Bargain Beauty: Top 5 Makeup Products Under $5

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Hello All!

I'm a huge fan of getting things for a bargain, especially when it comes to beauty products. A good majority of my favorite products are insanely inexpensive and so much better than their high-end, crazy-ass expensive counterparts. Why buy a $30 eyeliner when you've got a tried and true $3 one that has never dissapointed!? That being said, I love splurging every once in awhile to get high-end makeup that might cost a bit more.

 Everyone has their preferences for cost and brand so I could never fault someone for wanting to pay more!

There will always be certain products that are just better when they are a little bit more high-end or are an expensive brand; and there will always be cheaper, drugstore products that will never disappoint!

That being said, let's dig into today's post!


I'm sharing with you my Top 5 Makeup Products Under $5! These 'Bargain Beauty' posts will probably frequently show up on my blog because I love finding things for cheap, but for my first on the topic, I thought I'd go quite general with it!

I'm been using these five products for years now, and each one has given me amazing results and has either been repurchased or just has so much product, that it's lasted me forever! These are tried and true favorites in my makeup collection and they're all under $5!!!!! (I'm going off the price in Target/Walgreens, so it could possibly vary depending on where you are!)

Top 5 Under $5 - Beauty

Let's start with my absolute favorite pressed powder of all time. It's one that I think a lot of people are aware of, just because of how great it is and how cheap it is, but in case you haven't heard.....Listen up! The Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder is amazing. This stuff is just the best powder I've ever used. 

It only costs $3.99 and comes in 7 great shades including my go-to, Transparent. I love that they have transparent as a shade because I don't like to add extra color into my face after I've put on foundation etc. It keeps out the oil and leaves me looking fresh and matte in all the right places!

Next up is the E.L.F. Studio Contouring Blush and Bronzing Duo which is only $3 and comes in three great color pairings (I own St. Lucia). 

I love E.L.F. because it's so inexpensive and gives you great makeup products and this duo is no exception. For only $3 you get both a blush and a bronzer that are gorgeous and last forever!

I've got another bronzer to share and it's the NYC Smooth Skin Bronzing Face Powder in 'Sunny'. This is only $2.79 and it's one of the best bronzers ever! I love using this for an all-over glow for my face. It's really natural and sets on your face beautifully!

Onto eyes! One of my favorite eye products is the Rimmel ScandalEyes Kohl Eye Liner. I'm usually a liquid liner girl but when I want to have a more smoked-out look or if I need to tightline my eyes, I always go for this Rimmel eyeliner. (It's only $3.99)

And for the last of my favorite Under $5 products, I love the Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm. I adore Maybelline and so when I discovered they had cheap, gorgeous lip balms I jumped on them! I own almost every Baby Lips color there is, and I have no regrets. These are amazing. They are incredibly hydrating and each color leaves your lips with a perfect amount of tint! They are great substitutes for lipstick, especially when you've got dry, chapped lips! These are super cheap as well, only going for $2.99-$3.49 depending on the variety you get! 


I hope you enjoyed my Top 5 Makeup Products Under $5! This was halfway easy and halfway difficult for me to make because there are so many under $5 products that I just want to share with everyone. In the end I think this was pretty accurate to my feelings, and hopefully helped inpspire you.

Will you try any of these out? I hope you do, they're a bargain and will keep your wallet nice and heavy!

xo Emily

Quick First Impression: Two High-End Concealers

Monday, July 28, 2014

Hey guys! Today's is a quick post with my quick, first impressions of two high-end concealers I've picked up in the past few weeks! 

The two I've picked up are the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in the shade 'Vanilla' and the Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer in the shade 'Light Sand'. I've heard a lot about both of these concealers, and wanted to check them out at some point. I know that the NARS concealer is meant to be quite creamy, blendable, and cover your darkest of dark circles and that the Tarte concealer would be perfect for creasing under the eyes. These seemed perfect to me because the two biggest problems I have when concealing are dark under-eye circles and under-eye creasing/flakiness. 



This is just my first impression of these products after about a week or so of use for both. First off, I am noticing that the Tarte concealer has diminished some of my creasing under the eye, which is what I have been looking for, but I'm not sure how much I love the formula. As for the NARS concealer, I am loving this so far. It goes on really beautifully and as the name would suggest, it's so so creamy

I'm going to keep trying these out and make a future post with an indepth review beacause since these products are so expensive and high-end, I think it's important to do your research and to see if it would fit with your skin needs, skin type, and concealer preference!

Products Used:



Hope everyone's having a great day!

xo Emily

Indulgent

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Sometimes, I think it's hard to indulge. For me especially, I get incredibly bad buyer's remorse. I sometimes even go back and return a bunch of things I had just bought. That being said, sometimes I think it's okay to indulge and spend way too much on something, no matter how silly you think it is.

 

For me, a moment like that came when I bought a beautiful YSL Rouge Volupté shine lipstick. 



First off, YSL is probably one of the most glamorous brands I can think of, ever, and I felt fancy even being near their gorgeous line of cosmetics. I especially love their lipsticks, because they are just so damn gorgeous!



I picked up the color #14 'Corail in Touch' and instantly felt about 30000% more luxe and chic.



To really pack in that whole 'indulgence' theme, I'll tell you that these run for $35 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) which is a price I've never paid for lipstick, ever! But, like I said, sometimes it's nice to indulge. I did not need to buy this lipstick, but boy did I want it. 

I just LOVE the way it looks on my lips!
First off, the packaging is beautiful. Just looking at it makes me happy. It also smells amazing, and slides onto your lips perfectly. The color is beautiful and it keeps your lips looking hydrated and glossy. I don't even wear a gloss over it because it just keeps you shiny. 


It's a peachy, coral, orange color and I think it's perfect for summer. I will definitely be trying out another one of these (once I can stomach it to be quite honest)


 

Do you have any products that you just had to indulge in?

xo Emily

♡ Love in Rio ♡

Saturday, July 26, 2014

No, I'm not actually in Rio (I wish), but instead I'm using the NYX Love in Rio Eyeshadow Palette to create todays makeup look! 



I'm a big fan of this eyeshadow palette because it's inexpensive ($4-5) and because it's gorgeous, super blend-able, and is perfect for an everyday look!


It comes with three shadows. The lightest shade is a shimmery soft pink that's great for the entire lid and for highlight. The second shade is my favorite of the palette, a gorgeous shimmery taupe color and I love it for a crease color. The last shade is a matte black shadow that is great for lining both your upper and lower lash lines!

Look how great these swatch!
I love this palette because it's so so simple to create a classic, beautiful look with just two shades! 


All I did to create my look was patted the white shadow all over my lid and then took a big, fluffy blending brush into my crease with the taupe color. To finish, I lined my lower lash with the black shadow and then highlighted my brow bone and inner corner of my eye with the white shadow!



I love how this look turned out and I'm especially happy it was so affordable!

Check out NYX shadows! They're great products!


xo Emily

Friday Finds!

Friday, July 25, 2014

Happy Friday!! I've got another post about some things I've picked up over the last couple weeks! These are probably some of my spendiest finds of late, but I felt it was the right time to pick them up!


First, I picked up something that I've been debating on buying for a long time. Mostly because it is a whopping $30 and even though I've heard countless good reviews on it, I was hesitant to spend so much! That being said, I wanted to truly experience it and had Sephora giftcard so I finally got the Benefit Porefessional pore minimizing primer! I've only tried it out once or twice so far and I like it so far but I want to give it a long test run and then I'll make a post about it!


Next up is another high-end product, the NARS Creamy Concealer which will put you back $29(!!!!!!!!). I got the shade 'Vanilla' and am excited to try it out. I hear so many good things about it so I'll be very dissapointed if it doesn't work out!



Next is the Sonia Kashuk Chic Luminosity Highlighter Stick which costs $11 and you can pick it up at Target. I got the 'Sparkling Sands' shade which is gorgeous. I really love this so far, it gives such a lovely sheen on the cheeks and makes for a very natural highlight.


Look at that beautiful shine!


 Lastly, I recently picked up this L'Oreal Color Riche Nail Polish in the shade 'Now You Sea Me' (adorbs), which I have been wearing non stop since I got it. I love blue polishes and this one is the perfect green-tinted blue that looks great with any look!


So that's it for today's 'Friday Finds' posts, I hope you all enjoyed it! I definitely have a lot to test out!

xo Emily

Flat Branch Pub and Brewing

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Hi!

The other day I enjoyed a lovely meal at one of my favorite hometown eateries, Flat Branch Pub and Brewing. The night I went, it was unusually cool out and a perfect night to sit in their patio seating for dinner. They have a beautiful outdoor area where you can eat, surrounded by trees and lights. It has a great atmosphere and is just ideal for a casual night out to eat. 

Inside, they have a ton more seating, which is great because it's always packed, along with their on-site brewery. You can even see some of where the beer is being brewed through a see-through window area! 

Their menu is one of the best, with delicious appetizers and fantastic entrees.

This trip, my friend and I started out with some of their delicious beer bread that comes with truly addicting honey butter. We also got an order of their french fries because they are literally the most delicious things you will ever taste! 



It took us awhile to decide what to eat for our entrees, only because everything always looks so amazing but we both settled on pasta!

She got the Smoked Salmon Pasta with tomatoes, basil pesto, white wine, and cream. I went for the Sausage and Chicken Bayou Pasta which was pasta tossed with a spicy cream sauce with Cajun seasoning and charbroiled chicken breast along with andouille sausage, green peppers, and yellow onion. So delicious! We paired out meal with fresh Iced Tea and had such a great night. This is definitely one of my favorite places to get a great meal and have a fun night with friends or family.



How delicious does it look! 


We had so much fun!

xo Emily

The Five Product Face

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Happy Tuesday! Today's makeup look is quite the challenge! In particular, it's the Five Product Face challenge that I've seen across the internet! With this challenge, you choose only five makeup products to use for your look that day! 


This was a little bit challenging only because I like to use five products on my eyes themselves! I had to cut out some of my favorite things (blush and liquid liner) but found that I really liked not having too much product on my face! I think I could do a 9 product face every day, but not 5!


I buffed the Rimmel Foundation into my skin first, which gives me a nice matte finish so I don't have to use powder. It also has some great medium coverage which works well on redness. Next, I patted the Tarte concealer under my eyes which doesn't crease and covers my under eye circles perfectly! I had to include a brow product because I can't stand my sparse brows so I used the Anastasia brow wiz to fill them in and sculpt them! The last product I used was Maybelline's The Nudes palette, creating a soft, brown eye look. I also used the dark brown shade as a pseudo eye liner and the white shimmery shade as a brow and inner eye highlight! I love that this palette has so much variation that I can use it for just about anything on my face!


Products Used:

Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Waterproof Concealer in 'Light Sand' - $24
 Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara - $20
 Rimmel Match Perfection Foundation in 101 'Classic Ivory' - $6
 Maybelline The Nudes Palette - $10
Anastasia Brow Wiz in 'Soft Brown' - $21

I really love the way this turned out. Maybe I'll start trying to use only five products everyday! (not likely, I miss my rockateur blush)



 I'd definitely suggest trying out the whole 'Five Product Face' thing because it's awesome!

xo Emily

The Weekly Wrap-Up: July 14-20

Sunday, July 20, 2014


Welcome to another wrap-up of my week!


Monday July 14

The start of my week was a painful one. In my quick and easy hairstyle post last Monday, I mentioned I had my ingrown toenails cut out which was absolutely, incredibly painful, so I just spent my day relaxing, watching psych, and snacking away.

Tuesday July 15

On Tuesday I went to work then hung out with one of my very best friends, Samantha.


We had pasta at one of my favorite local places, Flat Branch Pub then went out for ice cream!


Wednesday July 16

Today was another low-key day. I went to work, on a few errands, and then my family and I made a fire in our backyard and grilled some yummy shakes!


Thursday July 17

Today was a busy one! I got off early from work and couldn't resist going to visit the little baby kitties at Petsmart. I've been a bit kitten-obsessed as of late. 


Loooook at them!!! They're soo cute!

I also got to pick up my VIP movie passes that I won from a radio contest so that was pretty fun!


The Weekend: July 18-20

I spent the rest of my week visiting family out of town, which was really nice and relaxing, especially as I have had a bit of a stressful few weeks! I found out some really great news though, so that stress might be alleviated a bit in the future months!


Hope you all had a great week and weekend too!

xo Emily

Ain't Nothin But a 'Blue' Thing

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Hey friends! Happy Weekend!

I find it so fun to experiment with colored shadows, liner, and mascara and I definitely think summer is the perfect time to do it! Today's look was probably one of the most simple I've done but because I'm amped it up with the colorled liner, it gives it a definite edge.


All I did today was wear my usual face makeup, then just patted a white shimmery shade across my whole lid. 

The real star was my blue eyeliner. I used the Chella liquid liner in the shade 'Indigo Blue' which I recieved in an Ipsy bag a couple months ago. I really love it. It's SO easy to apply and the color is crazy pretty.


I love how this Chella liner looks on my lid. I also love how it brings out my blue eyes!


The last thing I did with the eye look was added a bit of gold. I grabbed the very shimmery, gold shadow from my Tarte Golden Days and Sultry Nights palette (which is one of my faves) and just finished the look by lining half of my bottom lash line with the shadow, patting a bit of it into my inner tear duct area as well.


The gold looks really amazing with blue and kind of just brought a bit more shine and sparkle into the look!

I finished off with mascara and voila: A perfect, easy, fun look to try for summer. I will definitely try out other colored liners after this!


xo Emily

Friday Finds

Friday, July 18, 2014

Hello! Welcome to another 'Friday Finds' post! Today I'm coming to you with a few products that I really was excited to purchase and try out! 


I've got a whopping 8 products that I've picked up in the past week or so and I'l share them below!


The first product is the Pacifica Natural Minerals Alight Multi-Mineral BB Cream which I picked up at Target. I am always looking for new BB Creams because I absolutely adore them and find they work best on my skin! This stuff is pretty expensive (it goes for about $13) but it is a really naturally made product with great ingredients that are super healthy for your skin. 

The bottle promotes this product as age defying, shade-matching, and illuminating. When I try the product out, I'll be looking for those characteristics in the BB Cream. 


Next up is the L'Oreal Visible Lift CC Eye Concealer. I got the shade 'Light' and it cost me about $10. I was really looking forward to using this because it helps conceal your dark circles and give you a little bit of brightness and helps hide aging!


I picked up the Physicians Formula Bronze Booster Adjusting Bronzing Veil in 'Light to Medium'. I love this brand for blushes, bronzers, and highlighters so I was excited to try out a new bronzer. I had been looking for a bronzer that was a little more high-quality than the Rimmel one I usually use but a little less expensive than the High-End bronzers. I got this at Target for $13 but there was an amazing sale on Physicians Formula products - buy 1, get 1 free! So it was an even better deal!

Also, look at how beautiful this product is!? I love the sun design!


The 'Free' part of my buy 1, get 1 free Physicians Formula deal was the Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls in 'Translucent Pearl'. This stuff is SO beautiful. I had been looking for a new highlighter and this was just the perfect purchase. I already tried this out because it looked so gorgeous and it looks amazing on the face.


Next, I picked up the L'Oreal Magic De-Crease Eyelid Primer which I had been eyeing for AGES!!! It runs for about $8 which I was a little unhappy about but I was willing to try. I have a lot of trouble with getting product in the crease and I had high hopes for this. (Spoiler Alert: It's AMAZING and well worth the price if you have this problem!)


I also picked up the NEW!!!! Maybelline The NUDES Palette which is one of the first really big drugstore palettes released, so I was so excited to try it out. I did a whole review post on this product so I won't talk about it much right now, so all I'll say is that I really like it!



Next, I picked up an Ulta Glitter Eye Top Coat in the color 'Fairy Princess'. It was on sale for $4 which was 1/2 off, so it was a great deal! I adore this product so much, it gives the best glitter and fun little shimmer to your lids. All you have to do is either apply it over your lids with a wet eyeshadow brush but it also works really well on top of other shimmery shades and on cream shadow!


The last thing I picked up was just your run of the mill eyelash curler. I picked up the Sally Hansen 'Flirty Eyes' eyelash curler for $5 at Ulta. I needed a new one, and this one has been working well!



That's it for today's 'Friday Finds'. I'm really excited about all these products and will let you know my favorites and the flops! 

Have a great weekend friends!

xo Emily