I sought, I selected, I — realized they were all Notte by Marchesa. Designer diversity FAIL, Rae.
Well, at least I’m consistent! I guess…
Reviews upcoming :)
These are just too cute! I like the price ($10US/$12CAD) and portability, plus the fact that they kept the gorgeous design of the full-size packaging.
Everyone always talks about how you can use a mascara as a liner in a pinch, or vice versa — but how many of you have actually ever tested your lovely black liquids to see what would happen?
If none of you are raising your hands, it’s okay. I’ve dealt with this problem for you.
Meet four of my favourites: GOSH Extreme Art Liner, Lancome Artliner, Imju Fiberwig, and Rimmel Lycra Lash. The first two are liners, and the last two are mascaras. I tested them for resistance against oil, and water, so check out some photos behind the cut if you’re interested!
First, I slicked some oil on the left side of the swatches — because, well, lids get oily.
And then I “pulled” each swatch with the q-tip.
The verdict: Ironically, a mascara held up best for this test! Because Fiberwig is made as a tubing ‘scara, it doesn’t budge under the presense of oil — you keep that in mind while removing makeup. Get oil on your lashes and it will NOT come off! (No, this is not a good thing. This is an “avoid at all costs” thing.)
But I couldn’t stop at that. I also needed to know what would happen if you cried or sweated, so I spritzed my swatches with some water.
Grabbed a tissue and swiped…
The verdict: Ta-da! It seems like the “best” liner is still really a liner — the GOSH one. However, as far as liners go, this one’s pretty spectacular. (Notice how it beat the crap out of the Artliner in terms of longwearing-ness?)
After finishing these tests, I think I’d feel okay putting on mascara as liner. I mean, I wouldn’t do it on a daily basis, but it would be an okay solution in a pinch. Just one last thing to note, though: conversely, if I was using liners as mascara, I wouldn’t use the GOSH. This isn’t due to the tests, though… this is due to the fact that it is super hard to get off, and I would probably tear out all my lashes in the process of doing so.
Ouch.
That would really hurt.
Plus, it would ruin all the work I’ve been putting into them with that Lash Boosting serum! :(
Why is it that you happen to be green? Green. Not a soft pastel green, but green-green. Green like the pulverized stems of flowers, freshly cut from the garden in the heat of summer.
This is not a good sign.
What is also not a good sign is your incredibly sharp opening; razor blades embedding themselves in my nervous system; the juice of flowers flowing out of my throat and leaving a sticky trail on my skin. The crushed stalks under the tires of an old car; the crushed stalks under the sun, becoming sour and pungent.
You are without sillage. You are without legacy. You are sexless. Mindless.
You are the flower patch in my back yard; deconstructed. Your plant-like tendencies make me think feminine, and yet your undertones are deep and gutted with another thing entirely: masculine. In your greeness there is the simplicity of Chloé and the honesty of your colour. You smell of flowers and stems and dirt and to some extent this scares me. Where is the humanity that will keep me safe and separate? Where do you start and where do I begin?
You promised me a “comforting halo,” and like the lover that leaves in the dark of the night, you lied.
You are green; deconstructed. A stunning green, to be certain, but nothing more. The static character. The flat character. The luxe liquid in the stunning glass that smells as it is seen.
Capucine is a new release by Louise Turner (Givaudan) for Chloé.
Good morning, ladies! I’d like you to meet Becky, a terrorist from outer space friend of mine who was forcibly willing to be made-over. I just had a few minutes, but we put on a fairly natural-looking violet and brown smokey eye.
Her eyes photograph just gorgeously, hence the overabundance of eye close-ups! I warn you, though, the lighting was crap, so they’re not all the best shots. One of these days, we’ll have to do a “full” look (aka one in which we have more than five minutes to do it) and take some natural light photos.
A few ore photos (including full-face shots,) a quick how-to, and a “products used” behind the cut!
How-to:
Start by priming the lid with concealer and/or an eye primer. Work a semi-matte ivory in the inner third of your eye (Lancome Positive,) a golden shade similar to your skintone in the middle (Honeymoon,) and a darker brown-grey on the outer third (Noix.) Blend well!
To add violet to the look, use a blending brush (MAC 217) to buff a dark plum (Korres Plum) into the outer third of your eye, concentrating on the outer V. Then, to intensify the violet without adding too much weight to the look, use the same brush to blend in an intense violet (MUFE 92.) Add mascara and liner if desired. Finally, using a clean brush, finish up the look by blending out the edges of the shadow and hilighting the browbone (Positive.)
Used:
Make Up For Ever 92
Korres Plum
Lancome Noix, Honeymoon, and Positive
Lancome Aplum
Senna Vionnet
here is the quad I used for St. Patrick’s day ;)
Clockwise from the dark green: MAC Humid, Senna Taupe Glow, Annabelle Nymphet and Helium.
I thought it was kinda cute, so I wanted to share a photo!
What it is: Dove‘s Men+Care Body and Face Wash in Deep Clean.
Some ramblings: I was kinda hoping for a cute, kitchy name. Well, less on the cute and more on the sleezy, but something kitchy all the same. (Let’s be honest. What’s a guy going to pick up: “Snowflake Scrubber,” or “Suds with Sally”?) But I suppose that’s not really… Dove. They’re too pro-ethics, respect-yourself and all ;) I’m just teasing — today was boring, so I’m mercilessly mocking inanimate objects for fun!
(That said, I’m really hoping Dove never decides to go the kitchy-route. It’s nice to have a reliable non-sleazy drugstore brand! Axe, I may be lookin’ at you. And glaring.)
(Okay, I take that back, too. I hate your marketing, but your new Dark Temptation deo has one of my friends smelling fab, so I forgive you.)
Back on topic: Deep Clean has little spherical scrubby bits, which definitely get my thumbs-up of approval. I even took a photo of them for you! As you all must know by now, I basically have a vendetta against sharp scrubby bits (think ground-up nuts,) as they can quite easily scratch up or bruise your epidermis. If you’re going to exfoliate, go with chemicals (like AHAs and BHAs) or spheres!
The moisture factor and scent: If I had to choose between this gel and the Men+Care bar, I’d go with the bar. This seems more stripping (especially on the face, ouch!) and doesn’t smell quite as great... on its own. Here’s where it gets really cool, though: I mixed this with a vanilla-scented bodywash, in a 3:1 men-to-vanilla portion or so, and it basically blew my mind. It smelled amazing! It was like Shower Scent Heaven.
The ingredients:
The verdict? Unless you or your beau happen to be really into shower gels, I’d go with Dove’s bars instead. The only worry I had was that the bar wouldn’t lather as well with the cool new loofah (which I will be reviewing, hold your horses!) but that’s not the case at all — the bar actually lathered really well with the loofah. What’s nice about a gel rather than a bar is that it doesn’t get soggy, and I can go all alchemist on it to make the perfect masculine-but-vanillic scented bodywash.
Mmm.
Check out the review here :) I layered Green Beaver’s Lip Lustre with some MAC Plum Perfect Tinted Lip Conditioner and took a few shots for you ladies!
With just a thin layer of each — a glowy, satin effect:
With quite a bit of each — a sparkly, watery effect:
So, what say you? (I’m still going with “ahhhhh I love you!!!”)
All images via his site, obviously.
I’d rather not.
$29 for a funny-but-lame name and cheap-looking packaging. This product better be killer, or you will have a lot of angry fans at your doorstep!