Makeup Madness Part 7! Makeup brushes!

So here's my thing with brushes- I started using makeup brushes for eye shadow in high school, but then for blush I always just used what came in my blush compact, didn't wear foundation for the longest time so didn't need a brush for that and then I didn't need one for contour and highlight because I didn't do that till recently either. So once I started buying more makeup and needing more brushes it was a very slippery slope and all of the sudden I had 40 brushes.

The only thing I don't use a brush for is my foundation, pretty much no mater what foundation I'm using I prefer to apply it with my finger tips. Always clean hands but primer and foundation do not get a brush, I've tried and every once in a while I'll try again but its just not my favorite application method.


This will not be a purging at all. I'm not getting rid of any of my brushes...sorry to disappoint. But here they are and I'll link to where you can buy them- no affiliate links.




Face brushes!

1. IT Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Radiance Wand #14 This is the most amazing brush ever. I got this with an IT Cosmetics kit from QVC and it's the softest brush you've ever felt. It's big enough to be a great powder brush or bronzing brush I use it most for a bronzing brush and love it. OMG the softness.
2. Real Techniques Blush Brush This is my next biggest brush and I love it too! This is my blush brush and it's great for diffusing really pigmented blushes and blending them out. Because the cut on the brush is so tapered it really picks up product and so just a tap is needed to get great blush color.
3. Real Techniques Expert Face Brush I bought this brush to use with my bronzer before I had #1 but didn't like it for that. So then I tried to use it for what it was meant for foundation- didn't like it for that too. None of my foundations need that much buffing. So now I just kinda use it when other brushes are dirty or I need to really blend something out- like too much blush or too hard contour. It's a great brush it's just not what I need right now.
4. Real Techniques Setting Brush Love this brush! I had been using a different brush to set my under eyes and it was just too big, but this is the perfect size. It's actually also the perfect size for highlight. I keep wanting to get another for highlight but have restrained myself...but I may get another.
5. Bare Escentuals Flawless Face This is a brush I've had the longest and will probably be first to go when I find a replacement. This is a natural hair brush one of my few and it's almost 8 years old so it should probably be retired. It's kinda bristly and not as soft as it once was. I use this just for all over face powder which I don't use everyday...so eh I would not repurchase now.
6. Bare Escentuals Max Coverage Concealer I use this brush for concealing! I actually use this one for what it's for. I like to use this when I'm concealing around my nose or need to correct redness on my cheeks. It's a fine brush I don't use it daily either. 
7. Ecotools Skin Perfecting Brush I bought this brush when I first started using CC and BB creams. I feel like this is a great sized brush and it applies product just fine, but I also feel like it absorbs too much. As a white brush you can see all the product that gets stuck and trapped in it. Also because of this I feel like I need to clean it much more frequently. So I only use this brush when using really really creamy BB creams or ones I don't mind wasting a little bit.
8. Ecotools Concealer Brush LOVE! This is a relatively new purchase maybe just at the end of summer and I love it. I got this brush after seeing EmilyNoel or Kristin Ghem talking about it and using it with pot concealers. I use this with my Erase Paste and Pixi Correction Concentrate. It's great, perfect size. I have no complaints.
9. ELF Kabuki Face Brush (not pictured) This is a good all over buffing brush when you're blending. I don't use this brush to apply anything to my face but just to blend all my cheek products together and hopefully make myself look less powdery. It's a find brush no essential but good for what I need it for.
10. ELF Angled Blush Brush I originally bought this brush for contour and I love it for that. This is great at getting really deep contour around my ears and hair line. I don't use this everyday because it lays down a lot of product but when I really want to carve out my features I love this.
11. ELF Small Tapered Brush I bought this brush highlight before I got my stipple brush and it works great for that. I still use this periodically when different highlights depending on how much glow I'm going for, for the price it's great.
12. ELF Blush Brush Very similar to the tapered brush I really only use this when my big blush brush is dirty. Great brush I just don't reach for it too much.
13. ELF Small Stipple Brush I loved this brush for about 6 months. Then the brush head fell off! It's still attached to the ferrol of the brush but I couldn't believe it. It's a fairly cheap brush so it doesn't really bother me and I can still use it but just kinda disappointing. I use this brush for my super strong highlights that I need to diffuse more. I use this brush daily. 
14. ELF Contouring Brush This is another great brush for when you want really sharp contour. I don't use this all the time but when I want a great straight line on my face it's perfect. Also great for contouring your nose. 
15. ELF Flawless Concealer Brush I bought this brush the same day I got my other concealer brush and I probably don't need both. I only use this brush when I have really liquid-y concealer that I need to buff into my skin. I may re-purpose this brush for something else because I don't think my face needs it.

Eye Brushes!

1. Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush Love this brush. Perfect for the crease and does exactly what you hope it will. Essential eye shadow brush for sure.
2. Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush This is a great brush and a part of an eye kit with the next few brushes and it's fine. I use it how it's intended to, as my base shadow brush- use it daily.
3. Real Techniques Shading Brush I used to use this brush a lot more as a crease brush and it's great for that. But right now it's serving me as an awesome brush to use with cream shadows. I use it with my ELF smudge pots and Color Tattoos.
4. Real Techniques Brow Brush I use this brush incorrectly. I find this one too big for my brows and so honestly don't use it much. Every once in a while I'll pull it in for a thicker eye liner, but it's not my favorite.
5. Real Techniques Accent Brush This brush I use for my eye brows and love it. It's the perfect size! I use an angle brush too sometimes but this is great for getting precise brows.
6. Sephora Professional Pointed Liner #17 Great for gel liner. I use this when my other liner brushes are dirty. It's great but not essential.
7. Sephora Professional Angled Shadow #20 This is a super fluffy and soft eye shadow brush. I use this with really pigmented shadows I need to diffuse. It's so soft. I've used this brush for years and recently rediscovered it at the back of a drawer. It's awesome.
8. Sephora Pencil Brush- all the info has rubbed off Essential brush that I have no idea what it is! I can't find this brush anywhere now but I know it's Sephora and it's amazing. I got this ages ago and it's the perfect pencil brush! Why aren't more this size. It's stiff but gentle and great for getting the lower lash line or highlighting the brow bone or my usual use for it is my inner corner. Great great brush.
9. Victoria's Secret Very Sexy Flat Shadow Brush (discontinued because VS hates me). This is a super dense brush that's soft and great for packing on metallic shades. Use this all the time with my favorite gold shadows. Awesome brush what's wrong with Victoria's Secret bring back your makeup and brushes!
10. Ecotools Flat Eyeliner Brush Great eye liner brush, perfect size and I use it all the time for shadow eye liner. I don't like it with gel eye liner. But it's a great brush.
11. Crown Brush Dual Ended (Ipsy bag brush) It was free, well not really! It's great for travel or using with shadow colors I don't use frequently like black smokey shades or glitter. 
12. Tarte Dual Ended Shadow Brush (QVC) This is a great brush that came with a Tarte palette. Love it. One side is super flat which is great and one is fluffy. perfect for travel.
13. IT Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Dual Eyeshadow #5 OMG back to my IT brushes! I love this thing and need more. If I had a few of these brushes I wouldn't need other eye brushes. I love the small stubby side, it's great for lining the lower lash line. The fluffy side is super soft. Love it.
14. Sad no name shader brush I've had literally forever- ESSENTIAL brush. What are you? I love you.
15. Up & Up Target Duo Eye Brush Set These are awesome brushes. One's a bigger flat shader and one is a little smaller. I use these for shimmery shades and really nothing else. They're great little brushes and I have my eyes on some more from this brand.
16. ELF Eyebrow Duo Brush I Love this brush and my eyebrows would not be anything with out. I am super picky about my eyebrow brushes because I want the spoolie side to be eyebrow size not a full length spoolie size and this one is perfect! And the angle brush side it great too. I have no complaints about this brush and love it. 
17. ELF Small Angled Brush I got this brush originally for my eye brows before I got the Duo brush but now I use it for eye liner or smudging if need be. Great little brush.
18. ELF Angled Eyeliner Brush I like this brush fine for gel eye liner but don't quite understand the need for it to be angled. I don't have a trouble getting to my lash line like other do so the angle is kinda wasted on me, but love the brush and use it when my other liner brushes are dirty...which is frequently. 
19. ELF Crease Brush This is smaller than my blending brush but mostly the same shape. I find it too small for my crease but love it for smudging out lower lash-line liner. 
20. ELF Blending Brush (w) I use this brush daily. I love it and should really get around to buying some back ups. I can tell it's starting to loosen from it's base. But I love it and it's so soft and perfect.
21. ELF Eyeshadow Brush (w) Mine looks a little sad with some of the brush hairs a little longer than others but it's a great base or all over eye brush.
22. ELF Smudge Brush (w) I love this brush because it's a smaller flat shader brush, I'm sure it could be a smudge brush but I use it to apply really shimmery colors that I don't want to deal with a lot of fall out from. Love it. 
23. ELF Eye Crease Brush (w) Another crease brush and I don't use this one as much as the others, but it's a great backup when all my other brushes are dirty. 

So basically I have way too many brushes but I use them and it's good to rotate so you aren't always using dirty brushes. I clean my brushes regularly and they're all holding up pretty well. To me the ELF ones only have about a year and half shelf life and the nicer brushes obviously last much longer. I try to wash with Dr. Bronner's Soap once a month, but weekly I wipe them down with makeup wipes (sometimes more than weekly) and then daily I wipe off the excess color onto a washcloth I keep on my sink for just this purpose. I feel like this helps my brushes and my skin because I'm wiping off some of the excess oil and product so it doesn't go on my face. But I love my brushes and I do want to eventually get some more IT Cosmetics brushes just because they're better quality but I don't NEED them. Yay!

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Previous Makeup Madness-es!

Blush, Bronzers & Highlighters, Eye Liners, Lippies, Mascara, and Concealer!

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!

Recent Beauty Purchases! April - May 2015

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Makeup Madness Part 4! Lip Products!

I didn't think I had that many lip products...

For someone who very rarely wears lipstick this was kinda shocking to go through. And there are actually 3 missing from the picture! My cat Bellatrix loves to play with lipstick and lose them all over my apartment.  I know exactly which ones are missing too and they're ones I love...so she better find them and put them back with the rest of my makeup or I'm going to be super upset.  So what we have here are 59 lip products and I am getting rid of a lot. Like more than any other Makeup Madness yet...especially since Makeup Madness 3 was a huge failure...

So the criteria I used to get rid of lipsticks and lip products was if they were expired- 2 -3 years- ewww. If they smelled I got rid of them and then if  attacked my lips or made them too dry.  So here's what I got rid of.

25 products. Oh I also got rid of colors that made my lips look dead and that I know wouldn't work for my sister either. I got rid of some glosses because I don't like lip gloss and I got rid of all the baby lips because they were all retired last year when my lips had a horrible reaction to EOS lip balms and these. Every time I would wear these or the EOS stuff my lips would puff up and look like I had lip injections- seriously not a good look for me- it was also painful.  The lip balm in the upper left I got in an Ipsy bag and can't get it open, but I remember disliking it.  The ELF moisturizing Lip Color was really disappointing, loved the formula but the poor thing is frosted! Hello 90s, not the look I'm going for.  The rest were just old so bye bye.

So like the eyeliners and jumbo pencils before them I decided to put my lip products to the swatch test...

PS Lipstick swatches are much harder to get off than eyeliner... Anyways aren't they pretty. So yes the lighting is bad but you can see I don't really stray outside of certain color familys.  What I ended up keep were a variety of terracotta/my lips but better colors, some brownie nudes and some reds.

So as you can see I kept 34 + the missing three and three I have at work. I'll break these into categories.

Lip Balms/Chapsticks- I love the plain generic Chap Stick I currently have Cake Batter (delicious) but Cherry is my favorite and I always have it on hand. I have another Cake Batter at the office.  I have two NYX Butter Balms that I'm undecided on, I may end up getting rid of these soon because i never use them but I'm going to give them a try before I make my decision.  I'm currently loving my Lypsyl I have one at home and one at work and it's a beeswax lip balm that has some good staying power. I'm almost done with one tube and will probably purchase more when it runs out. I have three rosebud salves- shoot it's missing from the picture too! I have two tubs and one squeeze tube. Thank god for the squeeze tube! I love it. It lives in my purse and I have a tub in my purse as well. Then a few assorted ones I'm not in love with but I leave them in every room of my apartment so I always have hydration for my lips if need be. I always have to have a balm or something on my lips or I'll go crazy.

I don't have a lot of lip liners because I'm lazy and don't like to line my lips.  The three I have here are all nudes one from ELF, one from Palladio and one from NYX. Nothing special about a single one, the Palladio is getting old so I am going to try to finish it up first, I want to wear more lipstick and notice a drastic difference when I wear liner...so goal.  I also have an ELF exfoliating lip scrub pictured here as well that I use infrequently. I like to have it around in case my lips do ever need scrubbing, but I usually use so much chapstick that I'm good. Another random one is my Too Faced Melted Lipstick in Chihuahua this is a gorgeous nudie brown that's a little darker than my lips, gorgeous and creamy but fades weird. I also have a baby sample of Palomino from Bite beauty, fabulous formula and it's a super hot pink...we'll see if I'm ever bold enough to wear it.

Regular Lipstick. So I don't have a lot of repeats in my regular lipstick stash. One of my missing ones is actually a pair of the Rimmel Kate Moss ones, I have the red cased one here but I have a black cased one too that I love and am heartbroken that it's missing.  I am also missing my two Victoria's Secret Very Sexy lipsticks from a hundred years ago, yes they're old and expired but I want to always have them because they're beautiful- don't judge.  So in here are most of my Red lipsticks, everything from brick red to bright hot red and then deep red burgundies. I have two beautiful brown nudes that are great for falls or when you want your lips to have that dead look that's a little special.  Two are YouTube Made me Buy it's- the NYX in Alabama and Wet N Wild's Fergie Bebot Love were YouTube recommendations and I love them. 

Jumbo and micro sticks. Man these have really piled up lately. Two months ago I had no NARS Velvet Matte lip pencils and now I have three! Two were my birthday gift from Sephora and one I bought in Walkyrie a gorgeous brick red that looks fairly natural on me...they last forever and are super easy to apply, I like them a lot. I have two Revlon Matte Balms in Elusive and Standout, these are gorgeous too and pretty hydrating. I also have a Revlon Balm stain in Honey another YouTube Made me Buy It. Then I have two L'Oreal Glossy Balms in Lovely Mocha (so pretty) and My Babydoll (which I haven't worn on my lips). I also have a coral-y color from Tarte that I haven't worn but it's a dark dark coral really pretty, but I got it in a winter kit and haven't had a chance to play with it yet, it also came with a gloss I'm willing to try. 

So that's about it. I love the jumbo stick format for lip sticks and clearly enjoy the ones that have more of a balmy texture. My biggest problem with lipstick is even if I don't wear liner after an hour or two it looks like that's all I have one. I drink coffee or water all day and so a lot of lip products rub off. I'd prefer to only have to touch up once after lunch. So I'm really picky about my lip products. This is why I usually don't wear any, but I do enjoy the way it looks so I am trying to wear them more often. So we'll see.  

These last few items are just not for me, so I'm going to see if my sister wants them. The two ELF products are a great texture but the lip balm is too thin for me and the lip color is all wrong, but looks like my sister. The Liquid Lip thing was in an Ipsy box and is fabulous, but messy. Also the color would probably look better on my sis.  Same with the Hikari lipstick I wore this once and it started off a gorgeous deep red but faded to a hot pink on me. It's a good brand so I felt bad getting rid of it so I'll see if Hail wants it. If not these will also see the trash.

I feel really good about this purge I feel like I'm really only keeping what I want/can use. So yay! I don't know what I'm going to do next but here are Blush, Bronzers & Highlighters and Eye Liners. 

Makeup Madness Part 3! Eye Liners and Jumbo Pencils.

Sorry for the long hiatus! I was bloggin' up a storm over on my other blog about movies and movies oh and about movies. I did a ridiculous thing...go read about it!  Or stay tuned to hear about my Pencil Hoarding and unsuccessful purging.

This post could be long.  We're going to talk about a lot of items that I've had for a long time and need to just get rid of.  Liners. I used to use pencil eyeliner all the time, like every day, but then I discovered Gel liner and my life was forever changed. I still use pencil liners here and there but only when I'm lazy, it's the weekend or I'm trying to tight line.  So whateves. So here's what I have.

Makeup Madness Part 3. All liners eye... #eyeliners #jumbopencils #nyx #tarte #elf #milani #maybelline

A photo posted by Tyler Archer (@tyleralyse) on Apr 7, 2015 at 5:44pm PDT

After going through this stash I've decided two things...one I'm only getting rid of three things, I know I suck, and two I need to break this up into more categories. I was originally going to include lip liners and crayons but decided to keep all my lip stuff together in the next one.  I'll also do a separate brow one even though I really don't have a lot of brow products... So let's go through what I've got! Since I'm not really getting rid of stuff.

Let's start with my inner rim brighteners.  When I first started doing theatre a million years ago we put red eyeliner in our inner corners of our eyes, it looked freakish up close but apparently from the audience it was fabulous...eventually I learned that white was what you wanted for stage makeup. So I started putting white on my inner rim, much less freakish.  Now when I'm not on stage I like to use nude because it's more natural looking and makes you look way more awake.

1. Beautique Eyeliner in White- I'm amazed at how pigmented and creamy this still it because I don't remember when I bought it. I should probably get rid of it but have a feeling if sharpened and alcohol dipped it'll be fine, it doesn't smell so it stays!
2. Tarte Inner Rim Liner- I just got this is one of my tipsy late night online birthday purchases and it's beautiful. I'm worried it may be making my eyes water but I'll experiment a little more before getting rid of it. It's a beautiful pinky nude.
3. NYX Wonder Pencil in Light- uuuuhgg not sure about this one yet either. It's the perfect nude shade because it can be used for inner rim brightening, brow bone highlighting and concealing, but it's a little hard. If you warm it up between your fingers it goes on smooth, but I'm just not sure yet. It's new too so keeping it!
4. Rimmel Scandaleyes in 005 Nude. This was my first inner rim brightener of my post blonde days! I love this stuff. It's so creamy and smooth and wears for a really long time. I do have to put this on before my mascara though because otherwise I get it on my lashes and it looks kinda funny. really like it.

Weird Jumbo pencil type things. I don't know why I'm keeping these, maybe because I haven't really used them. But the three ELF ones I've never used on my eyes and they're so pretty! I feel like I need to. There's a gold, a bronze and a navy blue. I don't know what I'm going to use them for but darn it I'm going to.  My Pout Silver pencil is beautiful and I love it. I don't know when and where I got it but it's gorgeous and one of those makeup items you think will be perfect for Halloween so I'm going to keep it around. Then there's this Maybelline Kajal Liner in Brown that was my sister's and then she gave it to me to try to see if I could figure it out.  Well I couldn't But it's really pretty and smudged out in the outer corner makes a great smokey eye, but as a liner it kinda sucks, so I'm lumping it together with my other jumbo pencils.

Now I don't really use black eyeliner. I pretty much stick to my neutral browns and I just feel like black is too harsh.  BUT...these are really pretty black liners and I feel, like the jumbo pencils, you never know when you're going to need these for Halloween or for dress up days at work.  Two of these are pretty glittery blacks- a Black Liquid Liner with glitter in that's soooooo pretty! And a black glitter from ELF.  The liquid liner I got in an Ipsy bag and I've only used it once but loved it when I did. The Elf I got in a glitter set with a pencil I am getting of, but it's also a really pretty black so I'm keeping it!  Then I have an ELF liquid liner that is pretty new and also gorgeous so I'm holding on to it. And lastly a Tarte black that I got in my Christmas Tarte kit. It's a gorgeous pencil.  I may try to start incorporating some black liner into some looks this spring.

Browns and bronzes oh my! I used to wear brown eye liner every day before I started using gel, so these have been neglected. So my old favorite for dark brown eyeliner was the Milani Gel Eye Pencil and it was a mechanical roll up but now they've changed the formula and it sucks. It's too soft! You can not get a precise point because it is not too much like a gel. It made me so sad! Same goes for the Rimmel Scandaleyes.  The two shorter Tarte pencils from my Christmas kit are great just firm enough to hold shape but soft enough to glide on smoothly. The bottom Tarte pencil with the smudger is a little too soft too but I need to play with it a little more because it's new. Overall I'm not terribly impressed with eye pencils anymore but keep the around for weekends and lazy days.

Here's my favorite gel liner by NYX! And an ELF Liner I never use... I just am not a fan of liquid liner. I remember in high school my sister was awesome at liquid liner and I wanted to be so badly, but I was never precise enough and it always smeared or smudged and it was not good. But I love this Gel Liner. It's perfect. It is so dark brown it's almost black but just almost. There's just enough contrast between the dark brown and the black of my lashes that I know it's like actually brown. I pretty much use the Gel every day and I feel like I'm finally starting to make a dent in it. I think I got it late last Spring, so at the year mark there is still well over half left. This stuff may last forever. The reason I'm keeping the liquid around is because I have hopes that one day I'll learn how to do winged eyeliner and will use this to try.

And here are the three I'm getting rid of. A black Lord & Berry pencil that's awful. Like I said I don't use black eyeliner a lot but when I do I do not want it to smudge and melt down my face. This stuff would not stay in my waterline to save my life. It's awful! It never sets but when it does it's almost a flakey powder it's weird and bad and no thank you. Then I have an ELF sparkly plum. Unlike the sparkly black this one is not pretty, you can barely see the sparkle and it's so try.  I have barely used it and don't plan to use it anymore.  Then I have a label-less ELF liquid liner in brown that I've had too long. It's dry. The new one is still unopened so it'll last a while but this one I don't need.



Bonus Pic! Here's how I decided what to keep!

See they're all still so pigmented and pretty! And oh my gosh some of them have ridiculous power and took forever to get off. Some came off a little too easily with a Target Up & UP makeup wipe but some required scrubbing. All the liquid ones were really really good. This has made me want to figure out how to use those ELF jumbo pencils too because they're so pretty and pigmented!

Previous Makeup Madness-es include Part One was on Blush and Part Two on Bronzers and Highlighters.  Next up I'm going to do Lip Products...I've amassed quite a few recently and like very few of them. It'll be hard to get rid of them! I'm such a hoarder!

Makeup Madness Part 2! Bronzer and Highlighters

It's time for part two! Part One was on Blush and now we're onto Bronzers and Highlighters.  I didn't really think I had this many, but there were a few in my collection that I had totally forgotten about. So what I'm sharing are things that can be used to highlight, bronze and contour.  I really only started highlighting and contouring last year but I've been bronzing since High School.  Bronzer was very big when I was in high school to make you look tanned without actually tanning...that was all I knew about it back then.  So lets take a look at what I have.

Again sorry for the poor pictures...

We have some repeat offenders from last Makeup Madness my Tarte Palette and Duo from the Too Faced le Belle Carousel.  So lets start with bronzers and go from oldest to newest again too.

1. Cargo Bronzer in Medium- My first bronzer ever! It amazingly still has pigment and doesn't smell! This bronzer I used the heck out of and while you can see I've hit pan (it's in the upper left corner in the bottom right picture)  There is a ton of product left in this thing.  It started with 8.9 Grams.  I remember using this thing all over my neck, decolletage and arms. It's very orange in the pan but comes off really pretty and somewhat sparkly.  This was about $30 15 years ago so I have no idea if they still carry it or what, but I got it at Sephora when one first opened in San Antonio.  I'm gonna hold on to this one and see if I can't put it to use this summer when I bronze up.
2. bare Minerals warmth.  This is from my very first bare Minerals kit I got a 10ish years ago and there is just a little less than half left.  I remember using this as instructed, but it never really looked right. It's very warm brown...not really what I'm looking for. I thing it served it's purpose in my life during my mineral makeup phase, but I can't imagine every reaching for this thing again. I know too much about makeup now.  I'm going to toss it and not give any more thought to the subject. Although I do know it's still out there and you can buy more at Ulta...I shall not.
3. Wet n Wild Ticket to Brazil Bronzer- This was my first YouTube recommended purchase. I saw StilaKiss33 (my first youtuber) talk about it being perfect to give an allover warmth to your face and this was right after I went blonde and felt super washed out so I snatched this up.  At $3.99 and you can usually find Wet n Wild half off, I bought it and was so pleasantly surprised by the wonder it did.  There is so much product in this thing too I never thought I'd hit pan but this thing is great. It's a beautiful bronzey orange that matches my tanned skin perfectly, but with a light hand adds just enough color to make me not look dead.  I use this also like I used to use my Cargo bronzer, on my neck and decolletage area.  It's perfect and so affordable.  I will repurchase this and I'm keeping it. 
4. NYC in Sunny- another YouTube purchase recommended by EmilyNoel from Beauty Broadcast. This is a matte bronzer in a medium light brown that is perfect for contouring.  It's amazing the variety of skintones this color works on.  I use this thing almost everyday to contour and carve out my non-existent cheekbones.  I've hit some serious pan on this one and am hopping to kill this compact by early spring so I can buy a new bronzer.  Another ridiculously cheap bronzer at $2.99 I've recommended it to everyone and will repurchase it. I do want to try some other bronzers out there but this is a really great standby.
5. Tarte Rainforest After Dark Palette, bronzer in Park Ave Princess-  This is Tarte's Standard matte Bronzer and it's beautiful.  I feel like it's the grown up version of NYC's Sunny. I've made a pretty good dent in it but have used it sparingly because it's in my limited edition palette. I really use it mostly when I take that palette traveling because it's easier than hauling other bronzers around.  I can't repurchase this set, but I imagine I'll pick up another set with it in it in the future.  Or Tarte sells it in it's own kit with a blush and highlighter.
6. Too Faced Le Belle Carousel, chocolate soleil bronzer.  One of the mini palette's in my Christmas purchase! I had been wanting to try this bronzer forever.  Another standard matte bronzer, this is Too Faced's probably most popular bronzer because again it is universally flattering.  It is also the bronzer I've used the least of. I have been trying to use up my Sunny before I dip into this one so I'll probably get to this one later in the spring.  We'll see if I want to purchase it later, again I can't get it in this kit or format but if I like it Too Faced is always adding it to things.

Bronzer wish list- I really want to try Benefit's Hoola bronzer and maybe the Tarte Park Avenue Princess palette that has bronzer, blush and highlighter...we'll see. 

So up next Highlighters. I only have one highlighter from before I went blonde and I totally forgot I had it and I don't think it was sold to me as a highlighter but that's what it is. So let's look!

1. Glo Mineral Makeup- gloShimmer Brick in luster. Glo mineral makeup is one of my favorites from years ago when I got monthly facials, I love this brand to death and totally forgot I had this.  It's a quad of shimmery neutral colors that I probably used as eyeshadows.  One color the bronzey one has hit pan and there are serious dips in the pink and champagne colors as well.  This makeup brand wasn't cheap so I'd bet I paid about $30-45 for this.  There's a lot of product in it.  All the colors still give pigment and it doesn't smell so I may keep it around to see if I can incorporate it into my routine.
2. ELF Shimmering Facial Whip in Lilac Petal. I bought this thinking it'd be a good eyelid base color. I love pale pinks on my eye, but it ended up being too shimmery.  I didn't realize I could use it as a highlighter till much later.  I've used it a couple of times as a blush topper and it's beautiful.  You have to use a really light hand because it is shiny, but for $1 what's not to like.  I'll keep it around till it starts smelling bad.
3. Wet n Wild Reserve Your Cabana- this is the same format as my Ticket to Brazil, but I got it because a YouTuber said it was a good under eye concealer setting powder.  It doesn't have much shimmer as it's sister, but it does have a little.  When I'm tan I can't set my concealer with it but when it's the winter and I'm paler I totally can.  It's a nice highlighter the rest of the year though.  I don't use very much of it and have a bunch of other setting powders so I can't imagine going through this thing in the next year so I doubt I'll repurchase it. There's nothing wrong with it but I don't need it. But I'll keep it around till then.
4. ELF Baked Highlighter in Moonlight Pearls- this is my favorite highlighter, my go to everyday highlighter.  It's the perfect subtle shimmer for my cheeks and inner corner of my eyes. I love it.  It's a light champagney color but doesn't transfer much pigment. It lasts all day and a little bit goes a long way.  This one was $3, I use it every day and it looks like I've only had it for a week.  I don't really need anything else from a highlighter so if I ever get through this one I'll definitely repurchase it.
5. ELF Blush in Gotta Glow. I unfortunately bought this in the same haul as the baked highlighter so this one didn't get any love. I bought it because I heard it was a dupe for one of the NARS highlighters, but I just wasn't impressed. I've used it a couple of times but it has too much pigment and just kinda can brush off.  I think this was one of the $2 elf blushes, but I will not repurchase. I may keep it around and see if I can use it for something but this one I'm very blah on.
6. Tarte Rainforest After Dark Palette, highlighter in Champagne.  Another gorgeous Tarte product.  This is a very simple and light highlighter. Great for everyday.  It has a really weird texture in the pan but one the skin it goes on evenly and gives you a very lit from within kinda look.  I don't think Tarte does highlights as well as they do blush or bronzer or eyeshadows, but I wouldn't turn down a future kit because it had this highlight in it.  When I don't use my ELF Baked Highlighter this is usually the one I go for instead.  And it's great for traveling because it's a complete kit.  
7. Clinique Glow Blush. This I got from my sister when I was home for Christmas. I thought it'd be good for a blush topper it's a creamy stick blush with lots of shimmer.  But unfortunately it's gone bad and smells like cheap lipstick. I bet it was pretty once upon a time, but unfortunately it's past it's prime. 
8. Temptu Highlighter in Pink Pearl (not pictured). I got a tiny sample of this liquid highlighter in an Ipsy bag in the fall and it is gorgeous. I never use it but should because it's separating but I think I can shake it up and it'll work again.  It's the perfect lit from within glow and you just apply it with your fingers and it's gorgeous.  It's supposed to go with an airbrush makeup kit so I wouldn't purchase it on it's own and also it's not the easiest to work with but it's super pretty, I'm going to keep it till I use it up or it goes bad. 

So I only got rid of two items this time around, In the next few I should be able to get rid of a lot more. I know I have some super old liners and lip products so those should be productive.  But slowly we'll get through this.  Next up will be liners, eye and lip! 

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.