Smashbox Halo, released a little while ago, $59 including brush and random Photo Finish sample packet:
Elizabeth Arden Pure Finish Mineral Foundation Powder SPF 20 released just recently, $37.50:
Way to go, EA. I’m so proud of you – jumping on the trains of “innovative packaging”, “mineral makeup”, and “SPF” all at once! Seriously?! You could have at least waited a few more months not to seem so tactless. *rolls eyes*
- Clarins Water Comfort One-Step Cleanser – peach-scented, and not needing water? This sounds perfect for my super-dry skin. I don’t know how much more moisture I can afford to take out with soap!
- Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Toner – instead of cleanser. I know a lot of people are turned off by that, but after reading a review on babyassface (Jenn’s amazing – you have to check out her blog, it’s funny, witty, and helpful!) I want to try it!
- D&G Light Blue and Bumble & Bumble Spray de Mode, still.
- Laura Mercier Black Navy liner – how gorgeous does this look?!
- MAC Satin Taupe eyeshadow and B-Babe lipstick – must… see… irl!!
- MAC Studio Sculpt concealer!! I can’t wait for Feb 5th when the Well Defined collection launches. With a click-pen of liquid concealer, two pots of cream concealer (as well as a large sample of another) AND a few mineral concealers, I know I don’t need another one. But I want it anyways!
Some of you know that I was on the hunt for an eye cream.
Well, I sorta solved that. I switched to Total Effects from my Olay Complete, and it was going great! No more dry skin under my eyes, smooth finish, scent-free. It was like heaven!
Until my entire face broke out in tiny little bumps.
Well, like anyone with half a brain, I stopped using the Total Effects. But now there are super-dry patches (especially in my eye area) from where the bumps are fading. They’re leaving behind awful rash-like bits of skin (but at least they’re leaving!)
So to counter this, I’ve pulled out my big jar of Nivea Soft. I’m not in love with this stuff, because it’s thick and heavily fragrance, but I must admit – it works wonders. It softens those dry patches right up, and just makes your skin… really soft. Though it smells terrible, my skin is more hydrated and a lot smoother than it’s been in years, so I guess I’ll have to find a way to live with the scent.Anyhow: instead of buying an expensive eye cream, or even instead of buying an expensive night cream, try a cheap tub or tube of Nivea Soft if you’re fine with the smell. I don’t know the price difference between Soft and something like Clinique’s All About Eyes, but I’m sure it’s enormous! Nivea Soft isn’t only cheaper than most eye creams, but the tub is a lot bigger, and it’s eaiser to find!
Win/win/win.
Winwinwinwinwin.
Win.
I’m not talking “guest blogger starts posting once every few weeks and then takes over the whole blog because main blogger becomes a lazy arse” but rather “guest blogger writes a weekly post so that main blogger gets a one-day break but readers still get daily updates” (ha, how totally convoluted was that?! I’m wonderful!)
Stipulations: guest blogger would write posts screened by main blogger and main blogger would continue to update with the same frequency and vigor. It would be like an extra cherry on top, for free!
Love ’em? Hate ’em? Opinions, please!
So the lovely Tess is looking for a new makeup remover and, well, who to enlist but me? What is that? You hear maniacal laughter? Oh no, that’s not me. *cough*
Anyhow, I’m going to pick apart her comment like I’m writing a detailed analysis on a key passage…
“I used to use Bi-Facil, but the price tag is astronomical.”
Bi-Facil is a duo-phase makeup remover, which means that it has two layers, is oil-based, and removes waterproof makeup very well! Most of us junkies would agree that duo-phase ones are the best for removing waterproof cosmetics, making them “slide off” without rubbing, but they get a lot of hate for the fact that they leave your skin oily (well duh, they’re oil-based!)
Right now, I’m loving Clinique’s Take the Day Off instead, which for $17.50/4.2 fl oz is substantially cheaper than Lancome’s Bi-Facial ($26 for the same amount). Honestly, I don’t see the difference between the two! If you want to go even cheaper, though, go to your nearest drugstore and look for a makeup remover that looks like one liquid stacked upon another, like salad dressing. Low-end ones don’t work quite as well (so I hear, I haven’t actually tried any!) but a low-end duo-phase will work much better than a low-end single-phase (one homogeneous mixture) at removing hard-to-remove makeup.
“I found this great Avon remover. It’s a lotion that removes makeup! Amazing!! Except it doesn’t remove waterproof mascara too well, and it HURTS when it gets into your eyes.”
I’ve never been an Avon fan, but it has nothing to do with quality or packaging. I hate how you can’t get it at the drugstore or in the mall! I’m too much of a lazy ass to order.
Anyhow, if you want to remove waterproof makeup, it is imperative that you use something that’s made for waterproof makeup!! This one sounds like a no-brainer but a lot of makeup newbies don’t realize it. Normal remover, no matter how good it is, won’t get off your waterproof stuff without a lot of scrubbing, simply because it’s not made to. And I’m going to say it again – your “salad dressing” remover will work the best for waterproof makeup.
And for those sensitive eyes – get something that says it’s good for sensitive eyes! I would recommend this even if you don’t have sensitive eyes, just in case. With all the options we have nowadays, why risk it?
What if you need to remove waterproof makeup, but only on occasion, so you don’t want to buy an actual remover?
Notice the lack of quotation marks and the different colour – I’m adding this one in!
Go ahead and pick up some Vaseline, baby shampoo or baby oil. They’re dirt cheap and come in giant bottles, won’t sting your eyes, and can be used for their intended purposes as well! The shampoo needs to be mixed with water (equal parts and adjust to your desire) and the oil and Vaseline/petroleum jelly can be used straight. They might need a touch more friction than Bi-Facil or Take off the Day, but I promise they’ll be easier on your eyes and the sensitive skin around them than that Avon remover!
I’m lemming… (oh, come on, you know you want to join in and list yours, too, even though it’s not YOU Friday)
And my #1 lemming…
Image courtesy bjooti.net via Specktra.net; cropped down by yours truly.I know you’re all wanting something too, weather it’s something you’ll cave and buy for yourself, or it’s obscenely expensive and you’ll just drool over it on the screen or at the store! Spill!
(I know, I’m the worst punner ever)
Anyhow, GOSH‘s Velvet Touch Waterproof Eyeliner is (or, at least, should be) the next big thing.
This gorgeous blue liner is the shade Pretty Petrol, the most gorgeous almost-navy liner shade you’ll find without being on copious amounts of LSD. I picked it up at Shopper’s Drug Mart (I don’t believe these are available in the US) for $11CAD (on sale from $13) and I’ve been loving it ever since. Yes, it’s pricey for a drugstore buy, but the quality of this pencil honestly tops MAC. (The two are, actually, earning a lot of comparison – people see GOSH as the slightly cheaper alternative to MAC. GOSH doesn’t have the same selection, but the quality is amazing, as good as – or better than, in cases like this – MAC.)
To trial-run this, I put some along my lower lash line early Saturday morning, wore it all day long, and took a shower that night at ten. I came out of the shower, and… holy crap, this stuff lasted through a shower! Sure, it didn’t have the same intensity that it had in the morning, but it was definitely there, in a thin blue line along my lash line.
The creamy, non-smudge, long-wearing consistency of these pencils makes me want to run out and buy ten more, in every shade, but there is one downfall. No matter what I do, I can’t seem to get this to sit on my waterline. On occasion I can get it to go on, in a blotchy line, but it’s gone in five minutes.
Either way, waterline or not, this pencil is something you MUST buy. It’s been my find of the year – just head over to Shopper’s and feel the tester on the back of your hand. You’ll get what I mean – it’s incredibly creamy, with a long-lasting luxe feel and an array of gorgeous colours.
…are the busiest days in the blogosphere.
However, I am not going to give you a real post today.
Why not?
I’m tired, my back hurts, and a bundle of nerves in my left arm are pinching like a bitch.
If you need something to do, grab a box of tissues and go rent The Duchess. I promise, you will not be disappointed.
That’s right, ladies. How much is your face, right at this moment, worth?
I’d like you to quickly add up the raw value of the products you used this morning. It doesn’t have to be perfect, feel free to guess (ie $20 instead of $18.50)! Go ahead and check sites like Sephora, Ulta, MAC, or drugstore.com if you have no idea!! Everything on your face – that includes primer, moisturizer, and toner, but not things like cleanser, which have been rinsed off. And we’ll pass on tools, because you could *theoretically* go without. (ew)
I’m itching to know just how much we really spend on our faces. And also cringing at how much it’ll probably end up to be.
SKIN
Olay Total Effects fragrance-free moisturizer – $20
Smashbox Photo Finish to go – $20
Total: $40
BASE
Boots No. 7 Radiant Glow Concealer, shade II – $20
TheBalm Time Balm concealer, “Lighter Than Light” – $25
Coastal Scents Silica Powder – $5
Total: $50
EYES
Laura Geller Eye Stay Duo, “Lilac/Orchid” (lilac used) – $20
Lancome Color Design shadows, “Cremé Lustre” and “Mochaccino” (both from quads) – $15
Lancome Color Dose cream shadow mini – $10
Total: $45
CHEEKS
MAC Harmony blush – $20
Lancome Blush Subtil, “Rose Fresque” – $37
Total: $57
LIPS
Palmer’s cocoa butter stick – $3
Stila Lip Glaze, “Brown Sugar” – $20
Total: $23
When I take them all and add ’em up, I get…
$215
I believe this is when I go… awww, hell naw!
(And I will assume that I have correctly utilized this phrase. It’s awkward for me and I do not plan on ever using it in real life but I have been led to think that this would be an appropriate time for it and there is no better phrase to suit the moment?)
Good morning, world. It’s been a while.
The password is theNotice – easy, but I don’t want my friends and family stumbling across this, seeing as they don’t know I blog x.x
Contouring Tutorial from Rae Chen on Vimeo.
Well, get watching! This is coming down Saturday night at 12:00 my time, which is GMT -7:00. Yes, I’m only giving you less than 48 hours to watch it. Call me shy, call me crazy, whatever. I might show my face again in another tut, I might start doing FOTDs, I don’t know. I just know that I’m bored and I wanted to give it a go.
Please excuse the fact that I look twelve. My face starts out completely bare, plus I’m Asian. Hence, twelve.
My mum got carded until she was 40. We (my family) will probably all look young and stunted until about then, so don’t hate on me for looking like I should be reading the Magic School Bus!
That’s right, bitches. Full-face.
I’m thinking it’ll go up for a specific period of time and then come down.
Get ready for the maddness. There will be contouring. Blush. Hilighting.
And quirky, sarcastic subtitles.
EDIT: The video will be going up Friday morning and will come down Saturday night. It’s 17-18min long (there’s a blank minute or two at the end for no apparent reason) so clear your calenders!