Edit| High End Lip Products for Summer

I'm not one for high end lipstick hoarding. I've never had a lipstick go rotten on me but I've never been able to use up a lipstick completely. When I buy high end lipsticks, I usually cling onto their beauty so hard that I forget (or purposefully try not) to use them up. In the end, they sit like ancient relics on my vanity until I get scared and toss them into the fridge to prevent further death and decay.

However, since I've been honest with myself and purging what I don't need from my collection, I've had a lot more opportunities to start putting my lips to high end, rare, fancy lipsticks that feel too luxurious to use.

I've also had a chance to pick up more fun, summery colors that aren't too opaque and serious for both work and play.

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First, I gave the YSL Babydoll Kiss and Blush in 5 Rouge Effrontee ($39) a good effort. When these were first released I gave them the side eye and moved along. Stains for blushes and cheek? Probably either too drying, sheer, or complete shit for both cheeks and lips. To my pleasant surprise, these nail polish shaped stains act like an opaque matte liquid lipstick on the lips and a lovely stain on the cheeks that lasts an entire day. Rouge Effrontee is a hot pink coral that's very flattering and bright.

On the glossy, watery, balmy end of the spectrum, the YSL Glossy Stain in 7 Corail Aquatique ($36) is a revisit of a favored formula for me. While I still think that the Revlon Moisture Stains are great dupes of this formula (a little thinner and patchier), Corail Aquatique is an easy-to-wear muted peach that could pass as MLBB if you're a Kpop princess.

Then shit got REALLY REAL, and I bit the bullet for two Guerlain Rouge Automatiques ($37 each) in Nahema and Insolence. It's hard to explain these colors without calling everything peach or coral, so I guess you could say that every shade I purchased is a mutation of coral.

Besides the adorable trap door/slide down for lipstick to come up contraption that may lead to many lipsticks ruined in the palm of your hands, the formula is...amazing. It glides on, imparting color that's moisturizing, doesn't bleed all over lip lines, and stays on for a solid 6 hours before fading evenly. 

*pupils dilate, grabs all teh Guerlain*

Here are swatches with Insolence on the left and Nahema on the right (two swipes versus one for each color). 

Because all of these options are on the sheerer side without being too in yo face about their pigment, I don't feel afraid to wear lipstick. All of them can be applied without a mirror and I don't have to blot anything down or feel self-conscious about stares. Isn't comfort what makes makeup fun in the first place? 

xo Be

Edit| Mattifying Primers

The Becca Matte Poreless Priming Perfector  is flawless, awesome, powerful, resilient, and................expensive. Coming in at 36 dollars, I expected this to be the be all end all in the quest of controlling oil in the hot summer sun. My T-zone is basically a melting mess even in an air conditioned room and I'm sitting on my ass. Hm.

Here are the main points:

• Keeps me dry and matte for the entire workday without blotting once. If I spend some time in the sun and sweating, I have to blot. Keep in mind I am combo at the moment, with normal cheeks. 
• 36 dollars retail for 1.35 ounces. That's not bad since you can store it in the fridge when winter comes back around town.
• It works beautifully with either oil or water based foundations. It's free of cones, oil, alcohol, and fragrance and claims to make your pores less visible as well as "forever blotting" oil off your face. It really works with everything. 
• However, it can be very drying if used in copious amounts and all over the face. You will not want this on any patch of skin that's not dripping oil.

To be completely honest I had tried this once before, about two years ago, and purged it because I frankly had to clue how to use it to the best of its potential. Now I'm glad I tried it again, because now I can't do my makeup routine in the morning without using a primer before a foundation or CC cream. It's that good.

I find that it makes a phenomenal difference in how "natural" your makeup looks without the trace of powder making the skin looks heavy. If you know how hydrating Hourglass No28 Serum can be, Becca's primer is the exact opposite of it. To correctly use Becca's product you must have some extra time to extract it from the sanitary squeeze tube onto your ring finger. And only a dab. No, half a dab. Then, you rub your ring fingers together and start spreading/pushing the almost waxy lotion into the skin wherever you want to control oil. The trick is having patience and using as little as you can get away with.

And the best part is I've since found a relatively drugstore product to dupe this workhorse: No7 Beautifully Matte Make Up Base. I found mine for $10 at Target. There's a negligible difference in performance between No7 and Becca if you're looking to save money.

Main points:

• Again, this is not a product you want to spread all over the face as a base primer unless you really have oily skin everywhere.
• It can have a white cast if you're very tan and dark, but only if you have layered too much onto the face. 
• It has the slightly similar consistency as Becca but with a slight fresh scent and feels more like a lotion when you first spread it onto your fingers.
• It promises to not clog pores, have salicylic acid for acne prone types, and contains 1.35 ounces of product in the same squeeze tube format. 

Below are the ingredients list for both products. You can find the ingredients on the back of the No.7 primer. The Becca primer contains: Water, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Propylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylene Glycol, Enantia Chlorantha Bark Extract, Oleanolic Acid.

Here are comparison swatches of the product. I would take a picture, but it just looks...matte on my face. My T-zone does not get so oily that it would show up in pictures for a comparison.

The consistency of the Becca primer is very thick, waxy, and almost impossible to squeeze out loads at a time. You have to really work it between your fingers first. Once it's warm you can easily spread it on your face. On the other hand the No.7 primer feels much more like a thick sunscreen and has a white color to it. 

 This is me beginning to blend it out. Excuse the tomboys hands, I forgot to moisturize this morning. You can see that the Becca primer begins to blend in while the No.7 just seems to sit on the skin.

This is the product "blended out" as best as possible. The Becca primer has completely disappeared into my skin while the No.7 still leaves a white cast. This is the biggest complaint on the product that I've heard, so I think it's best not to use this all over unless you want to brighten your skin tone or resemble a ghost. I never notice any white cast on my T-zone because I use much less than this amount.

Overall, the price difference is what drives me to use the No.7 primer on a daily basis. If you're on a budget and don't care to spend over thirty dollars on a primer, this is your best bet. To me, I need very little of the Becca primer at a time so a tube will most likely last me through several humid summers. If you're looking for a more "natural" alternative, the Becca primer may fare better with your skin.

xo Be

Summer Routine is up!

Hope your Memorial Day weekend is great, eat lots of hamburgers and let me live vicariously through you!

This is the video edition of my previous FOTD post, be sure to scroll down for the full list of products used! Be

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT3F0r_sTK0&w=560&h=315]