Contouring and Highlighting: drugstore products

Wow I haven't done a makeup post in such a long time but I've been really busy doing other things... Ok so I've just been doing really boring makeup and stuff lately and neglecting this section but that is ok because here they are: my favorite products for HACing from the drugstore. HACing is highlighting any contouring if you didn't know. 

We've all seen those crazy photos on instagram like this one. Obviously that is unrealistic for the average day or even the average special occasion. That being said, on a day when I want to contour, I just go under my cheek bones and on my temples. Its of course up to you where you want to contour. I highlight under my eyes every day because I have the worst under eye circles and need some serious concealer and highlighting to combat that. (ps if you want to hear more about what I use to cover my dark circles I do have a post up. You can click this link here to view that)

Any way let's get on with what I use. 

This is the Fit Me foundation from Maybelline. I love this because it is a stick foundation with an oil absorbing core so it won't get greasy and will help with oily skin. They make this is about a zillion colors so find one that is darker than your skin.

Just realized that I have another Maybelline product here but I happen to really like them so there. If you haven't heard to the dark circle eraser by now, are you living under a rock?! Joking but this is a concealer buttttttt, they also make this particular shade which is a brightener. The combination of the color and the spongey tip make this perfect to highlight under the eyes. 

Finally for actual face highlighting, I use this. Its the elf shimmering facial whip. Again they make this in a few colors so find something that compliments your skin. This stuff smells amazing and has just the right amount of super-fine shimmer to add a beautiful glow to your skin. 

Best blushes ever: ELF HD blushes

Holy shit these are the best liquid/cream blushes I have ever seen. If you read no further than this, know that I have never found any sort of product that has better pigmentation. 

The HD blushes from ELF are seriously amazing. You really only need a pin sized drop of some of the color for both cheeks. Seriously. They stain your cheeks and blend amazingly. The packaging is quite larger and even with the increase in ELF prices, you will never ever need to repurchase. As you'll see in the swatches below, even after rubbing my hand with a makeup remover, I was still left with a faint color on my hand. 

They cost $3 even on the website but all the prices of ELF studio have gone up to ~3.69 in my Target. (where I normally find ELF) If you're a reader of my blog, you already know how much I love ELF but these really took me over the endue with the brand and made me head over heels in love. Their studio blushes are already quite popular and known for being highly pigmented. 

They currently offer 5 shades including a light, normal pink, peach/coral pink, bright neon pink, fuscia, and a deep berry. 

♡Swatches♡

Best ELF products: makeup

This is the third part of my Best ELF Products series. These are my favorite makeup products. Elf is a great brand and it is so affordable. They have so many products that are accessible for beginners or pros.

The first product is the Contouring blush and bronzing powder. I wrote an entire review and comparison. Find it here. 

Next is their blush. All of the shades are quite pigmented and amazing. The one I have shown here is 'pink passion'. I have a swatch to the left and the blush is on the right. This blush is super bright and neon. The camera really does't do it justice. 

Next is the matte lip colors. These are twist up lip crayons. I  really like them because they are almost a mix between a lipstick and a lip liner. They have a slim point so its easy to get control. The swatch of the shade 'rich red' is to the left. 

Complexion perfection is a powder that con taints four tinted powders in yellow, blue, green, and pink. They each color correct for things like discoloration in acne, or under eye circles. It is a nice setting powder that helps to control oil, bright and perfect the face, and hold your foundation on longer.

Finally the mineral booster. They sell different sizes of this and I buy the largest one that retails for $8. This is probably my favorite product. It is so comparable to the Bare Minerals mineral veil powder yet is a fraction of the cost.

The best under eye concealers

Oh my god I have the worst under eye circles ever. I’m layers deep in eye cream, corrector, concealer, foundation, correcting powder, setting powder, etc and you can still see them. I have made it my life’s mission to find the best under eye concealers. While I still haven’t found one to completely cover them, these are the absolute best and will work for any normal person.  

1.First up is the Mac pro long wear concealer. It really will last forever. It isn’t cakey or too thick. Mac has a huge array of colors to choose from. If you have super dark almost black-eye darkness this won’t cover them but it will cover anything else. I like to use this over a corrector to make it last long and much my skin. ~$19 at MAC

2. It cosmetics bye bye under eye does exactly what it says. You can say ‘bye bye’ to your under eye circles.
They only offer 4 shades. This has such amazing coverage.
 Its very very thick so a little bit goes a long way.
I’m mac nw 25 and found the color neutral medium perfect for me.
My only complaint is that the light one seems to only match paper.
$24 on amazon

3. Ok this is a crappy concealer so, why am I including it? Because it’s amazing at brightening and highlighting under the eyes. If you put on some of the highlighter over your normal concealer, it will really brighten up the area. If you don’t have very bad dark circles and just want something to brighten and make you look a little more awake this is the way to go. They offer 3 shades and it can be found in most Target stores or online at their website. 

4. Such a cult favorite. Benefit erase paste. They have three shades in light, medium, and dark. Each one is orange toned to help cancel out blueness. This is more of a corrector rather than a concealer but it still works wonders. I have strayed away from this but still keep coming back to it. It costs $26 from Sephora/Ulta

5. Maybelline the eraser is really getting popular. They make a few types of this. There is the under eye eraser, the dark spot eraser, the eraser foundation, and the eraser brightener. This one is the under eye one. As you can see from mine, I removed the little spongey applicator. Doing this allows you to waste SO MUCH less product and its generally more sanitary. This has some really good coverage and I would recommend it if some of the others are too expensive for you. ~$7 from drugstores.

Best ELF products: face brushes

I love ELF. Almost all of their products are either $1 or $3. There brushes are some of the best. They're all so soft and absolutely great. Here are my favorites.

▷1. Powder brush. This is such a great brush. Like the name suggests, you can use it to put on powder but, I find this great for buffing in liquid foundation. I've had this for years and it doesn't disappoint. The flat top is perfect for really creating a smooth looking surface. 

▷2. Stipple brush. It can be used with both cream/liquids and powders. I use it for foundation, cream blush or if I want to wear just powder. This adds a sheer wash or color or product. 

▷3. Blush brush. This is a good one for either powder blush or powder contour. This is a flatter brush that comes to a point. 

▷4. Complexion brush. Can you tell I loved this one? I bought this around the time that ELF created the studio brush line. My dog has chewed the handle and the paint has chipped. I really can't say why I haven't just picked up a new one; it costs $3. This brush is so great. It so so soft and again its flat. You can use it for powder or bronzer or anything at all. If I could only recommend on brush it would be this one. 

Nars orgasm/laguna Vs. Elf contouring blush and bronzing powder

Nars makes awesome makeup. I haven"t tried too many things from them just because it is so pricey. That being said there was one thing I couldn't"t pass up: the Orgasm/Laguna duo. If you haven't heard of this, its a blush and bronzer duo that's widely popular. Its so popular that the brand ELF of Eyes Lips Face made a dupe of this.

I was using the the ELF one for probably close to 3 years when I decided I wanted to see what all the hype was about on the Nars one. I have been using solely this one since August and I can say that I think the two are very similar but I wouldn't call it a dupe.

This is a comparison of the two. I've divided it into a few categories. note: the nars one is a mini size, not the full sized version.

Packaging: 

The two look very similar. The Nars one is smaller but that is because it is a mini. The Nars one has larger lettering. If you've ever felt Nars packaging, you know that is has an almost rubbery feel to it. The ELF one has a much more plastic feel. Its pretty clear that ELF was going after Nars when making this. 
As you can tell, I used a lot of the Elf bronzer. I do actually prefer this to the Nars one because it's darker. The colors all look very different in the packaging.
Also the pans for the elf one are rounded while Nars' are squared off.



Look of the colors- Blushes:

On the right I have the Elf blush swatched. On the left is Nars orgasm. The elf one is a bit more powdery and orange toned while the Nars one is more pink. Both are shimmery blushes. They both have a golden shimmer.

Look of the colors- Bronzer:

On the left is the Nars laguna bronzer and on the right is the elf bronzer. These are both shimmery bronzers with a golden undertone. Just like with the blushes, the elf one is a bit more chalky. The Nars one goes on a bit more smoothly. (note that at the top of the nars swatch is a freckle not part of the swatch) Laguna is a lighter color that the elf one. 






Price:

The elf one retails at $3 and can be purchased at eyeslipsface.com | Target | Walmart | K-mart. The Nars duo can be purchased for $24 for the mini (shown in this post) or $41 for the larger one. It can be purchased from sephora or from Nars directly.