Beauty Update

I wanted to share some of my newly purchased products and adopted routines. All beauty products are affordable if you would like to try one yourself.

I wanted a new foundation and was inspired by Oksana of Foxy Oxie Supernova to try True Match Super-Blendable Makeup by L’Oreal Paris a couple of months ago. I happened to select the Classic Ivory shade for my rather fair skin tone. I love it as it blends easily, has SPF and I feel like I use a little less than I would with my old CoverGirl stuff. I forgot exactly what I paid for it, but it’s in the neighborhood of 5 bucks. I highly recommend it.

Also partially inspired by that FOS post, I wanted to try using primer for the first time. I now use and love Mineral Infused Face Primer by e.l.f. which I have mentioned previously. I picked it up for just $6 from Target. (Right now, it’s on sale for $4.80.) I notice a slight difference in my look after I apply makeup on top of (my moisturizer and) this clear gel primer, it seems a little more perfect.

I have a new go-to lip color for day. I know I name-dropped this product on the blog before too, but didn’t give it a review. This highly rated item is Clinique’s Almost Lipstick in Black Honey. It looks whoa dark in the tube, but since it’s sheer and similar to a balm, on my lips, it is a slightly darker and warmer version of my natural color, so it’s fantastic for a “le no make up look.”

This is my first Clinique product, so I didn’t know what to expect regarding price. But at $15, it can be worked into the budget. Even though this is slightly more than I tend to spend on a beauty product, ‘cost per wear’ is low since I apply it at least once, often twice, a day. It was free to me since it was part of an exchange when I was returning Christmas gifts at Macy’s.

I purchased the highly rated Mademoiselle nail color by Essie. It’s $8.50. Usually wearing red or a dark pink nail lacquer, its light hue is a departure for me. With two coats, it’s mostly clear but has a slight pinkish white cloudiness to it. I’m wearing it on my fingernails now. It’s flattering on me and I imagine it would be on most. I feel polished and French.

I am running low on bronzer and instead of paying $4 to $14 on a new one when I’m trying to save every penny for Paris, I scored one on sale for $0.80. Normally, it is $1. This is another economical but completely fine e.l.f. product. This shimmery golden light bronze’s color name is Sun Kissed. It comes in a compact that snaps shut, which is an improvement upon my old cheap one where the lid did not securely shut. I didn’t store it on a flat surface like I should have; it was more convenient for me to throw it in my makeup bag, so the bag’s interior as well as all my stuff was pretty much always faintly coated with light brown powder. Anyway, for a light dusting on my face and neck everyday, this new product will work for months and months until I replace it with something better.

I’ve always washed my hair everyday. And then, I blow dry and flat iron out my natural wave, harshly taming it in submission. This is hard on one’s hair plus these processes strip hair of its natural oils and so it’s advised to skip a day or two in between washings. This is difficult for me since I appreciate how nice and clean my hair looks after I wash and heat style it. The sleek look I achieve is worth all the effort. But, reading more and more lately about how limiting shampoos is beneficial, I have been experimenting with skipping days over the past four weeks. The last week of January, I remember skipping Tuesday and Thursday. The next week, I really tried by skipping Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The third week I only didn’t wash it Tuesday since we had snow and I feared a power outage would take the choice away. (Luckily we always had power.) And this past week, I skipped Wednesday and Saturday. I’m sure that I’m saving money on shampoo, conditioner and my more expensive heat protectant product from Redken already. I’m not saving loads of time, but there is another benefit. Every once in a long while it feels like I’m a slave to my big, unruly hair when I spend time flattening and smoothing it everyday, so it’s nice to have a day “off.” When I do skip a day, it doesn’t look bad on the second day but I’m aware that it could be improved. I suppose I could use a dry shampoo to take away the very slight oiliness at the scalp, but I simply can’t afford to add yet another $4-$15 product I have to have, especially not before my trip to Paris. (I filed away an email listing Real Simple’s recommendations for future reference however.) I also deep condition it once a week with a mask and my hair looks dirty the next day with all that extra moisture, so I am unable to skip that particular day. Moving forward, I’ve decided to skip one day each week for the sake of its health as I truly want to keep my hair looking healthy for a long time. I can always increase that later.

I usually bought Pore Shrink Deep Cleansing Mask from Kiss My Face and used this facial mud mask at least once a week. But at something like $15, I found that I might go long stretches without it due to the cost, so I wanted to find a cheaper alternative. When I found one online at less than half the price at $5.99, I added it to my wish list. I finally worked it into my budget thanks to a commission paycheck. Scoring it for 20% off at $4.79 plus tax and shipping, I recently ordered Pores Be Pure Skin-Clarifying Mask from Formula 10.0.6. I will try it out soon after it arrives and report on it as part of another beauty update. Since I ordered it from Ulta.com, I will also receive free samples (which is nice since I paid as much as what the item costs including tax just for shipping). I love a surprise! So, stay tuned for more reviews!