My Favorite Beauty Products!

I am new to the make-up game and I have a lot to learn about the beauty industry, but as a go through my journey finding the right make-up products that help me create beautiful and natural looks that help build my confidence, I have collected some beauty products that I would like to share with you all. I really like doing my make-up, but I don't wear it everyday. I think that since school is around that corner I should really start make an effort to wear make-up every day! It may be challenging at first, but I am excited to see my collection and skills grow!

The first product that I would like to start with is a goldie, but goodie! When I was in high-school I never really wore make-up. I was very insecure of how people would see me, so I would try and stay away from it, but my mother and little sister are make-up junkies, so no matter how hard I tried I was always around some type of make-up product, when my interest started to peak, my mother took me to Sephora and this was the first lipgloss that I ever owned. I've obviously bought a new one because Sephora's original packaging was black, not silver.

The reason why I like Earth and Fire so much is because it has the great applicator that is naturally forming to the lips and the shade is a natural highlight to my lips color. When I apply this gloss I don't feel like I'm trying too hard to achieve a natural look. The gloss has a very creamy, slightly sticky consistency. Whenever I feel like I need a subtile amount of natural color I just apply this onto my lips and I am good to-go!

This primer that you see before you has not been put down since the moment I bought it! I was in desperate need of a 2-in-1 primer for the summer and I didn't want a product to leave me feeling completely flat and dry looking. It has been a trend this summer to have this "natural" sun kissed glow. I think that I need a little more help besides my ABH highlighter kit. I believe that this product helps me glow from within and is a huge help with glowing through my foundation or BB creme. I like the application, it's like putting on glittery sun tan lotion. I can instantly seen the golden sheen on my skin. I apply a dime size amount on my pointer,middle, and or ring finger and rub it into my skin in circular motions. I only like to apply it where I know I want to to shine/glow the most and that would be my T-zone area and my cheek bones. This is one of my summer must-haves! I am not sure yet if I will use this in the fall, but I will see how other primers work out for me.

When finding the right foundation I have always been scared of the mark that will be left after me if I happen to touch anything white. I never noticed until I have subconsciously touched my face and touch a piece of paper or something. It's really annoying! I like wearing foundation, but I have found that I can get away with wearing Iman BB creme in Earth Deep a lot more. There are ups and downs to wearing my BB creme though. I notice that when I sweat ( which happens a lot especially during the summer) that my BB creme can separate or looked blotchy and that isn't cute! As of late I have been using my Nars foundation in Konundrum that I have had for little over a year now and I really like it! I've been alternating between my Iman BB creme and Nars foundation. I really base it off my my attitude that day or how much coverage I feel like my skin needs. The reason why I don't have my Nars foundation pictured is because it's completely destroyed and has become a huge mess, so I keep in a little plastic baggy and apply it with my finger tips only. I've never tried Iman cosmetics before, but while shopping with my mom at Target I was looking at foundations and as usual I could not find a shade that matched my skin tone until I came across Iman and I knew that I could not leave Target without this product! It's a seamless application and I can barley tell that I have it on! I love this product!

As I learn and experiment with make-up I have come across products that I absolutely love and some that aren't good enough quality for my skin. This concealer though, is one of the best I've ever used! I have been huge fan of Urban decay's Primer Potion from the very beginning. At one point their primer was the only product that I would use, not because I wanted to, but because I was not aware of all their other products. I really enjoy applying the Naked concealer onto my skin, the applicator is truly magical. This product is a huge necessity when doing my make-up. Because I am so eager to create a natural look for myself this concealer will naturally brighten my face without making me feel too light like other products that I have used in the past. The creamy consistency of this products glides onto my skin beatifically. As a bonus, so I won't use too much product then needed there is a stopper at the top, so that when I pull the applicator out there is just the right amount of product on it for me to use. I think this stopper feature is the best because I am kinda heavy handed with some of my make-up products. My sister always reminds me that less is more!

The next two products have been cult favorites of mine for a while now. I have used NYX matte lip creams when I knew little to nothing about make-up. These compact lipsticks hold a very strong punch. The colors are always vibrate and compliment any complication. The first color I have is London and I wasn't aware of this color until I started looking for nude lip combination on Instagram,Youtube, and Pinterest. I had to to be very specific with my search. I wanted a to try a nude lip that worked well with my dark skin. A little side note, but whenever I am in dyer need to know If a specific product would look good on me or not ,I have the app Coca Swatches, this App/Instagram page has really changed my life! Most of the products used are geared to help dark women and women of color navigate through beauty products and brands that don't create products with us in mind. Anyway, back to London! I adore this color because it resembles the pink in the center of my lips really well and when I outline this with my Mac lip pencil inChestnut this look really starts to take form. The consistency of this product is truly creamy, hence the name on the label, but it is really easy to apply on the lips.

The Second NYX matte cream lip that I adore I found while in LA, but never thought about using until the winter months i.e. September and October because that is when I usually wear darker lip products, but to my surprise I can use this to out line London! I know that my little discovery isn't as ground breaking as some may think, but to me it's everything! I would use Chestnut so much and I was starting to run out and I kinda don't want to spend $16+ tax on another, and Dubai is the almost the same color as my lips! I get really excited when make-up products work out for me! I feel through my trial and error that I tend to find out more of what doesn't work and less of what does. But in this moment I feel so complete, because I will be rocking this combo for a while!

One of the most time consuming steps in my make-up process would have to be my eyebrows! hands down the most work I put into my look is mainly focused on my eyebrows! When I start my make-up I apply my primer and then immediately start my eyebrows. I think the reason why they take so long for me to do is because I want them to look a particular way. The vision that I have in my head of how I want them to look and the craftsmanship that I can create will take some time. My mom always says that practice makes perfect. I think that I will get faster at my application the more that I do my eyebrows. As of late I have been wearing make-up everyone other day and within those gap days I loose precious learning and practice time and to get better I can't take any days off! The ABH Dipbrow is a very popular product that works wonders for creating any brow that you would want. I have played around with the ABH Brow Wiz and I realized that it doesn't give the particular look that I am aiming for. I know that this product will last me a very long time!

So, these are my Favorite Beauty Products at the moment! I have been collecting these items for a while now. I hope that my little haul was insightful in my journey through make-up! As always thank you so much for reading! Until next time!

Disclaimer: All images have been taken by me and any products that I have talked about have been purchased with my own money and I have not been paid to review them. I am also not interested in making money off my any products I review.

#makeup #blackgirlmagic #happylove #lovesephora #sephora