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.

Birthday Haul 2012

I'm sorry for the crappy quality, I couldn't find the camera so I used my phone. I'll promise to try to find it soon! So my birthday was over vacation, I can qualify my free birthday gift, and I had around 90 points on my Sephora card. I didn't turn in my points cause there was nothing in the 100 point box that I wanted (no makeup, just skin care and hair stuff, eww) but I did choose out some stuff I've been stalking on the site. Oh, and I stopped by a MAC counter too. I'll be reviewing some (or all) of these some time or another, so my opinions on this post are more first impressions. Here we go!

 This is my FAVORITE nail polish of all time - SOPI Already Famous. I was over the moon when I found it, cause I thought it was Limited Edition from last Christmas! I don't have to preserve the little baby bottle anymore! This, described by Sephora.com, is a "sheer pewter with medium champagne and silver glitter." I'll definitely be raving over this soon, and I'll have to pick up a few backups!

 My next hauling item was Benefit's Tan About Town set, motivated by the fact that I don't own bronzer and I didn't have foundation at the moment (I had a formal event during vaycay too). I don't need another mascara though, but the entire set was only 12$! I like it so far, but the foundation melts too easily and the bronzer packaging is super flimsy. I might review this soon.

 Here's Sephora's birthday gift this year - a lip balm duo by Fresh. I've already sworn myself to Sweet Mint EOS, but these have a pleasant lemony scent. For 22$ I wouldn't buy a full size, but they're nice.

 I've always wanted a purple streak but didn't want to commit, so I picked up a hair extension in my favorite "Royal Violet" (by Sultra). I had to straighten it before wearing, because the packaging made for an awkward L shape. I love that this stays in and grabs onto my hair really well, put it's quite a thin strip for being so expensive. And I have a really big gripe with this - the color bleeds a LOT. When I washed some hair spray out of it, the water turned purple and the hair extension turned more pink-toned than blue-toned. And I HATE pink, which sorta pisses me off but ah well.

And here's my lone MAC item that I picked up on the way, a classic Blacktrack fluidline. My other black creme liner I bought last year so it's all dried up by now. As said earlier, I only have used each of these once, but the one time I have used it this eyeliner GLIDES on. I'll definitely be reviewing and comparing this soon!

Primed to Perfection: Primer 101

Primer: a first coat or layer of paint, size, etc., given to any surface as a base, sealer, or the like.

If you ask most girls about eyeshadow primer or foundation primer, you'll probably get a puzzled look and "Like paint primer?" or "What's that?". Somewhat similar to paint primer, makeup primer smooths, amplifies, and makes longer lasting what is placed on it.

From the list of the cult classic Smashbox Photo Finish Primer derivitives, face primer can be anti-aging, luminizing, hydrating, color correcting (by balancing, blending and/or adjusting), mattifying, and pore-and-line-filling. Personally, I use foundation about once a year but did pick up the original formula in a value kit. The main selling points of face primer are longevity and pore filling, but here I'll concentrate on pore filling. The titles are respective to the sides, not pictures.

Eye primer, on the other hand, is one of my absolute daily essentials when wearing eyeshadow (and let's be honest; when do I not wear eyeshadow?). According to this list from Too Faced's site, eye primer can prevent creasing and fading, intensify color, banish discoloration, illuminate, lock down glitter, prevent fall out, reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and reduce puffiness. I own 3 primers/bases (not the same thing; but I'm counting them the same for now). Since I don't have discoloration, fine lines and/or wrinkles, I'll concentrate on amplification of color. This eyeshadow is from Wet n Wild's Blue Had Me At Hello palette.

Lash primer is regularly seen as optional, but is essential for a few. In essence, a lash primer exaggerates what a normal mascara does - lengthen, volumize, curl, and multiply lashes. Most people only experience lash primer when using a double ended mascara. Same as foundation primer, I only own one, and really only use it for enhancing my blue mascara (and it doesn't really work). Here's a picture of Maybelline Great Lash in Royal Blue normally vs. primed:

Lip primer is usually substituted with lip balm or lip pencil, with good reason. According to MAC, lip primer "Adds light moisture, smoothes and refines the lips." In comparison, EOS "keeps your lips moist, soft and sensationally smooth" (It's also 12$ cheaper). I don't own any lip primers, but I find on the (rare) occasions I wear lipstick, lip balm is a great base that stays put and moisturizes.


All in all, people may see primer as just another waste of money. It all depends on your mindset, but you can choose yourself whether primer suits you for everyday life or not.