MAC Recommendations? Let's look at lipstick...

At work I've been asked if I would like to join a group order of MAC cosmetics because people with cosmetology licenses can evidently get a discount. Now, I am not a fan of MAC because the few products I have tried (mainly the base and foundation) I've found are great for photoshoots and such, not great for looking natural on a day to day basis (which is what I need). 

Given that, I'm mostly interested in lipstick and gloss, and not only because all the ladies at work sport them, but because I'm looking for long-lasting wear for my lazy self.  I do not like adding coats, fixing make up, or carrying my make up around with me. I want to prevent it.

So, here are some colors I was thinking of:

To the Beach -lipstick, retails for $14.50 (reduced to about $9.00)

Lipstick in Angel

Lipstick in Blankety

Lipstick in Brave

Lipstick in Myth (satin)

Lipstick in Please Me (matte)

Lipstick in Shy Girl (creme)

Which one do you think suits me most? What else by MAC do you recommend?

Homemade Face Mask and Scrub

I have always wanted to try making my own slimy face mask, but I am too lazy to make anything for just one face.  We had a girls night in on Saturday and one of the plans for the night was to try some homemade masks. There weren't many of us, so we only tried a few. Each recipe, even after halving the ingredients, ended up being too much for us.

Here's what we tried:

Tomato scrub
1 (small) tomato
2/4 cup of sugar or sea salt
2 tablespoons of yoghurt

Now I know this does not exactly look appetizing, but it's this weird color because I added brown sugar instead of white sugar. The recipe stated 3/4 cup of sugar, but I added 2/4 and it looks like it could use a lot more, no?  I think I will have to improve on this recipe because I really would've preferred a more paste-like scrub.  We all felt really clean after massaging this into our skin, though, so I'm sure it works.

Egg-White & Yoghurt Mask
1 egg white
1 tablespoon of yoghurt (unflavored)

I've heard of using egg whites at night to relieve dark eye circles before, Asians especially like using eggs and milk for skincare at home.  However the combination proved to be a winner! We left it on our skin for about 20 minutes and after washing it off our skin was more radiant, more "translucent", and definitely just brighter.  My dark eye circles, which I had covered with concealer in the morning, had almost disappeared! Such an improvement! We all had a subtle glow to us!

So this is a mask I definitely will use again, and I heard that at least egg white alone can be preserved in the fridge for a long time!

Have you tried any homemade masks?

Review: Lumene Double Stay Mineral Makeup Foundation

I promised a review on this ever since I bought it, but really it hasn't been two months since I started actually using it. I bought a darker tone so it's only for the summer when my arms and neck are so dark that I can't possibly wear my normal foundation or BB cream.  And now that I've been working i find myself wearing it every single day.

Lumene is a Finnish brand, which adds arctic ingredients found in Northern Finland to boost their products. You can view more of their products at their website

This tone is 4 Peach Beige/Persikkatee if you wonder, but even I don't know why my skin is dry enough to have those bumps...

So here's a breakdown:

+ lightweight
+ blends easily (even to my super light concealer)
+ mineral based
+ has "protective arctic Amethyst"
+ unscented
+ didn't dry my face (no flaking!)
+ cheap price

- low coverage (sounds like a wireless provider...)
- makes me break out (not everyone has the same skin)
- disappears quickly (melts?)
- discontinued in the US

So I will not  be buying this anymore because it can no longer be purchased here, but also because I want a better foundation. XD

Have you tried Lumene make up products? I quite like their skincare...

Review: Calvin Klein Endless Creme Liquid Concealer

I mentioned a while back in this post that I purchased Calvin Klein sets on sale for my mother-in-law and kept a few things to myself.  This foundation stick ended up being the only item I kept because everything else I just added to yobo's luggage when he went back home earlier this month.

So this is 204 Cream, which is lighter than my skin tone even when I am not tanned.  I still use it with my darker foundation and haven't had a problem with it as it does blend it pretty well. I think I mentioned a few days ago that it's beginning to get difficult to leave the house without concealer (unless I forget) because this does a good job at hiding my hideous dark eye circles.

In a nut shell:
+ liquid blends well
+ good color match
+ no flaking or creasing
+ easy application (it's a wand)

- expensive (normally concealers are under $10, this one's about double)
- the cover cracked after a few uses even though I haven't carried it around me (it's stayed put)

I think this stick will last me a long time, and I'm pretty satisfied with my purchase.  I think I would like to try another type of concealer by Calvin Klein, or their other products (I bought powder and eyeshadow for my mother-in-law), but I wouldn't buy this exact same product again because of it's poor packaging.

Have you tried Calvin Klein cosmetics?

Could you survive a month wearing six items or less?

Many of you have perhaps heard of the "experiment" of wearing six items or less for a whole month. The idea is simple, but the motives differ from person to person, where one might participate to be eco-friendly and consume less, one as a statement against fashion, and the other just to save money.  I watched a few interviews on the subject, read a few blog entries on their website, and came to the conclusion that it is no different than being in the army.

Really. I mean what do you get to wear in the army? Camouflage pants, camouflage button down shirt, white crew neck t shirts, black boots, a jacket of some sort, and maybe a sweater if it's winter time...Isn't that about six items?

Of course the experiment has exceptions, like for undergarments, swim wear, work-out clothes, work uniforms, outer jackets (rain slicker, outdoor jacket), shoes and accessories. You can get multiples of the same item for laundry purposes, but different colors count as separate items.  One girl just wore a wardrobe of black and white (she already owned a lot of black anyhow) and accessorized for difference. It took her coworkers more than two weeks to figure out that she was doing the project. Huh.

I wonder if I did would people notice? Probably not, huh? I love uniforms. I used to think I hated them, because I dislike feeling restricted, but I wore a uniform for a whole year and the only thing I had to think about was whether I had clean shirts for the next day. I had my shirt and dress hanging on my closet door and every morning the same s*** would be worn, only on a different day. It was niiiiice.

My brain doesn't function well in the morning so I spend at least five minutes in bed wondering what I shall wear and it really is a pain. So ideally I would have some sort of uniform for work, hence why I purchased so many pairs of black slacks (all different in style though), so that in the morning all I have to think about is which top will go with it (and of course they would all match!). I would buy cardigans and v-neck t shirts that would match all match with each other flawlessly so that I could randomly grab an item and it would match!

What do you think? Are you a uniform girl? Could you wear 6 items or less for 30 days?

Review: 3Lab Perfect Cleansing Foam

With my Beautyfix purchase I received a face wash that I completely forgot about as I was even asking you for suggestions for a new face wash. I got this face wash from Beautyfix because I haven't found the perfect cleanser yet and 3Lab looked promising.  3Lab is a skincare company that focuses on anti-aging products, and their specialty lays in using "Nano-Claire GY™, the world’s first bio-engineered growth hormone and apple stem cell technology." If interested, why not check out blogger blog?

I've used this face wash to remove make up because...I forgot to get a make up remover.  I think I should buy one, actually, my skin has turned horrendous over the past three weeks.  Then again I googled make up remover and this video on how to use olive oil as a make up remover, so I think I will try it and share my results with all of you!

 I am much too lazy to list all the ingredients, which I'm sure you'll be able to find at their website by the way.  And if you wondered, this tends to retail for $40.00.

The summary:
+ creamy texture
+ foams well, but not excessively (means less chemicals, no?)
+ cleans well without drying
+ unscented
+ washes off make up

- high price ($40)
- not sure if it really removes make up as well as it should

Well this is the first of a series of reviews I'll hopefully finish posting by the end of the week.  I do have some news for you as well as a few items I've purchased throughout the week that will probably be worn this coming week.  They're mostly work appropriate, dark, black, and boring (? is black boring? not to me?), but I did buy a new pair of leather shoes for fall that I'm pretty excited about! :)

Have you tried any 3Lab products? Would you be interested in?

Review: Lavera Organic Calendula Balancing Face Cream

Lavera is a great natural cosmetics brand that makes vegan and certified organic products.  I've mentioned that I'm very interested in organic or natural products because I think I'm too young to be slathering chemicals on my face. Because for me it's cheaper to use organic skincare than to change my entire diet to organic, I'm starting with organic skincare.  I've followed organic diets before and it's easy to get used to, but pricey to maintain, so my goal is to eventually be in the habit of using organic and eco-friendly everything.  Maybe I will achieve such status by the end of my life. Haha.

I think I mentioned that when I purchased this online I was running out of night moisturizer...? Well I used this as both for a while and it made me break out.  I don't know why, but it does not have SPF so I didn't see the harm in it but clearly we should all just follow directions, eh?  Since then I have been using a different evening moisturizer but I can't say I'm too pleased with Lavera.

Why?

• Because it doesn't do anything special. It's not terribly moisturizing (though I don't feel dry either) because it's for Normal to Combination skin. 
• Does not smell good. I'm big on this, I don't like skincare products that smell like nothing.  But maybe this is the cost of organic? I don't know, it's the same reason why I don't like Clinique.
• The product claims it will give you "radiant complexion" which I have not noticed.
• It is not "refreshing", nor does it provide "intensive moisture"

I just feel that I could have a much better moisturizer that will actually help me improve my complexion rather than a product that only offers the bare minimum moisture. So no, I will not buy this product again.

The Mindset of Luxury - Is luxury different for different people?

There have been many efforts to make luxury more accessible to the general public.  Brands that the wealthy do not even consider when thinking of "fashion" or "style" often label themselves as luxury brands.  I don't know about you, but I don't consider mid-market labels luxury brands.  The definition of a luxury good is something excessively expensive, that has a cheaper counterpart, is coveted for pleasure, that is of higher quality, and which is hard to obtain.  Thus while I think that brands like Coach and Kate Spade (Forbes reference) are overpriced, and most likely meet all other requirements, they are not hard to obtain. 

But this leads to the question of, is anything that can be purchased with money hard to obtain? Perhaps Hermes and limited time goods are the epitome of true luxury, for can you not buy an LV bag as long as you have the funds for it? You don't even need the funds in today's society, not when you have a credit card.  I heard there was a woman who conned people into giving her tens of thousands of dollars for a business venture, but ended up spending it all on luxury goods (i.e. clothes, jewelry, bags, shoes).  So if you're whole paycheck is a Coach purse then yes, it's a luxury good for you, but what if your whole paycheck were more like a YSL purse? Does Coach cease to be a luxury good for you?

I think yes, I think the definition of luxury is relative to your financial situation.  The problem with today's society is that most of us don't realize this.  Why do I own Louis Vuitton when I don't have the trust fund nor the paycheck to buy another one tomorrow?  Why do I own a Gucci bag when I cannot afford to buy another one at a drop of a dime? Why do I even desire luxury that's not in my range?

...What levels of luxury are there?

This is a difficult topic because it touches on one's personal finances, the core of where you come from and where you are right now.  Do you earn an LV bag every month now? Do you think it's too much of a luxury and settle for Coach?  Or are you earning a Coach and settling for Guess? Are you ever going to get a Hermes salary?

Luxury goods have been studied to be related to how we want to raise our status in society. I do believe in this, as I do think people judge you by the quality of what you wear, the cut, and how it suits you. I don't think they judge you by the pattern on your bag, nor do they care that you spent hundreds of dollars on a pair of Coach sneakers. I believe there's a fundamental difference between spending money on high quality goods as a way of selling yourself, whether to find a mate, to impress at work, or to gain better social standing, than buy an LV purse to match with your Abercrombie and Fitch shorts & tank top. 

I know many of you bloggers disagree with me--I've read plenty of posts on how buying a luxury product will make you feel good because everyone wants what you have and as a result you feel like a million bucks.  But do you know how I see it? Everyone is not looking at you, they're looking at your luxury purse. You're like the runway model wearing designer clothes; few people even see you unless you happen to be more gorgeous than the piece you're flaunting.

You know what I'd rather you spend your money on? Making YOU look GOOD. Who cares if your purse is not great as long as what you wear makes YOU look like a million bucks. What do you think now?