My Family

I love this little family of mine.

I'm Baaack! ... and I wanna talk about makeup.

I was talking with my sister in law a couple days ago, after she updated her blog for the first time in about a year. I was so happy she was blogging again! I realized maybe seeing her update was the motivation I needed to get on my blog, especially after she said she missed mine, too!

But I only wanna blog about makeup right now...

That was my thought. And then I realized... who cares! I haven't posted about products since November, so it's definitely time! Since then, my collection has grown infinitely and I love trying and hearing about new products, so I thought I'd share some of my newer favorites that haven't been posted on here yet! I'm sure I'll post some updates about life eventually, but if you really wanna know, follow me on instagram @mrskatieashby!

1. Jergen's Natural Glow | I'm sure I've talked about this before, but I've been using it so often lately, with this fake spring weather we've been getting in Utah! We've had days in the 60's, and I've been ditching the tights for bare legs at church. Problem is... I'm really pale. Not just in the winter, but especially in the winter, ha! I don't tan very easily, so this stuff is my saving grace! I've developed a sure-fire approach that leaves me streakless! I get just enough lotion to generously rub into everything between my ankle and knee. I rub that in until it's almost gone, and at the very end, drag that little bit of moisture carefully across my ankles, down onto my feet, and up onto my knees. Then I apply an even smaller amount of lotion above my knees, and blend upward until the moisture is gone and it's completely rubbed in. Then I WASH MY HANDS (or else you'll get streaks on them!) and let my legs dry completely before they touch anything. It sounds a little daunting but it really doesn't take that long, and it's totally worth it. I see a change after two applications! Also, it works best on smooth skin, so exfoliate and shave before you self tan! Also, even though I'm pretty fair skinned, I get the medium to dark formula, and just make sure I'm only using as much as I need, and rubbing it in completely!

2. Morphe Brushes Eyeshadows | You guessed it, I bought the Jaclyn Hill Favorites palette! It's currently sold out but will be restocked soon, and it's totally worth it to keep your eye on this and get it once it's available again! You get 28 gorgeous, gorgeous shadows for $28.... um.... hello! Why are you not buying this right this instant?! It's totally worth it. There is a good mix of matte and shimmer shades, they are so pigmented and smooth and blendable and worth every last penny. Because I'm so impressed with the shadows, I'm anxious to try other products from Morphe, like the brushes they're known for!

3. Lorac Unzipped Palette | This palette is my baby! I had my eye on it for months, and got it for Christmas and the shades are so neutral and pretty, that I wear at least one of these shadows every single day. These are by far my favorite shadows, they're so easy to apply and blend! I wish the shimmer shadows had more pigment, but I just spray my brush with a little setting spray before picking up shadow, and it goes on perfectly.

4. Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow Pomade | I may have mentioned this before, too, but I've loved all the Anastasia brow products I've tried! I started with the brow wiz pencil and used it to fill in my brows every day, and now I usually use the dip brow. There is so much product in the pot, I feel like I've barely made a dent in it, and I've had it for months! I need to get my brows shaped, because I feel like I don't know what I'm doing but this stuff is so easy to use and goes on so flawlessly, I can't go without filling in my brows anymore!

5. Anastasia Beverly Hills Duo Brow/Eye Liner Angled Cut/Spooley Brush #12 | You have to get this brush with the dip brow. It's the best way to apply it! The brush is so small and dense and angled perfectly for brows, and you can't really mess it up with this brush! The spooley on the other end is perfect for blending it out to make your brows look more natural. I love this brush. Can't live without it.

6. Sonia Kashuk No 109 Blending Brush | YOU GUYS. This is the blending brush of all blending brushes. And it's $4. I have the sigma E40, which is the comparable brush and honestly... I reach for this one way more often. It's fluffier, easier to move where you want it to, and packs pigment on better than the Sigma does, in my opinion! It tapers at the top just a little bit, unlike the Sigma, so you can get in your crease and keep the shadow where you want it!

7. Lorac TANtalizer Baked Bronzer | I bought the travel size version of this on a whim, and use it almost every day. I have oily skin, so I don't use this as my bronzer, and I feel like it's more of a highlighter anyway, but it's beautiful color and goes on super smooth!

8. Urban Decay Half Baked Eyeshadow | I just have to talk about this one individual shadow because it's so beautiful, ha! It's the most gorgeous gold, bronzey, shimmer shade I've ever seen. I believe this shadow is in one of the Naked Palettes, but I just wanted the one... haha!

9. Milani Rose Powder Blush in "Romantic Rose" | A couple weeks ago, Devin and I ran to the new CVS in our neighborhood to pick up a few things we needed and I got caught up in the Milani section! This is the first place I've found that carried the brand, and after putting back a handful of the products I picked up, I made it home with this blush. It's so pigmented, it almost makes it hard to use because you barely swipe your brush across the blush and you've got enough powder for both cheeks! It's such a gorgeous shade and it's not chalky or shiny, it's exactly what I like. Plus the rose design and the gold packaging are so pretty!

10. Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Foundation | Hallelujah! I finally found a drugstore foundation that I love! I fell in love the Makeup Forever HD for obvious reasons, but have a hard time forking out $60 for it, so I've been on the hunt for something cheaper that can keep me satisfied between splurges. I tried almost every NYX foundation, and found a few that I liked but wasn't crazy about, and then I saw this on my Pinterest feed and bought it a week later. It's perfect. Goes on so smooth, stays put, truly is matte (though poreless may be a stretch, but that's okay) and the coverage is great!

11. Gerard Cosmetics "Shimmer of Hope" Lipgloss | This one's easy. Best formula for lipgloss I've ever tried, and the best pinky nude shade I've ever found.

12. Benefit Cosmetics POREfessional | My teeny tiny sample came in my Birchbox awhile back, which, by the way, if you don't already subscribe to Birchbox, do it now! $10 a month for samples of products, huge brands you've been dying to try and smaller brands you'll fall in love with! This is my favorite piece of mail to get each month! Anyway, I got this tiny sample and set it aside for awhile because I didn't like the pore reducing primers I'd tried in the past. Well turns out, I just didn't like those others ones because they weren't this guy. Primers are such a weird consistency to me, it's still hard to get used to! But with POREfessional, I tiny bit goes a LONG way (this sample has lasted me forever and I use it almost daily) and it truly blurs your pores for a more flawless finish. Makeup applies over the top of it perfectly, and I usually just use it on problems areas like around my nose and between my eyebrows on my forehead, but on date nights or days when I know I need my makeup to be long-wearing, I'll apply it to my entire face and I love the results.

13. The Original Beauty Blender | A couple months ago, my sister in law gave me a beauty blender and I fell in love! I had heard all about them, but I was so smitten with my Sigma F80 that I never could have imagined replacing it with a sponge! I was wrong. The beauty blender is flawless application, every single time. I still love my F80 and rotate between the two depending on what I'm feeling that day, but I will always at least use the beauty blender for my under eye concealer. I love that with the beauty blender, I'm more apt to press, not drag, across my face, which leaves my foundation flawless and not streaky (though my F80 has never left me streaky either), I feel like I allows you to build coverage, but since you use it damp, it also keeps you from getting too heavy handed. Lucky for me, my February Birchbox included another beauty blender, along with the "Solid" soap for cleaning, and trust me, it's nice to have two! If you haven't already bought one of these, do it now! I don't know what you're waiting for!!!

14. Gerard Cosmetics "Tequila Sunrise" Lipstick | Perfect coral shade, I can't wait to wear it more in the summer. Gerard Cosmetics has perfect formulas for lip products. They are so pigmented, but so creamy, yet stay in place. They're genius and they always have awesome deals and coupon codes! Look at their instagram, and you're guaranteed to find a coupon code you can use for your purchase!

15. NYX Matte Lipstick in "Tea Rose" | Me and NYX Matte Lipsticks have a serious problem. I own so many nyx lip products now, I feel like I'm keeping them in business! I saw this "tea rose" shade on pinterest, and bought it immediately and it's my new favorite shade to wear day to day. For me, and my natural lip color, this shade is just an enhanced, prettier version, and that's exactly what I love about it! It looks a little dark and intimidating, but I think this shade would look gorgeous on any skin tone!

16. Matrix Biolage Smooth Thérapie Shampoo & Conditioner | I finally broke down and splurged on some salon quality shampoo and my ooooh my life. I love this stuff. I love that my hair smells like a salon. I love how shiny and smooth it is! I just went ahead and bought the biggest bottles Target had, and they're lasting forever! Hair care is one of those things where you really do get what you pay for. Even though I love store brands that smell amazing, it's worth it to spend the extra money to get a professional brand that will really take care of your hair!

I didn't want to swatch all the eyeshadows (plus I don't even really know how to do that accurately...) but here they are! SO MUCH BEAUTY IN ONE PHOTO GUYS.

the left is the Lorac TANtalizer, and the right is Milani Rose Powder Blush in "Romantic Rose"

Top is Gerard Cosmetics Lipstick "Tequila Sunrise" (it's showing up more orangey in this picture than it is in real life), middle is NYX Matte Lipstick in "Tea Rose" (it's a little more muted and nude in real life) and bottom is Gerard Cosmetics Lipgloss in "Shimmer of Hope" (little less peachy in real life)