oohhhh.... Makeup!

I was putting on chapstick today and realized there is a little something about me many people don't know.

I LLLLOOOVVEEE makeup.

But I don't wear makeup often. I don't have to really with my stunning blue eyes and my luscious pink lips....

yeah anyway. I probably wear makeup less than 25% of the year. I save makeup wearing for special occasions, during times that I am in need of covering blemishes, or times I just want to feel a bit better about myself. Besides everyday wear can actually HURT your skin! Srsly.

The times I do wear makeup you might not even notice anyway besides my lipstick. But yes, even though I only wear it 23% of the year, I absolutely LOVE it! I love matching color palettes! I love matching those color palettes with skin tones and hair colors! oohhh... pretty!

So now that you know my girly little secret I wanted to share a few of my favorite things in my makeup cases. yes... cases! hehe

My absolute favorite makeup, thanks to my grandmother, is Estee Lauder! Their products may be expensive but last FOREVER and are beautiful! I own tons of everything from them to generic and I have to say by far I love them the best!

My favorite lipstick is their Pure Color Long Lasting Lipstick #186 Tiger Eye! The picture [to the left] just DOES NOT give it justice! It's a matte but it has so many tiny gold shimmers in it, it looks like it could be a gloss. Sometimes just for kicks I even apply a dab of clear gloss over it, but it seems like overkill. I absolutely ADORE this lipstick. and I have another little secret about this. I keep 2 tubes. 1 for my lips and the other I use a very fine lip brush and apply a thin coat to my eyelid after a bit of light light brown eyeshadow. It gives my eyes just the bit of sparkle they need and just the bit of color to match the lips. Great look for a night out!

Their 'More than Mascara' in Rich Black and tons of EL eye shadows are staples in my makeup! (Which reminds me... I'd love to try their new Aquamarine Metallic shadow! SOOO pretty!)

Besides everything Estee a few of my other favorite makeup staples are:

• Neutrogena -Healthy Skin Smoothing Stick{cover-up stick}- in #01 fair
• Covergirl -Clean Makeup, Fragrance-Free {liquid foundation} -in #205 ivory
• Covergirl -Ultimate Finish Liquid Powder Makeup - in #405 ivory
• Covergirl -Clean Pressed Powder, Fragrance-Free -in #205 ivory
• Covergirl -Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner -in #205 Black Onyx
• Covergirl -TruShine Lipcolor -in #440 Rosy Shine
• Covergirl -Continuous Color Lipstick -in #415 Rose Quartz
• Maybelline eye shadows and blushes in every color are fantastic, especially for the price!
• I also have tons of JANE Eye Zing & deluxe eye mixers! So affordable and cute! {my fav is Blue Heaven, matches my eye color!}
• Speaking of JANE, their sheer lipsticks rock my socks! I can't get enough of their shade 'Hardly Honey!' ... which apparently has been discontinued! boo!
• My favorite lip liner shade right now is #02 Beech at The Body Shop.
• I also have a huge collection of chapsticks, lip balm, gloss, etc! I haven't really found a brand that I don't like. One of my favorites is Strawberry Pez flavored Lip Balm!

As for things I don't like... I haven't found many. The only thing I have found was that some of the makeup direct sales I haven't been totally happy with.

• I have tons of Avon which is cheap, comes in great colors but you may have to reapply after a few hours. But otherwise I love it and would still recommend it.
• Arbonne is all the expense of a high end makeup company, but I haven't tried enough to be able to give it a fair grade. What I CAN say is that I received one of their Prep & Plumps as and gift and WOW it makes my already pretty full lips look even more so and gives them an awesome shine.
• The only company I've ever brought from I was actually disappointed with is Jafra. I have some of their blushes & eye shadows... honestly they are okay, but not great. Definitely not worth the price! I don't recommend them at all.

No matter what makeup you use, I am sure you have all heard this, but always remember the old LESS IS MORE! Seriously. I saw some of the pictures of you ladies that went to Blogher and got your makeup done professionally... yeah. A few of you seriously looked like some street girls I've seen in the city. yes. that bad. Maybe it was the lighting, or the camera flashes, or it was just put on WAY TO THICK and/or DARK! Your makeup should look natural, like you aren't wearing any. Ask your husband which way he prefers you! 9/10 will say with no makeup. Learn how to put it on and him not notice you're wearing it! If he can't notice, nobody else can and it will seem like natural beauty. Only you know it's enhanced.

Alright now that I rambled girly for 20 minutes I am going to do something a bit more constructive! hehe

Do you have a favorite thing in your makeup case? Comment or tweet me! I would love to know!
Thanks for reading!

(this post was my personal opinion! none of the brands named had anything to do with this post, nor my opinion on them.)