Makeup MAYhem: What's in my Bag?

I had an Ally Sheedy Breakfast Club moment today...

Found via tumblr

 

 It is finally time for me to do a "What's in my Bag?" post...

 

 

The Bag: Fossil's Erin Satchel (A gift from my parents for my 23rd birthday)

 

 

The Essentials: Kleenex, hand sanitizer, Aquaphor and chapstick, gum and Evian facial spray. I like the facial spray for that mid-day pick me up for my face and makeup. Just makes me feel a lot better -- its like retouching your lipstick to me!!

 

The Wallet was also a gift for my 23rd birthday. I love it because I can use it as a wristlet and a wallet. Oh and my iPhone 5s. 

 

I'm a pouch person -- I don't like it when items float about my bag with no place so I have this little pouches (both are like free gift with purchase pouches..).

 

My freshen up pouch has a mini kabuki brush, hand cream, eye drops, Colgate wisps, more gum and perfume roller ball.

 

Ah, the emergency pouch. Because you just never know.

 

My sunnies case is from Kate Spade but my glasses are from Target. I love the eyes at the bottom of the case. Super cute!! My glasses so that I can see. Duh.

 

Behold, my planner, and a loooot of pens.. I always leave them in my pockets from work and they end up in my purse.

 

Pretty impressed with myself that I only had 4 lip products. The Stila lip glaze is a bag staple for me and the others are different lip colors I have worn this week.

 

Yes, I have a lot of stuff in my purse. But not a lot of wrappers, or papers or other garbage like things. I like to keep it as clean as possible so that I can find what I need in a pinch. Sometimes, especially when I'm traveling I tend to care a bit more things in the pouches but right now, they just have my every week essentials.

 

What kind of things do you have in your bag? Any bag staples?

 

Hope you enjoyed this and are enjoying Makeup MAYhem!

Yours xx

 

Disclaimer: Everything mentioned above was purchased with my own money or were gifts, pictures were taken with my camera (unless otherwise noted/credited) and all opinions are mine and in no way represent anyone or anything other than me, myself and I. This is NOT a sponsored blog post. You're beautiful.

Makeup MAYhem: It's that time of the month again...

No, not THAT time of the month. It is makeup brush cleaning time.

Once a month, I do a deep brush cleaning. I do a daily brush cleaning, especially with my eye makeup brushes, because I tend to do a lot of experimenting that I despise when I'm blending out a look and what comes off the brush looks nothing like when I had on my eye. Serious beauty problem here people. Anyway...

I spend about half an hour on a day that I know I won't be wearing any makeup and scrub-a-dub-dub my brushes. I let them "drain" overnight and in the morning, voilà! clean brushes!!

 

And supplies...

For daily brush cleaning, I use the Daily Makeup Brush Cleaner from Sephora. But for my deep cleaning, I use the philosophy purity one-step facial cleanser. It is a very gently face cleanser and does a wonder on these brushes. I love the Kleenex hand towels for drying, which you will see.. and of course, my dirty brushes.

 

 

Dirty brush meet Facial Cleanser.

 

 

Cleanser full brush meet water... and palm.

 

 

Ta-da! Clean brush!!

 

It is a very easy process. Clean the brush, run it under water, swirl it in the palm of my hand to make sure I've got all the soap and makeup out of the brush. Sweep it across the Kleenex to, again, make sure it is clean. Put the brush, tip down, into a deep glass to get all the water out.

 

I hope you liked seeing into the cleaning side of beauty. What does your brush routine consist of?

Yours xx

Makeup MAYhem: PopSugar Unboxing

May's PopSugar Box arrived this morning. It is full of essentials to get in the mood for summer.

 

 

 



 Kerry Cassville Eye Mask
I have never ever used an eye mask before now. This is super soft, all "voile cotton", and a cute blue pattern. Maybe now I can get the best beauty sleep ever! :D

 



 Tone it Up
This could be a great workout for those days I just don't want to go to the gym... or it could end up on the DVD shelf with all my other workout DVDs. We shall see.

 



 Smell Bent St. Tropez Dispenser
Smells like a beach! Very tropical scent with coconut, and jasmine. I love the little glass bottle!

 



 Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Pool Boy Nail Lacquer
Totally applied this onto my nail immediately after this picture was taken. The brush is very thick and kind of bulky, but it applies smooth and the color is super blue. (PS Totally makes my hands look more tan than they are. #approved)

 



 Zing Anything Citrus Zinger
A fancy water bottle that at the bottom you can press lemons/limes/citrus directly into your drink. Pretty cool idea. I love the clear bottle. This could be really fun for a bit of change up from the "boring" water.

 



Hi I'm Skinny Sticks Multi-Grain Sweet Onion
An alternative snack to potato chips. They have tons of flavor and reminded me a lot of Veggie Straws, which I had a small obsession with in college.

All in all, I'd say a very good box again from PopSugar this month. Until next month..

Yours xx

Disclaimer: Everything mentioned above was purchased with my own money, pictures were taken with my camera (unless otherwise noted/credited) and all opinions are mine and in no way represent anyone or anything other than me, myself and I. This is NOT a sponsored blog post. You're beautiful.

Makeup MAYhem: Is the accent nail still a thing?

 

 

 

I sure hope so because I just couldn't decide what color to paint my nails. I am an in serious need of summer. I haven't ever seen the ocean (flying over it doesn't count) and these two colors reminded me of that ideal ocean color. The accent nail is Essie's "Lapiz of Luxury" and the others are Essie's "Mint Candy Apple."

I'm still trying to perfect the at-home manicure. It is almost sad to watch me try and paint my right hand with my left hand. You'd think I had never used my left hand for anything... ever. But I have found a solution for the crippling drying process: OPI's Drying Drops. I wait a minute after applying my final coat, drop 2-3 drops onto each nail and in less than 5 minutes they are DRY! And I mean, you can do arts and crafts dry.

I still struggle with the (almost) immediate chipping process. Anyone have any suggestions? Any at-home manicure tips and tricks that you are generous enough to share?

 

 

I'm starting "Gone Girl" today. I have heard awesome reviews!

 

Yours xx



Makeup MAYhem: Lashes Baby!

There are things I don't leave the house without: my purse, my keys, my phone, and mascara.

I'm addicted to mascara but there are three that are constant products in my makeup bag. For about a year now, Maybelline "The Falsies" has been my comfort mascara. The wand is curved so it is sure to grab ahold of all the lashes, even those little itty-bitty ones near the corner of my eye. Plus, with oily eyelids, it doesn't give me that raccoon eye at the end of a 10 hour day! It is my mascara bestie.

Benefit "They're Real" mascara is what I wear if I need a lashes pick-me-up. Ba-BAM! Lashes! It is on the more expensive side of mascara (read: not drugstore) but, it is actually worth it if you need lashes that are going to look fake, but totally aren't. It is pain to get off (seriously, this stuff does not move), I can get away with nothing but this on my eyes and look like I have put so much effort in. The wand has this spiked end which helps separate and get those little lashes to become not-so little anymore. Expensive and tough to remove but, wowsa, it curls, volumizes, lengths, darkens... it does all the things a mascara should do.

A new addition to my must-have collection is the L'Oreal "Telescopic Shocking Extensions" mascara. This for those spider-leg like lashes. The wand is very small, which can be a turn off, but it makes my lashes go the distance, lasting all day and night. I need a mascara that is going to stay with me on length and fluttery lashes, which is exactly what this little guy does. Plus, how cute is the packaging? Like a little telescope! So clever, L'Oreal, so clever.

What are you favorite mascaras? Anyone else have that one product you won't leave the house without?

Yours xx

Disclaimer: Everything mentioned above was purchased with my own money, pictures were taken with my camera (unless otherwise noted/credited) and all opinions are mine and in no way represent anyone or anything other than me, myself and I. This is NOT a sponsored blog post. You're beautiful.

Makeup MAYhem: Skin Care: Foundation before Foundation

With a couple of tweaks, I have a skin care routine for the first time in my makeup wearing life that makeup has become an accessory, not a need. My mother, aka the wisest woman I know, gave me the best advice when I wanted to start wearing makeup. If you are going to wear makeup, you have got to take care of your skin. We went to the Clinique counter and bought the 3-Step Program (if you've been a loyal reader this is not the first time you've heard this story). 

I'm lucky. I have good skin. (Now that I have said that queue the pimples..) I have oily/combination skin; particularly oily in my T-zone. I rarely get breakouts but when I do they are, as assumed, nas-tay.

I wanted to start doing more posts about beauty and what perfect timing with Makeup MAYhem going around the blogosphere. But this year, I'm playing too!

So, Mother Knows Best. Skincare before makeup.

 



I have two different skin care times: Morning and Night. Both have different needs.

First up, morning. The goal: Make me look human. The products: Cleanser, Spray Hydrate, Eye Cream, Serum, Moisturizer. The time: 3 minutes max.

In the morning, I just want my skin to be clean and ready for the day. I cleanse, tone, moisturize. Very simple concept, nothing too scary. Pro tip: Wait 10 minutes after skin care before applying makeup. It makes it sit better on your face.

 



The night time goal is to clean my face off and moisturize. Usually after a long day, getting the makeup and dirt off my face is like the last possible thing I want to do. I really want to plop down and pass out. BUT, tomorrow, I will regret it. So I've made this guy quick and easy. I find if I watch a YouTube video or listen to some relaxing music while I do my routine, it doesn't seem too bad.

I have to get my makeup off before anything else. I swipe on the eye makeup remover and the cleansing milk from Clinique then I cleanse with the fresh soy face cleanser. This cleanser smells like cucumbers. It is also great at removing any makeup that may have been missed (stubborn mascara!).

Toner toner toner! I don't exfoliate my skin enough so this gets into those pores for me. Spray hydrate... need I say more? Argan Oil = my favorite thing ever. Serious. And more moisturizer.

Keys for my skin: I love to moisturize. Keeping that moisture in, especially at night, is important for me. It gives my skin an extra large drink of water. 

And some days, I just can't with all the things so... enter cleansing wipes. (Ssshh, don't tell my mom.)

 

What do you need out of your skincare? Best pre-makeup advice?

Yours xx

Disclaimer: Everything mentioned above was purchased with my own money, pictures were taken with my camera (unless otherwise noted/credited) and all opinions are mine and in no way represent anyone or anything other than me, myself and I. This is NOT a sponsored blog post. You're beautiful.