June Favorites

1. MAC shadow quad palette: (starting from top left) Haux, Patina, Shale, and Satin Taupe.

These are my favorite MAC shadows (for the moment, at least). Each shadow is wonderfully suited for my eye color, which is a greenish-greyish-blue. I love MAC shadows because the quality is great, and the color range is phenomenal. And because my skin is really tanned at the moment (thanks, Israel!), this color quad makes a fantastic smokey eye!

I also absolutely love the convenient packaging of MAC quads. I am a major packaging whore, so MAC sucks me in with their mix-n-match palettes. I have three of these palettes and use them all the time, but lately I've been all over this one in particular.

2. L'Oreal Lavender Smokes eyeshadow quad:

(Swatches in different lighting)

I used this quad everyday in Israel. I feel in love with it. Hardcore. The shadows are highly pigmented, which isn't always a guarantee when you're considering drugstore makeup.

The blackish-purple shadow reminds me a lot of MAC's Beauty Marked, right down to the red and maroon sparkles and burgundy undertone (for some reason I couldn't photograph these qualities, but in person, there is some serious red to this shadow). It works great as an eyeliner.

The lavender shadow is fairly matte and when I talked about this quad in an earlier post, I mentioned that  the texture reminds me a bit of suede. My earlier opinion still stands. It's just a really pretty, soft color.

The champagne and gold shadows are major glitter bombs. Beware of crazy fall out. The disco drag queen in me love, love, LOVES this! Just make sure you've got a really good brush to wipe away the fall out when you're done.

3. Maybelline Define-A-Line eyeliner in Rich Raisin (the green stick in the above picture):

In short, this is a terrible eyeliner (too creamy and doesn't last), but it's a great cream base for shadows. It has a built in "smudger" which helps in spreading and blending the product across the lid. I obviously wouldn't use this as a base for lighter shadows, but for darker colors, this really helps make it last longer and wear well throughout the day/night.

I really like layering MAC's Shale or Quarry over this in particular.

4. Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipgloss in Rose Cocoon:

(MLBB: Layered over Revlon's Pink in the Afternoon lipstick)

This is a delicate dark rose pink lipgloss that really works well on pale or tanned skin. Unlike a lot of drugstore brand lipglosses, you get a lot of color when applying this. It's moisturizing (hence the name) and very light-feeling. There isn't a goopy, sticky feeling with this gloss.

I've only read negative reviews of the Rimmel Moisture Renew glosses so I was pleasantly surprised to find this one so workable. Maybe I chose the only one that had any color payoff? I haven't personally tried any of the other colors in the line, but this one also works so well for my skintones (both pale and tan) that I don't really feel the need to experiment with a plum or brown shade.

5. Bare Minerals Original Foundation in Light:

The perfect summer foundation, as far as I'm concerned. Light feeling but it gives a full coverage (which I currently need; my war with cystic acne is in full throttle at the moment). It blends really well with any number of blushes and bronzers and when I set it with the mineral veil from the same line, my skin looks nearly naked and relatively clear.

6. E.L.F. Studio Powder Brush:

Another Israel staple. I've been using this for powder, blusher, and bronzer like it's going out of business. The bristles are super soft and really do a great job of applying the products. I didn't expect this thing to last very long, given that it was only $3, but its held up great. Even if it were to break, I'd run right out and grab another because I like it so much.

Do you have any product you're currently using like crazy? Tell me about them! :)