Lovely Delights.

THIS POST WILL BE LONG AND WORDY, BUT TOTES WORTH IT!

I'm not sure where my obsession with make up began. But I do fondly remember stepping into my 7th grade English class with purple eyes, thanks to my very first eyeshadow by CoverGirl. I think I still have it somewhere!

Anyway, seven years later, and my make up collection has expanded greatly. I also have become quite adept at applying it, and I wouldn't even say that had I not been complemented on it many a time. And yes, I am BRAGGING about that, deal with it, haha.
At summer camp one year in California, these boys were doing a skit that required them to dress up like girls. And they came to me to help with with their make up out of the 400+ girls there. I MEAN, COME ON!

But now I'm seriously serious about my make up. No more wearing yellow eye shadow everyday. No more relying on thick eyeliner to feel pretty. No more putting weird sparkle things in the corner of my eyes.
I'm an adult now, and slowly but surely I am starting to apply that to my make up collection.

Unfortunately, growing up and maturing style wise means you can no longer expect the teeny-bopper stuff to keep working out. And growing up in the make up industry means investing your money in more sophisticated and higher quality brands like MAC (Make up Art Cosmestics) Urban Decay, Benefit, Stila, Smashbox...well the list goes on and on. But you know what comes with better quality, better looking make up? YEAH, MONEY. UGH. Ain't it a bitch...

I think what I wanted to do with this blog post was detail some of the items from said brands that I have bought over the past year (because somehow being in college and seeing all the beautiful people made me want to invest more on how I look. Also, college made me go on Youtube A LOT more, and anyone who knows beauty knows that Youtube is chalk full of beauty guru's who tell you all about the latest make up collections, how to use them, and if they're worth buying).

Keep in mind that I do not have A LOT from these brands, I mean...when I say expensive, I mean it. If you fill your online cart with 5 items from MAC, you dish out $120. No joke. So I have saved my dollars to buy more essential things.

Here are my staples:

MAC Studio Fix Fluid foundation. My shade is NW43. I went to the MAC stand at my local Macy's last summer and asked them to find my shade. It was my first time EVER wearing foundation. It's a double-edged sword. On one hand I was happy I had a foundation that I could use to get that perfect complexion, on the other, though, now I have this thing where I HAVE to be wearing foundation every time I go out, period. It's sad because I think my skin is beautiful, but it falls victim to pimples. So do I wear foundation to cover up the pimples that the foundation may have caused? I don't know. Rest assured that I now have 4 or 5 other foundations in my collection that I can go to when I feel MAC will be too heavy.


MAC Strobe Lotion. I have now come to find out that no matter how beautiful your eyebrows, lips, or eyes look, NOTHING can compare to having that beautiful, glowing skin as a canvas. There's this thing called highlighting. It essentially means putting hints of sparkle and brightness on strategic locations on your face, and to the untrained eye, you look like a glowing angel from heaven. You can either mix this strobe (like a bright strobe light, get it?) lotion with your liquid foundation to have an all over, bright and dewy look. OR You can dab small amounts of it on your cheeks, chin, and bridge of your nose to look as if you have professional photography lights on your face everywhere you go. I love this stuff.
Use too much of it and you can look like a glittery mess.



MAC blush in Sweet As Cocoa. I used to never give a shit about blush, to be frank. If you even said the word blush to me, I'd conjure up a picture of a woman with pink cheeks. Plus I thought it was unnecessary. Most of my make up obsession up until last year focused mainly on my eyes. BUT, like I said, I was inspired to step outside the box, to me anyway. I purposefully did not get a blush in any red or pink hue, because I was still worried about the result. Instead I opted for a blush that would add a subtle glow to my cheeks, one that was basically the same color as my skin. So I got this, and like everything else I have, I LOVE IT. It has tiny tiny tiny glitters in it that reflect light. And there is nothing more beautiful than a bright looking face, especially when your skin isn't in tip top condition.
Yes, you can use this and the strobe lotion at the same time. Trust me, in the right proportions, you will look beautiful.


MAC Prep + Prime Finishing Translucent Powder. Ugh yes I know, all my products have been from MAC and have been for the face. But it's SO important. This magical fairy dust (it seriously does remind me of fairy dust though) "sets" your make up. So you have to put it on after your foundation/concealer routine so that the stresses of the day won't cause your foundation to melt, flake, or wear off. Yes this powder is white, and yes you can use it with ANY skin tone. Don't you dare try to put more than a pinch of it on your face though, or you'll look like a powdery, ghost-like, hot mess.
This is great for hot days...you know the ones where you're out and about so you want to put your best face forward, yet you don't want your foundation to melt off. This is a perfect way to prevent that catastrophe from happening.


MAC Paint Pot. Yes this is for the eyes, finally. In my research, I have found that most make up artists use this as a "base" for your eyeshadow. That's just fancy talk for your eyeshadow needs something under it so it will stay on all day. I, however, use this as an eyeshadow alone, which I'm sure many people do. I got this in a darkish tan/rich brown color in my attempt to start wearing more neutral colors (yes, I only wear yellow on occasion now). What's amazing about this is that is goes on creamy yet dries to a powdery consistency. The cream state of it allows more of the pigment to show up, and spread nicely on your eyelid. The powder obviously makes it so it doesn't rub off or crease. Yum!



MAC Eyeshadow. This is your standard run of the mill MAC eye shadow. They have about a bajillion shades, no lie. These are pigmented, and range from super natural and neutral, to bright neon. I think these are the cheapest things that MAC sells, hahahaha. Anyway, I only have a few of them because even though they may be cheap in comparison to the other products MAC has, they are still pretty pricey (about $13 dollars a pop, which is almost 60 bucks if you want 4 colors, ugh). I like these, wish they weren't so expensive though. I think the paint pots are better. They range from matte to sparkly too.


So I don't only wear MAC. This is the Urban Decay palette called Deluxe. I thought this was a great buy, but if I remember correctly, this was about 50-60 dollars. Yeah, it was kind of hard to part with that much cash. But this palette is well worth it. It comes with 9 colors, and annoyingly only has 8 sponge-tip applicators. So you'll have to double up on one color. You can see it ranges from soft browns to a bright as all get out green. So this was great for the wild child in me that still does have random urges to go out the house with bright neon eyes. It also has a standard black color which is necessary if you want to do a smokey eye, probably the most popular eye look ever. These colors are so pigmented, probably moreso than any MAC shade I've seen.
It has lasted me for almost a year, and no color (which have all been used a lot) is even close to running out. So it's def an investment, one that's worth it.



Clinique press powder. My friend introduced this to me. I saw her using it on a hot day and it got rid of the sweat and shine without making her face look cakey. I use this after I put on foundation to set my face. (Sometimes the MAC powder gives me too much of a matte look, and I'm a dewy girl). I got it in a shade that matches my skin too. This is the number one rated press powder (Sephora). Clinique is known for their gentle formulas, so it's perfect if you have sensitive skin (like moi). When I was going through a bad acne faze this spring, I was advised to stop wearing foundation and let my skin breathe. I just used this powder instead. It gave me pretty good coverage and let my skin heal. And it's portable!




So we've talked about the face, and about the eyes (with the exception of mascara and eyeliner: I find that drugstore mascaras and eyeliners work 100% perfectly. Although I did just buy a MAC eye liner just to see what's up...)

Now to talk about the lips. When I bought my first lipstick, I felt so guilty. I've seen my mom and many other women wear it, but I felt like I was getting sucked in by the beauty industry. I used to be a girl that was happy just wearing mascara, and now I'm putting stuff on my cheeks, contouring with bronzer, AND wearing lipstick?!?!?

I quickly got over that.
Lipstick is a standard in any woman's beauty bucket.

I got this Yves Saint Laurent lipstick but in a brown-ish color, in another attempt to keep it natural. I love it. It just adds a hint of color, nothing extravagant by any means.




That being said, I am still mostly a gloss girl. I think it because I'm too scared to be putting colors on my lips like that. I have this Smashbox lip gloss. I figured since I love gloss so much, might as well invest. What can I say? Gloss is gloss. You can't really get it wrong. This isn't better than anything else I've ever used, nor is it worse, but I'm a brand name girl living in a brand name world. I can admit that.

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That's pretty much it for my professional make up collection. Drug store brands have stepped up their game a lot, so I mostly go to CVS for my beauty fix (Plus I tend to spend more money on fashion and music). But there's nothing wrong with indulging in some expensive things. When it comes to things you are putting on your face (you know, that thing that everyone sees) I think it's important to know what's going on it. So I research everything I'm going to buy.


Youtube Guru's I've learned from:

Michelle Phan

Username: MichellePhan

I LOVE HER. She is the NUMBER ONE Guru on Youtube and has parlayed her passion for make up into a FULL TIME career. Aside from being the spokesperson for Lancome, and jet-setting all over the world, AND having her own beauty line, Michelle, who has literally worked her way up from the bottom to the top (Lancome actually DENIED her when she applied a few years back to work at their make up counter. Life is funny, right?), uploads videos on a weekly basis for the every day girl. Everything from school make up, to a bonafide Lady Gaga look.
Her art school background makes her the perfect person to go to when you want to be creative and fun. I have attempted many a look that she has created.

Dulce Tejada

Username: DulceCandy87

Would you ever have guessed a girl who can fix an engine and served in Iraq would even have a clue about make up?! So crazy. Once you get past her extreme colloquial speech, you can pick up some really good tips about make up from her. I think she's an undercover millionaire, so she's the perfect person to go to when you want to know if you should buy something, because chances are she has already bought it and reviewed it. Magazines like Seventeen and Nylon have featured her and her beauty smarts. Her make up collection is probably as big as a football field.
But her clothing collection is even BIGGER. She's an all-around fashionista, but I'll talk about that another day.


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So that's it for this long ass post.
It's easy to think that make up is the most superficial thing a girl could be interested in, but any smart person knows that beauty is skin deep. And at the end of the day, no matter how much money you have spent on your face, if you don't feel beautiful and exude beauty from the inside, then it was all done in vain.

Make up is just a tool to enhance what God has given you. And there is nothing wrong with a little enhancement. Just make sure not to rely on powers, glosses, and glitters to feel beautiful. You already are.

-Millie Michelle