Sometimes I buy somethings and then later realize I don't love it as much as I thought I did in the store, or I simply just don't know how to incorporate it into my looks.
Today I decided to give some products from spring another chance. Particularly items from the Mac in Lillyland collection.
I heard so many great things about the Pearlmatte Bronzer from the collection I decided to buy it, even though I really fail when it comes to bronzers. I never seem to get them on right for me, and this one always seemed to not blend well and look orange on my skin.
As for the Pearlmatte eyeshadow, I knew that it was not that pigmented, but I was sure the sheerness would rock come spring/summer time, and yet I seem to leave it untouched. I loved the shades and how they worked together but just could never get the look just the way I wanted it.
So today was the day I was going to make them work! I was determined.
I started with my eyes, some Benefit Lemonade as a base on my eyes to make the colours pop a bit more. Then I wet my brush with Fix+ and patted on lots of the pink! I worked I was getting a brighter but not to bright pink. Then I did the same thing with the green on my crease, followed by a light buffing of the white under my brow. Blended and that was it. It was so much bolder than before and was great look for work; I felt like I was on a roll.
Now for the face. Some Benefit Some Kinda of Gorgeous and Cargo OneBase as foundation followed by Kett Sett Powder (my fav!) then it was time to finally make this bronzer work for me or it was getting swapped. I put the bronzer on in a 8 motion on my face followed by one line down my nose and chin. I used my EcoTools bronzer brush and blended it all out with the same brush but with Mac Mineralized skin finish natural on it. I highlighted using a fan brush and the white powder and then used the same fan to put on the blush. I blended once more with the kabuki.
I put some Rimmel Shine On lip sheer on followed by mascara and green mascara on the lower lids.
~~ I was off to work and by 8:30 am I had two complements...very happy with the results.
Needless to say, my determination made this work, I really thought the bronzer and I would never be friends, I found it too orange and just didn't know why it hated me so much, but using the MSF Nat over it seemed to really help it blend out and work better on my skin.
By
Jill Oliver-Fox
Monday, June 28, 2010
dye,
hair
There is a lesson in life that I'm sure we have all dealt with at some point or another, you can't always get what you want. Most recently this lesson has been applied to me and my attempts at dying my hair.
I've been dying my hair on and off since I was 10 years of age. For the last 10 years it has mainly been shades of darker mahogany red or darker browns to hide my hair's natural ash tones that I dislike. Earlier this year I decided to try a lighter shade of red (chestnut red to be exact), I really liked it a lot and wanted to continue using it.
Some how I purchased the wrong shade of hair dye this time and ended up with a more burgundy shade (DARK purpley red tones), I could have easily lived with it in the fall and not had any issue with it other than it just wasn't what I had been hoping for, but since it is the summer I really wanted the lighter red chestnut shade I had in the spring.
I learned of a new product called Colour Oops that removes any trace of old hair colour from your hair, I spend all night using the stuff (apply, wait 20 minutes, wash out for 20 minutes and then another 5, then do a hair mask for 20 minutes) and got decent results. I then re-dyed with what I was sure was the correct chestnut colour, only to end up with the EXACT same burgundy shade. It actually is even be darker than before! Darker, sigh, that's not a light summery shade.
I'm not quite sure what I did wrong, it might still be the wrong shade of chestnut, but why would it go burgundy again? It might be too much burgundy still stuck in my hair strands after the stripping process, I just don't know.
Sigh. Proving no matter how hard I try right now, I'm not going to get what I want. So, I'm giving up, leaving it the way it is.
The funny thing is how things with your clothes and makeup change when your colour changes like this. I will most likely be wearing less greens, golds, bronzes and corals and more purples, pinks, and browns. Filling in my brows is also a new challenge, I'm considering getting it tinted much darker at the salon.
What I wanted on the left (freshly dyed the night before), right the second attempt at dying it in a week (says it is dark chestnut, but is a dark burgundy/purple red that looks black from a distance) .
Optimum point bonus redemption time was on this past weekend. I went and spent (my friends) points on some great goodies
- Benefit - Some Kind of Gorgeous - $36.99. I got a sample of this stuff a while back and decided to get a full sized one.
- Benefit - Lemonade - $26.99. My friend raves about this stuff, so I thought I would try it out.
- Annabelle Smudge Liner in Sea Green - $10.99 - I love Annabelle's Smudgeliners and wanted a bright green shade. Yippy!
- Ice Cream Hair Products - I love Ice Cream's hair dye products. Unlike box hair colour kits you buy the devoloper and colour seperately. They also give you enough product for 2 dye jobs, which makes it really good if you need two boxes of boxed dye or just more than what one box gives, or heck even great if you need less dye than a box. The down side, you have to buy your own gloves, conditioner and a mixing bottle or just use a brush and an old tupperware bowl. Still the best dye I've tried in the last 10 years.
- Color Oops - this was $16.99 at my Shopper's, it strips hair dye out of your hair at home without removing your natural colour. I tried it last night and it worked really well. It takes 20 mins to develop and then 25 minutes to rinse (25 minutes!!!! of rinsing, that took a while, make sure you have a full hot water tank). I was pleased with the results, you wont end up with your natural hair colour, because when you dyed it the developer from the dye it lighted the hair.
I got some other goodies too, like ICE CREAM's banana hair mask and some cheese and toilet paper, random shopper's drug mart stuff.
On Wednesday I attend an Information workshop hosted by Makeup Forever. It was a Pro To Pro seminar which was part one of many, this one's focus was on introducing artist to the complete line of Makeup Forever products, with a focus on the HD and Aqua lines.
There were demos on models, a history of the company, artist talking about the line and their favorites and how to best utilize the products in a general way. Since it was more of an introduction, most of what I heard was vague or I had already known about it, but it was still interesting none the less and managed to pick up a few great tips and tricks.
After the event I went and grabbed my self some goodies from the MUFE counter at The Bay on Queen.
What I got:
HD Complexion Travel Kit:
Makeup Junkie had talked about this earlier this week and how much she loves it, I took Wednesday as an opportunity to try it out for myself. It has all the essentials to prep and set the skin for the ideal natural look. The Exlier in the kit is supposed to boost skins moisture by 520% in just 15 minutes and have a strong lasting effect over the course of the day. My skin is always so dry, this little baby was the main reason I bought the kit. The Primer is the clear version of their HD primer, a great product that I have yet to try. Lastly there is a HD Microfinish Powder in the kit. This powder is 100% silica and supposedly round micro-fine particles of silica that will reflect light in a more flattering way. Great for any skin tone, it leaves not colour and the skin feel super soft.
Eyeshadow in 116:
This is a great matte purple shade. Not too bright not too dark, just in the middle. I really love MUFE eyeshadows, they blend extremely well and have an amazing texture to them. They are massive and can also be used as blushes.
25th Anniversary Palette:
A gift they gave us for going to the seminar was a limited edition palette for eyeshadow or blushes. It is large and holds 4 shadows/blushes, has a creative 25th anniversary design on the front and has a big big big mirror. Since I now have 3 MUFE shadows and they were all separate I really needed this.
HD Blush Sample:
They gave us as a bonus gift a sample pump of the infamous HD Blush. I love this stuff already. It blends out well and drys fast, smooth and natural looking. The only beef I have is the pump always gives you too much (because so little is needed). You can use it on the eyes or lips too! I love this baby and will definitely be getting some more of them soon.
Recently I was sent a tube of Cargo's new Triple Action Mascara to review. It has a curling, lengthening, and thickening formula to it as well as a molded brush. I must say that I was blown away with every aspect of the product.
The Brush: First thing I noticed was that the brush was the exact same as my much beloved Avon SuperExtend Mascara's wand. This made me very happy since it is by far the best molded or plastic brush I have tried so far (read my review of Avon's SuperExtend Mascara here). I find this brush in particular doesn't get too much product on it and separates really well, there is little chance of clumping or over application of the mascara with it. It also makes it easy to get right into the inner corner of the eyes, and right into the base of the lashes and without jabbing yourself with anything jagged (unlike the L'oreal Telescopic Explosion mascara wand that is so pointy and dangerous to use). I really am in love with this brush. Below is a photo of the brush, the top is Cargo's the bottom Avon's...see the exact same.
Curling Claim: I have always been skeptical of curling mascaras, I never really thought that they worked well and were not really worth the time or effort. This mascara blew me a way for the curling! I put it on the first time and didn't really pay attention to wether or not it curled my lashes, but when I later looked in the mirror all I saw were perfectly curled lashes. I LOVE how well it curled and how nicely it looked.
Thickening Claim: This mascara certinly does thicken the lashes a lot, I love how full and tick my lashes looked after just one swipe of it, after two swipes my lashes looked even better.
Lengthening Claims: Well I must say this mascara sold me on that one too. THis brush is great for lengthening without clumping and the formula just made it even better.
Often I apply a lengthing mascara followed by a thicking one to get a full and long effect on my lashes, this this one tube I elemate all that and the need for a lash curler.
Additional Points:
- A revolutionary, flexible film coats, extends and curls, for longer, thicker and fuller-looking lashes
- A moisture retention barrier locks in essential vitamins and conditioners that promote healthy lashes
- A fixing film creates a long-lasting, rub-resistant barrier that won’t smudge
- Jet black pigment makes lashes look visibly defined
- Free of parabens, alcohol and fragrance
- Made in Canada
- Available in the Fall.
Overall:
This is a great all in one mascara, if you often use a lengthening and a thickening mascara this would be worth a try. If you hate using a curler or just love curling mascaras this is also a great try. My lashes love this stuff and so do I! This is my new go to non-waterpoof mascara! I love it I wish I could wear it on workdays (but I need crazy waterproofness, most waterproofs don't cut it).
I love sheer lipsticks, they probably are the ones I use on myself the most. Years ago I feel in love with Rimmel's Sheer Temptation Lipstick in Foxy and quickly became my most used lipstick. It is very similar to Clinique's famous Black Honey Almost Lipstick. Unfortunately Rimmel discounted the whole line of sheer lipsticks. Ever since I have been on a never ending quest to replace it (I just can't get the colour quite right). This had led me to quite a collection of similar sheer lipsticks.
Sheer Lipsticks brands that I have:
-Mac Slimshines - These small slim tubes were great, I had both Think Tan and Mousse (but then lost it). They are now discontinued.
-Annabelle Le Gloss Stick - These babies look strikengly similar to Mac's Slimshine tubes. Available in many colours I think they are slightly better than the Mac Version. I have four and they are all shimmer free. I have 701 (can't remember the name and it isn't on the tube), 710 - Figgy, 709 - Pink Provocateur and Girlesque (no number on the stick).
-Vasanti Tinted Lipbalms - These pretty babies Look like normal lipsticks and pack a nice glossy tint to them. They are supposed to have all the benifits of lip-balm with some sheer colour. I just got Colombia and Grenada, I will review them in a little while.
When looking at sheer lipsticks remember the colour will look really strong in the tube but wont go on that strong.