All posts filed under: Features

The Gang’s All Here: Recent Staples

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Like I mentioned a few posts ago, I recently took on a full-time job (the hours are flexible, but I kind of have been always working if I’m not sleeping) and I usually leave for work very early in the morning since traffic here is kind of ridiculous. I end up having to put my makeup on in the car—a skill that I feel very much proud of. I usually take along two bags: one with all the base stuff to leave in the car and one with all the things I want to keep with me for emergency touch-ups, though I’m usually too lazy to touch up at all, to be honest. Boring, Basic Stuff Sun protection comes in the form of the Bioré Aqua Rich Whitening Essence* which I love to pieces. I usually already moisturize before leaving the house so that I don’t have to bring around a bottle of oil or anything extra along with me. For my base, I definitely always use a primer always, my favorite being the Hourglass …

Beauty Inspo: One Direction

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Yup, you read that right. My One Direction obsession has leaked into my heart makeup life. Well, as far as the two gifs in this post are concerned anyway. Look 1 Let’s start with the obvious beaut, ex-member Zayn Malik: (source) I mean, I had a really hard time trying to think of an eyeshadow that would match how gloriously slick and shiny (um, lol) the stuff on his eyelids is. And even then, I failed. See, most of the ones I had in mind that could possibly pass as a “dupe” in terms of shade are a little on the frosty side. Anyway, I think this is actually something like vaseline or a lip gloss, to be honest. I ended up reaching for Shiro Cosmetics’ Baker’s Boy (from the Hunger Games collection) patted on a clear primer + eyeliner: concealer: Ellis Faas (S204)*, powder: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder (Ethereal Light), eyeliner: K-Palette liquid liner (black)* and Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil (Crave), blush: Kjaer Weis (Abundance), lipstick: MAKE Matte Lipstick (Jakarta) A true …

My Personal (Predictable) Lip Picks Lately

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I’ve been taking a break from many things recently, and it seems that includes fun lip colors. I’m trying to get back in the mood for my corals, purples, what have you, but I figured I’d show you what I’ve usually been reaching for lately (save for the vamps, which I occasionally reach for but never as a fail-safe option). I know they all look like the same damn thing, and as a dutiful beauty nut, I’m taking it upon myself to tell you that they’re different! Ahem. NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Bahama — I love this shade! Except I realized recently that it has a bunch of v. fine shimmer that gets more and more obvious the more you load it on. So, um. Don’t. Anyway, I love this; it’s a bit of a 90s lip, IMO. NARS Pure Matte Lipstick in Tonkin — I know this as Bea’s favorite NPML (or ever?) shade. It’s very neutral, a sorta pinky-brown that’s pretty perfect for everyday use. MAC Lustre Lipstick in Jubilee — …

June Favorites

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Short post dedicated to the stuff I was using last month that gave me a lot of happies. 🙂 I’m still pretty over the moon with them a week+ into July. Skin Care — Antipodes Worship Superfruit Antioxidant Serum* This stuff’s amazing, I’ve been using it a lot with different types of moisturizers and facial oils. It’s a little boost of antioxidants and my skin’s been loving it. — Antipodes Vanilla Pod Hydrating Day Cream* This is a light moisturizer that plays well with humidity and smells so, so good and fresh. It’s got Manuka honey and the same antioxidant concoction as the Worship serum. I don’t use this everyday, but it’s always a pleasant experience when I do. Makeup — Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder (Medium) I love this! I use this all the time, I don’t even use blush anymore. It’s a good contour powder and I mostly exclusively use this, putting aside even my Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Radiant Light because I can’t with the shimmer this summer. Anyway, again: I love …

Le Métier de Beauté Beauty Vault VIP May 2015: Sexy Eye Palette + Why I Won’t Be Signing Up Again

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Hello all! I come bearing a really beautiful thing today. This is the thing that came in the May box (sooo articulate…) for the Le Métier de Beauté Beauty Vault VIP subscription. May was also conveniently the month that sign-ups for current subscribers opened back up for the next round. You can sign up here, if this interests you, but I’ve decided not to re-sub. More on that later, but believe me, this month’s offering nearly made me sign up again. For this month, I received an 18-pan palette called Sexy Eye Palette. If it looks familiar, I have a similar palette called Melange de Colour Fashion Eye Palette, which retailed for $95, like the LMdB Kaleidoscopes. They’re pretty different, but someone on MakeupTalk.com found a Neiman Marcus GWP that looks a whole lot like the Sexy Eye Palette, but it was named Galore.

April Favorites

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April favorites time! I thought I didn’t have “enough,” but as you can see… I have quite a bit to share. I think it has to do with no favorite lip product, but I just didn’t love any one lip color enough this month to call it a favorite. As you can see in a bit, I had a really great eye makeup month. Skin Care Indie Lee Squalane Oil — Although I used some moisturizers here and there for the month of April, I relied heavily on this oil. I honestly don’t have any complaints about it. It’s sufficiently hydrating, doesn’t grease up (which counts for a lot when you live where I live), keeps my skin in check, and it doesn’t smell like anything. You know how products are called “unscented,” and it just means no perfume was added, so it still kind of smells like crap? This. Smells. Like. Nothing. A++++ repurchased forever. Cure Water Treatment Skin Cream* — This is essentially a GWP hand cream from Cure, but I feel like …

Cleaning Brushes

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Cleaning brushes has definitely turned into one of my most reviled beauty-related activities. What used to be a therapeutic session for me is now something I put off doing until I absolutely cannot take the state of my dirty brushes anymore. I’ve figured out that the reason why it takes me so long to do this is because I wash all of my brushes in one go. Instead of rotating out duplicates and washing my brushes in small, filthy batches, I torture myself and go all or nothing. Anyway, my solution to my groaning and moaning is switching out my brushes for their alternates once they get too dirty to handle, wash them, and replace. And so on. After my most recent round of cleaning my brushes, I resolved to only use and keep out a few of them at a time. I tend to let all of them sit within reach but some of the unused ones (passed over for my preferred and favorite brushes) sit and gather dust, ending up in need of …