What's in my makeup bag? (as of July 16, 2013)

I have a decent collection of make up. I don't have as much as some people, but I have options. Because of this, I keep my makeup stored in a plastic container set I got from Target (actually, it's two connected), and then I sort out what I want to use for the next couple of weeks. The reason for this is twofold (shout out to those that got this Friends reference!): 1) It forces me to "shop my stash", and 2) allows me to try out my stuff in new and fun ways.

(I'm not going to walk through this whole process every time I do an update, but this time I will!)

I start by completely emptying out my bag, and putting all my make up back in my container. That way, I can see everything I have before I decide what I want to use.



(My empty bag- purchased from Avon ages ago and it has seen some things! And yes, I do this on my bed!)

I then look at my makeup and say "self, I think you have too much/not enough makeup."



(I have eight magazines to read and a book to finish! I just got all of those magazines this week! Too much to read, not enough time to do it.)

As you can see, the plastic containers can either be completely empty or have that pink container. I believe the one I got at Target is a set of three, and two of the containers have the pink containers inside. I only use three with my makeup, the other is in my bathroom drawer holding ponytail holders and bobby pins.

Here's a closer look at what each container holds -




The top container contains "extras" and samples, or stuff I don't use often. The bottom container is all Face Stuff- BB Creams, Powders, Primers, and Foundations.



The upper left container is eye shadow palettes, the upper right container is single eye shadows and a couple smaller palettes, and the bottom container holds all my brushes and implements, and a mirror that has a regular mirror and a magnifying mirror.



And the last container has blushes and bronzers in the top portion, and eyeliners and mascaras in the bottom portion. 

I almost always start picking out my makeup by looking through my single eye shadows and my eye shadow palettes- Eye makeup is the thing that takes me the longest in the morning and I like to play around.



I decided to use some lower end palettes this time! I chose my NYX For Your Eyes Only Beautiful Green Eyes Only palette, my Wet n' Wild Color Icon Palette in Lust, my Cover Girl palette in Country Woods, and my Cover Girl palette in Tropical Fusion.
I tried to go for a little bit more color, and that Orange in the Tropical Fusion palette was specifically calling to me this time.



For a single, I chose Clinque's Colour Surge eye shadow in iced mauve. I received this as a Christmas gift from a really awesome ex-coworker! I really want to try to play around with this more, I have barely used it, but I think the color is absolutely gorgeous.



I recently started filling in my brows. I know. I use the NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder in Blonde. And I fill them in with my Mary Kay brush.

Next I pick my face products.



I bought this Olay BB Cream in Fair to Light about twoish months ago, and I am still not sure how I feel about it. So I decided it's time to really commit to using it. In the bag it goes! I also put in my L'Oreal BB Cream in Fair. My friend Jeanette told me about this a few months back, and I am obsessed! The only way it would be better is if it had SPF. But alas, it does not. I put this in there just in case the Olay is still not working great.
For powder, I am going to use the elf Translucent Matifying Powder. And for a blush option, I chose the elf Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder in Blushed/Bronze. Fun Fact: This is suppose to be a dupe to the Nars duo with Orgasm. I don't actually have Nars in Orgasm, but I have heard this from several people. I also don't use that bronzer for bronzer, it is far too shimmery. But I will mix it with the blush for a crease color if I'm having to do my makeup in a hurry!




I also chose two other blush/bronzer options. I chose Wet n' Wild Mega Glo in Catwalk Pink and Avon Smooth Minerals in Rose Radiance. Catwalk Pink is an absolute dupe for the Too Faced Leopard Bronzer- I have tried this myself because I own them both. Knowing I don't have to pay that much money again for the Too Faced makes me super happy (but if it comes in a kit, like my current one did, I won't be upset!).




Almost done, I promise! Next I chose my eye liners. I chose Tarte emphasEYES inner rim brightener, Ulta Automatic Waterproof Eyeliner in Black, and Avon Waterproof Glimmerstick in Brown Chocolate. The Tarte eyeliner was a splurge on my last 20% off trip to Ulta (where I also got my Lorac Pro Palette- review up tomorrow!), and it wasn't something I went in to buy, but now it is definitely something I can't live without. I know there are drugstore options that do the same thing, so once I use this one down a little, I'm going to start looking.
I pretty much only will use a water proof eyeliner, because I almost always only use it on my upper and lower water line. My eyes are extremely sensitive, and I have found I have better luck with the waterproof versions, or a longwearing version, like the emphasEYES.





For eye primer, I always have out my Too Faced Shadow Insurance, which is my Holy Grail eye primer. I also decided to pull out my Too Faced Shadow Insurance in Candlelight. I need to play around with the correct way to use this product- I always feel like I'm not doing it right, for whatever reason.




Next I choose my mascaras. And I added in my NYX Jumbo Shadow Pencil in Milk. The mascaras I chose are Cover Girl Lash Blast 24Hour in Black Brown (for those more natural days), Cover Girl Clump Crusher water resistant mascara in Black, Bare Minerals Flawless Definition Volumizing Mascara in Black, and Cover Girl Last Blast Length water resistant in Very Black. I really love all of these mascaras- there's not one I'm "trying" in the bunch- they are all tried and true! I really like using the Last Blast Length on my lower lashes, but also use it combined with the Flawless Definition Volumizing mascara.

Lastly I choose my brushes. They all need to be washed, so no pictures of those for now! But I use a mix of bare mineral brushes for my face, Mary Kay brushes, and crown brushes. I am looking to invest in some Sigma brushes soon, so if you have any recommendations, let me know.

I have two other palettes that are out all the time because they do not fit in my containers. They are the Too Faced Shadow Bon Bons Palette my sister-in-law gave me for Christmas this last year, and the Coastal Scents 74 Eye Shadow and Blush palette.



These stay in a letter organizer I have for easy access.


So this is everything I'm using right now! When I decide to switch it up, I will make another post, but I try to force myself to use all of these products for at least two weeks!

If you'd like an individual review on any of these products, please let me know!


FTC: All but the products mentioned as gifted were purchased by me with my own money. All thoughts and opinions are my own.