Update & Favorites

Hi guys! It's been a while since I last updated my blog. School has been kicking my butt, and I barely had anytime to do anything. Since summer is here now, I'll definitely be updating my blog more frequently. I thought I would come back with a current favorites post. I've definitely been trying tons of new products in the past months so keep checking back for more reviews coming up!

The Body Shop has been upping their games lately and coming out with lots of amazing new releases. I recently tried out their color crush lipsticks, and I fell in love with them. Their formula reminds me a lot of the YSL sheer candies; they're sheer and very moisturizing. They have been my go-to lipsticks lately as they're super easy to put on and the color is very buildable. I prefer them over the revlon lip butters, which I found to be very greasy-feeling on my lips and made my lips peel. I have it in the color #14 and #18, and I'll definitely be picking up more in the future!

I love me some neutral, bronzy eyeshadows, especially for the summer months when I can't be bothered with my eye makeup. I've been using the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Wash Eyeshadow in Rosegold all over my lids lately for an easy beachy, bronzy look, and it just gives my eyes the perfect amount of shimmer and definition. Just like the name says, it's a bronzy rosegold color. The formula is very smooth and buttery, and lasts well on my oily eyelids.

I finally discovered my holy grail powder!!! It is the Tarte Amazonian Airbrush Foundation. Words cannot describe how much I love this power, it is everything I want in a powder! It is sweatproof, waterproof, high coverage, and very natural looking on the skin. You can apply it over your liquid foundation or tinted moisturizers for a flawless look, or just use it on its own for days when you want an effortless natural look. Like the Laura Mercier Mineral Powder, you can keep layering this powder on your face without having it looking cakey. Moreover, it is more lasting than the Laura Mercier powder and gives more of a satin to matte finish, which I definitely need in the humid summer months.

Another product that's perfect for the hot summer months is the Josie Maran Coconut Cheek Gelee. It looks and feels like pudding in the pot, but once you apply it on your face, it turns into a stain and literally won't budge until you take it off at night. It just blends into your skin and makes you look like you've got a natural flush.

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Brand Overview: Kevyn Aucoin

Kevyn Aucoin is a brand that I recently discovered and fell in love with, and I feel like it's a brand that deserves more attention than it receives. I love their elegant and understated packaging, and their products just have a super luxurious feel to them.

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin is a multi-purpose base product that is my secret weapon for creating a flawless and perfected complexion. You can mix it with your moisturizer or primer to create a tinted moisturizer or use it on its own as a full-coverage concealer. I usually stay away from full-coverage base products as they tend to look cakey on the skin, but this one manages to cover everything flawlessly while still making your skin look like skin. This is without a doubt my favorite base product of all time.

If you've been following me for a while, then you'll know that I have an obsession with cream blushes, and I had to give the Kevyn Aucoin Cream Glow a try after falling in love with their concealer. I have it in the shade Tansoleil, which is the perfect shade of apricot coral color. It dries down to a dewy finish, which helps to give my face an amazing glow. It's also super easy to blend and lasts all day on my oily skin.

Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder is hands down the best bronzer/contouring powder I've ever tried. If you want defined, chiseled cheekbones and a slimmer face, then you have to try this. A lot of bronzers have an orangey undertone which can sometimes make you look like an oompa loompa if you don't use it properly. This one however has a neutral grey undertone which looks super natural and subtle on the face.

As usual, here are the swatches:

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Products to Achieve a Glowing Complexion- Makeup

I've been all about the glowing skin lately, and it's hard to believe that just a few weeks ago I was terrified of putting anything slightly dewy on my skin as I have super oily skin and I thought that they would just look disastrous on my skin. Well, I was wrong. It's all about putting the glow in the right places and not only will it help your skin to look more youthful and healthy, it's also going to blur out any imperfections that you may have and even out your skin tone. So I've picked out a few of my favorite makeup products to help you achieve a glowing complexion.

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Brand Overview: Stila

In this brand overview post, I'm reviewing the brand Stila, which has quickly become one of my favorite brands for buying color makeup. Their makeup are really high quality and their prices are on the more affordable side in high-end makeup.

Stila In The Light Palette is definitely one of my favorite palettes in general. It consists of a collection of matte and shimmery shades, and you can create looks from natural everyday to smokey night-out looks. All of the colors are super pigmented and easy to blend.

Stila Kitten Eyeshadow is probably Stila's most well-known product and it's been super hyped up over the years. It's the most gorgeous shimmery champagne color that works to instantly brighten your eyes, and works well with all skin tones; it's an absolute staple in my makeup collection . You can wear it as an inner-corner highlight or swipe it all over your eyelids for a simple everyday makeup.

I've mentioned the Stila Convertible Color in Gerbera before in my cream blushes post. It a beautiful coral color that's a must-have for the summer time because it helps to instantly create a healthy, dewy complexion, and acts as a blush and highlight in one.

Stila Long Wear Lipcolor in Daring is something that I bought on a whim during the winter time when I wanted a darker lipcolor. It's this oxblood red color that's super in for the fall and winter. It goes on pretty smooth and moisturizing, and as it dries it stains your lips and lasts all day throughout meals without being drying on the lips. I'm definitely planning on going back and picking up more colors from this range.

Here are the swatches for Kitten, Gerbera and Daring:

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Current Favorites #3

  

 

So it should come as no surprise to you that I've been super loving this Kevyn Aucoin Creamy Glow in Tansoleil for the past few weeks, as I've just dedicated a whole post on cream blushes not too long ago. After loving every single product that I've tried from Kevyn Aucoin, I decided to give their cream blushes a go, and I've fallen head over heels for this. It is a beautiful coral color that dries to a dewy finish so it helps to give your face a natural glow. This just makes my face look so healthy and fresh even when I have a bad skin day. I never thought that a blush could make my skin look better, but for some reason it just does.

Here is a closer look at the product:

             

To brighten up my undereye area, I've been using the Clinique Airbrush Concealer. It is super light and moisturising, and it is one of the few undereye concealers I find that don't emphasize my fine lines. It gives me a subtle highlighted effect and makes me look more awake and fresh.

I've been trying out more face oils lately as I find that they make such a big difference to my skin, and I will do a post on them in a few days. Balance Me Radiance Oil is the one I've been really liking lately. It contains loads of good ingredients such as sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil, jojoba oil and rosehip oil, just to name a few. This is suitable for all skin types, especially oily and acne-prone skin as the oils really help to decongest the skin and prevent any future breakouts.

To get rid of any product buildups in my hair, I've been using the Bumble and Bumble Sunday Shampoo every other week. I find that sometimes my hair can look really dull and flat just because I use a lot of hair products in my hair, and this just helps to get rid of those nasty residues that normal shampoos can't get rid of. It is a clarifying shampoo so it is meant to be used every week at the most because it can be a bit drying on the hair. I find that this gives so much volume and shine to my hair after I use it, and I can't believe that I didn't discover this product sooner. Follow my blog with Bloglovin

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Favorite Drugstore Face Products

I'm pretty picky when it comes to face products as I have quite acne prone skin and I don't like to try out a lot of drugstore face products as I find that they often have really harsh ingredients that can be quite irritating on my skin. However these products are some of my favorite face products in general and are very comparable to some of my high-end face products.

Bourjois is one of my favorite drugstore brand, although it is a bit more on the pricey side. Their makeup are really high quality and well-made. I have the Bourjois Powder Blush in 54 Rose Frisson which is bright coral color that's great for the spring and summer. It is a finely milled powder that's super soft and easy to blend, and lasts forever on the skin. Bourjois Bronzing Powder is a good drugstore bronzer that won't look muddy or orangey on the skin; it's completely matte and gives the skin a nice sun-kissed glow. Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation is definitely one of my go-to foundations; it feels super light on the skin and gives the skin a natural coverage.The reason why it's called a serum foundation is because it contains vitamin-rich fruit extracts in it to help to give the skin moisture and an overall radiance. It never feels greasy or cakey on the skin and is great for all skin types. I like to use the Boujois Healthy Mix Concealer for my undereye area because it is super moisturizing and doesn't settle into my fine lines.

Speaking of undereye concealers, the Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer is another one of my favorites. It contains micro shimmers which help to instantly brighten up the undereye area to make you look much more awake, and once you blend out the concealer you won't be able to see the shimmers at all.

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer is what I use to cover up any discolorations or acne scars on my face. It is super opaque and long-lasting, and is great for the summer time. This is a UK drugstore brand, but you can find it on ebay for around $10.

The NYX Powder Blush in Taupe is such an unique color in that it is a pinky taupe color that can be used both as a blush and a contour. It has a grey undertone which makes it great for contouring your whole face to give your face a subtle definition. When used as a blush, it makes your cheeks look super defined and chiseled. Again, I've never seen this color anywhere before and I find that it looks much more natural on the face than the typical bronzers which are often brown-based; however because this NYX blush is grey-based it helps to create natural shadows on your face.

Here is a closer look:

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My Current Obsession- Cream Blushes

For me, spring means glowy skin, and the best way to achieve that is to use cream blushes. I think that cream blushes can do so much for your skin- a sheer layer of it on your cheekbones can give you that really healthy dewy glow; you can also build up the color to give your face a natural tint. Cream blushes are suitable for all skin types, even for people with oily skin, as long as you have a good primer underneath and set it with a setting spray.

In general, I prefer blushes with a peachy tone, just because I have a lot of redness going on on my skin so any blushes that are too pink will just emphasize the redness. I know  that these colors all look pretty similar in the pan, but I promise you that they will give you different looks when you actually wear it on your face.

The first color is NYX Boho Chic. I absolutely adore blushes from NYX; they're so pigmented, blend out easily, and last all day on my face. This one is the pinkest blush out of all of them; however, it is a neutral pink that won't bring out the redness in my skin. It also dries down to a dewy finish so you can always wear it as a highlight up your cheekbones. These NYX cream blushes are very high quality and they've got a pretty wide range of shade selection as well.

The next one is Topshop Neon Rose, which is probably the brightest shade out of all of them. It is a beautiful coral color that dries down to a powder finish, so it's great for people with oily skin. I love these blushes, but I just wish that they would bring out more shade selections in the future.

Stila Convertile Color in Gerbera is probably my favorite cream blush of all time. It is a light, almost pastel peachy color that dries down to a dewy finish, and just makes my face look healthy and refreshed. A must-have for those of you who like light, barely-there makeup.

Next is Paul & Joe Creamy Cheek in 01, which again is a peachy coral color that has very subtle shimmers in it and dries down to a satin finish. The shimmers in it help to give your face a subtle highlight without looking overly shimmery.

Lastly, Canmake Cream Cheek in 05 is an orangey coral color that dries matte. Canmake is a Japanese brand that makes affordable yet high-quality makeup. I found mine on Ebay for less than $10. I love the cute packaging and it's definitely great to bring on-the-go for touch-ups throughout the day.

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