This one's a little off the beaten path for me...

...but this week, we're talking men's skincare. More specifically, we're talking Kyoku for men, which is also known as "the best skin care products your guy probably isn't using."

I'd not ever heard of this line before, but was presented the opportunity to try it, and so I set about researching it, so I'd know more about it. Synopsis from birchbox.com - Kyoku for Men founder Asim Akhtar visited the Japanese hillside village of Yuzuri Hara. He was amazed to find that the inhabitants were not only remarkably youthful looking, but also lived longer than their Western counterparts. He learned that their secret was a combination of diet, as well as skincare with natural ingredients, such as sake, adzuki beans, and volcanic ash. Akhtar began incorporating those same ingredients in to his own life, and later in to the skin care line that he founded.

Neat, right? So if you're someone who prefers their products to be a little more natural, these products will be right up your alley!

Before I go much farther, the glamour shot;

I dig this, because if there were ever any products that were custom designed to give a guy, these are probably them, right? Nice packaging. Sleek. Clearly labeled, easy to understand, easy to use. Tailor made for the manly men in your life.

The two products that you see are the BDY-SC and BDY-BL, or body scrub and body lotion, both in the "Wind" scent. I gave these products two tries, once myself, and once on my absurdly dry husband. Serious, the man's got some real problems with dry skin. What I found out;

I love this stuff, you guys.

The body scrub will do the duty of body wash, but has some extra scrubbing power. Your guy might hear "body scrub" and think of that peach stuff of yours that they see in the shower sometimes, but nope. This will multi-task - you're clean, you're confident, you're on with your day.

The lotion does a little double duty too! This reminded me of one of my very favorite lotions, (Trader Joe's "A Midsummer Night's Cream", if you're curious), and I don't bestow such compliments on many lotions! Went on quickly, absorbed smoothly, and didn't leave me feeling slippery or greasy! Notice that those are all buzzwords that guys will LOVE, right?

And as for my salamander of a husband, the man with the chronically dry skin? Dude normally can't go a full 8 hours without reapplying lotion. Not even kidding. One application of Kyoku BDY-BL, he made it a full DAY before complaining of dryness! A full 24 hours! I'd pay nearly any amount of money for that!

As for scents - these are scented products. And they're musky enough that you'll know that you're using a mans product. But, you'll be pleased to find out that the scent dissipates pretty quickly, so you won't find yourself with people asking you if you inadvertently put on your husband or boyfriends cologne that morning. And as for your guys - they can get away with muskier scents, but it also layers well. By the time my husband got to the portion of the day where he was putting on cologne, the scent layered nicely in with his chosen cologne.

The only vaguely negative thing I have to say, honest, is a really small problem. The PUMP. The representative for Kyoku that I had the opportunity to speak to said that they were really excited for the pumps, because they believed that it would help the customers get the most product from the container, therefore getting maximum bang for the buck. And I believe that he's right in saying that - I think that they will. But I also think that the pump quality leaves a little to be desired. I received the lotion, the scrub and two pumps in the mail. Neither pump was labeled to go with a specific product. The pump I selected to go with the lotion was sealed really well. Like, it took me several minutes worth of standing there and turning for the pump to open. Meanwhile, the pump I put in to the scrub was sealed off so tight, and took so much effort to get a modest amount of scrub out, that I kind of started to question whether or not I actually knew how to use a pump at all. It was that bad!

Pump aside, I was tremendously impressed with their products, and have already been scouting out the list on Amazon for others I want to try! The Kyoku For Men products come in four scents - Earth, Wind, Fire and Water, and are available for sale on Amazon. They also have a skin care line for sale on Amazon, as well as an anti-acne line available from Kyoku.com. In the interest of full disclosure, I was provided these products in exchange for my review, however, all opinions are my own.

Ooh! I almost forgot! If you purchase any of the Kyoku For Men products on amazon, put in promo code "SRAFB3GT", and take $1 off each product! Thanks, Kyoku!

I'm well moisturized, and working on my video skills...

This week, I get well moisturized, and continue working on my videos! I don't feel like I've got a house that's very conducive for videoing - the best places to sit and film a video, have warm lights! And that's no good!

At any rate, this week we're discussing moisture, courtesy of our friends at Olay!

First up, the Olay Fresh Effects "Long Live Moisture!" moisturizer. This moisturizer promises the "rich hydration of a lotion, with the light feeling of a gel". And that's mostly exactly what you get. If you've got dry skin, or just otherwise like a richer feeling lotion, this ain't your guy. If you want a light, basic moisturizer that will absorb quickly and get you on your way, and you don't mind scents - you have met your match, right here!

Next up, on this Olay moisture-stravaganza, the "Bright On Schedule!" eye roller. I talked about this once via text, back in the Spring (read it here.), so gave it a video try, just to really cover all my bases.

Similar to it's sister "Long Live Moisture!", "Bright On Schedule!" is a light, fast absorbing, all purpose eye cream. If you need your eye cream (or moisturizer) to be doing something specific, if you like the feeling of a richer, creamer lotion, Fresh Effects is not the line for you.

If you need a basic, all purpose moisturizer or eye cream, and you don't mind scents, you'll be very happy with either of these products! If you need or want a richer moisturizer, or you need something specific from your products (sensitive skin, anti-aging, etc.), or you're bothered by scents, you need to keep walking past these two.

So, I like to think I'm doing alright with this video thing, for being a new kid at it at least. I'll keep trying. ;)

See you later, my lovelies!

I'm back, baby!

Sometimes, I'm a little optimistic. Last Monday, I had surgery, and told myself that while I was laid up, I'd be able to update every. day. I didn't count on that it was going to take me four days to feel like anything resembling a normal human being again, though!

At any rate, I'm here! AND, I decided to be adventurous this afternoon, and I tried my hand at recording a Youtube worthy video. I'll share it here, because otherwise how would you all know about it, but also, I realized afterward that there were a few things I wanted to speak to in the video, and didn't, so sharing it again here gives me a chance to address those things.

One of the things I wanted to address, that I didn't remember to:

When to use it. I've heard some people say that they apply foundation, and THEN apply primer, because they like the pore blurring effect of it. In my own personal experience, applying foundation and then primer over the top, number one - won't get you the nice, even surface, and two - it's only tended to draw attention to my pores. Like the silicone or whatever is in the primer, kind of broken up my foundation a little. The coverage wasn't as good or as smooth afterward, and the powder cosmetics I applied over the top, tended to grab really hard.

In my own personal experience, not all primers are created equal. I've got several primers in my bag right now (and my eye on a few more that may be joining us with some Christmas money after the holidays!!), and they're not the same. But Maybelline Baby Skin is a goodie. Goes on nice and silky smooth, evens out skin - without creating any sort of mask like feel, doesn't settle in to any fine lines or wrinkles, and that little bit you get in that container goes a long way! For $9 US, you'll get a lot of milage out of that little green container! I'm not shy about telling you guys if I wouldn't buy something again, but in this case, I totally would. If you want to talk about really getting some bang for the buck in the drug store, this guy fits the bill!

There is a second version of Baby Skin, which is supposed to give a more luminous finish, but I don't believe that version is for sale in the US just yet.

Wet N Wild Wednesday!

Today for Wet N Wild Wednesday, I've swatched a few polishes for your viewing and dancing pleasures. Wet N Wild, when it comes to their nail polishes at least, delivers exactly what they say they will - the colors in the bottle look exactly like they'll look on your nails, you are promised one stroke application (which OK, you don't exactly get that...), and five days of "chip free wear". And you'll get five, and not a second more! It's actually kind of weird, it's like there's some sort of timer in the polish, or something. You won't make it six days, but you'll get a full five. And if you're looking for a more "natural" alternative to typical polish, this is your guy. Wet N Wild advertises that their polish is, "Toluene, phthalate, and formaldehyde free".

Batter up! First up to the plate, "On A Trip". This is a cheerful, mid-tone lilac. I could see this being fun to wear in the spring. No sparkle, no glitter. This is one that especially makes me object to that "one stroke application" thing, because it was still a little streaky after two strokes. I could have stood for three, I think.

In action. Mid-tone lilac, what you see is what you get.

This polish also holds the dubious distinction of being the polish that showed me that photographing nail polish is harder than I give it credit for being! My digital camera overexposed every shot I took, so I switched to my iPad, and even still, this is a pinch darker than the polish looks in reality. Never work with children, animals, or nail polish? :D

And that contraption you see the polish on is a swatch wheel, I got a big package at the beauty supply for $6, so what you're seeing is what the polish would look like with a white base coat. If you need to swatch your own polish, or just want to practice your nail art before you go for it on your hands, I got this one at Sally's!

Next up is "Through The Grapevine" a polish that worked hard to restore my faith in photographing nail polishes. A mid-toned, cool toned, pink-y purple, this one is pretty striking on. And this one has enough opacity to it that you could almost get away with one coat. Unless of course, you're like yours truly, and want more of a color payoff, in which case, go ahead. I don't judge. :D

Wet N Wild, by my own admission, is a tricky line to get on board with. They have their hits, and they have their misses. And their misses are usually catastrophic level misses (I've got an eyeliner that seems to have no pigment what so ever, that I'll offer as proof of that...), but when they do hit it, they knock it out of the park. I was super impressed with this color in particular. This would be a steal at two or three times the price!

It got it's own spot on the color wheel too. Gorgeous, right? But this is another Spring or Summer color, that'd look smashing with a tan!

Last up to the plate, "Under Your Spell", an absolutely perfect color for Fall this time, a deep red, that reads almost to a deep bronze, with a slight red glitter running through it.

You know one of the things I've always appreciated about Wet N Wild? Even though their price point is inexpensive, it doesn't look it. That polish, or either of the other two, could turn up in any nail salon, and you'd never question it. I think that's fantastic.

At any rate, this is the gorgeousness that is "Under Your Spell", which I totally am. I'm not rocking it right now - my nails are too long to also be that dark*, but I kind of can't stop staring at it.

*I'm a big believer in balance in nails - I don't feel like long nails should be dark colors like this. Your milage may vary of course, if you want to have long, duck footed nails that are jet black, than you do you, and be proud of who you are. It's just not my scene.

 "Under Your Spell" takes it's turn on the big wheel;

You can see a little bit of that fine red glitter running through it in this pic. It's really fine, you won't feel like you're trying to look 17, rocking some glitter again. It's just a little extra sass.

With these colors - I swatched them on white, up against white fabric, so you might be wondering what they'll look like on you, if you're any darker than...say, Snow White. Worry not - each of these colors go on really true to the color in the bottle. Even "On A Trip", which the swatch picture didn't do justice, came out the color of the bottle in real life.

Some of these, I see being a little more seasonally appropriate than others. Like, I think "Through The Grapevine" would look fantastic with a summer tan, "On A Trip" is a great Spring color, "Under Your Spell" is a great Fall/Winter color. But if you've got someone in your life that loves to paint their nails, and likes to add a lot of color to their collection, the Wet N Wild Megalast nail colors are a great drugstore brand to start with!

Within the next few weeks, I hope to get through a lot of these colors, and collect all the pictures in one spot (a swatch collection, if you're familiar with blogger vernacular). I also hope to be getting around and investigating some possible dupes for these colors to let you guys know about those. I make no promises (naturally...), but I do know OPI has some really exciting purples, there's probably some dupe potential in there.

I've not been doing great at keeping up with you guys, but I hope for that to change. I'll be talking skin care coming up in the next few weeks, going to be looking for some dupes for some of these nail colors, and I've got some exciting eyeshadow I can't wait to dig in to. We'll talk soon, I promise!

Later, lovelies!

When last we were all together...

We learned that the good people at NYX Cosmetics have never met a pale person. But boy howdy, the staff at Rimmel sure has!

So I did a bit of a "second verse, same as the first" gig here. You'll see the NYX Stay Matte But Not Flat powder foundation, Enigmatic Illuminator, and Matte Bronzer in light. The ELF Brow Powder also makes it's debut appearance in the testing.

Here I am, washed, prepped and primed. I was recently part of a product test for a company I won't name, just to keep myself covered, and I used one of the face washes that I tested, the Olay Long Live Moisture! moisturizer from the last test, and L'Oreal Miracle Blur just like last time as well. And yes, I'll be waxing my brows in the morning. :D

I used the Rimmel Stay Matte mousse foundation, that everyone raves about. I used Light Ivory, which is their second lightest shade.

Is much better, yes? I initially was using my beauty blender, and couldn't get it blended down enough that I was happy - I've got weird flakiness in my t-zone that never goes away (serious, I'm freshly exfoliated, still look that flaky. It never leaves me!), and the beauty blender seemed to be drawing attention to it, rather than detracting from it. So I kicked it old school, got my foundation brush out, and smoothed it down as much as I could with that.

Then I added in the bronzer, powder, whole shebang, and got this; I messed this pic up a tiny bit, because I wanted to check my contouring work, so I turned to get a bit more of a straight on effect. It also gave me a little shadow. And I tried to brighten it up, but couldn't brighten without it looking overly fake. 

See, a little shadow-y. But also a considerably better match for my skin than the NYX was, I think we can all agree!

I've now had this foundation on about 5 hours, and I'm not yet confident in it's long term wear - I've got some settling in to the large pores around my nose. It's not visible unless you're looking really close up, which of course, no one but me would. But the problem remains.

I used Light Ivory, which is the second lightest foundation they make, and guys? If you are a pale girl...meet the good people at Rimmel. This is pale enough that there were times that it started to feel a little kabuki mask line. I really had to work with it, to get it where I was satisfied. This matches my neck and all, but in truth, I maybe even could have stood one darker.

So right now, I'm giving this a solid "probably". It's got full coverage - I don't think anything is showing through this stuff! It's matte, exactly like it advertises. It comes in a wide variety of shades, feels light going on, but really stands up to the test. The "long lasting" issue is the only one that's stopping me from fully, enthusiastically signing off on it. The settling in to the pores is giving me a little pause. But I'll keep testing, and let you know soon!

See you later, my lovelies!

Road Testing a Look...

Also known as "I'm sure glad I trusted my instincts on this one!" Tuesday.

My husband's company Christmas party is this coming weekend. I love it. It's one of a handful of times a year where I just get to go all out, full fledged, no holds barred, glam. Yes, I'm sure you're surprised to find out, being a part time grown up like yours truly, doesn't allow much opportunity for glamour.

So, since it's one of my few chances, I take it. New dress, get my hair done, new makeup, the whole nine. This year, while I was out on Black Friday, I picked up a few things, with an eye toward them being part of my Christmas party look. Instinct told me I should probably test 'em out, so tonight I grabbed up a few, and gave it a dry run.

Here's my guys. All by NYX. In this pic, you see:

Stay Matte But Not Flat liquid foundation in Nude

Stay Matte But Not Flat powder foundation in Nude

Matte Bronzer in Light

Illuminator in Enigmatic

Cream Blush in Boho Chic

The SMBNF power foundation is actually perfectly fine as a foundation in it's own right, just for this particular occasion, I wanted more coverage. Enter the liquid foundation. I was intimidated by the Illuminator too, because it was pink, and I typically buy illuminators in gold. And it was light pink, and illuminators never give off much color in the first place, but even still. Sometimes you get freaked out, know what I mean?

Just so you can see what I'm workin' with, here I am, washed, prepped and primed:

I used the Olay Fresh Effects mattifying face wash, and "Long Live Moisture!" moisturizer, along with L'Oreal Revitalift Miracle Blur (Oil Free). Not bad. Some big pores, a little ruddiness, nothing major and tragic to cover, right?

I get out my Beauty Blender, the SMBNF liquid foundation, and go to town. I pretty quickly realize the error of my ways. In fact, I took a picture of my realizing it, in my bathroom. I don't like to take pictures in my bathroom if I can help it, the lighting is a little warm, but even still. This is no exaggeration;

Do you see the problem I have? As in, I went from "a little redness and some big pores, but nothing terrible..." to looking like a jaundice patient?! In one round with a beauty blender?!

That's the SMBNF liquid foundation only. That's it! But for some reason, at this point, I didn't stop, I kept going. I dutifully powdered, and highlighted, and contoured, and bronzed, and blushed, and did everything I could. I got it up to here;

Yeah. That's what I got to. And this isn't even a super great picture, as quality pictures go, but I like it because at the bottom, you can see the light hit my collarbone, and you can see just how wildly off in color and tone this Stay Matte But Not Flat foundation is.

The kicker? "Nude" is the second to lightest shade they make in this line. Kid you not. It's this dark, and it's the second to lightest shade that they make. Whoever is in charge of shades for the SMBNF line...apparently doesn't know any pale people. This is madness.

And oddly, Boho Chic, the cream blush? Was one of the darkest my CVS had. I had to resort to just stippling it on with my finger, and not even attempting to blend it, just to be able to see it!

Although the bright spot, if you want to look for one? The Enigmatic illuminator? The one I was so intimidated by? I didn't notice any difference between it, and any other illuminator I've ever used.

So a foundation that's bonkers, it's so dark (the formulation is nice, it's just a shame that no one that's any lighter than, say, a Kardashian sister, can possibly use it), a blush that has almost nada for pigmentation, but a nice illuminator. I wasn't exactly batting 1000 on my last NYX shopping trip, was I?

Sure glad I tested this before the day of the party! Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got an Ulta reciept to find! Until next time, my lovelies!

My Black Friday Haul!

I had my Black Friday haul out on the kitchen table, admiring my handiwork, and I snapped a quick pic so I could share it with everybody!

Mario Badescu Skin Care kit - $10 at Ulta, and came with deluxe size samples of the Enzyme Cleansing Gel, Glycolic Acid Toner, Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater, Peptide Renewal Serum, Seaweed Night Cream, and a packette of the Ceramide Eye Gel. I'm not terribly well versed with Mario Badescu skin care - but for $10, this seems like a stellar way to introduce myself to the line.

And then I went a little NYX crazy, and bought;

Matte lipstick in Alabama. This looks like a lovely, brown toned red. People talk about how everyone needs either an orangey red, or a blue toned one. I find I do better with the brown tones, myself. My skin isn't particularly warm or cool (I say I'm more neutral), so that's probably why.

I also got the Soft Matte Lip Creams, in Milan and San Paulo. San Paulo looks like a medium/deep pink, with Milan very similar, but coming in a few notches lighter. I've never tried either color, but I have tried the soft matte lip cream before. They go on with a doe foot applicator, like a lipgloss would, but dry to a nice stain. If that dry feeling isn't your thing, keep a lip balm handy. The bonus, of course, to the stain, is that they last longer!

Also, I got the Jumbo Eye Pencil in Sparkle Nude. By the by, if you like the jumbo eye pencils, CVS has a lot of them for 50% off right now, which made this little find a whole $2.50!

I stepped a little out of my zone on this one, but got the pressed Illuminator powder, in Enigmatic. Now, a pressed illuminator isn't the part of it that's unusual for me, but Enigmatic is a nice, girly pink tone, which is the unusual part. Typically, when I'm in the market for illuminators, I go for something more in a gold tone. We'll see how well I like this one! If you're wondering why one might need an illuminator powder, it's the "highlight" portion of the "highlight and contour". :)

And lastly, the "Stay Matte But Not Flat" foundation, in Nude. I've been a dyed in the wool BB cream girl for a while, so this will be unusual. But I'm going to my husbands company Christmas party next weekend, and wanted more of a polished look than BB cream might give.

I also got a Too Faced "Beauty Experts Darlings" kit. For $20, this kit included deluxe sized samples of the Chocolate Soleil matte bronzer, La Creme lip cream in Naked Dolly, Better Than Sex mascara, and Shadow Insurance eye shadow primer. I'm not sure which one I'm the most excited to try! The Chocolate Soleil is dark enough that it makes me nervous, but it smells delicious, so it's a toss up. I bought it for the mascara, but who knows?

And lastly - you know it, you love it, you've probably got some in your own bathroom, TIGI Dumb Blonde shampoo and conditioner. It was a deal I couldn't refuse. Normally $18 a piece, on sale for $7?! Yes please!

Look for my reviews, and with any luck, my much happier hair, coming up soon!

Later lovelies!

Revisiting an old friend...

I've done this "revisit an old friend" thing before, and was pleasantly surprised to find that I liked the color more than I did the first time. Alas, today, that is not to be the case.

Today, we're revisiting Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure nail polish in Mermaid's Tale. We chatted about this one way back in the spring (view my first post about it, here.)

Some things didn't change - it's still just as visually interesting to me, and I'm still just as smitten with it. Navy, with small bits of navy glitter, as well as larger pieces of green. It's visually very interesting. I stared at it a long time before I finally bought it.

This time, I swatched the color with a base coat, where I hadn't before. I used Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails Extreme Wear in "White On" as my base coat, and 2 coats of Mermaid's Tale.

See? It's kind of neat. The problem? The problem is now as it was then - this stuff chips. Easy. I painted this at 10:00 this morning. It's now 10:00 PM, and I've already had to patch three different chips. And the most stressful thing I did all day was decide what sort of pie I wanted! Never cooked a thing!

So I want to love this, and I want to tell you guys it's good, and great and wonderful, but truth? It chips too easy. Last time, I got chips from picking my son up from school, I give it another chance, and I get chips from eating pie! No thanks!

So my verdict on this one is a solid SKIP IT. I've given it two chances now. It's way more fun to look at than it is to try to wear. Thanks anyway, Sally Hansen.

Just call me - bummed in Michigan. ;)

Later, my lovelies!

My First Time with a Beauty Blender!

Let's do this!

I've seen beauty blenders. I've seen plenty of people extolling their virtue, and how they were THE thing that everyone needed in their makeup bag, and never really bought in to their hype. Then, figuring I had to get in on the scoop (like any self-respecting beauty blogger should...), I went out and bought myself one.

And here's the little guy now! The contour you see in the middle is, I assume, designed to make it easier to hold, and the slightly pointed end is designed to make it easier to get in and around your nose, and eyes.

When you get a beauty blender, the first thing you do is get it wet. Squeeze it in your hand under water, similar to how you'd do with a kitchen sponge, if you were going to clean off your counters. Now this step is important, because without it, the blender will simply begin to absorb the makeup, without much of it getting to your face. And it getting to your face is kind of the whole point, right?

And much like a kitchen sponge, once wet, those buggers grow!

Now at this point, you'll effectively use this like a makeup "stamp". Dot some foundation on your face, like so:

(If we're being technical, that's actually Garnier BB cream, original formula in Light. At any rate...)

Rather than just rubbing the blender over your face, as you would with a traditional style, old school sponge, you'll actually...well, stamp it. Put it down in a location with color, pick it up, put it down in a different location with no color, where you want there to be color. See, I debated making this a video, because this is strange to describe. Maybe one day I'll get to it. 

At any rate, here's a quick collage of the blender in action.

Stamping in action. Pick it up. Put it down. Repeat until you're covered.

Speaking of covered, the people that extoll the virtues of the beauty blender are always quick to go to the coverage that it gives. And I'm not ready to get that excited on it yet. It's pretty good - I got the same amount of coverage that I typically get, on a little less than half the product, and I came out of it with clean fingers. So, I'm in the "Good, not great." camp so far. Which will probably change as I get more experienced.

Post "beauty blender" coverage photo;

I was a little embarrassed when I realized I hadn't smiled in a single photo. :) Pretty good coverage, maybe even a little better than I typically get. And I'm wearing a BB cream too, which they aren't exactly known for their spectacular coverage to begin with. You guys saw my original pictures, you know what I was working to cover up, too. :)

So I'm still in the "good not great" camp, but I'm getting there. I think I'd like to try it with a full fledged foundation. If looking at my pictures has convinced you, and you've decided you need a beauty blender in your life, you can find them pretty much anywhere you can buy makeup, and at all different price points. Mine cost $5 at Meijer, and I know Sephora carries them as well (although I'm confident not for $5!) According to the instructions on mine, cleaning is as easy as mild soap and water!

See you soon, gorgeous!

Black Friday!

Just wanted to do a quick check in with you guys! If you're not shopping on Black Friday, you should probably plan on it, just for the beauty goodies!

Ulta is going bananas on Black Friday. Or, what is rapidly becoming Black Thursday, because they'll have most of these deals live on Thanksgiving Day. Pretty excited for a lot of that stuff, honest. :)

But if drug stores are your jam, CVS will have all NYX lip products on sale for $3.88, and with each purchase, you get a $3 coupon to use on your next purchase of anything at CVS. They don't carry every lip color NYX has, I've compared their displays to being a little more like "NYX's Greatest Hits", but since you're basically paying 88 cents per lipstick, we can deal with them not having everything. :D My husband pointed out that the $3 coupon thing was really only a good deal if you planned to go back to CVS at some point, but like...who doesn't? Everybody goes back to CVS!

Right now at Ulta, virtually their entire drug store side is Buy One, Get One 50% off. Which seems to apply to clearance prices as well. Which prompted me to wonder of Revlon is getting rid of their ShadowLinks shadows. Does anyone know? I tweeted to ask, so far no word. Wal-Greens just put a bunch on clearance, now Ulta has a different bunch on clearance as well. For their price point, they're good shadows, I think. I've been scooping up all the on sale colors.

And for my most absurd find of the week, Ulta has One Direction makeup kits. Not a typo, not a joke. They don't even have them on their website so I can take a pic (but Macy's did; here's one, another, and a third!) Now, like I said, I think this is kind of absurd. But it's probably worth pointing out that I'm not in their target market, and I don't have a daughter I need to be shopping for. If I were personally in their target audience, or had a daughter who was, I'd probably think that that was the most exciting thing I'd seen in a while.

Ooh, one more - lots of places are thinning out their selection of Maybelline Baby Lips too. So if you're a aficionado, scoop up your favorites, they're on the move!

Just got a beauty blender, and I'm a little intimidated by it. So look for updates on that real soon. :)

Until then, my lovelies!

Wet N Wild Wednesday!

Today, I reviewed a 5 pan eyeshadow set from Wet N Wild, called "The Naked Truth". I also forgot to take a picture of it in good light, and wanted to do it justice, so I'll have to add that tomorrow.

As the name would suggest, this is a neutral palate, with colors ranging from a shimmery nude, on to a copper shade with flecks of gold glitter, that was just kind of fun to look at. Like is typical for Wet N Wild, each shade is has the suggest application site embossed in it. I did it on their application tips. I don't get intimidated by much, but the contrast between the nude, and the copper, seemed a bit tough to get through.

I shouldn't have worried! These colors went on well, blended together easily, and looked terrific. I'm now...seven hours post application, and you can see the colors beginning to fade a little, but the look is still clean, and well put together.

Wet N Wild is one of those brands that when they hit the mark, they nail it, and they really hit the mark on this one. For the price point, this is as nicely put together a palate as you'll probably find.

The one thing that never fails to irk me about Wet N Wild though? The chips to my mani that I take opening up a new polish! Three safety seals is a bit much, right? I mean, for real. Three?

The chips to my mani aside, I recommend this shadow, very enthusiastically. For their price point, it's nicely pigmented, and a well curated selection of colors put together. Two thumbs up!

The pictures. This is over the Fergie "Take On The Day" primer. Kat Von D liquid liner. As for the things that look like wings - I'm working on perfecting my wing technique. It's not great (this one was a little bit of an uneven line), but I'm getting there. :D

Right? That's a solid group of colors, for their price range. Do recommend! Will update again with the picture of the shadow, when I can get it in good lighting.

Later, lovelies!

Alright, long time no chat!

Thanks to a case of the writers block, and then a case of the forgetfulness (hey, it happens), it's been a while since we all talked, but I'm back, baby!

I own weird quantities of Almay eyeshadow. Almay doesn't put out coupons a lot, but when they do, they don't play around. And as a result, I own a lot of Almay eyeshadow. I've spoken about some of them, here. And here. And I'm back for another round!

This time, we're on pressed powder shadows. The Almay I-Color kits come in three speeds - Bold Nude, Shimmer, and Smokey. As it happens, I don't own any of the Bold Nude sets, but I do have some of the other two to show off. Because I believe, as I've pointed out before, the Almay theory of matching eyeshadow to your eye color is just a neat advertising gimmick and not much more, I actually own a wide variety of color choices.

The colors in question:

Top Left is the Shimmer-I kit, for blue eyes. Silver, a very highly pigmented navy, and light pink. This navy is by far the most pigmented of the three, and is no small trick to blend in! Almay, as you'll notice, lays out the color in a possible suggested wear pattern, if you're not terribly adept at smokey eyes.

Top Right is the Smokey-I kit for brown eyes. A bronze, a purple and gold color. This trio would probably be the one I'd be the most likely to buy in the group, just based on the colors. If I were shopping on impulse. Which I do from time to time. :D
Bottom Left is the Shimmer-I kit for hazel eyes. I like this kit a lot, because I've never seen anything like that green. Green, black and a gold toned white, and this one is VI. VID. Don't wear this if you don't want to stand out!

Bottom Right is the Smokey-I for green eyes. I like this one quite a bit too. Plum, a taupe color, and a lighter pink. This is probably the one of the group that gets me the most compliments when I wear it out.

Speaking of which, I also took pictures of me, in these eyeshadows. Each is applied over the Fergie for Wet N Wild's "Take On The Day" Primer.

Blue eyed kt. Silver across the lid, navy in the V, pink across the brow bone.

Brown eyed kit. I used the purple across the lid, bronze in the crease, and white on the browbone. See what I mean here - if I were to just go grab some Almay eyeshadows, ignoring their blue eyed/green eyed/whatevers, this is the group I'd be the most likely to purchase.

Green eyed kit. I wore this Friday night. I used green across the lid, and black in the crease. Man, I was having a great makeup day, probably the best smokey eye I'd done in some time. Then it dawned on me that a forrest green and black smokey eye was probably a smidge intense for a hockey game (we had seats in my husband's company box seats for the hockey game that night...), and I should probably dial it down. So in a stroke of genius, I took my "smudge brush", loaded it up with the golden white that comes included in the kit, and patted it over the top of much of the green. Dialed down the intensity, and made me look like a blending genius at the same time. :D Probably still far to intense for a hockey game, but whatever. Own it, girl! LOL!

This is the hazel eye kit, and this is the one I get the most compliments on. The taupe across the lid, plum in the crease, and little bit of the pink patted over the top, and along the brow bone. As a sidebar, I'm wearing ELF liquid eyeliner pencil in this one, and I think I love it. The line isn't quite as thick as I'd like, but that's probably my issue. If you can use a sharpie, you can use it. I recommend it - especially for only $1!

So with my other mass Almay reviews, I could kind of narrow it down to my "Keepers", but here...I got nothin'. These are high quality shadows, especially for the price point. Nice color payoff, richly pigmented (in the case of the navy in the blue eyed kit, almost annoyingly so...), long lasting. Great value for the price - which is between $4 and $8 USD depending on where you shop, and whether or not you find on sale.

I recommend all of them - buy according to your eye color if you like. Buy according to whatever colors strike your fancy (I kind of did...), but buy early, and buy often. :D

In a couple of these, it looks like I might have some filter action going on, but to the best of my knowledge, I do not.

See you soon, lovelies!

Like Almay? Me too! I talk about it all the time!

Bite Sized Reviews of Rimmel!

We're talking Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeshadow sticks!

I talked about one of these a little bit once before, here, and had a real Murphy's Law type of experience with it, so I was hopeful this one would go different.

I used two of the colors, Bulletproof Beige. Bulletproof Beige is a nice, shimmer gold, that if you're fair skinned, could easily double for a highlighter. Then we revisited my old nemesis, Paranoid Purple, a matte royal purple, which is also the one I had so much trouble with in the post that I linked.

Pleasantly, the trouble I had was not duplicated. I had no trouble getting the lid off, no breakage, no nothing! Great!

These are uber-simple to use - if you can use a crayon, you can use these. I was interested to see how well multiples blended together though. Awesomely, as it turns out. I'd tried the Almay stick eyeshadows (read those details, here...), and they didn't blend at ALL, and I admittedly expected the same from Rimmel.

I set the bar too low, as it turns out, because these colors stayed nicely, blended well, and layers together great!

Here's a few snaps. I ran out of daylight before I could get daylight snaps, so all of these are swatched indoors, which isn't great admittedly, but I did what I could do for you, right? :D

The product on. See what I mean? Blends really well, looks nice on.

The colors swatched on the inside of my arm. That's Bulletproof Beige closer to the camera, Paranoid Purple farther away. Bulletproof Beige could easily work as a highlighter in the Highlight and Contour step (for fair to medium skin tones. After a medium skin tone...probably not as much, hah!). Paranoid Purple also makes a nice eyeliner, if you sharpen the pencil to a nice point.

You know, had I been left to my original experience to decide whether or not I'd recommend this product to you, I'd give it a solid "...meh? Maybe?", but I was much more impressed with the product - in terms of wearability and longevity the second time around, so I'd give this a solid yes. This is an impressive product for the cost!

All that, and my google spell check is still in one piece!

We're back for Wet N Wild Wednesday!

We're back for a special Wet N Wild Wednesday, and we're talking eyeshadow!

I already pitted the Summer 2013 and Summer 2014 eyeshadow collections against each other once, here, and we're back for round two!

In this corner, "To Muse and Carouse!"

This trio is a nice matte sky blue, a matte tan, and a deeper matte brown tone.

The colors didn't have the payoff that I was expecting to see (I'll admit, I was a little nervous of the potential impact of that blue!), but they went on nicely, and blended well. In fact, when you see the color on me, you'll see it with primer, and it still didn't have a ton of color payoff. But, it's a nice set of neutrals, and you can never have enough of those, right?

In action. I try to take pictures outside when I can, but it was pretty rainy this week, so these are all taken in the light of the big window in my living room. You can see - nice, and I actually like how the color plays off my eyes a lot, but if you're wanting big, splashy color - this isn't your guy.

In this corner, from the Summer 2014 collection, "Who's Carpooling?"

This collection is a matte white, matte kelly green, and matte royal blue. And unfortunately, suffers from far FAR too much of a good thing.

These colors are all CRAZY pigmented. Make no mistake - what you see in that pan is what will show up on your eyelid. Which is FINE, if you need a great matte royal blue, or kelly green. And had I been in the market for either one, I would have been thrilled. As matte kelly green and matte royal blue go, they're top notch. Seeing this much fire power in a drug store brand is truly impressive.

But unfortunately, everybody doesn't want all fire power all the time. I was just telling someone else about this, and I made the comparison to cooking with jalapeno. You don't cook full blast, all jalapeno, all the time, right? That's kind of what this palate suffered from. It needed some...something to dilute it. A little shimmer never hurt nobody!

And as if parsing down all this fire power wasn't enough, there was the problem that the minute I tried to blend these to dilute them, they started going EVERYWHERE. Let me start at the beginning.

I use my primer (Fergie "Take On The Day", also by Wet N Wild), and apply the white all over. Things are going swimmingly. I decide to follow my own color scheme rather than the Wet N Wild suggestion (royal blue across the lid, green in the crease, white to the brow), and decide that I'll go green across the center of the lid, and blue on the outside. I battle through the FOUR safety stickers Wet N Wild applies, and finally reach the product. White all over, great. Dip my brush into the green, apply to the lid. Ooh, boy. You guys, I may as well have gone across my lid with a green sharpie. The colors beautiful, but WOW. So I panic, and decide I have to have a new plan. I swirl the green through the white, which gives me a bit of a lime color, some of which is now deposited on my undereye, despite my not-at-all-aggressive-blending, and decide I'm going to use a dense bristled eyeshadow brush, and the blue liner, to give myself a pseudo eyeliner line.

I finally gave up, and decided I didn't have time to play with this, wiped the entire thing off, and went to work virtually bare eyed. What a disaster!

In action, with the three pan shadow in question. Also taken in the light by the window in my house, because it's still rainy and gross in Michigan! :)

So the dilemma I had was this;

Summer 2013's entry, "To Muse and Carouse", is a generally solid performer. Not exciting by way of color payoff, nothing to get excited about by way of longevity, but otherwise, a solid entry.

Summer 2014's entry, "Who's Carpooling?", is a bit more erratic of a performer. REALLY exciting by way of color payoff, but the color drift also calls the longevity in to question too, right?

So, based solely on wearability, I have to give this battle to - Summer 2013! Of these two, I believe that "To Muse and Carouse" is the superior eyeshadow. If you could only pick up one, "To Muse and Carouse" would hands down be my recommendation!

I didn't forget you, my lovelies!

I didn't forget you today! However, I DID manage to chip TWO nails while trying to open a new eyeshadow! :( I wanted to do a side by side comparison of two shadows, so I'm not ready to show you that yet, and I have to fix the nail polish before I can show you THAT! Which is a long, highly punctuated way of saying I'm having technical difficulties, and I'll see you all as soon as they're fixed. Probably Wednesday. :D

I'm really conflicted this week!

This week, I took on the Almay Intense i-Color Shadow Stick. Actually, if we're being fair, I took on THREE Almay Intense i-Color Shadow Sticks. The blue eyed, hazel eyed and green eyed version. I'm really conflicted on what I think of them.

First, let's get to what we know;

These colors, like almost every other eye color in the Almay stable, is "matched" to you based on your eye color. You pick your product range according to your eye color, you're ready to go. This entry, the "shadow stick" is sort of like the Almay answer to the 5 minute face. Two shadows, paired easily in to one pencil form. Nice creamy formula, easy to use - if you learned to color in kindergarten, you can use this - no muss, no fuss.

Which is great, but the problem? If you're a person who wants some color BANG for the buck, these aren't your guy. These are nice, and soft, and go on smoothly and easily, but don't offer anything by way of exceptional color payoff. In fact, I had to swatch these on the inside of my arm, because I felt like you didn't even get much of a look at it, otherwise.

Let's go to the pictures!

The product shot. From near to far, you see the blue eyed version (a light bronze, with a darker brown. This was the highest pigmented one of the three). Then in the middle you see the hazel eyed version, a light pink, and a brown with a pink undertone. I found this one most lacking in terms of longevity. By the end of the night, it was virtually gone. And the farthest away one is the green eyed version, a silver with a cool toned purple. I found this one the most interesting, because that's not a combination you go to a lot.

More pictures!

The blue eyed stick, swatched on the inside of my arm. Pic taken in as much natural light as the overcast skies would allow me. :)

Blue eyed stick, in action. Not for nothin', but the red lip is courtesy of Jordana. Pretty magical, for the price, right? :)

Green eyes, swatched.

Green eyed stick, in action. I've been battling the elementary school plague, and I think you can really tell it in this picture. Also, there wasn't nearly as much sun as the blue eyed stick got. But, still. ;)

Hazel eyes, swatched.

I don't know about you guys, but I think my makeup game was on point on this day! ;)

So, my conflict is that these are all not like the others. The blue eyed stick is the best pigmented, and longest lasting. But the green eyed stick is the most interesting combination. And the hazel eyed version is...there? I think of the three, I'd recommend the green eyed version for interest (and it did the most to play up my own eyes) or the blue for the pigment and lasting, and I'd tell you to just all together skip the hazel version. That one's not worth it.

See you soon, my lovelies!

I'm back, baby!

So I'd promised this post over the weekend, and didn't get to it, but darn it, we're back, baby!

I've made no secret of the fact that I love Sinful Colors. A lot. Here are swatches of a few that just got their shot at my nails.

First up, "Burn Rubber" from the "Full Throttle" collection of textured polishes. This was my first foray in to textured polishes, and I'm honestly just not sure I'm a fan. There's something really contrary to the idea of not only allowing bubbles in your mani, but being really excited by them!

Here's a close up, for the texture:

See? Odd. Any other time, if my mani looked like that, I'd be upset!

The application, and performance of the polish were on par with what I'd expect from Sinful Colors, and I'm not at all disappointed in it, it just wasn't quite what I liked.

This color was from the "Full Throttle" collection, which as far as I can tell, was released Summer 2014. This collection is still languishing in stores though (my local Wal-Greens is not suffering for a shortage of Sinful Colors displays, that is for SURE!), so if you'd like to try it, you might still be able to find it.

And another!

This is "Beige of Honor" from the "Practice Your Accents" collection. I'm not totally sold on this one either. You know how when you try to buy a neutral lip color, and you get too close to your own skin tone, and it gets dubbed "concealer lips"? I feel like this was concealer nails for me. I'm a fan of contrast - I rocked those early 2000's Kelly Clarkson chunky highlights pretty hard - and I'm not especially won over by the neutral nails trend anyway, so...meh? I'm not in love, but I don't especially hate it either.

The "Practice Your Accents" collection was put together to be a nice collection for nail art, and I do agree that this would be a nice base for some nail art work.

This is another collection that came out in Summer 2014, but is currently languishing in stores, so if you're intrigued, you should still be able to find it!

This week, I've got so many treats, I'm undecided on what to talk about! I've got some Jamberry nails to try out, and new Sinful Colors, and Almay eyeshadow, and...and...and...ooh, all the makeups! :) See you at the makeup counter! :)

Today, We're Talkin'...HAIR!

Today, we're talking something we don't usually talk much about - HAIR! I...I'm not kind to mine. I heat style only rarely, but I do love me some hair color. And, I've been known to forget to comb it. Sometimes I genuinely remembered but just didn't, sometimes I can't find a comb, and sometimes, like in the case of this past weekend, I've been so darn sick, that pretty much as long as my hair wasn't hanging directly in my face, that was good enough for me. The elementary school plague struck my house early this year, and took me down with it, which it doesn't usually. As a result, I've been pretty well out of commission.

At any rate, today was the day I had to rejoin society, couldn't lay in my sick bed anymore, and I needed to clean up! So I raided my recent Ipsy bag, and found Briogeo's "Don't Despair - Repair!" deep conditioning mask, and hit the showers.

Of course, mine came in my Ipsy bag, but you can find this product full size for $26 a tub at Sephora, according to a quick google search. According to their website, pretty well any tasty treat for your hair is in here - "Fortified with ultra-hydrating avocado, sweet almond & argan oils, strengthening keratin protein, power-conditioning rosehip oil, soothing aloe, and super hair-essential vitamins B5, D, A, E and biotin. "

I immediatly noticed that this mask did not feel heavy in my hand - I've used some that felt like they could double as body butter in a heart beat. This didn't. It felt nice and silky in my hand. It also wasn't overly scented. I don't find scents especially problematic allergy-wise or anything, but I also don't want to be able to smell my hair either. :)

This absorbed in to my hair. Like, absorbed. I almost applied more, I was so convinced that it'd all disappeared! I decided to give it a shot though.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that even though it felt like it had disappeared, it had done a very capable job for my hair! Laid smooth, gave it a little shine, combed through easily. Super impressive. I had a sample, so I really don't get another shot at using it, but I can easily see where with regular use, your hair would get real happy, real fast!

Product shot:

Nice looking product, right? Again, this is a sample size, so it's smaller than the $26 Sephora version. Easy to read, will look nice in your shower. I'm a mope with pictures today, I guess, so I couldn't get a Before/After shot of my hair that was even a tiny bit satisfying to me, so I've got nothing for you this week that way. Trust - this is a tasty treat your hair will love! A little lightweight heavy weight that you need if you do a lot of color or heat styling!

I'll be back later in the week with some nail polish swatches for you! See you then!

Another special edition "Wet N Wild Wednesday"!

It's time for another special edition "Wet N Wild Wednesday" here at the Big Blog of Beauty, and this time, we're talkin' eyeshadow!

Our first entry is from the Summer 2013 collection, called "I'm Seeing Triples!" Despite the fact that everything I can find online attributes this collection to Summer of 2013, I'm still actively seeing it in stores, right up to today. So if you were on the ball and got one last summer, but want more, you're in luck. I've recently spotted these at Rite Aid, and bought this one personally at CVS.

At any rate - this collection is a matte lime, aqua and pink color, and I was initially attracted to them because they're so far outside of what I'd normally wear! :) I used Fergie Take On The Day primer, but came up with my own color scheme, because the labeling that Wet N Wild provides to give you a hint on how to use the colors...well that was bravery taken a little too far. Lime up to my eyebrows was more than I was ready to commit to! So I went with lime in the inner corner, the pink across the mid section of the lid, and the aqua in the outer corner, as well as in to the crease.

This shadow goes on great - I've read some reviews saying that it was better to use the sponge applicator, that you'd get more color pay off that way, but I had no problems with the payoff that I got. I did alternate a bit between sweeping the color on, and stippling the color.

I honestly don't know that I'd rock all three of these together at the same time again, but I do like all of these colors a lot. They reminded me a lot of the HIP line that L'Oreal has been selling for a while, but bonus - at a fraction of the price!

The actual palate. Wet N Wild, as you can see, provides some handy labeling, if you're not one for figuring out how to use the colors for yourself. But, like I said - matte lime up to my eyebrows was a bridge too far, so I threw their rules out the window, and wrote my own. Makeup's fun like that. :D

Wearing the shadow, eyes opened and closed. The look, in action. Nice color payoff, great durability - hung in solid for five or six hours - and a unique look. I got a lot of positive feedback on this one!

Now we move on to my Summer 2014 selection, "No Scalpers Allowed!". On its face, this one was much more wearable. A light, pinky tone, a mid-tone matte purple, and then a deeper purple with a slight iridescent quality. Everything sounds great so far, right?

Color goes on smoothly, and pretty well - I used the same brush as I'd used for "I'm Seeing Triples!", as well as a similar technique of application. Fergie Take On The Day primer, and a combination of sweeping and stippling to apply the color. Color went on smoothly. Not as much color payoff as with "I'm Seeing Triples!", but that's alright.

Looks nice, right? I used Wet N Wild purple eyeliner pencil in this one, where I'd used black eyeliner in the other, but everything else you're seeing in the pictures is the same.

So, does it sound like I'm hedging my bets a bit on exclaiming over this one? Because I kind of am. I had one giant, giant problem with this one - drifting color. The purple - and I never got a feel for which, they seemed to blend together at this point - just spread, everywhere. I had to clean up my eyes twice before I could leave for work, and twice while I was at work. Where I got 5 hours of pretty impeccable wear from "I'm Seeing Triples!", I got about 40 minutes worth of wear out of "No Scalpers Allowed!", which was a disappointment, to say the absolute least.

For the sake of equal opportunity, a picture of the palate. It all looks so promising, doesn't it?

Of these two, if I had to make a recommendation, I'd recommend "I'm Seeing Triples!" Wears well, nice color payoff, unique - it'll for sure attract attention. "No Scalpers Allowed" has only mediocre color payoff, and was suffering from constant melt down, the entire time I had it on. Pass on "No Scalpers Allowed!", unless you're just so fond of purple eyeshadow that you just can't help it. :)