Thursday, June 13, 2013

The 'Shop Your Stash' Project

So, last week I started something new. Although I've been going through my stash and rediscovering new things the past month, I wanted to find a way to use them all on a consistent basis.  This isn't a new concept - taking out a few products that haven't been used very much or in a long time, but it isn't something I've tried in awhile.

Here's what I'm trying to do: I took out 21 products for the month of June and my goal is to use each product at least twice, just so I can get some use out of it and be creative about the way I use it.  I've had this going for about two weeks now and I'm really pleased with how its going.  I certainly am enjoying products that I either haven't used in a long time or haven't used much at all.
I have a total of 5 face products, 7 eye products, and 9 lip products to use before June is over.  Some of these will undoubtedly end up in my June favorites, while others may just be average products - we'll see which ones make the cut!


To see what products I'm using, as well as tons of swatches, keep reading!




Clockwise from bottom left: Smashbox TM, ELF Golden Bronzer, WNW Naive, ELF Giddy Gold, VL Lip and Cheek Stain

WNW Naive, ELF Giddy Gold, ELF Golden Bronzer (blended, then all 4 shades separate), Smashbox TM, VL Lip and Cheek Stain

WNW Naive, ELF Giddy Gold, ELF Golden Bronzer

ELF Golden Bronzer, Smashbox TM, VL Lip and Cheek Stain


First up is the Smashbox Sheer Focus Tinted Moisturizer.  I got this deluxe sample with a Smashbox order a couple years back and never used it, although I always meant to.  This has been discontinued by now, but I have enough to get a few uses out of it.  It's in the shade 'Luminous,' which is a sheer dewey shade that's meant to well, luminize your skin.  It doesn't add much coverage, but I used it once to mix with my Maybelline BB cream.

Next is the ELF Golden Bronzer.  I've had this for awhile, too, and just stored it away without ever using it. This is an item I haven't used yet, but everytime I swatch it, I love how it looks.

The Wet n' Wild Blush in 'Naive' has been discontinued, but this is actually I blush I use fairly often.  It gets overlooked amongst all my other coral blushes but I love its subtlety and ability to brighten up my face without being obvious.

I've already featured the ELF Giddy Gold Blush as one of my new favorite highlighters.    I've used this twice this month as well and still love the subtle glow. I'm still shocked by how non-glittery this shows up on my face!

The last face product is the Vincent Longo Lip and Cheek Stain in My Sunshine.  I bought this in a Vincent Longo sale from SpaceNK back in February while I was in Germany and am finally able to use it now.  I wore it the other day and it gave me a subtle rosy glow on my cheeks.  I've heard good things about how it wears on the lips. I haven't tried it out yet, but I can't wait to do so!


Clockwise from top left: Maybelline Natural Smokes Quad, NYX Shangri-La, Alverde Blütenpracht liquid eyeliner, LM Caviar Stick in Cocoa, L'oreal Liquid Diamond, Clinique Black Honey, Maybelline Icy Mint

 Maybelline Icy Mint, L'oreal Liquid Diamond, NYX Shangri-La, Maybelline Natural Smokes Quad

Maybelline Icy Mint, L'oreal Liquid Diamond, NYX Shangri-La,

Maybelline Natural Smokes Quad

 Maybelline Icy Mint, L'oreal Liquid Diamond, NYX Shangri-La, Maybelline Natural Smokes Quad (Natural Lighting)


Moving on to the eyes, I have more products that have been buried to the bottom of the pile or products I have not used yet.  The first one would be the Maybelline Natural Smokes quad.  These came out a few years ago, and upon a frenzy among the beauty community that these were much better quality than the usual Maybelline shadows, I bought almost all of the 'Smokey' quads and then never actually used them.  I believe they are still being sold, but have been repackaged by now.  I love this quad for how true to its name it is.  Its neutral tones make it wearable for any occasion from day to night, and it does indeed swatch beautifully.  It wears beautifully too, and I loved how it looked when I wore the 'crease' shade the other day.  I know these colors are dupes of MAC shades, including a dupe for Satin Taupe,but I'm not sure of the other ones.

The NYX Shangri-La trio is an old favorite that I used to wear fairly often way back in high school.  Warm colors have always been flattering on me, even if that warm color is a bright orange.  I've always loved NYX trios and don't use mine nearly enough.  Now that its summer, it's the perfect time to pull out those bright colors again!  I find all three shades fairly wearable.

In a recent haul, I bought the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Icy Mint to kick off my desire to wear more colorful looks.   I have plenty of cool pastel colors that I have started wearing again with the help of this base.  It's more sheer than I expected, but it does help bring out the intensity of blue or green eyeshadows.  I'm still on the hunt for Seashore Frosts, though.

Last year, I bought the L'oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Liquid Diamond, lured in by pictures of its multifaceted shimmer.  Cool toned eyeshadows, especially silvery shades are tough for me to wear, but I couldn't help myself with this one.  Needless to say, I rarely wore it, but I've seen some pictures floating around of this layered over Laura Mercier's Caviar Stick in Cocoa.  I bought this last year as well, and have rarely worn it even though it looks great blende out as a wash and as a base.  The two layered together looks beautiful on other bloggers and I'm eager to try it out myself.

L-R: Clinique Black Honey, Alverde Blütenpracht , LM Caviar Stick in Cocoa

L-R: Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Cocoa, Alverde Blütenpracht, Clinique Black Honey (I love the shimmer on this!)


I'm very obsessed with the perfect aubergine eyeliner, and I recently added two to my collection.  The first is the Alverde Liquid Eyeliner in Blütenpracht that I bought while I was in Germany.  I haven't used it yet, but I'm in love with how it swatches.  The next one is from my CCO haul.  The shimmer in this is absolutely gorgeous and I've worn this on my lower lashline but will be wearing this as my main eyeliner soon.


Counterclockwise from top left: Revlon Colorburst in Peach, MAC A Rose Romance, Covergirl Lip Perfection in Darling, Revlon Strawberry Suede, MAC Summer Shower

L-R: Revlon Colorburst in Peach, MAC A Rose Romance, Covergirl Lip Perfection in Darling, Revlon Strawberry Suede, MAC Summer Shower

L-R: Revlon Colorburst in Peach, MAC A Rose Romance, Covergirl Lip Perfection in Darling, Revlon Strawberry Suede, MAC Summer Shower (natural lighting)


Since I seem to be forever buying lip products, yet use the same ones over and over, I wanted to add more products to my rotation.  The first would be Revlon Colorburst lipstick in Peach.  The Colorburst line has sadly been discontinued but I used this color constantly last summer, put it away and thought I had lost it.   I went through my stuff recently and was excited to finally find it again.  Its the perfect peach color, similar to the likes of Maybelline Park Ave. Peach, but with a little bit more orange.  I've been using this again recently and have a feeling it will be another summer staple.
MAC's lipstick in A Rose Romance was something I bought in a blogsale last year since I missed out on it back when the collection was out in 2009.   It's another one of those light pinky nudes that actually works better for me now than it did when I was paler.  It has some shimmer in it but it doesn't actually show up when I wear it.  

I'm also trying to use some more of Covergirl's Lip Perfection in Darling lipstick.   These are a great moisturizing and opaque formula.  I wore this out the other night and was pleased with how it applied but it stained a brighter pink color on my lips, which I've heard of happening to others.  

In an effort to branch out of my comfort zone I bought MAC's Summer Shower lipstick from the.     Collection.  Although blue in the tube, it's actually a pretty sheer, very shimmery light blue.  Its meant to be used as a layering color, and while experimenting one night, I found that it looks beautiful over A Rose Romance.  It adds a shimmery topcoat that gives a glossy effect, not a weird glittery look, as I had expected.

The last lipstick is Revlon's Strawberry Suede, which I didn't have the guts to wear when I first bought it.  Upon experimenting with bold lips this past year, I'm excited to bust this out for the summer as the perfect red-coral lip.  The matte opaque formula thankfully does not dry my lips out, which works for me.

Top to Bottom: Liplicous Strawberry Meringue, MAC Orange Tempura, Maybelline Triple Yum, Hollister Mango

L-R: Liplicous Strawberry Meringue, MAC Orange Tempura, Maybelline Triple Yum, Hollister Mango

L-R: Liplicous Strawberry Meringue, MAC Orange Tempura, Maybelline Triple Yum, Hollister Mango (natural light)


Lastly, are the glosses I'm trying to use again. The first is Liplicious Strawberry Meringue. Although I always love how these smell, I only own a couple of them.  This is a great sheer nude color that I have stopped wearing.  Hopefully this will renew my interest in it!

The next lipgloss was from the MAC Fall Lip Color Collection in 2011.  I was obsessed with nude lips at the time, and was preoccupied with buying MAC Lipglass in Orange Tempura, but this ended up being a little too opaque and light for me.  I recently found out that it looks good dabbed over a nude or peachy lipstick, but I have to be careful not to put too much on.  

Although these didn't get too much buzz, I've always liked Maybelline's ColorSensational Lipglosses, especially in Triple Yum, which was Limited Edition one summer.  It's a very sheer light peachy-coral shade that feels nice, isn't sticky, and has a refreshing grapefruit scent.  I can layer this over practically anything.   These glosses have since been reformulated - supposedly to a better formula, but I haven't tried it out yet.

Finally, the last product is a Hollister Lipgloss in Mango.  It does indeed smell like mango, and is an easy sheer coral shade.  I can put this on without thinking about it and it is moisturizing.  Need I say more?

I have to say I've been really enjoying doing this, and it is inspiring me to pull out other products as well!  Have any of you tried switching up your regular rotation?  Let me know if you have!  It's a lot of fun, I promise :)

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