Shop My Stash

April 2016 Shop My Stash

I've been watching a lot of shop my stash videos on YouTube lately, and I wanted to try out doing one of my own. I only picked out 10 items for the month of April, and I will need to pull other items out of my collection on a daily basis because I didn't choose any eyeshadows or face powders. I just wanted to try this out without too much commitment. Two of the items are products I want to use up this year and I figured that having them out in plain view would help me remember to use them more regularly as well.

I've had this Maybelline Baby Skin for at least a year now, so it's time to start using it up before it goes bad. I'm going to do my best to use this every time I wear makeup.

Since I want to use this foundation up and I use it regularly anyways, I figured I might as well add it to my Shop My Stash basket. I do enjoy it when applied with a damp sponge, but I've used it for a long time now so I'm getting bored of it. Hopefully I can use it up soon.

I recently got this blush from ShopMissA and I wanted to make sure I tested it out thoroughly and gave it some good use so I put it in the basket. It's a pretty blue-toned pink that I think would suit lots of skin tones.

I use this giant eyeshadow as a face highlight, and I absolutely love it, so I decided to put it in the basket so I'd have something I really enjoy a lot. It gives a super nice glow that's intense without going overboard.

I love this mascara, but it's getting too old and I need to use it up. Even though I'm putting it in here to use up, I do also enjoy using it.

The reason I put this in my basket was to push me out of my comfort zone and force me to do some more colorful, spring-appropriate looks. I also know that I got this for my birthday last year, and my birthday is coming up again, so this is getting old and I need to get some use out of it. I think purple is the perfect color to start with if you want to do more colorful looks but don't know where to start because it's practically impossible for an eye color or skin color to look bad with purple.

Since I love MAC's Brave and I'm trying to use it up, I put it in my basket. It's the kind of color that works any time of year on nearly any skin color, so I thought that it would be good for days when I wasn't sure what lipstick to wear.

This is the Covergirl Oh Sugar! lip balm in Soda. I got this recently and I've been wanting to test it out so I added it to my basket. It smells absolutely lovely and the color is really nice. Not too sheer but not very pigmented either.

I also chose my Essence lipstick in Coral Calling because I think it's a great shade for spring. Corals scream spring and summer to me so this went into the basket! I've had this one for a few months now but I haven't fully tried it out so I'm curious to see if I like the formula more than other really inexpensive lipsticks.

The last item I put in my basket is this EOS lip balm in Blackberry Nectar. It smells really nice, I tend to like EOS, and I need a new lip balm to use, so this seemed like a good choice. My only issue with it is that it can be quite waxy unless you take the time to warm it up by applying extra.

DIY Drawer Organizers

My DIY Makeup Drawer Organizers!

I want to start this post by saying that I absolutely didn't come up with this idea by myself - I found it on YouTube when I was searching for DIY lipstick storage. A really good tutorial is this one, although I skipped the spray adhesive and just used hot glue for everything. I did that because it's best to use spray adhesive in a well ventilated area, but the only well ventilated area I would have had enough space would be outside, and it's been raining a lot lately, so I chose to just use hot glue. I also was able to find pre-cut trim at WalMart rather than getting two different fabrics. Other than the things I already had (like the hot glue gun and scissors), I got all my supplies from WalMart, and I'll list everything down below or something similar if I can't find the exact thing I got.

The Paris-Themed Trim (I couldn't find it on WalMart's website, but this is what I could find. It is definitely available in my local store). I got two packs.

Fabric - I can't find a link to the fabric on the site, but I believe I got the color So Mauve or something along those lines. I got four yards, although three would have been more than enough.

Foam Board - My WalMart was selling single boards for about $2.00 each, so four of them came out to about $8.00 while ordering two packs of two online would cost almost $16.00, so I suggest checking out your store rather than ordering online.

I already had everything else I needed, so now I'll show you before and after pictures of each drawer along with measurements and details about my drawers. I have the Ikea Alex 9 Drawers and I made organizers for the top three drawers. When I measured the bases of the drawers, they were about 11 3/4 in x 16 3/4 in inside. I cut the base pieces of foam board to this size but I did end up having to trim them all down a bit. I made the sides of my organizers 2 1/2 in tall, but you have too keep in mind that the base piece will add about another quarter of an inch to the height. I measured some of the dividers for my organizers in centimeters and some in inches, depending on what would fit my products better.

Here is my face drawer before (the before pictures are from January)...

...and here it is after! I'm super happy with how it turned out. Everything fits perfectly where I want it to and I can find things really easily. The powder organizer is 9 1/4 in x 3 1/2 in and the other section is 9 1/4 in x 8 in (approximately). I just put extra products in the remaining space and I was satisfied with how it looked.

This is my eye drawer before...

...and this is it after! It's still quite messy, but at least now I have a much better idea of where things are. The mascara area is 4 in x 5 1/4 in and the eyeshadow/tools/brow stuff area next to it is 7 1/2 in x 4 in. The eyeliner area is 6 in x 6 1/4 in. I store lashes and quads/trios/duos in the remaining space.

My lip drawer is the one I'm the most proud of. Here it is before...

...and here it is after! The lipstick holder is 12 cm x 25 cm and each square is 2 cm x 2 cm. It holds 40 lipsticks. The sections to it's right are both 3 1/2 in x 8 in and the back section holding all my sample size lip products is 12 cm x 6 in. I'm storing extras and bulky things in the remaining space. I know that the last four lipstick holder squares are a bit off but I measured them a bit wrong and I honestly don't care because it looks mostly fine anyways. I would suggest possibly making your lipstick holder squares 2 1/2 cm x 2 1/2 cm because mine fit some of my lipstick a bit tight and they can be a bit hard to get out, but otherwise I think this drawer is perfect.

Products I Want To Use Up Update

Products I Want To Use Up In 2016 Update Three

I was feeling a bit sick again this month, but I still managed to make some decent progress! Because I haven't worn my body spray at all this month, I'm removing that category. I'm also getting rid of the shower gel category because I just don't think there's a point to it anymore. I added it thinking I would need to make room for more shower gels but I haven't ended up getting any more so I think using them up at a normal rate will be fine. All the other categories are the same as last month.

Lip Balm

I've officially used up my goal of five lip balms! I've also already bought way more than that this year, but at least I'm getting good use out of the ones I have. This category won't be included in updates anymore because it is complete.

Lipstick

I feel like I've made some really good progress on my MAC lipstick in Brave! I have another MAC order coming in that includes a couple of lipsticks, so I really want to make sure I'm using some of them up as well in order to justify getting more. Since they're high end lipsticks, I would feel worse if they expired without getting good use than if they were drugstore. My goal is just to use up one lipstick this year.

Foundation

I finished my Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless foundation, so for the second one I want to use up this year (I only want to use up a total of two), I'm adding another one of the same in. I had bought a couple of backups when they were on sale at Ulta and they were my absolute favorite foundation, but now I'm not as wild about them. I do still like this foundation, it just doesn't work as well for me as it used to, so I'd like to move it out of my collection.

Powder

I'm nearly finished with my NYX powder! I want to use up two powders this year, and this one will be the first. I really like it and would consider repurchasing it after I try out some other powders I've been wanting to test.

Eyeliner

I've only used each of these eyeliners a couple of times, but I think my modified goal of three for the year is still doable. I really need to start using the L.A. Colors one on a daily basis as an eyeshadow base and waterline liner.

Body Butter

I have made pretty much no progress here. I want to use up three of these, but so far I've used up one. I'll admit that I probably only used this one once this month because I've totally been slacking with all of my skincare for a while now. I will try to make an effort in April, though.

Nail Polish

Sorry for the odd lighting in this picture, but I wanted to show how much polish was left in the bottle. As you can see, I'm nearly there, and I think that with regular use this could be done within two weeks. I really like this color and I've been trying to get my hands on another bottle of it but I can't seem to find another one anywhere so far.

Lip Butter

I feel like I could have made better progress on my Nivea Lip Butter, but I also think that I'll be making tons of progress now that I've used up five lip balms because I can use this instead of regular lip balm. My goal for this category is one lip butter.

Lip Scrub

I don't know how easily you can tell in this photo, but a tiny bit of the bottom of the lip scrub container is showing! I've been using this about three times a week but I really could be using it daily. I plan to repurchase this in a different flavor when I run out.

Eyeshadow

I hit pan on three eyeshadows this month, bringing my total up to four! It took me literally two days to hit pan on the shadow in the e.l.f. quad (top, e.l.f. Brightening Eye Color in the shade Pretty n Pink) because there's not a whole lot of product and it blends away super easily, but I'm still counting it because I wasn't purposefully wasting it. The middle shadow shown is the shade White Chocolate from the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette, and the bottom shade is Champagne Truffle from the same palette. I think that the next shade I'll try to hit pan on will be the shade Milk Chocolate, from that same palette, as well as the white shade in the e.l.f. quad. I want to hit pan on ten eyeshadows this year.

Lip Gloss

I probably only used this gloss once this month, but I'm still going to work on it and just see how far I can get. I'm going to abandon my lip gloss goals (I wanted to use up two) and just see how far I can get on this one.

Chocolate Bar Palette Tutorial

Eye Tutorial Using The Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette

I've been loving the Too Faced Chocolate Bar palette again, but I've been struggling with one shade in particular - Candied Violet. I don't know if it's this way in everybody's palette, but in mine, it's super dry and unpigmented. It's never bugged me before because I never used the shade but as I've used the palette more, I've been wanting to get use out of every shade, and it's been really difficult to work with Candied Violet. That is, until I tried using it wet. I do find that I have to re-wet it several times because of how quickly it dries out again, but it looks super pretty all over the lid so it's worth it.

I used an e.l.f. Blending Brush to put the shade Milk Chocolate in and above the crease lightly as a transition shade.

Next I used an e.l.f. Crease Brush and put the shade Semi-Sweet into my crease, blending it out with a fluffy blending brush from a Sephora gift set.

After that I used a Kleancolor Eyeshadow Brush to pack the shade Candied Violet, used wet, all over the lid. I also blended it up into the crease using the same blending brush.

Next I used an angled shadow brush from a Sephora gift set to place the shade Cherry Cordial in my outer v, blending it with the same fluffy blending brush.

Using the same angled brush, I used Cherry Cordial on my lower lashline, also blending it out with the same fluffy blending brush.

Add the shade Champagne Truffle (used wet) to the inner corner (I used a brush from a Hautelook and Morphe exclusive set) and the shadow is done!

I added some really dramatic liner and voluminous mascara to finish off the look, but you can do whatever you like. This look would look great with some super dramatic false lashes.

I paired this eye look with MAC's Twig, which has a satin finish. A matte finish would also look good with this eye look. A glossy finish would work as well, but I personally prefer a matte or satin finish with this particular look. A red might distract from the eye look, but if that's what you want then go for it! I personally prefer a nude or more neutral color for this, though.

Luxury Makeup Wishlist

Luxury And Generally Really Expensive Makeup I Want But Could Never Justify Buying

The internet has introduced me to all sorts of expensive makeup that I really, really want but could never justify buying because of the high price tag. I can justify something high-end like a MAC lipstick or eyeshadow because I think it's good enough quality to justify the price. But no matter how good a lipstick is, I don't think I could ever pay $90 for one. It would have to literally change my life or at least be made of unicorn tears or something.

Diorskin Airflash Spray Foundation

(Picture from Sephora) This foundation claims to deliver an airbrushed effect with precision and ease, as well as have customizable coverage. The idea of it seems really interesting, so of course I want to try it, but not for $62.00 USD at Sephora. I can see myself paying maybe thirty of forty dollars for a high-end foundation, but probably not more than $45. Someday I might give in and get it because I'm so curious about how it works, but that won't be anytime soon.

Christian Louboutin Silky Satin Lip Colour

(Picture from Sephora, in the shade Tutulle) I've heard about this lipstick a lot, but more things about it being expensive than things about whether it's any good or not. For $90.00 USD at Sephora, it's probably the most expensive lipstick I've ever even heard of. The packaging is absolutely gorgeous, and it comes in some really pretty colors. One of the points of the packaging is that it can be worn as a necklace. I would love to own something so luxurious, but I just couldn't spend that kind of money on a liptick.

Burberry Nail Polish

(Picture from Sephora, in the shade Rose Pink) I could never spend $22.00 USD on a nail polish because I love my L.A. Colors polishes so much, but I'm really curious about the Burberry polishes. I've heard they're good quality, but I can't imagine them being worth over $20, no matter what the quality. I have a hard time justifying buying an Essie nail polish, and those are only $8.50. The colors are very pretty and I love the packaging but I don't want to get something this expensive just for the packaging if it isn't any good.

By Terry Baume de Rose

(Picture from Beautylish) This lip balm is $60.00 USD. But I want it. I love my Nivea lip butters and I think they do a great job, but I'm always on the hunt for something better, and this claims to be anti-aging, which I'm pretty sure the Nivea lip butters are not. I'm just not sure how I feel about spending that much on a lip balm. It has tons of great reviews that say it's totally worth the price, but I can't imagine how it could be. Still, it's enough to make me curious.

Natasha Denona 28 Eyeshadow Palette

(Picture from Beautylish, in the shade Green Brown). This palette is gorgeous and it gets rave reviews, but it's $239.00 USD. I've heard pretty much nothing but great things about this palette, and when you break it down, each shadow would cost about $8.54 - less expensive than a MAC eyeshadow, and still less expensive than a single Natasha Denona eyeshadow. Still, for such a high price tag, it would be hard to justify buying this palette, no matter how much I want it. I've watched tons of YouTube reviews on it and a lot of people say that there aren't very many matte shades, and I can see that being an issue, because I like to use matte shades in my crease, and it's annoying to have to use multiple palettes to create one look if you're in a hurry.

Makeup Addict Tag

The Makeup Addict Tag

Since I'm a beauty addict, I thought it would be fun to do the makeup addict tag. Nobody tagged me specifically, but I wanted to do it so I am. I tag anybody who want to do it!

#1. Which product do you still keep buying more of despite having plenty of in your collection?

Lipsticks! I seem to get at least one every time I go makeup shopping. I must have well over thirty, but somehow that's not enough for me. I love lip products, but lipstick especially is my favorite. My favorite color when it comes to lipstick has to be pinky nudes, although it used to be bright blue based reds, so I still have quite a few of those.

#2. What's the one product you couldn't live without?

Lip balm! It's an absolute essential for me. I get super chapped lips in the winter and this year I really got into finding the perfect lip balm to solve that problem. I found it, and it's the Nivea lip butter. Lip balms in general are one of the best beauty products in my opinion.

#3. Favorite Makeup Brand?

It's really hard to decide on just one! Some of my favorites are MAC, Wet' n' Wild, and e.l.f. I love the quality of all their products, as well as the low prices of e.l.f. and Wet' n' Wild.

#4. How big is your makeup collection?

Definitely bigger than it needs to be, although I wouldn't mind if it got bigger, which it probably will. I like to have lots of different products to choose from when I'm doing my makeup. I don't like to be overwhelmed, though, which is why I do declutters twice a year. That way I can make sure that nothing I dislike stays in my collection for too long, and it keeps my collection in check.

#5. How do you store it?

Mostly in my Alex 9 Drawers from Ikea. The first drawer is for face products, the second drawer is for eye products, the third drawer is for lip products, and the fourth drawer hold my palettes. The rest of the drawers are organized in various ways, like samples & backups, nail stuff, makeup wipes & face masks, and stuff like that.

#6. How many makeup items are in your purse right now?

I'm pretty sure none, not even lip balm. I have a very small purse and I don't like to carry much with me so at the most I'll carry a lip balm or the lipstick I'm wearing that day if I think I'll need to touch up.

#7. If you could raid another blogger's stash, who would it be?

I'm not sure about other bloggers, but if it were YouTubers, it would have to be Shaaanxo. I'm super jealous of all her lipsticks, as well as her makeup collection in general! She mentioned she might be doing an updated makeup collection soon, which I'm super excited about. I loved her setup in her last one.

#8. How long does your usual makeup routine take and how many products do you use?

25-40 minutes, and the amount of products can vary from five or six to way, way more. I don't really have a usual makeup routine because I like to experiment and play around with makeup a lot.

#9. Have you ever bought makeup knowing you wouldn't use it?

I have bought products knowing I would very rarely use them or only use them once, but I always try out a product if I bother to buy it. I don't think I've ever gotten a product and literally never used it, although I have gotten products and only used them once or twice.

ShopMissA Haul

A Big ShopMissA Haul

If you aren't familiar with ShopMissA, and you like makeup, you really should be! Everything except stuff in their charm shop is one US dollar, and even the things in their charm shop don't go above about $5.00! This was my third order from ShopMissA, and I've been very satisfied with all of my orders so far. Nothing has ever come damaged and I would absolutely order from them again. I placed my order on Tuesday, March 1st, and received my package on Tuesday, March 8th. I think that a week isn't very bad at all! I've played around with most of these things a little bit, and I'll talk about how I like things I have tried out when I get to those products. I repurchased a few things that I've liked in the past as well. One thing to keep in mind is that because everything is a dollar, the quality can be hit and miss. I find that for the most part things are hits, but you do sometimes have to be willing to work with a more difficult product. Also keep in mind that a single eyeshadow for a dollar is probably going to be better quality than one of their 32-shadow palettes for a dollar!

I've always wanted to try lashes with little gems on them, and I figured that at two pairs for a dollar, even if they weren't very good, they would be worth a try. Only one pair has the gems, but I like the style of both pairs.

I love the Kara lashes so much! I've never not liked a pair I got, so I repurchased one of my favorites. ShopMissA has a HUGE lash selection. I recommend the Kara ones over the Kleancolor ones since the Kleancolor ones tend to be very, very long, but if you like your lashes super long then I would say go for those. I find that the Kara lashes can withstand quite a few wears, and seeing as I rarely wear lashes anyways, these should last me a while.

I've also had these lashes before and enjoyed them, so I bought another pair. I like how the ends flare out.

These lashes looked pretty on the website, so I got a pair. I think they'll look nice on.

I've been in need of more eyeshadow brushes, and I happen to know that I like all of these ones, so I got some more. I have to wash them before I use them, but I'll be happy to have some more brushes.

These Wizard Pads are freaking amazing! I've had them in peppermint before and loved how they worked but not the scent so I got them in lemon...

...and orange...

...as well as grape. Not only are they acetone free, they even have cuticle oil. They aren't oily to me, though, and it only takes one pad to remove all ten nails of polish. For a dollar each, these are a total steal. I tried out the LA Colors nail polish remover pads as well (you can also get them at ShopMissA) but I don't like them quite as much so I got a bunch of these instead. The LA Colors one aren't bad, I just happen to like these better.

I refuse to buy foundation, concealer, or primer from ShopMissA because I've had bad experiences with one-dollar foundations in the past, but face masks at WalMart aren't much more than a dollar anyways, and I've tried ShopMissA face masks before and not broken out, so I got some more.

I'm really excited for the peel-off cucumber mask because I love peeling off masks. It's satisfying in a very odd way. I hear nothing but good things about vitamin E, so I wanted to try a vitamin E face mask out.

I'm most excited for these masks because I've tried the peach one before and loved it, so I'm hoping the oatmeal one will be similar. They have a really cool bubbling effect and when you rub the bubbles in with water it helps clean your skin really well.

Since I've used up so many lip balms, I decided it was time to get some more. I've had my eye on these the last couple of times I ordered from ShopMissA, but they were out of stock until now.

Fun-shaped lips balms are my thing, so I was immediately drawn to these. The egg one smells like oranges, which I enjoy.

This lip balm is a repurchase. It's actually a fantastic lip balm, very smooth application and super moisturizing. The sad part is it gets used up really fast because it has a soft texture. But for a dollar, I think it's worth it.

I'll admit it - I got this lipstick for the packaging. It was too cute to resist! I did get it in a color I think I would wear, though. It's the shade 14 Tiara.

This is the Santee Eyebrow Powder. I ordered the shade 01, and the packaging even says the shade is 01, but the product looks more like the picture of shade 02. I don't mind all that much because although the left shade is too warm for me, the right shade looks decent on my brows when I tested it out.

I also got the Malibu Glitz Brush-On Eyebrow Powder Duo in Medium Brown. I would have gotten a blonde shade but they didn't have one so I went with this. The lighter shade doesn't really show up in my brows, but the darker shade works pretty well.

This is the powder from the Brows Essential Kit in Light Brown. It came with a little angled brush and some eyebrow stencils, all of which I seem to have immediately lost. This is a pretty good match for my brows.

The last brow product I got was the Santee Eybrow Sword Pencil in Light Brown. It comes with a spoolie brush on one end, which is really neat. I like how it looks in my brows.

Starting on eyeshadow, I got some Amuse Pressed Eyshadow Pigments in the shades Green Lime, Star Light, and Intense Pink. I already have the shade Black Night and I like it a lot so I decided to get a few more.

I've heard good things about the Princessa City Girl Eyeshadow Trios, and I'm obsessed with Paris, so of course I got the shade Paris. It's a purple trio.

I got the Kleancolor Color Playlist quad in Jazz on a whim, and I'm so glad I did. The whiteish shade is nothing special dry, just chalky and unpigmented. But when you use it wet, it's has a gorgeous iridescence. The other colors are okay, but I think the white shade would look so pretty wet on top of other shadows.

This trio is in the shade 4. I have to play with it a bit more before I decide if I like it or not. Swatched with my fingers it's super powdery and weird, but it's not as bad using a brush.

This e.l.f. quad is in the shade PINK' N' PINK. Oddly, the white shade seems to be the most pigmented when I swatch them. I need to play around with this more.

The pink blush/bronzer in in 1 Spring Blossom and the orangey brown one is in Royal Touch. The orangey one I got thinking it would be less orange to use as a bronzer, but after swatching it I may just use it as a blush and eyeshadow.

This is the Rose Cheek Pop Blush in Mauve. It's a very pretty color, one that I don't have anything like in my collection. It's not so pigmented that it's super easy to use too much, but it's still pigmented.

The final products are these LA Colors Jumbo Eye Pencils in Desert Sun, Bronze Shimmer, and Sweet Wishes. I have the white one, Sea Shells, and it makes a fantastic eyeshadow base.