make up look - Phoenix Rising

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 :)

Day - Long Review - Revlon ColorStay Sweatproof Foundation

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).

Maybelline Lash Stiletto Mascara

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!!!