5 on Friday

Happy Friday!

Today I’m back with the 5 on Friday. I like doing these at the end of the month, so I can share favorites from throughout the month, like things I’m looking forward too. Plus it gives me a whole month to brainstorm.

Today I’m sharing where I’m headed this weekend, LOTS of beauty stuff, and a few other things.

1. Let’s start with where I’m headed. I’ve been talking about my trip all week and I’m so excited to be heading to NYC tomorrow for 8 whole days! J is currently there for work and my best friend lives there. So naturally I needed to plan a trip. My trips to the city are usually pretty low key since I have been more than a handful of times and even lived there for a little in college. This trip will be a great mix of touristy stuff, and my favorite places throughout the city. Follow along on instagram @thefashionablylateblonde to see all my adventures, lots of great food, and some of my favorite places in the city. (I’ll also be doing a travel diary for NYC at some point when I get back. 

2. Next I want to share my Top 5 Drugstore Brand makeup buys.

1. This Maybelline Age Rewind Concealer is honestly a Holy Grail product of mine. It does a great job at hiding dark circles and I always have some in my makeup bag. Also, this always shows up in pro makeup artist and youtubers drugstore videos so you know it really is THAT good.
2. Revlon Color Stay Foundation. For the longest time I turned my nose up at drug store foundation. I just didn’t think it came anywhere close to my $25-$45 foundation from the makeup counter or Sephora.  I heard a lot of good things about this one and decided to give it a try and it did not disappoint! I think it’s just as good as my Estee Lauder Double Wear. It comes in two formulas, Combo/Oily and Normal/Dry so there is something for you no matter your skin type. (I wear this every time I shoot because it’s a little darker so it helps my face match the rest of me.
3. Maybelline SuperStay Matte Lipstick. Y’all know I love my lipstick and this one is pretty new, so I had to give it a try. The staying power this lipstick has is pretty mind-blowing. It seriously stays on all day with out loosing hardly any color. My only complaint is it can be a little tacky but nothing I can’t deal with. (I love the color Lover.)
4. Maybelline Brow Drama Pro Pallet. My eyebrow duo from Benefit broke the other day so I thought I would give this a try. I like it because it has a wax, powder, highlight and brushes. I use the powder every day and some days I’ll use wax instead of my Benefit cream-gel. The brushes aren’t my favorite, so I would recommend getting different ones. Overall for the price you get everything you need to create the perfect brow.
5. Last but not least; Real Techniques brushes. I LOVE these brushes. They are great quality and so reasonably priced. I have this one, this one, this one, and use their beauty blender religiously. I honestly like their beauty blender better than the real beauty blender.

3. While we are on the topic of beauty I thought I would share 2 amazing products I picked up from Sephora last week. I have been breaking out a lot more than usual (hello work stress) so I wanted to try some new products to try and combat that. The first is this Origins gel. If you follow me on instagram I gave y’all a sneak peek the other night about how amazing this stuff is. I have had a couple breakouts that just won’t go away. (It doesn’t help that I pick.) I used this stuff 3 times, and all my stubborn breakouts were almost gone!! It’s a tiny bottle but, so worth it. The second product is this blue clay-detoxifying mask from Sephora, and its Sephora brand. I thought I would try more than one thing and I think this mask really helped. It was only $8, and says there are 4 masks in here. (It comes in a sheet mask version for $6 as well.) I plan on using it again tonight to make sure my face is nice and clear for 

NYC.

4. This is Us started back this week and if you somehow managed to not watch it last year…GET ON IT!!! (Mom I’m looking at you) I’m usually a reality TV person only, however, every once in a while I’ll watch a real show and this is it! 

5. This is a fashion blog so I should probably share some clothing or accessories with y’all. I wasn’t sure what number 5 on this list was going to be but, the other day I received an e-mail from Forever 21 that caught my eye. I decided to browse and it did not disappoint. Forever 21 is so hit or miss for me and it was definitely a hit this last time. Here (sequin cape, wide leg denim, ruffle top, shearling vest, button front skirt, bell sleeve blouse, lurex stripe sweater) are some pieces I love and will be pulling the trigger on if NYC and it doesn’t completely drain my bank account. hah  

I hope y’all enjoyed this 5 on Friday. There will definitely be a post up next Tuesday and I am going to try my absolute hardest to have one up on Thursday from NYC. 

Don’t forget to follow along on instagram (@thefashionablylateblonde) to see my full trip.

I hope y’all have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by! 

Drugstore Makeup Review

Hey y’all!

I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday weekend. I had such a great time in Orlando. My friend’s parents threw a big party on Saturday with tons of good food! I was seriously in HEAVEN since I’ve been on a low carb diet the last month! Sunday we went to the Brad Paisley concert in DT Orlando. I love a good country concert especially when it’s FREE. Finally, we closed the weekend with the FSU opener against Ole Miss on Monday night! The fact that the Noles won just made it that much better and I was so glad I was there to cheer on my team!! I love football season and so happy college and NFL is BACK!

Now that I recapped my weekend, let’s get down to today’s post.

If you follow me on instagram, I posted a photo of these 3 drugstore beauty products a while back and promised a review. It’s been a while but I am here to make good on that promise today!

Let me start by saying trying to match foundation and concealer to your skin when there is no tester bottle is a little tricky! (I had to exchange them because the first colors I bought were too light.)

I’m going to start with my favorite product of the bunch, which was the Revlon Colorstay Makeup. Not going to lie…I was pretty skeptical about trying this but I cannot say enough good things about this product. I would compare it to my Estee Lauder Doublewear and tell you I think I like it just as much. It’s medium coverage and comes in two formulas. I got the combination/oily and it is so matte which I LOVE!! It blends really well and isn’t cakey. I also love that it has a pump because I feel like I don’t waste product.

My second favorite was the Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen Classic. This eyeliner is just like a pen making it very easy to use. It’s also extremely pigmented which I love. For me it does smudge a little at my inner corners during the day but I just don’t take it all the way in. Overall, for the price I would definitely recommend this.

Last is a concealer. I’ve heard so many good things about Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circle Treatment Concealer but I’m not sure I am 100% sold yet. I like the sponge applicator and the consistency but, when I blend it that is where I get my uncertainty. I feel like it pills around the outer corner of my eyes. This very well could be a different issue like my primer or what I’m using to blend so I am not ruling this one out completely. I feel like it has good coverage (y’all know I have some dark circles!) so I would say for the price point it is probably worth it.  2 side notes with this product: 1. There is a foundation that’s really similar so make sure you don’t pick that up if you want the concealer. (I made that mistake.) 2. If you need help picking your shade on Ulta.com, you can click “Ask a Question” and tell them the product and color you currently use and they will tell you what should be your match. (I think that is really great because as I stated above matching your skin tone when there’s no tester is a real challenge.)

Overall, I would say this was a pretty successful drugstore haul.

What are your favorite drugstore beauty buys? I would love to try some especially lipsticks so leave in the comments below!