Weekly Poll Results - What's One Item of Makeup you Can't Leave your House Without Wearing?

What's One Item of Makeup you Can't Leave your House Without Wearing?

I'm sure all of us beauty fanatics alike have become sort of accustomed to the way we look with makeup, so when we aren't wearing something in particular, we feel a little.. well.. naked. I remember a time period where I wore false eyelashes (snipped in half.. nothing crazy) just about every day. Then when I stopped, it took some time adjusting to the way I actually look without false lashes because to me without false lashes, it always looked like there was something missing on my face.

There's also the times where I had really over plucked eyebrows. I barely let anyone see me without my eyebrows colored in. I use to apply She Laq (discontinued product by Benefit to seal your makeup) to my brows at night so I'd wake up with my brows still filled. Only to wash my face and fill them in again. I guess we all go through phases.

Whatever it may be - maybe the greatest concealer ever or a really good mascara, many of us have that one item of makeup that we need to get through the day.

So the question was, what is one item of makeup you can't leave your house without wearing? (Or at least would prefer not to leave the house without wearing.. haha!)

The Results Are:

Foundation, Tinted Moisturizer or BB Cream - 73 votes (18%) 
Concealer - 37 votes (9%)
Mascara - 93 votes (23%)
Brow Filler - 18 votes (4%)
Eyeliner - 27 votes (6%)
Eyeshadow - 5 votes (1%)
Bronzer or Blush - 10 votes (2%)
Lipstick, Gloss or Balm - 41 votes (10%)
I can't choose only one! - 55 votes (14%)
I can get away with wearing no makeup at all! - 30 votes (7%)
Other - 0 votes (0%)

This poll is based on 389 votes.

The number one answer is mascara!

I'm having a hard time choosing, but I know that when I'm about to go run errands and I have no makeup on, I almost always need to conceal my undereyes because they're naturally reddish purple. My second next important thing is filling in my brows, and then mascara. I could very well go without a foundation if I have a concealer on many days, but since I can only choose one, my answer would be foundation.

How about you? What would you choose?

Weekly Poll Results - What is the Most Money You'd Pay for your Perfect Face Makeup?

What is the most money you would pay for your perfect face makeup? 

As a makeup fanatic, I invest a lot of my money to try as many brands and products as my wallet can withstand. But the reality is, I only have one face and as much as I'd like to get through products as fast as I can so I can go out and replace them with new and different products, sometimes products just don't get finished before they get tossed. So if you think about it, that $50 foundation ended up costing you more if you ended up tossing it with some product left. *Keep in mind, you should toss a foundation after a maximum of two years - some say less, but it sometimes depends on the foundation.

Although I always like to keep the overall value in mind (sometimes I justify an expensive blush or bronzer if it comes with a hefty amount of product), but when it comes to face makeup, no matter what brand you go to, you're most likely going to end up with that same 1 oz of product, so you kind of have to offset the value for the price.

Also, face makeup (or foundation) typically gets used up the fastest from any other item of makeup and has to be replaced often. I rarely ever use the same foundation for more than a couple of weeks at a time, but I remember back in '06-07 when MAC Studio Fix Fluid was my "ish", and I was buying a bottle every 4 weeks. If you're using an expensive foundation, that can get pretty expensive!

So my question for all of you is - What's the most money you'd spend for your perfect face makeup? Whether it be a liquid foundation, powder, tinted moisturizer, etc.

The Results are:

Whatever the price may be! - 9 votes ( 3%)
$100+ - 6 votes (2%)
$80 - $95 - 5 votes (2%)
$60 - $75 - 38 votes (15%)
$40 - $55 - 95 votes (39%)
$20 - $35 - 65 votes (26%)
$15 and under - 23 votes (9%)

This poll is based on 241 votes.

I'm actually in the majority vote, which is $40 - $55. I personally don't like going over the $60 mark. I'll buy a Chanel Foundation for $55 and Guerlain for $58, but I've never gone over that for face makeup. There are so many products I'd like to try (Chantecaille, Cle de Peau, Tom Ford, etc) but I just have it engraved in my head that anything more than that $58 I pay for Guerlain Parure Extreme is just too much, and I'll look elsewhere.

Have you already found your HG face makeup? If they raised the price by $20 would you still continue to purchase it, or would you look elsewhere? Do you find certain items of makeup more justifiable than others? Do you usually keep value in mind when purchasing expensive makeup, or do you solely look at the price tag?

Weekly Poll Results - How Many Days of the Week do you Wear a Full Face of Makeup?

How Many Days of the Week do you Wear a Full Face of Makeup?

Hope you're all having a great Thursday! Just hang in there - the weekend is close by. I have another weekly poll for you!

This week I asked all of you how many days a week do you wear a full face of makeup. This for me would include foundation, concealer, brow filler, blush, bronzer, eye and lip makeup. But maybe for some of you a full face could include more or less products.

I typically wear a full face of makeup every day, unless I'm not planning on going out. When I have more time to get ready, I tend to pull out more products (face and eye primer, contour and highlight, etc), but when I'm short on time, I skip certain things (setting powder, highlighter, eyeshadow, lip liner, etc). I suppose it does vary for me by week, because there are weeks where I might only wear makeup a few days. On average, I probably wear a full face 5 to 7 days of the week.

The Results Are:

7 days - 51 votes (14%)
6 days - 46 votes (13%)
5 days - 88 votes (25%)
4 days - 26 votes (7%)
3 days - 27 votes (7%)
2 days - 29 votes (8%)
1 day - 23 votes (6%)
0 days; I don't typically wear makeup - 25 votes (7%)
It varies week to week - 31 votes (8%)

This poll is based on 346 votes.

The answers were pretty evenly distributed across the board, but 5, 6, and 7 days of the week have the most votes, with the number one answer being 5 days.

Are you the type of person that applies a full face of makeup in the morning regardless if you're going out or not? Or do you only do your makeup when you have to be somewhere? Do you mostly wear a full face of makeup on the weekend only or do you take a break from the week and leave your face bare on the weekend? Is it essential for you to wear makeup to work?

Ideally, I'd love to wake up and get ready first thing, but the truth is, if I'm not going anywhere, my face is pretty bare. Although when I'm not going anywhere I still like to fill in my brows and wear mascara for the sake of not looking too crazy when I walk past a mirror. LOL!

I'd love to hear your answers!

Weekly Poll Results - Did you Make any New Year Resolutions?

Did you make any New Year Resolutions for 2013? 

I'm so sorry that the results of the last weekly poll has been so delayed! Time has literally flown by!! At the start of 2013 it only seemed appropriate to ask you all if there is anything you'd like to change/do differently this year.

No one starts a diet on a Friday right? The famous words are "I'll start again on Monday." It seems like a really silly habit, but many of us feel like to really feel good about the change we want to make, we have to start out with a clean slate - whether it be the first day of the week, month or first day of the year. While many of us can lose a bit of motivation by the end of the year, I think a good majority of us try our best to start off the new year on a good note.

I picked some really common New Year resolutions below!

The Results are: 

To eat healthier/change or modify diet - 104 votes (55%)
To work out/exercise more - 110 votes (59%)
To be more organized - 69 votes (37%)
To spend more quality time with friends and family - 35 votes (18%)
To be more outgoing - 42 votes (22%)
To volunteer/get more involved with your community - 18 votes (9%)
To be more sociable - 37 votes (19%)
To stress less - 56 votes (30%)
To manage finances better - 55 votes (29%)
To travel more - 41 votes (22%)
To kick a bad habit - 31 votes (16%)
All of the Above - 10 votes (5%)
I didn't set any resolutions - 25 votes (13%)
Other - 9 votes (4%)

This poll is based on 186 votes.

The number one answer was to work out/exercise more and eating healthier/changing or modifying diet came in at a close second!

Eating healthier and exercising regularly is the change that I wanted to make this year and instead of making short term goals (for example: I want to weigh a certain amount by my birthday in 6 months) and then quit after birthday, I want to make lifestyle changes that will carry on for the rest of my life. I want to dedicate 2013 to be the year of my health and happiness. So far, I'm doing pretty well.

How about you? Did you make any resolutions for 2013? Have you kept up with them? I've read a few articles that the success rate is typically pretty low. Keep motivated!! :)

Weekly Poll Results - How Many Days out of the Week do you Follow a Skincare Routine?

How Many Days out of the Week do you Follow a Skincare Routine?

I have fairly good skin, but I know if I followed a skincare routine a little more habitually, I'd no doubt have near perfect skin. I have a habit of following a regimen and once I start seeing results, I begin to slack. Maybe I'll follow a routine for a couple of weeks and my skin will look amazing. So, for the next week I'll feel like I won't have to work as hard and only follow my routine a couple of days and use makeup wipes on most days. Then I'll get into it again, and then slack again. It's like a vicious cycle! But realistically if I kept up with every aspect of my beauty routine, I'd be ridiculously high maintenanced.

So I thought this would be a good weekly poll question. So, how well do you keep up with your skincare routine? What I mean by a routine is anything more than washing your face in the shower (exfoliate, cleanse, use treatments, serums, masks, moisturizers, etc.)

The Results Are:

7 days, My skincare routine is very important - 82 votes (38%)
5-6 days, I'm pretty good about it on most days - 60 votes (28%)
3-4 days, I do it whenever I remember - 27 votes (12%)
1-2 days, I tend to slack - 16 votes (7%)
0 days, I don't follow a routine - 4 votes (1%)
All I do is wash my face and I'm done! - 17 votes (8%)
Makeup wipes are my best friend, I rarely do anything else - 6 votes (2%)

This poll is based on 212 votes.

I was really surprised to see the large percentage of those that take good care of their skin! The number one answer is 7 days.

So my question for you is, do you stick by your routine every day because it has become so familiar to you as brushing your teeth would be? Or do you have problematic skin? Or do you simply take pride in your skin and always want it to look it's best.

Although I do take good care of my skin, I sometimes see applying all of my products as a chore. Maybe I'll make it one of my New Year resolutions to take better care of my skin!

A couple of days ago I ordered Grapeseed, Rose Hip and Almond Oil from Amazon and I'm really excited to incorporate them in the skincare routine. I love using natural oils and I'm hoping these will all agree with my skin type. I'll keep you postesd.

Weekly Poll Results - Which Cosmetic Brand Would you Splurge on if you Could?

Which Cosmetic Brand Would you Splurge on if you Could?

In this weeks poll I asked which cosmetic brand would you splurge on if you could? Say you won a shopping spree for $500 and you could only purchase items from one brand. Which would you choose? Would you choose a brand with the highest price points so you can own some luxury products? Or would you go for your favorite brand which products you use already but can't really afford to splurge on products you're curious to try.

My favorite brands are MAC, Nars and Chanel. I pretty much already own almost everything I'd want from those brands, but I think I'd most definitely love to splurge on Chanel. I love every product I've tried from Chanel, but it's hard to walk away from a Chanel counter without spending $100 on a couple of items. I think I'd splurge on some eyeshadow quads, lipsticks and face products (foundation, concealer, blush, bronzer). I'd also be curious to try Tom Ford, but being such a makeup fanatic, it's so hard to choose! Some of the products look really tempting from what I've seen on other Beauty Blogs, but it's just out of my price range. The price point on Tom Ford Makeup is nuts, and I don't know if I could ever justify spending $80 on a foundation or $50 on a lipstick. I think MAC is a good choice too, I'd probably buy a ton of brushes.

The Results Are:

Chanel - 88 votes (23%)
Tom Ford - 37 votes (9%)
Dior - 27 votes (7%)
YSL - 24 votes (6%)
Bobbi Brown - 20 votes (5%)
Nars - 48 votes (12%)
Giorgio Armani - 20 votes (5%)
Dolce & Gabbana - 4 votes (1%)
Burberry - 6 votes (1%)
MAC - 92 votes (24%)
Other (not listed) - 13 votes (3%)

This poll is based on 379 votes.

It was fun to see which brands you'd all choose and the highest amount of votes went to MAC. Chanel came very close at number two.

Which brand would you choose? 

Are there any particular products you have in mind that you'd purchase right away?

As always, thank you all for participating in this weeks poll! If you have any ideas for future polls, shoot your suggestions my way! :)

Weekly Poll Results - Which Area of your Makeup Routine Needs More Work Perfecting?

Which Area of your Makeup Routine Needs More Work Perfecting?

In this weeks poll I wanted to see which area of your makeup routine do you struggle with. Maybe you can't get your eyeliner to match, or maybe no matter how hard you try to apply your blush as best as you can, it always comes out uneven. Even if you've been a lover of makeup from the beginning of time, I still think that many of us have things we'd like to improve - small or big.

I think I manage pretty well, but if I could improve on something, I'd pick eyeshadow 100%. I don't have trouble with blending or anything - I think it's mainly technique and shadow placement. Sometimes when I want to try something new it ends up being a muddy mess, so I tend to stick with looks I've done before that I know work, or "safe" looks. I suppose it all comes with experience, though! Or maybe creativity? Whatever it may be, I give tons of credit to those who have the ability to wear different eye looks every day.. I'd love to have skills like The Queen of Blending.

The Results Are:

Foundation and/or Powder - 81 votes (29%)
Blush Application - 34 votes (12%)
Bronzer and/or Contouring - 95 votes (34%)
Eyeshadow - 96 votes (34%)
Eyebrow Filling - 50 votes (18%)
False Lashes - 59 votes (12%)
Lips - 19 votes (6%)
None! I think I manage pretty well with everything. - 11 votes (3%)
Other (not specified) - 14 votes (5%)

This poll received 277 votes. (Voters were able to choose multiple answers)

There votes were really close. It looks like the majority struggle as well with eyeshadow being the #1 answer. With one extra vote, Bronzer/Contouring takes second place and Foundation and/or Powder takes third.

If you voted, which did you vote for and why? If you didn't vote, let me know what your answer would be in the comments!

*The weekly poll can be found on the right side-bar. Let me know if you have any ideas for future polls! A new poll will be up shortly.

Weekly Poll Results - How do you typically get through reading blog posts?

How do you typically get through reading blog posts?

In this weeks poll I was curious to see how you all tackle keeping up with your favorite blogs. Now, the list of blogs I'm subscribed to is enormous. I've subbed to just about every blog that I've found interesting over the past few years. Many of which I'd love to read on a daily basis, but between keeping up with my favorite blogs as well as my favorite YouTube channels... I have to do a lot of skimming, or I'd never get anything done throughout the day.

I can honestly say that if a post doesn't have photos, chances are I'm most likely not going to read the post - unless the post has a catchy title or talks about something I'm particularly interested in. I love looking at photos. I'm guilty of buying magazines only to look at the photos. Sometimes I won't even read one article. Is that weird? Many times, I'll look at the photos of a blog post and maybe read a couple of the main points and leave. Sometimes I'll read the whole post and get addicted and go through every single post until I realized an hour or two passed and I'm not being productive with my day.

So, I wanted to know how you go about reading blog posts!

The Results Are...

I read everything - 47 votes (29%)
I skim everything - 47 votes (29%)
I mainly look at the photos - 58 votes (36%)
I skim to the conclusion/end - 10 votes (6%)
I only read it if it's regarding a product I'm interested in - 81 votes (50%)
I do not read reviews for products that aren't available in my country - 11 votes (6%)
I glance and leave - 3 votes (1%)

This poll received 161 votes. (You were able to choose multiple answers)

This brings me to the question.. Do you have a strategy you stick by or does it differ from blog to blog? Do you read some and skim some? Do you skim because of the text overload? Time management, laziness, lack of interest or because of the author? In regards to your favorite blogs, will you read posts about products you're unfamiliar with because you want to learn something new, or do you typically skip?

For myself, it differs from blog to blog. I skim and look at photos for the most part. Depending on the author, I may read the full post. I only read reviews/posts about products that aren't available in my country/products I'm not familiar with if I have extra time to kill, otherwise I stick to reading about products that I might want!

Thank you all for participating! Let me know if you have any ideas for future polls.

Weekly Poll Results - What's Your Favorite Drugstore Brand for Most/All of Your Needs?

What's Your Favorite Drugstore Brand for Most/All of Your Needs?

It's that time of the week again! The results of another weekly poll. If you haven't noticed already, each week there's a new question on the right-hand side of the page.

I was curious to see which are some of your favorite drugstore brands. It's hard to say which is the best because each brand might excel in a category, while another category is a complete fail. For instance, Revlon has amazing products - especially their face and lip products. But their mascaras stink! Maybe their PhotoReady Mascara is so-so, but the rest of them are a waste of money. (This is my opinion only of course!)

So my question was, What is your favorite drugstore brand for all or most of your needs? Theoretically speaking - if you happened to lose all of your makeup and were given the money to purchase a whole new collection, and you could only purchase everything from one brand, which would it be?

It makes my head hurt just thinking about it. But here are the results!

The results are...

Revlon - 74 votes (38%)
Covergirl - 13 votes (6%)
L'Oreal - 48 votes (25%)
Maybelline - 64 votes (33%)
Rimmel London - 14 votes (7%)
Milani - 6 votes (3%)
Wet n Wild - 20 votes (10%)
NYX - 44 votes (23%)
Physicians Formula - 8 votes (4%)
Neutrogena - 6 votes (3%)
Annabelle (Canadian Brand) - 2 votes (1%)
E.L.F. - 39 votes (20%)
Other - 7 votes (3%)

This poll is based on 191 participants.

The #1 crowd choice is Revlon with the first runner up being Maybelline and the second being L'Oreal.

I'd have to go with the crowd pick and choose Revlon too. My main focus of my makeup is having a good base makeup, and Revlon does some really good foundations - in my opinion, better than what the other drugstore brands have to offer (in terms of coverage and lasting power). I prefer long-lasting cosmetics, and with Revlon's Colorstay line, they have tons of products that will get you through the day with minimal touch-ups.

I'm also a big fan of Revlon's lip products - and some of their eye products aren't too shabby either. Also, I know this shouldn't really be a factor, but I thought it was worth a mention that Revlon has good eye appeal. Although I'm not a makeup snob, I still don't want messy, broken tubes and compacts before I'm even done using the product. The packaging on most of their products is very classy and chic and doesn't reflect the low price.

I do have to say though, if I really did have to only choose one brand, it'd be pretty hard to give up my Maybelline and Covergirl Mascaras.

(photo credits: makeupandbeauty, vampy varnish and lipglossiping.)

If you participated, let me know why you chose your answer! Is there one product in particular from the line that persuaded you to choose it? Or multiple products?

If you didn't participate in the poll, let me know which brand you'd choose! 

Weekly Poll Results - What's Your Favorite Brand for Makeup Remover Wipes?

What's your favorite brand for make-up remover wipes?

Over the course of the past month or so, I went on an experiment trying a handful of different makeup remover/cleansing towelettes to see which is the best. My results didn't surprise me, as the most effective wipes still turned out to be my top choice from the past few years; The Neutrogena Makeup Remover Cleaning Towelettes, $4.74, Target.

I was really curious to see what all of your favorites are, so I created a poll that lasted a little over a week asking which brand is your favorite from some of the main brands you can find at drugstore (with the exception of MAC).

The results are... 

Neutrogena - 78 votes (34%)
E.L.F. - 9 votes (3%)
Olay - 8 votes (3%)
MAC - 27 votes (11%)
Ponds - 21 votes (9%)
Aveeno - 8 votes (3%)
Equate - 14 votes (6%)
Other - 63 votes (27%)

This poll is based on 228 participants.

The majority voted for Neutrogena, but it didn't win by a landslide. The runners up was actually other brands not mentioned. I'd love to know for those of you who who voted "Other", which brand would you choose to be your favorite?

Are makeup wipes a must-have in your bathroom, or do you only rely on your cleanser?

Do you have any ideas for questions in the weekly poll? Let me know in the comments!