February 2014 – The Hustlin’ Homemaker

My Favorite Makeup Brushes

Hi there! Today I am going to tell you about my favorite makeup brushes. I think having the right brushes that work for you can really make a difference in your makeup! It’s nice to have good quality brushes that won’t fall apart and are soft on your skin.

FACE BRUSHES:

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush – This brush is my favorite to use for liquid foundation. It doesn’t soak up too much product, and it helps to blend your foundation in quickly without any streaks.

Crown Brush Powder Brush – This is a big, soft, fluffy brush that I love for applying powder. It doesn’t shed, and it’s pink!

Sigma Small Contour Brush F05 – This is a great brush to use for contouring, it is small, yet just fluffy enough to get your bronzer into the hollows of your cheekbones, down your nose, etc. This brush blends out the powder very easily too. I also use this brush with cream or liquid bronzers, and it works great for that as well.

Crown Brush Blush Brush – This is an angled blush brush that is very soft and can be used for the tops of your cheekbones. You can also use this brush for bronzer, but I like using it for blush because of the angled design.

EYE BRUSHES:

Real Techniques Brow Brush – This brush is just perfect for applying a brow powder or you can even use it for eyeliner. I like it for applying eyeshadow underneath my bottom lashline.

Sigma Blending E25 Brush – I love to use this brush for placing eyeshadow all over the lid. It is very soft, but dense, so you can get a lot of color on and blend it around quickly.

Sigma Tapered Blending E40 Brush – Everyone needs a big fluffy brush to blend out their eyeshadow, and this one is my favorite. Just use this brush in “windshield wiper motions” after you’ve applied your shadow, and you will have perfectly blended color.

Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush – I like this brush for blending color into the crease, but I really like it for blending my highlight color below the browbone. It’s dense and has short bristles, so it’s easy to use.

Real Techniques
Setting Brush – I always set my undereye concealer, no matter what kind I wear. I find that it makes it last much longer and this brush is perfect for applying powder lightly under there.

So, those are my favorite brushes! I hope I helped you if you are looking for a new brush.

Do you use any of these? What’s your favorite brush?

Thanks for reading!

xoxo, Amy

Future Beauty Blogger!

Hey guys! I just had to share this cute photo with you. I walked into my bedroom and saw that my 2-year old had lined up some lip glosses and was using her Disney Princess pretend camera to take a photo. When I asked her what she was doing, she said, “I’m just bloggin’ Mama! This doesn’t look cute, I need to organize these.”
It was seriously the funniest thing ever! I didn’t even think she ever noticed me always taking pictures of products. Maybe she will have a beauty blog of her own one day!

Hope y’all are having a good day!

xoxo, Amy

Mani Monday – Pastel Spring Nails!

Hello everyone! It’s time for a fresh mani to start off the week! Today’s polish is the color I received in my IPSY bag. This color is Zoya Dot. This is a gorgeous, pastel, baby pink color. There is no shimmer to this color.

I used two coats of this polish. Zoya has a great formula that is not streaky. It is also a 3-free and no cruelty polish brand. This color is part of their new Spring ’14 collection and you can find this brand at Ulta for around $8.

My husband JJ told me he liked my nails and said they looked “pretty and neutral!” Haha…he reads my blog 🙂

What’s on your nails?

The Lipstick TAG

Hi guys! Hope y’all are having a great week. Today I am going to be doing the Lipstick TAG, which I have seen floating around here on the beauty blogger community. Here are the questions!

1. How many lipsticks do you own?
I own probably around 30-40 lipsticks.
2. What was the first lipstick you owned?
The first lipstick that I ever owned was a Covergirl Lipslicks, I believe you can still find these, and my color was a rose-y, mauve. I repurchased this color many times in the mid-nineties!

3. What is your favorite lipstick brand?
That would have to be MAC. The Lustre finishes in particular. I love the smell, the staying power, and the HUGE color selection.
4. What is your most worn lipstick?
My most worn lipstick would be Lovelorn by MAC. It’s the perfect, everyday pink. It is a Lustre finish, so I don’t even need a gloss on top.

5. What is your favorite finish of lipstick?
Any finish that looks glossy, I’m not really a fan of matte lipsticks.
6. What was the last lipstick you bought?
I believe the last one I bought was Maybelline’s Color Whisper in Made It Mauve, a perfect “my lips but better” color.
7. How many lip products do you currently have in your bag?. I have 7:
-Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey
-Maybelline Color Whisper in Lust For Blush
-Chanel Glossimer in Eden
-Maybelline Baby Lips Dr. Rescue in Berry Soft
-Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment in Rose
-Burt’s Bees Original Chapstick
-Dior Addict Lip Glow in Pink

8. What is your favorite red lip color?
MAC lipstick in Ladybug, it’s one of the only reds that looks good with my skintone, and it’s a Lustre, so it’s pretty sheer and glossy.
9. How do you store your lipsticks?
I store them in a divided lipstick tray, and then I store all the rest of my lip products in this 3-drawer acrylic chest.

10. Which lipsticks are you currently lusting after?
The YSL Rouge Volupte Shine lipstick in Corail Intuitive needs to be mine. Also, the NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Rikugien.

I TAG everyone reading to do this fun post!

Thanks for reading my blog, have a good weekend!

xoxo, Amy

Ipsy Glambag February 2014

Hey there! Hope everyone is having a great week. Today I am going to share with you what I got in my February Ipsy Glambag. For those of you who don’t know, Ipsy is a beauty sample subscription box where you pay $10 a month (you can cancel anytime) and they send you a grab bag full of goodies based on your profile every month. Most of the time they send full size products! The value of what is in the box is always over $10, and it’s a great way to try out new products!

This month’s theme is “The Look of Love”, and it came with 5 products in a pink bag, with a pink and red leopard printed interior. Really cute and festive for Valentine’s Day!

Zoya Nail Polish in Dot – FULL SIZE! Value $9
City Color Be Matte Blush in Fresh Melon – FULL SIZE! Value $2.99

A Zoya nail polish!!! YES. I love getting nail polish in my bags and I LOVE this color. It is a pretty, soft pink cream color that is the perfect pastel pink for upcoming spring and summer. I don’t have any light pinks in my collection that look like this one, either. Really excited to see this in the bag. Also, really excited to see this blush. I’ve never tried anything from this brand, but it looks like a really pretty pink color! Plus, it is huge! Can’t wait to try it.

Eyetini Eye Cordial Shadow + Base in Ambrosia – FULL SIZE! Value $18
IPKN NY Moist & Firm BB Cream in Light – Value $1.03
POP Beauty Plump Pout Mini in Peony Petal – Value $7.47
I can’t wait to try this cream shadow! It is a really nice bronze-y color, and the packaging is like lip gloss; it has a doe foot applicator that you put on your eyelid and then blend it out. Ok, so not so excited about the next thing. IPSY. If you are reading this, you need to know that not everyone wears the same shade of face makeup! This sample is too dark for me, so I will probably give this to a friend or toss it. It is a teeny sample and I just don’t have use for it. The next thing is this lip color from POP Beauty. This color is a gorgeous berry shade that is actually a lip stain and plumper! I have already tried this out (10 seconds after ripping into my bag) and it is so moisturizing and creamy, and so pretty!

So, I haven’t tried all of these products yet, but I feel confident enough to say that this is the BEST Ipsy bag I have gotten so far! Ipsy really did me proud this month, and I will use everything except that sample, which is not a big deal to me anyway. I LOVED this bag!

I paid $10 for this bag, and I received $38.49 worth of products! Way to go Ipsy!

If you would like an in depth demo or review on any of these products, please let me know!

What did you get in your Ipsy bag?

Thanks for reading!

xoxo, Amy