SHE SAID - Face Routine Using Maybelline Dream Nude Airfoam

 To continue my "Foundation Series" (....sounds so fancy, right?! hah), I wanted to share with you my makeup routine I've tended to use while wearing the Maybelline Dream Nude Airfoam foundation.  I've already posted a review of this product here - I definitely recommend watching it first because I refer back to it a few times in this video.

Alright, enough typing. 

Let's do some makeup.

SHE SAID - Maybelline Dream Nude Airfoam Review

Winston helps me review Maybelline's Dream Nude Airfoam! Hope you enjoy!

SHE SAID - How To Know When To Buy (Part II)

First off, if you haven't read Part I of this topic, I definitely recommend you do!  Now, on to more ways that I talk myself out of (and in to) purchasing things!

I mentioned in Part I that I stalk the product.  It's true - I try to not do impulse buys.  Part of my stalking strategy includes watching YouTube reviews/tutorials of the product.  One tip when doing this is to watch reviews done by girls who match your hair color/skin tone if possible.  I realize this isn't always easy - but it'll help you get a better idea of what a particular color of any product will look like on you before purchasing.  This tactic definitely helps when purchasing drugstore makeup since they typically do not have tester items.  

For department store makeup, you have the luxury of testers at your fingertips!  You can swatch to your hearts desire to know instantly if you do/do not like a particular color of product.  At a makeup counter you can also have the workers test the products on you.  If you're not sold completely on a product while in the store, have them put it on you then wear it out of the store, away from the salesperson, out of the fluorescent lights, and in to your every day life to see if it really fits YOU.  You are the only person who can decide that, and sometimes you need to sit with it for awhile to know if you're sold on it.

Now let me tell you my biggest secret yet about buying...ok, so it's not a secret, but it may put a new perspective on your buying.  As I mentioned in Part I, Derek and I budget our spending money monthly.  I usually spend the largest chunk of this money on food, so with whats left over I really can't get much makeup.  SO.......I don't really buy makeup until I have an 'event' happening.  What does that mean?  Well, it means I hold out on buying makeup until it's my birthday, Christmas, or a vacation.  Yes, that's right, I just tell myself NO until I have an event.  Of course there are many items I wish I could by whenever - but I tell myself no now, so later I can tell myself yes (yep, that's a Dave Ramsey saying, hah).  Honestly, all of my 'high dollar' purchases have been during an event, or given as gifts, so the rest of the year I'm typically just buying small purchase items here and there (such as my two new gorgeous Maybelline lipsicks pictured in Part I).  

So now that you know my purchasing secrets, does it change how you'll shop for your makeup? 

SHE SAID - Where Did You Get That?

So you've heard me gab a few weeks now about products I enjoy...so where do I actually buy them?!  Watch this video to find out!

SHE SAID - How To Know When To Buy (Part I)

Two Maybelline pretties
I bought this week

There's about 45,000 cosmetic products out there.  And if you're like me, you want about 43,961 of them.  Seriously.  So how do you decide when to pull the trigger and spend some cash?  To each his own on when/how/why you want to spend your money, but I want to tell you how I decide to spend.  I've decided to break this up into two posts so I can say everything I want to say on this subject...which is quite a bit!

As you already know from the origination of the blog, Derek and I are Dave Ramsey enthusiasts.  AKA we're stingy with our money.  Kind of.  Basically, we try to budget and not waste money.  Within our budget, we're each allotted $65 of "blow money" every month.  No, that's not drug money, hah, that's blow as in spend-on-whatever-you-want-moolah.  We include eating out individually in that category, so $65 really doesn't go too too far for each of us.  With such a small budget I must choose what I buy very wisely! 

For starters you should know that I do not include my "must haves" in this budget (don't worry, Derek has OKed this!) - for me this means mascara, concealer, and foundation.  If I want to buy additional mascaras, concealers, foundations that DOES count as a blow-money purchase.  Now that that's out of the way, let me tell you the 3 steps I follow when I'm deciding what I'm willing to blow my money on:

1) I think about it - I mean really think about it.  How often will I use the product?  Will it go bad before I use it up?  Do I have other products like this already?

2) I weigh the price against other things I may want to spend my money on - This is going to sound like a joke, but I often times think of money values with the scale of "how many Subway sandwiches will this cost me?" - seriously.  I love me some Subway!  I now also use the weight of 'how many lipsticks could I buy instead?"

3) I stalk the product - I watch multiple YouTube reviews, read articles, gaze longingly at it a few times in stores.

Those steps may sound extreme, but it keeps me from making impulse buys that I'll later regret.  In Part II of this post I'll further discuss how I decide when to spend, and discuss how I choose colors of whatever items I buy (credit to Leah Graham for requesting this topic!)

SHE SAID - Cheap Lipstick Goodness

As I mentioned in my last video, I don't own a high end lipstick.  It's true, believe it or not!  Now, I won't promise that I'll never buy a high end lipstick (I can feel that purchase coming on in the next few months...)  Let me explain a bit why I've yet to make that purchase plunge.  I once watched a video/read an article (honestly can't remember) of a source I apparently trusted that explained that lipstick is super cheap to manufacture because it's mostly wax.  Since it's so cheap to produce, there's honestly no need to pay the big bucks for it.  All drugstore lipsticks I've purchased have been between $0.99 and $6.00 = very affordable.  Often you can find them on clearance for significantly less than their original price.  Do some of them smell cheap?  Yes.  Do some of them need a bit of gloss over top to not feel dry?  Sure.  But each time I buy a drugstore lipstick I'm saving nearly $10 bucks.  So wanna see the goods?  Below is a picture and swatches of the drugstore lipsticks I have.  And honestly, I've gotten great results from every single one!