Double posting action time GO!

There's swatches of Pagan and Vain on Temptalia. Pagan is a gorgeous dark purple, but it applies worse than Technopagan. I still want it. Vain, however, I don't need because it's legitimately just a darker version of Rx. They call it indigo, but I honestly don't think most people realize that indigo is supposed to be a color that's between blue and purple, not just a dark blue that isn't navy.

OnlyInThisLight wrote:

In other news, the NYX Butter Lip Gloss, at least the one shade I have tried (creme brulee), is everything it was hyped to be: looks great, smells great, feels great and plumps.  And I actually like the smaller size tube.  I don't need to be goo hoarding any more than I already do.

This way hyped? I got it in a glam bag from Ipsy, and it is pretty neat. I'm not used to scented lip balm though so I hiss a little whenever I sniff it.

OnlyInThisLight wrote:

I gave a couple of shades of OCC Lip Tars another try (Anime, Rx, Pool Boy and Yaoi) because they are the easiest product to sample ever.  Both Yaoi and Anime traveled regardless of how well I blotted them or let them dry; they stuck to every surface they came into contact with, so every time I pressed my lips, or ate or drank anything, they would restamp outside my lip line, and faded to nothing pretty quick.  Scrubbing and treating my lips beforehand made no difference.

Sounds about right. As one of the models for Anime likes to say, with OCC you can suck dick in a hurricane and not have to worry about the lip tar coming off.

Everybody seems to be on a lip craze lately! Still OCC tar free, but I did get the Bite Agave lip mask last week when my bestie was visiting. Spoiler: it's awesome. To preface, I woke up last wednesday or thursday with the most painfully chapped lips I've ever had. I don't know what the hell happened, but my mouth was disgusting; dry, painful and bleeding slightly. I still use the Dr Smith's regularly, and I have an EOS balm here at work (which I don't like as much actually), so... what the fuck?! My bestie suggested it might be the heat, but... idk, I've never had an issue with it before, not like this.

So anyway, the lip mask is amazing. I actually applied it right after leaving Sephora, and it started working right away -instant soothing sensations, and a couple hours later my lips were noticeably softer. They're still drier than I'm used to, but they're not as bad as they were. I use it over night, and during the day just keep using the Dr Smiths. I haven't exfoliated my lips in a few days, but I probably will tonight, so we'll see how that affects everything. I haven't worn a gloss or anything other color over the top either, which sorts of sucks since I'd just gotten the deluxe sample of this Givenchy lippie as a point perk. The color is lovely, and the texture is a dream -at least, so swatching leads me to believe. Since I've not gotten to actually wear it, I have no idea what the wear time is like. Sigh.


I've also started paying more attention to my hair, probably because I have so much less of it now. I'm going to be looking into a color safe, sulfate free I think -I've actually got a regular stylist whom I like and trust, so I want to get my hair colored. No idea what color tho -I'm half tempted to just tell her to do whatever she wants. I know it'll look good. But anyway, argan oil. Does some nice things. I don't shampoo my hair often -maybe once a week- and when I do, I work in some of the oil, otherwise my shampoo has pulled out so much natural oil that my hair is a giant poof. Also, cute headbands? SO MANY.

Raven Nightshade wrote:

What are your thoughts on co-washing?

You know, I tried it a few years back and absolutely hated the shit out of it. It's entirely possible though, that I wasn't using a good enough conditioner, or that I didn't give it enough time to even out, but my results were pretty bad. My hair is fairly oily naturally, and co-washing felt like it made it greasier faster. My hair's normal oil production gives me great 2nd day-7th/8th day hair (after that I look like a Snape-ette), but the co-washing felt like it sped up the process so that I had day 4 or 5 hair on day 2.

So while I might consider trying it again, now that I know a bit more about hair care, I'm skeptical that I'll get results. I just don't think I have the hair type that would benefit from it. I do have anecdotal evidence that co-washing works very well, if it's something you're considering -a couple of my co-workers swear by it. It's worth noting they -and the girl that got me to try it way back when- all  have coarser, kinkier hair than I do.

Raven Nightshade wrote:

MissMocha wrote:

Everybody seems to be on a lip craze lately!

I think it's because we're getting back to weird lip colors being available again, and companies keep experimenting with different formulas.

I think it may also have to do with the current recession.  During economic downs, make-up and clothing tends to get more colorful and flashy.  And what's a cheap, easily color-packing product?  Lip products are booming because there is a demand for wider shade ranges (whereas eyeshadows typically always have a large shade range).  A punch of color on the lips is the easiest, and typically the cheapest way to change the tone of any look. 

Nuetral eyes + black lip= goth

+ Biege, peach or pale pink= natural; girl next door
+electric neons and bubblegum pink= party
+browns, mauve= professional
+red or deep wines= sultry, sexy



-Also, the fuck is with all the hype over the Maybelline nudes pallete?  It's not, as so many are claiming, "the first drugstore pallete" by a country mile (WnW Color Icon, Sonia Kashuk, NYX, ELF and Pixi palletes, etc.) and it is just a bunch of boring nudes after the summer of a million nude palletes. 

-And theBalm needs to pump out some new products come on.

-I've been taking a cosmetic bag with me on my overnight shifts.  They are ten hours long and about 30 minutes before we wake the clients up for hygiene I use the large mirror by my little area (we cannot leave them unsupervised, so no bathroom breaks unless someone will take my spot) to quickly blot my face, add a bit of under eye concealor, light coverage powder, peach eyeliner on the waterline, mascara, a very sheer blush (sometimes I switch it out for a low-key bronzer) and some clear lip balm.  It helps me feel and look a bit less like I've been doing laundry and sleep checks for 8 hours and gives me something to occupy even a little bit of my time.  We have to do whatever we can to stay awake while maintaining supervision and quiet, and there is no wifi.

It's like, if I look awake, I feel a tad bit more awake.

So we've decided to no longer buy face scrubs of any kind, and make our own. This is because this is so stupidly easy and fun that paying 10bux for someone else to do it seems like a grand waste. But this round? Ground rice (from cleaning my coffee grinder), oatmeal (because duh), and vanilla pods (you know, the shell left after you scrape the seeds...recycling!) This was mixed in with buttermilk and honey, and drops of black pepper, clove, and cassia essential oils were added. It smells delicious.

Next round will use ground papaya seeds. You know, from the last time I had a papaya. A lot of things that are usually garbage seem to be awesome for masks. The last one I made had ground avocado pits.

Raven Nightshade wrote:

I totally believe in making your own stuff when you can. I've got a sugar scrub sitting in a pint jar of what used to be gelato on my bathroom shelf. Leaves me as smooth as a baby's butt afterwards, but it makes a damn mess in the process.

I would do this if I wasn't already preoccupied with drinking the Lush kool-aid.  Their bathbombs and soaps leave my skin soft without the need for scrubbies (and when I do use exfoliators and scrubs, I use the kind designed to target acne because waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah).  Actually, at some point I should leave reviews of the stuff I have tried from them, as there have been a few disappointments. 

In other news, the Kat von D lipsticks have been an endless parade of disappointment. The more mainstream colors do okay, but the more interesting colors are utter shit. Just go through Temptalia's Kat von D tag to see what I mean.

Fucking preach.  All the colors I want to try end up being shit.  At least they also sell out so quickly I have the chance to have second thoughts before I buy? But that means a lot of unsatisfied customers.

I just went and ordered a stupid amount of product from Sephora's website now that I have my loans and my jobs are deciding to pay me in paychecks.  I really, REALLY want to splurge even more on NARS stuff, because they make eyeshadow duos whose shades sing to me so sweetly, and maybe try a MAC prolongwear concealor since I need a new liquid under eye concealor for mornings after an overnight when I need to go into the office but don't have the spirit for full-foundation-face but have JESUS CHRIST UNDEREYES OF DOOM.

Like bruising.  Shaped as an undereye.  So so bad. 

The thing is, doh, that NARS is fuckass expensive and I rather despise MAC as a company.  AKA: Queens of shitty customer service (both at their service counters and online), overhype and unwarranted elitism.

OnlyInThisLight wrote:

I rather despise MAC as a company.  AKA: Queens of shitty customer service (both at their service counters and online), overhype and unwarranted elitism.

I used to love MAC, and they are what opened me up to the whole wearing of makeup in the first place. For that, they have my thanks, but holy crap yes, I swear they weren't always that bad, but I can't remember the last time I had a positive experience in their stores. We were hounded for the entire time we were in the MAC in Vegas, and ignored for about 15 minutes when we had literally armfuls of merch at the counter. We left without our goods. And last time I bought a lipstick there, it was a limited matte of a red I can't recall the name of. They sent me home with a different red matte, which makes me think they would think I couldn't tell, because when I asked to get the right one the next day they said they'd been totally sold out that whole time, so I couldn't have tried to buy that! SERIOUSLY????

Fume. Now I have to find a new concealer for my under eye blackness when this stuff is used up. Recommendations?

As for the BareMinerals, I got a sample of that stuff in an Ipsy bag...and it's truth. The colors I got were pretty generic purple and pink, but now that I think of it, those fuckers do survive 12 hour shifts of sweat and misery, during which I sometimes even work out by doing stairs for half an hour. So yeah, good shit. Generally the quality of shadows isn't as vital for me because I never need them to last longer than dinner. I'm starting to wear them to work though, which makes me very aware of how fast that stuff gets into creases and nowhere else.

OitL wrote:

NARS and Bare Minerals

I get ya'. BareMinerals tends to do the "respectable" colors, not the more wild and artistic ones. Luckily, I thrive in this atmosphere, as I am boring as hale. As for NARS, I think I agree with you. The shadows weren't bad in and of themselves, they just... they're so expensive! That palette was like a hundred bucks, and for that kind of money, I expect something fantastic. I was talking to someone about the Ariel palettes, the one from Sephora last year and the one from e.l.f. this year. I passed on the Sephora one because it didn't meet my expectation of a $50 palette, but I got the e.l.f. one because it met the expectations of a $10 one. That's sort of how I feel about NARS.

Have you seen the new MUFE Artist's Eyeshadows? It's 250 for their big 30 pan launch pallete, but they're all the same size as singles which are about 20 bucks individually, so that's like... less than half price, yeah? I won't get it, but they sell everything in the palette as singles, and i'm reeeeeeeeeally eyeing some of the shades. I haven't seen a single negative review so far -plus, they've got some SugarPill worthy selection in their vivids. Maybe you'll find something you dig?

As for MAC, I've never really been a a super fan, outside of two eyeshadow pots that I have had for literally, a decade. For a long time it was because I didn't really buy expensive makeup, and now, more recently, it's because the selection at lower price points has really increased exponentially -it can meet and in some cases exceed the variety that MAC used to have cornered.

Double Post for update (yes very important yes) on the quality of the NARS shadow dou I purchased in Brousse.



At first I was putting it on and was like OH NO THE MOCHA WARNED MEH.  But then I experimented (very scientifically, scientists were involved) with different brush types and shapes, wet and dry application and application... methods?  And my results were promising.

NOTES:
-Use a duofiber shadow brush, such as the real techniques brushes.  You need both the stiffness/structure of the underbristles to pick up the thick, clingy product but the soft, dense outer bristles to spread and blend it evenly on the eye.  My Elf essential and studio, as well as my clinique brushes did jack as fuck.  They weren't actually managing to pick up the product.
-If applied dry, use a heavy swipe with a medium sized, short bristled duo fiber brush.  If applying wet, dab and then smooth with a C shaped brush; blend edges when dry.
-If worn without a primer, it will last around 6 hours and then crease like fuck.

I now have my perfect "casual resting bitchface" eyeshadow duo, no liner required to make people not talk to me.

Last edited by OnlyInThisLight (09-06-2014 06:25:33 PM)

It may just be what looks to be some kind of filter over the promotional image, but the Lorac MegaPro just looks like too much cranberry and blue for me.  I would rather have both the pro palletes (plus the two freebies you get with their purchase).  I was kinda hoping when you mentioned it that it was a full face pallete, since I really like a lot of their Pro line products.

Hey babes, Kevyn Aucoin will be on Hautelook Monday starting at 8am.