My everyday makeup is constantly changing every week -- heck, every day most often than not, unless I'm being particularly lazy. On a high note, it means I get to try out many different combinations of products very quickly, but at the same time I can get very bored of a new product very quickly. Still, since this year I'm trying to cut back on how much I spend on makeup, to favour fashion instead (more to come on that in a future post, so I won't bore you with the details here), it seemed like the perfect time to rediscover old favourites in my collection instead of purchasing new items for novelty's sake.
Of course, like every other trip down memory lane, I found amazing bits, but also some terrible fiascos I'd rather not run into anytime soon, which is why today I decided to share with you some of my everyday makeup bits, the good, the bad and the ugly all in one so you won't make the same mistakes I did.
Starting with something I love with all my heart, the Revlon Colorstay Foundation for normal to dry skin in the shade Buff. This shade was perfect for my milky winter skin, but as I'm magically gaining a tan lately, I fear it won't do it for me for much longer, which is a shame considering the formula of this is simply amazing. I love the natural, velvety finish it gives to the skin, without drying my already dry skin out even further. It gives you this 'glow from within' kind of aura rather than a flat out dewy finish that can be hard to manage if you suffer from an oily t-zone like I do (it's primarily my nose, but still a pain in the ass to blot at work every thirty minutes - especially considering I don't have that many breaks as it is). I do prefer to apply this with a beauty sponge rather than a brush, only because I feel like it blends everything like a dream that way around, rather than with a brush. It also has a very particular smell of sunscreen, which I actually don't mind, but it is somewhat noticeable even after you apply the foundation, so beware.
Moving onto something I'm not so crazy about, it's this very old H&M Bronzer, from the old H&M makeup line. Besides being way too orangey for me, it was also very patchy in consistency, so an overall miss for me as a bronzer. But the most watchful of you might notice I definitely hit pan on it, so I must have found some use for it, right? It turns out it was a great warm crease colour during the fall, so that's where it all went - it worked surprisingly well as an eyeshadow rather than a bronzer. Of course, since H&M discontinued this line, you can't get your hands on it anymore, but I thought I'd share my gigantic eyeshadow pan that I still reach for even in these warmer months now - just in case you have it sitting in your collection and have no clue what to do with it!
Another massive favourite of mine is the Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara. I won't press on about the details for this one, since I already reviewed it here, but all I have to say is that I've never found another mascara I loved as much as this one - the Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara coming in a close second.
As for a meh kind of product, we have the Deliplus Intense Eyeliner, which was actually a hand me down from a uni friend of mine, so I have no idea how much it cost. This wasn't really a mind blowing product, but it wasn't terrible either. Just not the best performing liquid eyeliner under hot weather situations - and I speak from the heartbreaking experience of checking myself at work in one of the bathrooms only to realise my wing was smudged down to very protruding panda eyes. Not a cute look I will repeat anytime soon, obviously. Still, if the weather is cold and dry, this will last you quite a long time, so it might be useful depending on where you live and where you work at.
But the worst product of them all is, without a doubt, Sleek's Matte Me Lip Cream in the shade Birthday Suit. Now, don't get me wrong, I gave this a fair shot - more than that, I was desperate for this to work as well as I had hoped for. The colour was amazing and do was the payoff, but I just couldn't get past the consistency of this liquid lipstick. It dried down to a very powdery finish that dried out my lips to oblivion after only a few hours of wear - and don't get me started on how I couldn't eat nor drink without having it peel off in the most unflattering way, leaving me with no chance to reapply an even and appealing second coat afterwards even if I wanted to touch up. It was the kind of product you had to bring makeup wipes with you to get it off after you had a meal and hope you'd rush fast enough to the bathroom so people wouldn't see what a mess your lipstick looked like. No matter how stunning it looked on me when I first applied it, I just couldn't get past the fussy process afterwards. I'd rather pick up my trusted Sephora lip creams any day of the week, even if it's worth double the price of the Sleek ones.
To end on a high note, I bring you one of my favourite highlighters, in the most travel friendly packaging of them all - the stick. Kiko's Radiant Touch Creamy Stick Highlighter is one of the best, subtle highlighters you can find that will actually last forever on your cheekbones, though I wouldn't recommend applying it everywhere since it's quite the glowy formula. Perfect for the bridge of the nose, the cupid's bow and the cheekbones, it's incredibly easy to apply and you can never have too harsh of a hand with these either - I've pretty much lathered myself in this in the past and managed to always save the day with minimal blending with my fingertips. I urge everyone to try this out, especially with Spring just around the corner.
And there you have it! A collection of hits and misses, all very affordable, some perfect for everyday wear, some you should probably stay away from as much as possible. I hoped you enjoyed this post and if you have any everyday makeup hits and misses of your own, share them in the comments!
