Month: June 2013

Makeup Inventory: Highlighters & Illuminators

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In one of my recent posts, I decried the hype of a cult favorite—the MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade, which I reviewed here—and a number asked Well, what’s a good highlighter for you? I don’t own the most favorite one I’ve tried (I don’t know why), but I do own eight others (again, I don’t know why). I’ve been planning this for a while, and never got around to it, so I hope you appreciate the effort and I hope this short overview helps you out. 🙂 Let’s begin with the one I don’t own, but whose effect I loved—the NARS Illuminator in Orgasm. I received it as a sample, which dried up. I never got around to purchasing the full size, just because. Here it is, in action: It’s a really pretty, peachy-golden pink creamy highlighter that you can put on the “high planes of your face,” or just mix in with your face base. I thought I would hate the shimmer, but I really don’t. To be fair, it actually has more of …

Instagram FOTD Rewind: Vol. 2

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Hello everyone! Here’s just a collection of a few looks from the last few weeks. Check out the first batch here. Funnily enough, I’ve stopped posting FOTDs on Instagram because I feel weird about them. Maybe I’ll just post some here every once in a while. 🙂 4w ago: MAC Paint Pot (Bare Study), MAC e/s (Satin Taupe, Handwritten), MAC eye kohl (Prunella), MAC blush (Springsheen), MAC lipstick (Twig) 4w ago: MAC Paint Pot (Bare Study), Chanel Ombres Fleuries (Delicatesse), MAC e/s (Mystery), MAC eye kohl (Prunella), Majolica Majorca Lash King, Chanel Joues Contraste (Frivole), Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder (Mood Light), Le Métier de Beauté Colour Core Moisture Stain Lipstick (Miami) 3w ago: MAC Paint Pot (Bare Study), NARS e/s Duo (Grand Palais), MAC eye kohl (Teddy), Eye of Horus Mascara, Tarte blush (Flush), Hourglass Ambient lighting Powder (Mood light), Le Métier de Beauté lipstick (Bondi Beach) 2w ago: L’Oreal Infallible (Amber Rush), shu uemura e/s (ME medium brown 885), NYX eye pencil (Emerald City), Maybelline The Falsies Mascara, Revlon Mineral Blush (Roseberry), Le Métier …

Overhyped Products

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Inspired by Cami Loves Kiwi’s recent video and the hype that surrounded MAC’s Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade (review here), I’ve gathered together a few products that I feel like are overhyped. It’s a good mix of drugstore and higher end products. Here is a summary, but I go more in-depth in the video: — Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains (review): Love these, hate the stains they leave behind. Regardless of the shade, my lips turn a more orange-y color. — L’Oreal Lucent Magique Light Touch-Up Pen: Nothing special. — L’Oreal Shine Caresse & YSL Glossy Stain (comparative review): Generally a so-so formula. I don’t get the fuss. — YSL Rouge Volupté Shine (review): Was originally a fan of the formula, but when I forgot to bring a tube for reapplication and my lips dried up like a shriveled prune. It’s not bad, but it’s not all that. — Sara Happ The Lip Slip & The Lip Scrub: Great products, but too expensive. — NARS Blush in Orgasm: I don’t think it’s flattering for all …

Quickie: Illamasqua Blush-Up Brush

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Here’s a super quick post on one of my favorite tools as of late: my recently-acquired Blush-Up Brush from Illamasqua! It’s a very tightly-packed, narrow brush with short, soft bristles and a long handle. It’s supposed to apply blush in a revolutionary~ way, eliminating the need for a contour. Here is a tutorial from the Illamasqua team, explaining how. As you can see, it deposits pigment in a different way than brushes usually do. Going by the shape of the Blush-Up Brush, it’s supposed to apply blush in an angular way. When placed right under the cheekbone, it creates a stark line that highlights the hollows of the cheeks, which I suppose is what they meant by it “eliminat[ing] the need for contour.” I don’t know if it works all that well for me if I use it like that, but it does really well for normal blush and contour application, which I think it should be recognized for. Tarte’s Exposed used to be my “standard” for a good blush brush. If the brush can …

Quickie: The Body Shop’s Absinthe Purifying Hand Cream

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Today, I’m quickly featuring a current bag staple of mine, the Absinthe Purifying Hand Cream by The Body Shop. I’d been eyeing it in Japan, but I couldn’t really bring myself to buy it for whatever reason. Because The Body Shop has been on sale for what seems like forever, I took the plunge and bought myself the hand cream. Product Description: “A pure sensation for hands. This ingenious everyday cream with absinthe extract moisturises hands and leaves them feeling soft and super-fresh. — Moisturizes — Leaves hands feeling fresh — Heady Fragrance notes of bergamot, petit grain and neroli” My favorite part about this is the smell. It’s a very crisp and clean smell—I don’t think it’s heady at all, though a lot of people have said that it’s masculine. I feel like it’s a very neutral smell, but that could just be me. I actually detect more of a verbena scent, which is what attracted me to it in the first place. It’s supposed to get rid of yucky smells on your hand. …

Link Love Vol. 9

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Are you cool/neutral/warm? by Sineady Cady of The Makeup Chair Summer Glow by Sabrina of The Beauty Look Book — a selection of ‘perfect bronzers’ and ‘natural illuminators’ for that warm summer glow. Lipstick Week by Shari of The Misty Mom — technically, this is just an introductory post, but check out her MAC army in the image. I’m excited! Lipstick Week: NARS Satin Lip Pencils by Liz of Project Vanity — an awesome first post by Liz! Lipstick Week Day 1: Orange Red by Claire of Aucuparia Brumalis Lipstick Week by Krysty of Vain Jane Writes Suqqu: Fall 2013 by Haru of Rouge Deluxe Makeup Tips: Prepping & Priming the Face by Natalie of Natzi’s Stash Summer Makeup: How do you overhaul your look? by Makeup Monster MAC All About Orange Lipstick Swatches by Jane of Life’s Entropy MAC Peach & Coral Lipstick Collection by Jane of Life’s Entropy Tellie’s Misadventures: Galaxy Eyes by Beauty by Tellie Tutorial with Luxury Summer Beauty Treats! by amodelrecommends

Quickie: too cool for school Marshmallow Puff

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Here’s one of the Beauty Blender dupes that have been released upon the world. Since I have no Beauty Blender myself, this isn’t necessarily a comparison post. I just wanted to share with you guys how this worked out for me. From what I can see in other people’s videos, though, these imitations don’t really “work” in the same way as Beauty Blenders do. From what I understand, wetting the Beauty Blender causes it to kind of expand. These don’t do that. They don’t seem to have the same kind of “bounciness” and softness as Beauty Blenders do either, so I don’t know how much that affects application and actual results. HOWEVER, these are pretty awesome at applying liquid application. Here’s an example of me using it with L’Oreal’s Lucent Magique Liquid Foundation: I think that’s kind of a decent job. No streaks or patchiness or anything like that. That’s a pretty good foundation job for something I got for $5. They are not that durable, though, the first one I got tore in the …