What Beauty Products Do You Splurge & Save On?

When I'm budgeting for makeup, I tend to splurge on certain items and save on others. Until my mid-twenties, I had never really touched higher-end makeup! I didn't even know these brands existed because I grew up in a rural area with no Sephora, Nordstrom, or Saks. For me, it was drugstore all the way.
Then, I ended up working at Sephora when it finally opened nearby and was introduced to a whole new world of makeup and skincare. For a while, I used only mid-range to higher-end makeup, mainly because we got a lot of things for free (or at a discount) while working there but also because I wanted to educate myself on the brands we sold so that I could talk about them with customers. I discovered several brands I loved and still love to this day.

That being said, I've watched drugstore makeup come a long way over the past several years. There are so many products I can honestly say are just as good as the more expensive brands. But there are also times when I prefer to splurge a little.

Splurge Products: 

• Skincare- I look at my skin as a canvas for applying makeup, so I want it to be as healthy and smooth as possible. I've had the most luck with higher-end formulas that have more concentrated ingredients, so for me, this is definitely an area that I splurge on. 
• Primer- There are definitely good primers at the drugstore, but the ones I reach for every day that make my skin the smoothest and help my foundation last the longest are on the more expensive side. 
• Eyeshadow- There have been great strides in the world of drugstore eyeshadow, no doubt about it (brands like CoverGirl, City Color, BH Cosmetics, and NYC's Demi Lovato palette for example) but I will still gladly splurge on a higher-end palette from brands like Tarte, Urban Decay, Lorac and Too Faced. 
• Lip Balm- I have extremely dry lips, so unfortunately, Chapstick, Eos, and Maybelline's Baby Lips don't cut it for me when it comes to moisture. I've found that I need thicker formulas like Bite's Agave Lip Mask and Nuxe Reve de Miel. 

Save Products: 

• Blush- I love higher-end blushes from brands like Tarte and Lorac but I equally love my Wet n Wild, City Color, and Milani blushes. So even though I do purchase higher end blushes to review on the blog (and I do love them), I might not be splurging on blush if I wasn't a blogger (maybe once in a while).
• Mascara- There are so many good drugstore formulas I really don't splurge on mascara that often. I do try to cover as many as I can on the blog, but again, if I wasn't a blogger, I would be perfectly happy buying only drugstore mascara.
• Concealer- I have several higher-end concealers that I really like, but the ones I reach for most often are usually from Maybelline (Fit Me and Age Rewind) or L'oreal (Magic Lumi). 
• Lipstick/Lip Gloss- There are so many great drugstore lipsticks on the market, I feel like the higher-end brands don't really have an edge over them formula-wise. Not to mention, they're way more expensive!
• Foundation- Some of my favorite foundations are on the more expensive side (IT Cosmetics CC Cream for example) but there are also some great formulas at the drugstore, such as Revlon Colorstay, L'oreal True Match, and Maybelline Fit Me.
• Brow Products- There are a lot of great brow pencils at the drugstore such as NYX Micro-Brow and L'oreal's Brow Stylist Definer, as well as tinted gels so I really don't feel the need to spend a lot when it comes to brow products. 

Overall, this list isn't set in stone, because I do buy both drugstore and higher-end products in all of these categories, but I do use it as a guideline when planning out my makeup budget. 

What about you? What do you like to splurge and save on? 

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How Do You Like to Apply Your Makeup?

Confession time- I'm the laziest when it comes to applying makeup. Like, I just can't be bothered most days, at least during the week when it's just me and the little guy at home. I like to think I'm letting my skin breathe, ahhhh....

But really I'm just lazy.

When I do go out to run errands, I take the path of least resistance...I use my fingers! I'll use them to apply foundation, concealer, a little cream blush (I've even blended powder blush with my fingers, lol!). Then I'll use my middle finger to dab some eyeshadow onto my lid and then use my clean ring finger to blend it out...a little mascara...done!

I've done this for years, so I shouldn't just blame it on being a stay-at-home mom. I first learned to apply makeup with my fingers, back in the '80's when you couldn't find brushes at the drugstore and Beauty Blenders hadn't been invented yet. When I was working a 9-5 job, most days I would stay in bed until the last possible second, hitting snooze multiple times so when it came to makeup, I would apply it as quickly as possible...with my fingers. Over the years I think I've become pretty good at it!

In fact, when you see a photo of me, chances are I applied most (if not all of it) with my fingers.

The funny thing is, I love the way my makeup looks when I use brushes...it's so much more flawless! Also, in the Winter months especially, a Beauty Blender (or other blending sponge) to apply foundation and concealer gives my dry skin such a dewy boost. But most days I just can't bring myself to use them because, well...I don't want to have to clean them! It pretty much comes down to that one simple fact.

But that's what weekends are for right? My husband is around to watch the little guy so I can spend more time on my makeup and actually clean my beauty tools.

What about you...what's your makeup routine like? Do you use brushes, a Beauty Blender, or your fingers?


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YouTube Made Me Buy It

During the day when I have some downtime (which isn't that often with a toddler), my guily pleasure is watching YouTube videos. I sneak them in when I can...I'll set up my tablet in the kitchen while I'm cooking or near the ironing board when I have a stack of shirts to do.

I absolutely love watching haul videos and beauty reviews but they do come with a price, which is the steady flow of money out of my bank account. They're so addicting aren't they?!

I recently bought The Balm's Balm Desert bronzer after watching EmilyNoel83 review it (and it's since become my favorite bronzer). Then the other day, I wound up at Sephora purchasing two of the new Lancome Juicy Shakers after seeing Dani from CoffeeBreakWithDani review those (I will be reviewing them here shortly). There are many more times when a YouTuber convinced me that I needed a product (and plenty of bloggers too!).

So my question for you today is...what was the last product YouTube made you buy?

If You Had $100 to Spend on Makeup, What Would You Buy?

If you had $100 to spend on makeup (or beauty products) right now, what would you buy? Would you blow it all on one or two high-ticket items or would you try to get the most out of it?

Whenever I get a Sephora gift card, I usually try to make it last as long as I can, rather than spending it on one item. For example, last year my husband gave me a gift card for my birthday.  I really wanted the Clarisonic Smart Profile but I bought it, my gift card would have been gone in one shot. So instead, I chose to purchase several less expensive items so it "felt" like I was getting more.
Later, I kind of regretted it because it's not easy for me to just run out and drop $200+ on a Clarisonic. Using my gift card on it would have been the sensible thing to do, but whether it's logical or not, it's just really hard to wrap my head around spending an entire gift card on one thing, haha.

I did end up finally getting my Clarisonic from QVC...they had a today's special value on it and it was a lot cheaper than you can find it in stores. Plus I put it on easy pay which made the cost a little easier to swallow.

If I had a $100 gift card now, there are quite a few things I've been wanting to try (and none of them are big-ticket items right now, thankfully!).

I've been wanting to get my hands on the new Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Luminous Blush ($34). I held off when they released the first two shades because I saw swatches of a light pink shade called Camellia on Instagram that I really wanted.

I also really want to try the new Buxom Wildly Whipped Liquid Lipstick ($21). It claims to have the pigment of a lipstick with the comfort of a gloss, which sounds right up my alley. My lips are so dry, I can't wear most matte lipsticks but so far the reviews on this say that it feels very comfortable. I've been really impressed with Buxom's lip products in the past, especially the Bold Gel Lipsticks, so I definitely wanted to pick up one of these to try.

Speaking of lip products, the new Sephora Collection Rouge Balm ($12.50) sounds like a perfect everyday tinted balm. They claim to deliver "fresh and vibrant color in one swipe" and it has a balm-gel formula. Sounds intriguing!

Also, have you heard about the new Sephora Dry Clean Instant Dry Brush Cleaner Spray ($14)? It's supposed to be like a dry shampoo for your brushes! It won't replace deep cleaning but it'll allow you to quickly clean them without rinsing so you can use them again right away. I was worried it might be a little gimmicky but so far the reviews have been really positive!

Finally, I would spend my last $20 or so on the new Wet n Wild highlighters and Multi-Sticks that are set to launch for Summer 2016.
Actually, I'm heading over to Walgreens right now to look because yesterday when I was there, I saw a cardboard box sitting out on the floor in the beauty department with a sticker on it that said, "WnW Summer 2016 display".  I'm hoping they put it out overnight!

So...if you had $100 to spend on beauty products right now, what would you buy?