Weekend Makeup Bag

I had two quick San Antonio weekend trips this month. I needed to get my weekend makeup bag set to a smaller than usual level because I did not want to be hauling 5 palettes and 3 BB creams and a dozen makeup brushes home every two weeks all spring. My first trip was for two baby showers and to chill with my sister.  And the second trip was for my niece's baptism. Both trips centered around looking just classically nice for these events, nothing crazy or fancy just classic.

So here's what I usually bring when I go home-

1. Day and Night Moisturizer
2. Face Primer
3. It Cosmetics CC Cream
4. Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream
5. It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under-eye
6. Maybelline Age Rewind
7. Benefit Fake Up
8. Wet n Wild Fergie Take on the Day Eye Primer
9. Eye Base or Cream Shadow
10. NYX Brow Cake Powder
11. Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette
12. Tartelette Matte Palette
13. Tarte Rainforest After Dark full face palette
14. NYC Bronzer in Sunny
15. Blush (various)
16. ELF Highlighter
17. NYX Gel Eyeliner
18. Pencil Eyeliner
19. Two-three mascaras
20. NYX Setting Spray
21. All the makeup brushes...

So what did I end up taking?

Weekend minimal makeup bag. This was tough. #makeup #tarte #tartlette #itcosmetics #nyx #nyc #maybelline #elf #benefit #nars #weekendgetaway

A photo posted by Tyler Archer (@tyleralyse) on Feb 6, 2015 at 5:49am PST

I'm super proud of myself I really cut down!  (on the makeup side of things)

1.  Maybelline Face Primer
2. IT Cosmetics CC Cream
3. Benefit Lemon-aid (eye primer/color corrector) 
4. Bye Bye Undereye
5. NYX Eyebrow wax
6. NYC Eyebrow Cake Powder
7. Tartelette Palette (ONLY ONE EYESHADOW PALETTE Y'ALL!!!)
8. NYX Gel Liner
9. Benefit They're Real Sample Mascara
10. NYC Bronzer in Sunny
11. Nars Blush in Orgasm
12. ELF Highlighter

And that's it for makeup! I was ridiculously proud.  And I really didn't miss the other stuff. I feel like this got the job done just fine.  For brushes I do really feel like I kept it down to a sane amount.

So basically every day I did the same look.  I used the top row of my Tartlette Palette with the light pink shade thrown in all over the lid and then basic gel liner and mascara.  My face was the same daily too nothing fancy there.  CC cream + concealer + Primer + brows + bronzer, blush & highlight and it's done! I did wish I'd brought a little lighter concealer because the Bye Bye Undereye is really heavy but it was fine for the short weekends.  

Packing will probably always be challenging for me, but for a 2 day weekend I feel like anymore than this would have been excessive. 

*Note: I've been pretty much using my Tartelette Palette Exclusively since I got it so I'm going to do an updated review soon about how I was able to make it work. My first review was a little lackluster but after living with it for a while I really do like it.

Conceal don't feel...like you look like death.

Conceal don't feel #faveconcealers #pixi #itcosmetics #benefit #maybelline #makeupmonday

A photo posted by Tyler Archer (@tyleralyse) on Oct 10, 2014 at 4:58am PDT

I have deep dark under eye circles. I've been a fully functioning insomniac since moving to College Station in 2012.  I average about 4 hours of sleep a night. I feel really great after 5 and when I hit 7 woh buddy watch out.  So concealer has been my friend for a while now.  Also as I've gotten older my under eye skin has gotten drier- I know shocking after my last post.  But it's true. The skin under your eye is like no other skin on the rest of your body, it's thinner, more sensitive and more delicate and in my world drier too.  So in the last year these have been my new go to concealers that I've used and abused and I love them each for individual reasons.

Prior to my makeup obsession I used really cheap basic concealers that were drying and in stick form.  They weren't bad concealers but they weren't made for your under eye and the certainly weren't hydrating.  Let me clarify in case it wasn't obvious but this post is about concealing bags, under eye bags, bags as deep and dark as your soul.  So while dry stick concealers are great for hiding blemishes they're no bueno for under the eye.

So last February during my makeup awakening the first concealer I decided to try was the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind in Light. Well that was too light.  It covered great but made my under eyes look like I'd used white stage makeup or like I was one of those tragic concealing accidents where people use way too much highlighter under their eyes.  It was not a good look for me.  So I abandoned the Instant Age Rewind in Light and moved on to something else.

Try #2 Benefit Boi-ing duo thing.  It's Silver Dollar sized compact that's half concealer and half brightener.  The concealer is in #02 and it's the perfect shade! Oh my gosh this matches my skin beautifully and perfectly and man does it conceal and not budge...but...there is no hydration, it's drying like no other, within 5 minutes my under eyes look dry and cracky and it's just sad.  But this one had awesome potential so I keep it around and every once in a while layer it over another product.

So since I had so much success with the color at least for Benefit I decided to stay in the Benefit family and try Fake-Up.  This product is very interesting.  It's a stick concealer but it's wrapped in a hydrating gel thing, so the outside is clear and the inside is concealer.  It feels amazing going on the skin, you can feel the hydration. And the concealer is great but I think the hydration part dilutes the color a little bit so it's not as full coverage as I'd like. However this concealer paired up with the Boi-ing is great. I get some hydration and excellent coverage and it's fabulous.  This concealer on it's own is also something I use on the weekends when I want to be extra nice to my under eyes, have a little coverage but not go over board.

So by this point it's late March or early April and I was still hearing so many great things about the Maybelline Age Rewind, I did have the wrong shade and so I thought I'd give it a try again just in case I really was missing out.  So I got the Medium shade and it was a pretty good match.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Age Rewind Dark Circle Corrector Concealer but it's just not my favorite. I like the little spongy applicator, I like that it feels super light.  I just don't think it's as hydrating as people say it is.  I'll use it around my nose sometimes if I'm really red, or use it to hide a blemish if I'm so inclined.  And I've used quit a bit of this concealer now, but I usually use it with something else if I'm going to put it under my eyes.  I either use it on top of my Fake-Up or on top of the next product I've going to talk about.

I was pretty satisfied most of last Spring and early Summer just using a combination of the above products and with good results. In the summer and spring it's a little more humid here so the dryness started to subside a little and I had started wearing a little more face makeup anyways so that helped and I was pretty okay with my concealer choices, but still wanted to find that product that would change everything and make life better/easier.  So my beauty bloggers/vloggers were my guides and I decided I'd try something in a pot this time instead of a stick or roll up or whatever.  Pixi Correction Concentrate was the recommendation.  Pixi is a brand you can buy at Target and it's higher quality that drugstore products but less expensive than Sephora or the high end products at Ulta.  So for around $12 I got this little pot of peach creamy concealer.  This stuff is awesome.  Very hydrating and it's peach so it's supposed to be color correcting.  You don't rub this stuff on but dab it and focus mostly on where your blue tinted skin is.  This stuff is great I really enjoy it, but rarely on it's own.  I usually have to top it with my Age Rewind or Boi-ing if I want to actually conceal, not just color correct.  This is really a great product to use on the weekends as well when I want something hydrating but still look pretty natural.  Some days I can use just this and it's fine, but somedays it needs something on top.

So this brings me to my last product.  My last favorite concealer that I got this past fall as an impulse purchase or last ditch effort to find the perfect concealer.  It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Anti-Aging Concealer one has a ridiculously long name but two was the concealer I've been waiting for. I love this stuff.  This is pretty much my every workday concealer.  This stuff can hide some bags like nobody's business while still being incredibly hydrating.  This stuff is so hydrating it has to be set with a light powder before I'm done! I love it.  It lasts all day and is just fabulous.  I have the shade Neutral Medium which the lady at Ulta told me worked for most people.  I love this stuff. It needs to be applied with your fingers because it's kinda thick and the warmth of your hand helps melt it a little, but also you need the smallest amount, a little can go a long way.  So this is it! My favorite concealer of the bunch, the most expensive and probably the one that will last the longest.

So quick recap and my favorite uses for each-

1. Maybelline Instant Age Rewind- good topper for more hydrating concealer, but not hydrating enough- can be used on more than just under eyes
2. Benefit Fake Up- LOVE! Great weekend concealer when I don't want to be too fussy but not enough coverage on it's own
3. Pixi Correction Concentrate- Fabulous for color correcting, hydrating, can be used on it's own but usually needs a topper
4. Bye Bye Under Eye- Fabulous! My fave.  Great under eye concealer, must be set with a powder, not really good anywhere else on face. 

That's it! These are most frequently used concealers.  Unless I find something better I doubt I'll stray from my Bye Bye Under Eye concealer, I probably wont repurchase the Age Rewind but the other two Fake Up and Pixi I can see myself buying again. 

IT Cosmetics Your Skin but Better CC Cream First Impression Week.

This past weekend I did a lot of shopping with my girlfriends. It was kinda an accident. But eventually the three of us found ourselves in Ulta! I was determined to find a BB Cream I like that hasn't been discontinued. If I know that one day I'll be unable to find my Olay Fresh Effects BB Cream then I just want to get it over with and find a replacement. I know there's nothing wrong with my Olay BB Cream but it's the principle of the thing.

So what am I looking for in a BB Cream really just three things-
1- Lots of moisture- my skin is as dry as a dessert so I need moisture
2- A little bit of color correcting/evening of my skin tone - my cheeks get very pink
3- A very natural look

What have I tried Olay Fresh Effects obviously my fave. NYX  has a Tinted Moisturizer and BB Cream, I like their Tinted Moisturizer but their BB Cream was not for me.  And the Tinted Moisturizer usually needed to be mixed with my Olay.  Smashbox Photo Read BB Cream sucks! I know there are so many people this is holy grail status for but that is not me. It's drying, it just sits on top of my skin and wont blend in. I'm really not a fan.  Too Faced Beauty Balm is very hydrating but too sheer. I'm sure there are more out there to try, but after some research and receiving a 20% off coupon for Ulta I decided to try out the It Cosmetics Your Skin but Better CC Cream in Medium.

It Cosmetics makes my favorite under eye cream the Bye Bye Under Eye and I'd heard really great things about the CC Cream. This is supposed to be an all around miracle product it does everything- color correcting, full coverage, hydrating, anti-aging, SPF 50, and improve your skin texture and tone.  Those are a lot of high claims! And I have to say I am really enjoying it, I feel like it does a lot of those things, but before I get into the rest of my review I feel like there is something I must address because no one else on the internet is talking about it, well maybe two other people were talking about it.  

The smell.  When I first tested it out at Ulta on Saturday I put my nose to it and it smelled like baby vomit.  I'm serious. I had my friends smell too and one was convinced it didn't smell bad but just sour.  And even though I was really interested in this product I couldn't rationalize it till I learned more about the smell.  So I didn't buy it Saturday because I needed more research.  In my head I tried to tell my self oh the samples are probably old that's why it smelled, people love this product it couldn't possibly smell like baby vomit all the time!  So where did my research lead me- Snail Secretion. Snail Secretion! Oh my god what the hell is Snail Secretion?!? Snail trails y'all, they literally collect snail slime, clean it, process it and then put it in stuff to put on your face! I had to search my soul and my stomach to see if I was alright with it.  But apparently this is why this stuff smells.  People online called it a light citrus scent- what the heck kinda citrus are you dealing with?!? Another beauty guru said it smelled like pinesol and citrus.  But they raved and raved and heck I was getting it for 20% off plus I had $17 credit so again why not I'm looking for a winner here!

So on Sunday I went back to purchase. I settled on the Medium shade over Light because since it's so color correcting I knew that when I'm a little fairer the difference wouldn't matter too much but when I'm tan if you go too light it's bad.  So I started my 5 day trial run on Monday morning here's a breakdown of the days with my thoughts.

Monday- I used 1 pump, probably not a full pump since it was a new product and I didn't put on any additional moisturizer. I just used this product for my full face routine.  I applied it with my fingertips.  It didn't seem like enough product in that one pump, and my face did not feel moisturized at all. it didn't feel dryer but it didn't feel hydrated either.  I didn't feel the need to set anything and I did notice it worked beautifully with my eye cream.  It left me looking a little matte but that faded after it set in a bit.

Tuesday- I added my day cream under it, but not a lot, just one dollop of my Olay Day Cream and then 1 now full pump of the CC Cream.  It went on a lot smoother this time and I got an actual full pump so it totally covered my face. I even noticed it helped my under eyes a little before I even added my concealer.  Again it didn't feel like it needed to be set with powder and when I was ready to apply my bronzer and blush it applied beautifully.

Wednesday- I decided to go all out with my moisturizer this day. I usually use 2-3 dollops of my day cream and really hydrate my face so I did that, made some coffee and then applied the CC Cream and this was the best application yet. I think this CC Cream really behaves well when working with another product it needs a base almost, not something to cling on to, but I feel like you need to start with hydrated skin and then apply this- this wont remove the hydration it'll just maintain it, so you can't expect this to do all the work.  I noticed on this day my face remained a little dewey, it didn't look totally matte which is great. I feel like when my face is matte I look very cakey, dry and really covered up.

Thursday- So I finally decided to take some pictures and do a before and after-

Here (in my crappy bathroom light) you can see the color correcting that took place. On the left I just have my moisturizer on and on the right I just have the CC Cream on top.  I always get a little pink or flushed in my cheeks and this does a great job of neutralizing it.  Also I love that it starts to work on my under eyes too. I haven't put on concealer yet in the right picture.  I feel like it brightens, it event, it does all those things you want a CC or BB Cream to do.  I also took a before and after my day picture with full makeup.

Here you can also see it at work.  On the left is about 6:50 AM and the right is 6:15 PM.  I love that right after application I don't look too dry, I think this was before my setting spray so it is a little mattified but not too bad. My blush and bronzer applied evenly and I feel like it just gives the most perfect base to apply the rest of my makeup.  As you can see in the right at the end of the day, my blush had pretty much faded, there was a little left, but I don't fault the CC for this my cheeks soak up blush like crazy.  But you can still see my bronzer pretty well.  And while my under eye mascara appears to have smeared a little bit the edges of my dark circles are still pretty well concealed! You can see a little breakdown on my forehead but again I feel like after almost 12 hours this is pretty darn good. 

So Friday was really just a bonus round. I wore very minimal makeup on the rest of my face and let the CC do a lot of the work and got several compliments on my skin! 

So my verdict is this stuff is really great.  I don't think I could ever pay the full price of $38 for it but with 20% off plus $17 off I was fine to shell that out.  It is incredibly full coverage compared to what I'm used to and while it doesn't feel heavy on my face, I can just tell at the end of the day that it feels like there was something on my face all day.  It packs a huge punch and when removing my makeup at the end of the day it usually takes two makeup wipes to get it off! I like to makeup wipe before going in with my cleansing oil. 

I'm still going to play with it a little more, I may test it applying it with a brush instead of my fingertips.  The smell still annoys me but it's gotten better.  I do feel like it has clogged my pores a little bit, nothing bad, but I do feel like after a week's use I may need to really exfoliate and concentrate on the center of my face where my pores look a little congested.  I can see myself using this CC Cream a couple of times a week or just on days where I really need to look polished.  The price scares me off using it daily.  However I know there are always ways to get it cheaper, I get coupons all the time for Ulta and now that I'm a platinum member I can actually use my coupons on high end products, so we'll see.  I'm glad I got it and I hope this review was helpful to someone. I think if I can stress one thing about this product it would be - Snail Secretion...

*note in comparison to my fave Olay Fresh Effects, this has way more coverage and the smell drives me nuts so my Olay still wins.