Though I’m pretty much obsessed with cosmetics, I don’t actually own a ton of products. Since creating beauty content isn’t my job-job, I tend to only buy things that I know I’ll definitely use rather than purchasing for the purpose of reviewing what’s new and hot on the market. I also primarily go for drugstore picks over the higher-end things because there’s a ton of solid lower-budget stuff out there if you know where to look. However, I will invest if it’s a product that I’ve heard lots of good things about from my trusted sources and if I know I’ll use it every day. Here are the few products I’ve invested in this past month:
iPhone 5 photography…
MAC Pro Longwear Waterproof Brow Set – Brown Ebony
To be honest, I used to be pretty down on MAC products. I spent years judging the book by its cover (AKA their artists, ads, and posters) and wrote the whole brand off as “stage makeup.” However, after watching enough YouTube videos, I’ve decided that MAC isn’t so scary after all. Thanks to my favorite gurus, I now have a growing wishlist of products from this brand to try out.
Since my Benefit Gimme Brow finally dried up and became very sad, I decided that my first MAC investment would be this brow gel. I actually picked up a $1 clear brow gel from e.l.f. a few days before, but it was a gloopy mess. I like my brow gels tinted and applied with a tiny brush, and I wanted to try something a smidge cheaper than the Gimme Brow.
I’ve been using this for a few weeks now in conjunction with the NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in Dark Brown (Side note: I think my fave Maybelline brow pencil has been discontinued?! I can’t find it in any of the stores around me! *panics*). The gel definitely holds up to its waterproof name and keeps my brows nice and tamed. It’s a little trickier to apply than the Benefit stuff because the formula is a little more “wet” and requires a lighter hand, but overall I’m into it!
Bonus: Beautylish published a really interesting story on the history of MAC – Check it out!
TARTE Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Full Coverage Foundation – Medium Sand
Tarte had a fabulous sale a few weeks ago that I couldn’t help but take advantage of (shout-out to my coworker for Jen for bringing this to my attention!). I was already fully mentally prepared to buy this product at full price at Sephora, so this sale couldn’t have come at a better time! You all know that I’m a huge fan of the Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous foundation, so it was kind of a big deal for me to branch out.
Unfortunately, I played it a bit too safe with the shade selection and ended up with something that is more winter-Melissa and less summer-bronzed-goddess-Melissa. I tend to have the opposite problem and think that I’m more tan than I actually am, and Tarte actually does an excellent job of describing their shades and undertones. The shade mismatch is too distracting and I don’t want to change the consistency/performance by mixing in other products, so I’ll hold off on doing a full review on this for a few more months.
Sadness + #nomakeup #nofilter realness
BUMBLE & BUMBLE Prêt-à-Powder
Everyone vlogger and her mom talks about this stuff and I so wanted to love it. I recently went blonde (I swear, I will get a post about my hair up before 2015) and was in the market for a new dry shampoo. I’ve always used the aerosol kind, so this loose powder looked like a fun adventure. Unfortunately, this didn’t do enough for my short locks and I had to take it back to Sephora. I’m still searching for the perfect dry shampoo, and for now I’ve returned to the drugstore offerings. Le sigh.
Have you recently splurged on any beauty products? Was it worth it? Let me know and I’ll talk to you again soon!
style & something 