Bye Felicia!

I am a make-up hoarder. Well, kind of. I really like make-up, so I tend to buy it a lot. It's like...a hobby. People ride bikes, collect comics and stamps, I collect make-up. Or I used to.

A couple of  years ago I really felt pressure to buy a lot of the new make-up items, mostly from the drugstore, in order to make sure I was trying the latest and greatest and providing my readers with reviews, swatches, etc. I had So. Much. Stuff. Too much actually. And it was really stressful to me to have all that stuff that wasn't getting used and wasn't being enjoyed.

But then over the course of the last couple of years, I realized two things:

1. Not every new product that comes out will look good on or work for me.
2. If people want reviews of every damn new product that comes out, there are already 400 bagillion blogs and videos out there with that info (I'm lookin at you YouTube).

So what does that mean?

I cleaned the shit out of my stash. I mean that literally and figuratively. If the product didn't look good on me, or wasn't something I used a lot I got rid of it. I didn't just throw it away (unless it was expired). I returned a crap ton of stuff to Sephora and Target, and gave away BAGS of make-up to friends and family (you're welcome Jen and Laurel!). And now what I have left is a stash of my most favorite and most used make-up.

This is not to say I don't still fight the urge to buy (or at least want to buy) all the new things. I just don't give in. [Note - to be clear, I NEVER actually bought ALL the new things.] I really think about whether or not I need a sixth foundation in my drawer, or another dark red lipstick in my purse. Most of the time the answer is no. I try to limit myself to picking up new items either, when something runs out that I don't already have a replacement for, OR a couple of things for each new season.

I have gotten to the point this year with make-up (and other things in my life) that if it's not working for me, then it's done. I am done hanging on to stuff that I won't use. I don't care how trendy it is or how much someone else says they love it. I am not a YouTube Beauty Guru (and that's okay - I love them, I'm just not one of them!), I don't have millions of followers and an endless supply of cash and sponsor-ships to try out every new beauty item under the sun. I am done trying to be something I am not, it's exhausting and expensive and stressful and just plain shitty. I am who I am, and I think I am pretty awesome.

Have you every had one of these "epiphany-style" moments? What was it?

Order of Application According to Mel

Hi Lovelies!

Today's post is all about the order of application. Beauty product application that is. There are so many products out there, and it can be really frustrating when you apply something and you aren't getting the end result you wanted. Part of that could be due to application error, or it may not be the right product for you. But, the order in which you apply your make-up can really make a difference in how products work with each other to give you the end look you really want.

What follows below is MY order of application. I have been wearing make-up since I was 5 (seriously, Tinkerbell make-up was the bomb), but truly wearing makeup since I was 14. My application techniques (hello foundation brush!) and the order in which I apply them has changed quite a bit in the last 20 years.

Alright, first thing's first: skincare. Wash your face, apply treatments, serums and eye cream and then moisturizer BEFORE you put any amount of makeup on your face. You should ALWAYS start with a clean face.

Next, primer. There are a ton of different face primers out there, and I will be doing a separate post on that later, but now is the time to prime. There are brightening, pore minimizing, hydrating and other types of primers out there, but generally speaking a primer is going to help your make-up last longer, and provide a sleeker canvas for your make-up.

Now it's time for foundation. This is where you really need to assess the make-up you are about to apply and take note of cream and liquid products vs. powder. In basic terms, you can layer liquids and creams on top of each other, but once you apply a powder you are done with liquid/cream. So, if you are using a liquid foundation, creamy concealer and then powder to set your make-up, the blush and bronzer all need to be powder. If you use powder foundation and concealer (ex. mineral make-up) then proceed accordingly. Does that make sense.

For me I use liquid foundation 99% of the time so I apply my foundation first. I dab on a few dots on my cheeks forehead, nose and chin. Then I use a brush to blend it all together. I apply the heavier amounts towards the middle of my face and blend out.

Next I add under-eye concealer and cover up any blemishes or spots. Applying your concealer after your foundation was weird to me as I always did it the other way around. But if you are going to spend all that time covering things up, the last thing you want to do is rub over that with something else. This has made a huge difference for me, especially in covering up blemishes.

Now I will set my concealer with a translucent powder. If I am doing powder blush and bronzer I will also apply powder to my nose, chin and forehead to keep those areas from getting shiny. If I am doing cream bronzer and blush I will wait to powder those areas until after those products are applied.

Applying cream over powder gives a cakey look that I am not in to.

Now I will contour my face. I do a little on my cheeks, nose and forehead. Then I do bronzer on my cheeks, forehead, nose and chin. Next I apply blush to the apples of my cheeks and blend back towards my hair line. And finally, I apply highlighter to the tops of my cheeks.

After that is done I move on to brows. I don't like to do my brows until after all of these steps are complete because I don't want to accidentally brush over my brows and mess that up. So I usually use a pencil or a pomade product for my brows and once those are done, its time to move on to eyes!

Eye primer is the first step in your eye shadow game. You can use concealer, a cream eye shadow or an actual eye primer. Using a primer before eye shadow will help make your shadow last longer, prevent creasing and can help colors appear brighter and truer to what they look like in the pan.

I am not going to get into application of eye shadow as that really depends on the look you are going for, but once your eye shadow is done it's time for eyeliner.

There are tons of different forms of eyeliner, powder, gel, liquid, pencil, etc. Whatever you prefer now is the time to apply it. If you are doing a liquid liner, I like to let that set a few minutes before applying mascara.

Whew, we are almost done.

Now that your eyeliner is applied and dry, you can curl your lashes if you want. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't Curling your lashes while your eyeliner is wet will likely cause the eyeliner to move or rub off onto the lash curler so that's why I recommend you wait to let it dry. And once they are curled (or not) you can apply mascara.

Do not pump your wand into the mascara tube. This will cause clumping by pushing air back into the tube and will result in your mascara clumping on your lashes and drying it out faster. So if you need more mascara on the wand swirl it gently in the tube (kind of like you are scraping the sides of the tube). One coat of mascara is generally sufficient (depending on the look you want).

Now if you wanted to, you can apply false lashes. You may need to touch up your eyeliner at this point and if you are adding lashes I always go back in with a quick coat of mascara to kind of make your lashes mesh better with the falsies.

Now that you are done with eyes and face, it's time for lips. If you are going all out, you can apply concealer over your lips to prep and prime them for lip color application.

First apply lip liner. The lip liner should either match your lip color or the color of the lipstick you are applying next. Leave the brown lip liner and light lipstick in the 90's where they belong. It's not 1994, you are not Kim Mathers, let it go. Also, do not over line your lips. Follow your natural lip line or just slightly outside of it.

Apply your lipstick straight out of the tube, or using a lip brush or your fingers (this is better for darker colors so you don't get it all over the place). And then blot. And by blot I want you to take your index finger and (in a non sexual way) stick it in your mouth and close your lips around your finger and pull your finger out. Any excess lipstick will now be on your finger and not on your teeth.

Finally if you want to add a lip gloss to the top of your lipstick you can add that now.

Good grief that's a lot of steps! For a final, final touch, you can add a make-up setting spray at the end that will set your makeup and help seal it in to last for the day.

I do not use all of these products on a daily basis, and sometimes I have even more steps if I am going all out for a really dramatic or specific (Halloween) look. It just depends.

I know it seems like a lot, but this all can really be done in 5-10 minutes once you get your routine down.

Do you have a different order of application or other tips? Leave it in the comments section below!

Stuff I'm loving right now

Hello lovelies!

It's been a while since I've done a favorites post and I have several things I am digging right now so I thought I would share them. I have a lot of new hair products that I am loving too, but that's going to be a separate post.

I told ya it was a lot. Most of this is stuff I've used in the past and a few things are new. I am really into simple beauty right now. When it starts to get hot I tone down the amount of products I use on my face. I don't like to be hot and I like sweaty makeup even less.

So these are not new to me nor are they new to the market. You may recognize these as the Maybelline Baby Lips. I have several from the regular line and a few from the new "Crystals" line. I have tried these several times before and was kinda "meh" about them. But I picked up the clear one at Walmart a month or two (or three) ago now and all of sudden I went from zero to obsessed in 30 seconds or less. I did not buy these all at one time but picked them up using coupons and both Walmart and Target have had these on sale recently. I just like the hint of color and the moisturization they give.

L'oreal Voluminous mascara is an oldie but a goodie. I love this mascara, it volumizes and lengthens and it doesn't flake or smudge. I am brand new to the world of Milani cosmetics and it's fast becoming an addiction obsession  favorite of mine. I find their products at CVS and lucked out and saw them at a Walgreens recently in the southern suburbs of the cities. Pictured above is their eye primer and I am in love with it. It works great and is way cheaper than Urban Decay and Too Faced brands. As for eyeshadow I have been in love with layering the Maybelline Eye Tattoo in Inked in Pink as a base with L'oreal's Amber Rush pressed pigment over the top. The end result is a shimmery, rose gold shade that is stellar for summer. If I had more of a tan it would be more awesome.

From top to bottom is the Physician's Formula bronzer and two Milani baked blushes in Luminoso and Delizioso Pink. Love the bronzer. One of my fave YouTubers, Leighannsays raves about this so I decided to try it when it was on sale at Target (like 4 months ago, I'm slow). The baked blushes are raved about by beauty bloggers and vloggers all around and I can see why. They are $7ish and they are crazy pigmented! Like crazy. Luminoso is by far my fave and if I ever run out I will for sure re-purchase. It's give a great peachy glow to the skin and looks great on a wide variety of skin tones.

These are also two oldies but goodies here. Cover Girl pressed powder is phenomenal. It's been phenomenal since 8th grade and I always go back to it. Pictured above is the Oil Control version in shade Classic Ivory. And then the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealer in light is something I've used for a few years now and love.

Finally, I am really digging the Jergens Natural Glow body lotion. I alternate this with my St. Tropez bronzing mousse and it works great. I love how the smell of this has gotten better over the years. I remember using this when I lived in Wisconsin (damn near 10 years ago now, what?!?) and it stunk to high heaven. But now it smells like lotion and it's not over-powering. This bottle came with a free Schick razor and had a $1 off coupon stuck to it so I got a good deal. This comes in fair to medium and medium to dark and there is also face versions of this. I have never used the face ones as they freak me out. 

What are you loving right now?