My new go-tos and obsession with Bésame

So in my world wide search to find a lipstick that is so dark red it's almost black (with no purple undertones) I came across a brand in Portland called Bésame. And their whole product line has a vintage flair to it that of course I fell head over heels for. With them I found the color "Merlot" that is about as close as I have come to the holy grail. Until I'm able to try Melt Cosmetics 6six6, Merlot takes the lead.

...On a side note, I think I may venture into the creating of my own makeup line to satisfy these color urges and because I am so deeply impressed and inspired by brands like Portland Black Lipstick Company. I already have a name for it, but I'm going to keep that a surprise for now... 

Anyway, last weekend I made a quick trip to Southern California where I hung out with my twin, bleached my roots, and hunted down the Bésame shop in Burbank. I picked up the Crimson cheek and lip Rouge, as well as their foundation (which I think was way cheaper than 38 dollars at the shop...) and their limited edition Black Liquorice Lip that smells and tastes like black liquorice. Also pictured is the Violet Brightening face powder, and my Valentine's Day gift from my twin, the "You Suck" makeup bag! The Violet Brightening powder is a loose powder, that I'm slightly regretting purchasing as I realize I am absolutely rubbish when it comes to actively using anything I buy that is loose powder. Naturally though, when I purchased it in Portland, there wasn't a pressed version, and of course now there is..

So my basic go-to routine now includes mostly Bésame products and lighter brows. I finally found a brow product that I don't feel like eventually oxidizes and turns green. Now, that whole obnoxious green thing may have been all in my head, but here's a list of products that I thought made them a little green: dipbrow pomade in "blonde," wet n wild brow/liner pencil in "taupe," and unfortunately Make Up Forever's aqua brow. The product that I have been using, I bought from the Pinup Clothing Boutique, also in Burbank, and it is the color "Blondie" by Brett Freedman. They had an even lighter color called "Blondest" but I felt like it fell into the green brow category, which was unfortunate.

Now here's a lil' list of all the products I'm wearing in this last photo:

• Bésame "bisque" foundation. It has a delightful satin finish that you can set with powder if you are feeling the matte groove that has taken over.
• Bésame Crimson cheek and lip Rouge, on both my lips and my cheeks. Maybe it is because I work for Benefit where the Benetint cheek and lipstain revolutionized the world (obviously,) but I find it ever so flattering when ones cheeks happen to have the same flush as ones lips.
• Sephora brand liquid liner. Now this is a serious love affair that I have searched far and wide for, it ties with MAC's liquidlast liner for liquid liner's that have changed my life. It is by far the deepest black I have come across in liquid liner's, and, now this is important, it is the non waterproof version with the precision brush. Gets very precise and comes off easy. (pro-tip, precision brushes will be precise and non waterproof things will come off easy...)
• Brett Freedman's Vanity Mark Brow pencil in Blondie.
• Lash Curler I bought for two dollars at Daiso that is better than the Shiseido lash curler I bought (Shi is still a close second.)
• The Maybelline waterproof colossal lash mascara that really was a game changer for me.
• Classic BADgal lash by Benefit layered on top!

Seven products, not so bad! However that doesn't include all the moisturizers and sunblocks and eyecreams and whatnots that I certainly have on underneath it all. Benefit is coming out with a sunscreen that I am all too stoked on and so when that drops I will dedicate an entire post to my skin care routine.

Highlighters for Fair Skin

So, when I say I'm "fair," what I mean is I'm pale. Very pale. Having to mix white pigment into most foundations in order to make them work.

This post was inspired by an Instagram back and forth between one of the beautiful women I follow @cherryvixen89 and myself, where she posted a question asking about highlighters for the fairer flesh. And I proceeded to probably overwhelm her with my response, but hopefully it wasn't too overwhelming. 

I love highlighters. Since I've been employed with Benefit Cosmetics for almost three years now, this affinity has just grown. I came into this job with my favorite product, ever, being a pretty little highlighter called High Beam. So in honor  of Instagram and @cherryvixen89 and highlighter lovers everywhere, here is a post about my favorites!

On my arm(left side, with flash, right side without, and going left to right/top to bottom) I swarched Nars "Copacabana," Benefit Cosmetics "High Beam," also by Benefit (and a tie for my absolute favorite,) "Watts Up" (other tie for favorite,) Too Faced's "Candlelight Glow," one of my very first pieces of makeup ever, MAC mineralized skin finish in "Porcelain Pink," and last but not least, a forever favorite and now discontinued high-lighter, bronzer duo by Benefit "10." (Also pictured is Benefit's "One Hot Minute" loose powder bronzer)

Creamy liquid base:

Nars "Copacabana" is very similar in both texture and color to Benefit's "High Beam." Copacabana is a bit more of a liquid and High Beam a bit more of a gel with a slightly thicker texture. Both are great when you need a buffer to blend a cheek stain, my current favorite being Lollitint, into. Copacabana definitely dries more silver and High Beam more pink. 

Cream-to-powder:

Watts Up by Benefit. Cream to powder stick. A soft champagne color. Gorgeous on almost all skintones, so easy to use. Has a blendy sponge on one side if you don't feel like blending with your fingers, because that's crazy... 

Powder:

Generally, when I'm doing a full face of makeup on someone and I want to add a bit of highlight, I find powder to be the easiest to work with. You just sorta throw it on le face with a brush and you don't have to really worry about the application. Whereas with a more liquid base, you sorta have to press it on so as not to smudge off the face you just made. 

Anyway!

Two Faced, "candlelight glow" is radiant. It has a bit of a gold finish, one side is white and one side is pink, but it is nowhere near to a rosey blush. This was basically everything I was looking for. I wanted a damn powder highlighter that didn't have a bronzer attached. 

"Porcelain Pink" skinfinish by MAC was honestly one of the first makeup purchased I ever made, outside of lipsticks. I was led to this product, about ten years ago (yikes) by someone I ghost-followed on livejournal, who is still one of my favorite bloggers Keiko, who I still stalk, ten years later, on http://www.keikolynn.com if you aren't already following her, I suggest it. She's pretty famous now, but still sweet and humble. Anyway! I think the product she used was called "petticoat"(maybe?) and as I've always been more of a highlighter gal than a bronzey gal, I gravitated towards porcelain pink instead. Now, she is very very subtle, a very very soft pink that is a wonderful first piece of face makeup! It definitely has a warmer tone to it, in my professional opinion. 

And last but not least, Benefit Cosmetic's now discontinued "10." Powder soft silvery pink on one side, and a VERY VERY light bronzer on the other. To quote Benefit, "a highlighter and bronzer in one sexy swoop!" 

Next on my blog to do list is a post on bronzers and how to contour fairer skin without looking dirty! However I always just want to find a bronzer that is grey so that I may have Lilly Munster cheekbones! 

What's in my makeup bag!

Now, keep in mind this is excluding lipsticks.

First I would like to give thanks to my favorite makeup bag, the 'Gabby" bag by Benefit Cosmetics. It has pockets for brushes. Pockets. For brushes. And if you've ever had the pleasure of using brushes with your makeup you will understand how lovely this addition is. And if you don't use brushes, you should probably start.




So this is being told in the order in which I put my makeup on...



(After moisturizing..)







I start with my eyes. I have MAC's "painterly" paint pot as my base.

The shadows I keep with me are MAC's  "phloof!" "copperplate" and "naked lunch." Naked Lunch is easily one of my favorite shadow colors. It is a soft nude with some shimmer... so simple and so lovely. There really is no reasoning behind the other colors I have chosen to carry with me..




  I carry around three different types of eyeliner, all very necessary. Two are by MAC: their "liquid last" liner, which stays on like nothing I have ever seen before. And my general favorite; blacktrack fluidline gel liner. And last but certainly not least, Benefit's waterproof badgal pencil liner. I love this liner because it will stay in my upper waterline. Which is quite spectacular.

Then, time for zee lashes. So I have a small confession.. In addition to my lipstick addiction, I also am a ridiculous connoisseur of mascara's. What I'm using right this minute is Maybelline's "the colossal volum' express." But I always curl my lashes with my shiseido lashcurler. Definitely my favorite lash curler, even compared to the shumemora one.

So the issue with my lashes is they tend to stick straight out. So my goal is always to find a mascara that does not weigh them down, and right now this is hands down the winner.

I also carry around some very important GLITTER. Because I freakin love glitter. Urban Decay's heavy metal called "midnight cowboy," a lovely gold liner. And LORAC's "3D liquid lustre" which is pretty much liquid glitter you can put wherever. I tend to use it as an eyeshadow but it is in a cute little bottle with a little tincture and so very very versatile.

 Onto another obsession... Eyebrowz. So my general look is blonde hair, red lips, and dark brows. So I carry around three different products solely for my brows. First ! All time favorite: Benefit's "browzings" in deep. It is a wax and powder. The wax gives the brows their shape, and allows something for the powder to adhere to. Then you throw on the powder and you've got yourself some brows! Then I have MAC's brow pencil on "stud" that I use to get a really sharp line for under my brows, this I also sometimes use to draw on a fake mole (shhhh, secretsss.) And a newby to my collection: Makeup For Ever's "waterproof eyebrow corrector" Now this is an interesting one. This is a gel for the brows. And I am still trying to get the hang of it, because it can be purrrrfect, or completely tragic. For people who actually have brows this probably wouldn't be an issue.

Now for da face! Right now I've been using Givenchy's "photo'perfexion" as my foundation, which blends beautifully but gives medium coverage. My skin is still in a state of recovery, so when I'm out of this I think I will try out this oil free foundation by "LORAC" that my coworker uses. And by that I mean we only use Benefit products all the time and stuff. Then I throw some of MAC's "studio fix" powder on top. And if I'm feeling particularly tired or broken out, I use Stila's "perfecting concealer"

Cheeky time! One of my favorite times :) I'm currently packing NARS "super orgasm" as my blush. Always a beautiful color. And constantly I have (well mini versions) of the tie for my favorite Benefit product: "high beam" and "watts up" both fantastic highlighters. Because I like to look luminous rather than bronzey, as I am the palest person in the world.

Others: I have quite the collection of mini things from Benefit: all three cheek and lipstains: cha cha (coral,) posie(pinky) and the classic benetint(rosy.) I also have "sun beam" a beautiful bronzey highlighter that looks absolutely beautiful on everyone except for me and "stay don't stray," which is a fantastic shadow primer.







And once again, keep in mind this is excluding lipsticks. Because I carry like ten hundred with me at all times. And they are all completely necessary.