- Eyeshadows, obviously. Great texture, long-lasting, good color payoff.

- Lipsticks. Great variation and smell nice. 

- Studio Fix Powder. My first foundation from MAC, and something I would buy again and again. Gives a smooth finish to the skin, mattifies, and adds coverage. 

- Studio Fix Fluid. I've been using this foundation for the past 2 years, and I love it as much as the first day I wore it. Works well with oily skin, has great coverage, gives a flawless finish when applied with a brush such as 109 or 187. 

- PlushLash mascara. Now I know MAC hasn't done a great job with their mascara formulas, but I do really enjoy the plushlash. I never believed in the "false-lash effect" that people where talking about until I used this. 

- Blot Powder. I keep this in my makeup bag all the time and use it with a tiny powder brush to set my makeup in the morning and to touch up once during the day. This has made my makeup stay shine-free for alot longer than it would have without it. Also, I've had the same one for about a year and a half, and I still have over half of it left.

- Paint Pots. Revolutionary, genius. And since they are so easy to work with and can be built up to different degrees of pigmentation, even the most inept makeup user can rub a bit of a paint pot such as groundwork or blackground on their lids, apply mascara, and be gone. On the other hand, the pro can also use this to intensify colors and bring out different tones in eyeshadows. 

1. Cut your q-tips in half. Chances are, you only use one end of them at any one time right? Cut them into two and they become single use q-tips. Doubling your money's worth in an instant. Also, don't buy the name brand q-tips. Buy cotton buds from the dollar store, its an unbelievable savings. Same goes for cotton pads. 

2. Baby oil as eye makeup remover. A big bottle costs less than 5$ and will last you at least 3 years, trust me. 

3. Nivea creme for feet and hands. If you are on a budget, avoid the temptation of buying expensive creams and lotions, as well as products meant for specific body parts. Creams such as Nivea (the thick stuff in the blue tub) will provide uber moisturization to heels and cuticles. 

4. Buy things on sale even if you dont need them at the moment, if you use it regularly, u will use them at some point

5. Don't open too many mascaras at once, your just wasting them and money. They dry out.

6. Buy cheap translucent powder, who's gonna be able to tell the difference?? Ladies, its called translucent because it's transparent!

7. Read reviews on makeup or beauty products before you buy them, i started doing that and its saved me TONS of money, no joke. I like to google "product name review" as well as check out makeupalley.com before I buy anything. Do your research, even on cheap products, because even if research saves you from buying a few cheaper products, it'll add up and you can save alot. 

8. Use Vaseline as lip balm and eye cream. Youthful skin is hydrated skin, and scientifically speaking, the stronger the barrier, the better the moisture is kept in the skin. Vaseline works great as a lash conditioner and an eye cream for that reason, and if you are young but worried about eye wrinkles, use vaseline as your first eye cream. You have the rest of your life to buy expensive eye creams. 

9. Baby shampoo as brush cleaner. No brainer.

10. Don't throw away makeup you don't use or you hate just yet! I hold on to my makeup until I find a use for it. That gives me my money's worth as well as teaches me a lesson about buying makeup without thinking. 

11. Lipstick wasn't what you thought it was? Cream blush!

12. Buy drugstore highlighting shadows. They tend to look the same on the skin and if there are differences, they aren't large enough to justify spending 15$ on a "pink shimmer" and a "yellow" shimmer highlighter. The ones from CoverGirl will do you just fine. 

You guys have any tips?

Your girl,

A

I was going to make a video, but decided a blog would be better because I don't really like those tribute videos to be honest. I find them boring. I thought I'd save you the pain. And just say thank you. It really means the world to me that I have people interested in what I have to say and I do notice the subscribers to comment regularly and those people make me feel very special. So thank you YT.

xoxo

Ahna

I do.

I most definitely do.

Namely, Chrome Yellow, Bitter, Da Bling, and some others I would rather not mention. Those eyeshadows get very little love from me, but I'm just going to have to try harder to use them. Which gave me the idea of reminding you guys can you can wear any color... with a little bit of black.

Which is the key to wearing brights if you aren't a bright type of girl. Looks nice in the pan, but on your eyes... you feel safer going for a warmer color, less shocking. But you shouldn't let the makeup go to waste. Simply wear the bright on your lid and smoke it out with a dark color (black works with everything, but you can also try a dark grey or a dark brown) in the crease, wear dark liner and mascara, and voila, you have the "pop" of color everyone's talking about without looking like a clown. Save your money ladies! And think twice before you buy that aqua color that looks like it should be on your toenails instead of your face.

A lot people suggest wearing the "pop" of color as a liner, but I find that a little trickier because certain colors just don't work that way and I find that black liner really is key in defining and "caging in" the bright, if you will. Keeps it in its boundaries. Hence I never use bright colors as liner. However, to each his own. It must work for somebody eh?