favorites

February 2017 Favorites

It’s been a while since I have done a favorites post. I’ve been using A LOT of new products the last fews months so I really want to tell you guys about them.

I want to start off with the items that have been saving my dry skin during these winter months.

Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin Liquid and Cream Duo $34

I purchased this duo at Sephora for $34. It comes with 1 oz of the Ceramidin Liquid and 0.5 oz of the Cream. I tried out the cream whenever Sephora had them as a 100 point perk. I love how moisturizing it is. A little goes a long way. I like to be stingy with this so I only use it in my really dry areas – nose and other dry spots. I do the same with liquid. I use the Belif Moisturizing Bomb on top all over my face. I would choose the cream over the liquid. I’m also interested in trying their tinted moisturizer. All of the Ceramidin products have amazing reviews.

Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse Water-Max Sleeping Mask $48

This mask is supposed to lock in moisture while you sleep. I use it after I apply my serum and moisturizer (Origins Night-A-Mins). The mask basically seals your moisturizer so it can hydrate your skin all night. I love how calming and soothing it is. I wake up in the morning with soft skin. If my skin is super dry and flakey, I use it like 3-4 nights in a row and it definitely helps. I purchased mine during the Sephora VIB Sale. The regular price is $48.

Josie Maran Vibrancy Argan Oil Foundation $40

This has been a great foundation for winter! I will tell you right now, this foundation isn’t meant for all skin types. I would stay away from this if you have very oily skin. It’s made with pure Argan Oil which is one of Josie’s most popular products. This foundation has a medium coverage. It’s very moisturizing and gives you beautiful glowing skin. It can cling on to dry patches but not nearly as bad as other foundations do. I also love the smell. I purchased mine on QVC for $40. It also came with a duo fiber brush. I prefer to use a beauty sponge to apply though. I chose the shade Medium RG50.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer $23

I was honestly so surprised I liked this product. My mother actually had this and I decided to try it. I may or may have not have permanently borrowed it from her (hehe). I LOVE how natural it makes my brows look. It’s super easy and fast to use. It applies the perfect amount of product and blends effortlessly. I’m wearing it in the picture above. I also feel like it lasts wayyyyy longer than the brow wiz does. This along with her brow gel is the shiiiiiiii… It’s $23 and the brow wiz is $21, but it contains more product than wiz. I’ve been using it everyday for a couple months and it’s still going strong.

The Balm Manizer Sisters $28

I’ve been wanting to try the oh so famous Mary-Lou Manizer for the longest. When I saw this I knew it was the perfect time to try it out. I love how compact it is. Perfect for my makeup bag and traveling. I like the highlight, but I don’t think it’s as amazing as everyone claims it to be. I really love the blush. It has the perfect amount of shimmer. The bronzer was a bit too orange for my liking but it’s still pretty. I have used all three products together and you would think my face looked like a disco ball, but it worked. You can buy this product for $28. Sometimes The Balm has sales on their website so I’d keep an eye out for that.

Eve Pearl Dual Salmon Concealer $43

I remember when I first started getting into makeup this product was all the rave. Six years later I finally purchased it and I’m glad I did. I bought on QVC.com for $43. It also came with a brush (that I really like btw). This contains a salmon colored corrector on the right and your skin shade on the left. The salmon shade works great to cover dark spots. I typically use the concealer shade to shape out my eyebrows. I don’t use both under eyes because it will cause major creasing. The only way I can apply this product is with my fingers. The warmth of your finger makes it really blend in. It doesn’t blend well with a brush at all. I think it’s because my undereye area is too dry. So far this is my favorite orange/peachy corrector!

Caudalie Grape Water $13

My friend told me how much she liked this product so of course I had to try it. I’ll be honest this product doesn’t do much to my skin, it just makes me feel fancy AF. It is pure grape water. It is very soothing and does calm any redness or irritation. It’s not life changing by any means, I just love the way it feels. I like to use it in the morning and night after removing any makeup. I will definitely be repurchasing.

I mentioned quite a few skin care products in here. I have been using so many new skin care products lately. I will have a blog post on just skin care soon.

Thanks for reading.

XO, Diana

Favorite Eye Brushes

I previously did a post on my favorite brushes for the face. Today I have for you my favorite brushes for the eyes. If you didn’t get a chance to read the first one, you can check it out here.

The majority of my eye brushes consist of Sigma. I purchased my first set over 5 years ago and they are still in great condition. I know there a lot more brands out there like Morphe. I’m sure they have a dupe for all of the brushes I’m going to list.

Sigma E40 Tapered Blending

I’m starting off with my favorite brush of all time. I always start with this brush when doing my eyes. It’s perfect for blending the crease. I like to use this especially on days I don’t really feel like doing much. I like to use it with bronzer. All I do is dip it in the bronzer and go back and forth in the crease. It’s so easy to do! If I have more time I add a wing liner.

Real Techniques Setting

I mentioned this brush in my other post, but I also like this brush for the eyes. I use it to set my primer and I also like it to use it to blend above my crease once I’m finished with my eyeshadow.

Sigma E35 Tapered Blending

Another blending brush… This very similar to the E40 except it’s a little smaller. I like to use it to blend out darker colors.

Sigma E45 Small Tapered Blending

This brush is great for adding depth to your look. It allows you to get very precise, but also blends at the same time.

Sigma F75 Concealer

I love this brush because it serves many different purposes. It’s great to apply eye primer and cleaning up my winged liner. I also like to use this wet to apply glitters, loose shadow, or foiled eyeshadow (Makeup Geek).

Angled Liner Brush & Small Dense Brush

These two brushes aren’t available but I wanted to give them a shoutout. I received these brushes in an Ipsy bag yearrrrrrrs ago. It was when the My Glam bags had just started out around 2012. I like the liner brush because it is very thin. I love using this to apply liner with eyeshadow. The Sigma E06 looks like it would be great and it has pretty good reviews. The small dense brush is good to use to blend out the lower lash line. It’s also great to highlight the inner corner. The Morphe B16 looks very similar and it’s only $2!

I hope you’ve enjoyed. Thanks for reading!

XO, Diana

Favorite Face Brushes

Hello my beauties! Today I wanted to go over my favorite face brushes. These are all my go-to brushes I can’t live without.

Tarte Airbrush Finish Foundation Brush ($34)

This is the brush I recommend the most. This brush is perfect for everyday use or full coverage. I mainly use this brush for everyday light foundation application. It’s super soft yet very dense. I love how big it is so it makes the application process super fast and easy. I normally apply the foundation on my face first. I dab a little bit on my forehead, cheeks, chin, and nose. Then, I lightly buff the foundation in with brush using gentle circular motions. I don’t like to apply the foundation directly on the brush because I feel like it wastes too much product. This brush is on the pricier side, but it’s worth every penny in my opinion. Morphe brushes has a very similar brush. I haven’t tried their brushes so I can’t say anything as far as the quality goes, but if you are on a budget, you may wanna check it out.

Beauty Blender ($20)

This may not be brush but it is the best tool to achieve a flawless look. It blends foundation and concealer perfectly. The only downfall is how long it takes to blend in. Not ideal for on the go. To save time I blend the foundation with a brush first and then I go in with the sponge. I also have the Real Techniques version. I think it’s a great dupe.

Bobbi Full Coverage Face Brush ($44)

This is my go-to when I’m too lazy to use my beauty blender. This brush is perfect for traveling purposes because of the short handle. Its not as dense or big as the Tarte but it still applies a flawless application. This brush is great, but I’d recommend the two others above first.

Real Techniques Sculpting Brush ($10)

I think all Real Techniques brushes are amazing. They are super affordable! I’d say this one is my favorite. I use this brush to set my concealer. It works great with loose powder or the Kat Von D Shade & Light Palette (yellow shade). I press the powder under my eye with the brush. I do not blend or buff it, I just press it onto the skin. This is what gives the flawless application. You need this brush!

Real Techniques Contour Brush (set $18)

I use this brush to apply my concealer. Works great. It’s the perfect size to blend concealer. And because it’s tapered, it’s easy to get in the inner corner. I later go in with my beauty blender if I want more coverage. Be sure to wash these often. It tends to carry a lot of product so if you don’t wash it, it doesn’t blend as good. This brush is included in the Core Collection set. It’s a great set to start off with.

Real Techniques Setting Brush ($8)

This brush is great to set your concealer as well. I mainly use this for everyday purposes. I also like to use this brush to set my eye primer. Be sure to check out Ulta for these brushes. They often have them BOGO 50% off. Don’t forget the $3.50 off $10 coupon!

MUFE Large Powder Fan Brush ($48)

I’ve mentioned this brush a couple times now. I can’t say enough good things about it! It is PERFECT for contouring and applying bronzer. It’s even great to apply brush and highlight. Morphe brushes has various similar brushes as well. Check them out here. I’d say the Deluxe Fan or the the Jumbo Badger Fan are the closest. I know this one is pretty pricey.

If you haven’t checked out my post on my flawless foundation routine then check it out here. Stayed tuned for a post on my favorite eye brushes.

I hope this was helpful! Thanks for reading.

XO, Diana

Monthly Favorites- November 2015

Hello! It’s been a while since I’ve done a favorites post. I’ve come across a handful of holy grail products so I figured I’d show you.

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer

This product has been one of my favorites for a few years now. I stopped using it because I had been using the Urban Decay concealer. I made the switch to NARS again because my under eyes have been really dry. The NARS just works better with my dry skin. I like this concealer because it’s light enough to wear everyday, yet it also builds nicely for more coverage.

Erborian BB Creme

I always love to search for new products and read reviews online. I came across this product during the VIB sale at Sephora. It was sold out online, but I when I went to the store they actually had it in stock. A Sephora employee raved about it so I went ahead and made the purchase. This has been a part of my everyday routine ever since I bought it. It’s seriously AMAZING. It makes my skin super soft and flawless. I always get tons of compliments on my skin when I wear this. I’d definitely recommend getting a sample and trying it out.

MUFE 134 Large Powder Fan Brush

I mentioned this product in my last post, my flawless foundation routine. This brush is ideal for contouring/bronzing. Not only are you able to create the perfect line, but it you can also blend it out beautifully.

Diorshow Brow Styler Pencil

I had been using this in the universal shade but last month I purchased the universal shade dark brown. I prefer the dark brown a lot more, especially for the winter time. This is my favorite brow pencil!

Glamglow Flashmud Brightening Treatment

I like this mask because it’s a lot more gentle on my face than the other Glamglow masks. My face always feels super soft when use it. It also does a great job at removing the dry flakey skin around my nose.

Colourpop Ultra Matte Lips

I wanted to give these guys a quick little shout out, mainly the color More Better. It’s a beautiful deep berry. I wore this in my last post. So far I am loving these liquid lipsticks. I’ve also tried the color Beeper.

Favorite Lipsticks for Fall 2015

I recently posted my favorite affordable lipsticks for Fall/Winter. If you didn’t get a chance to read it, you can check it out here. Of course I had to give you guys some higher end options. This was honestly very tough for me. I didn’t realize how many dark vampy colors I had, but I think the lipsticks I chose are great/different options. I apologize in advance for the lighting. These Seattle clouds do not give any natural lighting.

Dose of Colors Truffle ($18)- I’ve already mentioned this lipstick on my blog a couple of times. It’s a great nude with a mauve-y tint. My favorite part about this lipstick is not needing a lip liner. You can check out my shade of the day post here.

Too Faced Melted Berry ($21)- This lipstick is a very pigmented berry fuchsia color. A little goes a long way with this lipstick. It does have somewhat of a glossy finish so I like to apply translucent powder over it. I purchased mine in a holiday set last year. Check out this year’s set at Sephora. You get four mini lipsticks (including berry) for $25. I honestly think Melted Berry is worth purchasing alone.

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Audrey ($32)- I LOVE this lipstick. It’s so different and it’s not a color people tend to go with. Which is why I love it so much. It’s described as a red currant. It’s basically a muted red with a little bit of brown. I really like the Audacious line because every color is extremely pigmented.

YSL Rouge Pur Couture The Mats Lipstick in 206 ($36)- I’m not that big of a fan of brown lipsticks but this one is doable. It’s a very pretty matte red brown. It’s very creamy and not drying at all. The formula is very similar to the NAR Audacious. It also has that wonderful YSL smell to it.

Kat Von D Liquid Lipstick in Noseferatu ($20)- I think everyone needs a medium-dark red lipstick and this is it! I have been loving this lipstick with the NARS Velvet Lip Liner in Lanikai.

NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Train Bleu ($26)- is a deep deep purple. Very similar to NYX Transylvania but this one is 10 times better. It’s a lot easier to apply and more pigmented. I also love the shade Damned. It’s more of a berry red.

I did not use a lip liner or primer for any of these. I wanted you guys to see the true color. I can’t believe I was able to narrow my choices down to 6. I know there are tons of options out there, so I hope these are different to what you have seen so far. For the lipsticks I didn’t include, I will be posting in future shade’s of the day.

Thanks for stopping by!

XO, Diana

Five Little Favorites

Welcome back! I wanted to show you guys a handful of things I have been loving lately. I’m thinking this will be a new series I am starting. I’m not sure how often I’ll post, could be weekly, biweekly, or monthly. I want it to include a variety of things like, clothing, makeup, accessories, or even food.

Just look at these! I mean… What’s not to love about these right? I ordered these Ray-Ban Aviators online at macys.com during their friends and family sale. I love mirrored sunglasses. They are so fun and festive, perfect for the summer time.

I am loving the Sephora Cream lip stain in Marvelous Mauve. I have been wearing this when I don’t feel like wearing a bright lipstick. These lipsticks are amazing for the price ($13). They are long lasting and feel very comfortable on the lips.

I purchased this Laura Mercier Baked Powder Highlight on a whim about a month ago. I don’t wear this everyday but I use when I want to feel a little more “awake.” It’s very subtle yet gives a beautiful glow.

Ok I have no idea what is going on with my hands but I MUST put lotion on as soon as I wash my hands. My hands have been super dry lately. I bought this from Bath & Body Works months ago but I have been using it all day everyday. I just noticed it says, “look ma, new hands.” HA! How cute is that?!

I have also been loving this Stila blush. It’s the Aqua Glow Watercolor Blush in the color Rosewater. I was very intrigued when I first read about this product. It’s a liquid/gel blush in a pot. I love it because it gives your cheeks a very healthy glow. It also feels very cool. I use the E.L.F. Small Stipple Brush ($3) to apply. I works great!

Taking a selfie was a struggle today! This is as good as it gets people. It is way too hot today! I am wearing the lipstick, blush, and highlight mentioned above.

Have a wonderful weekend my friends!

XO, Diana

April 2015 Favorites

It feels so good to be back in the blogging world! I am finally back from Cancun and getting back into the groove of things. I decided to show you some of my favorites from April. I have been using most of these products everyday especially while in Cancun!

Hourglass Ambient Bronzer in Radiant Bronze Light– I am a sucker for bronzers and this guy is one of my favorites! It’s the perfect bronze color and gives a beautiful glow. I also love it because it is very finely milled and super easy to blend.

Make Up For Ever Pro Sculpting Duo in 2 Golden-I have been using this only for the highlight. The bronzer is a little too orange for me. You can check out the swatch here. This product and the Hourglass bronzer are the perfect pair.

NARS Blush in Madly-I’m not that much of a blush person and I tend to go towards more neutral ones. This one is a neutral peachy pink.

Anastasia Brow Wiz in Medium Brown– I gave up on finding a cheaper alternative and decided to go back to the Brow Wiz. I used to purchase the Dark Brown but since I’m more into a natural brow, I purchased Medium Brown.

Dose of Colors Kiss of Fire– I mentioned this in my favorite lipsticks for spring post. You can check it out here. When I first purchased these lipsticks I wasn’t a very big fan, but that changed after a few uses.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream– I have calluses on my hands from weightlifting and this is the best lotion to moisturize my hands.

Stay tuned for my next post. It will include OOTD’s and MOTD’s from my trip in Cancun! All of these products will be included.

-Diana

Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin Liquid and Cream Duo $34

Dr. Jart+ Water Fuse Water-Max Sleeping Mask $48

Josie Maran Vibrancy Argan Oil Foundation $40

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer $23

The Balm Manizer Sisters $28

Eve Pearl Dual Salmon Concealer $43

Caudalie Grape Water $13

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Sigma E40 Tapered Blending

Real Techniques Setting

Sigma E35 Tapered Blending

Sigma E45 Small Tapered Blending

Sigma F75 Concealer

Angled Liner Brush & Small Dense Brush

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