The Beauty Wishlist

June 04, 2015 in Makeup, Skincare

As I’ve mentioned a few times, I’ve acquired a lot of stuff over the past couple months. In an effort to save money and stop my beauty drawer from totally overflowing, I’m trying to cut down on what I buy and really think my purchases through. I’ve put together a wishlist of things I’ve really had my eye on for awhile, things I’m not just wanting in the moment and then forgetting about a day or two later. I have a feeling I’m going to go shopping with my sister once she gets home from her study abroad program, so at least then I’ll have a list I can tell myself not to stray from.

Let’s start with a bit of skincare (I know, I know - if you saw my Skincare on Trial or Current Skincare Loves posts, you’ll probably know I don’t need anymore skincare for a long, long time). Ever since I heard about the First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Instant Oatmeal Mask in an Essiebutton video, it’s had a prime spot in my wishlist. Promising to hydrate and soothe the skin, it really sounds right up my alley. I’ve loved everything I’ve ever tried from First Aid Beauty and constantly repurchase their Ultra Repair Cream, so I figure I’d love this too.

On the more extravagant side of things, I’ve been dying to try the Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil. Now, this is something I’ll probably never try because I just couldn’t part with that much cash for one product. It certainly is tempting though after hearing rave after rave about it. The thing that gets me down the most about my skin is my acne scarring, so much so that sometimes I do think that splurging on something like this may be worth it some day.

Moving on to makeup with more stuff I don’t need, I’ve got a couple highlighters on my list. My highlighter collection has been blowing up lately since discovering how great having a simple swipe of something shimmery on my cheekbones makes me feel. I’ve been wanting to try one of the MAC Cream Color Bases, but I’m not sure which color I’d go for. I’ve heard a lot about Hush, but I’m afraid it’ll be another Soft & Gentle situation and it'll be too dark for me. Cream products are my favorite, so I’m sure I’d love this as long as I chose the right color. Another highlighter I’ve been lusting after is the Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder Compact in Highlight 01. I saw this recently in a KathleenLights video where she was both wearing it and singing its praises, and it looked and sounded absolutely beautiful. I’ve also got the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Luminous Light in the back of my mind, so I’d definitely have to just pick one or the other.

For lips I’ve been lusting after the Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipsticks. I got the shade Amazing Grace (reviewed & swatched here) during their month-long availability in the US, but now that they’re gone until September, I’ve really been wishing I had picked up more. The formula is flawless, and being a matte lip lover with unfortunately delicate lips, this really caters to them and never makes them sore or dries them out. The first shade I'll pick up when they're available again is Bond Girl, described as a “natural berry.” It looks a bit like my usual neutral lip favorites, but with a hint of berry thrown in - always something I’m down with. On the more nourishing side of things is the Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Petal - I’ve got the shades Tulip and Plum and am constantly reaching for them, but I’m thinking I want this more natural pink color in my collection as an every day option.

Lastly on the makeup front is another beaut from Charlotte Tilbury - the 'Eyes to Mesmerise' Cream Eyeshadows. I’m a huge cream eyeshadow fiend, loving their ease of use for early mornings, so I’m surprised I’ve been able to hold off this long since their release. I’ve had my eyes on Jean, a MAC All That Glitters type champagne shade, Marie Antionette, a taupe-y bronze shade, and Mona Lisa, a warm chocolate brown shade. It’s definitely only the price point holding me back - if I hadn’t gotten a huge load of things from ColourPop (more on that soon!) for the same price as just one of these shadows, I think I’d be more likely to make the splurge.

Lastly is nails. Ever since hearing about the Essie Nail Polish in Maximillian Strasse Her on Lily Pebbles’s blog, I’ve been searching high and low for it. It’s a lovely muted bluey-green-gray, and as I love my neutral nails it’s certainly something I could see myself wearing all the time. Now to just find it stocked somewhere...

Speaking of neutral nails, I’ve been longing for the Victoria Beckham x Nails Inc polish in Bamboo White since it came out. It seems like the perfect off-white nude shade, something I’d definitely be streaking on week after week. Once again, it’s the price point that puts me off.

Does writing wishlists help you save money or encourage you to splurge? I thought this was going to help me save my pennies, but my cursor is pretty much hovering over the "place order" button for those cream eyeshadows.

What products have you been longing for lately?

The Prettiest Powder - MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade

June 02, 2015 in Makeup

It’s no secret that putting on highlighter is my favorite step of my makeup routine. Even when I’m wearing practically nothing on my face aside from some concealer and mascara, I still need something dusted/blended on my cheekbones to add some much-needed radiance. I had always heard raves about the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Soft & Gentle, but when I actually went and swatched it, it seemed a little too dark for my skintone. Enter MAC MSF in Lightscapade...

MAC Lightscapade may just be the most beautiful product I own. It has different shades of white, beige, gold, pink, and lavender all marbled together in the pan. The result when swirled together is a beautiful beige highlight that shines with a cool tone in the light, as if you’re being bathed in moonlight. The powder feels super soft to the touch and very finely-milled - no chalky mess here. There’s some shimmer there, but because it’s so finely-milled it just gives a beautiful, believable glow.

I’ve found the key to this product is using the right brush with it. I was at first using my usual highlighting brush (I think it's just a Stila blush brush), and I was finding it either wasn’t picking up much product or wasn’t transferring the product to my skin properly. Determined to make this beautiful powder work, I reached for something a little more dense - the Real Techniques Bold Metals 300 Tapered Blush Brush. It was an instant success. The shape of the brush is perfect for highlighting as well because of its flatter shape and tapered end. It deposits the perfect amount of product on my cheekbones to catch the light and make me feel like I'm Cinderella, dancing outside with the prince at midnight.

I’ve also tried it as a setting powder all over the face using a tiny amount on a big fluffy brush (the Real Techniques Blush Brush), and it seamlessly diffuses the light over the skin, blurring imperfections and giving the most radiant glow. The soft lavender tone really cancels out any sallowness to the skin and leaves you looking bright and healthy. I wouldn’t recommend this as an all-over powder if you have oily skin, but if you’re prone to dryness or dullness it’s a great way to fake a healthy glow. I’ve mainly been using it as a highlighter for now, but it’s always good to know when a product has multiple uses.

If you’re looking for a highlight that makes you look like you’re in the middle of the “Kiss the Girl” scene from The Little Mermaid, look no further.

Have you tried MAC Lightscapade?

May Favorites

May 30, 2015 in Makeup, Skincare

I can’t believe it’s almost June - where is the year going? I had a pretty hard time putting together this post because I bounced around from product to product so much this month that it was hard to pinpoint what my real favorites were. Favorites posts are some of my favorites (haha) to read, so I soldiered on.

As I said in my Current Skincare Loves recently, I’ve really been having a skincare moment. As much as I always cared about my skincare, I think it really peaked this month. I tried so many new things and found out what really works for my skin. My two standouts of the month were both featured in the Current Skincare Loves post - the Mizon Apple Smoothie Peeling Gel and the Antipodes Aura Manuka Honey Mask. You can read the Loves post to see a more in-depth review, and also the New Exfoliators post I did for more information on the Mizon Peel, but I’ll just say that these really helped my skin this month. I was having a bit of a rough time with it at the beginning of the month, and I think it was these two heroes that really sorted it out. They’ve both got permanent spots in my skincare routine now.

As for makeup, there’s a bit of old and a bit of new. I revisited my one-time favorite undereye concealer, the Estee Lauder Double Wear Brush-On Glow BB Highlighter in the shade 0N, earlier this month when my hours at work got changed. I have to get up at 5:30 now! I love getting home earlier, but I had to pull out the big guns to fix my dark circles. This concealer is so incredibly brightening - I’m sure my picking the lightest shade available helps, but there’s something about this that really brings light to the face. It takes me from an extra in The Walking Dead to Cheery Human Being in a minute flat. It feels super lightweight and never gets cakey or creases under the eyes, but it’s still pigmented enough to cover my stubborn bags.

Another old favorite (I mentioned it back in my November Favorites last year) is the By Terry Ombre Blackstar in Misty Rock. I’ve noticed lately that everyone seems to be talking about these again, so it made me want to pull mine out from the cobwebs. I don’t know why I ever stopped using it though, because it’s truly one of the most beautiful products I own. This has come in handy for those early mornings because it’s so quick and easy to throw on the lids and blend out with my fingers or a brush, and it makes it look like I put a lot more effort in than I really did. Score.

I’ve also found a few new makeup bag staples this month. Speaking of cream eyeshadows, I mentioned in my Makeup Lately post that I had been wearing the Origins Ginzing Brightening Cream Eyeshadow quite a lot lately. It’s the perfect product to throw on for early mornings because it’s quite lightweight and sheer, but the subtle champagne gold shade really brightens the eyes. I miraculously don’t need to use a primer with this one, so it’s been super easy to slap on when I’ve stayed in bed too long and need to get out the door as quickly as possible.

When I saw that Stila was coming out with liquid blushes, I was all over that. Sometimes I get a little mad at myself for my VIB Rouge status at Sephora, but this was not one of those times - Rouges got early access to the Stila Aqua Glow Watercolor Blush, and I snapped up the shade Rosewater as soon as I could. I’m not a huge fan of the packaging - as you can see from the photos, it’s a little messy - but the product inside is lovely. It feels really cooling on the cheeks, so I can tell it’s going to be a hot weather staple for sure. You only need the tiniest amount and it blends out on the cheeks like a dream. The shade Rosewater is a lovely neutral pink color, similar to Stila’s Lilium, so it goes with everything. I really want to try out one of the brighter shades, though - I think it would create a beautiful flushed look.

My last favorite of the month is the Clinique Pop Lip Colour + Primer in the shade Plum Pop. When the bigger bloggers started posting the pictures of the entire set they were sent, I was seriously swooning. I love how they’ve designed the packaging - you get the sleek look of the silver and the square shape, but also the practicality of having the color of the lipstick on the outside, too. I absolutely love the formula of this lipstick. It’s so creamy and pigmented but sets to a nice satin finish on me. It never feels dry and yet lasts so much longer than your average creamy lipsticks. The color is beautiful too - although it’s called Plum Pop, it’s more pink with just a hint of that plum. It makes for a really flattering, wearable lip for every day. I can’t wait to try out more shades from this line.

What were your favorites this month?