My Make-Up So Far...

Just took a picture of my make-up. I didn't start wearing make-up until earlier this year (March). Before that, make-up was pretty much non-existent to me because my skin was just too oily. I was always afraid that if I put it on, the oils would seep right through and cause a disaster! But as soon as I discovered the powers of M.O.M (Milk of Magnesia), everything seemed to change overnight! Read my blog about my experience with M.O.M. Anyways, this is not much make-up but it's a start! I don't feel the need to have more than 1 or 2 eyeshadow palettes unless you're a make-up artist with clients. I mean the palette I have has 88 colors! There's a lot to choose from....but I guess since I'm a beginner I'll learn why women buy so many palettes...who knows? I might be one of them :/ When I wear make-up, my looks are pretty simple and neutral. I am also on a budget so hopefully I don't go overboard and buy things I don't need.

Milk of Magnesia...The Cure To Oily Skin!

My Oily Skin History:
Since puberty around age 11 till now (22), I've always suffered with oily skin. My skin is not a normal oily. Sometimes, people tend to ask me if I'm sweating..can you imagine how oily that can be? I never thought twice about wearing make-up because I knew that the oils would seep right through the products making me look like a oil painting...ugh!

My Make-Up History:
I actually started wearing make-up last year around my 22nd birthday. And when I say I wore make-up, I mean only eyeshadow, eyeliner, and mascara for going out with my friends or special occasions. My eyelids get oily too but the primer I use controls it. Overtime, a oily face with eyeshadow just wasn't quite working out for me. Thank goodness I have nice skin (I've been told by MUA's at Sephora and Bobbi Brown), with no problem areas or blemishes, so make-up isn't always needed daily.

My Frustration:
I started getting tired of how much a oily mess I would look at the end of the day. My skin actually looks darker when it's oily. But when I wash my face, I return back to my normal color. When I'm at work, I have to visit the bathroom and blot my face every 2 hours. Sometimes when I'm done blotting my face with a brown paper towel, it would resemble a brown paper bag that contained a greasy cheeseburger...ugh. The only thing I like about oily skin is that it slows down the aging process, that's about it.

My Discovery and Purchase:
It wasn't until March, a few months ago, I finally put my foot down to find a solution for people like me to wear make-up like everybody else. I did my research and found that Milk of Magnesia was highly acclaimed to control oil. At first, I didn't know what Milk of Magnesia was. But I quickly learned it is used as a laxative...interesting. I bought a generic bottle of the M.O.M at my job for $1.69. Its the Shoprite brand, which claims to be comparable to the Phillips brand. The Phillips brand cost $5...what if it didn't work? I would feel better spending $2 on something for it to not work than spend $5. Yea, I know...I'm cheap lol.


The Application:
Start out with a clean washed face. I shook up the bottle and poured a couple drops in the bottle cap. I took a cotton round and dipped it in the laxative. I applied a thin layer on my whole face. If you apply too much, it WILL make your make-up look cakey. For a natural look, apply a thin layer. After the application you will look a little pale, that's normal. After that process is over, just apply you're make-up as normal. For the first time in my life, I wore liquid foundation with no problem! I set the foundation with a pressed powder, and finished off by applying eyeliner, mascara, lip gloss, and filling in my eyebrows.

The Verdict:
I will tell the truth, and the WHOLE truth..After about 8 or 9 hours of wearing this stuff, my make-up still looked like I just applied it! No oils seeped through at all! This product leaves me matte! I find that my nose gets really oily, so I need to apply a little more M.O.M to it. I also found myself powdering my nose because it was getting shiny from time to time. But shine is better than oil! This product is amazing! I cant believe a laxative can control my oil with ease the way it does..oh-em-gee! The only problem I have with it is that it's hard to wash off and leaves a gummy residue to my face. But no worries, by the morning time after I wash my face again, there's no residue left. I give this product 4.9 stars! I deducted a point for the gummy residue. Amazing product and great price! Any readers out there with oily skin, please give this a try. You don't know what you're missing!

Make-Up Haul

I'm beginning to get into make-up! I was never huge on make-up before because of my overly oily skin and the fear of looking like a oil painting by the end of the day. But my discovery of using Milk of Magnesia took that all away! I'm in love with make-up now that I found Milk of Magnesia to prime and mattify my face so that my make-up actually stays on for hours! I will probably do a separate review for that. But anyhow, I've been picking up quite a few things here and there these past couple of weeks to add to my little make-up stash. This post is just on the items I've purchased so far in April, and late March. They're a combination of mostly drugstore and a few high end make-up products.

From left to right
Elf Contouring Blush and Bronzing Powder- $3.00
Duo Adhesive- $6.49
NYX Lip pencils- $2.99 each
Maybelline Falsies Mascara- $5.04
MAC PeachyKeen blush- $19.50
Maybelline Colorsensational Coral Crush lipstick-$4.99
Rimmel Eyeliner- $3.14
Elf Gel liner- $3.00
MAC Saint Germain lipstick- $14.50
Elf angled eyeliner brush- $3.00
Revlon Coral Reef lipgloss- $9.49

Total (without Tax) = $78.13

Wow...Make-up is expensive and I didn't even buy a lot! I had no idea I spent that much lol..and most of them are drugstore products!

Out of all of them, my top 3 are definitely MAC's PeachyKeen blush, Maybelline's Falsies Mascara, and Revlon Coral Reef lipgloss. I feel that Peachykeen and the Coral Reef lipgloss go perfectly together...especially for Spring and Summer! I know I'll be rocking them together as a everyday look probably.

For those of you who missed out on Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday lipstick...definitely go pick up some of MAC's Saint Germain! It is the exact same color as her lipstick..just a different name (in my opinion). And its more pigmented too...Nicki's lipstick was more sheer. This is the only item I got from the Quite Cute collection...only to find out that it was part of MAC's permanent line ugh..But anyways, I love it!

I finally got it..(Coastal Scents 88 Pallette)

After watching what seems to be hundreds of Youtube make-up videos, almost all the Guru's I'm subscribed to on Youtube have had tutorials with the Coastal Scents 88 palette. I'm a newbie to make-up this year. I kept my focus on hair 100% in the past and never even gave make-up a chance. Now that my hair is getting better and is on the right track, I want to move on to the next big thing, and for me that's make-up! I want to perfect my make-up skills, but I needed something very affordable to help me practice my skills. After years and months of saying that I'm gonna order the Coastal Scents palette, (I'm a BIG procrastinator), I finally made a decision to get it. I ordered it from Amazon (it's cheaper than ordering on the Coastal Scents site). And Amazon is really good at delivering things in a quick and timely manner. I ordered on Tuesday, and got it on Friday. I found the box sitting in front of my door after school, (I hate UPS for just dropping things in front of your door! They could at least make you sign something to make sure you get it! Ugh!). Anyways, the palette came to my house safe and sound. No broken shadows, nice and neatly wrapped in bubble wrap. I got the original matte palette to practice with different colors and see what fits me. It cost $18.00, but with shipping and tax I paid only $23.93. My birthday is coming up in 2 weeks so I hope i can come up with a nice look to wear when I go out. I was expecting the case to be much bigger, but it's kind of small which is good because it'll be easy to store in my small room. And the shadow size really is dime sized. But there are so much colors in there, you'll probably never be finished! I tried to do a look last night, but got overwhelmed with all the colors. The colors are super pigmented, but seem like they'll come out better with a base underneath. I am in no way a Make-up Expert, but I do believe the colors can be compared to MAC. If you're new to make-up and want to experiment with eye shadows, then Coastal Scents is the #1 palette to try out. It's very affordable with super pigmented colors!