July 2011 Favorites

July 2011 Favorites

It's about that time again.  It's the end of the month...& all of the us beauty fanatics know that that means!  It's FAVORITES time!!  

1.) Revlon Colorstay Foundation (Combo/Oily) 330 (price varies $9.99-$12.99. I paid $11.02 for this at Rite Aid)-- This is a drugstore gem, and I've been loving it.  Whenever I've had to go somewhere important, I've been wearing this.  It covers like a dream -- dark circles, awful blemishes -- this stuff is great.  My only gripe with this is that it doesn't come with a pump, and sometimes I waste a bit of product.  (I will be trying this in Combo/Dry in the cooler months when my skin gets dry.)  This is a great full coverage flawless foundation that doesn't cost an arm & a leg.  (In my opinion, it trumps the MAC Studio Fix Fluid.)

2.) MAC Studio Careblend Pressed Powder Medium/Deep ($23)- I'm not a powder girl at all, and I never used to set my makeup because I haven't had much luck with powders.  I didn't really care for the Avon Ideal Shade loose powder at all.  It have it in translucent, and it kind of washed me out and didn't do much for me.  I love the Studio Careblend because it doesn't look "powdery" or cake up on my dry patches.  This is perfect over a tinted moisturizer (& over the Revlon Colorstay for a COMPLETELY flawless look!).  This gives a nice smooth natural finish and covers quite well, without being too matte or unnatural looking.  It comes with a sponge, and I find that the sponge works quite well.  You get more coverage with the sponge, but a fluffy powder brush works great if you want less coverage.  A little goes along way, and I see this lasting a long time (so to me, it's worth the price.)

3.) Mark Good Glowing Mosaic Blush Chica ($8)- I've been wanting to try Mark's blushes for a while.  I've heard such great things about them.  I just wasn't sure what colors to try or how pigmented they would be.  I must say, I'm very happy I chose this color.  This is the PERFECT shade of coral.  This is a TRUE coral (Swatches).  I love how this doesn't have pink tones in it like a lot of "coral" blushes on the market.  The pigmentation is great.  I can see this working well on light and dark skinetones.  This is a warm toned blush.  It's perfect for summer, and it gives a natural flush.  This is perfect with a nude lip.  This has been my go-to blush lately.

4.) MAC My Highland Honey Blush ($18.50- DISCONTINUED/Limited Edition)-  I picked this up last November from MAC's 2010 Holiday Collection (A Tartan Tale).  This was described as a coral blush, but in my opinion, it appears to me more peach toned.  Swatches

I recently was going through my MAC blushes and pulled this out.  It doesn't show up the same way that it did in the wintertime when I didn't have such a tan.  (I'm around NC30/35 in the winter and right now I'm NC40/42.)I used this A LOT last Fall & Winter; it was my Go-To blush. I find that I have to layer it a little more than I did before, but the results are still gorgeous.  This gives such a natural peachy glow to the cheeks.  Perfect for summer.  It's a nice neutral color, so you can pair this with bolder lips & eyes or neutral.  

5.) Mark Lipclick Barehug ($10) - I LOVE LOVE LOVE this color, as well as the creamy, moisturizing formula.  My lips are on the dry side, and I hate when lipsticks dry your lips out and feather.  The Lipclicks are great because of how moisturizing they are (I have Sweetie Pie too & love it!).  The color payoff is fantastic too.  I love how the tube is magnetic, and these just snap shut so the lid won't fall off in your bag.  This shade is the PERFECT nude shade for me because it has a hint of peach to it.  I have a hard time with Nudes.  If the shade is not warm enough, it will look pasty (like concealer on the lips) and wash me out (like the Viva Glam Gaga2 has a habit of doing).  Barehug has is a warm, gorgeous peachy-toned nude, and it gives the PERFECT nude lip for me.  The lasting power of this is nice too.  I love pairing this with a peachy/coral cheek.  This shade goes great with just about anything.  I've been wearing this shade all the time lately.

6. Revlon Colorburst Lipstick Soft Nude- ($6.49-$8.99, price varies depending on where your purchase.  I paid around $6 for this at Walmart.)  I picked this up when the weather was still chilly, sometime in the beginning of the year.  I just started wearing it again.  I love this shade of nude.  Unlike Barehug, this is more pale and a bit cooler toned.  I really like it though.  This was my first nude lipstick, and I'm happy with it.  This shade goes with just about any other makeup look possible.  This gives the perfect true nude lip, and the color lasts long and holds up well throughout the day.  I've been reaching for this a lot lately.   

(Top: Barehug, Bottom: Soft Nude)

7. Mark Glossblossom ($6- will be discontinued soon.  On sale for $2.99 along with Cheekblossom in C16&17)-  First of all, I'm really upset that this is going to be discontinued.  Hopefully, Mark is making room for an even better product.  I purchased this quite a while ago, before I became an Avon rep.  (I became a rep in early March of this year.)  However, I'd only used it a few times because it got lost in one of my purses.  When I saw it again in Magalog 8 and saw that it was going to be discontinued, I was all ready to order it again.  I decided to rummage through my purses that had makeup in them and found this.  I've been wearing it almost everyday since.  I'm going to grab a few tubes of this before it becomes discontinued.  The formula is great!  I LOVE glossy lips, but the I HATE the typical stickiness of lipglosses.  This makes my lips look SUPER glossy, but it's not sticky what so ever.  My lips just look super glossy and soft- PERFECT.  I LOVE how this changes from clear to pink (similar to Smashbox O Gloss, but BETTER formula in my opinion and better price).  This turns the perfect shade of pink for my skintone.  I've been using it almost everyday and everywhere that I go.  I'm constantly grabbing for this.  Highly recommend grabbing this while you still can.  shop now

8. Neutrogena Healthy Skin Enhancer (tinted moisturizer) Medium to Olive 60- ($10.29) - I picked this up recently on a whim when I was at Walmart.  I had been wanting to try it for a while, and finally decided why not, so I picked it up. My only gripe with this is the poor color range.  (I've noticed that with all of the Neutrogena products though.  I have the Skin Clearing Concealer & the shades only go up to medium, which is what I have.  The shades of the Healthy Skin foundation aren't variety wide in range either.)  There are few to none when it comes to shades for women of color.  You would think with Gabrielle Union as one of their cover girls, they would atleast have shades to match someone of her skintone.  That aside, this is a really great tinted moisturizer, and I like it a lot.  It's been so hot lately, that I haven't wanted to fool with foundation, so I'll just through this on and a little concealer if I'm going out somewhere.  I love that it has SPF 20 (my skin is sensitive to the sun).  This is light coverage, but it does a great job of evening out skintone.  Shade 60 blends perfectly into my skintone and gives a really pretty glow to my skin.  My skin is oily in my T-zone right now (it gets drier in the winter), and this doesn't look/feel greasy or make me more oily.  This has a bit of a matte finish, while still giving that pretty glow.  I didn't think I'd ever say this, but I think I like this better than the Tarte Smooth Operator (I LOVE the coverage that the Tarte gives, but this is a nice, less expensive alternative that offers SPF20.)    

Those are all of the products that I've been using frequently this month and will continue to use.  Any questions about these products, feel free to leave a comment below :)