My 2-Minute Makeup Look

Good news: I'm done with Ob/Gyn!!!! Thank God! It was a very rough month. I had to fake interest like crazy and it was incredibly hard dealing with bitchy residents and getting on their good side. Didn't even get to deliver a baby or the placenta. Got to do some cool stuff with C-sections and watch babies come out though. But still, I feel like it was really hard to be proactive, like they're always wanting us to do. Ugh whatever though, it's over. I'm kind of scared about my evaluations, but hopefully I can still maybe muster a High Pass? *Fingers crossed*. Should have my expectations as low as possible though, just in case my evals and grades were lower than I had thought. Argh, I hate the guessing game of clerkship grades. The good thing is that no matter how bummed I am about my Ob/Gyn performance, it won't matter too much because I'm not planning on going into the field and now I have a better idea on how to boost my performance in clerkships. It's a little easier to be proactive in medicine rather than surgery, so looking forward to beasting my medicine-based rotations. In fact, I'm planning on studying medicine during my research month in August so I can be prepared to wow them with my clinical knowledge :)

But anyway. Just as I had expected, I barely have had any time this past month to get ready in the morning. Usually, it's a successful morning if I remember to pack a sandwich for lunch. However, since I had been on outpatient medicine last week, I figured it would be unprofessional if I went in looking like I just woke up. For the surgical part of Ob/Gyn, I was able to throw on a eyeshadow on most days and sometimes even do a full-face makeup. But for some reason during my last week in outpatient medicine, I slept right up until 30-45 minutes before I had to leave, so it was a challenge to put on makeup with only a few minutes. 

So instead of attempting to do a full-face makeup everyday, I chose to focus only on the parts that take twenty seconds to put on, but make a big impact. For me that means mascara and a blush. As much as I love eyeshadows, I knew I wouldn't have time to put any on since that requires longer (gotta put under eye concealer, primer, eyeshadow, blend, blah blah...TIME CONSUMING!). I know I look a lot more zombie-ish without concealer under my eyes, but it takes me quite a while to put it on properly...much more time than I have in the morning. So, I think it's better to have dark circles under my eyes rather than have patchy concealer put on or put too much concealer on and look like a cakey mess. To each their own though. 

The part of the look that makes the biggest difference is the blush. I bought this one back in March and have been in love since. I love it's packaging (obviously), but I've been especially loving it recently since it's such a multi-tasking product. It's a blush, but because it's so shimmery it doubles as a highlighter. It is quite shimmery, but not so shimmery that you're going to look like a disco ball and can't wear it to work. Plus, it's not super opaque, so if you put on a little bit extra, it's not going to be a mess and can easily be blended out to be as sheer as you want. Shimmery blushes are the best for when you're in a rush or can't pack too many face products because they have this multi-task perfectly as a blush + highlighter and make you look incredibly awake and fresh faced.  

Second, I put on a few coats of mascara, which perks up my eyes. I'm absolutely in LOVE with the new Maybelline Pumped Up Colossal mascara, and have been using it like crazy. Again, the packaging is adorbs but I love the fact that it doesn't clump at all, even when I rack on three or four coats. That's the biggest complaint I have from most mascaras I've used, but this one hasn't clumped on me even once yet (knock on wood!). Maybe because it's waterproof? Plus, it makes my lashes look so much fuller without over-lengthening them. No flaking either! Since it's so low maintenance but has amazing results, it's been my go-to mascara this month and I cannot leave the house without putting on a coat of it. 

So that's it, that's my 2-minute makeup look! It's basically just my usual foundation routine + blush + mascara. Choosing the correct blush and mascara is important because you want a multi-tasking, shimmery blush paired with a fuss-free mascara so you can dab them on and head out the door in a jiffy. Of course, it's not as glamorous as a full face makeup look would be (especially with the uncovered dark circles), but when you're pressed for time and can only put on a few products, I think these few will make you look much more awake, refreshed, confident, and ready for a full day of work while taking only a few minutes. 

Products

St. Ives Even & Bright Pink Lemon and Mandarin Orange Scrub

Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Moisturizer SPF 30

Organix Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum (best used on damp hair; really makes my dry hair alive, smooth, and frizz-free. went for a week without using this product and my hair was a giant mess.)

bareMinerals Matte Foundation in Golden Tan

Milani Secret Cover Concealer Stick in Medium

bareMinerals Mineral Veil

CoverGirl Volum' Express Pumped Up Colossal Mascara

Physician's Formula Happy Booster Blush in Natural 

Natural, Glowy Summer Makeup

What's one beauty item that always reminds me of summer? Coral peachy blushes! 

I sadly only have one coral-peach blush in my collection (the bareMinerals READY Blush in The Aphrodisiac) and I am about to hit serious pan on it soon. But, it is literally the most perfect peachy blush for the summer....it looks beautiful on tan complexions, it's shimmery without being an over-the-top glitter bomb, it's nicely pigmented, true to color, decently priced, made with good ingredients, the list goes on and on. There's never been a need for me to invest in another coral blush because this is literally the most perfect blush for my skin tone. As much as I love my new bright fuchsia blush, my favorite summertime blush will always be a shimmery peach blush. It makes my tan complexion look super glow-y, sun kissed, and healthy. And it can be paired with any kind of eye look or lip color and still look beautiful.

I bought the shade (pictured below) on a whim about three years ago when a Sephora employee suggested an apricot colored blush from the then-new bareMinerals READY Blush line. I was a little skeptical as I was a makeup newbie back then and anything except for pink blushes scared the crap outta me! I'm very glad I asked her opinion and bought this blush, because I don't think I have a more perfect blush color in my collection, especially for the summer. It's a true apricot colored blush with a very slight hint of pink and fine golden glitter. I'm not a huge fan of peachy-pink blushes because those tend to make my skin look a little drab. I love this blush shade in particular because it is more peach-coral than pink and doesn't have large chunks of glitter (ahem, NARS Orgasm....). I prefer this to matte peach blushes because the slight hint of glitter cancels the need for a highlighter, instantly perks up my look, and makes me look fresh, sun kissed, and glowing! 

Photo credit = http://www.cosmeticsaficionado.com/

Again, this blush can she worn by itself, but I chose to wear a natural, shimmery bronzey-taupe eyeshadow along with a bronzey-nude gloss to complete the look. These two products make me look even more awake and glowing. What I love about this look is that it's very customizable. I can wear a different eyeshadow or lipgloss and it will still look amazing, but yet different. Next time, I'm hoping to pair this blush with my Coralista gloss or even with my Naked3 palette!

Products Used

bareMinerals Matte Foundation in Golden Tan

CoverGirl TruFix Blend Concealer Stick 

bareMinerals Mineral Veil

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze

Make Up For Ever Smoky Extravagant Mascara

bareMinerals READY Blush in The Aphrodisiac

Benefit Ultra Plush Lip Gloss in Hoola

The only issue? My bareMinerals Aphrodisiac blush is about to hit its 3-year expiration mark (self-made expiration date. Something about having a blush for that long just irks me...) and so far, I've had a hard time finding a replacement blush. I'm all for trying new blush brands and I wasn't impressed with the fact that this blush kinda fizzed out as you get closer to hitting pan. What I mean is that when I first used it, the color payoff was amazing but as it got older/closer to pan, the pigmentation and color start fading. Not sure if that's due to its age or something else. Nonetheless, I would love to try a similar color in either the Tarte or NARS line. I haven't found a Tarte dupe, but NARS Torrid blush is a really really close match to the bareMinerals Aphrodisiac blush. 

But, I'm hoping to use this blush up by the end of the summer and toss it. I don't wear coral blushes during the fall/winter season (I swap corals out for pinks and berry and mauves!), so I'll likely purchase another shimmery apricot blush next summer. But so far, this is my goto makeup look next to the fresh, youthful look I achieved in this post with my fuchsia blush. Love love love these two blush colors for the summer! :)

Loose Pigments Mineral Makeup

Makeup Used

BareMinerals Concealer in Tan 2

BareMinerals Prime Time Eyelid Primer

BareMinerals Eyeshadow in Queen Tiffany

BareMinerals Blush in Golden Gate

BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Smooth Talker

This was my very first time using loose pigments and honestly, it was a lot easier to apply than I thought it would be! I used a loose pigment eyeshadow and blush, both of which were from BareMinerals. Considering the fact that I"m not the most careful makeup-applier, I was a little scared to apply loose pigment makeup. But, the other day I decided it was time for a little challenge and change, so I picked up this cute little BareMinerals kit a couple weeks ago with a loose pigment eyeshadow and blush.
The eyeshadow color is absolutely beautiful, although it didn't show up that well in the picture above. It's a beautiful almond-taupe color that actually applies really sheer compared to higher quality pressed eyeshadows. I guess that's one of the caveats with loose pigments? Unless it's just this shade. In any case, it was really really easy to apply with a stiff, flat eyeshadow brush and didn't fall out at all even when I patted it on my (primed) lids. As far as staying power, it did crease a little tiny bit 8-10 hours after application, but the color was still there and evident.
The blush was also really easy to apply. It was a peachier, apricot-toned blush. I actually really liked this blush color with my skin tone. Really flattering. Again, it applied very softly and evenly. The last time I remembered using a loose pigment blush was when I was 15 and I remember the color being very harsh and patchy appearing. None of that with this blush though, partially because of its soft color. Definitely going to be a favorite this spring and summer!

All in all, I'm quite impressed with loose pigment makeup! Definitely less scary than I thought it would be. I'm excited to try more loose pigment eyeshadows in the future and even more blushes. One of the things I really love about these types of blushes is that they're really pure and made with only a few ingredients. They don't have any of the filler, preservative stuff that's in pressed blushes. That's one of the reasons I initially fell in love with BareMinerals and I'm definitely excited to try some new stuff from them!

FOTD: Brightening Everyday Look

I know I've been slacking on posting, but things have just gotten so busy lately! Ugh honestly this past week has been so crazy with Step 1 studying on top of repro studying on top of all the meetings and small group sessions that I'm really slacking in the self-care department. So I'm chalking tomorrow evening as being an evening off and I'm looking forward to painting my nails, bleaching my face, shaving (yeah yeah judge away), fixing my brows, catching up on Pinterest, and the works. And maybe even catching up on the laundry list of emails I have to send out.  

I figured that today I would do a FOTD post, which would motivate me to get a little more jazzed up than usual. I did a full makeup look today - eyes, face, and lips. However, this post is more of a "Products of the Day" post since I'm not going to post a photo of the "after" look since I'm running a little late (have my OSCE's today, ahh!!) and won't have time to take photos of the completed look.

Anyway, this look was meant to be a light, natural look. I chose to brighten my eyes with a shimmery champagne shadow and keep the rest of my face pretty natural. Popped some light pink blush on my cheeks and topped my lips off with a rose-tinted lipgloss. Again, I know this post is kinda sucky since there aren't any pictures of the completed look, but take my word for it -- these products together make an absolutely beautiful natural look that brightens up your eyes and makes you look really awake. 

Skincare (not all products are shown above)

Clinique Acne Solutions Foaming Cleanser + Toner

Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Moisturizer SPF 30 

Clinique All About Eyes Rich Eye Cream

LUSH Lip Scrub in Bubblegum

Makeup

Bare Minerals Correcting Concealer in Tan 2

Urban Decay Primer Potion 

Stila Vibrant in Vancouver Palette -- I dusted the middle, champagne-colored shadow all over my lid

L'oreal Voluminous Full Definition Mascara

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Dollface

L'oreal Le Gloss in Really Rose

FOTD/OOTD: Martin Luther King's Day!

 I had to go run some errands on MLK day and decided I'd get a bit jazzed up and do my first OOTD post! This has recently been my go-to natural look when I have a bit more time to do my makeup. Love this makeup look! Natural, yet put together :) Only thing is that I didn't add blush, but it would look super pretty with a light highlight or a light pink blush if you want a bit more color. My favorite would be adding some shimmery Tarte bronzer lightly to the tops of my cheeks to add subtle sparkle. It's lighter than a heavy bronzer, but darker than a highlight. I find that a lot of highlighting powders don't really gel well with my complexion, so I love using a little bit of bronzer on my cheeks instead when I don't want too much color. For this look, I'd stay away from a peachy blush since the outfit and lip are so pink and you wanna keep things monotone.

Face: bareMinerals Correcting Concealer SPF 20 in Medium

Eyes: Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze

Mascara: L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara

Lips: Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Pink Truffle

Hair: Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum

Keeping it real with a nice magenta top and my favorite, yoga pants! Chic, yet comfortable to go run around doing errands. It was somewhat nice on Monday so I decided to be bright and springy to channel my excitement for the upcoming season.

Added a nice light pink/baby blue plaid scarf to warm up my outfit a little bit. It was super chilly out!