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| It's going to be a long post! |
I'm actually going to start off with my personal favorites of the month. They're not new products, but I just been obsessed with them, so why not talk about them again! The first is of course the Too Faced Sweet Peach Palette. When I went to Cuba, I bought this and my Tartelette in Bloom Palette. Unfortunately, I broke my Tartelette palette, so I only had my Sweet Peach palette. I did panic and all, but boy was I happy that I brought this palette with me! Again, if you love peachy tones, this palette is made for you! I do a lot of warm/ peachy looks, so this palette has everything that I need! You have your neutrals, but also, some pop of colors! I already spoke about this palette a million times, so I'll cut it short here. Honestly, this is the one palette that you need!
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| Still one of my favorite palettes! |
Speaking of Cuba, the heat was real! I actually did put on foundation and stuff for the evening. I bought a few foundations with me, but my favorite combination was the MAC Pro Longwear Nourishing Foundation in the shade NC42 with the Make Up For Ever Duo Mat Powder Foundation in 107. I've reviewed the Nourishing Foundation here. I mentioned in this review that I was on the fence about this foundation, there was a few cons, but it did work really well with the MUFE Duo Mat. Since, it's waterproof, it didn't matter how much I was sweating, it stayed in place! I also liked how I didn't feel gross at the end of the day. Everything stayed in place and it was super comfortable! I was really shocked! I guess all this foundation needed was a powder to set it, so that it's longwearing and doesn't get oily. You can check out my review for more information! I won't talk about the MUFE Duo Mat, because I've mentioned it many times in my Favorites. It's a holy grail product! It's the best powder foundation out there! I even wear this on it's own and I'm satisfied with my look! It's full coverage, so it'll hide your pores and stuff! It really is a necessity for the summer!
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| Love these products together! |
Lastly for my personal favorites, I've been loving the Buxom Waterproof Mascara. This is a product that I also keep in my kit. I've never really used it on myself, but since I was on vacation, I wanted to wear mascara when I went to the beach and stuff. I've used waterproof mascara where it would still run or fade away, however, I didn't have those issues with this one. This would last all day and it wouldn't run or flake off! The formula is super comfortable! I also love the wand! It really lengthens and separates your lashes! It's also more on the affordable side at Sephora, so if you been looking for a good waterproof mascara, this is it!
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| I really like this mascara! Another necessity for the summer! |
Now, let's move onto some client favorites and must haves for your kit! I'm going to start off with highlighters. I have a few actually. I think that I've mentioned all these highlighters before, so I won't be going into detail with them! My most used highlighter of the month is the Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Illuminating Powder Gelee in Heat Wave. I been using this a lot on myself and my clients. Everyone just wants that gold highlight, so it's been getting great use. It's safe to say that this is one of my holy grails. This shade is the perfect gold that compliments multiple skin tones. It also has an amazing formula! It's rich in pigment and super long wearing! It gives you that wet metallic finish that I'm obsessed with (you can easily sheer it out if you like a subtle highlight). Honestly, this highlighter is everything! I also been getting great use out of the Laura Mercier Face Illuminator in Indiscretion. Indiscretion is a beautiful rose gold shade with gold shimmer. Again, it compliments multiple skin tones! The formula is also amazing! This one isn't as wet and metallic as Heat Wave, but you can definitely layer it to achieve that look! It's super smooth in texture! This wasn't as popular as Heat Wave with my clients, but a lot of them did love it! It's a really nice highlighter overall! The next highlighter palette should be no surprise, it's the Anastasia Beverly Hills Nicole Gurreiro Glow Kit. If my clients been wanting to try a product and I have it, I'll definitely use it on them, so that they see how it performs and if it's worth the purchase. I've gotten a lot of request for this palette and I don't blame them! You have 6 gorgeous unique shades! They're all different from one another. The formula is amazing, it's the best formula that I've seen in a Glow Kit by ABH! They leave that wet metallic finish that I die for! They're also long wearing and buttery smooth! They're super pigmented and blend like a dream! It's currently available on Sephora, so don't sleep on it, just get it! Like I said, it's the best Glow Kit formula up to date! Lastly, I wanted to mention the Estee Edit Glow Face + Eye Palette. Even though I love that opaque highlight, a lot of people don't. That's when this palette comes handy! The formula of this palette is incredible! The powders are buttery smooth and very finely milled! This palette gives you that glowing within look! It's subtle and just gives you that healthy glow! You can build it up for that opaque highlight! It's also super long wearing, you can easily go the full day without having it fade away! I get great use out of the shade 14k Glow! It's definitely many of my clients favorite as well! This palette comes in a set with the jewel tone eyeshadow palette and it's currently on sale for $49CAD! That's less than $25CAD per palette! It's honestly a steal and I highly recommend that you guys pick it up!
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| My top highlighters at the moment! |
Moving along, these 2 products are my holy grail! I use it on every single client and every time that I do my makeup. The first product is MAC Fix Plus. I've mentioned this product several times. It's just a must have for any kit, because it has so many purposes! I love to use it before I apply a foundation to hydrate the skin! I also use it to set the makeup, so that everything blends well and the makeup looks fresh. It also gives a beautiful natural dewy look. I also use it to make eyeshadows pop by spraying my brush with it. Sometimes the metallic shades are not as opaque as I want them to be, so that's when Fix Plus comes in hand! The other product that 's also a part of my holy grail is the Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray. Again, I use it every time that I apply my makeup and when I do my clients! It truly does help the makeup last longer! In the beginning, I didn't believe in setting sprays, but I started playing with it and being observant. I started to see a huge difference! This is one of the products that helps your makeup last 12 hours and more! The mist is microfine and has temperature control technology. You don't have to worry about your makeup cracking, fading away or settling into your fine lines! This stuff is expensive, but trust me, it's worth the investment! If you're a working freelance artist, honestly, both these products are a must have! You'll see right away how well the makeup sets!
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| Must haves! |
Another holy grail product of mine is the Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder in Translucent. Again, another product that I use on all my clients and every time that I do my makeup! This is the perfect powder to bake with and to set your foundation with! This powder is very finely milled and easy to work with! The Translucent shade has a vanilla tint to it, so that it doesn't look white on your face. It blends and sets your makeup perfectly! It doesn't leave your skin feeling dry or anything! It also doesn't cause flashback or that white caste in photography! My clients also love it and so many of them went out to buy it! It truly is game changing! This is another product that's worth the investment! It actually lasts you a long time, since it comes with a lot of product!
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| Best translucent setting powder out there! |
The next product is also another holy grail. It's the MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Soft Ochre. This is the only thing that I use as a eye primer now. Before, I used to top it on a eye primer, but now I just use it on it's own and it does an amazing job! I've had mine for a really long time! The key is to only use a little bit of it! It can crease, if you use too much! Then, you have to use setting powder or a base eyeshadow, so that your eyeshadows can blend effortlessly! If you start to blend right away, it'll be difficult and your eyeshadow will appear patchy, since the Paint Pot has a tacky base! I've used so many eye primers before and trust me, nothing beats this!
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| The best thing to use as a eye primer! |
Since we're on the topic of MAC, I wanted to mention the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer once again in my Favorites! This concealer is everything! It has a nice consistency to it! It blends out really nicely and it's super long wearing! It's good to conceal blemishes and your under eyes! MAC carries a wide range for these concealers! There's literally something for everyone! I have a mixture of different brands in my kit for concealers, but I slowly just want to carry the MAC ones! If you haven't found the right concealer, give this one a go! I also use the MAC Pro Longwear Foundations on my clients. At first I was hesitant about this foundation, but I know that a lot of makeup artists use it. So, I went out to buy one to play with. I actually fell in love with it! My clients also love it! It's just the perfect full coverage foundation. It's also really longwearing and there's so many shades to choose from! There's literally something for everyone! It's a super easy foundation to work with, since it blends really well!
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| You can't go wrong with MAC! |
The other foundation in my kit is the L'Oreal Infallible Pro Matte Foundation. I mean everyone knows that it's my favorite foundation. In the beginning you invest a lot of money when you start freelancing. You're going to have to cut on something! Since this foundation works so well, I decided to put it in my kit. I purchased several shades and a lot of people also started to love it! You really can't go wrong with it! It has the perfect medium coverage and it's longwearing! It blends really nicely and it's lightweight on your skin. You don't know how many people I recommended this foundation to! I just wish that it had a better shade range.
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| Still my favorite foundation to date! |
My next favorite is the Kat Von D Shade+Light Contour Palette. If you follow me on my social media accounts, you know that I've been using my custom ABH Contour Palette for the longest time, but I do prefer the KVD one over it! The pans are a lot bigger in the KVD palette and I love the shade range. The shades are for every skin tone, which makes it ideal for a freelance artist! You don't have to buy multiple palettes or customize your own. The formula is also really nice! It's rich in pigment, so you don't need to use a lot of product! It blends effortlessly and it's super longwearing! It doesn't settle into any fine lines and it just gives you that smoothing effect! KVD now released a refillable version, so that you can refill the palette! It's $9CAD more, but I use it all the time, so it's going to be beneficial in the long run!
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| The shade range is everything! There's something for everyone! |
Now let's get into eyeshadows. This month, I've been getting great use out of the Lorac Unzipped Gold Palette. I mean I've mentioned this palette several times, are you even surprised? Like I always say, this is the perfect bridal palette! At least 95% of my clients always end up choosing something from this palette! The color scheme is stunning! This palette has the perfect gold tones! I also love the matte brown shades in here. They're the perfect crease colors! The formula is also amazing! These eyeshadows are super pigmented! I never need to wet my brush to make the shimmery shades pop ( that's very rare for me). They blend like a dream and they're very long wearing! This palette suits multiple skin tones! There's literally something for everyone! The pans are also a good size! I use it like crazy and I still haven't hit pan! If you're a freelance artist, trust me when I say that you need it! No neutral palette beats this one!
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| It may look like a typical neutral palette, but trust me it's not! |
Everyone knows that I love to customize my palettes! I have a big Z Palette filled with Makeup Geek Eyeshadows, but since that palette is big, I like to pop in my favorite shades into a smaller Z Palette when I travel. I swear every time that I pull out this palette, I always get questions about it. I'm not going to list the exact shades, but there's a mixture of Makeup Geek and Anastasia Beverly Hills Eyeshadows. Those are my absolute favorite eyeshadow formula! I always switch around the shades, but these are definitely the popular shades. As you can see, it's super neutral, but I get use out of all of them! Maybe, I'll do a separate post and list the shade names, what do you guys think of that? The formula for both brands are very similar. Everything is rich in texture and pigment. They all blend really nicely and they're long wearing! Both brands have a beautiful range to choose from! Makeup Geek is more on the affordable side, that's why most of these eyeshadows are from there.
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| I guess you can call this my "Life Palette"! |
Another palette that I've been living and breathing for is the Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Palette. I've been obsessed with this palette ever since I purchased it! I just spoke about it in my May Haul, so I won't get too much into it (I also spoke about it in my Favorites before). There's just a shade for anyone and everyone! This palette is just so well thought out! I love how there's primary colors! The formula is amazing! It's really longwearing and pigmented! Even when I eat and drink, like it slightly fades away. My clients are all so impressed with it! Everyone gets really excited when I tell them that I can customize a shade to their preference! Again, if you're a freelance artist, trust me when I say that this palette is everything! My only complain is that the pans are small. I hit pan really easily (each pan is less than 1g of product).
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| I abused this palette! |
We're finally slowly getting to the end, but I wanted to mention another mascara. I've been using the L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara a whole lot this month! I wasn't a fan of it in the beginning, but this mascara is legit the best for your bottom lashes! The wand is thin, which makes it perfect to brush your bottom lashes! It really lengthens them! I also use it on my clients and they're very impressed with it! The formula is also nice! It doesn't run or smudge! I also like how it doesn't make your lashes clumpy!
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| Perfect for your bottom lashes! |
We're finally at the end! I have 2 products left! They're boring products, but they're a essential for any working freelance artist! I've been loving the Sephora Dry Clean Instant Dry Brush Cleaner Spray. This stuff is a life saver! I think that I already mentioned it before, but it's basically perfect to use in between clients! It really cleans your brushes! Like, it removes everything in seconds! You also don't need to rinse! It's a dry brush cleaner, so you just swirl it in paper towel! It's so convenient! I spend not even 5 minutes cleaning my brushes now! It's really important as a artist to remain sanitary, so please if you don't clean your brushes in between clients, please start now! You'll see how fast and easy it is with this product! The last product that I wanted to mention is the Beauty So Clean Cosmetic Sanitizer Mist. Again, being sanitary is so important and this spray makes things so much easier! It's a light mist that sanitizes your makeup! You can even use it on powders and it won't get wet! It also doesn't leave your palettes with a strong scent, which is always a good thing! It's also on the affordable side and it's not in those huge bottles, so you can easily travel with it! It's perfect for those of you that like to double dip into cream/liquid products!
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| Must haves! |
That's it for my May Favorites! I told you guys that it would be a long post! Again, I did a lot of freelancing, so it was good for me to see which products performed the best and that my clients liked! I listed many of my holy grail products. Of course, I have more and I'll do a "Holy Grail" post one day. Also, I have way more products in my kit! These are just some of the products that I've been using a lot in May! I know that I've mentioned a few of these products in my previous Favorites, but they're just products that I love and perform so well, like I can't help it. I actually already started my June Favorites, because I don't want to post that too late and I tried to use newer products. It's not going to be as long as this one, but I'll try to make it interesting! Anyways, I hope that this post was useful, especially for those of you that are starting to create a kit! I don't mind sharing my secrets and I'm always willing to help people, so if you ever have any questions, please feel free to email or message me! I hope that you all have a great week!
