Beauty Favorites

Thank you for reading my new blog! I'd love any tips I can get on good nail polish/make-up photography and swatching. Today, I am blogging about my tried-and-true beauty favorites. Most of these I've used since I started using make-up (back when I was in middle school; now I am in college!) I am still looking for improvements as always, but these come close to being my favorite.

My skin type is combination, my skin color is golden beige/medium, and I have brown eyes (but I'm almost always wearing green contacts and about to order grey ones). I am of Asian descent, and that being said, I have short lashes - so any mascara that works very well for me will most likely make your lashes look ridiculously long. I will be posting later on, a review of all the mascaras I have ever used. I have gone through quite a few different ones, but I think my search might be over!

While I do enjoy occasionally splurging on the more pricey stuff (thanks to Sephora), I see reason why drugstore brands can't be used. Most are my favorites are of fantastic quality and for a fairly good price too. As a college student with a minimum wage job, my options are a little more limited!

Pictures and favorite products after the jump.


Bronzer: Physicians Formula Multi-Colored Bronzer





This is the first bronzer I ever bought, and I have no reason to use any other kind. The bronzer stays on all day, and the color blends very well. The compact has a little mirror, which I use for just about everything. My bronzer has lasted me almost a year (and still going), and the only reason I might change it is for sanitary reasons.

Mascara: Lancôme Hypnôse in Black



I bought a set of three Lancôme mascaras plus a primer and make-up remover from Sephora. Out of the three that were included in the set (Définicils, Hypnôse Drama, and Hypnôse), Hypnôse was my favorite. Définicils was a little bit too thin, my lashes ended up looking longer, but a little thin and weird. Hypnôse Drama took me a while to figure out the curved brush. It does give fantastic volume and length, but the mascara clumps more than Hypnôse.

Liquid Eyeliner: Physicians Formula Eye Definer Felt-Tip Eye Marker in Black



I purchased this a couple months ago, after the felt-tip eyeliner I bought from Korea ran out. I really like this liner because it's pretty foolproof; you can't really go wrong with a felt-tip. However, winging out cat-eyes can be a little challenging with this, as sometimes there is not enough color on the tip. I may still be looking for a good liquid liner that isn't too difficult to use.

Pencil Eyeliner: Cover Girl Perfect Point in Black Onyx



This is all-time favorite pencil eye liner. I love that there is a blending eraser to make your eyes smokier and softer. My sister was the one who introduced me to this, probably a good 5 years ago now. It lasts for a long time, although it is not waterproof and needs to be reapplied.

Eye Shadow: Lancôme Color Focus Eye Shadow



My absolute favorite eye shadow color is an olive-y green. I was given the Lancôme quad as a deluxe sample by one of my mom's friends a while back. I have green color contacts and tan skin, so the olive-y green color looks great. The shadow isn't too shimmery and looked perfect for smokey eyes (without looking too black).

Blush: still looking!

I recently purchased a Wet 'n Wild shimmery blush from Giant. You only need a tiny bit of color on the brush; I applied at 8 a.m. this morning, and it's now 1 p.m. and the color has not faded/come off at all! My old blush (that I used for many years) is Cover Girl in Iced Cappuccino. The color is a little bronze-y; I used this when I used to not use bronzer. The color is great, but the compact is not - the little rectangular compact makes it difficult to get any color at all, especially if you want to use a larger blusher brush.

Lips: Burt's Bees Pomegranate Lip Balm



As much as I love lip gloss, sometimes I just want to go with something simple. Burt's Bees makes fantastic lip products - I have used their original lip balm, lip shimmers, and lip glosses. I have never had any kind of bad reaction to them (which is amazing because I have very sensitive skin). The Pomegranate Lip Balm gives just the a sheer bit of color and feels more moisturizing than the original Burt's Bees Lip Balm.