Smashing!

I've kind of being doing a little lot of shopping lately...

In preparation for my upcoming trip to Miami,

I realized that I needed to freshen up my wardrobe, beauty case, 

and anything else that may come in handy for a bachelorette party. 

I'm such a girly girl when it comes to make-up. 

I've been testing out different brands and conjuring up various looks since high school,

and attending last year's IMATS was this girl's ultimate pleasure. 

During my latest haul at Sephora,

I settled on two items from Smashbox - 

a step-by-step contour kit and a legendary lipstick in Vivid Violet.

I always go through phases in my make-up routine. 

One day I'll be really into rosy cheeks,

and then a few weeks later, 

I'll ditch blush all together and stick strictly to bronzer. 

After watching Kandee Johnson's latest video on how to "slenderize your face",

I was on the prowl for a darker foundation/powder. 

The kit above seemed perfect for my needs -

it includes three different shades for contouring, bronzing and highlighting.

What I like the most about it,

is that the powders are shimmer-free. 

Sometimes a little glitter is nice.. but the older I get, the sillier I feel when my face shines like a disco ball.

Not everyone can pull of J Lo's glow... 

well, maybe just on special occasions,

and I have another set of products to achieve that look. 

I've been experimenting with different colors of lipstick lately,

and this new addition is unlike anything I have ever tried before. 

This is my first Smashbox lipstick,

but so far, I'm pretty impressed with how pigmented it is, 

and the amount of moisture it retains after a few hours. 

The picture above doesn't do this color justice - 

I posted a better picture of what it actually looks like on my lips on my Instagram.

I'm planning on bringing both of these items to Miami,

so stay tuned for more pictures of the combined look!