Love It or Toss It

A few weeks ago, Gummy and I were talking about editing our collections. She is quite fabulous at purging things from her collection, and I am really not. While I don't have a HUGE collection compared to many bloggers, I still would really like to have a manageable, reasonable stash that I really love. 

I grumbled to Gummy about just how many products in my stash don't get much, or even any use for quite some time, that I have so many makeup items that I just don't get around to reviewing because I rarely, if ever use them... and then Love It or Toss It was born.  

We selected a few items to use over the course of a weekend, and hope to continue this series on a regular basis. We welcome anyone who would like to join in - feel free to post photos on Instagram or Twitter and tag #loveitortossit. :) 

Read on to see what I selected, and what made the cut!  

I had a hard time deciding on most of these products that I selected, though I know one product is absolute LOVE.  

I am completely obsessed with this Giorgio Armani Rouge d'Armani Lipstick in 103. The formula is scent free and totally creamy, which is just a dream. It may even be the perfect nude, even on my somewhat mauve-y inconsistently pigmented lips. I definitely want more Armani lipsticks, from this range as well as the Rouge Sheers and new Rouge Ecstasy line.  

I'm a bit on the fence about Bobbi Brown Long Wear Eye Pencil in Black Plum. The formula is quite smudgeproof on me, and wears really well on my monolid area. No smudges for hours upon hours, and I totally love the blackish purple shade. It drags a bit, especially when I tightline, and I find it ridiculous to sharpen for some reason. The pencil edges get sharp?? I don't know how to explain it, but I do know that I love the shade and my fiance even complimented my eyeliner. (And he does not really like eyeliner!) I'll be keeping this since I love the shade and don't have anything like it, but I won't repurchase this liner. 

Swatches below. L-R: Armani Rouge d'Armani Lipstick in 103, Revlon Photoready Cream Blush in Flushed, L'Oreal Magic Lumi Primer partially blended & not blended, Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Eye Liner in Black Plum

Now I'm leaning towards toss for the two drugstore products here, but I'm still not totally sure. The Revlon PhotoReady Cream Blush in Flushed was a purchase I enjoyed last summer, but I don't know if it is total love. I've gotten so many cream blushes since, and this one has a very silicone feel in comparison to some of the others. It also takes a bit of effort to blend, but for about $10 I'd say it is worth a try.

I feel the same about the L'Oreal Magic Lumi Primer - I've gotten so many lovely things since. I'd say this is an OK primer, nothing stellar in that department, and doesn't highlight pores or anything like that. I do like to wear it as highlight, but it is super subtle as there is no shimmer in this really at all. Those of you who find Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector to have too much shimmer may like this, actually. Mine suddenly started to be a bit runny, like water was separating out from it, which is strange, as it was just fine before. 

Here's a photo of me wearing everything in this post - not sure if you can see much of anything, but I thought I'd give it a try!

What do you think of these products? Have you tried any of them? Do you think I should keep or give away the ones I'm not so sure about??  

All of these products were purchased by me. This post contains affiliate links.  

The Concealer Question

I've never been too concerned about concealer, but the last few months, I'm suddenly finding concealers really interesting. I've been wanting every concealer I see!   

As with foundation, I prefer concealers to have a very natural finish so that anything I am covering still looks like my real skin. I'm not too fussed about having full or perfect coverage either, which is probably fortunate since a full coverage natural looking concealer sounds pretty hard to find!  

For undereyes, I'm loving the Armani Maestro Eraser. I have shade #4, and it just looks good. Not a product for very dark circles, but it definitely brightens the undereye area - I'd say it is somewhere between your typical liquidy concealer and an illuminating pen. 

Koh Gen Do Moisture Concealer  has also been a nice option for undereyes. I haven't tried it much on blemishes yet, but the three shades together using the accompanying application technique brightens my eyes and looks quite natural! Again this one doesn't provide a ton of coverage (not like Laura Mercier Secret Concealer) but it works just fine to cover undereyes or minor blemishes.

Last year, I picked up the Fresh Umbrian Clay Concealer for a bit more coverage on blemishes and redness. I've always been a fan of this concealer, especially since it  generally doesn't flake around my occasional breakouts. (How exciting is that!? Though I imagine for more intense breakouts or pimples that are already in a flaky state, it won't be a miracle product there!) 

I won't talk about the discontinued Sephora concealer palette that I have in the above photo, but I will mention that I tried the Garnier Anti-Dark Circle Roller in the light shade recently which was nice, but I think too light for me. In the last few years, I've also used YSL Touche Eclat, Givenchy Mr. Light, Clinique Airbrush, and Fresh Supernova Brightening Pen. I just picked up the ever popular Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer with some CVS coupons and I'm excited to try that too. :) 

So as my concealer collection continues to grow I'm wondering, how many concealers is too many? How many concealers do you own? I'd love to know! :) 

Yay or Nay? Armani Waterproof Smooth Silk Liner

This is probably the blackest pencil liner I've run into in a long time. Tracy and Becca both told me I needed it, and when I finally went to pull the trigger, I got confused.

See, on the packaging, this liner is called the "Waterproof Smooth Silk Eye Pencil", but that didn't exist anywhere on Nordstrom's website. Last summer, Temptalia reviewed an eyeliner listed as the "Eyes to Kill Waterproof Liner" as part of the summer collection, but her packaging also said Waterproof Smooth Silk... Anyways, I couldn't figure it out, so I took a chance and ordered it!

When it arrived, I was so excited to see that it was indeed the deep black, nearly gel-like liner that I had heard so much about. YAY! While it does take a few seconds to set, once it does, the liner is practically indestructible. The swatch below took some work to remove!

I also LOVE the creamy texture of this liner. It is SO easy to tightline, and it is really just a dream to apply. It also wears all day without budging when I tightline. If I wear it more on my lid, my monolid does cause it to smudge a bit by day's end. However, just about everything does that.

I'm seriously so in love with this eyeliner, but sadly, I'm taking it back. For whatever unknown reason, this liner makes my eyes itch. For some reason, only for half a day. But still. Any bit of itchy eyes is probably not right... I don't know why, as other dark black pencil liners have made my eyes itch. Could I have gotten a bad one? Or is the version with the smudger (which I have) different than the version without?? I don't know what to do!!

Have you tried this liner? Would you return it too? Any other recommendations for a super black yet creamy pencil liner? I'd love to know! :)