I've gone from drug-store only products to take all my money very quickly. My latest obsession is this Milk Makeup lipstick in the color Grrrl. A little context here...

There's a woman at work who wears this color a lot and every single time she does I always tell her I love her lipstick. One day I was at her desk complimenting her lipstick (again) and she said "omg you love this one in particular, you have to buy it!" Fast forward a week or two and Jess is in town. We go to the mall and stop at Sephora (of course.) I see the lipstick, which costs $22, and decided to treat myself and buy it. This is the most expensive lipstick I have ever bought.

Grrrl is described on the website as a dark plum. To me it's a greyish purple color, which is great because I love purple and grey! When I first used it I had a moment of "omg what if I hate this" and then remembered I can return things at Sephora. The minute I put it on I LOVED it. The color payoff is amazing. The swatch above is just one swipe of the lipstick without even applying much pressure. I'm usually wary of colors like this because on my skin tone they can look ashy, but this one is perfect!

It is $22, so it's not the cheapest lipstick in the world. I think for a vegan brand + great color payoff it's worth the price. I haven't tried any other colors or any other makeup from this line, but I definitely will because I'm so impressed with this lipstick. It's become my go-to for day-to-day and fancy events. Definitely check this one out!

Glossier Product Review - YAY!

A few weeks ago I wrote about taking the plunge and buying some Glossier products. As someone who's not that "into" makeup, this was a huge step for me. I ordered the skin tint, concealer and lipstick on Black Friday. It took a bit over a week to receive, which is too long imo. Maybe I'm being a little too harsh, but my bar is super high for brands that are online-only. When I did get the products in the mail I was ESTATIC. The box they arrived in is super cute and I already threw it away (yay decluttering,) so no pics of that. The products came with a pink plastic makeup carrier, some stickers and a giant Glossier poster. The poster I don't really understand - it's just some models with the Glossier logo printed on it. That's not exactly my style so I trashed that as well. The pink travel bag and stickers though? Oh hell yes.

So the 3 products I got were the skin tint, concealer and lipstick. The skin tint and concealer I got in the shade "dark" and the lipstick in the darkest shade they have, which is Jam. I was really concerned about the shade of the skin products because it's online-only and I couldn't see the true color. I based my selection off of the models on the website. The shade selection is very limited, but thankfully I chose the right color for my skin tone.

The products…



Skin Tint
I was surprised to see that the shade "dark" was actually not dark at all, but because the skin tint is so light it didn't really change the color of my skin. What I love about the skin tint is that it evens out my skin tone and is sheer coverage. It doesn't feel like anything is sitting on my skin when I use it. The consistency is a bit watery and I think that's what makes it so light.

Concealer
The concealer was a little tricky for me at first. One of the big selling points of this concealer is that is moves w/ your skin and doesn't settle into fine lines. I didn't exactly have that experience. I used this concealer under my eyes a few times and it settled into every fine line I have and bunched up. I found that using the concealer on my face (cheeks, chin, etc.) was perfect, but it's not that great for under my eyes. Oh and I also learned I have many fine lines under my eyes…so yay…

Lipstick
The lipstick I absolutely love. Before ordering I was afraid it would be a total gimmick. I mean, a lipstick that's actually a balm and can build up to a fully opaque? It sounded too good to be true. BUT IT'S TRUE. One swipe and my lips have life in them without looking like I'm wearing anything. A few more swipes and I've got a whole other look. This is by far my favorite product.

Application…

It took me a few tries to figure out what sort of application was the best with the skin products. When I first tried the skin tint I used way too much and it ended up looking streaky, so I started using less (10-12 drops.) I would only apply with my fingers, which was OK but I still felt like the wear could be better. Finally I used my RT sponge and voila! Using the sponge gave me a flawless look. I didn't use the sponge from the start because the product is so light. In the end it turns out that was my best option. The concealer is also pretty light and I only use it on dark spots. For under my eyes I still love the NYX concealer, so I continue to use that.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with these products. The skin tint makes my skin look better and more alive without heavy coverage and the lipstick give me excellent color payoff. The concealer is good for spots on my face, but I think there are much better concealers in the market and will probably skip repurchasing this one. Right now my current makeup look includes all of the Glossier products + NYX concealer + Makeup Forever mascara.

As always thank you so much for reading and don't forget to subscribe to get new posts right in your inbox!

-Saudia

#30DaysofDecluttering Day 1

For the month of December we will be participating in the #30DaysofDecluttering Challenge. This challenge is inspired by Jenn Rogers, a Youtuber who is currently living in Korea and completed this challenge via Instagram. We both have decluttered a lot of clothes and books but it’s time to tackle other items. Our goal is to get rid of at least one item a day either from home or work and we’ll try our best to keep track of everything.

Here are the first items we are decluttering…

Saudia’s Day 1 Declutter - 2 ruffled blouses

There was a time when I was really into ruffled blouses. I don’t remember when exactly I got these or from where, but it’s safe to assume that it was many years ago and probably from Sears or Macys. These are 2 things I definitely haven’t worn in over a year and I’m not even sure they still fit. Definitely time to go.

Jess’ Day 1 Declutter - Patterned Trench coat from Vertigo

I actually still remember when I purchased this product. It was at a trunk sale and I didn’t even know how expensive Vertigo items were but I got this coat for a bargain. I’ve had it since early 2007 so it’s been almost 10 years and I haven’t used it in the last 3 years. I’ve had it dry cleaned but for some reason the cuffs are just looking really grubby and not in good condition anymore. I also found that it falls a little shorter than where I like my trench coat to fall so it’s time for me to say goodbye. 

We will post daily updates of what we are decluttering on our Instagram @booksbeautyconfidential. We will be doing a midway check post on Day 15 and a final wrap up post on Day 30. We hope that you’ll take on the challenge with us and use #30DaysofDecluttering!

-Saudia and Jess

Glossier: OMG I FINALLY DID IT

Well I did it. I finally bought makeup that was not from the drugstore and not only that, but I bought a brand with a cult-like following. That’s right folks, I got some Glossier goodies. 

After the discount plus tax my total came up to $53.08

My makeup and skin care routine has always been bare bones. Because frugality runs in my blood (thanks, mom!) I could never bring myself to pay more than $10 for any given product. Hell, I get my Cetaphil moisturizer from Costco! One brand that I’ve found pretty interesting is Glossier. It’s founded by Emily Weiss... I hear she was on The Hills or something. Anyways, Emily was on The Hills, started a fashion/beauty blog then created this line of makeup and skin care. I’ve great things about the Glossier line from people I know and in my quest to make my routine a little more mature, I decided to take advantage of their Cyber Monday sale.

On Cyber Monday all Glossier products were 20% off and they also offered free shipping. I ended up getting a lipstick, skin tint and concealer. Let me tell you, shopping for me is a PROCESS whether it’s in-store or online. So as I’m adding items to my cart I’m thinking “do I really want to spend $50 on this stuff?” Then I remembered that the foundation I’ve been putting off buying is $50… I was definitely getting anxious as I entered my CC info, but once I placed that order I was ELATED. OMG I DID IT I BOUGHT MAKEUP FROM SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN WALMART.

Of course after all of this I started questioning whether or not I got the right shade. I ordered the shade “dark” for the skin tint and concealer. The matching thing on the website matched me as medium, but the model using dark seemed to be closer to my skin tone. Anyways, I’m not too worried about that because this stuff is supposed to melt into your skin. We’ll see how that goes.

Stay tuned for the big reveal when my products get here - it’ll be my first beauty haul! (A haul can be just 3 products, right? heh) Thanks for reading and don’t forget to subscribe and follow up on social media!

-Saudia

Beauty Wish List

With the roughly million+ beauty lists on the internet dedicated to “products that work” or “products worth your money,” it’s pretty easy to want to just walk into Sephora and buy the entire store. That combined with prime holiday shopping season made it seem like a good time to share some of the beauty products that have made it onto our holiday wish list!

Jess’ Beauty Wish List

Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint

Oh Glossier… this cult beauty product have been in both of our wish list for a few months now maybe it’s about time for us to give this a try.  I’m still not sure what shade I should get (medium? dark?) so if anyone has tried it and has a suggestion let me know.

Dr. Gowoonsesang Brightening Peeling Gel

Thanks buzzfeed readers for making it out of stock and raising the price. This has been in my list for awhile. Even though I have a combination oily skin I do have some stubborn dry patches and hyperpigmentation. I also have sensitive skin which makes this product ideal.

Clarisonic Mia 2
I’ve been putting off getting the clarisonic but I think it’s about time. I’m not getting any younger and even though I love my Muji and Origins and manual facial brushes I’m ready for an upgrade.


Skinfood Black Sugar Mask In addition to this list I have another long list of Korean Beauty Favorites that I want to get but I am trying to pace myself. I remember buying this when I was abroad a long time ago and before amazon or sites like Jolse it’s difficult to buy any asian beauty brands and even then it was significantly more expensive.

Shiseido Eyelash Curler

Again this is another product that I very much need but have put off. I’ve realized that finding a good eyelash curler is like finding a good pair of jeans. I’ve done a lot of research and I think this might be the best fit for my eyes.

Saudia’s Beauty Wish List

Glossier Matte Lipstick

Lip products are hands down my favorite thing to use. I learned about Glossier recently and their matte lipstick is marketed as something that can offer either a tint or full color. They also say you don’t have to use lip liner with it, which makes me want it even more. At $18 it’s a little expensive for me, but hey that’s why this is a wish list.

Dr. Gowoonsesang Brightening Peeling Gel

I learned about this gel from Buzzfeed (sorry, Jess.) I have a bit of an addictive relationship to face scrubs, so you can say I love a good exfoliation. This obsession  leads me to over exfoliate, which isn’t good. So when I learned about this Dr. G peeling gel I was immediately interested because it seems like a gentler way to take care of my habit.

Lancôme Teint Idole Foundation

I’ve already written about this foundation in a previous post, so I won’t go into much detail. Foundation is one of things I really like to use, but it’s so hard to find a good one. I got a sample of this at Sephora a few months ago and absolutely love it.

That’s it for our beauty wish lists. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates and may you also be able to afford your favorite beauty products!

-Jess & Saudia

Foundation Find: Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra 24H Long Wear Foundation

Hi. Welcome back. Happy to have you here. As you saw in my last post, I just got off of a 3 month makeup-free streak. Well summer is over and the weather is cooler, which means I can tolerate foundation on my face again!

A while back Jess and I did a post on our everyday makeup and at the time I was using a drugstore foundation - Neutrogena Skin Clearing Liquid Makeup Tan 120. When I was using this foundation my skin was really oily and I thought “oh crap, I have REALLY oily skin!” When I stopped wearing makeup I learned that my skin is actually pretty normal, if not a little dry, and that the foundation was causing me to produce more oil. So when I decided to wear makeup again in the fall I also decided it was time to find a better foundation.

I’ve always been against spending a boatload of money on makeup products. I never believed that expensive products were actually better than drugstore. But after my oily skin/not oily skin fiasco I decided to actually do some research and see if there was a difference in a more expensive product. I follow a couple beauty vloggers on YouTube with darker skin tones and started watching their videos religious. One of my favorites is Jackie Aina and in a couple of videos she had really positive things to say about Lancôme foundation for darker skin tones. After seeing her positive reviews on Lancôme I decided I wanted to give it a try.

When Jess visited me a few weeks ago we went to Sephora* and I got a sample of  Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra 24H Long Wear Foundation in the color 430 Bisque C. So a few things: this was my first time getting color matched at Sephora and I was matched as a cool tone. I always believed that brown skinned girls were just naturally warm toned, so I was skeptical. The foundation looked like a perfect match in the store, but with all the lighting I decided it was best to try this out during a normal day. I got a sample and decided I would try this out during a workday.

Fast forward 2 weeks (because I’m lazy) and I’ve tried this foundation on 2 days at work and am in LOVE.

Pros:

• It takes very little foundation to get full coverage. At first I used the amount I usually use with the drugstore foundation and it was way too much. I thought my sample would only last 2 uses and it could easily last a week.
• Long wearing. They’re not kidding with that claim. This foundation lasts all day and doesn’t budge. The other night I wore it to a dinner and it had been raining all day. I had to stand in the rain and catch a cab and was shocked to see the foundation did not smear at all.
• No oily mess. I wore this foundation from 8am-12am on Friday with a little bit of powder and did not blot once. When I got home I was a little oily, but not enough to look crazy. My drugstore foundation would have me oily after just an hour of wear and I would have to take constant bathroom breaks at work to blot.
• It matches my skin tone perfectly. Lancôme actually has a wide variety of shades to choose from, which is perfect for humans because we’re all so diverse.

Cons:

• It’s expensive. $47 for 1oz of foundation. My heart hurts.
• That’s the only con. I can’t think of anymore.

The next step is to now purchase the foundation. I still have a few days of product left, so I’m in no rush, but I still need to buy it. Before I would dread putting on foundation because I knew it meant a day of blotting and then deep scrubs to make sure it was all gone. Now I’m kind of looking forward to it because this foundation is light, easy to take off at night, and looks great!

-Saudia

*Getting color matched and a sample from Sephora was intimidating, but Jess was with me and helped a lot. Look out for her post on finding a foundation match!

What I've learned going 3 months makeup-free

Dark circle corrector, foundation, concealer. That was my winter and spring routine, then summer happened. It was just too hot to have any makeup on no matter how many products people recommended that were light enough for the heat. After visiting Jess for a few days at the start of summer and not wearing makeup that entire weekend, I decided to go makeup-free. What I didn’t expect was that I would enjoy it so much and end up not wearing makeup for the entire summer. Here’s what I learned during those 3 months:

It took a surprisingly short time to get over the self-consciousness. I was nervous to go to work with no makeup on. I hadn’t done that in YEARS. For some reason I thought that all of a sudden people just wouldn’t notice me standing in a room or something. Looking back that was absolute nonsense. After a week or so I just forgot that I wasn’t wearing makeup and just went on with my life normally.

Makeup is expensive af, even if you only use drugstore. So I’ve always just bought drugstore makeup because it’s inexpensive. The thing is, drugstore makeup doesn’t last long so you have to repurchase it frequently. All those dollars add up. My saved dollars went to lots of coffee breaks at work.

Nobody gives a shit about what’s on your face. Seriously, they don’t. And if they do they’re nice enough not to tell you.

You don’t realize exactly how exciting eyeliner can be until you have a blank canvas. There were some days when I would look in the mirror and be so bored looking at my reflection. I was intent on not putting on any foundation or concealer, so I would shake things up with some eyeliner or lipstick on some days. Those days were SO EXCITING for me. It felt like a treat to wear eyeliner and lipstick and because I had no other makeup on those products really stood out.

Skin care can make or break this experience. When I decided to go makeup-free, I also decided to improve my skincare game. Afterall, my skin would be on display in its original glory. I made sure to wash my face everyday, exfoliate a few times a week and stay moisturized. I also tried to drink more water and eat a bit cleaner. And by a bit I mean at least one vegetable a day. That vegetable might have been potatoes on most days. The point is, if i didn’t focus more on skincare I don’t think I would have felt as comfortable without makeup as I did.

After 3 months of no makeup I’m ready to get back into the game. I won’t wear makeup everyday because I’m lazy and don’t have to, but I’d like to change it up every now and again. Stay tuned for a follow up post on my current favorite foundation and how I found it!

-Saudia