My Everyday Essentials (Drugstore and High End)

Now that I have a job where makeup is kind of a requirement (or at least to me it is) I have found myself reaching for the same products everyday and I wanted to share with you what I have found to last through out the day. Mostly what I use is drugstore but I do have 3 high end products that I use. I'll go through them all like I put them on in the morning just so I can keep everything straight. First is my Formula 10.0.6 Seriously Shine Free Mattifying Oil-Free Moisturizer . I really like this product because it really does moisturize my skin without adding any extra oil. I then pencil in my eyebrows with my Maybelline Expert Wear Twin Brow and Eye Pencil in blonde. I have been using this for 4 or 5 years and I have never had a problem with it running off my face nor do I find I need to use any kind of setting gel with it. I then apply my Urban Decay Primer Potion in the original formula to my eyelids (duh). From there I have a few options as far as my eye shadow goes. For work I really like to stick with light neutrals, more on the end of natural beauty type makeup. So my eye shadow picks are as follows: Wet n Wild in Nutty, ELF Single Studio Eyeshadow in Pebble, Cover Girl single in Champagne, and a Cover Girl trio in Shimmering Sands. Lately I've really been loving Nutty and Champagne as my everyday colors.Then I use my E.L.F. Eyelash curler and apply my Cover Girl Clump Crusher Mascara in the waterproof formula. Next I use my Too Faced Primed and Poreless Primer and rub that into my skin. I don't let this sink in or anything before I apply my Cover Girl Clean Whipped Foundation using my E.L.F. Angled Foundation Brush. While I feel like the foundation does cover my flaws for the most part I do have some really dark under eye circles so I apply my Costal Scents Eye Bright Concealer. Then if I have any really noticable blemishes on my face I will use my Makeup Forever Full Cover Concealer. I finish everything off my applying my Hard Candy Welcome Matte Powder. I hope a glance at my everyday makeup will inspire your everyday look! Be Fearless. Be Beautiful. Be You.

Spoiled (by Wet n Wild) Nail Polish in Shrimp on the Barbie

Spoiled (By Wet n Wild) in Shrimp on the Barbie

I found myself in CVS a few days ago and I decided to take a gander around the makeup isle (of course, what else would I look at?). Now I don't know if anyone has head of Spoiled nail polish cause I haven't heard about it from any of the people I watch on youtube or read here on blogger. I had one other polish from this brand before this shopping trip and I really liked the formulation. So when I was looking around (and picking up things which, if I'm being completely honest, I don't need) I decided to pick up two more colors. This color, is by far, my favorite. Now the picture is showing my nails to be a completely different color than whats in the bottle but I promise you it looks just like the color in the bottle. The polish is pink with rose gold shimmer. It is such a summer color and I love it. The best part is because it is a Wet n Wild brand it's not ridiculously priced. I think I paid $2.99 for this polish. I've only been wearing this polish for two days so I can't comment on how it wears and handles chipping but I can tell you about the application. Sadly, this wasn't the most opaque formula. It took me three coast to get a completely opaque finish. One bonus though, the individual coats didn't take long to dry. Anyway! I just had to share this color because I can't stop looking at it lol. I think it is such a beautiful color and great for summer. Be Fearless. Be Beautiful. Be You!

My Favorite "Do It All" Eye Shadows

From Left to Right: Mink by Cover Girl, Tapestry Taupe by Cover Girl, Nutty by Wet n Wild,  Pebble by E.L.F. and the one on the bottom is Champagne by Cover Girl

I recently started a job at a liquor store and I wanted to find some makeup in my collection that was easy to put on so that I wasn't fussing over my makeup everyday. I mean I love doing my makeup, but for something like working at a liquor store I don't need to go all out. So I dug through my collection and gathered a few eye shadows that I thought would do the trick. I have worn every single one of these shadows to work and I am so glad I picked them. They give me a polished look with ease and I don't look over done. The best part about all the shadows I chose is that they are all drug store eye shadows. I didn't do that on purpose, it just happened that way, but how great that it did so if you wanted to go get these shadows yourself you can easily find them and they wont cost you your first born. From left to right the shadows are: Mink (Cover Girl), Tapestry Taupe (Cover Girl), Nutty (Wet n Wild), and Pebble (E.L.F.) and the highlight on the bottom is Champagne (Cover Girl). What makes these shadows work is that they have enough variation in their finishes that they can give you the look that you have two different shadows on your lid and crease. If you decide to go looking through your own collection trying to find shadows that can do it all keep that in mind. I am so thrilled these shadows do what I want them to do, make me look polished without spend a lot of time doing it. I hope this has helped you lovely ladies! Be Fearless. Be Beautiful. Be You.

Drug Store Dupes of Popular High-End Products

We're all aware that we are in a recession. Money is tight for everybody, but that doesn't mean we have to give up our right to look fabulous using our favorite products. I have found a few dupes for some popular high end products so no one has to go without or feel the pain in their wallet. I've found the dupes for three eyeshadows and one blush. We'll start with my favorite discovery and that's the dupe for MAC's Satin Taupe.

I know it doesn't look like a dupe from this angle but it is. It's crazy how similar they are. I have heard beauty gurus on youtube rave about this. I even remember one saying she couldn't live with out her Satin Taupe. Well now she'll never have to. My next discovery was a dupe for MAC's All That Glitters. Now I know some girls know this as the screen name of a very popular beauty guru on youtube by the name of Elle Fowler, but it is an eyeshadow. It's actually where she got the name from.

The drug store alternative is CoverGirl's Mink. This is a much better picture to show how similar they are. So now all of you girls who've wanted to try this shadow or buy it but couldn't rationalize the price for a single MAC eyeshadow can try it for less than five dollars. My next and last eyeshadow dupe is for Stila's eyeshadow in Kitten.

Now what I love about this dupe is that you can not find a better value than Wet n Wild. It is without a doubt the cheapest makeup with the greatest payoff. I love every single Wet n Wild eyeshadow I have ever tried. They are so pigmented and easy to blend. Talk about bang for your buck. Now for my last product, and my only face product dupe: Benefits Coralista Blush.

The VERY affordable dupe is E.L.F.'s Studio Blush in Candid Coral. E.L.F.'s products are great, but their studio products are amazing. One of my favorite eyeshadows is E.L.F.'s studio eyeshadow in Pebble. So there you have it my ladies! I hope this keeps you in your favorite looks and your wallet slightly fatter. Be Fearless. Be Beautiful. Be You.

Back to School Makeup: Drugstore Edition

Now I'm 21 years old and my school days are over but I do remember how excited I got before a new year began. It's a fresh start and the opportunity to kind of reinvent myself. It was actually my senior year of high school that I started to get into makeup. Like most teenage girls I was on a budget so I usually bought my new makeup through out the summer and at the drugstore. I have compiled a list of drugstore products that will help you achieve great looks all year round for every occasion. The first thing you need no matter what you choose to wear is a great primer. It will make your makeup last all day and all night so you can worry about bigger and more important things. My favorite eyeshadow primer is $1 primer from E.L.F. Eyeshadow Primer. I have said before it works just as well as my $18 primer from Too Faced and I mean it. You will also need a primer for your face, so you're foundation will last longer and your face will continue to be flawless looking. I personally like the Hard Candy Sheer Envy Primer you can buy at Walmart for $8. However if you have used these products and you don't like them there is a few other alternitives. For eyeshadow primer your other options are L'Oreal De-Crease, Hard Candy Eyeshadow Primer, the $3 Mineral Eyeshadow Primer from E.L.F., or NYX HD Eyeshadow Base. Now for face primers you can choose from Rimmel Fix & Perfect or Rimmel Fix & Perfect Pro, L'Oreal Studio Secrets Primer, or NYC Smooth Skin. I think there's another primer from Almay but I don't know the name of it.

Hard Candy Sheer Envy Primer and E.L.F. Eyelid Primer

For eyeshadow I have a few options. My first suggestion I think makes the most sense and will save you the most money. If you're really on a budget I would recommend buying the new E.L.F. Little Black Beauty Books in both the Warm and Cool Editions. I think it will give you enough options to change your daily look up but it wont cost you a ton of money or take up a ton of space either. The Warm book will give you plenty of options for a great neutral look while the Cool book will give you the ability to do a great smokey eye. You could also mix and match colors and create a fabulous look of your own. The best part is they're only $5 a piece. My other suggestions are the Wet n' Wild trios. I think Walking on Eggshells and Sweet as Candy are the best everyday options. I think even the Cover Girl trios and quads are great. Shimmering Sands is a great option if you want a neutral look.

E.L.F. Little Black Beauty Books, Wet n Wild Waling on Eggshells, and Cover Girl Shimmering Sands

Now as for foundation and mascara I find it's hard to make suggestions. Everyone's skin is different so while one person looks great wearing Maybelline Dream Matte Mouse, it may break someone else out. The same goes for lashes. I have sparse lashes with oily lids. This means I need a thicken waterproof mascara. While my sister has natrualy dark full lashes, all she needs is and eyelash curler and clear mascara to make them stay put. My go to foundation and mascara are the L'Oreal Magic Smooth Souffle and Cover Girl Last Blast Fusion (the waterproof formulation). I do like other foundations like Rimmel's Lasting Finish and Maybelline's Dream Matte Mouse. I haven't found any other mascaras that I just can't live without.

Cover Girl Lash Blast Fusion and L'Oreal Magic Smooth Souffle 

Last but not least concealers and setting powders. Now not everyone need's a concealer, but they don't hurt to have for the occasional blemish or after a late night of studying. I really like Revlon's Photo Ready concealer because it goes on really nice and smooth and it has pretty great coverage. If you use it under your eyes be sure to set it with a powder cause it will crease. If you're looking for an even heavier concealer I would recommend Hard Candy's Glamoflauge Concealer. It reminds me of Makeup Forever's Full Cover Concealer. Now on to setting powders. My new love is Hard Candy's Welcome Matte Powder. I've used it a few times and it really does make a difference with how oily my face gets through out the day. My other favorite powder is L'Oreal True Match Powder. I think it has enough coverage that you could use it as and extra coverage step if you felt you needed it. Even if you don't need the coverage it's a great powder that doesn't get cake-y.

Hard Candy Welcome Matte and Revlon Photo Ready Concealer 

I hope all of this has been helpful and will help you achieve the look you want this school year. Remember to study and make good grades because that will serve you better in life then makeup ever will. Be Fearless. Be  Beautiful. Be You.

My DRUGSTORE Makeup Essentials

If there is one thing I have learned since I started doing makeup it's that no one wants to spend a lot of money on it. Everyone is looking for that stunning can't-live-without-it product that doesn't cost a fortune. Especially for young girls who are just starting out in makeup who want to try things out but most likely don't have a whole lot of money to spend. I have gone back into my makeup collection and picked out my drug store must-haves and  basic products everyone should have. First I'll start with the primers because without them the rest of your makeup is pointless. My go-to drugstore primers are Hard Candy Sheer Envy Primer ($8) and E.L.F. Eyelid Primer($1). I love both these primers. I think they both do everything I need a primer to do. Now I will admit that the foundation I use is expensive for a drugstore brand, it is the L'Oreal Magic Smooth Souffle Foundation ($13). I love the coverage of this foundation, it's a medium to full coverage. The powder I use is the L'Oreal True Match Powder($6). I like this powder because it adds some more coverage and as someone who loves a full coverage look that is essential. Now I have dark under eye circles so a concealer is a must-have. I love Revlon's Photo Ready Concealer ($7). This is such a creamy stick concealer. Just be sure to set this with a powder. Then last but not least my eye products. The only mascara I will use is thee Cover Girl Lash Blast Fusion($9) in the waterproof formula. For my eyebrows I use the Maybelline Expert Wear Eyebrow Pencils($4). Then for eyeshadows I am stuck between to brands but I love them and use them both equally. First are the Wet n Wild trios($3). I love them. They are so pigmented and easy to find. I would die without them. Then I have my Cover Girl Eye Enhancers Trios($4). I also like the quads and singles. I think all of the colors are beautiful and I like that you don't have to search around in your collection for shadows that will work together cause they're all right there in front of you. I hope this post was helpful to all  you newcomers out there!

Amazon and Walgreens Haul!

I have been using the hell out of my amazon account lately buying mostly makeup books trying to read up on the hobby that I love. Then I decided to see what makeup products I could find on there for a cheaper price than I would if I had bought them from the original manufacturer. First on Amazon I got the Nude 'Tude pallete by The Balm. I had been looking at this pallete for over a year. I loved the colors and I thought the packaging was very cute. However, the packaging that I wanted was no longer available. This pallete came in two "tudes." Feeling nice (the pallete I have here) has a black and white background that matches the front of the packaging. The feeling naughty version, the one that I really wanted, had pinup girls on the inside with the eye shadows covering up their naughty parts. Super cute right?

The Balm Nude 'Tude Pallet

I was able to snag this for $30.90 before S&H and for $37. 88 after. That's not too bad considering it cost $36 when you buy it from The Balm before S&H. I haven't used any of the shadows yet, but they look stunning. I think you'll be able to make several natural and even sultry looks with this pallet. Next in my Amazon haul is my new NYX Butt "Naked" Eyes Pallete. I snagged this for $23.94 after S&H versus paying $25 before S&H when you buy it from the NYX website. This pallete has both shimmer and matte shadows and I love that. I love being able to mix different textures to achieve different looks. There are also some blushes and bronzers that slide out of the bottom. I have used a few of these colors and I think they are just stunning.

NYX Butt "Naked" Pallet

At Walgreens I bought a few things as well. The first thing I picked up was a Wet n Wild Megalast Nail Polish in 213C On a Trip on sale for $.99. Its a beautiful creamy looking purple. I cant wait to slather this on my nails! The next thing I picked up was the Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation in Classic Ivory for $9.97. I have oily skin and while I have no issues with my current foundation I'm just in the mood to try something new. Hopefully I will have positive things to report back about this foundation. Then last but not least, I picked up the L'Oreal De-Crease Eyeshadow Base for $9.99. As I have mention in my latest posts I have been going a little crazy with trying different primers so of course when I saw this I had to try it. Well that's it for my haul. I hope you enjoyed!