Summer Makeup Routine for Oily and Combination Skin

Hello everyone! Summer is here and that can be rough for us with combination and oily skin so I thought I’d share the products I’ve been using to try to prevent my face from melting off. This is a very full face of makeup, but “natural” enough to wear to work.
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My Summer Makeup Routine

Primer for Oily Skin

Apply moisturizer, SPF, and primer. I’ve been trying different combinations of these 3 and haven’t yet found my perfect prep and prime products yet. I will say I was very disappointed with Becca’s Ever Matte Poreless Priming Perfector which is also super expensive so I definitely would not recommend that. The next one I will be purchasing and trying soon is the Giorgio Armani Maestro UV Skin Defense Primer SPF 50 ($64, but hey, cheaper than Botox!).

Giorgio Armani Maestro UV Skin Defense Primer Sunscreen SPF 50
Giorgio Armani Maestro UV Skin Defense Primer Sunscreen SPF 50

Foundation for Oily Skin

Apply foundation and concealer. Lately I’ve been using Continue reading “Summer Makeup Routine for Oily and Combination Skin”

My Airport Beauty Hacks – Hair, Makeup, and Skincare

I know the words “airport” and “beauty” don’t typically go together, but today I’m going to show you my secret hacks! Just don’t tell anyone, ok ;)?

Continue reading “My Airport Beauty Hacks – Hair, Makeup, and Skincare”

Beauty Trend – Rainbow Highlighters Part Two

On the last post I talked about the rainbow highlighter that was all over social media which has all the colors of the rainbow in one pan to make you sparkle like a beautiful unicorn fairy rainbow princess. Today I want to talk about highlighters that have been coming out in non-traditional colors.

Jeffree Star Skin Frost Highlighters

I talked about Jeffree Star who you might remember from MySpace on my previous liquid lipsticks post, but since then he has started his own YouTube channel which is SO ENTERTAINING I watch A LOT of YouTube and I HIGHLY recommend checking out his videos he is hilarious. Anyways, he recently came out with 4 highlighters which sold out very quickly. They come in King Tut (gold) and Ice Cold (white highlight that’s light enough for extremely fair skin) which are typical highlight colors, but since it’s Jeffree Star they are extremely pigmented and you’ll be able to be seen from space.

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Jeffree Star Skin Frosts in Ice Cold, Peach Goddess, King Tut, and Mint Condition. They are $29 each or 4 for $100

He also came out with Peach Goddess which is a peachy shade which is a little different, and then the most unique shade Mint Condition which is a mint blue color, so fun!
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iconThese were released on May 25, 2016 and are currently sold out, but Jeffree always tries to get products back in stock ASAP. Here’s some swatches from one of my favorite Instagrammers @trendmood1:

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Swatches of Jeffree Star Cosmetics Skin Frost Highlighters. Pic by @trendmood1 on Instagram.

Continue reading “Beauty Trend – Rainbow Highlighters Part Two”

Beauty Trend – Rainbow Highlighters

So we’re all looking like sparkling mermaid unicorn princesses more and more everyday and I’m loving it! The latest beauty trend is rainbow highlighters. If you’ve never used a highlighter or are unsure what I mean by highlighter, let’s break it down. A highlighter can be liquid, cream, or powder and is meant to draw attention to wherever it is applied by catching and reflecting light and sparkle. Highlighters are what give you a blinging cheek bone and a jLo glow (you may remember them from my Lilly Ghalichi makeup post). They can be subtle, or lately people really want them to be seen from space so an INTENSE highlight is hot right now on Instagram and YouTube. You apply highlighters with a brush, a sponge/beauty blender, or your fingers. You can apply it before or after your face makeup (or both!) You can also layer multiple highlighters to make them more intense. If I want to really glow I will prime my face, then use a liquid highlighter on the tops of my cheekbones and down the bridge of my nose which I blend in with my fingers. I then apply foundation/concealer/powder/bronzer/blush and then put a final layer of highlighter on top to make it pop as a finishing touch with my makeup. Check out this post to see how I get a nice intense glow.

Previously everyone was wearing highlighters in more neutral shades- champagne, gold, bronze, rose gold, opal, pearl, etc. but lately highlighters have been taken to the next level for those brave enough to rock the Rainbow highlight. Here’s what it looks like: Continue reading “Beauty Trend – Rainbow Highlighters”

Colourpop Sale!

Attention everyone, this is not a test! Colourpop, the incredibly affordable American made beauty brand is having 20% off their entire sale today only (4/30/16 and ends 5/1/16 at 7am PST) with free shipping on orders of$30 or more! That means their Lippie Stix, Lippie Pencils, and eye shadows are now only $4 each! Their bronzers, highlighters, and blushes are now only $6.40 each! They also recently launched brow pencils and brow colour, creme gel liners (in pot and stick eyeliners), and Ultra Satin Lip colors which are $4-4.80 each.  I decided to just go for it and get a little of everything so I can try it out and talk about it on the blog! Here’s what I’m ordering: Continue reading “Colourpop Sale!”

Best Deals at the Sephora Spring 2016 VIB Sale

Sephora has 2 big sales a year and one of them is upon us – the Sephora VIB Sale from 4/8-13/16 you get 15% off all purchases. If you’re like me you want to maximize that in order to get the best value possible so you can feel like you beat the system.

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Here are some really good deals:

Sephora Favorites Deluxe Perfume Sampler ($65)

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Let’s take a look at those savings:

The price of this set is $65 ($114 Value) -15% off with VIBNOTE (must be Sephora VIB) through Wednesday 4/13/16 = $55.25 and -10% off for everyone else with code BINOTE through Tuesday, 4/12/16 = $58.50

– 0.24 oz Atelier Cologne Sud Magnolia Cologne Absolue dabber (Scent certificate redeems for 1 oz bottle ) 0.25oz Rollerball is $25, 1oz is $85  Continue reading “Best Deals at the Sephora Spring 2016 VIB Sale”

Sephora VIB Sale Spring 2016 Reviews and Recommendations

I wanted to make a quick post where I re-evaluate my previous reviews to give you some ideas for what to buy and what to skip at the Sephora VIB Sale 2016 which starts in 3 days on Thursday April 7th if you’re VIB Rouge or April 8th if you’re VIB and goes until the 13th.
As a refresher in order to be Sephora VIB you must spend $500 in a calendar year. The good news is that if you spend more than that then it rolls over towards the next year. To find out your status you can log on to Sephora.com and click “(Your name)’s Account” in the top right corner. If it says “VIB Beauty Insider” you’re in! You can use “VIBNOTE” online during the sale and get 15% off your entire purchase.

2015 Sephora VIB Purchases:

Continue reading “Sephora VIB Sale Spring 2016 Reviews and Recommendations”

Sephora VIB Sale Spring 2016 What to Buy and What to Skip

As I mentioned in my previous post, the Sephora VIB sale Spring 2016 is back starting April 7th for VIB Rouge and April 8th for straight VIB through the 13th, 2016. The spring discount is the typical 15% off. The discount works both in store and online (using code VIBNOTE). Also, you can basically get another 4% off taking you to 19% by using Ebates:Ebates Coupons and Cash BackSo let’s get into the purchases that I have made since my Fall Sephora VIB Sale post:

Sephora Purchases Fall 2015

 

Continue reading “Sephora VIB Sale Spring 2016 What to Buy and What to Skip”

Lisa Vanderpump’s Makeup Favorites (with Drugstore Dupes!)

It’s about time I do a follow-up post on this, since it’s consistently one of my most popular posts! There’s a new article up on the Bravo website where Lisa Vanderpump from Bravo’s Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Vanderpump Rules discusses her 5 essential beauty products and they’re completely different than the last post I made!

Related Post: Lisa Vanderpump’s makeup, hair, skincare, and beauty secrets.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Read more about what that means and how it works on my Disclosure page.

Lisa Vanderpump’s Illuminated Pressed Powder

Continue reading “Lisa Vanderpump’s Makeup Favorites (with Drugstore Dupes!)”

Best Products by theBalm on HauteLook

Attention everyone, this is not a test! theBalm is on HauteLook and most of the products are 50% off! This sale ends on 1/20/16 so do not wait!!! Go now!! theBalm is sold at places like Frends Beauty in LA and the big fancy Walgreens on Sunset Blvd, but otherwise it can be somewhat hard to find. I mentioned it in my 2015 Makeup Favorites post because two of my faves came from theBalm and I had some honorable mentions in there as well. theBalm has excellent quality, fantastic pigmentation, and adorable and creative packaging, what else could you need?? Without further ado here’s some recommendations and reviews!

My Favorite Products from theBalm

theBalm Highlighters

How the hell do I use a highlighter? You may be asking yourself. Well friend, using either your finger or a blush start with a small amount because this stuff is PIGMENTED! Put some on the inner corners of your eyes, down the bridge (center going from top to bottom) of your nose and a little extra on the tip of your nose, put some on your brow bone (draw a line following directly beneath your eyebrow), put some on the high points of your cheeks (almost to your temples under your eyes), put some on your cupid’s bow (right along the ridge of your upper lip) and put some on the center of your bottom lip. You don’t have to put it on all of these places, but these are some options that will have you look like a shimmering glowing goddess. You can also just use this like you would an eyeshadow.

Mary-Lou Manizer by theBalm

Mary-Lou Manizer by theBalm (normally $24 on sale for $12): This stunning highlight shade is a favorite of the beauty community for a reason. It’s a shimmering honey color that can be used as a highlighter or as an eyeshadow. This color looks great on the fairest to medium skin tones.

Mary-Lou Manizer by thebalm
Mary Lou Manizer by theBalm

Cindy-Lou Manizer

Cindy-Lou Manizer by theBalm (normally $24 on sale for $12): This is also a highlighter that looks gorgeous on top of a pink or coral blush. It has more of a pinky-peach duo chrome that looks gorgeous when light hits it. I’ve been wearing Cindy-Lou even more than Mary-lou lately!

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Cindy-Lou Manizer from theBalm

theBalm Bronzer/Contour Powder

Bahama Mama Bronzer/Shadow/Contour Powder

Bahama Mama Bronzer/Shadow/Contour Powder by theBalm (Normally $20 on sale for $10): My absolute favorite contour color! This shade has more of a neutral undertone  so it won’t make you look orange! This powder is VERY PIGMENTED so again, start slowly and work up until you get the desired effect. This shade looks great on fair to medium-dark complexions. I also use it all over the lid as a matte-brown eye shadow or sometimes as a crease color. I use it all over the face as a bronzer as well when I want to look DARK!

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The Balm Bahama Mama Bronzer is a deeper shade that can be used to contour.

theBalm Blush

FratBoy Blush/Shadow

FratBoy Blush/Shadow by theBalm (Normally $21 on sale for $10.50): This is a great peach shade with a hint of pink and subtle shimmer. This shade definitely packs a punch (highly pigmented) and is great for a good glow. I LOVE their packaging “So many men, so little time…” how perfect, right?

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FratBoy Blush by theBalm

INSTAIN Blush in Lace

INSTAIN Blush in Lace by theBalm (Normally $22 on sale for $11): Looking for a blush as crazy intense as Lace is this season on the Bachelor? Well look no further! Holy PIGMENT. This blush is BRIGHT as heck so only use it if you’re looking for an intense and long-lasting effect. This blush is for bold girls!

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Instain blush by theBalm

theBalm Lipstick

theBalm Girls Lipstick in Ima Goodkisser

theBalm Girls Lipstick in Ima Goodkisser (Normally $17 on sale for $8.50): First of all, I love how these lipsticks are a cute little play on Bond girls. This lipstick is moisturizing and has decent pigmentation, but is by no means completely opaque. This color is a nice soft-shimmering coral and has a vanilla-mint scent. I like this lipstick and the color, but I think it tends to get on my teeth more because it’s so moisturizing. Take that info with a grain of salt since I feel like I get lipstick on my teeth 95% of the time that I wear it ha!

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theBalm Girls Ima Goodkisser Lipstick

theBalm Eyeliner

Schwing Liquid Eyeliner in Black

Schwing Liquid Eyeliner in Black by theBalm (Normally $17 on sale for $8.50): My favorite liquid eyeliner! Very pigmented and very black so you won’t have to keep going over and over your line! This is long lasting and fast drying and a matte black color. I highly recommend this!

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Schwing Liquid Eyeliner by theBalm

Products that I didn’t like as much:

Give Crease a Chance – All-Over Eye Shadow/Eye Blending Brush (Normally $26.50 on sale for $13.25): This brush didn’t really wow me especially for the price. The quality wasn’t that great and the brushes are enormous for eyeshadow. I say skip.

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NudeDude Eyeshadow Palette by theBalm (Normally $36 on sale for $18): This palette is very cute, but I rarely find myself reaching for it. I also find that it has a lot of fall out. If I didn’t already have way too many eye shadow palettes, I would get the Meet Matt(e) Nude palette because the beauty community LOVES that one and it has a nice range of shades and great pigmentation.

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Products I bought today from theBalm

I picked up BalmShelter Tinted Moisturizer in Light because my skin is THIRSTY! And this one is supposed to be good, a Bahama Mama Bronzer/Contour/Shadow Powder for my sister, CabanaBoy blush which is a plum rose with a subtle shimmer because I just read Dita Von Teese’s book and want to be her, and timeBalm Face Primer because I need a new primer and I like how this one has antioxidants! I was tempted to get Balm Desert bronzer, Overshadow Eye Shadow in No Money, No Honey (but I already have like 12 gold glitters), and Read My Lips in Pop! But I stayed strong and resisted!! Hehe.

Here’s my HauteLook link which will give me a $20 credit if you sign up and make a purchase and will further fuel my makeup addiction 😉 Going through my emails it looks like HauteLook had theBalm today 1/18/16, 9/25/15, 5/1/15, 1/23/15 so every January, May, and September so DON’T MISS THIS 50% OFF THE BALM SALE ON HAUTELOOK YOU WILL REGRET IT!!