September 2015 Empties

Hello all! Today I have some empties to show you that have just been piling up in my bathroom.  Now you all know the drill by now, but empties are always my favorite posts because I definitely have a good opinion of the products after I have finished them up.  Plus, there’s always the satisfaction of seeing my stash empty by about .05% before I replace it with about 5 more products….now that’s something I need to work on.

Without blabbering on too much, here’s what I have finished recently:

Read on to see more!

Empties: December 2014 Edition

I have a confession: these empties have been building up for a long time.  Some of these products are from August or September, and I have just honestly been too lazy to talk about them.  But a perk of being lazy is that I now have lots of empties (including makeup) to show....

Empties: Summer Edition compiled

Every time I tried to write this post, it seems that I've gotten distracted and quickly moved on to more exciting posts.  Not that talking about empties isn't exciting, but when I'm running around to different countries and have shiny new products to play with...well, THAT's exciting.

Because I kept delaying this, the empties that I had started to slowly pile up.  And instead of slowly surrounding myself with empty products, I took pictures of them in installments.  All of this comprises empties from about April through August....and there's a lot so let's get started!

August 2014 Favorites

While I'm sitting over here slightly depressed that the end of August marks the unofficial end of summer for me, I am at least excited about the amount of new products I have been able to play with ever since coming back home.  Although I love the simplicity of having just a few products to choose from when I put on my makeup,  being back with my normal selection is exciting all the same.

But even though I switched it up almost every day, there were still a few products that I tended to reach for often, and products that I just completely fell in love with.

Travel Makeup for Long Trips - packing the essentials

What do I do when I have to pack for a 5 week trip with only a 55L backpack and a smaller regular sized backpack?  Pack the essentials, make sure everything is absolutely fool-proof, and use as many space saving solutions as possible. 

For my first packing post, I thought I would show you how I packed my makeup, and how I managed to pare everything down to the bare essentials (sort of) for a 5 week trip.  Except for my lip products...because when I keep my eyes simple I need to have options with my lip products. I'm quite proud of everything else that I packed, as now that I'm back from the trip I can safely say that I used everything, but wasn't lacking anything!

The trick for me was packing as many travel sized/samples of products as possible for me.  I basically amassed everything I could find in a travel size and brought them with me.  This includes travel size brushes, and *shudder*..using sponge-tip applicators as my eye brushes!

How it all fit in my two makeup bags, complete with foundation spills.

Some Favorite Summer Bright Lipsticks

Note: Pre-written post from before I started traveling!  I actually didn’t bring most of these with me for my trip, but they are my favorite bright lipsticks, nonetheless.

After a whole slew of travel-related posts, I've come back to dabble in beauty for this post. It's a bit hard to talk about beauty when I'm traveling with just a little makeup bag, but it is one of my favorite subjects to talk about, so I'm taking a little break from travel for now to talk about my favorite summer shades.

Once upon a time, I was very terrified of bright lipstick.  I look back now and scoff at my hesitancy to wear even muted red shades (remember when MAC’s Viva Glam Cyndi was considered an ‘everyday red’ by many?  Not I).  And my brights were quite limited to reds. I shuddered at the thought of wearing purple, or even a bright fuchsia.  However, over the past year, I have slowly become acquainted with the idea of bright lipsticks, slowly building up my tolerance to the point where nothing is too bright for me anymore.  Orange lipstick?  A gateway bright for me.  I’ve moved on neon purple, no longer reserved for special occasions, but for every day activities. 

I think over the past year, my bright lip stick collection has tripled or quadrupled…which is quite easy to do when I only really have one or two lipsticks before.  However, despite my excitement for bright lipstick at any time, summer is the time when they all really come out to play, desperately calling my name while I happily oblige.  

I’ve pulled out some of my favorite bright lipsticks, ranging from the sheer to the fully opaque. For me, the easiest way to get used to the look of bright lipstick on me was to wear sheerish glosses until I finally got too curious for my own good. 

 Read after the jump to see some swatches >>

New in My Life

It's safe to say that my no-buy is officially over. From January to about the middle of March, I kept myself from buying any makeup to 1.) really use what I had and 2.) make an effort to save some money.  It worked for awhile - I was able to resist all the new products, new releases, and I was perfectly content rediscovering and finding new things in my collection.

However, eventually sales and the new summer products got to me and I had to add some new things to my collection.  Needless to say, my makeup buying is back with a bang, and I'm happily rolling in some new products!

I may or may not have jumbled up all my drugstore, Ulta, and other miscellaneous purchases with my Sephora purchases from dramatic purposes.

Click below to see the details!

Favorite Products of 2013

So we're a month into 2014...how is everyone?  A new semester that was supposed to be more relaxed than the last has somehow ended up being even busier, but I'm remaining optimistic for the new challenges and adventures I'll be encountering!

It's taken me awhile to compile all of my 2013 favorites, but when it came down to it, I knew exactly what to reach for.

I definitely started trying new products this year and found new products that I couldn't live without.  I think the biggest change in my makeup routine has been adding bold lips into as many looks as I can.  I used to be so afraid of bold lips, and could have never imagined wearing a bright fuchsia lipstick out, let alone a dark vampy plum color!  I've learned to just rock it and wear what I want, whenever I want.  Do I get some weird looks for wearing bright red or a deep purple lip to the grocery store sometimes?  Yes.  Do I care? Not anymore!  Let them stare all they want.

I also had the chance to try out a bunch of new products this year, particularly because I was in Germany from January to April.  German beauty brands are not as well known, but they are just as fabulous as American brands.

Without getting into too much detail yet, here is the whole compilation of products:

To see more details, click to keep reading!

December Empties

The end of December (and the end of the year) has completely snuck up on me with the craziness of finals and the holidays.  I haven't even had much time to browse around my favorite blogs...yet somehow I've managed to do some serious online shopping.  While another fashion post is in the midst, today I bring to you a satisfying post to write.  

Empties.  I always love writing and reading these because it's a fantastic way to show what products I have liked to actually completely finish using, as well as proof that I am actually using the products I own!  With as much makeup as all us beauty junkies have, using up products is a testament to a good stash rotation ;)

Since I took these photos about a week ago, I had a batch of products that were *almost* done, but I added them in anyway because I didn't want to hold on to them for much longer.

Missing from this picture: another bottle of my Clinique Acne Solutions Toner!  I use this stuff up every few months.

For my skincare and body products, I am actually surprised I managed to use up to bottles of body lotion within 4 months of my previous empties post.  I love the Pacifica body butters, and will definitely be purchasing them again in the future!  I also finally used up the Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil, that I wish I still had since it  is still the most effective product for taking off all my makeup with one step.  I'm lazy to order online, especially since more beauty brands are coming out with cleansing oils, but I may be tempted to order this again if I don't find an adequate replacement!  The Suave Everlasting Sunshine Body Wash was pretty good if nothing too special for me.  I loved the fresh floral smell of this the most, but it didn't linger or moisturize my skin to well.  Lastly, I am so so so happy I finished the tiny sample of the Kenzo Flower Perfume.  I know some people love this, but I could not stomach this smell at all.  It's a powdery floral scent, but it is WAY too powdery for me to the point that it was nauseating.  I barely even used this before it actually spilled in one of my bags....making my entire bag smell like this.  Not. Good. :(

I finished up a good amount of makeup products, and as you'll see below, there will be even more in just a few weeks! (days at this point..)  I have 3 lip balms to cross off the list, starting with the Revive side of the Blistex lipbalm duo.  I did not like this nearly as much as the Restore side (which I used up awhile back) since I did not feel that it was nearly as moisturizing, but it isn't the worst balm I've ever tried.  I also used up the Jack Black Grapefruit SPF25 lip balm.  I completely fell into the hype of this and understood why everyone is singing its praises.  I absolutely love this, and will be buying this again when I go through some of my other balms!  And finally, after losing it and then refinding it again this year, I was finally able to finish the Neutrogena Naturals Lip balm.  I don't hear many people talking about this balm, but actually found that it was insanely moisturizing for me.  I used it more at night since it doesn't have SPF, so I will also be buying this in addition to the Jack Black lip balms.

The two little samples on the right side are the now discontinued Smashbox Tinted Moisturizer and the Tarte Recreate Silicone Free Primer.  The tinted moisturizer wasn't anything too life-changing..it was sheer and light, but didn't have any effects that I noticed.  Similarly, while the Tarte primer kept my makeup kept my makeup lasting a littttle bit longer, I didn't find that it did much to help my pores.  I'm glad these are finally out of the way, though!

 The makeup products I finished this time around were a long time coming.  I definitely enjoyed the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer, which seemed never-ending (in a good way!).  It was great for concealing my dark circles, and even acted double duty to help conceal my blemishes.  Again, I have some other concealers to go through, but I will consider buying this in the future.  The Covergirl Lash Exact Waterproof mascara is a good everyay, defining mascara, but I personally like a little bit of drama to my lashes.  It was good for days that I just needed to throw on mascara since it never clumped, but I still prefer my Maybelline Falsies.  Next, I finished up a mini size of the Stila All-Over Luminizer in Kitten.  It was great for traveling and adding a beautiful glow to my skin, since I prefer liquid highlighters to powder highlighters.  I bought this in a trio with the Bronze and Rose Gold shade awhile back, and look forward to using those as well!  In a valiant effort to use up my eyeliners, I finally (finally!) used up the L'oreal Extra Intense Liquid Eye Pencil in Black.  Now, this was never-ending.  It was a great eyeliner in terms of its intensity and creaminess, but it just seemed like I had this forever. I actually prefer the Milani Liquid Eyeliner Pencil since it is even darker than the L'oreal version.  Lastly, I am just about done with the Milani Radiant Bronzer. I'm not even sure if they sell this anymore, but this was a great bronzer for its matte, but not flat finish and a bronzey glow that warmed up my face well.


Finally, here are some products that are just about finished, but aren't quite there yet.  I imagine that by the end of the month (yikes...4 days!), they will be done.

Starting from the left, I have the Revlon Colorstay Foundation in Warm Golden..which I have had for an embarrassingly long time.  Let's just say that although I love this foundation to death, I'm glad I'm finally finishing this bottle.  Next, the Clinique Take the Day Off Balm has lasted me just about a year, doing its faithful duty of shedding off all my makeup at the end of the day.  Although the Shu Uemura oil was more effective, the fact that the Clinique one was a balm made it much more convenient for all the traveling I did this past year. Since its also easier to acquire, I'm more likely to repurchase this. Now I have a lipstick (?!?!) and even a blush (?!?!...cream, but still).  The Maybelline Moisture Extreme Nude Blush lipstick has been long discontinued, and I was so devastated that I stopped using it for about a year.  Now that I think I have enough dupes (not exact, but close..), I had the heart to pull this out again.  I'm just about near the end of it, and although I'm sad to see it go, I'm glad to clear out this lipstick and use my newer ones.  And the unicorn of all makeup empties.  How often do I use up blushes?  Never.  But since I use pretty much the same cream blush everyday under my powder blushes, they go a lot quicker.  This Topshop Cream Blush in Nutmeg was the perfect everyday soft pink cream blush.  It was pigmented, glided on well, and lasted for a decently long time.  I know this shade doesn't exist anymore, but I will be checking out their other shades whenever I get the chance!

I'm certainly happy with the amount of makeup products I finished, but hopefully I will have even more next time to clear out some of my older products!

October Shop Your Stash

Even though this Shop Your Stash is being posted when my favorites should be posted, I figured this would still be a good time to show you some of the things I've been using, even if they don't make my favorites list for the month. A lot of these products are part of my transition to fall makeup, meaning berry tones, muted roses.

 Want to see more?  Click after the jump for swatches!

Long Time No Talk and some September Favorites

That moment when life starts up again and it seems that I have no time to sit down and relax..I've become so busy that I've even had to hold off on reading blogs, which I used to do every spare moment I had!  My cooking and experimenting has also diminished down to the easiest thing that I can cook.  I'm finally taking a break from studying and working to update you all on some of my favorite products of the month.

There were some victories this month as I found a routine that really worked for me, but that also means that my experimenting has decreased. I've already had a few mornings where I've been rushing and had to grab my "standby" products that I know work well together. That being said, I was still able to find some new favorites in my stash.  Although I did have a "Shop Your Stash" planned, I failed big time at using a lot of the products, meaning that I'm going to repeat whatever I didn't use for October. Hopefully I will have the time to post those products as well as some new products that I will be using!

Without further ado...

I don't have too many favorites, but they definitely were well-loved this month!  Some of these are recurring favorites, or some favorite standby, emergency products, but I needed (and wanted) to use these items more than usual!

The first is MAC Fleur Power.  This has to be my all-time HG blush.  It was one of the first blushes I ever purchased from MAC, and despite using it fairly often, I still have not hit pan on it.  It's a beautiful, intensely pigmented pink-coral blush that automatically brightens up my face.  I've used it almost everyday this month, mainly because it seems to go with everything I wear.  If you don't have this yet, I highly recommend checking it out!

The Kiko Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow in 05 Rosy Brown is a repeat favorite of mine since I featured it over the summer, but I got a lot of use out of it this month for those days that I needed to throw on some quick eyeshadow.  It glides on so easily and gives me the perfect neutral smokey eye.  I also love that it's in a stick form so I don't even need any brushes to apply it!  

I have officially fallen in love with the Stila Smudgestick Eye Liners, especially the shade Lionfish, a great chocolate-bronze shade with some subtle shimmer.  It lasts exceptionally well on my oily skin that seems to eat most eyeliners.  The shade is also that perfect bronze shade that is dark enough to subtly define, while light enough to look natural.

The Neutrogena Naturals Lip Balm has been a standout for me.  I bought this awhile ago and lost it before I was able to use it a lot.  I found it in the bottomless pit tin one of my purses recently and have used it daily ever since.  It's moisturizing enough to use at night and has the perfect creamy, but not too greasy consistency.

Now that the weather is starting to get a little cooler, it's time to bring out my hand cremes again!  I recently purchased the L'occitane Cherry Blossom Hand Creme, and I finally see what all the buzz over these hand cremes is all about.  It's light and it absorbs quickly, but it still gives me hydration.  The smell of this is also absolutely divine.   It's not too cloying but it lingers enough so that I will get slight whiffs of this.  It's perfect for fall, but I sense that it may be a little too light once winter comes around, but I certainly will be enjoying this.

Lipsticks were a big product this month, mostly because it's so much easier to grab a lipstick in the morning to look put together rather than creating an elaborate eye look.  I recently rediscovered the Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Blushing Mauve, and it is the perfect fall transition color.  It has slight hints of both pink and berry, and it makes me look put together without having to use a bright lip color.

The Revlon Colorburst Lip Stick in Rosy Nude was definitely my most used lip color this month.  It's a great MLBB lipstick to just thrown on in the morning, but it does a great job of brightening my face.  The formula is also great as I can build it up or just leave it sheer.  

I have been getting into matte lip colors again, leading me to pull out the Wet n' Wild Mega Stay Lipstick in 912C.  This too is a MLBB, but I think the matte finish of this makes it a little different.  I love pairing this with some heavy winged liner since for some reason it reminds me of a 60's Brigitte Bardot look.  The formula on these lipsticks also can't be beat - they're opaque and long-lasting without being drying.

The next product is the Milani HD Lip Color in Ignition - Although I think this is discontinued now (sorry!), this was the perfect lip color to brighten up my face.  I loved using especially when I couldn't find a lip balm in my bag, but still wanted something moisturizing.  This is a great glossy, sheer lipstick that did not dry out my lips!

Even though fall has descended upon us, my residual tan means that my skin is not light enough for my fall/winter highlighters yet so I am still wearing many of my bronzy peachy highlighters, including yes, my beloved MAC Refined MSF. However, this month, I've been reaching for Benefit Sunbeam much more because its liquid consistency gives me a more natural and dewy glow, while just adding that slight bit of moisture that I need now that is a little cooler.  I love that it isn't the typical pearly highlighter - it has a bronze/peach tint to it that gives me a beautiful golden glow.

Here are some swatches of the products:

Milani HD Lipstick in Ignition, WNW 912C, Revlon Colorburst Rosy Glow, Revlon Blushing Mauve, Stila Lionfish, Kiko 05, Benefit Sun Beam, MAC Fleur Power

I didn't realize how similar all the lipsticks were....oops!

With the change in season changes in my schedule, I can't wait to change up my look and start using berry and red lipsticks again!  I think my phase with colorful eye makeup is over, but I'm ready for vampy lips.

What are some changes that you are making for the fall?  Let me know!  Otherwise, let's hope that this time I'll take out some time to breathe and relax...

Shop Your Stash: August Edition and some FOTD

With a new month comes a whole new round of the Shop Your Stash project with new rediscovered products to try!  As I've mentioned before, I like doing this to really go through items in my collection I might have not used in awhile and to find new ways to use them.  After two months of doing this, I can say that it's going well and I'm definitely finding new products in my collection that I've forgotten about.

For those new to my blog, the Shop Your Stash project has a couple guidelines:

• I pick 20 - 25 face, eye, and lip products that I want to use more often in the month

• I have to use each product at least two times in the month

Without further ado, here are this month's selections!

Keep reading to see more details and swatches of all of the products!

More new pretties to love....

Does is always seem like when your life gets busy, everything happens at once, and nothing seems to be evenly spread out?  That's what happened recently - for the better part of this summer I've been feeling like nothing much has been happening, and recently, I've been so busy I haven't even been able to properly sit down and relax until today.

This haul is long overdue as I bought some of these things over a month ago, but..better late than never, right?

I was a bad girl and went shopping. again. As much as I tell myself that I don't need more makeup, I always fall for just one more lipstick..or eyeliner.  Since my lipstick collection is now pretty complete, I went into Sephora to fill any holes I had in my eyeliner collection..and walked out with this:

I've wanted to try the Stila eyeliners since they came out, and I just had to have this set.  I have never seen the Kat von D eyeliner, but once I swatched it, I was in complete love.  I've never really been interested in eyeliner, but something about that day just had me thinking I need more eyeliners.  No, I really don't.


Read on to see some swatches and more products I couldn't resist!

Another collection of FOTD's

I seem to be failing at putting up my faces of the day, but here they are from the past week!

Click for the products used and tons more looks!

The Shop Your Stash Project: July

I have to say, I'm really liking my Shop Your Stash Project idea.  It's encouraging me to not only use products that I either haven't used in awhile or products that haven't been used much at all, but it's also pushing me to be more experimental and creative with my makeup rather than just blindly reaching or the Naked palette or my other neutral shadows.

As a refresher, here's what the whole "Shop Your Stash Project" is all about:

• I pick 20 - 25 face, eye, and lip products that I want to use more often in the month
• I have to use each product at least two times in the month

That's it.  Pretty simple.  If you want to see  the products I chose for June, check it out here!  There were some products that made it into my everyday rotation and that I absolutely LOVE (holler at the ELF Giddy Gold Highlighter and the Vincent Longo Lip and Cheek Gel Stain), and there were products that I really had make an effort to integrate into my routine, such as the Alverde Liquid Eyeliner, and MAC Orange Tempura lipgloss.  But all in all, I was happy about the "new" things I had to use from day to day.

This month, I have a whole new bunch of products to use, 22 items, to be exact.

Here they are in all their glory:

Keep reading to see exactly what these products are and swatches!

Faces of the Day: A Compilation of Looks

Once again, I have fallen behind on my postings.  I like keeping a collection of the looks I do just to see how my tastes change, the products I use, and for inspiration.

Without any babbling this time, here are the most recent faces I've done recently:

Keep reading to see breakdowns and more looks!

Product Favorites: June

I promise that eventually, I'll get these up on time and at the end of the actual month, but for now, my busy little life (aka applying for jobs) is pushing back the monthly posts that I want to do!

But, the monthly favorites are finally here, and although there aren't many products this month, these products were really loved this month.

Keep reading to find out why I liked these products so much! 

Travel Makeup All-Stars

I hate being in one place in too long.  More specifically, I want to be everywhere.  I love traveling, whether it's a two hour drive to another state or across the world.  But this means that I'm always unpacking and repacking, and I don't think I'm actually ever fully unpacked.  I still haven't unpacked from when I moved out from my college room in December, and I'm beginning to pack to move into an apartment next week!  

However, for my vacations and weekend trips,  I always have a pretty good idea of what makeup I bring with me.  Every trip needs slightly different makeup depending on if I'll be in a city, on a beach, or in the mountains, but I always have some necessities.

Since I was going to Maine this time, I knew I would be spending a lot of time outdoors doing something active (biking all day, everyday!), while strolling through town after going to dinner.  This meant I could pair down all the products I brought to the essentials.  I usually end up bringing a huge makeup bag, so it was refreshing to just bring a little actual travel-size bag this time!

A lot of these products are products you see me using in my everyday FOTD's, and they are my favorites, so of course they would make it into my travel bag!  It's also why you see a massive amount of pan in these..

Keep reading to see why these made the cut >>

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!

FOTD: ...And the Color Finally Arrives!

This wasn't the look I had originally wanted to do - the one I had planned was actually an all blue look, but at the last minute, I decided to add in a neutral gold on the lid instead.  I remember now why I don't usually play around with color anymore - it takes so much time to find all the right tones to go together!  When I only have 20 minutes to get ready, it can be hard to find just the perfect shades, and I haven't quite gotten to the point where I can naturally figure out what shade should come next.  Hopefully I can figure that out this summer!

Read on for more pictures and the products I used: