Beauty Matchup: Face Wipes

Hello Lovelies,

I hope you are all well. I have been loving face wipes recently and trying out a few different brands. My favorites are the Olay Daily Facials Express face wipes - they are the softest and are the most effective at removing makeup and cleansing the skin.

My next favorites are the Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes - they are great wipes but they are not as soft as the Olay wipes. However, I end up repurchasing the Simple wipes most of the time because they come in larger packs so I don't need to repurchase them as frequently and they do the job well.

Simple also makes Exfoliating Facial Wipes - I definitely would not use these to take off your makeup but rather as a gentle exfoliator after you have removed your makeup. These are too rough to use near your eye area so they are not the best for just generally removing makeup but they work well to gently exfoliate your skin.

Before Simple products were sold in the US, I used the Neutrogena Makeup Remover wipes. These are  great for removing your makeup but they leave an oily film on your skin so you have to cleanse it with another product afterwards. I usually use a face wash or cleanser after I use a face wipe anyways so for me this wasn't a major problem but if you only want to use one product for both I would recommend one of the other wipes. Also, the Neutrogena wipes are not particularly soft and can sometimes leave the skin feeling irritated and red. Depending on how sensitive your eye area is, these might leave a stinging sensation so if you have really sensitive skin I would steer clear of these.

Last but not least, are the MAC face wipes. The only good thing about these in my opinion is that they are sold in bulk. I prefer to use these to spot clean my makeup brushes or to remove swatches. These break me out so I really don't like them and they also have a funny odor in my opinion. Also, they are harsh on the skin and usually make my skin sting after I use them. I am still trying to finish up the first and only pack I bought but since I don't use them on my face I really have no use for them.

Overall, I always go back to either the Olay or the Simple cleansing face wipes because they are the softest and work really well at removing my makeup. The only time I have ever had a problem with either of them is if I have put on a lot of waterproof mascara and then you need to rub a bit to get all of it off.

I hope this was helpful. Let me know if there are any other face wipes out there that you have enjoyed.

xoxo

Product Rant: Bobbi Brown Face Palette

Hello Lovelies!!


I hope you are all well. I am going to an event later this week and I am using this teeny tiny clutch that I really can't fit anything in other than maybe my cell phone and some cash but I want to bring some makeup with me for touchups. I found this empty face palette online at Bobbi Brown and went in to pick it up at my local counter. It is a 6-welled empty palette that comes with a little spatula to use to depot products. I only used cream products but I guess if you wanted to you could crush up a powder product and reset it in the palette with rubbing alcohol but you have to be careful because it might change the texture and/or the pigmentation. Anyways, back to the palette - in addition to the 6-wells, it has a large mirror on top, which is great for touchups.

To put the cream products into the palette, you use the cosmetic spatula (not pictured - but included when you buy it) to scoop the product out of the container and into the palette. The products I put in are MAC Studio Fix concealer in NW20 and NC15, MAC Cream Color Base in Shell, MAC Cremeblend Blush in Ladyblush, and Revlon Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake. I haven't decided which lipstick I am wearing so I am leaving the last well empty until I decide. There are white labels on the back of the palette where you can write the name of each product.

In terms of actually putting the products in the palette, it is a pain in the butt. No matter how careful you are, it is really hard not to get some of the product in between wells (on the black cross sections) so afterwords you have to go over it with a q-tip or tissue to wipe off the products. Also, you have to be really careful not to put too much product in each well or else it gets all over the mirror when you close the palette. Additionally, the product you depotted from (i.e. my actual concealer and blush pots) look really mangled from where you scooped out the product but if you don't really care then that won't be an issue for you. It is definitely easier to put products that are originally in a tube in here (i.e. the lipstick or stick concealers) because you can just cut off a chunk off the top of the product without really mangling the remaining product, unlike things in pots.

Overall, I am happy that I got this palette because it is great to throw in your bag and have two concealers, a blush, a highlighter, and two lip colors (or whatever else you want to put in it) all in one palette. One think you might want to keep in mind is that the palette snaps shut but it doesn't really seal tightly so I would not put a product like a MAC Paint Pot or a Benefit Creaseless Cream shadow or any type of gel eyeliner in this because I think it would dry out rather quickly and you would be left with a mess. Also, unless you are just refilling one of the wells with the same product, I don't think you can really refill it with a new product.

One last thing I will mention is that I think this is a bit over priced because it is $15 and it is very very small. I would not want it be any bigger but I would like the price to be smaller, if that makes sense. This has become such a rambly blog post but I have so much to say about this. I haven't really decided if I would repurchase this to fill with different products, especially since other than concealers and lipsticks I really don't have that many cream products that would work in this without drying out. More oil based cream products definitely work better in this since they are less likely to dry out.

I hope this was helpful and let me know if any of you have this and if you do what products you have in it.

xoxo

Brush Cleansing

Hello Lovelies!!

I hope you are well. I wanted to do a more functional post today instead of one about products and whatnot. I was cleaning my brushes last night so I wanted to do a quick post about it. Up until recently, I used either MAC brush cleanser or a baby shampoo to clean my brushes and if necessary, a little bit of olive oil to condition them. However, I was out of both so I ended up using a bar of Dove soap instead.

Thank gosh I ran out of my usual cleansers. I was using one of the plain, white bars of Dove and it was so much faster to clean my brushes. I guess since it is a bar and not a liquid soap, it does not put as much soap on the brushes but whatever the reason it took me about a third of the time to clean all of my brushes. My brushes are as clean as when I used the other cleaners but it took so much less time to rinse all of the soap out, a definite plus since less rinse time means less time to accidentally get water where it should not belong in a makeup brush.

One thing I will say is certain brushes that I use in cream products, like my concealer brushes, I needed to go over a few times to really get off all of the product. My foundation brushes, normal paddle brushes and stippling brushes, were not problematic but for whatever reason my concealer brushes were a pain to clean with the Dove soap. Also, the brush I generally use with MAC Paint Pots and other cream eyeshadows was a pain to clean. In the future, I think I will still use either the baby shampoo or the MAC brush cleanser in order to cut through the product buildup a little bit faster on these brushes. That being said, all of the brushes I use with powders, face powders and eyeshadows alike, and my foundation brushes were really easy to clean without any issues.

This is definitely a cheaper and more efficient way to clean brushes in my opinion. Now that we have the soap out of the way, I should probably tell you how I actually clean the brushes (duh). Wet the bar of soap and hold it in one hand while swirling the brush with the other, making a nice lather. Then run water onto the palm of one hand and continue to swirl the brush until all of the soap and product washes out. Be careful not to get any water into the ferrel of the brush (I think that is what the silver part is called - sorry if I'm wrong) because you don't want to losen the adhesive, which will make the bristles eventually fall out over time.

Once all of the soap is rinsed out, gently use a towel to wipe off some of the excess water. Next, reshape the bristles, especially for powder or angled brushes.Then lie the brushes onto a towel to dry overnight. The next morning, I usually put some rubbing alcohol onto a washcloth and wipe down all of the handles of the brushes to remove any product buildup and/or bacteria but you can skip this step if you want to.

One other tip that I have used in the past is to use clear nail polish to keep the numbers from rubbing off the handles over time. If you put a coat or two of clear nail polish over name/number on the brush, you don't have to worry about it rubbing off.

Also, I color code my brushes based on which ones I use for my face, eyes, cheeks, etc. This may be unnecessary depending on how many brushes you have and how you use them. Since I like to use brushes for things other than their specific function, i.e. using a MAC 217 eyeshadow brush to apply my concealer, I like to have my brushes color coded, especially when I have duplicates of the same brush. I picked yellow for my face brushes, pink for cheek brushes, blue for eye brushes, and purple for lip brushes but you can do whatever colors you want. Find a nail polish in the desired color and pour a little bit into a disposable cup, the small the better, and then dip the end of the brush into the nail polish. Hold the brush with the newly-dipped end down and use a hair dryer on low to speed up the drying process. I would recommend using a cheaper nail polish or one that is not your absolute favorite because you do need a decent amount of product depending on how many brushes you are doing and how large the handles are. if you don't want to dip your brushes this way, you can have different brush containers for each of the categories that I mentioned above so that you don't have to really do anything to the actual brushes.

I got bored last night while I was washing all my brushes so excuse the weird tower/teepee thing I "built" with all of my brushes.

Let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions about cleaning your brushes or brush care in general. I hope this was helpful!!

xoxo

Beauty Matchup: Pot Concealers

Hello Lovelies!!

I hope you are all well. I have decided to try out a new series called Beauty Matchups. In each Beauty Matchup I will review a couple products that are essentially the same/similar product but from different brands. I am not 100% sure about the name so that might change in the future. Let me know if you have any suggestions about the name in the comments below.



As you probably guessed based on the title, I am going to be reviewing pot concealers. I have the MAC Studio Finish Concealer, the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer and Corrector, and finally the Laura Mercier Undercover Pot.

To start off with is probably the most popular of the three, MAC Studio Finish. I have it in the shades NC15 and NW20. I use the NW20 under my eyes to help cancel out the redness and the NC15 for blemishes and what not. I really like the formula of this because it is creamy, but not too creamy if that makes sense. This is one of those products that really warms up in your hands, making it so much easier to blend. I usually apply this with a 217 brush and then blend it in with my fingers to really get it to melt into the skin. Out of the three, I think this is probably my favorite. One container of it really lasts forever, which is always a bonus.

Next up are the Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer and Corrector. I have the creamy concealer in Porcelain and the corrector in Light Bisque. This two are by far the creamiest concealers/correctors that I have ever used. They blend in really well and the melt into the skin like nothing else. BUT they crease like a mother. Within twenty minutes of putting these on they crease so badly. I have tried setting them with different powders and applying less and less product in order to keep them from creasing but nothing works. You definitely have to apply these with your fingers because they are too creamy for a brush. As such, you can really control the amount of product that you apply. However, since they crease so badly it does not really matter how amazing they are if you cannot wear them without them creasing. I know this is a favorite for so many people and I had such high hopes for them but I have to say that I am definitely sticking with my MAC studio finish concealers.

Before I get ahead of myself, I want to finish up with the Laura Mercier Undercover Pot in 2. This is probably the best value of the three because it contains two different concealers as well as a translucent setting powder in the bottom compartment. It also has a mirror which is always a nice touch. However, I find it to be relatively difficult to work with. The concealer on the right, the darker, more pink toned concealer, is great for under eye circles. It is much creamier than the other concealer, which has a harder, almost dry texture, and is meant for blemishes. I am not really going to get into the setting powder other than to say that in terms of loose setting powders, it is my favorite but most of the time I prefer pressed powders. Anyways, back to the concealers - I really like the under eye, pink toned concealer since it works really well for me as long as I set it with a powder. In terms of the lighter concealer that is meant for blemishes, I find it to be relatively hard to work with because it is so dry. You really have to work to warm it up to blend into the skin. I am really unwilling to spend the time because it is so difficult to work with. The only time I really use this is if I am out of my MAC Studio Finish.

Overall, I have to say that the MAC Studio Finish is definitely my favorite of the three. I am debating picking up the Benefit Erase Paste to try out but because of the limited shade range, I am a little hesitant. Let me know in the comments what your thoughts are about any of these concealers or if you have any tricks for things that I could try.

One last thing I want to add is that price wise, the MAC Studio Finish is definitely the best value since it is the cheapest of the three and you get the most product.

I hope this was helpful for those of you looking into picking up a new pot concealer. Also, let me know in the comments what you think about this series and expect more later this week.

xoxo

Teenie Tinie Haul - MAC

Hello Lovelies!

I hope you are all well. I stopped in MAC the other day because I needed to pick up another Teddy eye kohl because my current one was starting to dwindle. I am going to put the stub of my original one in my makeup bag so I have it for touchups during the day. I love the bronze-brown color for a lazy eye look if I am not doing much that day. 

However, while I was there I stopped to look at the new Hey, Sailor! collection and I ended up picking up the bronzing powder in Soft Sand. It has a slight shimmer and is a light caramel color. 

I have to admit that I was slightly (totally) drawn in by the packaging. I love the navy and white stripes, especially how they are overlapping. I am a total junky for cute packaging so that was not surprising. However, it has been a completely wearable bronzer thus far so I should get a lot of use out of it.

The color reminds me a little bit of Benefit Hoola bronzer, although this is slightly more orange and has a slight shimmer. This one isn't glittery but has more of a slight sheen. Since I am so pale, I have to use a very light hand but once I have a bit of a tan I think this will be an even better color for me.

One thing I absolutely love about the bronzer is that it has a mirror in it. I hate that most of the MAC powder compacts (Mineralize Skin Finish Natural I'm looking at you) do not have mirrors in the tops. I usually sway towards other powders that have mirrors because on days when I have to do my makeup on the go I hate having to bring an extra mirror. 

This haul turned into a mini review. Regardless, I hope this was useful.

xoxo

Favorite Nude Lipstick: YSL Nude Beige

Hello Lovelies!!

I hope you are all well. 

While I was M.I.A. I discovered my new favorite nude lipstick, YSL Rouge Volupté in 1 Nude Beige. This is definitely a pinker nude than some other nude lipsticks that I have tried but I really love this lipstick because it does not wash me out when I wear it. I have worn it with MAC lip gloss in Underage and that helps make it appear a little less pink if you are looking for a more traditional nude.  

This is one of the most expensive lipsticks that I have bought and I have to admit that I was partially drawn in by the packaging. It feels heavier in your hand than most lipsticks and it is absolutely gorgeous. That being said, I will definitely be repurchasing this when I run out. This is one of those lipsticks that you can touch up without having to worry about it smudging or feathering throughout the day.

In terms of dupes, the color is similar to MAC's lipstick in Hue, although this is a little bit darker and creamier in consistency. Also, it is slightly lighter and less pink than MAC's lipstick in Angel. There a lot of colors that are similar but not exact dues for this but those two are great if you are looking for something that is still somewhat high end but is less expensive than the YSL one.

I hope you found this review helpful.

xoxo

March Favorites

Hello Lovelies,

I have been keeping my makeup relatively simply this month since the weather has really been warming up here so here are my belated March favorites. To start off with, I picked up a Flo Refillable Fragrance Atomizer. I hate having to carry around a full sized perfume with me in case I need to spruce up my scent during the day; with this refillable atomizer, I can mix fragrances and fill it up whenever it runs out. I have really enjoyed using it this month and mixing fragrances together.

My next favorite is the Lavanila The Healthy Body Butter in Vanilla Lavender. The pure vanilla scent is my favorite but the vanilla lavender is a close second. The body butter itself has a consistency between a normal lotion and a traditional body butter; it is thicker than a lotion but thinner than a body butter. It absorbs into the skin relatively quickly and leaves a faint scent on the skin. I have been trying to use up my all of my various lotions and body butters this month so this will probably be the first of many lotions included.

I switched back to my HG Laura Mercier mineral powder foundation since it is a little lighter and more natural looking than my MAC Studio Fix powder. I have the mineral powder in the color Tender Rose, which is currently a little too dark for me but if I blend it down my neck you can't tell. For me, this is my go-to foundation because it gives a natural finish and makes my skin look absolutely flawless.

I picked up the Sephora Professional Mineral Powder #45 brush and I absolutely love it with the Laura Mercier mineral powder. It is less dense than the Sigma kabuki brushes so you can apply a lighter layer of foundation to give a more natural finish. I find that I need less product when I use the #45 and I can build up the foundation to a higher coverage where I need it. I have been using a lot less foundation and have almost stopped using concealer altogether (except for under my eyes).


My next favorite is actually a skincare product; it is the Caudalie Beauty Elixir, which is a moisturizing toner/face spray. I use it everyday after I wash my face and before I apply my moisturizer in the morning and before I go to bed. Occasionally I will also use this during the day if my face is feeling dry or irritated. This has a relatively herbal smell, really a mixture of mint and rosemary for the most part. The scent is relatively strong until it dries so this may be off-putting for some people. That being said, if you can get past the smell I would definitely recommend picking this up because it has really made an improvement in my skin; I usually have some hormonal cystic acne but with this that has really cleared up for the most part.

My lips have been very dry and flakey this month so I have been using the Smith's Strawberry Salve all the time. I apply it when I put on my moisturizer in the morning and at night, as well as using it as a base for my lipsticks or whatever lip product I'm using that day. It gives your lips a nice rosy glow without really looking like you're really wearing anything on your lips. It smells delicious but I don't think it really has a taste as far as I am concerned.

I have been really lazy with my makeup this past month so I have been loving Tarte Amazonian Blush in Exposed. It is a gorgeous nude that I have been using as a blush/bronzer combo by using an angled blush brush to apply it to the contours of my cheeks and just a dusting on the apples of my cheeks and temples. It gives a natural flush without looking fake or orange. The pigment is great and I have a feeling more Amazonian Clay blushes will be making their way into my collection in the future.

My last favorite is from Arbonne, specifically the FC5 line, and is the mattifying powder. It is a green powder and it works wonders to leave your face looking matte and flawless. The green helps to cancel out any redness in your skin and even out your skin tone.  I always have at least two backups on hand because you do have to order it either online or through an Arbonne representative so it can be a bit of a pain to get your hands on but it is well worth it in my opinion.

So that's it for my monthly favorites. So what are your favorites from this month?
xoxo

Travel Makeup Bag: Long Weekend

Hello Lovelies!!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am going to Chicago this weekend so I thought I would share with you what I am bringing. I always overpack so for some of you this may be way too much but I always want to have a variety of products so I have options depending on what I will be doing. To keep this short, I am just going to do a quick list. Hope you find this helpful!


Benefit Porefessional primer
MAC Studio Finish concealer in NC15 (blemishes) and NW20 (under-eye)
MAC Studio Fix powder in NC15
Bobbi Brown creamy concealer in Porcelain *
Bobbi Brown correcter in Light Bisque *
MAC powder blush in Pinch O' Peach
MAC paint pot in Painterly
MAC eyeshadows in Omega, Mulch, Naked Lunch, All That Glitters, Espresso, and Mylar
NARS eyeshadow in Ashes to Ashes
Urban Decay eyeliner in Stray Dog
Clinique High Impact mascara in black
NARS lipstick in Cruising (holy grail by the way -- "my-lips-but-better" color)
Korres lip butter in Jasmine
Sigma Make Me Classy Travel Edition Brush Set
MAC brushes - 239, 217 (X2)

I have everything in a clear Laura Mercier cosmetic bag that came with the Flawless Face Kit and the brushes in the case that comes with the Sigma kit.

* I am testing out the Bobbi Brown correcter and creamy concealer but I am bringing my MAC concealers just in case I have any problems with the Bobbi Brown ones.

xoxo