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.

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.

 

April 2015 Favorites!

Hello, everyone!

One of my favorite videos to watch on YouTube and one of my favorite blog posts to read are "favorites", so I'm excited that I finally get to share my own! Of course, since I knew I was planning on writing this, my mind totally spaced and couldn't think of anything. At all. I've been writing down favorites on my hot pink post it in my planner all week so that I wouldn't forget anything! Here are the things I used a ton this month and really loved!

I picked up the It Cosmetics CC+ Radiance Ombre Blush with a 20% off coupon at Ulta this month, and I LOVE this blush. You can get three different colors with it, or swirl it all together for a beautiful flush. It only comes in one color, Je Nais Se Quoi. Next up, is my Maskcara Hac Pack (check out my review here) that I used for foundation, highlight, contour, and blush a ton this month. It really makes getting ready in the morning faster! I purchased the Dermablend Loose Setting Powder during Ulta's 21 Days of Beauty Steals, and this stuff is amazing. I have dry skin, so it's really not necessary for me to use powder to control oil, but I do like to use it to calm down some of my dewier foundations and BB creams. The Dermablend comes in three shades, but I have mine in "colorless". I'm very pale, and even though it says it's colorless, I still think it makes me just a tad bit lighter. It does a great job of giving an airbrushed finish, mattifying without looking flat, and not emphasizing pores or any fine lines you may have. Then there are the Makeup Geek Foiled Shadows. Oh my word, these shadows are PERFECT. I'm not going to go into too much detail because, unless you live under a rock, you already know all about these, and because I want to do a review on them once I get my next order in. Pictured above are In the Spotlight, Whimsical, Starry-eyed, and Jester. I may never wear any other shadows on my lids again! I also have to include my Makeup Geek blush in Spellbound. Yes, I have three blushes in my favorites. I'm a slight blush whore. Lol. The only other eye shadow I'm including is Mac's Satin Taupe. I used this almost every day on my lid when I was in a hurry and had minimum time to get ready, and it always turned out beautiful and looking like I had spent more time than I did. Mac's Soft Ochre paint pot is an every day, holy grail item for me. I use it to prime my eyes for shadow 99% of the time. The soft yellow color and the opacity of it conceals any redness and veins on my lids and leaves a wonderful blank canvas to apply shadow to. Becca's Shimmering Skin Perfector, pressed, in Moonstone has been my go-to highlighter since I purchased it a few months ago. It's beautiful on pale skin and not for the faint of heart! My dry skin has absolutely LOVED the Too Faced Hangover RX Primer for the past few months, especially under the Hac Pack. Lip products were the hardest to narrow down, since they're the easiest to change out. For the first half of the month I was slightly obsessed with liquid lipsticks (as most people have been lately), and my two favorites were Lime Crime's Cashmere and LA Splash's Charmed. I am aware of all of the Lime Crime controversy, but since I paid for it, I'm going to use it. I don't know if I would purchase from them again, but I'm going to use what I already have. The LA Splash lipstick is more comfortable to wear than the Lime Crime one and a little more universal to wear. Last for this month is my Gerard Cosmetics lipstick in Buttercup. This lipstick is the perfect pinky-nude for my skin and absolutely perfect. I ordered it when they were running one of the amazing deals they had in March, and loved it so much I actually ordered a backup. I can't remember the last time I actually went through an entire lipstick, but I wanted to make sure I didn't run out of this one!

So there we have it! My April favorites. What were your favorites this month? Anything you didn't like? Let me know! Thanks for visiting and please subscribe!






*None of the links listed above are affiliate links.

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