Post-Christmas Shopping---anyone?

I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays, wonderful Christmas and all, and hopefully unlike me you don't have to go back to work tomorrow >D Haha...anyway, regardless of whether you got your wishes for Christmas (did you? What did you get?) I'm sure you're all just as excited about the after-Christmas sale as I am! Most years I'm gone for the holidays so by the time I come back in January I missed out on most of the sales (boo~~), but this year I told yobo early on that Sunday the 26th is OUTLET SHOPPING DAY. :D:D:D

So today we went a little further down (to the border) to Las Americas Premium Outlets....just because we haven't been there before and we figured there would be less traffic from SD/Mexico than from SF/NorCal. It's like going to Tijuana but not quite, lol. One of these days I'll make it all the way there...

But meanwhile I did buy a couple of items that I will show you later when I have daylight to take pictures of them :) Victoria's Secret had 75% off and their xmas hats and tutus were only 99 cents each! Needless to say I was very tempted, but yobo said no ._.

I just wanted to show you that I do actually still use the ELF palette that I reviewed in this post, because I don't want to waste and it's decent if you really pack it on, don't touch the cream shadows, and don't dare to sweat.  Just a survival tip ;D

I'm wearing Gold and the Bronze next to gold on the top right of the palette

I'm wearing the ELF eyeliner that came with the package. The "lead" keeps breaking on me. I barely got my other eye before it needed sharpening (again). It's not very "soft" either but it still rubs off easily. Ugh. Never again.

So the key to using these colors is to use one of those flat sponge applicators instead of brushes. You know how some people say you should use brushes with powder eyeshadow and applicators with cream ones? Or your fingers? Well this color palette works way better with applicators and fingers, most likely because it needs to be packed on and the applicators work very well at that. I found a pack of H&M applicators that I must have purchased a while back and I have been using them with this palette to make it work for me.

What tricks have you got?

Thanksgiving Thursday's the only Thursday in the year we don't have to Work (Raising Hope)

Happy Thanksgiving~! Though I've never internalized Thanksgiving as a holiday I celebrate, when in Rome do as the Romans do so the past few years I have attempted to celebrate Thanksgiving. I hope you all enjoyed the day off as much as me (OT compensation was not enough to convince me to go in today) as I slept until noon for a full ten hours + :)

I enjoyed some wine and dark chocolate last night so I woke up with a headache (ugh) but given that all I did was organize a little, cross off a few things off my  to do list and updated my blog sale (5 new entries!) I think today's been a success.

Not to mention the reservations we made to this steakhouse downtown :) Last year we went to Marie Callender's and it was alright, but not great, which is how I imagine going out to eat should be like. Plus I love dressing up and I felt sooooo overdressed at Marie Callender's last year. We went to Nick & Stef's, which was tasty, I'm sure their steaks are even better, but I just didn't like the atmosphere much. Our waiter was not the nicest, though I have to admit the manager is wonderful, and the whole set up was like a hotel reception from the 60s (not my favorite era).

H&M knit dress, Romeo & Juliet cardigan, Miss Me 4" heels

I really had planned on just wearing the dress, but I'm glad I brought the cardigan! It was quite chilly in the restaurant, I guess they didn't want men to have to take off their blazers or something...

On my face:

Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse (honey beige)

Revlon Color Stay foundation

Korrs Bronzing Powder (deep warm)

120 palette: light light yellow as a highlighter, 
sparkly wine red on the lids, 
and glitter dark brown on the corners)

L'oreal Wear Infinite (deep mocha)

Sephora ultra shine gloss (30)

Lavera (organic) mascara

Lavera (organic) eyeliner

I.D. Mineral Veil (translucent)

See how the top of my forehead is darker? ...That does not show w/o flash and I didn't even notice! The reason for that is that I am mixing two foundations together to get a better match ._.;  Haven't mastered it yet...

Enjoy the holidays if you have any! I'm going back to work tomorrow and Saturday ._.;;;

Review: ELF Eyeshadow Palette in Basic

A while back I decided to try the "new" ELF (I tried purchasing a ton of ELF products about two years ago, some I liked, some I didn't) by purchasing a $5 dollar palette from Ross ($4.49 + tax). Normally I think it retails for about $8, so it's not a big difference. I've been testing it out for at least a month now, usually by using it for work in the morning.

This palette is supposed to have 12 powder eye shadows and 2 creme eye shadows, but I didn't realize this until a week ago! I swear I thought those two big ones were lip gloss...as they often are in these palettes...XD

The first two colors are the cream shadows, which I personally thinks has no lasting power. I tried it on one morning in a hurry and I swear it was gone in just a few hours. I saw a hint of shine after that but I was not impressed. Plus it feels very...greasy? More so than others, and I have used Maybelline cool shadows, Clinique, as well as Victoria's Secret cream shadows...It's also impossible to layer any of the powder colors on top of the cream.

The second color from the left is actually the deep purple that you can see from the palette. However note that once it goes on my (yellowish) skin it turns into this weird grayish color. Now you might think it is my skin tone, but I swear that it looks the same on my (non-yellowish) eye lids. Except under the sun, in which case it looks purple again.

The color underneath the purple is actually a different purple. It's the shimmery one that you see in the palette above the dark purple. It's good for using it alongside the dark purple, but as you can see from the big blob of mess I made; it is not very pigmented. I think this is one of those eyeshadows that need a lot of "packing on", meaning you actually have to be careful not to blend too much as the color will fade. That blob of purple in the middle was just packed on as it is (the cream required a lot of cream to be that visible too).

So in a nut shell:

+ colors are nice and match each other well for everyday use

+ instructions on how to get the "perfect eye make up"

+ good price for the number of colors

+ I like how it came with a small brush & eye liner, both of which I think were decent

+ I think you can take the colors out of the box it came in and put it in your own palette. I might try it one day and let you know...

- not enough pigment

- not long lasting, MUST use primer if you want it to last more than 2 hours

- cream eye shadow was kind of...non eye shadow looking. Could have sworn it was lip gloss. Or even cream blush (had they been lighter colors)

- cheap packaging

Overall...I would not buy their eye shadows any more. The only eye shadow product that I have ever liked from ELF was their mineral eye shadow, which came in pots. I haven't checked on their recent selections but I love the ones I bought maybe a year ago and I still use them! A lot more color in those...

What are your recommended ELF products?

Someone once told me DARK EYELIDS are a direct result of excessive MAKE UP

My friend told me about her dark eyelids, and she looked me, and said "Oh I guess you don't have them 'cause you don't use as much make up". That was two years ago.

Now I find myself seeing slightly darker eyelids, I mean really they're only bad when I don't sleep enough, most of the time they're not too ugly. However, it does make me feel like I need to wear eye shadow every day, even if I'm just going to the grocery store on a Sunday afternoon. I've always thought that it is wrong to think you need make up. Make up is an accessory, just like you shouldn't think you can't walk out the door without earrings, you should not worry about exiting your home without make up.

So first of all, to cover your dark eye lids is really easy with make up, I mean all you need is a colored primer, such as the MAC ones that everyone seems to like. I personally use a cream shadow as a base, sometimes Clinique Touch Base for Eyes (mine's silver), but I have been eying the Urban Decay Primer Lotion in Champagne (pictured) as well.  Some people just use concealer, and others choose a specific undertone for their skin type, like bluish for warm skin and yellowish for cool skin.  I think it really depends on your make up routine. I had purchased one of those complicated concealer quads before and it was just too much trouble figuring out how to mix them that I ended up giving it to my sister (wonder if she uses it...).

But what if you want to get rid of them so that you don't have to apply something just to look normal at home or outside? Well, have you ever wondered: WHY CUCUMBERS? I have--but no longer! Cucumbers apparently have a lot antioxidants and really help reduce hyper pigmentation.  Raw slices of potato placed on your eyes have been successful in achieving results, as well as applying aloe vera on your eyelids, or even used mint tea bags (which also helps reduce swelling).  You'll notice that often toners often have cucumbers, rose, or lemon as their main ingredients. Since rose water and lemon juice both have "brightening" effects, when mixed equally together they will do your eyelids wonders! And when in toner ingredients (I have used all three types of toners :3) your whole face will be brightened! I've also read that almond oil, diffused with water, and applied with Q-Tip helps. These are home remedies worth trying on a Saturday or Sunday morning while you are still half asleep ;D I'll let you know when I personally have the time to try them!

Let's not forget that beauty comes from the inside! So to reduce hyper-pigmentation you should eat healthy (lots of fruits and veggies), take your vitamins (B, C, Omega 3), and drink a lot of water!

Let me know what has worked for you! I'll try them all!

NYX for Betsey Johnson Fashion Week 2010

I saw on NYX website that they did the make up for Betsey Johnson's show! I really like Betsey Johnson for her daring, yet playful, looks so I was intrigued by this pairing of bright (grass) green and pink. It looks pretty good on this particular model, no?

The problem, I think, is that such colors don't translate well to all "races". I think it's ridiculous to assume that a multi-cultural group of models can all pull off the same colors.

I just don't think that bright pink and green look good on darker skintones. Do you?


[Images taken from NYX]

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?

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?

Gotta B Urban kabuki brush review

So I think I mentioned a while somewhere that I purchased a Gotta B Urban blush brush, and yesterday I mentioned that instead of using that  brush I used my new kabuki brush! So here it is:

It's really round, soft (not as soft as my Body shop brushes but good enough), and is very even! I really like the finish and I think I'll be using it until I get sick of dark skin! XD The price was good too; about ten bucks!

If you haven't tried Gotta B' Urban yet you really should look for the brand at any Marshalls or TJMaxx store because at least over here several locations have many different brushes like blush, powder, eyeshadow, concealer, double ended brushes, and even eco-bamboo brushes!

Oh and if you wonder what that leopard thingy is, it's a heatable or coolable eye pad!

Copycat Yellow Eye Make up

Since on ordinary days (when I wear make up) and job interviews I've been wearing lots of neutrals I really wanted to do something fun for Saturday.  I've been following Jenny's blog for some time now and attempted to copy a few of her looks (not always successfully). I was in a hurry so I didn't have much time to plan for make up and just went through her recent entries and picked this one for inspiration, and this is what I came up with:

And yes, I realize the right side is lower than the left side! I realized this afterwards because I was in such a hurry that I only lined the left side with a gray pencil (why I have a gray eye pencil I don't know).

Don't worry about my hair, I put it down afterward in the final pic before running out the door:

And this is what I used to achieve this look:

 I've been trying the Lumene mineral foundation that I blogged about here (will review it soon), the CK concealer I mentioned here, Model No.'s bronzer (my everyday bronzer for contouring, it's not as glittery as it looks), my new Lumene lipstick in 1. Along the Way, Urban Decay's eye primer, and Lavera's organic eyeliner (kajal) in black. I really didn't follow the color choices that Jenny used even though my 120 palette does have more colors, but mostly this was because I was in a hurry and I didn't want to waste time experimenting when I was already running late.

...Wow I finished this post late T-T; I just wanted to quickly mention that the husky in the previous post is the one I've been trying to walk on a daily basis (40min walks to the park) and hopefully I'll build some muscle with her (she drags me up the hills like crazy! my thighs are finally used to it...).

Looks like it's the end of the weekend for most of you, so I hope you had a good one (!), but tomorrow's my day off with the exception of a final interview so wish me luck!

Review: Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Mascara in Blacktastic

I showed you in this post that I had purchased two VS mascaras (2 for $12) and promised a review. Now my go-to mascara is Benefit's BadGal Lash, which promises to make your lashes look like fake ones. I personally like this mascara because first of all, the mini version has been $10 at Sephora for half a year or something, and second of all it makes my lashes look super thick! I'm going to show what the results of this mascara in my very amateurish review, and if you like it you can purchase your own here.

First of all, a picture of my naked lashes (no curling):

No curler and about three layers of product:

 

As you can see, my lashes are not very curly, but rather gets weighed down by product so curlers are my best friend. I tried applying "upwards" but this is the only result I could get.

Oh and if you wonder why I have two different eye make up on it's because I was testing a few looks.

And ignore my terrible skin and unruly eyebrows. My eyebrows are precisely why I don't like taking make up pics...x.x

I did not use any eyelash brush and I had one clump, which made it's mark if you look closely, so I am relatively satisfied with the brush. I did stain my upper lid two or three times but it wiped away easily (some are so hard to get off!!) which is good for inexperienced mascara users like myself.

Please let me know what you think based on this review or if you have used it before!
I would also appreciate any tips you have for writing better reviews!

Mini Beauty Hauls :D VS sale & Ebay

I went to VS store a week ago and bought this body lotion from their new line in "Girl's Night" (because yobu picked it) since I got it for $5 with a coupon instead of the usual ...$15? I think it's very tricky to have a VS credit card because you get this feeling that you can totally spend up to $500 because it's not coming out of your cash.  I have been opting to use Debit card only for the past few weeks (I've used my credit card twice since, which were lapses, but I've gotten back onboard) and on Ebay I use my Paypal balance.  However I really couldn't resist the mascara deal: 2 for $12 so I got them just because I want purple mascara (I gave me Tarte one to my sister), and I seem to lose mine all the time...Have you tried their mascaras? I'll probably write a review one of these days...

When I heard that Lumene will not be sold in the US anymore I found myself wanting to try out more of their products before they go away. I've been relatively satisfied with their skin care products and I've only tried their blush before, but I want to try more because if I don't get them cheap here I'm going to have to buy them expensive in Finland (they're a Finnish brand).  Right now they're almost off the shelves so products are being sold for a few dollars each on Ebay and as such I have another beauty haul on it's way!!

So here we have a foundation in Peach Beige (which is about two tones darker than my current skin tone) but I plan on getting tanned this summer so I expect that it will be perfect.  I've wanted a matte blush and here it is! This one's pink and it's 06 Natural. I also got a mini sample of Benefit's Moonbeam to use as a highlighter to see if I like it (it glitters so I'm not sure if it's compatible with my skin).  The hair curler things I ordered from Hong Kong for $3 and are supposed to give me natural curls but it did not come with instructions so I will figure it out first. I'll post pictures when I actually use these products if I dare show you a close up of my skin >P

I did find a salon nearby that offers $20 facials (clear skin), so even with tip it's about $25 for 30 min...Not bad eh? Even her one hour facial is only $38, which is a big improvement from the $100+ Korean one I went to (but they know their stuff!) so I'm thinking maybe next month or something when I think I still have money on hand (or if I get my tax refund!) I will treat myself to one! When's the last time you got a facial? Mine was last...October. T-T

As for what happened to Friday Outfits? Um. My memory card was full yesterday and then we went shopping (I bought an organic toner which I don't have on hand right now) so I missed out on taking pictures. I went for an Annie Hall look if you wonder though.

Tinted Moisturizer vs BB Cream

I've used Tinted Moisturizer on top of my moisturizer for the past year and just recently I decided to buy a BB Cream as it is highly recommended.  BB cream stands for blemish balm and has as much coverage as a concealer (I think), while a tinged moisturizer is a moisturizer with tint (self-explanatory huh?). For my personal skincare, I have been trying to transition into Organic products for daily use as a way to prevent aging (and make sure that when I do age the chemicals will work optimally!).  So in the past I used a carrot based tinged moisturizer, which was very interesting because I smelled carrots on my face every morning, but since I couldn't find the brand anymore I decided to try Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturizer.  I purchased it in brightening (rather than a color) and it gives me a kind of "glow" that I like, but it does have SPF 20, which I don't like, because I prefer using my own SPF (which has PA +++). One of these days I will introduce my personal skincare routine, probably before I change brands again.

I purchased Skinfood's Gingko Green BB Cream...which is not green, if you wondered, and it is supposed to be "brightening". Now I normally buy brightening products because I often am sleep deprived and that means dark eye circles and sallow skin. I also am slightly anemic, so before I take my iron supplements (if I remember to bring them) I usually look a little pale. Strangely enough even if I get tanned I still manage to look pale. o.O Go figure.

You can see that the top is darker and bright (Laura Mercier) while the bottom is whiter (BB cream). For the record the "illuminating" cream by Laura Mercier is also one of the lightest tones they have.

So I like the illuminating effects of Laura Mercier, but I preferred using it at night, which means that I don't need SPF and then it just becomes a hindrance as SPF tends to make it greasy and oily.  Also, to use a tinted moisturizer you really do need to have better skin, and lately I've been breaking out so I have felt that it's not enough.

For the Skinfood BB cream I think the coverage is a little too good, and the other night when we went out I actually mixed it with my foundation to get the perfect mix. This is because I realized that the BB cream is pinkish and very "white", while my foundation is Nude tone (by Rimmel) so it's closer to my real skintone. So when I wear the BB cream I sometimes feel like it's a mask and I've had to reduce the amount I use and it spend extra time "blending" it into my skin.  I think maybe I could solve this problem by using a cream blush to match, but I'm so lazy in the morning I don't know if I can be bothered to. Maybe a cream bronzer now that summer is coming...


Overall, I think I do like the BB cream because of it's coverage, but I am going to mix it with my foundation on weekends or days I have time.  Or maybe I will be buy another tinted moisturizer now that this one is running out, maybe another organic one? Any suggestions?

If you've used either a tinted moisturizer or a BB cream, what is your opinion? Which do you prefer?