Rimmel Stay Glossy 3D: Love At The Movies

Is it wrong that I don't love lip gloss? I feel like so many makeup lovers have a soft spot for lip gloss, and yet I usually can't be bothered with it; I prefer lipsticks for a bold look or balms for a sheer wash of color. Hear me out. I am more aware of the sensation of lip gloss on my lips (whether it's sticky or not it still feels wet) and there's so much more that can go wrong with it; you can get fuzz or hair stuck on your lips, you can get one of those weird lines when you press your lips together, it can settle into fine lines on your lips, etc... Sometimes the scent is distracting; sometimes it affects the taste of food or drink. All in all, it just seems like a lot of trouble for such a subtle effect.

That being said, lip gloss does have a time and a place, and lately I'm beginning to see the light. It's a lot more polished (get it?) than a bare lip, has a little more sex appeal than a tinted balm, and I like that I can apply a subtle wash of color easily and quickly before dashing out. I don't have to spend as long coordinating the color to the rest of my makeup, the occasion, and what I'm wearing like I tend to do with lipstick. Finally, I can't deny that it's so much easier to reapply quickly than a full coverage lipstick is. Going into the colder months, I can tell that my lips are getting drier faster, and a layer of gloss provides a bit more moisture than most lipsticks.

I've used Rimmel's lip glosses before and I like them; the shape of the applicator is easy to use and it's a doe-foot, my favorite type (I hate tiny brushes). When I saw Love At The Movies, I knew I had to give it a shot; it's a sheer pink-coral shade with really fun microglitter that reflects bright fuchsia and coral. I like that it brightens up my look without being a really noticeable pop of color, and the microglitter adds some fun to what would otherwise be pretty staid, neutral looks. The texture is creamy and soft without being sticky, and it provides a bit of moisture for as long as it lasts.

Do you guys prefer gloss, balm or lipstick? Have you tried the Rimmel Stay Glossy line? I like the 3D collection, I think some of the shades are a lot of fun. I may try to get a few more!

NOTD: OPI I Knead Sour-Dough- and some news!

Hi guys, I'm showing off OPI I Knead Sour-Dough today, a polish that was underwhelming the first couple of times I wore it, but quickly earned a special place in my heart. Let me explain.

First, my complaints. You may notice in some of the pictures this gorgeous rose gold shimmer that flashes in the bottle at some angles- this is not visible on the nail. My second complaint is that it chips like crazy. I'm lucky if I get a full day with no tip wear. You'll notice that in the pictures, too; I took photos the morning after I painted my nails and I already have a couple of small chips.

Now, the neutral points: the color itself is beautiful, just lacking that nice shimmer I noticed in the bottle. I Knead Sour-Dough today is a slightly frosted muted burgundy. In low light it takes on a brown tone, and in bright light it looks a bit rosier. It's a chameleon, so I've shown you in shade, in indirect light, and then in direct light. The formula is really nice, it's easy to put on the nail; I like OPI's formula and brush, their colors just chip on me very quickly, with this being an especially bad culprit.

In Shadow

Brighter light...

In direct light

Finally, the reason this nail color has become extremely special to me; it was the color I happened to be wearing when I got engaged!

John proposed with my mother's ring, which is still soldered to her band. It is incredibly special to me to have her ring, and it was really neat knowing I got engaged with the same ring she did.

But he also gave me his great aunt's ring from about 1930 that I have been wearing more often; it sits lower and doesn't have prongs, so even though I'm a klutz I haven't been banging it on anything.

So there you have it! That's my big news, and I was also able to show off I Knead Sour-Dough to my nearest and dearest. It's a beautiful nail color, but I can only plan on wearing it for a day or two until it begins chipping.

To those of you who are engaged, do you remember what you had on your nails when you got engaged? Do you wear it for special occasions?

NOTD: China Glaze Stella

Have you ever stumbled across something in your stash that you had absolutely no memory of? That's how Stella was for me. It's a lovely color but not the type I typically pick out for myself, the paint on the bottle had been worn away as if it had been hiding out for quite some time, and I had absolutely no memory of purchasing the color or of wearing it, which is really unusual for me; even if I don't remember where I got some of my oldest polishes, I'll recall seeing the bottle and using the color. Not so with Stella. After some digging, it looks like this was released back in 2009 with the Retro Diva collection!

Stella is purple-fuchsia metallic shade with some micro-shimmer scattered throughout. It isn't a duochrome, but it does have wonderful depth that gives it a multidimensional feel. It hasn't worn very well-- it developed a few chips only hours after application, and now on the second day I'm seeing significant tip wear-- but I can't tell if that's because it is an old polish, or if the old China Glaze formula has been improved upon since this was made in 2009.

My camera was having trouble capturing the warmth in the color; it's much more of a raspberry color, and much less violet than in the pictures. So strange!

I'm excited to have found a beautiful color that I didn't know I had, but am still curious as to how I got the shade. It could have belonged to my mom, or been a gift, or maybe I just picked it up myself and never wore it. At any rate, the chips are kind of a bummer but it's a pretty enough color that I am positive I'll find myself reaching for it again!

Bridesmaids' Makeup and A Wedding!

Hi guys, I have a pretty exciting (for me, at least) post today! It's a long one, and I probably should break it up into two parts, but... I'm not going to. It's about makeup, but it's also about a really awesome day, so I hope you all enjoy hearing about it! A friend of mine got married yesterday, and I helped out with her bridesmaids' makeup! I met my friend (let's call her by her nickname, Tabouli) at work when I started my current position as a bridal consultant. Since then she has left the job and moved to another part of the bay area, but we still keep in touch! A couple of months ago she had a bad makeup trial and decided to do her own makeup, but still wanted someone there to help out her bridesmaids with their makeup, since a couple of them rarely wear anything on their faces. She asked if I would help, and I said yes!

I'll admit, I was really nervous about how this would go. I have done makeup on friends for fun, but I haven't done anyone else's makeup in about a year. I read up on wedding makeup tips and watched a few YouTube tutorials to get some ideas, and also watched with an eye towards what techniques (eyeshadow and blush placement, eye lining styles, etc...) lend themselves to people with faces other than mine! Tabouli reassured me that two of her bridesmaids could do their own makeup if push came to shove, and I figured that me being there to help couldn't make the situation *worse*, so away we went.

My friend (um, er, I don't have a good nickname for her and I'm not sure if she wants to be named on The Internet, so let's call her The Enforcer) and I got to the reception venue, where we were getting ready, at 7:30 in the morning. Nobody was there yet... But then when they did arrive, things got crazy! I have never been in a bridal party, so it was interesting to see how much there is to do the morning of a wedding. All four bridesmaids ended up wanting me to do their makeup, so I got started right away while The Enforcer helped the hair girl do hair.

Tabouli had requested neutral colors, and showed me a couple of pictures of soft smokey eye looks, so I stuck to that. I also focused on trying to bring as much depth to the face as possible so the girls wouldn't look too washed out in photographs. All of the girls were really nice; I'd met a couple in passing when they'd come into the shop with Tabouli for alterations appointments or to try on bridesmaid's dresses, but this gave me a chance to get to know them a bit better. They all graciously allowed me to take a few quick snaps of the finished look and post them here for you guys to see.

Here's how it worked: I had asked Tabouli to make sure all the girls had their own foundation, since I knew I wouldn't have anything to match them. A couple of them had their own that they brought, and the other two went out and purchased Revlon Colorstay (which I have used before and like, so good pick, Tabouli!). You'll notice a couple of the girls are wearing false eyelashes; they were applied by Tabouli's hair person who also does makeup professionally.

I had a few main goals. First and most important, I wanted Tabouli to like how they looked! Second, I wanted the girls to like how they looked, which meant I tried to keep it natural enough so they'd still recognize themselves and not be completely uncomfortable the whole day. Third, I wanted the look to last as long as possible. I used Benefit's Stay Flawless 15 Hour Primer on all of the girls as a base, followed by their foundation, then a bit of Tarte's Smooth Operator Finishing Powder. On the eye and brow area, I used NARS' Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base and Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in 15 on top of that. Either of those products on their own hold up really well on me, but together that stuff is TOUGH. As for eyeshadows, I ended up reaching for the original Naked Palette a lot. I also used some matte shades from my Tarte holiday sets, a few of my Inglot colors, etc... I ended up using my NYX blushes on most of the girls (in addition to other products), between Taupe, Raisin, and Red I had a good matte shade for all of the skin tones and undertones in the group! In service of privacy, the girls will be referred to as Bridesmaid 1, etc...

Bridesmaid 1! This was one of the two girls who never wears makeup, the bride's sister, and the second girl I did. Isn't she cute? When I saw her at the reception she told me she'd gotten compliments from her family on her makeup, and that she was also happy with it herself. She said everyone knows she doesn't wear makeup and told her that she still looked natural, and like herself. Not gonna lie, I may have teared up. Sure, I was a glass of two of champagne in, but it was really nice of her to tell me!

Here is Bridesmaid 2! She was the other bridesmaid who isn't used to wearing makeup, and the very first girl I worked on! Lucky for me, she is incredibly nice and really helped me feel more comfortable. I was very nervous starting off, but I think we were both happy with how things turned out!

Bridesmaid 3! She was the last girl I worked on; by now I had my routine down, we got through this relatively quickly! She was also a bit more used to wearing makeup, so I asked what she usually does and kind of did a variation on that. Isn't she adorable?

Bridesmaid 4! She actually helped me out quite a bit by getting her foundation done herself, and letting me just do her eyes, cheek, and lip! We had time, but it was nice to have those extra few minutes to get myself ready and help out with everything else. Love her smile, and I have to say, I like that lipstick color on her a lot more than I like it on myself!

Don't worry, I stayed busy the rest of the morning even after everyone's makeup was finished! Remember guys, I'm also a bridal consultant, so I kind of fell into that role as the girls were dressing and helped with a stuck zipper, safety pinned a bodice whose lining was flipping forward, showed the girls how to fluff the bride's train, helped the bride position her veil, etc...  At one point I was even hanging on to the rings! THAT was nerve-wracking! And don't think The Enforcer was any less busy. She was helping with hair, steaming the dresses, keeping everyone on time, making sure the first look really was the FIRST look...! One of the boys broke their boutonniere and she had to DIY one last minute using extra foliage from one of the centerpieces upstairs in the reception area.

This is Tabouli while she was finishing up getting ready! She did her own makeup, although The Enforcer forced her (this is not an exaggeration) to let me put a bit more bronzer and blush on her. I snapped a quick picture just so she could see that it photographed well, and wasn't as much as it looked like up close in the mirror.

So, there was one kerfuffle... The Enforcer and I thought the girls were coming back to the room post-photos before going to the church, so we waited for them. Turns out, they'd already left. And there was bad traffic. We made terrible faces as I got real-time updates from my boyfriend "The processional has started... Tabouli walked down the aisle... The vows have begun."

These were the faces we made as we realized we weren't going to get there in time.

We darted in just in time to see them kiss, and then it was back to the reception venue! I knew a lot of people at the wedding. A lot of my friends from work were there, The Enforcer brought her bff who I also know and love, and another of my work friends brought her bff who I'd never met before but who was also a lot of fun. We had a whole table to ourselves except for one other couple who seemed really uncomfortable around us... Oops :( Sorry guys! Hopefully we weren't too weird for them.

Me, Tabouli, and The Enforcer

After our one normal photo with Tabouli, The Enforcer kept thinking of weird pictures she wanted us to take. So here you guys go: 

She was pretending to be our adopted child

The Enforcer as an Evil Puppeteer

Reverse Prom; I'm channeling the possessive boyfriend, John is trying to be the oppressed date.

John, by the way, was the life of the party. Everyone knew he meant business when he started rocking out on the dance floor to Call Me Maybe, stone cold sober. His title as Dancing King was cemented when it turned out he knew most of the moves to Thriller... He was such a good sport, despite most of the photographers probably thinking he was our gay bff. 

And here are some pictures I got from the reception itself. We are goofballs.

The Enforcer realized she still had the garter in her purse during the reception... Oops.

My friend Vector pretending to be the T-Rex that she'd just colored. They had an extra coloring book from the kids' tables and figured we were the table most likely to use it... CORRECT.

There was a photo booth, too! 

The big group shots just ended up as chaos, and at the far left is the rookie attempt John and I made. Not very creative.

 These are the good ones: Left, John as pirate pharaoh, me as Space Fireman (oh the irony). Notice our take on American Gothic at the bottom. Middle, John and Vector's boyfriend tried to have a little bro-time, but Vector suggested we photo bomb them. halfway through. Right, a slightly more successful group shop.

So... VERY long story short (thanks for bearing with me guys, kudos if you made it through), it was a really fun day! I want to thank Tabouli SO MUCH for having the faith and confidence in me to let me do her bridesmaids' makeup. It was such a rewarding experience and I learned a lot from the opportunity.

Thank you Tabouli, we all love you, and congratulations! 

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils in Ether and Desperation

Hi Guys,

I picked up a few new things as a birthday present to myself back in June, and my haul included a three of Urban Decay's new 24/7 Glide-On Eye pencils! Their 24/7 formula has been a favorite of mine for many years, and I was excited to try out the new formula as well as some of the new colors! Today I'm showing you Ether and Desperation. Ether is a greyed purple with rainbow shimmer, while Desperation is a matte, medium-toned mushroom grey shade. To me, Ether is indistinguishable from UD's old eyeliner formula; it goes on true to color, is smudgeable for about 30 seconds, and then dries down quickly. Desperation is a little different; it seems that the matte shades are much creamier and more inclined to go on smudgey. It's perfect for creating a soft smokey eye, but I would recommend making sure you have a sharp point to get a sharp line with this one; you may even have to go over the original line a couple of times to get very dark color from this one (although it isn't meant to be a dark grey). I don't mind the texture of this one, but if you are used to the firmer formula of the shimmer pencils, you may be disappointed by the texture of the matte shades in the collection.  The pencils are $19 a piece.

Here are some swatches; Desperation is on the left, Ether on the right. I've done a heavy swatch, one pass on the left, and then I smudged a second swatch to the right. Enlarge this to see that shimmer all up in Ether! Gorgeous.

In the following pictures, I'm wearing Desperation on the top lash line, and Ether on the lower lash line. Both were applied with relatively light pressure, and I smudged Ether lightly since I didn't want too much color. It's possible to get it as heavy as the swatch in the photo above.

Natural light:

Desperation

Ether

And here's some indoor light:

Summary: I'm really happy wit both of these shades, although I could see how Desperation's texture could throw someone for a loop if they weren't expecting it to be as soft as it is. Neither one budged after application and I had no problem with the color fading before I was ready to remove it at the end of the day. They're both really wearable colors; Desperation definitely fills a niche in my collection, it's a great neutral daytime shade, and Ether adds a fun pop of shimmer without being too dark or bright.

Have any of you tried some of Urban Decay's new eyeliner shades? I'm happy with the three I picked up and have my eye on a few more as well! Hopefully I'll get to show you all the third color I have in the near future.

Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner

I love eyeliner as much as the next girl, but I seem to be such a klutz when it comes to applying it. I can't seem to get liquid liners to look sharp and professional for the life of me, and I generally smudge pencil liners to clean up my less-than-sharp edges. I had heard good things about Maybelline's Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner, part of their Eye Studio line, so I decided to take the plunge and give it a try. I haven't had much experience with gel liners, but thought maybe this was the missing piece of my eyeliner puzzle... 

I purchased Charcoal, since I figured a dark grey with some shimmer would be more forgiving (and easier to wear during daytime) than a true black. I'm a big fan of my dark gunmetal grey eyeliners!

As you can see, the product comes in a glass jar and a brush is included. The brush is actually quite decent, and it's what I used to test the product with, although I'm sure a higher quality brush with a longer handle would make the product that much easier to apply.

You'll be able to see some of the shimmer below; I've swatched it heavily on the bottom, and blended it out some on the top.

So, how did it work for me? I found this eyeliner long lasting; it didn't budge after it set. Application wasn't a piece of cake, but it wasn't difficult, either. I think with some practice I could get used to this product, and I'm sure people who aren't as eyeliner-challenged as I am would be quite pleased with this product. 

Here I am wearing the eyeliner on two separate days as part of two separate looks:  

With my first look...

And the second!

Another angle from the second look. Sorry for the stray hairs!

Summary: I would recommend this product, and I'd definitely be open to trying more colors. That being said, I don't know that it's reached holy grail status; I'm still interested in trying other gel eyeliner formulas to see if I find one that's foolproof even for me! It seems easiest to create a thin wing with this product; maybe when I work up my nerve I'll be able to build up the line and create bolder eyeliner looks!

Have you guys tried this product? What do you think of different types of eyeliner: liquid, gel, pen, pencil, etc...? 

Guess what I found for $4 each...!?

I know I haven't been blogging as much as I want to lately. As usual, there are myriad circumstances conspiring to keep me from doing the things I enjoy (like keep up this blog and keep up on everyone else's blogs)! But I do like popping in and catching up with you guys when I can! Mostly I've just been busy with work and trying to get back into the swing of things with school. I've also been getting sick a lot! Infections, colds, you name it. I blame stress. I've also been trying not to splurge on makeup, and unfortunately I find myself using the blog as a way to justify unnecessary purchases... And let's face it, it's not as fun to blog about products you've had for years as opposed to new and exciting things. Do you guys find yourselves using your blogs to justify purchases? How have you lovely ladies been? Anything new and exciting in your lives?

Anyway, I stumbled upon a great deal at my local Sephora inside JCP that I had to share with you guys... Illamasqua nail polishes on sale for $4 each! I don't own any Illamasqua nail polishes, since they're normally just too pricey for me to justify. My "high end" nail polish collection before this find consisted of 2 Butter London shades and 2 NARS shades (one of which I bought on sale at TJMaxx). I'll shell out $25 for a lipstick every once in awhile, but $16 on a nail polish? Still can't wrap my head around it. At any rate, I saw some Illamasqua nail polishes unceremoniously piled up in a clear plastic bucket on the sale shelf and pounced. There were about five shades available, and I snagged Viridian, a duochrome featuring teal with a flash of purple, and Bacterium, a yellowed taupe with a violet/silver thread running through it. I didn't have the heart to destroy my current manicure (Ginger Lily, one of my favorite Orly shades) to swatch these just yet, but I wanted to let you guys know since this is somewhat time sensitive! I have no idea if these shades are on sale at all Sephora locations, or just the Sephora inside JCP stores, but it's worth investigating if you've been wanting to try out Illamasqua nail polishes, or if the sale colors were ones you'd wanted to pick up! Here are some pictures of the bottles...

Bacterium

Viridian

In the boxes! 

Has anyone else found some great deals lately? I am still pretty stoked about these, I can't wait to try them out in a couple of days!

A year of makeup.

Hi Guys,

No look or review for you today. But I saw a really interesting video that I wanted to share with you guys. They applied a year's worth of makeup onto a model in one session and filmed it. It's fascinating to see how unnatural and grotesque it is when worn all at once. It's definitely made me think a little bit about what I put on my face!

You can read a little bit about the making of the video and the inspiration here. Isn't that crazy?

I'm curious what you guys think of that! Does it make you re-think wearing makeup every day or inspire you to wear less makeup? I don't know that it will change how often I apply makeup, but it does make me think a little bit harder about whether or not I really need to be putting so much unnatural stuff on my face every single day. And not that any of us would apply this much makeup in one sitting, but it also re-frames makeup as something that masks your real face; it helps me see where people who criticize makeup as something people hide behind are coming from, since it really does look like the model is wearing a mask at a certain point in the video. If nothing else, it's fascinating to see what happens if you layer that much makeup on top of itself! It's kind of horrifying.

Vintage NYE Look

Hi Guys,

I know it's a little late to be showing you my New Year's Eve look, but I've been so busy with work I haven't had much time to do fun faces for you all, so I figured I'd post photos of this since it's already been photographed. I won't give you the complete run-down of products used, mostly because I don't remember them all, but I know I did use a lot of my basics; MUFE Face & Body Make Up for the foundation, Prestige My Biggest Lashes mascara, etc...  I was inspired by a kind of 1940's/ 1950's look for this; I know you can't see my outfit, but I was wearing skinny black pencil capri pants and a faux-wrap leopard print top with a mandarin collar and little cap sleeves with my hair in curls and pearl drop earrings. I did a variation on a cat-eye and red lip to match.

The stars of the show are Meow Cosmetics eyeshadow in Ra used wet on the bottom lash line and above Urban Decay's liquid liner in Revolver on the upper lash line, and NARS lipstick in Rouge Basque.  I was going to a friend's family party, so I didn't want to do a look that was too over the top, but I still wanted to look celebratory and festive, so I gravitated towards warm golds and reds. I can't say for certain what I used on my cheeks, but I suspect it was a combination of Hard Candy blush in Pin Up, Illamasqua blush in Beg, and NARS blush in Douceur...

Yes, my barrette matches my shirt. Don't judge!

And here's one where you can really see Ra glowing on the lower lash line. Enlarge for the full effect:

Using Ra wet on the lower lash line is my new favorite thing to draw attention to eyes; it's unexpected and glows like crazy, but because it's gold it's still something that works for lots of occasions.

I know it's a bit late for a NYE look, but I'm not supposed to wear crazy makeup to work so we don't detract attention from the brides, and I am too nervous wearing lipstick around all of those expensive white dresses that I have to get all up in all day long. It's been rough guys! I love my neutrals, but it gets boring day after day when I can't pair them with a bright lip! My days off are week days, so I'm generally not doing anything too exciting then, and I've been sick on and off, too... I'm not trying to throw myself a pity party here, but part of why I've been posting less frequently (aside from being really busy) is that I don't have as much to post; I can't just take photos of my everyday manicures and looks because I'm not allowed to wear much color to work, and I've been too busy with work to have a lot of makeup play-time on the side! Oh well, once I get settled into a routine I'm sure I'll find ways to make it work. Just be patient with me until then!

Do you guys have jobs where you are required to wear understated makeup or nail colors? Do you feel like you go crazier with makeup on your days off, or that it stifles creativity even when you aren't working with those restrictions?