4-Year Blog Anniversary: The Makeup Addict Tag!

Hi, everyone! It seems another milestone has snuck up on me- today marks my 4-year Blog Anniversary! I started Vibrant Beauty back in March of 2011 during a stressful chapter when I seriously needed a fun, creative outlet. Since that time, this blog has provided me with more enrichment, support, experiences, and new friends than I ever could imagined. I thank my lucky stars daily for each and every one! 

I thought an ultra fun way to celebrate this anniversary would be with a post that fits my personality perfectly- the Makeup Addict Tag! This series has been swirling around the blogosphere lately and I've recently been tagged by Shawna at Spill the Beauty and Chelle from Makeup Your Mind. So it's about time I got around to it! 

1) Which product do you still buy more of, despite having plenty in your collection?

Lipsticks!! But that probably won't be a surprise to any of my regular readers. Lipstick is my absolute favourite way to play with vibrant colour and there are few things more transformative (both visually and emotionally) than swiping a bold fuchsia or scarlet across your lips. I'm a lover of mattes, satins, and sheers alike and am obsessed with collecting everything from drugstore gems to the most luxe options out there. 

2) What is the one product you cannot live without?

Eyebrows! Or brow colour, that is. I majorly over-plucked my brows in high school and have been left with seriously sparse arches. I have to fill them in daily or else suffer the curse of a frameless face. Not pretty! My ultimate holy grail for this is the Anastasia Brow Powder Duo in Taupe. It's been my go-to for about seven years!

3) Favourite makeup brand?

What a silly question for a makeup fiend! But if I were to choose 5 (cut me some slack), it would be MAC (for powder, concealer, lipsticks, and shadows), Urban Decay (the best eye shadows on the market and my holy grail UDPP), Revlon (my favourite drugstore lip colours and the best foundation for my skin type, ColourStay), NARS (for stunning blushes and rich, pigmented lip pencils), and Chanel (a touch of luxury that doesn't 100% break the bank. I'm obsessed with their lipsticks, polishes, eye shadow quads, and their Perfection Lumiere Velvet foundation). Serious runners up would be Hourglass, Too Faced, Illamasqua, Tom Ford, and Inglot. Ok, I've totally blown this question out of proportion. 

4) How big is your makeup collection?

Um, very big?? This is a super subjective, relative question. With the exception of my out of control lipstick collection, it's a fairly balanced collection, in that I have a fair amount of everything. To bring some objectivity to this question, here are a few counts: I own 73 blushes, 51 eye shadow palettes, and 70 nail polishes. Many of these are quite old (some over 10 years), but still. I have a lot. 

5) And how do you store it?

My storage is more willy-nilly than I'd like it to be. Some portions are quite organized, such as my acrylic counter-top drawers (that house my current faves) and nail polish shelves, but the rest of my goodies are divided between a variety of makeup bags and train cases. 

6) How many items of makeup do have in your handbag at the moment?

Umm, this is embarrassing. Granted, I tend to carry a huge bag on a daily basis, it's no understatement that half its contents are beauty-related. In my purse at all times are concealer, setting powder, lip balm, and a variety of lip products. Here's an honest to goodness shot of what was in my bag the day that I wrote this:

7) If you could raid another blogger's stash, whose would it be?

Since she reviews just about every new product on the market, I would sell my left foot (random) to delve into Temptalia's stash. As I'm a true sucker for luxurious, high-end makeup, it would be an ultimate treat to swim around in peek through Sabrina from The Beauty Look Book's collection. Also, since I'm newly obsessed with natural, organic makeup, I would relish perusing Lilly from Genuine Glow's beauty shelves. 

8) How long does your usual makeup routine take and how many products do you use?

I approach my daily makeup routine as a moment of zen. I don't want to rush it but, given the demands a busy life, it can't be a full-out extravaganza. In short, it takes me 15-20 minutes. Excluding the rare days when my routine is super minimal, my lineup consists of: 1) foundation, 2) concealer, 3) mattifying powder, 4) a more brightening all-over powder, 5) contour or bronzer, 6) blush, 7) highlighter, 8) brow powder, 9) brow gel, 10) eye shadow primer, 11) 2-4 eye shadows, 12) eyeliner, 13) mascara, and 14) a lip stick/gloss/stain. Here's a shot of the products that went into yesterday's makeup look:

9) Have you ever bought makeup knowing you wouldn't use it?

Never! While it's sometimes tough to dig into the more beautifully designed items, my true pleasure comes from using, rather than simply collecting, makeup. 

10) Tag a few other makeup addicts to do this tag!

Ooh, fun! I tag:

Laura from Laura Neuzeth

Kaitlyn from Kaitlyn Elizabeth Beauty

Tracy from Beauty Reflections

Maeve from Lilting-Grace

Phewf! That was a super long post, so I'll conclude by saying thank you for stopping by and for all of your love and support over the past 4 years! xoxo