Westie L.A.

A few weeks back I went through my closet and performed a major clean up — got things organized and discovered clothing I had completely forgot about.  It was a necessity since my closet had become a major area of aggravation for me every morning! I, like most women, have a hard time deciding on an outfit most days and go through various looks before deciding my (insert least favorite body part here) looks good enough to walk out the door.

Well now that my closet has been cleaned out and is functioning well for me, I though it time to focus in on my makeup situation. I’m a low maintenance girl, I wear very minimal makeup to work — if I’m feeling sassy I’ll slap on some lipstick — which only lasts through my first cup of coffee because I usually forget to reapply — but I’m also the girl that has all of her makeup shoved into a plastic bin,  broken shadows littering the bottom of the container, half empty and dried out lip gloss tubes, really it was becoming a situation … and don’t even ask me the last time I cleaned my brushes! They’re clean when you buy them right?

The insanity had to stop, so I decided today that I would replace anything broken, separated or so old that I don’t even remember buying it. Today my makeup bin and brushes get a thorough washing and proper place for storage. It’s crazy to think of how much I spend on makeup vs. how well I store it — which, now that I think about it, is probably why I avoid dealing with makeup most mornings. Who really wants to dig through a pile of half broken containers looking for something to use on your face?

My usual go-to make brands are NARS for shadows, blushes and lipsticks, Bobbi Brown for foundation, bronzer and gloss, Mac for eye liner and brow shadow and Tarte for my cheek stain, but for my makeup makeover I decided to go with a few new choices.

1. Smashbox eye shadow. I kept hmm and hawing over what eyeshadow colors to buy when I came across this hazel eyes palette at Sephora. I’ve never tried smashbox eyeshadow before, but I’m willing to give it a try since it basically had every color of shadow I was looking to buy individually in one spot. If nothing, I’m a girl that takes advantage of things that make life a little easier!

2. New makeup brushes. I also debated on whether or not I should get the larger pack of brushes, but in the end I decided that I really only use the powder, blush, small eye and foundation brushes. I didn’t see the point in spending money on an eyebrow brush and extra shadow brushes that I just wouldn’t use.

3. Koh Gen Do foundation. Normally I use either Bobbi Brown cream stick foundation or occasionally I’ve been known to use Laura Mercier. I heard about this brand from a fashion and beauty blogger whose skin is absolutely gorgeous and claimed this stuff “gives you the best dewy coverage and never looks like a mask” so I’m going to give it a whirl. I’ll let you know what I think.

4. Sephora lipstick & gloss. I’m not really in need of lipsticks or gloss, but I’m a girl and somewhere it must be written in girl code that one can never possess too many lipsticks or gloss!

5. Koh Gen Do concealer. This palette looks perfect for getting rid of under eye circles and cover the occasional blemish or red spot. I went with the same brand as my foundation, with the mindset that they must work better as a team.

6. Bobbi Brown bronzer. This is my favorite bronzer hands down. It’s more of a warm blush than a true bronzer, and I think the coloring of it really gives my skin a nice glow instead of a fake tan look.

OK that’s it. Believe it or not, this haul cost more than I spend on clothing in a year (slight fib there, but not too far from the truth) but I decided to look at it this way, your face is the first thing everyone sees and it’s not like I’m buying all new makeup every month.