Favorite Products for February

Hi there! So today's blog post. . . my favorite makeup products for the month of February! With the exception of my Smashbox O-Gloss, CoverGirl Lash Blast mascara, MAC Power point pencil in Engraved and CARGO blu-ray powder, the following are my new found faves for this month!

I cannot rave enough about these brushes and though I'd hate to compare these brushes with my expensive MAC brushes, these may actually be deemed better! The quality of Real Techniques brushes are amazing since the price point are no where near in the range of MAC brushes. These taklon synthetic (cruelty-free!) brushes are not only affordable but also very soft, easy to clean, and picks up product well. I can't pick just one brush from the above four picture that I would say is my favorite as they are all my favorite face brushes.

Since my skin right now is free from bumps or pimples, I can actually get away with just using my NARS radiant creamy concealer in Ginger. I simply apply this at areas where I have discoloration, redness, and under eye circles and voila! flawless face!
On days when I want to go for a fuller coverage and more dewy look, I reach for my Too Faced Amazing Face Oil-Free Foundation in Honey Beige. I absolutely love this foundation for this winter weather, when my skin can get quite dry. This foundation hydrates my face and does not emphasize nor does it sink into lines. I wouldn't say that this is a full coverage foundation more like a light to medium, but it is buildable.
My CARGO blu-ray high definition pressed powder has never failed me when it comes to setting my foundation. This powder is very light and gives the skin such a natural look. The only downside is that it only comes in 4 shades, mine is in Medium.

Sometimes, when I've eaten too much ramen or when I'm looking like a puffer fish due to bloating, I like to use my Anastasia Contour palette. This palette is an absolute must in any girl's makeup stash! The powders are nicely pigmented so you don't need much and are like velvet in texture. The banana powder is my favorite! I think it's like a spin-off on the infamous Ben Nye banana powder (thanks Kim K). Anyways, I love using the banana powder for my under eyes to set my concealer, which opens up my eyes while also adding more coverage for those pesky dark circles.

Ah, NARS Exhibit A. This use to terrify me. I mean it is a real red blush! However, if you want a rosy, natural looking flush (because nobody naturally blushes with a candy colored pink flush to their cheeks, right?) this blush is what you need to achieve that or you can just pinch your cheeks.

Just like all NARS blushes, this one is highly pigmented so very little is needed to get a beautiful flush to the cheeks. It's long wearing too!

So another optional item for me are my Hourglass Ambient lighting powders in Mood, Radiant, and Diffused.

MOOD LIGHT is a soft, sheer lavender pink powder that mimics the softest most forgiving light and reveals your brightest complexion - See more at: http://www.hourglasscosmetics.com/ambient-lighting-powder/#sthash.OlfbGfOb.dpuf

DIM LIGHT is a neutral peach beige powder that blurs imperfections and highlights a radiant complexion with the perfect balance of warm and cool tones - See more at: http://www.hourglasscosmetics.com/ambient-lighting-powder/#sthash.OlfbGfOb.dpuf

DIFFUSED LIGHT is a soft, warm, pale yellow powder that conceals redness and gives skin clarity – like a soft ray of morning light - See more at: http://www.hourglasscosmetics.com/ambient-lighting-powder/#sthash.OlfbGfOb.dpuf

Diffused Light - I like to use this under my eyes.

Dim Light - gives a bronzy effect to it if you ask me. It is the most obvious glow on my skin in terms of pigmentation. If you want a natural sun kissed glow, this would be perfect. I imagine this would be more beautiful at night time or over a tanned skin.

Mood Light - this is actually nice to apply on the cheeks if you want to skip on blush. It just brightens the cheeks ever so lightly. You can also use it as a highlighter on the high points of the face since the lavender and pink in it are so subtle.

This is the brush to apply the Ambient powders with. Its a great quality brush. Very soft and easy to use. Just glide this onto the powder and then glide flat onto the area of the face where you want the powder.

For my brows, I've been Anastasia Dip brow pomade with the Anastasia brow dual ended brush and spoolie. Let's talk about the pomade first, the shade I use is ebony. I really like this pomade because it is creamy, waterproof, smudge proof, and can be used as an eye shadow base or as an eye liner. The only thing I don't like is that you have to be fast when applying this because it dries up so quickly! Also, a teeny tiny amount is sufficient and if you get too much you could end up with an un-natural looking set of brows that are neither sisters or cousins, more like angry birds.
The brush is okay, not something that needs to be specially purchased to use the pomade in my opinion.

I am still using my CoverGirl Lash blast waterproof mascara but to curl my lashes I use this eye lash curler from Sephora. It's so cute! It comes in different colors and it works great. Before curling my lashes, I use my MAC power point eye liner in Engraved. This is such a great eye liner for tight lining my upper lash lines, which again opens up my eyes and gives me that more awake look!