We're Goin' Places!

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Hi Everybody!

I came on today to post a new swatch, and noticed that my page views were through the roof today! I wish I had a chance to update you with something new and fabulous this afternoon, but I'm jetting out the door to see the new movie "Home". I'm pretty excited.

At any rate, if you're enjoying what you see of the blog so far, make sure to keep in touch! I can be found on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and BlogLovin', and I'd love to see you (find the buttons for most of those over to the right...)! :) And I love a good old fashioned share, or link. :)

Thanks for reading!

Friday, March 27, 2015

I'm Going to do a little Naming and Shaming today...

Possible subtitles include "I got my makeup done at Dior so you don't have to", or "No, crazy lady, I will not be coming back to purchase what is no doubt an absurdly expensive amount of cosmetics..." But those are kind of wordy.

 Today - or yesterday now, as you're reading this - I went to the mall. I've talked a lot about this regimen my dermatologist has me on, and when I frantically emailed him back and said that it made the wide majority of my makeup burn like fire, he responded that he'd prefer I weren't wearing makeup at all, but if I was going to, he wanted me to be wearing Clinique.

 So I kept my eyes peeled, and the Macy's Clinique counters have a free gift with purchase right now, so I happily trooped myself in to the counter to get something to get my regimen turned in the right direction. The free gift time is the best time to purchase makeup counter makeup! I got "deluxe sample" sizes of...I think it was a moisturizer, an eye cream, mascara, three eyeshadows, a blush, a lip gloss and a lipstick. All for the cost of the foundation I purchased. So my money really went a long way toward some makeup then!

 On the way in to wander the mall, I get stopped by one of the artists at Dior, who basically doesn't intend to let me pass her by. I'm going to sit in her chair, pretty much whether I like it or not. Fine, whatever. I like trying new stuff, I'll talk makeup, whatever. Let's do this.

 The first thing she does is ask to get to wash my face. Now, again - I've got a battery of prescribed skin care. I've already mentioned it by the time we get to this point in the consultation. She won't take no for an answer, and I'm visibly uncomfortable, but too nice to take my obvious out, so I let her do it.

 She uses a cleansing water, and proceeds to begin slathering me in serums - all while extolling the virtues of each, but never crystalizing why, exactly, they're different from each other. No fewer than 4 serums and 2 moisturizers later, she's very, very proud of how well moisturized I look. She keeps exclaiming over all the moisturization, and how much better it is. Actually, I point out, my being dry skinned was sort of what the dermatologist was going for (he specifically said the words "Your skin will be red and irritated. That's the point.") She shrugs me off again, with a "but this is better". Listen, I go to a University of Michigan dermatologist. I'm paying dearly for someone who knows better. If he says dry, then dry is the gig.

 One of the serums, evidently, is "correcting", which will heal "the rosacea". That I don't have. She proceeds to mention the "healing properties" of Dior makeup, and how it will heal my rosacea several more times over the visit. So she gets to foundation, and can't find a color she's super satisfied with, but tells me that she's going to go with a color that's more yellow than my skin tone (that she'd already dismissed once for being too dark!) because the yellow in the foundation will counteract the redness in my skin. Unless she's got some kooky color wheel no one else has...that's not how that works at ALL.

 So she settles on their Flash foundation, which is an airbrush foundation, like a spray. She sprays her brush, and applies the brush to my face. Weird, but fine. She asks about brows, which I say I do - and sidebar: if you don't, you should - she selects their "Universal" color, and does one brow, and shows me, before doing the other. I personally prefer my brows a little darker than that pencil was, but that's fine. She does the other brow. I didn't realize until after the fact, but she did one quite a bit heavier and bolder than she'd done the other.

 As we're sitting there, she specifically tells me that she's not going to do any sort of sales pitch, that she gets paid by the hour, and it doesn't make any particular difference to her whether I buy any makeup or not.

 She does my eyes - after asking her boss for makeup brushes because her's have been misplaced somewhere - in purples. It's cool, that's not my beef. I told her that she could play with color, it didn't matter to me. She does my eyes in purple, and again effuses over how much the purple brings out the blue in my eyes. Couple of problems - purple doesn't make my eyes look blue, it makes them look green and kind of flat. Eyeliner and mascara, and we're on to the cheeks.

 Bronzer. All bronzer. Because apparently, I can't wear any red tones.

And the four layers of serum and two layers of moisturizer that she applied and self-congratulated for the moisture it brought? Wasn't enough moisture anymore, because she applied a hydrating masque to my cheek bones, to give me "more moisture". Did I mention she's been repowdering, on the regular, this whole time? And paying strange attention to my cheekbones and neck? Cause she has. So she basically applies no blush at all, just bronzer. And masque.

 Pink lips - PINK. LIPS. And she's done. I look at my phone. This face has taken her almost 90 minutes. Oh, remember that promise that she wouldn't do any sort of sales pitch, that she gets paid by the hour, and it doesn't make any difference whether people buy makeup or not? Apparently that's not true any more, cause she gestures to the table and goes "So, how much of this will you be purchasing today?" Really? No subtlety there at all? Apparently not.

 I try politely to demure, she goes in on it again, a little less subtle this time, going "So, you said you wanted to get these products today?" No...lady. No I didn't. So I ask her to write down what she used, so that I can "think on it". She gets the paper to write it down, and gets her boss to come give me HER sales pitch. At this point, I just really, really want to go home. After a couple of shots by the boss, and even one by the perfume girl, I break free, and have to control myself from not running in the other direction. I check my face in the mirror in my car, and I'm boggled. The eyeliner is uneven, the foundation is plainly the wrong color, the line of demarcation is unbelievable (I could never really do it justice in pictures...), and the lip liner is...uneven. And I don't just have "moisture", I'm a living oil slick. And yes, I took pictures.



This is the closest I could come to doing justice to the demarcation. There's yellow, then there's no yellow.

The actual finished look;


And the eye, to her credit, does look nice. But, it's also $153 worth of product. It should look nice! No product on my nose at all. And clearly yellow.

One from a different angle, a little closer to the lip. In the above pic, the color looks a little uneven (she applied it straight from the container, which at mall counters, is a bad idea...), but she also overlined the uneven looking corner;


And so shiny!

The right side of my lower lip - left as you're looking at the picture - is inexplicably overlined. It makes the color look as if she applied it unevenly, which she actually didn't.

I came home and washed it all off. I was so upset - as you've no doubt guessed by now. It took me two rounds of my prescribed face wash, and a round of exfoliation, to get all the product she'd applied.

Then I found out a bigger problem. My eyes began to burn. BURN. B. U. R. N. With the intensity of 1,000 suns. I could barely open my eyes afterward. I tried eye drops. I actually had to take Allegra to get some relief. So after all of this, I find out that I'm also apparently allergic to something she used as well! It's a good thing I didn't drop a small fortune on all of it, right?!

The point of all this? Besides that I probably should have thrown an elbow and gone past the artist?

1)Makeup artists don't always know better than you. She told me she used to work for a major news channel in our area. She's reasonably got a lot of experience. I left with different shaped brows, she knowingly and willingly matched me incorrectly to my foundation shade, and appears to have missed putting foundation on my nose all together.

2)You should trust your instincts. I was uncomfortable from the face washing question. I should have gotten up and walked away, and didn't. It's affected the rest of my day - my eyes still burn!

3)I've wanted to be a makeup artist my entire life. It's all I've ever wanted. I remember being a kid, and wanting to do makeup one day. I'm a trained cosmetologist by education. Yet I can't get a job in the cosmetics industry for "lack of experience", but this woman got a job, no problem.

I'm a big fan of makeup. I celebrate it. I love to wear it, talk about it, talk to people wearing it. I love what it does for people. I love what it feels like to wear it. 

I was not impressed with anything at the Dior counter today. I can't stop you if you want to check it out yourself, but I don't recommend it (clearly)!

See you later - Dior free!

Later, lovelies!

Monday, March 23, 2015

Research!

I recently inquired with SinfulColors nail polish as to whether or not they test on animals. They are a subsidiary of Revlon, for those not in the know on such things, and Revlon is a known animal testing company. I received this email in return;


Problem solved, right?

Oh. Except for when that doesn't really solve much.

By their own statement (which is a form letter, blogs all over the internet have gotten the same statement), Revlon complies with laws by country, in order to assure that their product can be sold there, in order to allow women the "opportunity to express themselves with makeup".

China has REQUIRED cosmetics that were imported in to the country to be tested on animals until just last summer (I even googled it for you, it's sadly true). 

So up until Summer of 2014, Revlon seems to have been talking out both sides of their mouth, swearing that they NEVER did animal testing...while doing animal testing.

And I know, there are some people that don't especially care about this sort of thing. And if that's your prerogative, that's fine. But, I do feel like I've got the responsibility to pass along the word, because if you DO care, then you need to be able to plan your cosmetic purchases accordingly. And a company who loudly and proudly proclaims that they're not doing a thing...while doing that thing, deserves everyones attention, whether you care about animal testing or not.

Later, my lovelies!







Thursday, March 19, 2015

Argan Oil might be my new bestie...



If you prefer a more natural, simple beauty routine, then you're well aware of the benefits of products like argan oil. But did you know that a lot of the products that boast of oil have other ingredients in them as well? That argan oil hair serum is not 100% pure, it will often include silicones and other ingredients, making it virtually identical to any other serum you'd find on the market.

Argan oil is pressed from the kernel of the Argan tree, which is native to Morocco. It has gained popularity as a beauty treatment as of late, thanks to it's moisturizing and anti-oxidant properties, allowing it to balance oil, help with anti-aging concerns, and moisturize - leading it to be considered as "liquid gold" in some circles!

Radha Beauty Products sells 100% Pure Argan oil, and my friends, this stuff is magic.



This bottle is 4 oz., and comes with a dropper to measure out the oil that you will need. And you guys, a little goes a very long way, you can do so much with this!

Argan oil has moisturizing, and antioxidant properties - and is 100% safe to use in its natural form. And randomly, I just looked it up - it's food safe, and is safe to use on your pets!

I've spent a week using this oil in every way I could think of, and on everyone that would let me near them for long enough to try it, and was consistently impressed and surprised with the results.

My dry, scaly winter legs? A thing of the past, thanks to argan oil. And that's even after having showered since! The effects of lotion would have washed away, right along with the body wash. I'd like to be able to demonstrate this one in pictures, but you don't want to see pictures of my legs, any more than I want to show them to you!

Yesterday, I decided to do what I consider probably my ultimate experience - I have thick, coarse, color treated hair. So yes, it is often an out of control disaster. I showered, completely skipped hair conditioner, applied a generous dose of argan oil in it's place, and waited to see what happened. Imagine my surprise to see that my hair dried frizz free, smooth, and laying nicely! Curiously, a little straighter than normal, even. When I did this, I concentrated my oils in to the ends, and just smoothed over the part near my scalp. I'm on day two, and my hair is still smooth, and soft. Amazing!

My 8 year old has sensitive skin, and hates the feeling of lotion. Like they do sometimes, he got too close to me one night when I was feeling experimental, and he quickly found his legs slathered in oil. Once his giggles subsided (he's very ticklish, haha...) he marveled that it made his skin feel "like butter". He couldn't stop exclaiming over it! No complaints from his sensitive skin, either!

He also boasts a beautiful head of long blonde hair, that he takes a tremendous amount of pride in. It's fine, with a slight wave, so it made me nervous to do it, but I put two drops of oil in to my hairs, rubbed them together, and smoothed them over his hair. He was thrilled to see his hair look softer, shinier, and lay better than usual.

The next morning when it was time to go to school, and we didn't have time to use the oils again, he was honestly disappointed! I couldn't believe it! He went "But, it makes my hair so shiny and soft!" And I, like any self-respecting mom of a kid that's about to be late for school, went "But that won't matter if you're late!" Moms: causing bad hair days, all over town. :D 

And for the biggest, most impressive, no doubt weirdest picture I've ever posted? I have chronic, awful dry skin on my feet (I blame that on my own mom, because so does she). Every treatment I've ever tried has been temporary at best.

When I started on this post, about a half hour ago, I slathered a few drops of argan oil on the bottom of one foot. Ladies and gentlemen, exhibit A for why you need argan oil in your life:


In dire need of a pedi? Ain't got time for that? Ain't got cash for that? ARGAN. OIL. That's 30 minutes difference, you guys. That's unreal. 

I can't say enough positive things for this product. It's $16 on Amazon, and if you order before 4 PM EST today (by clicking here), you can have it in your hot little hands by this time tomorrow, and be slathering up things in your own house. Which you absolutely should. If you're not quite in that much of a hurry, it's also a Prime eligible item, so you could have it by Saturday for free! A little goes a long way, the 4 ounce bottle will last you a long time!

FULL DISCLOSURE ALERT: Radha Beauty generously supplied me with this bottle of Argan Oil in exchange for my opinions on it. All opinions are mine. As are the photos. Although I'd gladly give up those dry feet, if someone was crazy enough to want them. :)

Edited: I'd originally decided to tell you about these in two different posts, then decided I should probably pair them together.

I also was supplied with a full sized bottle of Fractionated Coconut Oil to try.

I used the Coconut oil in similar ways that I had the Argan oil, and was a bit disappointed with it. I honestly didn't care for the rate of absorption. Everything felt slightly slick after having used the coconut oil. It didn't feel as soft and moisturized as things had with the Argan oil.

In fairness to that ideal though, the advised uses on the package aren't uses I tried. Radha recommends the fractionated coconut oil as a oil for massage, and as a carrier oil for essential oils. Neither way that I tried. So I might actually like it much better in that instance.

This oil, like the other, is food safe.

So, where I would actually use the argan oil again, gladly, I can't speak with as much enthusiasm for the coconut oil. I'm sure if I were a masseuse, or made more use of essential oils, I'd be singing a much different tune.



Say what you will, the Radha packaging game is on point. Both of these are beautifully packaged.

Talk to you later, you well moisturized beauties!

Like this post? Tell your friends! I'd love a nice +1!

Friday, March 13, 2015

Doctor to the rescue!

You guys...I have a problem.

I went to the dentist this week - that's not the problem, I quite like my dentist. But, on the way to the dentist, I pass a CVS. That CVS is one of those stores any self-respecting drugstore diva hopes for - they're wall to wall with all the newest displays of everything, and staff employees that are very candid about what's coming in, if your stuff is so new that they haven't gotten it yet. Yes, they're that awesome. They're quite out of my way as a general rule, but since I was going to the dentist and all, right?

So I'm perusing, and I find this:


Yes, those are new, Spring 2015 collection Maybelline Baby Lips. The pink one and the purple one are anyway. The blue is "Quenched", which you can get any ol' time. That's in the standing line.

I'm a fan of Baby Lips generally - it's not terribly long lasting, but a little low maintenance color - cause sometimes you want a little something, without having to sweat it that hard, amirite?, some gloss, a little flavor, and all for around $4 US? Yep, bring it on. Let's do this. I've made the comparison before that they're like an adult Lip Smacker. I stand by it, I think it's very valid. 

So I already mentioned that the blue one is "Quenched", which is part of their regular collection. The purple tube with red writing is "Oh! Orchid!" a light lavender color (which is super chic this spring, this color would be a great way to stay on trend, without feeling like you're rocking some fierce popsicle lips!), and the pink with the aqua writing is "Petel Rebel", an equally bright and cheerful pink.

I posted this same picture to my Instagram, with the prediction that I was going to have to do some destashing, because it wouldn't be long before those would be mine.

...and I was right. Maybe 4 hours passed, and I was in my car like this:


I own them both, like I predicted. I have not had a chance to swatch them yet, look for that soon though!

And this is where that problem I mentioned comes in to play. I get home, and start to figuring out how many Baby Lips I actually own now.

ELEVEN.

That's too much! That's madness! I have to cut it down! How many more sentences can I write that include exclamation points! Alright, that was probably one too many.

So, since someone had to get sacrificed to the destashery, let's take a moment to remember them before they go.

These colors are both from the "Dr. Rescue" off set of the main line. These have a slight mentholated quality to them, where the others did. The promotion was that they would be a great benefit to chapped lips. Which I don't have a ton of trouble with myself, thankfully, but I have a hard time imagining that would be the case. you taste that slight menthol flavor for a few minutes, and then once that wears away, they look and perform exactly as the other colors.

First up!


"Just Peachy", a nice nude gloss. I don't have any other makeup on, so these swatches were done on the inside of my arm:


A nice nude shimmer. You'll get a little color from it, you won't have to sweat it that hard. "Just Peachy" is also produced without the menthol, as part of the main color line, if you like the color but hate the cough drop flavor.

And another, "Soothing Sorbet":


This one is pretty red. I tend to recommend this one to people who think they might like a red lip, but it seems kind of scary or intimidating. 


Red. But not shockingly so. So if you might like a red lip, but want to ease in to it, this is a good place to start. This color doesn't reappear in the line, but the main line of colors does feature a red. Because of course it does. 

In January, I swatched a couple of colors from the Electro! collection for you. That collection, for what it's worth, is quickly getting closed out. Which is a shame, those are great summer colors. If I had to pick between Dr. Rescue and Electro, I honestly think I'd take the Electro. The Dr. Rescue colors are more universally wearable (not everyone digs a hot pink lip...), but you also take the trade of everything tasting like a cough drop for 10 minutes. I'm not sure I dig it.

I brought two new lip glosses in, I'm sending two new lip glosses out. Very de-clutter-y of me, yes? 

See you next time, beautiful!








Thursday, March 5, 2015

Almay Knows Their Blues!

A few product beauty shots for your Thursday, since we've been out of touch for so long! :) It's not been that long, but it feels long. I love you guys!

Last week, I talked a little about Almay Shadow Softies. I counted it up, and realized I had eight of them. I don't have four posts worth of unique things to say about them, but I did want to show them all off. Especially these, because I think the colors are really unique. Almay does some great work with blue eye shadows in particular (someone on their color development team must be a fan!), they're always really unique.

These shadows are soft and gentle. If you want a nice, soft wash of color, you will get along nicely with these. They're an interesting texture - they're not as hard as a typical powder shadow, but they're not as soft as a cream? See what I mean? It's interesting. Don't let it scare you away though. Think of these as the special snowflakes in your makeup bag. ;)


Midnight Sky, a royal blue with a slight shimmer running through it, and Seafoam, a powder blue with a little shimmer of its own. Don't let the depth of that blue intimidate you, it's not nearly as pigmented as it looks like it would be - in fact, of all the colors I've tried in the line, it's one of my personal favorites!


Just for the sake of curiosity, I swatched both with primer and without, to see if it'd make any real difference. This is Midnight sky, the bottom streak is no primer, the top streak is with primer. Fergie for Wet N Wild's "Take On The Day" primer, which if you've been reading a while, you know I'm a big fan of. In this case, it made a little bit of difference, not a lot. This is in natural light, standing by the big window in my living room. I got a little excited yesterday - Michigan got its first sunshine in a while, and I thought I could go outside bare armed. I pretty quickly learned the error of my ways! 



This is Seafoam, and this is also where the benefit of primer becomes a little more obvious. Bottom is primer free, top is with primer. You kind of have to look a little to even tell that there's a bottom swatch, right? And while the top is still awfully delicate, it's much more easily defined.

With fair skin, blonde hair, and blue/green eyes, I'm probably the poster child for "Ooh, child, you should NOT be wearing blue eyeshadow!", but I can totally pull these off, and I love them a lot. You should give them a try!

See you later, beautiful!




Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Hi everybody!

I got a little thrown off my makeup game, what with the regimen my dermatologist has me on. In the mean time though, if you're not getting enough ME in your life, you can find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I've added some new nail swatches under the Swatches page, and I'm working hard on my Pinterest page, so you can even stop by and check me out there!

Working on a post, hoping to have it live soon!

Keep being gorgeous, see you soon!