Makeup: Drugstore Gems #1

In order to start off 2014 right (and by right I mean beautiful and with an in tact wallet!), I wanted to share with y'all two beautiful products from ELF that have made their way into my every day makeup routine.

ELF Eyeshadow Primer in Sheer- $1

One swipe of the eyeshadow primer. Side note: I am obviously no hand model.

As you can see in this picture, when first applied, it has the tiniest bit of a tint. 

 Blended out.

Et voila! Once blended out, you can barely even see it any more. I've noticed that it color corrects a bit on the eyelids, but even that is only noticeable if you're looking for it.

Personally, I need some sort of primer, or else by the end of the day it will be smudge city on my eyelids. With one, that problem is completely resolved and my eyeshadow looks nearly new by the end of the day. I have tried both the Urban Decay primer potion and the Lorac primer, and both of those do achieve the same results as this for me. The thing is, though, that this does all I want it to do just as well as high end products, and it is $1. As opposed to over $20. For me, the choice is clear.

And one thing that this brings to the table that the others don't is the doe-foot applicator (cue Hallelujah Chorus and light shining down). For me, dabbing this and swiping is a thousand times easier than dealing with a squeeze tube where you'll get different amounts of product coming out every time and messes on the top of the packaging. I know this is a minor complaint, but isn't the appeal of makeup in the details?

Some people swear by the NARS primer or have only used Urban Decay's, but for the love of all things beauty-related, run by Target and pick this up before resorting to those. You'll be glad you did.

This product can be purchased here.

ELF Studio Eyebrow Kit in Medium- $3

ELF Eyebrow Kit. As you can see, mine is well loved.

And now on to my beloved eyebrow kit. It's beautiful. It's phenomenal. It's cheaper than a white chocolate mocha from Starbucks. All hail the mighty brow kit. (Four for you if you caught the subtle Nightvale reference.)

This is the only product I have for my brows, and I use it daily. Most of the time, I stick to the powder and just run it through to get rid of any unsightly baldness (what an icky word) in my brows. On days when I'm feeling a bit fancier, have a ton of time to apply my makeup, or for special occasions, I'll also use the tinted wax through the arch of my brows to define them a bit more than usual.

My only complaint with this product is a small one. I'm not a fan of the tiny brushes inside. Do yourself a favor and invest in an angled brush to use with this product! It's well worth it. The ones inside aren't well made and really are not worth the hassle. 

In regard to the shades, I have only ever used Medium. To be completely honest, I think when I first bought it I didn't even realize there was more than one shade (either that or I didn't care). Now, I'm a natural blonde and I can get away with using Medium. My hair is a darker blonde, though, so take that into account. For those of you with really light hair and fair skin, it may be best to err towards the Light shade. And the Ash option would be good for cooler toned blondes. If your hair is mid-toned brown or darker, I would recommend trying the darkest shade first. I don't speak from experience because I have never used it, but Medium works on a Blonde. So you can do the math there.

I believe that's all I have for you today! There will be plenty more drugstore makeup posts to come, because I am a firm believer in drugstore makeup. Don't get me wrong, I have been known to splurge at Sephora, but you had also better believe that I can do a full face of makeup with my drugstore products any day.

Love y'all! I'll talk to you soon!

Notes to Self: New Years Eve

Everything is temporary. Even if it doesn't feel like it. 

As a senior in high school, I am well-versed in the world of feeling stuck. It is the bane of my existence. I am ready to go, to experience something, to do something. No matter how many lovely people or things I have going for me in my life right now, I feel like everything is marked by the mundane, filled with the same old ideas that I've been drudging through since I was a child. 

The most frustrating part of this is that there is no solution. I can't fix myself or even change my environment drastically. It just has to be waited out.

(Sorry for the amount of teenager-angst there was in that bit. I'll try to avoid it from now on.)

There's a fine line between being a pushover, picking your arguments, and just being plain argumentative. 

I feel like this is something I struggle with- not so much the pushover part, but the other two. And the balance between the two is interesting because it truly depends on the place I'm in, the people I'm with, and, hell, sometimes even the day. 

In public I can be far too willing to wait... and wait... and then wait a bit more as I watch and listen to things that aggravate me. Then when I'm finally pushed over the edge, I burst, normally in a fashion that's a bit too over the top. And I'm not quite sure if this could be fixed by speaking my mind more often (and less emphatically) or simply becoming more patient. Honestly, probably both. 

And on the other side of the Morgan's-anger spectrum is when I'm with family and friends (admittedly, mostly family). I will snap like a twig. No, I probably don't even have the resistance of a twig. It's more like one of those itsy bitsy wafer cookies. I snap with little encouragement but with far less bellicosity. 

People don't really change. Sadly.

This sentiment seems to be smacking me in the face lately in different forms of media (Frozen, anyone?), and I've been giving it quite a bit of thought. I've come to the conclusion that I agree with it for the most part. The only way for people to change is slowly, by taking painful baby steps towards the end goal. And I feel like very, very few people truly do this. 

Now I'm kicking myself for writing that on New Years. It's a bit of a downer now that I think about it. But I still feel, despite the millions and billions of resolutions being made at the moment, that it's borderline impossible for people to motivate themselves towards real change. Circumstances change and ages change, and that can force people in to altering their lives, but just changing your personality like flipping a switch is definitely next to impossible. 

And in conclusion:

I've written a fairly depressing blog post. Happy New Years Eve.

I promise, not all of my posts will be this thoughtful and downer-esque. Makeup and books shall be coming soon (and those things put me in far better moods!). I believe I'm just feeling a tad bit pensive because of being cooped up, and because the thought of going back to school the day after tomorrow is physically painful. (Insert melodramatic gif here.)

In an effort to redeem this post, I'll leave you with this: I honestly do hope that you have a great start to your year! Have a great time tonight, be safe, and be thankful for everything that you have. Plus, we can all take solace in the fact that SHERLOCK PREMIERES TOMORROW! Color me incredibly excited.

Love y'all! Talk to you soon!