How Many Products do You Use Daily? The Number Might be Frightening.

How many products do you use on a daily basis? I thought about this the other day as I was getting ready for work and was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of products I use. You would think after listing them all off that I leave the house looking like a clown, but really, it comes down to the application technique and amount of product used.

So, I'm going to talk about my makeup and hair routine in this post and then I'll ask you to tell me how many products YOU use on the daily. Here we go!

On days I wash my hair:
1. Shampoo- Pureology Nanoworks
2. Conditioner- L'Oreal EverStrong In the Shower:
3. Body wash- either Bath and Body Works or Victoria's Secret Brand (or Target)
4. Soap- Dove sensitive skin (it's the only soap I can use that doesn't make my skin freak out) 5. Face wash- La Roche Posay Effaclar foaming gel cleanser mixed with Neutrogena Acne Stress Control Foaming face wash.

Before hair styling:
6. Garnier Fructis XXL Volume Thickening Mousse
7. Redken Extreme Anti Snap leave-in treatment
8. Pureology Thickening Spray (sometimes)
9. Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum

After blow drying/styling prep:
10. Kerastase Nutri Serum
11. CHI 44 Iron Guard (sometimes)


Makeup (and yes, this is the order I do it in):
12. Moisturizer- Neutrogena Sensitive Skin moisturizer
13. Concealer-MAC Studio Fix concealer (the one in the pot) applied to any red areas with a Sigma foundation brush
14. Powder- MAC Studio Fix Powder foundation- applied with Sigma large fluffy brush
15. Lash Curler- shu uemura Eyelash Curler
16. Inner eye highlighter- Anastasia of Beverly Hills Highlighting Pencil in "Sand"
17. Gel Eyeliner- Bobbi Brown gel liner in "black mauve" or MAC fluidline gel liner in "Dipdown" (on top lid- applied with Sigma or MAC slanted eyeliner brush)
18. Eyeshadow- MAC "brun" eyeshadow to line lower lashline only (no eyeshadow on lids) 19. Waterline eyeliner- Bonne Bell "black ink" eyeliner
20. Bronzer- NARS "Laguna"
21. Eyebrow Pencil- Anastasia of Beverly Hills in "medium brunette"
22. Blush- either Bobbi Brown "peony," Benefit "Coralista," or Stila "Petunia"...I have others too, but these are my faves lately
23. Mascara- either DiorShow waterproof (black) or L'Oreal Volume Collagen waterproof in "Blackest Black"


So, that's it, 23 products later. Now, let's talk tools:
* Hairdryer
* CHI Flat Iron
* Velcro Rollers
* Velcro Roller clips to hold them in place
* Eyelash curler (but I counted that as a product)
* Sigma and MAC makeup brushes
* Bobby pins- to hold front layers in place when hair is styled
* Clarisonic Mia (to cleanse skin- I use it at night only though)


Phew! It's exhausting to think I use so many products...yet it doesn't take me a long time do to my makeup at all. Like I said, it's all in HOW you apply it/how MUCH you apply. I've got my routine down because I wear my makeup the exact same way every single day. I don't always wear the same blush or eyeliner color, but the application is the same. On weekends, I sometimes wear eyeshadow or do a smokey eye. I also sometimes use a (shimmery) highlighter in the evening on my cheekbones.

So, tell me, are you shocked by how many products you use? What's your product number? (please God, tell me it's close to mine, LOL!)

Also, a lot of bloggers have already mentioned this article, and if you're a blogger, I suggest you read it. It basically is someone saying beauty bloggers aren't reliable because we aren't professional makeup artists and don't work in the industry.

I write this blog because it is a fun hobby for me and I love sharing tips, tricks and positive inspiration with like-minded women. I don't write it because I think I'm awesome at makeup. I learn a lot from other bloggers/vloggers who are much more skilled than I am.

Having said that, I love to review products and I don't think my reviews are any less significant because I'm not a professional makeup artist. I write about how the products work for me, and I think people understand that. 100 people could rave about a product and it might not work the same for someone else.

Anyways, I'm rambling, so I'll stop and allow you to share with me in the comments your product-junkie-ness.

Thank you for reading, contributing to the conversation and for being beautiful and awesome!

xoxo,

Veronika.

Products You Never Knew You Needed

This is going to be a quick entry because it's Friday and I'm exhausted (and promised Candice that I'd attend a grueling Pilates class with her in the a.m.), but I wanted to ask you all:

What is a product that you never thought you needed to use, that is now an essential part of your beauty routine?

I have a few but the one that makes the most significant difference in my apperance is this:

It is the Anastasia of Beverly Hills Perfect Brow Pencil. Before our wedding, I never used an eyebrow pencil. I guess because I have full brows, I assumed a brow pencil could do nothing for me. But I was sorely mistaken, and my amazing wedding makeup artist showed me why.

When Danielle from The Perfect Face did my wedding makeup trial, I noticed she had filled in my brows, and though it took some getting used to, I realized just how much more of a polished apperance the enhancement brought to my face. There was more balance- my eyebrows were stronger, but not overly done (I like enhanced, not drawn-on brows.)

From the Trial:

From the Wedding:

Now, I can't imagine NOT using an eyebrow pencil. I use it to extend the lenght of my brows (they don't grow out as far as they should) and also to fill in any sparse areas. It really makes a subtle difference and takes my took to a higher level of "polished-ness."

So, tell me- what's a product you never thought to use or didn't think you needed, that you now can't live without?

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

xoxo,

Veronika.