I’m back with another round of current favorites, and unintentionally, a bunch of my favorites this month happen to be from random YouTube influencers. You know, these ladies have put out some great products that I keep going back for, so I have to give them credit! Sometimes I feel like people have influencer cosmetic line fatigue, but y’all, when products are good, they are just good! And if buying a great product happens to support someone that I enjoy, I’d rather they get my money than some faceless corporation, ya know?
I’m happy to support people who give me hours of free YouTube entertainment – but only if their products are good, duh! So let’s get into it.
Dominique Cosmetics Latte Palette ($42): I can’t really put my finger on why I like this palette so much. The colors aren’t super unique or anything, but the FORMULA, y’all. I think these are my favorite matte shadows anywhere, of any brand. They are beautiful and essentially blend themselves. I am not even the biggest fan of Christen Dominique, the beauty YouTuber who is the founder of the makeup brand. I mean, she’s fine, but I didn’t buy the palette because of her name specifically, ya know? So my opinion of her isn’t coloring my opinion of these shadows. They are powders but they feel so creamy. They have next to no fallout, which doesn’t bother me in other palettes, but it just makes THESE shadows extra nice. I’ve been enjoying doing lighter makeup recently, and I find that I’m reaching for this palette over and over again.
From left to right: Hazelnut, Caramel, Vanilla Crème, Mocha, Pumpkin Spice, Espresso, Macchiato, Crème Brulee, Cold Brew, Double Shot
I am really proud of my first stencil swatches. I’m like a real life beauty blogger, y’all! Look how official I am! However, I feel like I need to get a better camera lens so I can zoom in a bit closer, because for now, I am a bit limited, But in 2019, I’m going to upgrade a bit so hopefully my photos will improve and my reviews will get even better!
But anyway, as you can tell, this is basically a neutral palette. But the addition of the purple and teal give you a few more options! And the shimmers are just LOVELY.
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette ($62): I have been a fan of this palette for a long time, but I typically mix the lightest colors and wear them all over my face as finishing powders. Well, I have done that to the point where the lightest colors are pretty much gone. However, I realized that the darkest color makes a beautiful bronzer. I feel like sometimes I go a bit heavy on the bronzer and this one looks beautiful and radiant without being overboard. If you are a pale gal like me, I think you would like this whole palette! I recommend this to everyone.
I’m talking about the color that’s on the far right of this palette! It doesn’t look like much in pictures or swatches, but if you are thinking about this palette and you aren’t sure if you’ll use all the shades, just know that darker shade makes a lovely bronzer. Then unlike me, you’ll hit pan with all of them at the same time next time. 🙂
Dose of Colors x iluvsarahii Highlighter in Bathe ($28): This highlighter came out awhile ago with the Dose of Colors x iluvsarahii collaboration and I didn’t end up buying it right away even though it looked beautiful. But I bought it recently almost on a whim and I want to wear it all the time with everything. The name is accurate because I absolutely want to bathe in it. In the picture below, I had it on my cheekbones, on my lid as an all-over lid color, inner corner highlight, on my collarbones and shoulders. The formula is a powder but it’s so smooth that it almost feels creamy. There is no glitter and it just looks like a beautiful sheen. I want to wear it all the time!!! (And I basically do.)
My neck looks super light but it’s just the angle of the sun, I promise. 🙂
Here’s a swatch of this on my arm. Obviously I put it on a bit heavier so it would show up on camera. But you can see from the finger swatch just how beautiful this would be as an eyeshadow, swiped on the lid, as I did in that picture above. But then just a bit sheered out on the cheekbones gives you just the most beautiful radiant look without looking glittery, just a beautiful sheen.
BH Cosmetics Marble Luxe brushes (Currently on sale for $20.90!): I have a mix of more expensive brushes and less expensive brushes but I have found that I am reaching for these brushes more than some of my others. I just like the shape of some of these and they are extremely affordable, not to mention gorgeous. Are y’all interested in a blog about my fave brushes? Let me know. I’ve been thinking about writing it. I didn’t take a picture of my own brushes because they are dirty and I am lazy, but just know these brushes are well-loved and well-used. I highly recommend them!
KL Polish Fall in the City Collection ($49.95): I wrote a whole blog about these polishes (made by another influencer, Kathleen Lights!) but I wanted y’all to know I am still loving them! I am especially loving the dusty blue shade, called 1435 ($9.50), and I even brought it to the salon and had it applied to my toes. I just love it! If you’ve seen me recently, I’ve likely been wearing one of the colors from the collection. I am just rotating back and forth thru all of them! And I loved it so much, I bought it and sent the whole dang thing to Jill for her birthday because I wanted her to enjoy them as much as I do!
Dose of Colors Lip Glosses ($17): I discovered these glosses when they were half off during the Ulta 21 Days of Beauty sale, and my life has never been the same. Dramatic? Yes. True? Also yes. I want to get several more shades because the formula is just perfect. PERFECT. They are pigmented but not TOO pigmented. They are smooth and not sticky at all. And they smell like cake. My favorite shades right now are Messy Bun, which is a bit more mauve-y pink (I swatched it next to the highlighter swatch, above!), and On Repeat, a warm-toned nude. (On Repeat is not pictured because I left it on my desk at work! That’s how you know I love it. But I grabbed a pic from their website, below!)
This is On Repeat, by Dose of Colors
Ulta Beauty Matte Eyeshadow Primer in Nude ($12): This isn’t a sexy favorite but it’s one of those things that I use all the time without even thinking about it. This is one that I will repurchase over and over because I feel like it actually makes a huge difference with my eyeshadow longevity, which is obvs the point of primer. There have been days when I’ve been lazy and used concealer or other primers and my shadow creases throughout the day and just doesn’t look as good. So I try to use this every time. And the fact that it’s Ulta brand means it’s on the less expensive side, which is just a bonus. Oh, and it lasts foreverrrr!
So those are my recent faves! Are you thinking of picking up any of them? Honestly I love all of these so much that I want to buy them for all of my friends for Christmas but I need to calm myself down. I can’t get everyone everything. 🙂 I just think everyone NEEDS these things!
laurenelectro
A self-proclaimed beauty junkie/hoarder with a serious Sephora problem. This blog is a total rationalization of that problem. Everything is TOTALLY fine. Her free time is a mixed combination of making fun of reality TV with her husband, hanging out with cats and finally trying to figure out how to do her hair.