Makeup Collection (1/13) Pt 3: Eyeshadow

Now for my favorite part - the EYESHADOW!

Here I have my drugstore palettes. Clockwise from the bottom - ELF Eyeshadow Quad in Butternut, NYX Champagne and Caviar, Wet n Wild Trio in Don't Steal My Thunder, WnW Blue Had Me At Hello, and WnW Petal Pusher.

I only have a few singles, as I love the value pricing of palettes. Clockwise from the bottom left, I have theBalm's Luscious Lani, MAC Melon pigment, Clinique Lucky Penny, MAC Goldmine, and Smashbox Brazilian Bronze

Here are my mid-size high end eyeshadow palettes. Clockwise from the bottom I have one version of Estee Lauder's Deluze signature palette, Clinique Eyeshadow Trio in Come Heather, Urban Decay Feminine palette (2012 edition), and two random Clinique GWP's in radically different packaging... Huh...

These two are my big palettes - Victoria's Secret Ultimate Supermodel Kit, and of course my UD Naked!

Makeup Collection (1/13) Pt 2: Face

Now we open up to part two of my makeup collection: my face makeup! Not my favorite part, but it's makeup nonetheless. It is separated by base and color products.

For base products, I have Smashbox Photo Finish Primer (travel size), Clinique Perfectly Real Foundation, Clinique Almost Powder (part of P10P), Origins Brighter By Nature Powder, Benefit Some Kind-a Gorgeous (I use it as concealer), Hard Candy Glamoflauge concealer (just the pencil), and Rimmel Match Perfection concealer.

Most of my cheek products are mini/GWP/palette included, since I don't really like them very much. From left to right (not including the center eight), I have a GWP Clinique All Over Highlighter, randon Covergirl Cheekers, Estee Lauder Blush in (I think) Radiant Kiss, Urban Decay Glide-On Cheek Tint in Quickie (part of P10P), random Covergirl bronzer, mini Benefit Hoola, and mini Benefit Sunbeam. The center eight are from the Victoria's Secret Ultimate Supermodel Makeup Kit.

Project "Kill It"/10 Pan

Well hello Angel Faces! Long time no see!

I'm sorry I've been such a delinquent about my posting and basically abandoning the blog for school - but I promise I haven't forgotten it! I do check up on my favorite blogs nearly daily, but I just never have time for my own (writing posts is much more strenuous than reading them)!

It's 2013 and a whole new year with new beginning, and I'm kicking it off with a Project 10 Pan! (If you do not know what a P10P is, check it out here.) Now I really don't like reading up on just skincare, skincare, and more skincare (neither do I have a care for hair), so this will be very makeup and polish based. The only non-cosmetic products I have here are makeup remover and lip balm. And yes, five of them are minis/GWPs, but hey, still makeup!

The ten contestants are:

1. Clinique Chubby Stick in Mega Melon (GWP) [N/A]

2. Clinique Quad (highlight shade) (GWP) [0.02OZ/0.5g]

3. Clinique Almost Powder [0.35OZ/10g]

4. TheBalm Balms Away makeup remover [2.2OZ/64g]

5. Stila lip glaze in Lights (part of set) [0.05OZ]

6. Sephora by OPI Sample Sale (mini) [0.125OZ]

7. SOPI Bare to Be Different (mini) [0.125OZ]

8. Urban Decay Afterglow Cheek Tint in Quickie (GWP) [0.02OZ/0.75g]

9. Vaseline Lip Therapy in Cocoa Butter [0.25OZ/7g]

10. Urban Decay Primer Potion (mini size) [3.7ml/0.13OZ]

(Shouldn't the eyeshadow and blush be the same measurement throughout? Huh...)

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The first product that I've ever "hit pan" on is this Chubby Stick in Mega Melon - which I find a bit too pink for my tastes, but beggars can't be choosers. I honestly can't remember when I got this, maybe October 2010? I'm still scraping out the product here (can you see all that's left?).

Next is Stila Lip Glaze in Lights, which is a champagne-ish color with glitter. I originally got it in a 12$ set, along with its sisters "Action" and "Camera" (one pinker and one berry-er, both with that obnoxious glitter). I'm going to try to finish those up after these 2.

This is the first eyeshadow I've ever hit pan on (although it's only 0.02 oz... shh). I've been using this every day for about five months, while it's already is so tiny, and only got this much through it! After P10P, I'm replacing it with Urban Decay Skimp from my Feminine Palette (2012 edition). You can see Skimp is more golden toned than the Clinique highlight, which I have no objection to (I'm very warm toned).

This powder was the main reason for me kickstarting the project, as I FINALLY got a powder from CCO to replace my Clinique one (the new one is by Origins). From the limited color selection I chose a very warm one that's slightly lighter than my old one, but it is winter and therefore my skin is lighter.

Here's an extremely crappy swatch (Origins on left, Clinique on right).

I got the Balms Away here, and I use it while using cleanser at night. You can see it's almost done, and after it is I'll transition back to Take the Day Off. I don't see a point in spending 20$ on something that only lasted 4~ months.

 I absolutely LOVE Sample Sale, but sadly it was LE and I didn't really discover it until it was discontinued. You can't tell from the pic, but the level of polish has reached so that I have to tip it to get any product. It covers so opaquely in just one quote and is such a classic red - I'm in love! But I already have these other three open, and I don't see a point in hunting for a dupe now with me already owning so much red. Ah well, maybe some day.

 Bare to be different is very bare, and very very sheer. It's basically a clear polish, nothing special. It's about at the same amount as Sample Sale. A True Romantic is also very sheer, so I see it as a contender as a replacement.

Quickie is very cool toned. AKA, it looks horrendous on me. I have to either use so little it's invisible, or pack on the powder afterward so I don't look like a 3 year old in her mommy's makeup. On the left is Estee Lauder Blush in (I wanna say) Radiant Kiss, which is discontinued.

 I was -very- </sarcasm> smart when buying my Naked palette, and thought that UDPP would never last long enough for me. Yeah, I'm smart. I bought the full size only after a month or two after I got the mini. I got to the point when I had to pull out the stopper so I hope it's almost at it's end so I can finally use my full size.

I have two Lip Therapies open (they are amazing). I just wanna finish one of them. I'm pretty good at using up lip balm though, so this won't be bad.

How to Prevent Touch-Ups

It's likely that you've seen those girls crowding the bathroom mirrors, pushing and shoving with tubes of mascara and hair straighteners, preventing you from checking your teeth for stray sesame seeds. Well makeup, especially for those who have oily skin, has to be reapplied to keep looking fresh and da best!

When you pack up your school bag, you'll want to pack a separate bag for cosmetics and maybe for feminine issues. In all honesty it depends what you wear everyday, but these 3, to me, are the most touched-up makeup items. Why reapply your powder when you could be eating lunch with your friends?

Obviously, the first to be reapplied are lip products. This, unfortunately, will almost always rub off (and if not, I'd love to see a gloss last through a sandwich wrap and fries). However, a sticky gloss does last a class period or 2 more than a slick one. MAC lipglasses are notorious for catching hair on windy days, but it does last a lot longer than say, CoverGirl Wetslicks.

Another commonly reapplied item is powder. Oily skin seems to just absorb powder, making teenage acne all the worse. To prevent powder from being absorbed, you can use blotting sheets to remove the oil but not the powder. If you don't need coverage and just oil control, blotting sheets can blot out powder in your morning routine entirely!

The last item in my list is eyeliner. No one likes looking like they just came out of a rainstorm or a breakup, but the eyeliner smudges anyway. The best, and probably the most obvious solution is waterproof eyeliner! As you can probably tell, I LOVE Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliner (both liquid and pencil formulas).

Use these tips to get you an extra 5 minutes of chow time, and more looking ready instead of looking like a meltdown!

High School Makeup 102: Wants, not Needs

(Picture courtesy of Seventeen.com)

Note: This post contains high end products I have used and loved for months! You can always find a dupe in the drugstore, but I'm sticking with my classics. I'm suggesting these more towards the high school students than the previous "school makeup" post.

My #1 must have (I've gone through 3 bottles) makeup remover is Clinique Take the Day Off. Just check out my review on why I love it so much!

One must have that you've probably heard of a few quadrillion times is the all famous Urban Decay Naked Palette. I know, I know. You've heard plenty of raves about it already (and if you haven't, where were you when makeup gurus were in an uproar over it?). Well, in short, they're all correct! I know, I know, 50$ is a big thing to drop when you've just escaped middle school. I slowly saved up and got it as a "welcome to high school!" gift for myself (or I made up an excuse, either way). And yes, I like the original better.

Another one of my essentials is eye primer! I use the cult classic Urban Decay Primer Potion -it really amplifies the color and prevents it from sliding around. This is another doozy at 20$ a pop, but a free travel size comes with the aforementioned Naked palette, plus I bought a tube in December, and it's still going strong. I've probably only used up 20% of it, and it's been my daily essential! It also comes in 4 colors variations - I've only used original, but heard great thing about the others.

A good product to have in your arsenal is blush. In pictures, you may notice that your face looks very washed out and pale under flash or other strong light. This can be reversed by using blush, which imitates the rosiness in flushed cheeks. Personally, I never get red or even pink, even when my eyebrows are waxed. My everyday blush is Wet n Wild mineral blush in Purely Mauve (I think it's discontinued). I'll admit the sole reason I bought it is because is was in the sale bucket at CVS. It's extremely pigmented, but a bit of a hassle to get out because it's loose. It's always good to pick up a blush brush too.

Along with acne, comes oiliness. I don't have oily skin, but my dry skin still casts shininess. When shopping around for a powder, I came across Clinique's Almost Powder. It provides a light coverage for minor imperfections, but is still sheer and best of all, hypo allergenic! However, I warn you that it has SPF 15 and is 13% titanium dioxide, which reflects badly in camera flash. I suggest finding another, non-SPF powder for picture
occasions. I use a kabuki brush by Essence of Beauty with this powder.

Finally, every girl should own a natural lipstick for dances when rocking a smokey eye (courtesy of that Naked palette up nya). I'm not a lipstick person, so I just use my Estee Lauder Pink Parfait that was in a GWP. However, some famous/popular ones by MAC are Angel and Blankety, the former being  more pink and and latter more peach. You'd be best off going to a counter though.

You don't need hot pink eyeshadow, or lipstick that stops cars. You don't need to wake up an hour earlier or skip breakfast to meticulously spackle on foundation you DON'T NEED. Makeup may be expensive, but it's fun!

Review: Clinique Lucky Penny eyeshadow

Clinique Lucky Penny eyeshadow is "A pearlized soft muted bronze with a hint of pink." Clinique is known to be a "safe" makeup brand, with sheer pigmentation and focus on soft, natural skin. (15$ for 0.07 oz)

This is my nirvana. This is my muse. This is my reason I even try to wear eyeshadow today. I got a quad last summer that featured this and KNEW it was my holy grail shade and snapped up another one. I'd grab 10 if I had to. If I want my personal look, I grab this, Smashbox Brazilian Bronze in the crease, Urban Decay 24/7 liquid liner in Perversion on top, and Covergirl Lashblast to finish in an immediate school look. I recommend this gorgeous, sorta shimmer goldy-champagne-with-a-hint-of-pink shadow to each and every person out there. If you haven't found your holy grail lid shade yet, I would like to introduce you to Clinique lucky penny. You'll be best friends for quite a while.

What's in my purse (makeup edition)?

 To continue the bad phone photo posts, here's a What's in my Purse makeup edition. The bag is by Clinique in a GWP a few months back, and it's a little bigger than a credit card and 2 or so centimeters wide, very portable. And as you can see in the next picture, can hold a lot!

It may seem like a bit -much- but I can do a quick formal or everyday look with this in a flash! Clockwise, from top left, is a mini Benefit Some Kind-a Gorgeous (foundation), random Clinique quad in neutral tones, sample size Clinique lash doubling mascara, random Sephora eyeliner, Wet n Wild liquid eyeliner, travel size  Smashbox photo finish lid primer, sample size Urban Decay glide-on cheek tint, a random brush head I use for blending, and Hard Candy glamoflauge concealer pencil.

Review: Clinique Take the Day Off

Company description: Totally tugless, two-way makeup remover speeds the departure of hard-to-remove eye and lip makeups. Dissolves and "lifts away" long-wearing makeup, even waterproof mascara. Non-irritating, non-stinging. Ophthalmologist Tested. Appropriate for contact lens wearers. (4.2 oz for 18$)

IMO: Judging by the 3 empty bottles and a spankin' new one, you can probably assume my opinion on Take The Day Off. I think it's almost flawless. Almost perfect. Just almost. Why? Figure out!

I'll break the description into the individual promises and judge the product on those single claims.

Totally tugless: This is a promise that TtDO fulfills! I just leave a soasked cotton ball on my lid for a few seconds, and swipe it off. Whatever eye makeup I'm wearing just melts off onto the cotton ball!

Two-way makeup remover speeds the departure of hard-to-remove eye and lip makeups: Here on my hand I've used foundation, concealer, blush, bronzer, powder, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick, and gloss. You can see how well the remover cleans off my hand, and the swipe wasn't even a second long! Compared to TtDo, hand washing doesn't make a dent in makeup.

Dissolves and "life away" long-wearing makeup, even waterproof mascara: Mascara, no doubt, is a pain to get off.   To remove my mascara, I use a Q-tip soaked in TtDO and swipe it in between my lashes. To determine if the product is really off, I feel my eyelashes until it's just my lashes, no product. And it works! Soap and water can't compare to how this washes off mascara!

Non-irritating, non-stinging: This is also true. The only annoying part of this remover is the oily residue that it leaves, but it goes away easily.

Ophthamologist tested. Approprate for contact lens wearers: I wear contacts daily, and while taking off my makeup. No irritation detected!

Well none of these point cover my main gripe with the product: The packaging! The cap has one of those "childproof" caps going on, which frequently gets soaked and therefore isn't the easiest thing to open. And due to my own clumsiness, I have spilled TtDO many times. It's a pain, since the oiliness that gets makeup off so easily is also slippery.


Overall, I'll keep repurchasing this excellent remover! I've learned to deal with the packaging and, ahem, close it when not in use. A-