Yearly Standouts: 2009 Favorites

This is my list of my favorite products of 2009. To see the actual products and hear more about them, check out my YouTube video!

When deciding which products to use as my 2009 favorites I really thought about which products I used on a regular basis, whether that be daily or weekly. Here is the list of products that I chose and links to where you can purchase them.

Eyes:

• Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (Sephora stores, Sephora online, Urban Decay online)
• Rimmel Exaggerate Eye Definer in Noir (Drugstores)
• MAC Eyeshadow in Ricepaper (MAC stores, MAC counters, MAC website)
• Coastal Scents 88 Color Matte Eyeshadow Palette (Coastal Scents Website)
  

Lips:

• Softlips in Vanilla (Drugstores)
  
• Revlon Colorstay Clear Lipliner (Drugstores)
• MAC lipglass in Viva Glam V (MAC stores, MAC counters, MAC website)
  

Face:

• Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder (Drugstores)
  
• Bare Minerals Summer Bisque (Sephora Stores, Sephora online, Bare Escentuals stores, Bare Escentuals website)
  
• CoverGirl Cheekers Blush in Plumberry Glow (Drugstores)
  

Brushes:

• Coastal Scents Pink Kabuki (Coastal Scents website)
  
• Coastal Scents Deluxe Buffer Brush (Coastal Scents website)
  
• Bare Escentuals Maximum Coverage Concealer Brush (Sephora Stores, Sephora online, Bare Escentuals Stores, Bare Escentuals website)
  
• ELF (Eyes Lips Face) Eyeshadow Brush (ELF website)
  

Skincare:

• CVS Exfoliating Cleansing Towelettes (CVS Stores)
  
• Clean and Clear Persa Gel-10 (Drugstores)
  
• Oil of Olay Complete All Day Moisture Lotion with SPF 15 (Drugstores)
  

Miscellaneous:

• Bath and Body Works Antibacterial Deep Cleansing Hand Gel-PocketBac (Bath and Body Works Stores, Bath and Body Works website)
  
• Crest Whitestrips Advanced Seal (Drugstores)
  

I hope you all enjoyed this post! What were some of your favorites in 2009? Comment below and let me know :D

Favorite brushes!

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone had a great weekend! This post is going to be about a few of my favorite brushes! Here are the pictures of my favorite brushes and what I like about each one. Further down is the list of how much these brushes cost and where you can purchase them!

This first brush is the E.L.F eyeshadow brush. This is a wonderful brush and it is not just a good brush for the amazing cost ($1). I find myself reaching for this brush as an all over lid color brush every single time! That is because this brush packs on color very well and it is a very sturdy brush.

The next brush is my Coastal Scents pink kabuki brush. Yes, I will admit that part of the reason I initially purchased and now love this brush is because it is pink, but that alone does not qualify it to be in my favorites! At first, I thought this brush would be good for mineral foundation. I used it for that for a few days and I was disappointed, but then I had another idea. I tried using this brush with my setting powder and lo and behold this works amazingly for that :) Oh, and did I mention that this brush is wonderfully soft?


This next brush is my flat top deluxe buffer brush from Coastal Scents. This is my HG brush for mineral foundation. This helps your minerals to give a nice even coverage! And I like the fact that the handle is a bit shorter than some similar brushes as I feel that if gives me more control.


The next brush is my Coastal Scents chisel mini detail brush. Let me just warn you that this brush is a lot smaller than it looks on their website, but I have found a perfect use for this! This brush is amazing for applying shadow to you inner tear duct and inner corner of your eye!


The next brush is my Coastal Scents Italian Badger round crease brush. I have found that this brush is very nice for applying shadow in the crease. It keeps its shape, but is also nice for blending.

And the last brush on my favortites list is my MAC 219 pencil brush. This is a wonderful brush for defining the outer v. I like this brush because the bristles are stiff and hold their shape even while applying shadow with a heavy hand.

• E.L.F Eyeshadow brush ($1 at eyeslipsface.com)
• Coastal Scents Pink kabuki ($4.99 at coastal scents.com)
• Coastal Scents Deluxe buffer brush ($7.95 at coastalscents.com)
  
• Coastal Scents Chisel detail mini brush ($1.99 at coastalscents.com)
  
• Coastal Scents Italian Badger round crease brush ($2.89 at coastalscents.com)
  
• MAC 219 Pencil brush ($23 online or at MAC stores/counters)
  

A quick note: Your brushes will only be as good to you as you are to them. So, please make sure that you spot clean your brushes often and deep clean them! I can't tell you how often you should do either of these things as it all depends on how often you use your brushes. I spot clean mine every time I use them and I deep clean them every week.

What are some of your favorite brushes? Are any of your favorites the same as mine? Comment below and let me know :)

(Note: I am not affiliated with or sponsored by any of the companies mentioned in this video, nor are they paying me to write this review. All of the products mentioned in this post were purchased by me.)

Coastal Scents 88 matte palette

Hi all,
This post is going to be about the 88 matte palette from Coastal Scents.
Note: I added the "bling" to mine. I just had some self sticking gems that I put on the front.
I thought with the holidays quickly approaching I should do a post about this palette as it would make a great gift for anyone on your list whether it be a teenager who is beginning to get into makeup, your best friend who loves makeup and has everything makeup related (except for this), or your cousin who is a professional makeup artist. If there is someone on your list who prefers shimmery colors or prefers more neutral colors you are in luck because Coastal Scents has 3 different 88 color palettes. They have a shimmer, a matte, and a warm. The 88 color palettes range from $18-$25 depending on which one you get.

This palette has a great variety of colors, 88 to be exact (duh!). The pigmentation on these shadows is fantastic. These colors can stand up to any high end brand in my opinion. (As with all eyeshadows make sure you use an eyeshadow base!)

The colors in this palette are about the size of a dime. One thing I love about this palette is even though it looks like there isn't much color or that it won't last very long, they last for a very long time. I have been on a neutral eye kick for the past month and a half and I have barely made a dent in the color that I use all over the lid. The other thing I love about this palette is that not all of the colors are actually matte. Some have just the slightest sheen (definitely NOT a shimmer) to them.

Go to the Coastal Scents website and pick up one or all of these palettes either for yourself or as a gift. These are an amazing deal and they are very affordable!

For more about the 88 Original (Matte) palette check out the video on my YT channel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4M66XxG-e_U


(Note: I am not affiliated with or sponsored by Coastal Scents, nor are they paying me to write this review. The products mentioned in this post were purchased by me.)