All posts tagged: beauty

NARS Eyeshadow Duos—Depotted!

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MakeupByTiffanyD recently made a video showing her viewers how to depot NARS eyeshadow duos using only floss and sheer will. I decided to follow suit and here are my current ones right now. I ended up doing what Makeup Magpie did and just pried the damn things from the compacts, which was pretty easy to do with a thin-enough pin and a little bit of patience. Some of them cracked a little because my glue wasn't as weak, but nothing major and heart-wrenching. I thought I'd take you through my NARS duo collection as of late. First Row: Charade, Dogon, Grand PalaisSecond Row: Habanera, China Seas, Kauai I have another one, Paramaribo, that I’ve set aside for a past/future blog sale. If it doesn’t sell, I think I just may keep it… and get a bigger blank palette! Just kidding! But let me know what you think I’m missing. I have my eye on Eurydice, Kuala Lumpur, Brousse, and Surabaya, but let me know if I’ve glossed over some gems. The pans automatically magnetize to …

5 Things Friday: Magical Products

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Since it’s Harry Potter Week here, I decided to pattern my 5 Things Friday on 5 “Magical” Products that I’ve encountered in my brief makeup life. I have skin care and seemingly boring-ish products here, but they’re the things that actually let makeup be exciting because they take care of the basics. Aesop Parsley Seed Cleansing Masque I rotate a lot of skin care products, but this one is a mainstay. This is a great wash-off clay-like mask that just jumpstarts your skin when it’s starting to seem a little weary and dull. I don’t always remember to use this (lazy), but when I do, I always wonder why I keep forgetting about it. Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer I bought this expensive bottle on a whim—serious liquid gold, folks. This just preps and primes my face for whatever else I put on it. I find that it just makes everything look better. This is what I suspect turned me into a primer nut, but even though I’ve met a lot of good ones after this …

Korean Skin Care Routine in 7 Steps feat. Beyond True Eco Line*

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Trying to get into Korean skincare is a bit daunting because of their fabled multi-step routine, which usually involves products like “emulsions,” “boosters,” and “essences,” and I had no idea what to do with them or what the order of application was. The general rule is to go from light to heavy, so water-based products first before moving on to the lotions. Charlotte Cho shared her 10-step skin care routine adopted from her stay in Korea on both Elle and Into the Gloss. Sheryll from The Wanderlust Project shared her version, using different types of products from all kinds of brands and ranges. This is allowed, by the way. Whatever works for you. The most extensive guide I’ve found, however, is from Hope in a Blog, where the general purpose of each step is explained, as well as day- and night- routines. I received three boxes containing products from Beyond’s True Eco Line* so I thought I’d get into the multi-step Korean skin care routine using these. Please take note that though I have 7 …

Harry Potter Week: A Red for Every House

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Just a quick Harry Potter post today. I wasn’t going to put anything up because I’ve been trying (and clearly failing) to post less frequently. Anyway, it didn’t seem right to post so many non-Harry Potter things on my self-imposed Harry Potter Week, so I thought up a fun post! Harry Potter is known for Hogwarts and Hogwarts is known for its housing system. Basically, the school segregates you into “houses,” according to your basest of personalities and deep-seated traits. There are four houses and I’ve got four red lipsticks to match to them. Now, I’m not looking for trouble. Feel free to disagree with my designations. These are only four red lipsticks in the world of red lipsticks, and these selections are just based on my own opinion. Please feel free to chime in and declare a red lipstick your own pick for a Hogwarts house.

REVIEW: Bello-Vita Cell Optimizer S-Essence*

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The Korean skincare routine differs from our usual steps of cleanse-tone-moisturize, going up to as much as 10 steps per routine. It sounds crazy, but there is some logic behind all of it. Korean skincare systems are a bit intimidating to try for the first time because they’re so extensive, but I’ll save the meat of everything for a later post this week. For now, I’ll write a bit about the Bello-Vita Cell Optimizer S-Essence* which I got in my latest BNT box. This serum is “formulated with Biocell System Originated in Fermentation Science.” Because most of the information is in Hangul, it’s hard to decipher what this serum/essence is for. Going from my understanding of the many-stepped Korean skin care process, I’ve gathered that “essence” is usually a pre-moisturizer step, to prep the cleansed skin that’s stripped of moisture for the bigger molecules of heavier moisturizer. These usually come in a light, more liquid-y form that’s easily absorbed by the skin, and allow for easier absorption of the follow-up moisturizers.

Dermal Bee Venom Relaxing Cream*

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The Dermal Bee Venom Relaxing Cream* is a hypoallergenic soothing cream with royal jelly and bee venom. It also has plant extracts like portulaca and aloe that are both soothing, and it has hyaluronic acid for moisture. The Bee Venom Relaxing Cream is part of their special cream series, that includes pearl, snail, and syn-ake (a peptide similar to snake venom). The bee venom variant is supposed to be an alternative to botox, as it is supposed to make facial muscles firmer, and decreases the fine lines. It is also meant to be anti-wrinkle and to improve acne-prone skin. I am quite a big fan of the Dermal Sheet Masks (reviewed here), so I was excited to try this product. This helps “promote the natural healing process, enhances skin ability to recover, dissolves dying cells, triggers skin regeneration and repair.”

Harry Potter Week: Spellbound

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Okay, so for Harry Potter Week, I was thinking of things I could do instead of doing House- or Character-inspired looks, which I think tend to be more common when it comes to Harry Potter and beauty crossovers. I ended up thinking of making looks inspired by spells and charms! I picked 3 that have a distinct visual effect about them that are also widely used in in Rowling’s magical world, at least in Harry Potter’s timeline. Look 1: The Patronus Charm “This ancient and mysterious charm conjures a magical guardian, a projection of all your most positive feelings. The Patronus Charm is difficult, and many witches and wizards are unable to produce a full, corporeal Patronus, a guardian which generally takes the shape of the animal with whom they share the deepest affinity. You may suspect, but you will never truly know what form your Patronus will take until you succeed in conjuring it.”Miranda Goshawk