Makeup Monday: Organization

Can I just tell you how much I loooove The Container Store? Who knew that a store full of boxes, bins, trays, and all things organization could be so amazing? One of my favorite things in my bathroom is the Capelli Countertop Organizer that I use for my hair stuff (straightener, curling iron, blow dryer, etc). It's made my life a lot easier (and neater!) now that I'm able to have everything within reach, but out of the way at the same time.

Neatly Organized Hair Tools!

View without the hair dryer

I know I'm not the only one with crazy hair tools taking up the bathroom countertop. I highly recommend this organizer if you're looking to tidy up a bit. The sections are just the right size for holding a regular hair dryer, curling iron, and straightener. If you've got more tools than that, sorry, you've got a whole different level of clutter... but I digress. Two thumbs up! Every girl (and metro-man) should have one!

Anyway, a while back, my sister had been complaining about not having any way to organize/store her makeup and it always ends up scattered all over the bathroom counter. Add that to the fact that she lives nowhere near a Container Store. Luckily, she has a wonderful sister who is willing to make a trip to the store on her behalf to help solve her messy makeup problem.

I went to their website and found this Large Acrylic Makeup Organizer, plus it was on sale! Score! I drove over to my local store after work, and naturally I had to pick up two: 1 for my sis and 1 for me :) Don't judge me; it's only natural that I test it out before giving her a gift, no? So, I went home and set it up right away.

Organized Makeup

Top View

I love it, it's super useful. I can store all the products I use most regularly for easy access.
It has a large slot in the back left corner where I can put the palettes I use most often. The left middle slot is a great size for holding my blushes. As you can see, the front left section has slots for lipsticks - that part is removable, so you can use that big space for something else if you don't have too many lipsticks to store.
Along the right side, the front has a big square-ish space in which I've placed a fragrance bottle, a powder, a foundation bottle, and a paint pot. The back right corner is divided into 2 types of spaces: the far right is a longer rectangular space where I've placed 2 fragrance bottles, and space next to that is divided into 4 smaller square-ish shapes where I've placed a brush, some mascaras, my eyelash curler, and a bottle of foundation.

And, since they were having a sale, I went ahead and grabbed a Tubo Countertop Organizer for my brushes. I used to store them in two purple containers (one for my face brushes and one for my eye brushes), but they were getting pretty crowded, and it was difficult to find the brush I was looking for.

Brushes in their new home

 Ta-da! This is my new brush organizer. With this system, I can group my brushes in a way that makes it easy for me to find what I'm looking for. I have my Sigma eye-brushes separated from my MAC eye-brushes, my blush brushes are all together, my huge powder brush isn't squishing my smaller brushes. It's awesome. Two-thumbs up for this, too.

What the heck, two thumbs up for the entire Container Store!

Makeup Monday: tarte sale!

I know, I know. Today is Tuesday. But better late than never, riiight? Stop judging me.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that Tarte Cosmetics is having their friends & family sale online, now through August 15. Just use the code "FFAUG" at checkout, and you get 30% off all items! Plus, if you spend $40+ (after discount is applied), you get free shipping too! Not bad, right?

So now's the perfect time to stock up on some of your favorites, or if you're new to the brand it's a great time to try out some new products. My picks: Amazonian clay 12-hour blush, Mineral Powder Bronzer, and LipSurgence natural lip tint.

Happy Shopping!

Tarte by jessicep on Polyvore.com

value gift sets of cosmetics and makeup - tarte cosmetics
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complexion, foundation makeup, tinted moisturizer, concealer - tarte...
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Amazonian clay 12-hour blush for cheeks - tarte cosmetics
$25 - tartecosmetics.com

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LipSurgence™ natural lip luster lip tint - frisky
$24 - tartecosmetics.com

emphasEYES™ waterproof clay eye shadow & eyeliner pot with brush -...
$22 - tartecosmetics.com

Makeup Monday: My Lips But Better

I feel like I've been on the hunt for the perfect "my-lips-but-better" (MLBB) lipstick. You know what I'm talking about. That lipstick that gives you just enough natural-looking color so that no one can tell you're wearing anything. That lipstick that's super low maintenance, you don't even need a mirror to put it on. That lipstick that keeps your mom from saying, "put something on, you're looking pale." <--- no? is that just my lovely madre?

Anyway, I've been having a tough time finding one because I can't really tell what color my lips are. They're not really pink, or brown, or plummy... but a strange mix of all three. I'd kind of resigned myself to the fact that I would never find my holy grail MLBB product. The first lipstick I bought that I thought could serve this purpose was Maybelline's Color Sensational Lipcolor in My Mahogany. This was a pretty close match to my natural color, but I feel like it lacks the warmth that my skintone needs. Plus it has a slight scent/taste, which is a negative for me because I'm super sensitive to smells -- as you'd be able to confirm by my collection of 3 perfumes (all of which were gifts, lol).
The next lipstick that replaced My Mahogany in the mlbb category was actually surprising to me. I bought a Clinique moisturizer at Macy's, and lucky for me, they were having a "free gift with purchase" promotion. I chose the purple themed set, and it contained a Clinique Different Lipstick in Shy. I was kind of hesitant to try it since it was so obviously purple in the tube, that I thought I would look crazy. However, I was pleasantly surprised when the color was a bit sheer and a pretty good match for my lips! It was also pretty moisturizing, which is always a huge plus for my dry lips, and I couldn't detect any taste/scent. So for the last few months, this free sample was my go-to mlbb color, even though it did pull a bit plummier that my actual lip color. No biggie.

But then I found it. Yes, IT. I have found the most absolutely perfect MLBB color! AND it's from a drugstore, which equals ¢ vs $ and that is a huge plus! Drumroll please: my perfect MLBB color is Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Rosy Nude. I think it cost me like $7. Awesome. There is no scent/taste. Double awesome. And it definitely does not dry out my lips. Plus the packaging is pretty cute.

I'm seriously so excited about this. But this feeling has quickly turned into paranoia that it will be discontinued, so now I have to go out and by back-ups. Thanks, Revlon. For making such an amazingly flattering lipstick and taking all my monies.

Happy, mom?

Makeup Monday: tarte Glow Your Way to Gorgeous

So, as many of you know, I'm a bit of a make-up junkie. One of my latest additions has been tarte's new Glow Your Way to Gorgeous kit. 

tarte Glow Your Way to Gorgeous Kit

I'd been wanting to try one of tarte's Amazonian Clay Blushes, but was hesitant to pay the $25 price tag. Even though the blushes have great reviews on Sephora.com, I couldn't commit to a product I'd never tried, especially from a brand I'd never tried. But the other day, the youtube gods saved the day. I was watching a video about this new tarte collection available only on qvc.com, which included a bunch of FULL-SIZE Tarte products and a cute purple bag for only $60. Don't judge me, I never order stuff from QVC, but this was a deal too good to pass up! Also, my discovery of this set of amazingness happened to coincide with my birthday weekend, so I requested it from the BF :)

When it finally came in the mail, I was so excited to check out the products:

-0.42 oz Maracuja Creaseless Concealer in Tan (also available in Fair, Light, Medium, and Deep)

-0.20 oz 12-Hour Wear Clay Blush in Peaceful, a soft rose

-0.10 oz Amazonian Clay Waterproof Cream Shadow in Shimmering Taupe

-0.056 oz Amazonian Clay SmolderEYES eyeliner in Fig, a plum brown

-0.24 fl oz Lights, Camera, Lashes mascara in Black

-0.10 oz Lip Luster in Sweet, a peach pink

-Blush brush

-Shadow brush

-Sharpener

-Carryall Bag

Plus, there were two surprise deluxe samples also included (which weren't even mentioned in the product description!):

-0.11 oz Mineral Powder Bronzer in Park Ave. Princess (full-size is 0.32 oz)

-7 ml Pure Maracuja Oil (product not yet sold separately)

So awesome! All of the products are so great for summer and can definitely be used year round. I haven't really had a chance to try all of the products yet, but so far I'm loving the blush, and the eyeliner is an awesome plummy color, which is very flattering on brown eyes and a great alternative to the typical harsh black liner.

I'm not sure what the Maracuja Oil is for -- I'm assuming that it's to be used as a facial moisturizer? It's a brand new tarte product, so I'll have to do a little research before I put it somewhere I may later regret, lol.

Anyway, if you love tarte products or have been meaning to try some, I think this is a great kit at an amazing value. If anyone would like a closer look at any of the products, let me know in the comments, and I'll post some more pics.

tarte Glow Your Way To Gorgeous 8-pc Maracuja & Clay Collection, $60, qvc.com

Makeup Monday: Sally Hansen Nail Strips

So I've been kind of obsessed with nail polishes and related products lately. I'd heard a lot about these new Sally Hansen nail strips on youtube and various blogs, so of course I had to have a set. Apparently lots of people had heard about them too, because everytime I went to a drugstore, all the fun designs were sold out! Finally the other day, I popped into a random Walgreens I never go to, and they were stocked! So you know what that means. This is my new favorite Walgreens. I picked up the ones with the leopard design (Kitty Kitty), and I wore them to a friend's animal-print themed party.

These are awesome! It literally took me like 15 minutes to put them on, and I was out the door. They come with 16 strips, so you can choose the best sizes for your nails. Basically all you have to do is select the strip you want to use, peel of the protective film, and stick it on your nail. Then fold the excess over the edge of your nail and use the included nail file to buff it away to get an even edge. Use regular nail polish remover to take them off. That's it! They look professionally done because the strip is made with real nail polish, and I've gotten tons of compliments on them. They're supposed to last 10 days, and I've actually had mine on for over 2 weeks and they barely have any chips (I did use a clear topcoat). The only reason I'm taking them off is because the nail growth is starting to become super noticeable.

See? Only minor tip wear!

Anyway, these are pretty cool, and a great alternative to an otherwise pricey manicure. I think I'll try the lace ones next.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips, $10 at drugstores