To Top
Little-known fact – as recently as a few years ago, my makeup routine almost exclusively consisted of MAC products. As you can imagine, this also meant that my makeup routine was fairly expensive to maintain. However, as I’ve branched out to other brands, I’ve discovered many drugstore-level products that are affordable without sacrificing quality. If one of your New Year’s resolutions is to tame your beauty budget, check out some of my favorite makeup bargains:
Maybe I’m suffering from short-term amnesia, but I barely remember Fall happening…however, I still managed to test out plenty of new beauty and skincare products. These are some of my faves:
Revlon Colorstay Makeup for Combination/Oily Skin
Normally, I wear my Skin79 Hot Pink BB Cream mixed with tinted moisturizer every day – however, I turn to this long-wearing foundation when I need more coverage and staying power. Holy smokes, this makeup DOES NOT BUDGE. If I have a long day ahead of me or I’m going out at night with friends, this foundation is a must-have, especially because I don’t have to worry about sweating it off. I’ve found that the best way to apply this is with my fingers, as opposed to using a brush or a sponge. I also love that compared to higher end longwear foundations, the price is affordable (about $12, give or take a few bucks, and depending on whether you’re using coupons). I absolutely HATE the packaging though – it’s really wasteful. I don’t understand why Revlon hasn’t put a pump on this baby yet.
(FYI – in the summer I wear the shade Early Tan; in the fall/winter I wear the shade Warm Golden.)
Wonderpug fans – Sephora’s annual Friends & Family sale is happening RIGHT NOW! This is a great opportunity to try out some of the products I’ve mentioned in my guest column, especially because this is one of the rare times that Sephora offers any type of blanket coupon code or to order some makeup to create these fabulous sephora Halloween looks!
Fellow beauty addicts – if you have ever stepped foot in a Sephora store, you have probably heard of the Clarisonic Sonic Skin Cleansing System, which comes to us from the makers of the Sonicare toothbrush. Basically, it’s a similar device intended to deep clean your skin.
FROM CLARISONIC.COM: Sonic skin cleansing improves skin tone, reduces the appearance of pore size and helps skin care products work their best. The Clarisonic Skin Cleansing System uses a patented sonic frequency of more than 300 movements per second to clean, soften and smooth skin. In just 60 seconds, the micro-massage action removes 6X more makeup and 2X more dirt and oil than cleansing with your hands alone. Removing more dirt and oil from your pores also helps products work more effectively.
Read more…
A few months ago, I reviewed the beauty sample subscription service, Birchbox. I’ve been a subscriber for over 6 months now, and with the exception of my August box, I’ve been really pleased with the deluxe beauty samples I’ve received.
However, there’s a new beauty subscription service from Seattle-based nail salon Julep that might give Birchbox a run for its money – at least with nail polishaholics. The Julep Maven program costs $20 per month, but they were offering a promotional code to receive your introductory box for only $9.99. I initially signed up after being lured in by the promotional code and the contents of their introductory box, with a retail value of $60 (confirmed by browsing their website and doing the math), but I subscribed with the intention of “probably” canceling after that.
Read more…
I can’t believe that summer is over. (Insert frowny panda face here.) Rather than bemoan the end of beach days and outdoor drinking, I thought I would recap my favorite summer beauty products that I’ve discovered:
Josie Maran Protect Daily Sun Protection Argan Oil Infused SPF 40+: This is an amazing daily moisturizer. I purchased a sample size from Sephora after Jen at frmheadtotoe.comrecommended it, and as usual, she did not steer me wrong. I’ve always found it really frustrating that many daily moisturizers lack a high SPF – the last thing I want to do is add the extra step of applying a separate sunscreen to my morning beauty routine. This moisturizer has SPF 40, is lightweight and smells good to boot. A little goes a long way – the .5 oz. sample size lasted me for a month. This product is a definite repurchase for me (don’t forget that you still need sunscreen, even in the cooler months!).
Revlon GrowLuscious Waterproof Mascara: The wand on this mascara is very similar to the wand on BeneFit’s Bad Gal Mascara, but I actually prefer the formula on this Revlon mascara. The waterproof version stays on all day without smudging, but is easily removed with makeup remover.
Wonderpug fans, I recently returned from a trip to Orlando, Florida, where I attended my father’s wedding. Although I was not a member of the wedding party, I knew there would be a lot of eyes on me throughout the evening, and I wanted to make sure that my makeup not only looked pretty but stayed put through an evening of photographs, introductions to strangers, and dancing. I thought I would share my recommendations and tips on how to put your best face forward at a similar big event:
FACE: I’ve pledged my allegiance to BB Cream before, but as I’ve mentioned, BB Cream has a tendency to create a white cast in photographs due to the high level of SPF. For highly-photographed events like weddings, it’s best to apply a long-wearing, matte finish foundation. In this case, I used Revlon ColorStay Foundation for Oily/Combination Skin in the shade Early Tan, and applied with a sponge, making sure to blend it really well along my hairline and jawline.
