Sunday, March 18, 2012

Short Beauty Routine for Sick Days

I've been sick for just over a week now and I haven't felt up to writing a blog till now. I thought this might be as good a time as any to write about my beauty routine during sick or "bleh" days.























Step 1:

Always, always, always wash your face.






















Even when I feel awful, when I am lying on the floor defeated by illness, this is a step that can't be skipped. No one wants to go through a long beauty routine when they're sick. If you put makeup on before washing your face, your face is going to feel dirty and you are going to feel worse. Plain and simple. This step just never gets skipped, even on my worse days.


Step 2:

Laura Mercier hydrating primer + tinted moisturizer





















I can't skip primer. I know a lot of people skip this step, especially while sick, but primer is useful for a lot of reasons (**) and if I'm going to be applying any makeup, I won't be skipping this step.

(** I am planning a big primer post on all the amazing primerific facts, which will be coming your way soon)


I absolutely love this tinted moisturizer, because it's somewhat low maintenance. All you have to do to apply is slap it on using your own hands. No brushes, no buffing, just hands.

It's definitely not full coverage, which of course doesn't help cover everything when you are sick. But, honestly, I've found that doing more to cover up (full foundation, concealer, correctors) actually looks worse for me when I'm sick. So while I'm not 100% back to looking healthy, the tinted moisturizer still makes me look a lot better.

Step 3:

Blush






















This step varies, but I tend to throw some blush on to help liven up my face. I'll usually use some kind of natural looking pink or peachy blush, like NARS Orgasm.



That's really all there is to my sick-day beauty routine. I try to keep it as simple as possible. Now I'm off to write some papers and, hopefully, finally get better!

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Myglam - March 2012

A day after I received my first Birchbox, I got my March Myglam box/bag? in the mail! I didn't think I'd be receiving it till Monday, so that was a nice surprise.

Although I was scouring makeup sites for hints on the March Birchbox, I tried to stay away from the Myglam facebook page. There's just been so much negativity from members, non-members of the service that I just don't want to watch all that drama unfold. I have been irked a few times enough to reply to some girls (really? you still don't know why they haven't opened up subscriptions or are trying to resolve issues through a fan site?) I really feel for the Myglam team when they are faced with the same questions they've recently responded to.


Sorry, didn't mean to get into a bit of a rant back there!

What I was trying to say was that I've been avoiding their facebook fan page, because I didn't want to get sucked into negativity before even getting the box/bag.

And I'm glad I did. I actually really like this month's bag!

Here's what was included:

Keracolor Color Enhancing Leave-in Treatment
Pur-lisse Pur-Lip Comfort Daily Lip Nourisher
Pur-lisse Pur-Protect SPF 30 Essential Daily Moisturizer
Murad Eye Lift Perfector
DermStore $25 Gift card
AND a Myglam Classic Crease Brush & Case




This will be my first time trying out any of these brands, which is what Myglam is all about.

There are a few big differences between this bag and the last:

1. I will actually be able to use ALL of the products included in this bag!

2. I'm all for trying new products and usually don't mind where they come from, but I tend to stay away from mall kiosk type brands (for various reasons, mostly they just haven't worked out for me in the past). I'm glad that this month, we did have brands that aren't necessarily 'well known,' but seem to have a good reputation.

3. Myglam commissioned a brush for subscribers and I thought that was pretty cool! The brush isn't professional quality and it's a bit big for my eyes, but I still really appreciate the thought and I'm sure I'll use it in the future.

All in all, I thought this bag was a huge improvement from the last. They had planned this one before the meetings they held on improvement, so I really can't wait to see what the next bags will bring!



Full review: April 5, 2012

Keracolor leave-in treatment
  • I still have yet to use the Keracolor leave-in treatment, because I had recently self-dyed my hair at home and…it’s not so great. I am dying to try out this treatment, but really want to use it after I get rid of the bad dye job.
Pur-lisse lip nourisher
  • I LOVED the Pur-lisse lip nourisher. I would apply my previous lip balm over and over throughout the day, and my lips would never feel completely moisturized. The first day I used the Pur-lisse product, I used it once and didn’t have to reapply—which was shocking. It has a strange…non-smell? It doesn’t smell enough to be bothersome, I suppose. I almost wish it did have some kind of smell, but I also find the nicer smelling lip balms to be more drying.
Moisturizer & Eye lift perfector
  • I have yet to try out the moisturizer and eye lift perfector, because I’ve been finishing off a few other products. I’m not sure how well these small samples will work for testing, but I guess we’ll see!
Myglam brush
  • As for the Myglam brush, I thought the commission of a brush was a very nice gesture on their part. I have used the brush a few times and it is a little too big for my eyes. I’m not sure what to use it for yet, but brushes are versatile and I’m sure I’ll find a use for it. Maybe to sweep some highlighter across my cheek bones or to quickly pack on eyeshadow for a soft look. 

A lot of people were complaining about the smell the brush and case had when they arrived in the mail. I was a little put off by the smell, as well, but neither product smelled after a few hours of being left to air out. I read some subscribers threw them out because they couldn’t stand the smell, but I think that’s a bit excessive. What glue do you think is used on any of the brushes or products we use? Do you think it doesn’t smell when it’s first applied? Perhaps Myglam made a mistake in sending out the brushes too soon after they’d been manufactured but, like I said, airing them out for a few hours got rid of the smell.

FOTD - Shopping with Sister

My pictures aren't consistent at all, haha. My skin is a bit lighter than usual due to Winter and lighting. My hair isn't black, though I did dye it--but the same color as before. I think I just need to figure out a good lighting setup to take better pictures. It doesn't help that I switch from camera to phone to computer haha. Oh well.

Here's a quick look I did today for going to the mall with my sister.



















Face
Rimmel London Fix & Perfect Primer
Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in Beige
MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer in NW30
MAC Cream Blush in Pleasureful
MAC Sunbasque
MAC Fix+
 
Eyes

MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack
MAC Brun (eyebrows)

Lips
Sonia Kashuk Sheer Bronzey Nude

-Claudia

Friday, March 9, 2012

March - Updates and First Birchbox!

March is off to a nice start! Had the week off work, because the kids were in testing. Started my spring break off school. Ordered a giant concha pillow (link) for ridiculous, unjustifiable, but awesome reasons. Myglam should be arriving any day now. AND I got my first Birchbox today.
















I've been trolling around beauty blog sites to figure out the items for this month's box for the past week, because I'm not big on surprises. Getting these mystery boxes in the mail is a bit of a new things for me, haha.

As a new member, I was guaranteed the special "Teen Vogue Birchbox." When I found out there were only four possible TV boxes, I was ecstatic. All four boxes contain, in my opinion, a great combination of items.

So which box did I get??

















In this month's box:

Essie Luxeffects polish in As Gold as it Gets
Kate Spade perfume sample in Twirl
Kerastase Elixir Ultime
Tarte lip tint in Lucky
Twistband hair tie - lime green

and a ModCloth "exclusive offer"/coupon for $10 off $75


























Essie Luxeffects polish in As Gold as it Gets
  • I wasn't expecting to receive a full size nail polish in my box, so I was pretty excited about that! I've never been much of a nail polish gal, so it's nice to not only try out a new polish, but one that has a different texture to it. The nail polish picture didn't show up as well as I'd hoped, because of this insanely orange color I had on, so there's that! I do wish the color were easier to take off. It took a pretty long time to get all that gold sparkle out, but that's to be expected from this type of polish.
Kate Spade perfume sample in Twirl
  • I wasn't too fond of this perfume. It reminds me of a mixture between baby powder and hairspray. Not something I'd wear on a regular day or for a night out. 

Kerastase Elixir Ultime
  • After only a few uses, I can already tell this is making a difference. I use this product after showering, which leaves my hair in a much nicer state than letting it air dry. I wish this came in a bigger sample bottle, haha. I will definitely be purchasing this!

Tarte lip tint in Lucky
  • I've been wanting to try this out for the longest time. Unfortunately, I ended up with a shade that's too light for my skin tone. This product doesn't feel heavy on my lips and I love the slightly minty taste. The texture and feel has made me want to try out a different color from this brand, which I think is what these boxes are all about, so I think this is still a great inclusion.

Twistband hair tie - lime green
  • I'll be honest, I wasn't too excited to receive this. I don't get the appeal over regular hair bands. 

+ModCloth "exclusive offer"/coupon for $10 off $75
  • I'm not sure this will get much use, but I appreciate the coupon. I'll probably end up handing it off to a friend who has a style more along ModCloth's lines.

Also getting used to this new photo editing app, Diptic. What did you guys think? I'm trying out alternatives to my camera, so bear with me. I'm hoping to have a new detailed FOTD soon, but I might just be forced to fix the camera situation for that. We'll see.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Got Some Gel Eyeliner Today

It looks like March, for me, is going to bring a lot of changes. I'll be halfway through school, ending my first year as a teacher's aide and looking for a new job, learning how to drive and getting my own car, and just making better choices for myself in general.
I know last time I posted I was super excited about going to IMATS, but I've decided that this year is not the year for it. While I would love, oh so much, to just up and run off to the other side of the country, I'm going to have to settle for midway. That's right, I'm planning and plotting away a new trip. So, no to makeup glory, but hopefully yes to a different kind of, but still personally enlightening and fun, trip. Which I'll be posting about in a few months when it actually happens. :)
In other news, I went down to the MAC store today (since I officially decided to wait on IMATS, my no-makeup till June ban was off!) and bought myself a Fluidline in Blacktrack. I've always been interested in the different consistency eyeliners. What better way to break my ban than to get something I can practice and play with?
So, I asked one of the artists about how to make these winged eye things with the Fluidline. Really, I'm not so great at articulating what I'm looking for sometimes. I figured she would just give me some tips and set me on my way. She actually took quite a bit of time to show me the motions on how to apply and then had me apply it myself. I was pretty self-conscious about this--applying makeup badly in front of a makeup artist??--but it helped a lot more than if I had just watched and tried to reapply later.
Here is attempt #1:










Also, I apologize for the terrible blinds behind me and the bad lighting! I currently don't have a camera and I'm using my computer for now.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

FOTD - Work Day

Going all out with some redish lipgloss today for work!


Face
Rimmel London Fix & Perfect Pro Primer
Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua in B50, Beige
MAC Gentle
NARS Orgasm
Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda Concealer Palette*
MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer in NW30*

*wrong colors for me, so I like to mix them together!

Eyes
MAC Brun (eyebrows)

Lips
MAC Caqui

Disqus for Giggle Blush

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