Bewitched by Make-up...again

When I was in college I LOVED make-up. I still have a huge collection from MAC from my many visits. Back then we used A LOT of of color, like a lot. Nowadays, it's all about the face..contour, highlight, make it on fleek... And now there's a this thing called YouTube, shockingly, it has more than funny cat videos. Actually, there is a new thing/person the "beauty guru." I fell down the rabbit hole earlier this year and found my make-up spark. I started watching gobs of videos. I learned to contour and I fell in love with my face again. Before this sounds like a sad story, I will paraphrase what I mean. I started working in my career when I was about 21 and that meant I needed to look...professional. And that mean saying bye bye to eyelids with 10 colors. I quickly fell into a rut of making my face look presentable and that was about it. But now, I really enjoy putting on make-up and trying new things and holy moly are there so many things to try now! If I only had the same discretionary funds like I used to :-/

I've tried lots of new products and I have a few I love. I like to keep my make-up pretty simple because A.) I don't have time and B.) I touch my face waaaay too much. I know I should stop, but I can't and I rather use my energy elsewhere. These are my favorite things separated by category.

Skincare
I got a sample of Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus from my mother in law and really noticed
brightening results. So I stalked Marshall's and bought a bottle there for about 33% off. I researched it when I got it home and learned that it was a duty free over stock, and it has the same consistency as the sample so I deemed it a great bargain (my favorite thing, next to Noah).

I recently started using BENEFIANCE WrinkleResist24 Intensive Eye Contour Cream. I found my under-eye area was getting a little creepy (yikes!) and this adds moisture for days!

I have also started using masks. I heard on tv that Khloe K. swears by the Origins CLEAR IMPROVEMENT mask and it's pretty amazing for clearing up acne. 

I also have tried lots of the face masks the cream masks I like are 7th Heaven, Glam Glow Gravity Mud, and Dr. Jart+ sheet masks. These range from $2 each to $70 for a JAR! PS I got my GG on a BOGO sale so they were 50% off otherwise I'd still wonder what's so great about it. All are great, I don't know if I notice the difference of one over another I think the most important thing is to use masks as you age to restore moisture.

Face

BB Cream

I really like BB creams, so I've tried quite a few. I like the Laneige BB Cushion you can get at Target, it's very light and moisturizing and has 50 SPF! My first favorite is the L'Oreal Magic Skin Beautifier BB Cream, I found the Light color is a little orange but Medium isn't as dark as you'd think it would be. And my everyday I use now is the MAC Prep+Prime BB. I put this under my concealer and set it with the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish.  

Concealer

This is a pretty cool product, the Onomie Bright Concealing Elixir. This is a brightening concealer that has eye cream in it and is a brightener. Yes, mommas, the fountain of youth was poured into little pink bottles and it's amazing. I do feel like this makes my eyes brighter and generally better over time. I don't know if it's a combo of everything I've been doing but something works. I also got a sample of the Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer from Sephora and it's pretty bomb. I think I may have gotten the wrong shade so I'll give it another whirl.

Lips

Oh.Em.Gee I have fallen in love! There is this new craze called liquid lipstick. It's horrible, this stuff claims to be long-wearing, transfer proof, and matte. Why you'd want matte color on your lips is a mystery to me, especially since most of the "beauty gurus" who say it's 'amazing' put gloss on top :-/

I found the bombest lipstick stuff ever....and it's $3. That's freaking right, $3! I've done a little checking into the company too and they're vegan, which i figure must be good since a lot of fillers for products are animal by-products. The company has been around for 25 years and makes everything in CA. The brand is called Jordana. The name makes me cringe when I say it but whatever, it's $3 and awesome sauce. I love the Modern Matte lipsticks, 'Matte Pretty' and 'Matte Dare' are the first I tried and loved and today I bought like 1,000 tubes so I never run out. I also tried the Twist & Shine Moisturizing Balm Stain. I bought the Sweet Creme Matte Liquid Lip Color to try out, I'll report back.

That's it for now, later I'll write about my ventures into contouring and baking...not goods but yo' face. Some kiddo stuff and a few recipes that are family-friendly. Maybe a link or two to the better side of YouTube (cat videos). In the mean time, here's my favorite video maybe of all time #1 YouTube video.