Vortex of Sin

Review: Yes to Carrots Makeup Remover Wipes

2012-02-09T01:06:00.001-05:00

I was at Target today about to buy my usual Ponds makeup remover towelettes, when I happened upon a trial size package of Yes to Carrots towelettes. Technically they're Yes to Blueberries Age Refresh Cleansing Facial Towelettes.

They removed my makeup well enough, but they weren't textured like my typical Ponds ones, so it took longer. They also stretch in one direction, making it a little tricky to make the wipe last for my whole face. They smell nice, and apparently have lemon and apple as well as blueberries, so that's gotta count for something, right?

Well... the trial size I bought was $2.99 for 8 of them. That's about $0.35 per wipe. The full size package has 30 wipes.... and costs a whopping $20. Holy crap!! That's almost double the price. It would literally be cheaper to buy 4 packages. They're good, not that good, and not better than the Ponds. Its unfortunate because I love my Say Yes To Carrots lip balm. I was hoping these would be super awesome.

I'll stick with Ponds, which have yet to ever let me down. And only cost like $6 for 30.

Stupid fingernails...

2012-01-22T03:41:00.001-05:00

For most of my life I've bitten my nails. And then a graphic design client of mine told me about nailtique. I can't sing its praises enough! My nails are weak and they peel easily, but nailtique formula 2 works like a charm.

Until yours nails get a bit too long, and catch on the toilet seat when you're cleaning the litter box....

Yeah, stupid toilet seat split my nail clean off. Awesome. But thankfully with nailtiques it wont take more than a few weeks to grow back.

Still, I'm cranky.

For anyone who wants to know, my current polish is China Glaze, For Audrey. It's apparently Tiffany blue.

Interview Makeup

2012-01-09T15:55:00.002-05:00

So I had my interview today. It went well, I'm hoping they'll call me for a second soon. Money to buy things might be nice... Anyway, so here's the look I did. Very simple and clean.

Eyes: Urban Decay Naked Palette Sidecar on most of the lid, Hustler on outer corner, in crease, and along lashline for definition, just a tiny bit. Sin on browbone for hightlight, beautique black liner, very fine right along the lashline, maybelline lash stiletto mascara.

Face: coverfx primer, smashbox foundation, mac concealer, smashbox powder, inglot blush, urban decay setting spray

Lips: soap and glory sexy motherpucker in a neutral pink, mac gloss in Like Venus, a slightly lighter pink.

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-09T01:53:00.001-05:00

So, this is the year I fix things wrong in my life. I have a list of resolutions, though I hate to call them that because it just seems so passe. I added a new one today and installed an app on my phone to help. Which is to post in this damn blog at least weekly if not daily. Even if its just quick looks, or thoughts or whatev on beauty.

So... God/dess willing, there'll be a post tomorrow about job interview makeup, since I have an interview tomorrow! In the meantime, check out my nails that I did. Its a little bold for an interview, but I'm a graphic designer and I can get away with stuff like that, lol. Its China Glaze polish in "Breakin'". Its a pretty pumpkin-y orange with just a hint of a gold shimmer. I draw the orange from my logo, which you can see here.

Color Relationships: Complimentary Colors 1

2011-09-09T01:35:00.007-04:00

So... First look of the new Color Relationships series!! I started with complimentary colors, these colors are opposite one another on the color wheel. I started with Yellow and Violet (that's right, not Purple. The "correct" color name is Violet.) I also painted my nails with China Glaze Happy Go Lucky for the occasion. Its a creme yellow.

Complimentary colors by their nature make each other look more intense, and therefore, more noticeable. Those drug-store eye palettes that are made specifically for your eye color?

They work off this principle. Blue's complement is Orange, Red's compliment is Green, Yellow's compliment is Violet, and so on. They also will "vibrate" against each other if they're both super saturated hues. Don't believe me? Well, I

have an art degree, so... I know these things. Also, look here

See how the colors sort of "bounce" off each other? Told you I was right about vibration.

Anyway, here's my look!

Eyes

Primer: Two Faced Shadow Insurance
Base: NYX Jumbo Eye shadow pencil in Milk
Outer half: Makeup Forever... lemony yellow. I forget the name. Its super bright and matte
Inner half: Inglot light yellow shimmer pressed shadow, forget the number, but its sort of lemon-meringe-y
Liner: NYX Studio Liquid Liner in Extreme Purple (metallic)
Lower Lid: Inglot Matte Violet shade, forget the number, but its a violet hedging on blue-violet
Browbone: MAC Shroom
Waterline: NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in Milk, set with MAC Shroom
Mascara: Maybelline One By One (god I can't wait to finish the damn tube, its really terrible)

Face

Primer: Makeup Forever HD Primer
Foundation: Smashbox High Definition Healthy FX Foundation in Light 1
Powder: Pur Minerals 4-in-1 Powder Foundation (yes, I wore two foundations today, but I'm out of all other powders and broke, lol) It was actually quite effective at staying on in this terrible rainy weather we're having
Blush: MAC blush in Rhubarb (its a Pro color I got in Chicago. SOOO bright and a perfect contrast for this look)

Lips

OCC Lip Tar in Memento, set with a translucent setting powder that kinda tasted funny, I might not use it again...
Tarina Tarantino lip gloss in Parade just in the center. Its a sheer pink gloss with SO MUCH GLITTER in it. I love it.

So, thats the first look in the Color Relationships series. I will probably go bolder as time goes on... I kinda did the look and then decided to do the series, lol. I think it came out really well though, although I'm not super thrilled with the applicator on the NYX liquid eyeliner. I may have to invest in an eyeliner brush.

Keep an eye out for my next post!!

Announcement: New Series!

2011-09-09T01:22:00.004-04:00

So... I have two series in mind at the moment. One is... more involved than the other. So I'm sticking to the easy one right now.

The series is: Fun with Color Relationships. Basically, I'm going to look at the color wheel, and draw on my graphic design knowledge to make a series based on the various color relationships, primary, secondary, complementary, analogous, pr

inters primaries, etc.

My other series is for Game of Thrones, and I picked like 14 characters to do looks based on.. and colors for each, and they're in-depth and take time... and I'm lazy. I tried one and I didn't like the way it looked so I'm re-doing it at a later time.

So.. look for my Color Relationships series.. star

ting with my next post. (Which I'm going to write right now, lol)

Hair products :)

2011-09-04T15:29:00.005-04:00

So, my hair is generally pretty ok. I don't dye it that often, maybe once a year, but I do wash and blow dry every day, or nearly every day. I'm also lucky that my boyfriend's mother is a hair-stylist and when she owned her shop, I got all kinds of free stuff all the time. Since she sold her shop, she pretty much just takes me to the "professional only" supply stores where stuff is SUPER cheap. She recently bought me Joico's K-Pak Reconstructor, Deep Penetrating Reconstructor. According to Miss Joann (my boyfriend's mother) you shampoo and condition your hair, then put this in for 3-5 minutes and rinse it out. It smells like artificial banana, which is up to you if its a good thing or not. Its lightweight, and has an odd consistency, sort of like greek yogurt.

And it's awesome. My hair feels like silk for about a week after using it. Its easy to brush, super shiny, much less frizzy (no product has yet to stand up to Baltimore humidity in my experience) and so manageable. I also noticed today that after not washing my hair for a day (thanks to being drunk and passing out at a friend's house) that it came clean a lot easier than normal. Getting the excess oil only took one shampooing rather than the two it normally takes after missing a wash. I did the treatment again today, since there's no limits in the directions about how often you're supposed to use it.

I want to sing this products praises from the rooftops! So awesome. Go buy it now! It would appear you can buy it at Trade Secret, and I know they carry some Joico products at Ulta, but I actually have no idea how much it costs, since it was a gift. And Ulta.com doesn't carry it due to "manufacturer's restrictions". But a little bit goes a long way. I've been doing it bi-monthly (or whenever I remember) but I'm going to try to do it weekly now.

Not much else to report. You'd think unemployment would make me post more... but... no.... ha ha.

I did however start an account on Beautylish.com. Its awesome, come find me! and other beauty junkies :)

Review

2011-07-26T15:11:00.003-04:00

So, I haven't reviewed anything in a while. I'm on a makeup-buying freeze at the moment due to my lack of job, but I still have a few new things that I bought with giftcards, groupons and on sale.

I had a Groupon for the Body Shop, it was $20 for $40 worth of stuff. Pretty good deal I thought. If you don't get Groupons, you're totally missing out and should go sign up using that link immediately.

So, I go to the Body Shop at Towson Town Center and peruse the stuff there. I ended up buying a mini cocoa butter lotion, a mini olive butter body scrub, and then two anti-aging products, which I will review... now:

#1 Wise Woman Intensive Firming Mask for Mature Skin
Yeah, I don't have mature skin. But, I'm a smoker and a sun worshipper, so I stress out about aging my skin. You might say, "Hey Ellen, why not wear super strong sunscreen and quit smoking?" Well, I do wear SPF 85 on my face and chest, but I sweat a lot and I'm not good about reapplying it. And as for smoking... well.. shut up, I look cool.
Anyway, so the firming mask. I've used it twice so far, and I love the way it smells. Kind of earthy and clean. Its very very thick, which makes me worry about clogged pores, but it didn't make me break out either time, so thats good. It supposedly plumps skin to help hide fine lines. I get two little worry lines, right between my eyebrows. The directions say to apply it for fifteen minutes and then either tissue off or rub it in. I put it on generously (but not thickly) last night and just let it absorb while I slept, and... I haven't really noticed a difference. The jury's still out though. It doesn't say how often to use it, but I figure I don't need to every day. So, I'll give it a whirl twice a week and see if it makes a difference. In the end, its still moisturizing, so its not like its gonna hurt me.

#2 Vitamin E Eye Cream for all skin types
I've needed an eye cream for a while. I have a ton of samples from Sephora, but never enough for me to form an opinion. Also, they're all too expensive. So I figured having a Groupon was the perfect time to get one and give it a try. I've been pretty good about using this one. It helps reduce fine lines, puffiness and dark circles. I have noticed that my dark circles are a little bit less, but I've been getting more sleep, so I don't want to reward the cream just yet. I like that its very light and absorbs quickly, so I can put it on right before my makeup and not have any trouble. So, yeah, I guess the jury's still out on that too.

Hmm. Two completely useless reviews. Ha! Go me.

Makeup Look - Aurora

2011-07-08T17:59:00.006-04:00

I was just gonna put on a random bright look, but it looked so pretty I thought I'd blog about it. Yes, I'm narcissistic.
Eyes

Two Faced Eye primer
Sephora nano-eyeliner pencil in white spread across the whole lid as an additional base
Kat Von D Memento Mori Palette: Hard luck on most of the lid (tealy-green shimmer) and Solitude (matte lavender) on the outside corner.
Kat Von D Truth Palette: Snake Eyes (yellow green, with emphasis on green) on the lower lid, Sister (light peach) on the inner lower lid, and Sugarskull (light buttery yellow) in the inner corner
Nyx Ultra Pearl Mania loose shadow in Grass Pearl (minty, but still yellowy light green) on the inside of the upper lid, blended really well into the Hard Luck
Make Up Forever Star Powder neon pink in the crease
Two Faced shadow duo in Skinny Dip, the light iridescent blue on the brow bone
Nyx Liquid eyeliner in purple, overlaid with EyeKandy Glitter in Gumball
MAC Penultimate liquid liner
Maybelline One By One mascara
Urban Decay 24/7 liner on waterline

Face

Make Up Forever primer
Pur Minerals 4-1 pressed mineral foundation
MAC concealer
MAC blush in rhubarb

Lips

Toki Doki Lip gloss in Rocketeer

I haven't been getting enough sleep lately, so I'm having some trouble with under eye circles. More sleep, more water! But I should probably look for a halfway decent product as well.

I've joined BeautyLish, its actually pretty awesome. I can tag products and write reviews, and its easier to connect to other beauty-addicts, and learn about new products.

Also, don't forget to follow me on Twitter!

Summer Solstice!!

2011-06-21T13:56:00.019-04:00

So, today is the Summer Solstice. In honor of the longest day of the year, I decided to do a sunny bronzey look. It didn’t come out as bright as I wanted, but its still quite pretty. I tried to
make it look as little like Aztec Gold as possible. I may have gone a little overboard with the number of shadows I used.... heh.

Eyes

Outer corners: Urban Decay Naked Palette in Darkhorse (dark shimmery brown), blended with MAC pressed shadow in A Little Folie (matte finish reddish brown)

Outer half: EyeKandy mineral shadow in Creamsicle, with Makeup Forever bright orange pressed shadow on top

Inner half: Kat Von D Truth Palette in Sugar Skull, had to work really hard to blend it with the EyeKandy

Inner corner: Makeup Forever Lemon Yellow

Crease: MAC Pigment in Blue Brown

Above Crease: Makeup Forever #306, its a dirty orangey/gold shimmer

Browbone: Inglot buttery yellow shimmer shadow

Undereye: Makeup Forever navy blue shimmer pressed shadow, blended into Makeup Forever orange

Applied sort of all over: MAC Glitter in Reflects Blackened Red

Outer corner liner: Urban Decay Heavy Metal eyeliner in Baked

Upper lid liner: EyeKandy glitter in Honey Drop

Lashline/Waterline: Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Whiskey

Mascara: Maybelline Volume Express One by One in black

Face

Urban Decay De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray (before applying any products and again after everything’s done)

Primer: Too Faced Primed and Poreless in Bronze Tint

Foundation: Smashbox HD Healthy FX foundation in Light L1

Powder: Inglot

Concealer: Smashbox HD, great when applied with a brush and liberally. Awesome on undereye circles

Bronzer: Flirt! Bronzer in Sweet Desire, I used the “E3” method I learned from xsparkage, you make a three on the right side of your face, the top of the three being your forhead, the middle your cheekbone and the bottom along your jawline, then do the same in reverse on the other side. Then just a swipe down in the bridge of your nose, top of your lip and a bit on your chin. Perfect sunkissed look everytime.

Lips

Loreal Hip Pigments gloss in Coy

Some random shimmery gold lip gloss that I had, applied directly in the center. The label’s worn off, but I think its some kind of metallic Maybelline.

Also, I did do a rainbow look for the Gay Pride festival to go along with the rainbow nails, but I was in a rush when I was doing it because I had to go to my boyfriend's cousin's graduation party, so I got my boyfriend to take a picture of it at the party. I was sitting under a red umbrella in very warm sunlight and sweating profusely (so that's why I'm bright red in the picture...). Mostly Makeup Forever pressed shadows, I think the green was Too Faced shadow duo in Lucky Charm. It looked nice, but not as good as my nails did :)

Don't forget to follow on Twitter! I put little looks up there every so often:) But I kind of suck at social networking... lol.

baltimore pride!

2011-06-17T21:32:00.002-04:00

quick post. i'm going down for the block party of the baltimore pride festival tomorrow and i wanted to do my nails for the occasion. i used china glaze colors in: ruby pumps, breakin', happy go lucky, paper chasing, blue sparrow, and tempest. i'm not super great at doing my nails, but it still came out pretty good i think. i used seche vite quick dry top coat and then sally girl "granny's wet glaze" on top of that.

tomorrow i'll post a rainbow eye makeup look to really drive home the point. woo. its fun being an ally.

Makeup Look - Aztec Gold

2011-05-17T13:06:00.007-04:00

I saw a screening of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides last night. I liked it, but it its nothing to write home about. I've also been playing Lego Pirates of the Caribbean lately since my roommate brought it home. It's super fun! In honor of pirates, I decided to do a really shiny gold look. And here it is:Eyes

outer corner: EyeKandy - metallic mineral shadow in Creamsicle, applied wet for extra oomph.
inner corner: Smashbox shadow and liner trio in Girls Night Out (the light gold shade) applied with a larger brush and then blended like fuck to get it to fade into the metallic
crease: MAC pigment in blue brown
just above the crease: Inglot shadow, a shimmery pumpkin orange
highlight: MAC pressed shadow in Shroom
liner: Smashbox shadow and liner trio in Girls Night Out... its a brown gel liner, applied to both upper and lower lids
inner liner: MAC Pen-Ultimate liner, very very narrow and precise, just for definition
on top of both liners i put Urban Decay Heavy Metal liner in Baked for some glitter to add to the shine
waterline: Beautique eyeliner pencil in black (since all pirates apparently wear black eyeliner)
mascara: Smashbox DNA mascara in black, then a layer of Peter Thomas Roth lashes to die for on top of that.

Face

foundation primer: Makeup Forever HD Primer in Neutral
foundation: Smashbox Healthy FX foundation in L3 (which is a bit too dark for me right now, but won't be as summer progresses)
concealer: MAC, the kind in the little pot
powder: Inglot
blush: Inglot
lips: Kat Von D lipgloss in Rocker (its a pretty reddish/gold shade)

I think today that I used every brand of makeup that I have in my collection. Good for me :) Don't forget to follow me on twitter: @vortexofsin!

Earth Day Makeup Look!

2011-04-22T15:10:00.009-04:00

Hey all (all three of you...)

Happy Earth Day (and also Good Friday if you're into that sort of thing).

I spontaneously made up this look as I was putting my makeup on today. I realized as I reached for my new Inglot palette that since I got back from IMATS I've been neglecting my other makeup. Including the stuff I got from the MAC pro store in Chicago. So this look uses a good blend of all my makeup brands. Why do I care? I dunno.... lol.

Eyes
Crease: MAC pressed shadow in Humid (emerald green) (trees)
Lid: Two Face pressed shadow duo in Lucky Charm (the lighter shade) (grass)
Inner corner & Brow bone: Inglot golden-y yellow shimmer (sunshine)
Under eye, and surrounding all the dark green: Two Faced pressed shadow duo in Skinny Dip (the lighter, iridescent blue/lavender) (clouds)
Lower Lid: Makeup Forever Star Powder in neon pink (flowers)
Liner: OCC pure pigment in Ultramarine (water) & Beautique black
pencil (just for a bit of definition)
Mascara: Peter Thomas Roth Lashes to Die For in black

Face
Urban Decay De-Slick makeup setting spray to start, Makeup Forever HD Foundation Primer (neutral), Smashbox High Definished Healthy FX foundation in Light L1, Inglot powder, MAC blush in Rhubarb (pro color), MAC concealer pot in NW20

Lips
L'Oreal Infallible Lipstick in Java Jolt (dirt, earth), OCC Lip Tar in Memento in the center (uh, just for fun)

I think the results are pretty cool. I may take the lipstick off before I go out, I don't like having bold lips and bold eyes at the same time.

Happy Earth Day everyone, and don't forget to follow me on Twitter!

OCC IMATS discount!!

2011-04-15T01:16:00.003-04:00

Hey, real quick!!

OCC (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics) is giving you the 20% IMATS discount (the same one I paid $40 in travel and $30 in admission to get!) through 4/17/11!

Login with username: OCCDISC and password IMATSNYC (case sensitive!)

I recommend the lip tar and any of the eyeshadow pigments. Wicked awesome!

Hair curling!

2011-04-14T16:58:00.006-04:00

OMG! Two posts in as many days... go me..

Last night I got it into my head that I wanted curly hair today. This is always a struggle with my stick-straight ultra-fine hair. I remembered having success as a kid with squishy foam rollers that you wear overnight. So I ran out to Target and bought these:

I put them in last night around 1am, in completely wet hair, then went to bed around 3am. I slept very poorly and woke up around 1pm. The rollers had been in for roughly 12 hours. The little fuckers were still slightly damp. I left them in for about an hour after getting out of bed, and aimed a hair dryer at a few of them, in hopes of drying them further. It was super curly when I first took them out. Its now been about three since I took them out. Here is my hair:

I'm actually pretty happy with the results. Its bouncy and voluminous and full of lovely texture. But I predict in about two hours it'll be back to straight. God damn my hair! Maybe I should just get a perm and be done with it.. ha.

Twitter! IMATS!

2011-04-12T22:29:00.010-04:00

So... I got a twitter for this blog. You can follow me! @vortexofsin Yeah, that's about it. I feel dumb. I've railed against Twitter for a long time now. And I'm still not sure I'll use it, but, hey, hopefully it'll get me some more followers on here.

Recent news: Me and two friends decided to go to NYC for IMATS! That is, the International Makeup Artist Tradeshow. We had SUCH a blast. I got a TON of stuff for waaay cheap.

Purchase 1. Eye Kandy

The top three are Sprinkles Glitter (left to right), in Gumball (deep purple), Semi Sweet (royal blue) and Honey Drop (gold). The bottom three are mineral shadows in Sweet Pea, Creamsicle and Peppermint. I swatched them with mixing medium and without in each color (the glitters don't really work without mixing medium). As a special IMATS deal, they were 6 for $40 and included a brush and their "Liquid Sugar" mixing medium. They claimed it was water based, but the lady got a bit in my eye when she was demonstrating on me and it BURNED. Probably because the second ingredient is alcohol (the first is indeed water). I like them... but I kinda wish I'd gone the route of my friend who just bought one color for $5. The brush included with the kit is garbage. Its just a little kids paint brush, very chinzy. After the first use it won't go back to its original pointed shape. And as shiny as the glitters are, I do not need that much glitter... The gumball shade is missing the little plastic liner dispenser that allows you to tap out just a little at a time, so basically I have a tiny jar FULL of very fine purple glitter. I can predict this will end well... All that being said, I'm very fond of the mineral shadows, they're metallic and look very lovely. I like that there's no metal in anything, its all very fine plastic.

Purchase 2. Brushes from Royal & Langnickel

Not super exciting, except that they were cheap. And seem to be good quality. And fairly reasonable on the website too. I got a concealer, big eyeshadow, powder and kabuki brush all for $26. The kabuki brush is just about the softest thing I've ever felt. I used it today to put on my powder, great coverage, not too much product wasted. I'm actually quite pleased with these, and will probably continue to buy from their website. I swore I'd never go back to buying "makeup" brushes when art brushes work just as well, but these seem very reasonable.

Purchase 3. Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics

I bought OCC Lip Tar in Memento and Pure Pigment in Ultramarine Blue. Both of these are INSANE pigmented. The lip tar is really really thick and could be used as a cream blush as well. I will use it very sparingly as its SUPER thick, and once its set, behaves like a stain. It stays put (even after eating Sonic yesterday). I'm scared to death to actually try the Pure Pigment. It can be used for anything, though I'll be using it mainly as an eyeliner. But the shit is BRIGHT. I swatched it both just as loose powder and with the Liquid Sugar mixing medium. The sheer powder is eh. Doesn't seem to have great coverage, but I used a q-tip to swatch it, AND my hands are really lined. But with the mixing medium... whoa. One drop swirled with some product in the cap and I suddenly had tempera paint. Its about that consistency and color. Holy crap. I can see this being some AWESOME liner and probably a great shadow too, if I can get the right consistency to blend it. Running my finger over the swatch now, it does seem to smear a bit, but maybe if i dilute it with enough mixing medium it might be better. I'm excited, and scared. The brush I used to swatch it came clean... mostly, but I had to use soap and water (I know, bad me, but it was an old brush). It also came completely off my hand with soap and water, which is more than I can say for the lip tar which really wants to hang on... good!

Purchase 4. Inglot

Omg. Inglot. This company was pretty much the reason I went to IMATS. Inglots used to be only available in Inglot stores. And up until recently the nearest Inglots store to me was Las Vegas. They now have stores in New Jersey and New York, AND online! They have this freedom system, where you custom create your own palettes. They have round and square (round is slightly cheaper, but you may as well pay the extra few bucks for square since there's more product). You can buy eyeshadow in 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10. Same (or almost same) goes for lips, eyebrows, blush and concealer. You can buy powders in 2's. And they're freaking stackable with the little super powerful magnets in the corners. Or you can just have the lid which is also magnetic. I'm not finding the powder, blush, eyeshadow palette online, so that may be only in stores, or only to pro's (like at IMATS) or something, but I'm glad I bought it. The shadows are SUPER pigmented for being pressed shadows. The orange-y/gold shade is SO beautiful. The white/yellow shade is very similar to Kat Von D's Sugar Skull out of my Memento Mori palette, which is awesome since that shade's only available in sets. And the pans are huge. It'll take me forever to go through these. But I haven't talked about the powder. That powder is the best powder bar none. Its fucking great. I put my makeup on about 12 hours ago and I'm only just now seeing a bit of shine on my nose. I can't recommend it enough. Love love love. I want to buy everything they have. Like now. I almost wish they didn't have an online store so I wouldn't spend all my money.

Guess that's it. I'm unemployed now, so hopefully that means posting more. Don't forget to follow me on twitter! Ha!

Foundation Review: The Search Continues!

2010-12-31T02:03:00.004-05:00

I just read the post before the one I just put up, and realized I promised a foundation review and never put it up.

Well... this past summer I tried mineral foundations. I tried Pur (available at Ulta) and Bare Minerals (available and Sephora, Ulta, Bare Minerals stores and probably other places too). Bare Minerals did not live up to its hype. I mean, it was good and stuff, but didn't really stay put the whole time. I bought the starter/trial size kit which gives you their mineral foundation in original and matte, the mineral veil and the bronzer/blusher thingy called warmth. I could have told them that I would never want the "original" foundation and would almost inevitably always want the matte, but whatevs. I liked the matte a lot, it was more effective for my oily skin in this humid-ass city. I liked the mineral veil too, but there wasn't enough of it in the trial kit to cover going through both the matte and original foundations. The "warmth" was good, but I'm so red naturally that I barely needed any of it, so I have tons left. In the end, I was impressed, it mostly stayed put. But the shit's so expensive that I thought I could probably do better doing my regular summer routine (primer, concealer, powder). All in all, I'll recommend it, but only if you feel like spending the money.

The other mineral foundation I tried was PurMinerals 4-in-1 pressed mineral makeup in Blush Medium. I'd read some reviews online of PurMinerals and they seemed much more positive than the stuff about BareMinerals. People were saying it worked as well, if not better and was much more economical. Yeah, stuff was still $37. The saleslady at Ulta recommended that I get the full size of just the foundation instead of spending more on the starter kit, since the foundation is 4-in-1. I had bought the PurMinerals primer already, since I was anticipating trying this, so I was all set. I liked that it was pressed, it felt like less of the product got wasted on the way from the container to my face. It comes with a sponge, that I used only rarely when I had dark circles or something like that. Sponges = bad, they spread bacteria. I had quit using it when the weather got colder, but I've recently come back (after I had a series of breakouts and wanted to put less crap on my face) and discovered I like it again. I dunno, I'm still not thrilled. I do like that it comes in a ton of shades (many more than BareMinerals) and they have different shades not just for light/dark, but for yellow/pink/olive as well. Which made my Scottish ruddiness happy. The shade I picked in the summer is a hair too dark for my untanned winter face, but I blend it down on my neck and all's well, no orange foundation lines. It stays put when I layer it over Dr. Brandt's Pores-No-More and provides pretty good coverage.

In the end though... my search for perfect foundation continues. I recently discovered that Urban Decay makes a few sprays that are highly recommended on Sephora for keeping makeup on oily skin, so I'm going to have to check them out. I also heard about Skindinavia makeup setting sprays. My youtube makeup guru xsparkage also says you should be using a translucent powder as well as a regular powder. Fantastic. More things to spend money on and layer on my skin! Ha ha. Happy New Year everyone!!

Personalized Face Charts

2010-12-31T01:33:00.005-05:00

So, I saw this video and thought it was a fantastic idea. Especially since right now I'm trying to plan the perfect NYE makeup scheme. I found the site that Leesha (the girl in the video who's my favorite YouTube guru) recommended. Here it is. I took a photo with my webcam. It took several tries to get it right. Then I right-clicked and saved the picture (you don't have to pay for the full size one, just swipe the preview) then dropped it in Photoshop, played with the levels a bit, cropped it and then erased all the excess crud from my face. You want just an outline of everything. I even had to pretty much put in my waterline because it didn't turn out in the picture. If you don't have photoshop, uh.. I dunno. Use other photoediting software? Beg me (or someone else with photoshop) to do it?

Tips for taking the photo:

If you have a Mac and use your iSight camera, turn the flash off (instead of clicking the camera button to take the picture, hit CMD+SHIFT+T to take it without flash)
The video says no makeup, I tried that a few times and couldn't get my lips to show up well. So i grabbed a light colored eyeliner (L'Oreal Kohl eyeliner in Cloud) and just lightly traced the top of my lip and the bottom. Just enough to provide contrast between my skin and my lips. I tried it before I washed off my eyeliner and mascara and the results weren't super successful either, so I washed it off and my eyes came out better.
Do not make any kind of face or pose in anyway. Just look straight at the camera and deadpan.
Do not be surprised if you discover a biological flaw you didn't notice before. I just discovered that my left eyelid is larger than my right. Ha! Probably because my eyes are funny shaped due to my astigmatism.

Here are my results:
Original photo. Lovely isn't it.

Exported image from that website

Final image after cropping, erasing and playing with the contrast settings. I also filled in my eyebrows for shits and giggles. And not very well.

I was going to make the product chart too, but eh. I'm going to print it on 8.5x11 card stock, which I have around somewhere. If you print, you shouldn't print on regular printer paper, some kind of heavier cardstock is required. But I wouldn't think that 90# watercolor paper (as stated in the video) is all that necessary. You could do 65# or 67# vellum bristol (which you can probably buy by the sheet at your local kinkos, or whatever cover weight they happen to have in white) Pretty much just make sure its a heavier-than-normal paper and that its as white as you can possibly get.

Happy New Year everybody! I will do my best to post more. I have two companion looks coming up and a few reviews. And I always say that, and then never post. But I'll try to do better in the new year.

Makeup Look - Rock Out Bronze

2010-09-22T23:46:00.008-04:00

Omg. Seriously. Why don't I update this more???
Its been a long summer. And hot. I have some mineral foundation reviews coming. Promise. For realsies. (spoiler alert: bare minerals is not my fav)
Anyway, I have a new look that I made up on the spot while rushing to get to an alumni event (which had the time changed and ALL the alumni, including me, missed it. fuckers.) So I got all pretty for nothing. Oh well. I call this one Rock Out Bronze, because its late and I've been drinking and can't think of a better name. I should have taken pictures when I first did it, it would look better, but que cera cera.

Face:

Pur Minerals foundation primer
Flirt! correcting concealer
Pur Minerals 4 in 1 Foundation in blush medium
Smashbox Softlights blush in Tint

Eyes:

Two Faced Shadow Insurance

Kat Von D Memento Mori palette, the black shade (which if the names on the back of the palette line up with the shadows) in Tijuana (hereafter referred to as black)
Ulta Eyeshadow in Plum Smoke (kind of a deep dirty gold/bronze with a slight plum colored tinge to it, got it for like $.99 on a clearance table after the holidays last year) (hereafter referred to as bronze)
Kat Von D Memento Mori Palette, the gold/coppery color, I think its Meditation (hereafter referred to as copper)
Kat Von D Memento Mori Palette, the bright yellow, I think its Sugar Skull (hereafter referred to as yellow)
Kat Von D liquid eyeliner in Puro Armor
Peter Thomas Roth - Lashes to Die for black mascara

Lips:

Maybelline Forever Color in Cocoa 210, its very matte, so if you wanna throw a gloss on top, feel free. I didn't and it looked great.

Instructions:

Apply the black shade in a V shape along the crease and the lash line, filling in the bottom of the "V" at the outer corner. Bring the black up a little, into the crease, but use your own judgment for a smokey look. Black's a tricky color and often is difficult to blend, so use it sparingly and always hedge on the side of too little and build up color a little at a time (I of course was in a hurry and had to work really hard to get it to blend!)
Use the bronze color all over your lid, up to the black and overlapping a little. Use a brush with nothing on it (or in my rushed case, the brush used to apply the bronze) to really work the black and bronze together.
Starting at the inner corner, work the copper color out till about a third of the way across the eyelid.
Apply the yellow color on the brow bone, and a little dab with a tiny brush on the inner corner.
Apply the bronze color in a thin sweep along the lower lash line, about 2/3 of the way, and finish up to the corner with the copper color.
Apply black liquid eyeliner (or pencil) thinly across upper lashline, getting thicker towards the outer corner. Apply a tiny bit of the black shadow on the edges if it looks too harsh (or if you used a pencil, take a small clean brush or a q-tip and smudge it a little). Things should be blended together, but not so much as to make your eyeliner invisible.
Apply mascara.
Do your face however you would do it. I'm not the type who keeps a hundred shades of blush on hand, I figure one soft pink and bronzer is adequate.

I'd upload pictures of the products, but its late and I gotta hit the hay. Two reviews coming up to look for: Kat Von D Memento Mori palette (which has been my FAV all summer) and foundations. I think I may have found one that works for me!

Eyeshadow Look - Vegas Swimming Pool

2010-04-01T17:30:00.004-04:00

Hi! omg. two updates in two days? wtf???

So, I came up with this look a while ago and its been a staple. It has a sister look (which I actually came up with first) called Dubai Sunrise which I will post at another time. Neither of them has much to do with the places they're named for.

Shadow:
Outer half of lid: Makeup Forever Star Powder #960 Turquoise
Inner half of lid: Flirt! Glamourazzi Palette, second color from right (I think its Showstopper) more or less a fleshtone
Outer part of crease: Flirt! Glamourazzi Palette, color on far right (I think its Golden Lady) brown that looks dark gold when its applied. I always think this is going to be darker than it is :)
Inner part of crease & under eyes: Mac pressed shadow in Amber Lights, its a bright brassy/gold

Mascara: 2 coats Peter Thomas Roth Lashes to Die for the Mascara. Two tricks to mascara application I've learned: 1. wiggling brush side to side as you move up 2. In addition to wiggling back and forth and moving upward, rotating the brush at the same time (i know, its a lot of stuff to do), but this prevents clumping for the most part and with this brush that has two different types of bristles its necessary.

Eyeliner:
Upper lid: Mac Fluidline in Blacktrack
Outer waterline: Beautique black eyeliner pencil
Inner waterline: Sephora eyeliner minis in Plum on and a little bit on the outer corner, connecting it to the upper eyeliner (you can't really see it, so probably not necessary)

Blush: Flirt! Bronzer/Blush in Sweet Desire applied to cheekbones, nose, forehead, upper lip and chin.

I didn't use foundation today, I put on my Makeup Forever primer and then used this stuff that I don't really understand that was given to me by my friend Kyle of FaceCandy called Dr. Brandt's Pores No More. I have no idea what it is. It smells kinda funny. Not bad, but still, kinda funny. The instructions say "use am after cleansing and toning. re-apply throughout the day, as necessary" Its flesh colored. And sheer when you put it on. It tends to make my powder go on wicked smooth, but I don't really know if its hiding my pores. I'm perplexed by it. But I'm almost out of foundation, so it seemed a better choice today. On top of primer and that weird stuff I put on concealer and powder and thats it.

Thanks for reading!

Up next: my search for foundations continues! Probably another day-long review.

Stuff I Always Buy

2010-04-01T01:09:00.018-04:00

Hello!!! To all 4 of my readers! heh.
So, I'm sitting here at 1:10am, kinda bored because I'm used to being in bed by now, but I decided I'd talk about the stuff I buy over and over again, or at the very least that I've bought more than once.

Foundation:
I have yet to find the perfect foundation. Its still a work in progress. My day-long review of Revlon's ColorStay Active turned out not very favorable, and I said I was gonna return it... and then I didn't... So I'm still working through that little bottle, but its almost gone. I'm never buying it again. And now that spring/summer is on its way, I'm kinda thinking I might not buy foundation again until fall. In the summer I typically stick with primer, concealer, powder as my routine, just because I'll sweat off any more layers of crap on my face. I usually keep a tube of Maybelline's Pure Makeup around because its water based and doesn't clog my pores as much during the hotter months. It DOES NOT resist humidity well. For special events like weddings, parties etc. where I need to have full coverage on my face my go to for several years now has been L'Oreal Infallible make-up. Its a little akin to smearing clay on your face, but it stays put! Especially if you set it with powder. It can get a little cakey if you don't get the right powder to foundation balance though. But, because its like smearing clay on your face, I don't like to use it very often.

Primer:
I have always lauded the praises of foundation primer in the past. However, I kinda thought they all were the same. I found I liked the way Smashbox Photofinish with derma...something or other (age fighting) went on smoothly, but its of course the most expensive one. Regardless, I kinda thought they were all pretty much the same. That is until I, somewhat impulsively, bought Make-Up Forever High Definition Primer. Its thin, between liquid and cream, but closer to liquid and upon applying it I thought "what the fuck? I paid $32 for this bullshit??" But, I gave it a chance. And I started noticing that even that crappy Revlon foundation was staying on longer. When I was using Smashbox, I noticed that when I used my makeup wipes there wasn't much coming off from my skin, meaning there wasn't much there anymore. Now when I take off my makeup at night the wipe is covered in removed foundation. Now, that may sound gross, but it goes to show how well the MU4E stuff works. When this runs out, I'm going to try out the other tints that they have. I'm really excited about this product. For serious.

Powder:
I'm currently using Mac Mineralize Skinfinish natural. I like it. Goes on smooth and opaque. I'm not in love, simply for the fact that because its a mineral makeup (which I'm of course mixing with non-mineral makeup, is that a no-no? i have no idea ha!) and when I sweat, it feels like a thousand tiny pin pricks on my face. Not painful, just a little itchy. I've been dying to try Smashbox Halo perfect powder, but can't bring myself to shell out $65 for the stuff. The best powder I ever bought was another Smashbox product, the 5-in-1 perfecting powder or something like that. Of course, they don't make it anymore, but it was awesome. There were five different ways to wear it, one of which involved mixing with water for fuller coverage. Awesome. I used it with my L'Oreal Infallible for a wedding I was in last September and I never had to touch it up the whole time!

Blush:
I've always felt like blush is blush and its one of those things you don't need in a zillion colors. I'm very fond of a Smashbox one I got in a gift set, Softlights in Smashing Tint, but its almost gone. I probably won't rebuy it. Get yourself a bronzer and a blush that looks natural and you're good to go. My favorite bronzer is by Flirt! (available at Kohls), #22 Sweet Desire. Its highly pigmented, so one thing of it has lasted me about 3 years. A light dusting is all you need. Flirt also has a ton of blush colors, so you could just grab a bronzer and a blush and be done with it :).

Mascara:
Peter Thomas Roth Lashes to Die For: The Mascara. Awesome. I have nothing but good things to say. The brush is amazing, it has those exacting bristles as well as shorter ones (the idea being you apply more product with the shorter bristles and then smooth it out with the exacting bristles). It doesn't, so far, come in waterproof, which is fine because I hate waterproof mascara (its just a personal preference, I have no real reason). It doesn't flake, and even at the end of the tube it went on smooth and clump-free. Love love love love!!! My lashes look sooooo long.

Eyeliner:
My first blog post on Beautique still stands. I love the stuff. It comes in other colors besides black, but I haven't tried those. Beyond that, I've been playing with gel eyeliners. I'm currently using Mac Fluidline in BlackTrack. I like it, but will probably move on to another one, just to compare, when its gone. The trick is finding a good brush. Ulta has a good one, its flat and a little wider than your average eyeliner brush, but it tapers slightly, so it has pretty much all the surfaces you need for any eyeliner application. I also REALLY like all the Sephora brand mini-liners. At $5 each, they're not a bad buy and there's like 15 colors. I have Wild Spirit (shown second from the left in the picture), its like a cobalt purple/blue that really pops. I also have white and a purpley/red called Plum. I've used up all of Wild Spirit and re-bought it. They get used up fast because they're very soft and creamy.

Eyeshadow:
I have so much eyeshadow... I can't even begin to tell you. So much that I haven't even begun to use it up yet. I will be very upset when I run out of this random shimmery gold glitter stuff that I've literally had since middle school. Its from the Body Shop and its just a little brick of gold dust that you can apply everywhere. But its running out and I know they don't make it anymore. I'm running low on Mac Shroom too, which is the one that I recommend everyone buy! Its an off-white satin neutral and is a must for every collection. It looks great with everything. Its awesome as a highlight and perfect for pretty much anywhere else on the eye. Go! Buy!

Lips:
Lipstick is like another eyeshadow thing for me. I have so much that I've never had the need to rebuy. I love the CoverGirl minty ones that they partnered with Crest for. I love ALL of Flirt!'s lipglosses, Mac's Dazzleglass is awesome (and tastes good!). I usually apply lipstick or gloss when I leave the house and then forget to apply it the rest of the day, which is the other reason I've never run out :) Well, thats it for me tonight.

Eyeshadow primer/base:
My first review on the Sephora brand eyeshadow primer is no longer valid. I tried Urban Decay, wasn't thrilled, so I moved on to Two Faced Shadow Insurance, as I've seen it recommended the most on other sites. Its great. Goes on silky smooth, sets up quick, and keeps eyeshadow in place all day. But based on the foundation primer, I may try Make Up Forever's eyeshadow primer when this runs out.

Hope everyone has a good rest of their week! Happy Passover/Easter/Equinox whatever your holiday is!

make up look - Phoenix Rising

2010-02-28T17:01:00.008-05:00

I like to come up with lame overly-dramatic names for my makeup looks. Anyways, there were some technical difficulties, like my eyes spontaneously starting to water and ruining things, but I managed to get it out. :) Enjoy!
Eyes:
Purple in crease: Makeup Forever #92, bright matte purple
Orange in outer third: Makeup Forever #18 bright matte tangerine orange
Yellow in center: Makeup Forever #2 bright matte lemony yellow
White in inner corner: L'Oreal Hip Pigments matte white from "Animated" shadow duo
Highlight on browbone: Random light shimmery gold from the Body Shop that they don't make anymore
Eyeliner: Beatique black pencil eyeliner
Mascara: Peter Thomas Roth Lashes to Die For The Mascara

Lips
Lined with Soap and Glory "Sexy Motherpucker" plumping lip crayon, Then applied Flirt Plushious Liquid Velvet Lipcolor in Rising Star, topped with a light sheen of Flirt Squeeze Me Supershiny Lip Gloss in Heavenly Honey.

Blush
Smashbox cast/crew blush duo, applied peachy shade on cheeks, lighter shade on forehead, nose and chin.

The pictures aren't really doing it justice, its quite pretty, I think :) I love Makeup Forever. They're a bright eyeshadow addicts dream come true...
I've also started using paint brushes instead of makeup brushes. They work just as well, are cheaper and there's more of a variety. As long as you get something designed for acrylic or watercolor, i recommend the synthetic brushes or smooth natural hair. You won't be doing yourself any favors if you buy the coarse brushes :)

My skin care routine

2009-12-23T18:49:00.006-05:00

So, I'm a smoker. Yeah yeah, its bad. whatever.

While my roommate and I don't smoke in our living room, we do smoke in our bedrooms. And since my roommate owns the good TV in the living room, I let him have first pick of what to watch/play on it. Which means I spend a lot of time in my room, hiding from Madden or reality-show-drivel. And that means I smoke more, because I can. It does make my clothes smell bad, unless I keep the closet door closed. The other side effect is that it ages my skin. I started noticing an intricate web of fine lines on my forehead, and an even deeper wrinkle right between my eyebrows. Needless to say, at 25, I was in a panic.

I hadn't been much for moisturizing in the past, as my skin tends toward the oily. But I realized that the only way to keep my skin from aging any more than it already has is to keep it nice and hydrated. So, this is what I've been doing for about a month, and it actually seems to be working. The fine lines on my forehead are noticeably lessened and that particular little wrinkle between my brows is a little less pronounced.

In the shower in the morning, I alternate between Arbonne FC5 daily cleanser (for oily/combination skin) and MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator. As I have reviewed previously Arbonne cleanser is awesome. And I'm running out of it, which is annoying. But it lasts for a loooong time. You only need about a dime size amount, probably less.

I'm still on the fence, even half way through my tube. On the one hand, the exfoliating beads are very fine and take only a little effort to polish your whole face. It also doubles as a cleanser; as you scrub, it foams up and leaves your skin soft and moisturized. And hey, its black! That's nifty. But the trouble with "natural" scrubbing materials is that they're not smooth and even, which if you have sensitive skin, can feel very rough and jagged. If you get a little overzealous while scrubbing (as i'm sometimes prone to) it can actually hurt a little. I also haven't noticed any reduction in the size of my pores and have actually noticed more clogged pores on my cheeks, where I didn't use to have too much trouble. Now, this could be the fault of my shit foundation (which I still am using and haven't returned since I reviewed it before). So, anyway, thats what I do in the mornings. I alternate between straight up cleanser and an exfoliating cleanser. If I feel really gross, sometimes I'll do both.

When I get out of the shower, I moisturize with my Arbonne FC5 Oil Absorbing Day Lotion with SPF 20. I love it, as I stated in that other review. Never feels heavy. Smells fantastic. One of the few products that I've bought a second time, despite its $50 sticker price. If anyone's interested, contact me and I'll be happy to put you in touch with my friend's mom who sells it.

At night, I cleanse my face with makeup wipes, because I HATE washing my face when not in the shower. Water gets EVERYWHERE, and gets stuck in the cat litter that my kitties kick out of their litter box. And all over the toilet paper on the roll. and all over the mirror... (I have a really small bathroom) So I use makeup wipes. I have been using Clean and Clear wipes for the last few months, but I think they're not getting all the dirt that the Ponds ones I used to use were. So I've switched back as of last night.

Following makeup wipes, I use Pond's Mend & Defend intensive protection SPF 15 moisturizer This used to be my favorite moisturizer before I discovered Arbonne. Its a little heavy, but in a good way. And its formulated for anti-aging stuff. It absorbs quickly and leaves the skin supple and soft. And its cheap, and available (or used to be) at drug stores. There was a brief period a few years ago where I couldn't find it anywhere, and I got the supply I have now on clearance at CVS. I haven't shopped for it in a while, because I use so little, so I really don't know if they still make it. If they don't make this exact one, there's probably something similar on the market.

In addition to facial moisturizer, I use Arbonne Intelligence Not-So-Basic Daily Eye Cream. I rub this into my eyelids, under my eyes, on the bridge of my nose and up over both my eyebrows. This product I know for a fact is not on the market anymore. Arbonne stopped making the Intelligence line and replaced it (I think) with FC5. The jar I have is miniature, meant for travel, and was included in a birthday gift from my friend who's mom sells it. Her mom had a bunch of Intelligence stuff at one point that she was selling cheap, since they don't make it anymore. I'd bet you can find it on ebay, and my friend Kyle wrote this post on her blog about where to find discontinued beauty products. Dunno if any of them carry Arbonne, but its worth a shot. Again, I use a very small amount, pretty much just dab my finger in once and thats all I need, so I don't anticipate running out anytime soon. Other eye creams that I have liked are both available at Kohls, Good Skin (like generic Clinique) and Grassroots.

Anyways, so thats my daily skin care routine. And it is actually working. Of course, its important to get plenty of sleep and drink plenty of water, these also help with keeping skin young and fresh.

Happy Holidays everyone!!!!

Day - Long Review - Revlon ColorStay Sweatproof Foundation

2009-11-20T12:55:00.005-05:00

I recently discovered that I hated my foundation. Maybelline Pure Makeup. Its water based, which is nice and doesn't clog your pores. But forget about it if you have oily skin, or even just an oily T-zone like moi. Now, I'm not the best at keeping my makeup touched up throughout the day, but you'd think your foundation could stand up for an hour at least.... Not so with Pure Makeup, it was patchy and cakey within an hour.

So I went to Total Beauty to find a better foundation. Something rated well for oily or combination skin. The results weren't promising. Too many products with too few reviews each. Irritating. On the basis of saving some cash, I decided to go with a "drug store" brand. I found good reviews of Revlon's ColorStay stuff, and I've always liked their ColorStay lipstick. They were kind of pioneers of that "lasts for 16 hours" stuff as I recall. So I set out to CVS to buy the stuff. I found there are three different kinds of ColorStay foundation: Normal/Dry, Oily/Combination and Sweatproof.

Now, my main complaint from my Maybelline Pure was that if I started to sweat, even a little, the makeup would just dissolve instantly. So, I went for the Sweatproof when I chose the new foundation. The reviews online promised it would stay put, not come off my clothes, and that it was light and comfortable. Here begins my journal style-review of my new foundation.

7:45 AM - Applied makeup to moisturized skin (ran out of primer, so didn't bother). Purposefully did my makeup before drying my hair, to check for "sweatproofness". Makeup is the consistency of watery clay. NOT light. Not uncomfortable, but certainly not like spreading whip cream on my face. My face now has these layers on it: moisturizer, foundation, concealer, powder, blush. Blow-dried my hair. Sweat not too much, but enough. Divot under my nose remains perfect, starting to see some minor caking on cheeks near nose, but easily fixed.
--Sweatproof makeup - confirmed! (but I already had sweatproof makeup, I use it on special occasions like weddings and stuff, L'Oreal Infallible, look for it in a future review)

9:30 AM - Cheeks, forehead, chin look fine. Nose is starting to get cakey and I can see my bare skin in some patches.

12:30 PM - Entirely gone from the end of my nose. Starting to look cakey on cheek area right next to nose

1:09 PM - Cheek area from earlier definitely starting to be cakey, not patchy yet. Makeup is only on the sides of my nose, and collecting around the nose-pads of my glasses. New: now collecting in fine lines around my mouth.

5:16 PM - Just got home from work. Time to check this "16" hour makeup after about 9.5 hours since putting it on. Remember, I've done no touch ups today, as I wanted to get a feel for my new foundation. Wearing off over my eyebrows, creating a weird effect that makes me look angry. Caking up above my upper lip. Entirely gone of my nose, areas where nose-pads of my glasses are have rings around them. cheeks/chin look ok. Best test will be to remove it to see if its still really there.

All that being said, it doesn't look all that bad. I think if I were good about touching up with powder throughout the day it might look better. It also might be more effective with primer.

Still, I think I might return it and try the "oily/combination" kind. We'll see.

Thanks for reading! I'll post again soon (yeah right).

Arbonne Review at long last

2009-09-07T03:08:00.006-04:00

Wow, so I really suck at updating. Especially since I've been unemployed all summer and have had ample time to do so. So, here, at long last, is my Arbonne Cosmetics review.

I have a bunch of Arbonne products, which I bought from a friend's mom who is an Arbonne Consultant. Basically, its like Mary Kay or Avon where you can only buy it directly from a consultant.

The theory of Arbonne is great. Only natural products, no weird chemicals or rendered animal fat (EW! its called Sodium Tallowate, but I'm not sure how its spelled. check your products for it and promptly get rid of them. its basically boiled road kill). I'll review, at least briefly, the products I have used from Arbonne, and will be happy to direct you to my friend's mom who sells the stuff if you're interested.

The Arbonne Primer is a decent product. I know some who use it as both moisturizer and primer, but I didn't find it moisturizing enough to do that. It was more or less effective at its job, but I like my Smashbox primer better. And at something like $30/bottle, it didn't quite feel worth it to me. Supposedly using all Arbonne products in tandem makes them more successful and actually improves your skin (you should SEE the woman I first bought stuff from, she looks fantastic all the time) but as I couldn't (and definitely can't now) afford all the products at once, I wasn't seeing those benefits. Overall, I hesitantly recommend it.

Arbonne Foundation has about the same review as the primer. It did its job, but not better than any other foundation. I've been using this cheap Maybelline stuff for a while and I like it better (the Maybelline is water based and very lightweight for a liquid foundation). And again, for the $39.50 price tag, this foundation better be the best freaking stuff ever. I also had trouble finding a shade that matched my skintone. The lady I bought it from eventually had to squirt some lighter stuff into a ziploc and give it to me to blend with it. So, what she was telling me is I have to buy TWO shades in order to get my one perfect one. Overall, I don't recommend it.

The Arbonne FC5 line is my without-a-doubt favorite facial cleansing system EVER. It comes in several different combinations, based on your skin type being Oily, Normal, Combined or Dry. Theres (I think) an eyecream, moisturizer, hand cream, cleanser and translucent (and oil absorbing) setting powder. And the best part? Stuff smells fantastic. Fruity and sweet and clean. The cleanser rocks, it never feels drying but successfully gets off all the crap from my face. The moisturizer is also awesome, its not too heavy and not too light, which is perfect for my combination skin. I unfortunately have not been able to try the eye cream or the setting powder, aside from when my friend's mom was presenting them, but I look forward to having a job again soon so that I can purchase these also. Overall, I highly recommend the FC5 line.

My opinion of Arbonne varies greatly (clearly). I'm very very fond of all the skin care products, but not overly thrilled with the cosmetics. But then again, I'm a fan of dramatic makeup. I know other friends of mine who love every part of the Arbonne line. Its great if you want that subtle, natural look. But of course, my last review was praising neon-pink eyeshadow. So, my review of Arbonne is skin care = awesome and can't be beat! but cosmetics = your money's probably better spent elsewhere if you're looking for high-drama, high performance stuff.

I'm currently working on figuring out a way to film tutorials, I have a couple of makeup looks that I'd love to share. As soon as I deal with the lighting and camera problem, I'll get those up for anyone who's interested.

Thanks for reading, and please subscribe! I only have two followers! Thanks Julie and Meghan!

Make-up Forever - Star Powder

2009-05-01T16:15:00.004-04:00

So I went out a few weeks ago in search of new eyeshadow. I've been watching makeup tutorials on youtube, my favorite is xsparkage. She's awesome. She does tons of bright eye makeup and puts up awesome easy to follow tutorials. For a while, I was attempting to recreate her results with whatever cheap crap I had on hand. I've since realized that in order to really get vibrant makeup, you've gotta spend a little more to get the better pigments. Even M A C pressed shadows don't hold up. Then one day, as I was watching one of her tutorials, I discovered that she's not using pressed shadows. All her stuff is loose powder. Loose powder = more pigments!

So I started with M A C pigments, I bought a purple one, and I really like it. Its bright and vibrant and gives great coverage. You can apply it wet or dry (I haven't tried wet yet, I just know you can). The trick to really getting good coverage is plenty of eyeshadow primer.

Then I was in Sephora one day and something BRIGHT FREAKING PINK caught my eye. Make-up Forever Star Powder. Its a loose shadow, and i'm pretty sure its blacklight receptive, thats how freaking bright this is. I was with my friend Jess, we spied it at the same time... and bought it together. I wear mine thickly applied so you can really see how neon pink it is, Jess wears hers light and it looks pastel and very lovely. Either way, its awesome. Everytime I wear it, I get compliments. Its very noticeable and looks great with a lot of my other shadows. It does stain my eyelids though, just a little bit. And its tough to get out of the brush I use to apply it, ensuring that I taint my other shadows with it quite often. But its worth it for the look. Its not quite a pearlescent or a matte, its something in between (satin?). There are flecks of silver glitter in it, but very few. I recently purchased the blue in the same line. Its more pearlescent than the pink, so its a little easier to blend but its strangely overpowering. I've worn it a few times blended with a yellow CoverGirl shadow and its tough to get both eyes to look the same. I blame the CoverGirl mostly, its crap. With both colors, a little goes a long way, and I advise building layers rather than trying to slather it all on at the same time, the fall-out is pretty extreme, and tough to get off without wiping off your powder and foundation (fall-out = the powder that falls on your cheeks when you've got too much product on the applicator). I highly recommend it.

Incidentally, while I was at Sephora last week buying the blue shade, I also tried their cream eyeliner. I will be purchasing it very soon. Its wicked awesome. I also tried the HD Foundation. Also awesome. I may have to buy the entire line...
Thanks to www.mymakeupreviews.blogspot.com for this image, sorry i took it without asking...

My next post will be reviewing Arbonne and I hope to get it done before the end of the weekend.

M A C Select Sheer Loose Powder

2009-04-12T17:22:00.003-04:00

So yeah, I suck for not updating more often. Anyway. I'm going to review today MAC Cosmetics Select Sheer Loose Powder. I bought this a few weeks ago for about $21 from the MAC store in Towson. I was really excited because I remembered a friend of mine getting some MAC powder and it looking really fabulous on her.

I bought the wrong one.

Don't get me wrong, it does provide excellent coverage. It does exactly what powder is supposed to do. But you have to buy a specific kind of brush in order to use it. I've been using a kabuki-type brush (Smashbox #19, face and body brush) to apply it and I end up seeing clouds of product swirling off into the air (or even worse, landing on my shirt). I tap off all the excess product like I'm supposed to, but I still end up losing some in the application process. And once I've tapped it off, I can't really tell where I've applied it and where I haven't. The difference isn't immediately apparent, which annoys me.

So, in the end, I don't recommend it. Unless you're going to buy the correct brush and have the MAC salesperson give you a demonstration. Neither of which I did because 1. the salespeople when I bought it were both busy and ignoring me and 2. I had a perfectly adequate brush at home and didn't realize I'd need something specific.

I have a bunch of new stuff to review, so I'll get to all of it hopefully this week. Thanks for reading!

Ponds Makeup Remover Towelettes

2009-03-22T15:18:00.005-04:00

Hello! Sorry its been so long. I'm going to try to update more frequently. Promise.

Today I'm going to review the things I use to take off my makeup every night. Ever seen those commercials for face washes where the attractive girl splashes water on her face in near-orgasmic pleasure? She's so excited to wash her face! Well, when you try to mimic her enthusiasm, the end result is water all over your bathroom. And in my case, mixing with the little pieces of cat litter that my cats kick out of the litterbox, which of course are clay so they end up leaving gray/black marks all in the grout between the tiles. My shirt ends up drenched, the toilet paper's wet and the floor is slippery. UGH! And then I found something awesome. Makeup remover towelettes! Premoistened, they come in a pack of thirty or so, and you just wipe them all over your face and throw it away. No need to rinse or wash or scrub. The first brand I bought was Ponds, because it was the first I saw. I have since tried: Garnier, Olay, Target & CVS brands, Dove and Neutrogena. Nothing compares to the original Ponds, even the Target & CVS brands that were using the same formula. There's texture to the cloths that help take off all your makeup, including waterproof stuff. I have no fear of rubbing it all over my eyes. If in the process you happen to get the solution that its soaked in into your eye, it hurts about as much as getting just water in your eye. It takes everything off without stripping all the oil out of my skin (thank you CVS brand!). And while I should, I don't typically put on anything after that. Just brush my teeth and go to bed. But even with my foundation primer and eyeshadow primer and caked on powder and tons of eyeliner, one cloth takes it all off.

There is only one downside, which I'm able to overlook pretty easily. The package is a plastic pouch with a peel and seal label on it. You lift this, take out one cloth and then re-seal it. Its not perfect. Air gets in there whether you like it or not so your last 6 or so cloths get a little dried out. The solution is to spritz it with a little water from a spray bottle, or just wad it up in your hand and stick it under the faucet for half a second, just enough to dampen it. This wakes up the dried solution and makes it good as new.

Overall, I highly recommend it.

I'm going to try to do some kind of tutorial in my next post, but I haven't decided what or how yet, so keep an eye out!

Maybelline Lash Stiletto Mascara

2009-03-05T21:37:00.005-05:00

Hello to all of my lovely readers. You are few, but I am confident you will soon be many. Thanks to my friend Kyle over at FaceCandy I was able to review this product. It retails for under $7, which is pretty decent as far as a good quality drug-store brand mascara goes.

Now, I'm blessed with long lashes naturally, which doesn't make me a good judge of mascaras. But I will do my best, as I've been requested by two people to discuss mascara. The graphic designer in me is a sucker for the packaging of this one. Its designed to look like the heel of a shoe!! And the typography is cool (not altogether that creative, but well executed). The brush is great, its narrow enough to get into that corner of your eye without getting the product everywhere, but thick enough to distribute fairly evenly. I had minor-moderate trouble with clumping, but a lash comb will get rid of most of them. If you're looking for length, its pretty awesome. I put some on this morning and then reapplied a few minutes ago (because I'm going to see the midnight show of Watchmen!!!) and it looks like I'm wearing false lashes. They're black and long (thats what she said!). I had more trouble with clumping just now, but I didn't take off the previous application, so thats why.

It stays put. It doesn't flake off, there's no "raccoon eyes". It looks just as good when you apply as when you take it off. And it comes off as easy as any mascara. If you're looking for volume, forget it. Its really really great for length. It blows for volume. Each lash is defined, but not thickened, unless you count the clumping. For this fact, I'd say I recommend it, but not highly.

It still doesn't beat my favorite mascara of all time, the Kohl's brand, Flirt! Far Out Lengthing Mascara. My favorite mascaras have combs for brushes. They thicken and lengthen. My next mascara purchase will be Benefit's BadGal Lash mascara, but I now have two tubes of mascara to use up, so it may be a while before I review it.

That's all for now, thanks for reading, and invite your friends!!!

Sephora Eyeshadow Primer

2009-02-26T23:33:00.006-05:00

I've decided today to review Sephora Eyeshadow Primer. When I first heard about makeup primers of any kind I was skeptical. Why the fuck would I want to add another layer of stuff to my face. Well, the answer is this: it makes everything stay on better and for longer. I came home after 8 hours of work today, and only had to touch up the powder on my nose. Everywhere else was fine thanks to my foundation primer. And my eye makeup was fine thanks to my eyeshadow primer. Eyeshadow primer prevents eyeshadow from fading and creasing and also helps with getting really brilliant results from a minimal amount of product. Meaning, you only have to do a one or two strokes with that eyeshadow brush instead of ten to get the vibrant color that you see in the pot/package. My blacks go on richer and darker (instead of light gray) My lime greens go on bright lime green instead of pale, sheer green, forcing me to layer the product on really thick to get my desired results.

I wasn't really sure what type of eyeshadow primer to go with when I first bought some. So I went to Sephora and bought something cheap, just so I could experiment without having to spend a lot of money. I saw products from just about everyone, Stila, Urban Decay etc. Then I went to Sephora's proprietary brand (called Sephora, go figure...) and found a little pot of eyeshadow primer for $8. I brought it home and over the next few weeks figured out how to apply it. I use my index finger, and I put a thin layer across my entire lid and brow bone. I've discovered that, since its very thick that if you apply it too heavily it makes eyeshadow difficult to apply and blend without "skipping" (when the brush gets caught on loose skin and "skips" making a banded texture in the area of application). Its thicker than concealer (which I've also heard will work in a pinch for eyeshadow primer, but have never tried myself) so you don't need much. I've had this little pot for about three months now and haven't even begun to use it all. There are days when I've forgotten to put it on and I definitely notice a difference. I'm not 100% happy with it, though it does do the job for a minimal amount of money, because its not simple to apply, and if you goop it on too heavily it doesn't make for good eye makeup results. But, since its very inexpensive and lasts a long time, I do kinda like it, especially if you're just getting used to using professional grade products (like me). I look forward to trying other products so I can do an educated comparison.

Overall, I hesitantly recommend it.

Sorry its been so long since my last post. Work has been hell and the last thing I want to do when I get home is to sit in front of my computer...

I have a small bit of news. My friend Kyle over at FaceCandy gave my address to the PR rep for Maybelline and they sent me mascara to review. I'm about to take my makeup off for the night, so look for a review of it as soon as I've tried to for a few days. Thanks Kyle for passing my name along! I'm enough of a dork that I called a friend immediately to tell her the exciting news that the Maybelline (or at least their marketing company) knows that I exist. :)

Eyeliner

2009-02-12T10:45:00.007-05:00

I'm an eyeliner freak. I love dark eyeliner, and always have. I've tried so many different kinds. I've spent as much as $10 and as little as $1 in my quest for the perfect eyeliner. I hate retractable/self-sharpening. And I dislike liquid and creme unless I'm going for a really specific thing. I also rarely stray from black eyeliner, and if its not black its dark purple or brown. My hesitancy is simply a lack of practice, and a lack of funds to buy every shade of eyeliner and play with them.

In any case, the absolute best black pencil liner that I have found is Beautique. It's available at Sally Beauty Supply stores, in a rack right by the register. Its about 18 inches long. And is not more than $4. Online its only $1.49, in the store I think its around $3.50 or so. It's great. Fantastic. My favorite of all time. (with the exception of Revlon powder liner which they no longer make). Its not waxy. Its soft enough to get a good dark line, but not so soft that you have to sharpen it every five seconds. It stays where you put it, but is easy to smudge with a smudger brush or your fingers if you want to. It comes off easy with whatever your preferred makeup remover is. And the best part is that its HUGE. Like I said, 18 inches long. For less than $4. I sharpen mine about every other use, or if I want a really precise line.

Overall, I highly recommend it.

2009-02-11T23:54:00.002-05:00

My first blog. Ever.

I swore so many times that I would never have a blog. I found the whole thing idiotic. Why on earth would I care about what anyone has to say?

Well, as it turns out, I have something to say.

You may be wondering about the title of of this blog, as well as the adult content warning. I like to curse. Like a Tarantino movie. If thats a problem, move on. There are a million other make-up blogs out there. I'm sure you'll find one that works for you. I'm just as sure that the sugar sweet non-cursing blog you have will give you make-up reviews just as honestly and matter-of-factly as I will.

It's very likely that I won't update often. I'll try, but I'm lazy and un-motivated.

I'll give a quick review (because it's late and I futzed with the artwork for the title of this blog for a while because the color was off) of a brush I recently acquired at Target. Its a Sonia Kashuk eyeshadow crease brush. I couldn't find a picture, and didn't feel like taking one, so I'll describe it. It has a white wood (I think?) handle and black bristles, tapered into a point. Its not extremely silky hair, but soft enough that it doesn't matter. I find it perfect for blending into the crease. I can spread eyeshadow from the corner of my eye easy into the crease with a minimum amount of strokes. Control is a minor issue, as its not the highest quality of brushes and has some stray hairs that make it tricky to limit the blending to just the crease area, but a controlled and hand and some patience will do the trick. Its an economical buy, I think its on clearance right now for about $5. Overall, I recommend it.

That's it for this evening. Thanks for reading, and please continue to do so!