Adventures in Shiny Face Stuff

I got MAIL today from!! My first ever makeup swap, I’m so happy. 😊Included is:

City Color HD Powder

Jelly Pong Pong 2-in-1 Shadow/Liner in Bronze

Clinique concealer

theBalm Meet Matte Hughes liquid lipstick in Committed 

Evelyn Iona Cosmetics Cream Blush in Ash

Jesse's Girl Pure Pigment Eye Dust in Brown Sugar

Pixi by Petra Beauty Bronzer

Pixi by Petra Brow Powder Trio

From last night. It’s really great to realize I don’t have to do a full face of makeup to be happy with my look. I can skip the tedious parts of foundation and even concealer, and just put on the products I really enjoy: eyeshadow and mascara; blush, bronzer, and highlighter; lipstick or gloss.

As much as I might want to cover up redness, dark circles, and zits sometimes, the reason I wear makeup is not to “correct” my face or fix anything: it’s about expressing myself in different ways, making myself feel the way I want to feel, be that glamorous or fierce or glowy or pretty. It’s about feeling that I have control over how I present myself to the world, which is really important to me.

Yesterday’s glowy, flowery look. :)

I don't actually dislike cooler eyeshadow colours, I'm just not a big blue eyeshadow fan (except for turquoise!). I LOVE cool purples and greens though!

I always avoided foundation because I thought it was kind of an all or nothing thing and I HATE having cream substances all over my face that don't absorb (like sunscreen... YUCK). But since realizing, as long as it's a good shade match, that I can apply just a bit of foundation on the redder/splotchier areas of my face and blend it out, it's become a regular part of my makeup routine! I'm not finding the foundation I'm using right now the best match though for this time of year when I'm at my palest, so I need to find a good new drugstore foundation to try...

Wet n Wild eight pan palettes are just shockingly good quality! I'm regularly using my palettes (I have Comfort Zone and Petal Pusher) mixed in my higher end shadows like Tarte and Cargo, and my fancier indie ones like Luxie. They don't *feel* as nice and buttery as higher end shadows often do, and there's some variation within the palettes in terms of pigmentation, but for the most part they are just SO pigmented and blend SO well. Thank you YouTube for putting me on to a good thing.

Lip liners are quite helpful, and I really like the Essence ones (which sell for $1.99 each) better than a couple of much higher priced liners I have.

A good buffing/blending brush for foundation from the drugstore is ridiculously hard to find. I've been looking for one from either Ecotools or Real Techniques, which both get very good reviews, but none of the local stores that carry those brands have the specific brushes I want. I might end up having to order them online, which I really don't want to do (I hate paying for shipping).