Does anyone else ever just sit in front of a mirror and play dress up with themselves, by themselves? My hand’s raised……well….. Not as much anymore because I have a ton of kids, but when I have some free time, I love giving myself a makeover. A makeover that isn’t just my ordinary eyebrow filler and mascara, I’m talking eye shadow, contour, and high lighter-the whole shabam! Some girls do this on the regular already-I wish!! But when I do…. I’m like, “O hey, there you are!!” I have a bunch of beautiful, pricier, palettes, and different brands of cosmetics, but that isn’t always a must to feel your prettiest. Today I played around with a few eye shadows that I had buried in the back of my bathroom cabinet that I had accumulated throughout my younger years from Rite Aid and Target. I’m not suggesting that you use 5-10 year old eye shadows like I had today, which by the way worked out like a charm, but I am saying that I feel just as pretty as I do when I put on all of my higher end brand eye shadows…..that are more up to date. If you’re a bit scrapped up for cash and are not willing to spend the extra at Macy’s or Ulta, other brands will get the job done just as well.

I will say though, that if you are willing to spend any type of money on make up, invest in a good primer; primer is the foundation of the eye shadow and it will help keep it in place. I feel like if you have a decent primer, this will help keep, almost, any shadow as vibrant and without eyelid creases. Another great investment, if you’re okay with wearing them, buy eyelashes!!! Eyelashes will make anyone’s eyes pop. I use a tinted primer for my eyes and usually purchase any brand of eyelashes as long at they aren’t to, too long and don’t have a thick base line. Eyelashes with a thick base line, where all of the hairs connect, can cause irritation and possibly poke you in the corners of your eyelids, at least this is the case for me.

Today I played around with Prestige eye shadows that I once bought from Rite Aide. I honestly don’t know if they still sell this brand because like I said, it’s been forever since I purchased them, but you can use any brand of your choice. I stuck with my original foundation, Clinique, for that sake of not breaking out, any brand of your preference is applicable. You don’t want to change up your foundation routine, because this can cause skin irritation and lead to break outs. I usually put my primer in place, Urban Decay, and then start with a lighter shadow on my actual eyelid and right below my eyebrow arch. From there, I shade in my crease with a darker color of my choice and work my way into the corner of my eyes with a different color to make my eyes say, “hello.” At this point I finish up with some highlighter, eyeliner and mascara…..and of course LASHES, when I’m trying to make a statement.

As for my face, I also use Clinique blush and set up some dimension using Bobby Brown and Anastasia foundation and glow sticks. I finish up my look with lipstick or lip gloss; whats a face without lip color. Seems pretty simple, right? I watch make up tutorials and am always in awwwwwe…. There’s just to many steps involved in most cases, the baking, the contouring mountain climb, and the time that some people put into their eyebrows- seesh…I’ve actually noticed that when I spend too much time on my face, I regret certain decisions that I’ve made and wish I just stuck with my usual everyday wear. With whatever you decide to do, the point is to feel pretty, not overwhelmed. Play around with whatever you have laying around or can afford and have fun with it!! I’ve listed the products that I use down below. Remember though, that when it comes to eye shadow, if you want a large variety of colors and just can’t make it happen on the budget that you’re working with, invest on a good primer and buy some of the lower end, less expensive brands. NYX has some beautiful colors and is very affordable, as is Morphe; I personally, LOVE Morphe and have quite a few of their palettes that were much less expensive than other brands. Morphe also has a huge variety of make up brushes that are in price budget for most and they work great. I used to only use MAC brushes and have invested thousands of dollars over the years in their brushes and then came across Morphe brushes and found that they get the job done just as well. The only brush that I will say I have a hard finding in comparison to MAC is an eyebrow brush, I do buy eyebrow brushes from numerous brands and experiment with that particular brush, but other than tha one brush, give Morphe a shot. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out!!! 😉

Always, Love Me!