I was conversing with a good friend of mine who was looking into starting her own makeup collection. In truth, she had a very modest amount which could be better described as the "essentials". Her collection consisted of one foundation, one blush, one eyeshadow palette, one mascara and one lipstick (which she has been faithful to for many ,many years. Never venturing out to try out other shades and brands), and one set of ECOTOOLS brushes that consisted of a Powder Brush, Eyeshadow Brush and Liner Brush. When I heard her utter her confessions, I jumped at the opportunity to share with her some of the makeup that I had collected/acquired over the years which I was not using. To make a long story short, she quickly jumped at the chance to stop over my house and "shop" my collection.
In truth, it was a lot of fun sharing tips with her and going over my little treasures that I was all too happy to donate. Yes, this could be considered a purge, but I'm certain that she will be getting a lot of joy playing with new beauty products and not having to spend a dime!
After donating a big portion of my unused makeup, I sat down to take inventory. I quickly learned that the bulk of my collection was in eyeshadow palettes (which I LOVE!) and blushes. I started to thinking "How can I get the most use out of what I have and make sure that I'm using what I have kept so that I do get wear out of these products"? Because in all honesty, this stuff really does have a shelf life. As pretty as those shadows and blushes may look all perfectly organized in their little pots of beauty, I don't want them to go unused.
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With the exception of the primer, concealer, foundation, eyebrow gel and mascara, I've decided to rotate the other products after making sure that I have used them for the duration of an entire week.
So here's the low down on the products I gathered up for use for this week.
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| Boots No 7 Beautifully Matte Primer My skin tends to be a bit oily. I was in the market for a very reasonably priced mattifying primer that would do the job and not hurt my wallet. While perusing the beauty section at Target one day, I encountered a Boots No 7 sales associate who after discussing my needs quickly recommended this mattifying primer. I could not be happier. While the consistency tends to be on the thick side, it does the job fairly well. I would not recommend applying this primer as you would if you were working with a more silicone based one (i.e. Benefit's Primed and Poreless, Tarte's Clean Slate). The reason being that this one due to it's mattifying properties, if not blending well into the skin it can leave a flaky appearance. What I tend to do with this primer is I work it small sections. A pea sized amount is plenty for my T-Zone area. I tend to apply this on the skin in a pressing motion, meaning I don't wipe this on, I more press it on in small sections so that I can avoid that cakey, flakey look afterwards. |
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| Sonia Kashuk Perfecting Luminous Foundation I've been working my way through the Sonia Kahsuk Perfecting Luminous Foundation. Overall, while I love the finish of this foundation, I would not say that it is very long lasting. Combined with my oily skin, unfortunately, this product does not hold up for me. Since pairing it with the Boots No 7 Mattifying primer, I've been able to get a good 6 to 7 hours of wear out of this before I notice that the foundation begins to break down. |
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| Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda Concealer Pallete This is one concealer palette that I absolutely love! Because of the fact that it features two different shades of concealer, it allows you to customize your shade. This palette includes a regular yellow based concealer (top left), a salmon colored concealer (top right) which is perfect for hiding those dark circles under the eye area. A more green based concealer (bottom left) which is perfect for concealing redness, and finally a concealer setting powder (bottom right) to set the concealer with. I think that this is the perfect bargain product for the price (retail $10.49). The packaging of this cuts down on having to purchase multiple products. It's compact size is super travel friendly, and the texture of these concealers is phenomenal! They are not formulated in a matter that is too dry or too sticky or even to watery. Sonia Kahsuk totally hit the nail on the head with this one. I cannot rave about this product enough! |
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| Sonia Kashuk Undetectable Cream Bronzer, Warm Tan I like a bit of a bronzy glow every day, and Sonia Kahsuk's Undetectable Cream Bronzer does just that for me. The texture is super creamy, blends effortlessly, and adds just the right amount of bronzer to any look that I may be doing.  This week I have been getting my wear out of this product. Ever since I purchased this a few months back, I have been reaching for it continously. So it was no surprise that I quickly added it to my weekly routine. This blush is just the right color of pink that I own in my entire collection. It glides on beautifully, is highly pigmented so be sure to use a light hand if picking this product up, and it wears just as beautifully as when I first apply it in the morning.  To switch things up a bit, I decided to add Stila's Convertible Color in Petunia to my weekly rotation this week. While I am happy with the color, the wear and the texture of this product, I much prefer the SK one. The color is not as intense as the SK creme blush, but it does apply very nicely and is super easy to blend.  While I had read so many raving reviews about The Balm's Mary-Lou Manizer when I found it on Hautelook during one of their flash sales, I quickly added it to my cart. I am not one to usually wear any highlighter in my every day makeup looks, but since I had recently acquired this product, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get some use out of it by incorporating it into my weekly rotation. I have to say, after giving this product a try, it quickly went from a rotation item to a product that will permanently be in my everyday routine. This highlighter packs a punch, so be sure to use a very light hand with it so that you don't end up looking like a disco ball circa Studio 54 days! I apply this with a Smashbox Fan Brush and use just the smallest amount for my nose, Cupid's bow and cheekbones and it very quickly adds just the right amount of glow.  While this has been my go-to eyeshadow base for years past, this week it left me shaking my head. Perhaps this is something that has happened before and has gone unnoticed, but this week while paying closer attention to how my products are performing, I noticed that this one left my eyeshadow creasing mid way through the day. While it pains me to say this, this product could have been the culprit, is now moving into my "further research required" box. I had to bring in my trusty UD Primer Potion because this one just didn't do the job.   I have to admit, I had purchased this product during a flash sale on Hautelook and it had gone untouched since making it's way into my collection. There it sat, in my palette drawer with not as much as a finger or brush touching it for the longest time. When I decided to start rotating my products, this was the first palette I pulled out. I was curious to try out some of the shadows and see how they performed. Not only is the packaging super adorable, but the colors are perfectly suited for everyday use. How I had gone so long without touching this is beyond me. Now while most of the shades are shimmery, I found that Sultry, Sexy, Sleek and Serious were matte. I mostly found myself using Sultry as a transition shade to blend out the colors to avoid the overly shimmery look, but overall I found this palette to perform pretty well. As I had mentioned above, I did notice creasing with this, specifically with the shade Selfish, but that may have been due to the base that I was using. Once I switched over to the UD primer, I found no issues with this creasing or any of the colors fading in intensity throughout the day. 
MAC PRO LONG WEAR Eyeshadow Carefree
I brought this little nugget in to work on the inner corner of my eye and brighten things up. I felt the shade Sassy in the Nude 'Tude palette was a bit too stark white for that purpose. On one occasion, I did use this to place in the center of my eyelid when I felt the finished look was lacking a little something.
Benefit Brow Zing
Paying attention to my brows is a must. For that job I turn to Benefit's Brow Zing palette. I sparingly use this to fill in any sparsity I may find on my eyebrows and finish the look.
ELF EYEBROW GEL and CLINIQUE High Impact Mascara
To set my brows, I use ELF's Eyebrow gel. I don't usually splurge on products like this because I feel that they all relatively do the same job, and I look to save where I can. Right now I'm working through a sample of the Clinique High Impact Mascara. Overall, I really have been enjoying how this mascara performs. I find that it adds nice volume to my lashes without the gunky look.
ELF EYELASH CURLER
IT Cosmetics Bye-Bye Pores
To set my look and help erase, or at least minimize the appearance of pores, I've been continuously turning to IT Cosmetics' Bye Bye Pores. A light dusting of this on my T-Zone area and I'm set.
 Finally, to set everything before I head out the door, I've been using the NYX Matte Finish setting spray. This in conjunction with the Boots No. 7 Mattifying primer has been helping to keep my shine at bay for a majority of the day.
So, that's it ladies! This is the run down of the products I've incorporated into my weekly routine. I've enjoyed this little venture and experiment I've tried out. I'm looking forward to next week and using an entire new set of products.
What products are your tried and true? Do you find yourself having to rotate products in order to use them? Have you discovered any makeup products that have gone unloved recently? Please share! I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions!
Thanks again for stopping by!
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