What's In My Travel Makeup Bag

I spent this past weekend away from my house and plan on going to work tomorrow from my mini vacation spot. When this happens, I tend to pack my travel makeup bag much heavier than I would for a day trip, so here is what it consists of...

This is the largest makeup bag I own, it's Betsey Johnson. The only thing I don't like about it is it doesn't have a handle, which would make it much easier to travel with. It's usually stuffed full on my trips. 

 And here is everything I managed to stuff inside of it. From Top left: Naked Palette, Lorac Pro Palette, Sephora Mineral Powder, Laura Mercier Creme Foundation, Toki Doki Bronzer, NYX Blush in Mocha, MAC Fix +, NARS Orgasm Blush, MAC Painterly Paintpot, MAC Dipdown eyeliner (brows), MAC Eyeshadows in Espresso, Bamboo and Omega. Benefit PoreFessional Primer, MAC Concealer and My Spots are Concealed, then various brushes.

I use the dual fiber brush for my Fix + spray because I don't like to spray it directly on my face. The I always take a couple crease brushes such as the Stila one and MAC 217. Then angled brushes for my eyebrows and eyeliner, then a blush brush. 

I chose these products because they make it easy to change my mind about my looks. I always pack a pink/red toned blush and a peach colored one so they will fit with any eye look. The two palettes (Naked and Lorac Pro) have a combination of matte and metallic colors and give a lot of versatility. Even though it's usually the case that I only rock a thick liner and mascara when I'm away, I like being able to have the option to do whatever I'm in the mood for. 

Drug Store Come Up of the Week

 I was searching some makeup artists and common makeup tags on Intagram the other day (for me those are #ilovemaciggirls, #makeupaddict, and various brand tags) and I came across an artist who posted a flawless fall face which included a thick black liner, bronzer for blush and a deep purple lip that I fell in love with. She stated the color was "Va Va Violet" by Revlon. I found myself at Walmart and checked out the color, it seemed much deeper in the packaging than it did on her lips but I bought it anyway. While I was there I snagged this gem called "Wine Not" by Revlon, and I am much happier with this purchase. "Va Va Violet" is a satin finish and it's not as opaque when you put it on, it has more sheen to it than I'm normally drawn to but I need to play with it a little more. "Wine Not" is a deep burgundy matte lipstick that is now my new staple for fall. I paired it with MAC's "Vino" lip pencil and the combination is one of my favorites. Vino is a super deep pencil and I wouldn't wanna pair it with a lip color that was also that deep, so I love the two together. Here are some pics of me rocking the combo. If you have any fall must haves from the drugstore feel free to let me know in a comment below!

Above: Pics of me wearing the colors one with iPhone front facing camera, and the other with a flash so you can get a better idea of what they look like. For the rest of my face I used Terra Cotta Blush by NYX and the Naked Palette on my eyes. 

Above: You can see the Vino pencil is much deeper, so if you don't want to achieve of look that is as deep as the picture of me above, skip the pencil or just apply it lightly. 

Above: Vino Lip Pencil and Wine Not Lipstick post application :)

Summer Empties

With the heat wave of this record breaking summer lasting well into this October month, I found that I was not burning through my regular makeup products as much as I was my hair and skin care ones. My go to face consisted of primer, concealer, light foundation, blush and mascara, and my hair was almost always in its natural curly state. This brings me to my list of empties for the summer. These are products I loved so much that I used the very last drop, and for the most part I will be purchasing again.

1. Laura Mercier- Mineral Foundation Primer: I've talked about this primer before, and what I loved about using it during the summer was that it has a lotion consistency and didn't feel heavy on my skin. I put this on with a light layer of foundation or tinted moisturizer and I was good to go.
2. MAC-Fix + Spray: On the occasion that I did wear a full coverage foundation during the summer, I wanted to keep my look dewy and less heavy. That's where my Fix + spray came in. If ever I felt like my makeup was looking too powdery or overdone, I just sprayed this all over and it gave me the summer glow I was looking for.
3. Bath and Bodyworks- Black Raspberry Vanilla Body Cream: I actually don't enjoy the feeling of wearing/putting on lotion. I don't like it on my skin and I find myself having to force myself to put it on after I get out of the shower. Fortunately, the skin on my body isn't prone to dryness so I can get away with not wearing lotion everyday. But the smell of this lotion is amazing to me! I felt like the berry and the vanilla was a perfect summer to fall combination, and the formula is silky, so the feeling didn't gross me out like a lot of body creams do.
4. Tresemme Split Remedy Leave In Conditioner: I posted when I started using this in the beginning of the summer and now that the bottle is empty I'm really happy with the results it's given me. There have been countless times that I did not feel like blow drying, then flat ironing my hair and I just wanted to let my curls go natural. So I put this in my damp hair along with a tiny bit of argan oil and I was very impressed. I've also used it by itself and it still works really well, definitely going to purchase it again.
5. One n Only Argan Oil Conditioner: I bought this bottle last October during Breast Cancer Awareness Month and it's taken me a year to get through it. The reason for this is because I really didn't like it. I use their argan oil and it works very well, I just feel like the conditioner fell short. It did not leave my hair as soft as I thought it would and I wasn't a huge fan of the smell. I don't think I would purchase it again.
6. L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara: I have purchased this mascara probably 10 times since I discovered it. It's hands down the best drug store mascara out there and definitely a contender for the best mascara ever. It gives volume, doesn't clump and the wand comes in the normal straight wand or with a bend to help cover all of your lashes. If you're looking for a great full looking mascara this is it.

Updated Face Cleansing Routine

Happy Monday Everyone!

This post if going to be half face routine, half review of The Body Shop's Tea Tree line of face cleansing products, enjoy! Comment or email if you have any questions :)

About two months ago I was on the hunt for a cleanser to put my skin in check and clear up any unwanted acne that I had recently been experiencing. I asked around and my cousin purchased the Tea Tree set from The Body Shop and told me that it was working amazing for her skin. She wears a great deal of makeup like I do on a regular basis so I figured I would give the products a shot. At the time they were having a sale of buy 3 get 2 free. So I purchased the Foaming Face wash, the Blackhead clearing scrub, Toner, Face Lotion and the Mask. I have been using these products for the entire 2 months and I would say the only things worth purchasing again are the toner and the mask, which is why they are now apart of my routine. The foaming cleanser did not take off my makeup the way I had hoped and the scrub was hardly scrubbing anything off. I like my scrubs to be filled with little tiny beads so they really work their way into my skin. This scrub had very few beads and they were sort of large and seemed to not be able to do the job I wanted them to. Also be warned that this entire line burned/tingled my skin when I applied them, especially the lotion. To me it was extremely drying and when applied on top of blemishes it burned so bad I almost couldn't take it. I would say the lotion was my least favorite purchase of all. However, I did fall in love with the toner and the face mask. The toner leaves your skin feeling amazingly fresh, but also it isn't too drying. Once I wipe my skin with it, there is still plenty of moisture left so that I am not applying my moisturizer onto dry skin. Also the mask is amazing, it tingles the skin in a good way and feels very refreshing. Once removed it leaves your skin feeling clear and super soft.

Since I was really disappointed with the cleansers I started rummaging through the drawers in my bathroom to see what else I could use to wash off my makeup and I came across a travel size bottle of Purity by Philosophy. I used this product years ago and I do not remember why I switched cleansers, I forgot how amazing it is. It takes off makeup with ease, it's gentle and works well with every skin type, and it smells amazing! So I back to claiming this as my go-to cleanser. Once I was my face with this, I tone with the Tea Tree toner, and if need be I apply the Tea Tree Mask (I do this about once every 4 days or so). Finally, I apply a moisturizer. For a while I had been using Lubriderm's moisturizer for dry skin and it was working great because there were no harsh scents and it didn't irritate my skin. But after hearing some great things about MAC's Studio Moisture Cream I gave this is a shot and I'm so happy I did! I really can't say enough about how much I'm in love with this moisturizer. It smells amazing, it's so silky and creamy and it hydrates like nothing I've ever used. I apply it at night and in the morning and my skin is so soft with no signs of dryness. When I use it in the morning I give it a few minutes to dry and set into my skin, then I apply a primer and do my face routine and I'm really happy with how my skin is clearing back up. Though I have a tendency to switch my routines up, I really want to stick with this one because so far it's working out great!

Back to having clear skin! 

My Makeup Collection and Storage

I recently decided to throw out my old makeup set up which consisted of an Ikea desk with lots of shelving and a closed work space that was just not working for me. I was unable to see my collection because all of my products were hidden in different places, and I was using my train case as my main housing unit and I didn't like that I had to dig through the box to find the things I needed. So I did some googling on DIY makeup storage and I found a very inspirational post by Vichy et Pois. Here is the link to her post DIY Makeup Storage by Vichy et Poit. She purchased a shelf from Ikea that had a glass top so she could see all of her products and I thought that was brilliant! So I set out to purchase that shelf as well as a rolling cart I had seen at Michaels to create my dream makeup station, and so far I'm extremely happy with it.

For the shelf portion I have all of my palettes underneath the glass. On top (left to right) A sephora bag filled with q-tips and cotton balls, some hand sanitizer. A plastic carrier holding my foundation, powder and some moisturizers. A pencil holder filled with my brushes, then a brush holder from Sephora with a brush collection from last winter. 

On the right  I have a moisturizer, Fix +, UD All Nighter Spray and a holder with all my mascaras. 

I was so excited about the rolling shelf because Michael's was having a sale on the brand, I got it for 40% off, which turned out to be about $40. Here I have my perfume on top. My Valentina is in the box because I've been using it too much lately! Gotta calm down because that mess was expensive haha ;). 

For my first drawer I have nothing but blushes and bronzers

Second drawer has a container with nothing but eyeliner, then some random loose eyeshadows, then cream color bases and pencils. In the back are my false lashes.

Next I have my skin primers, shadow bases/ primers, concealers and luminizing bases. 

The bottom 3 drawers are about twice as deep as the first ones. This was perfect for the larger containers I have for my lipsticks and glosses. Then on the side of them I have my makeup wipes. 

Then I have my random drawer. I has a container with my lip pencils, my perfume samples, random eyeshadows, tape, removers, scope haha 

Lastly, I have all my makeup cases/purses. I seriously have no idea why I have so many of these! But when I see a cute one I convince myself that I need it. So this is what happens...

And that's all! I think what I love the most is it's so easy to see exactly what I have and what I need. The only problem is now that it's organized I feel the need to fill it up and shop more! I just bought 2 new palettes (the Smashbox and Lorac Pro ones in the first couple pictures) and I'll be reviewing those soon.