Author: Carina

Nosy Beauty Vol. 30: Elaine

Ah! A new installment of Nosy Beauty. I am a failure at uploading, because Elaine actually sent this to me a few weeks ago but I hadn’t been able to fix it up in a post for you just yet. Anyway, please wish me luck as I try to wrangle up some future features and lightly tap the people I’ve already asked for updates. Ahem. Elaine is my internet friend (though we met in line for The National when they played here!) and I first knew her through her blog, ourconsciousness, I think. She also started blogging about beauty and body acceptance here on Flabs Rule The World, which I love. • Hello! My name is Elaine and I’m a Digital Marketing Specialist so you’ll always see me on the Internet. When I’m not online – which rarely happens – I read or binge watch television shows. It’s only recently that I discovered my interest in makeup and blogging about it. I’m a huge fan of Nosy Beauty and today I’m in it (achievement unlocked!) …

Commodity Goods Fitting Kits

I’m not into scents much, but lately, I’ve been trying on different ones to see which I like the best. So far, my scent preferences have differed a lot from when I was a kid (I used to wear perfume and cologne more before), so it’s been a challenge looking for something that suits me personally. I’ve got a post on fragrances in the works, but allow me to talk a bit more about a recent discovery. I first found out about Commodity Goods from my new favorite beauty website, xoVain. One of the writers was sampling a perfume brand through “Fitting Kits,” little tester vials of the scents they offered. Priced at $9 each with free shipping, a fitting kit (one for Women and one for Men) had 10 scents you can trial before committing to a big bottle. I’m personally pretty picky with scents. I don’t get on with a lot of cult favorites like Chloe and Prada Candy, for example. I don’t know. My nose is weird. Commodity, a small company based …

my Pu Hyalu Water Volume Snail Gel Cream*

The my Pu Hyalu Water Volume Snail Gel Cream* is another skin care product from the BNT Box. I’ve tried a snail system, the Nature Republic Snail Solution Set*, a few months ago, courtesy of BNT as well, but the 3-step process proved to be too tedious for me, so I ended up moving on from the system. Here, we’ve got a single cream that has 70% snail slime. The other variant, Snail White Cream (blue tube), is more intense and contains 83% snail slime as well as hydrolized collagen, which is widely believed to improve skin elasticity. The product itself is a light cream with a texture similar to the other snail solution set I’ve tried. The smell, though, is much more pleasant and fresh. This variant is the lighter of the two and is perfect to use in the summer heat, as it’s designed to help cool and soothe damaged skin. I’ve been using this at night for the past few days after cleansing, toning, and moisturizing, as a topper, and it’s working …

Hitting Pan

I finally did it. I finally hit pan! Granted, it’s not for a color cosmetic like an eyeshadow or a lipstick, but for a product that I’ve been using pretty much everyday, on and off for two years. Behold: the dark shade of my The Body Shop Brow & Liner Kit in 02 is showing some silver. YAAAAAS! I’ve attempted a lot of Project 10 Pan batches, but I’m really more of a rotater than a MUST-FINISH-THIS-THING so it didn’t work out so well. A lot of the stuff, I ended up giving away, and some I threw out. I suppose this puts my makeup buying into perspective. I don’t feel ashamed or guilty that I’ve amassed a sizable collection, but I just realized just how much I would have to keep using something to finish it up. I’m not too iffy with expiration dates, except for mascara and when something starts to smell funky, so I don’t really bother too much with monitoring which cosmetics might “go bad.” As Gandalf wisely said, “If in …

Quick Summer Skin Care Routine

Here’s my super stripped-down Summer Skin Care Routine, when I’m feeling lazy. Which is to say these are non-negotiables following the mantra of the skin-care conscious: cleanse, tone, moisturize. The skin care “essentials” have evolved since then, involving eye creams, essences, serums, and whatever else people cook up, but this is what I’m going with. CLEANSE My facial wash of choice is the Human Nature Nourishing Facial Wash, which is for normal or sensitive skin. I’m on my second bottle. I used to use the Moisturizing one (with moringa extract, I think) for dry skin, and that worked better for me, but it smelled like crap, so I’m on this one. And it works well enough! TONE My toner du jour! Or of the past few weeks. I love this stuff. It’s magical. Ahem. The LUSH Tea Tree Water is something I’ve been going back and forth on purchasing until I finally gave in and got it. I had a breakdown in LUSH because I didn’t want to buy anymore makeup. LOL, my logic. It …

Made-Up History: Gerhard Richter’s “Détail (rouge-bleu),” 1970.

Yay a new Made-Up History! When I made this series, I set out to do it once a week. Kinda funny (not really) how it all played out, but I am going to try to play a little bit more with this series since I’ve been kind of meh about makeup combinations lately. One of the reasons why I haven’t been doing this is because I haven’t found a really nice work that I felt compelled to use for Made-Up History. If you’re new, MUH is a series in which I kind of re-create an artist’s piece as a makeup look by distilling the elements. It’s not really cosmetic art (like how some people re-do Van Gogh’s work on their face), but just translating a work into a look that I may or may not wear everyday. I have done a few of those, which you can see here. Today, we’ll take on a work by Gerhard Richter, who is one of the most famous living artists (82 years old!) today. Richter, who hails from …

Take Two: Sorabee Balancing Aqua Cream*

I’ve been using the Sorabee Balancing Aqua Cream* on and off since first getting it in March. Like I said in my original review, this cream is a bit too light for me for nighttime use. Nothing much has changed since my last review, but I don’t find it to be particularly beneficial for long-term use either. To recap, here are the claims of the Balancing Aqua Cream: A luxurious restorative beauty treatment cream formulated with a complex of vitamins to intensively nourish energize and fortify skin in its fight against environmental stress and the visible signs of aging Excellent for all skin types, especially skin suffering from dehydration, dullness or fatigue. Provides intensive nutrients and protects delicate skin area from wrinkles Main Treatment Ingredients of SF Collagen Sea Water and Ocean Spa Plankton Extract helps to keep eyes looking bright and clear whilst ensuring eye contours are free from aging and fine lines How To Use: After using Balancing Lotion and Eye Cream apply sufficient amount of Balancing Aqua Cream onto your palm. Massage …