Weekly Makeup Basket #5 – Reviews

The second to last week of Lent and my Makeup Basket/No-Buy Challenge! I’ll admit, I almost cracked when I kept getting emails about the Sephora VIB sale, but I held strong! But let’s be honest, I have an extensive list of what I plan to haul the week of Easter…

This week, my Challenge Product was a lot of the single BareMinerals shadows I have but rarely use. I was reminded why I don’t love loose shadows because they’re messy and kind of a pain, and I don’t know that I chose the greatest colors to create comprehensive looks, but by the end of the week I was pretty happy with how they turned out. Standouts for this week were Soiree, a beautiful dark green, which looked great in the crease, and Bali, a sparkly bronze.

The biggest wins of the week were lip products! I loved bringing back my beloved Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait and rediscovering the Revlon lipstick in Pink Velvet. The lipstick did stain my lips, making the color last for hours. I love the fun spring color! It is a bit drying, but I’m so glad I had a chance to use it this week!

The Julep Glow Pore-Minimizing blush I got in this month’s Julep box was also a huge win! I love the color and the subtle glow it left. It may have minimized pores a bit, but nothing super noticeable. It was also much more pigmented than I thought when I had initially swatched it. I’m excited to use this more this spring!

The biggest fails for the week were my beloved Revlon Colorstay Foundation and the Mary Kay Mattifier. I love Revlon Colorstay, but as the weather (finally) warmed up at the end of the week, it just felt like a heavy, greasy mess. Not great for warm weather. If the Mary Kay Mattifier had done what I expected it to do, I don’t think it would have been that big of a deal, but it didn’t. Maybe it would work better with a different foundation, but I really needed some oil control and it didn’t do so.

So that was this week! I can’t believe I’ve actually almost made it 6 weeks of just using makeup baskets and not hauling any new products! That is actually a little sad, but it’s an accomplishment for me. The LAST Lent Makeup Basket goes up tomorrow! Until then…

Weekly Makeup Basket #5

It’s time for Weekly Makeup Basket #5! In addition to my Makeup Basket Staples, here  are the products I’ll be using this week:

Face Products

FACE
Mary Kay Oil Mattifier
Revlon Colorstay Foundation for Oily/Combination skin
Benefit Hoola Bronzer
Julep Glow Pore Minimizing Blush in Peach Bellini
NYX Cream Blush in Boho Chic
TheBalm Instain Blush in Lace
NARS Illuminator in Copacabana

Lip Products

LIPS
Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Pink Velvet
NARS  Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Happy Days

Eye Products

And this week’s Challenge Product…single shadows! I’ve accumulated a lot of single shadows, but I rarely use them because I use palettes so often. There are a lot of BareMinerals shadows from when I went through an obsession with them. Here’s what I’ll be using:

EYES
Benefit They’re Real! Mascara
Michelle Phan Waterliner in Bronze Kiss
Shadows (from L to R): Bali, Wearable Brown – Light, Soiree, Real Deal, Mango Smoothie
Sephora single shadow in Peach Beige No. 13
Sephora single shadow in Hollywood’s Calling No. 82
Maybelline Color Tattoo Metal in Inked in Pink

This will be an interesting week! I’ll try to share some of the looks I come up with using these products throughout the week.

Have you used any of these products? Look for reviews this weekend!

 

Weekly Makeup Basket #4 – Reviews

I’ve made it to the end of another Weekly Makeup Basket! This was a really interesting with some big wins and big flops. But first, let’s start with the Challenge Product, the Revlon Matte Balm in Unapolagetic. Here’s a look at the look I put together with it:

Lip color in action!

Bold lips plus the fun new hairstyle I tried

In short, I LOVED this lip color! I was really skeptical, but I can see it working a lot this spring and summer. It is a little drying, but the formula is soft and stays about 6 hours, even after eating. I only had to reapply once, and it didn’t stain my lips like some bold colors. I don’t mind the staining, but if it’s something you’re worried about, this color does not.

Other than that, I also loved the Maybelline quad in Mad About Mauve. It is well-suited for a neutral pinky-mauve eye, or something bolder. On the subject of eyes, I was expecting to hate using the Too Faced Natural Eye Palette. I got it several years ago when I was first getting into makeup, but haven’t used it much in the past few years because some of the shades have chunky glitter and there are dupable shades in some other palettes. I actually really enjoyed using this! The matte shades are very pigmented, and the shades with shimmer are very pretty on the lid.

My major fail was the Sephora Volumizing Mascara…maybe the worst mascara I’ve ever used. First of all, it opens in a way that made it look like I missed the twist-off, but I didn’t. Other than that, it was also super clumpy. I’m glad it was a free sample because this is going into the trash.

Another surprise this week came in my Tarte Off the Cuff palette. I loved using the blushes, but for some reason, this week the Park Avenue Princess bronzer looked muddy and discolored on my skin. I don’t know if it needs to be used with a different  brush or foundation because it has looked fine before, but this week, it was not a success.

I’ve made it another week! 2 more weekly makeup baskets of this Lent challenge left, I can’t believe it!

What did you use that you loved this week? I’d love to hear!

Weekly Makeup Basket #4

Welcome to Week 4 of my Weekly Makeup Baskets! This week, I can let you know that I’ll be including the products in my Weekly Makeup Basket Staples post with these products!

Weekly Makeup Basket #4 – Face Products

FACE
Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation in 0.5
Tarte Off the Cuff Palette
Wet n Wild Color Icon Bronzer in Reserve Your Cabana

EYES
Too Faced Natural Eye Palette
Maybelline Quad in Mad for Mauve
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Pencil in Eldorado
Starlooks Kohl Eye Pencil in Obsidian
Sephora Ultra Volumizing Mascara
CoverGirl Clump Crusher Mascara

Weekly Makeup Basket 4 – Lip Products

LIPS
Julep Lip Gloss in Fearless
Revlon Lacquer Balm in Demure
Urban Decay Revolution lipstick in Native

And the challenge…Revlon Matte Balm in Unapologetic. I love this bright coral, but it’s scared me to wear on a daily basis a bit. I’m excited to break out this bold color this week!

Weekly Makeup Basket #3 – Reviews

We’ve made it through another week of Makeup Baskets! I’ve made it halfway through my Lent challenge, and I have to say, while I have missed buying some new makeup, I’ve really enjoyed getting to know my own collection better.

I legitimately loved everything I used this week! There is not one fail in the bunch, so I’ll just take this time to rave on the standouts from Week 3.

I included the Lorac Pro Palette in my February Favorites, and I was reminded this week how much I love it! I used different looks every day, and I still feel like I’m only scratching the surface of what is possible with this palette. I’m legitimately sad to put it up this week.

I also really enjoyed all my face products! Urban Decay’s Naked Skin Foundation is my go-to for spring. It is truly the perfect foundation for this time of year – medium coverage, controls oil, stays put and gives a beautiful, natural finish. I don’t know why I ever put it away! I also loved this with Benefit’s Watt’s Up. It is such a beautiful highlight. I love how easy it is to use and how natural and glowy it makes me look. It’s really perfect for this time of year.

My blush choices were also on point! I don’t use my Bare Minerals blush in Cheerful that often because I don’t love the loose powder formula. I must have used a lighter hand this week because I loved how this looked on my cheeks! It was very pretty and girly without being unnatural. Definitely perfect for spring and summer. The Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Flush is also great with a neutral eye and lip. I really loved it!

The final big love of this week was the combination of lip liner with gloss. First of all, the Bite Beauty Lip Primer was amazing for supporting this kind of look. I thought my Starlooks Lip Pencil in Tipsy went on really patchy, but after I had it and the gloss on for a few minutes, it combined for this beautiful color and finish. The MAC Cremesheen Gloss in Just Superb was a great fit. This was probably my favorite lip combination of all the ones I tried. My only problem was that the cap to the lip pencil fell off really easily.

I had a great makeup week this week! I can’t believe I’ll have my March Favorites up soon, but it makes me so excited because it means spring is finally on its way! And I’ve made it through a full month of blogging!

Until next time 🙂

Weekly Makeup Basket Staples

As I’ve been doing my Weekly Makeup Basket Challenge for Lent, I’m sure you’ve noticed some products showing up over and over, so I decided to introduce you to my weekly staples here. That way, we can get to the fun stuff on a weekly basis more quickly 🙂

Face product staples

FACE

Smashbox Photo Finish Primer: I really like this nice, silicone-based primer. I got a sample in my Ipsy bag a few months ago and was really impressed. It keeps my foundation long-wearing, and a little bit really goes a long way. I think I may prefer the oil-free, lotion-style better, but it’s a really great product.

Bare Minerals Well-Rested: Such a great undereye concealer! You do have to be careful because it can get clumpy and make fine lines really visible, but a little goes a long way. It neutralizes dark circles, and when you use it with the Origins Ginzing eye cream, it’s a great way to fake a good night’s sleep.

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser in Brightener: LOVE. I put this on over the Well-Rested for a little big more brightening. It blends nicely with my fingers or the BeautyBlender, and I love the nice finish it gives my undereye area.

Revlon Nearly Naked Powder: This is a great drugstore powder that sets my foundation and liquid face products without being too heavy. I do notice that it doesn’t hold up past 8 hours, but for the most part, it’s a great, affordable powder. After my Lent challenge, I’ll be looking for a new powder, but for now, this is a great product.

Staple Eye Products

EYES

Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer: Truthfully, I don’t know how long this will stay around, but it’s the eye primer I’m currently using. I prefer a thicker base like a MAC paint pot, but this primer is very nice. It keeps eyeshadow where it needs to be and prevents creasing well, so I’ve been pleased with it.

Wet n Wild Single shadow in Brulee: I heard a rumor that Wet n Wild may be discontinuing singles, which would make me SO sad. I love this to create a nice smooth base for my eyeshadow. I use this over an eye base or primer to cover any veining and create a beautiful base for whatever eye look I’m using.

Rimmel Scandaleyes pencil in Nude: This is a great inner rim brightener, and so cheap! My only problem with this product is that it gets a little too creamy and tends to fall apart if you’re too aggressive when sharpening, but it’s great on the waterline to wake up your eyes.

Physician’s Formula Eye Booster in Ultra Black: My favorite liquid liner! (And I really love liquid eyeliner). I have yet to find a better liquid liner for the price. The tip is so fine that I can get either a really precise line or make it really thick. It’s great for winged looks, too, and it does not move. At all. Apparently it also has some kind of healthy eyelash serum? I don’t know know if that’s true or not, but I really love this liner.

There is clearly a trend to looking awake here…I guess I could just sleep more, but until there are 3 more hours added to the day, I’ll rely on these lovely products!

What are your staples? Any things missing or you think I should try? Until next time…

Weekly Makeup Basket #3

We’ve made it to Week 3! Here’s what I’ll be using this week in my weekly makeup basket this time around:

Week 3 Face Products

FACE
Smashbox Photo Finish Primer
Benefit Porefessional
Bare Minerals Well-Rested
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser in Brightener
Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation (shades 0.5 and 3.5)
Revlon Nearly Naked Powder
Benefit Hoola
BareMinerals Loose Powder Blush in Cheeky
Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Flushed (oh hey, there’s me taking a picture in the mirror!)

Eye Products Week 3

EYES
Lorac Behind the Scenes Primer
Rimmel Scandaleyes Pencil in Nude
Starlooks Kohl Pencil in Obsidian
Physician’s Formula
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Pencil in Ransom
Wet ‘n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow in Brulee
LoracPRO Palette
Benefit They’re Real Mascara
CoverGirl Clump Crusher Mascara

LIPS
My lip choices are also this week’s Challenge Product. I’m playing with just lip liners with glosses with a lipstick thrown in for days that I get lazy 😉 Here’s what I’ll be trying:

Lip Products Week 3

BITE Beauty Lip Primer
MAC Cremesheen gloss in
Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Rapture
Mary Kay Lip Gloss in Au Naturel
Starlooks Lip Pencil in Tipsy
Makeup Forever Aqua Lip Pencil in 1C Nude Beige
Sephora Nano Lip Pencil in Royal Rose

Weekly Makeup Basket #2 – Review

I’ve made it another week! I have to tell you, between TheBalm and Urban Decay being on Hautelook and Ulta’s 21 Days of Beauty, this week without buying new products has been hard, but I made it!

Here’s a review of this week’s Makeup Basket. I have to tell you, the hits were really great, but misses…were pretty big.

First, I have to start with a confession about this week’s Challenge Product – the Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner. What. A. Fail. I used this for three days and had to give up. I don’t know if it’s dried out or what, but it ended up flaking and irritating my eyes really badly…like to the point where I couldn’t see while driving to work. I tried it with several different brushes and application styles, but it just didn’t work. I substituted a Starlooks Kohl Pencil instead, and it performed beautifully.

Winners of the Week

I have several winners this week! The first was the beautiful Naked 3 Palette. I’ve had this for a while, but haven’t played with it as much as I did this week. I found some really beautiful looks, especially when I played with the darker colors. This palette will be so pretty for spring, whenever it gets here!

I also loved the Benefit Rockateur blush. Somehow, I forgot how pretty this is, but with a light contour, it made my face look warm with a rose gold, shimmery glow. I also love the NARS Pure Matte Lipstick with the Bare Minerals gloss. First of all, this NARS lipstick is a perfect “My lips but better color.” I don’t know why I don’t wear it more. The two together are such a pretty combination! My favorite full face look of the week was combining all these colors for a full look of rose gold glow. You know those days when you’re just like, “My makeup looks really pretty”? That was this combination. I’ll definitely be wearing it more.

And I can’t forget about Benefit’s ChaCha Tint, especially with oranges looking popular for spring. The color is a little intense, but really wakes you up. It also has an impressive lasting power. Speaking of oranges, I also loved rediscovering my NYX Butter Gloss in Apple Strudel. It was a beautiful color, lasted a significant amount of time and was not sticky, which I really appreciate in a lip gloss. More great products for spring/summer!

Mediocre Performers

The biggest fail was the NYX Love in Rio trio I got in this month’s Ipsy bag. Ummmm…zero pigmentation and super powdery? The color combination had potential, but this trio was not impressive. Sad because I love NYX products, but this is just not good.

I also wasn’t impressed with the Elizabeth Mott Smooth Shadow Pencil I used this week. Ironically, I also got this in an Ipsy bag, but it just didn’t have the creaminess or color payoff that this kind of product needs to be worthwhile. I wanted it to be a shimmery version of the Rimmel Scandaleyes pencil, but it just isn’t.

Overall, an enlightening week! I’m happy to rediscover some great products and get rid of some awful ones (that terrible liner).

Third Weekly Makeup Basket goes up tomorrow! Thanks for joining me on this journey. I’m having fun putting these together and learning more as I do it 🙂

Weekly Makeup Basket #2

Welcome to my Weekly Makeup Basket #2! If you want to know what I used last week and a philosophy behind my baskets, take a look here. Here’s what I’ll be using this week:

Face products – Week 2

FACE
Smashbox Photo Finish Primer
BareMinerals Well-Rested
Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation (Shades 0.5 and 3.5 mixed)
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser in Brightener
Revlon Nearly Naked Powder in Light
Benefit Hoola
Benefit Rockateur
Benefit ChaCha Tint
TheBalm Mary Loumanizer

Eye products – Week 2

EYES
Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer
Wet n Wild shadow in Brulee
Maybelline Metal Color Tattoo in Inked in Pink
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Cashmere
Urban Decay Naked 3 Palette
NYX Love in Rio trio
Elizabeth Mott Smooth Shadow Pencil in Pearl
Starlooks Pencil in Amethyst
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Pencil in El Dorado
CoverGirl Clump Crusher Mascara
Buxom Mascara

Lip Products – Week 2

LIPS
Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Petal
BareMinerals Moxie Lip Gloss in Rebel
NYX Butter Gloss in Apple Strudel
NARS Pure Matte Lipstick in Bangkok

And this week’s challenge…

Challenge – Week 2

Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner in Blackest Black. I have a complicated relationship with gel liner…I love the way it looks but feel like it can be a pain to apply and can hurt my contacts. I’ve tried the Bobbi Brown gel liner and liked it, but I felt like it dried out before I used hardly any of it, so let’s see how the Maybelline holds up! I’ll be experimenting with different brushes and ways to apply this as well.

So that’s what I’m using this week! What are you using this week? Have a gel liner to recommend? I’d love to hear!

Weekly Makeup Basket #1 – Review

I’ve completed my first weekly makeup basket! This year during Lent, I’m focusing on not buying new products and using what I have through weekly makeup baskets. For a full lineup of products used this week, take a look at this post.

My thoughts…

Winner of the Week
This week’s winner goes to Lollitint! I thought this would be way too much, but I love the candy purplish-pink it gives my cheeks. It did tend to fade with my foundation, so I think it would hold up better with a light coverage formula or a BB cream. It wasn’t overwhelming, was easy to apply, and I loved using it this week.

Mediocre Performer
I really want to love this product. Everyone else does, and on paper, it seems like a perfect fit. But unfortunately, the Porefessional just didn’t do what I needed it to do. Perhaps my expectations were too high or my pores too large, but I just didn’t see a difference when using this.

Challenge Product
This week’s Challenge was the Meet Matte Nude Palette, and I loved it! I don’t use many matte shadows, and these colors are unique so I didn’t quite know how to approach it. However, I love the looks I ended up using. I started with this tutorial and then was able to build looks myself. They pair beautifully and work nicely as liners as well. I do wish the shadows were a little more blendable, but overall, this palette is a big win.

Overall, a really good week! Truthfully, these products didn’t detour too much from products I’ve been using lately, but it was great to give them some love. This week’s basket goes up tomorrow! Until then…