Wedding Makeup

The alternate title for this post was "Apparently, I've now deluded myself into thinking that you care about what I put on my face."  I expunged that heading because it was far too long and far too real.

You might be a product junkie if you get stressed out by the grocery store running out of your favorite brand of parchment paper. Sure, there are half a dozen alternative brands, but they are not your brand. You may also view every trip to Sephora as a quest to uncover the very best "whatever" so that you can fall in love with something else that you will now be eternally obligated to replace every three months.  

It takes me foreverrrrr to buy new products.  I often allow small bottles of dazzling illuminators with strangely suggestive names to sit in my Amazon cart for months - sometimes years - before finally giving in and hitting the purchase button.  That is because I know myself.  I know that if I love this product I will not only be committing to the $19.74 cost now, but to an ongoing commitment to this new thing that I will, after several uses, never be able to live without. This is when it is frightening to be me. 

For these reasons, most of the makeup in my makeup bag has always been drugstore brands. Until now... 

When I called the artist about doing my wedding day makeup, I felt a little ill at the estimate. That much?!  For my face?  For my face that will be washed less than twenty-four hours later?! 

That was when I decided to do my own makeup.  While the costs were about the same after a visit to Sephora, the idea of keeping all of the "splurge" products after the wedding convinced me.  

It turns out I really, really enjoy buying makeup, and I'd like to rope you into my newfound obsession.  Just in case you too enjoy having pretty bottles of shimmering things in your makeup bag. 

So, for my face.  I'm still using my Ulta primer and Maybelline "Fit" foundation as a base.  I've been using both for years now and I'm truly satisfied with the results.  I tried the fancy stuff and was less than impressed, and, at $50 per ounce, I wanted to be pretty darn impressed.  I did however, fall in love with two different blush options.  I tried this cheek stain by Tarte at first, and then tried this one.  Both were beyond dreamy.  I'll be wearing the Tarte blush on the wedding day because I loved the soft, peachy hue, but I'm hoping to grab another bottle of this stuff for every day use.  I love the shimmer.  

I also discovered this shimmering skin perfector which is basically like fairy dust for your face.  It adds the prettiest subtle glow that I really, really like.  I found that I was just not into the dewy look as much as I wanted to be.  I prefer a more matte finish, but this illuminator gives the glow that I have always admired in a dewy look, while still maintaining my matte base.  It's a splurge you just might need to make. 

For the eyes... I have always had trouble with my eyes.  I mean, I can see alright, I just do not know how to decorate them.  (I just gave myself a look of utter disapproval.  That sounds like such a ridiculous, non-problematic problem to have.)  For the wedding, I knew I did not want anything too bold, but at the same time, I wanted to incorporate something different.  So, I am beginning with this primer, which is basically a gentle glue to hold everything in its proper place, and then doing a very subtle pearly-white shadow that I found at Ulta, and accenting it with this dreamy Space Cowboy Moondust.  My sci-fi loving fiancé was beside himself with joy when I showed him the name.  

Typically, I only use eyeliner underneath my eyes, but I really wanted to pull off one of those subtle "wings" for the wedding day, so I got this pen.  It made it so much easier to get the eyeliner even.  I'm still going to get one of my lady friends to help me with it on the big day though.  I tend to overcorrect... and after the fourth coat it gets a little on the Disney villain side. 

Sephora is always giving me these samples and at first I thought, "How sweet! A gift for me!"  But now, I realize that there is nothing sweet about it - samples are dangerous.  You will soon find yourself falling in love with products that you had never even heard of, but all of the sudden you cannot live without them.  Oops.  So it went with this Dior mascara.  For YEARS I have insisted that my $9 drugstore mascara could not be beat.  I was wrong, I was so very wrong. 

Believe it or not, the hardest part of this makeup-choosing process was finding the right lipstick. I am not an everyday lipstick wearer.  I always have chapstick in my pocket, and I may apply a quick coat of lip gloss, but I only wear lipstick on special occasions.  My wedding is a fairly special occasion, and I really wanted to do a somewhat bold red lip, but I've found that most reds wash me out and make my already-ghostly skin look almost bluish.  Not cute.  After sharing my dilemma with the consultant, she explained that I was looking at the wrong set of reds.  After forty five minutes of scouring the store with my sister and our consultant, I was holding the perfect lipstick and matching lipliner (which incidentally took forever to find).  I had never used lipliner before, but now I'm hooked.  It really completes the look and keeps the lipstick from bleeding and making me look like the Joker. 

In hopes of keeping everything in place for a good fifteen hours, I have armed myself with this setting spray.  I really like how cool and refreshing it feels.

Here's the condensed list, sans all my obnoxious opinions.  

Ulta Primer

Favorite Foundation

Naked Weightless Concealer

Tarte Blush

Illuminator

BECCA Shimmering Skin Perfector

Eye Primer Potion

Pearly White Eyeshadow

Space Cowboy Moondust

Bobbi Brown Eyeliner

Eyeliner Pen

Dior Mascara

24-Hour Setting Spray

The Perfect "Red" Lipstick

Lip Liner

I plan to record some of the wedding day chaos through Instagram & Instagram stories, so feel free to follow along!

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

This post was not sponsored in any way.  All the opinions are my own and I purchased all of the products myself.  You will find one or two affiliate links above.  Thank you for allowing me to share my life with you!

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my summer favorites

Hey there, it’s Monday! How was your weekend?  I hope you ate lots of watermelon, grilled far too many ears of corn, and drank your weight in pretty drinks with paper straws.  We are well into May and that’s really the only way to weekend, in my opinion.  

As we prep for Summer (which, in my mind, always begins before Summer Solstice), I wanted to share a few of my warm-weather essentials, as well as a couple of pretty things I’ve got my eyes on.  I’m looking at you, fancy lipstick. 

1.  First, Summer requires a special kind of bag, one that can easily transition from 'weekday purse' to Saturday morning’s vegetable and flower bag.  I bought this bag last year and I absolutely love it.  It’s far too big to be my every day, running errands kind of purse (for that I use a small clutch that just holds the necessities), but it is perfect for the days when I’m carrying magazines, my “real” purse, and a picnic blanket.  It also adds 50% more cuteness to your farmer’s market ensemble.

2. I went to Ulta this weekend and semi lost my mind with this Unicorn Tears Lip Cream.  It changes colors on your lips!  While it appears to be a strange blue pastel color in the tube, it actually goes on as a bright, super shimmery pink!  My five-year-old self would be screaming with delight, my twenty-one-year-old-self was not exactly dissimilar. 

3. I just bought this cookbook and I am ready to start cranking out piles of fried chicken and fluffy, buttermilk biscuits.  Going southern for summertime.  I’ll likely be sharing one or two of my favorites over the next couple of weeks so stay posted for the goodness. 

4. Throughout the year, I wear Prada Candy, but for the warmer months I switched to this lighter, more floral version and I think I may love it even more than the original.  

5. If there was one quintessential summertime kitchen accoutrement it would be a pretty pitcher.  Why?  Because 1., they hold all manners of deliciously refreshing drinks, such as this one.  And 2., they can function as vases for all those pretty flowers you are harvesting from those lovely, blooming plants that you definitely did not kill.  They are functional and pretty - the two requirements for Summer dishes.  I really love these options... One, two, and three.

6. I just bought this dress and I really want half a dozen of them in varying colors so I can wear them every single day.  They are light and breezy, but structured enough to transition from work to dinner out.  I’m in love. 

7. Summer is the time for pie, and this server is the most adorable way to dish it up.  

What are your summertime favorites?  Tell me, tell me. 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie