My Little Black Bag of Tricks...

It has been a little while since I posted so I thought I'd share some more of my makeup stuff with y'all

PS. for the cake/cupcake lovers out there, I have conquered FONDANT and will be sharing a post soon about that, but I can't reveal the birthday boy's cake until after his party this weekend ;)

PPS. I got into Campbell Law School (woot!!) So now I have choices!  Still waiting to hear from three others...

SO, I know its crazy, but in my (giant) purse, I keep a cute little black Mary Kay bag, incidently lined sweetly in powder pink silk, that is filled absolutely to the MAX with lip products. 

I thought I'd give you a peek inside my little black bag to see what I lug around with me everyday.  For whatever reason, I have never been one to put on my lip product while I do the rest of my makeup (only exception, red lips on wedding day).  I am usually the girl who is at the stoplight with her visor mirror down missing the green signal because she is still painting the perfect pout.  When I'm driving and my husband is with me it takes several descriptions of the packaging and failed attempts for him to pull out the product I want to wear because of the sheer number of different options...I can't simply ask, honey can you grab my lip gloss for me? ;)  

 Some say lip products are addicting...I can certainly say I agree.  Even when I was a police officer, I kept my Burt's Bees lip balm in my pocket at ALL times.  When my lips are naked, I feel naked.  So without further ado or distracting digressions, here are my necessary lip loves, or at least all the ones I keep in my little bag:

Clockwise from the top Left:  A trio of Lancome glosses (a gift from my friend Katie), three Mary Kay lipsticks, a Revlon lip butter, a Rimmel lipstick, a Revlon gloss, 5 Mary Kay glosses, 4 lip balms, a Mary Kay gloss, and an e.l.f. gloss.

The three Lancomes were given to me after Katie read my first makeup blog post and thought I'd enjoy them more than she has.  Well folks, I'm not sure how much Katie enjoyed them, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE these glosses.  

From top to bottom they are Beach Plum, Coral Rush, and Simmer.  The Beach Plum has a beautiful pomegranate (I think??) scent and it is glossy, but with no glitter or metallic finish.  Its a lovely plum/burgundy shade and I have come to adore it for a quick lip look that pops.

The Coral Rush has a peachy smell and slight shimmer along with its glossiness.  Its a neutral peach shade to go with any look.  The Simmer gloss has a lot more shimmer in it and the pigment is nude.  I can't put my finger on the scent, but its deliciously sweet.  I don't know what these glosses retail for because I rarely shop the makeup counters at department stores, but if its under 15 bucks, they are SO worth picking up!

My tried and true brand: MARY KAY!  I have been using their products since I was in middle school.  My mom is a Mary Kay lover as well.  When I was in the 6th grade and wanted to start wearing makeup, I had some acne and the drugstore brands of foundation were breaking my skin out pretty badly and I was self conscious.  My loving mother brought me to her faithful Mary Kay lady for a tutorial and bought me all the products I needed.  I've been adorning Mary Kay ever since!!  Not to mention, now that my mother-in-law is a Mary Kay rep, I get to look at their new book every time it comes out and she keeps me stocked up on all the moisturizer, foundation, eye products, and lip products I could ever need by texting every so often asking what I'm out of.  Man I love having another Mom...who says you cant be great friends with your in laws?? :)

Anyway, the three lipsticks I have are (L to R...or top to bottom for whatever reason Blogger wont let me post it upright lol) Dusty Rose, Shell, and Frosted Rose.  Dusty Rose is anything but dusty in my opinion.  It is an orangey pink with great pigment and a slight shimmer that makes for a really fun lip, especially paired with the MK pink pearl gloss.  My fav softer shade of MK is next, Shell.  It is a matte shade that works really well with my skin tone (fair).  The Shell color is a deep rosey-purple blush pink very similar in hue to my Rimmel lipstick (in Paradise).  Frosted Rose was my go-to shade for years, hence the obvious wear on the packaging and the fact that, while you can't tell from the picture, its about half gone.  It is great for day or night with a deep plummy pink shade and shimmer.  I love this lipstick, always have, always will.  For my mom, it was Strike-A-Pose-Rose (until it was tragically discontinued) and for me, it will always be Frosted Rose.

Next up, some drugstore favorites:  Revlon Lip Butter in Red Velvet, Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick in Paradise, and Revlon Colorburst gloss in Rosepearl.  At the urging of Emily from Beauty Broadcast, I picked up the Red Velvet and Rosepearl.  Although her skin tone is much more olive than mine, we both are brunette and brown-eyed so I thought those colors would work for me too.  I was right, they are awesome.  The red velvet is a perfect red and the gloss is great too, very long lasting.  I've already blogged (and raved) about the Rimmel lipstick (and I think the Rosepearl gloss was mentioned as well...) but anyway, still love it :)

MK Glosses!!  As I said, I love me some Mary Kay...any of it, ALL of it.  Here is most (read some) of my collection of MK glosses.  (From top to Bottom as pictured above) The first is actually a liquid lip color in Raspberry Ice.  So not actually a gloss, but MK nonetheless.  Next, Berry Sparkle.  Similar in hue and shimmer to the Frosted Rose lipstick that I <3 from MK.  Then there is my peachy neutral gloss, Pink Pearl.  Love this one for a down played lip that still shines.  Its great over any lipstick or on a plain lip.  If I'm rocking a particularly smokey or done-up eye, I go to this gloss every time.  My clear gloss from MK, which is a little dingy from being applied over so many lips painted in pinks and reds, is an absolute favorite and necessity for me with its beautiful shine, without being loudly mirror finished, and yummy vanilla scent.  The tiniest gloss there is part of a holiday box set with 6 or so glosses I got from my mom a few years ago.  Its a deep burgundy rose color called Berry Tart.  The sample sized packaging is super cute with a jewel on the top.  I usually wear this out at night.  

Last but not least, my all time favorite MK gloss.  It was a limited edition that was sent to me as a gift and its the Dual Lip Glaze in Warm Coral.  It has a double chambered squeeze package with clear gloss  in the outer chamber and a sparkly deep coral gloss in the middle.  When you squeeze from the bottom, both glosses mix as it comes out onto the plastic applicator.  This gloss has a WONDERFUL pigment and feels so luxurious on the lips.  Its a little sticky, but I don't mind that (as long as my hair doesn't get on my lips and get stuck in it ;) )

I have (several, and admittedly, an addiction to) lip balms laid out next.  From top to bottom, Blistex Melon Medley, my trusty Burt's Bees, Aquafina (yes, the water company) FlavorSplash in Raspberry, and Aquafina lip balm.  Both the Bees and the Aquafina are minty and refreshing.  Both Aquafinas came in my Christmas stoking from my mother-in-law and I adore them.  They are smooth and hydrating without that waxy feel and give my lips a silky texture.  The Blistex hopped in that bag on its own accord, or my husband threw it in there because it was most likely laying around the house with no home so he thought it belonged in my purse.  Its not a go-to for me...it leaves a waxy feel and I'm not huge on the scent.  Burt's Bees, what can I say about Burt's Bees other than that I love it, it's my favorite, and regardless of the price I will continue to buy tubes of this minty refreshing balm til the day I die.  In fact, one of my fav Mary Kay glosses has actually been layered over BB so many times (because I cant get enough of the minty tingle) that the gloss itself has become minty from the applicator transferring residual balm from my lips back into the gloss tube...its actually quite nice :)

Last but not least, my lip plumping gloss from e.l.f. in Plum Pout.  Its a little more sheer/natural in color than I was expecting, but I like the plumping effects without the cinnamony taste.

Thanks for reading (hubby) and check back in the next few weeks for the adventures in fondant work for my first baby birthday cakes (1 this week and two next week)!