The Oops I Slept in Approach to Make Up

I woke up late this morning, and while I was running around frantically getting myself together for work, I thought to myself – I should write a blog post about “the bare minimum” – that is, what do you throw on when you have slept through your alarm by an hour!

I should first say that this only really applies to “workday makeup”. I regularly go out without a scrap on my face on the weekend and it does not really bother me. In fact, as I write this, the only make up I have on is a bunch of swatches on my arm! However, I definitely have “a face” that I put on for work. Instead of going through my whole look today, I’m going to talk about what I use to make sure I’m presentable on just 4 minutes (maybe less!) in front of the mirror. In reviewing this post, it seems that my main goal is to use products that it is impossible to make a mistake with.

 

1.      Mascara. Not negotiable. Always wakes your eyes up. Right now I'm using Maybelline Colossal, which is okay but I don't love (flaking after a 8hrs)

2.      Instead of tinted brow gel, I use clear. Keeps my brows in place, but far more room for error and no chance of making a mistake with. 

3.      Concealer where you need it

4.      Tinted moisturizer as a quick base. 

5.      Benefit Posietint on the apples of your cheeks

6.      A very light dusting of ELF High Definition Powder

7.      Neutral, always suitable lipstick (for me it’s MAC Crème Cup at the moment for my default lip).

As you can see, in my eyes, full eyeshadow and gloss are skippable steps for me. I’ve also focused on products that are virtually impossible to make a mistake with, so most are quite subtle, but enough to make me look a little bit less like I rolled straight from bed to office. 

What is your slept-in late routine? Any recommendations for uber products that will rock mine?

This post contains affiliate links. Jolie Laide Girl represents only the author's opinions, and is in no way influenced by the use of affiliate links.

Make Up Remover Face Off: Who Will Win Against The Smoky Eye?

Make up remover is a product that does not always get a lot of love, but you sure do know when you get a bad one. Right now in my bathroom I have three bottles, so I thought I would undertake some scientific experimentation and analysis so next time you are roaming the aisles of your drugstore you might not make the same mistakes I have!

The three products I have are Rimmel Gentle Eye Make-Up Remover ($7.29 / 4.2oz), L'Oreal Refreshing Eye Make-Up Remover ($6.99 / 4oz), and Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover ($5.99 / 3.8oz). The Rimmel one I picked up about a year ago, and the L'Oreal and the Neutrogena I bought based on recommendations from the blogosphere.

I decided first to test their removal strength by pitting them against 3 different black eyeliners: MAC Penultimate, MAC Feline, and Stila Smudge Pot in Black. I actually forgot to take pictures of the whole experiment here, but all 3 performed about the same. The L'Oreal was a bit watery and felt like I was moving the makeup around rather than really cleaning it, but overall, performance was good from all three. Penultimate was the easiest to remove, then Feline, and finally Stila Smudge Pot.

So, if they all do their job, what's the differentiation? Well, first the bottles. The Rimmel is taller and you get the most product. More importantly for me, the top has a hole in it rather than opening fully. I like this because it means that you can just get a cotton bud dipped in remover for quick clean-ups. The Neutrogena is tall as well, and has a opening that is about half an inch wide. Too big for cotton buds, although I could easily fit one all the way into the bottle (okay until you have used up most of the bottle), but easy for cotton wool pads. You do get least product with the Neutrogena.  The L'Oreal bottle is shorter and much wider. The opening for me is a particularly annoying as it is too wide even for a cotton ball, so every time I use it  end up wasting a lot of product.

Winner so far: Rimmel, with L'Oreal is last position.

What about how they feel? Well, the Rimmel is watery, and can sometimes feel a little harsh on the skin - like I have to rub it to really remove the last specks of eyeliner. The Neutrogena, although it is oil-free, leaves behind a bit of a film, and this takes about 10 minutes to wear off. The L'Oreal stings my eyes so much for some reason, so I almost never put it near my eyes anymore, and just use it for swatch removal. Things that are meant to be used around the eyes should not bring out this problem, so I have no idea why I am so sensitive to this product.

Winner: Neutogena, with L'Oreal again in last position.

Overall, I think I prefer the Rimmel by a nose, but the Neutrogena is perfectly good as well. As you can probably tell by now, the L'Oreal product really do not work with my eyes or my requirements, so will definitely not be bought again. However, none of them really blew me away, so if there are any other removers that you guys really like, I'd love to hear about them.

This post contains affiliate links. Affiliate links do not in any way influence the outcomes of reviews on this site.

Woah Bobbi Brown

I went through a real Bobbi Brown stage about 18mths ago after a friend tipped me off after she went for a wedding makeover. I picked up the Best Sellers Palette which had some truly beautiful colors, a couple of lipsticks and glosses, and foundation. Unfortunately, it was the bad experience with the foundation that stopped me going back to the brand until now. I picked the Moisture Rich Foundation , but it ended up being shiny on me, and I didn't love the application of it. This is the lazy part of me, but my daily wanderings took me past a MAC store and about 3 different Sephoras, but no department stores selling Bobbi Brown, so it just kind of fell off my radar.

However, a little email popped in my inbox recently with the Tinted Eye Brightener Pen, and suddently I was all kinds of interest. I'm going to let you into a little secret: I'm 28, and it's starting to show. I've noticed dark shadows under my eyes, I'm looking tired, I can no longer stay out past midnight without suffering the next day. I started browsing the site, and wow, there is some seriously good stuff on there. And here's the real kicker for me: if you order online, you can return at any time. This is a big deal for me as I have had experiences of foundations that look amazing in store and after a few days that they are not working out for me, and I'm sure you have to. This alone makes me likely to buy Bobbi Brown.

Here's my current wishlist

Skin Foundation: I tried this in store the other day and it looks super nice
Tinted Eye Brightener Pen: Hello wide awake girl!
Lip gloses in Nectar and Popsicle: I would want these just for the names, but luckily these are gorgeous colors. The only annoying thing is that I don't like the brushes that are used, and find the bristles start to go in random directions.

Lip Crayons: Oh, my love affair with lip products in pencil form knows no bounds. This are straight to the top of my collectibles list. They seem to be more like the Lipstick Queen China Pencils in that they have a glossy finish rather than a matte one like the NARS Lip Velvet Matte.

As I'm technically in no shopping mode until the end of January, there's no chance of a haul just yet. But that does mean that you can chip in and tell me just what Bobbi Brown products are worth checking out, and what are worth le skip?

Stila A Couple of Crushes Lip and Cheek Stains

I picked up these Stila Lip and Cheek Stains for $10 from Sephora a couple of weeks ago and haven't had a chance to play with them until today. As regular readers may be aware, I have plenty of experience with cheek stains, so when I saw these babies for such a low price, I was a dead cert for adding them to cart.

My first thoughts on them is that the packaging looks gorgeous. I adore how Stila packages their products with those brushed steel and worn out courier font. They are in a twist-end brush form, exactly the same as their lip glazes. When I broke them open, it did take a lot of twisting for any product to appear, and then suddenly I had an avalance of stain to deal with. I have always had that problem with stila lip glazes, which is why I do not own a lot of them. I either did not have enough product, or far too much. Sigh.

The colors are gorgeous - a corally mango shade, and a deep pink pomegranate shade. Stila also claims that there are ingredients which react to the pH of your skin to turn the perfect tint for you. I'm going to have to take that with a pinch of salt, to be honest. They do have a hint of shimmer which is unusual for a stain, which are sheer matte.

mango, pomegranate, unblended

Pretty as the colors are though, I did not find them super easy to apply. I had thought that they might follow the same approach as Benefit's Benetint which is three dabs then blend. Stila's need a lot more product before they start to show up, and I found myself twisting the cap like crazy, and I have to admit I couldn't get mango to show up at all on my lips. Because I wasn't sure how much color to use, I found myself dabbing then blending, dabbing then blending, and my cheeks ended up red from rubbing, not blush. I took a break then, and checked back, and I do have a sweet corally tint now. The stain wasn't as liquidy as the Benefit product, and had just a tiny amount of tackiness, but nothing like the Tarte cheek stain.

mango, pomegranate, blended out

Do I love these products? No, not really. But they are fun for $10 to play around with, and if you aren't sure about cheek stains, then definitely this is a good way to find out if that style of blush is good for you.

Cheeky Tarte

Tarte Cosmetics have a strong brand focus on being natural make up brand. One of their most famous products is their line of cheek stains which contains a Super Fruit Complex with soothening and softening properties. As you may be aware, cheek stains are one of my absolute favorite make up products. Posie Tint by Benefit is a must have product, and I wore a deep deep hole in my stila rouge pot. I also have two cheek and lip stains from stila still to review, bad blogger that I am! 

 

I picked up the Tarte Stain in Blissful, described as a warm peachy pink, although to me it looks closer to strawberry, a couple of months ago. They have a fairly big range of colors to pick from and I had quite a hard time picking out just one. It looks absolutely delicious. The product is exceedingly generous. It comes in a wide push up shape, and looks a bit like a giant lip balm. 

The first thing I noticed when I tried the product was its texture. It is quite sticky, and much less liquid or creamy than I imagined it would be. I did not like this at, and I felt like it made blending the color onto my cheeks difficult. To me, a cheek stain should feel like nothing at all, and be incredibly easy to blend into nothing. This was so tacky that I felt that it was sticking to my cheeks as I tried to blend it, and that I was actually rubbing off my base as I was doing it. In fact, I found it hard to guage how much to use as my cheeks were pink from trying to quickly rub the color in! Once on, it did provide a lovely sheer sheen of color, but boy did I have to work to get there. 

I think that this product is incredibly good value, and I can never ever imaging using the whole product or even 10% of it! However, the tackiness of the application really puts me off using it unfortunately, so despite the lovely range of colors and the pretty outcome, I won't be buying this again.

NYX Haul Part 1: Eye Shadows

Now that NYX are having a HUUGE sale right now (lots of things just $1!!!), it seems right that I post about my recent haul from Cherry Culture. I'm doing this haul in two parts: eyes and lips.  I used a 20% off discount code which cut down on NYX's already low prices. For me, NYX quality is completely hit and miss. Their Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean makes a great black base, but their Glitter Mania Jumbo Pencils are horrible. I kind of treat the bad products as the price you pay for the awesome cheap good products, although the fact that I have no local place to check products out and rely on online swatches and reviews means that I can't check to avoid the rubbish. And hello! I live in Manhattan, the shopping center of the world. Surely there should be a place I can store that stuff somewhere!?

Anyway, I did a major haul just after Christmas, and here are the results.

Eye Shadows

Top, l-r: Black, Rock, Blue Marine, Pine Nut

Bottom, l-r: Dust Sparkle, My Favorite Color, Geisha

All of these colors felt great to touch - smooth, reasonable pigment, and no chalkiness based on my first impressions. They are also big - 2.7g compared to a MAC shadow pan which is 1.5g. I've done some research and apparently they are reasonably easy to depot which is good, because if a shadow isn't in a palette with me, it languishes forgotten in my drawers. All shades are compared to MAC shades.

Black: I got this to be a dupe for Carbon, which I strangely don't own. I have Nehru, which is almost black but not as strong. It is matte, smooth, and lovely and dark. I'm super pleased with this color. Highly recommended

Rock: This looks to be a super dark grey shimmer shade. The shimmer is almost big enough to be considered a lustre, but it doesn't appear to be giving any fallout issues yet. It is much darker than Knight Divine, and really closer to Black Tied. I liked this color a lot, but I thought that it would be lighter than it is. 

Blue Marine: I picked this to be a Deep Truth Dupe, but it isn't. Instead, it is a gorgeously rich, smooth deep matte navy blue. I've been thinking about putting together a deep navy smoky eye together for a while, in a kind of rocky 80s way - this is going to definitely work in that look. 

Pine Nut: I'm collecting browns right now, simple as that, so I thought I'd try this one. This actually reminds me of all the swatches I've seen for Cross-Cultural from the All Races collection that is currently in store. I didn't pick it up as I thought it was dupable, little did I know I would do it by accident! It's a mid-tone warm brown. This one didn't swatch as well as the others - the color wasn't as smooth, and although I can see shimmer in the pan, it swatched matte. 

Dust Sparkle: Okay, I have to admit, that I picked this entirely on the name. I just liked the sound of it. How lame am I? This is pretty much an exact dupe for Sweet Lust, right down to the uneven lustre finish. It's a very pale, cool pink with silver sparkles through it. I have Sweet Lust, and I think it's very pretty to look at but never use it; this is exactly the same. It kind of disappears on my skin and leaves behind annoyingly large glitter pieces. Not a winner. Lesson? Don't pick eye shadows based on their pretty names. But I bet you all have done it. 

My Favorite Color: Again, guilty as charged. I figured that if it was someone's favorite color, I might like it too. Logic? Not my strong point. This is another lustre finish. I'd describe is as a very light peach. I don't have anything to compare it to in my collection. The closest thing I can see in the MAC collection is either Jest or Retrospeck. Ooh, this shadow needs base. I left it alone for 10 minutes on my hand while look for a dupe swatch and when I came back to it, it had GONE! It leaves behind large chunks of glitter fallout as well. 

Geisha: I got this as I heard it was a perfect white shimmer highlight color, and it is. It is simple, straightforward white, with a decent amount of shimmer. It is very pretty, and I can see myself using this a lot on the insides of my eyes. Right now I use Filament for this, but I get fall out. 

 l-r Black, Rock, Blue Marine, Pine Nut, Dust Sparkle, My Favorite Color, Geisha

 So, all in all, I like the quality of these colors, and some make decent MAC dupes. Some of course, are pretty colors in their own right. With a lot (but not all) colors being only $1 at the moment, it's definitely worth taking a look at the sale and seeing if you pick up any gems.

The Unloved, 1 Month On...

A month ago, I wrote a post about the shame of having so much make-up that was lying unloved and unused in my drawers. I had an incredibly long and embarrassing list of things that I had purchased but never actually used, and made myself promise to get some new products into my rotation. 

The good news is that I have managed to discover a couple of great colors and put together a couple of looks using this stuff. My pink smoky eye killed off several birds with one stone, using Stars and Rockets, NYX Pink Glitter Liner, and NYX Black Bean Jumbo Pencil. I really liked the Jumbo Pencil and will definitely be using it again in smoky eyes. It was also, more importantly, a lot of fun to wear. MAC Expensive Pink has become a regular in my work safe day time look, as it is a great complement to Modelette from the Warm & Cozy Collection. It even is becoming my replacement for my much loved Gleam eye shadow, and I want to experiment with it using richer browns like Bronze. Cocomotion Pigment ended up as my first ever FOTD and I'll definitely be recreating that look again as my husband called it my "best make up ever". I was super pleased with my Urban Decay Bronze and Teal look as well. There have been some failures as well - my attempt to do a blue glittery smoky eye ended up with my looking punched and took a full day for the glitter on my face to come off. No, there are not going to be pictures of this disaster!

I created a rule that if I purchase an item and do not use it at least 4 times in a month, then it gets added to this list. So, for shame, I have a couple of new items to add:

MAC Sense of Style Kohl Power Liner
MAC Raven Liner Kohl Power Liner

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Gold
NYX Glitter Liner in Silver

NYX Glitter Liner in Blue
NYX Glitter Liner in Candy
MAC E/S in Swimming

MAC E/S in Mythology

MAC E/S in Expensive Pink

MAC E/S in Off the Page

MAC E/S in Crest the Wave

MAC L/S in Creme De Nude

MAC L/S in Myth

MAC Pigment in Cocomotion

MAC Pigment in Brash and Bold

MAC Pigment in Mutiny
MAC E/S in Samoa

MAC E/S in Shale

NYX Jumbo Glitter Pencil in Gold

NYX Jumbo Glitter Pencil in Blue

MAC E/S in Sweet Lust

MAC E/S in Copperplate

MAC E/S in Passionate

U/D Book of Shadows Vol II

MAC E/S in Twinks

MAC E/S in Freshwater

MAC E/S in Strike a Pose

MAC Eye Palette in Sorceress

MAC Eye Palette in Mystic Cool

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Lust

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Ransom

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Electric

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Binge

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Rockstar

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Stash

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Covet

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Graffiti

MAC Paint Pot in Artifact

Stila Smudge Pot in Kitten

Stila Smudge Pot in Violet

Stila Smudget Pot in Starry Night

NYX Glitter in Silver

NYX Glitter in Gold

NYX Glitter in Apple

NYX Glitter in Hot Pink

NYX Pigment in Nude Pearl

NYX Pigment in Pearl

NYX Glitter in Blue

Rimmel L/S Coral in Gold

MAC L/S Impassioned

NARS Matte Lip Velvet Pencil in Belle De Jour

MAC Dazzleglass Creme in Creme Allure

MAC Dazzleglass Creme in Totally Fab

MAC Dazzleglass Creme in Perfectly Unordinary

Stila Lip Glaze in Apricot

Stila Lip Glaze in Starfruit

Stila Lip Glaze in Apricot

MAC Lipglass in Elle

MAC Lustreglass in Wonderstruck

MAC Lipglass in Beaute

MAC Lipglass in Totally It

MAC Lustreglass in Morning Glory

MAC Lustreglass in Pinkerat

MAC Lipglass in Silly Girl

MAC Lustreglass in Ensign

MAC Lipglass in Cruise Control

MAC E/S in Cranberry

Seeing it all written out like that shocks me as I've clearly got a huge amount of work to do on this project! I do have some more ideas for looks using these products so I do have hope. And realistically I know that there is little requirement for pink glitter in my every day look, but I am also glad I have it tucked away in my stash for that special special day ;)

Next update in a month! 

Most Loved: Benefit PosieTint

If I only had time to put on two products in the morning, I would pick mascara and blush. And if I didn't have time to make a decision and had to go with something that makes me look healthier, more awake, happier, and a full-on better person, I would pick Benefit's posietint ($28). 3 simple dabs across my cheeks, a quick rub in and hello, I'm a normal person.

Oh wait, you want to know about the actual product? Well, it's a very liquid cheek stain that comes with a dinky little brush. It looks super bright corally pink when you dab it on, and then disappears  into the most lovely subtle pink blush. It's incredibly sheer so it's your color, but better. I could not live without this. Swoon.

Get the Base Right and the Rest Will Follow: Skin Primer Round Up

Can I look like this please?

I've mentioned before, and I'm going to say it again: I swear that what women want more than anything else in the world is their skin to look amazing. Young, fresh, smooth, radiant. We have tools to do that: cleansers, masks, and moisturizers before the makeup, and foundation, concealer and powder to improve on what Mother Nature gave us. One step that often gets skipped is primer. Primer goes on before foundation, and really provides a layer between your skin and the makeup. Why do you want that? Well, good primers make your foundation last longer, and more importantly to me, make you look better. I want a primer that smoothes the surface of your skin, evens out skin tone, and reduces the look of pores. Basically, I want magic.

Declaration: to help you guys understand my skin challenges, I have normal cheeks, a slightly oily nose, dry patches on my forehead every so often, rosy cheeks, and larger than I'd like pores. Yeah, I know, I really want magic to deal with all that!

My first stop was my own makeup cupboard. Everytime Sephora offers a sample or a 100 point perk, I ALWAYS pick the primer option. So I've amassed quite a few to try out during this little experiment. I don't know if these count as true samples in the FTC world when they are just consumer samples, but I guess I should state that not everything in this review was paid for. In the cupboard I found:

• NARS Skin Primer SPF 15
  
• Make Up For Ever HD Primer
• MAC Prep & Prime Skin
• Smashbox Photofinish SPF 15
• Smashbox Photofinish Original

I am trying all of these with the same foundation in the interests of being fair. I'm currently using Bobbi Brown Moisture Rich. I think that I've already said that I'm ambivalent about this product at the moment, but it's the best I've got right now.

Almost every primer "blurb" that I've read have all said that primers can be worn alone or under foundation, so I checked each of these for their immediate improvement as well as how they worked with foundation.

First up is the NARS Skin Primer SPF 15 ($33 / 1.7oz). When I put this on, it did nothing. I noticed no immediate improvement at all. When I put foundation on, still nothing really. Luckily I did not buy this product because I really could not see a single damn thing happening here at all. NARS = FAIL.

My next contender in the primer face off was Make Up For Ever HD Primer ($32 / 1oz). When I put this on, I did feel that my skin looked a little more even in tone, although not really smoother or any impact on my pores. It did make my foundation last longer though. Not bad, but nothing to really write home about.

Third up was MAC Prep & Prime Skin ($25/ 1oz). I bought this about a year ago and use it off and on. I thought it performed in exactly the same way that MUFE did - a little smoother, makes my make up last a little longer, but little in the way of va-va-vooming my skin.









Smashbox Photofinish SPF 15 ($42 / 1oz) was a product that I was excited about. I had tried this in store on the back of my hand and loved the instant smooth-glidey feeling that I felt when I put it on. And yes, this did make a difference. My skin was smoother, my pores were less noticeable when bare. This was even more apparent when I added foundation. Oh, and it has SPF 15 which is a score in my book, and something called Dermaxyl which apparently has anti-aging properties to stop me getting more wrinkles that I will have to disguise. Actual progress here people!

I next used Smashbox Photofinish Original ($36 / 1oz). Now we're talking. For some reason, unbeknowst to me, this felt slightly better and worked slightly better than the SPF 15 one. It went on super smooth, once I had foundation on it had a very nice finish as well. Foundation lasted a full day as well, and my skin felt nice and clean rather than cakey. I like having SPF in my face products though, as every little bit helps in terms of protection, so I'm not sure that the mild difference between these two products would warrant not getting SPF 15.

So, from all of my testers, Smashbox was an absolute clear winner, and I'll be using up my testers before scoring a full size one in the coming week or two.

Do you have a favorite primer? Think I should test a different one out before going for the big spend later in the week? Drop me a line in the comments! :)

This post contains affiliate links. Affiliate links in no way influence my opinion on a product. Clicking through on an affiliate link and purchasing a product earns Jolie Laide Girl commision, which helps keep the site going. My responsibility is to my readers, and I will never endorse a product or provide a positive review on the basis of PR samples or affiliate links. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Spreading the Love Around: Brand Loyalism vs Brand Whorism

Here is one of my beauty confessions: I am incredibly brand loyal. Really. I find it hard to break out of brand habits. For example, my make up drawer is almost exclusively MAC, NARS, and Bobbi Brown, with a touch of Benefit, NYX, and Covergirl thrown in. My skin routine is currently entirely Philosophy, and for body, I swear by Kiehls Creme De Corps line. I do like Kiehsl for skin too, and I have a bunch of moisterisers and masks waiting to be tried. I hear great things about other luxury (and drugstore!) brands like Chanel and Dior, but I can never make the emotional connection. This year, though, I am going to do my best to change that and branch out


My products and brands to try out in 2010 are:

1. ELF cosmetics - the prices are so low, it's hard to know if this will be a total bust or not. I actually just placed my order as they were offering $10 worth of products free. Review coming up shortly, for sure. I picked out a bunch of brushes, a mineral eyeshadow, some lip products, and whatever the free $10 products were. Fingers crossed for a bargain gem!

2. Aveeno - everyone raves about this line, especially the Daily Brightening Scrub. It's a definite one to try out, as goodness knows I love a scrub!


3. Lush! Oh, there is so much Lush! stuff I want to try. I think that this brand might be bigger in the UK than the USA, so I'll have to be a cheerleader to raise awareness. Basically, it is natural, handmade products on a grander scale. They have a glorious range of shampoos, face masks, and also a foot mask that I am just dying to try out, with great names such as Angels on Bare Skin and Buffy. Swoon. Can't wait.

4. Anything by Chanel. Oh please, let me treat myself this year to something from Chanel. Especially something like a lipstick (Christine from Temptalia raves about their Rouge Allure line), or an eyeshadow quad.

4. Make Up Forever. I hear great things about this brand, especially the foundation, which is my dammit I have to find something that works product of the year. I have a wee teeny primer from MUFE in my cupboard that has made the cut as part of the great primer test of January 2010. Yes, more details will be coming soon.

5. Smashbox. Again, another potentially great foundation product that I've heard rave reviews about.

6. Benefit. Okay, Benefit and I are weird. I adore all the cute packaging, but have been burnt by less than stellar products about five years ago. However, the word on the street is that they are back back back, and with great products like Sugarbomb, well worth a second look.

7. Korres Skin Care. These products have always caught my eye with their gorgeous packaging. Time for me to make the leap!

8. Etsy. There are hundreds of great sellers out there making body products and makeup from scratch, and I'm dying to try out a bunch and see what can come from the handmade community. 

That doesn't mean that I am going to stop with my old favorites. MAC will probably always be my go-to for a quick fix, but by broadening my horizons I'm hoping to find some awesome new products to share with you all. Ooooh, my Sephora Beauty Insider account is going to be embarassing!

Do you think it's better to stick to one brand? What are you excited about trying out in 2010?

Vacation Make Up Bag

I was lucky enough to go south to Palm Beach for New Year. It ended up not being at all warm, but still was a nice break from NYC. I always have a weird time picking out what to bring in my make up bag, as I invariably only use about half of it. Ironically enough I once backpacked around the world with only a stila convertible color, mascara and nail varnish for 8mths!

Anyway, this time I took with me:

• MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation - my usual choice. I only wore this once when we went for a nice dinner. 
• NARS Multiple Duo Orgasm / South Beach. I wore this blush a couple of times. This is a seriously useful duo. I highly recommend it. It also lasts forever. I've been using the blush about 3 times a week and I've only just hit pan on it after a year. 
• Sephora eye pencils in shimmery green and shimmer blue. My favorite high summer look is eyes lined with these two colors plus black mascara. It never really got hot enough or sunny enough to bust these two out. 
• CoverGirl LashBlast Luxe Mascara - worn every day. 
• MAC Paint in Bare Canvas. This is my go to primer. I wore this once under eye makeup when we went for dinner.
• MAC Eyeshadows in Ricepaper, Bronze, All That Glitters, and Texture. I used Ricepaper, All That Glitters, and Bronze in my evening eye look once. Texture not at all. 
• MAC Kohl Power Pencil in Feline. I brought this and I used it, but actually thought it made my eyes too heavy, so could have skipped. 
• Urban Decay 24/7 Pencil in Electric. I love a teal eye by the ocean, but ended up not using this. 
• MAC Select Moistercover Concealer. I don't remember putting this on at all. Good skin days! :)
• MAC Lipglass in Silly Girl. This came as part of the Holiday kits this year and I had largely ignored it. My mistake! I loved the shimmery coral color - perfect for pool time and evenings. 
• MAC Lipglass in Liberated. I just really love this, especially in the sun when the gold really comes out. 
•  China Glaze nail varnishes in Sneaker Head and Custom Kicks. I wore Sneaker Head on my fingers and Custom Kicks on my toes. I then spent all week wishing I had reversed them. 
• Burts Bees lip balm in Pomegranate. This has a yummy tingle. 

 I did end up using almost all of my holiday kit, but I could have easily done with much less. Isn't that always the way?! How about you - do you have your holiday kit worked out down to a fine art?

Christmas Present Haul Post

Santa, aka my lovely husband, was very good to me this year. I got some great gifts like Frye boots, amazing, amazing books, and he made a stocking trip into Sephora. This, to me, was the cutest ever. He took a list I had sent him, handed it to a girl, and then she found everything for him in 10 minutes. So sweet! And she managed to throw in an awesome surprise!!

So, what's the haul:

• Fresh! Sugar Cubes. Oh, I'm so mad excited about these!!! Plus they were completely unexpected. Recently, I've been thinking I want to take more baths (I do shower, really), but haven't had anything nice or fun to throw in. I was debating heading to Lush! for their bath bombs, but these look uh-mazing. Fresh! are one of my favorite brands, but a wee bit pricey for me, so what a treat!
• Clinique Black Honey Almost Lipstick. Remember about 10 years ago this was THE lipstick to wear. Well, I gots me to thinking about 6 months ago that I wanted to try it again, and I couldn't find it anywhere. I put it on the list, and wow - thar she be! (I don't know why that came out as pirate speak). I think I may have to dedicate a whole post to it later. 
• NARS Dolce Vita Lipstick. Karen at Make Up and Beauty Blog posted about this a couple of weeks ago, so I decided it was a must have. I do love it, but weirdly, if you want to know what color my lips are, they are exactly the same. No difference when I put it on. Is that a good thing? Can't quite decide yet.
• NARS Lip Velvet Matte Pencil in Cruella. I heart these pencils so bad. I actually asked for Dragon Red, but it was sold out, and she said it was exactly the same. They aren't. Dragon Red is more blushy berry red, this is a cooler, bluer, stronger red. I've tried it once, I think I like it. Plus, lovely husband lost the receipt so I think I'm stuck with it. 
• Philosophy Bath & Shower Gel in Caramel Apple. I heard these were good, but at $16 they seemed pricey. Then I saw the size of the bottle. Hey ho! I wouldn't necessarily have picked this scent, but do you know what? I love it. Awesomeness. 
• Sephora Powder Brush. I actually asked for a blusher brush. I'm going to try and exchange it. That's kind of annoying that the girl got the wrong brush to be honest. They are different! 
• Essie Lollipop. What a gorgeous bright red! Maybe my pedicure color for West Palm Beach. 

Did Santa bring you any nice presents for Christmas?

Warm & Cozy EOTD

My second eyes look for the blog. This look used shadows from the MAC Warm & Cozy Collection.

All MAC unless stated:

• Paint Pot in Bare Canvas
• Chamomile
• Modelette
• Mulled Cider
• Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Bourbon
• Covergirl Lash Blast

I used Bare Canvas all over the lid as a base, and then covered the lid with Chamomile. Next I used Modelette on the crease, and Mulled Cider to darken the outer crease and lid. I used Chamomile as a highlight. On the lower lid, I used Bourbon to line the lower eyeline and waterline. I also used Modelette shadow on the lower lashline as well. I finished off with Covergirl LashBlast in Black.

Oh, and just as a side note, I also got my eyebrows did on the same day, so they are much tidier now, and far less of an embarrassment.

My Ohmigod I Have Too Much Stuff This is Embarassing Post

You know, this blog isn't just about rampant consumerism. I mean, everyone knows that in these hard times, making do with what you have is where it's at. And let's face it, a lot of us have too much and no idea what to do with it, and I am definitely included in that. Looking through my closet and in my makeup drawers, I can spot more than a few things that deserve more love that I have given them in the past. But maybe, just maybe, this blog can help me reconnect with hidden treasures and introduce some new favorites into my current rotation. And you know I can always use a little help in this, so here's a quick view of some of the purchased and never used stuff I have in my makeup drawer:

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Gold

NYX Glitter Liner in Silver

NYX Glitter Liner in Blue
NYX Glitter Liner in Candy

MAC E/S in Swimming

MAC E/S in Mythology

MAC E/S in Expensive Pink

MAC E/S in Off the Page

MAC E/S in Crest the Wave

MAC L/S in Creme De Nude

MAC L/S in Myth

MAC Pigment in Cocomotion

MAC Pigment in Brash and Bold

MAC Pigment in Mutiny

MAC E/S in Samoa

MAC E/S in Shale

NYX Jumbo Glitter Pencil in Gold

NYX Jumbo Glitter Pencil in Blue

MAC E/S in Sweet Lust

MAC E/S in Copperplate

MAC E/S in Passionate

U/D Book of Shadows Vol II

MAC E/S in Twinks

MAC E/S in Freshwater

MAC E/S in Strike a Pose

MAC Eye Palette in Sorceress

MAC Eye Palette in Mystic Cool

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Lust

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Ransom

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Electric

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Binge

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Rockstar

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Stash

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Covet

U/D 24/7 Pencil in Graffiti

MAC Paint Pot in Artifact

Stila Smudge Pot in Kitten

Stila Smudge Pot in Violet

Stila Smudget Pot in Starry Night

NYX Glitter in Silver

NYX Glitter in Gold

NYX Glitter in Apple

NYX Glitter in Hot Pink

NYX Pigment in Nude Pearl

NYX Pigment in Pearl

NYX Glitter in Blue

Rimmel L/S Coral in Gold

MAC L/S Impassioned

NARS Matte Lip Velvet Pencil in Belle De Jour

MAC Dazzleglass Creme in Creme Allure

MAC Dazzleglass Creme in Totally Fab

MAC Dazzleglass Creme in Perfectly Unordinary

Stila Lip Glaze in Apricot

Stila Lip Glaze in Starfruit

Stila Lip Glaze in Apricot

MAC Lipglass in Elle

MAC Lustreglass in Wonderstruck

MAC Lipglass in Beaute

MAC Lipglass in Totally It

MAC Lustreglass in Morning Glory

MAC Lustreglass in Pinkerat

MAC Lipglass in Silly Girl

MAC Lustreglass in Ensign

MAC Lipglass in Cruise Control

MAC E/S in Cranberry

Okay, that is officially the most embarassing list of stuff I've ever seen. I'm mortified. I cannot believe I'm going to post this. I would like to clarify that the majority of the lipglosses from MAC are from the holiday sets which are smaller in size. So are the Stila Lip Glazes and Smudge Pots. 

So, I'm going to try and make sure that I include at least a couple of these items in a look or someway in the coming months, and post about it here. I'm sure I can do the same for my wardrobe too. 


Does anyone else have this problem too? Please admit embarassing stash problems here!

First Ever EOTD

Yep, I'm a little nervous putting this up, but I figured what the hell, I don't have too many people reading right now, and I can only get better, right?

I put this together on Saturday. I was actually inspired by Karen over at Make Up and Beauty Blog, who had featured something similar a year ago on her blog. Karen is super talented, so obviously hers is way better than mine, but I'm glad I put this together.

I'm still working on how to take photos and get the light right. Oh, and please ignore my crazy eyebrows. I'm getting them done tomorrow!

So really, you can see my makeup when I open my eye, really. Darn photography.

Anyways, what did I use? Everything is MAC unless otherwise stated.

• Paint in Bare Canvas
• Smoke and Diamonds Eye Shadow
• Cocomotion Pigment
• Handwritten Eye Shadow
• Deep Secret Eye Shadow (from Mystic Cool Eye Palette)
• Ricepaper Eye Shadow
• Stila Smudge Pot in Black
• Covergirl Lashblast Length in Black.
  

As a base, I always use MAC Paint in Bare Canvas. That stuff does not move! I have Urban Decay Primer Potion, but I haven't tried it yet.

Then, I used MAC Smoke and Diamonds sheerly all over the lid, gradually building up color, and going a little way into the crease.

Next step was to take MAC Pigment in Cocomotion and lightly brush it over the crease and outer lid of my eye. If I was doing this again, I think I would use a little more. I blended a lot to make the colors merge together nicely.

I wanted to darken the outer lid a little more, so I used MAC Handwritten on the outer third, and then finally the dark blue shade from the MAC Mystic Cool Holiday Eye Palette.

To highlight I used MAC Ricepaper.

I then used Stila's Smudge Pot in Black and an eyeliner brush to draw a line on my upper lid, and the lower one as well. Before the lower one totally dried, I smudge it out a little at the corner.

Mascara away and you're good to go. 

My husband was crazy for this look. He loves something sophisticated and not too trendy or out there, and thought this was absolutely awesome. Definitely one I'll be repeating again soon.

Christmas Wishlist

Ohmigod another list post! It's like I can't write anything more at the moment. Promise I will soon. That and take wardrobe shots. It's properly on my to-do. 

Anyways, it's probably a little late to get this message to Santa, but if I could, here's what I would hope to find in my stocking this year:

1. Alexander Wang Denim / Cotton Dress

Oh, Alexander Wang, how do I love thee? Well, in plenty of ways, but this gorgeous dressed up dress down chic dress caught my eye a couple of months ago, and it's still tempting me today. It looks perfect for carrying me through all the seasons (oh, the magic of black tights and high heels!), with the denim shirt aspect offering a playful touch to his trademark draped skirts. I could just see myself wearing this over and over again.

2. Essie Mint Candy Apple

Yep, everyone's been talking about this awesomely gorgeous shade from Essie this season. Chanel might have started the Jade trend back in September, but having tried that shade and looked at this one, this one has awesome written all over it. Something about the creaminess and the mintiness that make it look uber flattering for the short nailed girls amongst us. It's been online a while, and sold out at my favorite online nails place, transdesign, but just came in stock at my local duane reade. Score.

3. Frye El Dorado Riding Boots

This time last year I promised myself that next year would be the year that I finally treated myself to Frye boots. Well, I haven't yet, and I'm hoping that Santa will. Fryes last for years, and I hope that I'll be able to pass my pair onto my kids at some point, but in between now and then, I can't wait to rock them with cords, skirts, jeans, shorts, and maybe even on a horse. They are the perfect go with anything boot.

4. Brogues

Let's get all my shoe desires out of the way at once, shall we? I'm have some serious flat shoe issues at the moment, where nothing in my wardrobe, aside my incredibly awesome gap slouchy worker-chic boots from last year, fills me with any kind of excitement and it all looks wrong, wrong, wrong. Even my trusty bright white converse are failing me, looking tired and overexposed, and also being very, very cold. So, I have flat shoe shaped holes in my wardrobe which need filled. And I think brogues fit that shape pretty nicely. A little bit androgynous, a little bit sharp, a little bit ironic, and a little less ubiquitous. The nicest ones I’ve seen are at J Crew; Steve Madden has some very second rate pairs (comme d’habitude); Aldo had a nice pair I saw a while ago which maybe they still have. Oh, and of course Topshop have some options as well.

5. Nike Skateboarding Shoes – Tweed

I know, 3 pairs of flats and no heels. Actually, I only like wearing heels in Spring and Fall – Summer and Winter are too much work for them. Anyways, like the aforementioned brogues, these add a little je ne sais quoi to a girl’s wardrobe. Deliberately chunky, and all that cushioning provides some much-needed warmth in winter months. The tweed is a great heritage touch. I can see these looking totally amazing with dark skinny jeans, and being absolutely brilliant for walking all over the city. Only problem – Nike skate shoes have some sort of weird limited edition thing going on which means that these demand very high prices – these are around the $300 mark, which is a little much for me. The alternative is of course to design your own on the nikeid website.

6. The Sartorialist

I really hope this ends up in my stocking this year. Scott Shulman is the king of capturing street style, and this book will provide me with endless inspiration, mainly of people on bicycles.

7. Robert Frank Looking In

Robert Frank’s seminal piece of work was the photography book “The Americans” . This book contains all the shots from the book, along with notes on context, how the book was put together, and the dominant themes running through Frank’s work. It is based on the exhibition currently running at the Met.

 

8. NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil

I discovered these a while ago and picked up Calliope and Belle Du Jour after finding out that they are used to create those lovely matt lips in Mad Men. Calliope is currently my every day neutral for wearing to the office, and I just love how easy the pencil is to use, how it feels (not too drying at all), and the lovely matteness. I think for my next colors I’d like to pick up Dragon Red or Dolce Vita.

9. Tickets to the New York Ballet.

Every year I wish for these. Every year I’m disappointed. Lovely husband says that that is the way it’s going to stay. Sob. 

10. Handmade Woven Ring  

I love looking through Etsy looking for cool handmade stuff, and whilst the search can be a pain and overwhelming, sometimes you come up with awesome pieces like this. I honestly could buy something from that site every single day and not get tired. Right now my jewellry kick is on funky bracelets and rings, and I love the woven look of this. Heart.

10. World Peace. Duh. 

What's on your Christmas list this year? Have you been a good girl?