Showing posts with label Makeup Mondays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Makeup Mondays. Show all posts

Makeup Tuesday :: How To Clean Your Makeup Brushes

by 7:55 AM
Cleaning makeup brushes

So, most likely you wash your face at least once a day as a part of your good skin care routine. But, are you washing your makeup brushes as a part of that routine as well? Let's think about it, makeup brushes get kind of gross. Not only are we caking them in makeup everyday, we're swirling them around on our face and they're picking up all of those oils and dirt! Then depending on where you store them they could be picking up more dirt and dust just sitting there. If you're not cleaning them, every time you put makeup you're just putting all that dirt back onto your face!  Dirty makeup brushes can lead to acne, allergy breakouts, and they can carry germs like no other. Ever wonder why your face is breaking out despite the fact you wash it everyday, dirty brushes could be the culprit!
So what is the best way to keep those things clean?

Luckily, cleaning your brushes is super simple and can be done in about 5 minutes!

Clarifying shampoo to clean makeup brushes


You will need a cup, some warm water, and most importantly a clarifying shampoo.

 *Clarifying shampoo is the best thing to clean your brushes with, it's inexpensive and will remove      all the dirt and oils as this is what it is designed for. What ever you do, ignore all suggestions to use a baby oil or other oil. It is difficult to clean all the way out and can make your face issues worse! 

1. Take your clarifying shampoo and add it to some warm water in your cup. You don't need a lot, just enough to make the water sudsy.
Clarifying shampoo to clean brushes

2. Take your brush and swirl it around in the soapy water,
How to clean makeup brushes

 3. Take the bristles and massage them in your fingers until the shampoo starts to make suds. For your bigger stippling and blush brushes you may need to add a small dab of the shampoo right to the brush to get the middle thoroughly clean.

4. Run the brush (bristles down) under warm water until the water runs clean and all the soap is out. It is important that you face the brush down as to not put too much wear on the glue that holds the bristles in place.
Real techniques makeup brushes

5. (Switch to your cellphone camera because your camera battery died) Place your brushes bristles down on a mat or towel. It is important to prop them up on using a cup so no water settles where the glue is.

I usually do this at night and let them dry until morning. Not only will regularly cleaning your brushes keep your face cleaner, your makeup will apply better! So it's a win-win! Once, clean it is best to store your brushes in some sort of bag to keep them from accruing dust in between cleanings. 

Well that's all everyone! Love you all! 

Makeup Monday :: Drugstore Blush Review

by 3:00 AM
Drugstore Makeup Dupes


Oh man, do I love me some blush! It might be my favorite makeup item...but let's be real, I probably say that about all the things I write about!
Anyways...I have finally collected a few popular drugstore blushes and I wanted to do a comparison and review of each of them for you! The 3 I purchased were L'Oreal True Match Blush in Baby Blossom, E.L.F Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder in St. Lucia, and NYX baked blush in Foreplay (worst name ever).
L'oreal Baby Blossom Swatch
(So this is the rare instance in life where I am "tan" so these look a little different than they normally would look on my face")

To cut to the chase in case you don't want to read the specific details. In my opinion, NYX baked blush is the overall winner of this trio! 


Review of e.l.f contouring blush and bronzing powder

Alright so first up is the E.L.F Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder in St. Lucia (Man what a long name). Now, this is probably my least favorite out of the 3 but, this by no means, means it's a bad product, in fact it is great just the blush doesn't really compare to the other 2! At only $3.00 this is the best bang for your buck, especially because this one includes the bronzing powder as well. Now, the bronzing powder in this set I love, I use it for contouring a lot. But, today we're just talking about the blush and on my skin, I just don't love the color. I think I would have absolutely loved this product if I went with one of their Matte shades in stead of the glimmery (yes that is a technical term) sheen, because the glimmer is really my biggest complaint.
Overall I do use the bronzing powder and the blush is pretty good, just not the right sheen or color for what I would typically use.

L'Oreal True Match Blush in Baby Blossom Review

Coming in at number 2 is the L'Oreal True Match Blush in Baby Blossom. I really like the "True Match" products, in fact I use the True Match Liquid Foundation in Ivory. This is my go to blush for my more "natural" make up days! As you can tell in the pic above, it's very, very light pink color but, just enough to bring some color/highlights into your face in a very pretty way!
My biggest pro of this blush is the texture and blend-ability, it's so smooth and soft, it doesn't feel like you're wearing anything!
Ringing in at $7.99 this is the most expensive of the 3 but, highly worth it, in my opinion.

NYX baked blush in Foreplay Review

Last but, obviously the opposite of least, is the NYX baked blush in Foreplay (I seriously think they named it that to make you naturally blush while putting it on, to use as a guide). Regardless of the ridiculous name, this is my favorite blush, I use it every day! In the swatch pic above it looks a little darker than it normally does on my face but, this is my every day wear! My favorite thing is the pigment, again as you can tell from above, it the most pigmented of the 3, so you only need a small amount to get the look you're going for! I don't think I have any negative things to say about this blush, it is my hands down fave. With the price of $6.99 it is just slightly cheaper than the L'Oreal and slightly better quality!

Well that's it for this Monday everyone!

Love you all!


Makeup Monday::It's Back::Beauty Box Edition!

by 8:00 AM

Do you guys remember when Makeup Monday was a thing? I mean it's been like 2 months! Well, I have a back log of things to talk about and finally a few free hours to pound out some makeup posts for you! 

So, I think what I am going to talk about first is this fabulous beauty case I picked up! It did not take long in my makeup collecting for me to start busting out of all the drawers in the bathroom. My poor roommates and husband who needed to brush their teeth or something while I was putting my make up on!  



So Andy and I decided it was time for me to find a storage device to handle the growing makeup collection (do you guys remember the part in Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows part 2 when they break into Gringots and everything they touch multiplies, that's what my makeup collection has been like lately).

So we researched like mad, we looked into tool boxes, tackle boxes, and of course beauty boxes themselves. I really wanted something that will hold everything I have plus things I am going to have in the future. Obviously it also needed to be pretty, duh. 

So we found this:

Photo Cred: Andrew Cox
Photo Cred: Andrew Cox
Inside Beautify Cosmetics Box
Photo Cred: Andrew Cox
I love it! It's both pretty and practical, 2 things everything needs to be.  It fits everything, including my large coastal scents palette (it proved to be difficult to find something that , that palette would fit into)! Right now, I have just the perfect amount of makeup, that I can split the little "drawers" into "mascara and eye stuff", "lips", "primers and face", "blush/bronzer", "bobby pins, hair stuff", and then all my brushes, eye palette, and lip liners at the bottom! 


This may be my favorite makeup purchase so far! It's super handy and let's be real, I love anything that's going to organize my stuff! This case is the perfect size, it's just between "too small too actually fit anything" and "Holy crap I should never have that much makeup"

Here's my unrelated question of the day for you! What is your favorite mascara? So far I have not found one that I love! Let me know in the comments or on Twitter!

Love you all :)




Makeup Monday: e.l.f Haul

by 10:24 AM
Phew! What a morning it has been! It seems like every time I sit down to do a project today, something has interrupted me. So hopefully this is not going to take me all day to write!
I wrote this over 2 hours ago, not knowing that I was not going to be able to find the pictures I needed, so although it didn't take me all day to literally write this post, it did take almost all day to actually get it up! Oh man, Monday's are my favorite! 

Anyways, back a few weeks ago I went out to Target to grab some more e.l.f products! As you know if you frequent this blog, I have been really into e.l.f lately and I wanted to check out more of their stuff! 
target elf product haul
Photo Credit: Andy Cox
So here's what I got! 

I've been really wanting to expand my blush and bronzer collection so I was very excited to pick this Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder. Now, this is definitely a product I am still learning to use, as far as the contouring part goes. However, the colors are super nice, I love, this blush color! 


Photo Credit: Andy Cox


This next one is probably my favorite so far! As you probably know Andy and I were both sick all last week. What you may not know is that I had 4 meetings during that week! Which meant attempting to make my makeup look nice with puffy sick eyes. Insert e.l.f Eye Refresh. This stuff is AH-mazing, it's a rollerball that cools and refreshes your eyes. You just roll this over your eyes in the morning and the miracle begins, it's drys super quick so it doesn't interfere with the rest of your makeup! I really was not convinced this would work when I bought it, but it was only $3 so I figured "what the heck" and I am so happy I did. This stuff worked wonders while I was sick!

Photo Credit: Andy Cox

Alright! Next up on the list is this e.l.f Shadow Lock Eyelid Primer in sheer. This is another one of my favorites from this shopping trip! I love it a lot! I have a lot of problems with my eye  shadow clumping and turning into little lines on my lids. This stuff prevents that from happening so quickly! For $2 and how quick it is to add to a routine, I would say this is a must add to any makeup collection. Your eye shadow will stay longer and it helps the colors show up a bit more on the lid!
My one tid-bit of advice on this product, is make sure you allow it to dry before putting your eye shadow on! One may assume this would be common sense but, you never know...I've mentioned before this is a judgement free zone right?


Photo Credit: Andy Cox

Alright, next up we have this e.l.f Powder Brush. This was my first e.l.f brush I  have ever purchased, this type of powder brush was the missing link in my growing collection! So I was so happy to find this for only $3! Obviously the price is a serious pro and it is most likely the best brush you are going to find for this price...however, it's not my favorite. Everyone raves about these brushes so I was super excited about it but, I really am just not a huge fan. Bristles started coming out just with the first wash and you can't see in this photo but, not all the bristles were even. I think for just a few dollars more per brush,  Real Techniques is a really huge improvement in quality. 

Photo Credit: Andy Cox
Okay we're half way there! I don't have too much to say about this e.l.f Expert Liquid Liner, as I only have used it twice in my oh-so-glorious attempts at winged eyeliner (something I have not yet to master, I am happy no one else has seen my 2 am makeup lessons)! Anyway, it's a winner on price alone, it's only $2. However, the brush it super nice, it stays on a long time and I am overall impressed. 

Photo Credit: Andy Cox
Since this is already too long, I am only going to touch on this next product, you can read more about it in My Lip Routine post. It has been a few weeks since I have picked up all of these products and this e.l.f Lip Exfoliator easily became another staple in my makeup routine. This stuff is seriously amazing. 



Photo Credit: Andy Cox
Woo last one! Yet another one of my favorites from this trip is the e.l.f High Definition Powder. I was just using a light mineral powder to set my liquid foundation, until I purchased this. Yet another staple, this helps set your foundation for all day wear and smooths over any outstanding imperfections after you put on your makeup. 


Photo Credit: Andy Cox

That's all folks!

Thanks if you've stuck around through this whole thing! It has been a blast expanding my makeup collection and knowledge! A huge thank you to everyone who reads this and is allowing this blog to become a big part of my life and work!

Love you all! 

Makeup Monday: My Lip Routine

by 3:00 AM
Okay so with how hard this winter has been (especially in upstate NY) almost all of us have suffered from dry lips this season! So I decided today I would share with you my routine and how I avoid those not so fun lipstick clumps and dried lips! This routine will not only help your dry lips, this will also help help plump your lips and help your lipstick last throughout the day!

The first step in this routine is to drink more water, I know this is a little random but, that is the ultimate help for dry lips. Apart from drinking your daily 8 glasses you can use a few of these products!


Alright, so this is one of the very first things I do during my morning makeup routine. Moisturizer, Primer, Lips. So your going to take a Lip Exfoliator, I love this one from E.L.F (E.L.F. products are amazing, very inexpensive but great quality!). You're going to rub this on your lips and rub your lips together until the sugar crystals and/or the dead skin on your lips are gone.


You're then going to grab your favorite lip balm and immediately apply that to your lips! I have been choosing the lovely Lavender Lip Salve from Little Seed Farm or Maybelline New York Baby Lips Moisturizing Lip Balm! I typically use the salve if I have any deep cracks in my lips because it's better at healing but, it doesn't dry super quickly. The Baby Lips has been my daily go to as my lips have smoothed and dried by the time I am ready to apply my lipstick or stain. Quick side note, this clear Baby Lips is also super handy to use over your lip stain as well.  

Then go ahead and apply the rest of your makeup, allowing your lip balm to dry a bit. Finish your look by applying the lipstick of your choice, as you know my go to lately has been the Nabi Cosmetics Lipsticks which were featured in last weeks post!  I know I had originally mentioned loving their dark colors. However, I have really been enjoying their "honey" color for those days I want a bit more natural look! 



There you go, a super simple way to make your lips look a little healthier and your lipstick last longer!

Hope you enjoyed this Makeup Monday! Don't forget to share this with your friends :)
Love you all!









Makeup Monday:: Nabi Cosmetics Professional Lipstick

by 4:00 AM
Welcome to round 2 of Makeup Mondays! If you missed last weeks product head here! This week I want to talk about lipstick, specifically these 8pc Nabi Cosmetics Professional Selected Lipsticks. 
I have never really worn lipstick much but, as you know if you frequent this blog, I have been on a bit of a makeup journey lately and I knew I was going to need to branch off soon!
Lipstick is a hard thing to purchase, you want something that is going to be long lasting, won't smudge, has good color, and most importantly will not dry out your lips! After extensive research on Amazon, I settled on this set, it was $16 and some change which is $2 per tube and for the price this is really great stuff! I just checked and as of 03/15/15 this set was on sale for $8 and some change on amazon, so definitely check that link above.

Photo Credit: Andrew Cox

These have a 4 star review on Amazon and personally I think that is spot on, I'm not going to tell you these are the most amazing lipsticks in the world because that would not be honest. but I do think they are amazing quality for the price and I have really enjoyed using them! I don't think you will find anything as nice for this inexpensive! I love the colors that came in this set. It comes with a good variety of pinks, reds, oranges, and some darker tones which is great for a beginner because you can use these to find the color that works for you and invest in a more expensive stick of just that color! They don't have that typical "cheap" smell or texture you can find in lower quality lipsticks. I guess my only real con is that I don't feel like the color lasts all day, you do need to reapply once or twice.

Photo Credit: Andrew Cox

These are the 2 colors I have been using most! They are the "Wine" and "Dark Plum" they look a little pinker in the photo but, they are the more purple-reds of the set. I am really finding that the darker colors work really great with my skin tone! I will definitely be posting pictures in the future of some looks!

Let me know what your favorite of this set is? Or what your favorite color of lipstick is in general!

Love you all! 




Makeup Mondays:: Coastal Scents Ultimate Eye Shadow Palette

by 9:00 PM
So I think "Makeup Mondays" are going to be a new thing! I am going to pick my favorite makeup product, looks, or general makeup thing and talk about it! Maybe I'll even start including some of my favorite makeup vloggers! I really don't want this whole blog to talk about beauty products but, I do want it to be a part of it, so this is what I decided to do!

Alright so to kick off Makeup Mondays I want to talk about one of my latest purchases which is this amazing palette from Coastal Scents! 


 Photo Credits: Andrew Cox

This is their Coastal Scents 252 Ultimate Eye Shadow Palette it was $27.50 on Amazon. I cannot say enough how in love I am with this product! So far absolutely everything I have purchased from Coastal Scents has been amazing quality for a very decent price!
All 3 palettes come in the case above, with the adorable pink little ribbons to get them out! They have a piece of plastic that sits in between to protect the colors. It is super nice to have one container for all 3, it takes up minimal space on my sink.

Photo Credits: Andrew Cox

The colors are seriously amazing! They are so pigmented, you definitely do not need a lot to create whatever look you want! It, as you can see, comes with an astounding amount of colors, you could create just about any combination you wanted! So far my favorite of the 3, is the bottom palette in the picture below! I just love browns and purples! 

Photo Credits: Andrew Cox


 I am still pretty new to expanding my makeup collection and my ability to create looks but, I am really hoping to show you guys some looks made with this in future posts! It gives me a great excuse to sit in my bathroom and play with makeup!

Thanks so much for reading and I love you all!




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