May 2013 Favorites

I feel like it's been forever since I've done a favorites post! May felt like it just went on forever but it was a particularly good month so I don't mind! I'm a little late with these so let's just dive right it.
L'Oreal Total Repair 5 Damage Erasing Balm - I had gone a little while without a deep conditioner and desperately needed one so I picked this one up on a whim. It smells like a salon product and makes my hair feel as fresh and nice as it is after I get it cut. It doesn't weigh my hair down and actually gives it some bounce and smoothness. I use it once a week or so.
Philosophy the Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash - I walked into Ulta looking for a new toner and the salesgirl somehow sold me on this. I've been using it every other day, at night. It's a very gentle physical exfoliater but it's really effective too. My skin has been much smoother since I started using this. This big bottle was pricer than I prefer for cleansers but you only need a small amount to cover your face.
Wet N Wild Fergie Take on the Day Eyeshadow Primer - I've been wanting to try this for a while because one my favorite youtubers, allinicoleee, uses it a lot. It's more of a liquid consistency but it does the job very well. If you are looking for a drugstore eye primer, this is it!

Benefit Hoola - I'm not much of a bronzer person but if I could have only one, Hoola would be it. I'm super timid of bronzer because I'm so so fair but Hoola is so fool proof. I have a back up of the sample size like this one but if I ever run out, I'll be getting a full size immediately.

Rimmel Kate Moss Lipsticks in 104 and 17 - These are a new purchase for me as well and I'm completely obsessed with them. The formula is perfectly smooth and fantastically pigmented. The colors are perfect for me and look absolutely gorgeous on. If you know of any shades from these lines that I might like, let me know!
So that's it for my May favorites! What were your favorites this month?

Project Pan May Update

Another month has gone by and for the second month in a row, I haven't hit pan or used anything up. And just like last time, I'm ok with this. I made serious progress, I'll have at least one, if not two, things to show you next time. I also really tried to work on some deluxe sized samples and samples that had been made for me from various visits to the MAC counter. Plus I worked on my Samples Stash Challenge. So while I don't have anything to show, I did actually feel like I made progress this month! Knowing that I will probably use up one product within the next week or so, I'm going to add a sixth product to my project.

Rimmel's Lasting Finish Foundation! This is actually a nice foundation but it's a touch dark for me so it's definitely a summer color. It's also supposed to be sweat, heat and humidity proof. I do actually like it but it's been hanging around my collection for far too long and this is the perfect time to use it all up.
If you are doing a project pan, leave your link in the comments!

Four or More

I saw this just a couple times on youtube but I really liked the concept so I figured I'd blog it! The idea is simple, show all the products you own four or more of.

If I haven't said it enough before, I love the NYX Mega Shine Lip Glosses. They are a perfect gloss formula and really inexpensive. The shades I have are La La, Beige, Crystal Soda and Tea Rose.

I also have four NYX Lipliner Pencils. The formula is ok. I got four because they were on sale and I didn't have any other lip liners. If you want some, this range is a great place to start because there are a lot of colors, they are pretty good quality and inexpensive. The shades I have are Rose, Peekaboo Neutral, Bloom and Hot Red

I have six of the Revlon Colorburst Lip Butters! I've heard them described as the lipstick girl's alternative to lipstick and I think that's pretty accurate. They feel buttery and smooth on the lips and are not high maintenance like lipsticks tend to be. I have six shades, Pink Truffle, Candy Apple, Brown Sugar, Berry Smoothie, Raspberry Pie, and Sweet Tart.

Four ELF Essential Lipsticks! This is a great pick for those who don't know what works for them yet. The selection of colors isn't the biggest out there but at $1 it's a great jumping off point. I have Classy, Sociable, Flirtatious and Fearless.

Seven MAC shadows! MAC's eyeshadows definitely deserve at least most of the hype. The line is HUGE and while they are on the more expensive side, they are generally very good quality. I have Shroom, All That Glitters, Mulch, Motif, Jest, Woodwinked, and Copperplate.

Finally, I have the entire line or Rimmel Glam'Eyes HD eyeshadow palettes. I did win the full set in a giveaway. They are nice shadows but in poorly thought out packaging. Still, I would highly recommend them!

And that's it! I did leave out my ELF Hypershine lipglosses because I figured I bought them in a set so they don't really count. It was surprising how many products I had three of. If this had been called Three or More, this post would have been twice as long. Overall, I find that I do like to experiment with different formulas and brands so if I do collect four or more of a product, I have to really like it. If you are interested, go ahead and do this tag and post a link in the comments so I can read it!

I ♥ Drugstore!

I've been loving these videos on youtube lately so I'd give it a shot!

1. What is your favorite drugstore makeup brand?
I guess it's ELF because I own more ELF than any other brand. I've tried a pretty wide range of their products and there are so many things I love from them. Favorites are the studio blushes, essential lipsticks, studio high definition powder and makeup mist and set.

2. What are your favorite face, cheek and lip products?

Face- L'Oreal Lumi Foundation and ELF HD Powder
Cheek- ELF Studio Blushes
Lip- NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss

3. Least favorite product?
Rimmel pro primer. It just felt heavy on my face and broke me out (probably because my face was sweating from how heavy it feels). To add insult to injury, it didn't really do anything to improve how my makeup went on or it's staying power.

4. What is the best makeup bargain?
Probably the Wet N Wild Color Icon Eyeshadows. So inexpensive but the quality and pigmentation is on par with MAC and Urban Decay!

5. What is your favorite underdog product? (Something you love that often gets overlooked?)
The ELF essentials lipsticks. They're only $1, really creamy and pretty basic colors. For a beginner, it would be great to pick these up, even if all you want is some lippies to play with and experiment with what colors look best on you. Just a heads up, the packaging is definitely $1 and they are so soft they can be prone to breaking. This doesn't bother me as I don't carry lipsticks with me and I don't mind repairing a lippie.

 

6. A drugstore product that is overpriced?
Physician's Formula. I only own one Physician's Formula product, I won it from their FB page and I'm meh on it. My roommate at college only used PF products and she looked like a hot mess at the end of the day. I'm sure they have some quality products but at that price, I'm going to upgrade to higher end brands with prettier packaging and fewer added fragrances.

7. Show your best drugstore dupe(s)!!
I'm not sure if these are exact dupes because I've never bothered to check. I've heard WnW Walking on Eggshells is similar to MAC Shroom, Mulch, and All That Glitters. I'm not big on makeup dupes, I really only care about nail polish dupes.

8. Drugstore product that isn't worth the hype?
EOS lipbalms. I've spoken about these before. They are so waxy. Everyone loves the cute packaging but it is pretty impractical, at least for me.

It was very fun to try to come up with these answers! I tag Sam to try it! I'm definitely going to look for other tags that might be fun to try blogging!