My makeup routine lately has been pretty simple and straightforward. Base, brows, lashes, lips and I’m out the door. I’ll do a bit more bronzing, concealing, or contouring here and there, but overall it’s a streamlined process. Since I’m using fewer products however, I am a bit more focused on getting the most out of them. When it comes to lip color, I like to put it on in the morning and forget about it until maybe after lunch, so a long-wearing lip is a must and these three formulas have been my go-to.

Ok, the video streak has ended. Instead, I offer you a review of another product I picked up during the Sephora VIB Rouge sale. I actually bought a number of things online, and two in store, but wanted to give them an honest and thorough trial before blogging them. One that’s impressed me right off the bat: The Viseart Neutral Matte Eyeshadow Palette. It’s safe to say now that this palette and I are getting along great.

For today’s Friday Five: Five products I keep in my purse (well, today). I’m known for hoarding makeup in my purse and carrying it around with me everywhere. Which is crazy because 1. I never really use it, and 2. it makes my bag super heavy. The other day I had a handbag clear out and stripped down to just the on-the-go essentials. Here’s what I kept: First: a rollerball of Balenciaga’s Rosabotanica.

Before we get too far into October and this becomes irrelevant… I don’t know if I’m going to do monthly favorites. It feels a little repetitive since it’s rare that I find anything life changing, but I haven’t listed my general favorites since my holy grails, so I thought now could be a good time. Here’s what I’ve been loving lately, my September favorites! Again, the R+Co Badlands Dry Shampoo Paste.

Ok yes, it’s insane that “holiday” sets are being announced (and even released!) in September. But that doesn’t mean we can’t wishlist the crap of them. Holiday Beauty sets have some of the coolest limited edition shades and products, usually at an incredible value. Here are my picks (so far) for this year! First, these Guerlain Snowflake Meteorites: Guerlain Meteorites Perles des Neiges – $80 OMG if that’s not the most perfect winter makeup ever.

I used to work at Birchbox. Which was really cool but also it kind of ruined the experience of getting a Birchbox. I knew way ahead of time what the product assortment was for the month and even what was going to be in my box. The delight was still there, but the surprise was lacking. Since I left back in May it’s been a lot more exciting to get a monthly box.

Strobing. So hot right now. If you haven’t heard (I’m sure you’ve heard), “strobing” is using intense highlight to contour the face, rather than trying to blend a darker color and create a shadow. Instead of creating depth, you create height and volume (yes we’re still talking about skin, not hair) by extreme highlighting. While this is a great look for photos, strobing, like contouring, is not the most natural look in real life.

I’ve introduced a number of new products to my routine over the past few weeks. I’ve been absent from blogging (I’m so sorry!) but not from beauty, obviously. I’ve noticed that while my new go-to products work great on their own, sometimes you hit a combination where it seems like two (or sometimes three) products were meant to be used together. Here are a few of the best combinations I’ve found.

I mentioned in my previous Kiehl’s Haul that the Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cleanser is my favorite cleanser ever. And it is. I thought I’d do a little rundown of products I feel similarly passionate about. Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat, $4.99 on Amazon for .5 oz. Okay, just now creating that link I realized how much cheaper this is on Amazon than Duane Reade and now I’m kicking myself for ever paying more for it, especially since I’ve gone through like, 5 bottles since I discovered it a few years ago.

I haven’t worn an actual foundation in months. Lately, I’ve preferred to create my own skin perfecting combination of products in the morning. It’s not an exact science, but the strategy is to really look at my skin, decide what it needs to look its best given its current starting state, and do that. Depending on if I’ve self tanned, or am suffering a breakout, or dryness or discoloration, I’ll mix together various products to try to balance and perfect my skin.

One of my favorite things about having brown eyes is that they are incredibly neutral, and allow for lots of experimentation with different eyeshadow colors. Here are a few I’ve tried that I wouldn’t expect to work, but found surprisingly beautiful. Of course, these are shadows where I found the quality to be impressive, too. Clinique All About Shadow in Black Honey I have this in the single, but can’t find it on Sephora.