My Favorite Pink Lipsticks and Glosses

In honor of valentine's day, here are my favorite pink lip products -- including natural and bright pinks. Yesterday I wore MAC Impassioned, the brightest pink I own, and today I wore NYX Tea Rose a softer pink that is still a step up from MLBB.

The lighting is rather bad in the first set and last set of swatches because it was really cloudy yesterday when I was taking the pictures. I tried to adjust the color to make it as accurate as possible.

NYX Tea Rose, NYX Fig, Revlon Pink in the Afternoon, MAC Sweetie, MAC Hue lipsticks

NYX Tea Rose, NYX Fig, Revlon Pink in the Afternoon, MAC Sweetie, MAC Hue lipsticks

Tea Rose is an opaque rosy pink. Fig is nearly the same as Tea Rose but a bit brighter and slightly more coral. Pink in the Afternoon is one of my favorite pinks, a nice neutral pink great for everyday wear. Sweetie is a pinky plum with silvery shimmer/glitter that gives it a slightly frosty finish. Hue is a sheer milky pale pink.

Now onto the in-your-face brights!! :D

Click past the jump to see bright pinks, lip glosses, and me wearing Impassioned!

Quick Taupe Smokey Eye

I needed to do a smokey eye in a hurry so I applied all the eyeshadow in this look with my fingers! I've realized that I am actually better at apply non-matte eyeshadows with my fingers than with a brush. For me, it makes blending so much easier and everything apply much more quickly. Plus no brushes to wash!! (speaking of which... need to wash my brushes asap!)

Here I used my favorite taupes, WnW Nutty and MAC Satin Taupe (which may or may not actually be a taupe?). I kept my skin simple and dewy (thanks to glycerin and some highlighter!) with a natural lip. I haven't layered lipstick and lipgloss in MONTHS and forgot how nice it looks.

My creases were being weird/normal! The one that is usually a semi-monolid creased today which made wearing and applying a darker eye look much easier. Normally, my lids are mismatching which makes darker eyeshadows harder to pull off without looking like a crazy person. My eyes will sometimes crease weirdly to match. No idea why it did that today, might've been the liner I was using?

Click past the jump to see more photos and products I used

January Favorites

A week late, but better late than never! January flew by, and because I was so busy I stuck with some basic staples. I tended to wear cool toned eyeshadow, usually a wash and sometimes with a darker brown or taupe in the crease. For blush I pretty much stuck to neutrals or everyday pinks. Lips were usually a rosy MLBB shade, and occasionally a red lipstick.

Can you spy the PAN?! :D

Do you see that teeny tiny eyeshadow that's showing its PAN?!!?! I know right, a totally unprecedented moment for me. This is the one and only eyeshadow I've ever hit pan on, and I think I might be able to finish it by the end of the month. I've had this (as a part of the Rimmel Colour Rush "Smokey Brun" quad, now reformulated in the Glam Eyes formula) for 6 years (!!!). I used it a lot when I first got it because it was the first eyeshadow I ever owned, but after a while I stopped using it because I had so many other shades. Now I've come back to it because this shade is such a beautiful, easy eyeshadow wash that brightens up my eyes.

The other products here are:

• Tarte Exposed blush -- This is THE perfect neutral pink-brown eyeshadow that literally goes with everything. It is almost impossible to mess up!
• Rock & Republic Call Me blush -- This and Exposed are my favorite blushes ever, so it's no suprise that during my lazy January I reached for these the most. It's a beautiful, albeit discontinud, pink blush with gold shimmer.
• Revlon Rich Sable matte eyeshadow -- This is a rich neutral dark matte brown that is perfect for deepening the crease and outer V in natural looks and for lining the lower lashline. It is one of my favorite eyeshadows and pairs well with both cool and warm eyeshadows.
• MAC Copperplate matte2 eyeshadow -- This is a cool/neutral grey-taupe that is also a great option for emphasizing the crease.
• Wet n Wild Stoplight Red megalast matte lipstick -- seen in my FOTD here. This is one of my favorite reds -- a blue-based red that is completely matte and wears sooo well. The coolness of it brightens up my skintone.
• Chanel Mademoiselle rouge coco lipstick -- this was my go-to everyday lipstick in January because it is rosy enough to give my face some color but is natural enough for a my-face-but-better look. Love this shade but the formula can be a bit drying.

My two other favorites this month:

• Glycerin -- I will probably be doing a separate post about the near-holy grail status of glycerin soon. It is an ingredient in almost all moisturizers. I have started using pure glycerin mixed with water as a SUPER hydrating but lightweight moisturizer. In terms of moisturizing power, you literally can't get better than this.
• Stella perfume -- This is my everyday perfume. I used up a bottle (UNHEARD OF!!!) in December and repurchased this in January. I normally like orientals but this rose-amber fragrance is so beautiful that I can't resist. My other fragrance favorite recently is Guerlain Shalimar, which is wayyy heavier and deeper.

What were your favorite products in January? 

Pretty in Pink FOTD

Pinks are neglected in my stash so I decided to wear a totally pink makeup look today using products I have rarely used recently. I also couldn't decide between a more natural pink lipstick and a bright pink lipstick so I'll show you both!

In the first version I used a more natural pink, Revlon Pink in the Afternoon. It is a beautiful warm pink which is slightly brighter in real life.

 

Click past the jump to see more photos and the other version of this look, with a BRIGHT pink lipstick! :)

My Essential Makeup Brushes

Today I wanted to show you an absolutely essential part of apply makeup -- brushes! Good brushes are essential for applying makeup well (though skill is probably the most important). My makeup brush collection is relatively small compared to other areas of my makeup collection. I just find that once I buy a brush that works I don't really see a need to buy any more of that type of brush.

I tend to stick with drugstore/cheap brushes but that doesn't mean they're lacking in quality. ELF Studio brushes and Target's Studio Tools brushes are some of my favorites. I also own some Ecotools brushes but I find that I like other equivalents better.

Though of course you don't necessarily need these exact brushes but I think these types of brushes are essential for everyday use. 

Eye brushes:

• MAC 217 ($22.50) -- This is my favorite and most essential makeup brush that is definitely HG (Holy Grail) status. I am a cheapskate when it comes to brushes but this is worth every penny. It is a fluffy medium-sized blending brush that easily blends eyeshadow. It also works well for applying a sheer layer of eyeshadow and creamy concealers. I've used this daily for 2-3 years and it is still nicely shaped and has never shed.
• ELF Eyeshadow Brush (regular line, $1) -- This was my first eyeshadow brush and 5 years later I still use it daily. It is the perfect size for laying down eyeshadow all over my lid or my browbone, but because it is still slightly fluffy it gently blends the edge of the eyeshadow as well. Over the FIVE years I've been using this it has never shed a hair! I have a second one of this with a black handle that is 2 years old. The newer version has slightly shorter bristles so I like using it for darker colors to have slightly more targeted eyeshadow application.
• Studio Tools Smudge Brush (Target, ~$2-3) -- This is pretty much a smaller version of the ELF eyeshadow brush. It is the perfect size for applying dark shades into my outer V or my lower lashline. I like using it to smudge my eyeshadow for smoky looks as well. The bristles are the same type as the ELF brush too. Had this for 1-2 years and it hasn't shed.
• Studio Tools Angled Eyeliner Brush (Target, ~$2-3) -- This is my favorite angled eyeliner brush. It is pretty thing so it applies eyeliner with the perfect precision. Much better than the more popular Ecotools angled liner brush, which tended to splay. 
• Sonia Kashuk Bent Eyeliner Brush (~$6) -- This bent brush may help some people who have trouble applying gel eyeliner because it allows you to more easily maneuver the brush to suit the shape of your eye. I prefer using an angled brush though.

MAC 217, ELF Eyeshadow (old), ELF Eyeshadow (newer), Studio Tools Smudge, Studio Tools Angled Liner, Sonia Kashuk Bent Eyeliner brush

Click past the jump to see my favorite face brushes!