Beauty By Amera: cosmetics

Monthly Favourites: May Edition

6/03/2014

Hello loves! Here is a list of products and other miscellaneous things I've been enjoying the month of May! I have included makeup, skincare products, books, and everything else under the sun!

I have been loving this concealer by Maybelline! I probably wore it every day of May. I just love how the product comes out of a sponge because I feel that it soaks the concealer into your skin. I use a concealer brush or just my fingers to blend the concealer in.

The next product I am obsessed with is the L'Oreal True Match foundation. This foundation is my holy grail product you guys! I can't get over how perfect this foundation is! I was skeptical of using a drug store foundation because I've always had a hard time finding one that worked for me. I saw so much hype on this foundation that I decided to jump on the bandwagon.. and I'm glad I did! The thing I love most of this product is that it comes in 23 shades! They are also divided into categories depending on your skin tone. I'm in the shade n 5.5 sun beige~ This is a liquid foundation and is light-medium coverage but you can easily build it up. It has a satin-like finish which I adore. You should use a translucent powder if you have oily skin because this foundation can make you look oilier than you are.

My lips are a dry mess in the summer time and basically all year round. I just found out that Nivea has lip products so I decided to purchase the 'Raspberry Rose' lip butter because it smells amazing and is PINK. The texture is like butter and I let it melt on my fingers for a bit so that I could apply it to my lips. Since it's a butter it moisturizes very well. The only concern I have with this is that it's not sanitary because you keep dipping your fingers in it. I just make sure that I sanitize my hands well before applying this onto my lips.

Next favourite product is this curl cream by Marc Anthony! I rarely wore my natural hair before I found this product. I like to enhance my curls with this curl cream so that I got softer curls. This cream tames my frizz and turns my curls into silkier and more loose curls. This is a great product to have if you ever step out of the shower and don't want to do your hair. I know you're supposed to use a dopple sized amount but I like to saturate each strand with product. I use this product alone but if you want you can use a blow dryer and lightly diffuse it.

I've been loving the Naked 3 palette! I bought it in May which is why I've been using it repeatedly! I love this palette because even though some shadows have shimmer they are still everyday wearable. I like to wear neutral eye shadows and this palette has mauve, taupe and nude shades. It's all in the rose-gold category. I also love the brush that it comes with! It's so soft and does not shed much! I will be writing a full review on this, so stay tuned!

These lip crayons by tarte are amazing! Rimmel has also got similar lip crayons! They look alike right? The shades are also quite similar. Although I found the tarte crayons to be more soft compared to 'Color Rush' by Rimmel. I have the tarte lip stain in 'hope' which is cool pink with blue undertones. The pigmentation is great and it lasts for a few hours before having to reapply. I purchased the Rimmel one in the shade 'Illusion' which is a mauve-pink colour. You know how when you eat a red or pink Popsicle, your lips get tinted into a cute pink colour? This stain gives me that exact colour! I love how natural it makes my lips look! I use this on days where I want to run errands and don't want a full face of makeup~ The Rimmel 'Color Rush' is an amazing dupe for tarte's lip crayon, plus its half the price!

I've been loving this facial cleanser recently. If you can't tell already, I looooove Nivea products! I just love how efficient all their products are and it's still affordable. I picked this up for $7 at my local drug store. This cleansing gel comes in three different colours: pink for normal skin, blue for dry skin, and mint green for combination to oily skin. I use the green one since I have oily skin— especially in the summer time. This cleansing gel wakes me right up in the morning! It smells like the ocean because of the aloe. This cleanser has small beads that you massage into your face. I wash it off with cold water and its refreshes me. There is also a foaming cleanser and toner that comes with this line.

This is my hands down favourite shaving gel! I heard everyone rave about this product for months now and gave in to buy it. All the scents smell amazing but my fave would have to be 'Raspberry Rain'. This shaving gel leaves your legs and arms silky smooth! It leaves a faint scent which I love. It is also very moisturizing! Skintimate products make me feel really luxurious for some reason! Plus, it's only $2 at Walmart!

One thing that's been helping me fall asleep better is this baby right here! This is a lavender chamomile mist that you spray onto your pillow before you sleep. This will help relax you and you will fall asleep before you know it! I don't have any sleeping problems but on those nights were you just want to lay down and relax, this comes in handy. The scent isn't overwhelming and your head will smell like a garden when you wake up! I just love aromatherapy! I bought this from Bath and Body Works~

I don't normally include food or drinks in my monthly favourites, but why not? I just wanted to share how amazing this tea is! Tea is probably my drink of choice any day. This is my current fave because it has a really sweet/fruity taste. I drink this before I sleep and it is really soothing and relaxes me. I think this is an excellent alternative to soft drinks. Plus, the tea bag contains actual pieces of mangos and peaches, so you're getting the real taste! I even managed to get my mom addicted to this tea. She prefers to add milk to hers but I prefer it plain. I drink this every day and can't stop! I prefer fruit flavoured teas because they taste sweet and don't need sugar to be added to it. How do you guys make your tea? I always boil water in a kettle and add the tea bag in there so that the flavour boils well. I then store it into a large thermo cup so that it's warm for about 10 hours without heating it up. I've always done this and people find it quite strange!

I haven't had much time to read this past month since my life has been so hectic. But I re-read this book for the third time! I don't want to spoil anything about this book but take my word for it and read it! It's a sci-fi mystery book which I found different than my usual romance or mystery novels I read. It is called 'The Adoration of Jenna Fox' by Mary. E Pearson. This book has meany different novel covers so don't get startled if it does not look like the picture above! What are your favourite books? Leave your comments below!

Song of the month is: "This Is What Makes Us Girls' by Lana Del Rey.

affordable makeup

Makeup on a budget ft. ELF

1/31/2014

E.L.F Cosmetics is a very popular makeup brand that is quality and affordable. It stands for Eye, Lips and Face. I really love this company because first of all it's CRUELTY free! I just love that :c I also love how it's not costy! I hate how drugstore products get more and more expensive. ELF however has makeup starting at $1! Here is more info on what they do and what their goal is:

"At e.l.f. Cosmetics, we believe that beauty comes from within all of us. Our line of luxurious cosmetics captures great looking skin with gorgeous colors and quality ingredients. Our products are designed to let your inner beauty shine through."

I wanted to make a post showing you girls what my favourite products are from E.L.F. This post may not be lengthy because I haven't tried out many products. All reviews are of my opinion and was not paid to write this post :) Enjoy!

First off is this lip exfoliator! This lip exfoliator is one of the best I've ever used, it's comparable to Lush's popcorn scrub! I usually like to make my own exfoliators but this is hassle-free and is in a cool form. I never thought of a lip exfoliator in the form of a lipstick~ That is really unique. It also makes applying it go much easier because the container lets you take control of where you apply it. It's made from granulated sugar, jojoba oil and is infused with Vitamin E. This is a definite must during the winter, and it's only $3!

Purchase here: E.L.F Lip Exfoliator

Here we have pink blush~ It's a HD (high definition) blush which is highly comparable to the one from Make Up For Ever. I love this blush a lot because it is pretty pigmented and gives your cheeks a natural colouring to it. The pump is also convenient because you can apply a small amount and it will give out a lot of pigment~ It comes in a variety of colours but the one I like the most is 'Superstar' because it is a coral-pink colour which looks amazing on medium skin tones~ It is best applied with a stippling brush but can also go on great with your fingers! This blush is only $3!

Purchase here: E.L.F HD Blush

The next product I'm going to rave about is this Studio High Definition powder~ This is a translucent powder which is used to set your makeup. Don't be turned off by how white it looks, I promise it won't make you look ghostly! It shouldn't make you look pale if you're using the right shade. I'm in the shade 'Shimmer' which is good for warm skin tones. If you have a cool skin tone then I would suggest the shade 'Corrective Yellow'. This powder covers wrinkles and fine lines to make your face look flawless and picture perfect! This powder retails for $6~

Purchase here: E.L.F HD Powder

I have mixed feelings about this product. I tried this palette in the shade NYC, and it was okay for me. The pigment was amazing! It's just that it had so much shimmer that it seemed to fall out every where. I found a solution to this though! Apply it with a slightly wet brush. When it's wet it gives out good pigment and the shimmer is more controlled. If you find that the colours are still falling out then I would suggest doing your eye makeup before your foundation. This way if any eye shadow falls out you can easily clean it up with foundation~ I am really eager to try out the palette in 'California' which is the palette in the picture above. It has a lot of neutral colours which I am a fan of :c This palette is $10!

Purchase here: E.L.F Baked Palette

To purchase a prepackaged kit from E.L.F click here!