Below you will find pages that utilize the taxonomy term “Makeup”
November 8, 2017
Power Lip – The Best Long-wearing Lip Colors
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.
March 9, 2016
Self-Tan Update
When I lived in NYC, there was a joke about the first warm day of the year and all of the New Yorkers baring their pasty white legs for the first time since the previous summer. Today it’s about 70 degrees in Boston, and in an effort to prevent being one of those jokes, I broke out the self-tan.
I’ve done a post on my favorite formulas before, but like most women, when it comes to cosmetics and body and skincare I’m always on the lookout for something better.
January 22, 2016
Play! By Sephora Unboxing – January 2016
The theme for this month’s Play! box is: No Appointment Necessary. The idea is that with these products, you can achieve “salon” results at home. I actually love trips to the salon. A little time to myself to get pampered, relax, and leave looking and feeling my best is always welcome, but at the same time, my schedule and budget doesn’t always allow for frequent facials or blowouts, so an at-home, DIY option is a great alternative.
November 23, 2015
Sephora Play! November 2015
It’s that time again! My Sephora Play! November box has arrived!
The Sephora Play! boxes have been steadily improving, at least in my opinion. Here’s a look at November’s box.
This month’s theme is “The Exclusives”, meaning products that are exclusive to Sephora.
At first glance, some really great things in here!
Bite Beauty products are some of my favorites. This is their High Pigment Lip Pencil in Rhubarb, which is an intense dark pink, described as “plum rose”.
November 19, 2015
Viseart Neutral Matte Eyeshadow Palette
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.
November 13, 2015
Friday Five
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.
November 12, 2015
November Birchbox 2015 Unboxing
I feel like I JUST got my October box, but none-the-less, my November Birchbox has arrived.
I’ll say it now – I’m THRILLED with this box.
November’s theme is “Feeling Fancy” and I definitely am with this box. I love the cool floral pattern and the metallic copper logo is gorgeous. This is one of my favorite box designs so far this year (after the Rifle Paper Co box of course)!
November 10, 2015
Bite Beauty Swiss Chocolate
Bite Beauty has been doing something really fun this year. Each month they have been releasing a new shade of Lip Lab Limited Release Crème Deluxe Lipstick. The shade is usually very on-trend and appropriate for the month or season and usually very high impact; they haven’t yet released anything remotely nude or neutral.
I love the Bite Beauty lipstick formula, and I love the idea of a seasonal collection, but none of the shades really spoke to me until November’s.
November 9, 2015
Tiny Sephora Haul
I did a decent amount of shopping during the Sephora VIB Rouge sale this weekend, mostly online. I did pop into the local store though to purchase a few essentials.
First, a repurchase. Gimme Brow is a staple of mine and (in my opinion) the best product that Benefit makes. It’s a tiny brow gel with fibers that really helps to make your brows look fuller and darker as well as holding them in place.
October 27, 2015
NARS x Steven Klein – Killer Heels (Sephora Exclusive)
The NARS x Steven Klein collection launched with a bang. The suggestive images on the packaging along with the value and novelty of new holiday sets put the beauty world into a bit of a frenzy. The collection is massive and not all of it appealed to me, but when I saw this adorable lipstick set in Sephora I knew I had to have it.
The Killer Heels Lipstick Coffret shades are mostly classics from the NARS lipstick range, but in mini sizes.
October 21, 2015
How I’m Changing My Beauty Routine for Fall
As the weather gets colder and suntans fade, you’re going to want to make some changes to your routine. Here are a few updates I’m making:
The other day, it was pretty clear that it’s no longer acceptable to go outside with wet hair. You could catch a cold (or freeze and damage your tresses)! So I’m pulling out the blowdryer more often, and shampooing as infrequently as possible to make those blowouts last.
October 14, 2015
October Birchbox 2015
This month’s box was one of my favorites. Unfortunately, one of the samples leaked so the whole thing was a bit messy inside, which led to less than fantastic photos, but you’ll get the idea!
First, the prime offender, Number 4™ Lumiere dhiver Fluoro5 Elixer Restore & Repair Oil. Ok, ignoring the fact that this has the longest name ever and spilled all over the place, I really like it. It smells amazing.
October 6, 2015
How-Two: Wear Makeup with Glasses
How-two: 2 easy steps to doing something just a little bit better… A lot of people struggle with how to wear makeup with glasses. There are plenty of videos on youtube that will break down exactly what (and what not) to do, but as a long time glasses and contact lens wearer, this is what has worked for me. Really go for it with your lipstick. You’ve got frames adding weight and drawing attention to the top of your face, so a bright lipstick can balance that out and make your face look more like a face and less like just a pair of lenses.
September 30, 2015
Holiday Beauty Sets
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.
September 26, 2015
Sephora Play! Unboxing – September 2015
As you’d expect from a beauty sample hoarder and Sephora fangirl, I signed up for the Play! box as soon as it was available.
Let’s take a look at what’s inside:
My overall impression: This is a bigger box than you’d expect from Birchbox or Ipsy, with deluxe samples, good variety of color, skin, and hair care, and well-known brands. It’s also a great value for $10. So the first impact is a good one, but looking closer….
September 11, 2015
September Birchbox 2015
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.
August 21, 2015
The Summer of Strobe
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.
June 12, 2015
Better Together
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.
April 29, 2015
Over Indulgence Recovery Routine
Since I’m leaving NYC and my current job, my coworkers and I went out last night for drinks to celebrate and say goodbye.
And when I say drinks I mean…
Vodka sodas,
and picklebacks,
and fireball shots.
Let’s just say my skin (and the rest of me) was not quite its vibrant glowing self this morning.
Luckily, I’ve developed a routine to get myself back to radiant (or at least fake it!
April 2, 2015
April Wishlist
It’s March favorites time, but I just posted a Holy Grail list, so instead I’m going to post about the things I’m looking to maaaaybe pick up in April? The Sephora VIB sale is coming up, right? Hmmm…
Surratt Artistique Blush
The who Surratt line is new at Sephora this week. I have heard great things about the collection but it hasn’t really been accessible. Until now. The blush shades I’m looking at are **Grisaille, **a contour shade, Guimauve, a “marshmallow pink” (pictured above!
March 31, 2015
Products I’ll Repurchase Until I Die
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.
March 30, 2015
Daily “Foundation” Routine
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.
March 29, 2015
Unexpectedly Great Eyeshadow Colors for Brown Eyes
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.