Day 19: What’s in your make-up bag?
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| Loooooove that lip color. And ... holy crap! No WIG?! |
For today, I'm only showing off a (comparatively) small selection of the items I use the most. My whole bathroom is pretty much covered in make-up products, sorted into different containers by what they are (one for eyes, one for lips, one for powders, one for brushes and so on).
I'm also in the process of my semi-monthly weed-out of old products, in preparation for my big move. I mostly use drugstore brands because of my habit of culling the herd so often, with the occasional Sephora splurge for things like primer, false eyelashes or tools I can't get elsewhere. Everything I'm showing off in this post is fairly new (no more than three months old, probably) and all are something I use pretty frequently.
Lipsticks, stains, pencils and gloss
Lipstick and glosses are my second favorite make-up product. I have a lot of different colors for use with different looks (and to blend to get different final appearances). I'm only going to show off a few of them, here.
The first batch are the products I used for the (horribly unflattering) webcam shot above to achieve that dark, wine-red color:
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| Burt's Bees Beeswax Replenishing Lip Balm (with pomegranate oil), Covergirl Outlast Lipstain in 450 - Saucy Plum, Covergirl Lip Perfection lipstick in 360 - Euphoria, Covergirl Lip Perfection pencil in 220 - Sophisticated |
I've really been fond of this color in combination with my skintone lately, but it's a pain in the neck to maintain. I have to use the balm (in place of primer) in advance, then the lip pencil, then the stain and finally the lipstick. Even then, it only lasts a few hours of talking and maybe ten minutes of eating. If I avoid talking or moving my mouth much, it can last longer, but where's the fun in that?!
I swear that my lips simply do not like having anything on them.
With dark reds like this, I prefer that the final result be matte, so there's no gloss on this one.
Next, we have a shockingly ruby red look using:
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| Burt's Bees Beeswax Replenishing Lip Balm (with pomegranate oil), Maybelline XL Seduction Volume Plumping Gloss in 505 - Sensuous Ruby, Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in 645 - Red Revival, Covergirl Lip Perfection pencil in 215 - Passion |
This is another lip color I've really enjoyed trying lately. It's very bright (but easily toned up or down with a clear gloss or when blended with a darker red)!
It doesn't hurt that the plumping gloss actually does plump quite a bit, either. I haven't found a true red lip stain that I like, yet. They're typically too dark or too cool to really work out.
Next, a lovely, rosey pink lip color grouping:
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| Wet n Wild Natural Lip Shimmer in 104 - Berry, Neutrogena MoistureShine gloss in 110 - Fruity Pink, Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in 705 - Twinkle, Rimmel 1000 Kisses lip pencil in 004 - Indian Pink |
Usually, I have to warm up pink lip colors a bit. They don't make "pale" pinks in warmer shades, for some reason. They always end up being hot pink or dark peach rather than true pink. Soooo .. I lay down a warmer shade of pink in liner, put on the liptstick and add a light coating of a warm, transluscent gloss!
Finally, a sparkly, nude color grouping:
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| Wet n Wild Natural Lip Shimmer in 104 - Berry, Neutrogena MoistureShine gloss in 100 - Super Sparkle, Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in 740 - Sparkling Sand, Revlon PhotoReady Concealer in 002 - Light |
On the rare occasions when I use a nude, I block out the pink of my natural lip color with concealer. It works out pretty well most of the time, really, though it leaves me with a funny aroma in my nose for the first half hour or so of wear.
In addition to the items shown above, I have a massive collection of glosses (in tubes, packets and wand-tube containers) and "liquid lipsticks", as well.
Eyeliner and mascara
No "look" set-up or color groupings for this section! Just straight product listings.
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| Maybelline XXL Volume + Length Microfiber Mascara in 501 - Very Black, Mabelline the Falsies Flared Volum' Express in Very Black, Covergirl LashBlastFusion in Very Black, Maybelline the colossal Volum' Express in Classic Brown |
I typically use at least two types of mascara when I get made up. For the upper lashes, I use something more dramatic (such as the Falsies tube), while I use a simpler mascara (such as the LashBlast tube) for the lower eyelashes. It usually works out pretty well for me most of the time. If I'm going more natural and skipping the eyeliner, I'll use the classic brown mascara instead, because it's closer to my natural eyelash color.
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| Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, Neutrogena Nurishing Eyeliner in 10 - Cosmic Black, Milani Infinite Liquid Eyeliner in 05 - Everlast, Wet n' Wild Creme Shadow Pencil in 134 - Distress, Rimmel Kajal Eye Liner Pencil in 071 - Pure White , Almay Intense I-color eyeliner in 01 - Purple Amethyst, Loreal HIP Color Truth Cream Eyeliner in 905 - Black, Wet n' Wild Creme Shadow Pencil in 135 - Graphite |
For eyeliner, I prefer to use pencil or cream liner, but do occasionally mix it up with a felt-tipped eyeliner pen or liquid eyeliner. Lately, I've been using liquid liner quite a bit, actually. I also have browns and sort of burgundy pencils, but I don't use them too frequently.
The above are my favorites to use, really. The Wet n' Wild ones are technically a "cream shadow" stick, but I use them as a thick liner rather than an all-over cover.
Eyeshadows
Can you tell that my favorite make-up products are eyeshadows?! What, you can't?! Well, then you'd better check out the photos I've included below. There are several.
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| E.L.F. 32 color palette |
I use this palette primarily for the neutrals in the top row and for matching funky wig colors in my eyebrows (a little powder goes a surprisingly long way, actually). I sometimes will use these to blend shades in other palettes or boxes, but they're not super intense and I really like to keep coverage smooth and even on eye-shadow. So.
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| NYX Triple Shadow Palette in 35 - Ultra Chic, NYX Individual pots in 01 - Black, 95 - Hot Crystal and 02 - White |
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| Maybelline Eyestudio Duo in 50 - Tantalizing Teal, 80 - Sinful Sinnamon and 70 - Impulsive Ivy, Maybelline Eyestudio Quad Palette in 05 - Give Me Gold |
These little boxes right here are my favorites at the moment, particularly the quad palette. They all blend super well with one another and the other colors I use. The "pure" pigment sides are very well-saturated and show up nicely on my skintone. The "mixed" pigement sides are softer and work really nicely for blending with other colors. I love the green, especially. It comes out looking a bit like the copper of an old penny in bright lights and blends especially well with the blue.
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| Loreal HIP Shadow Duos in 910 - Charged (Metallic Duo), 806 - Gilded (MD), 306 - Gunmetal (MD), 224 - Showy (Concentrated Duo), 106 - Sculpted (MD) and 114 - Adventurous (Bright Duo) |
I've been using some combination of these little duos since they first came out. There are "metallic" ones with a sort of subtle glitter in the powder, "bright" duos with a matte finish and "concentrated" duos that have a subtle sheen between the two. As with the other shadows I use, I like these because they blend nicely with each other and with other brands. I'm really not keen on the one-color look and prefer to blend from one to another (usually from cream or gold to a brighter color at the outer corner).
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| Milani Runway Eyes Eyeshadow in 03 - Bronze and 04 - Coffee Shop, Milani Metallic Baked Eyeshadow in 602 - I Heart You |
This is a brand that I found in CVS originally. I bought them on a whim because they were inexpensive and sort of unusual looking. The big "draw" was the advertisement of increased pigmentation when used wet (which happens with most eyeshadows, but the fact that they made that a selling point intrigued me). Wet or dry, these work really well. I wish I could find more of them, as my CVS has very limited colors that interest me. I've heard WalMart sells them, but I'm a bit on the lazy side and don't feel a need to make a special trek to the nearest store (about a fifteen to twenty minute drive) just for eyeshadow.
Maybe if I have to drive over for something else sometime.
Like sport socks. Or something.
Concealer, foundation powder and blush
I don't generally wear foundation when I'm out and about. It makes my skin feel gross and usually doesn't work out well for long-term wear in Houston, since I would probably sweat most of my make-up off between the car and whatever building I'm headed for. Seriously.
It was 110F today.
Right. Foundation. I only really use it for photos. Having said that, I love the way that Revlon's PhotoReady foundation and concealers work. They're super opaque but come up light and soft in photos, even when I really cake it on.
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| Revlon PhotoReady Concealer in 002 - Light, Revlon PhotoReady Compact Makeup in 100 - Vanilla, Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in 001 - Transparent, Milani Baked Bronzer in 04 - Glow |
And yet again, I have found a Milani product that I love to love. Their bronzers are really quite subtle compared to some of the other ones I've tried. They give you a hint of color and a bit of shimmer, but none of the overpowering orange glow that so many seem to include.
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| Rimmel Blendable Powder Blush and Highlighter in 006 - Autumn Catwalk, Wet n' Wild coloricon blusher in 832E - Heather Silk |
Blush is another one of those things I don't use too much since it tends to melt right off in the heat, but these two are the ones I choose when I do go for the kabuki brush and rosy cheeks. The one on the right also works really nicely when blended with the one on the left, actually. It's a bit dark for my skin, so I'll either mix it with the blush by Rimmel or an extra brushful of pressed powder.
And that's about it!
Sort of. Like I said, I have a lot of make-up. haha
P.S. Don't forget to check out my 100 Post Celebration! I'm giving away a red, hand-made camera plush to one lucky reader!
