Quick Beauty Questions!

Hey guys! I often have these beauty questions I can't get out of my head, so I finally figured I should just ask you! :)

• Is powder a necessary step in every beauty routine? If so, what do you recommend?
• I'd like to try a new foundation. What are your current favorites/must haves?
• We've talked about brows a little this past week. How do you maintain them? What are your must have brow products?
• Um, NAILS. Please teach me how to do them well. Thoughts??
• Oils. I really want to try some, but don't know where to start! Help!

Perhaps I'll do regular posts of these beauty things that are on my mind... Anyway, I'd love to know your thoughts! Let's discuss! :)

This Week, 10/21

How are you guys doing this weekend? I feel like I've had such a busy week/month and I've been so bad about keeping up with posts... On Monday, I got my haircut! Some of you may have seen this photo on Instagram or Twitter, but I figured I'll share it with you here! Also, I never wear my glasses (no contacts either) so I'm trying to wear them more often!

Favorite of the Week: Burberry eyeshadows!! Posts coming soon. Beauty Purchases: Ordered a few items from Sephora, including a great Becca value set that I'm so excited to try! Limited Buy Status: I almost fell for another Burberry GWP, but I decided to wait until new collections come out to make my next Burberry purchase. I can't wait for the actual Sephora VIB sale, because I have some store credit and a few items on my list. And I kind of want to visit the beauty section at Target today...hmm!

Today is a blog day for me - lots to catch up on! I'd love to hear what you've been up to, what you're loving or buying, and all that fun stuff! :)

I Was Happily Surprised by Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes!

Pardon the cheesy title, but I just couldn't help it! I had looked at this Benefit kit many times at Sephora and just never felt impressed enough to purchase it. Thankfully, I received one as a gift last spring, and I ended up really enjoying it!Now I have to say that I always thought Benefit's theme and packaging in general is cute, and this is no exception! The packaging itself, however, is your standard cardboard palette, which isn't necessarily bad, but sometimes I wish brands would do something different! Like how cute would this be in an old school tin or something? This kit comes with handy instructions (more on this later!) as well as a double ended eye brush to use with the 3 eyeshadow shades and a concealer brush. I don't love the brushes - the eye brush doesn't really have the control or preciseness I want, while I prefer using my fingers for concealer - but they are functional in a pinch.

Boi-ing, the concealer included in the palette, is a pretty nice concealer. It normally retails for $20 for a small jar, so this is a great kit to try it out in. For me, it provides enough coverage - I would say light to medium, almost like theBalm TimeBalm Concealer. I tend to prefer liquid concealers or those concealer/highlight pens, but this is one of my top picks for a mid-range concealer of this texture.

Now I have to say that every experience of swatching this kit at Sephora or a counter has been GROSS. Obviously junk gets into the concealer, the concealer could have dried out, etc etc. Also, the eyeshadows don't seem very impressive swatched on your hand, especially after you've been swatching bright colorful things all day. When I applied this following the included instructions, however, the result was definitely impressive. For one, my eyes did appear more open and bright, and as I can have somewhat droopy Asian eyes, it was a big help! My boyfriend also thought that my eyes looked bright and even natural, and he hates eye makeup that is too dark or changes the shape of my eyes.

Is this palette more worth it if you can replicate the shades with other products? That's something that I've been thinking about on and off for months as I've used this. The thing is, for some reason, I never follow the instructions in this kit unless I am actually using it, so for me the answer is yes! I know, I am so weird... But, I still think there is something about these eyeshadow colors that makes the resulting look very natural and pretty. Perhaps it is the light shimmer and dimension they offer, while being sort of not there & not so in your face about color? (That is kind of how I interpret Burberry eyeshadows as well so far, and this is perhaps the reason why swatching at the counter was not exciting for this kit OR Burberry eyeshadows?!?)

I imagine you could replicate the look given here with any eyeshadows of a similar nature and some well placed concealer, but I think this little kit is a special find. It gives me just the bit of eye definition I'd want for a lazy casual day, and would be great for a no makeup/minimal look. It is a great size for travel, and I think it would make a great gift for a teen or makeup minimalist!

What do you think? Have you tried these or any of their other kits? I'm vaguely interested in the recently released Peek-A-Bright Eyes kit, which is perhaps too similar a concept to this one, but with a different family of shades. All in all, I'm enjoying this Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes kit and would love to hear your thoughts too! :)

Review: Clinique Superfine Liner for Brows in Soft Brown

Earlier this year, I finally decided I needed to have something for filling in my brows. I still don't do it much (as I'm sure you can tell!) but  I did spend quite a long time searching for that perfectly natural, yet somewhat affordable brow product! I was really looking for a cool brown shade in an eyebrow pencil. I tried one from Sephora (Benefit, perhaps??) and discovered that it was far too dark a brown, though it was a cool tone and a nice pencil overall. After getting a makeover at a Le Metier de Beaute counter in the spring, I fell for the neutral shade of their Fawn eyebrow pencil. Obviously, I didn't want to spend $36 on a product type that I wasn't even sure I was going to use.

I searched far and wide for a shade similar to Fawn, and found this Clinique Superfine Liner for Brows. While I wouldn't say it is an exact dupe, it does provide the same effect on me. Yay! Here are some swatches with varying amounts of pressure. :)

I don't know much about brow pencils, but I find that the formula is not too hard but still has that bit of "brow product" texture. This seriously wears all day on me, and doesn't come off with sweat, rain, or anything like that. Actually, my Koh Gen Do Cleansing Spa Water can easily remove all my eye makeup and I really have to work on this!

The pencil itself really is "superfine," as in super, super skinny. Here's a size comparison with a nickel for reference. I don't know how long it would last with everyday usage, but it is a decently packaged retractable pencil. Do you have a favorite eye brow product? What advice do you have for an eyebrow newbie? :)