every day makeup

I know I did one of these a while back, but I kind of wanted to give an updated one since some things have changed.

Although the products are still pretty minimal, I think this is something that still looks put together and defines all your best features!

On the face:

• pixi Flawless & Poreless Primer all over the face
• L'Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder Bare Skin Perfecting Makeup dabbed on the face, blended out with buffing brush
• yaby Concealer Refill under eyes, on the chin, center of the nose and forehead
• benefit Hoola Bronzer as a contour
• e.l.f. Cream Blush in Tease on the apple of the cheeks

On the eyes:

• Starlooks Kohl Eye Pencil in Obsidian on the upper water line and on the outer corner of the lower lash line
• Neutrogena Crease Proof Eye Shadow in Lasting Taupe to blend out liner on the lower lash line
• Lorac Front of the Line Pro Liquid Eyeliner in Black to create a cat eye shape (starting from the middle of the eye)
• Revlon ColorStay Brow Enhancer Illuminateur in inner corner
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Perfect Brow Pencil in Medium Ash to fill in brows
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel to set brows
• L'Oreal Carbon Black Double Extend Mascara 2 coats of primer only
• Mally Volumizing Mascara, Rimmel Glam'Eyes Mascara and Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes Mascara to plump up lashes

As for the lips, I have been using the fresh Sugar Rose Lip Treatment to give a little color and hydrate my lips. This makeup is great for a quick morning, when you don't have much time to get ready...or frankly, you don't feel like really doing much!

Stay happy and healthy! :) Tschüss, Katharina

collective haul- CCO, drugstore, MAC, Sephora

The past month I have been doing some makeup shopping. I wanted to give you some insight into some of the products and what I thought of them. This wasn't done in one shopping trip- just an fyi.

I had some family here from Germany, and one thing those Germans want to do here in the US is shop. I live about an hour from Woodbury Commons in NY so we decided to take them there. To my surprise, they had a CCO there and I absolutely had to check it out! I only got a few items but I must add that everything there is severely reduced. My reasoning was to buy products from brands I haven't really tried. 

I ended up finding the MAC Fabulousness Neutral Eyes Palette. Can you believe this packaging!? It's so cute- something I definitely am putting on display. However, I am not sure how much I'm loving the eye shadows. Yeah, the colors looked great in the pan but for what I expect from MAC...the quality just isn't there. The next product I bought is the Estee Lauder Double Wear Light. I have wanted to try this foundation for a while so I can't wait for my tan to fade a bit!

Lastly, I really wanted to find something from Bobbi Brown. I ended up with the Bobbi Brown Ultra Nude Eye Palette. Although the shades aren't as pigmented as some other shadows I own, I do think this palette is great to create looks for a work day.

Both these palettes came with mini brushes but I honestly would rather use my own- I can't really see myself creating a whole look with just the brushes they have provided.

My next trip was to Walgreens. I flip flop between Walgreens and CVS, one day I love one the other day the next. I picked up some new products, as well as some other ones I have been meaning to try for a while.

The first thing that caught my eye was the Maybelline EYESTUDIO Eye Shadow Quad in Violet Femmes. I love these purples- so great for fall and especially for green or brown eyes! The two products behind this are the Rimmel Extra Pop Lash Colored Mascara in Pop Purple and the Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing Mascara. The colored mascara I love for the lower lash line. You can really build the color intensity! I haven't tried the Jordana one yet, since I have a few going right now.

After hearing so much about the L'Oreal Magic Nude Liquid Powder Bare Skin Perfecting Makeup I really wanted to give it a try. I have the shade in 320 Natural Beige (swatched bottom left). I love it, especially the powdery but not cakey finish! Quite a bit pricey for a drugstore foundation, but I think it's worth it. The last product I wanted to try is the Revlon PhotoReady Bronzer. This is great for any skin tone because you can bascially darken or lighten the bronzer depending on which quadrant you use.

Next stop...well online...was MAC. I had heard people talking about some of the palettes being quite affordable so I wanted to give those a try.

I got two of the MAC Pro Palette Large/Single. They are filled already in the picture and even though I had to magnetize a lot of my eyeshadows, I could not be happier. I have one filled with shadows, the other with blushes and random cream products. At $8 these are much cheaper than the Z-palettes so I couldn't resist.

Another thing I have been wanting to try is the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC15 (swatched). This is light for me right now, but it will be a perfect under-eye highlight for my pale skin. I can already tell a little goes a very long way with this product and it is very pigmented. I have also heard it doesn't crease under the eyes, so I will put that to the test!

Last online stop, was Sephora. I knew they were putting some things on sale so I wanted to check that out, along with restocking my brow gel.

Since they didn't have the duo brow gel set, I decided to get the Anastasia Beverly Hills Go Brow Kit in Medium Brown. I know I already bought this same exact one before, but can you ever have too many tweezers? 

I also entered the code DIORLOVE and ended up getting these three premium samples of the Dior Addict Eau Fraiche, Diorshow Extase Mascara and Hydralife Skin Perfect Pore Refining Perfecting Moisturizer. Quite a good sample set, I would say! The final product I got is the Urban Decay Dangerous Palette. This is $16 on Sephora right now, so if you have been wanting to try any of these shades then hurry on up over there. The shades are quite a bit pigmented but somewhat powdery and leave some fall out. It also comes with a mini gloss, that I believe is the same one that comes with the Naked 2 Palette.

Woah, what a long post! I don't really plan on going makeup shopping for a while, I want to get good use of these products. Have you tried any of these? Let me know below!

Always stay happy and healthy! :) Tschüss, Katharina

September 2013 Glam bag

I know it's been quite a while since I last posted, but I had a lot of things going on. I plan to be posting more regularly- now that the summer has basically concluded. Not that I don't enjoy summer (July is my birthday month, after all), but there is something about winter and snow that I just adore.

Before I go on to talking about this month's Glam bag, I'd like to tell you what products I have enjoyed from last month. My favorite probably has to be the Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick. Not only did I get an awesome shade, but I can see this turning into a deeper red for fall with some layering. Can't wait to wear some of the deeper shades with sweaters!

First product this month is the NYX Eye Shadow Single in Golden Poppy. Not exactly a color I find myself gravitating to, however you are now able to review the products sent to you and included is a section about the shade you receive. I plan on putting in a review to see if this will detail my "beauty profile" more. 

The next product is the Cailyn Cosmetics Tinted Lip Balm in Big Apple. I think the color payoff is great on this product, but I would not use the term "lip balm" to describe it. It's more of a potted lipstick, because it doesn't have that creamy texture associated with a lip balm. Swatched next to the lip balm, is the Chella Ivory Lace Highlighter Pencil. I didn't know if this was an eyeliner or what, so I decided to heavily swatch it on my hand and then use a brush to pat this on my face- the areas I want to highlight. I do like the effect that it gave. Fairly pigmented and easy to blend.

The last two products that I received are the Starlooks Kohl Eye Pencil in Obsidian and the Elizabeth Mott It's So Big Volumizing Mascara. Love, love, love the pencil. I have been using it to blend out my flicked eyeliner and it gives such a great effect. It seems to allow some smudging time and then sets. The mascara, on the other hand, didn't not live up to its name. I was left with long, but super spidery and thin lashes. This did not give me any volume at all! I only used this on my lower lashes in the picture...I have been trying to find a way to actually use this mascara but it just doesn't leave me with the look I want.

Did you receive other products in your Glam bag? Which products that I mentioned have you used before and loved or hated? Let me know in the comments below!

Stay happy and healthy! :) Tschüss, Katharina