My Winter Foundation Favorites

As a former South Florida resident I have ALWAYS struggled with oily skin. My skin is just used to the heat and humidity, and to be honest that is ok because I am accustomed to dealing with it and I know what works on my oily skin. Now that I don’t live in Florida anymore, I have to deal with drier cooler weather coupled with actually having to run the heat in our house my skin kind of freaks out in the winter. It is dry, tight, and a little hard to deal with. My normal foundation picks just don’t work when my skin is this way so I have to use different products in order for my makeup to look good and my skin to feel normal.
All of these foundations give at least medium coverage, apply well with a dense buffing brush or a beauty blender and give my face enough glow to knock the dull dryness down some but without making me look like a disco ball or a greasy mess. The foundations listed below are in no particular order.

-Guerlain Lingerie De Peau shade 13 Ambre Pale $63
This foundation gets awesome reviews online and it is easy to see why. It applies VERY easily and actually looks like skin when applied. I can apply 1 layer and then just go back into the places that I need a tad bit more coverage on and apply a second layer without any issues on those spots. Not all foundations layer well so that is a real bonus for me. I am the lightest shade (surprise surprise!) and it matches me pretty well.
-Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation shade 113 $62
This foundation is interesting. The color when you first apply it looks slightly gray but once it sits on your skin for a few minutes it becomes a perfect match (at least on me). It is the lightest coverage of all the ones I have in my winter rotation but it layers well and can be built up to a solid medium coverage. It looks amazing on the skin and wears well without breaking up around my nose which is my problem area for most foundations. There is NO way I could wear this when it is warmer outside but for right now it is working really well.
-Diorskin Star Foundation shade 010 $50
Dior as a brand makes some really great foundation formulas. Unfortunately, all of their foundations other than this one oxidizes TERRIBLY on me which sucks because I really do love many of their formulas. Star is a little tricky to apply and my best advice is to apply it quickly. I take about a pump and a half on my fingertips and spread it all over my face. I then quickly take a damp beauty blender and blend it out. It dries pretty quickly so just work kind of fast and it is fine. It is more of a demi matte foundation without making your skin look flat or super dry. It wears for a long time and I tend to grab this when I know I will have a long day or just need my makeup to look good for more than 5-6 hours. I prefer the beauty blender over a brush for this particular foundation but you can use a brush with it if you prefer.
-Rimmel Lasting Finish in Ivory $7.99
You cannot beat this foundation, especially for the price. It is so easy to apply, has great coverage and is so comfortable on the skin. This particular foundation can even be worn on my skin when it is hot outside and I am oily without breaking down quickly on my skin. I wish they would expand the shade range a little because most of the shades that they have are pink toned which doesn’t work for that many people. If you are looking for a good foundation that looks slightly glowy but not luminous on the skin I highly recommend you try this. At $7.99 it is worth picking up.

With all of these foundations I do set them as I don’t want them moving around but if you have super dry skin you could probably get away without setting them. I am always on the search for a foundation that looks amazing on the skin yet is long lasting. What are your favorite winter time foundations and are there any out there that you think I should try?

Favorite Highlighters...My Picks for Fair Skin

Am I the only one that feels like everyone and their brother has come out with a type of face highlighter this past year? As someone with fair skin I have had a hard time finding a highlighter that is light enough in its base shade to actually highlight that area and is lighter than my actual skin tone. I know I can’t be the only fair girl with this struggle right? Thankfully, I have quite a large highlighter collection and it does contain some that I just love and continue to reach for when I want that bright highlight. Here are my top 5 permanent products that I love and then a few limited edition ones that I reach for often too!

1. M-A-C Lightscapade MSF $32 (permanent)
I adore this cool toned highlighter! You can apply it with a light hand for a pretty subtle glow or really layer it for a more intense glow. There is no glitter or micro-shimmer in it so it applies really smooth and lays well on the skin. Even though this shade is really good for fair skin I think even up to a medium skin tone could wear this and really enjoy it. I bought it as part of a M-A-C collection so the print on the top is limited edition but the color itself is part of their permanent line.

2. Make Up For Ever Artist Shadow in I156 $21 (permanent)
My beautiful makeup loving friend Robin, raved about this shade for months before I picked it up and I am SO glad that I did. Don’t let the marketing of it as an eyeshadow throw you off because it is BEAUTIFUL on the skin. It is a light iridescent pearly shade with a hint of a pink reflective shimmer and when the light hits it just right and it makes for a stunning highlight for fair skin. Just like Lightscapade, this shade has no glitter or micro-shimmer in it so it applies very smooth and lays beautifully on the skin. This in no way is chalky or powdery.

3. IT Cosmetics Hello Light Anti-Aging Crème Illuminizer $24 (permanent)
I am not partial to my highlighter being in a cream formula or a powder formula. As long as it lays well on the skin, looks beautiful, and wears well it is fair game for me. Enter one of the best cream highlighters I have ever found! It is no secret that I have a love affair with many IT Cosmetics products and this is no exception. This champagne/slightly pinky cream applies effortlessly on the tops of your cheekbones giving the most radiant and natural glow you have ever seen. When I am feeling a little frisky I layer this under a powder highlight for a really in your face pop of glow! I shied away from cream products for a long time because of my oily skin but when a product is formulated correctly it can work even on me. I typically apply this with the pointed brush that I purchased with it or a damp sponge. I have ever layered this over my setting powder and it doesn’t disturb my foundation which is a totally plus. The key with any cream product like this one is to pat (or stipple) on and not buff. You will disturb the makeup you have under it if you try to buff it on.

4. Colourpop Stole the Show $8 (permanent)
Colourpop describes this product as: Light cool-toned gold with luminous flashes of pink, silver and gold. I would say that description is pretty accurate although the “flashes of pink, silver and gold” are VERY subtle. Don’t think of this as a duo chrome type of shade because I don’t think it is. It is however, a beautiful cool toned gold with beautiful shimmer that is creamy and super easy to apply. Much like the IT Cosmetics illuminizer I typically apply this with a pointed synthetic brush or a damp sponge. I have applied it with my fingers too and it seems to be fine that way too. I do end up having to set this with a tiny bit of translucent powder because it doesn’t set quite like the IT one does.

5. Makeup Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter in Golden Lights $6 (permanent)
This is a VERY strong highlight so be careful if you do decide to pick it up. It is a white gold that is striking when used with a fan brush. I have also used it in the inner corner of my eyes for my inner corner highlight and it was gorgeous used that way as well. The formula of these baked highlighters from Makeup Revolution remind me of the MAC Mineralized Skin Finishes. This color happens to be my favorite from the range and it is the lightest one so it is great on fair skin.

A few of my favorites were limited edition or now discontinued but I figure I would share them anyway just in case you have one of them and want some inspiration to pull it out of your collection to use.

1. Tom Ford Skin Illuminating Powder Duo in Moodlight $80 (Limited Edition)
It took me awhile to fall in love with this one. The trick to this one is the brush that you use to apply it. The top white gold shade is fairly sheer so you have to use a stiffer brush in order to pick up enough product or you can use a flat sponge which also works. The first couple of times I tried using it I used the Goss #2 brush but that brush is just too soft to pick up enough product. I prefer the Sigma F35 which is not near as soft as the Goss brush. The bottom pinky champagne shade is really beautiful as a blush topper for a matte blush or under a matte blush. On deeper skin tones that shade would be a wonderful cheek highlight but it is just too dark for me to use as a straight highlighter.

2. Chanel Camelia De Plumes Highlighting Powder $72 (Limited Edition)
This is my all-time favorite highlighter. It is so unique and absolutely stunning on fair skin. The coloring is a whitish silver with incredibly finely milled gold shimmer shot through it. I wish I would have gotten a backup of this when it was still available because I would love to use this more often, but my crazy paranoid self is scared of ever being without it so it only gets used on special occasions. I cannot even put into words how beautiful this one is but I hope the swatch translates well.

The highlight struggle is real for fair skin but I hope that I have given you some choices that you may be able to try if you have a hard time finding one that works on you as well.

October Favorites

I love going through my stash and putting together my monthly favorites, it is really interesting to me to see how much can change or stay the same month to month when it comes to my daily makeup routine and what I continue to reach for. Most of the month of October I tended to reach for tried and true favorites. I traveled to my sister’s wedding so I will put an annotation next to anything I actually used on her wedding day in case anyone is interested.

Here are my favorites for the month of October:
-IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Corrector Concentrate Cream
-Hourglass Immaculate Foundation and Estee Lauder Doublewear (I have been switching back and forth between the 2 but I wore Doublewear for my sister’s wedding)
-IT Cosmetics Hello Light Creme Illuminator topped with Becca Shimmering Perfector in Opal (I wore this combo to the wedding)
-Benefit Porefessional Primer (I wore this to the wedding)
-Laura Mercier Artist 2 Palette
-MAC Vanilla Pigment
-Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette (I wore Dim Light to the wedding, well I actually wear it everyday)
-Dior Addict Lipstick in New York and Tarte Glitzy LipSurgence (I wore both of these layered to the wedding)
-IT Cosmetics Your Brows But Better pencil
-MAC Tease your Taste blush (wore this to the wedding) and MAC Ripe for Love blush
-Bath and Body Works Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin body wash and lotion

I know that this is alot of stuff and if people want I can do a separate post on what I used on my face for my sister’s wedding and what I used for makeup products on her. She was a STUNNING bride! It was a great month with lots of awesome makeup favorites and I hope you will pick up a few of them to try to dig through your stash and start using them again if you have any of them. Here is to a great November!

My Top 10 makeup items of ALL TIME!

One of my friends recently asked me if I only had 10 makeup items left in my collection that would last me forever but would be the only items I was able to use what 10 items would I choose. I thought that was a great question but a REALLY hard one to answer! I thought about it for a little while and here is what I came up with: (Keep in mind I assuming this does not include skincare and brushes which I can do a top 5 for each category in a separate post later)

1. Foundation: Estee Lauder DoubleWear
This was probably the hardest item to choose because I haven't been using liquid foundation lately. I really love my bareMinerals ready foundation but it has SPF 20 in it and I would not want to have only 1 foundation that has SPF in it to choose from in case I was going out or doing my makeup for a special occasion where my picture would be taken and have horrible flashback. Doublewear can be sheered out with a little moisturizer and a beauty blender but can certainly be full coverage with your fingers or building it up with a brush. It looks amazing on

2. Concealer: M-A-C Prolongwear concealer in NW15
This concealer is perfect if I could only keep one. I can use it under my eyes or on blemishes and just like DoubleWear it does not contain SPF which is perfect for an event where your picture will be taken. Plus, like DoubleWear it stays put ALL DAY! Can't beat that!

3. Powder: NYX Stay Matte but Not Flat powder foundation in Creamy Natural
I love this powder over DoubleWear! It brings just enough dimension back into your face that sometimes DoubleWear can matte out. Just a really light dusting over your whole face and your face will look like you have perfect skin, even if you don't ;)

4. Bronzer: NYX Blush in Taupe
Yup, that's right I am picking a blush for my bronzer :) Taupe is the perfect contour color for us fair girls but in a pinch I could obviously use it as a blush too so it works double duty for me (Hey if I only had 10 things left I would need some double duty items!)

5. Blush: Mally 24/7 duo in Pink Nectar
This one was SO hard! Everyone knows if I had to pick my favorite category of makeup it would be blush hands down. I am known for going a little overboard at time but that doesn't bother me at all because I just love it. I have almost all of the Mally 24/7 blush duos but Pink Nectar is my favorite. It is the perfect pink for my skin tone and I could always use the NYX taupe in the fall/winter to layer with it to create more of a berry shade if I wanted. I HIGHLY recommend trying one of these blush duos if you haven't already tried them. One side has a little shimmer so I wouldn't even need an additional highlighter which is an additional bonus when thinking of how panicked I would be with only 10 items :)

6. Finishing Powder: IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Pores
This stuff is just amazing and like any other powder that I have tried. It really does help hide your pores and mattify the parts of your face you want to keep matte but still allows any shimmer from products you used underneath to show through. It is everything that a really good setting powder should be. If you haven't tried this you should order it from QVC and give it a try. If you have read my blog at all you know I am a HUGE It Cosmetics fan and this is one of their standout products in the line for sure.

7. Mascara: Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes
I love that this mascara does a great job of getting all the way to the roots of my lashes plus it volumizes and lengthens without smudging at all. Certainly a holy grail in my collection and a mascara I keep repurchasing over and over

8. Eyeshadow: Urban Decay Naked Palette
I think any makeup junkie would pick this one to keep. I have the original style that came with the double ended liner (which is a plus in this case since it is included!) and I can't think of another palette with strictly eyeshadows that has the variety of amazing neutrals that this one has. The Mally In th Buff 2 palette certainly gives this a run for its money but it lacks the liner and a matte black shadow which is what pushed me over to pick this one. Plus I just love Virgin, Sin, Buck, Naked and Toasted eyeshadows. I could very easily live out of this palette forever and achieve a variety of looks. Not that I would ever want to of course :)

9. Eye Primer: Nars pro prime smudge proof eye shadow primer
I use a lot of different primers but if I only had to pick one it would be this one. It isn't shimmery and just leaves a really great base for your shadow helping ir go on more vibrantly and prevent creasing.

10. Brows: Tarte Brow Architect
This actually isn't my favorite brow pencil but the benefit to this product is that it has a spoolie on one end and the color portion on the other. In the middle it actually screws apart and has a concealer that you can use right under your brows to add a matte highlight to your brow bone or in the inner corner of your eye to brighten things up. The concealer portion is what really made me think to choose this because again I would need all the help in terms of choosing products that are multipurpose.

I think that about wraps it up! The only 2 products that I didn't feel like were truly makeup products but I would have wanted to include would be Urban Decay deslick and the Korres vitamin E silicone free face primer. I use those 2 things literally every single day. What 10 products would be in your makeup bag if you had to only pick 10? Here are links to check out all the products mentioned above in case you want to pick any of them up to try!

My June Favorites

It was really tough this month to pick my favorite things. Quite frankly it seems like I have had the same favorites for months and months now but I guess that is a good thing. At least I have been really happy with the things I have in my makeup bag this month :) Here are my top favorites for makeup, hair and body products for the month of June:

1. This one is no surprise but I have been loving the bareMinerals Ready foundation for all over my face. I also have been dusting the outside portion of my cheeks with the IT Cosmetics celebration foundation since it is a little more hydrating. I can get a little dry on the outer edge of my face so this combination has been working PERFECTLY!

2. Maybelline The Rocket waterproof mascara- I typically am not a fan of really big wands for mascara but this mascara coupled with the IT Cosmetics tighlining primer that I am also crazy about is amazing for the hot humid weather we have been experiencing in lower Alabama lately. It makes my lashes look plump, longer and REALLY black without a bit of flaking, smudging or fading throughout the day.

3. MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study has been a staple in my makeup bag this month. It is easy and beautiful while lasting all day. It doesn't get any better than that!

4. I don't think I have used a lipstick all month which is absolutely shocking! I have been using and loving glosses and lip balms in particular any of the Mally glosses and the Nivea mint flavored lip balm. If you haven't ever tried one of Mally's famous glosses go get one now! I will assume that you have been living under a rock and will give you a hall pass on it but seriously GO GET ONE! They will change your makeup life (not kidding!) They truly are the best line of glosses out there in my opinion because of the shade choices, how amazing they look on your lips and the delicious smell. (Last week Mally announced you can now buy some of her products at Ulta! So get to shopping so you don't have to pay that ridiculous QVC shipping rate)

5. Yet another Mally love has been the In the Buff Vol. 2 palette. This has not aired yet on QVC but if you are looking to score it early like I did (and on 3 easy payments!) the item number is A238300. It really is an amazing value for the palette alone but you also get 3 liners, a double ended brush, a sharpener, an under eye brightener plus the Mally Volumizing mascara that is one of my holy grails. If you haven't wanted to spend the $50 on the Urban Decay Naked palette this is a great alternative because of all the extras you get with it.

6. Bare Minerals plush peach blush. Amazing, enough said!

7. It's a 10 Miracle Leave In for blondes is an absolute must have for you other blonde girls out there. I have been using this for a long time and it makes my hair so soft it is worth every single penny. Don't put too much in though or it will weigh your hair down a little.

8. T3 Featherweight blow dryer- I never though expensive blow dryers were worth it but when I bought this from one of my amazing beauty sisters (Thanks Ashley!!) at a great price I haven't really minded blow drying my super thick unruly hair anymore. It literally used to take me about an hour to blow dry my hair and now I am right around 20 minutes from start to finish using this dryer. An added bonus is that it does seem to control the frizz too which is always a good thing!

June was all about getting ready fast but picking products that would stay all day without needing to touch up and that I didn't have to think about a whole lot when applying. What products did you love this month and did you have a "get ready fast" month like me?

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August favorites!

I don't know about you all but holy cow August just seemed to fly by! It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating the 4th of July. It is time though to show you all of the things I LOVED this month, some of the things even surprised me!

1. Suave keratin heat defense leave in conditioner (I'm actually loving all of the items in the keratin line but its been along time since I've found a leave in that I really love)
2. Organix Moroccan Argan oil body lotion- I got this on a buy one get one free sale at Walgreens and had 2 $2 off coupons so I almost paid nothing for it and it has been amazing! I will certainly repurchase this when I am out. It is hydrating but not so thick where you feel like you stick to everything.
3. Rusk thermal shine spray- I have been just scrunching my hair alot this month because it is so hot out I hate to turn the blow dryer on and this shine spray has really helped my hair even with products in it look shiny and healthy. LOVE
4. Boscia makeup breakup cool cleansing oil- I cannot say enough good things about this product. It is SO easy to use, glides on so smooth and rinses off really easily. Best of all it hasn't made my oily skin break out (always a huge plus for me!)
5. I hate mentioning limited edition products but these you might still able to find at your local MAC counter or online so I certainly wanted to let you know about them. the Hidden Treasure and Supercontinental blushes from the latest MAC collection are awesome. They are no super frosty or dry like some other MAC blushes and just look gorgeous when applied. RUN out and get these if you can still find them- they have become my favorite MAC blushes!
6. Chanel Mat Lumiere foundation- I forgot how good this foundation really is for oily skin. I applied this at noon drove over to Tampa for a rally and at 3 am before we decided to get in the hot tub my face still looked flawless, this paired with my next favorite is a match made in an oily skinned girls heaven!
7. It Cosmetics celebration powder foundation- This is what every powder foundation loose or pressed should be! Yup I actually just said that :) It gives the perfect amount of coverage without having a bit of shimmer or sheen to it. So great in the summer for oily skinned girls. I will certainly still use the Laura Mercier loose minerals in the winter but I adore this for not having the sheen that the LM minerals have when its 100 degrees outside and like 60% humidity!
8. Garnier Dark circle correcting tinted rollerball- Great product to just throw on at night or when you want to run up to the store but don't want "real" makeup on. Its super cheap too!
9. Lipgloss! Summer is all about lipgloss for me. I don't want to mess with lipstick and the last thing I want to have to worry about it a lipstick melting in my car or purse. My staples this month have been Mally's lipgloss in Mallys baby and NYX in sugar pie. 2 gorgeous colors!
Well that's it! There are a few products that I got last weekend that I'm loving but I didn't want to include them in this month favorites since I've only had them a few days. I'm sure they will be making an appearance next month.