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Friday, March 1, 2013

From Drug Store to Designer

Thanks to my long time friend, Sabreena, a hair stylist, make-up artist and fashionista, I was introduced to Polish and Pout, a blog by a make-up artist named Jess (she's also on Pinterest and Instagram). Sabreena knows her personally, whereas I was just introduced to her websites.  Thank God for that, because Jess is amazing! She shares all her great makeup finds - some designer brands and some from your neighborhood drugstore! I love designer makeup (who doesn't???).  I can feel the difference of the higher quality ingredients - not to mention designer makeup tends to last longer on my face (generally that's the case with most people).  That being said, I also believe that some designer makeup is overpriced simply because it is name brand. Kind of like that stupid $50 white tee-shirt at Gap.

Because of Sabreena, I discovered a great concealer for my hideously dark under eye circles, which Sabreena rightfully refers to as "the Indian curse." True. Indian women, generally, have dark pigmentation under their eyes and it results into the most unsightly dark under eye circles.  It sucks. I love my skin otherwise, and I like to say that I have the confidence of a Queen, but dark under eye circles would be my number one insecurity.

Here is the amazing drug store concealer I found through Sabreena. It's by Maybelline:


Sabreena suggested you use the neutralizer first and then the concealer (the bottle for the concealer has the same look to it, but you would buy it in a more comparable color for your skin tone whereas the neutralizer comes in one shade suits all).  It is suggested that the neutralizer be applied first and that by doing so, it helps aid seriously dark under eye circles.  I used both the neutralizer and the concealer and love them! It truly has worked better than the dozen designer brand concealers I've tried. And I truly have tried many - from MAC, to Dior, to Shieseido and many, many more!

Through Polish and Pout, I discovered Loreal's Voluminous False Fiber mascara.  It works pretty well.  I do have to say that I will always be a fan of Dior's Diorshow mascara, which is a designer brand, although there are comparable drug store brands that I never thought could be possible.


Inspired by Polish and Pout, I also decided to give a drug store liquid liner a try. It wasn't the same one Polish & Pout recommended, but I was feeling a little daring after all her great drug store finds that I thought I would give Maybelline's Master Precise liquid liner a shot.  So far today, it has worn pretty well. 


Today after work, I'm going to purchase a lighter shade foundation because my friend Rukhsana, who is also a hair and makeup artist (and coincidentally did my hair and makeup for my wedding) told me that my foundation is too dark for me. While she was threading my eyebrows  she said that my chest area was about 1-2 shades lighter than my face. Eeek! Nobody wants that! So off to Macy's after work I go! While I liked Polish & Pout's recommendations for Dior foundation and Makeup Forever's HD foundation (I've already tried Makeup Forever's HD), I think I'll stick to Rukhsana's recommendation on a specific color at MAC (I've been using MAC's foundation for awhile now) but will go for a shade or two lighter per her recommendation.

Here I am, this morning, showing off my super long lashes coated with Loreal's False Fiber Mascara (ahem, yes my lashes are real)

The Maybelline liner I recently bought went on easily (I love the pen style liners) and you can see the effect of the False Fiber mascara again here. 

If you were like me, afraid to try much of any drug store makeup, rest assured there are great products out there... but beware that there are also some crappy ones too! It's all about trial and error! And what working momma on the go can't use some helpful recommendations to make her searches that much easier? I'm super thankful for friends who are professionals in the field and being able to network with their friends! 

Follow Polish and Pout for some great recommendations on both DESIGNER and DRUG STORE makeup finds!
I wish Sabreena would start a blog too, she'd be amazing to follow also!!!