Guest Post: Ayesha's Make Up Essentials!

Happy Monday!

I am so incandescently happy to be featuring my first guest blog post! I hope to include these posts more regularly here on The Violet Hour so you can get to know the lovely people who bring happiness and warmth to my life on a daily basis. 

(One of) Ayesha's Fave Karaoke Song: Cher's "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves"

First up, we have Ayesha: brilliant mind (seriously, there is no other reason I survived Calc II), self-professed cat lady (she writes a hilarious blog about her kitty cat Penny), and one of the most beautiful women I know (no explanation needed!). We became friends in college when we both "worked" as RAs in the best Residential College (JKL! J-JKL! Go JKLephants!). We quickly became inseparable and I know we still have many more good times to share as friends.

Drinking Glühwein Together, Munich, December 2011

At Ayesha's sister, Laila's, Wedding, Louisville, September 2011

Awkwardly Posing in The Nature, St. Louis, May 2010

Thank you, Ayesha, for writing this post, teaching me how to knit, and for being my sweet friend. Enjoy, all!

Love,
V.

P.S. Today's tea meditation: "Delight the world with compassion, kindness, and grace." Do it!
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I’m so happy to be writing a guest post for The Violet Hour!  Vicki is the person who introduced to me the idea that wearing something other than a 5K t-shirt and wearing something more than a mismatched spot concealer on my face could be a positive thing. Several years later, I have an established makeup routine, and I am happy with my face almost every day.  

My Essentials

My thing with wearing makeup is that it's just an enhancer for me.  I like a nice, natural-looking foundation (which is why I went to Bare Minerals; more on that later). I like a touch of blush and a little mascara and not much else.  I was surprised when I laid everything out that I use so much stuff on a daily basis!  Let's go through the list, left to right, back to front.  (Skipping brushes; those are bareMinerals brushes, they're nice).

1)  The Body Shop Vitamin C Microdermabrasion Scrub
I'm pretty much the opposite of Vicki when it comes to skin sensitivity.  I use this incredible scrub not daily, but around twice a week.  My skin is like this impenetrable thing that doesn't renew itself fast enough, and I just gotta scrub off any dull or dead skin myself.  I'm not flaky, just..... tough-skinned.  Physically, not emotionally.  

2)  Yes to Tomatoes Daily Balancing Moisturizer
I tend to gravitate toward products that claim anything to do with "anti-acne" properties.  But I'm also aware that moisturizing is important.  So along comes a Yes brand moisturizer that says "clear skin" on the bottle, and the sucker in me grabs it off the shelf.  The only thing is, I don't feel like a sucker when I use this stuff.  No, it doesn't clear up my skin; I have as much acne as ever.  But everything else about this moisturizer is perfect.  The smell, the texture, the effect.  My boyfriend sniffs my face every time I've freshly put this on.  It's good and I love it.

3)  bareMinerals Prime Time Foundation Primer (Original)

I'd never used a primer before I got this sample-size primer in the bareMinerals starter kit. The kit also included the three brushes pictured above, a foundation powder, a Mineral Veil powder, and a "Warmth" powder, the last of which I do not use.  Primers feel great.  I like to wait about 5 minutes between putting on my moisturizer and putting on this primer.  

4)  Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm in Grape Vine
I'm so into shades in the plum family.  I also love the "sheer color" look that you get from tinted balms.  This one feels soft and not sticky, and the color doesn't pile on if you apply it multiple times.  

Maybelline:  Baby Lips in Grape Vine

5)  bareMinerals Original SPF 15 Foundation in Medium Beige
This is what people want to know about.  Is switching to a loose powder mineral makeup like bareMinerals worth it?  In my opinion, it totally is.  I used to feel equally self conscious with or without foundation on; without it, I would be thinking about my acne, and with it, I would feel overly made up and cakey. The first day I wore bareMinerals morning to night, the most obvious thing I noticed was how it felt.  Or rather, I noticed that it did not feel like anything!   At the same time, I think that (despite its lighter coverage, compared to my old liquid foundation) it gives a polished, "put together" look which is perfect for daytime.  It doesn't cover my acne as aggressively as my liquid did (I previously used Lancome Teint Idole Ultra), but in combination with a good, long-lasting concealer, bareMinerals foundation absolutely does what I need it to do.  In summary, I feel like it looks much more natural than a liquid foundation, it feels like nothing at all, and it stays on all day.  

6)  bareMinerals Correcting Concealer Broad Spectrum SPF 20 in Medium 1
Honestly, it's just a coincidence that I went with bareMinerals for my concealer.  It's just that the shade works for me really well.  I was thinking of going for Clinique, but I ended up with this one.  I apply it just as often with my finger pads as I do with the concealer brush that came with my bareMinerals starter kit.  

7)  bareMinerals Mineral Veil (Original)
I think this gives a sweet, pearly finish to my makeup.  I apply it before my bronzer/blush because I feel like all the "buffing" and blending involved in applying bareMinerals products would erase that color.

8)  Benefit Cosmetics Brow Zings in Dark
I have dark, coarse, sparse eyebrows.  It's kind of weird.  So I like to fill them in!  This is not an everyday thing for me, but I do like intense eyebrows.  The Brow Zings includes a wax, which kind of keeps my eyebrow hairs in line and helps the brow powder stay all day, and a powder to fill in sparse area. 

Brow Zings wax and powder
(nail polish = Revlon Colorstay Blue Slate 280)

9)  Benefit Cosmetics Dallas
Vicki turned me onto this product.  I believe this is what people call a holy grail item?  When (and I mean when, not if) I run out of Dallas, I will replace it with some more Dallas.  It's the perfect color, the perfect shimmer, the perfect intensity.  Love love love love love love.  I also love the included brush.

Benefit Cosmetics:  Dallas

10)  CoverGirl LashBlast Fusion in Black Brown
Vicki also turned me onto this product.  I'd been using a Dior black waterproof mascara before, and it was just a bit heavy for everyday use.  Now I feel like my mascara is much more natural-looking and not "makeup-y."

For the eyes

11)  Japonesque Go Curl Pocket Curler
I just hate giant scissory eyelash curlers.  They take up way too much space and they freak me out.  I used to have a little pocket curler like this, then I lost it on a trip, and Japonesque had the best deal on Amazon when I needed to buy a new one.  It does a nice curl.  Sometimes I use it without also using mascara. 

Before Makeup Application

After Makeup Application

I only wanted to do my makeup stuff for this, so I'll just do my hair off-camera.  Thanks for tuning in!  I hope Vicki will inspire all of you the way she has inspired me to be more confident!