October 2016 Empties

Random Personal Update: I pledged 20 books on Good Reads, and I’ve still got 8 books to go before the end of the year. Still going through a lot of YA thrillers, because that’s often the way to get me to finish a book within 10 days. (Meaning, I elect to lose sleep to go through a page-turner.)

Also, re-watching the entire Harry Potter series in time for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It’s something of a personal tradition that started with every HP book release. Only then, I used to re-read the books. I don’t have the time to do that now, so the condensed 2-hour version should suffice. (BTW, have you guys seen the fanart of the HP-themed shadow palettes? Merlin’s beard, please let them become a reality!)

Buuut, going back to beauty, here are my latest empties. There’s quite a bit of them this time:

Clockwise from Top-Left: Nivea Extra White Firming Body Lotion, The Body Shop Shea Body Butter, Nivea Creme, Zenutrients Rich Cocoa Body Butter

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Benefit The Porefessional Agent Zero Shine Shine-Vanishing Pro Powder

This is the perfect season to put face powders to the test! Right now, it’s the in-between period at the end of summer and just before the legit rainy season starts. There’s plenty of moisture, heat, and humidity to go around, so it’s time to see which makeup can be considered heavy-duty. Benefit The Porefessional Agent Zero Shine (PHP 1600; USD 30) is on the chopping block today, so let’s see how well it performs.

Benefit the Porefessional Shine-Vanishing Pro Powder

Ingredients: Talc, Nylon-12, Water, Magnesium Myristate, Lauroyl Lysine, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Phenoxyethanol, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Lens Esculenta (Lentil) Fruit Extract, Silica, Isoceteth-10, Ethylhexylglycerin, Aluminum Dimyristate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate. May Contain: CI 15850 (Red 6, Red 7, Red 7 Lake), CI 15985 (Yellow 6, Yellow 6 Lake), CI 19140 (Yellow 5, Yellow 5 Lake), CI 42090 (Blue 1 Lake), CI 45410 (Red 27, Red 27 Lake, Red 28 Lake), CI 73360 (Red 30, Red 30 Lake), CI 77007 (Ultramarines), CI 77163 (Bismuth Oxychloride), CI 77288 (Chromium Oxide Greens), CI 77289 (Chromium Hydroxide Green), CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499 (Iron Oxides), CI 77510 (Ferric Ferrocyanide, Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide), CI 77742 (Manganese Violet), CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide).

FOTD: Starting With Smokies

I’ve consciously decided that fall 2015 would be about smokey eyes and wine-colored lips. Not together, of course, as I’m not that gutsy. But I didn’t have to search far and wide (and spend a lot) to complete my makeup “uniform” for the chillier months. The makeup “body count” so far has only been one eye shadow, two drugstore lipsticks, and a couple of things I picked up from a blog sale. But then the holiday collections are starting to come out, and that will take a gargantuan amount of restraint. Guh.

Before I attempt to turn a blind eye to all the fall goodness, let me share an FOTD with me starting to step out with more semi-smokey eye looks before finally going all the way with the smolder. Here’s the look:

To achieve this look, I used the following:

Benefit Dandelion Ultra Plush Lip Gloss

Despite my growing collection of lipsticks, I don’t think I’d survive without at least one lip gloss in my beauty kit. There are times that call for light color or simple shine, so the gloss is a must-have for anyone who’s building a solid stash. Try something peachy-pink and ultra-flattering like Benefit Dandelion Ultra Plush Lip Gloss (PHP 900 for the regular size tube).

Vacation Essentials 2015: The Makeup

*For Part 1 of this two-part post, click HERE.

Here’s the part where my over-packing becomes a little more obvious. In an ideal world, I would be able to get by with one blush, one shadow palette, one eyeliner, two lipsticks, and one lip gloss, but I always want more options! I usually build my travel makeup stash around this one awesome palette that combines neutral/browns and pinks/purples in one compact container. I don’t stray far from these colors, so they’ve always been my go-tos. However, I just felt the summery vibe this time around, so I wanted to come up with gold, bronze, and other tan-flattering choices. Hence…