11 most reached-for products

As some of you may or may not have noticed by now, i am quite the fan of tags.  This will be my 21st tag (and counting) post that i have on this here blog - some most of them may be a bit pointless (the "personal" ones), while the other beauty-related ones, like my old favorite "8 Things Tag", may be of more use to you lovelies.  Well, i'm sure many of you will be relieved to read that this is one of the beauty-related tags. :)

I was catching up on my Youtube subscriptions and came across one of Allison's newest videos, her 11 Most Reached-For Products tag, if you couldn't already tell by the title. ;)  I figured i would hop on the bandwagon myself & give my own two cents worth.  Just as Allison explained in her video, i'm leaving out my everyday foundation/face routine since that doesn't really change much for me.  For the most part, i'm just putting in products that i go to without much thought, that i know will look good & that i will still like by the end of the day.

Here are my 11 most most "reached for" products, in no particular order ♥:

1. MAC Studio Finish Concealer

This one of my first MAC purchases & it lasted me for a long, long time.  I use it to cover my blemishes (i find it's too drying for my under-eye area), and along with a bit of mineral foundation over top, it provides really nice coverage.  I find that my skin will break-out or be irritated by a lot of face products of various brands, but this doesn't cause my skin to react in anyway.  Will definitely have to buy a new tub of this!

2. Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in RSVP

I've already done a review on this, which you can read here.  This has been my go-to eye base/primer as of late.  It's so quick & easy to just slick on and it's quite versatile as well.  I wear it by itself with liquid eyeliner & mascara, with MAC's All That Glitters eyeshadow over it, MAC's Satin Taupe in the crease, & Twinks in the outer v, or just by itself & a light-medium brown shade in the crease (or Twinks in the outer v, blended into the crease).  As you can tell by that previous, unsightly sentence, it looks good so many ways!  It's love.

3. Clinique Brush-On Cream Eyeliner in True Black

This is one of the newer additions to my makeup collection and i don't know what i've been thinking in regards to liquid/cream eyeliner for all this time!  It has incredibly long lasting power, which i find to be perfect as my eyes are unnaturally watery/teary all the time haha.  It may take a little more time in the morning, but it's worth it for me.  May do a full, in-depth review of this eventually!

4. Maybelline Color Sensational lipstick in Pink Please

If you've read my blog for a while, you know i have so much love for this lipstick.  I wear this most everyday & it is always in my makeup bag.  It looks really nice with just about every look & adds a lovely bit of color to my otherwise pale face & lips!  Read my really old review of it here. :)

5. OPI nail polish in Got a Date To-Knight

If i ever finish a bottle of nail polish in my lifetime, this will definitely be the one!  This color is such a lovely, baby pink that i find is really flattering with my skintone no matter what time of the year.  I wouldn't say this nail polish is particulary long-lasting, and it also takes quite a few layers to build up the color, but this is by far one of my favorite shades i own.  Whenever i'm a bit indecisive of what color to paint my nails, i choose this one 99% of the time!

6. Clinique High Impact Mascara in Black

I used to be quite the Covergirl Lash Blast fanatic, although that was great for volumizing my lashes, i found it didn't do too much for length.  I'd had samples & even a full-size tube of High Impact before, but never really appreciated it until recently.  It both lengthens & volumizes, and it quite a deep black as well.

7. Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Sin (called Drink Me, Eat Me in this palette)

This is by far one of my favorite all-over-the-lid colors and actually even one of my favorite eyeshadows i own.  It accentuates the eye very nicely - with a complimentary crease & outer v color, it's perfection.  It's also quite long lasting, and with a base it lasts for even longer.  I find it's really versatile as well, it looks so good with so many different combinations.  When in doubt, i almost always go for this shadow with Too Faced Shadow Insurance or Benefit CCS in RSVP on its own for a lid color.

8. Clinique Soft-Pressed Powder Blusher in New Clover

I've mentioned this product in a few monthly favorites, but i just had to add it to this list.  I don't have an immense collection of blushes, and generally just use up the sample-size blushes i get from usually Clinique, but i find that i reach for this shade just about everyday of the week.  It gives such a natural flush to my cheeks and looks really flattering & pretty on my fair skintone.

9. MAC eyeshadow in Satin Taupe

Satin Taupe was one of the first MAC eyeshadows that i added to my collection, and it is one of my must-haves.  Along with many of the products on this list, it is very versatile.  It looks really lovely in the crease with just about any champagne color on the lid.  I usually wear it in the crease & built up in the outer corner (or Twinks in the outer corner instead) with Benefit's RSVP, but it looks great with just about any combination.

10. Revlon Matte Lipstick in Pink Pout

This is probably the second most-used lipstick in my collection, after Maybelline's Pink Please.  :)  On me, it shows up as a lovely baby pink.  As you can see, it's a bit messed up...it actually broke the day i got it & i just had to stick it back in the tube in order to use it.  It's a bit drying as well, but it lasts quite a long time & has a nice matte finish.

11. Sigma E25 Blending Brush

This travel size brush came free with a Sigma order i made around Christmas.  It's supposed to be a dupe for MAC's 217 brush, but i have to say i actually prefer this one to the 217.  My 217 actually became quite fluffy over time & doesn't apply eyeshadow to the crease as well/as clean as it did when i first got it.  Maybe it's because i haven't had this for as long as i have the 217, but it applies crease colors SO well & i'm in love!  Quite the nice surprise to see this came free with my order. :)

-

What products do you find yourself reaching for the most?

♥

january favorites

I haven't done a monthly favorites post in what seems like ages, so i figured i'd try and start doing them again. Not making any promises though! ;)  These products are either newer ones that i've just discovered & have really liked or old favorites that i've rediscovered over the past month.

What have you been loving this month?

♥ Dove Heat Defense Therapy conditioner.  This is one of the products i've rediscovered.  I used to use this everyday but i realized that it was contributing to the product buildup in my hair.  I put off using it for a long time, but have come back to it.  It makes my hair smooth & helps protect my hair from the heat.  I generally use this on the days i blow-dry my hair (i usually shower at night & leave my hair to air dry).  This is the old packaging of this conditioner, but this stuff is still available!

♥ Favorite mascara combination.  I've been loving super thick, dark lashes this past month (well, every month really!) and these two products together help achieve the look.  Clinique's High Impact mascara is my favorite mascara i've ever tried, but in tandem the sample of Lancome's Definicils mascara, it's even better.  I probably won't buy the full size of the Lancome mascara as i'm not made of money haha, but i'll enjoy the little sample while it lasts :)

♥ Favorite eyeshadow combination.  I've been finding it hard to get out of bed & putting the effort into looking super done up this past month.  But to prevent looking like a total mess, finding a quick & easy makeup routine in the morning was an essential.  Benefit's Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow in RSVP (review here) was something i ordered from Sephora a little before Christmas and MAC's Satin Taupe eyeshadow is an old favorite of mine.  I put two layers of RSVP all over my lid & into my crease (as a base & lid color in one) and using a MAC 217 brush, i put Satin Taupe in the crease & build it up into the outer v.  Both quick & easy, but it looks nice and put together.

♥ MAC 129 & Sigma E65 Small Angle brushes.  One of the first things i ever purchased from MAC is the 129 Powder/Blush brush.  I love using it for blush, it applies & blends the color with ease.  Since it's getting quite old, it's getting a bit scratchy unfortunately but it's still nice.  I got a few Sigma brushes for Christmas and i have been absolutely loving them.  One of the eye brushes i got was the E65 Small Angle brush.  I love using this to apply eyeshadow on my lower lash line & i'm hoping this will work well for my recently purchased Clinique cream eyeliner.  We'll see how that goes!

♥ Yes to Cucumbers Facial Towelettes.  This was one of the products i purchased in my recent skincare haul & since then, i've been able to try them out for a while.  Many of you commented on that post saying you loved these and they didn't disappoint!  These are really gentle on my skin & get my makeup off really well.  The towelettes are actually pretty big & since i'm quite cheap i cut them in half and find that's enough to do the job!  I use these to remove my makeup when the day's done, before i cleanse my face.  If i'm feeling particularly lazy, i'll just quick wipe my face with these, apply a bit of moisturizer, and go to bed!  Love these.

Three to follow: Morven, Kerti, Kelly.

♥

products i'm loving!

Something very exciting (well, for me) has happened since my last post - i (FINALLY) signed up for driver's ed and have already completed my first week of it.  I'm going to be 17 in March, so i'm way past due to drive.  Really can't wait to just get behind the wheel (am a bit nervous tbh) & be able drive myself places instead of having to rely on other people all the time for rides.  Unfortunately this means i am gone from 7:00 in the morning to 6:00 at night, so i have absolutely no proper lighting to take photos for my blog, resulting in less blog posts :/

I've also rearranged my blog a bit, i tried to go for the two-column layout since it would be a lot easier to see everything on my blog and such, but it just messed everything on my blog up & i just couldn't seem to make it look ok!  So the three-column layout might be here for a while!

I have been really loving certain products lately, so i thought i'd share them with you all.  There's a combination of some things i got for Christmas, as well as some products i've recently gotten that i've been wanting to try out for a while.

♥ Too Faced Shadow Insurance eye primer.  Now i've been a long time fan of the famous Urban Decay Primer Potion, but i can honestly say that i prefer this to it.  The product itself & the job it does is essentially the same as UDPP, but it's incredibly easier to use and so much easier to get the product out of the tube.  Although i love the bottle on the Urban Decay Primer Potion, it's just not ideal & a lot of product is wasted.  If you love UDPP but have the problem many people have with getting all the primer out, i recommend trying Shadow Insurance out.  You get a tad bit more product with the Two Faced Shadow Insurance & it's the same price as UDPP.  Will definitely be repurchasing this when i run out!

♥ Sigma F45 Buffer brush.  I asked for a few Sigma brushes for Christmas and this is one of them.  I don't know why i waited so long to try out their brushes, but i'm honestly so glad i did.  One of the brushes i asked for was this kabuki, the F45 (F standing for face).  It's incredibly soft and blends my blush & contour perfectly, as well as applies my setting powder (which will be discussed below!) amazingly.  I don't have a MAC kabuki brush to compare this to, but this is by far the softest & best buffer brush i have tried.  Highly recommend trying this one out!

Sorry for the dirtiness!  Need to wash my brushes :)

♥ Sigma F40 Large Angled Contour brush.  This is another Sigma brush i asked for on my Christmas list & was the one i was most excited to try out.  This brush definitely did not disappoint, and it immediately became one of my favorite makeup brushes!  I love using this brush with my Bare Minerals All-Over Color in "Warmth" (or any bronzer) to contour my face.  It's dense & super soft, and applies the product super well.  A lot of people also use this to apply blush, but i haven't tried that yet since i already use it to contour.  I'm honestly considering just getting another one of these for blusher :)  Haha.

♥ Sigma E25 Blending brush.  This brush came free with the order.  It's a travel-size (short-handle) brush, which i'm actually happy about - the less room my makeup takes up in my suitcase, the better! This is supposed to be the equivalent to the MAC 217 brush, which i do own (which i love - you really can never have too many blending brushes!).  I don't prefer one over the other really, but since the Sigma version is less expensive than the MAC one, i would recommend opting for the Sigma.  I use this to apply color in the crease & the outer corner, as well as blending my eyeshadow out - does the job nicely :)

♥ Bare Minerals Mineral Veil.  I've been using this since i first started using Bare Minerals, but i've only recently really appreciated Mineral Veil.  I apply this over my foundation, blush, and contour with my Sigma F45 (as said above :) & it's honestly just a dream to put on, as stupid as that sounds!  It leaves the most gorgeous finish to the skin - not at all oily or sparkly.  It just gives a lovely sheen to the skin, making it look younger & more fresh.  Love.

Top L-R: Shroom & All That Glitters.  Bottom L-R: Satin Taupe & Twinks.

♥ Favorite MAC eyeshadow combination of the moment.  As you may have seen in my recent MAC haul & updated palette post, i picked up a few neutral shadows - Shroom, All That Glitters, and Twinks - and i have been loving using them all together, along with Satin Taupe (which i already had in my collection).  I use Shroom as an inner corner & brow bone highlight - All That Glitters all over the lid - Satin Taupe in the crease - and Twinks on the outer corner/outer v.  I then apply black liquid liner on the upper lashline and either brown or black eyeliner to the waterline, as well as a black mascara, and it creates a gorgeous daytime/neutral look.  These four eyeshadows will probably be the four i take in a quad with me when i go traveling - unless i find a different combination i like instead of course :).  If you don't want to go buy all four but still want the same sort of look, you could probably go without Satin Taupe & just blend Twinks into the crease and then build it up in the outer v.  Will hopefully do a face of the day with this combo soon :)

♥