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    #1 Beauty Tool? You better believe it.

    It’s not a lash curler.

    It’s not nail clippers.

    It’s not even a toothbrush.

    May I please introduce to you the new love of your lives, the holy grail of tweezers?? *applause*Product: Tweezerman mini slant tweezer.

    On the size and tip: I like a shorter tweezer – you can get closer to the mirror, allowing for even greater precision. They do come in a “regular” size, though, so that shouldn’t be of any worry to you! Pick which ever one you prefer. And as for the tip? I prefer a slant tip, simply because they’re the most versitile. Point tweezers can only be used on ingrowns, and flat-top tweezers can only be used on larger hairs and larger areas, so these were the right fit for me!

    What’s great: These are honestly the best tweezers I’ve ever come by. Now, that doesn’t include crazy high end ones – but who can actually afford to blow $100 on tweezers, for crying out loud?! Go feed a small nation for a month instead. They’re super-precise, so it’s easy to pull out little brow hairs that other tweezers can’t reach. Even better is the fact that when they dull, you can send them in for free sharpening! Now that’s a deal. As long as you don’t lose these babies, they’ll be with you forever!

    (You better not go about losing them. Would you leave your baby in your one-night-stand’s bathroom?! Exactly. Don’t do it.)

    The verdict? Do I even need to say it? Buy, buy, buy. I’d even pick these up if they’re not on sale (though if they are, even better!) Yes, folks. They’re that good.

    They’re give-up-chocolate-for-a-month good.

    We mean buisness.

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    Update

    As much as I miss you guys, I must admit – Rivière-du-Loup is kinda freaking fantastic. It`s gorgeous, the people are great, and I`ve somehow managed to make friends that I do not hate within the program.

    Oh, right — I`ve also been learning French =P Somehow, though, this seems less of an OHMYGOD factor than it did a month ago. Walking down the street, it`s hard to remember you`re in an entirely different province with an entirely different language… that is, until you hear someone speak. Or until an old man glares at you — as a minority, I`m feeling much less welcome here than I do at home. Alas, the side effects of small towns in Québec.

    Anyhow; it rained for about the first week and a half and I was a little worried I`d never see the sun again. But alas, it`s returned, and now I`m missing the rain (oh but of course!) We`re given pretty much every meal in the cafeteria – the food`s alright but very processed – except dinner on Friday through Sunday and lunch on the weekends, but they give us $40 to deal with that (which is incredibly strange, might I add.)

    There isn`t too much more to be said. (Perhaps this is the reason for the rambling and poorly structured post?)I`ve been reading and responding to all your comments, and I really do hope it`s like I`m still 100% there! We`re kept fairly busy and get a ton of physical activity (if by this we mean that I`m on the third floor and you have to go down five sets of stairs and up another two to get the the cafeteria) so I`ve been pretty wiped by the end of the day — so sorry for the lack of “fresh news”! (You know I love my brackets and scare quotes.)

    Also, my friends have seemed to decide to revere me as the makeup god of the program. Though I don`t agree with this fact, I`m totally ready to abuse their false conclusions and make the most of it – faces practicing on! Colour me psyched. However, as you all know, most of my makeup is at home, so I haven`t any variety, colour, or brushes. We`re not quite sure how to deal with aside from each person buying a product or two from Shopper`s for their colouring – I`m considering the Maybelline quads under Tanya`s advice (read the review here) and cannot find NYX here, but any drugstore rants or raves would be greatly appreciated in the comments!

    ON THAT NOTE, Shopper`s is Pharmasave here, and it sells professional colour. So, of course, I picked up some 10vol and 5-99 for myself ^^ For a colour girl, it`s pretty damn exciting!

    Off to go finish mes devoirs. I hate that we have homework and tests, but it`s not heaps and heaps, so I really haven`t a problem with it.

    Yet.

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    What you can do with a six-pack of tealights

    …make a brush holder for your mini brushes! I used cue cards, cut up and taped in carefully, in order to make three compartments: one for brushes, one for q-tips, and one for nail implements.They’re cute, cheap, and then you have another couple for actual tealights. (Well, I don’t really burn tealights, but I do use that black one to hold fragrance vials.)

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    Just out of curiosity…

    Bobbi Brown released a LE foundation palette recently – the BBU. I was looking at it (and it’s hefty $250 price tag!) and wondering – if you were starting out as a makeup artist, would this be worth it?

    Well, short of doing an in-depth study, I’ll just go over the cost breakdown. It contains correctors, concealers, and foundations… but what would the cost be if you were to buy the products from her normal line and split them with other new makeup artists?
    The palette has 0.04oz/1.2g pans of nine different correctors. Bobbi Brown makes three others, but I’ll pretend they don’t exist for this breakdown :P We’re just sticking to replicating this palette!

    Normal cost: $22
    Product per pot: 0.06oz/1.7g

    This means you could get 1.5 pans per container, so let’s pretend we’re buying four and making six palettes (you’ll see why later). You’ll have 0.24oz of product, letting you make six 0.04oz portions.

    Then there’s 12 pans of the 14 creamy concealers, 0.03oz/1.1g in each pot.

    Normal cost: $22
    Product per pot: 0.06oz/1.7g

    Just like with the correctors, four of these is equal to six of the pans in the palette.

    And finally, pans of all 17 shades of Bobbi’s foundation stick – you’d get 0.05oz/1.7g of each.

    Normal cost: $44
    Product per stick:
    0.33oz/9.0g

    If you buy the sticks, you’ll get 6.6 pans per stick. See why we’re doing six, now? For the sake of my brain, I’ll pretend the last 0.6oz disappeared – let’s say the six of you got together to make swatch sheets, and that was used up.

    So – what are my findings??

    We’re buying four of each concealer and corrector, and one of each foundation stick.

    =$22[4 x (9 correctors + 12 concealers)] + $44(17 foundations)
    =$1848 + $748
    =$2562

    Let’s divide that by six, because you’re getting six palettes out of it!

    =$2562/6
    =$427

    Man, that took up way too much time for such a small result. Which was…?

    If you’re going to buy all of Bobbi’s foundations, this is very much worth it.

    That is all.

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    I’m alive!

    And borrowing a computer – so all I’m going to say is “hi!” and that Quebec is kinda freaking awesome.


    That is all :) Remember to keep checking the chatter box, which I’m trying to remember to update!

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    You’re it!

    Product: LORAC’s Lip and Cheek IT KIT in Sugar ‘n Spice
    Ingredients:
    The top pan: This is a remarkably creamy lip/cheek cream, very similar to Stila’s Convertible Colors or MAC’s Cream Colour Bases – and yet, I like this one more! It’s not as wonderful as my Lancome cream blush, sure, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t gorgeous. I love the blue-based pink tones, and it blends amazingly. My only qualm is that it isn’t matte, as I prefer matte/satin finish creams that I can choose to make shimmery or frosty with layering.

    The bottom pan: A very shimmery powder blush, to say the least. It’s a gorgeous neutral pink that’s packed with shimmer – worn on its own, you’d have to apply very sparingly to avoid looking like a disco ball, meaning you wouldn’t get a ton of color out of it.
    The mix: Holy. Shit. If you have this, or if you ever buy this, you must layer them! Together, they’re an intense cool-toned baby pink/plum that I’m in love with. I’m so in love with it that I just bolded the entire bloody sentence! I love it so freaking much!

    The problem? Aside from the fact that this looks like it’s been discontinued (boo), I didn’t love the packaging. Though it’s great for the girl on the go, as it truly can be used and layered for lip and cheeck colour, I do all my makeup in the morning. The packaging was just a hassle, making it awkward to get at the back pan. Do-able, but awkward.The verdict? Don’t go hunting, but pick one up if you see it. This kit is superb for someone who touches up during the day, and pretty darn good for someone who doesn’t, but isn’t something I’d tear the world apart looking for.

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    The farthest you’ve ever been from home?

    YOU Fridays is back, because I’m in Quebec! Don’t worry, though I’m not home and probably will not respond to your comments, I’ll definitely be finding a way to read them all while I’m gone.

    So, how far have you gone from “home”? The farthest I’ve been is China, half the way around the world! I’m always stunned when people have never even left the city they were born in, but I guess it happens *shrugs*

    Discuss.

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    Craptastic!

    Product: Murad Oil-Free Sunblock SPF30

    What they say:

    A featherweight, easily absorbed sunblock that protects and restores the appearance of healthy skin.

    Prevents signs of premature aging caused by environmental exposure by delivering high SPF protection and intense hydration with an oil-free, matte finish.


    The truth? Talk about a gross mess! Though it felt smooth upon application, the second I looked in the mirror, I soon saw the sticky, shiny finish it left! My skin was incredibly oily after only two hours — and this is after I drowned myself in silica spheres to try to counter the shininess. I don’t think I’ve ever been quite this disgusted with a product!

    What’s even worse: it ate through my plastic. Ate through my plastic. I had it in a five gram jar, and now the jar is toast. There’s a white outline where the sunscreen was, and yes — I’ve tried washing it. It’s damage, not just residue. On top of this, it’s only SPF30, contains parabens and chemical suncreens. If it’s so normal, why couldn’t they have… gee, I don’t know. Made it suck less?

    The veriduct? Duh! Don’t even sample this. It’s that nasty. I just don’t understand! The reviews are so good! Unless the sample I tried had gone bad (doubtful) or I’m just crazy (also doubtful, but less so) people are setting their standards way too low.

    I suppose if you had never tried high-end sunscreen before, this would be decent… compared to $6 store-brand waterproof goop. But honestly? I’d reach for my $10 Neutrogena way before reaching for this!

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    That’s right. We’re going all-out now.

    You know what I love doing? Fun lips. I don’t wear them around, but they’re wonderufl to do when I want to play with makeup but I’m too tired to do an eye look!
    (Want to know a secret? I hate doing eye looks/full faces because of removal. Yes… I really am that lazy.)

    So anyhow, here are some purple lips! The photos are, unfortunately, from that awkward phase a couple months back when I had a really shitty lightbulb.

    If you’re interested in the colour, it’s just MAC Grape liner over concealer (TimeBalm, Lighter Than Light). Before we get started, here’s what the tissue I used to wipe off the look ended up looking like: (Grape is very pigmented and very true to shade!)

    (Sorry for the yellow lighting – these are old photos from the ugly-lightbulb days.)

    Matte lips:
    Glossed:

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