Shopping Spree

Being between jobs, it's been hard to indulge in my makeup obsession, but with a new job on the horizon, I decided to burn some money I dont yet have. Oh, the justification of it all.

I am still working my way through my experiment with drugstore foundation, so I decided to concentrate my money on some investment pieces. First up is primer. In recent years, I have discovered the absolute necessity of primer. The difference in staying power and concealment is instantly recognizable when using a good primer. Without primer, my makeup flakes and seems to settle in each and every pore and fine line. With primer, I get a good approximation of smooth skin.  I've tried out numerous samples in the last year, various Mac formulas, Benefit Porefessional, Laura Mercier.  I've really liked each of these, but I decided to commit to one I've been reading rave reviews of and in a formula that seems will speed up my morning routine: Benefit's Stay Flawless 15-Hour Primer. Though reviews are such a mixed bag - reading the latest ones, I'm a little worried.  Ugh, commitment to $30+ products is so very hard!

Next up is highlighter/concealer. For years, we've been hearing the hype of YSL Touche Éclat, but this recent article convinced me that I need to take the plunge.  In the store, I loved the blurring effect it creates, so I'm excited to try this in real life.  I tried really hard to buy the Clinique version, but none of the three shades were remotely close to my skintone.

Finally, I've finally committing to a brow pencil. I'm dipping a toe into focusing on my brows (I've finally noticed that my brows appear to stop around mid-eye - not a good luck).  As a first step, I went with a simple pencil with brush and will work my way up to powders.  I settled on DiorShow Brow Styler. It's a universal brown (literally the name), so I'm hoping that I wont be too far off on color (I fear the Groucho Marx effect).

With a checkout moment of weakness for a three pack of Urban Decay liners, that's $127.  Ouch. I snuck over to Lush for some Rockstar soap (ahhh, that smell), and I've officially burned up all my soon-to-be spending money.

I'll report back next week with some real world test results. And some more of my award-winning photography. Eesh!