February 2012 Hits & Misses

It's already March! Feels like yesterday when I was watching the ball drop on TV! Here are the beauty highlights of my month, enjoy!


Hits:

Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation in 200 Soft Beige
Unlike most long-wearing products, this foundation is very easy to blend and it gives you enough time to do so, there's no need to rush.

Rimmel Match Perfection Skin Tome Adapting Concealer in 230 Fair/Light
I find it amazing that this concealer doesn't crease/flake underneath my eyes. Doesn't feel cakey, but has really good pigmentation.

Clinique Blended Face Powder in 03 Transparency 3
This powder is very finely-milled, has no shimmer, and best of all, no scent!

Nars Blush in Sin
This blush is amazing for winter. When applied right, it makes you look like you were just outside in the cold air. Also, it lasts all day!

Lush Lip Service Lip Balm
This lip balm can be very hard to apply if it's stored in a cold environment. Keep it in a pant pocket, and you'll have an amazingly nourishing lip balm that doesn't require re-application every ten minutes.

Zoya Nail Lacquer in Rekha
A beautiful red shade that didn't chip for an entire week!



Misses:

CoverGirl Professional Loose Powder in 110 Translucent Light
Even if this was the greatest loose powder ever (it isn't) and I still wouldn't tolerate it because of it's scent.

Tip: Fragrance

They say not to rub your wrists together right after applying fragrance, because this can end up altering the scent. Instead, just spray one of your wrists, and touch it to the other. That simple! For a lighter touch or heavier perfumes, spray your chest once, and tap both your wrists to dampen them slightly.

It's a good idea to apply your fragrance a little higher on your arm, that way it won't come off when you wash your hands throughout the day.

Also, always spray fragrance directly on your skin, rather than on your clothes. Fragrance is meant to work with the warmth and oils of your skin to create your own unique scent. If you spray it on your clothes, the alcohol might actually ruin the fabric, so be careful!

Let me know what's your all-time favorite fragrance below!

How To Do Your Makeup When You're Half Asleep!

Recently I got a job that requires me to wake up at 6AM. By the time I get completely ready, there's usually not more than 5 minutes left for makeup. This might be enough for some people, but I am so slow in the morning that it can take me about twice the time to do something! Here, I have pretty much everything I've been doing to make myself look like I actually had a good night sleep.



EYES: 
I have really veiny, reddish eyelids, so I use a bit of  MAC's Painterly Paint Pot to cover that up. I'm a contact wearer, so if I didn't get enough sleep, my contacts can sting pretty badly. I usually wait till I'm about to leave to put them on, but in the meantime, I like to apply some lubricant eye drops to prevent the stinging. I really don't have time to actually apply eyeshadow, so I just add some liner to my inner rims and some mascara, and I try to curl my lashes when I can.  I always, always, always apply a little bit of clear mascara to my brows, and that instantly makes me look put together.


FACE:
Where I live, it can get pretty cold in the morning, causing my skin to get red and sometimes dry. I like to use a sunscreen because it's more emollient than my normal Clinique Dramatically Different Gel. I usually apply a quick layer of liquid foundation, and skip powder. Then, I apply a generous amount of my choice of blush, which for this winter has been either Nars Sin or Inglot #55. I never skip blush, because I think it takes me from ghost to normal. :)


LIPS:
For lips, I'm usually the type to only wear lip balm, but recently I've been keeping one of the new Revlon Lip Butters (shade Berry Smoothie) in my coat pocket. I usually smack this on once I'm already out the door.


Thanks for reading!

Favorite products of 2011

Another year has gone by, and as we welcomed 2012, I thought of all the things that I had tried in 2011. I've compiled an extensive list of products that I think I wouldn't have made it without. Most, if not all, of the items mentioned on this list were first-time buys for me, and I can say that I was very pleased with their performance. I hope 2012 brings many more beauty innovations to make our lives just that much easier. Happy New Year!




Makeup

• Foundation: Bare Minerals Matte SPF 15 Foundation sephora.com
• Concealer: Benefit Boo-ing Concealer sephora.com
• Powder: Mark. Matte-nifficent Oil-Absorbing Powder shop.meetmark.com
• Blush: MAC blush in Dame maccosmetics.com
• Eyeliner: Milani Liquif'eye Pencil in Black cvs.com
• Eye Shadow: Urban Decay Naked Palette 1 sephora.com
• Mascara: Rimmel The Max Volume Mascara in Black walgreens.com
• Lip Balm: Smith Rosebud Minted Rose Lip Balm sephora.com
• Lipgloss: Sephora Glossy Gloss in Tangy Bite sephora.com
• Lipstick: Mark. Lipclick Full Color Lipstick in Coral Fixation shop.meetmark.com

Skin

• Cleanser: Mark. That's Deep Purifying Cleanser shop.meetmark.com
• Moisturizer: Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel clinique.com
• Sunscreen: Aveeno Continuous Protection Sunblock Lotion Face SPF 30 soap.com
• Eye Cream: Clinique All About Eyes Rich clinique.com

Hair

• Shampoo: Redken Extreme Shampoo folica.com
• Conditioner: Redken Extreme Deep Fuel Treatment folica.com
• Treatment/Mask: Naked Rescue Intensive Repair and Renew boots.com
• Leave-in: Redken Extreme Anti-Snap Leave-In Treatment folica.com
• Styling Product: BioInfusion Smoothing Hair Serum walgreens.com

Body

• Body Wash: Avon Naturals Shower Gel in Cherry Blossom shop.avon.com
• Moisturizer: Neutrogena Body Oil soap.com
• Deodorant: Secret PH Balanced in Shower Fresh soap.com
• Shave Cream/Gel: Skintimate Moisturizing Shave Gel in Strawberry Tangerine Twist soap.com
• Fragrance: Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy sephora.com

Nails

• Base Coat: Nail Tek Foundation II Ridge-Filling Base Coat transdesign.com
• Top Coat: Sephora by OPI 3-in-1 Base, Top & Strengthener sephora.com
• Spring/Summer Color: China Glaze Nail Lacquer in IV transdesign.com
• Fall/Winter Color: China Glaze Nail Lacquer in Below Deck transdesign.com

Tools

• Face Tool: Clarisonic Mia 1 clarisonic.com
• Hair Tool: Turbo 2200 Hair Dryer (discontinued)
• Tweezer: Tweezerman Slant Tweezers sephora.com
• Eyelash Curler: Revlon Eyelash Curler walgreens.com
• Razor: Schick Quattro for Women soap.com
• Hair Brush: Sephora Collection Boar Detangling Brush sephora.com
• Makeup Brushes: Sigma Make Me Up Kit sigmabeauty.com

Quick Tip: Cuticles

If you use a lip balm that comes in a tub or tin, you probably have some product left over on your finger after applying it to your lips. Instead of wiping that residue in your palm (or wherever you put it), massage it in on your cuticles. This will make them appear healthy and promote nail growth!