My Everyday Foundation Routine

Hey all! Today I decided to share with you all the products that I use on a regular basis to make my skin look nice and to hide any imperfections! I've mentioned this before, but I don't wear makeup every single day. So this foundation routine is essentially what I'll do if I decide to wear makeup (and the foundation routine I use to prep my skin for any blog posts on here!). So in case you were wondering what's on my skin, well here it is!

My skin

First, I'll talk a little about my skin, so that you can determine if the products I'm using would suit your skin in case you want to try any of these products. My skin is usually normal to dry and I don't get oily very often. (although this spring and summer my skin has been uncharacteristically oily) The main issues I have with my skin is redness in the cheeks (I have rosacea) which I need to cover and some acne here and there. My under eye area also tend to be dry and I get flaky skin on my nose and forehead on occasion. With that said here is how I proceed to concealer and brighten my complexion :

Base

First, I apply moisturizer. Lately I've been liking the Moisture hydrating lotion by Neutrogena because it has SPF 30. I like using the Real Techniques buffing brush or Expert Face Brush to apply this. In the winter, I use a heavier moisturizer because my skin gets drier. After moisturizing, I spray my face with the Urban Decay All Nighter Spray. This is a new step to my routine and I haven't determined how useful it is yet, but for now, I'm testing it out.

Foundation

Next, I apply my foundation using the same brush.  (I also often use my hands for this) Lately, my favorite is the Rimmel Wake me Up Foundation. I love how silky it is on the skin and it think the coverage is great. It leaves a nice dewy finish, which I prefer since I tend to have dry skin. I'm not big on matte finishes on myself since it tends to bring forward the dry patches on my skin which isn't very flattering. Personally, I like doing my foundation first for a couple reasons. First, many of my problem areas are usually well concealed with just foundation which eliminates the need to cake on more product by adding concealer. Second, I hate fixing fallout from my eye shadow once I have foundation on. I prefer wiping everything clean and then applying my face products. Lastly, I haven't found a concealer that I like a lot for my under eye yet so I like to apply a slippery foundation on first so that the concealer has a base so set on and it doesn't get into the fine lines around my eyes as much. Phew, that was a lot of information wasn't it? I guess I have loads to say about foundation :P

Concealing

Next, I conceal anything that is still showing through with either Maybelline Mineral Power concealer and/or Maybelline Dream Lumi Highlighting concealer. I like to apply the lumi in a triangle shape underneath my eyes from time to time if I'm going for a bright highlighted look. I like  to pat on my concealer to blend it out. I also sometimes use the deluxe crease brush from Real Techniques to blend, especially if I went heavy underneath the eyes and I don't want to ruin my blending job by patting with my fingers over it.

Powders

 Last, I powder the middle of the skin using the Stay Matte Powder by Rimmel and with a blush brush by Eco Tools. I only do it in the center of my face to conserve the dewyness of the foundation. After that, I also apply blush with the same brush. I don't really have an everyday blush, but I do really like this one by Rimmel called Pink Sugar. Next I highlight the top of my cheekbones with the Stila Highlighting duo in Kitten using the contour brush by Real Techniques. After all is applied, I spray my face again with the Urban Decay Spray to help it stay on longer and to attenuate the look of powder on my skin, which I am not a fan of.

The results

Clearly, I also have eye makeup on here, but let's focus on the skin :P I also want to mention that my lights are very hot, which make my skin look a little more shiny than it really is in real life.

That's all I do! I hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know in the comments what your favorite face products are! I'm love trying out new ones! I really want to try a few new foundations and concealers. Let me know if you have any recommendations.

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2013 Beauty Wishlist : Drugstore & High End

Just because I feel like it, I'm posting this beauty wishlist of the current items I'm lusting over. Let me know if you have tried any of these and what you think of them! ♥

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Wet' n Wild

WnW princess bronzer

WnW pearlescent pink Blush

Almay

Almay Get up and Grow Mascara

L'Oréal

Magic Lumi Foundation
Magic Lumi Concealer

Collection 2000

Concealer

Sleek

Eye Shadow Palettes

Blushes

Contour kit

Bourgeois

Healthy mix foundation

Sigma

Full brush set

Perfume

Katty Perry - Meow

Juicy Couture - Viva la Juicy

Hello Kitty

China Glaze Nail Polishes

Tarte 

Amazonian Clay Blushes

LORAC

PRO Palette

Soap & Glory

Righteous Butter

Benefit

Erase Paste

Bo-ing Concealer

Urban Decay 

Naked 2 Palette

The Balm 

Balm Jovi Rockstar Palette

Mary Lou Manizer Highlighter

Hot Mama Blush

Too faced

Natural Eye Shadow Collection

Natural at Night Shadow Collection

Smokey Eye Shadow Collection

Shadow Insurance

NYX (pretty much anything by NYX)

Caviar and Bubbles Shadow Palette

Stila 
All Over Shimmer Duo

Others

Z palette

Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask

Fyrinnae 

Callipygian, Enchanting Otters, Otherworld ,Sleepy Hollow, Wicked, Hypercool, Herbivore, Mephisto, Freya, Purgatory, Pumpkin fire, Shinigami, Soceress, Leshii, Immortality,

Pixy Epoxy

Darling Girl
Loose shadows (too many to list them all!)

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So my list is pretty long I guess :P Thankfully most of it is Drugstore/inexpensive! Let me know what items are on your beauty wishlist for 2013! :)

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February 2013 Beauty Favorites

Since February is almost over, it's time for monthly favorites!

Here's a view of all the products I've been loving this month! 

♥ Lip Products : Carmex lipbalm and Maybelline Babylips lipbam (the minty one). 

Both very smooth and healing. I hate the way the Carmex smells/tastes, but it does a wonderful job helping my poor chapped lips!

 ♥ Face Products :  Rimmel Stay Matte Powder, Maybelline BB Cream and Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Foundation. 

The powder is great for helping my foundation stay on longer and it doesn't look cakey. As for the foundation, I love the dewy, silky finish it has. The coverage is pretty good too, without making it look like you're wearing a mask. The BB cream has light coverage and a pretty high SPF making it perfect for days I don't want to wear makeup, but still want to reduce the appearance of redness. I'm almost out of it (it's a super tiny container) and it's a bummer because it's not sold here in Quebec.

♥ Skincare : Bioderma makeup remover, Soap & Glory Hand Food and Clean & Clear Persa-Gel 10

All amazing products in my book. The Bioderma is expensive, but I love how it removes every bit of dirt from my skin without being harsh (my skin is quite sensitive). It doesn't leave a tight feeling behind which is great since my skin is dry. As far as Hand Food goes, I really like the smell and the packaging. It's not too oily and absorbs really quickly. It's not my favorite hand cream ever, but it's definitely a favorite. Finally Persa-Gel has been one of my favorite products for at least a year now. It's super effective at clearing any blemish I might have. This is a new tube I've got whilst in Vegas a few weeks ago. It's a stronger formula than what I can get here in Quebec (I think you need a prescription for that here).

♥ Nails : Sally Hansen Fiamond Strength Nail Color in Diamonds. 

Not much to say about this other than it's super pretty over everything.

♥ Brushes : All from Eco Tools; Blending brush, Large Shading brush and Kabuki brush. 

Eco Tools is still my favorite makeup brush brand so far (who knows it might change now that I got a bunch of brushes by Real Techniques). All of their brushes are incredibly soft and apply products wonderfully. The blending brush is my favorite that I own, and I love the shading brush for my browbone highlight. The kabuki is tiny and I love it for travel.

♥ Eye Products : Milani Liquif'Eye metallic eye liner pencil, Wet' n Wild Gel liner in black, Cover Girl the Clump Crusher Mascara, Wet' n Wild single eyeshadow in Nutty, The Balm Nude'Tude Palette and Stila In the Lights Palette

First off, the pencil is a repeat favorite. I've never had a liner so black and creamy. It applies without any pressure and it doesn't rub off easily. It's super affordable too! The gel liner is another purchase from Vegas. For some reason, this products isn't for sale here in Quebec. It's really cheap (4$ I think, compared to my Maybelline one which is at least 11$), super black and really creamy. Instant favorite!  The mascara is a product I'm kind of surprised to like. I was not a fan of the Lash Blast mascara and this is in the same collection. This mascara is amazing. It truly doesn't clump and the volume is very buildable. The curved brush is easy to use and I kind of love the packaging :)

Now for the eyeshadow : 

First off the Nude'tude palette which I adore. It pretty much has every color I need for everyday wear, plus a large mirror  which makes it perfect for travel! The shadows are ultra buttery and pigmented. Couldn't be happier with this palette. ♥

my favorites colors from the Nude'tude palette

my favorites colors from the Nude'tude palette

I've had this palette by Stila for a while now. I love every color in the palette, but I have a few clear favorites. The matte beige shade is my perfect browbone highlighter and the matte pale brown is a great transition color. I love the shimmery colors for all over the lid. Just like the The Balm palette, the colors are very pigmented and easy to work with.

my favorites colors from the In the Lights Palette :  bare, kitten , bliss, champagne

Wet'n Wild Nutty Eyeshadow

From left to right : nutty, bare, kitten , bliss, champagne,  stubborn, stand-offish, selfish, sultry, seductive

 Those are my favorites for the month of February. Have you tried any of these products? Did you enjoy them? Let me know you're favorites in the comments! I love discovering new products :)