Mini Hail & Review

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I ran to Target and Ulta today to pick up a few things and I decided I would make a blog post about it since a) I haven't made a blog post in a while and b) I haven't made a BEAUTY blog post in QUITE a while.

Pacifica Hand Creams - Ulta - $9

I looooove Pacifica but I've never tried their hand creams before. Ulta was doing a buy one, get one 50% off deal for all Pacifica products so I thought that was a good enough reason to try them out. I bought them in the scents Tuscan Blood Orange and Tahitian Gardenia because they both smelled ahhhhhmazing. I'm looking forward to seeing how moisturizing they are. My hands can get quite dry at times from how often I wash them at work. I'll report back with a full review at some point!

Pacifica Perfume - Ulta - $22

I bought these two perfumes in the same scents as the hand creams because I loved the smell of them so much. They were a part of the same deal as the hand creams so... why not, right? Can't have too many perfumes! And they're really perfect scents for the summer. 100% justified purchase.

Pacifica Aquarian Gaze Waterproof Mineral Mascara - Target - $13

Are you noticing a Pacifica pattern? This brand is amazing not only for the quality of their products, but because they're cruelty and most (maybe all?) of their products are vegan! Anyway, this mascara is fantastic. It's my second time repurchasing it and I don't think I'm going to switch to another mascara anytime soon. It adds length and volume and can easily be layered for a more dramatic look. and it's REALLY waterproof. Seriously, get out your best make up remover to scrub this stuff off because you're gonna need it. 

Too Faced Melted Lipstick - Ulta - $21

This is another tried, tested, and true product for me. I already have the colors Melted Fig and Melted Berry and decided to add Melted Candy to the collection. They're a little pricey but for the quality and longevity of the color, it's completely worth it. I'll do a full review on these and include swatches of the colors soon! 

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Beauty Favorites | August Edition

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I'm BACK! After a very long, unexpected, and unannounced hiatus happened on this blog... sorry about that (I know, it happens a lot. I have trouble staying committed to things, I'm working on it). But that's in the PAST now, and we're going to just go ahead and put those 2 (almost 3) blog post-less months behind us and start FRESH.

Today I bring you a new type of post that I've been wanting to do for a while after watching countless videos about it on youtube - monthly favorites! Now before you start thinking to yourself, "Sam, you've created themed posts in the past and literally NONE of them lasted. Why should we believe you're going to keep this one going strong?" Well... good point. You shouldn't believe that I will definitely have a favorites blog post every month. However, you should believe that I will TRY MY HARDEST, so long that I have enough products/things that I've been loving for the month. Just give me a chance, alright? Alright.

This post will focus on a few beauty products I've been loving during the entire month of August. 

1. Trader Joe's: 100% Pure Jojoba Oil

First up, a skin care product that has completely changed my view on skin care in general. For so long I have fallen into the abyss of buying bottle after bottle of eye make up remover and pack after pack of make up remover wipes. This resulted in an unnecessarily long skin care process every night, and stripping my skin from scrubbing it with those wipes, and still being left with a gross residue that needed to be washed off regardless. 

I read about how hydrating and nourishing jojoba oil is for not only your skin, but your scalp and hair as well, and even all over your body. I was honestly skeptical about it's ability to break down my make up enough to just be wiped away by a damp cloth, so I would use this in conjunction with my eye make up remover just to ensure that everything was being taken off before washing my face. Fed up with the extra steps involved, I decided to use the jojoba oil to take EVERYTHING off one night, and it did just that. It literally melts your make up off of your face, and then you come in with some warm water on a wash cloth and wipe it all away. It leaves your skin feeling soft, clean, and not at all sticky or gross. Follow it up with a face wash (on days where I don't wear much or any make up, I just use this and go straight to a moisturizer and I'm good to go.)

It's about $8 at Trader Joe's and it lasts a while as you don't need much to take off a full face of make up.

2. First Aid Beauty: Face Cleanser

I've been wanting to try out First Aid Beauty for a while, but it's kind of pricey to just "try out", you know? So I was browsing in Sephora one day when I found a trial package of their Face Cleanser, Ultra Repair Cream, and Facial Radiance Pads. While I'm not completely sold on the Facial Radiance Pads, the cleanser and moisturizer are AMAZING. 

The Face Cleanser is everything I want in a cleanser, simple, gentle, and not stripping at all. I've been using this either after taking off my make up with the jojoba oil or to wash my face in the morning/in the shower and my face is left squeaky clean without feeling tight and dry. Awesome cleanser for sensitive skin that does its job. 

3. First Aid Beauty: Ultra Repair Cream

If you've been reading my blog for a while (thank you!), then you know that my biggest problem areas for dry skin are my face and scalp. This product had 100% solved my dry skin problem on my face. It's a very heavy and rich moisturizer, so I recommend using it at night so it had time to soak into your skin and not be oily underneath your make up. If you do this, you'll wake up in the morning feeling absolutely no need to apply any other type of moisturizer to your face. THAT'S how awesome this stuff is.

Like the jojoba oil, a little bit goes a long way, so even this trial size, I find, is lasting me quite some time. I will absolutely be buying the full size tub once I use this tube up.

The trial package of the cleanser, wipes, and moisturizer was $28 as Sephora. 

4. NYX: Stay Matte But Not Flat Liquid Foundation

I was in dire need of a cheap, but good quality, liquid foundation. My go-to E.L.F foundation was just not cutting it anymore, so I looked to a different brand to try out. NYX blew me away.

I was weary about this foundation at first, as I hadn't read any reviews on it in the past, but I decided to give it a shot anyway. It's awesome to say the least. NYX has a great shade selection, and the product blends flawlessly into your skin. I'll have a full review on this product soon; that's how much I love it!

$7.49 at Ulta. How could you possibly beat that?! Plus, it's not considered a "prestigious" brand at Ulta, so you know those little coupons that you get that usually don't apply to many brands there? Yeah... they apply to NYX products. 

5. NYX: Stay Matte But Not Flat Powder Foundation

To go along with my liquid foundation, I needed a setting powder. Now, this IS a "powder foundation", but it honestly doesn't provide that much coverage, so I just use it as a setting powder for my liquid foundation. It sets my foundation, and also gives just a touch more coverage for a really natural looking base for your make up look.

$9.99 at Ulta

6. NYX: Butter Lipsticks

As for these NYX products, I've heard lots and lots of positive feedback. Naturally, I needed to see what the hype was about. After finding out that Revlon was no longer cruelty free, and therefore I wouldn't by buying their lip butters, I was so excited to find out that there was a similar, slightly cheaper, and cruelty free product on the market.

Again, I plan to have a full product review for these bad boys on the blog soon, but just to sum it up: they're extremely pigmented, moisturizing, and they LAST. They also don't settle into the cracks of your lips if you seem to have that problem with other lip products.

Colors shown:

Big Cherry - it's really a true, very flattering deep red color

Fizzies - a muted berry color that can go with virtually any make up look

Fireball - a coral that's more on the pink side with just a hint of orange

Sold at Ulta and certain Targets and even Wegmans! $5.99 at Target and I think the same goes for Ulta and Wegmans.

7. Bath and Body Works: Blackberry Bramble Tea Candle

Okay, a candle? In a beauty favorites post? What's wrong with you, Sam? I know, it's weird, but I just think it fits. Candles are like beauty products for your home, right? And this one smells so amazing that I just needed to include it. It's sweet, but not too sweet, a little florally, with a very slight musky/spicy scent underneath it all. It's a perfect summer to fall transition candle and I encourage ALL OF YOU to go out and buy it right now!

$22.50 at Bath and Body Works, but I got mine during their 2 for $22 deal. 

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Tag | The Beauty Blogger

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No, my blog isn't mainly beauty-related, but I am building up a decent amount of beauty posts along with my food/recipe ones!

I found this tag on www.beautybroadcast.net, a well known and awesome beauty blogger. Since I think it's important to get to know your bloggers, I figured I'd make a post about it! Maybe there's a food blogger tag out there and I can add that to my blog as well.

I tag whoever reads this to fill it out as well! You can answer a few questions as a comment on this post or leave a link to your tag post on your blog for me to check out :)

1. Is your hair naturally curly or straight?

Wavy, more or less. It's kind of a mess if I let it air-dry naturally - that's why it's usually up in a bun. I'm too lazy to blow it dry or tame it everyday.

2. Do you dye it yourself or go to a salon?

I've actually never dyed my hair before. Years ago my hair dresser tried purple-ish highlights, but I didn't want to bleach my hair so you couldn't even tell they were there. 

3. Do you wear the same style everyday, or do you change it?

Like I said in question one, my hair is usually up in a bun with my bangs clipped back. If I have time, I'll blow it dry and play around with it. If I'm going out I like to curl it, but most of the time I get too frustrated and just throw it up in a bun

4. Do you do your own mani/pedi or go to a salon?

I've gotten my nails done a handful of times, but I mostly see it as a waste of time and money. Painting my nails is kind of therapeutic to me, so I enjoy doing them myself.

5. How often do you change your nail polish?

Not often enough. Right now they're a pale pink color that has been mostly chipped away from nerves and from washing my hands so much at work. Tonight's agenda: fix them up.

6. Do you polish your toes in the winter or just the summer?

Pretty much just in the summer. 

7. How long does it take for you to put on makeup?

Full face of make up (foundation, eye shadow, winged liner, eyebrows, contouring, etc.) - about 30 minutes

Minimal make up (foundation, mascara, blush) - 5-10 minutes

Somewhere in between full face and minimal make up (foundation, eye shadow OR winged liner, eyebrows, blush, mascara) - about 20 minutes

8. What do you do first? Face or eyes?

Face. Always. I don't understand people who do their eye make up first.

9. Do you collect makeup or just buy what you need when you need it?

A little of both. Like, there's no reason why I need to own 4 eye shadow palettes, but I do. However, I won't go out and buy a new foundation if I still have a decent amount left in my current one. 

10. How often do you wear false eyelashes?

I've actually never worn fake eyelashes.

11. Do you do a full face of makeup everyday?

Definitely not. No way.

12. Do you wear makeup when you're home alone or with family?

It depends. If I know I'll be home alone all day, I won't bother putting on make up. Same goes for being with family - if I'm back at home and I know we'll just be hanging around the house all day or running little errands, I won't bother with make up. If it's a family party or holiday or something, I'll throw on some make up.

13. Will you leave the house without makeup?

Absolutely

14. How many high-end products do you have?

A decent amount, but not that many really, I have a rather small collection compared to most beauty bloggers. Two part time jobs can't support a full-on make up addiction :)

15. Do you plan your OOTD every night or decide when you're getting dressed?

Usually when I'm getting dressed, unless I know the night before that I'll have no time to do that the next morning.

16. How often do you change your handbag?

Very, very, VERY rarely. I have a main bag that I use all the time and a couple smaller bags that I use for when I'm going out and don't want to carry around a big bag. 

17. What time do you wake up and go to sleep?

This changes a lot depending on whether or not I have work in the morning, but I'd say for the most part I am in bed by 10:30/11pm and I'll wake up around 7:30/8am.

18. How often or when do you workout?

I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, but it's hard when you don't have a normal schedule. Tuesdays and Thursdays I'm able to go before I have class in the morning. Wednesdays I'm also able to go in the morning since I usually start work at 2pm those days. The weekends are always a toss up because I'm normally working in the morning and running errands or trying to see friends afterwards. I need to be more disciplined.

19. Left handed or right handed?

Right.

20. How tall are you?

5'5" 

21. Do you speak any foreign languages?

Not fluently at ALL, but some French and Spanish

22. How many pets do you have?

2 family dogs back at home and my own cat that lives with me. My sister also has two cats that live with her

23. How often are you on Blogger?

Lately, not enough. I go through lots of ups and downs with my posting on here. I'm trying to be better about it! I'm just busy :(

24. Do you read comments posted on blogs?

Yes! Although I barely get any.

25. Do you keep a list of products to try as you see other posts?

Sometimes! It's more of mental list and that rarely ever gets written down. I should probably start doing that, though, because I'm forgetful.

26. How did you come up with your blog name?

The link is actually the name of a Modest Mouse song and the title is a lyric from that song. It's one of my favorites :)

27. What kind of camera do you use for your photographs?

Uh... Canon PowerShot elph110 I think? I don't have it with me right now. Definitely a Canon PowerShot, though

28. How often do you clean your house?

Pretty often. I try not to let it get too bad because clutter stresses me out. 

29. What's your favorite color?

Purple 

30. Do you swear?

Yeah. I do. Sorry mom.

31. What are you doing with the rest of your day?

Class until 4:30, then I'll probably run some errands or something. 

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Brand Review | Tarte

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I don't have a ton of Tarte products, but the products I do have, I absolutely love, and they're worthy of an entire blog post dedicated to them. Tarte is just an overall amazing brand. They're a completely cruelty-free make up brand, and on top of that, almost all of their products are vegan! If that's not enough reason to splurge on their products, maybe the rest of this post will convince you.

1. Clean Slate Poreless 12-hr Perfecting Primer

Now, I have to admit, this is not my favorite primer. The number 1 spot in terms of primers goes to a more luxurious brand, and I will reveal its identity in a future post. However, for an effective and everyday primer, this one takes the cake. It does exactly what it claims - leaves your face looking essentially poreless, and keeps your make up put for 12 hours. There were days when I'd do my make up at 6am, go through a 7 hour (or longer) work shift at the coffee shop, and then either go straight to hanging out with some friends, or over to babysit for the rest of the night. Whatever my schedule was, this primer kept my make up on through it all.

2. Amazonian Clay 12-hr Blush in Dazzled

As most of you know, I'm an E.L.F blush junkie. They're cheap, they're pigmented, they get the job done. So, for me to stray away from that path and try this brand of blushes (and stick with it) must mean it's damn good - and it IS. Tarte's blushes are incredibly pigmented and natural-looking. I have this color as well as a color that came in a palette, which I will talk about soon. Both of them naturally enhance the color in my cheeks and stay flawless all day - no touch ups needed! They're a little pricey, so I probably won't be splurging on ALL the colors any time soon, but I do plan on gradually increasing my collection.

3. Be MATTEnificent Amazonion Colored Clay Matte Eye and Cheek Palette

Chris actually bought me this palette because he's the sneakiest boyfriend to ever exist... I actually had it in my cart on tarte.com ready to purchase for myself and then he shows up with it as a gift for Valentine's Day without even knowing I wanted it for myself. He has some sort of 6th sense, or something. Anyway, I love it. I don't have any matte shadows in my collection other than my Lorac Pro Palette and the few matte shadows in my Naked Palette, so it's nice to have a few original colors that also happen to be matte. They shadows are a lot more pigmented than I thought they'd be. Fallout is virtually non-existent, which is always a plus. I don't think I need to say anything about the blush, except that it's awesome that a full-sized one came in the palette. Overall, fantastic palette. It's apparently limited edition, but I THINK it's still available at Sephora and/or Ulta. Seriously, get your hands on it while you can!

4. Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner

I have to be honest... I've only had this for um... 3 days. BUT so far, so great. Best application I've experienced with a gel liner, ever. The application is smooth and the pigmentation is black as night. The liner dries nicely and doesn't crack throughout the day, nor does is smudge, smear, or fade. I'm still testing it out obviously, but so far I'm loving it. 

I've got a couple more products I've been eyeing, like the Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage Foundation, the Glamazon Pure Performance 12-Hour Lipstick, and some of their Amazonian Clay Waterproof Cream Eyeshadows. Their Powderful Amazonian Clay Pressed Mineral Powder also looks awesome, but I've got to finish my Too Faced pressed powder before I can justify trying the Tarte one out.

I hope this post inspired you to go try out some of Tarte's products! If you're already a Tarte lover, I'd love to hear about some of your favorite products!

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Opinion | My Stance on Cruelty-Free Makeup

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When you love make up as much as I do, it's important to remember that your love for animals and your love for cosmetics are not mutually exclusive passions - you can find great quality make up without violating the rights of animals.

As a vegetarian and overall animal lover myself, I am 100% against animal testing. Call me crazy, but the idea of having rabbits, mice, guinea pigs, and other animals blinded, poisoned, and even killed just to test out some cosmetics is disgusting to me. If an ingredient has the possibility to be so dangerous that you can't test it on humans, why would you want to put that out into the market, anyway? This is something I just don't (and don't really want to) understand about cosmetic companies.

A lot of well-known brands that you see in the drug store, or even high end make up stores, are often owned by a bigger parent company. The parent company will have its own rules and regulations about animal testing, but the subsidiary brand is usually free to do what it wants in terms of animal testing.

In my opinion, if the brand I'm about to give my money to doesn't condone animal testing, isn't selling their products in China (where animal testing is a LAW in order to put a product on the market), and isn't purchasing their ingredients from a company who is actively testing on animals, then I'm okay with supporting that brand, even if their parent company tests on animals. I think it's important for the parent company to see their cruelty-free brands are just as, if not more, successful as their animal testing counterparts rather than just boycotting all of the brands associated with that parent company.

To stay educated, I do my research. It takes more than just reading the label on product packaging, because there aren't strict guidelines on labeling a product "cruelty-free" like their are for labeling organic produce or non-GMO products. A brand can slap on the cruelty-free label if they didn't test the FINISHED product on animals... that means they could have tested the individual ingredients on animals, but as long as the finished product isn't, it can be considered cruelty free. Pretty lame, right?

Here are a few of my cruelty-free "bibles" when I'm doing my research. The ultimate one is the Leaping Bunny because they have the highest standards when it comes to companies registering with them to be considered TRULY cruelty-free. Since not all truly cruelty-free companies are registered with this company, it's still important to sniff around for those hidden gems.

My Beauty Bunny

Vegan Beauty Review

Leaping Bunny

Humaely Chic

I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but these are the main websites I go to.

With all this being said, I know for a fact that I have some non-cruelty-free cosmetics in my collection. For example, Revlon used to be against animal testing, but to expand their market, they decided to start selling their products in China... there go my favorite lip products! Same thing goes for Rimmel. I feel the need to point this out because these brands, and probably a few others, have been featured on my blog in past posts. As someone who is very passionate about ridding the make up industry of animal testing, I don't want to advertise or support brands that no longer hold up to my standards in regards to being cruelty-free.  I don't have a huge make up collection, so it's not difficult to weed out these products. 

In my future beauty posts, I will stay up-to-date on which brands remain cruelty-free and which have veered off the path (hopefully no more of my favorites will venture out to the Chinese market!) and I will post accordingly.

Keep those wittle fluff balls safe! They don't even need make up- they're cute enough without it!

xo Sam

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FOTD | Friday

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1. Tarte Clean Slate Poreless Primer
I wanted my make up to stay on for quite a while today, so I started off by priming my face with this. (I know I should be priming my face every day for a smoother make up application, but I don't. Let's get over it) My all-time favorite primer is Veil by Hourglass, but this comes in at a very close second. It does leave me looking poreless and it prepares my skin nicely for a very smooth foundation application.

2. yaby Natural Finish Liquid Foundation
After priming, I evenly distributed this liquid foundation all over my face and down onto my neck with a dense kabuki brush. I don't know anything about this company. I just got this in my latest ipsy glam bag and decided to give it a try. I like it! I'll have to look into the company information to figure out if I'll be purchasing it in the future, but for now I'm enjoying this sample.

*Products 3 and 4 should actually be switched*

3. Rimmel Stay Matte Long Lasting Pressed Powder
I use this to set my foundation every damn day. My favorite pressed powder. 'Nuff said

4. Make Up Forever 5 Camouflage Cream Palette
I used this to conceal underneath my eyes today. This is definitely my favorite concealer for under eye circles and overall redness. It works OK for blemishes, but there are other products out there that do a better job at that.

5. e.l.f Blush - Mellow Mauve
Applied to the apples of my cheeks. I love e.l.f blushes. The pigmentation is honestly comparable to NARS but costs 1/8 of the price. I'm sure I'll splurge and buy some NARS blushes in the future, but for now, as a broke college student, I'm sticking with e.l.f.

6. N.Y.C Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder
After the blush, I blended this bronzer into the hollows of my cheeks. I've tried, Hoola by Benefit, and while it's great and all, I keep coming back to this cheap drugstore one. It's perfect for just about any skin tone.

7. LORAC Behind the Scenes Eye Primer
I used this to prime my eyes today. It created a nice neutral base to apply my eyeshadow.

8. Urban Decay Naked Palette
From the naked palette, I used Buck all over my lid.

9. LORAC Pro Palette
From my pro palette I blended Sable into my crease and also smudged some into my lower lash line, patted Espresso into the outer corners, and blended everything out with Nude, focusing that color in the middle of my eyelid.

10. Rimmel London Extra Super Lash Mascara
I then packed on lots of coats of this mascara to lengthen and add volume to my lashes

11. Revlon Brow Fantasy - Brunette
I've been using this brow crayon/setting gel to do my brows lately. I just define my brows with the crayon and then set them with the tinted gel on the other side

12. Buxom Full-On Lip Polish - Dolly
I didn't go for a bold lip today, just a lip gloss. This is another product I got from one of my glam bags. Love it!

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FOTD | Friday

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So, I want to make this a normal thing... Face of the Day Friday. Quite simply a day where I show you my face, tell you what make up I used to create said face, and you can do with that information what you will.

Will I stick to this for every Friday? Probably not... but here's to an honest try, right?

1. e.l.f Flawless Finish Foundation
After moisturizing, I applied a thin layer of my favorite foundation all over my face and neck with my favorite e.l.f Kabuki foundation brush

2. Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder
After my foundation is evenly distributed, I set it with this matte powder. It makes my foundation last all day without looking oily or dewy. Plus, this foundation/powder combo has gotten me a few compliments on my complexion since I've started using it :)

3. Pixi Beauty Bronzer - Subtly Suntouched
Okay, I'm not entirely sure if this is a straight up bronzer or a bronzing/blush duo thing but I apply this to the apples of my cheeks like a blush, and sort of blend a tiny bit upwards toward my temples and down into the hollows of my cheeks. It's not intensely pigmented so you can get away with a light dusting wherever you feel you need a little color

4. Benefit Watt's Up Face Highlighter
I apply this to my cheekbones every day to add a little shine to to my look. The matte-ness of my pressed powder and the shimmery-ness of this highlighter work very well together

5. Lorac Pro Palette
My favorite palette at the moment is my Lorac Pro Palette... Sorry Naked Palette! Today I dusted the color Champagne all over my lid, blended Pewter into my crease, and added a bit of Deep Purple to my outer Corners. I then finished off this eye look with White as my brow and inner corner highlight.

6. Starlooks Gem Pencil - Topaz
After the eyeshadow, I smudged on some of this silvery eyeliner at the base of my top lashes.

7. E.M Waterliner - Royal Amethyst
I took some of this dark purple waterliner and smudged in into my lower lashes.

8. Rimmel London Extra Super Lash Mascara
My favorite mascara at the moment - lengthens AND adds volume :)

9. Chella Dazzling Dark Brown Eyebrow Color
I lightly filled in my eyebrows with my favorite eyebrow pencil. Be light handed with this, because your eyebrows can go from natural to dramatic within a few sweeps of this across them.

10. Be a Bombshell Lip Crayon - Shameless
I felt like this lighter maroon shade was the perfect lip color to bring the whole look together

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Beauty Tip | My Favorite "Beauty Gurus" on YouTube

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To go along with my Make Up for Beginners post, I thought I'd share a list of my favorite beauty gurus on youtube. I personally think they all do a fantastic job explaining different techniques, tools, and products. Their videos are also just great to watch. Some of them do more fashion than beauty, and others vice versa. I suggest you check them out, even if you're already well equipped with knowledge about make up and fashion.

• Lauren Elizabeth
• Hannahyep
• Alexa Losey
• Rachel Whitehurst
• Beautycrush
• Bethany Mota
• Kristee
• Emily June
• Miss Meghan Makeup
• Lindsey
• Meghan Rosette

I'm probably forgetting a few but those are the gurus that first came to my mind. I hope you find their videos as helpful and entertaining as I do :)

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Beauty Tip | Make Up for Beginners - 9 Essential Items

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So, I am not only obsessed with food, but with make up as well. I love experimenting with new looks, brands, tools, and techniques. I keep up, religiously, with my favorite beauty gurus on YouTube (I actually went to IMATS this past April JUST to meet some of them... go ahead and judge me). Anyway, since I only became REALLY interested in make up as of two summers ago, and so this obsession is relatively new to me, I know how difficult it is to try and figure out where to start. That's why I decided to make this post about 9 products that I personally think are essential to start off any beauty collection.

Keep this in mind throughout this post: if you are just starting out your beauty collection, don't start off with all high-end brands. There are some REALLY great drugstore items that can serve as dupes for their high-end equivalents. Just because something I photographed might be considered high-end, doesn't mean that's the EXACT brand I think you need to start off your collection... I need to save up money just as much as the next girl, and I appreciate a great cheap product wherever I can find one. Read reviews, watch tutorials, and go out to your local Target, CVS, Walgreens, or wherever, and experiment!

Numbers 1-3: Liquid Foundation, Concealer, Setting Powder

 

I personally think liquid foundation provides the most coverage. I'm currently using Revlon's Photo Ready liquid foundation and I'm in the color 005 or Natural Beige. This foundation gives really great coverage and doesn't leave my face feeling dry or looking pasty. It also has SPF 20 in it so that's a nice bonus. Revlon doesn't test on animals and you can get any of their products in any drugstore.

Concealer is pretty important... especially if you're a night owl like me with dark circles under your eyes that you want to conceal or if you get random breakouts during that oh so special time of the month. My favorite concealer is the Make Up Forever Professionals: 5 Camouflage Cream Palette. I love this one because it has a variety of shades to accommodate any type of coverage I may need and any variations of color my skin may go through (being tanner in the summer, for example). It also has a green concealer which cancels out redness on your face which is a LIFESAVER in the winter when I'm constantly sniffly and my face is dry and red and disgusting. Make Up Forever doesn't test on animals and can be purchased at Sephora and (I think) Ulta, too.

A setting powder isn't always necessary. I always use it just because I don't want my face to have a dewy finish at all. I use Rimmel's Stay Matte Pressed Powder and it's just amazing. It keeps my make up in place all day and leaves my face with a matte finish - just like the name promises. Rimmel London is another drug store brand that doesn't test on animals.

*Optional - During the summer months or on days where I don't feel I need as much coverage, I use a BB cream. The one I currently have I purchased without knowing that the brand actually tests on animals, so I don't want to recommend it because I will not be repurchasing it when this bottle runs out.

**Optional - Face Primer - This is actually pretty important if you go to a lot of events where you won't be getting a chance to touch up your make up at all and want it to stay put all day. Just like with my favorite BB Cream, my favorite face primer brand actually tests on animals. A sales associate at Sephora actually told me the brand didn't, so I trusted her and bought it. When I went  and did my own research recently, I found out that they actually do test on animals, so I won't be repurchasing that one. There are TONS of great ones that don't test on animals, though. Just do some research and test them out. Face primers can often double as eye primers, also.

Numbers 4-6: Eye Shadow, Mascara, Eye Liner

For eye shadow, start off with neutral colors. I have the Naked Palette by Urban Decay, who doesn't test on animals, and use it in every eye look that I do. There are some great palettes from the drug store that are quite pigmented and not chalky at all. Wet n Wild, surprisingly, has great products and I trust anything by Revlon.

Mascara - I almost always buy drugstore mascara. Revlon has GREAT ones. I know Maybeline is like known for their mascaras, but they unfortunately test on animals and their reason for why is like really, really, stupid. I picked up a sample of Benefit's They're Real! Mascara during a trip to Sephora and fell in love with it. I then received it as part of the gift that they give you on your birthday and have been using that as my main mascara. I don't think I can justify buying the full-sized one, so I'll be going back to drugstore mascaras once this one dries out.

I don't use eyeliner everyday, but when I do use it, I use a gel liner with a thin brush applicator. E.l.f is my favorite because it's cheap and gets the job done. E.l.f also doesn't test on animals. It's only sold in Target, I think. As for pencil liners, I really only trust Revlon or Urban Decay to not smudge all over my face. 

Numbers 7 and 8: Blush and Highlighters

E.l.f blushes have the pigmentation and overall quality that NARS does... but they cost an eighth of the cost. So which ones will I buy for the rest of my life? E.l.f. They do have a limited color selection, but I'm still building my collection. I'll test out other blushes as I go along but E.l.f will always be number one to me.

As the second part of my Sephora birthday gift of this year, I received the What's Up Face Highligher by Benefit. I will DEFINITELY be buying this in full size when I'm done with this sample. It adds just the right amount of shine wherever you apply it and it doesn't leave you looking TOO shiny or oily or dewy. It's perfect.

Number 9: Lipstick

I'm a firm believer in every girl needing a good red lip every once in a while. Revlon lip products do the trick. For a beginner I definitely suggest their Lip Butters because the color is buildable. It can either be very sheer, or you can build it up to be very opaque and bold. They also have SO many colors to suit many different tastes. Try them all!

I hope this post helped you with choosing some starters for your make up collection. Again, these are all my own opinions, so these may not suit your specific needs, but I do think at least some of these can apply to the majority of make up collectors out there. Have fun!

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Update | Sorry!

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I know it's been a while since I've posted anything. I've just been swamped with school work lately. But I'm finally on spring break, and although it's not much of a break for me, I DO have some free time to post some new recipes I've tried out. They'll be posted over the span of this week and hopefully I'll come up with a few more before my break ends.

I'm also working on some pieces to set up an online art shop. I'll  post them here when they're finished and I'll link the shop once that's up and running. I'm really proud of the artwork that I produce and it's something I'm extremely passionate about. I hope at least some people find my artwork equally as enticing.

I think I'm going to incorporate some make-up and beauty-related posts to this blog because that's another thing I'm very passionate about, so check back for those kinds of updates, too!

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