Stuff I Always Buy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!