March Beauty Favorites

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Those of you following me on Twitter/Instagram know that I am on the brink of moving house. In fact, I am moving this coming Friday! Because of that, almost all of my stuff is packed already. Including my makeup. I’ve been living out of my makeup bag recently.

First, what bag do I use? It’s the super awesome set bag by The Kim Greene Line. The 2nd edition Essential Bag, in pink. It holds a TON of stuff. This bag is my life right now. :) It holds more than the items I’ve been using/am blogging about this month, believe it or not! Sometime I’ll do a “what’s in my makeup bag” post, but these are the creme de la creme. ;)

Complexion

My usual foundation if I am going to wear any is Urban Decay Naked Skin. This stuff is so flawless. I love it. It actually comes light enough for my pale ass self (I wear shade .5!), and it feels weightless once it’s on. My bottle is almost empty, and I’ve already made sure I have a second one to start using as soon as I unpack it. It’s a little on the pricey side, but one bottle will last quite a while since a little goes a long way! ($39, Sephora)

Along with the UD foundation I have been wearing Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Skin concealer in shade Y0. It’s perfect for spots as it blends naturally and wears like iron. Win! ($20, Sephora)

Cheeks

This month’s cheek looks can pretty much always be attributed to The Makeup Show LA and NARS. Both of my favorites are NARS products and I got both of them at The Makeup Show. I’ve been using the new Contour Blush in Paloma ($42, NARS), the lightest shade for contour & highlight. For a color, I am in love with the new blush shade “Love” ($30, NARS). It’s like a non-shimmery Deep Throat. Let’s be honest though, I’ve never met a NARS blush I didn’t like. As per usual, the gals at the NARS booth at TMSLA were very supportive of my crazy NARS addiction very helpful in helping me make my purchases.

Eyes

Since I still get up at the crack of dawn (just a few more days of that! yay!), my eye makeup has been pretty simple. I like the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette because it’s completely idiot-proof, no-brainer eye makeup. I go over the lid with Naked 2, the crease and/or outer V with Faint, and highlight with Walk of Shame. Boom. Done. Sometimes if I wanna get fancy I will do the crease with Faint and the outer V with a mix of Faint and Creep (mostly Faint, little tiny bit of Creep). I can line my eyes with Creep or Faint, so then all I have to do is add mascara and I have a complete eye look with one little palette. Seriously, it might be basics, but they’re AWESOME basics. ($28, Sephora)

I’ve also been sort of addicted to the Make Up For Ever Aqua Color  in 20E. It’s a pinky taupey basic BROWNISH shade with shine/shimmer finish. It’s one of those shades you can just pop over the lid, blend out, and be DONE with it if you want to. And I have, many times. Or other times I’ve incorporated it into a Naked Basics look to add a little ‘oomf’ to the mattes in that palette. ($20, Sephora)

You all know from my review that I am madly in love with the Kevyn Aucoin lash curler. I’ve been using it every day. Want more info? Read my review. ;) ($21, Nordstrom)

Also getting lots of love and previously reviewed? Maybelline The Rocket mascara. LOVE LOVE. Still love. I haven’t loved a mascara this much since I tried that ungodly-expensive Hourglass Film Noir. And Maybelline is MUCH friendlier on the wallet! Check out my review. ($6.99 at Drugstore.com)

Also at The Makeup Show LA, I picked up another Senna Sketch-a-Brow. Brows you can literally throw on in 5 seconds? Yes please. This time I’m actually wearing the shade “Blonde”, which is not too light. It’s just more ashy than the Brunette shade. I’m always really impressed with how these pencils wear, too. They wear like iron! A very important quality in an eyebrow pencil, I say.

Lips

I have been living in 3 shades of Revlon ColorBurst Balm Stain virtually non-stop all month. They’re really hydrating, and the color does leave a light stain. Moreso for the brighter colors, but even for the lighter more neutral colors too. The three I’ve had in rotation are Sweetheart, Honey, and Precious. Sweetheart is a bright bright pink. This one is the most staining of the three. Honey is a rosy pink. Precious is a pinkish beige nude. ($7-$9 depending on the drugstore you go to, $8.99 at Drugstore.com)

So those are my favorites… what are yours?

Kevyn Aucoin The Eyelash Curler

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This isn’t a new product by ANY means, but it is new to me. I’d heard amazing things about the Kevyn Aucoin The Eyelash Curler, but since I own several curlers I could never really be bothered to buy one, yanno? But recently their PR reached out to me and since it was on my “To-Try” list, I was REALLY excited to receive this in the mail!

Until receiving KA’s curler, I’ve been using the Extra Wide (34mm) curler by Koji. I picked it up in a local Korean grocery store for around $7. The extra wide curve appealed to me. It definitely fits my eye “pretty well”, but not perfect. I still occasionally pinched myself, and if you’ve ever done that with a curler you know– that shit HURTS. I also have one by ELF, and the cult-status curler by Shu Uemura. All of them were the same in that they fit my eye “pretty well”.

ka curler

Kevyn Aucoin’s lash curler fits my eye “really well”. It’s a pretty wide curve, but slightly less flat than the Koji. I really like this curler. It does a great job of curling the lashes, and the red pad makes it a lot easier to see your lashes while you’re curling. You can make sure you’re getting every lash.

Kevyn Aucoin The Eyelash Curler is available for $21.00 from Nordstrom, and other stores where Kevyn Aucoin is sold. Check back soon for comparisons with other curlers!

Coming Soon: Lancome Curler Chronicles

Because I’ve been loving me some Lancome lately, I wanted to share this cute little video they put together. It’s a teaser/trailer for a series of lash curling videos called The Curler Chronicles. So cute, right? Here’s the video…

Lancome also invites you to share your lash tips and tricks on their Facebook page. What are your lash-related secrets? Mine are…

– Comb your lashes before and after applying mascara to avoid clumps and tangles.
– Clean your lash comb with dental floss soaked in makeup remover.
– Always curl your lashes twice. (It just works better for me!)