Makeup Collection Part 3 – Foundation

I have a love/hate relationship with foundations.  Color matching is probably the hardest thing for me. I know I’m not alone in that department. Uggh, it’s such a pain!

I have fair skin, sometimes dry skin, and wrinkly mature skin, which makes setting my foundation a pain because powder accentuates fine lines. I love a good matte foundation, but I’ve yet to find one I like.  Recommendations are always welcome!

The plastic container is from my local Dollar Tree.

Here is my current foundation collection:

• e.l.f. flawless foundation (Porcelain)
• e.l.f. acne fighting foundation (Porcelain)
• e.l.f. HD Mattifying cream foundation (Porcelain)
• L’Oreal Infallible Total Cover (302 Creamy Natural)
• Rimmel London Stay Matte (103 True Ivory)
• Smashbox Camera Ready BB cream deluxe sample (Light/Medium)
• Too Faced Born This Way sample (Porcelain)

My go-to foundation is the e.l.f. Flawless Finish. I’ve used this foundation for years and I’ve yet to find another that provides the same coverage, that looks as amazing on my skin, is the perfect shade, and is affordable.  High end foundations are harsh on my sensitive skin.  I haven’t had any issues with the e.l.f. foundation so I gladly stick with it. I highly recommend this foundation for $6 USD.

I really like the Too Faced Born This Way, but $39 is out of my budget.  I may just continue to run to Sephora for samples from time to time.  Shhh….  🙂  I did not like the Rimmel Stay Matte, and I’m not sure why I still have it.  I find it difficult to declutter my makeup collection.  I always think I may need a certain product in the future, though it never works out that way!  🙂  Does anyone else have that same problem?

The e.l.f. Mattifying cream foundation isn’t really mattifying that I remember, though it’s been a while since I’ve used it last.  I liked the L’Oreal Infallible, but I think I picked it up in a shade that is too dark.  It has a grey tone, and it just looks muddy on my skin.  I use the e.l.f. Acne Fighting foundation when I have breakouts.  It’s a great foundation with lovely buildable coverage.  The Smashbox BB cream sample came in a beauty box.  I really like it, but it is $39 for a full size, and it isn’t a product I’d use every day.  I’m sure I can find a BB cream that is more affordable.  Recommendations?

I tried the Wet ‘n Wild Photo Focus, but it was the wrong shade, and OMG the smell!  It smelled so strongly of paint.  Only because so many swear by this stuff, I may try this foundation again.  I also tried, and decluttered, the L’Oreal Pro-Matte because I picked it up in a shade that was too light. I wore it anyway, but didn’t like the way it looked on my skin.

I’m curious about the brand The Ordinary!  However, as difficult as I find it to color match in store, I can’t even think about ordering foundation online! I may just bite the bullet and order a few shades and hope I hit the bullseye!  It’s an affordable product at $6.90 USD.  We’ll see!

What foundations/BB/CC creams do you have in your collection?  What are your recommendations for drugstore and high end?

Thank you for reading! ❤

 

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April Favorites

With a new month quickly approaching, I wanted to join in on the monthly Favorites posts. I love reading yours and then going out and buying what your favorites are in hopes they become my favorites!  🙂

My April favorites (All links will open in a new page):

1) PÜR Miracle Mist Hydrating Spray – I picked this up during Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty for $13.  It smells so good and I use just a few sprays to refresh my skin after makeup application.  The citrus smell is invigorating. I only use it a few times a week in the morning after showering.  A lot of these mists/sprays contain ingredients that are harsh on my sensitive skin, and though I may enjoy how they feel on my skin, I use them sparingly to avoid irritation. This mist retails for $18 at Ulta.

2) OLEHENRIKSEN Sheer Transformation Perfecting Moisturizer – I LOVE this moisturizer.  I use this about three times a week in rotation with another moisturizer, but I love how it melts into my skin without that heavy greasy feeling.  It’s perfect when my skin has dry patches. I buy the smaller size (0.5oz) for $12 rather than a 1.7oz jar for $38.  I purchase this at Sephora.

3) Too Faced Love Flush blush in Love Hangover – I picked up this blush during Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty for $13.  The color is a lovely peachy pink and looks beautiful on my fair skin. I am so in LOVE with this blush! It doesn’t smell, and it blends out wonderfully.  It is rare that I find a blush I like so much, and out of all the cosmetics in my collection, blushes are not something I have more than 3 or 4 of.  I have been using this every day and will be sad when I have to pay $26 for a new one.

4) Morphe M521 brush –  This is my new holy grail/ride or die/tried and true brush that I use to apply my highlight.  I recently switched from using my daily use of the Morphe M441, which also works pretty danged well, but I prefer the M441 brush more for eyeshadow application/blending.  The M521 is shorter and fatter. I try to switch up brushes each month so that I can find new favorites.  This brush is $5.99 on the Morphe website.

5) Cargo Cosmetics Around the World eye shadow palette – This palette came in my Spring 2017 Beautycon box. I don’t usually wear eyeshadow on the daily, but I have for most of April.  The colors in this palette are beautiful, highly pigmented, and blend OK, but HOLY FALL OUT, BATMAN! Do your eyeshadow first before applying the rest of your makeup. Amsterdam is a great inner eye highlight shade, and my most used shades are Paris, Moscow, Athens, and Toronto.  This palette retails for $34.

6) Anastasia Beverly Hills Nicole Guerriero Glow Kit – This will probably be my favorite every month until I hit pan on each shade and then I’ll be sad until I buy a new one. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this glow kit.  I am fair skinned but I don’t allow that to keep me from using every highlight shade. I try to mix it up using other highlighters, but I look at this palette and just can’t pass it up.   It is stunning, I don’t care what anyone says.  I’ll never think of this palette as a waste of money.  This Glow Kit is $40.

What are your favorites?  Are any of my favorites your favorites?

Mascara – A Rant

I have had it with mascara.  I LOVE mascara, and I need mascara, but within the last year of trying new mascaras, some expensive, some middle of the road, I’ve been left with nothing but disappointment.

Remember back in the day when you’d have to give a good tug to pull out that mascara wand and then hear a snug bloop noise, almost like a “tupperware burp” and the mascara wand would come out and look as if it didn’t have any product on it? That noise was because the mascara had a narrow opening to remove excess product from the wand. Remember you’d have to dip your wand into the tube 5 or 6 times to be able to coat your lashes like a fiend?  I miss those days.

Now, we get mascaras with openings as wide as the Grand Canyon and globs of product coming out on the wand.  This ticks me off.

Look at the opening of this mascara tube.  It’s just a big ol’ hole.  I could tip this over and the wand would just fall out. I only purchased this yesterday.  It’s already a mess with product around the rim. *sigh*

This is the issue I had with my $23 Better Than Sex mascara from Too Faced Cosmetics. Too much product is coming out and creating a flippin’ mess.  I can deal with a smudge of mascara on my face, but I had it on my hands, it was all over the tube, and all over my sink. And let me tell you, $23 for a mascara is ridiculous. I know I’m a bit rage-y.  I know it’s just mascara, but it’s super frustrating to spend $6 here, $8 there, $23 over there for a product that you get 3 uses out of before it becomes a disaster in a tube, getting mascara all over the place, and not usable any more.  I haven’t even written my Too Faced BTS mascara post yet because I’m so disappointed.  That mascara has such AMAZING potential.  The sample size was PHENOMENAL. That’s what suckered me in. Get your shite together, Too Faced.

Before I started changing up my mascara game, I used the e.l.f. brand mascaras.  Never had a problem like this.  The only issue I faced was the mascara drying up within a few weeks to a couple months. But hey, for $3, I’ll take that over a clumpy and sloppy mess err’day. <—–  I’m so sorry for using that word.

I bought this Rimmel Scandaleyes Retro Glam because it’s supposed to be a dupe for the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara. The wand is similar, probably better, but it’s still a nightmare when applied to the lashes because of the amount of product that comes out of the tube.  Yes, I wipe the excess off on the tube.  I’ve even dabbed the wand with tissue, but I shouldn’t have to do that.  The wand should come out with just enough product.

Ok, I’m going to end my rant.  If you’ve read this far, you are a saint.  ❤

Have you had this issue?  What is your main beauty product rant?

I Feel Pretty – Thursday’s Makeup

Two posts in one day!  I’m uppin’ my game, y’all!  I am going to break down today’s makeup routine as I tried out new products that I’ve had for a while, and two products that I received just yesterday in my April Boxycharm!

Yes, I am reusing the photo from my Cargo Cosmetics Essential Lipgloss review for this post because it’s the only pic I took, and I do not like taking selfies.  My bathroom lighting was too harsh so I was in my living room in front of my sliding glass window.  It’s a bit overcast here in Florida today, so I apologize for the lighting issue. Also, I don’t know how to take selfies.  I’m the photographer, not the photographee. 😉  And holy nostrils, batman.  

I don’t usually wear makeup on my days off, but I spent the day out with a girlfriend, and that requires a done up face.

Here we go!

I moisturized with the Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation moisturizer. I did not prime or add color correcting concealer to my face today before going in with my e.l.f. flawless finish foundation in porcelain (now called natural). I wanted a sheer foundation look today so I used my beauty blender for application. Once my foundation was on, I dabbed a bit of the e.l.f. hd powder in sheer to set my foundation. Then it was time to add a bit of brow powder from the Convertible Brow from The BrowGal.  Today was my first time using this product and I LOVE it.  It came in a beauty box (I think Boxycharm) and it retails for $35.  I used the black powder on my eyebrows. I know, I am in need of some serious eyebrow shaping; I’m workin’ on it! 😉

Once my brows were done, I applied the Rimmel London ScandalEyes flex mascara on the top lashes (those are my natural lashes, y’all) and applied the e.l.f. Volume Plumping mascara to my lower lashes. Next, I used my Ofra Rodeo Drive highlighter that I received in my April Boxycharm.  I apply the highlighter on my cheekbones. Then I applied my Too Faced Love Flush blush in Love Hangover.  I always apply my highlighter before my blush.  At 44 years old, I can’t bling too much because it draws attention to my wrinkled under eyes. This process gives me the most beautiful and subtle glow that still leaves me beaming for the gods.

 

Ok, can I just say the Too Faced Love Flush blush in Love Hangover… this blush is so danged beautiful!  I have been using it every day since I bought it. It is my absolute perfect shade.  I bought it for $13 at Ulta during their 21 Days of Beauty.  It retails for $26, which is a bit too pricey for me, but I may just have to repurchase when this one’s gone.

So, after all of that beautyness, I use a clean brush to remove the excess mascara because UGGH I ALWAYS HAVE EXCESS mascara, and then I’ve decided to try something new. I am in love with e.l.f.’s Mineral Mist (Revitalizing Mist), which they have discontinued (and I am heartbroken), and have decided to try it as a setting spray.  I wrote a post about this magic mist here.  I must say that it’s 5.5 hours later, and my makeup still looks pretty danged good. I think I’m onto somethin’ here!

I did not wear eyeshadow today, so, I finished off my look with the Cargo Cosmetics Essentials Lipgloss in Umbria.  Read my review on this product here!

I hope you are having a wonderful day! ❤

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara – A Mini Review

Late last night I received my Sephora package containing my ABH Nicole Guerriero Glow Kit, and also in the box was a sample of the Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara in a pretty pink tube.

I used it this morning and OMG I am in love!  My eyelashes looked AMAZING. The wand grabbed each lash and perfectly separated and coated each one.  My lashes look long and just amazing! That wand is perfection.

I haven’t paid more than $6 for a mascara in years, but I am so damned impressed with this stuff that I’m going out tomorrow to buy a full size.

Do you use the Better Than Sex mascara? If not, what is your holy grail mascara?