June Favorites

It month has been surprising long and difficult and I have unfortunately been unable to post as many entries as I would like to due to the class I'm taking. This being said, it has still been a wonderful month for beauty, as most months tend to be. Here are some things I have loved in the month of June.

Benefit Bella Bamba: I feel like the Benefit boxed blushes are a must for the summer. Bella Bamba adds the perfect amount of shimmer to my cheeks and makes me feel ultra girly. This pink is beautiful against tan skin. I do however prefer the old packaging to the new one.

Color Tattoo in Bad To The Bronze: I am a big fan of cream shadows and cream products overall. This month has been super busy and I have not had time to put on much makeup (in fact, I've mastered applying mascara in the car). 'Bad To The Bronze' adds a bit of pizazz to my look when I'm in a time crunch.

Lush Grease Lightning Cleanser: I wrote about this spot treatment earlier this month here. I have come to the conclusion that you have to apply a significant dollop onto each spot and it works better for the face than any other area on which you may have a spot. I will stick to using this for spots on my face but will be exploring other options for my back.

Rimmel 60 Second Nail Polish: If you saw my little Rimmel haul a few weeks ago, you would have noticed that I went a little crazy on the 60 Second nail polishes... and guess what, I went back for even more. They dry quickly, are mind-bogglingly cheap, and they come in a variety of colors. I currently have 6 of them.. opps. And they even have glitter ones for all ya'll who like that. For $1.50 at Walmart, you can't go wrong. 

The Rocket Volum' Express Mascara: I hopped on the bandwagon this month with Maybelline's 'The Rocket' mascara. I wasn't too impressed at first but it quickly became my daily mascara. It lengthens, adds volume, and darkens my lashes. It is, however, almost impossible to remove. Still worth it.

What have you been loving this month?

Highlighter Line-Up

L-R: 'The Luminizer', 'Rose Pink', 'High Beam', 'Soft and Gentle'

When it comes to highlighters, I tend to stick to the well-known ones such as Benefit's 'High Beam' and Mac's 'Soft and Gentle'. This is probably because, compared to other face products, I do not have as much experience with highlighters. I love the dewy effect they create but a highlighter is not a staple in my every day make up routine. However, in the summer, I love to apply a bit of 'S&G' on the high points of my cheeks or mix in some 'High Beam' into my foundation to give myself that fresh glow. The first highlighter I ever bought was Sephora's 'Rose Pink' and I have to admit that I don't reach for it that often. 'Rose Pink' is a beautiful pink full of gold shimmer that looks beautiful against tanned skin. I really should start to wear it more because the formulation appears to be just as lovely as 'Soft and Gentle'. In fact, the only apparent difference between the two is that 'Soft and Gentle' is yellow toned. Another favorite highlighter is one I received in a Birchbox. The Balm's 'The Luminizer' is also a beloved highlighter among make up lovers. I must confess that I typically wear this as an eyeshadow because it reminds me of Stila's 'Kitten'. It does look wonderful as a highlighter as well but I think for now I will stick to using it on my eyes. What's your go to highlighter?

My Go-To Travel Minis

'Read My Palm', 'What Aura Gonna Wear?', 'Leotard Optional' 

Traveling, specifically when it involves airplanes, can be stressful. When you factor in packing and flying restrictions you may have a mess on your hands. Over the years, I have learned to pack pretty lightly, if I do say so myself. For someone who is attached to their makeup collection and skincare items, packing for a trip is the time to pull out miniature versions of products and samples. For the plane, make sure you have moisturizer and cleansing water because air travel is harmful to your skin. Save smaller containers to refill them at home with the full-size product. That happens to be what I do with the Josie Maran Argan Oil. Instead of hauling around a large highlighter that may take up half your makeup bag, grab a liquid highlighter like Benefit's High Beam. When it comes to nail polish, I tend to overpack because they are my weakness. Many brands such as OPI, Essie, and Orly make miniature sets of their nail polishes so people can try them out before buying the full-size version. This also comes in handy when packing because I am able to cram about five of these in my already overpacked makeup bag. What are some of your tricks to packing light? 

FOTD // 1

Today is a busy day for me because I have to run a thousand errands and pack for my first trip of the summer. I quickly wanted to share what I have on my face today!

Face:
♥ Rimmel Fix & Perfect Primer

♥ Revlon Colorstay Foundation in Ivory 

♥ NYC Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder

♥ Rimmel Powder Blush in "Pink Sorbet"

♥ Benefit High Beam 

Eyes:

♥ Benefit Stay Don't Stray Primer

♥ Maybelline Color Tattoo in "Bad to the Bronze"

♥ Urbay Decay Naked 2 Palette "Busted"

♥ Maybelline Great Lash Mascara

♥ Elf Eyebrow Kit 

Lips:

♥ Mac "Chatterbox" Lipstick 

It seems like a lot when I write it out but a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do to be and feel beautiful!

April Favorites

Left to right: NYX 'Tea Rose', Revlon 'Flushed', Revlon 'Pinched

Benefit Stay Don't Stray Primer

Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation

In the warmer months, I tend to wear less and less make up. I find myself gravitating towards creme blushes, lighter coverage foundations, and more shimmer! This month I have replaced my Revlon Color Stay foundation with it's dewy cousin, Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation. I am in the shade 'Shell' at the moment. I use my Real Techniques Buffing Brush with this product and the coverage is light but buildable at the same time. For the cheeks, I have been using the Revlon Photoready Cream blushes. Cream blushes are ideal for the summer because they give you a flushed look but are subtle. The two I have in my collection are Flushed, a bright rose pink that looks dangerous in the jar, and Pinched, a light shimmer filled coral. I am not a big lip gloss girl, I usually go for a moisturizing lip balm or a lipstick, but the NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss in Tea Rose has stolen my heart. It is not sticky, adds color to my lips, and the lip gloss smells like cherries! I'm tempted to lick my lips when I'm wearing it. My final favorite is something I have used for almost a year: Benefit Stay Don't Stray Primer. Benefit recently changed this product's packaging a bit; instead of having a pump to dispense the product, there is now a brush to put the primer on your eyelids. This eyeshadow primer is the only thing that will cover up my icky eyelid veins and keeps the eyeshadow in tact. What have you been loving this month?