My Tried and True Products: Makeup

Welcome to 2014, my friends! After taking a rather long hiatus from blogging due to finals and school/work stress, I'm back for the new year and working on getting into a blog schedule that'll work for me so that I can actually get into the habit of writing on here more often.

We're in the home stretch of my college experience here folks. I'm literally less than 5 months away from commencement and I think that regularly taking down what happens in my life, internet or otherwise, during this time will be awesome since I will be able to look back in years to come and possibly (but not likely) lament the loss of my college years.

I thought I would start off by sharing my tried and true products that I use. I think that being in my 20's and college has given me enough experiment time and experience to be able to have those products, and also to be able to share them with other people.

Now, in case I haven't explained before, I'm a pretty lazy girl when it comes to beauty. Yes, I watch YouTube videos from "Beauty Gurus" all the time and I'm actually pretty knowledgeable when it comes to makeup products and making recommendations to friends and also complete strangers sometimes, BUT when it comes to my own face, if it takes more than 10 minutes to do makeup wise, I'm just not into it. I just want to get my face on and get out the door...or not put any makeup on at all...which happens...all the time actually.

Because of this, I have spent a lot of years streamlining my makeup routine and finding go to products that I can apply in the time it takes a friend to drive to my house from across town (aka 10 minutes or less).

1. Bare Minerals ORIGINAL Foundation in Fairly Light: I've been using this since my sophomore or junior year in high school when Bare Minerals was first starting to become a big deal. At the time $25 was a little steep for me, but I happily paid it because quite frankly, it is still the best color match I've ever found, and it covers everything for me in one fell swoop.

However, there are days when I want to be a little more natural, a little less done looking, and that's when I reach for:

2. Skin 79 Super Plus BB Cream, the gold one: This stuff is a real, honest to goodness Asian BB Cream. I originally bought it on the recommendation of Amarixe on YouTube because apparently that is what she uses in the winter time when she's less tanned. Anywho, do not be alarmed by the initial color that comes out of the pump. If you have a similar complexion to me, then it should warm up quite nicely and match you just fine. I've never had anyone tell me I looked weird or grey when I've worn it. Unfortunately, I ran out of this the other day so I have nothing to show you.

3. TheBalm Bahama Mama Bronzer: OK, confession time, I've had this stuff FOREVER (as in original packaging, not the restyle, bought it a month after it originally came out FOREVER) and I've still not managed to make a dent in it. But it's great stuff. It gives me the right amount of glow without ever coming off orange and it's pretty easy to apply. I think I've actually put it on without looking and left the house. It's super no brainer as far as bronzer is concerned, which paler girls like myself could really use.

4. MAC Mineralize Blush in Warm Soul: I am in LOVE with this stuff. I am not a big fan of MAC foundation or really anything else of theirs (except Omega Eyeshadow, which you will see later) but I do love their blush, and this one is my absolute favorite. It's a gorgeous, slightly shimmery rose gold color that does wonders on my face without making me look like I just put blush on. Considering I never used to wear blush at all (which drove my mother absolutely nuts throughout junior high and high school), the fact that this is one of the only colors I own that I would repurchase says something.

5. MAC Eyeshadow in Omega: This stuff  is a godsend for brows, it will literally match any hair color from light, warm, golden blonde to a dark, dark, almost black brown. I should know, I've rocked all these colors in the last 3 years and used Omega for all of them.

6. ELF Eye Shadow Primer: Now, as a long time Urban Decay user, I have never gotten onto the bandwagon where their primer potions are concerned. I never found them to be any better than any other eye shadow base, and they're stinkin' expensive, too.  However, this primer is something I'm totally fine with using. It's formulation looks almost identical to me, in fact I've noticed no difference in staying power or shadow payoff, and it's only a buck.

7. Revlon 24 Hour Eye Shadow Quad in Addictive: This is my replacement for the Naked Palette. To be 100% honest with you, as much as I covet those gorgeous shadow collections that Urban Decay has released, no way would I ever find a use for 12 shadows. I just wouldn't So a nifty little quad like this in lovely nude/neutral shades is absolutely perfect for me. My mom bought it for me last Christmas and I've only just started making a dent in the shadows. I've found that with this quad, give or take a few single shadows, depending on the look I'm going for, will get me to just about any look I'd like.

8. L'Oreal Telescopic Shocking Extensions Mascara (not pictured): I only discovered this last month, and when I went to repurchase it, Target was out of Black Brown, but this is literally the best mascara I've ever used in my life. Now, I have pretty solid eyelashes. They're long, thick, and due to my wild woman hair, they're curly as well. Because of this, I really am not super picky about mascara formulations. As long as it makes my eyelashes darker and sufficiently separates them, I'm not too worried about it. This mascara makes me look like my eyelashes are twice as long and that's only using two coats. It's so low maintenance and the results are just fantastic.

9. SoftLips Chapstick: Just about any flavor will do. It's just the only chapstick I've found that works for me and my perpetually chapped lips. I don't typically wear lipstick as I'm too lazy to reapply it throughout the day. But I always have on SoftLips of some kind. I stash them in my backpack, my purse, my car. They're pretty much everywhere around me.

You'll notice a distinct lack of eyeliner, and other extraneous beauty products on this list. That is because, as you already know, I prefer to get ready as quickly as possible. And because I've found that the more makeup I've put on, the weirder I think that I look. I may pop on a bit of concealer now and again, or highlighter under my eyes to look a bit more awake, but that's about as expansive as my routine gets, really.

The Best Part of 2013

You know, I was just thinking, despite spending a great deal of this year miserable and generally hating life, I am however, very grateful for one thing: quitting my job. Mostly because that job was what was making me so miserable and life hateful. Granted, every job is going to have its annoyances. That's a given. But I have never hated a job as much as I hated working in the hotel. It was one of the most miserable experiences of my entire life and I wake up every day so happy that it is over. Since October when I quit, I feel like the year started all over again and I'm so much happier and easier going than I was all year. If nothing else in 2013, I am so glad that I quit my job.

For anyone who actually reads this blog...

...I've been a pretty crap blogger in 2013. HOWEVER, you may (or may not, as the case may be) be pleased to know that I have no less than 5 new posts prepped and ready to be launched come 2014. All of them have been started, I just need to get some photos taken and finish up some descriptions of products I'll be talking about. Thus, I'll have plenty of content for you to read next year. Cheers!

Insert lame quote about true friends [HERE]

Ladies and gentlemen, it's official. I have hit the point in college where I'm about to graduate and I'm seriously assessing my life and the people I have in it and I gotta be honest, I'm not impressed. I can count...at least on both hands, my real friends. And shockingly enough, these are not people I expected to realize were in my corner, but I'm pretty happy that they are there.

I realized about a month ago that I had it right my freshman year of college. I made my real friends then and a good deal of the people who followed didn't actually deserve the time I spent on them. I've had a good time returning to those friends and finding that they're still the people who I thought they were all along. No one is faking it, no one needs me all the time to make themselves feel validated, and each and every single one of them has my back, whether I'm dead wrong, drunk off my ass or attempting something I have no business to be attempting. It feels damn good to know that.

Now, a year ago, I would have told you I knew exactly who my real friends were. Funny thing is, a lot of them aren't around anymore and two of the ones I thought were the most real walked out on me for men. And the funniest part was, not even men that they were dating. Men I was dating.

One is sleeping with the guy I was seeing this time last year. If she isn't, it sure as hell looks like it and that's enough for me. Wearing his clothes on Instagram and writing about how you're going to miss him when he goes home is a little obvious, don't you think? I think. Especially when we've been friends for five years and you've been friends for...two...is it even two? Go fuck yourself.

The other one spent all of her time defending the guy I was dating who dumped me in a text message saying he was her friend too. Bitch, he does not like you. He talked shit about you...to me. If he's your friend, clearly I don't understand the definition of friends. You spend so much time trying to be friends with everyone that you end up really friends with no one.

Regardless, I think that 2014 is going to be a banner year for me. I mean, 2013 was ok and I'm grateful for every day I'm above ground. But I think that self awareness and the realization that I'm about to be a real life adult soon has kicked into me the conviction that I don't have to put up with anything I don't want to. Life is way too short for shitty friends. It just is. Why am I going to keep people around who neither value nor respect me? I'm not. Bye Felicia. Have fun.

You should probably know...

...that I am obsessed with Eloise. And no, not the name, although my daughter, should she ever exist will be named Eloise. It's a name that definitely needs to make a comeback in the 21st century. I'm just saying. It's an adorable name with a whole lot of history behind it. And I ♥ it. 

For those of you who are not familiar, Eloise is a character in a series of children's books written by Kay Thompson and illustrated by Hilary Knight, who is a boy, by the way. Eloise is a six year old girl who lives at the Plaza Hotel in New York City with her nanny, a pug named Weenie and her turtle named Skipperdy, generally running around and doing whatever she wants.

She is adorable, energetic and totally charming in a misbehaving, wild child of a six year old sort of way. I fell in love with her about 10 years ago when Disney released Eloise at the Plaza one Sunday night for Wonderful World of Disney in 2003. Side note: does anyone remember the redo of Wonderful World of Disney that they did in the early 2000's? They never should have stopped that. Hello, Disney, get Wonderful World of Disney back up, STAT!

Anywho, back on topic here, Sophia Vasilieva, most recently of My Sister's Keeper fame, played Eloise and Julie Andrews, who needs no introduction, played Nanny in both Eloise at the Plaza and the sequel, Christmas version, Eloise at Christmastime. Which, by the way, is my absolute favorite Christmas movie of all time besides Year without a Santa Clause. I bought it for myself on Amazon because well, I just really needed to own it for myself. In my ever growing collection of movies, it certainly deserved a spot. If only I'd ordered Eloise at the Plaza. 

Eloise in her fancy six year old glory. I wish I could get a cartoon of myself like this :/

Eloise and Weenie in some fabulous sunglasses

For whatever reason, I've always sort of related to Eloise. Not that I'm six years old or anything, nor was I when the movies first came out and I became aware of her. It's her spirit and her silliness that has always drawn me in. Being six years old, she always does as she pleases and typically makes a mess of things completely. But she always means well and tries to fix it all in the end. 

In more recent news than 2003, Betsey Johnson did a line inspired by Eloise a few years ago and also designed the real life Eloise Suite at the real life Plaza in New York City in 2010. The hotel also has an Eloise store full of gifts inspired by our favorite, infamous Plaza resident. Needless to say, once I graduate and hit up New York, I will most certainly be going to the Plaza to check it out. 

Betsey Johnson with one of the Eloise dolls designed for the hotel

She has her own FLAG! How stinkin' cute!

Just thought I'd share this little tidbit with you since it's been a hot minute since I posted anything. But I'm watching Eloise at the Plaza right now and will be following up with Eloise at Christmastime when I finish that. 

Yes, she sleeps with a Do Not Disturb sign around her neck. Again, stinkin' cute.

Gotta skitter!

♥Chelsea