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Holy grail videos and posts are a sort of tradition in the Beauty Blogger community. Every blogger has products that just WORK for her. These products can be high end, drug store, or even home made. So, after three months of blogging and building upon my beauty product collection, I've decided it's my turn.
Brushes
The Large Fan Brush: I use two different sizes of these brushes. When I first started playing with makeup I had absolutely no idea why I received not only one but TWO of these ridiculous and useless brushes. So the research began. I found that I can use the large fluffy fan brush for brushing away powder. Ever done your eye shadow and gotten fallout all under your eyes? Rather than swiping at it with your fingers and smudging it all over, you can use a large fan brush to brush away the excess powder and keep everything neat and clean.
The Small Fan Brush: Perfect for highlighting/contouring and blush application. I find the size and shape to be perfect for getting the perfect amount of product on my face without overloading it and having to blend like crazy. I got the two brushes in the picture in a generic set from Amazon. But many different brands make them.
e.l.f. Blending Brush: While the other two brushes were very generic in my love for them, the last brush holds a very specific place in my heart. The e.l.f. Essential Eye Crease Brush is exactly what the name suggests; essential. Never has a brush helped me so much in creating so many eye looks. I'm fairly certain if I were only allowed to have one makeup application tool I'd choose this one. Not only is it perfect for putting product on the eye and blending it out, but it's also a really good brush for contouring the nose. I love this brush so much that when e.l.f had their 50% off after Christmas sale, I bought 3! If you're not looking to shop online (some people are very finicky about those things) you can find the e.l.f. products and brushes at Target.
Eyes
Scotch Tape: Let's start with the weirdest thing on the list. Scotch tape is something I included in my makeup bag long before I was really passionate about makeup. I first saw the idea on Pinterest to use scotch tape as a way to perfect your winged eyeliner. I tried it once and haven't turned back ever since. Many makeup artists and beauty bloggers pride themselves in being able to freehand the perfect line, but where's the point in that? Why spend half an hour every time you wing your eyeliner when you could spend five minutes on it and the rest of the time doing something else?
e.l.f Cream Eyeliner in Black: Speaking of winged eyeliner, this is what I use to draw that (oddly) confidence inducing line on my lids. It's a perfect matte black (I don't like the shiny liquid look) and gives really good control over whether you want a thick or thin line. Another plus is that it's waterproof, and when I say waterproof, I mean it. Trust me, a baby wipe isn't going to be enough to get this off. Better stick with a good eye makeup remover.
e.l.f. Essential Eyelid Primer in Sheer: The first time I bought this product I bought it in pearl (which is a white pearlescent base) and was ready to write bad review upon bad review. I wasn't aware that e.l.f made their primers in multiple colors until I went back to Target and found this baby in Sheer. Ever since then I've been using it as the base for my eye looks. Unlike the popular Urban Decay Primer Potion, this product doesn't intensify the color of shadows, it just helps it stay on throughout the day.
Urban Decay Naked Pallet: This one is probably a bit obvious. Ever since the Urban Decay Naked line came out people have been going crazy over it. And it's no wonder why! This pallet has the perfect mixture of colors for a very simple classic, natural, or even luxe look. Considering my slight Urban Decay obsession, this is definitely a contender for a "desert island" product for me.
Covergirl LashBlash Volume: I've tried probably a million and one mascaras but this is one that I've repurchased three times currently. I love the brush, I love the formula. I love the look. Though when I run out of this, I'll probably permanently switch over to the Covergirl Full Lash Bloom (see my review for that here), this will always be one of the products I recommend.
e.l.f Studio Eyebrow Kit: Anybody who knows me knows my odd obsession with eyebrows, They're very important to me. This kit comes with a wax and powder. The wax works well to create the perfect shape, then the powder (which is slightly lighter) fills in the brow. You can decide what products you use and how depending on how bold of a brow you want!
Lips
e.l.f. Lip Exfoliator: I've seen lots of really mixed reviews for this, but I love it. I've tried "loose" lip exfoliators, where you pull them out of their pot and scrub your lips with your finger. The problem with those is I get sugar everywhere and it's a gross mess. The e.l.f exfoliator sort of resembles a lipstick, and you scrub your lips with it in similar motions to applying lipstick.
Cocoa Butter Vaseline: I find this to be a better base for my lipsticks than chapsticks. It absorbs into my lips and never makes them feel greasy or slippery.
e.l.f. Essential Lipstick: These lipsticks are amazing. Not just for a dollar but for any lipstick. I find them to perform just as well as some of the high end brands. The color that I first bought of this product actually reminds me a lot of Cosmopop from Limecrime (I don't own the Limecrime for comparison but I don't think I could be the only person to draw this conclusion). The lipsticks aren't drying yet last quite a long while. They have an almost glossy finish but I've used baby powder to make it completely matte.
Side note: I just bought all except one of the e.l.f. lipsticks, if you want swatches and a full blown impression on each one, leave me a comment.
Face
Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Translucent: So far, this is my only true holy grail face product. I normally use it with my Revlon ColorStay liquid foundation, and find it does the perfect job at setting my makeup and giving me the perfect flawless finish. For those who like a dewy complexion, you can still use this and some sort of highlighter (I've heard good things about Benefit's High Beam) to give your face the illusion of youthful hydrated glowy-ness.
Misc.
OGX Argan Oil of Morocco Lotion: I found this in my local Ulta sometime over Thanksgiving break. I have extraordinarily dry skin, and though this product isn't specifically targeted for your face, that's how I've been using it and am happy to report healthy, hydrated, happy skin (a+ for that alliteration)!
OGX Argan Oil of Morocco Penetrating Oil: Does what you think it would, goes in my hair, helps to protect it from heat and avoid the poofy monster my hair can be when it's winter. I absolutely love this stuff and for less than 10 dollars I recommend you all try it.
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Now that I've (hopefully) made you laugh leave me a comment below with whether you'd rather see a Christmas Haul post or an e.l.f. Products Hits and Misses post.
Disclaimer: I bought and/or was gifted with these products. This post is not endorsed.
