January Favorites

Hey babes! long time no post I know! To all of you that care I apologize for the delay I'm just now getting settled into my new job/schedule and with the holidays coming up around that same time you can say I was a bit overwhelmed but extremely blessed to say the least I hope you guys had an awesome holiday season and an even better new year!!! (better late than never right?) but moving on I'M BACK (for good I swear this time) and I'm sooooo excited to see what 2k17 will bring here on my blog with you guys 😊. Speaking of the holidays I was fortunate enough to have gotten lots of goodies this holiday season (I was on the nice list this year I guess) and have been enjoying them all month long so I thought what's more appropriate than kicking off the new year with a January Favorites post!? Nothing that's what lol so lets just jump into it shall we?

                                         AOA Scrubby Facial Cleansing Pad 
                           

     

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Now this little baby has honestly CHANGED THE GAME when it comes to my skin care routine! I already use an exfoliate about 3-4 times a week but when I use a cleanser It's a little harder to make sure my pores are cleaned out and all the dead skin and gunk is removed from my skin but this has truly saved my skin. Literally in only a months time I saw such a difference and I think its a great alternative to all those electric face exfoliating brushes that are on the market right now (not to mention cheap it's only one dollar like c'mon!! you go SHOPMISSA) .

Rimmel Stay Matte Primer "003" 

                    

      

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This is definitely not a new product but this is my third bottle so I thought it was only right to make it one of my favorites. The formula comes out white but rubs in translucent and babes let me tell you this REALLY works!! its mattefying but super moisturizing at the same time and it doesn't turn me into an oil slick half way throughout the day like most primers do because of their silicon base And for the price honestly why not!! I would definitely recommend giving this a try.

                                                               Beauty Treats 

(website linked in caption)

So I had to put this whole brand in general on my favorites because I always end up picking up one of their lip products 😅!! I did pick these up specifically from ShopMissA but because of how amazing these products are they are always selling out so be sure to check their personal website out as well. As you babes already know i'm all about exfoliation and that includes your lips!! lip exfoliation is so important especially if your a matte lipstick junkie like me and a good lip scrub never lets me down. 

  

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these scrubs are the truth!! the left picture is the almond cream lip scrub and its so moisturizing. I'ts thick and rich and more of a mild scrub but it still has that grittiness from the little beads inside the formula the right picture is a peach sugar scrub and is a little more coarse for the dead skin and build up on your lips. You can choose multiple flavors for both products and the combination of the two is heaven sent! 

After a good scrub you always need a good lip treatment mine is obviously from beauty treats (pictured above) I didn't swatch it because it kept running down my hand (and I DO NOT like wasting product girl okaaay 😆) but that just shows you how rich with oils the formula is. I got Almond Oil (click for link) and it feels sooooo good on my lips if I had to compare its basically the same consistency as carmex but it doesn't have any menthol so you won't get that cooling sensation which I personally prefer and once again all of these were only $1 yep you read that right babes. 

                                            LA Girl Pro Concealer "fawn" 

                               
                                               (click caption for link)

I've been using this concealer for two years and I don't plan on stoping anytime soon its rich and creamy and it never creases on me I just L O V E it not to mention a little goes a long way so it last FOREVER. I'm sure everyone has already at least heard of this but if you haven't or have and just haven't used it yet stop what youre doing and grab one please you will not regret this! 

      AOA Wonder Blender 

      

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Pretty self explanatory but this "wonder" blender is sooooo soft and the flat end is perfect for applying my foundation I use to only use a blenders for under my eyes but using it on my whole face cuts my application time literally in half and it comes out so seamless don't underestimate the magic of a damp wonder blender it will change ya life! 

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips "Vegas strip"

  

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Last but def not least my ALL TIME FAVE highlighter as you can see I hit pan because I'm that obsessed with it and I truly feel like this would look good on ANY skin tone but they also have other shades that you could choose from ( I WILL be getting my hands on those very soon). I'ts not too chalky or glittery and its as smooth as butter absolutely no fall out and 5 shades in one strip so the combos are endless!! 

And that ends my favs babes hopefully i introduced you guys too some new goodies to try!! what have you babes been obsessing over for the month of january? let me know in the comments or hashtag #astoldbygen on twitter/instagram so I could see!! Till next time babes ❤

                                

Top 5 affordable eye shadow palettes

Hey BABES I'm back again this time with some very much needed Make-up talk!! I've always been a neutrals kinda girl so naturally when I decided to step it up a notch on my eye shadow game I fell in LOVE with all palettes NUDE inspired lol. Finding a good palette can be tricky especially when you're on a budget but not to fear!! Over some time I've acquired some palettes that have literally become my  everyday "go to's"  and I think that EVERYBODY of ANY skin tone could use these in their collection so lets get to it!! (:


#1 La Palette nude 1

                             

                                                              (click here for link)

This is my all time Favorite palette and it is literally LIFE. It has four matte shades and six shimmery ones and the whole thing feels like butter!! This palette def is on the cooler side of the neutrals (which I love) but it does have a couple of pinkish shades for transition as well but if cool tones are not your thing there's also a second version (la palette nude 2) that has way more purple and pinkish tones that you could play around with! Very minimal fall out and for only $15-20 (depending on where you get it) the pigmentation is unbelievable!!


#2 Hard Candy Top Ten Trendsetter palette - Birthday suit 


  

(click here for link) 

These palettes are such amazing quality for only $6!! (yup..six bucks) the WHOLE palette is matte which isn't as common for cheap palettes as people may think and there's six different color schemes to choose from. Birthday suit is mostly neutral colors with a few unique Grey under toned shades perfect for smoking out shadow with out it being too muddy or dark or just for creating the perfect smokey eye look in general. Pigmentation is good (eye shadow primer def recommended for this palette) and Fall out is a little more than desired but with the price the purchase is still worth it!

#3 & #4 Wet &Wild Color Icon Mini Palettes 

(From left to right: Walking on eggshells, The naked Truth)

(click here for link)

You can get these lil' babies from just about any drugstore for around $4. They come in literally almost every color scheme and a lot of these mini palettes are dupes for high End shadows. When it comes to pigmentation I was pleasantly surprised at how amazing the staying power is and the texture is buttery and seamless a lot like my favorite palette. 

#5 Neutral Eyes 28 Color Eye shadow palette

(click here for link)

Lastly the biggest palette I own lol! The color range on this palette is to die for the cream colors and rich browns is what definitely drew my eye to this. Sadly the the pigmentation isn't what I wanted it to be and the fall out is a little much so a primer is once again recommended for this palette but none the less this is amazing for the beginner girl ,with all the shades the transitions will be endless and I really feel like this palette can give you a feel for you favorite shades and tones so when you're ready to invest in a better quality palette you have a better idea on which route you want to take.

And that is it!! I really hope I could help any of my babes out there struggling in this eye shadow game don't loose hope!! Very soon I'll be starting up my make up tutorial series so COMMENT and let me know if you would like to see me use any of these palettes!! Till next time

-GEN

NEW L.A.Colors $1 matte pout lipgloss (Makeup talk)

Hey ya'll so recently a well known cosmetic company called L.A. COLORS cosmetics (everything they sell is Super cheap btw check them out!) came out with their very own line of $1 matte lipgloss!! They currently have 22 shades that range in matte and shiny so if matte is'nt your thing you can still give these a try. Now I know what you may be thinking "how good can one dollar lipsticks really be?" And I must admit it's not a top quality formula but not everyone can afford or wants to shell out for lipsticks/lipgloss and I think with the right application ( I recommend pairing with a lip liner) they're an amazing alternative!!

 

(photo taken by me)

Colors listed from Left to Right : Enitcing,XOXO,Scrumptious and Kiss&Tell.

As you can see the "lipgloss"comes in these cute short tubes and the applicator is a super short wand with a longer than usual doe foot for easy application. I bought three from a webstie called ShopMissA.com (a really cool company that sells everything for literally $1 so once again check them out if you have'nt already!) and I got the last one from my local beauty supply store. They also sell them at your local Family dollar store and I found out L.A.Colors Cosmetics recently starting selling through Target so get on it babes!! 

(little baby doe foot applicator lol)

(photo taken by me)

(No flash)

swatches listed from Left to Right: Enticing,XOXO,Scrumptious,Kiss&Tell

Above I swatched all four colors (I use mac studio pro longwear foundation in NC50 for reference) just to give some perspective for my darker skin tone babes. As you can see Eniticing is the most opaque of the four but all in all they have pretty good coverage. They dry SUPER matte and will not budge without a proper lip stain remover. If I had to compare them to another formula I would say they're the most consistent with colourpops formula but more drying. They oxidize A LOT so be cautious when layering because the color WILL get darker and patchy if you're not careful!

(with flash) 

Im really satisfied with these $1 gems the pigmentation is amazing and the staying power is literally out of this world lol. So if your browsing around at your local dollar store and happen to come across these give them a try!! I really think they might suprise you. Till next time babes 

-GEN