This month’s beauty faves are mostly about the basics. I feel like it’s this time of the year where it’s allergy season and I just don’t want to bother with too much makeup, especially on the eyes (itchy eyes and eyeliner make for a bad combo!)
First off is my absolutely favorite, Murad Invisiblur. If there’s one thing that I worry about is wrinkles and sagging skin. I’m all about products that will help prevent or at least slow down the process. It also has SPF and works as a fantastic primer so I always have it on as the base layer for my makeup.
I love Pacifica. First of all the packaging is always so beautiful and I love that the ingredients are all natural. I’m also a huge fan of beauty product wipes. I use makeup remover wipes every night to get rid of every last bit of makeup on my face. I tried out two of their makeup removing/cleansing wipes and they are great as they feel very “fresh” on the face and both smell really good, however if you are not a fan of the coconut smell I suggest the other fragrances as the Purify wipes was very heavy on the coconut scent. The deodorant wipes seem kind of funny at first but after using them, they are a genius idea! It’s not just for your underarms, I mean after yoga when you need a bit of refresher but don’t have time for a shower, this is an awesome solution and easy to just keep in your bag.
The BB cream is so nice and lightweight. It’s just perfect when you need just a little bit of coverage.
I’ve reviewed the NYX Butter lipsticks before (here) and they are still a favorite. The matte lip cream is a recent fave, I’ve had it for a bit but hadn’t used it until now. It’s a bit of a drier consistency and I love the matte look. I’ve been all about the hot pink lips lately so really loving these colors!
And I had to include this polish just because it’s one of the colors that I always bring out when it starts getting more sunny out. I love wearing pink on my nails during the spring and summer and this one is a pretty neutral pink – it really goes with everything I wear.
There are some days that I just don’t feel like getting dressed up and putting on makeup but those days are pretty rare. I find that even though I work from home often or on the days that I’m with my daughter and work (which is an impossible thing to do but I try to make it happen) I find myself being more productive and wanting to do more when I’m dressed and have my make up on. And even though I love doing my makeup, I still always have this debate about going with false lashes or just stick with mascara. Well after I got my first pair of ESQIDO false lashes I am now completely addicted and have to have them on whenever I put my make up on. They truly are the best lashes and it’s so funny how many comments I get whenever I have them on. People stop me just to ask me what mascara I’m wearing and one of my friends after seeing them on me, immediately got on her phone and ordered herself a pair!
I’d
say that if you haven’t tried out false lashes yet, go buy a pair of
drugstore lashes to practice on but get these Esqido lashes once you’ve
mastered it. And anybody that has already mastered wearing false
lashes, if you don’t have a pair of these you are seriously missing out!
These mink lashes blend so well into your real lashes, look so fabulous
on and are super comfortable. They just make your eyes pop and on some days I don’t do much else
but put on a little eyeliner and these lashes, that’s really all I need!
My husband will comment on how nice my makeup looks when I don’t
really do all that much except for pop these bad boys on.
I got two more pairs as I really loved the unforgettable style and
wanted to make sure I had a back up (see my first review here) and I also tried out Miss Dolly which has a bit more volume and length. I love both but if you are wanting a more natural look, go for the Unforgettable. I will be using Miss Dolly for date nights and nights out with my girls!
I just spotted that they are offering 5% off with the code ELLE so now is a good time to buy as I haven’t noticed a discount before. Also if you use my referral link you will get $10 off your first purchase! As for the order process, the site is super easy to use, you get free shipping for orders over $25 and it took only a few days to get to me for both orders. I haven’t done a return but I noticed that they have a great return policy with returns/refunds within 60 days for unused products and even if you have used it they will let you do a one time exchange! I think that’s great as I’ve found that some lash shapes don’t really suit my eye and make me look more Las Vegas Showgirl than I’d like so that’s awesome that they will let you exchange for another pair.
I’ve worn false lashes for a really long time now but my experience has always been with drugstore lashes. ESQIDO mink lashes recently contacted me to try out their lashes and when I clicked over to their website I was very much impressed. They are mink lashes and the band is made of cotton so it’s really comfortable to wear. What I also love is that they say you can get 25 uses out of these lashes! The price is higher than synthetic lashes but when you compare it to the cost per use it’s actually pretty comparable. I don’t wear false lashes every day so I love that these can last me 6 months or more.
They sent me the “unforgettable” style which is perfect for me. Just long and full enough to create a natural look so it’s not too obvious that I’m wearing lashes. I can these all day long and they don’t bug me at all. They really do look very natural. What I like most about false lashes is the fullness that mascara just can’t give you. These give a very full look to your eyes and blend beautifully in with your natural lashes.
I love false lashes. They are something that help my small eyes really stand out and I appreciate whoever invented them! I know a lot of people are afraid of them or say they are time consuming but I’ve been wearing false lashes since my make up artist friend introduced them to me about 10 years ago! For me to put on false lashes takes about as long as applying mascara. The biggest tip I can give you is practice, practice, practice! You will learn the best way to apply to your eye and then it will become second nature to you. If you are interested I will have my tips below on applying them and helping them stay on.
Joi, the owner of Lash Closet recently reached out to see if I’d like to try out some lashes from her store and she seriously spoiled me! I love everything that she sent. For everyday I go for the more subtle lashes – the Ardell 110 seen below – are perfect for the everyday lash. In the past few years I’ve mastered the invididual eyelashes and I often will use 3 individual lash clusters at the outer edges of my eyes and it really makes quite a difference. Layer mascara over your real and false lashes and nobody can tell the difference.
As you can see, the Lash Closet sells everything that goes along with lashes including glue, eyelash glue remover (you only need that when you use the stronger individual lash glue) and even eyebrow gel. I love the selection of lashes she offers. I usually buy my lashes at the drugstore and they always have a minimal selection so it’s nice to see how many styles there are in one place.
For those of us lash addicts out there, the Lash Closet offers a subscription service where you can customize your own sets of 10, 15 or 20 lashes and they will automatically send them to you and you save 10% on all those lashes. Such a great idea as I know those of us who use lashes on a regular basis are always trying to stock up when we can.
I haven’t tried out these red cherry lashes before so am happy she sent a bunch for me to test out. I’m already loving the styles. I typically won’t do the heavier lash set like #101 but it’s great to have on hand for halloween costumes.
My eyes are so small that photography does not really capture the effect of the lashes but in person you can definitely tell the difference. Here’s a few recent selfies to show you the difference.
without lashes (just mascara)
with lashes
How to put on false lashes:
Always do this first step! Most lashes do not come sized to fit your eyes (especially small Asian eyes like mine) Cut them to fit your eyes and I would say even aim to go smaller than your eye – this will apply to step 4. Test them out on your eye without any glue on them just to get a feeling of where they will sit on your lid.
Layer your glue on the lash strip carefully. Put enough on just to cover the lashes but not too much or it will goop all over your eyelid. I recommend the Duo Dark Adhesive. Wait about 10-15 seconds for the glue to get tacky.
Curl your lashes so that the falses lashes will blend into your natural lashes.
Looking down at a mirror (I prefer a tabletop magnifying mirror for this step) apply the inner corner first. The reason why I said in step 1 to cut it smaller than your eye is that I often don’t pull my lashes to very inner corner as sometimes the lashes can get too close and irritate the inner corners. I will put the lash as close to the inner corner without actually going in. I hope that makes sense. Basically do it at the point where you open your eyes and can see the lashes.
Once the inner corner is placed you can carefully align it to the rest of your eye. Adjust as necessary. The glue will still be tacky enough to move at this point but do this quickly as you don’t want it to get too sticky that you can’t move it.
Once it’s in place just hold the lash onto your eyelid for a few seconds to ensure that it stay.
After the glue has dried, apply a liner (I recommend this Rimmel Eyeliner) on top of the lash strip and eye lid so that it all blends together and is not obvious you are wearing lashes.
Some people like to add mascara to the false lashes and natural lashes but I don’t do this step as I don’t find it necessary and the lashes last longer without the addition of mascara. I actually use all my lashes at least 10 times before tossing them!
My final look with the lashes. Also wearing 
