An Engineer's Beauty Diary

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well and having a great weekend! I know I already have a post up on my skincare, it's simple and quick, with prescription topical creams. I'll link that at the end of this post if you would like to take a look. Anyway, I've changed up my morning routine a bit, and my skin has cleared up greatly in just the past three days. These products that I have re-incorporated into my morning routine have helped me through bad breakouts in the past; what I'll be talking about today is the Clinique Acne Solutions Cleanser and Toner. When I had first tried out some products from this line, it was probably in 8th grade. I had bought the bar cleanser, moisturizer and spot treatment from a Macy's counter in my mall. After using the products for a few weeks, I noticed two things: one, the bar cleanser was horrible, it left my face feeling like there was some kind of weird residue and left behind this disgusting scent, and two, the product...

Hello everyone! Today I have for you a review and swatches  on the Lancôme Color Design as well as their Season Effects Eyeshadows. Are they worth it? Let's find out! Lancôme Color Design Single Eyeshadow  Off the Rack (Metallic) All right, let's start with the singles that I have then, this shadow is a light pink duo chrome metallic that comes off as a beautiful shimmery sheen. It looks pink in certain lights and can look blue/purple in others. I find that if I put this over a black base, it truly turns that blue/purple color. The staying power of this eyeshadow is astounding! I have worn it without eye primer before and it lasted me a whole school day, which for me, is unheard of due to my extremely oily eyelids. This shadow contains 1.2 g and retails for around $17, so definitely a pretty hefty price tag on a shadow. Mochaccino (Matte) Also in the Color Design line, this shadow is a deep, cool matte brown. As you can tell in the swatch, sometimes th...

Hello everyone, I hope you are all doing well! Today, I'm going to do the eye makeup installment of long lasting makeup with 3 simple tips. Let's jump straight into it! Tip # 1: Prime, Prime, Prime!  So, obviously, the most important tip for long lasting, flawless eye makeup is to use a good primer to prevent creasing and fading. I have extremely oily eyelids and the Too Faced Shadow Insurance in Candlelight is the best eye primer I have ever found! I love this primer, it gives a beautiful golden, shimmery tint to the eyelids and hold eyeshadows amazingly! Tip # 2: Add a cream shadow to prolong wear.  Cream eyeshadows on top of a good primer can make the entire eye look last even longer. These 3 are just the ones that I have, but you can use any long wearing cream shadow you would like. I apply these over my eye primer, and usually, if my eye primer is matte, like the Urban Decay Primer Potion, then I'll use something like MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study...

Hey everyone! Today I'm going give some of my favorite  face tips and products for a longer lasting, flawless finish. Start with a good primer: This is the Avon Magix Face Perfector with SPF 20. There really isn't much to say about this product, except that it is a decent primer, doesn't break me out, and holds makeup fine. But I would prefer the Bare Minerals Prime Time Foundation Primer. I like the consistency of that one much more, and it holds the makeup and keeps shine away for a much longer amount of time. Add a long lasting base with foundation: And this is the famed Revlon Colorstay Foundation, I have this in the color 180 Sand Beige. I think there's enough reviews out there about this foundation that I really don't have to say much, but it is really good, and transfer resistent. I don't think this actually breaks me out, but it might be a possibility, because I haven't worn it in so long. One tip for this though, is to either app...

Hey everyone! I hope everyone is doing well! For today's theme, I'm going to go over my highlighter collection and review the products as I go along (as you can tell by the title). So, let's jump right in! Here's an overview of the products: First up from Benefit: This is the Watt's Up highlighter from Benefit Cosmetics! This, I would say, is the most subtle of all the highlights I'm going to be talking about today. What I have is the deluxe sample size that I got for a beauty point perk at Sephora. I've had this highlighter for quite a while, but it barely looks used, so it definitely lasts a long time, especially if you got the full size. This provides a beautiful sheen when applied to the tops of the cheekbones and under the brow, which are the only places I apply this because I have extremely oily skin. It does have a slight pinkish tint, but blends into any skin tone beautifully! It has a nice creamy texture and is probably my favori...

Hello everyone! For today's post, I'm going to be discussing a topic that many, many people all over the world can relate to: acne. I am currently going to a dermatologist, and I have gotten topical prescription creams for my acne. And now, I'm going to share with you my everyday acne skin care routine, with prescriptions. The first thing I do for both my morning and night time routine is cleanse. I use the CeraVe cleanser for normal to oily skin, as recommended by my dermatologist. In the picture it's only the sample size, but I use the huge 12 oz size everyday. I just thought that the regular size would be too big for a picture! Anyway, this is a great mild cleanser, it doesn't do anything bad to my skin, and is good for simply cleansing, nothing else, no treatments or added benefits. My derm recommended this to me because the prescription treatments I would be using are harsh and drying on the skin. After cleansing my skin and drying off with a washc...

Hello again everyone! In yesterday's post, I discussed my first step of makeup removal, using the Boscia Makeup-Breakup Cool Cleansing Oil. Today, I'm going to discuss the second step of my makeup removal routine, using... The Almay Oil-Free Makeup Remover Towelettes! These have 25 towelettes per pack and retail for around $5-$6 and can be found at any drugstore as well as Ulta. I usually just wait until there's a sale at Rite Aid or Walgreens because that's where they will probably run the best sales, although Ulta sometimes does run a pretty good deal on these, they always seem to be out of stock. Ingredients: Aqua (Water) (Water, Eau), Cetearyl Isononanoate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth 20, Glycerin, Cucumis Sativus, Cucumis Sativa (Cucumber) Fruit Extract (Cucumber), Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis) Extract, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Glyceryl Distearate, Benzoic Acid, Ceteareth 12, Cetyl Palmitate, Diazolidinyl Urea, Tetrasodium EDTA, Capryl...

Hello everyone! This week, there's going to be a theme for each day, and today is all about my mom's moisturizer. My mom has amazing skin, it looks so amazing that there was a time where we were stopped in the beauty aisle of Wal-Mart and this lady asked what my mom used to keep her skin looking so beautiful and young! Well, let's jump into the secret! The Olay Total Effects Night Firming Cream! My mom has used this moisturizer for about 4 years now, and I know that because that's the length of time I have been into makeup and beauty. I actually remember doing research on a moisturizer and coming up with this, and ever since my mom tried it, she's stuck with it. As you can see, my mom's little tub of this moisturizer is almost completely gone. She uses this cream on her face and neck every morning and night, only applying it slightly lighter in the morning and a bit heavier at night for added hydration. It does have a scent, but it isn't bot...

Hello everyone! I am so sorry for not posting recently, preparing for the oncoming school year is starting to get hectic for me again! Anyway, let's get onto a much more interesting topic. A few weeks ago, I had run out of my favorite mascara, Maybelline The Falsies Flared and needed a new one ASAP. I was looking around online on sites such as Ulta and Sephora for a mascara or mascara set that was a great deal for the money. On Sephora's front page, I came across this: This Lash Stash To Go from Sephora is a spin off of their regular Lash Stash that comes out mainly during the holiday season. It comes with five high end deluxe mascara samples for only $25, as well as a voucher for one full size of the mascaras included! I placed an order on Sephora.com; it was the amazing value that made me decide that I just had to have it.   From left to right: Lancome Definicils, Korres Volcanic Minerals Volumizing Mascara, Buxom Lash, Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes!,...