Hey, so remember Tia, the girl who I’m kind of quietly obsessed with? (Yes, she is that funny, and if you’re not reading her blog YOU SHOULD BE.)
Anyhow, she makes supercute headbands now.
- I’m going to take myself less seriously. I see this more as something that is already going to happen rather than a “resolution,” simply because the severity of how seriously you see yourself is determined by something not unlike the domino effect. You start seeing yourself less seriously, which causes you to be less serious, which in turn… you get it. I can be the Hamburgler version of me! If I fail, we’ll end up with an overstressed, overworked Rae, and I’ll be the girl who shoots up the school (with colour-matched liquid foundation and pellets of cold, hard kohl.)
- I’m going to take more photographs. This totally counts as a resolution, because I’ll have to make time to do it, and I’ll have to remember to do it more than every few months! (Product photos, swatches, and FOTDs don’t count.)
- I’m going to be more physically fit. We’ve already been working up to this over the past few months, but with my back (which I hurt almost four months ago and it’s still not better!) I need to really buckle down on this resolution. I hit the new year running (literally, I was on the treatmill when the clock tolled) and I’ve been doing my stretches/back excercises almost every day for the past three months, so we’re off to a good start!
- I’m going to streamline my stash. (Come on. You had to see this coming! How could I NOT have a beauty-related resolution?! IT’S ME.) I know there are certain things I need, like a neutral palette, a good blue, and a medium-toned violet, but aside from that I need to purge. I don’t even wear bronzer; why do I have six?!
- Lancome’s Photogenic Bronzé, marked tester. This is a mousse bronzer that I think you’ll find very interesting! The wear is incredible and the texture is just divine.
- Quo cream blush in Miami, available only in Canada, which I honestly think is the blush formula to start with if you’re new to cream blushes. It’s a medium-pigmented shimmery cream-to-powder that blends like a dream, so it’s great for a beginner! The shade is a fiery fuchsia with some shimmer, which I think would look great sheer on a pale princess or amazing layered for more intensity on a darker diva.
- Senna Colouring Creme in Coy, a super-shimmery apricot cream blush that is, again, great for a beginner with its cream-to-powder formula. I can also see this as a great hilighter for a darker-skinned gal!
- Essie Smoothies hand & body lotion in Pomegranate & Mango. I have way too many hand creams already, so I set this one aside for giving away! The Smoothies line is infused with AHA, so they’re supposed to soften and moisturise hands.
- Victoria’s Secret “French Kiss” Mirror Mirror gloss, untested and sealed. (It’s a potted gloss, which are harder to keep sanitized if you open them.)
- Upper Canada lip butter in Wild Mint Lime. Again, because it’s a potted lip product, it’s still sealed and new!
- Two Sephora Super Shimmer Lipgloss minis in Rosy Glow and Precious Pink. (Swatched, but the product was put on a palette first, and applied with a separate applicator, so these have never touched lips.)
- Aura Science Walnut Brown lip liner, so you can try this cool red lipstick trick and experience some of the glory that was Aura Science!
- And, finally, samples of The Face Shop’s “Eco-Therapy Cleansing Foam”, John Masters Organics Zinc & Sage shampoo, mark. that’s deep exfoliating cleanser, Biotherm’s Biosource cleanser, Smashbox Photo Finish (you ladies need to be trying primers!), and deluxe samples of Aveeno Positively Radiant (if I wasn’t sensitive to dimethicone, this would be my HG. It’s the best!) and Rocky Mountain Soap Company’s Bar None (I go scent-free for a lot of things, so this is a little insight into my life! It’s so hard to find good scent-free products.)
So I guess violet‘s still in, lace is really in, and lipstain markers are getting bigger. All good things if you ask me!
Lancome L’Absolu Creme De Brillance… it looks like they’re launching some new glosses, and I’m excited! They look very pigmented and creamy, so let’s hope for the best!
Dior Boudoir Look. I wasn’t that impressed by the promo and don’t really love the lace overlay, but the quad (below) is quite pretty!
Givenchy New Impressions — the promo is absolutely stunning! Photo from Temptalia.
Stila — in particular, the eyeshadow trios and the Jewel Lip Glaze in Amethyst.
MAC Art Supplies. Lipstain markers and greasepaint sticks; need I say more? (Sorry, there’s no imagery yet!)
So… what spring collections are you excited for?
So I said I wouldn’t do resolutions. Well, I also said I wouldn’t do personal posts any more, so I guess we’re going back on our word all over the place right now.
Enter the resolutions.
So, what are your New Year’s resolutions? Or even your New Year’s musings? Tell me in the comments!
That’s right — I’m finally getting my act together to give you lovely ladies a giveaway! I’ve chosen products over the last few months based on a) a theme, and b) my makeup life, so there’s an explanation beside each and every one of them. Please note that most of these items, unless otherwise noted, have been swatched using either a separate applicator (like the kind they use in MAC or Sephora to keep products clean) or washed and sanitized hands. Anything that can be sanitized has been sanitized!
If you enter (please do so before midnight January 18th, rules at bottom) this is what you’ll have a chance at winning:
If you haven’t figured it out by now, the theme for this giveaway is texture! For me, it’s the second most important thing when it comes to both food and beauty — falling behind only flavour and colour, respectively.
This giveaway is open to everyone, but please keep in mind that I will be shipping surface mail, so it might take a while to get to you if you’re out of North America. Here’s how to enter, for a total of three possible entries:
1. You must be a follower, new or old, and you must leave a comment noting that you’re following. Come on; I want you to be here because you want to be here, not because you want free makeup!
Once you’ve done that, here are two more ways to enter:
2. Leave a comment telling me what your favourite product is for texture! It can be anything from a hair styling product that gives you that chunky look to a moisturiser that makes your skin oh-so-smooth.
3.Link to this giveaway on your own blog and leave a comment to let me know!
That’s all for now. A winner will be chosen (randomly) and announced by the 20th! Until then, stay beautiful, my lovelies!
xoxo
I don’t care what you say. Your models need to eat. This poor girl is practically dying on-set.
And while we’re at it, you need to stop posing them in the exact same !@$&%(#$ positions, for crying out loud!
I’m going to be quite frank here: I have no idea why some of these were so popular. I mean, check out #2! That’s hardly even a post — it was originally intended to be just a swatch and a name! (And, okay, so maybe I got carried away and turned it into a full post. But the moral of the story is that you really don’t know what kind of reaction any post will get! The same goes for #5, as well. That’s one of my least-favourite FOTDs ever!)
Now, let’s get overwhelmed by some crazy choppiness.
So this post took…forever. I’m sorry! But it’s happening, finally, so you should rejoice in that. Take the good and forget the bad!
Anyhow; I wanted to start by saying “thank you!” to all the wonderful ladies who filled out the Best of 2009 survey, and even more so to those of you who left your names (about 90%). Having a name to the results makes it a lot easier for me if I’m going to refer to them! I’ve read each and every o
ne of your comments, and I’m happy to say that I’m 99% sure I have the funniest rea
ders ever. I love you guys! But anyhow, onto the survey.
Moisturiser with SPF
Congratulations, most of you wear SPF! (I’m a major skincare freak, and I have a gripping fear of the sun, so seeing this made me a very happy camper.) The most popular moisturiser in this category was actually an old favourite of mine, Olay Complete! I used the Sensitive Skin version, which many of you do as well. (Those that don’t either use the SPF30 version or the Combination Skin version.) Before realizing I couldn’t use dimethicone, I left my Olay for the super-lightweight Biore SkinPreservation… and I recommend considering that one for the summer if your Olay is making you oily, or feeling heavy.
Moisturiser without SPF
There was a huge variety of answers for this one, and no clear winner — I have to say, though, I expected to see more of Clinique’s DDML/DDMG on the list! (I don’t love it, but it’s obscenely popular.) Just one little reader-specific thing: we have an oily-skinned gal on olive oil. Honey, if you’re reading this, stop! A number of ladies listed the more popular alternative as their fave, which doesn’t sit on the skin the same way — jojoba oil. It’s like olive oil, but better if you ask me!
Primer
I was a little disappointed to see that about 80% of you don’t wear primer at all! Primer is one of my must-haves; I’m hooked on how it makes your skin feel and how much it helps your makeup go on smoothly (and stay on.) Of you who did list a favourite, you mentioned Monistat a lot, something I haven’t tried. (For those of you that haven’t heard of it, it’s an anti-chafing “feminine care” product that, because of it’s high dimethicone content, is being used as primer. But get your mind out of the gutter; it’s technically for your thighs!) Holley, with her combination skin, said that she isn’t using one but wants to try one… I guess the Monistat would be a good starting place, as it’s loved by gals of all skin types, even acne-prone! I’d also recommend Vincent Longo, Tarte, and Fyrinnae’s primers.
Foundation
Again, you’ve made me proud! A lot of you are loving lighter coverage products, like Chantecaille‘s Just Skin tinted moisturiser, or Covergirl‘s Smoothers. For those of you who wanted heavier coverage, MUFE High Def (a new favourite of mine!) and Revlon Colorstay made appearances as well! There was a great high/low mix here, which says to me that there’s a foundation out there for everyone — no matter their budget.
Powder
MAC definitely held a monopoly here, with their MSFN (Mineralized Skinfinish/Natural) and Blot powders taking well over half the votes. However, a couple ladies using Blot mentioned they wanted to try MUFE HD, aka silica spheres. My vote? Do it! I’m in love with the spheres; they absorb oil and give a great photo-ready finish. Not to mention, they set makeup flawlessly and feel like a dream.
That’s all for today! Don’t worry, the next part (or the next two parts; we’ll see) will be going up over the next few days. I promise not to make you wait too long to hear about the faves for mascara, blush, and lip products! (Not to mention, I’ll be sharing the answers to the question I was really curious about — what was on your wishlists for Christmas?)
MAC Melon pigment (perm). Pretty, orange-gold, and very shimmery! The swatches say it all. Stunning.
Happy last-day-of-2009, folks! Here are a couple of ideas for your New Year’s look.
You could be the smokey-eyed supervixen,
You could be the soft but colourful temptress,
You could be the subtle and classic darling,
Or the sex kitten of the night.
Whoever you choose to be, remember that you’re still you — well, that, and the fact that everyone has a camera phone nowadays. So stay safe, keep q-tips and false lash glue on hand, and start the new year with a bang!
So I’m turning these lists into a series, of sorts. It’s like an awful condition in which I cannot help myself — I have to find out what they are! Today we’re going to look at items a little differently: one item per category, rather than the five priciest in order. I’ve skipped categories though, because there are a lot of them. As usual, sets are excluded and the cost-per-ounce is not taken into consideration.
This is a long one, so you’ll have to click the “read more” button for the list!
Cleansers, Scrubs, and Toners
All of these names are confusing me! What counts, what doesn’t?! Oh well. The winner is La Prarie with their $255 Cellular Microdermabrasion Cream (which I suppose counts as a super-hardcore exfoliator) because I’ve decided Sisely‘s Phyto-Blanc Clearing Essence is just too confusing and must therefore be a $320 treatment rather than a cleansing product. Ha! Take that, Sisely.
Moisturisers
So after deciding this super-huge La Mer was out of the running because, well, it’s super-huge, I was left with another decision to make. Does this $1500 ReVive Peau Magnifique box count as a) a moisturiser, and b) something that is not a set? Because Bergdorf seems to think so, but I’m not sure.
If that doesn’t count, then the most expensive not-sixteen-freakin’-ounces facial moisturiser is the $1000 La Prairie Cellular Cream Platinum Rare, whose name may or may not make sense. (I’m on the “does not make sense” team. The words make sense, but they’re not in order, guys. We are not in France.)
Serums and Treatments
For $1500 (no, I didn’t slip in an extra zero), I’d much rather head to the doctor’s office than pick up Guerlain‘s Orchidee Imperiale treatment. It is stunning, though. I will give it that at least.
Lip Care
At $180, Sisily Paris‘ Botanical Eye & Lip Contour Complex is enough to give me a complex! It makes my “splurg-y” Bobbi Brown lip balm look like it’s for someone in the poorhouse. Oh wait… I am.
Sun Protection (anything under SPF45 has been disqualified.)
Is your face worth $115? Because Natura Bisse thinks it is. Don’t feel bad if your answer was “no,” though, because mine sure as hell was. I mean, I love my skin, but it’s not trying out their SPF50 Sun Defense Cream anytime soon!
Eye care
This was a hard choice — Estee Lauder won, in a way, with their $400 Re-Nutriv Re-Creation… but it’s technically a set. So instead, the winner is La Prairie, with a $375 Skin Caviar Luxe Eye Lift Cream. This is so luxe, as a matter of fact, that they say that it contains “twenty millileters” of product rather than 20mL. Now if that doesn’t say “too expensive for you” I don’t know what does!
