Hello lovelies. I wish I could say “happy Monday” and mean it, but alas, I cannot. I’ve come down with a cold, which means that I’m currently cuddled on my futon in sweatpants from my freshman year of high school. My roommate has also fallen ill, so we’ve been complaining to each other all day about how cold and sick we feel, and our room heater is cranked up to a balmy 85 degrees. I also had the workout of my life yesterday–my first-ever workout with a trainer–and my muscles are screaming. I can honestly say that I’ve never been this sore in my life! It’s actually pretty comical from an outsider’s perspective… it takes me a good ten seconds to slowly lower myself into any sitting position, and standing? Forget it, unless I’m grasping onto a table/armrest/person for dear life. Stairs, which have never been my best friend, are not undoubtedly my mortal enemy. Walking up them is no easy task, but every time I try to descend just one step I fear for my life. Luckily I haven’t fallen down yet, but it’s not an impossibility.
Whining aside, I decided to do something a bit different blog-wise today. I have not yet done a product review, and I wasn’t so sure if I was ever going to. Products work differently for different people and look differently on different people. Who am I to judge if a product is “good” or “worth the money”? Plus, I don’t want to seem spoiled (I’m not) or overly promoting any company (I’m not sponsored, and my opinions are undoubtedly my own). However, since I don’t exactly look or feel my best today and an outfit post is not possible, I decided that rather than not post anything, I would do a few creative product-related posts. Let me know what you guys think!
I have terrible under-eye circles. They’re big and dark and won’t go away no matter what I eat, how much I sleep, or what I slather on them. I’ve gone through countless concealers, each time hoping for some great miracle, but to this day, I’ve found nothing truly extraordinary. No matter how much product I cake on, my dark circles are still visible. These three concealers/highlighters above are my latest and greatest attempts.
| Smashbox Camera Ready Concealer in shade 3.0 | Rating: 7/10 |
I got this concealer over a year ago (product expiration dates? Whoops) in the wintertime. I had heard great things about it and liked the creamy consistency. It’s too light in shade for summer use, but I do use it in the winter. Sadly, I have to put a lot of product on, but this is typical with all of the concealers except one. I don’t get fine lines, it doesn’t cake easily, and it lasts a long time–all good things! Sadly, it just doesn’t conceal as well as I’d hoped it would. 
| Sephora light touch highlighter in 06 Apricot | Rating: 5/10 |
I got this highlighter/concealer for only three bucks at Sephora, along with a mineral powder foundation. For such an awesome price, I couldn’t pass it up! And compared to the pricey $20 for the Smashbox concealer, this seemed like an awesome deal. The consistency is very light but spills VERY easily (see above haha) and the twist applicator frankly sucks. You twist and twist and nothing comes out but then BAM! suddenly a whole glop of makeup is seeping out of the brush. All of that frustration aside, this actually is a nice highlighter. I’m not sure it’s a concealer, exactly, but it does make my dark circles look better. It takes a lot of product to do so, but it doesn’t cake due to it’s almost watery consistency. This doesn’t come in very many shades (three, I believe) but I used it a lot this summer when I didn’t want to put on too much makeup. I might buy it again just because of how cheap it is, but it’s not a miracle worker.
| MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW25 | Rating: 8/10 |
This concealer is a cult and celebrity favorite. After hearing so many rave reviews, I booked it to MAC and had the makeup artist put some on me. As she was beautifying me and giving me her sales pitch, she told me that Kim Kardashian herself was in L-O-V-E loooooove with this product. I looked at myself in the mirror, half-expecting to see Kim smiling seductively back, dark-circle free, and was slightly disappointed. First of all, the concealer was WAY too light (makeup artists always give me super-light foundation and concealer for some reason) and it just didn’t live up to its cult status. After going a few shades darker, I decided to purchase it anyway so I could experiment at home. It took me some time, but now this is my favorite concealer. It’s really, really thick and slightly drying, but it does the job of concealing better than any other product I’ve tried. It also flakes a little, but it lasts forever, and a little product (in comparison to the layers and layers I was slapping on my face with other products) goes a long way. I still have so much left!
I’m still waiting for that miracle concealer. I switch between these three, but none of them completely satisfy me. I’m not so sure that there is a perfect concealer out there, but if any of you had a nirvana moment with one, please let me know. I’d love to try new products out!
Thanks for reading–I know this was a long one! Happy beginning of the week, lovelies! :*
As usual, I cannot resist the temptation of a sale. Luckily for my wallet and my baby-sized college dorm closet, most sales are a bust, with scratchy, shapeless, or just plain unwanted clothes exclusively in sizes XXS or XXL. Let me tell you, when I walked into Urban Outfitters yesterday, they had some amazing deals that I couldn’t pass up! I ended up leaving the store with four new items–including this awesome Holga camera that I cannot wait to use!!
Camera: $29.99 (regular price: $48) | Film: $5 (regular price: $16)
I couldn’t get the lighting quite right; the top is brighter yellow in person.
Needless to say, I’m super excited about my purchases and can’t wait to start using/wearing them! Especially the camera. I would put the film in right now, but I fear I will use up all the film just sitting in my dorm room, taking pictures of my feet or the Christmas lights that adorn the walls. And that would just not be practical.
my everyday runway 