February 2012 $200 Makeup Budget

A February no-buy proved to be too difficult a challenge for me, so I decided instead to set a budget for the month and attempt to stick to it.  Now, $200 is a LOT of money for just makeup and I realize that, but this is one of my only hobbies and I typically spend a larger chunk of my income than $200 on makeup/beauty and the $200 includes shipping and sales tax.  FYI I used all the images I could easily get from Polyvore so some of the colors aren't what I actually purchased.  I also forgot to include a lip gloss and two gel eyeliners by Essence.
The cost breakdown:
1) Real Techniques Webstore $50 (two stippling brushes, a brow/lash brush/comb, eye shadow shader brush, eye brush set)
2) MAC $59 (Call Me Bubbles eye quad, Melba blush pro pan)
3) Milani (CVS) $6 (two clearance lipsticks - Red Delicious and Minky Pinky - and Leaf Green Runway eye shadow)
4) Physicians Formula (Rite Aid) $25 (Happy Booster blush in Warm, PH blush in Natural, and Youthful Wear Matte Translucent powder)
5) Wet n Wild (CVS) $2 (eyeshadow singles in Trashed and Golddigger)
6) e.l.f. $20 (two flat-top powder brushes, two stippling brushes, two makeup removing wipe packs)
7) L'oreal True Match Foundation $3 (Rite Aid)
8) Ulta $25 (2 Essence gel eyeliners and a lip gloss, plus the Real Techniques Core Collection)
9) Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder in 001 Translucent $4 (Meijer)
10) Rimmel The Max Volume Flash Mascara $6 (CVS)

Have you ever tracked your incoming makeup to try to cut back on accumulation?

January 2012 Favorites

Hi Everybody! Again, sorry for the lack of posting. I'm trying to reign in my beauty spending and I've certainly cut back lately.  I just haven't had good light or time for blogging, either.  I'll try to post more often in February; especially fun, romantic looks!

To be honest, I didn't really play with makeup much this month. Sure, I swatched things and messed around with organization (One of my Christmas presents to myself was two 5-drawer Muji acrylic cases... love them!). But I really played it safe with my eye makeup and reached for a base that was quick and fuss-free to apply most days.

L'oreal Magic Smooth Souffle Foundation in 518 Natural Buff $15
Thanks to raves from Danielle of Bloomin' Beauty and Elle Fowler (AllThatGlitters21... I think she and her sister might be affiliated with L'oreal but it's Danielle's photo with this foundation that got me to buy it at last), I decided to pick up this relatively (to Chanel, anyway) inexpensive foundation.  I had tried the Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse years ago but found it too drying... it really highlighted any flakies in my skin, but this whipped foundation does not.  Applied with any foundation brush, this foundation blends in with full-coverage almost instantly.  In the rush of recent mornings, I couldn't appreciate it more!  It really does impart an airbrushed finish and covers most of my acne and post-acne red spots.  It also covers the redness around my nose and, dabbed with a finger, my dark circles.   When this first came out, I remember thinking, "Blahhh, that is much too expensive for a drugstore foundation," but with how well it performs I really think it's a steal now.  It doesn't last all day, unfortunately, but I get a good six hours of perfect wear before it starts to fade.  It doesn't oxidize on me or allow my face to get super-greasy, so I can accept the fading.  A primer (I'm using Hourglass Veil Mineral) and a setting powder (whatever I have on hand seems to work) helps this to stick around to *just* the end of my work day.  If you need a bit of coverage and are rushed in the morning, I highly recommend checking this foundation out during a drugstore sale.

The brush is wet because I just washed it

Real Techniques Stippling Brush $10
This is my favorite to apply the L'oreal Magic Smooth Souffle Foundaton.  I also have used my Sephora #55 Airbrush, but I find that brush more difficult to get clean and tend to save it for my Perfection Lumiere or when this brush is dirty.  I love that this brush's duo-fibre construction helps keep me from picking up too much product.  I don't get streakiness, but that is in part due to the foundation as opposed to the brush.  The Real Techniqes stippling brush is a great size for applying foundation in my opinion, is soft, has synthetic bristles, and stands on it's end (flat) so I can use it a few times before washing without worrying I'll smear foundation on anything.  I haven't had ANY shedding, which is nigh on a miracle.  And it's $10, people!  I want to go buy two backups!  Thanks to Vivianna Does Makeup for mentioning this brush... and thanks to the Real Techniques ladies for pricing it at $10 so I would take a chance on it!

Cover Girl Lash Blast Volume Mascara $9
An oldie, well-known, and a goodie! I can't help but try tons of mascaras but I've come back to this one several times.  It's just so reliable!  It darkens, lengthens, thickens, and separates, all while looking fairly natural.  It is, pardon me, "easy-breezy-beautiful" LOL please don't hit me! The best everyday mascara I've tried.

Sugarpill Chroma Lusts in Stella and Asylum $12 each
Sugarpill shadows are amazing. I can't believe I waited so long to order these beauties. I finally broke down when I saw Asylum swatched on A Brilliant Brunette.  As you may know if you check out my posts this past month, I'm very into red eyeshadows lately.  As for Stella, I just couldn't resist the rainbow micro-sparkles!  Even dry these go on smoothly and so pigmented it's amazeballs!  I have Stella on here and Asylum on here.

L'oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Bronzed Taupe and Sultry Smoke $7
These were go-tos this January for a quick swipe of shadow across my lid. I actually have yet to make a full look using my Infallibles, because they work so well (just like the Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense shadows) on their own.  Along with the foundation I've been reaching for, speedy looks have been necessary this month and these are great for that.

Jack Black Intense Therapy SPF 25 Lip Balm in Natural Mint $8
This is an amazing lip balm - it's not over-hyped in my opinion because it's one of the few balms out there that actually soaks in!  Most just kind of sit on top of my lips.  I don't get chappy all that often, but this balm will clear it right up if I do.  I also like how the finish is matte and yet my lips look naturally plumped when I wear it.  I have almost forgotten to put on lipstick/gloss in the morning wearing this balm!

Slightly embarrassing beefcake on the cover... good thing I usually read in private!

House of Night Novels (just read #9 Destined) $12 hardcover
If you follow me on Twitter (BeautyVSarahS), you might have seen me asking around for the next fantasy series I ought to read (I finished this latest installment this month and am reading Vampire Academy at the moment).  In the dead of Winter (and the heat of Summer) I tend to get into reading like it's going out of style because I want to stay in the climate-controlled comfort of my house.  These are definitely no-brainer books but they are fun and well-plotted.  I can blow through one of these on a cozy evening in.  All I need is a nice hot drink and my Harry Potter snuggie and it's a good night (wow, what a dork, right? XD).  I can't wait to know what happens next!  If you like fantasy YA novels, I'd be shocked, SHOCKED if you didn't enjoy this mix of vampires, mythology, Native American culture, romance, and high school ^.^

So, I guess it's pretty obvious this January I've been almost makeup-free on a couch for most of my free time.  Sometimes we just need to kick back!

P.S. I just got it so I can't exactly call it a "January Favorite," but MY GOODNESS MAC's All That Glitters is seriously GAWGEOUS!  I always thought it was your standard champagne shadow, but I was so wrong.  I don't have a dupe for it in my stash at all (yeah, I did already say that in my last post)... somehow, it is just that nuanced and unique.  Sorry, husband, this shadow is going to be my Valentine ;-)

FOTD and NOTD: Candy Apple Fishnets

Ahh, Tuesday. I hate Mondays but Tuesday has a little bit of optimism for the coming weekend, no?  Still too long away, you say?  At long last I had an extra couple of minutes to get ready this morning and I rimmed my eyes with black liner and slicked on a red pout.  I haven't worn a real look in ages (nearly bare-faced most days recently, can you believe it?) so I guess I just gravitated toward the classics.

Sorry, I'm not actually green. Nor do I have dark circles (le sigh).  Fluorescent lighting really sucks.  Pictures taken four hours after I put the makeup on originally!

Breakdown: H20+ Sea Results Eye Mender Eye Cream, Jack Black Mint lip balm, La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo, Stila Sheer Tinted Moisturizer in Medium, L'oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base, L'oreal Magic Smooth Souffle Foundation in 518 Natural Buff applied with Real Techniques stippling brush (first time I used the two together... it's like they're made for each other! I got weightless, perfect application with no streakiness and barely used any product at all... this is HG material, people!), Illamasqua Cream Blush in Rude, Physicians Formula Happy Booster blush in Natural, MAC Mineralize Charged Water (as setting spray), Maybelline Unstoppable mechanical eye pencil, no mascara, Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Candy Apple

I've also not had anything on my nails for over a week.  I thought I'd pop on a set of Sally Hansen nail polish strips at long last; they make my nails stronger so they can grow out a bit, which is nice.

REVIEW: L'oreal infallible 24HR Eye Shadow in 997 Eternal Sunshine

Hanukkah starts tonight, and I had planned to do an elaborate blue-and-gold EOTD.  Unfortunately, I got some sad news yesterday and it's not a good time for a party eye look.

I was cheered up on my grocery run last night when I spied the L'oreal Infallible eye shadow display and I selected a festive, liquid-gold shade, "Eternal Sunshine."  Here's my first-impression:

The pot is a slim affair, and I think it's quite elegant (though the shade sticker makes this blatantly a drugstore item).  You can see the color easily through the bottom window, which I also like.  Inside, there is a sort of plunger just like Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense (ETKI) shadows. 

The texture is more creamy than the ETKI shadows, but still has a powderiness that is very similar.

I couldn't capture how stunningly metallic Eternal Sunshine is in a photograph... it kept appearing kind of margarine-colored in my crummy photos!

Applied to lids with my index finger, NOT over primer. If you'd like to know, my mascara is Majolica Majorca Expander Frame Plus... it is an AWESOME fibre-mascara!

It's not cheap at about $8.49, but L'oreal will of course go on sale at drugstores so that'd be the time to load up on several shades of this.

I am really liking it - it seems to me they are an awful lot like my two pots of ETKI without the ouchie price tag!  The only thing I can't yet speak to is the longevity of it, but I'll update this post with a wear-time evaluation later tonight.
UPDATE: I didn't see any creasing until the 8-hour mark. I bet they'd go much longer with a primer underneath. I'm really impressed!

Have you seen the infallible eye shadows display near you yet?

EOTD: Dreaming of the Caribbean

Hi girls!  It's been gray and cold, of course, so I've been thinking more often about planning a holiday away to somewhere warm and sunny.  Saturdays are perfect for playing with colors out of your comfort zone, so I took my eye makeup to the Caribbean with NYX's Caribbean Collection:

I filled my brows with a Jordana taupe pencil, lined my waterline with a Smashbox black eyeliner, and lined my upper lashline with Almay liquid eyeliner.  Then, I used Duo lash glue to apply Revlon Beyond Natural Lashes in 91181 Defining and hid the band with NYX Crystal Glitter liner in Crystal Onyx.  I finished off the colorful shadows with NYX Crystal Glitter liner in Crystal Hip along my lower lashline.  My mascara is L'oreal Carbon Black Telescopic Explosion.  Not pictured: TFSI under the shadows and Wet n Wild Brulee to highlight the browbone.

I hope you guys don't hate these poorly lit photos! Even outdoors the lighting has been simply horrid lately, almost to the point of me wanting to suspend posting until we get the odd sunny day (or perhaps even until next summer).  Have you guys been having trouble with lighting this Fall/Winter?

REVIEW: L'oreal Carbon Black Telescopic Liquid Eye Liner

Please ignore my stained nails!

No. Just NO.  This is not the kind of brush a liquid eyeliner should have:

Horrible, stiff sponge applicator

Pros: It is very black and washes off easily (not waterproof).
Cons: The brush/doefoot is wayyy too thick. It's nearly impossible to get a precise line.  The shape of the brush sheers out the black a bit so you have to go over the line again which just ups the possibility of making your line jagged.  It's extremely difficult to taper your liner to a point for a cat-eye, so I wound up taking the line out to Cleopatra-length.  That look has its place but it's hardly what I'd call versatile.
Repurchase? Heck-to-the-NO!
L'oreal Carbon Black Telescopic Liquid Eyeliner is $8-$9 at drugstores, but PLEASE save your money and don't try it!

Three failed attempts to get a thin, opaque line.

Into the bin with ye!