Makeup Brush Collection

I've been sorting through my makeup brushes over the past month or so and thought I would share my new and updated makeup brush collection. I have a lot of great makeup brushes that function beautifully, but I do have some that are terrible and needed to be tossed. I think I have a pretty complete brush collection at this point, but there are some more brushes I need to replace or buy.

Overall, I think I've purchased some great brushes over the past years and a lot of them have been with me for 3+ years now! I have a mix of high end and low end brushes and while the higher end brushes do have a better quality and bounce back into shape better after shampooing, there are some great brushes that I got for only a few bucks! However, I do find that it's easier to find cheaper, good quality eye brushes than it is to find cheaper good quality face brushes. So you'll see that most of my eye brushes are from cheaper brands like ELF while my face brushes are on the more expensive side. While I think that expensive brushes can be worth it due to the quality of the bristles, you can definitely find some great brushes at the drugstore and don't necessarily need to shell out $20 for a single brush or $200 for a Sigma brush set. 

You'll also see that I don't always use brushes for the use that they're designed for (like using my small concealer brush for my inner corner instead!). Pretty random actually! So, let's get started with ze collection deets! 

Eye Brushes -- flat shadow brushes

Sephora, Urban Decay, Up & Up, Sonia Kashuk

Sephora flat eyeshadow brush -- applying powder eyeshadow all over the lid

Urban Decay flat eyeshadow brush -- I don't normally use this brush, but it's great for applying powder eyeshadow all over the lid

Up & Up smudge brush -- my favorite brush for packing on eyeshadow all over my lid

Sonia Kashuk flat eyeshadow brush -- applying cream eyeshadows, like the Maybelline color tattoos

Eye Brushes -- crease brushes

ELF, Up & Up

ELF small crease brush -- this has become my go-to crease brush since it applies eyeshadow very precisely and is great for blending the color

Up & Up large crease brush -- applying powder eyeshadow all over my lid, but when I want a more sheer application. Also good for blending crease color into the lid color

Eye Brushes -- randoms

Up & Up, Sephora, Sonia Kashuk, Essential Tools, ELF

Up & Up angled eyeliner brush -- applying powder eyeshadow along lash line

Sephora liner brush -- applying powder eyeshadow along lash line

Sonia Kashuk small concealer brush -- applying eyeshadow to my inner corner

Essential Tools dual sided crease brush -- blending lid and crease color 

ELF eyebrow comb and brush -- brushing and combing eyebrows

 Face Brushes

Real Techniques, Sephora, ELF, ELF

Real Techniques expert face brush -- blending in mineral foundation. Works much better than the BareMinerals foundation brushes with much less fallout! 

Sephora highlight brush -- applying blush

ELF angled blush brush -- applying blush

ELF total face brush -- applying powder or blending blush. This brush does a great job at blending and applying powder, but it's quite harsh on my skin and leaves it feeling like I rubbed sandpaper all over. I'm currently on the hunt for a new, softer powder brush! 

Travel Brushes

BareMinerals

I use these two brushes either for traveling or when my other foundation or blush brushes are dirty. They are extremely soft, feel great on the skin, and can fit nicely into my makeup/gym bag if I choose to travel with them. I got these in BareMinerals makeup sets and they are similar in quality to the full-size BareMinerals brushes. 

Bath & Body Works Wallflowers

So I've gotten some new Wallflowers to add to my lil' scent collection and thought I'd sort them out by season. I love the BBW Wallflowers! They make so many pretty plugs, have a ton of great scents (you are sure to find one to fit any season or mood), and they often are on sale! The only problem is that some of them have a really strong throw and others have a really weak throw. In fact, my very first Wallflower (Cinnamon Frosting) was so strong that we had to take the scent plug out every morning so that we wouldn't have a headache! I haven't found such a strong Wallflower since, but I like me some Wallflowers that have a decent throw. Most of them last about 1 month, sometimes more. Even if there's alittle bit of fragrance left, I usually end up throwing it away and changing the scent every month.

Here is this year's Wallflower collection, sorted by month and season I plan on using them :) I absolutely CANNOT wait to use some of my fall and winter scents. I love love love warm, cozy winter/fall scents and even burn some of my Christmas candles during the summer months. Okay enough rambling. Here they are!

June -- Garden Strawberry

July -- Aloha Waikiki

August -- Sugared Lemons

September -- Cider Lane

October -- Marshmallow Fireside

November -- Frosted Gingerbread

December -- Evergreen

Summer Beauty, Fashion, & Candle Haul!

SUMMER IS ALMOST HEREEEE. Or it is here? Not sure when summer officially begins, but it sure as hell has been feeling like summer around here lately.
Spring was a total blur for me. With the crazyness of Step 1, school, election stress, etc etc I kind of lost myself and pretty much gave up on beauty, exercise, etc. So summertime right now is a really nice break for me and a chance to start fresh with my health. I have two research months before my crazy back to back core rotation run begins in September. To celebrate the end of all the spring madness (and my birthday), I went shopping! I needed a few things and of course picked up some stuff I fell in love with at the store. I decided to treat myself a little bit in the spirit of all the milestones I've hit recently and here is the cumulation. A crazy huge haul! Here goes!

Beauty 
BareMinerals Matte Foundation in Golden Tan
CoverGirl Lipslicks Smoochies Lip Gloss in Hot Stuff
CoverGirl TruBlend Fixstick Concealer in Medium Deep
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Mood Exposure
PINK Sweet n' Flirty Body Mist
Real Techniques Expert Face Brush
Revlon Colorstay Nail Enamel in Delicious
Revlon Colorstay Nail Enamel in Trade Winds
Smooth Sexy Hair Smooth & Seal Anti-Frizz & Shine Spray
The Body Shop Watermelon Lip Gloss

Fashion
Apt 9 Sleeveless Tee in Coral
Croft & Barrow Essential Solid Tee in Spectra Green
Croft & Borrow Classic Fit Jean
Merona Maegan Studded Flats in Cognac
Simply Vera Wang black pearl earrings

Fragrances
BBW Mason Jar Candle in Lemon Verbena
BBW Mason Jar Candle in Lilac Blossom
BBW Wallflower in Garden Strawberries
BBW Wallflower in Aloha Wakiki

Definitely excited to try all these new products out!! I'm actually really looking forward to this summer with the warm weather, the beginning of a new chapter in my life, lots of quality family & friends time, new opportunities, and taking care of myself a little bit more. I'm really hoping to do a number on my New Year's resolutions this summer so wish me luck! Will be back with updates on those soon :)

End of Step 1 Misery!

Woooo I can finally say that I've survived the Step 1 crazyness and can finally resume a normal life!
I got my score report back a couple days ago and happy to say that I passed! A lot of stuff went on right after I took the Step 1 exam, including a total mental breakdown that resulted in me skipping out on Vegas. Long story but pretty much, that was a rough part of my life.

I'm not entirely happy with my score, but I'm glad that I passed by a decent margin. I got a few points below average and unfortunately, my score is in a little bit of a danger zone. I am going to match in some residency program, but my chances of getting into a top residency program are kind of slim unless I really get my third year scores and Step 2 scores up there. I have been working hard to get good grades and I am going to start studying for Step 2 as soon as I begin my first official core rotation, which is in July. I have a little bit of a break before then, during which I want to finish up a good chunk of my research project and get aligned. I have a meeting with my advisor in a few weeks to discuss where to go after my below average Step 1 score. I'm hoping he gives me some good advice on how to do well third year, where I can realistically expect to match, etc.

So yes, quite a short post but I can't possibly start splurging everything that's gone on for the past few months. We would be here literally forever haha. The only thing I will say is that I am quite nervous because class elections are in full swing and there is quite a bit of competition for the Curriculum Committee position, which I have held for the past 2 years. I did get elected two years in a row, but I'm a little nervous because you never know what may happen and also because I got marginally voted in my first year. There is a good chance I will get re-elected, but still. I don't want to get my hopes up too high. To make things worse, this position is the only one with competition so there will only be 1 loser in the entire election. I'm really hoping that's not me because that will be super embarrassing. I'm hoping my classmates think I did a good job last year, still like me, and will re-elect me! Eeeeek! :(