Current Beauty YASSSES

Before we begin, let me clarify one major detail about this entire post.  I am not a beauty guru.  I don't even consider myself a beauty blogger.  I am a fashion/lifestyle blogger that happens to periodically blog about make-up.  In order to be a true beauty blogger, one would have to eat, live, and breathe make-up.  That is not who I am.  I do, however, love make-up and I buy a lot of it. I'm a bit of a product junkie, so I'm always testing new items.  My make-up skills are nowhere near great.  I would describe them as serviceable.  Therefore, I need make-up items that are full proof and easy to use, because I don't have the skills to just make anything work like a true make-up guru could. This is why I created this list. This list goes out to all of the extraordinary girls with regular skills who may get overwhelmed when walking into Sephora or any other drug store and just wants to know where to begin.  The first in this YASSSES series will be about the face.

Face

I know that years ago and even today, MAC cosmetics has been the "go to" brand for complexion products.  When I say complexion products ladies, I mean foundation.  Particularly for brown girls, I think MAC became popular because they actually produced foundations that matched dark skin tones.  To my lighter toned sisters and brothers (or whatever floats your boat), finding a foundation that works for women of color has been somewhat troublesome because a lot of cosmetic companies simply don't produce shades that match us.  I guarantee you that at some point, at least half of people of color mixed shades just to get acceptable coverage.  I'm sure even people with lighter skin tones have done this as well.  But in a lot of cases, the range simply doesn't go dark enough.   I mean, do these people think dark skinned women don't wear make-up?  QTNA. (Questions that need answers.)  MAC has traditionally done a fairly good job with their shade selection.  However, MAC usually gives me break outs.  Wah wah wah.  I know. And honestly, although MAC does have a wide shade selection, I could never find one that matched me perfectly anyway.  I tried different foundation types and it didn't seem to matter.  I just wasn't completely happy with the coverage.  I've also tried Maybelline Fit Me in shade 355.  This does work for me.  It's not perfect, but it matches my shade pretty closely.  However, its a drug store brand and it doesn't give you a flawless finish.  It probably can give you a perfect face with a little extra work.  But I don't have time for that.  I need a foundation that doesn't require a lot of work to be great and doesn't break my face out.  I've also tried NARS. NARS is fine.  It's good coverage for me and they have brown girl colors.  But again, it wasn't 100% perfect.  The shade that matched me the closest was a little too red and I have yellow undertones.  So one day, I stumbled across Lancome. Lancome is not a new brand for me.  I just never really shopped it much.  It's a really high end brand, but it doesn't really get the hype that other brands receive daily.  So imagine my surprise when I went to this section and discovered they had 40 shades of coverage.  FORTY! And they consistently add new shades to their collection. Specifically, I use the Teint Idole Ultra line, as they do have several at your disposal.  The coverage on the Teint is great coverage that blends like a dream and matches me perfectly.  That tends to happen when there are 14 shades offered that are brown girl friendly, instead of the traditional 4 offerings that we are use to being forced to choose from.  Now, these foundations are expensive at $47. Stop it girl.  That's a happy hour outing.  Stop being cheap and buy the foundation. This goes on your face.  You need it.

Lancome, $47

http://www.lancome-usa.com/makeup/face/foundation/teint-idole-ultra-24h-long-wear-foundation/3605970268718.html#start=1

Lemme me tell you my first issue with eye shadow palettes.  They are too damn expensive. Urban Decay wants $54 for their Naked palette and Too Faced wants $49 for their Chocolate Bar palette.  My dumb arse has them all.  Well not all, but I have more than I need.  And the worst part is that I only use a few of the colors in each palette.  And when I say a few, I mean no more than three.  And it's not because I don't like the colors.  It's because most of the colors don't show up on my skin tone that well.  Stop it.  Don't judge me.  I swatch just about every color in the store on my hands.  Those swatches rarely show up on my face as they swatch on my hand.  They get me EVERY time.  So I hadn't bought a palette in about a year up until a few months ago.  The only reason why I did was because I read an article about black owned make-up brands. I went to one of the sites of one of the brands mentioned in the article called Juvia's Place. The colors looked vibrant and the palettes weren't that expensive, only around $30.  So I added it to the cart, clicked purchase and waited for it to ship.  Yoooo.   When I got the palette, I was stunned.  These shadows are creamy, they are pigmented and they are reasonable.  I highly recommend checking this brand out.  

                                              Juvia's Place, $28

https://www.juviasplace.com/collections/eyeshadow-palettes/products/nubian-2-eye-shadow-palette

Anyone that knows me personally, knows that the one make-up item I have on nearly everyday is eyeliner.  Eyeliner is my fix all for all things bad that may be happening with my face that day.  Plus, I love my eyes.  My eyes are the favorite thing I love about myself, so I try to accentuate them as much as possible.  I prefer liquid eyeliners because they make executing a good wing much easier.  However, I do know that liquid eyeliner involves being a little bit more accurate and precise. And as I stated earlier, sometimes you don't have time for that. Brows take up any extra time you will have in life. So I needed something full proof. My holy grail eyeliner is Kat Von D's Tattoo liner in Trooper (Trooper = Black).  It's $20, (pricey) but it really does last you a long time.  I've seen a few comments that stated they dried out, but this is simply not possible.  From time to time, you do have to shake it.  But that's common sense to be honest.  Shrugs. I've had my current one since the end of January and its still going strong.  I use this liner everyday!  I've been buying this liner for the past 3 years and its worth the money. You need this liner.  Just saying.

Kat Von D, Tattoo Liner in Trooper, $20

http://www.katvondbeauty.com/eye/eyeliner/tattoo-liner/22078.html?gclid=CjwKEAjwutXIBRDV7-SDvdiNsUoSJACIlTql2zb8D9DjXOQA9WaT8GeSxAGdSIzIgyaeMHr48sN2jhoCCcLw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

We can't talk about beauty for the face without talking about skincare.  It's not cute to put make-up on bumpy skin.  Sure, you can use make-up to cover it up, but make-up looks best on skin that is smooth and moisturized.  If you have severe acne issues, always see a dermatologist.  I have many problem areas on my body, as I'm sure we all do, but fortunately they don't include my face.  So I realize I am blessed.  I do, however, have an issue with oily skin and that drives me bonkers. Well one fine day as I was perusing the mall, I stumbled into Lush.  Lush is my favorite bath and body store and I regularly buy their masks and scrubs. Being the product junkie that I am, I was easily cajoled into trying a new face wash and toner. The sales lady recommended a black charcoal bar called Coal Face for my face that would help with combination and oily skin and lightly exfoliate.  She went on to recommend their Tea Tree toner to use after cleansing.  The toner is specifically made for oily skin. The trick with the toner was to spray it after my face wash and not to rub it in.  She suggested that I immediately apply moisturizer so that the toner mixes with the moisturizer at the same time.  This combo has been working wonders for my skin.  I've been using this since Feb and I haven't had one face break out.  It's also helped tremendously with oil control on my face.  In fact, I started using this toner to set my make-up instead of the infamous Mac Fix +.  It gives me a glowing look, rather than an oily one, which usually happens a few hours after my make up sets.  I'm officially obsessed with this product.

Lush, Coal Bar, $15

Lush Tea Tree Toner, $11-$13

http://www.lushusa.com/face/toners-and-steamers/tea-tree-water/9999900405.html

The last item on my favorites list is the Jack Black lip balm.  My entire face is oily with the exception of my lips, which I have to constantly moisturize.  I found this in Sephora with the suggestion of my friend.  It's like $7 and I was skeptical about paying this much for Chapstick. They all claim to be good and they are not. EOS is the biggest rip off in town.  It's fine, but it works no better than $1 Chapstick or Blistex.  So initially, I wasn't biting.  Eventually I caved and bought a tube of this slightly overpriced tube.  I've never been so in love with a product in my life. This product is short of amazing.  But of course it would be ladies because its made for men. Men's basic staple products always tend to be better than ours. Why? I paid $26 for that damn Fresh lip "treatment" that Sephora tries to ram down my throat in the check out line as I'm patiently waiting to buy the products I actually came in there for.  That was the biggest waste of money I've ever spent.  It did absolutely nothing that Chapstick doesn't do.  And Fresh is not the only offender. There are plenty of high end brands that offer lip treatments that cost $20 or more.  None of them work.  But of course, a men's product would be a fraction of the cost and work perfectly. I'm not bitter though.

Jack Black Intense Therapy Lip Balm, $7.50

http://www.getjackblack.com/Products/Intense-Therapy-Lip-Balm-SPF-25-with-Natural-Mint-and-Shea-Butter__3004O.aspx?SKU=3004&gclid=CjwKEAjwutXIBRDV7-SDvdiNsUoSJACIlTqlbIXH_2Esa3uhY6VwDjBkHkHFpAjg0rYxqTk1giDudRoCJ0Lw_wcB

That's all I'm loving at the moment.  Check back next month for any additional finds that I insist you try.  

SSJ