DECEMBER 2015 FAVORITES

I can’t believe 2015 is over! It’s been a crazy year!

Instead of mourning another year passed, let’s look forward to all the good – all the new makeup that launches in January 2016!

In the meantime though, I’d like to share with you guys all the things I’ve been loving this month. Let’s get started!

---

MORPHE M501 PRO POINTED BLENDER – $7.99 / morphebrushes.com

  I can see why this brush is a favorite among so many – I now get what all the hype is about! It’s become my absolute favorite brush for highlighting!  I have some fan brushes and even a SOHO Pro Crease Brush that is quite fluffy that I used to use for highlighting, and I haven’t touched them since I got this. Morphe brushes are incredible quality and super budget friendly, whether you’re just getting into makeup or you’re a professional! There is of course, and M500 which is a bit bigger, and an M502 which is a bit smaller, but this middle man of a brush just seems to be the perfect size to tackle all of your highlighting needs!

L’OREAL DOUBLE EXTEND BEAUTY TUBES MASCARA – $8.97 / amazon.com

I noticed the other day that I have a pretty sizable patch of broken lashes in the center of my right eye. Don’t ask me how, but they’re there. So I broke out my trusty L’Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara – the primer side helps to add length before the mascara side seals it in, creating the illusion of thicker, longer lashes that last all day! Seriously, all day – getting this stuff off can be tricky (and damaging if you’re not careful!) but I use coconut oil, which breaks down the product and nourishes my lashes at the same time.

MILANI BAKED BLUSH IN ‘LUMINOSO’ – $8.98 / amazon.com

  I have been reaching for this blush probably more than any other lately. It’s got a universally flattering peachy pink tone, with just the right amount of sheen – not glitter, like some of their other shades (*coughs* Corralina) – it’s like applying your blush and highlight all in one step. It makes you look beautifully healthy and radiant, like you’ve been eating your fruits and veggies. I die.

MORPHE 35N – 35 COLOR MATTE EYESHADOW PALETTE – $19.99 / morphebrushes.com

If you guys are looking for great quality, inexpensive eyeshadows, look no further than the Morphe palettes. If you average out this particular palette, you’re actually paying 57 cents per shadow! You can’t get a deal like that at any drugstore! This palette is entirely matte, with a mix of warm, neutral, and cool tones ranging from lighter skin toned colors all the way to browns and blacks, and even a couple pinks, oranges, and purples. If you want to build your own palette, Morphe also sells individual shadow pans for $2.29, which you can put in a Z palette or even the Morphe brand magnetic palette. I’ll be doing a full review with swatches soon!

MORPHE MONTHLY BRUSH CLUB – $19.99 per month / liveglam.com

 While we’re showing some love to Morphe, I’m sure many of you saw my recent post about the Morphe Monthly Brush Club – basically the premise is that like any other monthly subscription box – Morphe picks a variety of brushes that value $30+ in total each month, and automatically ships them directly to your door for just $19.99!! Unfortunately it is currently sold out *sad face* but they are accepting people on a wait list! What I absolutely love about this versus other monthly subscriptions boxes is that you know you’re getting full size, quality products that you can use over and over again, rather than a box full of tiny samples and unheard of deluxe samples that you can only use a few times before having to purchase a full sized product. Personally I’m a brush junkie, and already knowing the quality of these brushes made me stalk the website waiting for this deal to drop like a crazy ex-girlfriend! Totally worth it! If you haven’t seen my ‘unboxing’ of the first month, click on over to the HAULS tab at the top of the page and check it out!

L’OREAL MAGIC LUMI LIGHT INFUSING PRIMER – $10.97 / amazon.com

I don’t know what sort of hissy-fit my skin has been having lately, but my ordinarily oily skin has been super duper dry. Like flaky dry. Dull dry. This primer gives such a beautiful luminosity to the skin – however, if you’re oily you may want to avoid this unless you use it under a more mattifying foundation. I love this in the winter because I do tend to lean more on the dry side this time of year, but I hate my skin looking matte. I like to glow!! A trick I like to use is to mix a pump of this primer and a pump of my foundation on the back of my hand like a little cocktail, and then apply it – it shears out the foundation just enough so that you don’t get cake face, while the primer still helps it adhere to the skin.

REAL TECHNIQUES MIRACLE COMPLEXION SPONGE – $6.99 / ULTA

One of the places I’ve been the most dry, oddly enough, is under my eyes. Which has made blending out concealer with my preferred method of the e.l.f. Studio Flawless Concealer brush impossible. So lately I’ve been reaching for my RT sponge, and it’s been a lifesaver. The dampness adds back just enough hydration, and picks up just enough excess concealer (because I can get a little heavy-handed with concealer, I’ll admit it) to blend it out flawlessly. It’s also a great tool if you’ve been struggling with (or afraid to try) cream contouring and highlighting! This is said to be the best dupe around town for the $20 Original Beauty Blender too – don’t worry, mine is coming in the mail soon because naturally, I have to see what all the hype is about, and I will let you know if its an acceptable dupe! I promise!

---

Well, those are MY favorites for this month, but what are some of yours? Leave me a comment below and let me know, I love to hear from you guys!

And as always, please go follow me on Twitter and Instagram @dlynnesposito, and go give a like to the Affordable Gorgeous page on Facebook!

LOTS OF LOVE!

MY FAVORITE DRUGSTORE MASCARAS

 I feel like it’s been awhile since I’ve done a one-category favorites post. So today we’ll be talking about drugstore mascara! I’ve pulled together some of my favorites for you guys!

Mascara is one of those (in my opinion) super important steps to pulling any look together. But they aren’t all equal. I’ll admit it, I’ve got ridiculously high standards when it comes to mascara – any mascara, not just from the drugstore. I want length, volume, curl, definition and separation; I want it all!

So let’s get started!

---

Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara ($8.99)

 

 I love this mascara for so many reasons. I love the brush and how well it separates my lashes. I love that it holds a curl. I love how long it makes my lashes look. This mascara specifically is my favorite to use before applying false lashes, because it’s super black and helps my natural lashes blend with the falsies, and also to use on the lower lashes because the tapered brush really gets into that outer corner (where lashes can be unreachable) and it doesn’t transfer to my under eye area! I haven’t used this exclusively long enough to know if it actually helps my lashes grow, but if that’s something you guys would be interest in, let me know and I’ll do it and review it!

L’Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara ($8.97)

 

 So this is one of those mascaras with a primer on one end, and (you guessed it!) the mascara at the other. Usually I think mascara primers are overrated – they can make the lashes clumpy, gummy, and I feel like they don’t ever really set, making it more likely that the mascara will smudge and smear. Not this one! I actually get amazing length, volume, and separation from the primer, and the mascara itself when applied, forms little tubes around the individual lashes, leaving me with the look of falsies without the potential for gluing my eye shut! Removal is a little tricky though (which speaks to the longevity of the product, really!) and I found that it comes off the easiest with a little coconut oil (which is how I’ve been removing ANY mascara lately). The brush is a little on the chubbier side, so I wouldn’t recommend it for the lower lashes, but if you want to look like you’re wearing gorgeous falsies without all the hassle, this will change. your. life.

Maybelline Volum Express Pumped Up! Colossal Volume Mascara ($4.49)

 

 I love this one in particular for it’s volume. It’s a big, fat, classic bristle brush that comes to a tapered point, which makes it easier to get those little baby lashes at the inner corner of the eye. This mascara not only gives amazing volume, but pretty decent length as well, and it can hold a curl all day! And it’s another one that doesn’t transfer or flake on me, which is amazing. Because the brush is so massive though, I almost ALWAYS smudge it somewhere on my eye – if that happens, just finish your makeup (don’t use a setting spray) and let the mascara dry, then take a Q-tip and it will flake right off without smearing everywhere. Easy-peasy.

Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara by Lashblast ($6.65)

 

 This is one of those rubbery, plastic bristle brushes, and it’s more cupped which I find helps get all those little tiny, in-between lashes that can be missed with a traditional brush. I actually have this one in the brown shade (if you haven’t tried a brown mascara, you really should! Great for no-makeup makeup days!) and since my lashes are pretty dark naturally, this enhances them just enough to look like I have naturally thick, long lashes. The bristles are super duper tiny, which helps to get every single lash but also make sure there is absolutely no clumping, no matter how many coats you apply! It’s not really spectacular for volume, but for an everyday minimal look, I promise you this will become your ride or die.

Maybelline The Falsies Volum’ Express Mascara ($5.94)

 

 You didn’t think I’d do a ‘favorite mascara’ post and not include this, did you?? C’mon now! This has been my go-to for as long as it’s been out. But I tend to wait until it’s a little older before I use it – I’ll open it up, pump a little air into, then seal it back up – I know, it’s one of the worst things to do to a mascara, but Maybelline is notorious for their ‘wet’ formula, which I find to actually be easier to work with once it’s dried out a little bit. If I use it brand new, it’s too wet, and it gets clumpy pretty quickly. It’s got a classic bristle brush, on the thinner side, and it’s curved, but because the bristles are so tightly packed, you get length, volume, curl, and definition all in one product – I rarely use a lash curler before applying this mascara! I’ve never had an issue with flaking or smudging, and since the wand is a little on the thinner side, I can usually get my bottom lashes with it as well. If you could only buy one mascara, this would be the one I would recommend – it does it all!!

---

Well guys, there you have it! Those are my favorite drugstore mascaras! Don’t get me wrong, I have a few higher end deluxe sample sized mascaras that are pretty good, but considering mascara is something that needs to be replaced so often for sanitary reasons (no one wants a nasty eye infection!) I just can’t justify buying a full sized, $25+ mascara when there are so many wonderful drugstore options out there! And I’ve been trying out drugstore mascaras for what seems like forever on the hunt to find that ‘perfect’ one!

I hope you guys found this post helpful! Have you tried any of these? What are your thoughts?! Leave me a comment below and let me know!

And please go follow me on Twitter and Instagram @dlynnesposito, and go like the Affordable Gorgeous page on Facebook! Your support means so much!

LOTS OF LOVE & LASHES!!