Hey! Happy Monday! How was your weekend?
I spent my weekend cleaning and getting organized before
school starts all while simultaneously re-watching Desperate Housewives on
Hulu. What a throwback, right? I’ve been putting off cleaning out my makeup drawers for
quite some time now. The task itself isn’t daunting; it is the realization that
I’m a make-up hoarder that I’ve been trying to avoid. But I could no longer keep ordering acrylic organizational boxes to hide that fact. I had to admit the truth -- I am a make-up junkie and I no longer care who knows it. With this new found
acceptance of who I am, I didn’t purge too much but reorganized so that I could
easily access all of my favorite products while still being able to see what I
have in stock for the days I feel like being creative. Now that I have everything
organized, I figured I ought to be sharing some of my thoughts on all my
products somewhere productive. Not surprising,
Aaron couldn’t care less about my makeup. So, there’s no better spot to share than here.
Similar to my closet, my make-up is a mix of high and low
products. I shared here that I’m trying to steer clear of just "popping into Sephora" (also known as
where paychecks go to die) by finding good drugstore product substitutions. The great thing about buying make up at places
like Target or Ulta is they accept returns on open products so you can do at
home research of products without fear of wasting money. Or you can just assume
that I did that I already did that homework for you. Spoiler alert: I did.
Over a few posts, I’ll share with you some of my favorite
mascaras, bronzers, eyebrow pencils, and lipsticks all at a range of prices. Up first, foundation. I think it is worth noting here that my ease of finding drugstore foundations to match my cool/neutral toned skin is a clear indication of my privilege as a white woman. I've reviewed the products formula and wear but will highlight the the products with the widest range of colors for anyone with a warmer, deeper complexion.
If not already evident by how little is left in the picture above, this is my go-to every day foundation. I use the the shade "cool vanilla"
PROS: truly matte (even on my oily t-zone), long lasting full coverage, a little goes a long way, feels light on your skin but offers full coverage. CONS: can be challenging to find, not super blendable, pump can get clogged (which can be alleviated by running the base under warm water).
I just tried this after hearing tons of reviews on youtube. This seems to be every youtube guru's go-to drugstore foundation so when I was looking for something more blendable than No7, I figured I would give it a whirl. I returned it after using it for only a week. Color me disappointed.
PROS: light to wear, blendable, easy to find (is carried almost everywhere), comes in a super wide range of colors in warm, neutral and cool tones (wider than any other brand I reviewed). CONS: wears off easily, very little coverage, made me break out (a personal problem, I know), no pump.
I use BareMinerals powder foundation regularly and have been since I was in high school. I haven't found anything since that I love nearly as much. I was really looking forward to their liquid foundation since I prefer liquid to powder, but was really let down by this product. Such a bummer! Some people love this stuff, but I couldn't get past how oily it made my skin feel!
PROS: comes in a wide range of colors CONS: very runny, very oily, not long lasting, very light coverage, does not settle in skin well, dispenser is designed for a specific bare minerals brush making it so that you waste a lot of product if you don't use that particular brush.
I received this product in an VoxBox from Influenster (not signed up for Influenster yet? Sign up now and they will send you loads of products to review!) so I was excited to give it a shot. It is not necessarily
pro or con but the feel and coverage of this product more closely resembled a tinted moisturizer than a foundation. I also didn't see any beneficial effects to my skin.
PROS: a decent range of shades ( I was happy to have received a shade that matched my skin tone well), full and light coverage. CONS: is easy to apply too much product which appears cakey, the pump dispenses more product than you would need making the product wasteful.
This isn't really a foundation, but I wanted to include it anyhow. This is my go-to weekend or running errands make up. I use foundation during the work week but when I'm looking for a lighter look, I reach for BB cream. I was really excited to find this option for NYX last time I was at Ulta because I'm a big fan of NYC products.
PROS: silky formula, blendable, matches skin well CONS: not as long lasting as I would like (but that is alleviated by applying a light layer of powder), can be challenging to find.
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