  I know, I know they don't do enough.  I'll take off my makeup with the wipes as soon as I know I'm not leaving my house again for the night.  This month I tried out a new brand for me the Neutrogena Makeup Remover Towelettes. I had been a loyal fan of my Up and Up green packaged exfoliating wipes for years but these were on sale so I snatched them up.  I really like these, I feel like they don't dry out my skin as much and I don't have to put moisturizer on immediately after I use them.  I've already repurchased my second bag. But I do follow up the makeup wipes now with another newish product my Simple Micellar Water that I wrote about a while ago here. I just use this on a cotton pad and it gets off all the other makeup that was left behind from the wipe.  I usually use just one cotton pad on both side, but if I have lots of eye makeup on then I'll use two. I love this stuff I've already bought a backup. I'm probably about a 3rd of the way through my first bottle.

Right now I'm finishing up a tub of Neutrogena Deep Moisture Night Cream I've been working on this stuff for about a year probably. I use so very little of it and I was really bad for a while and didn't use it every night.  A little bit goes a long way and it is super deep moisture.  I have already purchased a different night cream to try after this is gone, but if it's a dud I will totally go back to the Deep Moisture. It has a nice old lady powdery smell, is super thick and lasts a really long time. What's not to love.

In the morning before I put on my makeup I've been using Olay Age Defying Classic Daily Renewal Cream. I love Oil of Olay, but this day cream does not impress me.  I switched from the Beauty Fluid which I'd be an avid user of for years because I wanted something a little more targeted to those fine lines I seem peeking under my eyes, but it's not cutting it.  I'm not shy when I use this so I'm going through it quickly. But I will not be repurchasing it. I bought a big tub or Pond's Dry Skin Cream and have been cheating on my Olay with it. It does a much better job, the tub is twice the size and half the price.  We'll see how it fairs in March.

Face Base:
I've started calling all my allover face stuff Face Base lately because it makes me giggle. These are all the prep/foundation layers I've been using.  After my moisturizer I've been using the Maybelline Master Prime just in the center of my face. I'm not sure it's actually doing anything. Like all primers I never see my pores shrunk or blurred. So whatever. It was on sale, it's not as drying as some primers but you can't convince me it does anything. Probably wont repurchase.  Next I tackle under my eyes.  I use the ELF Undereye Primer I'm on my second tube of this stuff.  I also don't know if it's working but I notice when I forget to use it. It's great at hydrating my under eyes and I feel like it makes me look more awake than if I just go in straight with concealer.  The last priming I do is for my eyes.  I use the Wet n Wild Fergie Take on the Day.  It's cheap and it works. It definitely helps my eye shadow stay on all day without creasing.  I love it. The only other primer I've tried for my eyes is from ELF and it didn't work so Fergie wins!

Now that everything is "primed" lets add some color! This month I was trying out the Benefit Lemon Aid that I heard was good for color correcting your lids and under your eyes.  So I agree it color corrects my eye lids great.  I love that it works as a great eye primer in addition to my actual eye primer. But for a concealer under the eye I just don't think it was the bees knees as I was sold it would be.  It's pretty dry and my under eyes don't need that torture forever. Probably wont repurchase, but I'll use it. After this I would use my It Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye and pat it all over my under eye gently with my ring finger.  This stuff is awesome.  Talk about moisturizing and full coverage this stuff is great.  I've been using it for about 6 months, however in the last month it hasn't been covering up those dark circles as much as I'd like.  So I'm in search of something better.  Or something else to add with this to make it as good as I remember it.  It's expensive but lasts a long time and a little goes a long way.

I'm a pretty loyal BB Cream and CC Cream user and it's really a toss up to which one I used more this month. But I'll give it to my It Cosmetics CC Cream because it's the only foundation I took home on both my SA trips.  I love this stuff, it color corrects like no one's business. It has a little bit of moisturizer in it.  And it has stuff that's good for your skin in it- like Snail Secretion... I'll probably repurchase this as some point.  I use about a pump and a half to get all over my face. I apply it with my fingers and it gives a pretty velvety finish. Love it.

I was lucky in February not to have any major breakouts that needed concealing.  Go face! So the last step is just setting my under eye concealer with a little Rice Powder from Palladio.

It's all about the eyes:
While all my concealers and eye primers are sitting I like to do my brows.  This month I started using a product I've had for a bit but am only just now really using.  Maybelline Define a Brow is an automatic brow pencil with a little comb on the end. I love this stuff too!  This is great for when I'm looking for a really natural brow sort of look. It's quick and I don't really need to set it with anything. I've purchased a product like it so I don't need this, but it's perfectly decent and I wouldn't be against repurchasing.

For eye shadows I have really been loving my Tartelette Palette.  I haven't completely changed my mind about it but I have definitely figured out some tricks for using it.  I'm going to do an updated post about it soon.  So the trick with these shadows is having a good powdery base. I use the light nude tone allover the lid and really go to town with it.  As long as there's something between my primer and the shadows I'm trying to blend then it works fine.  I mostly stuck to the top row this month but I did try the middle row for Valentine's and it was lovely.  These are great shadows and I can't imagine I'll need to repurchase this but if I need to I will. I really am enjoying it.

For liner I've been using my NYX Gel Liner in Dark Brown. Love this stuff it's great. I use it pretty much daily.  It's dark, it's brown and it stays on like no bodies business but comes off at the end of the day. I will totally repurchase it.  Then I wasn't curling my lashes most of the month because the mascara I use curls them for me.  Benefit They're Real! I loooove this mascara.  Yes it's a bitch to get off my lashes but it makes them so so so long.  It really makes my lashes gorgeous.  I have a hard time going through mascara it usually dries out first so I already bought a back up of this and will probably start using it in the next few weeks.

Where are my cheeks?
So the last step of my face is to give it back some color.  I used my NYC Sunny Bronzer daily.  This is what I use everyday to carve out my cheek and make it look like I have cheekbones. I use it around my hair line and under my jaw.  Love this stuff it works great.  I've already mentioned in my Bronzer Maddness post that I wont repurchase this right away because I have other bronzer to use, but I will probably finish using this one up in March because I've hit major major pan on it.

For highlighter I use my ELF Baked Highlighter in Moonlight Pearls. This stuff is beautiful.  And I will never be rid of it! It lasts forever. So I may not need to repurchase it.  Also I want to see other highlighters in the future so I may not right away with this either. I use it on my non-existent cheekbones, bridge of my nose and inner eye corner.  Hardest to screw up makeup step for sure.

The for blush I jumped around at the end, but I'd say for most of the month my Nars Orgasm was the blush I used.  This is just a great blush that goes with everything and always looks good. It stays all day really brings life back into my face. I'm just not sure if I'll repurchase, it's super expensive. Mine came in a kit so I may look for dupes. I also have loads of blushes I love see my Blush Maddness.

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So that's what I did to my face in February.  Geesh it's a lot to write out.  You may notice that lips were missing, because I wasn't really wearing a lot of lipstick in February. I tried some new chap sticks but nothing special.  I'm kinda addicted to Selfies so here are a few of the looks that happened in February. (Also I figuring out my eye brows...don't judge)

Makeup Madness! Part 1: Blush.

So I'm going to start a new blog series here to get through my makeup collection. Now I know my makeup collection isn't as ridiculous as some of my favorite YouTube Beauty Gurus but for someone who only has one face and only plays with makeup for fun, it's kinda out of control.  Partially because I'm a hoarder and partially because of the last year.  So here's a picture I added to Instagram tonight to show my collection and over the next few weeks I'll take us through all these things...

New blog series coming about my ridiculous makeup collection. I do not need this much makeup. #makeupmadness #makeupmonday #makeupcollection

A photo posted by Tyler Archer (@tyleralyse) on Feb 2, 2015 at 5:58pm PST

 So blush...first we need to talk about my face. I am fairly fair...but I have a lot of pigment in my face- make sense? Great. Now I am not pale, but I am fair- however in makeup I am usually Beige or Medium if those colors are lighter and more yellow/red in pigment instead of pink/bronzey undertones.  Now here's where it's complicated and I confuse the makeup artists at Sephora and Ulta.  I have yellow undertones and red cheeks and nose.  So I can do cool tones or warm tones...which is so annoying! So that explains why my blush game has suffered for years and I've spent years looking like a clown because I don't even have to put on blush and I can look like I'm wearing too much of it.

So here's the collection...

Well they're pink...yes.  And those pictures suck...well yes too. There are maybe three blushes in these pictures that I've had since before I went blonde (almost a year ago).  And those blushes are either terracotta, rose or hot pink.  Now the blushes I've bought in the last year range in pale pink, hot orange pink, mauve, tea rose, terracotta, neutral pink, peony and what the hell were you thinking pink.  I'll go through them one by one with my thoughts- let's go oldest to newest...

1. NYC New York Color Cheek Glow Powder Blush in Riverside Rose 651- this blush shows up with no pigment on me. I can swatch it on my arm and you can't even see it.  This is a lighter clay rose color and I don't know when or why I bought this. I also don't know why I've kept it, it's clearly the wrong color, I never use it and the logo is still completely visible in the product. Goodbye blush.
2. Ben Nye Dry Cheek Rouge Victorian Rose DR-61- oh my goodness why do I still have this. This is a dark deep rose color and I've had this since high school.  This was a part of my Ben Nye makeup kit I bought for my musical theatre program in high school.  At some point my sister stole it from me because she liked the color and in the last year or so I stole it back from her...I never used it after I stole it back- it was just the principle of the thing.  This blush is so old I can't even swatch it- I rub my finger in it and nothing comes off.  Luckily it doesn't smell, but it's a sad sad blush so it's going to be friends with the NYC blush and my trashcan. One thing I can remember about this blush though is it stays on like a trooper, this stuff wont budge till you tell it to.
3. Very Sexy Mosaic Blush in In Lust by Victoria's Secret.  I've been wanting to do a post on all my Victoria's Secret makeup because I have a lot. There was a time in my life during college and post college where I bought all my makeup from Victoria's Secret. Who could refuse a line called "Very Sexy".  I loved their makeup and this blush is no different.  But it is HOT, like hot hot pink.  I've hit major pan on it but it's still going strong. In the last few years I've mostly used it for theatre and Halloween, but I love this stuff.  A few of the colors in it make great eye shadows too.  There's some shimmer and some matte and all together it's fabulous.  It also stayed on my cheeks all day which I didn't know yet, but would become a problem with future blushes. I'm keeping this...forever- or till it runs out...
4. bareMinerals blush in Poppy. This blush is beautiful! I light rosey pink I wore the hell out of this blush in my early post-college days. There's barely any of this stuff left.  My first boss got me hooked on bareMinerals for a little while.  I used all their products but their blush is the only one I've made this much of a dent in. I think this color is a perfect light flushed color and looks great on many skin tones.  Now like all bareMinerals products about half way through the day I noticed they were gone, very little pigment remained on my cheeks.  I wouldn't repurchase it because the loose powder format is annoying but I'll definitely keep it till it's gone too and if they have a pressed version I'd be open to getting it some day.
5. Lancome Blush Subtil Powder Blush in Cedar Rose- a very neutral almost mauvey rose color. I bought this blush my first Thanksgiving in College Station, so 2ish + years ago.  I bought this because my Glo Mineral Makeup Terra Cotta duo blush had run out- I had gone through 3 of those things inbetween my bareMinerals Days and my Lancome days.  I was sooooo upset. So I went to Ulta and told the lady I was looking for a new blush and of course she took me to the high end section and I just went with it.  She put this on my cheeks and it looked amazing. So natural and pretty I spent the $30 for it and was a super happy camper for the next year and 2 months.  Now this blush was beautiful but once I went blonde it just didn't work with my coloring anymore.  I've hit serious pan on this product too, because you can not overuse this product if you try, but keep it around because I may go back to it eventually- also it smells really nice like all Lancome products.  As far as staying power went it didn't stay all day, but got me through a good 5ish hours- this was before I learned about primer.
6. Wet n Wild Color Icon Blusher in Mellow Wine.  Bring on the pink! This blush is pink. Not hot pink, not cool pink, just pink.  I bought this blush shortly after becoming blonde when I realized I needed some more color in my cheeks. Now my blonde was not a nice subtle dark blonde, but a bleached blonde platinum blonde thing- so to say I was washed out would be an understatement.  This cheap like $2 blush did the trick. It was bright, made me look awake, and sometimes like a clown.  It's really easy to put too much of this stuff on. I frequently looked perfect in my bathroom mirror, got into my car to look in the mirror and realized I had clown face.  Now this stuff still didn't have great staying power, so luckily if I did make it to work clown faced normally by lunch or early afternoon I'd look normal or like I didn't have any blush on at all.  I've since moved on from this blush but will keep it around for shows, Halloween and the likes.  This is basically the drugstore equivalent of my favorite Victoria's Secret Blush.
7. NYX Blush Dusty Rose- A few months after going blonde, I started trying to dye my hair a little more natural of a color, I ended up with a strawberryish orangey blonde color and needed another new blush.  Something less loud than my Wet nWild.  So I went with a a pretty dusty rosey pink closer to my Lancome color but still with a little more pigment.  My cheeks soaked up this blush like I'd never worn blush before.  This stuff would not stay on. I could put on piles of it and my face just kept it all for itself. So this was a short lived blush relationship. Still before I'd discovered primer so I'll keep it around to see if I ever reach for it and use a primer.  It's only $5-6 I probably wouldn't repurchase it because I eventually learned a blush secret, but I'm not going to toss it out just yet either.
8. elf Pressed Mineral Blush in Jet Setter- this is a gorgeous mauvey pink. I love this color and it was only $3.  I just wish it translated on my cheeks stronger! It's very natural looking and had about average for me staying power.  I didn't use it very frequently at all but will give it another try someday. It's such a pretty color and very natural looking, I just had too many new blushes come in right after it and steal it's thunder.
9. Tarte Rainforest After Dark Palette- blush in Unleashed- this is a beautiful pale pale pink. Oh my gosh this is gorgeous.  This was my first experience with Tarte and with high end blushes since Lancome. And I'm afraid I can't go back! This blush makes your cheeks look like the perfect pink flush. I have red undertones on my cheeks and it never pulls red, but always stays a beautiful light pink. I wish this blush was in the permanent line because I would use it for always but alas it's limited and so I use it sparingly.  Also this blush lasts all day...all day long. I was amazed and swore it was because it was a high end product.  Love. 
10. Coastal Scents Forever Blush sample duo in weird purple pink and nude.  This was a sample I got in my first Ipsy bag in August.  I didn't care for them.  One the sample was too small to try and two the colors were just wrong. I can't speak to really anything on the quality of these blushes but they're going to go make friends with Ben Nye and NYC- sorry.
11. Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour Blush in savored.  Another limited edition blush from Tarte darn it!  This blush came in my QVC Today's Special Sweet Indulgences Holiday collection. It came with two blushes the other one wasn't right for me so I passed it on to my sister, but this one is dark mauvey pink with light shimmer. And it's gorgeous.  This was a perfect fall shade and I love it. I feel like the 12-hour is super true because like my other Tarte blush, that I didn't stop using till I got this one, it lasted all day.  I love it! I really started to believe that the high end blushes were bringing something special to the table- or maybe it was just Tarte. All my favorite YouTubers talk about Tarte blushes strongly and I can see why. 
12. Too Faced Blush in Who's Your Poppy? This blush was a part of the Le Belle Carousel holiday set I bought to divide up between friends. This was the section I kept it also has a Chocolate Bronzer in it too, but the blush is gorgeous and very similar to the blush I'm going to talk about next.  It's a shimmery orangey pink with very high shine on the cheeks.  It's lasting power is great if you use a primer under it.  In late fall I discovered using primer on just my cheeks. I'd never liked primer's before because they dried out my face but I learned you could use primer on just your cheeks to make you blush stick around longer- good to know.  I haven't used this blush very much at all, because it's in a duo with a bronzer I'm not letting myself use until I finish up another one. So it's sticking around and will have its time.
13. Nars blush in Orgasm.  If there was every a more hyped up, cult favorite blush of the beauty blogosphere then I don't know what it is.  This blush is talked about by everyone in that it's a color that looks good on everyone.  I got this blush in a holiday set from Sephora and probably never would have just bought it flat out on it's own. However I was thrilled to have it in the set and bought the set in part because this was a full sized product in it.  This blush is an orangey pink with gold shimmer.  The Who's Your Poppy looks very similar but comes off shinier than this one.  Orgasm is a beautiful color and I do imagine it looks good on most people. Whenever I do a really neutral eye look I just throw this on and it adds something special.  This blush has great lasting power and it amazing.  At $30 I'm not sure if I'd buy this blush again though. I wont right away when it's gone since I have a pretty convincing dupe in my Too Faced blush but if I see it for a great deal in a kit again I'd definitely jump on that opportunity.  If you've been eyeing this blush and thinking you want to buy it I recommend it- it's great.
14. Stila Convertible Color in Camellia.  This was a hand me down from my sister- she couldn't make it work for he.  I was a little nervous and apprehensive about my first cream blush product. The color is a very neutral nude with more orange than pink in it.  I thought it'd be good for no-makeup makeup days.  I apply this with my elf small stipple brush and it goes on smooth.  When I first started to use it though my cheeks broke out just a little bit.  I think it's a very thick and heavy formula.  Also since it's a cream it stays kinda dewey and I found I needed to set it with another blush or a translucent powder.  I usually just wear this on the weekends, it doesn't last all day at all and it doesn't pack a high enough color punch for me, but I like having it in my collection and will continue to use it.  I don't think I'd purchase this again but maybe another color in the Convertible Color line.

And that's my blush!  If I had to pick two blushes out of the bunch it'd be my Tarte Unleashed and Nars Orgasm.  Two very different colors but between the two you could get both day and night covered. I really enjoy the higher end blushes.  I use some of my drugstore blushes on the weekends but am really too big a fan of my others now.  

I apply my blush with the Real Techniques Blush Brush.  Don't be intimidated by the size of this brush, it's large but it's perfect. I feel like it prevents me from getting too bag clown face because it helps diffuse the color so much.  

Like a lot of things in my makeup collection right now, I don't need anymore blush.  I do not have a simply blush palette yet and that is on my list for eventually, but right now I have plenty of blushes I enjoy and don't feel like I'm missing anything in my range of pinks.  

Next up bronzers and highlighters...a much smaller collection for me. 

No Palette Make-Up Saturday!

Because it's Saturday and because I get to take a little more time with my makeup on Saturdays I decided to do a makeup look without using any of my palettes! Really I was just trying to use some eyeshadows that don't get enough love and when I use single eyeshadows I use take a lot longer to do my eyes and figure out where I want to go with it. So here's what I used.

No palette Saturday make-up. #olay #benefit #maybelline #loreal #nyx #nyc #elf #nars #urbandecay

A photo posted by Tyler Archer (@tyleralyse) on Dec 12, 2014 at 8:18am PST

A lot of this stuff is my usual. Olay BB cream nothing new, NYX Brow Powder nothing new, Maybelline Age Rewind a frequent visitor, and the same with my NYX Eyeliner and NYC Bronzer. Everything else though doesn't get used on the daily or even weekly sometime. Benefit Fake Up Concealer. This is a really moisturizing concealer, it's concealer wrapped in a moisturizing gel thing so it's super hydrating. It doesn't really have enough umph to tackle my weekday undereyes but on the weekend it's light and gives my eyes a rest from the heavy duty stuff. And I topped it with my Age Rewind today because that stuff is pretty lightweight too.

I didn't use an eye primer today. I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos lately where they've been saying their Maybelline Color Tattoos were drying out! I started to panic because I don't use mine enough. I bought them so I could do the whole one eyeshadow look but lets be real how often do I use just one eyeshadow. So with the color tattoos I don't wear a primer because they're creamy and work as a base. So I broke out my Bad to the Bronze my first color tattoo and smeared that all over my lid and into my crease. Then to add some dimension I added Inked in Pink to the inner third of my lid. Then I let those set for a few minutes and went in with some powders on top. I love my L'Oreal Infallible shadows and don't use them enough. I took Endless Pearl and placed it under my brows, then took Bronzed Taupe into my crease and on the outer corner to darken it up. Then because I didn't have enough shimmer I took my new Urban Decay Sin shadow (it was from Sephora's holiday kit) and put that on top of the Inked in Pink to really make it shine. Overall this is a super sparkly eye look that I don't do very often, but it's the holidays I should do more shimmer.

The Maybelline Mascara I'm using was Haley's and she didn't like it. So I'm trying it out, I think it needs to dry out a little more to make it really special, but it's doing fine by my lashes. It makes them super thick but doesn't add to much to my length. It'll do.

My new Nars Orgasm Blush also came in the little mini Sephora kit I got this week and is lovely. I don't think it really lives up to the name Orgasm, but it's a fine blush. It has some shimmer in it already but I still needed to top it off with my Elf baked highlighter in Moonlight Pearls because I wanted to shine!

I really need to play with my single shadows more. I usually just grab an eye palette because it has everything I need and I don't have to pull from other things, but there are so many good singles in my stash that I should really let them shine more. Now this look is definitely not something I'd wear everyday, in fact it is probably going to garner me some special looks at the grocery store, but for a kinda blah Saturday it is fun to play with my makeup.