Fall Beauty: 10 minutes to Freedom!

It doesn't always take me five minutes, but most of the time I can get away with my ultimate 10 minute makeup routine. Shall I admit something? I take really good care of my skin but I still use my fingers half the time, and then I use a beauty blender sponge that I just got from Forever 21 in a three pack, to blend throughout the day. I decided to scale back a little at the end of Summer, as Hunter begins Pre-K very soon and I need something quick for AM bus drop-off's.

Some of these are a little pricey, but I will have cheaper alternatives as suggestions if you're on a budget. (Trust me, I've been there!) I've got you covered.

Eyelash curler. Mint green and gold. Forever 21. $3.80 (online, and in store)

Amp up your makeup game with this basic beauty tool! I live by the golden rule, that an eyelash curler can really fix anything. I curl my lashes, sans mascara, before going to the gym and mid-day if I don't want to gloop on more mascara because it really aggravates my contacts! My pick from Forever 21 has two benefits, price point, and tool pressure. I love that this one really gets well on my base, where my lashes tend to already curl, and it allows me to get them in place where they belong with the help of the pressure points in this tool. Plus, how can you argue with a curler under $4? I mean, c'mon!

L'Oréal The Infallible Blackbuster Liquid 8hr Eyeliner. Shade Black/Noir. About $7 at Target, and most drugstores.

I like a good cat eye, and this product lasts. I haven't ventured into the gel territory, (although when those first came out I loved Clinique's version that came in a pot), but I just love the liquid lined look. This is a cheaper version that lasts, and the color coverage is the perfect pontification of black. It's an excellent base just to add to your makeup collection!

Burt's Bee's Beeswax Lip Balm. Available at most retailers.

This will be my forever lip balm of choice. I love Burt's Bee's, enough said.

Visine Long Lasting Redness Relief eye drops. Available at most retailers and drugstores.

I use Visine more now than I ever have because I don't always get adequate sleep. I love this version from their line of eye products because it's soothing, and it takes away all the redness. I hate what I call stoner eyes, with all the little red squiggly lines so I always keep these on hand for quick fixes. Pro Tip: It also will take away the redness of a MAJOR blemish in a pinch if necessary.

MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation. Shade NC25. Purchased from Belk, but available at all MAC Stores or Macy's. $27

This is my dream powder. I'm new to the MAC game. I'll be honest, the black packaging and makeup gurus who worked at the counters always overwhelmed me a little. Everything I've ever learned about makeup I taught myself from the pages of Seventeen. True story! I was born to be a MAC lady though, and this powder/foundation duo is the center from which my 10 minute routine was born. I can spot treat my blemishes, and powder my t-zone lickety split. The coverage is flawless, and stays put well past 12 hours of wear. Why did I ever buy any other powder? Dear MAC, this is my love letter .... I thank you immensely for this product.

Since this price point is on the higher end, (although if you can swing it I highly recommend it). I'm also in love with Rimmel's Stay Matte Shine Control Pressed Powder (less than $6 at most drugstores), and NYX Stay Matte But Not Flat Powder Foundation (about $11 available at Target, CVS, and Ulta or online).

Maybelline Volum' Express, The Falsies, Big Eyes Mascara. Very Black. $10 (Available at most retailers, and drug stores).

I love this mascara for several reasons, but the biggest one is that I don't have to scrimp on coatings. The formula is thin enough to build on without feeling cake-y and I still get fluttery lashes without the messy formulas of waterproof mascara. It's my go-to. Also, can we talk about the duo brushes? The tiny bristles on the bottom lash brush are perfect for my longer lower lashes, and as for my tops, that brush easily gets into all the little nooks and crannies. It's literally the perfect formula, and Maybelline has finally met it's match as I am a stickler for their Great Lash and always will be.

Flower Beauty Chubby's Highlighter and Lip & Cheek. Highlighter is in shade HL2 Gold Coaster, and Lip & Cheek is in KM3 Can't Re-fuchsia. About $11 at Wal-Mart or online.

My love affair with FLOWER Beauty continues! I'm completely obsessed with these new lines of Chubby's, which are miniature sticks of glorious coverage and color to save me time when I need to feel my most beautiful! The Lip & Cheek chubby has the greatest coverage, and blends effortlessly as a blush. If you read my last makeup post, I talked about the same highlighter but in pearl shimmer, which I still love, but gold coaster takes on the little extra sparkle I crave to match the more muted colors of Fall.

Physician's Formula Super CC+ Concealer. Shade Light/Medium. About $13 (Available at most drugstores, and Target).

This Super CC (color correcting), magical unicorn formula is the answer to my blemish prayers! If I have a spot, simply twist and brush on flawless coverage that lasts. A bonus is the 30SPF that's added in making it the perfect under-eye concealer. It delicately covers up harsh lines and imperfections on my skin with ease, and doesn't cause a single breakout.

L'Oréal  Colour Riche Lipstick in British Red. About $6 at most drugstores/retailers.
I love this shade of red, because it's a perfect transition between the bright reds of Summer and the darker shades of Fall. It still falls in the coral-y red spectrum, so works well with almost all skin tones. I have seen all kinds rock it! The color lasts, and the application doesn't need a lot of precision because the color doesn't bleed. Great for all day!

I hope these products will shorten your beauty routines, and leave you more time to catch some morning Zzzzzzzzzz. We all need more of those!

As always, I love yer faces!

xo,
C

Beauty: What's In My Bag? (Part 2)

Part 2

Ok, so we're off and running for part 2 of What's In My Bag?

I love eye makeup. You would have never guess, right? Kidding. My eyes are one of my favorite features so I try and play them up as much as I can. The first product in the far left picture, that magical pod of purple. That just happens to be Color Play cream eyeshadow in Orchid-ing Around, by Flower Beauty.  I actually won this one in their Facebook contest last year and I've been through 2 pots since then. The cream shadows from this line are incredible! They are long lasting, and I like to toss this pot in my bag for touch-ups as this color goes great on light or darker for a night time change-up.

Next to that eyeshadow is my favorite brow pencil, also by Flower Beauty. Raise Some Brows in Blonde is the perfect in between brow shade for me. I usually get mine darkened in the salon but in between I like to play them up with this pencil. I have naturally dark eye lashes and brows, but in the Summer obviously everything lightens up pretty quickly from the sun light which is why having a good pencil or powder is an excellent addition to any makeup starter kit. If you're out of mascara or forgot it, always, always kick up the jams on those power brows!

The next two pallets are mostly browns, and highlight colors which I wear pretty much all the time. The top shades are from Julep, and so is my favorite eyeliner in the entire world, Kajal Eye Glider in, Brown Shimmer, and Carbon Black. I'm a contacts wearer, so I'm picky about what I put near my eyes. Mostly because my eyes get irritated easily, and also because contacts are expensive! The pallet has one highlight, and 4 progressively darker shades of brown. You could go nuts! I really like them, and it's also the only other pallet I've purchased lately that's had a mirror in it. The bottom pallet is from the Glam Eyes line from Rimmel in 028 English Breakfast. I've used these since I was in high school, and I love Rimmel makeup in general. It's skin friendly, and the mascaras are as good as most department store bands I've bought. It has all my go to shades if I can't make up my mind in the morning, and I always get lots of compliments about it.

Next up, LASHES. I was literally born with monster lashes, and even though they've lightened a lot since I was little they haven't lost an inch of length. I still curl my lashes even though I don't really need to. Rimmel has two mascaras that I love, and they are Lash Accelerator Endless in 003 Extreme Black, and Volume Accelerator in the same shade. I'm almost out of the second, and I'll probably give it up after this tube since I've really into Accelerator Endless at the moment. It doesn't flake, or irritate my contacts and I love the coverage. It never runs!

The last two pallets are one's that I've recently picked up. The Rimmel pallet is in 001 Smokey Noir, and I wore it to a super fun house party in my hometown which is about 2 hours from where I live now. I put it on at around 6PM, but unfortunately the color didn't last as long for me as the other shades that I have. I love the black but it just didn't hold, even after setting. I was super disappointed, but the grey's in this do last a long time and I've been able to do a funky night out look with it. Lastly, the ELF pallet in, #71404 Smoky was my most recent purchase, in fact I just got it last week. The highlight color in the middle is insanely beautiful and I love the dark brown, as well as the glittery navy shade. Navy was a little out of my comfort zone, but I thought it turned out beautifully.

As for tools, most of my brushes are last minute buys. Although, I finally found Real Techniques brushes in the US in a store. (I almost screamed during a super busy afternoon in the store!) I've been huge fans of the Chapman sisters for a long time. In fact, my first beauty blogger that I ever watched was Pixiwoo and I've learned so much from them and Louise (Sprinkleofglitter). Seriously, between their videos I felt like I finally had the confidence to go to Sephora and not feel like an idiot!

I hope you enjoyed these rather long (sorry), what's in my bag, posts. They're super fun, and I promise I'll get better :) Until next time, just remember it's always about the girl that wears the makeup, and not about the makeup that makes the girl.

xo,

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Beauty: What's In My Bag? (Part 1)

PART 1

Firstly, these are actual things from my makeup bag. That's it right there, that overstuffed blue thing. Some of these products are used, and well loved, and I'm showing you this so you know know I really do use them! I love makeup packaging, and branding. Typography and fonts can really be so beautiful but half of the things I've bought in the past just plain don't do the job for me! That's the funny part though right? That's how they get us. I'm not above buying something that looks pretty only to find out later that it doesn't work at all. For now, this is a little selection of what's in my bag.

I'm lucky in that my skin is pretty easy to handle, but incredibly sensitive and delicate. I can never leave the house without SPF on (neither should you),  and I can't exfoliate too often without turning out like a tomato in the noonday sun. Learn from 16 years of hard lessons, skin care is essential regardless of how much makeup you wear! I cannot stress this enough. Right now my skin care regimen consists of using the Olay Pro-X Cleansing Brush with Garnier's The Ultimate Cleanser, and  Target brand's, Sensitive Skin Moisturizer with SPF 15. I try and do a face masque once a week and my favorites are by the Montagne Jeunesse brand that come in packets. They are usually at Target for less than $3, or if you watch the clearance shelves at Wal-Mart sometimes they're even cheaper! My favorite masque is the Brazillian Mud Fabric Masque. It's like a gigantic Biore strip for your face, and it just feels lovely afterward when you're slathering on moisturizer.

Right now I'm loving the Powder PaletteⓇ Multi- Colored Custom Bronzer for Brunettes from Physician's Formula, as well as the Custom Blush. They are both glittery, but the blush has a much smaller particle of it. In the Summer I like to contour with bronzer, so I use Flower Beauty's, Ready, Set, Glow! (Shade BD1). I love using those two products together, as I feel like they compliment each other so well. Flower Beauty's bronzer has no shimmer in it, but comes with a blush that has a small amount. Obviously my compact is almost out, but if you wanted to wear those two shades alone I can attest that they are the longest lasting that I've ever used. The color literally stayed put all day. I also love their line of cream blushes, and if it's not too hot I opt for Win Some, Rouge Some in shade Pure Petunia. It's like pink and coral colored, and it's so beautiful ... I just can't!

Oh snaps, forgot to mention foundation! Right now I'm trying out Neutrogena's Skin ClearingⓇ oil-free makeup in shade 30 Buff. I break out a little bit in the Summer going from water, to land, and back again. A good foundation that does double duty, is a lifesaver. So far, I've been really pleased with it and the coverage is great! Sometimes I can even get away with wearing no concealer, which is always a plus for the mornings that I'm in a rush. I set all of my makeup with translucent powder, and I have a small compact that I picked up at CVS which I sprinkle a little in for when I'm out. Since it's something I use a lot, I like having a big tin of it and Airspun Original Formula Loose Face Powder (in shade, translucent extra coverage 070-41) is my tried and true essential for every season. It also has a familiar scent that reminds me of getting ready with my Mom when I was a little kid and it holds everything in place.

This year I've planned to expand my horizons to places likes Sephora, Ulta, and MAC, so that I can better understand the art of putting things on your face that I missed out on. No one in my family really liked makeup, or did the minimalist approach to it, so once I was old enough everything I tried to learn came from magazines.  Then came, the beauty bloggers and I adore them! I think they make the planet a happier place, and they've helped grown up Caroline learn how not to look like the crazy bag lady. I can do the basic work, but there's tons more that I want to do. I love makeup! I love trying things, and most importantly, I think every girl, woman, single lady, or Mom should feel beautiful. For the record, no matter where you come from, or what you look like, that should never stop you from having those happy, fluffy cotton candy feelings about yourself! Everyone has low moments. Everyone feels not so pretty sometimes. I'm telling you this now, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL! You woke up just like you did, acne spots, freckles, and all. Those things matter like sprinkles on cupcakes, let's face it we're just going to eat it anyway! In other words, if it's 100 degrees, with 100% humidity then go get a cupcake and stop worrying about runny eyeliner.


So go play a little, and do it with your makeup.

:)

xoxo,


****Stay tuned for part 2!


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