December Favorites

I'm not going to say the year has gone by so fast because for me it hasn't. It was a good year though. I'm not complaining. I just feel like it has been a year. I'm happy that 2013 starts tomorrow! I'm going to  try to be really good on my diet, and lose a lot of weight. I think if I am so into beauty, I would focus more on eating well and exercising than on makeup. I look better in my face when I am thinner. I'm not saying this because I'm acting like everybody in the new year. I really do need to lose weight! I'm not in denial. xD Anyway, here are my December favorites.

1. Splenda! That is right! I found a very amazing beauty trick this month. One day I was putting on my foundation and the skin around my forehead was really dry. I didn't understand why this was because I had moisturized my skin. I asked my question on Yahoo! Answers. I got a lot of replies very quickly. Some people said I needed to wash my face before putting on makeup. I knew that wasn't right because I always did that. Some people said I needed to moisturize, I knew that wasn't right because I did moisturize. Some people said my skin was dry and I needed to use a different foundation. Even though patches of my skin were acting dry, I didn't think my whole face was dry. I think I have combination skin on my face. But one person suggested I exfoliate those areas of my face using either sugar or something else (I forget what it was.) I decided to do this. I used a Splenda sugar pack and water. It felt sort of weird, but I scrubbed on the areas of my face that were acting odd. Then I washed and moisturized my face like normal. My foundation went on like a dream! It was dead skin, that was why my foundation wasn't going on right on those areas. I guess by now I should already know this secret. But I didn't. Maybe it is new for you too. My skin hasn't done that since I exfoliated which was about a week ago, so it lasts a long time.

2. Real Techniques Buffing Brush: I got this brush awhile ago with a collection of face brushes called Your Base/Flawless Core Collection by Real Techniques. I got this at Fred Meyers. I don't remember what gave me the idea to use this for a powder brush. It is small and so soft! It fits nicely under my eyes for when I want to set my under eye concealer. I have really been loving it, and decided to share it in a favorite.

3. Hard Candy Sheer Envy Skin Illuminating Primer: I have mentioned the original Hard Candy primer in a favorite blog already. That one works good too. I wanted to try this one because it says it was illuminating, so I was curious how that would look. It doesn't leave my face looking really shiny. It is just a really nice primer. It makes my skin look nice. It is inexpensive. I found it at Walmart. I used this 30 days this month!

4. ORLY Nail Lacquer in Ingenue: This is a beautiful rose gold color. I heard about it on a Youtube video (I don't remember which one). It looked pretty, so I ran out to buy it. I wore this at the beginning of the month.

5. Aczone: I got a bunch of little samples of this from my dermatologist. It is an ointment to put on pimples. I just use a little bit, so the samples have been lasting me a long time. These really zap pimples away. My doctor said this medicine is good for the kind of pimples you get around the time of your period.

6. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero: I was so happy to get this in my December IPSY bag! I was not expecting it. I feel like the IPSY bag got really good! I'm not subscribed to it or Birchbox anymore. I have heard people talk about this eyeliner for a long time. Probably as long as I have been watching Youtube videos. I now understand why everyone loves it. It is a really great eyeliner.

7. Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips in The Bold Rush: This caught my eye in the store. It has purple and gold glitter. The colors fade into each other. It is a really cool effect. I got a lot of compliments on it.

8. The Balm Mary-Lou Manizer: I got this from my October Birchbox. This is a beautiful golden highlighter. I was using Hard Candy So Baked Bronzer in Tiki as a dupe. Now that I have both products I can say for sure they are very similar. The Balm packaging is so cute. The girl is having her head shot taken like she was arrested, then at the bottom it says: "Offense: highlighter, shimmer, eyeshadow, Charge: too pretty, too popular, Antonym: womanizer." lol! The Balm products are so cheeky.

9. Milani Liquif'eye Metallic Eye Liner Pencil in Black: Before I got the Urban Decay pencil, I was using this just about every day. This is a really great eye liner too. You can get these at the drugstore. Milani makes really great eyeliners.

10. Rimmel Lasting Finish 1000 Kisses Stay On Lip Contouring Pencil in Red Dynamite: I like Rimmel lip liners. I think I wore a lot of red lips this month. I lined my lips with this pencil.

Random Favorites

11. Bath and Body Works Scentportables in Spiced Cider: Last month I included my favorite car scents, so I decided to do it again. This makes your whole car smell like apple cider! It is so delightful! One of my favorite things in life is entering my car and being greeted by a wonderful smell.

12. Out of the Silent Planet (Space Trilogy #1) by C.S. Lewis: My Dad really loves this trilogy, so I decided to read it. It is a science fiction book, which I normally don't read, but this was rather interesting. It is about a man who gets kidnapped and taken to a planet. I forget which one, but the book doesn't tell you at first, so I don't want to give anything away. He has all kinds of adventures. I'm reading the second book now, and it is really good too. It probably will be in my January favorites.

13. The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long: This is a fantasy novel. It's about a girl who loses her brother in the woods, and she tells everyone that the trees took him. So they think she's crazy. Seven years later, when she is 17, she gets taken into the magical world in the forest that her brother go taken into. So her mission is to find her brother. She has all kinds of adventures. It is also a love story. At first I felt annoyed at the book because I felt like the girl kept having troubles. But I needed to finish it to see how the story ended. I'm glad I finished it because it has a good ending. This is for young adults.

I hope you liked reading about my favorites! Tell me what your favorites of the month were! Feel free to leave your blog in the comments! I love to see the favorites of the month.

Too Faced Boudoir Eyes Shadow Collection

I get so excited when Too Faced comes out with a new collection! I love to see if I can find dupes and I like to try to copy the how-to cards. If you want to see the collection on the Too Faced website go here:  https://www.toofaced.com/p-1326-boudoir-eyes-shadow-collection.aspx? I found a good review of it on this blog: http://iamthemakeupjunkie.blogspot.com/2012/12/review-too-faced-boudoir-beauty-spring.html

Some of the eyeshadows I already have found dupes for because they've been in other Too Faced collections. The new ones I tried to copy with my own makeup.

1. Fuzzy Handcuffs (new): matte medium pink, Almay Intense I Color for Hazel Eyes, pink color

2. Voulez-vous (new): shimmery violet eggplant, NYC Individual Eyes Union Square, 4th color

3. Garter Belt (new): matte taupe gray, Maybelline Color Tattoo in Tough as Taupe

4. Sugar Walls (new): glittery, shimmery mauve, Too Faced The Return of Sexy Palette in Icon

5. French Tickler (new): glittery gold black, Sephora Cinderella Palette in Cinders

6. In the Buff: Mac Bisque, Wet 'n Wild Vanity Palette, 1st color

7. Satin Sheets: Mac All That Glitters, Wet 'n Wild Greed Palette, 5th color

8. Birthday Suit: Wet 'n Wild Vanity Palette, 2nd color

9. Lap Dance: Physicians Formula Hazel Eye Candy, 3rd and 4th color mixed

These are the looks that the cards tell how to do. I will do each look with my dupes and say how I like the looks.

Day
1. Sweep In the Buff from lash to brow.
2. Press Fuzzy Handcuffs on to the eyelids.
3. Blend Voulez-Vous into the crease and outer lash line.
My Thoughts: The In the Buff color is just a natural base. The pink of the lid goes well with the eggplant of the crease. The NYC color is very pigmented. The colors look good on hazel eyes.

Classic
1. Apply Satin Sheets from lash to brow.
2. Sweep Sugar Walls onto lid, crease, and around tear duct.
3. Smoke upper and lower lash lines with Garter Belt.
My Thoughts: This is really pretty. I have never used Tough As Taupe as a liner before, but it works well. I think both looks so far look good on hazel eyes. They are the colors that typically look good on hazel eyes. I have hazel eyes and I have several things that are supposed to be good for hazel eyes. Not that other eye colors wouldn't look good with this palette. I'm just speaking about hazel eyes because I have them and I noticed the colors are similar to ones I've seen before. I like this look, but I don't like Sugar Walls around the tear duct. The color is too dark. At least the one I used was.

Fashion
1. Sweep Birthday Suit from crease to brow.
2. Blend Lap Dance into crease and onto lid.
3. Apply French Tickler to upper lash line and extend outward, then blend into lower lash line.
My Thoughts: I like it. It looks like a smoky eye look. With black liner and the Lap Dance color is from  another hazel eye palette I have.

Christmas Gifts!

I like watching the Youtube videos to see what people got for Christmas. I thought I would do a post about what I got too.

1. I got gift certificates for iTunes, Sephora, and Barnes & Noble Bookstore. I don't know yet what I'm going to get music or book wise. On Christmas day I made my order at the Sephora website.

2. The Sephora gift card came with a nice mirror I can keep in my purse! I purchased the Sephora Cinderella palette. I had my eyes on the palette. I was going to dupe it, but there were some colors that were really original, and Temptalia gave it an A on her website! I will do a separate post when I get the palette. Also, there was free shipping! I got to get several perfume samples, too which I love.

3. I also got money. I have already spent most of it! I needed a 2013 planner. This one was pretty. I got it at Fred Meyers.

4. I also wanted a 2013 Rachael Hale, kitten calendar. I think I get this every year! It has become a tradition, I guess.

5. Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips in Love Letter. I have had my eyes on this for some time. I think it looks very beautiful. Maybe the next time I do my nails I will put these on.

6. Femme Couture Eye Drama Glitter Liquid Eyeliner in Envy. I don't have any emerald green glitter liner. One of the holiday looks I liked, called for this and I couldn't dupe it. I found out you could get this at Sally's Beauty Supply store, so I looked to see if they had it. They had one left! It is a beautiful emerald green. I love it!

7. On Christmas Day I saw Les Miserables with my dad. It was so good! That is my favorite musical!

So that is everything I got. I'm very happy with everything. I feel very blessed, and I have yet to see my relatives. One side of my family was in Hawaii, so we are trying to find a time to get together and go see The Hobbit. The other side of my family we will see on Sunday. I love being with my family. I'm fortunate to have great people in my life. That is worth more to me, than all the material possessions.

What did you get for Christmas? What do you hope for in the New Year? Please, leave a comment!

Favorites of 2012

This is my first blog post of my yearly favorites. Last December, I didn't really know what my yearly favorites was because I had no record to go by. This year I feel like I do, based on all my blog posts of the year. I looked at all the favorite looks I wrote about, who was the makeup artist and what makeup I used to do the look. The most frequently I mentioned someone or something is how I found my yearly favorites.

My Favorite Youtuber of the Year is Cosmetic Couturier! http://www.youtube.com/user/cosmeticcouturier I mentioned her looks the most out of everyone with a total of 22 looks! She does a lot of great looks. She's also a good teacher. I think I've learned a lot about how to do makeup from watching her tutorials.

Face Primer: Hard Candy Sheer Envy Skin Illuminating Primer. This is a new primer for me. I will include it in my December favorites. It is inexpensive. I got it at Walmart. It gives the foundation a nice, slick base for putting on makeup. It also gives a natural glow, so I don't look too matte. I don't want to look too oily, but not like I'm wearing a mask.

Foundation: Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-In-Place Makeup SPF 10 in Shell. I first heard about this foundation from Samantha Schuerman's Youtube videos. Her face always looked so good after she put on this foundation, so I was curious to try it. I love the coverage this makeup gives.

Concealer: My favorite concealer for under my eyes is Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in Ivory. I don't have bad under eye circles. I get good sleep, so I don't have bad bags. This concealer is perfect for me. In the picture it is the concealer on the right.

Concealer: My favorite concealer for blemishes is Hard Candy Glamoflauge Heavy Duty Concealer. It is good at covering red spots.

Powder: Bare Minerals Mineral Veil. I love this powder for being invisible on my skin and helping my oily skin, not look so oily.

Bronzer/Contour: Mac Studio Careblend Pressed Powder in Medium Deep. I wanted to use something that wouldn't look bad on my fair skin. I first tried being matched at Sephora, but I wasn't sure I liked anything the girl there tried on me. I felt like everything made my face look dirty. Then I went to a Mac counter, and the lady there recommended this for me. I decided I liked it the best of everything I tried. It was also the first time I went to a Mac counter!

Highlighter: Physicians Formula Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls in Translucent Pearl. This is a highlighter you can find in the drugstore. It is a translucent powder that gives a natural glow to the skin.

Blush: I have two favorite blushes for the year. The first one I have said many times is my all-time favorite blush. It is Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso. It is peach.

Blush: My second favorite blush is Physicians Formula Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Blush in Natural. It is petal pink.

Eyeshadow Primer: Too Faced Shadow Insurance. I have oily eyelids. This seems to be the best eye primer I have tried to help make my eyeshadow last the longest.

Eyeshadow: I have 9 favorite eyeshadow palettes. They are all from the drugstore! My all-time favorite eyeshadow palette is Wet 'n Wild Vanity Palette. I mentioned this 155 times this year! The left side is matte, and the right side has shimmers. It has been discontinued, which I find pretty ridiculous. I love to use this palette to dupe other eyeshadows.

Eyeshadow: My second favorite is Wet 'n Wild's Greed Palette. I mentioned this 50 times. It has also been discontinued. The left side is matte, the right side has shimmers.

Eyeshadow: My third favorite is Wet 'n Wild Lust Palette. I mentioned it 47 times. I'm not counting the times I mentioned these in monthly favorites. Only when I recommended a look. This has also been discontinued. :(

Eyeshadow: My fourth favorite is Wet 'n Wild Comfort Zone Palette. Thankfully, this has not been discontinued!

Eyeshadow: My fifth favorite is L'Oreal HIP Duo in Dynamic. The left side is a gold that I use to dupe Mac's Woodwinked and Urban Decay's Half Baked. The right side is a dupe for Urban Decay's Darkhorse from the Naked Palette.

Eyeshadow: My sixth favorite is Wet 'n Wild's Walking on Eggshells. I initially got this because I heard the eyelid color was a dupe for Urban Decay's Sin and the crease color was a dupe for Urban Decay's Smog. I have found a lot of things to dupe with this palette. This has not been discontinued.

Eyeshadow: My seventh favorite is Elf Brightening Eye Color in Day 2 Night. Somewhere I heard that the second shade is a dupe for Urban Decay's Hustle and the last shade is a dupe for Urban Decay Sidecar. Last year I was obsessed with duping the Naked Palette. I use this quad a lot though. It was only $1!

Eyeshadow: My eighth favorite is Maybelline Sunbaked Neutrals palette. I'm surprised I haven't mentioned it in a monthly favorite yet. It has a lot of beautiful colors.

Eyeshadow: My ninth favorite is Maybelline Enchanted Forest. It has unique colors in it. I also love the name.

Cream Eyeshadow: Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadows in Not Just Nudes. These are good bases. Not everyone likes these quads, but I do. They work fine for me, as long as I have a good primer underneath.

Jumbo Eye Pencil: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Cottage Cheese. Originally, I wanted to get the pencil in Milk, but it was all sold out at the NYX website, so I got Cottage Cheese since it looked similar. I use this whenever a look calls for the Milk pencil. The only difference between the two is Cottage Cheese has shimmer in it, but it isn't too noticeable especially when you are wearing eyeshadow over it.

Eye Liner: Pixi Eye Bright Liner in Nude. I mention this whenever a look called for nude in the waterline. I remember I first heard about this from Lisa Eldridge's video where she did an Audrey Hepburn look.

Gel Eye Liner: Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner in Brown. Whenever a look called for gel eye liner I used this. Now I am just getting into using the black one on my eyes, and I like it. Maybe next year the black one will be my favorite. It has a good texture, compared to the other ones I have.

Liquid Eye Liner: My favorite seems to be Jordana Incolor Fabuliner Liquid Eye Liner in Black. Whenever a look calls for liquid liner on the top lash line, I reached for this. It is inexpensive. I got it at Walgreens. It is just like using a black pen. I also have this in brown and like it as well.

Mascara: For my top lashes I like The Balm What's Your Type? "The Body Builder." I got a little sample size from one of the beauty boxes I'm subscribed to. It does a good job thickening the lashes. When I am done using this, I don't think I will repurchase it because I don't like spending too much money on mascara because it's only supposed to be hygienic for three months. I think the mascaras at the drugstore work nicely enough for me. I have to admit I love this mascara, even though it is expensive. I like The Balm cosmetics.

Mascara: For my lower lashes I like Maybelline Lash Discovery Mini-Brush Waterproof in Very Black. I learned about this from Emilynoel83 youtube video on her favorite mascaras. It has a little brush that is perfect to get the lower lashes. I have since found out that my mom loves this mascara!

Lip Liner: Boots No.7 Nude Lip Liner. I think I first heard about this in the Audrey Hepburn video by Lisa Eldridge. That was one of my favorite Youtube videos this year I think. It is one of the only videos where I watched it and rushed out to buy the makeup that was used. I thought maybe I would be able to find it at Target, and it was there! It has since become a favorite.

Lipstick: I have four favorite lipsticks. I haven't mentioned these in any monthly favorite. I think because I'm always using different lipsticks and lip glosses, that I rarely have a favorite for the month. My first favorite lipstick is Revlon Soft Nude 070. It has a slight peachiness to it.

Lipstick: My second favorite is Revlon Lip Butter in Creme Brûlée 095. I really love the lip butters. They go on smoothly on the lips. I have almost every lip butter! This is sheer and a light, warm, peachy nude.

Lipstick: My third favorite is Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Plum Baby 467. This has a pearl finish.

Lipstick: My fourth favorite is another Revlon product. I'm noticing a pattern! It is Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait 025. This is just the perfect peach lipstick.

Lip Gloss: I have four favorite lip glosses. The first one is Revlon Colorburst Lip Gloss in Peony 008. It is a sheer golden pink with gold/multi glitter. It is said to be a dupe for Nars Orgasm Lip Gloss. That is described as being a pinky peach with gold sparkles.

Lip Gloss: My second favorite is Milani Crystal Gloss in Summer Baby. It is a nudey-pink with a golden touch.

Lip Gloss: My third favorite is Elf Lip Gloss in Blossom. I remember going through a phase this year where I pretty much wore this every single day! It is a light pink with a hint of peach in it with very fine shimmers.

Lip Gloss: My fourth favorite is Urban Decay Lip Junkie Lip Gloss in Midnight Cowboy. I love the way this feels on my lips. It has a nice, minty smell. It is sheer, nude, and sparkly.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my favorites for this year. Leave me a comment about your favorites or what you think about my list.