Current Beauty Favorites: Part One

I consider myself pretty much a novice when it comes to beauty/skincare. I remember a few years ago, a college friend of mine telling me her brother had just finished esthetician school. I looked at her with a very confused look on my face, not having a clue what she was talking about. Not wanting to look like a dummy, I asked her where he'd be working now--hoping it would give me some clue as to what an esthetician was. She looked at me sort of strangely and said, "Umm... a spa most likely."

Yeah, I was that clueless about skincare. Maybe it's no surprise I had the biggest acne breakout of my life that same year. Haha!

Anyhow, I've come a LONG way since then that is why nowadays I really appreciate when other women share what works for them in the beauty and skincare department. Not to mention, now that I've been learning and training myself in makeup artistry, I love learning what works for different skin types and textures.

So here are a few of my current beauty favorites. I'm sure they'll change and I'll add more later, but for now here are a few that I currently adore! Just FYI, I've got dry/normal skin. I very rarely have oily skin so just keep that in mind if you're thinking of using these products.

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1. Urban Decay Naked Palette and Naked 2 Palette

I don't think these need much of an explanation. These are pretty much the Kitchenaid Mixer of the makeup world: if you don't have one you desperately want one, and if you have one you don't know how you ever lived without it.

I really like these since my go-to makeup look is a bit of an understated neutral eye. These are perfect for me!

2. The Beauty Blender and Cleaner

I just picked two of these guys up. Let me warn you, they're not really on the cheap side. I considered picking up a knockoff brand, but I heard over and over again how the knockoffs unfortunately did not perform as well as the original. Now that I have one of these, I'm hooked! These work so well at making your liquid foundation look flawless on the skin. If it's in your budget, I HIGHLY recommending trying one of these out. the cleanser also works pretty well so far. I haven't had it long, so we'll see. My only complaint about the beauty blender is that it stains really easily. It's a bummer since if I'm doing someone's makeup I pretty much want my tools not only to be clean, but also look clean.

3. Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain & Blistex Medicated Lip Ointment

I've been using these Revlon Balm Stains pretty much every day. These are great! They don't seem to dry my lips out the way most lip stains do and they are pretty moisturizing. The two colors I own are: Romantic (left) and Honey (right). Even when the actual balm wears off of your lips, the stain will stay on all day. And of course, Blistex. I use this stuff everyday. It keeps my lips so moisturized. Also, I recently read in some cheesy celebrity magazine that Blistex is Angelina Jolie's "beauty secret". She uses it everyday to keep her lips soft. She's got AMAZING lips so I figure this stuff's got to be pretty good, right?

4. Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder

I'm currently on the lookout for a good high-end pressed powder. I've been hearing a lot of great things about the perks of pressed powders, so I've really been wanting to try one out. I just gotta save up for one and then decide which one I want. I'll keep you updated! For now, I've been using this matte powder. It works REALLY well, especially for a drugstore brand. I've noticed that it keeps my face matte for about 6-7 hours. After that my face does start to get a bit shiny, but not very much. I heard so many good things about this stuff online and from some beauty gurus, that I had to try it. I'm pretty happy with it so far. I just really want to try a powder that has some more coverage. 

That's all for now! I've got some more current favorites that I will be posting soon! What are you favorite beauty products at the moment?? I'd love to know!



*all of these products were purchased by me. this post is not sponsored by any of the companies mentioned.