August Faves or "I Wear the Same Thing Every Day"

I basically wear makeup when I actually know someone will look at my gross face. And since people look at me in school and I hate waking up early, I basically just use the same few products every day. If, for some bizarre reason, you value strangers' opinions, here's my August's most used products.

1. Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream (in Light) ~$8 for 1 oz

I have ok-bordering-on-bad skin and it's been 100 degrees lately (no joke). So instead of slapping on Revlon Colorstay that melts off my face in a few hours, I've been using this BB Cream. It's basically just a diluted foundation, but it's very yellow-toned and neutralizes redness well, and has very good coverage. The best part is instead of getting disgustingly cakey on my disgustingly oily skin, it melts off in a way that looks like it's just getting absorbed. I don't have chunks sitting around on my skin and where it fades you just see my normal face.

2. Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara (in Waterproof Very Black) ~$8 for 0.44 fl oz ($18.18/fl oz)

This was one of the first mascaras I got and it's still my favorite. The shape makes it easy to not get mascara everywhere and the dry-ish formula keeps it from transferring from my eyelashes to the rest of my face and body. Plus, for a waterproof formula, it's super easy to remove without makeup remover and doesn't move in extreme heat. Although, for a waterproof formula, it's not particularly waterproof. If my eyes get watery and I dab them with a tissue, that tissue can go straight to the trash.

3. L'Oreal Lineur Intense Liquid Eyeliner (in Carbon Black) ~$9 for 0.05 fl oz ($180/fl oz)

I already did a pretty in-depth review you can read right here. It's an awesome eyeliner and you should try it.

4. Wet n Wild Coloricon Trio (in Walking on Eggshells) ~$3 for 0.12 oz ($25/oz)

I don't wear eyeshadow every day because it's pretty much a given it'll crease and be ugly. I do use it for inner eye highlighting and this palette is perfect. It's pretty as an actual look, but the two light shades are awesome universal highlighter shades. They're buttery for drugstore, but a little bit powdery. It's a cheap and tiny palette that's just damn convenient.

5. Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade (in Soft Brown) $18 for 0.14 oz ($128.57/oz)

This was one of the first high-end products I bought and damn it was worth it. If you don't do your eyebrows, you should try it, since it really pulls your face together. The Dipbrow Pomade is a cream product and that makes it 100% easier to use than powder products. I apply it with an Ecotools Angled Eyeliner Brush (part of a ~$10 set) and the results are really natural and neat. Plus, $18 is really affordable for high-end, the color choices are pretty extensive, and this 0.14 oz pot will probably last you for a whole 12 months. What you see in the photo is about 2 months of use. I hardly made a dent. So as the saying goes, it's great and you should buy it.

L-R: Wet n Wild Browbone, Crease, Eyelid, L'Oreal Eyeliner, Dipbrow Pomade (Soft Brown).

6-7. Lipstick Queen Sinner (in Red) and Saint (in Berry) both $22 for 0.12 oz ($183.33/oz)

I did a lengthy review on both from the Lip Nouveau Set right over here. Overall, Berry is a pretty berry shade that's really moisturizing, but doesn't last forever. Red, on the other hand, is a vibrant poppy red that has a very matte finish and is somewhat drying. It lasts for ages, though.

8. Clinique Long Last Lipstick (in Heather Moon) $15 for 0.14oz ($107.14/oz)

Here's a review of this lipstick too. In short, it's a really awesome mauve/berry shade with a faint silver sheen and moisturizing formula. It lasts surprisingly long and reapplying is a breeze.

9. Revlon Colorburst Balm Stain (in Crush) ~$9 for 0.09oz ($100/oz)

Guess what, another berry shade. I love all the Revlon crayon-styled products, but I used this one a lot this month. It's perfect for an on-the-go or shit-I'm-running-late type of day. It's really moisturizing, but does fade after an hour or two, so you'll have to keep a mirror around to reapply. Just an overall quick and easy lip product. My only beef is the tube doesn't say the product size and I've ripped off the bar code, which doesn't say it either. A little bit annoying when comparing sizes.

L-R: Revlon, Sinner, Saint, Clinique

10. Revlon Nail Enamel in Eclectic, ~$5 for 0.5 fl oz ($10/fl oz) 

My favorite nail look ever is mint with white french tips. It's awesome. Try it. My main nail polish to use is Eclectic since it's the archetypal mint with a non-boring name like 'minty' or 'seafoam'. The brush is skinny, but after two coats your nail will look perfect. I didn't realize I should take some pictures, but it looks the same as in the bottle. Let me google that for you. Plus, I like the bottle. It's cute.

11. OPI Nail Laquer in Alpine Snow, ~$9 for 0.5 fl oz ($18/fl oz)

I do a lot of french tips, since it's cute and protects my nails from breaking at the tips, so I need a good, one-coat white. Well here you go: a one-coat white. It dries super quick, too. There's not much to say about a white nail polish. It gets the job done, if you're looking for a functional snow white.

12. NYC In A Minute Quick Dry Nail Polish in Grand Central Station,  ~$2 for 0.33 oz ($6/oz)

This is technically just a clear nail polish, but oh my god this makes an amazing top coat. I'm on my third bottle. Yes, it's better than Seche Vite and basically everything else in the world. The polish you see above was on my hands for 6 days, without chips and only 2 fingers had tip wear. Yeah, it's an awesome top coat. It dries super quick and doesn't ruin the polish underneath if you touch something. I put on two coats over my polish, on the tip, and then one halfway through the week if I feel like it. If you want me to rave more about it, then here's another review.

13. D&G 3 L'Impératrice Eau de Toilette, $69 for 3.3 fl oz ($20.9/fl oz)

I have a big giant bag of perfume samples and they all smell like headache-inducing generic perfume. Yeah, some smell like a lily but with that same smell equivalent of aftertaste. This was the only one I found that continuously smells nice. Sephora lists a long list of stuff I can't really smell, but I really get 'apple'. Like a fresh-cut apple. It's the kind of perfume that reminds me of spring and makes me want to throw on a sundress and spin around in a sunflower field. If someone was to wear it, it would be Anna from Frozen or Rapunzel from Tangled (and I guess Frozen too, since she had a cameo). I have a shitty sense of smell and it lasts 6 hours on me, before I'm not sure if I'm smelling or imagining. Also, let me stress how amazingly cheap this perfume is. It's fucking $20 per fluid ounce. Most are about $80 for one ounce. It's going to take me a while to finish this huge bottle off, and I don't have to feel bad about using it since it's only $20. Amazing. Go get yourself a sample because it's spring in a bottle.

5 Products Great for the "Should've Done That First" Afterthought

Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

I'm the kind of person who puts on foundation and only then realizes that I haven't brushed my teeth. Or I start smooshing on bright red lipstick and remember I should probably scrape all the dead skin off my lips. Thankful, I keep around a handful of products that help me remedy my everyday laziness. For the sake of less grossness, refer to the manufacturer's picture, rather than mine. I use this stuff every day and it gets dirty.

1. ELF Studio Lip Exfoliator ($3)

Most ELF products are kind of lumped in the 'dollar store' quality section of my brain. They're affordable, but usually hit and miss with me. Their lip exfoliator, though, has grown on me--I pretty much always forget to scrub my lips before putting on lipstick.

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Not to mention the square design is easy to store.

Mine is pretty filthy.

When I buy this thing, I'm honestly paying more for convenience rather than product. It's literally solidified coconut oil with brown sugar in it (I have a little pot of homemade concoction in my shower), but it's in a handy lipstick bullet. This means instead of smearing melted goop on my lips and face, I can conveniently scrub my lips and only my lips, without messing up the rest of my already-done makeup.

ELF Studio Lip Exfoliator retails for $3 for 0.16oz (or, $18.75 per ounce).


2. Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer (~$8)

I wear a lot of lipstick. I like my reds and vibrant colors--and I always forget to use a brush to apply and do whatever not lazy people do. Maybelline's Highlighting Concealer is pretty bad as an actual concealer. Don't put it on your zits or under your eyes. It does work as an awesome touch-up tool, though. The brush tip (think Stila lipgloss) is really convenient to outline your lips or eyebrows and it blends out pretty nicely too. Even if you have red lipstick on the wrong part of your chin, dabbing it away first and then lining your lip with this handy thing will give you that crisp edge every lipstick advertisement has (apart from the Photoshop).

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You twist the thing on the end and product comes out, although a little more than you'd want. It doesn't dry out if you stick the lid on how it should be. My only complaint, really, is that the words fade and the lid gets gross.

I can hardly read it, and I don't actively rub the sides.

Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer retails for $8 for 0.05 fl oz ($160 per fluid ounce), depending on where you buy.


3. ELF Studio Kabuki Face Brush ($6)

I think I've talked about this brush before--but it's great enough for constant mentions. If I was stranded on an island and, for some reason, could only have a makeup brush then I'd keep this thing. I use it to apply setting powder, any powder, and blend out blush. I really like to slap on too much color to emulate a clown, but this does an awesome job of blending it out and making it look less like I got slapped.

Not to mention this sucker is the softest brush I own, hands down. Go buy it. It's only $6.

A low-res comparison of ELF kabuki with Ecotools Tapered Blush brush. Look how pretty my mattress is.

ELF's Studio Kabuki Face Brush retails for $6, but the ELF website often has 50% off deals.


4. NYC In A New York Color Minute Quick Dry Nail Polish in Grand Central Station (~$2)

I'm lazy and sit around a lot, but somehow I still don't have the time to wait for my nail polish to dry. This would be the place to rave about Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat--but it's not my favorite. Yeah, it's pretty great. My problem is if I touch my nail on anything it gets smeary and uneven and there's no fixing the nail polish underneath. And it shrinks on the edges of my nails.

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Enter NYC's Grand Central Station. This isn't technically a topcoat, rather a clean nail polish, but this sucker is fantastic. I would argue it dries faster than Seche Vite, although note NYC doesn't dry the nail polish underneath. I'm assuming you want to do your nails and go, therefore wouldn't be putting on 5 coats. Slap on one layer of opaque color, wait for it to dry, and slather on NYC's polish. Get the very edges.

It dries in a good 30 seconds--and when I say dries, I mean you can put away your dishes or hold a pencil. Obviously if you stab your nail with a fork, you'll get a mark, but if you lick your finger it'll smooth back out (take that, Seche Vite). NYC makes an amazing clear polish. My nails won't chip for a week--and even more if I apply another coat halfway through. I go through these bottles like I do hot Cheetos at 2am.

NYC Quick Dry Nail Polish retails for $2 for 0.33oz ($6 per ounce), but remember to keep an eye open for sales and whatnot.


5. Yes to Cucumbers Facial Wipes (~$6)

Following the format of this post, I'll mention again I'm very lazy. I hate spending ages cleaning off my makeup when I could be considering sleeping or watching youtube instead. So, I grab a sheet from my perpetually half-used Yes to Cucumbers bag of wipes.

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The bag closes really securely, which is a bonus.

These are damn convenient. I wear a full face of foundation and liquid eyeliner just about every day, and one wipe gets off everything but particularly stubborn mascara. It cuts down the evening's ritual by probably half. These wipes are sturdy and don't dry out--and don't burn your eyes if you're like me and jab yourself with everything and anything (toothbrushes included, yeah).

The Yes To brand comes in Blueberries, Carrots, Tomatoes, Grapefruit, and soon Coconut, but the Cucumber is the only smell, aside from the Coconut, that doesn't smell chemical-ly to me. The Carrot ones are fragrance-free, if you don't like scents at all.

Yes to Cucumbers Facial Wipes retail for about $6 for 30 wipes (20 cents a wipe), but I often see 'special 33% more' promotions with 40 wipes in a pack (15 cents a wipe).