My new foundation crush is Hourglass Immaculate liquid-to-powder foundation. It's absolutely incredible and has great coverage and a beautiful texture and finish. It's pricey, though, like all Hourglass products, at $55 for a bottle.

I apply it by pumping a little on my fingertip, smearing it on problem areas and quickly buffing it in with the Real Techniques buffing brush-- no time for putting it on the back of your hand, it dries fast. I haven't tried mixing any luminizers into this but I imagine that would extend the drying time of this, if you need it. It's lightweight and mattifying as all get-out, only needing a tiny bit of powder several hours later to eliminate shine and touch up coverage (if you need it like I do).

Some people have said they can't apply concealer on top of this but I've had no problem blending my L'Oréal trublend crayon concealer over the spots that need more coverage, and both have a skin-like matte finish and neither look cakey when applied and blended properly, so everything works well. Setting this with any of the ambient lighting powders makes this a joy to wear.

SEE HOW AMAZING

After several hours, still lookin good. My spots and hyperpigmentation are peeking through but they do that anyway-- I don't like building up coverage to "unnaturally perfect" because letting a little show helps me a lot with my insecurity when I go without makeup.

It's a little shiny but for 8+ hours that's really good wear time. Mattifying powder cleans it right up, if you need it.

There are only two things I dislike about this foundation and can't seem to fix-- it transfers if I scratch my nose with my sleeve or wipe something off my face with a napkin. Not a huge amount off my face, but it's definitely noticeable on my sleeve. Also it took me s while to figure out how I wanted to apply this. I started out using my fingers, but my skincare products were making everything "pill" like an old sweater, then I tried a traditional foundation brush which left things a little too heavy and it seemed to oxidize a lot, which hadn't happened before (or since). Maybe the realtechniques brush is just specially awesome, but it's really the only way I've found to really seamlessly work with this formula. I also tried the e.l.f. flat-top powder brush and it worked pretty well, but definitely a second place far behind the realtechniques brush.

TIP: Put in the work to make your foundations work. It's so worth it, and often it's not even a lot of work, just a lot of trial and error.

Red alert: this line is probably being discontinued. Proceed with caution. Then go to Walgreens or CVS and snap these babies up on clearance.

I'm a little obsessed with how similar Revlon's packaging is to Chanel's sometimes. Look at those top 3 glosses. Those are classy as heck and the same shape. And that bottom one. The same arrangement of colors but different dimensions. I'll admit, this is the only gloss formula I'll willingly buy for the colors because I'm not a gloss person. If I'm buying lip gloss it's for shine or flavor usually, and it's cheap. These? These are cheap but they're also fantastic. And super nice looking. I'm a sucker for packaging. Sue me. These are $4 right now. It looks like NARS packaging too!

I'm not an expert on formula, but these aren't sticky and they feel pretty nice. They settle into lip lines some, but I've found that wearing a lipstick or something underneath these helps a TON with that. These aren't really layering colors, since they're so pigmented, but if you have a sheer-ish layering base color, these look amazing. Bellini looks good with the lightest nude balm stain in Charm or any peachy-nude color, Embellished looks witchy-gorgeous over any vampy color. Sunbaked, though, looks awesome on its own. It's in the same area as NARS Dolce Vita, I think. But $4. 

Also, the whole Super Lustrous line is now in round packaging which I think is totally disgusting and I'm never buying any of them. But why would I? These are awesome. Also, they look more sheer now. Clear > sheer in my book. They all look the same anyway.

I really love highlighters, and though most people search for 'the perfect highlighter that doesn't make me look like a disco ball' I really don't mind that look.

Hey. I'm young. I can wear sparkles. Right? Right.

I love mixing liquid highlighters into my foundation (although these day's it's just a tinted moisturizer), and I love powder highlighters for the usual kind of highlighting or applied all over the face for, you know, extreme highlighting? All over illumination? Whatever we're calling it, I like it. Because even if I can't get my skin looking even and smooth, I can emphasize the finish and glow it has, and I like that control. Also, I like that glow.

I should add a disclaimer here: As much as I love shimmer on the face, I don't like shimmery blush. You know what happens when you blush? Your face turns a color. Your face doesn't turn SPARKLY. Also, I find that most blush placement does not really lend itself to adding sparkles there. Matte/satin blush+highlighter = genius. Sparkly blush = nope. Ahem, NARS. 

From top to bottom, my favorite highlighters:
Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch highlighting concealer in Ivory
Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Opal
Benefit High Beam
Sally Girl eyeshadow in Gun Metal
Chanel Dentelle Precieuse

The Maybelline concealer I like for spot highlighting in a more contour-y fashion, because it's not sparkly so it does just give the effect of lightening the area and making it look more prominent.

Opal shimmering skin perfector was my favorite thing to mix into my foundations this summer, although now that winter's here I'm really digging High Beam-- less peachy, more moonlit. Both look pretty sparkly here, but when mixed into foundation, especially Opal, they look radiant instead of glittery. Not that I mind glittery!

The Sally Girl shadow is a total hidden gem. Probably a dupe for Urban Decay Virgin, but 99 cents. It's incredible. The most subtle of the three I've listed here, but when built up it looks INCREDIBLE and now in a "what did you do to your skin?" or "your cheekbones look sharp" but a "WHAT HIGHLIGHTER ARE YOU WEARING?" way. (I'm that kind of person who would actually ask that, though.) It's very soft and blendable, shimmery without any kind of obvious sparkle, just an ethereal sheen on your cheekbones, nose, cupid's bow, wherever you like to apply it. I'm serious, if you're obsessed with highlighter like I am or if you're just a baby beginner, you should try this out. And if you don't use it for highlighting, it's a foolproof eyeshadow. I'll try to put up a picture soon of this one in action because it's amazing.

And we all know how I feel about Dentelle Precieuse.

TIP: I'm obsessed with highlighter, don't let me buy any more. I have WAY fewer than I thought I did. Let's keep it that way.

Not a lot. But check out this makeup I did for a rush party a while back. Getting the colors on already. Light blue and sunshine yellow.

I am THAT girl.

I have lots of free time on my hands now so I'm gonna try to get a bunch of posts up soon! Taking photographs is just very time-consuming, and having roommates, a little weird to be caught doing. Oh, you know, I'm just chillin, with seven lip glosses on my arm... yeah, on my arm... see you later...

Sorry for the photo dump here, guys, but I was really interested by the packaging on this one. That little matchbox-style cardboard sleeve! And the guilty smudge of using it before photographing...

I've never used anything from Korres, but I've always eyed the Wild Rose Lip Butter because it's totally up my alley. Deep color, sheer coverage? Um, yeah. Hydrating and shiny? Yeah.

It's really awesome, honestly. The texture is dreamy, buttery and smooth, and really comfortable and hydrating. I'm sure all these things have been said before. But this isn't really a "review" blog so much as a "ramblings" blog, so here's my issue. 

It's in a pot.

I knooooooooow. It's so picky. But... gross. I reapply lip balm a lot. I don't want to put germy fingers into the jar to smear them on my lips and save some for later. Otherwise, this would be in a SERIOUS fight with my beloved Benebalm.

TIP: Tinted lip balms are way easier to use for sheering out bold lip color than a lip gloss because the texture is so much more forgiving. I mean, so is clear lip balm, but that's not what this post is about.

I'm gonna use this here post to talk a lil bit about something non-makeup related (wow) for just a second, and then I'll get to the lipstick.

I looooooooove Nicki Minaj's Anaconda and Meghan Trainor's All About That Bass. I really really like em, I think they have a great message and are super fun. BUT as a thin girl, I don't think they're super-duper "body-positive" songs. I think they're positive, but "skinny bitches" isn't positive for everyone... or, really, anyone? Not sure about that. I understand that this is an unnecessary complaint, because there are so so so many songs and videos and photographs enforcing 'thin' as the only beauty ideal, and I fit that. However, I also think it's important to remember that positivity should be inclusive, because putting down one group of people to make yourself feel better isn't doing anyone any favors, huh? And especially, putting yourself down to make your compliments seem nicer totally doesn't work. "Ugh, I'm so fat, you're so skinny, I'll never be as pretty as you..." Well, I understand that I fit many traditional, sexist and Eurocentric beauty ideals, but I didn't make them, I try not to perpetuate them, and putting yourself down isn't going to help you achieve that impossible goal. I understand that any criticism here (ha, like anyone reads this blog enough to hate it) is valid because I have a totally different point of view from those who criticize me, and those who do put themselves down to compliment me, so I can't really understand all of what you mean when you say that. Still... It's important that we love ourselves first. Make yourself feel beautiful the way YOU want to, if you want to at all.

Anyway... Kat Von D's new Studded Kiss lipstick line sure is interesting...
I bought the beautiful and sparkly Thin Lizzy because it says LIZZY (not because of THIN) which, believe it or not, used to be my nickname that I went by (har, har, look at the narcissist buying things with her name on them) but also because it's insanely pretty.

I mean... dang. From left to right, a purposefully blurry photo to show the sparkles, a photo of the most beauty I could capture on my camera of mere mortal power, and a photo of the base color.

It's the perfect early fall lipstick*. It's so, so, so pretty and doesn't look frosty or metallic because the sparkles here are actually quite sizeable, but not gritty or chunky, just enough to be seen, and in all different colors, too! Ohh, if only it was always fall... because of fall makeup...

TIP: I love wearing something kind of sparkly and metallic like this with a mostly matte face and then metallic eyeliner or really bold highlighter. Two lil things to catch your eye and tie 'em together.

*Late fall demands DARK DARK VAMPY LIPS before we get to holiday season, which calls for red.

Sorry, I'm just obsessed with the name of this bronzer. Too Faced Snow Bunny bronzer. THAT'S SO CUTE IT'S THE CUTEST THING EVER. It's supposed to be a 'winter bronze' which is nice because since joining the SPF revolution I look like it is always winter. The permanent sweaters don't help, because I am always cold so I also always feel like it is winter. Unfortunately, I'm not thaaaaaaat much of a fan of winter.

This bronzer is great. It looks really intimidatingly shimmery in the pan and in swatches, but it's not, I swear!

Nah, it's great. I like to apply it where I would normally apply both blush and highlighter (like I've said before, I'm new to bronzer) and it instantly gives the illusion of "yeah this person has definitely been outside more than once!" It sometimes looks a little orange on me, so I don't like pairing it with cool-toned shades in my other color cosmetics for the day and it looks fine without them. 

Shown above with Korres Wild Rose Lip Butter (coming soon, omg it's nice).

I really like it! I like how I can sweep it on in the morning and feel like I look just a little... better. Not in the same way as the Hourglass Ambient Lighting powders, that make my skin look better, but in a way that just makes my face look better-- more awake, flushed, healthy, balanced? I dunno. Too Faced, you guys nailed it here.

TIP: If you want your bronzer to look pretty natural, apply bronzer with a big brush... and then blend it out with an even bigger one. Huge. It'll distribute the product more evenly across your entire face, and make it way less obvious that you're wearing bronzer. Blend it allllllllll the way around your face and neck.

Okay, so, OCC's new Lip Tar in Technopagan seems like just a blogger thing, right? Weird. Sparkly metallic navy. Also, Technopagan is a weird name. That's a Buffy thing, right?

[Sam Winchester voice] BUT GET THIS.

It's purple.

That's right, ladies and gentlemen and agender people and robots, it's not actually blue. Sort of.

The BASE COLOR is purple and the SHIMMER is blue.

Why does this matter to me, Elizabeth? Because it makes it totally more wearable.

I mean, not that I wasn't going to wear this to class, because I was, but the purple gives so much depth and reddish tones to this color that makes it look almost natural. You can see in the swatches here that the edges are purple, and in real life that's more true to the color you get. You can sheer it out and get a lovely blueish indigo, or wear it full-on and layered up for the full blue effect.

Also, here are my feelings on blue lipstick.

I bought this because it is LITERALLY MY FAVORITE COLOR EVER. I mean, EVER. My prom dress was this color (and fully sequined, so... it had a similarly sparkly effect). I bought it because it's SO FREAKIN' COOL. And I'm gonna wear it to class tomorrow for sure. Do I care about what other people think? Yeah, I mean, I'm not totally senseless, so I care about things like wearing deodorant or shoes to class, but lipstick isn't always something you wear for other people, especially not blue. In fact, it's mostly something you wear for yourself. So... I'm wearing my favorite color, for myself. I also have nail polish and eyeliner in this color. So you know what, if you like blue lipstick, or you like a green or grey or yellow lipstick, just go for it. If anyone complains, just blow them a green or grey or yellow kiss.

TIP: Wear unusual colors like bold colors-- with otherwise minimal makeup. In the first picture I also used Benefit's They're Real Push-up liner to make a kind of funky, graphic look, and I'm not wearing any base products in either picture except blush, although in the future I'm definitely going to apply concealer because to me, 'minimal makeup' is 'minimal face' and red spots definitely distract from the overall look.

My skin has been acting up lately with tons and tons of dry patches and uncontrollable flakiness and I've used all my best moisturizers and nothing. helps.

Except this Boscia overnight mask which I picked up at sephora intending to get samples of moisturizers to try and buy later, but there was nobody in the skincare section so I ended up just buying this. You're supposed to put it on at night and wash it off in the morning, but I like to apply a generous amount, like a mistoruizer, and by morning it's mostly absorbed so I rinse and exfoliate but don't really wash it off. I like to keep it on to sink in as long as possible to keep my skin protected from anything else that would make it even drier because it's so sensitive right now. To everything.

The mask comes out as a sort of translucent white gel and applies like a thick moisturizer. I've read complaints that it's sticky and will glue your face to your pillow, and I think there's validity in that. There's also validity in sleeping on your back or changing your pillowcase when you know you're going to use this mask. When I wake up there's not a trace of stickiness, but a thin film that feels more protective than funky residue. Best of all, no beard of flakes. Every morning on the retin-a I wake up with extremely dry patches on my cheeks and jawline and chin that I have dubbed the beard, and this stuff TOTALLY eliminates that. It happens overnight-- I never go to bed with a beard of flakes-- so this does a super good job of preventing that from happening and/or showing. I highly recommend this for anyone with chronically dry skin. It'll help so much and it's so much more effective than a mask you leave on for 20 minutes or a moisturizer that sinks in in 20 seconds. I can even wear my Hourglass liquid to powder foundation (the liquid to powder claim is no joke) after using this mask and I don't look crazy caked up.

HIGH FIVE THANK YOU BOSCIA

I'm not a girl that likes to touch up makeup throughout the day. I need long-wearing eyeliner and mascara that won't smudge. But since my skin has been so dry lately and foundation looks like a mess over it, I've been wearing sunscreen and I have to reapply that every so often- and since I'm not wearing anything for oil control, I've thrown a mattifying powder in my backpack the past week and I'm surprised I've never done this before.

I got Urban Decay's de-slick mattifying powder when it went on clearance to make room for an updated formula or something, but this old version works wonderfully. I use a large flat-top powder brush (the one that came with the Sephora radiant orchid brush set) and swirl it around, then lightly dust it over my cheeks, nose and chin. My forehead is thankfully covered by my bangs, so although it is shiny most of the time because of that, you can't see it.

I also love this Guerlain KissKiss gloss for a simple everyday color. It's pale pink and shimmery-sparkly, but just enough of each to give you a little color and depth. This gloss is pretty opaque but since it's such a natural looking shade on me I don't have any problems with patchiness or obvious smearing. The one complaint I do have is the smell--- I enjoy violets, yes, but this is so heavily fragranced that you can smell it as soon as you open the tube and it hangs around for most of the wear time. The scent on the Rouge Gs has nowhere near this kind of lasting power. Still, it's not an offensive scent. This formula feels so divine, not sticky at all but plush and squishy, and has impressive wear time for something this un-sticky. I hate sticky lip gloss. If I want more lasting power out of a lip color I'll just go with a lipstick or a lip stain, there's no reason to use a gross lip gloss for lasting color.

I also carry a lip balm with me everywhere. I have one attached to my keychain, I have Benebalm in my purse, and a Burt's Bees in my backpack. Lip balm is essential. More practical for class than pulling out a luxurious lip gloss, too. Fewer weird stares.