Face of the Day: Bright Eyes, Soft Lip

I had meant this post to include a video but the video turned out blurry and terrible. So disappointing! Since Spring is definitely here and Summer is just around the corner, I thought it was high time that I brightened things up a bit. This look was inspired but the brights in my sweater (and jeans). Read on to see more!

 

On my eyes, I used shades from the IT Cosmetics Naturally Pretty palette (find it here for $42). I’m wearing Sheer Joy from the lashline to the brow, Love on the lid, Sunset and Soulful in the crease, Mocha in the outer “V” and a combo of Sheer Joy and Transforming Pearl on the tear duct. It’s hard to see in these photos, but Sunset is a warm, orange/terracotta that picks up the orange/red tones in my sweater. These shadows last and last. I’ll be reviewing them soon!

To finish off the eyes, I’m wearing Urban Decay’s Ink for Eyes on the upper lashline and Mac’s Zoom Waterfast Lash on the upper lashes. On my eyebrows, I’m using my old standby, Anastasia of Beverly Hills’ Tinted Eyebrow Gel in Espresso.

The rest of my look uses the following: Revlon CC Cream in Light Medium; IT Cosmetics Eye Lift in a Tube; Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Diffused Heat; Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow (for contouring); Julep Lipgloss in Graceful; and I finished it all off with my favorite NARS Light Reflecting Setting Powder.

I’ve also been trying to grow out my hair with the idea of getting it long enough and then figuring out what I want to do. It’s long enough now to put into a french braid so I did a messy braid and the results are above. This will be great for the hot, humid Virginia summer!

Are any of these products your favorites?

In the Pink!

I don’t know about you but I am really tired of this dreary, winter weather! My mood tends to be impacted by the weather (not in a good way) and it hits especially hard when I spend large amounts of time by myself (which happens when I’m not traveling, as I work 100% of the time out of my home office). When I woke up yesterday morning, I thought it was about time I did something about it and broke out my favorite pink sweater. Although my favorite color is red, pink seems to brighten my outlook like nothing else. Just by putting on that sweater, I was inspired to also put on makeup, do my hair, and polish my nails.

I won’t go into all of the details, but the “pink” shades I’m wearing in this look are:

• Sonia Kashuk “Blossom” cream blush
• Urban Decay “Naked 3” palette on eyes (colors: “Limit” on lid and as a blending color; “Liar” on outer lid and as liner for inner part of lower lash line; “Factory” in crease and as liner on outer part of lower lash line; “Strange” under brow; “Dust” in tear duct area; “Blackheart” on upper lash line over Bobbi Brown’s “Black Mauve” Shimmer Ink)
• Mac “Angel” lipstick on lips with a coat of “Modesty” on top
• Guerlain Meteorites pressed poweder in “Mythic”

If you’re interested, I’m testing out L’Oreal’s Lash Out “Butterfly” Mascara and wearing it on my top lashes only

My mood definitely brightened after I indulged in a “shot of pink!”

What’s your trick to make your day a little brighter? Does a change in color help lift you from the winter doldrums?

Keep Your Resolutions: Drugstore FOTD!

If you’re like me, you probably began January thinking, “Wow…I may have overspent during the holidays!” I thought about going on a “no buy” month (or six), which is fairly likely, although I’m not ready to commit to that yet. Fortunately, I have a TON of beauty products that I still need to test, photograph and review. That got me thinking about makeup I already have in my collection that would make a great drugstore post. Today’s Face of the Day uses some of my old and new drugstore favorites and all of them are affordable! You probably have some of them already in your collection (or you should!) so take a look!

For this makeup look, I wanted something clean, fresh and pretty (nothing too bright, too heavy or too shiny). Here’s what I used:

• Revlon Photo Ready Perfecting Primer--$12.99 (my favorite drugstore primer!)
• Lumene CC Cream in Medium--$14.99
• Milani The Multi Tasker Face Powder in Light Medium--$6.99
• Revlon Photo Ready Bronzer--$7.99
• Sonia Kashuk Cream Blush in Petal--$9.89
• Revlon Photo Ready Concealer in Light--$8.99
• Sonia Kashuk Extreme Wear Eye Primer--$9.99 (this rivals Urban Decay’s Primer Potion in performance!)
• Revlon Brow Fantasy in Dark Brown--$6.49
• Rimmel Scandal Eyes Retro Glam Waterproof Mascara in Black--$6.99
• Sonia Kashuk Eye On Neutral Eye Shadow Palette--$19.99 (the matte shadows)
• Sonia Kashuk Sweet Nothings Eye Shadow Palette --$14.29
• NYX Collection Noir Liquid Black Liner--$5.99 (upper lids)
• Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Pencil in Taupe--$4.49 (under lower lashes)
• No. 7 Lip Pencil in Plum--$6.99 (lining lips and then filling in lips)
• NYX Butter Gloss in Vanilla Cream Pie--$4.99

For the eye shadow, I used the Sweet Nothing Eye Palette (lower left hand corner) shadow all over the lid with the lightest color (upper left hand corner) shade in the tear duct area. Then I used a couple of shadows from the matte palette (Eye on Neutrals): lower left hand color—a cool brown—in the crease, a deeper brown---second row from the bottom and at the far right---in the outer “V” and then the lightest color right under the brows. I’m really loving these Sonia Kashuk eye shadows!

This was a really easy, light look that wore well all day. It’s perfect for work or really any day that you want to look a bit polished but not dramatic.

What are you doing about “spending” on beauty products after the holidays? Are you shopping your stash? Let me know!

The Five Product Face: What Would You Choose?

If you were in a huge hurry (maybe running late for work?) and had to grab five products to do your face that day, what would you reach for? Maybe you’re traveling and have a limited amount of space in your bag. Are there some items you’d think of before others? On days that I wear makeup, it’s usually many more than five products so I tried to pick items that are not only awesome products, but are multifunctional as well. Here are the results!!

OK…every product was already in my stash and two are old favorites (the others I will be reviewing soon). Before getting into the specifics, here are the “jobs” that I wanted to solve for:

Moisturizer

SPF

Primer

Foundation

Mascara

Brow Gel

Concealer

Contour

Eyeshadow

Eyeliner

Blush

Lipcolor

Setting Powder

Sounds impossible, right? I thought so too but it quickly came together. Here’s what I chose:

CoverGirl Lash Blash Fusion Waterproof Mascara in Brown/Black

Normally, I wear black mascara but I wanted to use one product for both my lashes and brows. The brown/black color was enough to add a bit of drama to my upper lashes while at the same time covering the white hair in my eyebrows. It did an excellent job and didn’t flake or smudge. Mission accomplished!

IT Cosmetics CC Cream

This is a new product for me (I’ll post a review next week) and it looks promising. CC Cream handles the moisturizer/spf/primer/foundation requirements and this one does it quite well! I like a dewy look so this one is perfect. If you have oily skin or are looking for a more matte finish, the Garnier BB Cream for oily skin may work well for you. I’m wearing the shade Light, which is a great match for my complexion.

IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye

I’ve written many times about how this is my Holy Grail concealer and one of the reasons for that is that it doesn’t require setting with a powder (I normally do anyway). Setting powder was the biggest challenge to sticking to the “5 products” rule so this concealer worked well, as usual.

Sonia Kashuk Eye Couture Palette Eye on Neutrals

Believe it or not, this awesome collection handles four of the jobs on the list and could go to five if I needed to fill in my brows. The great thing about this matte palette is that it is so darn versatile! I used the neutral medium brown on the second row as a contour color for my face (hollows of cheeks, jawline and all around the perimeter of the face) and as a crease color on my eyes to add depth. The lightest shade served as a highlighter under the arch of my eyebrows and the darkest color worked as a great liner along the upper lashes and at the outer third of the lower lashes. Because these shades are so neutral and matte, the possibilities are almost endless. Now here’s where it got a little bit fun---I found that I could mix a few of the lightest colors and use that as a “setting powder” of sorts on areas where I needed a little bit of coverage (my nose, along the nostrils, and under my eyes). THAT was a surprise! Because of the wide range of shades in this palette, this little trick will work for many skintones! Crazy, huh?

Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm in Elusive

This product is brilliant! Not only does it make a beautiful, medium pink lip color, but it works amazingly well as a creamy blush! A winner!!!

So what do you think? Which five products would you choose???

Face of the Day

It was a glorious weekend in Central Virginia with the high temps in the 60s and sunny! Since it’s not quite cold (merely cool in the evenings), I’m still wearing bright shirts and lighter colors but I’ve given up on the instant tan I usually sport during the summer. Today’s weather is much the same so I decided to post a transitional makeup look that focuses mostly on the eyes.

I kept the eyes fairly neutral but with a hint of blue eyeliner on the upper lash and waterlines, a bit of contouring, a golden highlighter instead of blush and a sheer, berry lip. I think it’s perfect for these in-between days of Fall! This works well for the workday as it’s not too dramatic. You can even tone the eyes down more with a brown liner instead of the blue. See below for the products I used.
Products

• YSL Le Teint Touch Eclat foundation in B40
• Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics concealer in R1
• Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre in 30 Natural/Translucent 2
• Mac Eyeshadow in Fashion Fix (a taupey gray) as contour under cheekbones and at jawline
• The Balm Mary- Lou Manizer on cheekbones
• Chanel Les 4 Ombres Eye Shadow Quad in Seduction
• Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Eye Pencil in 103 Bleu Exquis
• Nars Larger Than Life Eye Pencil in Rue Bonaparte on lower waterline
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Eyebrow Gel in Espresso
• Chanel Le Volume de Chanel Mascara in Noir
• Nars Lip Gloss in Rose Gitane

Budget Face of the Day

I started this blog as an outlet for myself and a resource for women roughly my age and older who are dealing with issues concerning body image, aging, elderly parents, children , finances, health and beauty. I’m no writer but it’s been a great experience and being the beauty junkie that I am, I absolutely LOVE when I can find an inexpensive product that works. In the beauty industry today, we’re bombarded with messages like “you’re not thin enough, pretty enough, or young enough but if you want to be those things you need to spend $$$$$ on THIS product in order to be worthwhile.” OK, not really those exact words, but with all of the Photo Shopped images in magazines and insanely expensive beauty products out there, things have gotten a little ridiculous.

The other day, I posted a “face of the day” that used all high end products. I love all of those products but the price tag on that entire look was pretty high (I didn’t even add it up---I just know it was “a little much.”). So in the interest of being balanced, today’s post uses all drugstore products and many of them are very inexpensive!




I start out with mascara, because I almost always make a mess that has to be cleaned up. For this look, I used Neutrogena’s Healthy Volume Mascara in Black/Brown. At $7.49, this is an excellent budget pick and makes my lashes longer and thicker (and it doesn’t smudge!!!).

Almay CC Cream in Light

My next step for this look was the application of Almay’s new CC Cream in light. This is a new product and so far I like it as a tinted moisturizer. It costs about $9.99 (give or take) at your nearest drugstore. Wherever I needed “correcting,” I applied Maybelline’s Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Spot Concealer + Treatment ($9.99). Then I set my face with Revlon’s Nearly

 Pressed Powder ($9.99).





OK. Now back to the eyes where I found some GREAT budget picks! From the lash line to the eyebrow, I applied Wet N Wild’s Color Icon Shadow Single eye shadow in Brulee ($1.99!!!). This eye shadow is SOOOO great and it’s my go-to base shadow for many, many looks. If you didn’t know better, you’d think it was a high end shadow! On the lid I applied NYX’s single shadow in Taupe ($4.99) and Dark Brown ($4.99) in the crease. Surprisingly enough, all three shadows lasted all day without creasing and I didn’t even apply any eyelid primer, which I usually have to wear. Next I lined my upper lids with L’Oreal’s Voluminous Smoldering Eyeliner in Black ($8.99). I’m still testing this one out so I’ll let you know if it’s a great product after more testing. On the lower water line, I used Rimmel’s Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner in

 ($4.49). This step is a way to brighten your eyes. Most eyeliners don’t last on my waterline but this one did a reasonably good job, although it does require a touch up after a few hours. Last but not least, I applied some of the mascara to my eyebrows to cover up the white hair!





On my face, I used Revlon’s PhotoReady Bronzer (about $10.50), which is an excellent, matte bronzer that includes four shades. With this product, I contoured my jaw line and cheeks as well as used it on my forehead at the hairline. The last products I used were a real value from Elf. Their powder blush in Tickled Pink ($3.00), paired with the All Over Color Stick in Pink Lemonade ($1.00), provided a nice flush that lasted most of the day with just a little bit of fading. I also used the All Over Color Stick on my lips.











At just over $68, these products were good budget picks. Most (not the mascara or the all over color stick) will last for 6-12 months, depending on how often they are used so I think that they could be excellent choices for a woman on a budget. But while I’m thinking of it, I’m wondering if it’s possible to do a full face for under $25? Hmmmm….maybe that will be a future subject for a face of the day post!!!

Do you use any of these products? If so, what do you think of them?

High End Makeup of the Day

I’ve been playing around a lot with some items I’ve had in my collection for awhile. Some are things that I’ve received as part of various subscription boxes (so i didn’t pay separately for them) and some I purchased at a retailer. Since I’ve also been using the St. Tropez self tanner on the rest of my body, I thought I’d do something summery on my face. All of these products are so called “high end” products.





First things first---foundation. Becca’s Luminous Skin Colour Ultra Sheer Foundation is a new product for me. I have been wanting to try this product for awhile so I finally purchased it at Sephora (here). Retailing for $42, it comes in a fairly large 1.7 oz bottle. I got it in Olive, which is about two shades darker than my complexion.. This worked perfectly against my chest since I have been using the self tanner. It’s also really sheer so even if it’s darker than two shades, it’s pretty hard to mess up. At some point I’ll do a full review of this foundation as I think it’s great for summer.





Since the foundation is so sheer, I not only used concealer under my eyes but on a few darker areas of my face. For this, I used Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Concealer in R1. This is another new product that, again, I purchased at Sephora (here). This particular shade works well for my “tanned” look, but that’s sad because there’s only one color lighter than this one so that says a lot about my level of paleness! It’s a good product and at $20, I think it’s a good price point for a high end concealer. I’ll also review this one in the future.





Over that I applied the Nars Light Reflecting Loose Setting Powder (reviewed here), which I already had in my collection. Next up was Bobbi Brown’s Matte Bronzer in Medium 2, which was also from my collection. I like this bronzer because it’s matte and it’s also more red based than orange/brown based like a lot of bronzers. The red undertones are important because when I tan, my skin has a red undertone rather than yellow. That means that this color of bronzer tends to look more natural on me. You can check out this bronzer on Bobbi’s website here. It retails for $38 but you get a lot of bronzer which will last a long time. I used the bronzer to contour my cheeks, along the edges of my jaw and at the top of my forehead and down the middle of my nose.

As for blush, I had received a full size Be a Bombshell Blush in Sweet Cheeks as part of one of my subscription boxes. Since I had never even heard of the brand, I was anxious to try it. This is a really nice blush and I’m looking forward to trying more of their products. Sweet Cheeks retails for $16 and you can see more here.





Now on to the eyes. I used Mac’s Blanc Type powder shadow (from my collection) from the last line to the eyebrow. In the crease, I used Nars Cosmetics’s Ondine shadow, a plummy browny yummy color. Both of these colors are great for everyday wear and look good with all eye colors.








For mascara, I used The Balm’s What’s Your Type? Body Builder mascara (here for $19) and I also used The Balm’s Schwing black liquid eyeliner (here for $17).






Last but not least, I used a Paula Dorf eye pencil in Baby Eyes Enhancer on my lower rims. I received this in a subscription box but this retails for $20 (I also like this product).

Finally, to finish things up, I used Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Rouge in 20 Baby Pink. I love this product and must review it soon!









That’s my latest summer “high end” face. What do you think? Have you used any of these products? Are there any you want to try?

A Vintage Spring Look

My favorite makeup artist, Lisa Eldridge, recently posted a makeup video that she calls “Baby Bardot.” It shows a young model with a beautiful, soft vintage makeup look a la Brigitte Bardot. Lisa also did this look on Kate Winslet for UK Harper’s Bazaar (pictures here). At the time, I thought the look was absolutely lovely and that there is no reason why a woman over 40 couldn’t look just as good!

The high points of this makeup are flawless skin with a matte finish, muted colors and bold, black eyeliner that has been “winged” out to the sides.
The face is flawless and matte so I used Revlon’s Colorstay Makeup (the one for dry skin) and combined two colors: Ivory and Buff. I applied it with a Bobbi Brown flat foundation brush in thin layers. When I was satisfied with the finish, I applied It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye concealer in a combination of Light and Medium under my eyes, around my chin and where ever I had any dark spots. Then I powdered with Revlon’s Nearly *aked pressed powder in Fair.

For Eyes, I happened to have the same eye shadow palette that Lisa uses---Pixi’s Shade Quartette in Shades of *ude (I bought it at Target). The lightest shade was applied on the lid and almost up to the brows. Then I used the brown shade directly opposite the lightest shade in the pan in the crease. I also applied it under my lower lashes. This Pixi quad is lovely and the colors really last.



As Lisa explains in the video, the liner is thicker than the liner of the early 1950s but not as heavy and thick as in the 1960s. I used Bobbi Brown’s Gel Liner in Black with a very fine liner brush to line the eyes and make the “wing.” You can see that the liner is thinner closer to the nose and then in the middle of the eye it begins to thicken to meet the end of the tail, forming a triangular wing. Then I used two coats of Trish McEvoy’s High Volume Mascara in Jet Black. Lisa uses both mascara and individual false lashes in the video but I skipped the lashes. On my brows, I brushed on an Espresso brow gel by Anastasia Beverly Hills to cover the white hair in my eyebrows.





I can see that I didn’t quite get the left eye as even as I wanted but you get the idea! If you’re like me, your eyes may be getting more and more hooded as you age. That’s a really normal part of the aging process (or you may have been born with hooded eyes) and at some point, I may decide to do an eye lift. For now, I adjust my eye makeup by avoiding shiny shadow anywhere near the brow bone and bring my crease color up a little higher to help the area recede. When doing a winged eye liner, I also have to draw the wing a little bit longer to get the same impact. Here’s a better view of my hooded eyes:



You’ll be able to tell if your eyes are hooded when you look straight in the mirror. If you can’t see your eyelids, your eyes are hooded! You can also scroll up to the first picture and see that my eyelids are covered when I’m looking directly at the camera. It’s not a big deal to me and I just adjust what I’m doing to compensate for it.

The rest of my face is dusted with Revlon’s Photo Ready Matte Bronzer in Bronzed & Chic under the cheekbones and then Physician’s Formula Se*y Booster blush in Natural. I also used a Mac lip pencil in Subculture all over the lips and then OCC Cosmetics’ Lip Tar in Ophelia to finish it off. This is a beautiful, soft look that will look great on most people, adjusting for skin tones. At some point, I’ll try it with black/brown mascara and a dark brown eyeliner instead of the black.

Do you have any favorite looks for Spring?

Face of the Day

Taken with the flash on and getting slight flashback due to my sunscreen

It’s a bright and beautiful Spring day here in Central Virginia! I had an appointment this morning so decided to put on some makeup and do my hair. This seemed like the perfect time to do a Face of the Day post.

Light and bright seemed appropriate today so here’s what I’ve got on (link to products by clicking on product name):

1. Olay moisturizer plus sunscreen SPF 30
2. L’Oreal Studio Secrets Professional Magic Perfecting Base
3. Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Deauville
4. Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow (used as contour)
5. Model Co Check & Lip Tint in Rosy Red (on cheeks)
6. MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW20 (under eyes)
7. Wet & Wild Petal Pusher Coloricon Eyeshadow
8. Neutrogena Healthy Volume Mascara in Black/Brown
9. Anastasia of Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel in Espresso
10. Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Eye Pencil in Cassis
11. It Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores Loose Powder
12. Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Edition
13. L’Oreal Infallible 8 Hour Lipgloss in Bloom 125

Decided to wear glasses today. Ready to go!

Hope you’re having a great day!!!