July Beauty Favorites

I know everybody always says this month flew by, but I genuinely felt that with July. I found myself pretty busy this month trying to balance work, appointments, and hanging out with as many people as I can before I leave for college. Even so, I still found time to acquire some make up along the way and stumbled along some great finds. However, I also rediscovered some old favorites. Since I had so many products to show, I decided to write a cumulative beauty favorites. 

Milani Baked Blush in 'Luminoso'

This well-known drugstore blush has been on my wishlist for a long time. I ended up purchasing this at CVS for around $10. Well known as being a dupe for Nars' Orgasm Blush, Milani's Luminoso didn't disappoint in color or quality. Most of my blushes are more on the pink side so to finally have one on the peachier/corally side was so satisfying. One swatch of this gorgeous peachy color easily proves it to be the most pigmented blush I own. There is a slight satin sheen to it but nothing on the shimmery end. It is such a perfect color for all skin tones--especially during the summer. This definitely makes me want to try more of the colors from this line.

Elf Eyebrow Kit in 'Dark'

I don't want to delve too much into this product as I raved about it in my E.l.f. haul. But basically, I've never filled in my eyebrows before due to the stark difference between my naked brows and my filled in ones. Yet, this palette doesn't give an exorbitant amount of color in each application. It is easy to use and does the job perfectly, an A+ in my book. If you haven't tried this product yet, I recommend purchasing this...not like you'll be losing too much---it's only $3!

Wet n' Wild's Icon Trio Eyeshadow in 'Walking on Eggshells'

Wet n' Wild's Icon Trio Eyeshadows are nothing new to the beauty world. They've been raved about practically since their inception, especially 'Walking on Eggshells'. I was lucky enough to be gifted this from an awesome friend (thanks if you're reading this :])and I practically screamed when I saw it. I haven't had much time to use them too much but I'm already in love with these shadows. Like most Wet n' Wild's powder products, they're extremely pigmented and so easy to use. Even if you're new to makeup, they label each shadow with the corresponding suggested location. The shimmery white is for the brow bone (and inner corners), the dark brown one is for the crease, and the shimmery champagne color is for the eyelid. For an eyeshadow novice like me, this palette was so easy to use. Putting this on immediately boosted my self-confidence 90%. Long story short, you MUST have this product!

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara 

I bought this mascara a while ago to keep my furry, unyielding brows in check. Though it did a good job combing and setting my brows, I neglected any brow grooming in my daily routine and hardly ever used it. I've only recently begun using it on a more frequent basis and I fell in love with it once again. This clear mascara truly sets your brows in place, which is so necessary for those who wake up and their brow hairs are going in different directions. It also darkens your lashes to make them look a tad more filled. With just a couple swipes of this product on my brows, I already feel more put together.

What were some of your July beauty favorites?

E.l.f. Haul and Reviews

As much as I'd love to splurge on expensive makeup, it just realistically isn't practical for me. Although I've purchased from the extremely inexpensive makeup brand "E.l.f." before, I never really delved into the brand as much as I have this week. In fact, I purchased 7 products this week alone. I bought four brushes and three products: the Elf Makeup Mist & Set, Elf Baked Highlighter in 'Moonlight Pearls' and the Elf Eyebrow Kit in 'Dark'. All of them were part of the studio line and were $3...what a steal! 

E.l.f. Makeup Mist & Set Spray

I always wanted Mac Fixed Plus or Urban Decay's All Nighter setting spray, but I could never bring myself to spend so much money for a squirt bottle. I ended up trying out this spray as a cheaper alternative to those high-end products. Unfortunately, I was thoroughly disappointed by this product. My problem isn't necessarily with the product itself but with its packaging. As a setting spray, I expected the nozzle to spray an even fan of mist all over my face. Instead, I got a forceful squirt of a stream of liquid. The nozzle literally squirts like a water gun, in one streamlined motion. I couldn't even test whether it set my makeup or not, because I couldn't get the product over my face! I felt like I was just shooting my face in different points with a water gun. I was very disappointed and threw it out after just a couple of sprays.

Elf Eyebrow Kit (Dark)

Many beauty gurus have said great things about the Elf Eyebrow Kit. I never fill in my eyebrows because I am terrified by how different I look after each attempt. Yet, I decided to pick this product up on a whim. After all, it was only $3! I got the darkest shade, fittingly named 'Dark'. There is also a 'Medium' and 'Light'. The kit comes in a sleek compact, the usual packaging of many E.l.f. products, and includes a gel and a powder.

When I put this on, I think I heard angels singing. The color was a perfect match for my eyebrows because it wasn't too dark or light, a problem I've had with other brow products. My brows didn't have the stark contrast I always cringed at. I think the best thing about this product is that you don't pick up too much of the color, so your brows don't look ridiculously dark. Even the tiny dual-ended brush that comes with this kit works well, although I go for my angled Sonia Kashuk brush. I mainly use the powder but the gel works just as great. I usually end up using both! As a person who never filled in her brows, this product has changed my life. I can finally fill in my eyebrows with confidence and more importantly, I can finally say my eyebrows are on fleek (sorry...I had to).

Elf Baked Highlighter in 'Moonlight Pearls'

I've been dying to try this product since KathleenLights raved about the Elf Baked Highlighters on her channel. The reviews and swatches of this product seemed to corroborate her opinion, so I decided to purchase this. The baked highlighters weren't available at Target so I ended up purchasing this on Amazon.

I absolutely love highlighting. I have extremely dry skin, so any glow to my face is greatly appreciated. I have the Dior Shimmerstar in 'Amber Diamond' and I absolutely adore it (though I think it's been discontinued). I also own Benefit's High Beam, which works just as nicely. However, I wanted to see if there was a good drugstore highlighter and had high expectations for this one after all the rave reviews. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by the poor color payoff. 

'Moonlight Pearls' is a nice shimmery highlighter but I was disappointed by the pigmentation, especially because online pictures and reviews made it seem like it was very pigmented. I found myself having to rub the product several times to get significant color payoff. I used the E.l.f. fan brush to apply this product to the top of my cheekbones and was delighted and surprised to see a nice glow. Perhaps this product isn't as 'swatch-able' but still functions well as a highlighter. Even so, I'm pretty ambivalent on how I feel about this product. I think I'll continue to use it but not repurchase it. My search for a drugstore highlighter continues. I'm thinking I'll try Physician's Formula's Shimmer Brick next. 

I guess I scored 1.5/3 with my purchases, but I fared a lot better with the brushes. Maybe I'll do an upcoming post featuring all my e.l.f. brushes...or just a makeup brush collection post in general. I'll see how I feel. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this post and let me know if there are any good e.l.f. products I should try.

Revlon Colorstay Foundation Review

I must admit I'm far too lazy to ever use foundation, and it is definitely one of the products I almost never wear. I find that hardly anything works well with my dry skin. Everything just ends up patchy and settles in fine lines, contributing to "cake face". But because my acne has gotten particularly bad recently and I have a lot of acne scars and red spots, I finally pushed myself to purchase the famous Revlon Colorstay foundation. I used my Real Techniques Expert Face Brush to buff it in. Though I was worried about the matte finish (I always prefer dewy foundations because of my dry skin), it didn't look as cakey or patchy as I expected. Instead, it blended rather seamlessly. The coverage is medium to heavy, which is good for covering my acne. However, it doesn't feel heavy on my skin at all. 

Revlon Colorstay Normal/Dry Skin in 150 Buff

The only foundation I've ever really liked is the incredibly dewy Maybelline Fit Me Foundation, because it was light yet buildable and didn't patch up on me. Revlon Colorstay beats that because the tone is not as orangey as Fit Me and is more of a neutral tone, suiting all skin types. Its coverage is also significantly better than the Fit Me foundation and did a good job covering up my acne spots. I also have some really bad acne scars, which was covered well by this foundation.

The only bad thing about this foundation was the fact that it sometimes settled into my fine lines and dry patches. It definitely isn't a bad as other foundations I've tried and unless you take one of those zoom-in mirrors to your face, the settling is dismissive. The foundation in 150 Buff was also a little too light for me, but that's on me. 

All in all, this inexpensive foundation definitely lived up to its expectations and made me smile looking at my near flawless skin--a feeling I haven't felt in a long time.

NOTD: Essie Turquoise and Caicos

One of my favorite colors is the mint/turquoise genre (as you can tell by my blog). So when I saw Essie's Turquoise and Caicos, I knew this would be the perfect color for my nails. This color is more muted than Essie's Mint Candy Apple,which I always found to be too bright for my liking.

This color is much bluer in person!

My pictures made the color look a lot greener than it actually is. Trust me when I say the color is much bluer in real life (think Tiffany Blue or Robin Egg). I also used two coats.

This is one of my go to nail polishes and if you want a more muted minty blue nail polish, I suggest Essie's Turquoise and Caicos.