I'm can very easily say that I am a makeup girl. I'm rarely seen without at least some (5 a.m. trips to the gym are usually one of my exceptions). As part of fashion week I wanted to share my makeup collection, where I shop, and how to look polished when you're crunched for time.The first picture features my eye makeup. Yes, there's a lot of it. I actually need to weed it out. Eye shadow is my favorite and I love playing around with different colors and combos. My favorite spots to buy eye makeup are Ulta and Clinique. I love Ulta's store brand cosmetics because they're great quality for a great price. I think their eye shadows have the same if not better lasting power than most high-end brands. I have so many from Clinique because I hit them up for their free gifts, but occasionally I do buy some at full price. This fall's makeup splurge was Clinique's Black Honey quad.
I'm not a morning person AT ALL. Getting up and getting out of the door on time is a daily struggle for me. It's usually about 30 minutes from bed to out the door in the morning. My makeup routine on school mornings is usually 5 minutes or so. I wash my face in the shower and follow up with toner and moisturizer when I get out. I do the rest of my getting ready and leave makeup for the very end. Here's the rundown of what I use:
- Foundation - Clinique's Even Better is probably my #1 favorite, but I'm currently giving Ulta's mineral liquid foundation as a more budget-friendly option. (I didn't find it on Ulta's website to share.)
- Concealer - I'm on a constant quest for good concealers for eyes and blemishes. Right now my skin is behaving nicely so I'm only it under my eyes. I use either Cover Girl or Clinique.
- Powder - I dust powder over my whole face to cut down on shine later in the day. My favorite is Physician's Formula Mineral Face Powder, but once again I'm trying Ulta's Fabulous Face
- Pressed Powder because I had a coupon and it was on sale with the foundation. (Can you tell I like a bargain?!?)
- Blush - Blush is something I'll use in pretty much any brand. (I think Maybelline is the only brand I've
tried that I don't really like.) I have a couple that were free from Clinique and one from Ulta that's pretty nice too. I've heard a lot of great reviews on Nars Orgasm blush and I think that will be my next beauty splurge. (And yes, that's actually the name of the color.) It's supposed to be one of the most universally flattering shades of blush out there. - Bronzer - I use a big loose brush to lightly dust some bronzer over my face. I feel like it helps to blend my blush a bit and give me a healthy glow. I usually stick with a lighter toned bronzer so that I don't look like I'm trying to be super tan. This isn't the exact one I'm using right now, but it's also Physician's Formula, which is what I prefer.
- Eye Shadow - This is when I start to gauge how much time I have left to get ready. I have several "safe" colors that I dust on when I'm short on time and they'll go with pretty much anything. If I have more time I usually mix colors and have more fun.
- Eye Liner - I prefer the way I look with eyeliner, but it's a step I skip if I'm strapped for time. (I always keep a spare in my purse anyway.) I like retractable eyeliners so I don't have to sharpen them... I'm not a fan of liquid. I'm not really attached to any brand of eyeliner, but I am starting to branch away from my super cheap ones from Walgreens just because I don't feel like they have the best staying power. I'm currently using freebies from Clinique and Ulta.
- Mascara - Mascara is a necessity for me because I have the world's shortest eyelashes. I'm also not really attached to any brands in particular. I use a lot of Clinique just because they came in my free gift and I recently finished off this one from Ulta. (I think it was also a freebie.) Aerie had a nice one last year that I became quite fond of which was supposedly made by MAC, but they discontinued their cosmetics line after winter. I can't bring myself to actually spend more than $10 on mascara (since it's usually free) so I haven't visited the MAC counter to test any out.
- Lips - This usually happens at a stoplight in the car or in the school parking lot. I'm not much of a lipstick girl (my collection consists of Clinique freebies), but I'm a lip gloss addict. I have sooooo many, especially since many were free to me. Bath & Body Works has some great ones!
So, there you go. 5 minutes most days gets me looking fresh and put together without being over the top glam. My best suggestion when buying makeup is to be willing to try new things. I'm pretty much willing to try any brand once, but I love a good bargain! Some things are worth a little extra cost and others really aren't!
For more beauty inspiration, check out my Stuff That Makes You Pretty board on Pinterest!
It's Day 3 of my conference. I will admit that I'm not dressing up as much as a lot of the people there, but I'm also not walking around feeling underdressed by any means either. (I don't understand these people in suits all day!) I have to give a shout out to my wonderful dark AE Hipster jeans that I picked up at the end of the summer. They're super stretchy and soooooo comfortable! I'm very happy that flares have made a comeback this season! I've picked up the dark wash and a medium wash of the Hipsters at AE and they're getting a lot of good use!
Now, onto my cardigan... I professed my love for cardigans in yesterday's post and this one is totally an example of me staying in my comfort zone all the while breaking outside the box. This color is totally not sometime I'd typically be drawn to. I visited some outlets in Colorado last July and found this cardigan at the J.Crew Factory store on MAJOR sale. (Actually mine is a v-neck and slightly longer, but the color is spot on.) It was the only one left. I tried it with a few items in the store, but couldn't come up with a combo I really liked. The color was just soooooo different from what I normally style. I just couldn't bring myself to leave it though since it was a great deal (less than $10), a flattering fit, and a color that was not represented in my closet. I'm blessed to have a skin tone that looks good in most colors so when I can I try to take advantage of that. Once I got it home and started playing around with it, I found it looks really good with off white and grays. We're supposed to have dramatically cooler weather today so I wanted to wear something layered for my day at the conference.
Two questions today:
What are your makeup tips and tricks that help you put your best face forward?
Do you ever feel the urge to make a crazy color purchase for your wardrobe?
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