July/August 2017 Favorites

One of the things I missed with the timing of my Mac's demise was posting my July favorites. Grab yourself a snack or a drink because I'm going to make this a two-month post, and cover a lot of territory.

Let's start with makeup. I'd planned to review many of these items already, but that's not going to stop me from sharing them in September. Please note that anything with a hyperlink is a direct shopping link.

Primers:

I discovered my current HG priming routine over the past two months. It's rather complicated, but that's ok. Depending on the weather and my skin, I start with a color-correcting primer for my red areas. I'm actually out of my favorite (Make Up For Ever Step 1 Skin Equalizing Primer- Redness), and I won't repurchase until I finish up all of the green primers in my collection. I'm almost down to my last one. Next, I either go in with CoverFX Mattifying Primer if it's going to be a humid day or an illuminating primer (I've loved the CoverFX Illuminating Primer and Milani Prime Light Strobing Primer over the past two months). Next, for some pore filling, I reach for the  Milk Makeup Blur Stick. Next, onto my problem areas (11s and smile lines) I smooth the tiniest bit of L'Oreal Magic Perfecting Base. I finish by spraying the Too Faced Hangover Rx 3-in-1 Spray- which I'll be sharing the good news about with you soon. I also was boring in terms of an eye combination- MAC Painterly Paint Pot, set with Sephora Collection Beauty Amplifier Lid & Liner Primer.


Eyeshadow:

I think the number of palettes I've been through should be an indication that I wouldn't have many shadow favorites. That's true. I purchased the original LORAC Mega Pro palette when it went up on the brand's website. I'm in love. Same with the LORAC Mega Pro 2, which was my July obsession. Although a recent purchase, I keep reaching for lid shades from the MAC Power Hungry Palette.

In terms of items I've been loving that aren't available, it's the Tom Ford Unabashed Palette and Marc Jacobs The Lolita (which I got from the brand as part of a mystery bag). I've also been loving my MAC Double Custom Palette, which I pulled from my hundreds of shades. It lives in my drawer, whereas the Mega Pros live on my vanity. I've also pulled a mini Smashbox CoverShot Trio in Screenshot.


Eyeliner and Mascara:


I've been so basic the past two months. I've been keeping it basic, with the Wet 'n Wild Skinny Tip Eyeliner coming back into my rotation (review coming in September), while still loving Anastasia Beverly Hills Darkside Liner, and the Anastasia Beverly Hills Metallic Luster Liners. I told you I was boring! Again, another place where I've been pretty boring is mascara. I adore using my Urban Decay Subversion Primer, and have been loving a trio of mascaras: It Cosmetics Superhero Elastic Stretch Volumizing Mascara, Urban Decay Perversion Mascara, and L'Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara.


Now, onto the face. Let's talk Concealers and Correctors:

As always, I'm in love with Tarte Shape Tape, but I've also been loving Cle de Peau The Concealer for face concealing when self-tanned. In terms of correctors, I've been trying a few but the only one I've really been loving is my staple Tarte Colored Clay CC Undereye Corrector.

Foundations and Powders:

I've been keeping it pretty simple these days. On the foundation front, I'm still loving Lancome Teint Idole, La Mer The Foundation (when not self-tanned), Givenchy Teint Couture Balm, and MAC Next to Nothing Face Colour on the weekend. When self-tanned, I also loved the CoverGirl Clean Matte BB Cream. I've also fallen for It Cosmetics CC Cream and bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Complexion Balm this summer.

Four powders have lived in my drawer for the past two months: MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural, RCMA No Color Powder, and Too Faced Born This Way Ethereal Setting Powder.

Bronzer:

It must be summer if I'm obsessed with more bronzers than anything else! L'Oreal Glam Bronze is so good and so similar to one of my other favorites- Marc Jacobs Tan-Tastic. Algenist's Color Correcting Bronzer also found its way back into rotation, as well as Physician's Formula Butter Bronzer. My favorite new bronzer is Becca Sunlit Bronzer in Capri Coast.




Contour:

Two contour kits stole my heart these past two months. I've been loving the sadly-discontinued Fiona Stiles Sheer Contour Kit in Light/Medium and the Anastasia Beverly Hills Powder Contour Kit in Light/Medium.


Blush:

I wish I could admit to being more adventurous than I have been. I've been using my Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes the most frequently.

My custom MAC blush quad and Natasha Denona Blush Duo #15 make occasional guest appearances.

In terms of single blushes, there have only been three in rotation. Too Faced Love Flush blushes in Justify My Love and Baby Love (something I adore from last 21 Days of Beauty) and Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso.


Highlighter:

I've also been pretty boring in terms of highlighter. Laura Geller French Vanilla lives in my drawer, along with Essence Be My Highlight these days. When I was self-tanned, I finally discovered the beauty of Becca Opal. I also loved Dose of Colors Highlighter in Milk 'n Honey.

Lipliner:

I kept it simple in terms of lipliner. The most frequently used was Bobbi Brown Lipliner in Beige, combined with Lancome Le Lipstique in Clair.

Lipstick:

I kept things so basic these last couple of months.  MAC Lipstick in Shy Girl (special packaging), Bobbi Brown Lip Color in Ultra Beige (from that Nordstrom set), Hourglass GIRL Stylo in Peacemaker (100pt perk size), Marc Jacobs Sheer Gel Lipstick in Have We Met? , and MAC Lipstick in Love at First Bite.


Liquid Lipstick:

I really only used two most of the summer- bareMinerals Statement Matte Lip Color in Juicy and bareMinerals GenNude Liquid Lipstick in Slay.


Lip Gloss:

I kept it simple here too! I blame this on hot days and playing with lots of different colors. MAC Vamplify Lipgloss in Spanking Haute, MAC Creamsheen Glass in ChaChaCha, Anastasia Beverly Hills Lipglosses in Amber, Caramel, and Saint Tropez.


PHEW!

Now, let's talk Skincare.

I've been loving this combo- Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum, Avene Gentle Toning Lotion, Enlite When it Rains, It Pores Serum, Enlite Face Cardio (I'm so angry that CVS discontinued these), First Aid Beauty Coconut Smoothie Priming Moisturizer, The Ordinary Caffeine Eye Serum, Avene Mattifying Fluid.

You probably know I'm really into sheet masks. I've been loving two main active ingredients this summer- Tea Tree and my beloved Red Wine. Pictured are the TonyMoly I'm Real Tea Tree Mask , 7 Days Tea Tree Mask, and TonyMoly I'm Real Red Wine Pore Care Mask. All of these can either be found at the pharmacy, at TJMaxx, or in multi-packs from the brand around the $2-2.50 range each.

I raved about this earlier in the week, but I'm obsessed with Simple's new Water Boost Micellar Cleansing Water.

Other:

I know that it's not exactly fair to include an item I only purchased on the 26th, but I knew immediately that I knew this product. If you're in the market for an inexpensive Bluetooth speaker, I recommend the AmazonBasics Wireless Speaker ($29.99 for the black version I purchased). One of my huge complaints about my new laptop was the horrible audio. This has saved the day for me so nicely. It's not the world's best speaker, but it's an affordable speaker if you're looking to boost your laptop.

Non-makeup, but a total fun lifesaver: MyTagalongs Stargazer Charger & Cord Case ($18, Nordstrom). I've tucked my Michael Kors travel charger, two pairs of headphones (one for my work computer and one for my iPhone), and a couple of other daily necessities into here. I also bought the Headphones case ($10) once I realized how lovely these were.

What have you been loving the second half of summer?

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2017 Beauty Exclusives: Bobbi Brown

Today we have the product, aside from the face palette, that required the most testing. But there are only three items, QBB, you may remark. Oh, just wait. I was doing battle with one of them. And was determined to slay it.

Is that a call out of a brand we all know and love, Bobbi?

We're going to discuss the Bobbi Brown Bobbi on Trend Lips Collection- Nude ($50). This set comes with three full-sized products and is listed with an overall value of $83.

I'll readily admit that I don't review Bobbi Brown products that often- but like Laura Mercier, I find the brand to be packed with everyday go-tos and something I can usually trust. I liked both the Nude and Pop kits, but decided to go with Nude for a few reasons. I was afraid that the Pop color would pull too dark on my pigmented lips, and I was on the hunt for a new nude (clearly).

Each kit comes with three full-sized products. Per the Bobbi Brown MUA I was chatting with, only the lipstick is exclusive to the set. So for your $50, you get a lip liner, a Liquid Artistic, and a lipstick. It was really the lipstick that sold me because of a recent experience.

I received a deluxe mini in other neutral from Sephora a couple of months ago and love the formula. That's why initially I went for this kit over the Laura Mercier or the MAC (I hadn't shopped clothes/shoes yet, so my budget for beauty went up as a result later).

I mentioned that I was fighting with one of the products in the kit- don't worry, we'll get to that in detail later. I like that we have 3 different undertones for nudes in this kit.

Let's start with the item that pulled me into the kit- the lipstick.

The Bobbi Brown Lip Color contains 0.12oz of product and usually retails for $28.

This kit's exclusive shade is #52, Uber Beige. It's described as "a sandy-toned neutral".

Let's talk formula.It's balmy, hydrating, and fades beautifully. It's not long-wearing, but that's not a claim of the product. This is a perfect type of item to keep around for either an effortless look- or with me on the go. 

I get Chanel Rouge Coco vibes (the latest relaunch, with the names) in terms of packaging, size, and formula. But this is more hydrating than the Chanel.

Now, I'm probably the harshest critic when it comes to finding a nude lipstick because I have pigmented lips.

It's very nice. I usually have several concerns when evaluating shades like this, and this passes all tests.

1. Is it overly sheer? Nope, it is just right. With my levels of pigmentation, these are tricky. I don't like investing in I something that does nothing.

2. Is it overly opaque, leading to a concealer look? Again, not a worry

3. Is it overly brown? With my complexion, this is a concern. It's flattering on me despite a lack of rose undertones.

I think this is a lovely color that's easy to wear and flatters any number of people. It truly is a shade that I don't have to worry about and it works with warm, cool, and neutral options.

As an aside, I'd like to think that this week has been a personal challenge in making time. I've really been limited to doing 95% of work on the weekends; purchasing everything on Friday didn't allow me to do so. So I spent my commutes- 15-20 min on the bus, time on the train, etc- typing out the body of reviews. I can photograph and do my minimal watermarking, cropping, etc quickly. It's just doing both parts that takes awhile.

Now, onto the product that delayed this post because I was determined to figure it out (I was already familiar with the lipstick formula, so I really just wanted to test it for a couple hours Saturday. Yes, I've been playing with this kit since Saturday.). The Art Stick Liquid Lip is not a new product, but it's new to me. It's a liquid lip in a squeeze tube.

Each Artstick Liquid Lip contains 0.17oz of product and normally retails for $28. This shade, Honey Bare, is in the permanent lineup. It's described as "a soft beige."

Let me say this before I continue: great product, flawed packaging. Like anyone else with no prior experience with it, i applied straight from the tube on try #1. And I found it to be gloopy, thick, and looking like crap. After that, I blotted and smoothed- which gave me an idea.

Try #2 yielded the answer for me. I applied from a lip brush. I got a smooth, even coat. It lasted through a meal and lots of drinking ( it's summer and hot!). So this seems like the way to do it- but I'll be honest, carrying around a brush is a PITA.

Let's also talk the good/bad about the formula. It is one of the most comfortable that I've tried- and that's due to its dry down time. This is super slow to dry- think 5 min or so. That's somewhat annoying when you're in a rush, but also gives ample clean-up time and makes me think this might be ideal for an ombré look. I'm intrigued enough  that I'm considering additional purchases in the line.

It's quite lovely but high-maintenance on the front end. Look at that pigmentation- and the fact that it's non-drying is awesome.


I'll wrap up by briefly discussing the liner. It's a nice, basic nude liner. I'll use it up. I don't have a plethora of superlatives to offer about this- but I do like a good nude liner.

This shade, Beige, is in the permanent lineup and normally retails for $24. It contains 0.04oz of product, and is described as "a light warm beige."

Let's look at it on my lips:

Yes, it's very pigmented and creates a canvas for a neutral lip.


I didn't see a huge difference compared with just the lipstick, but here's the lipliner and lipstick together:

Now that I showed these on the lips, let's look at a hand swatch. L-R: Lipliner in Beige, Lip Color in Uber Beige, and Artstick Liquid Lip in Honey Beige:

What a beautifully curated set.

Bottom Line: This was a total surprise and impulse buy for me- I wasn't even planning to purchase when I walked into the tent. I haven't heard a lot about this kit, either. I think it's a great value, and a sleeper score from the sale. I'm glad I went with my gut and purchased it. The Artstick Liquid Lip takes a bit of finesse, but it's worth it and I look forward to playing with other shades in the future. The lipstick is a huge favorite of mine- I've worn it twice already! If nudes aren't your thing, there's a brighter/deeper set. I highly recommend checking this out.

Bobbi Brown Intensive Skin Serum Foundation

QBB Note: My swatch hand has turned a lovely color somewhere between a light sage and olive green, so I'm not yet back to swatching. In the meantime, I've bumped a post I'd pre-written for a couple of weeks from now while I edit posts and wait for the bruising to heal on my hand.

Serum-like foundations seem to be a huge trend these days. I successfully ignored most of them, sticking instead to my tried and true favorites. When I had a chance to nab Bobbi Brown Intensive Skin Foundation (1oz, $62) at a discount in my shade, I finally caved.

Intensive Skin Serum Foundation comes in a heavy, black bottle with dropper applicator and touts SPF 40 sunscreen. The instructions clearly state that shaking well before application is required; I found this to be essential.

Application: To apply this, I tended to drop a single drop on the back of my hand, then picked up product with my clean fingertips then blended directly on my skin. I suppose that you can use a BeautyBlender for this, but that's a tool that I don't use so I couldn't try it out. At the very least, this is a no-brushes please foundation. You need to be able to blend into the skin, and I found that my body heat helped.

Formula: As a serum foundation, this is very runny (hence only work with one drop at a time, and that should just about do it for your face) and sheers out. I noticed a lovely finish, but it is very, very sheer. I didn't find it particularly buildable.

I did, however, find it to be an awesome match with great finish. I built up the formula and it looks a little darker here. Plus, the underside of my arms never see the sun.

I wear 00 Alabaster in Bobbi Brown products, which is so hard to find. I pulled a few different foundations out for comparison.

1. Tom Ford Traceless Perfecting Foundation Broad Spectrum SPF15- 01 Cream
2. Bobbi Brown Intensive Skin Serum Foundation- 00 Alabaster
3. Chanel Perfection Luminere Velvet- 12 Beige Rose
4. Tom Ford Traceless Foundation Stick- 01 Alabaster
5. MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation NW15 (Watch for a full review on this soon)
6. NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation- Mont Blanc


Overall, I think this is probably lovely for what it is- a lightweight serum foundation. My skin loves it, but it's not enough to cover my rosacea. I have to really get aggressive with concealer when I wear this, so that defeats the purpose.  I'm glad that I got a chance to try this out at less than retail, but it tells me that I shouldn't look to purchase others. I'll give this a try come the height of summer, and hopefully when my skin's better behaved.

QBB's Bottom Line: If your skin is in great condition and you want a "my skin but better" look, I'd look at this foundation for sure. It wears nicely (8+ hours), but coverage is questionable. I'll keep trying once my rosacea calms down a bit and when I'm not fighting some breakouts. It's a great range of shades.