April 2013 Favorites

 How has it been already a month? 

Didn't I just post a monthly favorites? 

Time goes by too fast. 

CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation: I have been using this every day. This replaced all my Dior and Chanel foundations. The lasting power on this bad boy is unbeatable. If you're wondering, I have NC 20-25 skin and I use 832 'Nude Beige.' 

Benefit High Beam: I never really fell in love with this. I hate packaging and the nail polish applicator. The packaging doesn't help when you're in a rush. Other than that it's a great pinky moonstone highlighter. I love mixing it with the CoverGirl Outlast Foundation for a spring look. 

Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Birthday Suit: One of the very few cream shadows that lasts on my oily eyelids. If you are experiencing creasing, try looking down for a few minutes; that lets the cream shadow dry a bit. The color birthday suit is like the color of my skin with lots of mini glitters. I love it. It's like I have no makeup on, but my eyes are poppin'! 

Stila Convertible Color in Peony: I need more colors!!! I shove this on my cheek like no other. I look like a clown, and I don't care. This stuff is gorgeous. A dusty mauve pink that contours my cheek while giving a gorgeous glow. The do fade in time, but it doesn't fade very blotchy or patchy. It's still very pretty. I just need more colors. That's all. 

L'oreal Telescopic Shocking Waterproof Mascara The best discover of this month! It actually holds my curl, which never happens! It doesn't smudge, which doesn't happen! This is a really great day time mascara. It makes your lashes look fake. It's THAT lengthening. I can't believe I found a mascara that holds my curl!! :) 

Such great stuff this month! 

What are your makeup standouts? 

Ulta/Target Haul

I seriously need to stop buying stuff. 

Project Pan, anyone? 

maybe, a no buy month? 

Tarte Clean Slate Flawless Primer, Vichy Proeven Mineral BB Cream, No. 7 Lip Pencil in Nude, Stila Convertible Color in Camelia

The Target and Ulta near me is basically next to each other. 

I only got one thing. Lisa Eldridge's beloved No.7 Nude Lip Pencil. She uses the lip pencil in every other video. I had to get it. It's been out of stock for MONTHS. I finally saw it today, and there was only 2 left. I wanted to get BOTH, but thankfully, I controlled myself.

Ulta is having a crazy GWP (gift with purchase) !! 

I was so excited that I bought more than I wanted AND I bought the wrong color.

I am such a nut. 

I wanted Stila convertible color in Peony instead I got Camelia. 

I was going to keep the Camelia, if it got good reviews. It did, but all the reviewers who loved it had darker skin tones (NC 30-42) compared to mine (NC 20-25). I really want to try it before I return it, but Ulta near me has HORRIBLE service. The assistant manager basically chastised me for returning a used product. 

Maybe I should try it and return it when I move back to home (Los Angeles)? What do you think? 

I also got Tarte Clean Slate Flawless Primer. I ran out of my primer. Since summer is coming up, I might as well take advantage of this GWP. This week, if you purchase any Tarte product, you get a free sample of Camera, Lights and Lashes mascara and their eyeshadow primer. 

Vichy Proeven Mineral BB cream = the grayest bb cream ever. I like the consistency though. We'll See what happens.. 

Have you tried any of these products? Are any of them good? 

What's in my makeup bag?

There are products I have been using lately. I been having the same face routine for the past month. I been loving all the products that I haven't thought of switching it up yet. Awesome, right? 

 Anyways, off the the pictures!! 

FACE: 

I LOVE foundation. It's probably the one makeup item I buy the most. Right now, I am using Bourjois Healthy Mix in 52. I think I am about a NC 20 in MAC, and this shade is perfect for me, right now. I want to say that this has a satiny leaning towards matte powdery finish. It is very similar to Chanel VitaLumiere Aqua in finish and consistency, but it has a bit coverage than VitaLumiere Aqua.  It does not cover all my acne hyper-pigmentation, but it has such a natural finish that I can overlook that part. As for staying power, it is not Revlon Colorstay. I have oily skin, and this would not suffice during the summer time. Right now, I am combination skin and with some powder it lasts me pretty well. (oh and this thing smells AMAZING. It has this great fruity scent!) 

Because it's winter time, my skin has been pretty good. I been using the Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Eye Roller to cover my blemishes and sometimes as a highlighter. I have a love hate relationship with this product. It's a great drugstore product. It covers enough of my acne blemishes and sometimes my dark circles, and it's reflective enough (for me) to use as a highlighter. When I use it as a highlighter  it is very subtle. Basically, this is the drugstore version of YSL touche eclat concealer pen before Maybelline and Loreal came out with theirs. BUT using this is  a pain in the ass. The rollerball doesn't distribute the product evenly. It either gives me a lot of product or little to no product. I try to shake it and it doesn't work. Also, IT FLASHES BACK. I would never use this if I knew I was going to get my pictures taken. I already have had that experience. It wasn't pleasant. It looked like I have two bright white discs shaped in the letter C under my eyes. Not cute. 

I do not want to say much about this because I just got it. But, I will say is it full coverage powder foundation. I like it so far. 

Oh Nars Orgasm. The most popular blush of all time. I had this thing for so long. 5+ years! Is that sanitary? I hope it is. When I first bought it, I hated it. I didn't get why people liked Nar blushes so much. ( I think I still think that way). It is not until I shattered it and fixed it when I started to love and appreciate it. It is such a pretty flush that I can't change any other blush. When used correctly, it looks very natural. This one that I have is REALLY pigmented. I think I used too much alcohol when I was putting it back together. I cannot use a standard blush brush when I apply this to my face. I use a stippling brush than tap the excess off my wrist THEN apply it to my face. The result is A-MA-ZING

EYES:

I love the Anatasia Brow Wiz in brunette. Surprisingly, even though it doesn't look unnatural against my black hair. 

I am not a eyeshadow person, but when I am in the mood, this is my quick eyeshadow fix. It's Stila Smudge Crayon Waterproof Eye Color in Antique. This is the only eye shadow cream thing that I can use without using a primer that creases on me, which is PRETTY RARE. I have really oily eyelids. I can't use most eyeshadow primers including Urban Decay's, and I have no problems with this. I love this champagne color also because it looks really natural on my eyes  while giving me a wash of color, which is really all I really want from an eyeshadow. 

I am a MASCARA FREAK. Besides that, my main requirement for a mascara is that it must hold my curl. If a mascara droops my curl even by 1mmi; it's a failure. Because I have stubby, thin and very straight Asian lashes, I can only use Japanese mascaras. There has been no American mascara that hold up my lash curl alone. So, my beloved mascara Heroine Make: the volume version make my lashes so pretty. I cannot have enough. Sadly, she is coming to an end. She's drying up and clumping on me so I use her as as a primer then coast Covergirl Natureluxe to give me an extra ooph. I do like the Covergirl Natureluxe. It gives separation and volume. I haven't tried it alone, so I can't give much of a review. 

Lips: 

I bought Nars Honolulu Honey last month and I used half of it already. This is the perfect nude. It's an orange tone lipstick, which sounds weird to refer it as a nude but on my very pigmented lips, the orange counteracts the pink making it nude-like on my lips. I'm going to need to buy another one soon.