Makeup Tour & Favorite Products

Hi friends! I'm so excited to give you a tour of my makeup area/vanity/setup today. I really love sitting on my butt to do my makeup, so I don't for one minute regret purchasing this setup. I'll open up each drawer for you and then I'll share some of my can't-live-without products! And since this post has a gillion pictures, let's dive right in!

 The basic set up in all it's Ikea glory.

A peak into each drawer. I guess this would be a good place to say that if makeup doesn't really interest you that much, this can seem pretty excessive. Heck, it can seem excessive even if you do like makeup. But I consider this my hobby. Now, don't confuse me, I don't consider being vain my hobby, though I do enjoy wearing a full face of makeup, haha. But I love having the ability to create, and makeup provides that outlet for me. So, yeah, I have quite a bit of product, but I don't craft or have a craft area, so I consider this my "crafting".

 In the bottom drawer are my curling irons and one of my blow dryers (the other one is downstairs because I insist on taking over both bathrooms). When I actually have time to blow dry my hair I like this one from Revlon because I don't have to use a separate brush, If you frequently blow your hair out this dryer would be totally worth it. Next up is my hair product drawer...and, honestly my junk drawer. Because we all have to have one. Also, give me all the Not Your Mother's products!

 My lips & eyes drawer.

 Powder drawer: setting powder, bronzer, blush, and individual eye shadows.

And on the very top are my primers, foundations, concealers, and palettes (eye shadow and contour).

Let's get into my favorite products!

 Up top is Bronze Goddess by Estee Lauder. This scent is just summertime to me. It's coconut and vanilla-y and all things wonderful. It's one of those scents that I put on if I'm feeling down because it totally brightens my mood. I used to just have the body oil spray (on the right) and totally went through that so I splurged for the actual perfume recently. I wear it almost daily.

Under that is a perfume from Anthropology. It's a vanilla scent. I used to be able to wear whatever kind of perfume I wanted but as I've gotten older certain perfumes give me headaches and make me physically sick. I can't do anything from Bath & Body anymore (so sad). I love these perfumes because they're fresh and don't make me nauseous, so win-win, haha!

I remember the first time I smelled Moroccan Oil and how my life changed forever. It’s a scent I’ve seriously never smelled before, and it reminds me of nothing else. It’s just totally unique. But I want to drizzle it all over a big stack of pancakes, and I mean, what else could be better every time you get a whiff of your own hair?? Besides that, it has been a lifesaver for my hair. About once I week I’ll deep condition before I wash it and after every wash I’ll apply it to damp hair. It brings health back to my damaged hair. This texturzing spray is the best I’ve found. Though I’m still looking for a really great drugstore product, (because I’m cheap guys, and proud of it) this tiny bottle was about $11 bucks, so it was doable. I’ll buy anything from the Moroccan line simply for the smell, but it’s an awesome bonus that they actually do what they say as well!

Let’s move onto makeup products. These are the things that come with me whenever I travel. I’m still looking for a good Mary Poppin’s bag so I can just stuff in my whole vanity, but until then these are the products I can’t do without.

Primer: On the left is the Pixi primer. It’s luminous and lovely. I use it a bunch in the summertime, but sometimes I get crazy and mix some into my foundation as well as wearing it under my skin. And on days when I just want a little extra glow I mix some into some sunscreen. The Botanics product on the right is technically a moisturizer, which is probably why I hated it so much when I first bought it. It was way too tacky and sticky to be a moisturizer so I back-drawered it. But, on the hunt for a good primer a few months later I found it again and remembered its strange consistency, which is totally perfect for a primer. I tried it and sure enough my foundation stuck right to it. Now I use it on the daily. Even makeup deserves a second chance, guys.

L’oreal foundation can’t be beat at the drugstore. There’s not much to say here because these products actually do what they’re named for. The Pro-Matte is full-coverage and matte, and the Lumi gives your skin a healthy, medium coverage finish.

Mac Pro Longwear Concealer changed my makeup game. It was the first concealer to actually cover my dark circles, because of this, I will always be a big fan. This Maybelline concealer is actually a nice drugstore dupe to the Mac, but I love its yellow undertones for the summertime when I’m a little less pasty.

Can I be super honest? I think I could use just about any contour palette and get the results I want. There’s so many out there now-a-days that it’s really not a big deal which one you get. But I do love It Cosmetics and I love the tones in this palette, they’re the perfect mix between brown and gray tones.

Okay, but eye shadow palettes? That’s a different story. Ever since I bought this Tartelette palette I haven’t been interested in other eye shadow palettes, which is a big deal for me. I’ll look them over and swatch them, but I just don’t find myself getting invested because I know I have everything I need in my sweet, little Tartelette at home. (This applies to my husband as well, but I promise I don't swatch other men). I can do pretty much any eye shadow look with this palette and it’s very rare for me to pick up anything else.

I always set my under eye concealer because I definitely already have the fine lines from being a mom to two infants who at different times liked to stay up and cry all through the night so I cried all through the night too and those salty tears sunk deep into my skin and soul and made me old my sweet, sweet babies. Anyway. Best at the drugstore is this Fit Me powder in Translucent. It’s brightening and it doesn’t budge.

This Physicians Formula bronzer is amaze. I could tell you about how the color is just perfect and natural and how it beautifully glides on the skin, BUT all you need to know is it smells like coconut and all things tropical. I’m starting to sense a pattern here, someone could try to sell me the worst product ever, but if it smells like coconut I’m totally down.

I honestly bought this Lorac blush palette because it was on sale and was convenient to travel with. But these blushes are beautiful. I have to use a very light hand, but that’s good because it means these blushes will last forever.

I’m not really wearing mascara right now because I’ve been doing my own lash extensions *big high five*. But these have been my favorites for years. I’ve been using the Lash Blast since I first started doing my makeup. And it’s not because I haven’t tried to find something else, I have, I think I’ve tried almost every drugstore mascara and nothing else has stood the test of time. If your lashes grow straight out like mine to then curling them is essential. Lash Blast (waterproof) is the only one that doesn’t weigh my lashes right back down to their un-curled position. The Telescopic mascara is the best for the lower lashes, the brush is tiny and perfect.

I unintentionally collect eyelash curlers. I actually have 2 more throughout our house. What can I say that will make me sound less crazy? I don’t know, they just all curl so differently, and when you have wonky lashes like mine, you need all the help you can get.

I’ve heard a lot of people say they don’t like the smell of L’Oreal lipsticks, which surprises me because it’s never bothered me, and I of all people am usually bothered by scents. But these two shades are both the perfect pink and perfect nude for my skin tone. I have a ton of crazy Maybelline colors in my purse that I also love, but these L’Oreal shades are what I use on the daily.

Before you ask, no, I haven’t tried Lipsense. I hear it’s amazing and made from unicorn tears and fairy blood (was that too far?), but no, I haven’t tried it. No particular reason, other than my husband’s in school, we have 2 kids and my makeup budget is now the diaper budget. BUT I have been using liquid lipstick for a while now and have tried quite a few different formulas. These are my favorite. The Milani is amazing (and drugstore which makes it even more amazing) and I dream of owning every shade. And now that we’re potty training Everett, maybe I can with extra funds in the diaper budget *laugh cry*. Jeffree Star’s formula is also amazing, a little pricier, but definitely worth it.

I know, guys. I know you’re so done reading this. It’s been a journey, but rest assured, it’s almost over.

Brushes: I found these for a steal on Amazon. I ordered them twice and the first time I got amazing brushes! The second time, not as much. The bristles were falling out a bit and the handles would come off. But even so, I’m happy with them. However, I am pretty handy with super glue so if you’re not as talented you may want to reconsider. That was sarcasm. Listen, if you wanna test your luck and buy these brushes twice, it’s still cheaper than buying a more expensive set.

If you don’t want to roll the dice on some (sometimes) crappy brushes, then the Real Techniques brushes at Wal-Mart are a great alternative. They’re fantastic brushes for a very reasonable price.

I have a lot of eye shadow brushes. This is the best one I own though, and it was $1. ONE DOLLAR! Do yourself a favor and just get this elf shadow brush and spend the money you save on a cruise. Yeah, I swear all of those other brushes add up to a Disney cruise. Don’t tell my husband.

This brush. GUYS. THIS BRUSH! I cannot, cannot, CANNOT do my makeup without this brush. Because…this is the brush my son plays with while I put my makeup on. He gives it rave reviews. Too bad I can’t remember where I got it.

Can I just finish by saying you guys are the best? Seriously. Because this is the second time I’ve written this post (long, awful story) and while I love makeup, I don’t love it that much. But I love sharing with you guys. Especially you true friends who stuck with me to the end of this unnecessarily long post (I love rambling, it’s what I get out of bed for in the morning…that and my kids of course). So thank you. I hope this was at least a fun read and that you have a wonderful weekend!