theNotice

What’s on your holiday wishilist?

November 21, 2008

17 Comments

It’s never to early to start composing yours!

Mine: (I know it’s big, and I know that no one will buy me anything off this list! My family still gets me pink t-shirts and such, though I haven’t worn pastels in… I’d say at least five years? Anyhow. I will have to pick one or two of these items to buy myself, as I don’t actually spend a lot on makeup. I see it more as a treat than a necessity ^^)

Dolce & Gabanna Light Blue
NARS blush – Dolce Vita sounds lovely, but I’m loving the photos of Deep Throat. Must see them in person!
Benefit 10, but only because it smells good ^^ I don’t actually like the shades, lol! Do the other boxed powder blushes smell this amazing?
Two MAC lippies, one light pink/nude and one a blue-based red. Definitely lustre, but I haven’t had time to look at shades yet!
Skincare set, with a moisturising eye cream. I think I’ll treat myself to some Clinique this year, once they get a good GWP going up in Canada! My undereye skin is flaking so badly right now :(
Smashbox JetSet liner, black – have you seen this stuff on the waterline? To. Die. For.
Bumble & Bumble Spray de Mode (this one wouldn’t really be for me, it would be for all of us – me, mum, and my sister. Hm, maybe I can talk mom into buying it… :P)
Soap & Glory The Righteous Butter (wish-listed because I would have to order this online!)
CARGO Suedeblush in Barbary Coast

So? What are you lemming? List anything – a new computer, seventeen pairs of socks (listed one at a time, of course) MU, skincare, clothes, food…

I want to hear it!

Tags: /YOU

17 Comments

Warmer…warmer… cold! Cold! Freezing!

November 20, 2008

Rae Chen

7 Comments

Do you guys remember playing that as kids? I sure do – the game where someone hides an object and you search around the room for it, with them saying “warmer” and “colder” as you got closer and farther away from it?

Oh, good memories!

there was a picture
but it was really quite bad
so now there is not

now it is back here
you people like your pictures
so it is back up

I promise you guys
one day I’ll have time again
for a better one

BE All Over Face Colour in Warmth

Product photo and swatch here. This picture isn’t a very good depiction of it – I’m using it to contour, but the lighting kinda washed it out. Actually, this is pretty much a bad photo. I promise I don’t look this horrendous in real life. I’ve actually been told that I’m quite pretty, believe it or not – and no, this is not a very good depiction of that, either.

This one was a little too warm for me (heh, couldn’t help it!) in an orange kind of way. However, if you’re something warmer and darker than an NC15/20, go crazy with this one! It’s sold at Sephora, so definitely ask an SA to help you try it on – that’s a good idea for any bronzer, not just this one, as it’s hard to find the HG one that doesn’t make you look like an oompa loompa on crack!

I don’t really have much of an opinion, and I find I prefer to be crazy pale, not tanned. (Hence my obsession with SPF50+ sunscreen!) It’s not an amazing bronzer, but nothing terrible, either. I guess my opinion would, then, be “meh”. Keep looking, there are better bronzers out there for not much more money!

Tags: /Cheeks, Product Photos, Product Review

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Keeping the peace

November 20, 2008

Rae Chen

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I’m far to busy for a real post so you guys can have a copy of my email, and a scheduled post :) Have a great Thursday – you know I won’t! (I was actually so tired today [Wednesday] that it gave me a headache by midday. Pangs on the left side, like someone’s stabbing a knitting needle through my temple. It’s as painful and disgusting as it sounds, I promise!)

-We’re offering a 50% discount on our UNIFEM Lip Gloss if you sign your name to UNIFEM’s Petition to End Violence Against Women. Just visit: http://www.iamapeacekeeper.com/justsayno.htm to find out more.

-Additionally, 5% of the retail price or $.80 per unit goes to the UNIFEM Trust Fund To Eliminate Violence Against Women (this is not a promotional thing though, this is something that we have always and will always do with our UNIFEM gloss).

-We’re also offering 20% off any of our Custom, Diplomat and Visionary Care Packages which come with a Lipstick, Lip Gloss and Nail Paint.

Get off your arses and get pretty for a cause!

Tags: /Steals and Deals

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A bundleful of purples!

November 19, 2008

Rae Chen

2 Comments

(how did that elf colour stick get in there?!…)

MAC Violet eyeliner (the top swatch) is nothing to write home about, which is why it doesn’t get its own review. I tried to smudge just half the swatch and leave the top half intact… however, this wasn’t the best depiction, so I went back and smudged the top halves of the Laura Geller duo too ^^ (not the liner, though!)

Violet smudges off easily, as you can see. The colour in the swatch is incredibly accurate, and nothing absolutely to-die-for. It doesn’t sit on the waterline at all (it’s not even that it smudges off – I can’t get it there to begin with!) and doesn’t line well on the top.

The only part about this that isn’t terrible is that it doesn’t bleed like some liners do, so at the very least you don’t end up with scary purple panda eyes!

Verdict? Leave it. This doesn’t look like it’s part of the permanent MAC collection (at least not any more!) and that decision was made for a reason. Laura Geller Eye Stay Duo in Lilac/Orchid is composed of, well, “lilac” and “orchid”. I’m not sure which end is which, though… (I assume lilac is the lighter!)

The staying power for these is amazing – I like to line my inner waterline with the lighter shade, and it stays all day until I remove it with makeup remover! The cool-toned purple is shimmery and very light (as you can see!) so it really perks up the eye area. Lilac (we’re assuming here!) is definitely HG material.

The end presumed to be Orchid is another story – this gorgeous plummy purple turned out to be, quite frankly, not so gorgeous once blended! It’s muddy and brown – so not flattering, no matter what skintone you have or what colour your eyes are.

Verdict: Hm, I’m not sure! The light lilac end is HG material, but the darker end is BLB (black list beauty) It‘s hard to decide here, because one end is so great and the other is horrifyingly ugly! I guess I would have to say don’t buy this… one day, I’ll find another inner eye hilighter as great as Lilac, and I’ll be sure to let you know!

Tags: /Eyes, MAC, Product Review, Product Swatches

2 Comments

Goodwillin’ it

November 18, 2008

Rae Chen

5 Comments

Just a quickie today…Buy artsy mugs and decorative glassware at a Goodwill or Value Village (or whatever you people in the US have…lol!) These two were a whole $1.50 each, I believe, and look delicate and gorgeous! You can find some surprisingly nice glassware there, if you’re just looking for decorative pieces and not a set – and you’ll save yourself a ton of cash doing so :)

Oh, and as for the mugs? My sister loves buying mugs and bowls there, because she hates using uniform cups. If you’re okay with not having a set, the mugs are cheap and washable. She usually finds two or three gorgeous ones whenever we’re there – we don’t pick up the “best mom in the world”-type pieces, of course, but that’s not all they have!

*edit:
I changed things about in my room. Look what you can do with a cute little secondhand glass!

Tags: /Home

5 Comments

Poll Results

November 17, 2008

Rae Chen

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Okay. Look at this post. Now look left. Scroll down and read the headings in the left margin. What do you see?

This is what you’ll see:
Yes! This is the chatter post, ladies and gentlemen! (Actually, I’m pretty sure all my readers are female. But hey, if you’re not, give me a shout and let me know so I know to include you in my “ladies and gentlemen!”)

Anyhow, we’re going over this because 41% of you do not know where it is. 52% love it (whoo!!), 5% hate it (too bad – I’m still doing it!) and a bunch of you just did not vote.

I know you are there. My Sitemeter and Analytics tell me that you’re there. So start commenting every now and then! Send me an email to say hi! Vote in polls! I promise to love you just as much as my current commenters, if not more!

(I don’t know – sometimes I don’t comment on blogs that I read because it feels like a closed little social circle that I’m intruding on. But guess what? theNotice isn’t!)Remember: it is 43% likely that I will eat my friends if trapped and starving. The number goes up if I’m eating non-commenters!

Anyhow… have a great week – I’ll still be moderating comments and stuff, but all of the posts will be scheduled, I believe, because I’m busy as hell!

Tags: /About theNotice

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Burnout

November 15, 2008

Rae Chen

2 Comments

Setting an old post to go up tomorrow morning.

I’m sorry for the lack of posts recently – there’s been so much to do and deal with that theNotice has been a bit neglected this week.

Tags: /Uncategorized

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How do SAs affect your buying?

November 14, 2008

Rae Chen

8 Comments

I really believe that great SAs should be rewarded, and not-so-great ones… shouldn’t be.

If I’m being helped by an artist (or any sales person, for that matter!) and she or he is rude, condescending, and pushy, I won’t buy from them, even if I love the product. Instead, I’ll come back in an hour or two (or even in a week or two) and buy it from someone else, if not picking it up and purchasing on my own.

Let me define “pushy”.

(buying shoes at Aldo)
—“Will this be all?”
“No, actually – I can’t remember what they’re called, but there were some Aldo insoles that I adore?”
—“Oh, sure, I’ll throw some in.”
“Not those ones – they were like, terrycloth?”
—“These ones are better. I’ve already rung them through.”
“I don’t want those.“
—“Fine, what size are you?”
“Six.”
—rings some through—
“I wanted the black ones, actually. Thanks for asking.”
—“Look, these are the exact same, but white.”
“Yes, and I want the black ones.”
—“You know what? I don’t think I have the black ones.”
“Then I don’t want them.”
—“FINE!” (mumbles: “who helped you today?”) [I guess they work on commission – they always ask this. She was about to type in that she did!]
“The girl at the front of the store. She was really helpful!” [NOT YOU, bitch.]

/end rant.

On the contrary, though, I think great SAs should be rewarded. If they help me find something and tell me to wear it around and come back at the end of the day if I still like it, and they’re gone at the end of the day? I’ll come back the next time I’m out shopping, just to buy from them. (Very gay Sephora fragrance guy, that means you! Even if you don’t work on commission, I would rather buy from you than the fat bitchy lady!)

So, how do SAs effect your purchases? And I want to hear your SA-from-hell stories!!

Tags: Stories/YOU

8 Comments

You’re so pretty in the pan

November 13, 2008

Rae Chen

6 Comments

L’Oreal Wear Infinite eyeshadow in Plum Royale 510

This is the most disgusting eyeshadow you will ever see (or, at least, I hope it is!) In the pan, it looks gorgeous and promising… come to us it says. You’ll look good lined with us.

Well, see what this looks like on a q-tip!: That’s right. Brown. Dirty, muddy, disgusting brown.

And that’s not just on a q-tip! On your eyelid, swatched on your arm, used wet, used dry, used sparingly, used heavily… there is no way to make this look pretty once it leaves the pan.
Avoid like the plague!

Tags: /Eyes, Product Photos, Product Swatches

6 Comments

Sales bore me

November 11, 2008

Rae Chen

4 Comments

I mean, most of you that want to know already know. So why tell you again?

Which is why I didn’t say anything about Sephora FF, Mario Badescu FF, L’Occitane, Urban Decay, oh, and Vincent Longo is on Hautelook.

There. We did it all at once and now, if you want a code, you must ask!

I’m tired, okay? Cut me some slack!

Tags: /Uncategorized

4 Comments