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!

My Favorite Bright Blushes

Continuing in the bright blush theme for the past week (see my post on applying bright blushes here) today I am showing you all of my (not so many) bright blushes. Blushes and lipsticks are my favorite makeup products but though I have fewer blushes overall I tend to love each of them more than I do my lipsticks or the poor, forgotten eyeshadows.

I only own five BRIGHT blushes (and one of them technically isn't even a blush). I swore I had more until it came time to dig through my stash for this post. Obviously pink pinks are overrepresented out of these five. I really need some red or bright coral blushes!

 

Clockwise, top left: R&R All Nighter, Illamasqua Tweak, NYX Hot Pink, Prestige Love, ELF Pink Passion

 Blush Breakdowns (Favorite to least favorite):

• Rock and Republic All Nighter -- This is a strong red-orange with warm golden shimmer. When applied sheerly it becomes a warm orangey glow. R&R blush formulas are by far my favorite among high end blushes and this one lives up to the standard. It blends beautifully, never feels powdery, and lasts all day (or night!). It is the biggest tragedy that these are discontinued! 
• Illamasqua Tweak -- See my review of this shade here. This is a matte warm watermelon pink that blends sooo smoothly for a matte and becomes a beautiful flush once applied.
• NYX Hot Pink cream blush -- This is a bright, hot, cool-toned pink in a cream formula. I don't like cream blushes because I find them a hassle to apply but these are great for an affordable cream blush at an affordable price. You have to be really careful though because literally the tiniest amount is enough!
• Prestige Love eyeshadow -- So this is techinically an eyeshadow that may be discontinued (?). I use it as a blush though and if you have any favorite pink/coral eyeshadows you can use them for blush as well! This is a bright fuschia pink with a slightly blue duochrome which thankfully doesn't really show up when worn as a blush.
• ELF Pink Passion studio blush -- This pale, cool-pink blush is just okay. While it is pigmented, it applies very chalky and powdery compared to refined mattes like Illamasqua, TheBalm, or NARS. In my opinion there are better blushes out there in the drugstore but some people (including me) just couldn't resist the $3 price tag. 

These are one-swipe swatches in natural/direct sunlight and indirect lighting. 

L-R: R&R All Nighter, Illamasqua Tweak, NYX Hot Pink, Prestige Love, ELF Pink Passion

 Click past the jump to see more swatches!

Tips for Wearing Bright Blush Without Looking Like a Clown

So... it's that moment when you fell for that practically neon orange blush and you just brought it home and have no idea how to wear it. We've all been there: one swipe on the cheek and you look like you just time-traveled from the 80's or are getting ready to runaway with the circus. Frustrated, you either have to start your makeup all over again or apply another layer of foundation to cover the offending blush.

 

I absolutely love bright and high-impact blushes, but there definitely was a learning curve to avoiding the above scenario (though sometimes I still end up being a little too heavy handed). Once I figured out how to apply them though, it was just head-over-heels love from there! Today when I was looking through my blush stash though I realized.... I need MORE bright blushes!! Feel free to give me any recs you have!

Tips for Applying Bright Blush: 

• The most important tip  to applying these beauties is to use a stippling brush. Stippling brushes are usually identified by their "skunk"-iness -- they have both white and black bristles. The black bristles are shorter and more dense, with the longer white bristles spread throughout. This means that you are able to pick up less product than a traditional brush but because the white bristles are still spread out, you're able to apply the blush over a larger area. Stippling brushes make it WAY easier to apply blush more subtly.

Sonia Kashuk "Highlighting" Brush (stippling/skunk)

See how the white bristles are spread out less densely?