Brown paper packages tied up with string....

These are a few of my favorite things....

Here are a few of my HG products. (HG=Holy Grail in beauty talk...items that you just CANNOT live without.) I'm really all over the place when it comes to brands of makeup and skincare I use. Most people are all "I only use MAC!!!!" or "I only use Bare Minerals!!!!" (I hate Bare Minerals) I don't stick with just one brand. I'm sort of a brand slut I guess. I tried the Bare Minerals thing awhile back but stopped using it because my skin is SO OILY that by the end of the day it looked like I'd just spread dirt all over my face. After that I used Make Up Forever liquid foundation (Mat Velvet) but I'm pretty much over that as well. It's really thick and heavy. It's supposed to help with oiliness, and while it did look okay and cover well and combat a little oil, it oxidized (turned orange) soon after I put it on. Regardless of the shade I used, I always look orange by the end of the day. Last month I got a CC Cream by Juice in my Glam Bag and decided to try it out this week. CC Creams are the next generation of BB Creams. BB Creams, or blemish balms, have been widely used in Asia and have just become popular in the US over the past year or so. CC Creams, or color correcting creams, are like BB Creams but with more benefits. BB Creams claim to be all in one skincare routines. Primer, moisturizer, SPF, foundation, & concealer all in one. The CC Creams are like pumped up BB Creams. They have all the benefits of the BB Creams, but the SPF is usually higher and they also include a formula that can be used across various skin tones and corrects redness and yellowness of the skin.  They also have more anti-aging properties that most BB Creams. The CC Creams also give more coverage than their BB Cream sisters, so if you have acne scars, dark circles, age spots, etc, a CC Cream might be of more use to you. I received a CC Cream by Juice in my December Glam Bag and I've been using it this week as I said above. I ordered Bobbi Brown's BB Cream from Sephora this week and it will be here tomorrow, so I'll review it sometime over the weekend.

Juice Beauty CC Cream

When I got this I was like, Meh... I really wasn't even planning on trying it because I'm so picky with my skin products, but since I've been breaking out a lot lately I'm attributing it to the heavy as crap MUFE foundation I've been using and decided to try this out. I put a little on the top of my hand and thought, "This is NOT going to be the right color for me." It was light and almost yellow. The texture is strange as well. Not like a foundation but not like a lotion. I gave it a try anyway. It is very sheer compared to my thick MUFE foundation so I was worried I wouldn't get enough coverage. And...it smells weird. Kind of like plants and herbs and junk like that. (Which would be a plus for those who don't like the chemical smell of makeup...) It only comes in two shades. Yes....two shades: Natural Glow and Warm Glow. I used Warm Glow.  I put bronzer on over it after application, but I must admit, as afraid of the color as I was....this was actually WONDERFUL and did exactly what it was supposed to do. It was my skin tone...only better. Smoother. Natural. Now, it wasn't flawless by any means and it didn't cover my blemishes like it claims it would, but even my MUFE foundation lacked in that department, so I was okay with it. It took a little getting used to as I'm not accustomed to think makeup, but honestly, if I don't end up liking the Bobbi Brown BB Cream, I plan on exchanging it for this. Here is some info from the Juice website regarding this product:

"Juice Beauty's Stem Cellular Repair CC Cream is ideal for all skin types and especially beneficial for skin showing the signs of aging including fine lines, wrinkles, and sun damage. Available in two shades, Natural Glow and Warm Glow, to match and enhance any skin type and color. Since Juice Beauty uses no artificial dyes, the colors are effective for skin tones ranging from very light to dark. Natural Glow works best with fair to medium skin tones while Warm Glow is the perfect color for medium to dark skin tones."

And here are the 12 benefits this CC Cream advertises: 
The Ultimate Color Correcting 12 in 1 Multi-tasker:

• Repairs Damage
• Evens skin tone & texture
• Firms & improves elasticity
• Reduces fine lines & wrinkles
• Creates a radiant, glowing complexion
• Balances skin tone
• Rich in antioxidants
• Protects with chemical free SPF 30 · Mineral tinted coverage
• Ultimate moisturizer
• Skin perfecting color
• Great for all skin types

Overall, I really do like this product and plan on purchasing the full size, especially if the BB Cream doesn't work out. Don't be afraid of the fact that it only comes in 2 shades. (Many others, including Bobbi Brown, come in a wider range of shades.) The point of the CC Cream is that it corrects YOUR color, with some sort of magical witchcraft voodoo. HA.

Favorite Blushes 
 1) Nars Blush in Sin

Nars products are pricey, but I love them. I've found that they have so much more pigmentation than other brands, thus requiring you use less at a time, resulting in the product lasting longer. I probably only buy blush twice a year because it just lasts that long. Yes, I know you're supposed to replace your makeup more regularly than that...blah blah blah. I don't. I won't. If there's still some in the package, I'm going to use it, as long as it isn't like 3 years old. Nars Orgasm and Super Orgasm are the top picks of most ladies, but I just can't pull those colors off. They are too orange/peach for me. I wish I could wear them, but oh well.

2) Laura Mercier Orchid Mosaic Shimmer Bloc (spelled without the K)

 I love, love LOVE this product. I hate, hate, HATE the price and the fact that I can go through one in a month. It has 4 shades of blush (other color palettes available...google if interested) and together give the prettiest shade of mauve I've ever seen. I use the lighter shade as a highlighter above my cheekbones and mix the other 3 darker colors as my blush. While googling this for pics I just realized they've stopped making this shade of shimmer bloc, and I'm heartbroken. I have a brand new, unopened one in my makeup drawer, thank goodness. I guess that's all for this product. They still have other shades. I'll check it out at Sephora this weekend to see if the Pink Shimmer Bloc is similar in color to this one. This product is very delicate, I might add. It's easily breakable in the compact even stored in a bag, and once you start wearing out the center, it's all going to just crumble. It gets all over the place, especially in your makeup bag, even if it's closed. The price being over $40 is also a deterrent, especially since I could use one in a month. I guess it's a good thing it was discontinued in my HG shade.

Favorite Eyeliners
1) Urban Decay 24/7 in Perversion

I love this. I love it, love it, love it. It is the darkest, blackest, smoothest eyeliner I've ever used. The only downfall is that it is so soft that you have to sharpen it every time you use it or you'll get a really thick application. So, with the frequent sharpening comes frequent purchasing. It runs out fast. But if you like a dark, black, in your FACE eyeliner with easy application, this is for you!

2) Urban Decay 24/7 in Zero

This is a softer (as in color) version of black eyeliner. I consider it more of an off black compared to the above one I reviewed. It's good for when you want to wear black eyeliner but you don't want it really dark. It also lasts longer than the Perversion one because you don't have to sharpen it as often. It's not as smooth during application, but it still applies nicely. If you like, you can even warm it with a lighter before applying. I love all UD eyeliners and I don't use any other brand! I'm disappointed that the company was bought out by L'Oreal, though. I'm hoping things don't change....

Favorite Setting Powder
Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder

This has been the best setting powder I've found to help with my oily skin. It also lasts a long time as well. Seems like I've had mine forever and it still looks like I haven't used any of it. I really don't have much more to say about this...

Favorite Mascara
Blinc Mascara

Blinc mascara is a tubing mascara. It coats each lash with a little tube that is water proof, yet you remove it with.........wait for it...........water. Yes. That's it! It is AMAZING. It applies like a regular mascara, but it dries very quickly, and once it dries you CANNOT apply more. So if you want to add more than one coat you have to do it immediately. I put it on one eye, then the other, then go back to the first, then the other, so I give it a second or two to set before applying another coat. To remove it all you do it wet your fingers with water and take your lashes in between your fingers and gently rub and pull. It doesn't hurt, in case you're wondering. It just slips right off. I found it best to remove it while in the shower (resulting in my husband asking what all the little spider leg looking things were in the shower...have to rinse it off the walls and floor better...) I had been using Dior Blackout, and I liked it, but I was never able to get it all off with any remover, and I tried them all. Piling more mascara on top of the mascara that I wasn't able to remove resulted in clumpy, thick lashes, and my lashes started to fall out. I knew I had to change. This product was recommended to me by my nail guru and I love it and haven't gone back to anything else. Try it. Sephora has a deluxe sample of this as a 100 point gift right now, and I've also gotten samples from Birchbox in the past. For more in depth info, google some videos of the removal process. It's so easy and really amazing!

Well, I think I'll stop here. I have a lot more items I wanted to share, but this is already a super long blog post, so I'll save some for tomorrow, including hair products, skincare, and maybe some fashion. Laters, lovelies!