Stila "In The Light"

Confession time, remember how I said in a previous post that I often fill my shopping cart with items that I never actually purchase? Well I did that with the Stila In The Light Palette... * for two years. Yep, it took me two years to pull the trigger on this palette.

So pretty....

My Favorite Drugstore Mascaras

I happen to be a firm believer that the drugstore is where it's at when it comes to mascara. I buy a new one more frequently than I should and truth be told, I'm not even sorry! Here are my top picks...

This makes me want to go put on some mascara, brb!

My Favorite Essie Nail Polish

Fun fact, I wasn't really into nail polish until about six months ago. I'm not really sure why, it just wasn't really on my radar. My nails are really terrible too, they are brittle and they peel often. It takes a lot of work to get them to grow out even a little past my fingertips. However, now that I'm in nursing school and were constantly all washing our hands (which is great!) my nails got even worse. I decided I needed to care for them more and so I purchased "Mademoiselle" by Essie. Our guidelines are to wear only light pink or nude nail polishes in clinical so most of the time I wear those colors.

"Mademoiselle" is a nice color but I find it too frustrating to use regularly. It takes me about 3 coats to get any color and since I am terribly impatient, I never wait long enough for the coats to dry, effectively, essentially ruining my manicure 10 minutes after it's applied.

Enter Essie's "Ladylike". I don't know what it is about this color but I think it's just so classy! It gives me color, but is not so obvious that my professors yell at me ;) It's also perfect coverage with two coats and I find it very long lasting with a top coat.

On the topic of top coats, I used Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat * for a while but I have a terrible habit of picking at my nails and this fused everything into one layer which I could too easily peel off.... I know it's not really a problem with the top coat but I switched to Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri *, which I find just a little more long lasting and difficult to peel off whenever I'm bored or nervous.

Am I the only one with this awful habit!?

Cheers!

Allie

(this post contains affiliate links, designated with an *, all product were purchased by me and opinions are 100% my own)

My most used makeup brushes

When I first started really getting into makeup, it felt overwhelming to pick a makeup brush... I know it sounds crazy but I watch a lot of YouTube tutorials and everyone kept recommending really expensive brushes. As previously stated, I'm a student and so if I can save some money on brushes but still achieve a flawless look, I will! First off, organizing your brushes can be a real pain.... after much trial and error I found that the easiest way to store them was upright in some cute mugs.

These mugs are from T.J. Maxx and Ross- cheap and cute!

As you can see, I have quite a few brushes but considering how much makeup I have, I think it's shocking that I don't have more! Now onto a breakdown of what I work with...

It goes without saying that just about everyone knows now that Real Techniques brushes are the best bang for your buck. Designed by Sam and Nic Chapman (Pixiwoo on YouTube), they are without a doubt the most professional-looking brushes for a drugstore price point.  I personally use at least three of these brushes every single day and whenever I use them on my friends, they always comment on how soft they are. An extra bonus for me is how easy they are to clean, the metal carries so far up the shaft that I don't have to worry about water getting into the seal and breaking down the glue! Score! I have the Real Techniques core collection set * and the starter set. * 

Look how cute!

And may I throw in my latest love from Real Techniques, their * miracle complexion sponge! I have never owned or used a beauty blender but this little guy is wonderful!

so cute right??

After Real Techniques, I get the most use out of my Sonia Kashuk brushes from Target. I usually wait until one of the brush collectionsgoes on sale. They usually release these around holidays or seasonally and if you're very patient, you can get anywhere from 6-10 brushes for around $15.00 or even less! A few of my favorites are below...

This random guy is a Mirabella brush that I got in an Ipsy bag and I use it every day for adding color to my crease and outer V! I want to get some more but these brushes are super expensive, at least to me....* crying inside*

So sleek right?!

I have some E.L.F. brushes too and those are nice but I honestly don't use them enough to justify posting about them, HOWEVER if you are on a very, very tight budget, go get them! They are actually pretty amazing and no brand can match that price point. I used them without any issues until I purchased these and if they do fall apart a little sooner, it's not such a big deal as they are so inexpensive to replace. You literally cannot go wrong here.

And don't forget that the cheapest and most reliable/versatile tools are attached to your hands! So if all else fails or you forget a brush, use your fingers! *might be tricky with eyeliners...

Cheers!

Allie

(may contain affiliate links, indicated by a *, all opinions are 100% my own always!)

Items I Would Buy First If My Bank Account Was Bottomless

I swear, I only fill the online shopping carts with items, I rarely check them out! I can't be the only one who does this, you go to your favorite websites and just click away, adding things to your cart like you can afford them! Except you never check out. Of course then you remember your poor lonely cart and if the company is smart, they send you sad emails like, "your cart is still waiting for you!" or, "Don't you still want this magical unicorn pillow?!"

In a perfect world I think I would 1. never gain weight regardless of what I ate and 2. have endless amounts of money, which is incredibly vain but still....

In recent events, here are is a compilations of the things I have recently been fake shopping for! Links are below! Not affiliate!)

Upper Left Corner: Besame Brightening Vanilla Face Powder- Let's be honest, I am a sucker for packaging so... I really just want this because it's so pretty! But according to Sephora this is "a velvety soft powder for all skin types that features a yellow tint that works to control redness." I have very fair skin and I am prone to redness so this seems like a fun thing to try!

Bottom Left Corner: Becca Shimmering Skin Perfecter in Moonstone- Every single beauty blogger and YouTuber is talking about this so... I want it now too naturally! Who doesn't love a highlighter??

Middle: Tartelette Palette-  Ditto to everyone and their sister is talking about this but... again I want it. I do have Tarte's Rainforest After Dark palette and I love their shadows and it is pretty difficult to find a matte shadow palette. It seems like I can't go wrong with this palette.

Upper Right Corner: Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara- I am not even going to pretend to be mature about this one... I actually only want to try this because of the name. I mean the packaging looks pretty dang adorable too but.... yeah, that's the only reasons this mascara is on my wishlist! I can't be alone on that right?

Bottom Right Corner: Chloe Eau de Parfum-  I never wear scents, one because my fiance is pretty picky about them and two, I'm in nursing school and in general we are advised not to wear scents that might irritate our patients. However, sometimes a girl just wants to use a really amazing perfume and feel all dolled up, just for herself. I feel like this perfume is my "I'm a classy lady" wishlist item. It just looks so chic. Confession time: I've never even smelled it! Again, this is one of those things all the girls I trust on YouTube talk about and so I want it. Plus, even if I did hate it, I would still get classy bonus points because of how fancy it is!

What are you all lusting for??

Cheers!

Allie