April Favorites

April was a really fun month for makeup. I started an indie shadow project where the majority of my eye looks were all indie shadows; I discovered some new favorites, and I got a lot of good use out of my products. 

Melt Rust Stack:

When I used the Melt Lovesick Stack in my one week, one palette series, I concluded that Melt Stacks were fine, but not really worth the money. When the Rust Stack came back into stock (it was out of stock for a very long time), I very hesitantly purchased it. I didn't think it was a reckless purchase, but I am surprised that I pulled the trigger. And I am so glad that I did because this is my favorite neutral companion palette in my collection. In fact, this palette might make me able to declutter my Kat Von D Shade and Light Eye palette. And I say that because the shadows in the warm quad in the KVD palette are ones I use the most. Since getting Rust, I have used Shade and Light a couple of times, and it was to use the cooler quads. This is the absolute perfect collection of warm neutral shadows for me, and I found myself reaching for it consistently all month. I highly doubt I will be tempted by another set of warm matte shadows because this is very honestly perfect for me and my skin tone. Added to that, the quality of these shadows are incredible, and much nicer than Lovesick. 

Bobbi Brown Camel:

This is probably my favorite brown shadow in my collection and that I have ever used. It looks really similar in the pan to Rubbish from the Melt Rust Stack, but Camel is more of a mustard, which I love. This really is a unique shade to my collection, and it is an incredibly versatile shade. I wish it would not have taken me so long to pull the trigger on it, but this is also one of those makeup discoveries that only comes after you really know yourself and your makeup preferences. I realized that there was a color "lacking" from my collection, and I knew exactly what it looked liked. When I was younger and didn't know much about my makeup preferences, I wouldn't have realized this was a shadow I really wanted and "needed."

Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel:

This is a product that I have heard about for years but only recently purchased. I was never much of a bronzer person until about a year and a half ago, so this product was never something I was interested in. The reason I started loving bronzer was because I applied it in the winter. I am from the Southwest originally, and my skin always had a natural bronze to it because of all the sun exposure, and when I moved to NYC, between winter and the buildings just blocking any sun at all, I completely lost that bronze. I tried bronzer that winter and was amazed that it made my skin look like it used to. I have Seasonal Affective Disorder, so I get really sad during the winter, and using bronzer in a way tricked my brain into thinking it was warmer. And ever since then, I have worn it. 

I bought this specific bronzer because my skin was looking really powdery for a period of time, and I thought it might have been my bronzer. I knew this was a warm-toned bronzer, so I thought I would try it. And, man, I love it. This is a great shade for my skin tone, but I think it is really crappy that Chanel does not offer this in other tones. I later realized that it was the power I was using to set my foundation that made my skin look so caky, and layering a light bronzer on top of this gives my skin a really healthy glow. 

Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer in Light Bronzer:

As a bronzer for the majority of the year for me, this product sucks. It is so light that it is barely a face powder for me. And I have a light to medium skin tone. This is also the warmer-toned Butter Bronzer, so the slightly darker shade, Bronzer, would be too cool on my skin tone. I bought this when I was in vacation in California last summer (because of the hype and because of the smell), and when I realized that it did not show up on my skin, I put it in the declutter pile. When the winter rolled around and my normal bronzers were getting a little dark for me, I decided to pull this out. It was still too light for me, but it provided a tiny hint of color. I started using it more and more, and when I saw Jacquelyn Lovene start her "Build Pan Not Walls" project and saw that she included her PF Butter Bronzer, I decided to join that project as well and include this product. I've used this bronzer every day for a few months now, and as you can see, I've hit the pan in two places. As the weather is (finally) starting to warm up, this bronzer really won't cut for me anymore, buy layered over Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel, it is really beautiful. 

Indie Shadows

Fyrinne Illusionary:

Femme Fatale Candied Apple:

Notoriously Morbid Philosophoscope:

It should really come as no surprise, especially after completing indie month, that indie shadows would be in my favorites this month. There were some ups and down with the project, and I learned that not all shadows are created equal, but for the most part, the project was a success for me and has really taught me the value of single shadows and unique shadows. I've included my three favorites above, but since I talked about each of them in their own posts, I feel I would only be repetitive here. Suffice to say they are all incredibly beautiful and unique and are three of my favorite shadows that I own.