2017 favorites

Happy new year and happy 2018! I wanted to share my top 10 favorites  of 2017 with you.

10. NYX Away We Glow in 08 moon glow - I ran out of my beloved Becca shimmering skin perfector in pearl and replaced it with NYX for two reasons: 1) I'm a grad student on a budget, and more importantly, 2) There is no known universe where I could finish a full size shimmering skin perfector. The mini spotlight size took me 2 years! The NYX isn't a perfect dupe (not as gel like of a texture, doesn't blend as well over powder), but is 90% there and meets my needs perfectly. Like everyone else on the planet, glowy skin and I were friends all year long.

9. Whole Foods organic lip balm - I went through about a dozen of these in 2017, 50/50 lost vs. used up. I love the honey vanilla version, it moisturizes without irritating my skin and only costs about $3. Sold for life <3

8. Sheer glossy lips - My skin is too dry and I am too impatient for the perfectly carved out lip line and matte liquid lips. I need my skin and lips to feel comfortable and I'm permanently running late, so for me that means tinted lip balm, glosses, and sheer lipsticks I can apply on the bus without a mirror. Some of my favorites: Urban Decay and Too Faced La Creme lipsticks layered over lip balm, Clinique almost lipstick in black honey, Fresh tinted lip balm in rose and petal, and Bite's (discontinued?!) lip gloss in currant.

7. My Japanese brushes - My everyday brushes never fail me and I'm still amazed that some of these brands aren't more popular. Chikuhodo, Hakuhodo, Koyudo, and Mizuho all have some relatively affordable brushes (MAC or MUFE price range) that blow everything else out of the water in terms of quality. I like more natural and sheer looks with powder products, so my soft natural hair brushes deliver. Pictured: Hakuhodo tapered candle 5521, Hakuhodo J521 eyeliner, Chikuhodo Z-5 large eye shader, Mizuho PM11 brow brush, Koyudo 035 medium shader, Hakuhodo K022 blush/powder . I don't think everyone needs these exact brushes, but I do think it is worth buying high quality brushes of which ever shapes you use every day.

6. NARS Laguna - Check out that huge pan! I wear bronzer everyday and Laguna was easily my most reached for this year. Even on my cool toned fair skin, this is never too orange. I don't know how, but Laguna always makes me look healthy and pretty.

Comparison: NARS Douceur vs NARS Laguna vs NARS Madly

Today I have comparison swatches of my three favorite NARS cheek products - Douceur blush (sadly discontinued), Laguna bronzer, and Madly blush. All three are beautiful nude cheek colors, so let's take a look at the similarities and differences.

NARS blushes retail for $30 for .16 oz and the bronzers retail for $39 for .28 oz. I bought all of these at Sephora with my own money.

L to R: NARS Douceur blush, Laguna bronzer, & Madly blush in indirect natural light 

Mega bronzer comparison on fair skin [review] [swatches]

I absolutely adore bronzer - it gives my face a healthy glow with more dimension. Today I wanted to share my bronzer collection with you all and show you my favorite bronzers for fair skin. I own bronzers at many different price points and with different finishes, so hopefully you can find one that suits you. Disclaimer: I bought all of these myself with my own money.

Keep reading for comparisons and swatches!

NYX Taupe Blush old vs. new HD formula

I have owned the NYX powder blush in Taupe (# PB11) for a long time and have experienced lots of issues with it, so I was so excited to try the reformulated HD (# HDB22) version. NYX HD blushes are $6.49 at my Ulta (don't forget to check for coupons/sales) and contain 4.5g of product. I am excited to see Taupe in a display in store now because the old version was not included in store displays in my area.

Unfortunately, I think NYX did a disservice here - the color and texture of the new version is quite a bit different than the much loved traditional one.

NYX Taupe blush comparison: New HD formula on the left, old formula on the right

Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot O'Blushes comparison swatches

As promised in my review of the Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot O'Blushes holiday blush palette (here), I now have comparison swatches to share. Before purchasing this palette, I didn't own any Benefit powders. This limited edition palette includes Dandelion, Bella Bamba, Sugarbomb, Hoola, Coralista, and Rockateur, plus a mini cream Watts Up highlighter.

Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot palette swatches

From left to right, Benefit Dandelion, Bella Bamba, Sugarbomb, Hoola, Coralista, Rockateur

Keep reading for comparison swatches to other products in my collection. All swatches in this post were done with my finger on bare, unprimed skin.

Darling Girl Haul & Swatches: Blush and Eyeshadow

I love trying out indie cosmetics because indie companies offer interesting colors and great value! Today, I'm showing you my very first Darling Girl Cosmetics order. I chose a variety of blushes, including a contour shade and a bronzer, and a few satin finish eyeshadows. My order shipped out within the stated turn around time (TAT) and was packed in a pretty pink mailer.

Let's see what I ordered!

Benefit Cheeky Sweet Spot Box O' Blushes palette review & swatches

I have been wanting to try the Benefit Box O' Powders for a long time now and I'm a total sucker for holiday sets, so I had to jump on the Cheeky Sweet Spot Box O' Blushes palette as soon as I saw it on Sephora's site. The palette contains mini sizes of Dandelion, Bella Bamba, Sugarbomb, Hoola, Coralista, Rockateur, and Watt's Up and is packaged in a tin that looks like it should have stale gingerbread in it. I bought mine at Sephora for $36 and the kit includes 1.08 oz of product.

Bare Minerals Multi Tasking Stars Kit review & swatches

I admit, I'm a total sucker for value sets. I saw this in Sephora and had to pick it up! The Multi-Tasking Stars kit from Bare Minerals is a limited edition set that sells at Sephora for $49. The set includes:

- A pink neoprene padded bag, 9" x 6.5"
- Natural Light Mineral Veil Finishing Powder, 0.07 oz (mini)
- Lash Domination 10-In-1 Volumizing Mascara in Intense Black (full size)
- Spring2Triple Take Color, Gloss & Stain in Coral Pink, 0.12 oz (exclusive, full size)
- 5-in-1 BB Advanced Performance Cream Eyeshadow in Candlelit Peach, .1 fl oz (exclusive preview, full size)
- bareMinerals Ready Bronzer in The Skinny Dip & Cheek Tint in The Endless Summer Duo (exclusive, full size compact)

Before this set, I had tried only a few items from Bare Minerals before - their classic mineral foundation and a Ready eyeshadow quad, so I was excited to try out lots of products from the brand! Let's break it down: