Give me all the makeup and brushes you have

Pants here again. In my last post I talked about what makeup I would buy if my cosmetics bag had been misplaced for a few days. Today, I’m going to talk about something even scarier – what if ALL my makeup was gone FOREVER (ever… ever… ever…)?

Let’s make this a little less upsetting – ONLY my makeup is gone. Everything else is fine. My cat scratched the crap out of the person who stole all my makeup, so they didn’t come back for anything else. And they bled all over their vehicle. And the scratches got infected. And they’ll probably lose at least one leg. And they have terrible acne that even my makeup couldn’t hide. HASHTAG KARMA.

After crying (and probably vomiting), I would have to decide what would really need to be replaced. Because let’s be honest, we might love all of our makeup, but we don’t necessarily use all of it. I’m a sucker for green/turquoise/teal eye shadows, but those aren’t something that I wear everyday.

So if all of my makeup went missing for good, here are the products I would absolutely have to repurchase:

(Clockwise from left: Maybelline Dream Lumi Concealer, Tarte BB Tinted Treatment 12-hour Primer,
Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder)

Tarte BB Tinted Treatment 12-hour Primer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen (light) / $34 @ tartecosmetics.com
Years ago I used a tinted moisturizer and loved it. Then I tried 800 products, and each time I would love it for a month, then was over it.  I wanted glowy, natural looking skin, like I wasn’t wearing anything. I went to Sephora and tested all the tinted moisturizers and BB creams from my favorite brands. After talking to a sales girl, she suggested the one that was actually my top runner – the Tarte BB Tinted Treatment 12-hour Primer Broad Spectrum SPF Sunscreen. There’s a lot of words in there, and the two that threw me off were “primer” and “sunscreen.” I wasn’t sure it could be worn by itself, but the associate told me that it could and that she really loved it. It goes on smooth, and has a silky/silicone-like feeling of a primer, but it’s tinted and evens out my skintone. Plus, the sunscreen is great – I went to the West Side Wiener Dog Races last weekend and while my shoulders burned like nobody’s business, my face was fine.

Maybelline Dream Lumi concealer (Radient) / $6.44 @ target.com
Great for brightening under/around my eyes, and the price isn’t too shabby.

Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder (Translucent) / $3.97 @ walmart.com
I honestly can’t tell a difference between this and the MAC Mineral Skin Finish Natural that I’ve been using for the last two years. The packaging isn’t as nice, but who cares?

N.Y.C. Smooth Skin Face Powder Sunny bronzer / $2.99 @ kmart.com
This has good color payoff, I don’t need to use much on my translucent skin AND it’s like $2-3 in most drug stores.

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush (Tipsy) / $26 @ tartecosmetics.com
This is probably my favorite blush. It’s bright coral, which makes me happy. Sometimes I forget about it, but whenever I use it again I get mad at myself for not using it more.

Elizabeth Arden Pure Finish Highlighter (Rose Illumination) / $34 @ elizabetharden.com
So glad that rose gold is finally popular again. When I was in 7th grade, it was big. My mom ordered me a rose gold chevron ring from QVC, and I still have it. For years I’ve been waiting for it to get popular again, so I’m pumped to be able to get so many things in this beautiful color. When I heard that Elizabeth Arden was coming out with the Rose Aurora collection, I had to refrain from buying all of it. I settled on the highlighter, and it is definitely my favorite. (My gloomy day pictures don’t do it justice, so visit Fleur De Force’s blog for a swatch.)

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (Original) / $12 @ urbandecay.com
I loved this product since I first tried it five years ago. My shadows don’t crease and they look vibrant and freshly applied all day. I would go for the travel tube because you don’t have to use much and it lasts forever.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo (Medium Brown) / $23 @ anastasia.net
It may seem pricey, but the one I’m using now I’ve had for around two years, and it’s still going strong (that’s a new one in the photo that I STILL haven’t had to use yet). I like powder because it looks more natural and because you get so much more product than in a pencil.

LORAC Mint Edition Palette  (Ulta version) / $36 @ ulta.com
This was a difficult decision. I have a lot of palettes and I like to switch between them every day. I decided to go with the LORAC Mint Edition because it’s what I’ve been using the most lately, and I think it has a good mixture of colors so that I can wear different looks. Plus, it’s limited edition and luckily still available. It has matte colors and really nice shimmery colors, too. BONUS – It comes with a coral lipgloss, gorgeous coral-peach blush AND a makeup bag.

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof eye liner (Lionfish) / $20 @ stilacosmetics.com
All-time favorite eyeliner. This bronzy color really makes blue eyes look more blue. It works with pretty much any shadow color. (Except oranges or corals – I feel they look a little too Halloweeny/fall-like for this time or year.)

Buxom Lash Mascara (Blackest Black) / $19 @ sephora.com
I haven’t bought mascara in months because I probably have eight years worth of free samples that I’ve been trying to go through. However, if they were all gone, this is the one I’d buy – lots of volume, doesn’t clump and no flaking.

TOTAL: $217.40

Okay, that’s nauseating. I actually feel physically ill thinking about having to replace all of those things at the same time.  So don’t steal my makeup, jerks.

According to my last post, it would have cost me $50.77 to replace all of my makeup using drugstore products that I like, leaving out tools or brushes, which I didn’t even get into here.

Whew! Do you know what you’d replace if you lost all of your makeup?

xo,

Pants

$20 makeup challenge?

Pants here. I’m a big fan of makeup videos on YouTube – duh. A lot of girls do the $20 makeup challenge, and I love/hate these videos.

Basically, the story behind the $20 challenge is that you’ve lost all of your makeup (I know, that’s terrifying, but we’ll get through it together), and you ONLY have TWENTY DOLLARS to replace everything.

I take this a little too seriously and ask a lot of questions. Did I just temporarily lose my makeup? Like, did I leave it at home and I’m only going to be out of town overnight? Then I’ll be fine without it. Did the airport lose my makeup bag and I’ll have to go the whole trip without it? Then that’s unacceptable, for multiple reasons and that airline is going to get a stern talking to.

In these videos, girls typically leave out products to make the cut – sometimes skipping foundation and only using concealer for spots. Pffft, no.

Before I even start this challenge, I’ve already failed because I know it won’t be under $20 and I’m not even going to try to keep it under. What I’m doing is picking out the most inexpensive products that I like AND that I typically use every day.

(Let’s just pretend that the Wet n Wild palette in the photo isn’t green – I’d pick a more neutral one for this situation.)

• Revlon Nearly Naked foundation (Vanilla) – $7.49 – This is the only drugstore foundation that I’ve ever actually liked. It has a light to medium coverage and is a pretty light formula. It looks nice when applied with fingers or a brush. AND it doesn’t make me look shiny or orange – always a plus. I was using this every day, but I’ve recently switched to a BB cream because I prefer really light coverage during the summer.
• Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder (Transparent) – $3.97 – I bought this on the recommendation of Tanya Burr, who is one of my favorite beauty gurus on YouTube. She was an actual makeup artist and  knows her stuff. I bought this to replace my $20+ MAC Mineral Skin Finish Natural and I can’t tell a difference between the two once they’ve been applied.
• Maybelline Dream Lumi concealer (Radient) – $6.44 – I don’t have dark under eye circles, but sometimes my eyes are dark on the outside corners, so I like to lighten them up with a salmon concealer. The concealer I previously used creased in the lines under my eyes, and that’s not cute. I admit, this one will crease not long after I’ve applied it, but then I dab it with my finger once I’ve finished all of my makeup, and it doesn’t happen again for the rest of the day.
• N.Y.C. Smooth Skin Face Powder Sunny bronzer – $2.99 – If you’ve watched YouTube beauty videos, I’m sure you’ve heard many girls talk about this. I resisted for a long time. Then Red gave in, loved it and I decided I had to try it. I’ve been using it every day since. It’s pigmented, so I don’t have to use much. It’s great for contouring my ghostly pale skin, and doesn’t make me look orange.
• Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush (Hot Tamale) – $6.94 – This was one of those things that I kept seeing around and it looked so interesting that I had to try it. I had heard that they weren’t very pigmented, so I picked the brightest color available, and I love how it looks.  Plus, it’s easy to apply with fingers.
• *Maybelline Define-A-Brow eyebrow pencil (Medium Brown) – $5.97 – Honestly, I’m not a fan of these. They’re a little waxy and you only get 1/3 of the product you do in the MAC Eye Brows, which I love. Plus, when I bought them, I could never find them under $7. At $16, the MAC Eye Brows is the better deal.
• *e.l.f. Eyelid Primer – $1 – Meh. I need primer so that my shadows don’t crease if I get sweaty. I MEAN GLOWY. Girls don’t sweat, remember?! I tried this a couple years ago, and wasn’t impressed. Other people love it. It’s only $1, though, so why not try it out?
• *Wet n Wild Coloricon Eye Shadow Trio (Silent Treatment) – $2.09 – Another of my favorite girls on YouTube, Leighannsays, loves her some Wet n Wild. I decided to try out a couple trios, and I was honestly impressed. Both palettes I bought were green, and I’m not a green eyeshadow everyday type of girl, so they don’t get much use. I might have to try a more neutral one sometime.
• Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner (Sapphire) –  $7.94 – I’ve tried high-end cream liners and Maybelline’s work just as well. The only downside is the color selection isn’t that great. But if you need a black, brown, navy or purple cream liner, these are the way to go. PLUS, each one comes with a brush that actually gets a precise line.
• Maybelline Volume Express Mega Plush waterproof mascara (Very Black) – $5.94 – This is my current favorite drugstore mascara. This is actually a gel-mousse mascara, which means it leaves eyelashes feeling soft, instead of crunchy. Even the waterproof feels soft, and it holds curl. I’ve heard people say this is for a more natural look, but if you just keep adding more, you can pump up the jams, er, volume. And it’s not clumpy!

TOTAL = $50.77

*products I don’t currently own/use, but have in the past, so they aren’t in the photo

 

Oh, but wait! You’ve lost all of your brushes, too, because the world is a cruel, cruel place. I think I could get away with just these two tools:

• Real Techniques blush brush – $8.99 – Recently bought this and fell in love. It’s so soft, and perfect for blush. However, it could easily be used for setting powder all over the face and contouring with bronzer.

• e.l.f. eyelash curler – $1 – I did use this for a while, but then went on to another curler. It’s been a long time since I’ve used it, but I think it worked fine. My lashes are really hard to curl and go straight down, so I’m always trying new curlers and keeping my fingers crossed for a miracle.

NEW TOTAL = $60.76

 

Okay, that’s triple the allowed amount. Whoops? But really, drugstore makeup isn’t as cheap as you think it is and adds up quickly. I could have gone the e.l.f. route because many of their products are only $1 to $3, but why buy something that I’m not going to continue to use? Why not buy products that I like? If I don’t use the products when I (hopefully) get my makeup back, then it was a waste of $20.

Ow, ow, okay, stop twisting my arm. If I ABSOLUTELY had to keep it under $20, here’s what I would buy:

• Revlon Nearly Naked foundation – $7.49
• Maybelline Define-A-Brow eyebrow pencil – $5.97
• Maybelline Volume Express Mega Plush waterproof mascara – $5.94

TOTAL = $19.40

Foundation is important. My skin is pretty clear most of the time, but I get flushed pretty easily, so I’d just like to have it evened out.  After that, eyebrows and eyelashes are equally important. As everyone and your mother has always said, eyebrows frame your face. Luckily, I do have eyebrows and they’re dark, but they need filled in. My eyelashes are the same way – dark, but need a assistance. Plus, I look 12 without my mascara, as opposed to looking 16 like usual.

If you only had $20 to replace your makeup, what would you buy?

xo,

Pants

Hey, remember us!?

Well, hello there! Where have we been? Where have YOU been? Hmm, Mr. Question Pants?

We’ve been busy having like a billion babies (one baby) and earning like a million master’s degrees (one degree). And those things take time, and they come first.

So just like Backstreet, we’re back. ALL RIGHT!

Things will be a little different this time. There won’t been five posts per week because that’s exhausting. This blog is for funsies, not for workies or monies.

Also, we might have some posts that aren’t related to makeup (GASP!). We’ll see. THERE ARE NO RULES IN THE LAND OF GLITTERY UNICORNS!

So if you read Glimmer and Shimmer back in the day, thank you for sticking around. And if you’re new, thank you for joining us and take off your shoes before you get dirt all of the new carpet, you ogre.

xo,

Red & Pants

Tried It Tuesday – Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Eyeshadow

This week’s Tried It Tuesday is brought to you by Pants.

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Eyeshadow ($5.84, target.com) – I first spotted these right before Christmas. Red and I were both in Charleston visiting our families, and we snuck away to Target because it was open until midnight. I saw the Maybelline Color Tattoo and had to have the Tenacious Teal because my favorite color is teal/turquoise. Well, this really is an electric blue more than teal.

I got this to wear as a cream bright liner. Well, it didn’t work out as well as I wanted it to for lining purposes. To be fair, I really only used it like that once. I haven’t worn it as a shadow yet because I typically avoid bright blue shadows because they make my blue eyes look gray.

When I wore it as a liner, it stayed all day with no problems.

Tenacious Teal has some glitter in it too, which is fun. I ended up buying Tough as Taupe a few weeks ago, because I’m a sucker. I kept seeing everyone talk about this color on YouTube, and I had to have it. I’m a big fan of gray shadows, and decided it was a necessity. Tough as Taupe is matte.

I have worn Tough as Taupe several times, both as a base and alone. I like to wear it with black eyeliner and a darker color in my crease, because I feel my eyes look sloppy if I don’t. Kinda like I just swiped it on as I was running out the door or slept in it.

Tough as Taupe wore really well too, with no problems. When I wear it as a base, I also use Urban Decay’s Primer Potion under it. I never noticed any creasing.

I do like these, and I think they wear well, but I’m just not excited about them. I get excited when I see a tutorial using them, but I’m not reaching for them much on my own.

I give the Maybelline Color Tattoos 4 out of 5 sparkles.

xo,

Red & Pants

Poll Results – Will you wear green makeup for St. Patty’s Day

We asked our lovely readers if they would wear green makeup for St. Patty’s Day and the answer is a big fat no. Really? Way to crush our souls you guys. Way. To. Crush. Our. Souls.

Perhaps you need some inspiration? Here are some of our favorite green makeup tutorials that should help you out.

Lisa Eldridge – Green Smoke Glamourous Party Eyes:

Pixiwoo – Olive/Gold Eyeshadow tutorial:

 

And remember – you don’t have to go ALL OUT like a crazy person and be covered in green. Wear some neutral shadows and add a pop of color with some green liner under the bottom lashes. Or maybe paint your accents nails green, and do the rest in an another color. We’re just looking out for you so you won’t be pinched!

xo,

Red & Pants