What's in my Travel Makeup Bag?

I finally managed to get some time off to visit my family back home in Texas, so I figured I could do a quick post on the makeup I took with me. The lip and cheek products are some of my faves for the summertime, so hopefully they will be interesting if you are looking for any new summer products :)

The makeup bag I took with me was my neon pink Ted Baker bag. I LOVE the color. I also unfortunately love every other color that this bag comes in…and it was a serious dilemma picking this one out since the neon yellow and mint were serious contenders as well. The material of this bag allows for easy clean up with a makeup wipe or paper towel and it’s quite roomy.



During the summertime I like to use a light weight foundation and supplement with fuller coverage concealers for any blemishes. I really like that the Laura Mercier concealers are thick and peach/orange toned since they last through just about anything. I recently re-discovered my MUFE HD powder and am kicking myself for ever having put it in the back of my drawer.



Ah the cheek products. You’ll notice that I really like peach/orange/bronze products for the cheeks and lips in the summer! I like to layer a cream blush with a powder blush for added staying power and the MAC MSF in Cheeky Bronze is basically my new holy grail summer item. I highly recommend checking it out if you have a medium/tan complexion for use as a blush topper or highlighter. If you have fair skin, I bet it would be a fantastic bronze goddess all over bronzer :)







For the lips I brought a few bold options and a more neutral one. Again, I love peach/orange so Maybelline Vibrant Mandarin and MAC Ravishing were a no brainer. For an alternative bright I packed MAC Girl About Town and to tone down any of the colors I added my MAC Cremesheen Glass in Kiss Don’t Tell (sadly LE but one of my ultimate fav lip glosses). I added the MUFE Aqua Lip Liners because I find they last really well through meals, and a trip home always means lots of eating.





I packed pretty basic for my eyes and eyebrows. The Smashbox eye primer is my new holy grail primer (previously NARS, but this one is just as good and cheaper) and a must have for the summertime.



Last but not least, I included two palettes by LORAC. I love how compact the packaging is and am pretty much obsessed with all the colors inside. The texture of the powders are so buttery smooth and pigmented, and there’s plenty of neutrals along with a few pops of color. I pretty much planned to keep my eyelids neutral and play up the color on my cheeks and lips.





That wraps up what I packed for my trip!

Empties: November 2013

I've managed to accumulate a good number of empties (used up products) so I figured I would share my thoughts before I send them to their respective recycling, trash and Back to MAC futures.

Let's start off with skincare items:

I used up a travel size bottle of the Bioderma (though I have used up a large size before as well) and a Kiehl's creamy eye treatment with avocado. The verdict on both of these is that I won't be repurchasing them. Say what?! How can I not want to repurchase a cult favorite like Bioderma? The problem is that while I find it removes my face makeup extremely well, it irritates my eyes like CRAZY if I try to use it to remove my mascara and eyeliner. I've given this a truly thorough test because I suffered the same experience all the way through my large size and travel size. As for the Kiehl's eye treatment, there's nothing wrong with it, but I also don't feel like it did anything special. I don't think it particularly hydrated my under eyes and there are other eye creams I prefer to it. If you don't have an eye cream you like, it wouldn't hurt to give this a try to see how it works for you.

Moving onto haircare:

Am I the only person who takes forever and a day to use up hair products? One of the only things I actually go through semi-frequently is dry shampoo because I only wash my hair 2-3 times a week. All the other days, I use dry shampoo. I received the New York Streets dry shampoo in a Beauty Army box a while back and was thrilled when I got it. I won't be repurchasing this, but it is a decent dry shampoo. I didn't find it to leave a white cast in my black hair (upon initial spray yes, but a little massaging and there's no trace of it). The reason I won't be buying it again is that I found that if I tried to use it on third day hair, it did absolutely nothing. If you wash your hair every other day, this could still be a great option for you.

And now onto the makeup! Let's start with the face:

I know, that's a lot of MAC. But, let me explain why. Over the summer I always end up interning in the hottest and most humid places. And what I have found over time is that there is really only one foundation and primer combination that truly withstands 100F+ heat and 40% humidity, and that is the MAC Prep and Prime Face Protect  and MAC Studio Fix Fluid. I LOVE the primer, it's incredible and controls oil while packing a 50 SPF punch. Studio Fix isn't my favorite foundation, but it is the only one that can survive long days in the heat and for that reason alone it will be a go-to for the summer for years to come. As for the MAC Matchmaster foundation, I despise it and certainly won't be repurchasing. The color is much too orange (odd since it's supposed to be a neutral foundation) and completely breaks down in my t-zone even in the winter time. Fix + is MAC's setting spray and I like having this around because it can eliminate any extra powder you dust on and save you from looking too cakey. So, yes to repurchasing MAC Prep and Prime Face Protect, Studio Fix Fluid and Fix+. No to MAC Matchmaster foundation.

And lastly, the eye makeup products!

Mascaras and eyeliners, the eye products I go through the most. I know mascaras are kind of boring as an empty, but I do have some strong opinions about the ones I tested. Starting from the left with Bobbi Brown Intensifying Long-Wear mascara. This mascara has a teeny tiny brush and is great for the bottom lashes. I enjoyed it because it was smudge-proof and truly long wearing, however I am undecided about whether I would buy this with my own money (the one I have I got as a sample). Moving on over, we have the Chanel Imitable Intense mascara which I also received as a sample. This mascara is pretty much complete garbage and does nothing special for your lashes. If you are looking for a very subtle "I barely applied anything" eyelash look, then maybe you will like it. I personally really like my mascaras to be volumizing and this just did not make the cut. Lastly, we come to the amazing YSL Babydoll mascara. Oh my goodness, what this does to your lashes. This is probably the very best mascara I have ever tried, which pains me because the price tag on it is sort of insane. I got this sample for free and am unsure whether I will take the splurge and purchase...maybe when Sephora has a 20% sale again in the future. If you want perfectly lengthened and volumized lashes that look out of this world, this is the mascara to pick up. Lastly, my wonderful Jordana liquid eyeliner in brown. This is actually the first liquid eyeliner I have had in brown, and I was so sad when I finished it. At a crazy amazing price point, this liner lasts a long time and is inky dark. The pen point felt tip makes it a breeze to apply. I will definitely be repurchasing this in the future. 

All right, well that ended up being kind of long. I might end up doing more frequent empties posts rather than waiting to accumulate so many since I want to share my thoughts on each product. What do you think?