fbpx

Browsing tag: makeup

  • July 24, 2009

    You know how some people put on their ‘faces’ in the mornings? They go through their routines – mascara, blush, concealer, lippy, whatever. And they continually do touchups during the day – you’ll hardly ever see them with a hair out of a place or a smudge of lipstick straying past their lipline.

    Eye_make-up

    I don’t do that. I usually swipe on a bit of foundation, and either a bit of red or pink lippy – and if I’m wearing contacts, some eyeliner so my eyes don’t recede all the way into the back of my head. Sometimes if I’m in a rush I’ll skip the foundation and the eyeliner – but I’ll never go out with bare lips, because I just look like a corpse without some colour on my face (barring the permanently pink cheeks, that is!).

    But I definitely don’t present the same face to the world every day. For starters, my lip colours varies from day to day. I have a classic red lipstick, a sort of dark berry/pink thick sticky gloss (lasts forever) and a red Revlon long lasting lippy which tends to dry me out. In my uni bag is a shimmery berry gloss and in my work bag a sheer pink lip balm. If I had any sense, I’d have duplicates of everything (or just chuck my morning lippy into my bag) for touchups during the day. Instead, I end up wearing off my lippy and reapplying a totally different product/colour. If it’s a contacts day, my eyeliner wears off, and my foundation wears off, and I have an almost bare face by the end of the day. It’s slack on my part, and it’s silly to make the effort in the morning and then let it go during the day. I don’t really like mirrors, and unlike most I don’t check myself every time I go to the bathroom. It’s not uncommon for me to go most of the day without realising that my nose has started flaking from excessive nose-blowing…or worse!

  • January 4, 2009

    Beauty roundup

    Hisysfit Saving Face – 2/5

    product_1_large

    Disappointing. Hailed as a 3 in 1, tinted moisturising sunscreen, it fails on 2 out of 3 counts.

    I was really excited to try this out, thinking it would save my summer skin routine! Let’s start with the good. It’s an excellent sunblock. It’s super dry (I have never found a sunscreen that wasn’t greasy or goopy, which i can’t tolerate on my face!) and fairly thin as a liquid. However, it’s dry to the point it’s impossible to rub in. I blended it in as best as possible but still looked chalky, although it evened out my skin nicely.

    I don’t know what was up with the moisturising properties promised. My oily, sensitive skin was barely quenched by this (I almost applied a layer of moisturiser over this, but decided against). I can only imagine what normal or dry skin would feel like. Definitely do not use as a moisturiser alone.

    I don’t know how it evened out my complexion (maybe the white ghostly layer simply masked my imperfections?) but I saw NO sign of the promised tint. Nada. Zip. Come on, the stuff came out of the tube almost pure white. If it really was tinted, there would be some hint of colour there. Blatant letdown.

    Maybe I just got a bad tube. Gets two stars as I’ll kepe it around as a facial sunscreen – it did well on that count at least.

    Revlon Mineral Makeup – 4/5

    rev

    I’ve been using Loreal Bare Naturale, which has the brush built into the lid – it’s a mini kabuki and it’s quite big and a little stiff, making it somewhat unwieldy. The foundation is nice enough, good texture, good coverage, but I can’t really tell at the moment because it’s too light! It’s just a smidge too pale for my summer skin but the next step up was too dark. So I’ll write it up later in the year.

    For now I have my Revlon mineral makeup, which I find easier to apply. The brush is inside the lid, and you have to twist it to bring it out to its full size/length. Yes it’s annoying, but you get used to it, and the brush is nice and small for my little elf hands – I actually have control over it, rather than vice versa. I get good coverage and a nice polished look, without being chalky. I guess the best way to describe it is, my skin looks much more evened out but not overly made up, and the powder formula keeps the oil at bay.

    Estee Lauder Signature lipstick in Rich Red 4.5/5

    estee

    Man, I love the sleek, slick and flashy sites that Clinique and Estee Lauder do (like, rolling your mouse over the different shades to see what the colours look like properly) but they are a PAIN to capture. You can’t save a pic, as the colours don’t come out. I had to screengrab this shot and edit it 🙂

    I’m using this lipstick, and it’s a big departure for me. I wear glosses. In berry shades. My staple has been a random $4 NYX deep pink and Revlon Colorstay Gloss in some kinda red wine type shade.

    So to have non sticky, non shiny lips is weird for me. Instead I have matte, creamy lips in a very vamp, movie star red. I always thought a red would suit my colouring, I’m pale with dark hair (very vampy) and tend to play up my lips as I have no eyelids or lashes to speak of. I like a strong lip with some black eyeliner.

    I don’t know if I just need to get used to the texture and colour of this lipstick (it feels wonderful, goes on creamy and just the right amount, AND smells amazing). It’s a beautiful true red in the tube (blue based, of course, but still comes out so very properly red) and I’m just not used to a real red lip!

  • December 6, 2008

    product fiend

    Being a poor, tightwad student I spend next to nothing on myself. I don’t hardly drink, I don’t buy makeup, I buy sukin cleanser (fairly cheap “natural” face wash from Farmers), though I do splurge on Body Shop moisturiser, and hardly ever buy clothes (and never at full price). I’d say my one vice is food, and by that I mean we’re not eating toast and noodles every day and we drink a lot of milk. We actually eat meat almost every day and usually buy ice cream or biscuits or chocolate for a treat every week.

    Anywho, the point I’m getting to is that a lot of the best stuff is insanely expensive. $30 nail polish, $100, 200 and 300 cleansers and moisturisers, eye creams and masks from $40… Of course not all of it is worth it, but some are real gems worth every penny.

    My favourite products (none of which I paid for, but got to try out through work, thankfully)

    denny

    Leighton Denny nail polish. $29, I think. Beautiful colours and amazing staying power (almost a week, minimal chips). Great texture, easy to go on, just the right thickness and amount, just looks effortlessly amazing – even with my clumsy application. I only use about two cheap nail polishes which work just fine, so I’ve never understood who buys expensive stuff. But now I can understand why.

    asmvtwb

    Dermalogical multivitamin thermafoliant (over $100). It’s a bit gimmicky, meant to combat the ‘chemical reactions’ taht start the ageing process, BEFORE they start. Bollocks I say. Plus it heats upon contact with skin, and apparently can be used dry, convinced? It is indeed self warming, which is a bit weird but I quickly got used to it and found it quite comforting – kinda like feeling the sun on your face or getting a nice warm cuddle. It’s quite gentle and immediately my skin felt plumper, smoother, hydrated and just superduper awesome. Not keen to try it dry, but whatever floats your boat. Probably good to use once or twice a week.

    aaa-drhauschka-soothing-mask-2

    Dr Hauschka soothing mask. It’s the first product from this line I’ve ever tried. They’re quite famous and meant to be wonderful for sensitive skin. Shit yeah. This mask is a godsend. You’re meant to leave it on for 20min after cleansing, or alternatively apply a thin layer under moisturiser. I slathered it on, but it quickly sunk into my skin leaving very little to wipe off after 20min. I just left it as is without putting moisturiser on over the top. My face drunk it in, I tell you, and while I don’t know if my skin looks much different today, it certainly feels better. Less dry and irritated and not itchy at all.

    Now….to find something to shrink my humongous pores…

  • November 5, 2008

    I’ve decided to use some of my poster money to buy a new foundation. I’ve been using the old one forever (way, way, way past its shelf life, which can’t be good for my skin). Specifically, a mineral foundation.

    I was looking at the body shop’s version today. Normally you flip the product over and the label unfolds like an accordion for you to read the ingredients. Not this time. I like to know what I’m putting on my face. But I get the feeling since Loreal bought them they’ve been doing shady things and don’t want us to know what actually goes into their products…

    When I asked the salesgirl what ingredient provided the SPF protection in the foundation, she looked at me as if I’d sprouted a third eye.

    Plus given the fact that the application brush cost more than the foundation itself, needless to say I decided not to purchase there.