inexpensive makeup pallettes!!!!!

Coastal Scents is a fairly well known cosmetics company that sells inexpensive makeup. They have some 88 pallettes that are amazing for people first starting out. There are 5 pallettes currently for sale on http://www.coastalscents.com/ .... the 88 shimmer, 88 matte, 88 warm, 88 metal and  88 prism. I own the shimmer, matte and warm pallettes and have had them for about two years now. They are highly pigmented and very good quality. They blend very well and have incredible payoff with minimal fall out. There's a little bit of something for everyone. Price ranges from $18.99-$25.99 with the warm pallette being the most expensive. They also have blush and lip pallettes as well as custom pallettes and "hot pots" which are individual shadows. In the 88 pallettes the colors are about dime size put since they are so pigmented, you don't need a lot to make an impact.  Brushes are something else that can be found on the site and they too are of good quality. I was highly impressed with the amount of brushes I could get for the price of one MAC brush. Definitely a good site if you're looking to broaden your collection or just something new to play with without breaking the bank!

random picture.....

got bored on Mardi Gras and this is what I came up with! I wish I'd had plans that night...but sadly I didn't.

CONCEALER!!!!

OMG! I'm so excited! I've never had a concealer that I liked. They are either too cakey and thick or they don't cover the DARK circles I have under my eyes but FINALLY I found one. Sephora is running a little promo pack with Benefit Cosmetics. They have a travel size stay don't stray(eye primer), erase paste(concealer) and a cream shadow all in a box for $10! I gave the eye primer to my aunt so I can't really say much about that, however! The concealer is great! it came in meduim which matches my skin tone perfectly and I use a fluffy brush to apply it. Some concealers get streaky with those synthetic yellow "concealer brushes" and I hate it. The fluffy brushes are normally used in the crease but work perfectly for concealer when applied in circular motions to blend it completely! I'm so in love with this little pot of nude colored goo, it's not even funny. I would highly recommend getting this little box from sephora...I unfortunately demolished the pretty packaging and disposed of it in the mall trash can so there's no pictures this time around!

P.S.- I'm not being paid by benefit for talking about their products so often, I just love them that much...they are truly worth the money they cost.

I found a mascara I LOVE!!!!!

OMG!!!! I'm so in love with this mascara! My mom thought I was wearing fake lashes when she saw me in this the other day! It lengthens, separates and volumizes my lashes without clumping! It's so worth the $8 I spent on it! I think the brush makes all the difference and the denser the bristles of the mascara wand, the clumpier it will be no matter how amazing the formulation of the actual mascara!

foundation routine....FINALLY!

I've been slacking a little lately...I apologize. I said I was gonna do a foundation routine a few weeks ago and am finally making myself sit down and do it. There's two different kinds....the everyday and the day off! I work in a Garden Center, outside, and am constantly moving which means sweating my makeup off so I take it easy on the days I work.

Everyday routine

On days that I have to work I usually keep it very very simple. Just enough to cover flaws and even out discoloration. The products I've been using and loving for a very long time are the smashbox photo finish foundation primer, bare minerals matte foundation and stila sun bronzer. Having oily skin, the primer helps lengthen the staying power of my foundation, the powder will soak up any oil but not add any additional shine that can be mistaken for shine but has SPF 15 built in to protect my skin and the bronzer while not shimmery gives me that hint of sun without the damage.

Full makeup days....

The full makeup only adds concealer and a liquid foundation. The foundation I found is the best one I've ever found because it starts out white and matches your skin tone perfectly. I was incredibly skeptical when I purchased this simply because they never truly match and being a drugstore product I couldn't test it out before I bought it. It works so well but it's a little on the pricey end...it's $13 but can be found on sale at ulta!

There's also a concealer from the exact same line that's really nice. Its again a drugsgtore product that is on the less expensive end and is incredibly moisturizing and gives pretty good coverage. 

Primer-concealer-liquid foundation-powder-bronzer and then blush.  It really isn't that much more than the everyday routine but when you throw that liquid on and add in the sun factor it tends to slup throughout the day. Hopefully this helps give you ideas for new products!

DON'T waste your money!

I'm very disappointed in this product! Never before have I been so excited to try something and been let down so terribly....twice! Normally I love all things Maybelline for drugstore products and was too excited to see another mascara come out. I'm always on the look out for a good mascara that is gonna give me volume as well as length since I have puny little eyelashes. There was a lot of hype around this product especially for the things I wanted. I purchased one tube and somehow it got lost in the dark abyss of my backseat so I bought a second hoping that I would love it and have an extra when the first reappeared. At first I wasn't impressed but rarely am the first use so I gave it another shot and used it for about a week. It flaked, smeared, clumped and wore off incredibly fast, we're talkin record time here. I threw it in the corner somewhere hoping to never see it again. A few weeks go by and I decide to clean my car to find the original tube and magically it was just chillin in plain sight. Tried that one this morning and it's way worse than the first! I'm so disappointed and hope that the next maybelline product I purchase is way better because it breaks my heart to have to bash one of their products...let me know if you have a different experience with it!

more Benefit love...

benetint is a cheek stain and highbeam is a gorgeous highlighter.

Both of these products from benefit are two of my favorites. They're shown in the travel sizes because they were purchased as part of a kit. I've had them both for about six months now and use em a couple times a week. The best part about both of these is they are pigmented enough that you don't have to use a lot to get the desired effect.

I have naturally rosy cheeks, but sometimes like a little more color but don't want a powder. Having oily skin I find it difficult to work with a cream blush because it clogs my pores and ends up looking cakey. With benetint it goes on a little thicker than water but dries smooth without and oily residue. It's not meant to give you a ton of color but can be built up if you want a really dark flush. There is also PosieTint and it's more of a pinky tone.

Highbeam is an amazing highlighter that most people use only under their eyelids, but I've found a couple other uses. You can swipe it under your eyes for a quick brightener under your foundation or powder as well as across the top of the apples of your cheeks and down the center of your nose. It's not a glittery brightener, it just gives a nice sheen that will catch the light giving the illusion of fresh dewy skin.