Makeup Bag: Travel Edition

[Everything purchased by me]


As Summer is going full-blast (at least where I live), I think a lot of people are going to be going on vacation (or "holiday" as the Brits say). There was actually an original version of this makeup bag that included more Maybelline Color Tattoos and L'Oreal Infallible pigments but my friend nixed that idea for the more travel-friendly single palette format you see here.

Also, I tried to only bring lip products I included in my "Five Lip Products to Use up in 2013" post from oh so many months ago.  An SPF lip balm is definitely coming with me though.

It's a really basic kit of makeup that I can hopefully adapt everyday to suit my preferences. For base, I haven't decided which one I'm taking but it will definitely be liquid and therefore not in my carry on but in a Ziploc with my skincare.  For concealer, the SheerCover Duo Concealer in Light Medium is a creamy combination of peachy and neutral shades.  It beat out other concealers where brushes/excess blending is required.  The setting powder is from GloMinerals and is translucent.  Nothing to write home about but it has a mirror and is non-chalky.  A mini of Benefit's Watt's Up is not only coming along for it's compact size but also because it's a very nice highlighter.  I can't stand the fact that the full size is so bulky and has an applicator at the other end though so may have to find another alternative when this is gone.

For cheeks, I have a little duo from Tarte in Park Ave Princess and Dollface.  The bronzer contains shimmer so it's not my favorite and the blush is ok as well.  It's a nice lighter pink blush and for a peachier option I am taking Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Candy Coral.  I've been reaching for this a lot because it's easy to apply and hard to over-do. 

I think the Too Faced Summer Eye palette will be great for a neutral look to pair along my pinker lip colors (NYX Haute Melon, Revlon Peach Parfait) but also adjust really well to a brighter blue or pink look if I want to wear just the Dior Beige Casual lipstick.  For brows, the Missha Brow Styler from the semi-annual sale post is really impressing me. As for eyeliner, I am taking Stila Smudge Sticks in Stargazer and Oscar Fish.  The lash curler you see above is from Koji.  


Bonus Item!

This was in my original version of my travel makeup bag, but I had to add it back in because I want my friend (the one I'm visiting who has an impressive makeup collection already) to try this out!  I'm so sold on this duo and it's a current must have.  

There you have it!  Wishing everyone safe travels this Summer! 

Bronze Ambition

[All purchased by me]


I am not the kind of person to typically want to make myself look tanner.  It was kind of a spur of the moment thing that I realized, “hey tan legs look nice.”  Then, supported by my overly enthusiastic friends, I took the hint and the went for something to tan up my pasty complexion.  Eventually I landed on probably the most mundane of all self tanners:  Jergens Natural Glow (with less odor!!).  I chose the color medium to dark because it kind of seems like a waste of money to buy the lighter shades.  Why, may you ask, did I also then go out and buy the Nivea self tanning lotion in fair to medium?  This was on sale and I didn’t read the label is the short answer.  

L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Bronze Ambition and Physician's Formula Bronze Booster in Medium to Dark

The Jergens lotion does have a strong “faux fresh” scent on initial application but not much of a self-tanner scent.  I used to use Neutrogena’s Build a Tan way back in the day and that definitely had that distinct self-tanner smell but this one isn’t so bad.  The color built up relatively evenly over the course of 4-5 days of daily use.  The Nivea I use more as a “maintenance” tanner.  Yeah I am getting real technical with my self-tanners since I’m such a pro now (not).  It doesn’t add much color and with about 3 days of continuous use I would say it actually makes the tan from the Jergens fade.  Nivea has a citrusy scent and zero fake-tanner smell. I guess this is good for those who want really low risk but also will end up with low reward.  Of the two, I recommend the Jergens one for a noticeable tan.  


As everyone says, it’s important to properly exfoliate if you’re going to self-tan, especially on the first day.  Use a scrub- don’t just rely on a loofah and be careful around ankles, knees, elbows and hands.  In fact, always wash your hands after you apply any tanning lotion.  


Spurred on by my need to bronze up my face I also added a new bronzer to the mix.  I had been using Tarte Park Ave Princess bronzer in the mini size and thought “meh.”  In terms of drugstore bronzers, Physician’s Formula always outranks any other bronzer brand in terms of quality (and price, this cost almost $14) so I chose the Bronze Booster in Medium to Dark as it contained self tanning “glow booster” ingredients.  How effective they are, I couldn't really tell you since I just got it but I didn’t want to apply the Jergens on my face or go and buy a self tanner specifically for my face (I’m not that committed to this bronze goddess thing yet).  What I can say is that this is a very finely milled powder with barely detectable sheen that looks natural on the skin. The packaging is overly bulk as almost all Physician’s Formula powders are but it does look nice for something that doesn’t break the $20 mark.  


I decided that I also needed to have L’Oreal Infallible shadow in Bronzed Taupe while I was at it after seeing this on Amelia Liana’s Youtube channel and recommending it to someone starting out in make-up.  I have a few of these and I know the texture pretty well.  The metallics are particularly impressive and  I recommended this because it has enough depth to act as an all over lid color as well as a crease color.  There’s no overly complicated palette blending and shadow placement techniques involved.  You can just use your finger to smudge this up to the crease and slightly over for a pretty smoky eye.  I blended this out with that Physicians Formula bronzer for a matte transition color cause I was feeling extra fancy with some liner and it was a complete look.  I don’t think this shadow is a must-have if you have loads of neutrals in your collection and I think it’s especially something you don’t need to run out to buy if you own a lot of Bareminerals Ready pressed shadows in neutral tones.  Is this one of my favorite of the Infallible shadows I own though?  Yes.  


UPDATE: the Nivea self-tanner is really not worth it.  It actually detracts from the tan that the Jergens gives.  

Delayed Posting! Mascara Comparisons
L'Oreal Telescopic vs. Maybelline The Falsies vs. Benefit They're Real

[All purchased by me - the Benefit was a gift with purchase]



Wow I just posted this as a test and it worked!  Basically, since I am a total newbie at this blogging thing, I thought using Word would be an easy way to write blog posts.  HAHAHA that only didn't work a little bit.  I tried copying to Notepad and posting but that didn't work.... UNTIL NOW.  Sigh, this isn't as easy as some of the experts make it look.

Anyone who watches Viviannadoesmakeup knows that L’Oreal Telescopic mascara in the waterproof formula is her favorite mascara of all time.  While I also have a favorite mascara of all time that’s not in this post (will review once I repurchase), I wanted to try out some other options since finding a perfect affordable mascara is probably every beauty blogger’s dream.  I was also rotating around Maybelline The Falsies as well as a mini size of the Benefit They’re Real mascaras and thought since these are three pretty popular mascara options that I’d do a comparison between them.

I’ll rate them along the same characteristics: length, volume, curl, lasting power, removal and overall ease of application using a 1-5 scale with 5 being the best.

Top to Bottom: The Falsies, Telescopic and They're Real

Amateur artistic interpretation of results

L’Oreal Telescopic in Black

Length:  3 – this surprisingly didn’t do amazingly telescopic things to my lashes as the name implied, but it didn’t make them seem short and clumpy either

Volume: 4 – the wand adds a decent coat of mascara to the majority of my lashes and makes them look more intense with one sweep

Curl: 2 – this isn’t the waterproof one so I can’t overly fault this for not holding a curl better but it didn’t really enhance a curl at all

Lasting Power: 3 – not a ton of smudging with this but can’t say zero smudges

Overall ease of application: 3 – The wand is finicky because it’s a thin triangular comb shape which might throw people off who are used to a traditional mascara wand.  I found it pretty easy to maneuver actually but my main qualm was actually getting this back into the tube.  I bend this almost every time I tried to close it.

Maybelline The Falsies:

Length: 2 – does not do much for length and I find all of Maybelline’s variations on the Volum’ Express mascaras actually do make my lashes look a little stunted and clumpy with too many coats

Volume: 5 – the volume-boosting factor is where this mascara really shines and I can see why this is a popular product.  It builds up lashes easily and dramatically.

Curl: 3 – this was better than the Telescopic at holding a curl, probably because of the drier formula.  It won’t dry out your lashes like a waterproof formula will but the curl won’t stay quite as well either.

Lasting Power: 3 – same comments as the Telescopic.

Overall ease of application: 3 - This wand is a little strange and the way the bristles are spaced makes it really easy for me to smudge this on my eye.  If you’re careful you should be fine and this is a pretty subjective characteristic anyway.


Benefit They're Real

Length:  4 - the plastic bristles did a good job of creating believable length and was the most lengthening mascara overall

Volume:  4 – not every use yielded the same amount of volume as the Falsies did but more times than not, this left my lashes looking very full

Curl: 4 – of the three, this held curls the best and was probably due to the drier consistency of the formula.  Luckily, this didn’t increase how hard it was to remove at the end of the day.

Overall ease of application: 3 – I don’t prefer plastic bristles and this one kind of poked your eye a lot because the bristles are so long.  I think that the end of the wand, which is rounded, doesn’t necessarily make it easier to get to the ends.  However, this consistently gave my lashes good length and volume and held a curl well for a non-waterproof formula.

Conclusion:  I think the Benefit mascara is the best one of the bunch but I wouldn’t be willing to purchase this because of the ridiculous price and also because I have a mid-range mascara that I like even better (to be in a future post).  If I had to pick one at the drugstore to buy, the Falsies really impressed me and I think it’s one I would recommend to anyone looking for a volume enhancing mascara.

Missha's Semi Annual Sale:

The Damage [to my own bank account since I purchased everything] 


Missha is a Korean skincare/makeup brand that I've tried in the past but wasn't blown away by anything I bought.  To date, I haven't found anything mind-blowing from the line but I had been itching to buy SK-II for a while.  Before I managed to spend a ton of money on that legendary product of legend (hehe), I found out about the Missha sale and coincidentally found out that Missha makes a dupe of the SK-II essence that is so highly regarded.  I couldn't resist trying out other things since Missha sales are always great deals but I also tried to restrain myself due to my past lukewarm experiences with the brand.

The order with freebies

What I actually paid for: First Treatment Essence Professional Cheek Brush and Perfect Eyebrow Styler in Grey Brown

I got excited reading the reviews for this essence/toner and when I saw the ingredient list I felt like I really needed to try it.  My main qualms with Korean skincare (and I have qualms about every country's skincare so it's all even footing) is that they tend to be fragranced and contain ingredients that I don't feel are beneficial to my skin.  This is actually scent, mineral oil, alcohol and paraben free which I think is hard to find across the board of all skincare offerings.  I can review this after I test it out for a few weeks. Here's the description and ingredients:

 I had wanted an angle cheek brush for a while and seeing that Missha's was reasonably priced and got good reviews on Youtube (fashionismycrush has a great review on a lot of Missha brushes) I decided to give this a go.  My inital impression is that the brush is not very dense and the bristles are kind of splayed out strangely.  It also doesn't seem like a smooth even cut at the top of the bristles.  Hopefully this comes across in my photos.  I have yet to use this on my face but the pros are that it's a very soft brush with a secure ferrule.

Lastly, I wanted an angle cut eyebrow pencil and I know Asian brands have been doing them for a long time now, before Hourglass and other brands jumped on the bandwagon.  After researching some shades I chose Grey Brown hoping that it would be similar to my Anastasia Brow Wiz in Medium Ash that I recently gave to my mom.  I am using the other Anastasia pencil in Brunette and have not been as happy with the results (as predicted from my comparison post on these).  This Missha one has cool packaging but every time I pull the lid off the eyebrow side, the entire cartridge comes out.  The other end has a smudger sponge AND spoolie which is really pretty cool.  Will also let you know how this one goes.

With my order I also got five free sheet masks and a little vial of MISA Cho Bo Yang toner.  I think if they weren't already doing their semi-annual sale and the free masks I would have gotten more of the one-use samples as Korean brands are really good about giving out freebies (which I love!).  

The sale is going on for another week or so I believe.  Check it out for some pretty good deals and I hope to post more since I took a week hiatus (sorry!).  

Quick Lip Comparisons:  Things that Seemed Really Similar but are Actually Quite Different

Also, Thing I Couldn't Resist Buying


[All purchased by me]


This is sadly not a "dupe" post as denoted by that verbose title.  I started out with a couple lip products I liked (and which you've already seen many times in this blog) and thought that since these are some of my favorite products of the moment, I should go off and find some comparable products to blog about.  Well, it didn't end up working out so well but I did get a couple of new favorites to add to my collection. 

I thought that (in formula):

Rimmel Show Off Lip Lacquers (which go by the much cooler Apocalips in England) 

= 

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream 


and (in shade)

Maybelline Color Whisper in Coral Ambition

=

Dior Addict Lipstick in Delice (I should just stop talking about this already)

Clockwise from Top Right: Rimmel Stellar, NYX Antwerp, Maybelline Coral Ambition and Dior Delice

As you can see from the swatch, the Rimmel Show Offs are extremely opaque much glossier than the NYX Lip Creams.  These Rimmel lip lacquers have the texture of a thin lipstick that is comfortable to wear and easy to apply.  However, these are surprisingly not food or waterproof and last on my lips about as long as a typical bright lipstick would.  The color is a bright almost neon pinky coral with zero shimmer.  I thought these would remind me of the Lip Creams in their pigmentation but it actually surpasses the NYX by quite a lot.  It's a true bold lip suitable for anyone who wants a traditional lipstick finish in a nicer formula and easier application.  The Lip Creams are decidedly matte and you need to build them up for full opacity.  I think the color selection in the Lip Creams is slightly more appealing but that is purely personal preference.

I thought that I would find a dupe for Delice in the new Color Whisper line and this seemed to be the closest pick.  However, it has a much whiter base than the Dior and reads more nude on my lips.  In terms of formula, I think that the Color Whispers are closer to matching the texture of Dior than the Revlon Lip Butters because they are thinner and more glossy.  However, the Dior has more of a balm texture whereas the Color Whispers feel lighter and more "gel-like" as their formula claims. I have yet to try L'oreal's take on this lip trend but will report back if I do on which one comes closest to the Dior formula people like so much.


Lastly, my random impulse purchase of the month (so far) is this Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Candy Coral.  Did I buy it just to try out the cool texture of this product?  Maybe.  Have I seen this in pictures of some pro makeup artists recently?  Yes.  Could I resist?  No.

Beware as this really is not super-pigmented.  It's endless entertainment molding this around the pan but when it comes to getting this color on your cheeks, multiple swipes are needed.  I think using a brush may help but have yet to try that out!

Q&A - Volume I



Although I am not a makeup artist, I am an avid consumer and during my many years of buying/applying/thinking about makeup I seem to have collected some bits of advice.  My friends seem to go to me for beauty-related questions and I think it's helpful to put some of my responses in blog form.  Since I am not a professional, please take my advice with a grain of salt but also see if you can find anything of value to you in these posts. Hopefully you find it as interesting as my closest girl friends at least!

1. What's the point of the grey cast caused by many popular Korean BB creams?

This really is a question that applies to BB creams from Asia and specifically Korea.  It seems most BB creams that can be purchased in American drugstores or the majority of high-end BB creams as well act more as tinted with a stable tint that doesn't adjust as it comes in contact with the skin.  Korean BB creams act differently and many have a definite "grey cast" when they are first applied on the skin.  I can't be certain what the ingredient is that causes this strange color (titanium dioxide is my best guess) but what I do know is that I prefer these types of BB creams so much more than the tinted moisturizer that just have "BB" splashed on their label for marketing reasons.  That in itself could constitute an entire separate blog post but to get to the point of the question, I believe that Korean BB creams do adjust somewhat to skin tone and the greyness has an immediate brightening effect.  The grey kind of makes your face a little scary and stark at first, but then the other brightening effects of BB creams kick in.  As soon as the grey cast goes away (and it will) as the BB cream dries down, the finish becomes dewy and the color adjusts itself to be much more skin-toned.

Bottom line: the grey cast goes away and has an initial brightening effect but will eventually adjust to a color that is skin-like and natural.

2. What kind of neutral eye look should I pair with a bright lip?

I just bought a Rimmel Show Off Lip Lacquer in Stellar and the color is super bright. It's almost a neon coral red color that is so fun for Summer.  I could do a comparison between this and the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream since they have similar formulas.   In any case, the bright color definitely pairs nicely with a neutral eye.  My choice for wearing this lipstick is actually another new purchase:  the Bareminerals The Epiphany duo from my last post.  I think my preference is to keep the eye look classic, not smoky for daytime.  This means winged liner, not smudged out liner.  For night, you can get away with a lot on your eyes if you're comfortable with that kind of look.  I think the tone of lip color is something to keep in mind as well.

Red: I think gold is an amazing color to make the color red easy to wear.  With a warm red, there's no way a true gold can go wrong.  If you wanted something less "holiday season" than that, try a light champagne-y gold.  It comes off as really classic and old Hollywood.  

Pink:  There's a lot of range with this shade, ranging from a purple-pink to a light bubblegum pink.  I like cool tones with pink shades, a nice taupey brown or a grey eye always seems to suit a pink lip.

Coral:  Strangely, I think coral lips really benefit from a similarly orange-toned eye look.  I think this is one lip where you can get away with a monochromatic look.  A reddish copper or true orange looks fun and fresh, especially for warmer weather.

3. Is there a nude lip liner out there that will suit every lip color?

A bit of a challenging question since I don't really wear lip liner.  Lisa Eldridge's color for the Boots line in Nude is very flattering and works well at perfecting your lips.  However, personally, I think lip liner is only really necessary for darker lip colors.  The whole concept is just too much work to match up every lip color you own.  I think red lips always benefit from having a liner but outside of that I wear lighter colors alone and darker colors usually as a stain.  In my opinion, I haven't found a "universal" lip liner.  

There'll be more posts like this in the future.  I think some questions may deserve their own post, for example a run-down of controversial ingredients in cosmetics, a breakdown of mask types and high/low end recommendations.  

Impulse Purchase: Bareminerals Ready Eyeshadows

[All purchased by me]


Ulta is a total vacuum for the money in my wallet.  Their gifts with purchase, buy one get one and other promotions sucker me into spending more time and money in that store than is humanly necessary. I purchased an eyeshadow quad and two eyeshadow duos from the Bareminerals Ready line and have no buyers remorse.  Do I wish I spaced out my purchases?  Maybe.  But when you're recommending these eyeshadows to a friend IRL and not just through this blog, you also get tempted into treating yourself to a few.  

The Bareminerals Ready eyeshadow formula is something I'm already familiar with since I bought The Star Treatment 8-pan palette around the holidays.  As people who've reviewed or used this formula knows, the color payoff, blendability and lasting power is outstanding.  These are definitely some of the best eyeshadows in my collection and I think if you purchase the 8-pan limited edition palettes especially, the value for money is worth it for the medium-high range price.  My only complaint about the original palette I owned was the complete lack of matte shades.  I prefer shimmery shades but we all know sometimes a matte is just necessary for blending out an eye look.  There are still only a couple mattes in the new palettes I bought but it's enough to appease me for now.

L to R: The Happy Place, The Epiphany, The Phenomenom

I'd wanted The Happy Place palette since it was released and I was especially drawn to the grey-purple matte color in the bottom left and the bright metallic coral in the top right.  If you remember my last post, I LOVE pinky orange colors for the Summer. 

Top Left and Clockwise: Peace, Imagine, Euphoria and Exhale

Sorry about the shadow cast in these photos.  If I didn't use the lid to create a shadow over the palette the colors became very washed out.  This is a pretty good representation of their actual real-life shade.  

Next, The Epiphany is an absolutely knock-out neutral duo.  The metallic shade is reflective, smooth as butter and packs a punch.  I think this creates an amazing smokey eye when using the matte shade with a heavier hand and it also can be toned down by using less for daytime.

L to R: A-Ha and Foreshadow

Last but not least, the most impulsive of all of these was The Phenomenom.  I dragged my feet about buying more of these eyeshadow palettes for a while because the shades never jumped out at me besides the two palettes above.  The whole motivation for this purchase came from a buy two get one free deal above the display of these shadows.  This duo is colorful yet not gaudy at all.  I really think people who are scared of color should consider these types of shades because they're flattering and not showy.  I like using the light dusty purple all over the eye up to the crease and then blending out the gold shade above the crease.  Purple and yellow is one of my favorite bold shadow pairings but this duo makes it much more wearable and approachable.  Almost ethereal in a way which is a really nice way of describing any makeup look.  

L to R: Azure Iris and Golden Iris

I swatched all these colors together and you can see how the metallic shades really pop out.  The closest in formula to those shades would probably be the L'oreal Infallible eyeshadows that are essentially tightly packed pigments.  Bareminerals is known for their original pigment eyeshadows but none of the "wow" factor is lost in the pressed form.  Can you tell I'm a big fan?

Top Row: The Ephiphany (A-Ha, Foreshadow) The Happy Place (Imagine, Exhale, Peace, Euphoria)
Bottom Row: The Phenomenom (Azure Iris, Golden Iris)