July Favorites 2016!

Hey Everyone!

I'm a few days (months) behind on posting my monthly favorites, but you know, life. I have discovered so many good things in the past few months; I can't wait to share them with you! I ran out of my Urban Decay Chill Makeup Setting Spray, and decided to try something new. I've heard rave reviews about Skindinavia, and I thought I would try them out. If you look at the back of the UD setting spray, you will actually see "Skindinavia" on the bottle. I figured it had to be as good, right? I've used up the entire bottle, and I love it. It doesn't leave a matte finish like the UD ones, but it does hold my makeup in place all day. The spray nozzle shoots out a very fine mist, which is a must. I do feel like I ran through the Skindinavia bottle a lot faster than my UD one, even though they both contain four ounces. 

 I ran out of my Urban Decay Chill Makeup Setting Spray, and decided to try something new. I've heard rave reviews about Skindinavia, and I thought I would try them out. If you look at the back of the UD setting spray, you will actually see "Skindinavia" on the bottle. I figured it had to be as good, right? I've used up the entire bottle, and I love it. It doesn't leave a matte finish like the UD ones, but it does hold my makeup in place all day. The spray nozzle shoots out a very fine mist, which is a must. I do feel like I ran through the Skindinavia bottle a lot faster than my UD one, even though they both contain four ounces. 

I rediscovered how much I love my Too Faced Born This Way Foundation. Even  though it's a very thin consistency, it has great coverage and leaves a natural finish to the skin. I prefer it with my Beauty Blender; with a brush it ends up looking extremely streaky. If you've tried it, and weren't a fan, use it with a sponge!

I picked up the Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel from Nordstrom after seeing rave reviews. I'd never used a cream bronzer before, but heard it dried down like a powder. I didn't want something melting off of my face! It is beautiful. It looks slightly orange in the container, but doesn't come off that way on the skin, even when I'm very fair. I think if you built it up a lot on fair skin, you would see some of that orange, but you really don't need a lot. It's described as a makeup base, so you could also apply it all over. 

My most used and loved eyeshadow palette was the Too Faced Natural Matte palette. I was having to force myself to use something different some days! The shadows are all super creamy and blendable. There are some brown tones, and some purple tones, which I appreciate. The palest highlight shade (Heaven) is so pigmented, it actually showed up on my fair skin! You even get a little "how to" guide in the compact.

 Another rediscovery was the Mac Paint Pot in Soft Ochre. It has yellow tone to it, which I didn't think would be flattering on my cool toned skin, but it helps to neutralize any discoloration on my lids.

 Another Mac item that I've been loving, but was new to me, is the Radiant Rose Prep+Prime Highlighter. If you have more warm or neutral undertones, I would suggest the Light Boost highlighter. It has a pink tone, which really helps with my super dark undereyes. It won't cover them up without some concealer underneath, but it does brighten beautifully! My only complaint is that it's in a click form with a brush tip, but mine wants to come out on the side of the brush for some reason. It has ever since the first time I used it, which is just annoying. However, it doesn't have anything to do with the actual product itself.

A new little tool I've been loving is the Beauty Blender Blusher. It;s smaller than the original Beauty Blender, but larger than the Micro blenders. This is amazing with cream blush. I've been using it with the cream blush that I will talk about in just a minute. I've also used it to cream contour and it works great. I've been meaning to try it with concealer, because I think it will be perfect. Just like with any other Beauty Blender, or BB dupe, you need to wet it for it's maximum potential. I do find that this little guy works to blend in my cream blush pretty well when it's dry, too.

Hands down, my favorite foundation brush for the past few months has been the Morphe Brushes E6 brush. It's a flat top buffer brush, but it's not as densely packed as some of the others I own. Morphe recently revamped their Elite collection, so  the one I have is from the old collection. I bought the first one when the Elite collection went on sale, and then bought another when they were 60% off. I needed a backup! I haven't tried the new collection, but I hope it's just as good! I don't have a coupon code for them, but I know a lot of YouTubers do, so I would search for one. No point in paying full price if you don't have to!

Another foundation that I've been loving is the new L'Oreal Infallible Pro Glow foundation. I did a whole review on it, so if you'd like to know exactly why I've been loving it, check that out here.

I finally picked up the much raved about lipliner by Mac in Whirl.I can see why it's so popular. It's a great neutral that goes with so many different lip colors. You can use it by itself, under a gloss, or under a lipstick, and it is still going to be beautiful. It's a drier formula, so it does last a very long time.

My two favorite lipsticks lately have both been by Urban Decay. First is Sheer Obsessed, which is described as a "sheer baby pink". I have it in the discontinued Sheer Revolution line, but they did bring that color back in the new Vice line. It's bright, but not super bright, thanks to the sheer formula. It's very flattering on the skin and livens up the face. I've used almost half of the tube since I got it!

The next one is the color Violate, which is a cream finish and is described as a "dusty purple with pink undertones". If you follow me on Instagram, you know my favorite lip color is purple. Violate quickly became a favorite! It has enough purple in it to make it look like an actual purple lipstick, but enough pink to keep it neutral. Yes, I consider some purple lipsticks neutral!

I broke out my It Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores loose powder again, and found I really like using it to set my under eye concealer. It makes everything look so smooth! I did discover if I use it on my eyelids to set that base, my eyeshadow will NOT go on top of it. Just a warning. It just glides right back off of this siliconey powder.

I've been loving three products from Benefits Cosmetics lately. The first two are a combination that I love. The Benefit They're Real Tinted Lash Primer and Rollerlash together are amazing. I'm not a big fan of the They're Real mascara, but I love the Primer. As you can tell, I only have the travel sizes, but I will need the full size when I'm done scraping the last bit out of these! The primer also works great with every other mascara I've used it with.

The Goof Proof Brow Pencil has been the only pencil I've used lately. I got this one as a freebie or a perk from Sephora or Ulta, and I LOVE it. It's one of the new designs, with the angled tip that's a little wider than we're used to. Since I have pretty thin brows, this works amazingly for me. I can do my brows so quick with this! I have the shade 03, and it works perfectly for my brow color. The size I have doesn't have a spoolie on the end, but the full size does.

My other favorite brow product has been the Boy Brow in Brown from Glossier. It's an all in one product. I love it when I'm in a hurry, or for a natural makeup look. It helps fill in sparse areas and darken the lighter hairs in my brows, but not as much shape and structure as a pencil. I have used it over a pencil and it works just as great,

The cream blush I mentioned earlier is the Burberry Cheek and Lip Bloom in Poppy. These have a drier, non greasy texture to them and they blend like a dream. The packaging is also uber fancy. The lid screws on and off, so the product won't dry out. The color looks scary bright in the package, but it goes on lighter and you can build it up. They last a really long time on my skin, as well. The wider part of the Beauty Blender Blusher fits perfectly into this little pot, making it a great combination.

My absolute FAVORITE discovery over the last month has been the Becca Cosmetics Shimmering Skin Perfector Luminous Blushes. Oh. My. WORD. I now own all of them, since I picked up Tigerlily for my birthday last weekend, but my favorite two have been Camellia and Snapdragon. Camellia is a beautiful pink and Snapdragon is a coral. Camellia looks beautiful on my skintone, and I've found all of these last more than 12 hours on my cheeks! Even after half of my other makeup has disappeared, these are still hanging in there! I ADORE these blushes!!

The rest of my favorites are from Becca as well. I got a small size of the Backlight Priming Filter in a Becca kit, and it is AMAZING. It gives such a beautiful glow to the skin, without any shimmer or glitter. It's like healthy skin in a bottle. It has a great consistency and goes on so well. It doesn't fill in lines or pores, but it does make your skin look amazing. You could even wear it with nothing over it, just to put some life back into your skin. I will definitely need a full size bottle, once my other luminous primers are gone. 

Speaking of glow, I've been loving Becca's Opal highlighter as well. I have four of her highlighters, but Opal is my favorite. It will work on a variety of skin tones, and gives a beautiful glow. If you're fair-light and want a more subtle glow, I would try Moonstone. I have the deluxe sample size, and it looks pitiful because it was damaged in the Ulta kit. It was the ONLY one they had left in the store, though, so I just fixed it up with some rubbing alcohol. It works just fine. ;-)

Last for Becca is the Perfect Skin Mineral Powder Foundation. Since I have dry/dehydrated skin, I don't use powder foundation. I do, sometimes, like to use a powder to set my liquid foundation, though. This powder is finely milled, and will give off a lot of kick up when you put your brush into it. I just tap it back into the compact so that I don't waste it. It doesn't look drying on the skin, or too matte and flat. It has a glow to it, without any detectable shimmer. Becca certainly knows how to do luminous right! 

The next item isn't technically a beauty item, but I'm using it for one. I found these two candy dishes at Walmart and thought they would be perfect for holding makeup brushes! I'm using one for foundation brushes, and the second for my other face brushes. They are made of a sturdy plastic and hold quite a bit,

The last thing I want to share is an UNfavorite. I haven't shared one of these in a favorites post yet, but it was so bad, I just have to. It's the Hard Candy Sheer Envy Hydrating Primer Mist. All of the claims on the packaging sounded perfect. Oil free, silicone free, alcohol free, 12 hour radiance primer mist. You get the idea. This mist does have a coconut smell, and it smells like actual coconut oil, not suntan lotion. It smells like I'm getting ready to cook with it, quite honestly. It feels super greasy on my face and I couldn't stand it on my lips. The worst part for me was right after I sprayed it on, my face started to itch like crazy. Some ingredient or another in here does not like me. I can't even say if it prolongs my makeup or not, because each time I tried it, I had to immediately wash my face before I clawed my skin off. I do not have sensitive skin, either. Emily Noel at Beauty Broadcast seems to really like it, but to me it's just a waste of money.

Thank you so much for hanging around til the end of this very long post! What have you been loving lately?


*Some of the links above are affiliates
*All products mentioned were purchased by me and all opinions are my own.

A Collective Post of Favorites!

Hello, Everyone!

One of my favorite beauty posts to read and favorite types of YouTube videos to watch is Monthly Favorites. It also happens to be one of my favorite posts to write! Unfortunately, I haven't written one since my August favorites! I would mean to compose one, and then next thing I knew, it was already the middle of the month, and I would think "Well, I'll just add it to next month's favorites", and here we are. Four months later. Yikes!

Today, I'm going to show you some of the things I've really been loving.

My favorite primer for the past few months has been the Make Up For Ever Smoothing Primer. I have large pores around my nose and cheeks, and this does a great job of filling those in! The trick is to pat the primer in to the skin, instead of rubbing it around,

I've been alternating between foundations for a while; going between the Rimmel London Lasting Finish Comfort Serum , the Maybelline Fit Me Matte & Poreless, and some samples of the new formulation of the Make Up For Ever HD foundation, I really want  to try the MUFE HD in the Stick formulation, but Sephora wouldn't give me a sample of that one. ;) I do have dry/dehydrated skin, and the Maybelline foundation still works well for me.

For concealer, my tried and true Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Concealer, has still been a favorite. I've been trying out two others to see if they're a "dupe" for this one, so look for that post soon! The UD concealer doesn't crease on me, has excellent coverage, and doesn't look drying under my eyes,

My eyeshadow primer of choice has been the Smashbox 24 hour primer (not pictured). It keeps my shadows from creasing and they look just as vibrant at the end of the day as they did when I applied them.

Out of the dozen or so eyeshadow palettes I own, I've found myself reaching for my Z palette full of Makeup Geek shadows. I can create any look I need with this palette. I have a mixture of all finishes, including some of the foiled shadows, which makes it convenient whether I'm doing a smokey eye or have five minutes to get a look together.

The only highlighters I've used since I got this palette, have been the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfectors in the Champagne Glow palette.  I've alternated Pearl and Champagne Pop, and I sometimes mix them.

I have absolutely loved the Stila Lash Stunner lash primer and the Huge Extreme Lash mascara for my upper lashes and the It Cosmetics Tightline mascara for my lower lashes. The Stila combo gives me amazing volume, which is what I'm always after. I have used the primer with other mascaras, and it's still wonderful.

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Dark Brown has been my go-to pencil lately, and the Benefit Cosmetics Gimme Brow has been a life saver on days I haven't had time to completely sculpt out my brows. I received the deluxe sample size in a Birchbox a few months ago in the Light/Medium shade, but if I purchase the full size I'll need to go a shade darker.

Ever since I received the YSL Black Opium fragrance from Influenster to review, I've been loving it. It's everything I want in a fragrance. If you want to read more of what I think about it, you can view my review post here.

My go-to under eye setting powder is still the Nars Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder, which I've heard is being reformulated, which scares me! Hardly anything is ever reformulated for good! I have been using a new powder that may be beating this one out though...

My most used blush has been the Tarte Exposed blush, but it hasn't been the only blush I've been using. I'm a blush enthusiast, so I tend to use a different one every day. Exposed is a great, everyday neutral blush, though!

Some of my standout brushes have been from Bdellium Tools and Morphe lately. I reviewed five Bdellium Tools brushes here, if you'd like to take a look. The Bdellium 942 has been the perfect contour brush and the Bdellium 962, the perfect blush brush. From Morphe, I've adored the E8 for concealer and the M124 for packing eyeshadow on the lids.

The Urban Decay All Nighter Spray and the Smashbox Primer Water are daily staples in my routine. I also love Mac Fix+, but I recently ran out of it and back-to-Mac'd it. 

I didn't have any ride or die new lip colors or eyeliners lately, since I typically use a different one every day to rotate through my stash.

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading! What have you been loving lately?


*Some of the links above are affiliate links, but all opinions are my own.

August Favorites!

Hey, Everyone!

I'm a little late for my August favorites, but better late than never, right?! If you saw my Birthday Haul, you know I got quite a bit of new makeup right at the end of July. Well, some of that ended up in my favorites!

My favorite foundation (by far) was the Too Faced Born This Way foundation. I have it in "Sand" and "Light Beige" to match my tan, and my faded tan. I'm going to need to pick up "Nude" once we really get into Fall, though. I absolutely LOVE this foundation. Never before has a foundation made me want to throw out all of my others, and just buy different colors to match any occasion. This one does. It's supposed to make you look "born this way", and you can't detect it on your skin. It's a solid medium-slightly full coverage for me. I don't need a lot of heavy duty coverage, so this makes my skin look perfect.

For concealer, I'm including a repeat, the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer, but this time in the shade "Light Neutral". If you want to see why I love this concealer so much, check out my May Favorites! 

My go-to bronzer this month was the Nars Tahiti Bronzing Powder in "Laguna". I have a deluxe sample size of "Laguna", and it's slightly darker and a touch cooler than this version. This one has a hint more warmth/orange to it. On hurried days, I used it to contour and bronze. There is a slight shimmer in this, but I can never detect it on my face.

The powder that I really enjoyed this month was the It Cosmetics Celebration Foundation Illumination in "Medium". I picked it up when I didn't have a powder to match my tan, and (for once) decided not to go with one that would give me a matte finish, I was really into a glowy look this summer, which is rare for me (even thought I have dry skin). Celebration Foundation Illumination gave a beautiful glow, no glitter on the face, and an extra bit of coverage. Keep in mind that this is a powder foundation, so I used it lightly over liquid just to set things. It could be used alone for full coverage.

My most loved blush this month was the It Cosmetics Ombre Blush in "Coral Flush". It's a matte blush, that you can really get four different colors out of. You can dip your brush in each individual color, or swirl all of the colors together. It is extremely pigmented, so fair gals beware when dipping into the brighter side!

I alternated two highlighters this month: "Audrey" by Gerard Cosmetics and "Opal" by Becca. They are both beautiful on the skin, and I used "Audrey" when I didn't want a "BAM! In your Face!" highlight, and used "Opal" when I did! "Opal" gives an almost wet look to the skin. I have it in a deluxe sample size from a Sephora promotion, but it shattered in transit, so I can't travel with it. I have "Moonstone" in a full size, but I think I need "Opal", too...

My definite most used eyeshadow palette this month was the Tarte "Tartelette" palette. I had to force myself to use other things some days. That's how much I love this. The formula is incredibly smooth and easy to blend. The colors are beautiful and extremely flattering. I used it on my younger sister when I did her trial wedding day makeup. She is the complete opposite of me (in complexion, eye color, and hair color) and it was still beautiful!

I didn't wear a ton of eyeliner this month, but when I did, I used the It Cosmetics No Tug Waterproof Gel Eyeliner in "Brown". It's a very dark brown, but not as intense as a black. This one also doesn't transfer onto my contacts like the black one does. It does a great job of defining the tightline and waterline!

For amazing lashes, I've sworn by the Stila "Lash Stunner" primer and Too Faced "Better Than Sex" mascara this month. I've used the Lash Stunner under a few other mascaras this month, and it made me love mascaras I didn't initially like. I've used (and loved) Better than Sex before, so this was already a win for me . Combine the two together? AMAZING.

A $2 eyebrow pencil may have changed my life this month. The Elf Instant Brow Lift is wonderful; especially for $2!! I have the colors "Neutral Brown" and "Taupe", and it seems to me that they run dark. I've been "outlining" my brows with the Neutral Brown and filling them in with Taupe. The point isn't so big that it's sloppy, but not so fine that it takes forever to fill them in.

For lips, my lipliner love this month was the Sephora Waterproof Retractable lip liner in "Mauve". This particular formulation is being reformulated at Sephora, so these have been discontinued. Hopefully, the new ones come out soon! It's a beautiful color and really does last all day! It also has a smooth, creamy formula. I can't imagine how they're going to improve it!

My lipstick love was Gerard Cosmetics "Vintage Rose". It's a perfect MLBB color, suitable for day or night. It can be used with a natural look or a smokey eye and look beautiful. It's a satin, but looks like a matte. I love it.

Lorac's Alter Ego Lipgloss in "Supermodel" was my gloss love this month. It's a peachy pink color that is beautiful by itself or over a lipstick or liner. I can detect a shimmer when I look at the color in the tube, but I don't see any glitter once I apply it to my lips. It just makes my lips look great!

Last, is the Mario Badescu "Facial Spray with Aloe, Herb, and Rosewater". This came in handy while we were in Atlanta! I've been using it any time my skin feels dry or as a cool down. It's a nice refresher mist, and smells like roses, which I love. This isn't a makeup setting spray, though. I use it before moisturizer or later in the day as a refresher.

Those were my favorites for the month! What did you love for the month of August? Comment below! Thanks for stopping by and reading!


*None of the links above are affiliates
*Some of the items mentioned above were previously sent to me as part of a prize package or from a customer service rep. All opinions are my own.

Atlanta Weekend Makeup!

Hey, Everyone!

Earlier this month, I wrote about my Birthday Haul; this post is slightly a continuation of that! The weekend of my birthday, my husband and I went to Atlanta as a gift from my in-laws. I had packed some makeup, but knew I would be birthday shopping right before leaving for the trip, so my makeup for the weekend was a mixture of new items and things I had already packed. I used a lot of different makeup items for those three days. I realize this. ;) 

If you read my birthday haul, you'll be able to spot what the new items are in this picture. The only actual foundation I used Friday and Saturday was the new Too Faced Born This Way Foundation, which I have in "Sand". It matched my self tan perfectly. On Sunday, since we were traveling home, I opted to use the It Cosmetics CC+ Cream in "Medium". I have the travel size since I needed a darker shade than the "Fair" and "Light" I already owned. I used one actual powder, the It Cosmetics Celebration Foundation Illumination in "Medium", and one setting powder, It Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores Pressed. I took two bronzers, the It Cosmetics Ombre Bronzer and a mini size of the Nars Laguna. I alternated two blushes, Mac "Warm Soul" and Kat Von D "Wish", and used only one highlighter, which was Gerard Cosmetics "Audrey". I didn't pack any eyeshadows, knowing there were two palettes that I wanted to pick up, so I alternated the Tarte "Tartelette" palette and the Lorac "Pro Palette 2". I used the Kat Von D Tattoo liner in "Trooper" on Friday night and the KVD Ink Liner in "Baudelaire" on Saturday, along with the Stila Smudge Stick Liner in "Stingray". The only eyebrow products I took were my ELF Instant Brow Lift pencils in "Taupe" and "Medium Brown" and my Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel. I only used one concealer, and that was the Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer in "Light Neutral". Because, yeah, it's the best concealer ever. For lips, I went between the Sephora Retractable lip pencil in "Mauve" topped with the Lorac Alter Ego lipgloss in "Supermodel" and the Alter Ego lipgloss in "Goddess". My primers of choice were the Urban Decay Primer Potion in "Enigma" and the Cover FX Illuminating primer.  For moisturizers, I used the Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation, Josie Maran Argan Oil Light, and the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment. For sprays, I used the Maria Badescu Facial Spray, Smashbox Primer Water, and the Urban Decay All Nighter Spray. I didn't buy any new makeup tools, so I took along my trusty Beauty Blender Pro, some Morphe, It Cosmetics, Sigma, Sonia Kaschuk, Bdellium Tools, Smashbox, and Mac brushes, as well as my Tarte eyelash curler. I also took my travel size Nars Ita Brush, but forgot to include it in the picture! Last, were my two hairsprays. I took the Kenra hairspray for maximum hold and the Living Proof Humidity Shield hairspray since I knew it was going to be hot. It wasn't as humid as Tennessee, though!  

Like I said, I know that is a lot of makeup for one weekend, but I'm okay with that. ;) With four kids, I don't usually have as much time as I'd like to spend doing my makeup, so with a weekend away, I took advantage and took my time to play! 

Thank you for stopping by and reading! I'd love it if you'd subscribe! :)

*None of the links above are affiliates.

*All items mentioned were purchased by me and all opinions are my own. 

July Favorites!

Hey, Everyone!

I didn't do a June favorites because I had a lot of repeats from May, and didn't want to bore anyone! I have more than made up for it in July, though!

I had quite a few new makeup brushes that I absolutely loved this month. I used the It Cosmetics Wand Ball Brush to apply powder to set my makeup, and found it to apply just the right amount. It's fluffy enough that it doesn't apply so much that I look cakey. I think it would also make a great bronzer brush! I alternated the It Cosmetics Dual Airbrush Foundation/Concealer brush and the Flat Top Buffing Brush for foundation all month, and love them both! The flat top gives slightly more coverage than the Dual brush does, though. My favorite crease brush this month has been the Morphe Brushes E27 (currently sold out). I haven't even reached for my Sigma E40 since getting this brush. I even bought two. Yeah, I know. The Morphe Brushes M124 is a small, firm shader brush and is a GREAT brush to pack color on the lid! Last for the brushes is the Morphe Brushes MB23 fluffy brush. I'm sure this is meant to be a crease brush, but I've been using it to set my under eye concealer! I like the way it gets into all of the small areas that my usual brush can't.

A few months ago, I used some points at Sephora and got the Vita Liberata Luxury Tan mousse, but just tried it this month. I usually just rock the pale because I don't like to tan in the sun since I'm prone to hyper-pigmentation and really don't want to risk skin cancer. I've never self tanned, but after seeing so many people have great results with it, I really wanted to try it, Maskcara and thatgirlshaexo are the two that really pushed me to it, though, and I'm so glad they did! This particular tanner didn't have any weird coloring to it, and looked absolutely amazing! I love it!

I bought the Nars Light Reflecting Powder in the pressed version at the end of May, and this is THE BEST powder for setting under-eye concealer. EVER. I could pack this powder on, and it still wouldn't look cakey. It's translucent, and doesn't really add any extra coverage, but it makes everything look flawless. I would highly recommend picking it up!

A lot of You Tubers/Beauty Bloggers have been raving about the new Rimmel London Lasting Finish 25 hour foundation, and since I needed a darker color to match my self tan, I went ahead and picked it up. I don't know if it would last 25 hours, but it's still amazing! It has great coverage, lasts my entire work day, and doesn't have a flat finish. It has a very natural look to it; not matte, but not overly dewy. I love it. It's affordable and works really well. I'll need to pick up a color to match me when I'm not tanning!

I received the It Cosmetics Celebration Foundation (in the black packaging), but it was giving me a more matte appearance than I wanted, so I picked up the Celebration Foundation Illumination powder from Ulta. I swatched it months ago, but thought it looked too "glittery" and passed on it. This month, I've been all about the bronze and glow, though, so I picked it up. Even in sunlight, I don't see any glitter on my face; just a beautiful glow. It provides some extra coverage, and doesn't leave my face looking flat.

At the end of June, I got some new Mac goodies, and knew immediately that they were going to be favorites. I picked up the universally loved Soft & Gentle and Warm Soul. These are what started me on my "all things bronze and glowy" kick this month. I tried on Warm Soul at the counter, and then one of the Mac girls put Soft N Gentle on me and I was sold. I was having to stop myself wearing these everyday so that my Instagram posts didn't become repetitive and boring. Lol.

One of the promos Sephora was running earlier this month let you get a deluxe mini of the Fresh Sugar treatment balm and the rose tinted balm, and I've been loving the rose one. I actually had to hunt it down from inside my purse to include it in this picture. I was wearing only this on my lips a few weeks ago at Ulta, and a mom and her daughter stopped me to ask what I was wearing! They have a slick feel to them that I actually like, and are super moisturizing. The rose one has a hint of color, which makes it great when you're just looking for a small amount of color and a lot of moisture.

The little Sephora sample jar is holding the Perricone MD No Bronzer Bronzer, and it is amazing. My local Sephora is inside JCP, and they don't carry this in the store, so I've never been able to get a sample to try out. When we went on vacation, I was able to get this at the Sephora in Florida and I am so glad that I did! The full size will be mine!! It looks very warm/orange in the bottle, but doesn't translate that way on the skin. There's no shimmer or glitter in it, either.

The last two products are more new It Cosmetics products I picked up. I absolutely love this brand, if you couldn't tell! They released a new Ombre Blush in the shade Coral Flush, and knowing how much I love the one in Je Nais Se Quoi, I knew I wanted this one, too. While looking for the link to this, I just saw they have another new one called Sugar Plum!!! The Coral one is SUPER bright and highly pigmented, so I have to make sure to tap off the excess before applying it. Last, is the Eyelift in a Tube. It has the Bye Bye Under Eye concealer on one end, and a Hello Light brightener on the other end, and both have doe foot wand applicators. I got the color in Tan to match my tan, but it's working well when the tan starts to fade as well! When I'm not as tan, I can use it to correct dark circles, and then apply a lighter color on top.

That's all for this month! I'd love to hear what you've been loving this month! Let me know in the comments! Thanks for visiting!


*Some of the items mentioned were sent to me as part of a prize package, but all opinions are my own.

*None of the links above are affiliates.

May Favorites!

Hello, Everyone!

 

It's that time again! I didn't think I would actually have a lot this month because for two weeks out of four, I didn't wear any makeup. That is probably a new record for me! I love wearing makeup, but when I was having gallbladder attacks, and then surgery, I just didn't have the energy! Enough rambling, let's get to it!

 

I am including a few things that are EVERY month favorites, not just in May; however, since I just started blogging, no one knows what those things are! I'm actually going to start with those three things.

 

First up: the Beauty Blender! This really is a magical little sponge. I've had two of the Original (pink) ones, and now own two of the Pro (black) ones. It applies liquids, creams, and even powders flawlessly! I do have to say that I think the pointy end of the black ones aren't quite as pointy as the pink ones. Small thing, but still.

Next, would be these two brushes from Sigma. I own 30 or so Sigma brushes, but I use these two every. single. day. The E35 is labeled as a highlight brush, but I love it for setting my under eye concealer with powder. The E40 is the perfect eyeshadow blending brush. No other fluffy blending brush I own even compares. I need multiples of each of these!

Yes, I know this is a sample packet. However, I had four of these, and finished two. I LOVE this Laura Mercier Radiance Primer under my foundation. Especially under the foundation I'm going to mention in a  minute. It's not glittery, or sparkly, it just gives a beautiful luminosity to the skin. It has a peachy pink tint to it, and looks like it would be loaded with sparkle, but it's not. I haven't tried it under dewy foundations, because I don't want that much glow. I do love it under matte foundations, and I will definitely need to pick up the full size!

Loreal's Infallible Pro Matte foundation. THIS has been my favorite foundation this month, and the one I've been loving over the Laura Mercier Radiance primer. I actually plan on reviewing this since all of the reviews I've seen for it are by bloggers with combination or oily skin, and mine is dry. Spoiler alert: I love, love, love it!!

This concealer has become Holy Grail for me! It is exactly as the name claims: weightless and complete coverage. It feels like nothing on my skin, but covers my dark circles amazingly well. It doesn't leave my under eye area looking dry or crease. I do think the color selection will be difficult for some (I have Fair Neutral), and I've heard quite a few people are buying two shades and mixing. Considering the cost of this, I'm glad I only need one shade!

My most loved palette in May was the Laura Mercier Eye Art Artist's Palette. These were my first Laura Mercier eyeshadows, and they're beautiful. They're smooth, creamy, pigmented, and blend great. All of the purple tones and shadows make my green eyes pop and I've loved every look I've created with it. As for the Mac shadow in Satin Taupe, this was my most loved single for those I'm-in-a-rush-and-have-to-leave-now days. And I had quite a few of those last month! It's a beautiful all over the lid color, with a lighter, matte brown in the crease. A pop of a bright color on the lips and I looked like I had made a huge effort!

I originally purchased the eyeshadow primer in Enigma from Urban Decay because 100% of the proceeds went to empower women. Thankfully, I really love this primer! I usually use my Mac paint pot in Soft Ochre, but that took a back seat to Enigma last month. It's opaque and neutralizes the eyelids, creating a blank canvas for your shadows.

Here's where I become a little high maintenance. I've been loving combining all three of these products to get amazing lashes. I have long lashes, but they're blonde. Without mascara, I look like I have none! I've been using the Dior Diorshow Maximizer to prime, then the Makeup Forever Smoky Extravagant mascara for volume, and topping it all off with Benefit's They're Real for separation. It's the perfect trio!

I've reviewed it and talked non stop about it, so it should be no shock that the It Cosmetics Ombre Bronzer in Warm Radiance made my favorites list. I have a feeling this is going to join the first three items in this post as "always and forever" favorites. If you follow me on Instagram, you'll see this listed in every makeup picture I've taken. Because it is that good.

My favorite blush of the month is the Clinique Cheek Pop in Pink Pop. The design of the powder, the packaging, and the color are all beautiful. It's not so pigmented that you need to barely dab the brush in and then tap it off before applying it to your cheeks, so you can build it up. I have found that I need to use a natural hair brush instead of synthetic for best color payoff. It gives a beautiful, healthy flush to my cheeks.

 

I have four favorite lip products, and believe me, that's a small amount. Lol. I picked up the Sephora waterproof, retractable lip liner in Petal, and it is the perfect pink liner for me. The only downside is that it does have glitter in it. It doesn't show through my lipsticks, but it's still there. It is extremely creamy, making it easy to apply, and does last for hours on my lips. It will work under numerous lip colors, or as a lip color itself! For lipstick, I chose my Gerard Cosmetics lipstick in Buttercup. I originally held out on getting this since I assumed the only reason people really loved it was because it was a Jaclyn Hill creation. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I just don't want to buy something I don't think I'll love. Well, as you can see in the above picture, I LOVE this lipstick. It is the perfect neutral pink color for me. I love it so much that I bought a back up while they were having huge sales and free shipping. I can't recall ever doing that with a lipstick before! For lipgloss, I've really been loving the Lorac Alter Ego lipgloss in Girl Next Door. I'm more of a lipstick person than a lipgloss person, but this formula is amazing. You can read my review of these here to learn more about what I think. I also chose the LA Splash Smitten Lip Tint in Charmed. It's a beautiful nude-pink, matte liquid lipstick. It's comfortable on the lips and makes my lips look fuller. It lasts all day on the lips, and never feels drying.

Last, is this hand cream from Soap & Glory. I got it on clearance from Sephora (the brand is moving to drugstores), and loved it so much, I bought a back up before they sold out. I keep it on my desk at work and use it throughout the day. It's extremely moisturizing, but sinks in quickly, and doesn't have an offensive or overwhelming smell.

 

That's it for this month! What were some of your favorites for May? I'd love to know!

 

Thanks for reading and please subscribe!

 

 

*None of the links above are affiliates.

*All items were purchased by me and all opinions are my own.

 

It Cosmetics-A Review

Hello, Everyone!

I've been wanting to write this post for almost two weeks, but I was waiting for one more piece to come in. It finally arrived Tuesday, so I decided to do an all It Cosmetics look earlier this week!

 The picture above shows what I used today, not all of what's in my It collection. :)

 

First, I'm going to go through what I used for this look, and then I will give you my thoughts on each product.

 

The only things I didn't have in my collection to complete this look were a lip liner, eyeliner, and mascara. Everything else was It Cosmetics! I prepped my skin with the Feel the Moment Anti-Aging Ultra Hydrating Sensory Awakening Primer Serum before applying my Your Skin But Better CC Cream with SPF 50+ in a mixture of Fair and Light with my Heavenly Luxe Dual Airbrush Foundation/Concealer Brush. I then applied the Bye Bye Under Eye Anti-Aging Concealer in Neutral Medium under my eyes and on a few of my hyperpigmentation spots. I set everything except under my eyes with the new pressed version of Bye Bye Pores in Translucent using the Heavenly Luxe Wand Ball Powder Brush. I used the CC+ Brightening Finishing Powder in the CC+ Radiance Palette to set my under eyes. To warm up my face, and to add some dimension, I applied the matte side of my CC + Radiance Ombre Bronzer in Warm Radiance around my hair line, jawline, in the hollows of my cheeks, and down my neck with the Airbrush Essential Bronzer Brush #114. I used the shimmery side of the bronzer as my highlight after applying the CC+ Radiance Ombre Blush in Je Nais Se Quoi. I used the French Boutique Heavenly Luxe Blush Brush to apply the blush to my cheeks.  It Cosmetics released a limited edition eye palette called Naturally Pretty Celebration around the holidays, which is what I used on my eyes. I only have one It eye brush, which is the Airbrush Blending Crease Brush #105. I used that brush in conjunction with other eye brushes that I own to apply the shadows.  Last, I used the Brow Power Universal Eyebrow Pencil Mini to fill in my eyebrows and applied the Vitality Lip Blush Hydrating Gloss Stain in Sweet Rose to my lips! Whew!

 Now for my thoughts. If you aren't familiar with It Cosmetics, it was founded by Jamie Kern and she works with dermatologists and plastic surgeons on all of her products to ensure wonderful results. Not only will your makeup look good, but so will your skin! You can read more about that here. The Feel the Moment Primer Serum is clear (the bottle has a pink tint) and mine came with a pump and a dropper. It is a thick product that feels very silky to the touch and has a very botanical smell to it. It's not a bad smell, it's just different. Here's what it looks like pumped out, slightly rubbed in, and then completely rubbed in.

 

It does dry down to a slightly less dewy finish, but it is wonderfully hydrating for my dry skin and makes makeup application smooth. My mom has oiler skin than I do, and she likes this product, too. I've been using the CC+ Cream for over a year, and I do enjoy it. Light only works for me by itself in the summer when I have some color in my skin. Fair is a pretty great match the rest of the time, and I'm currently mixing it with Light. I feel like this gives me a dewy finish, and I have to set it with a powder. Some people don't think it's dewy at all. Even though I have dry skin, I'm very particular about dewy products and want to be able to control the amount of luminosity on my face. I love that it has such a high spf in it, and that it does have a good amount of coverage. If I'm in a hurry, I can use this as my moisturizer, primer, and foundation all in one and not feel dry during the day. However, this does not last all day on me, but it doesn't claim to. By the end of the day, my face looks extra dewy, and I can see more of my skin as opposed to the CC cream. The full size comes with a pump (which is awesome), even though it's a squeeze tube. The smaller, travel size version is a standard squeeze tube.

Left: CC+ Cream in Fair Right: CC+ Cream in Light

 

For the Bye Bye Under Eye, well, this stuff is amazing. I have dark under eye circles and this covers extremely well. I have the colors Light and Neutral Medium. It Cosmetics says that the majority of skin tones will use the Neutral Medium shade (something like 80%), which I originally thought was crazy. I'm usually the lightest shade in everything, so I picked up Light first. This is a bright color. I can actually highlight with this one. Neutral Medium matches my skin tone very well, and I've seen it work for people with skin darker than mine as well. The concealer shades are lighter than the CC+ Cream shades are. For example, the CC Cream shade in Light is too dark for me, where the concealer in Light is too light. This is a very emollient concealer, and does crease if not set immediately. It is also rather thick, so I suggest putting a very small amount on the back of your hand and warming it up with your finger before applying it to your under eye area. The full size and travel size are both squeeze tubes.

Left: Light    Right: Neutral Medium

 

I just got the Bye Bye Pores Pressed a few days ago, and I've never tried the loose version so I can't compare the two, so I cant give a complete review on it yet. However, I have used it for a few days, and I do like it. It helps to blur out my pores and makes my skin look filtered. It has a nice consistency and doesn't kick up a bunch of powder when you dip your brush into it. The packaging on this, just like all of the other It Cosmetics packaging in black, has that rubber feel to it like Nars products. Personally, I love that packaging, but it does hold onto smudges and makeup very easily. You can see in one of my pictures that the outside has a smudges of powder on it, and I hadn't even used the product at that point. The inside does flip up to hold an included flat sponge, which would make this travel friendly.

I love the little "it" on the mirror.

 

The CC+ Radiance Palette is a great palette, and another travel friendly item, since it's three products in one. The color correcting powder has different colors mixed into it to help even out the tone of your skin, and hide imperfections. It makes a great under eye setting powder; it really helps to brighten up the darkness. I didn't use the blush or the bronzer for this look, but both of those are wonderful as well, and very pigmented. This palette only comes in this color selection, and that is because it serves a multitude of skin colors.

It's a little difficult to see the setting powder on my pale girl skin. ;)

 

Now, on to what has to be my absolute favorite item from this brand. The CC+ Radiance Ombre Bronzer. Oh. My. Word. I don't normally do bronzers because almost everything looks orange on my skin because I'm very pale with cool undertones. I own plenty of other bronzers, but none of them have ever "wowed" me. This one though...I'm tempted to hoard more in case they ever become discontinued. It's a smooth powder with no dust kick up, and the matte side is a cooler toned bronzer which thrills me! You can use just the highlight side, just the matte side, or mix it all together. I've been very careful using this because I don't want to mix it all up and loose my matte side. I've used it every single day since I got it, and it is just so beautiful. I don't have a regular highlighter from It Cosmetics, so I used just the shimmery side in this look, and I don't think I need a stand alone highlighter now! I could literally just open the compact and stare at it all day. This, too, only comes in one color which is the Warm Radiance.

L to R: Matte bronzer, shimmery bronzer, matte and shimmery side combined.

I was curious if the bronzer in the Radiance Palette was the same as the matte side of the Ombre bronzer, and as you can see above, the Ombre one is slightly cooler and slightly darker. They will probably look almost identical on the face though.

 

The CC+ Radiance Ombre blush comes in one color (I'm sensing a theme here), Je Nais Se Quoi, and it's beautiful, as well. Just like the bronzer, it has a gradient from shimmery to matte in three different pinks. This one, I do tend to just swirl it all together and apply to my cheeks. It gives a beautiful flush to the cheeks, and I love it. It's just as smooth and non-powdery as the other products I've mentioned.

 The blush on the left is the It Cosmetics Vitality Cheek Stain in Pretty in Peony, which I was comparing to the Ombre blush. Swatches left to right are as follows: Pretty in Peony, bottom of the Ombre, middle, top, and the last swatch is all of the colors in the Ombre blush swirled together.

 

I didn't swatch the Naturally Pretty Celebration palette because 1) it was limited edition and is no longer available and 2) the colors didn't swatch well on my arm. The lighter colors didn't show up on me at all. Don't let that concern you though! They didn't swatch well, but they are pigmented when I apply them to my eyes! It Cosmetics does have a permanent Naturally Pretty Palette, but I don't have that one. As I said, it is an all matte palette, with the exception of the Transforming Ombre Radiance Ribbon, which goes from a light to darker shimmering gold. The shadows, like all of the other powder products, are extremely smooth (almost buttery) and blend like a dream. The only issue I find with them is that if you over blend, you can muddy the colors together and it's not as pretty. It's very easy to over blend since they are so smooth! How many times can I say smooth in this post?! Lol.

 

I've had the Brow Power for a while, and I usually reach for other pencils over this one. It's supposed to be a universal color, but if I'm not careful, it can lean too warm on my skin and look a little red. The intensity of the color all depends on how much pressure you apply it with. The tip is an odd shape, but is too big to get a clean, sharp line to really sculpt the brows. If you've seen my brow post, you know that I don't have a lot of brow to work with, and basically recreate mine. When I pulled this back out to do this look, I did find that I liked it a little more this time around. If I use a smaller tipped pencil (like the NYX Micro Brow or the Anastasia Brow Wiz) to outline, I can use this one to fill the brows in. They do have a few other pencils (one is a "skinny" pencil), but I've only tried this one. It Cosmetics did come out with the Build-A-Brow Waterproof 5-In-1 Micro-Fiber Crème Stain earlier this year, I believe, and I am really interested in trying that! I have the ABH dipbrow, but I've heard the It one is better!

I used varying degrees of pressure to show the different intensities you can achieve. 

 

The last cosmetic I applied was the Gloss Stain in Sweet Rose! In the tube and swatched, it looks like a neutral, mauvey color, but a little while after I put it on my lips, it turns into a bright color! It has a very comfortable formula, and I don't notice any stickiness. I'm more of a lipstick girl, instead of lipgloss, but I can comfortably wear this. It doesn't have an offensive smell or taste, but if you lick your lips or get any of it on your tongue, it has an oily feel to it that I do not care for. It's not enough to make me not wear it, but I am careful about getting it in my mouth.

 

I own six brushes by It Cosmetics: three from the regular line and three from the It Brushes for Ulta collection. If you have never tried a brush from them, you have no idea what you're missing. I suggest you run to your nearest Ulta to at least feel the bristles. I guarantee you'll walk out with at least one. The regular line of brushes are expensive, and I suggest if you're interested in getting some It cosmetics and brushes, that you purchase them from QVC. They usually have flex pay and bundle the brushes with a cosmetic item. All three of my black handled brushes were acquired that way. The It Brushes for Ulta, are just as soft and great quality, but less expensive. I love these brushes! I wish I had one of every brush they've created. They are that good, in my opinion. Here are my six:

The brush in the middle of the second picture is the Airbrush OMG! Foundation Brush #106 from the It Brushes for Ulta collection. It isn't mentioned above because I didn't use it in this look, but it's still a great brush.

 

All in all, I absolutely love this brand and can't wait to explore more items from them. This post is in NO WAY sponsored, as It Cosmetics has absolutely no idea who I am. :) I just love this brand and wanted to talk about it. It has taken me two days to write this post because I wanted to be thorough and I had that much to say about it!! Have you tried It Cosmetics? What did you think? What else should I try?!

 

Thanks for reading, and please subscribe! :)

 

 

 

 

*None of the links above are affiliates.

*All products were purchased by me and all opinions are my own.