This is my current makeup collection. I love makeup as an accessible artistic expression. As you can see its all affordable brands, mostly Elf, Nyx, Wet n' Wild, and few Jordana and Maybelline items. I tried to organize the photo into a face, eyes, and lips areas.
Let's start with the base face (skin) makeup. I have pretty good skin, so I skip primer. The one primer I did try just felt gross, and added nothing to my look. The silver canister is Skin79's Super+ BB cream. I used to use Vip-Gold, and this seems to be the replacement. Its has SPF and skin-whitening properties, which I love. It only comes in one shade though, a sort off pale-cool-pinkish-grey. I like it cause it hides and corrects my tan in the Summer.
For a finishing powder I use Elf's HD powder in "Sheer". I find it works perfectly with the BB cream. I only wish it covered my tan a bit more, and had some SPF of its own. The two-smaller powders, Nyx HD finishing powder in "Banana" and Elf's HD under-eye powder, I use to set my under-eye concealer. I do not always wear under-eye concealer but when I do I'll will grab one of these. They are equally good, but the Nyx powder is pressed and travels much better. The Elf tube is their Shadow Lock in "Sheer" its an excellent inexpensive lid primer. I use it even on mascara only days. Lastly, the Nyx tube is HD photogenic concealer in "Light," which i use as my universal concealer, under-eyes and spots. It is a pale-cool shade.
Below we have blushes and a contour powder. The two palettes are Elf. The silver compact is Jordana, and the black compact is LA Colors.
The Elf palettes are a god-send for any pale, cool-toned person. These are my goto blush and contour, the contour palette even includes a subtle bronzer. I do not use the yellowish highlight shade in the contour palette however, I have 3 favourite highlighters I love coming up next.
Here they are: Elf's baked highlighter in "Moonlight Pearls", Nyx's I love you so Mochi in "Arcade Glam", and Wet n' Wild's hello halo in "Halographic." I use them all, I would have a hard time picking favourites from this group, but my everyday goto has to be the I love you so Mochi "yellow" toned highlighter. I am a bit of a highlighter junkie on days I am not going pale Goth. It makes the face so much more 3D.
Now, onto the eye-makeup. I warn you all I have too much eye-makeup for my own good. Let's start with the Nyx Jumbos collection since they are such a Youtube favourite.
Left to right is: Black Bean, French Fries, Yogurt, Oyster, Cottage Cheese, and Milk. I have mixed reviews of these. Black Bean smudges badly on me, so I just never use it. I have had no success with it on the upper lid or water-line. French Fries I love, I wear this with some black eye-liner over it as a complete look. Perfectly Goth, yet perfectly everyday. Yogurt is darker than I expected. I bought it for my water-line but just have not tried it out yet. Oyster would probably look gorgeous on darker-skin, but on my pale-cool skin it just vanishes, on the water-line, but it makes a nice sticky base for a smokey purple eye. OMG Cottage Cheese has to be my favourite, I wear this on the water-line often, and use it to highlight the inner-corners of my eyes. Lastly Milk, I use this on my water-line when I do not want shimmer. Overall these are a great product. Fun to collect.
Now onto the eye/guy liner. My collection is pretty small, but I have tried a lot of inexpensive eye/guy liners in the past and these are my best ones, or just the ones I have at the moment.
First off on the left is Maybelline's liquid liner in "Onyx." I received this as a gift from a friend. It is not bad. The felt-tip "brush" is way more precise than the old-cheap included brushes. It dries to a nice matte finish but could be blacker. Next is Elf's creme eye/guy liner in "Black." Its not bad, but cremes/gels take practice to develop skill, "Do not be frustrated!" I've had this one past the expiration date so I need to throw it away.
Then the Wet n' Wild pencils, these are only $0.99 where I am, and the dark ones are not bad at all. I use the black almost daily. The olive for special looks. The white however is too stiff to use on the water line. Its an interesting look to use it on the lid however. The last three, on the right, are a Nyx wonder pencil in "Light," which is not bad for they water-line. A Jordana auto-liner in "Black" and a Maybelline auto-liner in "Black". The Maybelline liner is far better then the Jordana: blacker, and more smudge resistant. Next, lashes and brows...
On the left is Kiss lash glue, so far I find it the best lash glue. BUT be careful where you buy it. In the US is should be less than $4.50. I have seen it for prices as high as $11.00. Kmart is the best $2.99 last time I checked. I did not photo my lashes as I cannot get the hang of applying them. Practice makes perfect, but my patience is wore-out, and I have plenty of lashes even for stage.
Mascaras first in the black tube is Nyx Worth the Hype mascara.I have not opened this yet. I received it as a free-gift with a purchase. Its has cute packaging. In the middle, the pink and green is Maybelline's Great Lash Waterproof in "Very Black." I use this often and have used it for years. You have to be speedy and add coats BEFORE the previous coat dries. It adds length without much volume, which is good for a natural look. The third mascara is Elf's 3-in-1 mascara. I recently got this and am loving it. Its a tubing mascara and does not budge til you wash it off. What I like best is with my "split-shift work schedule" it holds up to a nap. Everybody needs naps.
At the bottom of the photo we have, Elf's brow gel in "Clear." This is a must for my brows. It cements them in place nicely and washes off very easily. I just wish it came in a bigger tube. I am forever ordering this product.
Onto the eye-shadow, I'll try to keep comments brief. First my Elf eye-shadows. My favourite is the "Everyday Smokey" palette. You can do anything with this from a natural look to a full-on smoked out eye.
Next, all other eye-shadow brands, my favourites out of this collection are: Wet n' Wild's "Petal Pusher" (I love a purple sparkly and smoked out eye.), Nyx's "Dank" and "Kush" I use these for an "I dream of Jeanie" look, with white at the outer corner of the eye.
Finally my lippies. Here are my lipsticks, lip creams and lip glosses. I do not have much of an opinion about lip stick. I buy anything $1.00 to $3.00 and have never had a failure. The brands I have been using are: Wet n' Wild, Jordana, and LA Colors. No complaints about any of them. Then pictured is also 3 NYX round lip sticks in Circe, Elektra, and Paris. I hate to admit I have not tried these yet, the plastic wrapper is still on them.
Then on the side is my lip glosses. My favourites are any LA Colors gloss, so worth the price, and Elf's lip lacquer. I only have "Burgandy" and "Clear" but its a non-sticky, highly pigmented gloss for only $2.00!
Lastly, I promise, is lip pencil and lip care. All my lip pencils presently are NYX. I use them all either to line the lips, or under clear gloss. They are creamy and long wearing.
The two lip balms are Chapstick "mix-stixs" and Bagder's lip balm in Madagascar Vanilla. I adore the Bagder lip balm, its all organic and very effective. At the bottom of the photo is Elf's lip exfoliator in "Coconut." I use this once a week. It taste delicious.
Please feel free to comment, share your opinions, ask questions.
Jjinpang Mandu
