Cheap Fix: My Favorite Drugstore Lip Products for Spring

Ironically, today is the only day this week that has been below 80 degrees, and instead of the sun we've been having it's cloudy and drizzling. But I think that sometimes that just means you need some fun lip products even more to liven things up! Again, I told you that my mood is disproportionately affected by makeup. I don't know if a normal person would wear bright orange lipstick to make themselves feel better. But they should definitely try it!

Pretty spring lip products, gross rainy day

My favorite trend for this spring and summer is really bright and colorful lips, but in a formulation that is very buildable. We saw this in a huge way with the Revlon lip butters and most drugstore brands have now come out with a comparable product. I love these lipsticks/balms because they can be worn from a sheer wash to a super neon lip. Another trend is the Tangerine Tango obsession which I have definitely been brainwashed into. I started off in the wading pool with some coral glosses and then jumped into the deep end with a bright orange lipstick. One thing I love about oranges and corals is that they look great on such a huge variety of skin tones and especially on deeper skin or tanned skin.

My first pick is the Revlon lip butter in Raspberry Pie. Although the lip butters are supposed to be on the sheer side, this shade is super opaque. If you want to use it as a glossy wash, you need to use a light hand, but I love how pigmented it is! It's a beautiful fuschia berry shade that I haven't seen in any other drugstore lipstick and it's one of my favorite lip butters.

Revlon Lip Butter in Raspberry Pie, heavy swatch and sheer swatch

The second lip product is one of the Maybelline Baby Lips, which I think are Maybelline's answer to the lip butters. These are tinted lip balms and like the Revlon lip butters, each shade has a slightly different level of pigmentation. The shade I love, Pink Punch, is more like a sheer lipstick or gloss than a traditional tinted lip balm. Because I have a warmer skin tone, blue based pinks like Pink Punch don't always work on me, but because this product isn't quite a lipstick I think it looks great. It's a really low maintenance way to do a bright pink lip. These are lip balms, so although they have some benefits like moisturizing properties and a 20 SPF, the wear time isn't great (maybe 2 hours) and you do have to reapply a couple times throughout the day.

Maybelline Baby Lips in Pink Punch, sheer swatch and heavy swatch

The next lipstick is also a sheer pink, it's the Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Pink Chic. Pink Chic is a bright, yellow based pink. I love the Moisture Renew line, they are another drugstore favorite. I find a lot of drugstore lipsticks to be slightly chalky and drying, but these are great creamy lipsticks that are super moisturizing and have an SPF of 18. You do have to be careful though because some of the colors are very frosty and hard to wear, but Pink Chic is a very matte formulation with almost a satin finish. These lipsticks do have a strong perfume-y smell that doesn't go away, so if you are sensitive to that I wouldn't purchase.

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Pink Chich, sheer swatch and heavy swatch

The last lipstick is from a recent trip to London and unfortunately isn't available in American drugstores. It's the Barry M Lip Paint in 54, a bright pink toned neon orange. The formulation is matte and very opaque. This shade is right on trend right now, but you might find it a little unwearable because it is so ridiculously bright (which I love because I am crazy), but it is also the perfect shade to layer under a pink lipstick or gloss to make a beautiful coral color. If you are in the UK you should definitely pick this up! I got mine at Boots but I think you can order online from the US.

Barry M Lip Paint No. 54, sheer swatch and heavy swatch

My final pick is also a super trendy coral, the NYX Lip Laquer Pot in Coral-ista, which I've had forever but I've been wearing a ton recently. It's pretty much exactly what it sounds like, a very pigmented orange coral gloss. It's really nice by itself or layered over a pink lipstick. If you want to go full-on coral you could layer this over the Barry M lipstick or another coral for a neon orange look.

NYX Lip Laquer Pot in Coral-ista, sheer swatch and heavy swatch

I love these drugstore products because they are a great way to try out some crazy lip trends on a budget, so you don't end up blowing 20+ dollars on a lipstick you hate. They are all good quality and perfect for a fun spring look! Especially if it's disgusting out and you end up staying in all day with bright orange lips and then you accidentally go to the supermarket looking like a lunatic.

Bonus swatch- my insane looking smile! (Raspberry Pie lip butter worn sheer)

Obsessed With: Finding the Perfect Neutral Eyeshadow Duo (BareMinerals Ready Eyeshadow 2.0 in The Enlightenment)

I told you I was crazy about makeup. And right now my obsession is finding the perfect neutral eyeshadow duo that I can wear everyday and bring with me everywhere I go. I will not be happy until I've hit pan on my holy grail duo! This BareMinerals eyeshadow duo in The Enlightenment comes pretty freaking close. It's 20$ and for the quality, I think that the price is totally worth it. The packaging and formulation definitely make this a step up from my favorite drugstore eyeshadow brand, Wet 'n Wild, and I think these eyeshadows are consistently much better than MAC's new duos. They supposedly have some anti-aging seaweed extract in them which I don't believe at all, how is a powder eyeshadow supposed to penetrate your skin? Anyways, they are available at Sephora and I assume at BareEscentuals stores.

BareMinerals Ready Eyeshadow 2.0 in The Enlightenment (direct sunlight)

The Enlightenment Duo, case

BareMinerals released these Ready eyeshadows recently and I just managed to grab some of them. I'm not a fan of loose eyeshadow so I haven't tried a lot of the other BareMinerals eye products. These are great though. I'm excited because I know there are a couple more coming out in May and I need them like, right now. I love almost everything about these eyeshadows; the formulation, the pigmentation, the colors. My only complaints are that there don't seem to be any truly wild colors in the range, something really attention grabbing like Nars' Exhibit A. But that's ok because they fit in perfectly with my current obsession! My other gripe is that the packaging is that soft black plastic that picks up any fingerprint or dust floating around in your makeup bag or purse. Other than that you need to try a couple (or all) of these.

The Enlightenment Duo; Guru and Namaste (direct sunlight)

Strangely, when I went to Sephora and asked if they had some of the duos in stock (The Perfect Storm, The Afterparty and a few others), they only had the sample refill pans in back and not the actual palettes.  It seemed like they were phasing out a couple of the older duos to make room for some of the newer ones.

I've been wearing this duo almost everyday with a winged liner and a coral lip (my favorite color for Spring). It's definitely not the most exciting look, but I think finding your perfect everyday colors is essential.

The two colors in this duo are Guru and Namaste. BareMinerals describes them as "silk stone" and "sandy brown" on their website. I think Guru is somewhere between a nude champagne and a pink toned beige. It swatches much darker than it looks in the pan. The swatch almost pulls taupe in some lights, but it is too pink to be a true taupe. It has a satin-y finish with subtle shimmer. it looks a little glittery in the pan and when swatched but not on the eye.

Left: Guru,  Right: Namaste

Namaste is a warm toned light brown that is perfect for adding dimension or blending out the crease. It is pretty matte, but has a satin finish and feel to it. Both these colors are super buttery and blend out really nicely.

Guru and Namaste in direct sunlight

These aren't unique colors by any means and probably have a million dupes, but I just love the combination of these two shades, finishes and blendability. If you own the super popular Naked palette, the shades Naked and Buck are pretty comparable, but I think Guru and Namaste are even easier to work with than Urban Decay's mattes, which are renowned for their great texture. Namaste is a little warmer than Buck but Guru is cooler than Naked. The slight satin finish of the BareMinerals eyeshadows also adds more dimension to an everyday look which I think is important.

from left to right: Guru, Namaste, Naked, Buck

I love the Enlightment duo and it will come with me on every trip I go on, but my search for the perfect neutral duo is far from over.

The Enlightenment Duo, 20$
http://www.sephora.com/bareminerals-ready-eyeshadow-2-0-P297711?skuId=1363589

Pathologically Pretty: An Introduction

I have been accused of being obsessed with beauty products. I may one day be the star of a future episode of Hoarders: Makeup Edition. I am perpetually broke, but give me a couple hours in Sephora or the beauty aisle of CVS and I will be bankrupt.

In order to try to put a method to the madness, I decided to start a beauty blog, documenting what I love and hopefully helping others learn about great products or new ways to use them. I don't stand for BS, so if I like something, I will say I like it. If I hate it, I won't hold back. I have the most sensitive skin ever and I love playing armchair dermatologist and researching every single ingredient in a product.

I love thrifting for crazy and vintage clothes and playing dress-up. I love cooking. I hate cleaning.

Favorite products of the moment in no particular order: Shiseido Sun Protection Liquid Foundation, Urban Decay Naked Palette (obvs), Revlon Brow Fantasy, Laura Mercier Secret Cover Concealer, L'oreal Lineur Intense, leftover Easter candy. 

Seriously, these things are like crack.