FOTD May 22, 2015

Base:
SPF Laneige Sun Block Supreme SPF 50
Moisturizer Too Faced HangoverRx
Concealer Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer in .05
Powder Everyday Minerals Jojoba Base in Shell Blanc (under eyes) and Physician's Formula Super BB Powder SPF 30

Eyes:
Brows A matte brown shade from Coastal Scents Revealed 2
Liner Bellapierre Waterproof Gel Eyeliner in Ebony
Mascara bareMinerals Lash Domination Volumizing Mascara (top lashes) and Covergirl Clump Crusher (bottom lashes)

Cheeks:
Blush Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Thriller
Contour "Cool Gray" from Lorac Pro 2 Palette
Highlight e.l.f. Studio Baked Highlighter in Blush Gems

Lips:
Lipliner essence Lip Liner in 07 Cute Pink (used all over)

I wanted to do a quicker, lighter look today by skipping foundation so I used my new favorite thing in life (the UD concealer) under my eyes, around my nose, and on some red areas on my chin and then smoothed everything else out with a new purchase, the Physician's Assistant Super BB powder. I had been looking for a powder with high(er) SPF that I could use to boost my protection on days when I can't easily re-apply sunscreen, and I've been really pleased with this so far. It offers a very small amount of coverage (so I wouldn't suggest trying to use it as a foundation unless you are looking for something very sheer), but the powder is oddly... creamy and looks very soft and flawless on the skin, not powdery at all. I'd definitely recommend this to other dry skinned folks.

I also decided to do a little highlighting and contouring as I'd saved myself some time by not applying foundation. I like using the Cool Gray shade (this name bugs me every time I use it... if you've ever used the palette, I'm sure that you could agree with me that the shade could be considered a cool brown, or a warm gray, but it is definitely NOT a cool gray!) from the Lorac Pro 2 palette as my contour shade. It does require a very light hand, but I find the cool toned shade tends to look like a pretty natural shadow once it's blended out. I've been trying to work on applying my contour slightly higher on my cheeks as I don't think its current position is doing me any favors, but I always seem to remember this AFTER I've already placed my contour and it's too late to fix. I was able to get a lot of glow from the Tarte blush and the e.l.f. baked highlighter, which is really a phenomenal highlight product if you're looking for a cheap one.

I also wanted to show off that finally, after many months of having bare nails, I decided to put some of my nail polish to good use. The base shade here is Wet 'n' Wild Coast to Coast. I believe this was a limited edition shade from last summer's (2014) collection and this is embarrassingly enough the first time I've used it. It's a great polish (like other Wet 'n' Wild polishes-- they are some of my favorites even though they're an inexpensive brand)-- very user friendly, opaque (you could probably do this in one coat if you're skilled and patient, but I'm not), dries reasonably quickly but not so fast that it gets goopy before you can even finish painting one nail, and best of all-- the brush on these polishes is DIVINE. It's nice and wide so I can paint each nail in only 2-3 strokes. Love. For the flowers, the base color (a light pink-- not easily visible here) is another Wet 'n' Wild polish, Sophisticated Lady. This was also limited edition, but I forget when it came out. The darker pink petals are Zoya Kylie (also used for the horribly drawn stripes), the white center is a Wet 'n' Wild matte shade, Lac my mani? (also used for the white dots on my thumb), and the leaves are Covergirl Glosstini in Appletini. Finally, the copper glitter is a Sally Hanson Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear polish in Frazzle Dazzle. I really liked this polish until I realized there was black bar glitter in it (I hate bar glitter, I don't know why). It only appear on one nail (not pictured), which also kind of bugs me. I used Sally Hanson Double Duty Base and Top coat as my top coat, which impressed me quite a bit as this manicure lasted a full week with only the most minor tip wear and a tiny bit of chipping on one finger. I've never had a manicure last so long in such good condition before. Part of me is curious to see how long it could last while still looking wearable, but I'm definitely going to remove it after I finish typing this as I'm quite desperate to cut my nails (I can't imagine anyone in the beauty world sympathizes with me, but for some reason it drives me nuts to have my nails any longer than the ends of my fingers, as beautiful as long nails look).

FOTD: May 21st, 2015

I tried out a couple of new products in this look, some of which I ended loving and some which I did not like at all... you win some, you lose some.

Base:
Moisturizer Too Faced Hangover Rx Replenishing Face Primer

SPF La Roche Posay Anthelios 30 Cooling Water Lotion
Corrector A combination of the yellow and green shades of the Coastal Scents Color Corrector Camo Quad to Foundation A 2:1 mixture of MAC Face and Body in C1 with CoverFx Custom Cover drops in N10 
Concealer Urban Decay Naked Skin Weightless Complete Coverage Concealer in shade .5 
Setting e.l.f. High Definition Powder in Translucent (only in the areas I concealed)

Eyes:

Brows e.l.f. brow kit in Medium (I usually use light) and the brow end of e.l.f. Essential Clear Brow and Lash Mascara.

Primer Smashbox's 24 Hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer

Shadow Maybelline Color Tattoos in Inked in Pink (outer 2/3 of lids) and Barely Branded (inner 1/3 of lids)

Liner Dark brown shade from the Coastal Scents Revealed 2 palette (upper lids) and black shade (tightlining)

Mascara bareMinerals Lash Domination Volumizing Mascara (top lashes) and Covergirl Clump Crusher in Brown (bottom lashes)

Cheeks:

Blush Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush in Thrilled

Lips:

Lipstick Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in 300- Rose Blush

I'm having a really hard time getting the colors in the second set of photos to be accurate-- Inked in Pink is a decidedly rosey-pink but it's looking kind of coral in the bottom pictures. I'll try to work out a better method of white balancing in future photos. Anyway, this whole look revolved around the use of my new Color Tattoos which I LOVE. Gorgeous colors that blend like a dream and last all day without creasing? I'm a big fan. Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of the e.l.f. brow kit. I had been using the light version for a while but I was hoping that maybe the medium version would have a less warm brow powder. I was unfortunately let down-- I only used the powder on the inner portion of my brows where my brows are sparse (because I *ahem* pull the hairs out) and you can tell that the color is WAY too orangey there compared to the outer parts, which I just used the gel side on. Also.... the UD Naked Skin concealer is intense stuff. I'm kind of head over heels in love. Even though I was never completely UNhappy with my Tarte concealer (see previous post), I felt like I could never completely cover my dark circles with it (everyone in my family has them-- the curse of having both pale skin and sub-orbital volume deficiency-- but I also have chronic insomnia so my dark circles have been intense this past year). I think the UD concealer did quite a good job of hiding the darkness (especially if you compare these photos to my previous post)-- there's still a shadow near my tear trough, but that's a literal shadow (because of my bone structure) and not discoloration. Because the consistency of this concealer is thinner and it dries down faster, I'm almost positive you could keep layering it until it covered just about anything.

Finally, I just want to take a moment to gush about this Tarte blush (since I just spent a bit bashing that concealer....) Thrilled is not only the most gorgeous light pink, but it has fine shimmer (think glow, not sparkle) running throughout it that makes it double as a highlighter and a blush. And furthermore, it's one of the few blushes I've used that definitely stays on my face without budging all day. I spend way too much time resting my cheeks in my hands while I'm working, so for a blush to still be in good shape at the end of the day is quite a feat.

FOTD: May 20th, 2015

I'm not going to try to excuse my (very long) absence... In the many months since I've last posted, I've been working tons, honing my makeup skills (somewhat at least!), working out, playing Animal Crossing... big people things. But I have been thinking about blogging a lot through it all (and cursing myself for not documenting things better-- ever look back at a picture of yourself and think "Man, that look was killer, what the hell was I using that day?") and I'm excited to get back into it now that summer is rolling around. Something about summer gives me the illusion that I have free time, when in reality now that I'm no longer in college I have about as much free time during the summer as I do during the rest of the year...

Anyway, I thought I'd bring an end to my hiatus by bringing back my FOTD posts. Looking back at some of the ones I posted (and then some of the ones I forgot to post) reminds me of how many great products I've got in my arsenal that I don't always reach for. It's a good way of reminding myself what I have, getting myself out of beauty ruts, and also a way to look back on how my skills and tastes change. I'm going to see if I can find some beauty challenges to give these looks a little more direction, too.

Here's a look that I put together yesterday, May 20th, 2015.

Base:
Moisturizer Too Faced HangoverRx Replenishing Primer
SPF La Roche Posay Anthelios 30 Cooling Water Lotion
Foundation 2:1 mixture of MAC Face and Body in C1 and CoverFX Custom Cover Drops in N10
Concealer 2:1:1 mixture of Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer in Fair, Maybelline Face Studio Master Conceal in Fair, and Boo-Boo Cover-up concealer in Medium
Setting bareMinerals Mineral Veil and a wet Real Techniques Complexion sponge

Eyes:
Brows Anastasia Beverly Hills Powder Brow Duo in Dark Brown (the lighter shade)
Primer Smashbox Photo Finish 24 Hour Shadow Primer
Base Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze (all over the lids and blended into the crease)
Shadows Stila Bubbly (center of the lid), Stila Kitten (inner corner), a burgundy shade from the Coastal Scents Revealed 2 palette (outer third of top and bottom lids), Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze (lower lashline)
Liner Bellapierre Gel Eye Liner in Ebony (tightlining) and the black shade from the Coastal Scents Revealed 2 palette (top lashline)
Mascara Covergirl Clump Crusher

Cheeks:
Blush Stila Convertible Color in Peony

Lips:
Lipstick Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey

I really love how the MAC F&B+Custom Cover Drops looks in these photos (and in real life-- looked very skin like), but I think one of the products I used on this day didn't totally agree with my skin because it was looking a bit dry by the end of the day. I'm not sure if it's the F&B, the Mineral Veil, or the sunscreen (or some combination of the three)-- I'll have to try messing with things to figure it out. Struggles of a dry/dehydrated-skinned girl. I've been having to MacGyver my concealer lately because despite what so many people says, I just cannot get the Tarte concealer to last all day if I use it on it's own-- by the time I get home from work it looks like I've got two black eyes. I tried mixing it with just the Maybelline concealer for a while but that concealer creases worse than anything I've ever used before (it's a shame, really, because if it weren't for the creasing it would be a HG drugstore concealer, it's got amazing coverage). I tossed the Boo-Boo Cover-up into the mix because I got it in an ipsy bag and I've got no other use for a concealer in a medium shade :/ I've been really into burgundy eye looks lately so I was really pleased with how this turned out, although it was admittedly a little darker than I was originally going for.

(My pupils look HUGE in these photos but I promise I was not high... I want to blame it on being in a dark room but my room wasn't even all that dark at the time :| )