10 Makeup Prodcuts I'd Repurchase

 

I’ve been enjoying the 10 makeup products I’d repurchase videos on Youtube. This instantly got me thinking about what things I’d repurchase if I lost all my makeup from a fire or all of it melted or something. It’s really telling what products impress you, by whether you would buy them again.

So here, is my list of those ten items!

1.    NARS Orgasm Blush

So, I’ve only really used two blushes my entire life. The first was some random Covergirl one back in the day. The other is NARS Orgasm. Needless to say, Orgasm is so amazing, I’ve rarely felt the urge to try another (although NARS Deepthroat, Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes, and MAC Pink Swoon have been calling me).

2.  MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural

On this blog, I’ve raved countless times about this pressed powder. I love it. And honestly, if I lost all my makeup, I’d probably buy this and not a BB cream or a tinted moisturizer. It’s great alone and it’s great as on top of another product. It’s simply amazing.

3.   MAC Painterly Paint Pot

A lot of people love Urban Decay Primer Potion. When it comes to priming my eyelids and giving my eyeshadow a great base, I look no further than my Painterly Paint Pot from MAC. This is probably my most used makeup product besides my Mineralize Skinfinish. It makes my shadow look brighter and more intense, it makes it last longer, and makes the colors blend so much easier.

4.   Wet N’ Wild Walking on Eggshells

I love eyeshadow. And I love my Naked Palette. But when it comes to what I go toward the most, this palette is probably tied for first for what I wear most often. Why? Because it’s only $2.99, creamy, easily blendable, and so pigmented. And the champagne pinky color? Probably the prettiest shade in the entire world. I would buy this again and hoard about ten extra just in case Wet N’ Wild decides to discontinue it.

5.  MAC Satin Taupe eyeshadow

What’s tied for my most used eyeshadow with Walking on Eggshells? Satin Taupe from MAC. I love it. It’s the prettiest taupe/gray/purply color. Every single time I wear it, I get compliments on how amazing my green eyes look. It blends well, it wears extremely well. You can just feel the quality from this shadow.

6.   Revlon Brow Fantasy

For the longest time, I couldn’t figure out what the heck to do with my brows. Then I discovered this product, and it suddenly became so easy to make my brows not look like caterpillars or nonexistent. I love this so much!

7.   Physician’s Formula Shimmering Strips Eyeliner (Brown Eyes)

Like I’ve mentioned recently in a previous post, this eyeliner surprised me so much. It’s so creamy, easy to apply, and has great staying power. I love that fact that in a package you get three colors too.

8.   ELF Mineral Infused Mascara

This $3 mascara has quickly risen to being my favorite. It makes my lashes look so pretty and defined. It’s so simple to apply. And the price is amazing. It’s something that I plan on buying the second I run out. There seems to be a lot of mascara that’s impressing me lately, but I definitely can’t beat the price.

9.  Naked Palette

While this is probably a given, I think this palette is an important one in anyone’s makeup collection. It could be worn every day, and some of my favorite colors are in this (Virgin looks so pretty with Satin Taupe, Sin is stunning, I love Buck and Naked just to name a few).

10.  MAC Blanc Type Eyeshadow

So this might be a surprise, but if I lost all my makeup, this highlight shade would be so severely missed. I love this on my browbone, mostly because it’s matte, and looks a lot like my skin, It’s by far my favorite out of Virgin from the Naked Palette and MAC’s Phloof.

So what are somethings you can’t live without? Would it be mostly drugstore or highend?

 

A Drugstore Surprise

A few weeks ago, I encountered a makeup catastrophe.

My MAC Technakohl eyeliner had experienced a painful death (pretty much it wouldn’t twist up and the liner would just crumble into a big dramatic black blob). Unfortunately, the nearest MAC counter is almost an hour away. And while I usually consider the $15 liner reasonable, the cost of gas to buy said liner, would just be too ridiculous.

So I was left eyeliner-less. I raked my brain, trying to remember what my favorite beauty gurus on Youtube and on beauty blogs said were their favorite drugstore eyeliners. A lot of them really like felt tips, liquid and gel liners, which all look amazing. But I really just like mechanical pencil liners. And I looked around Target and just didn’t see anything that looked very good. And when I did, every other girl in my college town did, and it was sold out.

So then I remembered a recent tutorial that my favorite Youtuber (Dacey Couture) did that involved Physician’s Formula eyeliner. She didn’t give a review on it, but it looked really nice and I like that Physician’s Formula is natural and cruelty free. And when I looked at Target I was drawn to the brown eye trio. I have green eyes! Why the brown eye one? Because it came with both brown and black (plus purple, but that wasn’t a selling point) all for $10. And they are mechanical.

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I went for it. And I’m so glad I did!

What I Love:

·         Cruelty Free

·         Mechanical

·         Natural

·         I got three for only $10

·         They glide on so smoothly and easily

·         They have great staying-power (like 8 to 10 hours)

·         Can smudge for a softer look

·         Comes with a sharpener too, if you want a more precise clean line.

·         Rich color

Pretty amazing! It’s literally just like my MAC Technakohl liner. It doesn’t have quite the same staying power (the MAC version can stay even after using the most powerful waterproof makeup remover), and it’s not quite as deep color. But since you get three liners for $5 less, it’s pretty much worth it.

I loved it so much, that I when I saw the Nude Trio at Walmart recently, I purchased it too!

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 So have you found any drugstore makeup that has surprised you? Or any that has surpassed your high-end favorites?

Tarte's Smooth Operator Review

So almost over a month ago I purchased Tarte’s Smooth Operator tinted moisturizer from Sephora. I had heard pretty great stuff about it on Youtube and I had just fallen in love with the Lights, Camera, Lashes!, so I wanted to try it out. Plus, Smashbox’s BB Cream at the time wasn’t really clicking with me, and I wanted to try something new.

I went to Sephora, was color matched to Agent 08 (it’s for light complexions with pink undertones, but if you look at it, it’s a lot darker than some of the medium complexion colors. It’s definitely a product that I would go into Sephora or Ulta and look at, and one that I think you need to be matched by a makeup artist).

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According to Sephora’s website, Tarte’s Smooth Operator:

·         Is SPF 20

·         Oil-free

·         Light-to-Medium Coverage

·         It’s free of parabens, synthetic fragrances, and phthalates

·         And has things in it that are supposed to make your skin look healthy and young

·         It’s 1.7 oz for $36

Here’s what I think:

Instantly compared to Smashbox’s BB cream, it was like fresh air. The cream is very light. And a little goes a long way. Unlike the BB cream, which felt like I needed more than a pea size to cover my face, Smooth Operator really only needs a pea size squeeze.

It’s easily blendable and doesn’t leave any steaks or anything funny. It has great coverage, very comparable to the BB cream, It doesn’t leave my oily skin any more oily, which was especially helpful in the 100 degree days of August. Like the BB cream, I noticed it left a sort of matte, powdery finish. I do cover my face up with my MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural to reduce oil and shine, but I noticed the matte finish before that step.

Some reviews on Sephora’s site say that there’s glitter, but I’ve never noticed any. It has a great range of shades, unlike a lot of other BB creams or tinted moisturizers.

I absolutely love that Smooth Operator is $3 cheaper than the Smashbox BB Cream and offers .7 ounces more. I know, it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but anything that is cheaper and lasts longer is a plus.

I think it has great staying-power. I’d say on me, it’s about 8 hours or so, which is all I really ask out of my makeup.

The only thing that I dislike about this product, is that after using it, I’ve had about five or six more pimples. Which, considering my skin has been really clear the last 10 months, is a bit disappointing. As a result, I’ve just made sure to give my skin a day or two a week where I either don’t put on any face makeup, or just my powder, and that when I do wear this, I make sure to really clean my face off with my Neutrogena Night Calming Towelettes.

So would I repurchase? Yes! I love this tinted moisturizer and it’s one that I love! It’s cruelty free, natural, and the container is cute too! I absolutely love Tarte and I can’t wait to try more of their products!

Update: Now a couple months later, there are a few other things I've noticed about this tinted moisturizer. First, it seems to break me out after wearing it, no matter what. And not just a tiny little pimple. I got pretty much a quarter size one on my cheek, which was frustrating (and painful!!). So now I pretty much avoid it. I'd still be tempted to wear it when I'm looking for better coverage, but it's really not worth breaking out over.

Do you have a favorite face product? Ever tried any of Tarte’s other products, and if so, do you have recommendations?

High Five for Friday

It's been awhile since I've taken the time to highlight the top five highlights of my week, so here is my High Five for Friday!!

1. The most thoughtful, amazing, sweet anniversary presents from my boyfriend! Seriously, I have no clue how someone can be as creative as him. And my roses have brightened my mood all week! I'm the luckiest girl in the world!

2. My chapter's 27 new members! It's so nice to have new faces and I'm so proud of my sisters and how hard they worked during recruitment. Plus, I'm really happy to have the stress of recruitment over with!

3. Going home!! It's so nice to go home and see my family.

4. My new ELF eyelash curler. For only $2, I got this cute eyelash curler from Target. Mine has a leopard print on it, and I absolutely love it! And it's working just as great as my MAC curler right now too!

5. Starbucks, for being with me no matter what! Seriously, how else can a girl get through school and sorority recruitment without a Pumpkin Spice Latte?

What has been the highlight of your week? Enjoy your weekend!

The Making of a Paddle

As I've talked about a lot, I'm in a sorority. And in sororities, it's extremely common and super exciting to make paddles for each other.

Now I know what you're thinking...that paddles are used for not so nice things. But that couldn't be further from the truth. Paddles in sororities are kind of like one of the biggest, most special, heartfelt presents a sister can give. They are usually given for the Big/Little Pillow/Paddle exchange (Littles make their bigs a paddle and bigs make their littles a pillow!).

But as a cute in-house bonding thing, my sorority decided to do it just for the girls that live in the house. And of course, I was excited. See, I love love love crafting. And there are so many different paddle ideas that I want to try! And not nearly enough occasions for it either.

For reference, last November, this is the paddle I made my big! She loves snowboarding and skiing, so I decided to do a snow theme!

 

 

So when I learned that I had the opportunity to do another, I jumped on the chance.

 

 

My secret sister that I was given only gave me one thing to work with, and that was her favorite color: red. Which is pretty easy since it's my favorite as well!

 

I knew that I wanted to use pearls and lace. And my masterpiece was created!!

 

 

This paddle was so much fun to make and was really easy actually. And it was a hit with my secret sister and the rest of the sorority (both paddles that I've made have been on display for recruitment, which makes me beyond happy).

 

So in case you are wondering, some paddle making tips I have:

 

-Have a plan in mind! It sounds simple, but it's easy to get overwhelmed at Michael's or Hobby Lobby. So draw pictures, spend hours on Pinterest, and think about what you want to do.

 

-Making "pretty" paddles are fun, but the ones that impress people the most, are the personal ones. So if you're big loves giraffes, slap some cute giraffes on it! If she loves cupcakes, do that! Don't just do a simple paddle that's not personal. If you're big loves Snoopy, she'll be more impressed with Snoopy than some pretty fabric.

 

-Give yourself plenty of time! Make sure the paint is dry and the glue has settled before you present it to your sister.

 

-Do it with your strengths. I'm not a painter, so I'm not going to paint a mural of the Rocky Mountains on my big's paddle. I'm good with more crafty/scrapbooking things.

 

 

So there you have it! If you have any questions or want me to go more into depth about the paddles I've made, let me know! But overall, once you get started, you'll get the hang of it! Plus, it's so much fun!!



A New Mascara in Town

Hey everyone!!

Sorry for the week or so absence. Sorority recruitment has consumed my time the past week and half, but last night was bid night (yay!! Welcome home 27 new girls!) and that hopefully means that my life will slow down a bit. Doubtful, but I can dream, right?

So in this time where I've beaded over 25 necklaces by hand and made five recruitment boards, I've had some time to find some beauty steals...from the drugstore! Some that I love so much, they are currently beating out some of my favorite higher end ones!

First up, is mascara. I was watching a mascara favorites video on Youtube and heard one of my favorite beauty gurus discuss ELF's Mineral Infused Mascara. Then I went to Target for a bunch of other stuff, and of course, I couldn't go to Target without scouring the makeup section. And I remembered her rave reviews and of course was tempted because of the $3 pricetag. So I went for it.

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As I've talked about previously, I'm completely obsessed with Tarte's Lights, Camera, Lashes! mascara. But not so much in love with the $19 price.

I honestly wasn't expecting much from the ELF mascara. I mean, it's $3. And I have no clue what mineral infused mascara is supposed to do. According to the packaging, it says:

-Mineral Infused Mascara creates fuller, healthier looking lashes

-Enhances lashes for a naturally thicker and more volumized look.

-The long wear formula and unique silicon brush creates clump free and defined lashes that last all day.

Boy, I was surprised after using it. Because, it looks fantastic! It's a drier formula, which I love. It reallydoesn't clump. It defines lashes beautifully, just as well as my Tarte mascara. Has great staying power for a non-waterproof variety. And yeah, the price can't be beat.

My only complaint with it is the fact that  the brush feels a tad flimsy. Either the stopper is too...small, or the brush isn't made the best, or both. But it's really a small complaint.

So I think that was a pretty successful drugstore makeup find!

A Drugstore Surprise

A few weeks ago, I encountered a makeup catastrophe.

My MAC Technakohl eyeliner had experienced a painful death (pretty much it wouldn’t twist up and the liner would just crumble into a big dramatic black blob). Unfortunately, the nearest MAC counter is almost an hour away. And while I usually consider the $15 liner reasonable, the cost of gas to buy said liner, would just be too ridiculous.

So I was left eyeliner-less. I raked my brain, trying to remember what my favorite beauty gurus on Youtube and on beauty blogs said were their favorite drugstore eyeliners. A lot of them really like felt tips, liquid and gel liners, which all look amazing. But I really just like mechanical pencil liners. And I looked around Target and just didn’t see anything that looked very good. And when I did, every other girl in my college town did, and it was sold out.

So then I remembered a recent tutorial that my favorite Youtuber (Dacey Couture) did that involved Physician’s Formula eyeliner. She didn’t give a review on it, but it looked really nice and I like that Physician’s Formula is natural and cruelty free. And when I looked at Target I was drawn to the brown eye trio. I have green eyes! Why the brown eye one? Because it came with both brown and black (plus purple, but that wasn’t a selling point) all for $10. And they are mechanical.

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I went for it. And I’m so glad I did!

What I Love:

·         Cruelty Free

·         Mechanical

·         Natural

·         I got three for only $10

·         They glide on so smoothly and easily

·         They have great staying-power (like 8 to 10 hours)

·         Can smudge for a softer look

·         Comes with a sharpener too, if you want a more precise clean line.

·         Rich color

Pretty amazing! It’s literally just like my MAC Technakohl liner. It doesn’t have quite the same staying power (the MAC version can stay even after using the most powerful waterproof makeup remover), and it’s not quite as deep color. But since you get three liners for $5 less, it’s pretty much worth it.

I loved it so much, that I when I saw the Nude Trio at Walmart recently, I purchased it too!

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Aren't these just the prettiest colors? It has a black (always good to have a back-up!), a brown called Pewter, and a champagn color. So lovely and natural!

 

So have you found any drugstore makeup that has surprised you? Or any that has surpassed your high-end favorites?

52 Reasons

So if you are a crafty sort of person like me, you've no doubt have been on Pinterest to see this cute gift idea made out of a deck of cards. Basically, it's a little book that is generally called 52 Reasons Why I Love You, or 52 Things I Love About You.

Not only am I a sorority girl (which is you should know one thing about most sorority girls, is that they LIVE for crafting, especially gifts), but I also inherited a strong crafting gene from my mom. So it was no surprise that for my first year anniversary to my boyfriend (which is today! September 10!), that I would make him something. Not that I haven't already done that for his birthday, Valentine's Day, and Christmas. But this 52 Reasons idea definitely seemed perfect on so many levels.

First, we always go back and forth with reasons why we love each other, usually trying to outdo each other (maybe that's just me?). I also liked the idea because (correct me if my math is wrong, that is a very sore subject area for me) there are 52 weeks in a year, and we've been together a year.

And plus it just seemed adorable.

So I went to work. And being the sorority/college girl/procrastinator that I am, I saved all of it for the night before. No self-respecting college student does anything, not even cute, adorable crafts for their significant other, ahead of time.

With a grande size Starbucks Salted Caramel hot chocolate and a Disney movie off Netflix on hand, I went to town.

In case you're wondering...I used:
-1 Deck of Cards (Target for like $2.68 or something)

-A Hole Punch (note: while the Up and Up Target brand is only 99 cents, mine was sorta frustrating to use because it took a ton of pressure to use it. Plus it'd get stuck)

-Binder rings (Office Maxx, a bucket of like 12 for $6.99. Sadly the smallest quantity I could find) in 1 inch by the way

-Black Ribbon

-Red and Black Cardstock

-Red Hearts and Pink Chevron scrapbook paper

-Mod Podge

-Elmer's Permanent Tape/Glue stuff

-Cool scrapbook scissors

-Optional: Starbucks Beverage

And there are a ton of instructions out there on the web (trust me, I researched), so I think for the most part I'll spare you all the gory details. But here are some tips:

-Be as careful and precise as possible with the hole punch. I found out that binder clips are fantastic at keeping the cards perfectly straight.

-Mod Podge (which I started using after I ran out of my tape glue stuff) isn't the easiest, cleaniest, or best glue for this project. But it worked.

-Try numbering them! I totally forgot, and poor college student I am, refused to print out another five sheets to add them.

-Use cool scrapbooking scissors (the ones with the cool edges) if you can't cut a straight line to save your life like me.

-If you have awesome handwriting, handwrite it!

-Add cool little pictures and captions!

-DON'T toss the Jokers. You need them for the cover and back cover pages!!

-Have fun with it! Get as lovey dovey/goofy/sexy as you want! I did a mix of a lot of favorite memories, goofy moments, and things that I absolutely adore about him!

-While 52 may sound like a lot, it's not! Be selective!

Here are some of mine!

{Spending almost all day, everyday with you last school year}

{How you are almost a food taller than me}

{For leaving me breathless after every kiss}

{Taking the chance to date me, even though you were afraid of being hurt}

{For loving me}

{Cuddling and sleeping in bed together}

 And finally, my last page!

So I hope that overall you liked my book I made him. I loved this project, it was fun and easy and something that I hope to do again in the future as maybe a little gift?

And even though he doesn't read my blog, I want to say happy anniverssary! It's one of those things that just flew by and now here we are, at a year! Best year of my life and I can't wait for more!

Current Nail Obsessions

I love nail polish and I have some new favorites that I wanted to share! I've picked up some polish recently that I just love! They are all so pretty!

The first two I purchased are from L'Oreal. On a trip to Walmart, I was totally drawn to their girly pretty look.



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Charmed, I'm Sure

I abolutely love this color. I like to think of it as sort of a rose gold and bronze color. It has some shimmer in it too. I absolutely love it.



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Versailles Romance

This color reminds me a lot of NARS Orgasm (I've been debating about getting that polish forever!), just a lot cheaper. It's a peachy pink color with a tad bit of gold shimmer. So pretty and girly. As you can see, I was totally drawn to the feminine colors!

This next polish was one I discovered through a sorority sister of mine. One night after dinner, she started painting her nails. Now, I'm not usually drawn to Tiffany blue, but this looked absolutely beautiful on her nails. So I asked her where she got it, and instantly went to Sally Beauty Supply.

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Finger Paints' Tiffany Imposter

This is such a fun and pretty color. It's currently on my nails right now, and I'm loving it. To be honest, I've never used Finger Paints before, but I'm super impressed with the polish. It dries fast and good, and I think it's super easy to use. Plus, this color is absolutely beautiful!

 

My last nail obsession isn't a polish, but I think it's my new favorite nail related item.

 

It's Equate's Regular Nail Polish Remover!

 



So there's nothing I hate more than taking nail polish off. It's just messy, drying, yucky, and awful. But with this new little guy, it's a lot more fun and easy! Basically, inside this little container is a giant sponge with three slits in it. You just stick a finger into one of those slits and then twist it around, and your nail polish comes off! Like, it takes literally less than 10 seconds a nail. And you don't have to deal with cotten rounds sticking to your nail and leaving residue or anything like that. And because this is just the Walmart brand, it was less than $2!! I can't believe it.

What are some of your current favorite nail polishes? Have you ever tried nail polish removers like this one? Any thoughts?

I Heart September

Without a doubt, September is my favorite month the entire year. Which takes a lot to beat December, because there aren’t enough words in the dictionary to describe how ecstatic Christmas makes me. But as I turned my calendar over and wrote my August favorites post and went shopping today and saw all the cute fall home décor items, I couldn’t help but relish this time of year.

{Taken outside my dorm last fall before a huge blizzard broke all the limbs}

There are so many things I love about this time of year:

Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Pumpkin Scones

Bath and Body Works fall scents

Wearing my sweaters and Toms

Cloudy, Chilly Morning Walks

Wind Blowing at Night

College Football (and I don’t even like college football)

Pumpkins

Halloween Décor

My Year Anniversary with my boyfriend

Sorority Recruitment

My Birthday

Leaves Falling

Hot Chocolate

I could write this list forever and ever. There is just so much to enjoy this time of year. I write this post not only because I love it, but I think as college students, we sometimes forget to notice our surroundings. We go to class, club meetings, hang out with friends, and whatnot, but we forget to take time for ourselves. So I encourage everyone to grab a Pumpkin Spice Latte (they come out September 4th!) and just take time to notice the gradual seasonal changes on campus.

What parts of fall make you excited? Do you like fall, or another season? Are you sad to see summer go?

I Need It!

Being as Vera Bradley obsessed as I am, you are probably wondering why I failed to talk about the three new prints that just came out this past week. Even though their release wasn’t mentioned on my blog, don’t doubt that I wasn’t completely overcome with joy over them. I know a lot of people (especially college-aged girls) aren’t huge fans of the three new prints : Provencal, Portobello Road, and Canyon. But I must say…I’m completely in love with Provencal. I actually have been since this past spring during the spring preview when I just so happened to wander into a Vera Bradley store one of the weekends they had them all on display. Say what you want about how they aren’t young or peppy or punchy or cute, but that just means that when my birthday rolls around later this month, they’ll be in stock. See, that’s looking at the brightside.

{You can bet that this beauty will be on my birthday list!}

If you’ve paid attention to past posts, I have identified Happy Snails and Poppy Fields as my two favorite prints. However, I think Provencal might make a run for the top spot. It’s just so bright and happy, but at the same time, it’s not in your face like Va Va Bloom. Which, I like Va Va Bloom. Don’t get me wrong. But it’s just not me.

Until this point, I’d say my “signature” Vera Bradley print has been Happy Snails. I mean, I do have a purse, wallet, backpack, pencil case, shower caddy, magazine holders, and last year’s agenda in it. (Quite obsessed, huh?) But there’s something that just makes me so happy looking at Provencal….

 Do you have a favorite Vera print? What are your thoughts on these three late fall prints? Too mature? Too muted? Any direction you hope Vera Bradley goes in the future?