Makeup Is My Jam. Nuff Said.

For anyone who knows me at all, you will know I have always loved make up. Mainly, eye shadow, but I love the whole process. I love taking my face and being creative and painting it to make dramatic effect. I think it is amazing that I can take my face, a pretty plain jane kinda girl, and really emphasize my big round eyes or minimize my big butt nose. :) I digress...

I am not an artistic person, but a face is my canvas, shadow my pallet, and I love to use makeup to create! Is it makeup? Or make up? I don't know. But for the purposes of this blog it will be what I type in the moment.

I thought I would share with you some of my FAVORITE products and in turn I would love your comments and feedback. What products can you not live without? Do you know any alternatives that are just as good as the big names in make up?

Any fun tips and techniques?

Let's start with some pics:

 BEST eyeliner ever. It's Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliner. I LOVE it. It glides well, doesn't run on my contact lens. It lines. You sharpen it. It runs around $18 but it is well worth it. I haven't found a good drugstore alternative. If anyone knows of one, let me know. 

 My favorite liquid blush. A dab'll do ya. Dab two little circles on your cheeks and blend in to create a glowy, dewy, blushy look. This runs $30 but will last you for YEARS! Seriously, I got mine back 2005? I'm still using it. Haven't run out. 

 This is my favorite powder. I use light/medium but I also realize that it's pretty expensive. It runs around $30. For those of you that can't afford that, I really like L'oreal's Translucent Powder in Light or Translucent for all skin tones. I just use powder to SET my makeup. Not to give any additional color to my face. 

It's only $10 - 12 at your drugstore and I found it at Walgreen's BOGO half off! So, I bought two. I am using this instead of MAC these days to save money. There are certain makeup items I don't mind having the cheaper version of because they are just as good. This is one of those. 

These are my brushes from Sephora. For you critics out there, I'm not saying MAC brushes aren't better nor am I saying Mary Kay brushes are crap. I think if you find a brush that works for you and does the job, use it. Some of my favorite brushes came from CVS. But I will tell you, this set runs $40 - $50 I think and it is phenomenal! I love it. Gets the job done! 

YOU MUST, however, have one or two more brushes. 

 Any good makeup artist will you tell you that you need a creaser brush! Gotta blend, blend, blend! 

And an eyeliner brush. Now, I use this for lining with color or defining or for layering over my urban decay eyeliner. It's a fun brush. 

I have friends ask me all the time A.)How do I afford my makeup addiction? B.)How do I know what colors to pick? C.)What's the best eye shadow. Some of you may differ from me, but I think the cheapest way to go to get the bestest for your money is to buy a pallet. You get considerably more shadows than buying them individually and often while you may be drawn to the pallet because of all the tans and browns in it, there's often one or two colors that are part of the pallet that will get you out of your comfort zone. I'm all about trying those colors! Here are four pallets I HAVE and LOVE and USE on a weekly basis. 

 Often times, a pallet will come with a brush or a primer or something extra. I love that pallets are a way to try new colors you wouldn't normally try on your own. Also, it helps me to decide which colors I can't live without. I used up all of the "honey" in this pallet. So, I went back and bought an individual one. It cost $18 to buy an individual urban decay shadow, but for that color I KNEW already that it was worth it. This whole pallet cost me around $40 - $50 I think. 

 This one is my favorite right! It costs $40, but you get 9 huge round shadows. Individually, this would cost you at LEAST $90 if not more. 

 This pallet cost around $40. I like this for a nude eye or for a smoky eye. I put this one on there for you people who love tans and browns. :) 

Not a great picture of this one, but I LOVED this pallet. It was my first one. I loved the colors in it so much I bought several individually. 

 FAVORITE blush ever. It's a Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick and it's a whopping $50. I can't afford that. Alas, I bought one at The Cosmetic Company for around $30. I ran out and since Opry Mills flooded, I haven't been able to purchase another. But soon, baby, soon! :) If you are looking for some cheaper alternatives I love MAC blush in the color Dainty and I also really like blushes by Benefit. Both run around $30, but it's blush. I mean, spend a little more to get something you really like and you'll have it for YEARS. Blush lasts so long. 

 I LOVE this mascara. Sad to say, it is an alarming $25 and I can't bring myself to buy it. I have used two to tubes of it and that was most definitely pre-baby. I stick with my clinique mascara now for a mere $15 dollars. 

 I know we aren't talking hair care here, but I have to mention it. I LOVE Moroccan Oil. I have super thick hard to blow dry hair. It takes 40% off of the drying time. That alone is worth it for me. This runs around $40. 

Favorite body butter ever. It's around $20 too. Pricery, but smells like HEAVEN and I love it. Not greasy either. 

I thought I couldn't live without this MAC paint pot in Bare Study. I've been using it for years as a PRIMER underneath my shadow. I prime my whole eye with it, use a light shadow to highlight my brow bone, and lid color and a crease color. This is an amazing product. However, I found a cheaper alternative I like. It's not quite as good, but for us moms on a budget, it'll do the job. It's Maybelline's Color Tattoo cream shadow in TOO COOL. That color is WHITE , not blue or brown as shown. But it works well! 

Lastly, if you have any questions just ask. Hope you enjoy! Let me know what products you love too!