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. 

YSL Touche Eclat Blur Primer and Perfector Review!

Hi, Everyone!

I recently received my first VoxBox from Influenster, and they included two new products from YSL to review!

 Inside my box were the new YSL Touche Eclat Blur Primer and the Touche Eclat Blur Perfector. I was sent a deluxe mini (.33 oz) of the primer, and a full-size Blur Perfector (.33 oz). The full-size primer is one ounce and retails for $52, while the full size of the Blur Perfector retails for $55.

Let's start with the packaging. The pale pink and gold is absolutely beautiful! It has such a classy and elegant look and feel to it. I've never purchased anything from YSL, due to the price, but I have had a few items on my wish list for a while! I obviously cannot comment on the packaging of the Primer since I only have a deluxe sample size, but the packaging of the Blur Perfector feels very sturdy, and has a great closure. It snaps closed tightly, so I'm not afraid of it coming open and being damaged in my purse.

First, let's talk about the Touche Eclat Blur Primer.

 The full-size primer comes with a pump, but because this is a sample size, it has a spatula applicator. It is described as being an "illuminating primer that blurs imperfections and boosts the radiance of foundation". 

 As you can see in the picture above, there are tiny flecks of gold glitter in this primer to provide the luminous finish. If you do not like glitter on your face, you may not like this. Indoors, this provides me with a pretty glowy finish, but in direct sunlight I can see the gold flecks on my skin. The consistency is the best part about this primer, though! It has a silicone feel to it, similar to the Smashbox Photo Finish primer, but it dries down to a velvety feel as opposed to remaining "slippery" feeling. I always feel like my makeup is sliding around on top of the Photo Finish, and the YSL Blur Primer doesn't make me feel that way. As the name suggests, I do feel like it does a great job of blurring my pores and the small lines under my eyes. It's also a great one to put in the areas where your foundation can tend to crease, such as your laugh lines or in between your eyebrows. I am enjoying it right now during the summer, but I may not use it as much come winter time when I'll be more into matte skin.

Next, is the YSL Touche Eclat Blur Perfector.

Once again, look at that packaging! Even the boxes are beautiful! The Touche Eclat Blur Perfector is a balm-to-powder product that is used to "soften the skins imperfections, while creating a subtle rosy glow effect". You can use it in different ways, such as alone to soften and blur the skin, to set your makeup, or later in the day to remove any oiliness. As I've mentioned before, I have dry skin, so this product idea is genius for someone like me! If you're familiar with the Mally Face Defender, this is a similar concept. It has a silicone, balmy feel to it, that when applied to your face with the sponge, reduces shine and the visibility of pores. One of the things I like better about the YSL Perfector over the Mally one is that once I apply the YSL, it dries down and I can't see or feel it. The Mally is supposed to be the same way, but I don't find that to be true on my skin. Mally's product has a slick, greasy feel to it, and even though it is invisible, I can still see a residue left behind, The Blur Perfector comes with its own small sponge and a velvety black pouch, with two pockets, so that you can carry it around with you, I love the way this performs, but I do have a few complaints. First, when I apply the Perfector over my makeup (to reduce shine or blur pores) it lifts my face makeup off onto the sponge. Which in turn, transfers my makeup from my face into the compact. I can imagine that in the long run, the compact will end up very dirty looking on the inside and could start to harbor bacteria.

All in all, I do think both of these products have some great qualities to them, and I will definitely continue to use them! I haven't experienced any reaction or breakouts from using either one of these, and I have used them both on a daily basis since receiving them.

If you've tried these, I would love to hear your thoughts! Please leave me a comment below and subscribe! Thank you for stopping by and reading!


*I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes, but all opinions are my own.

*None of the links above are affiliates.

My Birthday Haul!

Hi, everyone!

My birthday was on Friday 7/31, and I decided to treat myself and do what I love most; makeup shopping! My husband and I were going away for the weekend, so I had a limited amount of time in which to go by Ulta and Sephora. I actually made a list of the things I wanted to pick up most (yes, I'm a list maker), and managed to get most of what I wanted! While I was packing for our trip, I purposely didn't pack the type of  makeup I would be buying. For example, I knew I needed a new color of my UD Naked Skin concealer; therefore, I didn't pack a concealer.

Let's start with what I picked up from Ulta! I had a 20% off prestige coupon (I LOVE when these come around!), and wanted to take full advantage! Last year, I bought myself the Lorac Pro palette for my birthday, and this year I grabbed the Lorac Pro 2! I'm usually not a fan of cool toned shadows, but I've been drawn to them a lot these last few months, and I actually didn't own but two or three of them! I certainly didn't have any cool toned palettes! Another thing on my list was the Too Faced Twice the Sex mascara duo. For the price of a full size mascara, you get one full size and one deluxe sample. Then, thanks to the beautiful @coffeebreakwithdani, I knew I needed to pick up the new Stila Lash Stunner Extreme Lash Primer. I am a huge fan of lash primers, and she made this one sound amazing. A few days before, while browsing the "new" sections of Ulta and Sephora, I saw a new hairspray by Living Proof called "Humidity Shield" and thought that sounded wonderful for my curly hair. While at Ulta, I spotted the travel size and scooped it up! I had forgotten to pack an eye makeup remover, so I needed to grab one while I was shopping. I usually use the Kroger brand of the Neutrogena one because it's inexpensive and it works. Since I was in Ulta, I went ahead and grabbed the actual Neutrogena one, and it works fine. It does the job. I've been loving the Rimmel foundation that I mentioned in my July Favorites, but I also forgot to pack my moisturizer with sunscreen, so I picked up the travel size It Cosmetics CC+ Cream in Medium. That covered my sunscreen, moisturizer, and the need to match my self tanner. If you read my post about the Lorac Alter Ego Lip Set, you know how much I love those lip glosses. I picked up a new color while at Ulta; a pretty peach called Super Model. One thing that was not on my list was a new foundation, However, the new Too Faced Born this Way foundation sucked me in and "Sand" found it's way into my bag. If you purchased anything from Too Faced, you got a sample pack of three different shades of the Born this Way foundation, which is what you see in the bottom of the picture above. A last minute impulse purchase was the Mario Badescu Facial Spray. It was on an end cap of travel things for $5, and I had heard @emilynoel talking about it, so I grabbed it. I love all things rose scented, and this smells wonderful. The last thing from Ulta was my birthday gift! Platinum members get two gifts for their birthday; a $10 off coupon and the makeup item all other members get. July birthdays got a deluxe sample of the Urban Decay Perversion mascara. I've tried this one a few times, and I'm not a huge fan, but maybe it will work better over the Stila lash primer!

There were two things on my list that were out of stock at Ulta, so next stop was Sephora! As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I needed a new shade of the Urban Decay Naked Skin concealer. The one I had was Fair Neutral, which is too light with my tan. Ulta was out of the shade Light Neutral, so I purchased it from Sephora. The other thing that was on my list and sold out at Ulta was the Tartelette palette. @makeupbymaci, who is the queen of photographing her eye looks, was telling me how much she loves this palette, and she uses it in so many of her looks, I had to have it! The Kat Von D Ink Liner Trio was the other thing on my list. I already have and love the shade "Trooper", and this trio comes with that one, a navy, and a brown. I used the navy Saturday night and loved it! Sephora is great about offering samples, and the sweet girl who helped me gave me a sample of the First Aid Beauty Triple Remedy eye cream and the Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration moisturizer. As I was walking by the clearance table, I spotted the Kat Von D blush in "Wish" (no longer available on-line) and two bronzers on sale for $11.99 each. The bronzers looked similar to ones I already own, but "Wish" had been on my wish list for a long time, so I was happy to get it more than half off! A few weeks ago, I noticed that the Sephora automatic, waterproof lip liners were on the sale page on-line for $7, but all of the colors were sold out. My Sephora in JCP had them on the clearance table for $5.99! I've mentioned "Petal" in a post before, and I love it. They only had one left, which I bought, and then I bought two each of "Mauve" and "Naked". The last thing I picked up was the Josie Maran Argan Oil Light. I've used the regular version before, and loved it for my dry skin, but I thought the light version might be better for summer time. And then this happened...

Yep. Hello, Rouge!

Thank you for stopping by and reading! 

*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.

What's On My Wishlist

Hey, Everyone!

I thought I would share what's on my wishlist right now. Some items have been on it for a looong time, while others are relatively new. I have a mixture of drugstore and high-end items on the list, so let's get started!

This nail polish has been on my list ever since Nicole from YoungWildandPolished posted it to her Instagram. It is such a beautiful blue!!

I've used up three sample packs of this face primer, and it blew me away. I will definitely need this once I've used up some of the other ones I own. I love it under matte foundations, and even under dewier ones!

Ever since getting a little more color to my skin, I've really wanted to try orange lips. I never felt that they would look right on my pale, cool-toned skin, but with a tan, I really want to try this one!

When I was on vacation, I got a sample of this bronzer from Sephora, and I LOVE it. It looks beautiful and blends amazingly!

I absolutely adore It Cosmetics brushes, and this is the next one I'd like to pick up!

Speaking of It Cosmetics, I'd love to try out this brow product! I fill my brows in every day, and I've heard great things about this!

I have this concealer, and it has already reached holy grail status, but I need a darker color. I currently have Fair Neutral, which is making me look a little ghostly!

Last year, I treated myself to the Lorac Pro palette for my birthday. This year, I'm going for this one!

I'd love to hear the items that are on your wishlists, and anything you think I should add to mine!

Thanks for stopping by!



*None of the links above are affiliates.

Metamorphosis by CoffeeBreakwithDani (&Colourpop)!

Hey, Everyone!

I received my Metamorphosis Be the Change quad almost a month ago, but I wanted to give it it's own review instead of mixing it in with my other Colourpop goodies. I mentioned in my last Colourpop review how Dani, from CoffeeBreakWithDani, was doing a second collaboration with Colourpop; this time with eyeshadows instead of lip products. This was my package when I got it. I did also get a new blush, highlighter, and bronzer, but I'm not including them in this post.

There are four shadows in the Metamorphosis Quad (hence the name "quad"), and they can only be purchased in a set, You can not buy any of them separately. Strength is a "soft peachy caramel" in a satin finish, Bravery is a "true medium brown" in a matte finish, Hope is a "radiant opal with pink, violet, blue, and silver duochrome" in a Sheer Opal finish, and Kindness which is a "warm red brown undertone with a gold, green, and blue duochrome" in a Sheer Opal finish.

(Hope, Strength, Bravery, and Kindness)

The Sheer Opal finish is (so far) exclusive to these two colors from Dani's collab. She designed them to be "transformers" (how many of you just heard Dani in your head say "robots in disguise"?), meaning they will transform any color you put under them. They are BEAUTIFUL. I know most people are going crazy over the shade Kindness, but my favorite is Hope. 

(Hope, Strength, Bravery, Kindness)

All four have the same consistency as all of the other Colourpop shadows (that not-quite-cream-not-quite-powder feel), and have great color payoff. I prefer to use Strength and Bravery in the crease with a synthetic fluffy brush, and I've tried the transformers over a few different bases, The first look I did with this quad was using Strength, Bravery, and Kindness. Strength and Bravery are in the crease and I applied Kindness over my Tarte Smolder Eyes in the shade Gunmetal. 

My next look was using the same colors in the crease, and this time, I used Hope over a Mally Shadow stick in Champagne. 

This was such a bright, beautiful look! 

The last one for reference, I once again used Hope, but this time I applied it over a Mally Shadow stick in Dusk. 

I have another picture on Instagram where I applied Hope over the NYX Slide on eyeliner in Purple Blaze, and it turned out really pretty, too! 

I have heard a lot of speculation on the similarity between Kindness and a few other popular eyeshadow colors from different brands. Below, I have compared Urban Decay Solstice, Kindness, and MAC's Blue Brown pigment.

As you can see, Kindness is not an exact dupe for either of these colors. While they all look almost identical in the packaging, you can see the differences in the swatches. Kindness doesn't have as much of a blue tone to it, and it isn't as opaque. Again, this is a transformer shade and isn't supposed to be completely opaque. You are supposed to be able to see the base you're using underneath. I absolutely love this quad, and am glad I picked it up! It is limited edition, so if you're interested in it, I'd grab it while it's available! If you don't follow Dani on YouTube, I'd suggest checking her out. She's such a bright, funny woman, and is a joy to watch. If nothing else, just watch her video where she explains the meaning behind the quad. 

Thanks for stopping by; I hope you enjoyed it!

*None of the links above are affiliates.

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

Beach Vacation Makeup

Hello, Everyone! 

My husband, kids, mother-in-law, and I took a trip to Florida over the holiday weekend, and I wanted to share the makeup I took with me! I didn't want to over pack, and I knew I wouldn't be doing any major makeup looks, or anything involving eyeliner, but I wanted to take something. I knew there would be times when I wouldn't be at the beach, and would want to do my makeup. Here are the items I decided to bring: 

I brought my It Cosmetics CC+ Cream in Light, for coverage and sunscreen. As a pale girl, sunscreen is a must!! Actually, sunscreen is a must for everyone, but we pale people show it quicker. ;) I usually wear Fair, but since I've gotten a little color to my skin, Light is matching me right now. To ensure my brows didn't melt off in the Florida heat and humidity (or when the kids dragged me into the water), I took my Anastasia Dip Brow in Medium Brown and my Number 7 brush to apply it. I took my Covergirl Clump Crusher in waterproof, since my eyelashes are blonde and practically invisible without mascara. To warm up my complexion without the sun, I took my new Colourpop Bronzer in Paradise Cove, and my Sigma F82 Round Top Kabuki to apply it. I hit pan on the bronzer while I was away, which kind of irritates me. I've only had it a few days, and I don't use it every single day. I like to rotate my products. I can't remember the last time I hit pan on something, and I've NEVER hit pan on a bronzer before. Maskcara's blush in Shortcake, the Josie Maran Illuminating highlighter (in the Sephora sample jar) and Argan Color Stick in Pink were the only other complexion items I took. For eyeshadow, I took three Mally Shadow Sticks in Champagne, Dusk, and Saddle Shimmer. They last all day and don't require brushes to apply them. Too Faced Melted Lipstick in Melted Fuschia made the cut for lipstick. I wanted something bright and long lasting without drying out my lips. I didn't want to worry about touch ups while enjoying my vacation. I don't like to wash my hair every single day, so I took the travel friendly size of Amika's Perk Up Dry shampoo that I got in one of my Birchboxes, and it works great. To protect and hydrate my lips, I took my Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask and the Aquaphor Lip Protect+Repair. The lip mask worked great at night, and I used  the Aquaphor during the day since it has an SPF of 30 in it. Last, but not least, I took a travel size Urban Decay All Nighter Spray. How else did I expect my makeup to survive the heat?! If you'll notice, I didn't take any powder products with me. I wanted to maintain a dewy, glowy, beachy look while I was on vacation. Plus, if things started fading, I wanted them to fade naturally, without getting cakey. I'm really happy with the items I took, and the looks I used them for! 

This was the only selfie I managed to take, but I liked the look! ;) 

What has been your vacation look this summer? Let me know in the comments!