The Girl on the Other Coast: March 23, 2013

G's turn to choose the topic of our collaborative post. This time she asked me what my go-to makeup arsenal contained and shared her own. Curious what that part of my morning routine consists of? (Humor me. Pretend you're curious.) Take a virtual voyage to Little Italy and find out!

And here we go with G's!
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This week I wanted to take a look at our makeup routine. What are your favorite products that you turn to on a daily basis? The "Must Have" list.

Here's a look at my favorites that greet me every morning:

I always start with my eye makeup. I first fill in my brows a bit withClinique Brow Shaper in soft brown. I don't really pluck my eyebrows because I'm happy with how they grow in. Plus, plucking your eyebrows is boring and time consuming. And? I've had many an aestheticiancompliment me on my eyebrows. So why change it? I have found, however, that filling them in with powder gives them a bit more definition which I like.

Then I line my eyes with Clinique Quickliner in either dark chocolate or black/brown...depending on my mood. I line the entire top lid and about half of the lower lid. Sometimes I'll smudge if I think it's a bit too harsh but most of the time this eyeliner goes on really smoothly. (That's why I own it in 6 different colors!)

I switch back and forth between my base eye shadow. It really justdepends on what I'm wearing and which color will be complimentary. I really like MAC eyeshadow. Thankfully they last forever because they are a bit pricey. (Boo.) My two favorite colors are Satin Taupe and Shale. The lighter vanilla color (called Nylon) goes below my brow bone as a high lighter.

Next is my face. I know most people do their face first since it's the "foundation". But sometimes my eyeshadow shmears under my eyes and it's much easier to wipe it off with water without worrying about redoing my foundation again. Which is funny...because I don't really use foundation. I love Bare Minerals and have used their powders for about 8 years now. I know it's called a foundation but I really just think of it as applying power. I currently use their Matte Foundation SPF 15 in Medium. Sometimes I change the color during the summer depending on how tan I get. I then highlight my cheeks with their blush in Golden Gate.

Once I'm done with all of that it's time to apply mascara. Mascara is a weird makeup item. Some people swear by some while others hate it. I've gone through my fair share and am pretty happy with Maybelline The Falsies Volum Express. Lashes look long and aren't clumpy? Sounds good to me.

This whole process takes me about 7 minutes. That's about all I have to spare when I'm rushing off to school in the morning! 

(please excuse the fact that this photo was taken after a VERY full day)
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(edit to add mine)

G wants to know my makeup must haves? I will be the first to admit I am probably the least fun girl ever, when it comes to my makeup. I spend my fair share of time drooling over Sephora, but my budget dictates that I do my actual shopping in the cosmetics section of Target.


With so much humidity in the air here, I steer clear of foundation. (Humidity = good for the skin, bad for any heavy makeup.) I start with some lightly tinted Cover Girl loose powder and a little blush -- right now, Maybelline FITme!, but I'm really not loving any of the shades I've chosen; I like them but I don't *love* them, so when this one is gone, I'll try another.

With the base finished, I get to the real focus: my eyes. I always feel like a fraud wearing any lip color, so I tend to keep that to lip balm (SoftLips! Love it!) and I play up my eyes, my favorite feature, but they are easy to lose behind my glasses. I have several go-to color options, depending on my mood. I play around with various combinations. My favorites lately are copper-brown, rosy pink-brown, taupe-brown, smokey grey-charcoal (I am running pretty low on my stockpile, which means I get to choose some new colors soon, but some of my favorites are Maybelline EyeStudio Color Plush in "Copper Chic" and "Taupe Temptress," and Maybelline EyeStudio Color Explosion in "Caffeine Rush"). I usually do a lighter color on my lid, with the darker color along my lash line as a "soft liner," slightly blended. Sometimes I apply a layer of subtle gold shimmer or some (subtle) silver glitter (Revlon Diamond Lust in "Celestial Silver) -- you know, when I'm feeling the need for a little sparkle. A little brown or black eyeliner for definition (I really like Cover Girl Perfect Point Plus in "Onyx" and "Espresso"), and then I finish up with my absolute must-have: Maybelline Volum Express The Colossal mascara (in "Glam Brown" because black looks too unnatural on me and it doesn't come in a black-brown, but I *love* the formula, so I can live with that).

And there you have it. Ready to dry my hair and get on with my day!