005 vain rambling

I haven't done a vain rambling post in over a year! For those who didn't know, my vain rambling posts are brief little snippets I want to mention but I feel they don't need a full post all to themselves. A collective summary of sorts. Here's what has me rambling this time around:

REAL TECHNIQUES CORE COLLECTION
The core collection has four brushes and can be found at Ulta (link!). The stars of this set for me would be the Buffing Brush and Contour Brush. These are raved about for a reason! I have been abandoning my Sephora platinum pro #55 brush (which I heard they discontinued/redid?) in favor of the Buffing brush for foundation application. It is denser making it a better tool for faster, seamless buffing. I use the Contour brush for mostly highlighter application. I definitely recommend this, I have been very pleased thus far.

NUXE REVE DE MIEL
My sister and I have been using this religiously. The texture and finish of it surprised me. I thought it was going to be a clear, shiny balm but it actually is a soft cream that applies matte. I love this stuff. It smells like lemons, absorbs quickly, and it makes my lips feel so soft and nourished. When it runs out I will definitely repurchase.

SHU UEMURA EYELASH CURLER
I have been wanting to pick this up for YEARS. I used to use a Revlon curler and it made such a slight impression to me that I didn't see what the big deal curlers were. Enter this curler, wow what a difference! Now I get it, curling = fluttery eye-opening lashes. I can't compare this to any other high end curler but the effect this gives is very noticeable. I do think the opening is a bit small for my eye shape so getting all my lashes in can be trial and error at times. I wonder if I would like the Chanel curlers more.

LANCOME TEINT IDOLE ULTRA 24H FOUNDATION
This has been my foundation of choice for the past couple months. Not so much because I like it but more because I want to use it up. I am lukewarm towards this. I plan to do a separate review post on it.

For a sneak peek though, I am wearing it in the above animation. This was my New Year's Eve makeup look. I wore MAC Reflects Antique Gold Glitter, which I love and always rely on for fun occasions. Also, don't mind my bloodshot eyes in the picture. I recently had LASIK surgery, I will go more in detail about my experience in another post since it was requested from a reader and I felt obliged to do so.

MAYBELLINE FALSIES FLARED MASCARA
I like this but don't love it. It gives a decent amount of volume and doesn't clump/flake/transfer. I have used better mascaras that give better volume. Volume is always my concern when it comes to mascaras and lengthening is more of a bonus. For reference, a few examples of mascaras I love are Makeup Forever Smokey Lash, L'Oreal Voluminous, and Prestige My Blackest Lashes. Still haven't found a HG though...

ROCK & REPUBLIC X-RATED BLUSH
I have been using this bold pink blush everyday, inspired by the spring collections that are popping up around this time of year. I just did a post including this blush so if you want to see swatches, view it HERE.

BENEFIT POWDERAZZI
I picked this up at Ulta some time ago. I was always curious about Benefit's boxed powder blushes and this little set seemed like a nice way to test out a few shades all at once. It contains Coralista, Dallas, and Hoola. To be honest I don't really like any of the shades on me. I rarely reach for it because every time I do use it, it doesn't impress me. I think Coralista and Hoola are massively over hyped.

SWATCHES
(L to R): CORALISTA, DALLAS< HOOLA

Coralista looks very pretty swatched but on my face it doesn't really show up. And when I do pack it on, the color just doesn't translate as the same pretty coral color. Dallas looks like a shade I would love, a browned rose, but every time I wear it my face looks a bit dirty. And Hoola gives me the greatest difficulty. I must work hard to blend this into my skin because the color somehow makes my skin seem sallow. Such a shame these don't work on me since the texture is very nice and soft. Just goes to show that even though a product swatches beautifully doesn't mean it will look the same on the face.

That is the end of this vain rambling post. I hope you all are having a relaxing Sunday :)