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. 

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.

Makeup Monday: October Favorites!

How is October over?!? Where is this fall going? I have lots of faves and if I listed them all it'd look a lot like my last post on my Fall Friday Favorites.  While I vary a lot of my makeup daily, these are things I really did use the majority of the month, some every single day and others like every other day.

First my L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows in Bronzed Taupe and Endless Pearl.  I pretty much wore Endless Pearl daily as a base color and brow bone highlight. I love this shadow.  It's just pigmented enough to be a nice base but not so pigmented it messes with other shadows you put on top of it. Like it's friend Bronzed Taupe.  I got this shadow thanks to EmilyNoel83 again as a great single eyeshadow look. You put it all over the lid and blend up through the crease and it's just easy.  It's been pretty much my weekend makeup look except for Halloween things. I also bring it in to play with my Chocolate Bar palette but it's definitely a fast favorite.

Rimmel's Kate Lasting Finish Lipstick in 08 is amazing.  This is a creamy matte lipstick that doesn't dry out your lips! I was looking for that perfect "your lips but better" shade and this is it! It's nude but pink and best of all hydrating. I have lots of nudie natural lip shades but most of them are a bit too dark and look like you're wearing too much lipstick, and this one just feels natural. You could wear it even if you were just wearing mascara and blush and it wouldn't look too made up, but just enough so you'd look polished. I have another shade of the Kate lipsticks that I like it's just a little darker but until I can figure out my lip liner game it's staying on the shelf.

ELF Brushes. Thanks to YouTube and Pinterest I've been introduced to the wonderful world of ELF makeup brushes. I probably have about 8 or 9 but these two are my favorites.  The Small Tapered Brush and Blush Brush. I actually use the tapered brush for my blush and the blush brush for my highlight, but they're great.  Excellent quality, I've washed them several times and their shape stays intact along with their bristles.  Best thing about these brushes is their price- $3 each and I got both of them for half off during one of ELFs months everything 1/2 off sales! Gotta love ELF.

My NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder set has been a favorite since the spring but I used it basically every day this month. I'm a little addicted to filling in my brows. I just feel so naked without them now. My right brow is my deficient brow on my face and if I don't fill it in it looks like I have a bald patch in it! I've never had pretty thick brows but I never noticed them before I was blonde. I thought when I went back to brunette I'd stop wanting to fill them in, but no such luck, I think my brow defining days are here to stay and this product is great.  There are two shades of brunette in the palette and a small tub of setting wax, the tools that come with it are fine, the brush is a little stiff but the spoolie brush works great.

And last but not least my favorite eye primer is Wet 'n Wild's Fergie Take on the Day Eyeshadow Primer. It's amazing. I'd been going back and forth using an ELF mineral primer, a color tattoo, a NYX eyeshadow base and none of them worked as well! I always creased.  Well this bad boy is great. It stays a little tacky but that helps eyeshadow stick and not crease.  I love using this with all my shadows but I honestly think it amplifies that pigment in my Tarte After Dark palette and just gives excellent lasting power.  Another cheap product I love at only $4.99 in drugstores, but you can always find Wet 'n Wild on sale.

That's it for October! I'm tying not to buy too much new makeup in November since Christmas is right around the corner, but I have a weakness for sales...so we'll see!

Five Fall Friday Favorites!

I love makeup. Did I say that already? I love lots of makeup and own more makeup now than ever before.  It's hard to pick my favorites, but there some products that I just reach for more than the others.  This fall it's my bronzey, brownie, mauvey and burgundy eye makeup and nude-ish pink brown lips. But on Friday's I try to keep it simple with just some basics.

1. My Fresh Effects Oil of Olay BB cream in Light - Medium. So many people on the internet hate this product because it's too light in coverage and color. I love it because it's light. I've never really been one to wear foundation but always struggle to find a moisturizer that wears well with my blush. This BB cream evens out my skin tone and wears blush, bronzer and highlighter beautifully over it. Also it doesn't oxidize on me like other BB creams and Tinted Moisturizers have in the past.  I wear this daily.  Also it has SPF in it and is made by Olay who also makes my favorite moisturizer.
2. I rotate concealers a lot, because some days I need a little extra oomph and some days I don't feel like messing with it. On a bad day I'll wear 3 different concealers but on Friday I just wear my Pixi Correction Concentrate. This is an amazing peachy salmon color concealer that I heard about on EmilyNoel83's YouTube Channel. I have super dry under-eyes and serious dark circles and this stuff is creamy and doesn't settle in my 29 year old fine lines. It's hydrating without needing a setting powder and I loves it. 
3. On any given day I use between 6-7 different products on my eye lids alone. First there's primer, then a base, then a cream matte shadow, a crease color, an outer v color, a shimmer shade on my inner corners and then an eyeliner.  All of these products/colors require a separate brush for application- and this is before my mascara and eyebrows! So on Friday I keep it simple usually with just a Maybelline color tattoo all over the lid, a brow highlight and then tight-lining. Sometimes I'll switch out the color tattoo for a L'oreal Infallible shadow if I want more shimmer. Either base I use in their respective bronze shades- Bad to the Bronze in my color tattoo or Bronzed Taupe in my Infallible.
4. 3 months ago I got my first Ipsy bag subscription and inside it was a mascara that would change my eyelash game forever...or at least till now. Urban Decay Perversion Mascara. OMG it's amazing. Three coats of this stuff and I stopped wearing false eyelashes for the stage! After working my way through my sample I purchased the full size as well as the Subversion primer.  WARNING: if you use both the Subversion Primer and Perversion Mascara at the same time, strangers in your building will stop you and ask you about it. Not for the feint of makeup heart. I don't need that much eye attention on a day to day, but on Friday when I'm not wearing 7 layers of eyeshadow, I'll bulk up my mascara for fun and wear both.
5. My last favorite is a cheat. It's my Tarte Rainforest After Dark Palette that has eyeshadow, bronzer, blush and highlight.  But what I use the most out of it are the three face products. The bronzer and highlighter are terribly special but I use them frequently.  However my favorite thing in this palette is the blush.  The prettiest everyday flush color it's perfect for fall and daily use.  But on Friday's I can use it without all the other fuss and feel completely done up with ease. 

There are a few other makeup items that are new favorites so I wont mention them here, this is almost my full face look, but just a little more minimized. The rest of the week I usually wear lipstick and play around with my contouring and highlighting more, but on a Friday I like to take it easy.  Now this routine in itself is way more than I was doing 8 months ago, but way less than I was doing during those 6 months I was blonde. So I like to think this is a pretty reasonable medium.