Rimmel // Match Perfection Concealer

Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer - $4.97- $5.99

Before this year it never really crossed my mind that not all concealers should be used under the eye. I have used the same cream concealer for the last four years (a trio by Kirkland Borghese) and never stopped to think whether or not it was the best concealer out there. Although my beloved trio hides redness and covers blemishes well, I decided it was time I explored other options to mask the darkness under my eyes. The Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer claims to be a 'two in one' highlighter and concealer that will adapt to your skin tone. Due to the 'highlighting' aspect of the product, I would suggest that you only use it under the eyes because it will make blemishes more noticeable instead of hidden. This concealer is available in 5 different shades and the one I have is  the second lightest shade called 'Fair Light'. I did struggle a bit trying to determine which color would suit me but this does truly seem to adapt to my skin tone. I find the concealer is a tad drying and that it does not stay on for too long if it is not set with powder. I personally lightly pat the product in with my ring finger in place of blending it in with a brush. Overall, it is a fairly decent concealer for the price and I love the brush tip applicator but I think I will try something else when I'm through with this tube. What do you think of this concealer?

The Beauty Battle // Lip Butters

L-R: Color Whispers: 'Orange Attitude' and 'Lust for Blush'; Lip Butters: 'Red Velvet' and 'Strawberry Shortcake'

I must warn you that this might be a bit of a biased and controversial 'battle' because I know that many of you have a strong love for the Revlon 'Lip Butters' but I prefer the Maybelline 'Color Whispers'. On paper they are actually quite similar but I believe that they are very different. I will try not to be too opinionated and let you decided which 'lip butter' is for you!

Stila // Convertible Color Trio in 'Cool'

Stila Convertible Color Trio - $20 at ulta.com or $32 at nordstrom.com

When Katie mentioned this on her blog last month, I started drooling. I love a great bargain, especially when it involves a multi-use product that I have been eyeing at Sephora for over a year. Available exclusively online, Stila offers two different palettes: 'Cool' [Peony, Lillium, Cherry Blossom] and 'Warm' [Gerbera, Camellia, Honeysuckle]. I decided to go for 'Cool' partly because of Katie's post and also because I heard about Peony countless times. Both palettes have exclusive shades, in this case, the limited edition shade is Cherry Blossom. I am so happy that I waited to order this because Ulta only began selling this a couple weeks ago. The convertible colors are meant for both cheeks and lips but I have only been using this as blush. I was curious to see if the quality of this cream lip/cheek combination because I have only tried drugstore cream blushes. I have to say, there is a clear difference between a higher-end cream blush and a drugstore version. The Stila Convertible Colors are not drying and blend effortlessly. I just dabble a bit on my cheeks and blend with my fingers. Peony is a very bright pink that I would reserve for the summer but Lillium is a dustier pink. Cherry Blossom is a dark coral that I would wear year round. This is definitely my favorite purchase of the summer. Applies easily, all the colors are beautiful, and the lasting power is respectable. Get them while they're still available!

NYX // Lip Liner Pencils

Ulta is currently offering free shipping with any $25 purchase so, of course, I gave in and bought a couple of bits online. My most exciting purchase will appear in a post soon, but to get the free shipping, I added two NYX lip liners to my basket. The quality of the NYX lip pencils is parallel to their price [$3.50]. They aren't spectacular but they get the job done. I would suggest applying lip balm before using them because they can be drying on their own. I have been seeing so many people rocking an orange lip so that's where 'Pumpkin' came in. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a lipstick until I knew that orange suited me so I opted for a lip liner. 'Pumpkin' is more of an orange-red than the true orange that I had hoped it would be. It also has a metallic sheen that I'm not too keen on. Since Ulta was having a deal on NYX products, I also got 'Rose' for half the price. I plan on using this with Mac's 'Chatterbox' but in the photo above I am just wearing it on its own. What do you think about the NYX lip pencils? What color do you love?

P.S. I wanted to apologize for my lack of posts as of late. I mentioned previously that the camera I tend to use is not available to me at the moment and that has forced me to use a different camera that is lesser in quality. I have been struggling to take photos because I have to take a million more shots and a play with the lighting quite a bit more. This came at a particularly bad time because I had a sudden spur of inspiration and came up with over forty new blog post ideas. Hopefully I'll be back on track soon!