BEAUTY FAVORITES SEPTEMBER 2022

 

Today I thought I’d post about my beauty favorites for the month of September 2022. These were the items that I used the most this month to create my going-to-work face.

Sunscreen has to go on first so it has time to dry down! My tried-and-true favorite is Paula's Choice Super-Light sunscreen. It is a lightly tinted mineral sunscreen that is just the bee’s knees in my book. It dries down quickly and never looks or feels greasy, just as its name suggests. The tint is not meant to offer coverage, just reduce the white look that all-mineral sunscreens can impart. I have gone through several tubes of this sunscreen because it’s one of the few that is not greasy. The drawbacks are that it is only SPF 30 and is not water resistant. I would definitely use a water resistant sunscreen with a higher SPF for outdoor activities, but the Super-Light is so nice for days when I know I’m going to have minimal sun exposure, just running briefly from car to building and back. Unfortunately, they have raised the price by $9 total over the few years that I have been using it!

Paula's Choice Super-Light sunscreen

I haven’t used a face primer very often this month. The Super-Light sunscreen does enough priming/moisturizing most of the time. If my skin is looking dry or I want my foundation to last a little longer, I’ll apply a small amount of the Elf Power Grip to help smooth things out.

Since I always start with my eye look, first up is Urban Decay Primer Potion in the shade “Eden.” It is very similar to my favorite eye primer of all time, MAC Paint Pot in Painterly, but a more liquid formula and slightly more yellow in tone. Primer Potion is also available in a universal clear “original” shade and a shimmery taupe called “Sin.” I have tried the “Sin” version and do not find it conceals discoloration as well as “Eden.”

For eyeshadow, most often lately I’ve been combining two mini palettes, the Natasha Denona Mini Biba palette and the Athr Beauty Rose Quartz quad. When I have more time, I’ll use all except the shimmery shade from the Mini Biba and top it off with the bottom left shade from Rose Quartz. When I’m short on time (which is most of the time!), I’ll use one of the lighter two mattes from the Mini Biba all over the lid and top it with the bottom left shade called “Rose Quartz,” which is described as a rose metallic. For eyeliner, I’ll either place a darker matte shadow from Mini Biba along the upper lash line for a bit of definition or use one of my ColourPop or Tarte eyeliners.

Mini Biba (left) and Rose Quartz (right)

Moving on to the face, I apply my Bobbi Brown Skin Corrector Stick in "light bisque" to any discolored areas. I have a lot of discoloration on the left side of my face, and this color corrector really helps cover it. It comes in stick form and is just the right level of creaminess to spread easily but not be so balmy and that it just rubs off. 

Bobbi Brown corrector in "light bisque"

If I’m in the mood for a little extra highlighter, I’ll apply the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter mini size in the shade "Fair 2'" under my eyes and on my cheeks, then blend. This product gives a soft glow and makes my skin look a little more moisturized! I would highly recommend buying the mini if you can because you really don’t need to use very much at a time. I’d worry that a full-size bottle would go bad before I could use it all! At the time of this writing, most of the shades in the mini size are sold out! Hopefully they will restock soon.

Next step for the face has been to apply my Nars Soft Matte Complete foundation in the color “Mont Blanc.” I squeeze a small amount of the product and dot it around my face, giving it a kind of quick pre-blend, then finish blending it in with a dense foundation brush. This product gives me medium coverage and blends well over any textured areas on my face. It lasts well all day, though it is not transfer-proof when, for instance, wearing a face mask. It lends a matte finish that is not dry looking. 

After all this, I always dot on a little of the Doll 10 TCE concealer in Fair to cover any remaining discoloration. Like the Nars foundation, the Doll 10 concealer blends in well over any textured areas and does not look dry or cakey unless I apply too much. You can see how well-loved that TCE concealer is just by looking at the messy tube!

Hollywood Flawless Filter, Nars foundation, and TCE concealer

All that’s left now is to apply mascara and eyebrows! I’m still using my Elf Wow Brow and MAC Shape + Shade Brow Tint (both in taupe) that I mentioned last month, but I’ve found a new and better way to apply them. The trick is to apply the Wow Brow first and then the pen. I’ve realized that applying the Wow Brow gel after the pen simply causes the pen marks to get wiped away, so reversing the order avoids that and makes my eyebrows look thicker! 

Elf Wow Brow (top), MAC Shape + Shade (bottom)

Thank you for reading and see you next week!