I haven't blogged much of May, and that's because I have been super busy. Super busy had lead to stressed, which apparently lead to my skin freaking out. I have had more acne this month than most of life combined (or so it feels), so I have not been wearing a ton of makeup and have been focusing on trying a ton of new acne products instead. So many actually, that instead of including any of them in this post, I am going to just do another whole post soon on my new favorite acne products. Since my skin has been freaking out, I have been trying to play up things like my nails, lips, or eyes in order to divert any attention from the skin on my chin and forehead. Here's what I've been using all month to do so.
I love Maybelline mascaras. Simple as that. They are not only the best drugstore mascaras, but they can stand up against some very high end mascaras that cost four times as much. I mentioned their The Falsies mascara in my
March Favorites, and a couple Maybelline mascaras were in my list of
My Favorite Mascaras, but holy cow you guys, this one is awesome! I might almost call it a drugstore dupe for the very popular and very loved
Benefit They're Real mascara. The wand does not have plastic bristles, but it is packed very dense, and makes your eyelashes equally as dense, with very few coats. The wand also bends at the end, and if you hold the wand vertically and just use the bent end to really get the ends of lashes and in the corners, you can quickly and easily pack on very dense volume without clumps, which is always my favorite. It does a nice job with lengthening too, which a lot of mascaras designed for volume don't.
I saw this on the Sephora website and got super excited because I love the
LipSurgence Skintuitive Lip Tint which "responds to your skin’s natural pH and energy, giving you a personalized tint that is truly your own unique shade of pink". I love the color the lip tint gives me, and I love seeing my very olive friend wear hers, because it truly does come out a
completely different shade on both of us. It develops into a soft, baby pink on me, and almost a bright-rose on her. Naturally I had to try the blush, which says it "reacts to your skin’s natural energy and pH to deliver a custom, natural-looking, pink shade flush", much like the lip tint. It comes out a pale, peachy-pink on me (on my finger in the swatch it barely shows up), but I love the shade it creates. It is soft enough that I can wear it with minimal makeup, but it gives enough color that I can really wear it with any look. I already own a few of the Tarte blushes, and know I love the formula, but I really did like the shade this left on me. I want to have my olive friend try it as well and see what shade it creates on her. If you've tried this or the lip tint, let me know how it comes out on you!
I raved about this in my
Best Styling Products for Naturally Curly Hair back in October, and it is still the holy grail. It is strong enough to beautifully define my curls with no frizz, but not so strong that it leaves my hair crunchy. It is the only product that is absolutely the best of both worlds. The perfect balance of definition and hold, without being crunchy. It also does an amazing job of maintaining my curls overnight when they are slept on, and I still have perfectly defined, frizz-free curls on day two (or three, or four).
Everyone has been raving about the Anasatsia liquid lipsticks for a while, and I have been trying not to buy more lip products until I use a few up, but this color was such a gorgeous berry, and unlike anything I own, that I had to try it. It comes out a gorgeous berry shade that is gorgeous for summer, and will definitely transition well into fall. The formula is nice and long lasting without being drying. I like this shade especially because it's unique, will wear well for multiple seasons, and will look good on a lot of skin tones.
I have been really liking this formula as the humidity is starting to set in. I really like brow waxes or pomades because they give you color and hold in one product, but a lot of them feel really heavy, or can move when it's warm or damp, but this one stays put. The mousse texture of it makes it feel a lot lighter than some other brow products which come in pots, jars, or pans, and the waterproof part of the formula definitely stays put. It seems like with brow products you often have to choose light feeling, or waterproof, you can't get both in one, but this one finally has both a lighter texture and staying power.
These polishes are so good, and I am obsessed with this color! I reviewed these Gel polishes in
my very first blog post, and I have built quite a collection since then. They are still amazing, and after trying other two-step non-UV gel polishes (several new ones have come out since I reviewed this even), these are still my favorite. I won't go into too much detail about why I love them so much (you can read that in depth in
my review) but they are so strong, last at least a week without a chip, dry quickly, are easy to apply and easy to remove. And can we talk about this color? Blue is my favorite color to begin with, but this is one of the best blues I've found. It's somehow neon and pastel at the same time, and somehow baby blue or kind of a purple-blue periwinkle at the same time depending on the light. In the sunlight in the photo at the top it looks like a bright baby blue, but sitting at my desk in the photo on the bottom, it looks like a pastel purple-blue, and both colors are gorgeous, and so much fun for the warmer weather.
What have you been loving this month?
I am always looking for the perfect brush to smudge out my lower lash line, and I have finally found it! A lot of pencil brushes, I think, kind of hurt when you're blending on that delicate undereye skin, but this is the absolute softest brush ever. It's rounded so it doesn't feel like it's stabbing you like some of the pointy pencil brushes do. I am obsessed with Morphe brushes, and I wrote about a lot of them in depth Here. I've also gotten several new ones since then, which I will be writing about very soon!
There is only one work for this primer: Gorgeous. It has a golden-pearl cast that makes your skin just glow. The sheen looks a little overwhelming at first, but when you put foundation over it, it tones it down slightly, and this absolutely beautiful glow is created. I like putting the sheen under foundation, which makes it more of a "lit from within" glow, and makes you look radiant. I know some people feel like putting a powder highlighter over their foundation looks too shiny or too fake, but still want to glow, and this is the PERFECT solution for that. 
