2014 favorites | makeup part 2: blushes, bronzers, and highlight

After I apply my concealer and sometimes-foundation, my face is looking pretty blank and flat! Here are my favorite blushes, highlight, and bronzers to add the color back in.

dolce & gabbana blush in tan 22 » It says blush, but it's clearly an overpriced bronzer. Even so, I'll buy this over and over because it's just that good. I have a review, here!

benefit hoola bronzer » Unfortunately just one bronzer isn't enough for me because I go completely bananas when it comes to contouring. Hoola is darker and more pigmented than the D&G one, so this one goes on just the hollows of my cheeks.

too faced a la mode eyes » BECKY THAT'S AN EYESHADOW PALETTE-- I know, I know! But, I like super shimmery highlights and even though it doesn't look natural at all... well, I like it so much to the point where I use La Croisette which is a SUPER pigmented and shimmery eyeshadow, as my highlight. I might look into the Becca highlighters but at almost $30..... I'm going to cry.

too faced full bloom ultra flush blush in cocoa rose » My go-to neutral blush, it works with both neutral and more out-there looks. I believe this is the first ever high-end blush I bought as well, around 2 years ago. Since then it seems like they've been out of stock of this shade in particular, and I really hope it's not discontinued.

tarte 12-hour amazonian clay blush in captivating » The perfect coral on the cheeks, I like using this when my makeup is fairly neutral to give a pop of color. I've been using it for a while and the imprint doesn't seem to fade away. Magic, I tell you.

The last of the makeup favorites series will be up tomorrow, featuring my favorite eye products! Unfortunately the hair and bodycare favorites won't be up until sometime in January (it feels so weird saying that!) since I'm saving the 31st for a post that will be special to me.

it could be a tutorial...

But it's not.

Yeah I dunno. Mostly playing around with Urban Decay's Ammo palette (one of my favorites!), Tarte's Rainforest After Dark palette, and my camera. Cause I tried but picture tutorials are a lot harder than they look so I ain't posting something that I will immediately regret. Maybe next time!

Oh and uh I really like how my freckles turned out in the first picture. Whenever I do foundation I like putting on just the sheerest layer so it'll even out my skin without covering up my freckles or beauty marks. Also you can see ALL THE BUMPS AND FINE LINES (and peach fuzz, and those eyebrow hairs that I broke while trying to pluck) on my skin with this camera. Good stuff here.

review | tarte rainforest after dark palette

When Tarte had their Friends and Family sale, I quickly snatched up their Rainforest After Dark palette 'cause I've heard a lot of good things about Tarte eyeshadows and I don't own any. But mostly because I'm a sucker for packaging. I can't find it on the Tarte website anymore, but it's available at Sephora!

Unrelated but, my mom haaaates snakes. If she sees this palette, she'll flip out for sure.



Mmmmm, look at that packaging.



And that box texture.



Does anyone else think these clear plastic covers are one of the coolest things out there?



The palette in all its glory.

{ mouse over for eyeshadow names }

Obligatory swatches, even though most of them are probably not true to color at all n______n. I found make a mauve, plum away with me, and up to no gold to be the easiest to work with - so pigmented and buttery! Bare to explore and tan-gled up in you are alright. They aren't as soft as the first three mentioned, but they're just as pigmented - the only downside for me is that it doesn't show up well on my particular skintone. Don't turn a-brown was the chalkiest and hardest to work with out of the bunch.

I also love the dumb and punny eyeshadow names.

{ mouse over for these names, too! }

Now, to the face products. Excuse the band aid. It's covering a pretty nasty mosquito bite and I'm almost convinced I have Skeeter's syndrome because my bites swell up to be bigger than a quarter, and it hurts like a bruise but is still unbearably itchy. Maybe even two quarters in diameter... and that doesn't seem normal.

I'm just okay with park ave princess - I haven't used it enough to form a justified opinion on it. I'm not very open to trying out new bronzers it seems! Champagne has quickly turned into one of my favorite highlighters. It's a subtle highlighter, but very pretty nonetheless. Plus, I love how powder highlighters are much quicker to apply. When I first saw unleashed, it reminded me of Dieselboy's Unleashed!, which was one of my favorite mixes years ago. Getting back on topic - it's a nice blush. There isn't anything too interesting to me about it, but I seem to be reaching for it often enough to like it.

Overall, I think this is a pretty fantastic palette! Whether you want to go simple or bold, this palette can go both ways. I really like that I can do most of my eye and face makeup with just this, making it very travel friendly. This is the first time I've tried Tarte shadows and I'm impressed!

(Edit: it seems like I forgot to finish my last paragraph, haha! It's been fixed now!)

Until next post,

Becky

haul | sephora vib sale

My purchases from Sephora's sale, because I have no self control. May I also add that my sister and I bought nearly the same things? The only things she didn't get are the Bobbi Brown brush, NARS eyeshadow primer, and the First Aid Beauty exfoliator. We concluded that it's because she's going back to Ohio in a few weeks and we can't have the luxury of abusing using each other's makeup and skincare for a long time.

bobbi brown | blush brush

I don't know how to justify spending $50 on a brush. Sorry, yo.

nars | smudge proof eyeshadow base

I've been using Urban Decay's Primer Potion up until this point. I've been noticing that it tends to get a little cakey and not blend as well. It's not just the current one I have, but the ones I've used in the (semi recent) past too. Lots of people rave about this one, so I'm hoping it'll exceed my expectations.

tarte | amazonian clay 12 hour blush in exposed

I've heard tons of good things about Tarte, and I've always wanted to try their blushes. I remember Coco featuring Exposed in a post, and it's been on my wishlist ever since.

dolce & gabbana | the blush luminous cheek colour in tan 22

Aka 'why did I spend $45 on a blush??' (blame Claire).

first aid beauty | ultra repair face moisturizer

My sister has a bottle of this and I really liked it, so I bought one of my own. Now that warmer weather is approaching, I don't want to be using a heavy moisturizer in the daytime. This one is perfect!

urban decay | chill makeup setting spray

This isn't a new product to me - I've raved about setting sprays a ton and I always recommend them to people that can't seem to get their makeup to last without touching up. My favorite brands are Motives and Urban Decay, so I get either one depending on which is more convenient for me at the moment.

first aid beauty | facial radiance polish

Got this as a 100 point perk in a deluxe sample, mostly because I'm looking for a gentle exfoliator to bring with me when I go to Canada.

urban decay | naked 3

I'll admit that I totally lusted over this just because everyone else was talking about this. It quickly lost my interest afterward - I was mostly thinking "it's pinky toned, so it might make me look sick." It wasn't even initially going to be a purchase, but once I saw it in store I knew I had to have it even without swatching. It's a beautiful palette, and I don't regret it at all!

Did you guys get anything from the sale? Let me know in the comments!

Until next post,

Becky