Brand Insight: Take Two! Lip Gloss

Brand Insight: Take two! Lip Gloss

 

 

Drugstore Lip Gloss:

NYX Butter Gloss:

The formula of these lip butters is amazing!! The gloss goes on to the lips like butter and they even smell sugary sweet, like vanilla! The gloss is well pigmented with just the right amount of shine. It also doesn't feel sticky on the lips at all. The butter gloss line involves 22 shades, and they just recently added three new shades to the collection! The wear time isn't as long as some brands, but you can easily apply another layer of gloss to your lips to get the pigmentation back to where it was when you first applied it. Some of my favorite colors in the line are crème brulee (nude-pink), strawberry parfait (fuchsia pink), tiramisu (brown-mauve), maple blondie (deep peach tone), and one of the newer colors, angel food cake (deep mauve). You can purchase these lip butters from Ulta or online at NYX Cosmetics (www.nyxcosmetics.com). At $5.00 these butter glosses are never a miss!

 

High-end Lip Gloss: (2)

Buxom Lip Polish and Lip Creams:

Whenever I want a sheer gloss to go over any lipstick I am wearing, these are my go-to glosses. They go on extremely smooth on the lips and don't settle into fine lines. The lip polishes are sheer and shimmery (some more shimmery then others) and are the perfect amount of shine to make your lips really pop! The three colors I own and love from this collection are Dolly (mauve-plum), Katie (light bubblegum-pink), and Amber (peachy-pink). The lip creams in contrast, have no shimmer at all. The formula is very creamy and pigmented. The color I have in this collection is White Russian, which is the perfect nude color with just the right amount of pink in it. Overall, both these collections are amazing and I would love to own every shade, because they are just that good! They are said to have a plumping effect and the shine in the gloss truly does highlight the lips and make them appear to be larger. The glosses smell like vanilla in the tube, but when applied smell like mint. You can purchase these glosses at Sephora or (www.bareescentuals.com) for $19.

 

 Dose of Colors Lip Gloss:

These lip glosses are extremely opaque, dramatic, and incredibly pigmented!!! They have a luscious mousse-like texture to them. I find that they are best applied under a lipstick, but they can be worn alone as well. My favorite shade is Sunshine Kisses (a warm orange shade that looks amazing when layered over a nude lip gloss). Some of my other favorite colors are Wild Child (a bright fuchsia pink color) and Burning Love (a dramatic red color that is perfect for an evening out). These colors add the perfect amount of drama to a makeup look, whether paired with a neutral eye or a dramatic smoky look. I can't stress enough how opaque and pigmented these glosses are! You can purchase a gloss for $15 or you can purchase the lip gloss bundle, which includes all nine shades for $115 online at Dose of Colors (www.doseofcolors.com) . (This would make an incredible birthday gift!)

 

Brand Insight: Take one! Concealer

 

I have decided to start a new series called Brand Insight! In this series I will feature the top high-end and drugstore products for a certain domain of makeup. This will feature tried and tested makeup findings for you to explore and enjoy! First up: Concealer!

 

Drugstore Concealer:

 

1) Maybelline Fit Me Concealer:

 

 

This is an amazing concealer that I have been using for about 3 years now! A lot of drugstore concealers tend to be waxy to the point that blending is a nightmare!! This concealer however, is so creamy!  It blends into the skin flawlessly and doesn't look cakey at all! It works perfectly to high dark circles under the eyes as well as redness or hyperpigmentation and acne scars on the face. I've found that the best way to apply this concealer is to pat it in using your ring finger rather than using a brush. The concealer comes in 6 shades and can be found at Target, Wal-Mart or your local drugstore for  as cheap as $4!

 

 

 

 

 

 

High-End Concealer:

 

2) NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer:

 

 

This concealer is hands-down one of the best high-end concealer I have ever used. The formula is light-weight but buildable, and conceals like a dream. It is also very hydrating to this skin and gives a luminous, radiant finish as the name suggests. It is perfect to use not only to conceal imperfections but also as a cream highlighter as it has great pigmentation! Also, the line has a great color range from fair-tones to darker-tones as well as shades with pinker undertones and yellow undertones. This concealer can be found on the Nars Cosmetics website (www.narscosmetics.com) for $28. It may seem a bit pricey, but it is completely worth it as the concealer is completely crease-proof.

 

 

 





 



Essential Brushes!

While people often avoid splurging on makeup brushes, they are key to keeping any look polished and airbrushed! Here are the essential brushes that everyone should have in their makeup bag! Personally, I think Sigma brushes are the best in the business as they are relatively cheap yet high-quality brushes! You can purchase these brushes at sigmabeauty.com

 
Foundation Brush: ( F 60)  ($16.00) This brush is usually used to apply liquid, cream or mousse foundations on the face. However, it can also be used to apply cream blush as well as to apply concealer in areas needed. The best way to use this brush is to pat in the foundation (rather than to brush or smear the product on the face) in order to get the best coverage, as we all want that highly coveted air-brushed look!

Kabuki Brush: (F 80 or F 82) ($18.00) This brush is so convenient to have in your makeup bag as it easily replaces multiple brushes! It can be used to apply powder foundation, blush, and mineral powder or setting powder. Once again, the best way to use this brush is to pat on the powder in areas needed rather than to brush on or smear the product on the face as this often strips away product.

Eye Shading Brush: (E 55) ($10.00) This brush is ESSENTIAL to apply eye shadow on the lid. The dense bristles on the brush minimize fall-out when applying eye shadow and allows you to pack on product in order to get the best application. Additionally, you can apply eye shadow wet or dry with this brush.

Blending Brush: (E 40) ($12.00) This brush is useful to apply eye shadow into the crease as well as to blend out any harsh lines in order to get a flawless, seamless look. It is also key to any smokey eye! This brush honestly just makes any complex eye tutorial alot easier to achieve.

In my opinion these brushes are essential for anyone when applying makeup. However, you can definitely expand your brush collection after that. The cool thing about Sigma is that they have brush kits starting at $65.00 where you can get 7 brushes!!! Thus the collection kits are great for those who are trying to expand their brush collection in a less expensive manner.

 



 



Current Obsession (Lorac Pro Palette)

I decided I wanted a new eye shadow palette for my birthday this year, so I researched this palette and other palettes before deciding which one to buy. I decided to go with the Lorac Pro Palette and this palette was definitely worth buying!!! I love the fact that there are eight matte colors as well as eight shimmer colors. As there is 0.32 oz of each shadow, at $42 you're definitely getting your money's worth.

Additionally, the range of colors ensures that the palette works incredibly for any skin tone. For example, people with darker skin tones can use the lighter eye shadows (white and cream in the matte shades, nude and champagne in the shimmer shades) as a brow highlight and to highlight the inner corner of the eye.

The palette has many warm-toned eye shadows as well as cool-toned eye shadows allowing you to create many beautiful looks. You can build up the intensity of your eye look, which allows for versatile usage and application as the palette can be used for any look whether its dramatic or subtle! Also, the palette includes a sample of 0.17 oz of the Lorac Mini Behind the Scenes Eye Shadow Primer. The mini primer that is included with the palette ensures that the eye look that you have created will last for hours with no creasing!

The packaging of the palette is comparable to that of the packaging of Nars products. The palette is very sleek and travel-friendly and even includes a large mirror as well.

Honestly, what sold it for me was the incredible pigmentation of the matte eye shadows. It can be very hard to find palettes that have such a large range of high- quality matte colors at such a reasonable price.

So if your looking for a new eye shadow palette, I highly recommend the Lorac Pro Palette to everyone! It retails for $42 and can be found on the Lorac website, Sephora website, and Ulta website. Let me know what you think :)