Beauty Wise Wednesday, On Thursday: My First Beauty Hau!l!

I didn't really have anything to blog about yesterday since I hadn't gotten my Ipsy bag yet so I thought I'd wait till today to blog since I knew I was going to go shopping. I actually got a lot more than I thought I was going to get but didn't spend too much!

Boots expert sensitive light moisturizing lotion: Picked this up at Target and I'm excited to try it. It was recommended by Hannah over at The "krustee" BLOG

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails hardener: This is something I have been using for years. I feel like it really works and it's so inexpensive!

Maybelline The Mega Plush waterproof mascara in brownish black: I picked up waterproof because I feel like I am constantly getting raccoon eyes from regular mascara. I just LOVE the wand in this variety.

Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 in Creamy Natural: I just finished up this stuff today so I had to run out and buy some more. I want to try a new foundation but I didn't want to not have this just in case I didn't like the new stuff.



e.l.f. Flawless Eyeshadow palette in Happy Hour: I wanted to try out to e.l.f. stuff cause I have heard lots of good things about it and once again so inexpensive!

e.l.f. Tone Correcting Powder: I have always wanted to try something like this and at $3 I figured why not.



e.l.f. Lip Stain in Pink Petal: I'm not huge on lip things cause I always forget to put them on but I like the concept of a lip stain. I'm pretty sure one of my friends has this lip stain and likes it.

e.l.f. Powder Brush: I've been using an old cheap blush brush to put on my powder each day so I thought I'd pick this up.

 

Beauty Wise Wednesday:Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer

I ran out my beloved Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Radiant Highlighting Concealer and I thought I would try out something new. It was pretty sad on the one day I was without concealer Mat made a comment that I looked like I had black eyes. I quickly picked up the Maybelline instant age rewind concealer, in the color 215 fair/light, at Walgreen's the next day.

I was drawn to this not because of what I had heard about it like I have in the past (basically because I couldn't remember what other people had recommended) I liked that it had a build in applicator sponge. Of course who wouldn't like age rewind factors. I also played it safe with staying with the same brand of concealer as the Dream Lumi.

It claims to have instant age rewind and dark spot treatment corrector with vitamin C and goji berry. I have to be honest I don't know if I've noticed any instant age rewind but I have noticed that this concealer doesn't settle into the fine lines under my eyes. Well I guess maybe that does have something to do with the age rewind?

 I typically apply the concealer under my eyes, the corners of my nose and chin and then on any blemishes on my face, after I put on my foundation. It's funny because when I was younger I was taught that concealer should go under my foundation but YouTube has taught me differently. After I dab the concealer on with the sponge it comes with I blend it in with my blender sponge (from my previous post) and I find that, that works really well to blend the concealer into my foundation.

(where I typically apply concealer, please ignore my "end of the day" tired face)

Another thing I really enjoy about this concealer is that I don't feel like I have to use very much each day, where as I went through the Dream Lumi pretty quickly. You just twist this concealer a few clicks and it is enough to cover any discolorations you would like to hide.

Overall I think I would use this concealer again but I think I would like to use it in combo with the Dream Lumi simply because I really did enjoy the brightening that it gave to my face. I will be continuing to try a few other concealers before I come to a "must have" choice. The next one I wanna try is Physicians Formula Concealer Rx.

 

Beauty Wise Wednesday: My make up routine

As I mentioned last week, I want to tell you what my beauty routine is right now so that we can see how it changes through the year. Now as I have said before, I am not expert with make up but I really want to class up my look.

First I start with foundation and for that I just use Cover Girl Aquasmooth in creamy natural. This is a liquid to powder type compact foundation that I put on with just a make up sponge. I have been using this for quite a while and I really do enjoy how smooth it goes on and how long it lasts. There are a few foundations I will be trying out once I run out of this.

I, then, put on concealer. This is a new addition to my make up routine but I really like the effect it gives to my face, hiding flaws. I currently use Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch in Radiant. This is the foundation I reviewed in the past. I will be looking to try out some other concealers this year. Hopefully I'll get a couple to try in an Ipsy bag.

I finish off these with a powder to seal the foundation and concealer. For this I currently use Clinique Gentle Light Powder in 05 Glow. This is also an added step to my routine even though I have had this powder for years. I just recently figured out how to use it. It's a loose powder and it has a very light shimmer to it that gives me a glowing look. I need to get myself a powder brush cause right now I'm currently using a travel blush brush.

If I'm going out for a night or want my make up to last for a longer amount of time I have three primers I use. The POREfessional by Benefit, "That Gal" brightening face primer by benefit and Stay Don't Stray eyeshadow primer by Benefit. I have these in small sample sizes that I got as a Christmas gift the year before last. That just shows how often I use those eh?

I then, move onto my eyes. I do have a few eye shadows to play around with but nothing compared to probably most girls out there. I typically start out with a base color and I stick to safe neutrals, then add a darker color to my crease, usually a black or brown. If I'm feeling frisky I might do a dark purple in my crease. I really want to try branching out into other colors and doing more with my eyes.

I also put on eye liner and right now all I have is Cover Girl Perfect Blend pencil crayon. I usually apply a thin line on the top and bottom lash lines then smudge them a bit with the smudger on the pencil. I'll finish my eyes with mascara and right now I only have Maybelline The Falsies Volume Express in Blackest Black. I'm realizing that I'm not really loving this mascara so I really want to try out a few to really find what works for me.

For blush I use Mac in Coygirl a sheer tone blush. I have had this blush for a while too and would love to expand my collection once I get more comfortable with make up. I think part of me feels over done when I wear make up, but I'm quickly learning to get over that.

I also own just one lip product, Revlon Lip Butter in 025 Peach Parfait. This is a new product to me I have learned about from YouTube videos and I really enjoy using it. It goes on very smooth and isn't too crazy of a color. I swear, I used to think lipstick was a joke. I never really thought I'd able to pull off any shade. I'm hoping to figure out a few shades to enjoy.

Now for brushes I have the saddest collection out there I'm sure. My best brushes are the SOHO crease brush I got in my first Ipsy Bag and then I have a Sephora smudge and eyeliner brush that I think is the only brush I've bought and picked out for myself. The rest of my brushes are a collection of random hand me downs that I don't really know what the proper use is for them. I also have two eye lash curlers that I don't really use much. One is a black plastic curler from Sephora and another is a typical metal one by La Cross.

So this is my make up routine. Nothing too exciting, I just have a basic structure down. I'm hoping to discover better products that work with my skin and coloring. I'm excited to take you on this path of discovery with me and I hope you will be able to help me along the way.



What are your favorite products and what is a beauty "must have" that you would suggest I try out?

Beauty Wise Wednesday: Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch review

Welcome to another Beauty Wise Wednesday! This week I'm going to review a concealer that was recomended to me by a YouTuber: Glamour Wonderland. It was her best of 2012 video and for some reason she really made this concealer sound appealing. It's called Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch in Radiant and you can get it at any drug store for around $7.

I don't typically wear concealer, but I don't usually wear much make up besides a cover girl liquid to solid compact. I have to say I really do like this concealer. I remember when I did wear concealer they were thick and never really felt so natural on my face. Another issue I had with concealer was that I have already have a very red face so I wasn't ever sure where to put the concealer. I always felt like I should just put it all over my face. Again thanks to the magic of YouTube I have gotta tips as to where to put concealer.

So where do I put this concealer? Well this concealer is also a double purpose as a highlighter. I put it first on my under eyes to cover those pesky dark circles under my eyes and while I'm at it I put it into the inner corner of my eyes to brighten my face and make me look a bit more awake. (an important thing for a new mommy like myself) I then put it down the middle of my nose to give it a highlight as well as the side creases of my nose that tend to get bit red this time of year. Also if I'm not feeling like wearing too much eye shadow I will wear this concealer right under my eyebrows as a highlight. Then i finish it up on any blemishes I have on my face, which I seem to have quite a few after giving birth!

So how does this concealer last through the day? I think it does pretty amazing. The dark circles under my eyes are still concealed after an 8 hour shift at work. It also does a great job at concealing my huge red zits that constantly cover my chin these days, which I am very grateful for.

Overall I would 100% recommend this concealer to someone looking for something at a reasonable price, that has a soft finish and lasts all day with good coverage.


**Please forgive my horrible photography, I just took the pictures with my IPhone, I'll be hopefully using a better camera in the future!**