Moisturize, Recognize!

I recently had someone tell me they don't use a moisturizer and I was like... WHAAAAAAAT!?! I mean, I was straight-up shell-shocked. I grew up using moisturizer on my face every day of my life- I can FEEL the difference if I wash my face and don't follow it up with a facial lotion. Can you say tight and dry?! Ew.

I remember my first Clinique three step set. I was in Chicago visiting my aunt who took me shopping at the big Macy*s and asked me what I used to clean my face. I was probably 12 and had no idea- I used whatever my mom left in the shower. My aunt spent the $60 on the three step set (cleaser, toner, moisturizer) and handed it to me and I heard angels singing in my head Ahhhhhhhhh! The Holy Grail!" Since then, I have tried numerous moisturizers, all of which were too greasy or too heavy or sat on top of my skin. Eucerin, Proactiv, Clearasil, Olay, everything! There is nothing like Clinique give my skin the perfect amount of moisture it needs to be soft and smooth both under makeup and without makeup.

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel

About $28 at Clinique, Mac*s or Sephora

I had some Macy*s gift cards to blow so I went to Clinique and said "Give me the best skin care products you sell." My girlfriend Kristina is the manager and I can always get an honest opinion regarding what to purchase. She knows my skin type and made a couple of rec

New & Improved Daily Routine

Since upgrading my entire makeup collection, I've developed a new routine. While it takes about 10 minutes versus 5, it's still so worth it and I feel so much cuter all the time ;)

Our guests, in order of appearance on my face: 

1. EcoTools kabuki brushes, each labeled for buffing, contouring, bronzing and concealing. They are SO SOFT and blend so well!

NOT PICTURED- Benefit's Fake Up, the most amazing, hydrating under eye concealer. The packaging is beautiful, how did I forget to take a photo?!

6. Mac Studio Fix Powder in NW25

2. Ben Nye Banana Powder- I was afraid this might be too yellow for me but I love it! I use it under my eyes over my concealer, and a little on the center of my forehead and down my nose. I wait until I apply my Hoola Bronzer and then blend it all together to contour and highlight. 

5. Hoola- see my review on this! Love it.

3. Benefit Brow-zings in Medium Brown

7. Bare Minerals eyeshadow in Chenille on my lids for a really neutral, matte look.

9. Clinique High Lengths mascara- see my review on this one, too!

8. Clinique Quickliner in brown-black under the outer half of my bottom lash line and smudged using the built in smudge stick.

4. Lastly, I use this Clinique Chubby Stick religiously. This one is Plushest Punch, which happens to be my favorite, and if I don't have it in my purse, I can touch it up with the hot pink Baby Lips color.

So that's my new routine! Tried and tested for at least three weeks now and it hasn't failed me, and it's been exciting to try out so many products and return the ones that don't work (Benefit They're Real sucks, I lost so many eyelashes to removing that damn mascara).

School of Beauty

In an attempt to get this blog up and running, I have been doing some major research. Now, the word "research" may sound silly to people who are not into makeup, but its a lot of work to get to know your skin, coloring, and the type of products that lend themselves to your type. I'm very happy to say that I have become a student of beauty, and I am getting great grades!

STEP ONE

My first step was a makeup purge. I got rid of years and years of products. I dumped every sample, hair product, eyeshadow, brush, etc., that I wasn't using regularly (so basically everything). I realized that although I was throwing away probably $1000 worth of products, if I wasn't using them, what was the point? I gave two of my friends so many Bare Escentuals eyeshadows that it made me sick to my stomach, but I knew it was for the greater good of my beauty journey. 

STEP TWO

That's my favorite. I bought all new make up. And I'm not talking running to the drugstore and buying Maybelline. I'm talking about $30 Benefit bronzers, $18 lipsticks, $25 concealers, the list goes on. Luckily I got a lot of gift cards for my birthday and the wedding that helped out. Before I bought everything I did my research on MakeupAlley.com, my favorite place for beauty reviews. Every product you can think of has hundreds and hundreds of reviews letting you know whether or not you should bother buying the product. That being said, it's not as easy as it sounds. A lot of the people reviewing are those beauty bloggers who have flawless skin- after pounds of makeup, or naturally darker skin tones. Everyone skin and coloring is different so I needed to find the ones that were perfect for me. 

Once I reviewed all of the products online, I would go into the store and try them. I've been making regular trips to Macy's because our Macy's has my favorites, Benefit and Clinique. I also go to Mac for things like powder and highlighter because I just can't seem to find them in the right color anywhere else.

STEP THREE

Try them out on myself. That's the hardest part. Because I've always been a very natural makeup girl, using brushes to blend all these crazy product does not come naturally to me, and neither does wearing so much makeup! But I made this promise to myself that I would learn to use fun new products this year, so it was time to suck it up and try it. My favorite Instagrams helped me find a lot of the products and how to use them. Pinterest helped me with photo tutorials, but YouTube has been my favorite. My favorite vlogger is Nicole Guerriero who happens to be drop dead gorgeous with the most amazing makeup tutorials.

STEP FOUR

The real life trial. When I flew down to LA last weekend, I had an hour to do my make up on the plane and I took full advantage. I really went for it using the natural light coming in through the window and my makeup looked flawless. 

Here's a photo taken on my iPhone, I couldn't get any good shots of the contouring/highlighting :(

Products used: 

Clinique foundation in Champagne

Mac Prep and Prime Highlighing Stick in Luminous Rose

Benefit Hoola Bronzer

Benefit Brow-zings kit in medium brown

Clinique pencil liner in black

Clinique High Lengths mascara (two coats for those crazy lashes!)

Mac lip liner and retro matte lipstick (I returned both, the color was cool but it creased easily and I wasn't a fan of the super matte finish- I like a more satin lip)

Bare Minerals eyeshadows

The next day I tried it again using all of my brushes and a full-size mirror. In person my makeup looked like a million bucks. I don't think I've ever felt prettier aside from my wedding day. But, my friends android phone has a very unforgiving flash which caused this photo to happen:

I used the same products but with a Mac lip liner in Auburn and Mac satin lipstick in Dubonnet (my wedding lip, very dramatic and also great for evening).

BUT You can see all of the different products just sitting on top of my skin! My iPhone flash made my face look just fine, but that damn android really brought out the worst of it. I blame the phone. Whatever. So my next goal is to figure out how to have my face looks flawless both in person and in photos. Challenge accepted!

Today I went to go get my eyebrows done at the benefit brow bar, which is my new favorite place! It's $20 but they do a job that is SO worth it. I decided, since I'm attending a rehearsal dinner tonight, to just have them do my face as well. The girl didn't do a great job of blending so I dusted my face with my Mac NW20 studio fix and voila! 

STEP FIVE

Learn how to photograph my makeup! These #basicbitch iPhone shots are not cutting it!

Benefit HOOLA Bronzer Review

When I was a freshman in college, I had just discovered name brand cosmetics- before then I was all about Cover Girl- if I even wore makeup. A MAC eyeshadow was like the holy grail... especially in electric blue (we were so clueless back in the day)! 

When we would get ready for college parties, I started noticing the girls around me had good makeup- expensive makeup. I had no idea that girls spent $25 on a foundation, but the quality, department store makeup truly made such a difference in how pretty I felt on a night out.

One girl's makeup inparticular stood out to me- she wore Benefit blush and bronzer in Hoola or Dallas. It came in this super cute box and the color was perfect. She always had awesome cheek color, and here I am, seven years later, and I still remember!

This weekend I decided to suck it up and spend the $28 on Benefit's HOOLA. It's a matte bronzer/blush that you can use just on your cheeks or as an all over face color.

I love it. With my fair skin I have to be really careful not to over-bronze, but this powder is soft, matte and very blendable. It gives me a great cheekbone and I use it on my hairline and jawline to contour. I also love it on minimal makeup days; just a sweep across my cheekbones makes such a huge difference! Since I bought Hoola, I have worn it every single day.

I would definitely give this product 5 stars! 

Birchbox vs. Ipsy Glam Bag

I've long been a fan of getting mail- I check the mailbox every day at the same time like clockwork. When I discovered Birchbox, my mail game was instantly upgraded. Every month, I received a cute little box with about six high-enx products, usually sample-sized but still fun. Almost every month I would have a new perfume sample, a mini nail polish, a hair tie or shampoo sample, and some kind of beauty product like double stick tape. Afte a year, I realized I'd spent $120 and had very little to show for it besides a drawer full of samples.

Birchbox- Just for the record, this is a box advertised on their website- I belonged to the company for a year and NEVER got a box this good! Don't get me wrong- you'll occasionally get something good... but never more than one thing in a box... and never full size.

That's when I discovered the Ipsy Glam Bag and my life changed forever. Suddenly, I had full size nail polishes. Full sized! I had full-sized roll-on perfumes, full-sized lip stains or lipsticks, full-sized eyeliners or eyebrow color or lip liners, and a travel-sized hair product. Every month! And not to mention, it all comes packaged in a cute travel makeup bag, not a cardboard box! I immediately canceled Birchbox and dedicated myself to the Ipsy Glam Bag.

Ipsy Glam Bag- this is an actual bag I received and everything in it was awesome. While the eyeshadows are small, they're great quality (Coastal Scents) and last forever. The mascara is decent, and the lash cards are a lifesaver. The eyeliner pot is fullsize.

While I'd love to keep stocking up on samples, as I do use them, I feel Birchbox is less directed at me and what I need and moreso on whatever company is giving them sample products each month. With Ipsy, I am getting things I will actually use every month. It's pretty awesome! 

Birchbox and Glam Bag are both available at $10/month.

Clinique High Lengths Mascara

For my birthday, my friend who works at Clinique showed up with a bag full of goodies for me to try! The first one being Cliniques new High Lengths Mascara. I've always been a fan of their mascaras but I'd never heard of this one, so I had to try it out for my birthday date with my husband. After wearing Benefit's They're Real mascara (see last week's post) for a few weeks, my eyelashes needed something more gentle but that offered lots of volume rather than just length. The High Lengths is exactly what I needed! 

Packaging

What a cool brush! The brush part is about an inch long and curves perfectly to your eyelashes.

Awkward action shot 

After just one coat!

Before & after

This is absolutely my new favorite mascara! It washes off easily without losing any lashes. I recommend you run straight to Clinique and pick up one for yourself!

They're Real - Mascara by Benefit

If you have an Instagram and any interest in makeup, chances are you have seen the infamous They're Real mascara by Benefit. After seeing 92750 girls and makeup artists posting about mascara, I finally dropped the $18.99 to give it a try.

PROS: 

It absolutely gives great eyelash coverage- the tip of the wand is a little spikey ball to get to even the corner lashes. I didn't notice a huge difference in volume- it gives me more of a long, thin lash look, which is okay with me, but I am not incredibly amazed by the results- only slightly amazed ;)

CONS: 

It's so hard to get off. Like so hard. I don't usually use makeup remover, I just use water to take off my makeup and then wash my face, but water doesn't do much with this mascara. I have to scrub my eyes raw to remove it. I may have to buy makeup remover for the first time in my life! But I really do like the results, so it may be worth the extra work. 

BOTTOM LINE: WOULD I BUY IT AGAIN?

Nope. I returned it! Once I tried a sample of the Clinique High Lengths mascara, I was hooked. I lost way too many lashes to trying to get They're Real- not cute!!

Currently listening to: "Do You?" by iFFY the Bad Man