5 Beauty Tools You Need

1. ARTIS Elite Oval 7 ($65 @ artisbrush.com, spacenk.com) – A new addition to the brand, this one is a little bit smaller than my beloved Oval 8 so it's a tad easier to maneuver and I've almost exclusively been using it to applying my liquid foundation these days.

2. BEAUTY BLENDER Sur.face Simple ($30 @ beautyblender.com) – known for their cult-favorite sponges, I’m really hot on this palette to mix my Cover FX Cover Drops with its medium, tap out some mineral powders out of their tubes, or play around with some different creams to create a new shade for my lids or face.

3. MUA MAKEUP ACADEMY Lash Separator ($10.50 @ cvs.com and CVS stores nationwide) – I recently broke my Holy Grail lash separator but glad I found this one in its place. It is curved the same as your eye so easy to quickly run it through lashes.

4. URBAN DECAY Iconic Eyeshadow Brush ($24 @ urbandecay.com, nordstrom.com) – if you get one eye brush in your collection, make it a great one like this. It’s the perfect width and length and can handle a lot of different products.

5. REAL TECHINQUES #301 Flat Contour Brush ($21 @ kohls.com) from the Bold Metals Collection – this short, compact, and dense brush is great for applying liquid or cream foundations, blush and bronzers.

And I think I'm ready to add one of these to my Holy Grail list! Yup, it's the MUA Makeup Academy Lash Separator. I had one just like it on my list but this one is less expensive than that one and easier to get hold of. As you read above, I was ready for a new one so help me welcome MUA Makeup Academy Lash Separator to the Holy Grail list of beauty products! What's on your list? 

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided for review purposes. Some I bought.

1. MUA MAKEUP ACADEMY Double Ended Foundation & Concealer Brush ($14 @ cvs.com) – Every once in a while a brush comes along that just becomes a staple in your collection, and that’s this one. Both sides of this brush can be used to apply both creams and liquids and the size of each head, especially the foundation size, is just perfect! This brand is on a roll for me lately.

2. CERAVE Moisturizing Cream with Pump ($17.99/16oz @ walgreens.com) – you ever just want a super basic cream with no strong perfume or scent? Yup, this one is it and it contains ceramides and hyaluronic acid. And how convenient is this pump? Love it.

3. PANTENE Air Spray Alcohol Free Hairspray ($5.49/7oz @ walgreens.com) – this one is starting to rival this one as one of my favorites. I mean, it is for the summer, for sure though. It acts sort of the same in that it gives great hold yet it’s brushable. And this one is alcohol-free.

4. COVERGIRL Lash Blast Plumpify Mascara ($11.99 @ target.com) – I’m tough on mascara and pass on probably 80% of the ones I try. This one, however, gets some high marks from me as it really does plump-ify each lash.

5. MAYBELLINE Super Stay 24 Lip Color in Very Cranberry ($10.49 @ maybelline.com, target.com) – remember in this post how I mentioned how all colors are not created equal, even when they are in the same collection? Yup, that is the case here. I can’t stop wearing this shade of rosy rose. Great for a summer day!

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided for review purposes. Some I bought.

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I’ve speculated a lot over the past few years and was just about to add the one to elf to my Holy Grail list when I saw this one had just come out and whoa, are they similar. I had been using the Remover Pencil from Shu Uemura for years until I discovered the ELF one. The Shu stick is kinda greasy and smeared makeup while removing it while the oil-free one from ELF was able to take off makeup mistakes easily and without messing up the rest of my makeup.

So welcome to the ring - MUA MAKEUP ACADEMY Makeup Correcting Pen ($8 @ muapro.com) and ELF COSMETICS Makeup Remover Pen ($3 @ ulta.com) to a showdown and the best one goes into my Holy Grail list!

Each of these has an air-tight cap to keep the removable fiber tip from drying out. Both are oil-free and don’t mess up makeup when removing a mistake. MUA one’s first ingredient is mineral oil (boo!) but it also comes with 3 new tips. No scent to either one.

Overall, these both seem to work really well at removing makeup without messing up your looks. One thing I don’t like about either of these is that the tips actually keep the makeup on them after removing it from your skin. So I keep a paper towel on my makeup table so I can wipe the tip before/after using it. There doesn’t seem to be any other way around that; it’s just part of the way these pens work.

So with all the other traits so close in comparison, the only thing working against the MUA one is the price, but the ELF one doesn’t come with 3 new tips, so I’m going with the one from MUA.

Welcome to my Holy Grail list of products MUA MAKEUP ACADEMY Makeup Correcting Pen!

Disclosure: Some of these items were provided for review purposes. Some I bought.

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I think I’ve been around the liquid lipstick block a few times now and with the latest ones I’ve tried being on the indie side, I have some more observations. It seems that just about every brand is coming out with their own version these days, which is great, but not so great when you kinda know what formula works for you, and you don’t get it when you open the tube. If you’re on the liquid lipstick (will abbreviate to LL) bandwagon, do you know which form you like best? I think I do, now that I’ve tried quite a few different brands:

Chanel, Wet N Wild, Tarte, Buxom (part of BareMinerals), ColourPop, Motives, Cailyn Cosmetics, L’Oreal, Make Up For Ever, Stila, Laura Mercier, Merle Norman, NARS, Lime Crime, Ofra Cosmetics, Fyinnae, Maybelline, Ciate London, L'Oreal, Napoleon Perdis, Houglass Cosmetics, CoverGirl, LipSense by SeneGence, Giorgio Armani, Sephora, Kat Von D, MAC, Makeup Monster, LA Splash Cosmetics, Caked, Beauty Bakerie.

Brands on my list to try: The new ones from Smashbox, Anastasia Beverly Hills (I know, I know, I'm like the only one on the planet but I've read mixed reviews), Jeffree Star, Milani (drugstores are always out of the Amore Mattes!), Lonely Planet.

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