Try It Out: bareMinerals bareSkin Serum Foundation

Hello everyone!

Today I want to talk about yet another amazing bareMinerals product that I've recently tried out for the first time. It is the bareMinerals bareSkin Serum Foundation! I ordered this foundation from QVC for $43.96. This price is for the combo pack of the foundation and brush.

This serum foundation has a tiny dropper bottle that only allows one drop at a time to come out. This is extremely helpful because you literally only need 2 to 4 drops to cover your entire face. Seriously. Such a tiny amount of product gives this much coverage, and it's incredible! To apply this foundation I used the Perfecting Face Brush, which is the brush that comes in the combo deal.

Currently this foundation is being sold exclusively through QVC until May 1st. The foundation, upon it's solo release, will be $29. The Perfecting Face Brush alone will be $28. So by purchasing the exclusive QVC combo deal, you'll save over $13! Pretty good deal!

As you can see, this brush is really unique because of the little circle "dip" in the center. This is where you place the drops of foundations. This brush is really soft and it's blends everything very nicely!

There are 20 different shades and this foundation features an SPF 20. I found this foundation to be very hydrating but not dewy on my skin. It blended in very easily and gave a really high amount of coverage without using a lot of product or making my skin look cakey. I lightly set the foundation with a small amount of setting powder.

On the left is my face with just the foundation applied. Pretty flawless coverage!
On the right is the finished look with blush, bronzer, eyeshadow, etc.

Overall, I would highly recommend this product! I have acne-prone, combination, fair skin and this product gives me great coverage that lasts all day without making my skin shiny. I was actually amazed at how well the makeup stayed on my face through an 8 hour day outside in the hot sun. If you're looking for a daily foundation and are interested in bareMinerals products, definitely try this one out!

xo

Gabby

All About Black Eyeliner!

Hello everyone!
Today I wanted to talk about black eyeliner. If you read my welcome post, you'll know that I have a history with an obsession with black eyeliner. 

Now, some of you may think that all eyeliner is created equal. You can go to any drugstore and buy a simple black pencil eyeliner for less than a dollar, so why do some people pay upwards of $20 for "the same thing" from a different brand? To me, 3 very important aspects separate high-end eyeliner and cheap eyeliner.

1) Consistency

2) Opaqueness

3) Lasting power

Let's take a look at a few black eyeliners from my collection!

From left to right:
1) Starlooks Kohl Eye Pencil ($12)
2) M.A.C. Eye Pencil ($16)
3) Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion ($20)
4) M.A.C. Fluidline ($16)
5) Lorac Front of the Line Pro Liquid Eyeliner ($23)
6) Black Shadow from Lorac Pro Palette ($42)

Let's talk about types! For eyeliner you can choose from kohl pencils, gel liners, liquid liners, and eyeshadow! All of these options have different consistencies and lasting-power. Liquid and gel liners are notorious for having difficult applications! But with the right amount of practice, they become very easy to apply. And these two methods usually allow for precise lines and have a slight sheen. Kohl pencils, versus traditional cheap eyeliner pencils, usually contain a higher level of pigments. I included the last swatch (#6) to show that you can use black eyeshadow as eyeliner too, but that it gives a smoky look and is not well defined.

Cheap eyeliner (in pencil form) is not always very pigmented. And because they are made from cheap materials, they tend to not last as long as higher-end eyeliner. You may know this if you've ever had a cheap pencil and you had to sharpen it for a very long time (which wastes a lot of product) only for the tip of the eyeliner to break as soon as you press down on your skin.

My personal favorite type of eyeliner are kohl eyeliners and gel liners. The M.A.C. Fluidline has almost a mousse consistency, which is fantastic because you only need the tiniest amount imaginable to line your eyes. And this texture prevents the product from drying up, which is generally a problem with other gel liners. The Urban Decay eyeliner is SO intense and opaque. I have this eyeliner in practically every color imaginable because they are just that good!

I hope that you learned something new about eyeliner! Let me know in the comments what kind of eyeliner you use!

xo
Gabby

Try It Out: BareMinerals Ready Foundation

So a couple weeks ago I decided to randomly try the BareMinerals Ready Foundation. This was a completely new experience for me because I had never tried a powder foundation before. I had seen a few videos on Youtube of the application of this foundation, and I was amazed at how much coverage it gave! I was a bit skeptical that it would provide me with enough coverage that I need, but I decided to give it a shot anyways,

and boy am I glad I did!

This foundation is super light on the skin. When I wear liquid foundation I normally feel pretty gross by the end of the day, but with this powder foundation I often forget that I am wearing makeup. It's also very easy to apply. All you have to do is dab your brush into the powder (I just use a kabuki brush),and then you buff it into your skin. Easy peasy!

This foundation also has an SPF 20, which is a great bonus!

Left: I applied a small amount of the Covergirl TruBlend, which gives a very small amount of coverage, close to a BB cream or tinted moisturizer. I used this as my primer because the coverage is so minimal.

Right: After I applied the Ready foundation. As you can see, the BareMinerals Ready foundation gives excellent coverage!

Foxy=#1 Bootycall=#3 Verve=# 9 YDK=#10

Here are the eyeshadows I used for this look. I love this palette so much! It definitely is an investment item, but you will get your money's worth! All of the eyeshadows are extremely pigmented, so you only need a tiny amount to get the color payoff that you want.
I also recommend the other Naked palettes!

 Products Used:
-Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette
-BareMinerals Ready Foundation (in Fairly Light)
-BareMinerals Lash Domination Mascara
-BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss (in Glamourista)
-BareMinerals Blush (in Beauty)
-Maybelline Color Tattoo (in Barely Branded)
-Covergirl TruBlend Liquid Makeup
-MAC Fluidline Eyeliner (in Blacktrack)
-Wet N Wild Ultimate Minerals Bronzer (purchased at RiteAid)
-E.L.F. Eyebrow Kit (purchased at Target)

Here is the final look! Overall I am very pleased with this foundation, I haven't used liquid foundation since I purchased it. My skin is a little oily, so by the end of the day my skin does look a bit shiny but it's nothing major. I cannot wait to try the other face products that BareMinerals has to offer!

Leave a comment and let me know if you've tried any BareMinerals products
and if you have what products you love!

xo, Gabby

Welcome to my blog!

Hello everyone! As you can probably guess by the title of this blog, my name is Gabby, and I have an obsession with cosmetics. I am currently a second-semester sophomore studying Marketing at Clemson University. I want to share with you my love for all things beauty-related!

My Makeup Story

I remember the first makeup item I ever owned: black eyeliner. When I was about 14 years old, the trend in middle school was to line your eyes with black eyeliner in the similar fashion or a raccoon. I remember begging my grandma to buy me a Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen black eyeliner from Wal-Mart. My raccoon eyes were the extent of my makeup abilities for a year or two until I was a freshman in high school. Around that time I started developing really bad acne. To cover up my blemishes, I started to collect foundation and concealer by digging around in my mother's makeup drawer. Slowly but surely I collected different bits and pieces of makeup to create a "full face": cheap eyeshadow from the dollar store, mascara that I snatched from my mother's collection, and tinted lip balms. I had no idea what I was doing! I would just smear stuff on my face until my acne was covered and my eyes stood out.

By senior year of high school, my skin was still in really bad condition. My makeup collection had grown to include blush, powder, and lipstick. At the time, I thought I knew how to apply makeup, but looking back now I realize that I had no clue what I was doing. I was just trying to hide my skin and distract people away from looking at the real me. Because I was using the exact same products and applying them the exact same way each and every day, I did not learn how to enhance my beauty with makeup, I only learned how to hide my true self.

Today, as an almost-junior in college, a lot has changed! My skin is a lot better today than it was even a year ago, so I don't find the need to wear a ton of foundation and concealer on a day-to-day basis. I love trying out new products and testing out different techniques of applying makeup. Through the power of Youtube, I have discovered so many beauty gurus who have influenced me to build my makeup collection and learn the proper techniques to apply my makeup. I still am no expert in the world of cosmetics, but I love the journey of learning new things every day. I hope you chose to follow me along on my journey!

xo
Gabby