Face O' Day

Just a quick one... because it's FRIDAY and I'm lazy...

Last month, I ordered some MAD Minerals stuffies and as soon as I got it, I just had to play w/ it and put some on. All the shadow was $2 for 1/4 tsp sample. This is my first experience w/ a mineral website so I didn't know if that was bad or good price-wise but I've enjoyed the products so far :)


I guess I can do a little post about these later or something.





MAD Minerals - Toffee on lid and Choco Grapes on crease :)

Enjoy your Friday & Weekends~

How To Be Nude - Lesson 1

First, you clean, moisturize, apply, and gloss!

What am I talking about - ha ha - silly me! I mean nude lips~ Thing is a have a big old problem of having really pigmented lips so its kinda hard to wear lipstick - in general. It always makes the color look different - in some cases - BAD!

But I've found two ways to achieve a decent nude-lips look w/out killing my wallet.

My star products:



NYX's Circe - it is like a lip pigment erasing tool! Don't need a lot of it because it is REALLY pigmented(but you do need to blend this out w/ your finger or it'll look cakey and fake). It is creamy but not so much moisturizing so do major moisturizing underneath first. It is matte so make sure you wear a gloss over it or else you'll look DEAD. But this is a good nude lipstick just because it will make your lips a skin color or really light. But I really should reinstate that you should wear it w/ a gloss - preferably a darker gloss!


Lips w/ Circe and NYX's l/g in Beige (pictured below on the left)

Again, I like to use the gloss to manipulate what kind of nude lip I'll have - a peachy tone, a golden/bronzy tone, or a pink tone (like the one above). These are glosses that I would generally choose.

Rimmel's Birthday Suit - one of my first lipsticks. That's why it's lost it's shape at the top :) Even starting out, I was working for a nude lip. This doesn't have the same pigmentation as Circe but I like that I can just wear this for an everyday subtle nude lips. It gives me a glossy glow and lightens up my lips just a bit so that it looks natural. I don't know, I just like that it does for my lips. Also, it is moisturizing and no need for gloss. It's already pretty the way it is (I feel though this has been re-formulated since I last purchased it).



** Doesn't do the lipstick justice! -_-;

** The real nude lips ;p


EEK, so many pictures of lips! YECH. I really thought this was gonna be short post... eh well.

HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY~

These Are My Favorite Things

These are my summer favorites. I don't have monthly favorites b/c I'm trying not to buy anything new but this summer - I had to come up w/ whole new routines, color selections to work w/ my new tan and oiliness :p

- Maybelline Dream Matte Powder - LOVE! Works amazingly to keep shine away~ Sometimes, I just put on moisturizer which would make me shiny and then I'd put this on and VOILA~ SHINE BE GONE!

- Revlon Mineral Mousse Foundation - WEE!! Goes on all airy and moussy but great medium coverage! Feels so light but it works amazingly well. LOVE IT. Keeps shine to a minimum - not good for dry skin though.

- NYX shadow in Champagne - if I'm lazy (which it is summer, yes I will be LAZY), Put this on my lid, liner, mascara, DONE and DONE!

- Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner in Blackberry - speaking of liners, this is my absolute favorite. It doesn't go on as smooth as other liners but it isn't like stretching your eyes until they bleed! Actually, this color I feel goes on pretty easily and nicely. I have not problems! This color though as a nice purple undertone which is suppose to complement brown and green eyes :)

- Jane Blushing Plum - last but not least, this beautiful gorgeous little thing. This thing brightens up my face and make me look so FRESH! YUP YUP YUP! Has a bit of shimmer but even I didn't get bother by that. Now that is a good blush since I despise shimmering blushes.

Hope this helps. Now I'm off to study for my PCAT. Yes, I'm taking it again. I did decent (but could do much better) on everything except for my BIO. I got a really low score... yeah... I'm working to fix that in October.

Wish me luck!

Lazy Sunday

On lazy days or days where I am sooo tired that I want to remove my make up quickly and easily I just use my Pond Face Moisturizer. It works! Here are some pictures to show you:


BLAH face~


Dip some cotton in there...


Wipe it on my face


Final show down! Love it.

Then I'd just wash my face w/ a cleanser or even just water. Everything gone!

*NOTE: Haven't tested this on water proof mascaras; Doesn't get rid of liquid or gel liners easily; Don't get this in your eye (goes for all make up remover really)

Being Cheap Isn't Hard!

I know some people who don't like E.L.F products but I really think that they have potential!
- What I hear is their shimmering whip is great for an eye base. I haven't tried that out yet but sounds good.

But, the post is kind of a reply to Emilynoel's $2 Smokey Eye and she used her ELF quad in Drama. A lot of people commented saying that although her shadows are $2, she still used brushes which are also expensive.

Well, I wanted to do something like that - no base, no brushes. Just the shadows on! I did this before I decided to take a shower so I didn't put mascara on but I thought the result looked decent. You can def. make this more dramatic - but I'm not a dramatic girl so I didn't go too crazy.

Here it is, a true $1 smokey eye - used sponge and no base :). You can find these quads at Ross or some other cheap places.





Yup:


Sale codes on E.L.F are:
Carolina, Radio 50% entire purchase (up to $7.50 off)
5for5studio 50% Studio products

Easy shadow - more tips

I know I'm not a big make up expert or anything but I do use make up and I've found somethings that really work for me. And I thought I'd share!

I've done other tips that are mostly used for making make up application faster. Especially for school when you have early classes and you just want to have more time sleeping than doing make up.

Today, I have tips for EYE SHADOWS! When you are running late, use one color! Just a nice application all over the lid and you're done! What is so great about some of the colors I choose is that you can use them both for lid shade and crease shade! So when in doubt, grab the color that can do anything you want it to do :)



Mark's minx and Maybelline's Beach Blush are amazing at doing that. Gives such natural contour. Work it w/ the NYX Champagne and voila! Easy eye color and it looks so nice too.

Hope this helps someone.

Maybelline - a review

I've been using these two products for a few months now and I just want to write something about it. So, here goes, HOW I FEEL ABOUT THESE TWO PRODUCTS:

Dream Mousse Blush in Rose Petal:
- Can find this any drugstore. I got mine for $6-7
PROS:
* Pretty color
* Goes on so smoothly and easy to blend
* Really pretty and natural finish
* Great as a blush primer
* Buildable

CONS:
* Golden shimmer - can't wear this by itself (for me)
* Doesn't last long by itself
* Color is sheer - needs to be built for color to show on darker skin tones

OVERALL: 3.5/5
* This was my first cream blush and even though there is a bit on CONS, I still like using this as a blush base. The only thing I don't like about it is the golden shimmer (but some of you might like it). The finish it leaves is great! The airless feel to it makes it seems like you are blushing naturally. I think it won't be too much harm to at least try out this product.

~ ** ~

Expert Wear Eyeshadow single in Beach Blush
- Can find this any drugstore. I got mine for $3-4
PROS:
* Pretty pretty taupe shade!
* Last a long time (I was impressed!)
* Doesn't crease as much (or at all sometimes... my lids are temperamental)
* Soft nice texture - not powdery when brush is dipped in
* Great for all-over lid color or crease

CONS:
* Can be sheer - color needs to be built sometimes and even depends on the brush you use

OVERALL: 4.5/5
* First of all, why but the word 'blush' in your shadow name. It's weird. But I do love this blush shadow. I could only find one CON which is saying something. I've never tried the singles when they were in the blue packaging (tried the quad and trio) so I can't compare on how Maybelline's doing on their new formula but it is pretty good. I'm really impressed w/ the lasting power. Again, one of those things that wouldn't hurt you if you tried it :)

~ ** ~

Future posts:
- Face primer showdown: Rimmel vs. Smashbox
- Physicians Formula eyeshadow trio review
- More DIY's

Yup, hope you stay tuned!

My Wish List!

My Bday is coming up (yay me!) and there are some stuff that looks interesting....

This is ELF's *NEW* Mineral Lip Gloss. This is in Pageant Princess I think and the color looks so cool. They have 5 other shades. Pretty cool right?

BTW, I feel like ELF is going crazy w/ the e-mails. I get 4-5 a day! Also, I like to buy their stuff when they actually have a magazine that I want. Last time I bought from ELF I received 10 Glamour Magazines (which was awesome!). I'm hoping to get a good one this time too.


This is also new and I saw this at Walgreens yesterday and took me a lot to resist buying it! It is Extra-Intense Liquid Eyeliner in pencil form! I suck at using liquid liner so this would be so great!


Another L'Oreal product. I feel like I don't have to say what this is - I'm sure everyone who's been in a make up store would know what this: L'oreal Extra Volume Collagen Mascara (just in case...)


ColorStay 12 Hour Eye Shadow Quad in Sandstorm. I saw it yesterday too and wanted it bad! But managed to resist. I was proud of myself yesterday.

Those are just some random thoughts.

Let the confetti fall!

It's the 4th of July tomorrow! I don't really celebrate it big or anything but it is a holiday :D!

Another quick tip for the summer. For summer, foundation can look very cakey and heavy for the face. For the summer, we want nice flawless looks right. Let our true skin glow or whatever.

Here's what I do, I combine my foundation and moisturizer in one to make my own tinted foundation. It is not heavy, it blends easily and it even gives you a dewy finish.



NOTE:: It gives me a light coverage so use concealer! If you're concealer is lighter than your skin tone for your black circles - mix your concealer and your foundation a little bit for redness and blemishes on your face. Work w/ the colors that already you have.

Hope this helps~

Don't stop blushing - a tip

This is just a little tip for faster application of blushes. If you have a really pretty blush but the color is a bit sheer and you don't want to waste time building up the color to the right opaque, use a cream blush underneath.


A good cream blush is the Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush because those things are not pigmented themselves. So just a blend a little bit of that on the cheek bones, putting a powder blush on will work so much better.

**NOTE: The mousse blush shown above has golden shimmer to it.

La la la... and skin care

What am I doing right now??? I'm drinking my homemade boba tea!! YES, I can make them at home now. Yay!

So, I want to talk about my old skin care routine that I had during the school year. I had change all of my stuff now that it is summer time but this is how I used to take care of my skin and it worked quite well for me.



So, I started using the Clean and Clear Deep Action Cream Cleanser since November 08 to May of 09. Yes, I've squeezed the life out of that baby:


PROS:
- It is soft and creamy
- Doesn't dry out your skin
- Gets rid of eye make up (mostly eye shadows) pretty well
(Face make up, well I can't really tell)
- Great for sensitive areas like your eyes

CONS:
- It doesn't have the quality where you feel like it's gotten to your pores

Overall: 3/5
This is a nice and basic product. I read somewhere that you should wash your face every time before you go to bed. If you are looking for just a simple to thing to clean your face (you're not looking for acne or pore treatment) then this is a good product to use. During the winter, my pores are not noticeable and this works well for me then. However, I prefer my cleanser to feel like it is working and cleaning - not just basic soap so I give it a 3/5. Hope that made sense ;p

Now let's talk about the Neutrogena Acne Stress Control. I used this in from Feb 09 to now and I really like it. I don't know what happened but around December I started to get nasty break outs and some that wouldn't go away! I decided I need some help because letting my body fight against acne on its own wasn't working. SO, I bought this, hoping and wishing that it would work... I'll get to that later. Now, there is 2% Salicylic Acid in this so it's kinda like a medication. Also, the bottle talks about how this can cause more sun burn and stuff. Note that this is a cleanser - not the scrub. It comes in both. I chose the cleanser because I feel like scrubs is like a once a week thing but cleanser, you can use more. Being a medication, I always feel like it is necessary not to use the harsh stuff so often.

Anyways!::
PROS:
- Nice smell
- Helps keep my acne in control during stressful times and hormonal times
**When you feel a pimple or blemishes coming on, starting using it until symptoms go away
***Lather it on your face and leave it there for 2 minutes - soaks in the medicine

CONS:
- Dries out the face
- NOT FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE ACNE PRONE
- NOT USE TO GET RID OF ACNE THAT ARE ALREADY THERE

OVERALL: 4/5
For me, it works GREAT! For my sister too actually. She started getting some blemishes and she used it and new ones have not come up and the old ones started to heal. Sadly, it doesn't work for everyone - at least it will not work if you have really bad acne and that's why I took a point off. Although the product does what it says - acne stress control. Yeah, it does help me. A lot :D!

Finally, I also use the Neutrogena Pore Refining Toner. My mom bought this a long time ago and I only use it now and then.

PROS:
- Has salicylic acid
- It cleans pores well - like I would use it w/ a cotton ball and look at it later and there's dirt all over that thing!

CONS:
- Doesn't really reduce pores
- Has alcohol in it so it really dries out the skin

OVERALL: 3/5
There's some good stuff about it but it isn't really necessary. It cleans pores but it doesn't help w/ acne, it doesn't help with oil/shine, it doesn't help w/ anything else. That is why I feel like there must be better toners out there. I use it sometimes, but I always forget.

Well, I hope this helps...
Thanks for reading, Toodles~