Makeup Collection: Lips 1

Makeup Collection 2016: Lip Balms

I have far, far too much lip balm. Although I do use up lip balms pretty regularly, this is still too much. But I love lip balms, so I end up accumulating it. Here it all is.

This lip balm makes me angry. The only reason I still have it is to remind me that I hate it so I can tell people about how bad it is. Why? It has major hype as a great lip balm, which would be fine by me if it didn't contain salicylic acid. Although a few other lip balms I have probably contain that (or alcohol, which can do the same thing), this one makes me angry because it's so hyped. Salicylic acid can majorly dry out your lips. It being drying is what makes it a good acne treatment, but pimples and lips are not the same and lips never need to be dried out. If this weren't so hyped I wouldn't mind as much, although it also claims to sooth, heal, and protect lips, which may be true if you use it a couple of times, but if you use it regularly then it will dry out your lips. I'll be tossing this next time I declutter.

I got these in a pack together for a dollar, which is why it surprised me when they were better than the Carmex that was also a dollar.  It turns out that in addition to not having salicylic acid in them, they also have aloe in them, which is both soothing and healing. My favorite is the blue raspberry.

Not only do these LA Colors tinted lip balms leave a nice tint, they also contain coconut oil, which is really moisturizing. I love them for both moisturizing and for a light wash of color when I don't feel like lipstick but I still want something on my lips.

Electro Baby Lips are great. The orange one is my favorite, so I have two. The pink and orange leave a nice light tint, while the green and yellow are totally sheer. They smell nice and moisturize well, too.

I got these three lip balms because they're so stinkin' cute! Look at the little smiley faces! They aren't great for moisturizing, but they're too cute to not keep.

These are my Wet' n' Wild Natural Blend tinted lip balms. They actually give quite a bit of color, especially the darker two. Their lasting power isn't great, but they're much more moisturizing than a lipstick, so I can overlook that.

These are the Blamtastic Skins lip balms I got for Christmas. I plan to get more when these are done because I love them! They're fantastic, very moisturizing and they smell great too. I can't really put a finger on the exact scent, but it's a light sweetish scent.

I've got two Rimmel Keep Calm lip balms. I gave these a bad review in the past, but since I was gifted a couple more, I want to give them a second chance.

These are my Burt's Bees lip balms. I love them, but I only have three because there are some that I like better and cost less. I would highly recommend all of the Burt's Bees lip balms, though, since there have been others I've tried in the past.

The first lip balm her is from Forever 21's makeup line. I have yet to use it enough to know how I like it. The middle one is from NYC, and it's okay. The last one is a sample from Bare Minerals, which I have yet to try, but I have swatched it and it's super pigmented. Even more pigmented than a normal lipstick, and it's called a balm.

The first two lip balms here came from a little set I got at Ulta around Christmas. They smell lovely. The third is from the dollar store, and it also smells great. I want to use these ones more.

These are three random lip balms from various places. I've done a review of the Yu-Be one, and although I liked it back then, I don't anymore because the rosemary scent started to bug me. I previously called the one on the right my holy grail lip balm, but since then I've found better ones. The one on the left is alright, not the best but definitely not bad.

These two lip balms are from Claire's. They smell good but otherwise they're not great. I wouldn't buy them at the price I got them for - about four bucks each.

Last but not least, I have two Starburst lip balms and a Jolly Rancher one. I have a third Starburst one but it's in my bag. The Starburst ones are pretty good, but I've only used the Jolly Rancher one a few times and can't say what I think quite yet.

Makeup Collection: Eyes

Makeup Collection 2016: Eye Products

I love eyeshadow and mascara almost as much as I love lipstick, so I have a lot of eye products. The next post in my collection series will be lips, although I may have to split up the lip products into different posts because I have so many.

These are all of my brow products. I use the Essence clear brow mascara and brow pencil in blonde. I have a backup of the brow pencil since I want to have one on hand whenever I use my current one up. Both of these are great products.

Next I have this NYX eyeshadow trio in Nighttime In Rio. I've scraped off a bit of these shades and used them to mix some custom shades, so they look pretty bad. They're decent quality and the colors are nice.

I've got the Revlon Shadow Links in Copper and Gold and an Amuse eyeshadow in Black Night. They're all okay quality. I got these because at the time I purchased them they were colors I didn't have in my collection, but I do have better quality versions of these colors now, so I'll probably get rid of them eventually.

Next I have the NYX Hot Singles eyeshadows in Dank (green) and Bad Seed (red) and an Essence duo in Irresistible First Love. I really like the silver/grey shade in the Essence duo for all over the lid.

The last of my single eyeshadows are three Wet' n' Wild singles in Sugar, Brulee, and Cheeky. They're pretty pigmented, but also quite powdery.

I rarely use eye primer, but I want to try and use them more this year. The one I plan on using is this Urban Decay Primer Potion. I find that it does help shadows stay on, but I don't tend to have big problems with that anyways.

These are all of my currently open mascaras. I have a purple one from Hard Candy, a dual ended one from Covergirl, a Maybelline GreatLash, a Covergirl SuperSizer, and a ModelCo VolumEyes. My favorite is the ModelCo one, and my least favorite is the dual ended one because it's almost impossible to remove the second side if you use it on it's own.

These are my liquid eyeliners. I'm choosing not to include my pencil liners because I have so many, but I only have these five liquid ones. My favorite right now is the NYC one.

This is my Essence gel eyeliner and my mini Duo lash glue. I use the liner regularly and the lash glue every time I wear lashes.

Makeup Collection: Face

Makeup Collection 2016: Face Products

I have too much makeup, and I know that. However, face products are something I use a lot of, and I don't think the amount I have is so excessive that the majority of it will go bad before I use it up. I wanted to share my makeup collection because I enjoy this kind of post and thought other people would too. So I'm starting with my face products!

These are the foundations I use the most - Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless and L'oreal True Match Super Blendable. They aren't technically my favorites, but the one that I think would be my favorite if I wore it more seems to oxidize, so I don't use it often. Neither of these ones oxidize, and they both match me very well.

I have two shades of this foundation, one for when I'm not tan and one to mix with it to get the right shade when I am tan. This is a decent foundation, although I don't wear it super often.

The Dr. Hauschka foundation is far too yellow for me, and the Dream Wonder foundation seems fantastic in every way except for the fact that I think it oxidizes on me. I've only noticed that once, so I'm not entirely sure if it was oxidizing or bad blending, but I haven't had the chance to figure it out yet.

These are all of my concealers, and three of them are too dark to use the way I would usually use a concealer, which is to highlight. The first three do work for me as a normal spot concealer, but only the last one from NYX can highlight, and even then it's almost not light enough.

These are all of my powders. I need to get rid of the Sephora one because it's too old, but the other three are all pretty new. In fact, I haven't even tried out the NYX one yet because I just got it. The NYC one is perfect for me - it's just the right shade, it doesn't look cakey, and it does it's job. The Covergirl one is a tiny bit dark, but I can easily use it if I blend it out enough.

These are some of my blushes. I really only ever use the one on the right, and I've been using the same one for at least a year without even hitting pan. It's in the shade Natural, and it's great. I'm super pale but it still looks good and it's hard to over do it.

Here are my Ms. Chick blushes from Kleancolor. They are super pigmented, to the point where they're almost too pigmented for a blush. You literally just need to barely tap your brush in them and you'll have enough for one cheek.

I currently only have two primers. The Baby Skin one is great, but I have yet to truly try out the Wet' n' Wild one.

These are some random things for the face - my setting spray from Hard Candy, my NYX contour and highlight stick, and a random blush. I use the setting spray almost every time I wear makeup for more than a few hours.

The last thing in my face drawer is my Anastasia Beverly Hills contour palette. It's a pretty great thing, although I don't contour very often.

Makeup Collection 2016

Makeup Collection Overview 2016

Since it's a new year, and I just got new organization for my makeup, I wanted to share my makeup collection. This is just an overview - I'll go through each drawer in detail in separate posts. I am in no way trying to brag about how much makeup I have. I simply enjoy these kinds of posts and thought that maybe others would too. I know I have too much makeup, but this is my hobby, and all of the makeup I own has either been given to me by a friend or family member or been purchased by me with my own money. 

Starting with my Alex 9 drawer unit, on top I keep a candle holder and a candle, my brushes, my makeup sponges, and a little owl container with lotion inside. Hiding behind the candle holder I have a vase from IKEA with some flowers that are also from IKEA. The drawers themselves, the plant pots holding my brushes, the candle holder, and the candle are also all from IKEA. I did have my body sprays and perfumes up here too, but I decided that was a fire risk with the candle, so I put them in a drawer instead.

On the side of my desk next to my drawers is where I do my makeup. I forgot to include in the picture the Christmas themed tin where I keep a lot of my lip balms. Here, I have a mirror from IKEA with some products in it as well as a light (not sure where it or the desk are from) and some products I use regularly. In the pump bottle that says "Body & Soul" I have some Nivea body lotion, which I actually use for my face as a moisturizer. Then I have an eye cream sample I'm trying out, a lip balm, a tanning lotion I'm testing, some cleansing water, and some lotion. Behind the mirror I have some Halloween makeup I need to find a place for. The space in front of the mirror and products is where I take pictures of things to post here, on my blog.

This is the first drawer, which is where I keep face products like foundations, powders, and primers. I also have blushes and contouring things and concealers. I won't go through all the products now, but a post about them will be coming up soon.

The next drawer down is my eye drawer. This is where I keep everything eye related that isn't a palette or brushes. I've got some single shadows, some mascara, and far too much eyeliner, as well as lashes. I don't always use lashes, but when I do, I like to have a good selection, so I'm working on building up my lash collection.

Next is my favorite drawer - the lip drawer. It's totally overflowing, so I need to do a declutter again soon, but until then it looks like this - a total mess. My most used lipsticks are in the lipstick holder, but everything else I have to dig around for. The loose ones in the back are things I don't wear often that I use to mix together and create custom colors. On the side I have lip balms that I can't fit elsewhere, a lip scrub, and a lipstick remover.

My palette drawer is the next one down. It's where I store all of my palettes, which I have just the right amount of to be able to see all of them at once. My favorite has to be either the Chocolate Bar palette or the Naked Smoky.

After that I have a drawer of samples and things I want to try out, as well as a couple of backups. I don't tend to buy backups of products, but there are a few products I love enough to get backups of, and those live here.

Moving on to the bigger drawers, the first one is where I keep makeup wipes and face masks, along with some tissues and sponges that I didn't really have a place for. I have a lot of makeup wipes, but I go through them pretty fast, so it's good that I have so many.

Next up if my body care drawer. I keep lotions, extra body washes and shower gels, body sprays, and perfumes in here. I want to declutter it, but I actually like everything I have in here, so that would be really difficult to do.

Lastly, I have my nail drawer. There's one more drawer, but I haven't filled it yet. This is pretty disorganized, but I rarely do my nails, so it's low on my list of priorities to sort it out. On the side I have a ton of nail stickers and appliques, which I find easier to use than nail polish, but they come off in the shower, so I don't tend to use them.

Ulta Haul

Oh My God, ANOTHER Ulta Haul Because I Shop Too Much

I went to Ulta. Again. I went to pick up a new self tanner to try since the last one was awful (more on that in an upcoming post) and I ended up getting more, including four lipsticks, despite the fact that my lipstick drawer is overflowing. I would say I have a problem, but I'm not hurting anybody, and it's my money to spend how I like, so I don't feel a huge need to justify it. Without further ado, here is the haul!

This is the main reason I went to Ulta - the Nivea Sun-Kissed Radiance Gradual Tanner and Body Lotion for fair to medium skin. I've heard mixed reviews on this, but since I love every other Nivea product I've ever tried, I decided to give it a go. I've used it twice so far and I don't see anything yet, but I wasn't expecting to until day 3 or 4 anyways. I'll post a review once I've tried it out thoroughly.

Next I got the NYX HD Studio Finishing Powder, since if I'm going to be self tanning I'll need a powder that matches me when I'm darker, and I don't want to be mixing different powders when I'm in between, so I got a translucent one. I have yet to try it out but I will probably post a review once I have.

I also bought this foundation to mix with my normal foundation when I'm tan to get the right shade. I went a few shades darker so that I for sure have a dark enough color. If it's too dark, I can just mix more of my lighter foundation with it and get the perfect shade.

The last non-lip product I got was another Essence eyebrow pencil in Blonde. I have plenty of my other one left, but I want to have an extra one just in case.

I love my other Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in the shade In Love With Ginger, but since it's an orange, I rarely wear it. So I decided to get something more wearable, and I ended up getting the shade 730 Nude And The City. It came a bit smashed, but it's usable, so I'll just sanitize it in case it's been used and deal with it because my nearest Ulta is far enough away that it wouldn't be worth making a trip just to return something. It's a gorgeous brownish nude that I can see myself wearing often.

I've wanted to try the Rimmel Provacalips for a while now, and the shade 120 Pucker Up was on sale, so I got it. It's pretty sheer and not a shade I would normally get, but I'm keeping it around for review purposes and to see if I like the product itself. I didn't notice until after I got it that the seal was broken, which is a bummer, but I'm going to have to risk it since there's no way to really sanitize this type of item.

In my head I justified getting this lipstick by telling myself that this isn't a color I have anything like in my collection, which is true. Its a NYX Extra Creamy Round Lipstick in the shade Castle. It's a very pretty shimmery light purple, which is quite unique. I have a couple medium and dark purples, but no light ones.

The last thing I bought was an Essence Longlasting Lipstick in the shade 11 Nude Love. It's a pretty nude that I can see myself wearing a lot.

Fire Inspired Look

Fire/Sunset Inspired Eye Look

For my crease/transition shade, I used a Revlon Shadow Link in Gold.

Next I used a Revlon Shadow Link in Copper in my outer v and crease.

After that I put a NYX Hot Singles Eyeshadow in Bad Seed all over my lid.

The next step is to blend everything together.

After that I mixed the colors Slowburn and Savage from the Urban Decay Electric palette and lined my eyes.

Take that same mix of colors and put it all along your lower lashline.

Apply some mascara and you're done!

I decided to pair this look with a Rimmel Moisture Renew lipstick in the shade In Love With Ginger. I think this is the perfect look to pair with red or orange lips, and since I almost never do orange lips, I chose orange.

Products I Want to Use Up

Products I Want To Use Up In 2016

Since my project pans are failing miserably, I decided that I want to do something similar, but a bit easier and less rigid. So when I found this project on YouTube, it seemed perfect. Instead of choosing specific products, I'm choosing a category and the amount of products I want to use up in that category. I plan to update you on my progress at the end of every month.

Five Lip Balms

I want to totally use up five lip balms this year. I have way too many and they're pretty easy to use up, so this shouldn't be difficult at all.

One Full Size Lipstick

This will probably be the most challenging goal. I like to use lots of different lipsticks, so using one up almost never happens. I want to start with just one, but I will probably try to use up more.

Two Foundations

Although I'll probably use up more, I don't want to overestimate what I can use up. This can include foundations that are halfway full or more.

One Bodyspray

This isn't very ambitious, but I need to get in the habit of wearing bodyspray every day if I want to do this. I don't wear it very often, but I want to use it much more.

Two Powders

I use up powders pretty quickly, so this shouldn't be hard. I want to find the perfect powder, but I want to use them up at the same rate I buy them if at all possible.

Six Eyeliners

For this one, I can use any form of eyeliner, and I can include liners that I've already used almost all the way because liners seem to take me forever. I also can use them as eyeshadow bases if I want.

Three Body Butters

I have too many body butters and lotions, so I want to use a few up. I do have an order of more coming in soon, but after that I'll try to avoid buying them if I can remember not to. I like to feel moisturized, and I like to smell good, so this shouldn't be difficult at all.

One Nail Polish

I don't really use nail polish all that often, but when I do, I'm going to try and always use the same one so I can start to slim down my collection. I have way too much nail polish for somebody who rarely paints their nails, or really for anybody.

Two Shower Gels

I have way too many bath and shower gels for anybody to have at once, so I want to use up at least two. This includes body washes as well. This is going to be really simple, but I find it best to start small and then do better than I expected to do so I don't get overwhelmed.

One Lip Butter

I actually have a specific product in mind for this one - my Nivea lip butter in caramel cream kiss. I use it every night before bed but there's still quite a bit left so it might take a bit.

One Lip Scrub

I have some homemade lip scrubs as well as a store bought one, and I think I'll focus in the one I bought first. It's super great for exfoliating your lips and leaving them super smooth and ready for lipstick.

Ten Eyeshadows

I want to at least hit pan on ten eyeshadows, but if I can use them up then that will be even better. My goal is just to hit pan, though. I'll probably focus on more neutral, everyday colors so that this goes faster.

Two Lip Glosses

Lip glosses go faster than lipsticks for me, so I don't think two is a bad goal. I'll probably choose two that both go with whatever lipstick I choose to use up.