RFC MAKEUP

Sally Hansen Gem Crush polish in Big Money

2012-02-02T00:14:00.001-08:00

It's been a long, long time since a polish has been unique enough to really capture my attention, but I saw this at CVS today and just HAD to have it. I'll admit that I've been lax lately when it comes to keeping myself perfectly coiffed at all times - I've been keeping the same chipped red manicure on for the past two weeks. Oh the horror. But seriously, this polish is gorgeous - light neutral gold microglitter with larger lavender hex glitter. Overall effect on the nail is a pinkish nude shade, very flattering.

I'm going to Vegas for my bachelorette party this Friday and I wanted to pick a blingy nailpolish that wouldn't look TOO terrible if I got a few chips or a little edge wear during my weekend of debauchery. I think this fits the bill! I did one coat of Zoya Zara (a gold-tinged purple) with one coat of this on top, sealed with Seche Vite. I was hoping to bring out the pinkish-gold undertones and boost the opacity a little bit - in my experience, multiple layers of thick glitter polish = premature chipping. It looks a little sparse in macro mode, but coverage looks pretty good anywhere from 6" away from your face. I doubt anyone will be examining my nails that closely. Hopefully this will hold up!

In other news I also picked up one of those Maybelline Color Tattoo eye shadows everyone's been raving their butts off about, in Tough as Taupe. Played with it a little, but not enough to draw a full opinion on it quite yet. I think I like it though - it's like a more opaque/easier to work with version of MAC Copperplate.

Goals for 2012... maybe not quite resolutions

2012-01-04T00:08:00.000-08:00

- finish up my research

- write a paper, publish. Aiming for J. Computational Neuroscience, if not Nature Neuroscience!

- graduate and get a job, so I can take on all those wonderful adult responsibilities. But mostly so I can have money, because I promised Denis I'd buy him an E46 M3 someday.

- remember to moisturize regularly. I am ashy.

- put those Felix Cane instructional DVDs Denis gave me for Christmas to good use, especially for flexibility. (I had a hamstring injury that's been quite literally cramping my style for the past couple of months.) I want to be able to do splits again by next month!

- keep up with pole, but with a focus on finesse and not so much on new tricks. I feel like I already know quite a few tricks, which would look a lot more impressive if I could only do them gracefully... I'm still kicking into my shoulder mounts a little, but at least I can hold it and make it look pretty good. Mostly, I think I need to work on transitions in and out of my tricks.

- take my vitamins everyday. Because they are GUUD FER YUUU.

- go to the sauna to relax once a week. Because that's GUUD FER YUUU too.

- related to being ashy and relaxing at the sauna: remembering to regularly massage myself with arnica oil, because the bruises from pole are really starting to make me look like a battered wife:

- save at least $1000/mo and put away $600/mo into an index fund so I can't go around spending my money on stupid shit.

- not buy any more makeup, except to replace staples. Oddly enough, this one will probably be the easiest for me to do. I've given away around 50% of my stash (to a younger cousin who is just getting INTO makeup) and I think I'm done experimenting with products. My one and only big purchase last year was the Urban Decay Naked2 palette, so now that I own every permutation of neutral eyeshadow known to man, I think I'm done with this chapter of my life. Unless Urban Decay puts out an all-matte palette. Or a "pick and choose to fill your own" palette.

- last but definitely not least... planning a successful wedding. I really need to get on sending out those save-the-dates and invites. Man. But here's a little sneak preview of the big day:

I got that shit altered to fit me. And it does. YEEEEEEAH BOOOOOIIIII!

Oh, snap.

2011-11-14T07:15:00.000-08:00

Haven't published an entry on this blog since August. August also happens to be when Denis finally came back from his training with the Air Force. Not that I've been busy since August 8th engaging in a marathon sex session with Denis ever since, but I do have to admit having him back does take a chunk out of my time with all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, housewifely duties, etc. that I now have.

That, and I'm legitimately busy with school. Somehow I got it into my head to take 15 credit hours of course on top of my research (most people take 10, at the most) and now I'm sorely regretting it. I do have to admit that I am enjoying my classes, since the subject matter is both more in depth and the classes are smaller so I am more engaged with the material.

Finally, there hasn't been any posts because... well, shit, there isn't anything to write about. I haven't bought any makeup (except for 2 nail polishes) since April; I even skipped the Sephora Friends and Family sale. And the most recent 20% Cherry Culture sale. And the Urban Decay Friends and Family sale as well. Every time there's a sale, I think about buying something, spend an hour or so browsing the website, and end up not buying anything at all. Maybe I'm just completely over this makeup thing at this point.

Don't get me wrong, I still wear makeup, but I go out without anything on my face almost as often. There are still days when I slap on the makeup with a spatula and do a full-blown kohl-rimmed smoky eye with glitter. I think I'm just over the excitement of new makeup and new products coming out on the market... there just isn't anything really new or innovative. Maybe there is, but I've found all the products that I need that work perfectly well for my purposes, so I just don't need to try or buy anymore.

I'm still poling, though, and I've gotten better than I ever though I would get when I started at the beginning of the year. Still planning on going into competitive pole next year, especially once I perfect my shoulder mount and work on my core strength. If anything, I've been spending my money on pole accessories... I just bought some ankle protectors with grip from Mighty Grip and thy are pretty awesome for helping me stick to the pole while doing inversions.

So. What to write about now? Should I just give up completely? ... hmmm.

IT'S WORKING, IT'S WORKING!

2011-08-08T18:44:00.000-07:00

5 days after 2nd laser tattoo treatment.

My first treatment didn't do much for me in terms of fading the tattoo, though it did start getting blurry around the edges. This is encouraging though, to see that there is some actual fading now. And yes, right now I'm experiencing that lovely peeling of black flakes of skin off my back. My technician was a little more aggressive with the laser this time, and I definitely felt it afterwards - while my first treatment just felt like a bad papercut after the lidocaine wore off, this felt like a straight up BURNING sensation. I just need to keep telling myself it's worth it...

Fifteen Nanoseconds of Fame

2011-07-11T10:19:00.001-07:00

That episode ("Dream Big") of Drop Dead Diva finally came out. You can watch it streaming online at Lifetime TV.

As an extra, of course you don't see much of me. To save you all some effort, I screencapped the relevant bits:

I was on set for 11 hours to film those 15 nanoseconds...

Arts and crafts time!

2011-07-07T10:31:00.001-07:00

Feeling creative and more than a little bored recently, so I've been putting my excess energy to work.

Denis and I have a running joke about the shirt Steve Perry wears in the Separate Ways music video:

So since he was coming home over the 4th of July long weekend, I made this for him using a duct tape sheet to make 2 stencils and hot pink fabric paint:

The first couple of squares are a little blotchy, but I cleaned up the lines with some isopropyl alcohol and scrubbing at it with my nail.

Then, I got a hold of some spray paint and decided to prettify my makeup brushes. I hate having a mismatched set of brushes and I wanted a more unique, unified look to them:

I wrapped the ferrules and brush heads with saran wrap and tape to keep the spray paint from getting on them. As you see, I still missed a small part on the ferrule my big blush brush... after painting the handles with the spray paint, I sprayed a coat of clear polyurethane gloss on top to keep the color from chipping off and to waterproof it. It took about 2 days to do fully, but I thought it was totally worth it!

In other news, Denis got to come home for a visit! For the 4th of July holiday he hitched a ride part way with some buddies back to ATL (as they were on their way to Pensacola, Florida) and I ended up driving 6 hours through Alabama to pick him up from Jackson, Mississippi. I drove him back to Arkansas on Monday, then stayed 2 nights in Little Rock. I visited the Crater of Diamonds state park on the other side of Arkansas (and am sorry to report that I didn't find any diamonds) and saw the sights around the city of Little Rock. Last night I drove back to Atlanta from Arkansas through Tennessee. I think I have seen more of the US in the past week than I've seen in the first 25 years of my life! I think I'm done traveling for now... at least until Denis comes back and we drive up to Maryland to visit our parents...

Post treatment day 6.

2011-06-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

WHAT THE FUCK.

The skin on my tattoo is peeling. (This is expected.) What is NOT expected is that the flakes of skin coming off are... black.

Everyone does something they regret when they are young and stupid.

2011-06-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

Thanks to advances in medical science, it's easy to undo some of them.

I mean, I've definitely done a lot of stupid things when I was younger, but right now I'm talking about my tattoo. I'm getting it removed.

Yeah, I have a terrible tattoo on my right shoulder. Of a cat.I got it 4 years ago. Not only was the idea stupid, but I didn't really go in with a clear plan of what I wanted, so the tattoo artist pretty much just straight-up botched my tattoo. My cat has TWO ASSES, if you look closely. Up until recently, it never really bothered me because it's usually covered up so few people actually see it. (For some reason, the ones that do don't look very closely and usually they just say, "aww! how cute, it's a kitty cat!") I didn't really give it any more thought than how someone with a strange birthmark might.

So what changed my mind?

I went wedding dress shopping. And a crappy tattoo just does not go with an expensive wedding gown, especially a strapless one, you know what I mean?

For those of you who are curious - no, this is not the wedding dress I ended up buying. If you're interested though, it's the "Reese" by Maggie Sottero.

I've never been able to find good information on how a tattoo fades between sessions, particularly on Asian skin, so I figured I should post pictures and updates on my laser tattoo removal treatment.

It's only been about 5 days, so no big difference yet - it takes about 6 weeks before a the pigment broken up by a session is cleared away by the body. My next appointment is in August.

The red marks are from the injections of lidocaine before they zapped me with the laser. I was told by other people that getting a tattoo removed hurts more than getting it in the first place, but it really wasn't that bad at all - I was numbed up, so I could barely feel anything at all, just light tapping. After the anesthetic wore off though, it felt like 500 paper cuts. Annoying, but bearable. I'll post another picture at 6 weeks, before I go in for my second session! I don't expect to be able to remove the tattoo completely before my wedding (I estimate I'll need about 9 sessions) but I want it to fade enough to so I can at least cover it up makeup.

(Oh, and the wedding dress I ended up buying has a sheer illusion lace back so the tattoo would have been even more horrendous.)

Bonus: here's a picture of me all sweaty and gross after a day on the set of American Reunion. This is the red lipstick by Wet and Wild I was raving about earlier - amazing lasting power! It rubs off a bit when you eat/drink of course, but it also stains your lip and fades evenly so you don't have that funny looking ring around your lips at the end of the day. The color is Red Velvet 910D from Wet 'n Wild's MegaLast line. I seriously like it more than any of the red lipsticks I've ever bought from MAC. I also have Stoplight Red 911D which is darker and more blue-based, but I prefer how bright and fresh this one looks.

Cinematic sekrits

2011-06-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

Alright ladies, this time I return with some ACTUAL, makeup-related content.

I've been pretty busy these past few weeks since I got back to GA. I know I've mentioned before that I've done some extra work on TV shows filming in Atlanta, but recently I've branched out into film! Last week I spent 2 days on the set of American Reunion (yes, it is exactly what you think it is - the 4th movie in the American Pie series) and one day on the set of The Change Up. The pay is shit (and by "shit" I mean "minimum wage, though they do give us food"), and there's a lot of downtime where there's nothing to do except stare into space. (I ended up reading Crime and Punishment.) On the upside, I DID get to meet Ryan Reynolds. Actually, I had a bit part in The Change Up where I play a makeup artist (how appropriate!) and dab oil on Ryan Reynolds. I will be on screen for all of 3 seconds. Doing 40 takes of rubbing oil on Ryan Reynold's pecs and then squeezing was pretty glorious, but I digress...

In all the times I've worked as an extra, I've been a "featured extra", which basically means nothing other than that my face is on the screen at some point and I'm not relegated to strictly background. While I'm always supposed to come hair and makeup ready, they don't trust us extras to do our makeup well enough so they always end up sending me to the hair and makeup ladies anyway. Here is what I learned:

1.) Professional movie makeup artists do NOT only use high end/theatrical stuff. There is a surprising amount of E.L.F in their kits - particularly their glosses and their blushes. I wore a Wet 'n Wild lipstick on the set of American Reunion and got lots of compliments on it.

2.) RMCA and Cinema Secrets are the two most popular foundation brands. The artists generally thin it out with a solvent called 244 for easier application. Cinema Secrets deserves all the hype it gets, btw - I was sweating my ASS off while filming The Change Up (in warehouse with no air conditioning, on a 96 degree day... under hot studio lights... YES IT WAS MISERABLE) but it really holds up well. Only time I had to blot (which was often) was when I had sweat literally forming droplets on my face, but the makeup never looked shiny or greasy, just creamy and matte.

3.) They do use MAC, but only the Studio Fix powder. They use it as extra coverage, which is then topped with a silica powder like the ones made by MUFE, ELF and Laura Mercier. Otherwise I didn't see any MAC in their kits at all!

4.) MAC, Urban Decay, Stila... etc eyeshadows are in the kits, but aren't used often. For the most part they really stick with neutrals and they tend to use an all-in-one palette like the V3 by Kryolan from Camera Ready Cosmetics to do makeup. I guess all the bright, bold, glittery colors are really for us consumers :P

5.) The camera really does add 10 pounds. Ryan Reynolds is skinnier in person. And yes, he wears makeup too! (He is also very tall - like, 6'3.)

6.) The hair ladies also do not only use high-end stuff - I saw plenty of Garnier hair spray cans sitting around, though I saw a few Kenra as well. They don't use expensive hair straighteners or curlers either; I think most of the ones I saw (and were used on me) were the "Gold and Hot" ones you can get at the Sally's.

7.) Makeup artists have a A LOT of brushes. A LOT. And it's not all just MAC, though there are a few of those - they've got brushes from everywhere. Art/craft store, Crown Brush, Hakuhodo... one of them told me to check out Brush Up by Barbara for good brushes at a reasonable price. One of the ladies I worked with had AT LEAST 100 brushes in her organizer, and I'm not even exaggerating.

So I guess the moral of the story is... even the professionals, who use what REALLY works and what shows up best on screen, use inexpensive brands just as often as high end. And that I should really get some of that Cinema Secrets foundation. (When I did my own makeup, I used my Illamasqua Rich Liquid foundation in a 2:1 mix of 210 to 215, applied with a damp sponge. Looked great with good coverage, but broke out with the shinies and needed to be blotted often.)

No pictures, unfortunately since I'm not allowed to take pictures on set... but you can see me in Episode 3 of the current season of Drop Dead Diva (airing July 10th, I think) and in The Change Up (coming out August 5th) if you don't believe me :P

FCC note: I'm not reviewing nor am I financially benefiting from any of the brands mentioned in this post - I'm just passing along information I heard from professional makeup artists that I think might be helpful to my readers.

Back from another long hiatus!

2011-06-02T05:32:00.000-07:00

(Kind of.)

It's my 25th birthday, and since I have a thing for square numbers, I figured I should write a post to celebrate. Lots of stuff going on!

I finished my first year of grad school and I totally rocked it.

I saw Denis for the first time in months pretty much as as soon as I finished with school - flew to Texas to visit for a couple days. We went to Dallas and Fort Worth. I feel that I should mention that the Fort Worth Museum of Science and Technology was quite possibly the worst museum I've ever been to. DON'T GO THERE.

My brother just got married last month in China, and I flew back to attend immediately after visiting Denis. (Being the jet-lagged, sleep deprived grad student I am, I am ashamed to admit that I fell asleep during the reception.) Nevertheless, I had a great time hanging out with my new sister in law, who is really close in age to me. It's hard to describe, but I've never had a sister and I think it's mindblowingly awesome that I do, now. Especially since we get along really well! It's like... having a friend, but one who HAS to put up with you, because you're related.

I lost my pole mojo when I fell off a pole while doing an inversion and hurt my back... I was too scared to get back on the pole for a month after. I've recovered for the most part though, aside from a little residual soreness. I even took my new sister in law to a pole class in Shanghai, which was a blast. (The high humidity in Shanghai made it easier to grip, I think, so I found myself going back upside down again.) I think I got her addicted to poling as well...

And possibly most excitingly... I'm starting on my wedding planning now. I know I've always said I didn't care about having a big wedding with the floofy dress and the bling-bling rock, but I figure a wedding is fairly important to at least HAVE so you can share your joy with your family and friends in the form of good food and drink. And if I'm going to do a wedding, by god, I'm going to do it RIGHT. So far I'm only in the preliminary stages of planning, but I've picked my photographer and picked a date: May 19th, 2012. And I've made appointments at two local bridal salons to try on some wedding dresses today. WILD, isn't it?! I haven't picked a venue yet, but this isn't going to be a huge wedding (<125 people, if that) so I want to do some place interesting, like a museum. Unfortunately the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History is not open to personal events like weddings - trust me, that's the first place I checked.

Now for some cringe-inducing bits, which I think is an important part of any birthday ...

... I've been blogging for over TEN YEARS now. The thought of this makes me more than a little horrified right now. There are children that were born when I started blogging that can, like, talk and think for themselves and be perfectly functional, independent little beings right now. The thought of this seriously makes me feel a little vertiginous. So I thought I'd share some "wisdom" that I wrote on my (gulp) 15th birthday, TEN FRICKIN YEARS ago.

Things I learned (or at least reviewed) in my 14th year...
It's never easy to break up with a guy...

But they best way to get over it is to get another one.

Wait atleast 2 weeks between guys. Or it looks REALLY SUSPICIOUS.

To hell with looks, personality is more important...

But it doesn't hurt to have a good looking boyfriend.

No matter what you do, some people just won't like you.
...And the only thing you can do is to ignore them.

Friends drift apart after a while.
And there isn't anything to do, except make new ones.

Going out with someone, on an impulse, is a bad idea. A REALLY bad idea.

Never settle for less.
But settling for more makes you look like a greedy pig.

Trust your instincts.
But not too much.

Stress is bad, but it really helps when you're trying to do last minute work.
Extra-caffeinated mints are really useful when doing late-night homework.
Though, either way, your last minute work'll get you a C.
But some credit is always better than no credit.

It's pretty sad when the guy you like is 3 inches taller and weighs the same as you do.

But like I said before, looks don't really matter. And he IS a cute bastid. [Editors note: I don't even remember who the fuck I was talking about. Now I kinda wish I do.]

It's really fun to pretend to be a Satanist when those Mormons go door to door and try to pass out Bibles.

Every has an inner teenybopper.

The key to writing great poetry is using lots of obscure references and phrases that don't mean anything. Everyone'll think it's "deep"

Guys are easier to get along with, they don't PMS.
Anything is excusable by PMS, even murder.

Older brothers are suckers. They'll buy you almost everything.

You're not perfect. Period. There's no point in perfection.

Good grades aren't neccesarily indicators of intelligence.
Bad grades aren't neccessarily indicators of intelligence either.

Standardized tests tell you nothing, except how much attention you paid in your SAT course XD

Reading things over before you do them is a good idea.

Listening to people before you judge them is an even better one.

Sometimes the best way to work out things is to ignore them and hope they'll go away after a while.

How well you learn something DOES depend on the teacher.

Also depends on how well you try too.

Men are superficial bastards. Proof: Guys didn't start talking to me/noticing me till 8th grade, when I got my contacts :P

Sometimes, the nicest people are the online ones.

USUALLY, the nicest people are the online ones.

Blogging is fun.

Blogging can be used to say some very profound and deep things.

But usually it's just a huge long bunch of BS.

Like this entry.

It's always good to cut the crap, and be concise.

So I'll shut up now.

Here's to hoping that at age 35, I won't cringe when I read my blog posts from when I was 25. Though I have to admit, there are still some things I learned (reviewed) back then that I'm still learning (reviewing) now - especially that bit about doing last minute work. (Heh...)

Yet another photoshoot...

2011-03-22T20:53:00.000-07:00

I love this photographer. We've shot together 3 times in as many months. This time we decided to switch things up a bit... and I was testing out a new eyeliner. (Milani Infinite Liquid Eyeliner, in black.) I was aiming for a more 60s cat-eye kind of look; I've been working on perfecting my cat eye, and I think I'm getting closer (though not quite there yet.) I love how crisply these turned out though - he bought a new camera and we had tons of fun doing these shots and just experimenting.

He normally shoots vintage lingerie and stockings so of course, we had to work these in... you know, I think my legs have gotten more shapely since I've started pole dancing. Hmmm.

I need to stop doing that stupid crooked smile that looks like a smirk in these pictures.

Kind of wish I'd remembered to throw on some fake lashes for this shot! Oh well. This was 80s Madonna inspired... you can't see it, but I'm actually wearing a CONE BRA in this picture. HAHAHAHA... oh god that thing was so uncomfortable.

Crazy closeup, but at least you can see my makeup well...

New blog!

2011-03-20T12:49:00.000-07:00

Dear readers -

I started a new blog focusing on pole fitness because I have a feeling that this blog would be completely overtaken by posts on pole dancing otherwise. I have it set on "private" because, well, I've had issues with trust and readers in the past, so send me an email at rfcmakeup (at) gmail if you want access. (That, and I feel a little weird about my ass hanging out of my pole shorts being displayed so prominently on the 'nets. I'm going to have all my pole videos set on "unlisted" on youtube as well.)

I plan on updating it once or twice a week with videos from my pole practice sessions, and records of what I'm learning/been working on. It's really intended to be a personal record of my progress, but I know some of you are interested in pole dance as well, and might find it helpful.

2011-03-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling a complex mix of emotions right now: somewhere between shame, embarrassment... and hilarity. If nothing else though, I've always been good at laughing at myself. So I present to you... a video of my pole practice session from today at Vertical Joe's.

[video removed because of weird stalker-y peoples... email me if you want a link!]

It's been 6 (7?) weeks since I've started poling in earnest at Vertical Joe's, and this week was my first class at Inversion Institute (our version of an advanced beginner/level 2 class). Clearly, I'm not very good (yet!) but my goal is to be at a competitive level by next year :) I recorded this with my cellphone with the idea that I could keep these videos as a record of my progress, so here's hoping that my NEXT video won't be so embarrassing...

Spring Festival/Wedding Nails

2011-02-07T22:35:00.000-08:00

I don't think I've mentioned this before, but my older brother is getting married on Wednesday and we're having a little shindig on Thursday. Traditionally, Chinese New Year is celebrated for about two weeks, so I wanted to do a manicure that was traditionally and seasonally appropriate to celebrate both these occasions, as well as being different from my usual paint-on-one-color-and-slap-on-a-cool-topcoat manis. So I did a gradient: red for happiness, gold for prosperity.

I used the red glitter from Color Club's Glitter Vixen Collection... I think the shade name is Art of Seduction. It's rather sheer and it's fine red glitter in a clear base, and takes about 4 coats to achieve decent opacity which is actually a GOOD thing when doing a gradient. (I actually attempted a mani with Sally Hansen Red Carpet earlier, but that's a red glitter in a red jelly base, and it's a little over powering for a gradient mani.) The gold is China Glaze Five Golden Rings, which actually gets to decent opacity in two coats. (I didn't want to use the gold glitter from Color Club because the glitter is chunkier, so I felt it wouldn't "blend" as well.) I did 3 gradient-layered coats of Art of Seduction first, then a coat of the China Glaze on top, and then a final layer of Art of Seduction to intensify the red at the tips and touch up any spots I felt weren't fade-y enough. I think it turned out looking pretty cool! Of course, this picture doesn't capture how freakin' SPARKLY this look is, but it's pretty stunning in the right light. I should experiment more often!

Not rated G.

2011-02-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

Last week I did yet another photoshoot - same vintage lingerie photographer as last time, and this time he did me a huuuge favor by offering to shoot some pin-up style shots for me to send to Denis. Unfortunately, it seems that Denis' MTI is a hard ass, and I can't send him anything even remotely sexy, since apparently my last pole dancing photo would be deemed "inappropriate." (Inappropriate how?! I'm covered up, no cleavage or undies showing... people watch gymnasts doing similar things in skin tight leotards during the Olympics, don't they?) I hate how the Air Force only gives very vague guidelines on what's appropriate to send - they say "rated PG", but some people would argue that the Victoria's Secret catalogue is PG or PG13... so I guess I can't really send him my pin-up photos either. Bleh. So I guess I will share them with you, my readers, because I'm vain and I thought they turned out pretty well. I mean, it kind of is a makeup-based photoshoot, so it's totally relevant.

Look closely at the back of my right knee... yup, that's a pole bruise right there.

This one is probably my favorite shot.

I love the posing on this one, but my face is looking a little... eh... how do I say this?... herp derp.

Ooh look, an artsy black and white one!

Denis asked me to send him more pictures of us together, since his MTI doesn't really believe I'm his wife, and it's a rule that he has to show any photographs he receives to his MTI to make sure it's not "inappropriate material." Seriously. He thinks I'm cutting pages out of catalogues or something, which I will take to be a compliment to me, and an insult to Denis. Maybe I should write a note to him or something -- "yes, this is really me. I'm attracted to Denis because of his enormous manhood. Also, makeup does wonders!"

To stay on topic, here's what I did for makeup:
-Eyes are rimmed with L'Oreal HIP Kohl in Black, lashes curled with Shu Uemura and coated with Maybelline Pulse Perfection Waterproof Mascara. Eyeshadow is all from the Urban Decay Naked Palette, with Toasted on the lid, Smog in the crease and smudged into the lower lashes, and Virgin as the brow highlight. Skipped the false lashes from last time, since they were a little too much. I used Urban Decay Primer Potion as the base, and also MAC Sublime Nature paint from my lashline to the bottom of my brow bone. (It's a fleshy beige shade just slightly deeper than my skin tone, so it simultaneously evens out my eye lid and adds a little depth to the eye.)

-Skipped the foundation, used Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation as undereye concealer and MAC Ladyblush creme blush on cheeks. A little bit of Maybelline Dream Matte powder was patted on the T-zone to prevent shine.

-Lips are L'Oreal Color Juice Stick in Personali-tea, as shown in the picture. And that's it! Simple and quick to do, much less involved than the makeup I normally do for photoshoots. Sometimes less really is more.

Well, I promised, didn't I?

2011-02-05T12:12:00.001-08:00

Much thanks to Carol who braved a pole class with me at Dance411 this morning, and took this picture with my phone! (If you look closely, you can see her reflection in the mirror.)

I'm told this particular pole trick is called a "Scorpio." It's also the only pole trick I feel comfortable doing, and therefore, the only picture of me pole dancing, at least until I perfect my shoulder mounts and inverse-Ts!

Zoya Richelle, LA Girl Rock Star Punk, Color Club Covered in Diamonds

2011-02-03T10:58:00.001-08:00

This is Zoya Richelle, which I got during Zoya's 3 free promotion. I've never tried a Zoya polish before, but I have to admit I'm impressed by their formula. I had this on my fingers for 3 days, and it's held up surprisingly well, with just a bit of tip wear and minor chipping on my thumb. That's pretty good, considering I'm rough on my nails and use them as tools. It even lasted through two pole classes! This was 3 coats, and the application was perfect, just a tad bit brushstroke-y, which you can see in the second picture.

LA Girls Rock Star Collection, Punk. I bought this with a bunch of other LA Girl polishes at 5 Below, but I can't believe I've never worn it! God, what a beautiful, perfect, inky blue. One coat is slightly sheer, but two coats is opaque perfection. The consistency and pigmentation is perfect - dark enough to make an impact and achieve opacity in two coats, sheer enough to let the lighter blue shimmer shine through. Only way to make it better....

... Color Club Covered in Diamonds from their Untamed Luxury fall collection. Kind of similar to Nubar 2010, but chunkier flakes. Nubar 2010 only changes between red/orange and green/gold, but these flakes shine with all the colors of the rainbow. I love the way it looks ... reminds me of black opals.

Picture from blackopalmine.com

Badges of honor, and holy shit, I'm really starting to get in shape!

2011-02-02T21:57:00.000-08:00

I think I mentioned in one of my last entries that I'm really starting to get into pole dancing now. Well, I have to say that as someone who has always really hated exercise and physical exertion, I'm really starting to LOVE THE BURN. Oooh yeah. If I'm not sore the next day, then I didn't get enough of a workout, and I should be working harder. Denis' old tennis coach used to have a saying: You don't play tennis to get in shape; you get in shape to play tennis. And it's TRUE! I've always thought that running and lifting weights is incredibly boring and I've always avoided doing any sort of repetitive exercise if I could help it (unless I really need my endorphin fix) but these days I find myself willingly doing it to improve my performance in other areas. Gotta lift weights to boost upper body strength, gotta run for better stamina...

I started out doing drop-in workout classes at a belly dance studio (Nazeem Allayl) and then started drop-in beginner pole workout classes at Dance411. While they were fun, I didn't particularly enjoy the classes at Dance411 because it was more focused on dancing and less on pole work, and classes were pretty big, meaning that we had to share poles. I'm a complete pole-aholic, so when I'm paying $20/hr for pole classes... I want that damn pole all to myself for the entire hour!

More recently, I've started taking more advanced drop-in classes at a pole studio called Vertical Joe's, one of the more hardcore studios in Atlanta where they train pole dancers for competitions like Miss Pole Dance USA and Miss Pole Dance World. I've also taken an introductory class at another Atlanta studio called R U A Pole'forma, which, despite the cheesy name, is really an amazing studio. Although R U A Pole'forma is pricier than the other studios (she charges $25/course instead of $20 everywhere else), it's a really well-run place, with small classes and lots of individual attention. Extra bonus: free wine before/during class to "loosen you up." AWWW YEAH. I had a really great time - I was doing things I didn't KNOW I could do and definitely didn't think I was strong enough to do, like climbing a pole and then gripping it between my thighs and leaning backwards so that my body made a + sign with the pole. Serious core workout right there.

I took my first introductory class at R U A Pole'forma on Monday night, and felt that I got a pretty good workout, but I didn't feel particularly sore when I woke up on Tuesday. So I figured that I'd try out Vertical Joe's Tricks and Transitions class, which is targeted towards aggressive beginners/intermediate level students. Also a small class there, though the studio wasn't quite as nicely appointed. Again, I found myself doing ridiculous things I never thought I could do, like hanging upside down with only my legs gripping for dear life, arms out to form a 'T'... and getting into this position from a handstand. I'm also pretty sure I pulled a butt muscle doing one of the more advanced spins. Nevertheless, I felt pretty darn impressed with myself! But all this came at a price. Check out these bruises:

PRETTY GNARLY, RIGHT? I'm pretty proud of them, hence, "badges of honor". (Not shown: the giant "badge of honor" on my cooch.) Sure, I'm sore as hell and my shins hurt when I run, but my butt has NEVER looked better in my entire life. The back of my thighs feel tight and sore... but I'll be damned if my cellulite hasn't diminished. And my stomach is FLAT! I know that this didn't happen overnight, but I'm certainly noticing it today.

All in all, I'm feeling pretty darn good about my body right now. I totally encourage every one who has ever considered pole dancing or belly dancing to give it a shot. No amount of looking at skinny models in magazines has ever inspired me to want to get fit like belly/pole dancing. And again, it's not even about how to exercise to lose weight so that I can look a certain way -- it's more, how much work I have to put in to do the things I want to do, and do them well. I'm not really on a solidified schedule yet, other than taking a basic belly dance technique class every Thursday at 7:30 and running/walking with Goose for 3 miles every day, but I generally try to make it to at least 2 pole dance classes a week.

Anyway, I just wanted to rave about my experiences with these studios. Next post will be more interesting, I promise - I'll have actual PICTURES of me doing pole tricks, stripper heels and all.

I CAN HAZ DOGGIE

2011-01-28T22:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went to the shelter and adopted this mutt. I've named her Goose, to go with Poopmonster's "official" name of Maverick. Today I picked her up after she saw a vet and got spayed. She's still a big groggy after being anesthetized for the surgery and has no appetite, so today I've just been letting her rest in the living room. She won't even climb stairs, so I've been picking her up and carrying her up and down to take her on walks. She seems a bit shy, but she wags her tail whenever she sees me, so I take that to be a good start on our relationship.

To be honest, I'm a little anxious about being a good dog parent, because I don't have much experience with dogs and I know they are needier than cats. (Though, that's not an absolute... Poopmonster is one particularly vocal, needy cat.) The shelter told me that she's a Chow-mix of some sort, and I was initially very worried that she would be aggressive towards Poopmonster. Luckily though, they seem to be getting along just fine. According to common consensus, she looks like a Chow-Shepherd mix, probably with some breed of small dog in there too. She's 2 years old and only about 30 pounds, so she's not a very big dog.

Poopmonster is normally terrified of strangers and will hide for days at a time, but she seems to have no issue with hanging out with this dog. For the most part they seem to tolerate each other's presence well, just occasionally sniffing and then ignoring each other. I'm just glad they get along. Initially I was planning to adopt another cat to be Poopmonster's friend, but I couldn't help but fall in love with this dog....

Milani - Hi-Tech

2011-01-25T20:18:00.000-08:00

Of all the Milani 3D Holographic polishes, this and Cyberspace are the only ones I've managed to get a holographic effect out of. The rest just look... sparkly. Pretty, still, but not holographic! I own 4 out of the 6 shades (I always buy 'em when they're BOGO50%OFF) though I haven't gotten a chance to swatch them yet because I keep breaking or chipping my nails... hence the recent lack of the promised nail swatches. I was wearing the gold Milani holo yesterday and had full intention of swatching it, but I chipped it while putting together a chair because the exercise ball I was originally using as a sitting surface popped on me. (Note to Target: while this is a perfectly adequate chair, I don't think anything that comes in a cardbox box and has to assembled with an Allen wrench counts as "fine furniture.") Anyway, this is a springy, yellow-based green. Usually these look pretty terrible on me and bring out the red in my skintone and emphasizes how torn-up my cuticles are, but this one isn't too bad. Maybe if it was just a SMIDGE darker...

Dim lighting brings out the holo-ness.

... unfortunately, it's not that apparent under regular lighting.

Close up of the texture: looks like tiny little crystals on the nail.

It's a pretty sheer polish; needs three coats. Two coats is reasonably opaque but streaky, and three coats really evens it out. Good thing it dries pretty fast, especially with a layer of Seche Vite on top.

Coping

2011-01-24T01:23:00.001-08:00

Well folks, it's been almost three weeks since Denis has gone, and I've been doing surprisingly well. Some may attribute this to my liberal use of retail therapy, but I personally think all my expenditures were very well justified. For one, I bought a new computer:

It's not a super fancy top-of-the-line gaming rig or anything. It's a small form-factor desktop PC. I bought it mostly to run MATLAB and watch movies on. (Yes, I am taking full advantage of my free Netflix trial month.) It's definitely a step up from my old netbook. While my netbook was great for surfing the web, it definitely didn't have the processing power to efficiently run MATLAB for my research project. The monitor on the other hand... yeah, okay. So maybe 27" was a little excessive. It's actually a hybrid LCD TV/monitor since it has a TV tuner card, though I haven't gotten the TV part to work yet. I figure I'm actually saving money by buying a giant monitor instead of buying two separate appliances. I actually bought this with some uncanny timing - the night before my new computer arrived, the keyboard on my old netbook stopped working. (And this particular monitor happened to be on sale at Newegg.com.) I've since ordered a new replacement keyboard, but god knows when that's going to arrive, coming from Hong Kong.

One thing I really like about it is that it runs Windows 7 Home Premium, so I expect that I can film and edit some pretty decent videos on this thing. I've had an idea kicking around in my head for a video, though it's really more of a lecture than a makeup tutorial...

I've also been on a major health kick, if you can call it that. So far I've dropped about 5 pounds because I'm too darn lazy to cook for myself, so I've been subsisting solely on a diet of chopped salad, frozen Lean Cuisine entrees, and the occasional brownie. (Kroger ran another special on Lean Cuisine - can you believe it?! Of course I stocked up some more.) Whenever I get too morose, I work out at the exercise room of my apartment complex. I think I'm starting to get addicted to the endorphin rush afterwards. I've also been taking regular belly dance and pole dance classes... I think I prefer the pole dance classes, though none of them really seem to be strenuous enough for me. I expect to feel completely exhausted after a workout, and to be dripping in sweat. Sure, my arms felt sore after my first pole class, but I don't even break a sweat most of the time. Denis used to joke about coming home to a fat, alcoholic wife (fearing that I'd turn to food and/or alcohol to cope with loneliness), but I think he'll be pleasantly surprised to see me come graduation day, which is only 40 days away! I'm actually surprised myself by how little I've been drinking...

I've gotten two phone calls from Denis since he's left. He's doing well; his duty is "academic monitor" for the flight (meaning he makes sure everyone else in his flight is adequately prepared to able to pass the written examinations at the end of basic training) and he tells me that the food over at Lackland is terrific. Well, at least I know he doesn't miss my cooking... I write him letters every day, though delivery of said letters seems to be a bit erratic. I also send him pictures when I remember to take them. The ones of me barefaced and with the cat from the previous entry are actually by his request. These are the pictures I sent him today:

I just applied a MAC lipglass. I guess the cat is intrigued by the vanilla scent.

(Yes, that's my sports bra. I didn't change out of my workout clothes, since I'd just gotten home from a pole class and was in a rush to get to the CVS to get these printed before they closed.)

There's actually a bunch more, but I'd feel like a complete camwhore if I posted all of them.

I also got some pictures back from the photoshoot I did a couple weeks ago. I loved the way they turned out - we were aiming for an old school pinup/lingerie kind of look. Unfortunately the Air Force doesn't allow risque pictures (risque being defined as PG-13 and above) so I can't send these to Denis, especially since he has a female TI with a reputation for being really strict. A peek for you guys:

Note to my readers: I don't really have that much cleavage in real life. That's just posing, angle, and a good bra.

I'm scheduled to shoot with this photographer again later this week - I think this time I'm ditching the red lipstick. It's way too... aging on me. At least this particular shade (MAC Russian Red) is, anyway.

So yes, as you see, I'm keeping myself as busy as possible and coping pretty well, I think. I miss him unbelievably much. I cry every time he calls... he tells me not to, or else he'll cry too and all his flight mates will make fun of him, so I cry afterwards. (Including today, during a pole class.) I do hope it gets easier. His mom and I are already talking about buying our tickets to San Antonio and getting hotel reservations. I got very lucky with having his graduation coincide with my spring break!

Warts 'n all...

2011-01-11T23:54:00.000-08:00

Gosh, I don't remember the last time I posted a picture of my face completely naked. Like, naked naked. Like, no makeup at all. Nada. Zip. Zero. Not even a trace of makeup. Actually, I'm not even sure I've ever done it. Usually if I'm out and about in public, I like to have a least a little powder on to keep down the shine.

Well, here it is. I've been wanting to write a post about my skincare routine, because after going through so many different products, I think I've finally found one that I can really stick with. It's budget-friendly and it's given me the clearest skin I've had since I was 16 (back when I didn't have zits, ha.)

This picture is clickable, so you can get a larger version with which you can enjoy scrutinizing that splotch on my forehead.* Absolutely no photoediting (hence the color balance being all off) but I will admit that diffused lighting and a little oil around my eyes might be why I look rather "glowy".

I'm pretty happy with my skin lately. I used to use a lot of products in an effort to keep my skin moisturized by not oily (remember my raves about Beyond Belief Vit-C Cream? And oil-blotting papers through out the day, and powder, and blah blah blah) but this summer, while on a trip to China, I finally realized that my skin was clearest when I left it alone for the most part. It worked when I was 16, and it works now. I've been using this routine ever since, with the exception that I started using Noxzema over Thanksgiving.

My 5 Essentials:

Microfiber Cloth ($2)
Queen Helene Whipped Cleansing Cream ($6, available at Sally Beauty Supply)
Noxzema, Original ($4, drugstore and grocery stores)
Thayers Rose Petal Witch Hazel toner ($7, I buy mine from PuritansPride.com)
Vitamin E Oil - 30,000 IU ($5, also Puritan's Pride)

My Routine:

Massage Queen Helene Whipped Cleansing Cream into face to remove makeup. I use about half a tablespoon, and focus it mostly on my eyes. It does a great job of removing makeup, even waterproof mascara. Downside: if you get it in your eyes (which you will), you will get blurry vision.
Wipe off with large cotton pad, or tissue. Remove as much as humanly possible.
Massage Noxzema into face. I use about 2 tablespoons, or enough to cover my face. Sometimes I let it sit and use it as a mask, and sometimes I rinse it off immediately.
Splash a small amount of water on to my face, rub it into the Noxzema like it was an oil cleanser. Keep adding more and more water until it's really liquidy, and then splash face with water to rinse.
Bust out the microfiber towel and wash face, making sure to get all traces of the Noxzema off. Dry.
Apply Thayer's Rose Petal Witch Hazel with cotton pad.
Squeeze a drop or two of the Vitamin E oil onto fingertips; gently pat around eye area.
Go to sleep.

That's it! No moisturizer, night cream, eye treatments... nothing. And no products over $10. Yes, I know my skin isn't 100% perfect. (I don't believe anyone has perfect skin all the time.) But I do know that I don't have any blackheads or blocked pores around my nose anymore, and the only zits I get are small white heads on my forehead. That splotch you see on my forehead is the unfortunate result of wearing foundation earlier this week for a photoshoot...

I'm not saying that this is the only way to get clear skin, and I'm not going to guarantee that this will work for you. (Some people hate the Noxzema, but I LOOOOOOOVE that shit.) But if you have similar skin to me - mostly normal, dry sometimes to the point of flakiness in the winter and an oily T-zone in the summer - this might be worth a shot to you. The Thayer's toner contains glycerine, aloe vera and vitamin E and is alcohol-free, and I think it does a good enough job of moisturizing on its own that I don't need a separate moisturizer. The only area of my face that I think needs extra moisture would be around the eyes, hence the use of the vitamin e oil.

Now, I'd like to see everyone else, bloggers AND commentators, post their naked face and tell me about their skincare routines. Tell me what works for you and what doesn't! It's okay if you don't have perfect skin... I really do think we need to reassess more realistically what "good enough" skin is, instead of looking at the airbrushed models in the Sephora catalog.

*The cat was originally sleeping at the foot of the bed while I was taking pictures, but the sound of the shutter clicking woke her up, so she decided to join this photo op.

Color Club - De-luxe-cious

2011-01-11T17:52:00.000-08:00

Another one from the Untamed Luxury set. Gorgeous, gorgeous color... horrendous application. This polish is so darn thick, I swear it could probably stand on its own. It's more like dough than a polish. It's a bit sheer - two coats will cover it well but three coats is best to get bottle color. Most people describe it as a gray with a blue tinge, but to me it seems like a true desaturated blue. I think it's a nice wintery shade, somewhat reminiscent of Milani Cyberspace but not a holo (instead, it has rainbow glitter) and not quite as vivid.

I personally hate, hate, hate thick polishes. I tried thinning it out, but even after at least 30 drops of thinner it's still ridiculously thick. (My idea of perfect consistency is being able to hear the little metal mixing balls inside click the glass when I shake it vigorously, but thick enough not to drip.) I hate seeing thick, chunky nail polish! It chips off the easiest! On the upside, it seems to dry pretty quickly.

This is three coats with Seche Vite on top. I'm usually pretty good about keeping polish off my cuticles but this was so thick and globby, plus the fact I had to do 3 coats... ugh!

EDIT: I just did my laundry and cleaned out my dryer lint... and this is pretty much the exact color of my dryer lint. Unflattering comparison to be sure, but it's the truth! A muted, dusty blue-gray, ha.

Nail Swatches - One of A Series!

2011-01-09T23:12:00.000-08:00

I recently took a census of my nail polishes, and it seems my little collection has a population of 156. (Though, that includes things like top coats and base coats, so it's not THAT interesting.) Given that I change my nail polish, on average, every 3 days (though sometimes I keep a color on for as long as a week), I've decided that my new project this year will be to swatch all the polishes in my collection! I have absolutely no more room in my little drawer, and that's not even including the 3 polishes I ordered from Zoya during their 3-free facebook promotion, so I'm going to have to figure out where I'm going to store those...

Nevertheless, on to swatches! This is Snakeskin by Color Club, from their Untamed Luxury Fall 2010 collection. I bought it as part of a set during my last haul at Ross for the princely sum of $8 for 7 polishes.

I'd call it a gray with a strong green-gold shimmer, and some multicolored sparkles. It's a thick polish, pretty pigmented, though I think it needs 2 coats for best effect. It's a little bit brushstroke-y if you're not careful, but the brush strokes fade quite a bit once it dries.

Bonus swatch: L'Oreal HIP Kohls. Just in case you're interested in 'em -- grab them at CVS before the clearance sale is over!

From L-R: Navy, Brown, Black, Burgundy, Teal, Gold.

While the Navy and Burgundy shades didn't seem to have super amazing staying power compared to Guerlain Terra Cotta kohls, the L'Oreal HIP Teal kohl was pretty darn tenacious. Stayed on ALL DAY with no signs of fading, even after me sweating my butt off during a pole dance class! I haven't tried the Gold, Black or Brown shades yet, though.

Also, it's currently snowing in Atlanta right now. Only 3-6" were predicted plus some sleet and frozen rain, but my fellow Atlanteans are acting like it's the end of the world. There was definitely a rush on groceries today! I did make it out to a Publix to pick up some fried chicken and sushi, though... school is cancelled for tomorrow, which means one more day of lazing around for me, yay! Here's the view from my apartment early this evening, into my complex:

Foul Bachelorette May

2011-01-07T17:45:00.000-08:00

Everyone knows about the foul bachelorette frog meme, right? Basically, all those nasty habits you have that you'd never admit to but are true for at least a significant proportion of women. For example, this one is especially true for me:

... or this one. *cringe*

Well, today is day 3 of living alone without Denis, and I'm most definitely settling into a bachelorette existence. For example:

TOO LAZY TO COOK

STOCK UP ON LEAN CUISINE
This stash will last me a while, since I've had very little appetite since Denis left. *melodramatic sigh* Oh my love! How I pine for thee! This actually worked out well in my favor, since I had a photo shoot today and not eating much these past few days killed off the belly I acquired over the holidays.

FEEL SAD

BUY SHOES
These B. Makowsky pumps, only $28 at Ross! Having tiny feet is great for shopping the clearance racks.

STILL FEEL SAD

BUY NAIL POLISH

RUN OUT OF SPACE IN NAIL POLISH DRAWER

BUY DEDICATED STORAGE UNIT
It was $30 at Ross.

Unfortunately I didn't plan out that last purchase very well because, well... here's my entire nail polish collection.

Either I'm gonna have to give up buying nail polish, or buy another one of these things.

Look busy!

2011-01-06T11:58:00.001-08:00

I am trying (and failing miserably) at keeping myself busy enough to keep the grief at bay. It is now 3PM and I am still moping in bed, though I'm being "productive" by writing a blog post while doing a Noxzema mask. (Noxzema mask? Yes, I will elaborate later.) So far, I've signed up for a pole dancing class at 8:30PM tonight, and I think I might also go relieve some some stress by going up to our favorite shooting range. (Thursdays are Ladies Nights, so free range time, yay!... Still have to pay for gun rental and ammo, though.) Anyway, I've had a couple of blog posts brewing in my head for weeks, but I just haven't taken the time to spill my thoughts. This IS still a beauty blog, after all!

First things first: I know every other beauty blog has been buzzing about this already, but CVS is having their annual beauty clearance sale. NouveauCheap has an excellent post on what you might expect to find on offer - a lot of L'Oreal at 75% off and Maybelline at 50% off.

I picked up 4 L'Oreal HIP Kohls in black, brown, teal, and gold. (I already owned the other two, navy and burgundy.) If you want to be a serious coupon ninja though, keep in mind that L'Oreal is also currently BOGO50%OFF so you could get a better deal than I did last week. They're kinda like Pokemon: gotta catch 'em all! Granted, I still much prefer to use a Guerlain kohl if I want to line my waterline, but these are pretty decent too. A bit grittier, but they don't irritate my contacts and they come in fun colors.

I also got the Maybelline Pulse Perfection waterproof mascara (50% off, though it was labelled as 75% off... grr!) and I have to say it might be my new HG. I've liked almost all the Maybelline mascaras I've tried, and I seriously suspect they just reuse the same formula over and over again with new packaging and brushes. (If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?) I never tried it before because I thought vibrating mascara wands were a total gimmick, but it really DOES give thicker, longer, well-defined lashes! The formula is pretty good, standard Maybelline as I've mentioned before... REALLY waterproof. I had it on the day I dropped Denis off at the airport, and it didn't budge, and I did an unbelievable amount of crying. (Even the agent who gave me the gate pass gently poked fun at me.) Since it's the vibrating wand doing the magic and not the formula though, I'm definitely planning on saving the wand to use with other mascaras. It just so happens to fit the L'Oreal Voluminous tube almost perfectly... and L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black waterproof is one of my favorite mascaras as well. (Also up there: Maybelline Colossal Volume Express, but the wand doesn't fit this tube.) While I wouldn't buy it again at $15, I think it was well worth the $7.49 investment.

Not on sale, but I also bought one of the new Milani Gems nail polishes - specifically the Deborah Lippman Happy Birthday dupe. I hated it in the bottle, but it's actually rather grown on me. Scrangie called it "chunky clown puke glitter", but it's really quite cheerful looking on the nail, especially over a dark base. (I'm wearing it over China Glaze Lubu Heels in this picture.)

Oh, and you might start seeing me post many many many more photos on this blog soon. Denis bought me a digital camera last year, but given my laziness, I'm not always up to taking the card out of the camera, picking out pictures, editing, then uploading pictures and linking them. (As you might have noticed, I don't even bother to watermark my pictures anymore.) This year, after much agonizing, I timidly told him I wanted a new phone. He bought me a Sony Ericsson Vivaz Pro. This thing is a BEAST: it's small (not much bigger than my old Sony Ericsson S550i), it's got a 3.2" touchscreen, has 3G, GPS, Wifi, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, PLUS a 5.0MP camera. And it takes HD video. Ridiculous. I have it linked to my Picasa account so I can snap a picture and upload it immediately. Maybe I'll go back to making Youtube videos too... I've been out of the loop when it comes to phone technology, so a phone like this is pretty intimidating. I didn't even KNOW they made phones with GPS...

Oh, right, Noxzema mask. I've decided Noxzema is my new favorite budget skincare product. It's a love-it-or-hate-it kind of product because some people break out horribly from it, but my skin LOVES it. I find it soothing and really decreases the redness on my face. I even love the tingle! I use it as both as mask and a cleanser in the evenings after I remove my (waterproof) makeup with Queen Helene Whipped Cleansing cream and a cotton pad. If I have time, I leave it on for 15 minutes to an hour, otherwise I rinse it off immediately. It's a very mild soap (the formulation is basically water + a bunch of oils saponified with a base like NaOH or Ca(OH)2 and some plant-derived essential oils like camphor and eucalyptus oil) and it rinses off cleanly. I do take care to wash with a microfiber cloth after rinsing it off, to be sure I get every last bit off. Best part: it's $3.99 for a 15oz tube. CHEAP. I used it years before but dropped it to try other new products -- now that I've rediscovered it again, I have no idea why I ever stopped.

January - the month of comings and goings

2011-01-05T23:06:00.000-08:00

I know I've been MIA for a while, but after my final exams, I figured I needed a break. I managed to get straight As last semester (technically, 2 A- and an A, because GSU has a +/- grading scale I didn't know about, and I am just that lazy as to do the bare minumum to get an A...) After my finals, I spent a few days at home with Denis, bumming around, and then we drove back up to Maryland to visit my parents. Poopmonster came with us too, though she wasn't very happy about being in a car for 12 hours, and she was quite vocal about it. Eventually we found the only place she would stay quiet was...

She's such a little tyrant. We joked about renaming her Goose (yes, that's a Top Gun reference!) since she was our "navigator" for this trip. Since we're planning to adopt another cat, maybe we'll name the other one Maverick...

We came back to Georgia on the 31st, and spent a few last blessed days together because Denis left for BMT (basic military training) on the 4th. It's been a day since he's left. I'm used to knowing he'd be home every day and falling asleep next to me, and I've taken that happiness for granted. The bed is too big and cold. I haven't had much of an appetite with him gone, not that I would bother cooking for myself. Even the cat seems to miss him, in her own way - she meows a lot more and seeks more attention. He's allowed 15 minutes of phone time every week, and I have to share it with his mom and grandma. I've already written him two letters that I plan on sending out as soon as I get his mailing address.

I saw him off at the airport, and even managed to get a gate pass so I could spend a few more minutes with him. Yes, I cried. A lot. I sobbed as he gave me one last hug before he left. Today was a little better; I only broke down in tears 3 or 4 times. It's hard not to cry when everything reminds me of him - seeing his coat slung over his chair like he's going to be home at any time, finding his razor still in our shower... I know it's not like he's dead, but I'm mourning him. It's so different when the one constant in my life is suddenly gone. I just feel so... hollow without him. I'm too sentimental.

Almost exactly a year ago, he left Maryland to go to Georgia for school. I saw him drive off in his yellow BMW. This year I saw him board a plane to San Antonio. I just hope that next year, he won't be leaving me again.

I am... a coupon ninja.

2010-12-12T17:11:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow's the last day to use the Sephora BI gift card if you've got one!

At first I was really hesitant about ordering because I just couldn't find anything I wanted. After spending three days trawling the Sephora website and agonizing over what to buy, I realized I needed a moisturizer because the winter weather is really drying out my skin. I tried my trusty old Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer in Sand, but it's a bit too dark for me now. (I couldn't wear it during the summer because it would melt off the 90+ degree Atlanta heat.) So I decided to order the same tinted moisturizer, except in a lighter shade. The pricing on this stuff is a little weird (but in a good way): the full size is 1.5 oz at $42, while the 1.0oz travel size version is $19.50. The travel size only comes in two colors, but I'd rather go through multiple travel sizes (especially when it's cheaper per ounce) and have a constant supply of the fresh stuff! Laura Mercier's tinted moisturizer contains chemical SPF 20, which does lose effectiveness over time.

I'm a VIB (thanks to my brother spending $300 on last year's F&F sale), so I got a gift card for $20. I stacked the $20 gift card with a 10% VIB discount code (V436CB -- good through Jan. 5th 2011), so my total was $4.90, including taxes and shipping. I didn't really want to buy extra stuff just to make free shipping... though if the UD Naked Palette was available, I would have snapped that up in a heartbeat. In addition to the tinted moisturizer, I picked a 500 point reward (full-size Benefit Coralista and mini Bad Gal mascara). I'm feeling like I made out pretty well.

And because I'm ultra cheap, I went through Ebates.... 6% cashback, oh yeah. I swear, Sephora probably loses more money from me as a customer than it makes. I pulled the same shit last year with the holiday gift card as well - scored a Sephora Apple Pomegranate body wash (normally $2) and Hot Mama by The Balm (a mattifying powder, normally $19) for $2.26, including taxes and using a free shipping code. And yes, I used Ebates/Bing for that too. Come to think of it, I MADE money on that particular transaction...

Going to Hollywood, brb.

2010-12-08T16:37:00.000-08:00

Just kidding. While I've always wanted to be a low-level actress (being an A-lister is too demanding - I think my ideal job would be in a daytime soap opera where I'd enjoy both low name recognition and standards for acting) I've never pursued it. On a whim, I recently replied to an ad on Craigslist casting for a music video and also submitted a few pictures to MTV to work as an extra for their Teen Wolf TV series, which is currently filming in Atlanta. Considering I have no acting experience other than a starring role in the 4th grade school production of "The Lewis and Clark Expedition," I was pretty surprised when I was hired for the Craigslist gig and MTV called me back to be a featured extra. Denis has suggested that I take an acting class and maybe pursue this acting thing a little further. I think I might.

Okay, so on Sunday I did the music video. It was terrible. I'm sure you want to hear all the gory details, but I'll just give you the most important parts: it was for a rap video, it was extremely low budget, and it was racist as hell. Let me just say that the chorus to the song was "if you ain't talking money, then you're speaking Chinese! Ch-ch-ch-ching chong!" If I had known what the song was about (owing money, being a cheapskate, refusing to pay your share of things, etc), I wouldn't have bothered submitting. Also, the pay was insultingly low ($75-- a fifth of the usual minimum going rate... ironic, considering the subject matter of the song), and so I ended up walking out on them half way. Fuck 'em.

Originally, they told me that my call time was 8AM so I could get hair and makeup done and start shooting at 9. Since I had other plans that day, they also told me I could expect to be done at 12, and then I could go to the 2nd shooting location at around 5 to shoot the rest of the video, and expect to wrap at around 8. So I show up on time. Hair and makeup crew doesn't bother to show up until 10:30. I'm feeling pretty divalicious as I type this, but what sort of shit-ass production has the talent waiting over TWO HOURS for hair and makeup?

I'm pretty sure this was one of those fly-by-night operations where the production team hired friends and friends-of-friends instead of real professionals, because the makeup artist was completely inept. She claimed to have gone to school for hair and makeup, but she didn't know or didn't care about the basic rules of hygienic makeup application. Blowing on brushes before applying them to my face? EW. Applying lipgloss on me with the included applicator?! WHAT THE FUCK. Who else did she put that lipgloss on?! Statistic: 90% of the population has either herpes type I or type II. I don't. AND I DON'T WANT TO. Hell, she even blew on my fake lashes before she applied them on me, and she GLUED MY FUCKIN' EYE SHUT. I know, I know - applying fake lashes isn't easy. But I've applied lashes on other people and managed not to glue their eyes shut! I practically scratched my undereye off attempting to pick the glue off my lower lashes. I'm not even going to start on how bad the makeup looked - let's just say bright yellow on the lid and crease, and red from the crease up to the brow. No blending. Yes, seriously.

Crew consisted of an audio person holding a boom mic and a videographer, who was shooting from a Canon dSLR on a tripod. My outfit: red leggings, black boots, and a short-sleeve button down top. It was 35 degrees out. I was very miserable. Lead male actor didn't show up until past 11, so we couldn't start filming without him. Somehow we managed to wrap at 1:30PM, and Denis picked me up. Since I had a test on Monday, I decided that my graduate degree was far more important than shooting a video, especially one where they insult my fucking culture, so I called them and told them I scratched my cornea and had to wear an eye patch for the next two days. (This was not true, but I couldn't think of a better way to get out of it. Plus, my eye WAS really irritated from that stupid "makeup artist"...) Of course they were upset, but I think it's fair - after all, I'm only showing them the same level of respect that they showed me, right? (I think I should also mention here that when I got onto set, they had me sign a waiver saying that I release my image to be used for promotional purposes as an extra for no compensation, so they were probably planning to screw me out of the $75 they had promised me before, too. The other actress didn't even bother to read the release, and was surprised when I told her about this...)

Now, being an extra for Teen Wolf was completely, completely different. It was very well organized, and they started shooting promptly at 11:30AM. (My call time was 10:30AM - and I had to go through check-in and wardrobe.) I was one of about 70 or so other extras, though I had the distinction of being a "featured extra," playing the role of "pretty girl #2". Pay was decent - $7.25/hr, plus time and a half if we went over 8 hours - AND they provided food and snacks. I actually had a blast doing it, and met some very cool people.

I was put in a group with other featured extras to stand on the sidewalk in front of the school. There was a part where the main character, played by Colton Haynes, pulls into a parking spot in his Porsche and walks down the sidewalk into the school. We did at least 5 takes, and in one take, Colton popped into my group of extras, put his arm around the guy next to me, and said, "hey guys, what's up?!" Apparently the expression on our faces was very funny to him - we didn't expect him at all. (Or even know who he was, for that matter. I had to look him up on IMDB.) For the record, Colton Haynes is incredibly good looking and looks just as good in person as he does in pictures. He's shorter than I expected (5'9? 5'10?), and has these striking blue eyes you can see from across the parking lot. No joke. I didn't know who he was, but I knew he had to be someone important because he was so much better groomed than the rest of us... and he has incredible, enviably flawless skin. His headshot on IMDB? I don't think it's photoshopped.

Anyway, even though I was originally planning to spend 10-12 hours on set, they cut us loose early. Being an extra is actually a lot of fun, and the free food was definitely appreciated. There's a lot of downtime, so I probably could have gotten some studying done if I wanted to. I really do hope I get called back - I really liked the food and the camaraderie. Plus, they still owe me my screen time as a "featured extra"...

I wish I had a self-generating wishlist

2010-12-01T15:14:00.000-08:00

Denis and I don't really dance around the subject so much when it comes to giving presents. (Kinda wish he would though - I like being surprised.) This year he's asked for a continuation of his Racecar Engineering subscription and an electric razor, which are pretty reasonable requests. I can always think of something to give other people, but I have no idea what I want for myself. Last year I asked for (and received) a new digital camera, but this year, I'm out of ideas. I didn't really want anything for my birthday this year either... I spent it in China, and before I left, Denis and I went on a little weekend getaway in Shenandoah Valley. Last night he asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I couldn't think of anything at all.

So, give me some inspiration! What are you guys looking forward to/hoping to receive this year?

Honestly the only thing I kinda want lately is this hat, which I find to be equal parts ridiculous and adorable:

Either that, or to be Beyonce/Rihanna/Nicki Minaj for a day. For some reason I've always wanted to be a hot black woman.

Thanksgiving & Naked Swatches

2010-11-25T10:11:00.000-08:00

I know this is going to posted really late (probably the day after Thanksgiving) but my excuse is that I started this post early on Thanksgiving morning and didn't have time to finish it until now. Onwards!

2010 has been a good year. I can't even begin to enumerate the things I'm thankful for -- if my list was alphabetized, I'm pretty sure most readers would get bored and give up reading by the time they get through "C". I'm grateful for calculators, cameras, cats, China Glaze nail polishes, Chinese soap operas, cleansing creams, computers, cookies (especially ginger snaps), cotton pads, cousins (at least the cool ones), cranberry juice, cream of mushroom soup, The Cure... yeah, you get the idea. I don't realize it often, but I live a very privileged life that allows me to waste my thought cycles on luxuries like gadgets, gourmet food and makeup instead of worrying about survival, and for that I am incredibly thankful. Neither me nor my dad plan on hitting up any Black Friday sales, since we both feel that we have everything that we really want or need. Tonight we're having dinner with my cousins and my dad is roasting a whole turkey in preparation for that. To be honest, I'm not a fan of turkey, but eating it occasionally isn't too bad.

Anyway, today I did some swatches of the UD Naked Palette compared to the Sleek Storm palette that a very sweet reader from the UK sent me. (Hi Jing!) They're not dupes of each other, though I kinda think of them as being in the same family - muted jewel tones and neutral shades. Exactly the kind of shades I prefer and tend to buy over and over again. I'm glad to report that there are no dupes between the two palettes though a few shades are kinda similar, but I find that both palettes are superbly pigmented and complement each other well. Kinda like peanut butter and jelly. Since the shades in the Sleek palette aren't named, I've labelled them in the most unimaginative way possible for comparison purposes between the two palettes.

Sleek 'H' and UD Gunmetal are pretty similar, though 'H' is definitely more blue toned, making it a little harder for me to wear. Sleek 'L' is an extremely pigmented matte black, while UD Creep is sheerer, with a bit of rainbow shimmer that doesn't really show up.

Sleek 'C' and UD Naked are very similar matte shades, though 'C' is ever so slightly darker and has more of a mauvey tone. I'd say I like them both equally and there isn't much difference when worn. UD Buck looks similar in the pan, but surprisingly applies darker than you'd think. I really like it as a crease shade. It's actually quite similar to the medium mauve-y taupe in the Maybelline Chai Latte quad, one of my favorites.

Sleek 'B' and UD 'Virgin' are very very similar - bright, frosty highligher shades with a slight pink tone. Virgin just happens to be more pigmented and more finely milled. I thought Sleek 'E' and UD Toasted looked kinda similar in the pan, though obviously they're very different. Sleek 'G' and UD Toasted are close cousins though, with Toasted having a more pinkish tone to it.

Sleek 'G' and UD Smog aren't too different either, though Smog is definitely more yellow. Hustle is definitely one of my favorite shades in the palette. I didn't realize until afterwards that I'd forgotten to swatch Darkhorse, but it's pretty close to Hustle, just yellow-based.

It drives me crazy that there's no good dupe for UD Sidecar! It's a gorgeous bronzy taupe with microglitter that was only released in the UD Book of Shadows Vol 1 and the Naked Palette. I've never been a fan of Half-Baked; it's way too sickly yellow on me. I actually prefer Sleek 'D', which gives the same effect but tones down the yellow.

Finally, I also did my makeup today with the Naked palette. I couldn't get a good full-face shot. It was overcast, so all the natural light in my room tends to make me look very desaturated, while the incandescent bulbs in my room give everything a strange tangerine glow. So here's my creepy eyeball staring at you:

I'm currently testing out Maybelline Stiletto Waterproof. I'm hoping it improves with age, 'cause right now it gives me spider leg lashes.

I just got my eyebrows threaded a few days ago. Look at how clean my brows look underneath, with nary a stray hair! They're a bit on the thin side and very arched... but the look has really grown on me. I've always thought thin, highly arched brows tended to make people look more worldly and sophisticated while fuller, straighter brows give a sweeter, more approachable look. Think Olivia Wilde versus Song Hye Kyo. I can't really say I prefer one look over the other. Since it'll be a while before I can grow my brows out again though, I'm thinking I should take advantage of this new look and wear more smoky eyes and embrace being a bad girl...

UD Naked palette & a haircut

2010-11-22T18:49:00.000-08:00

I flew home on Saturday to spend my Thanksgiving break at home with my dad. I am not happy with the TSA's new policy on millimeter wave scanning and enhanced manual searches - I think it's a violation of our civil rights. I was pulled aside to go through the scanner (which generates an image of the subject's naked body) and while you all know I'm quite comfortable with myself and how I look naked, I thought it was AWFUL suspicious that I saw mostly young women being asked to go through the scanner. That, and I was wearing frickin' jeggings. They're skin tight. I couldn't smuggle a lip balm through my pocket without it bulging, much less a bomb. At 5'5 and 120 pounds, I'm not sure how I could be deemed a threat to anyone. Really, TSA, fighting terrorism consists of looking at chicks naked? But that's neither here nor there, and so I'll save that rant for another time...

Anyway, since I've been home, my vacation has consisted mostly of me sitting on my ass, watching TV, and stuffing my face with my dad's delicious cooking. I'm oh so very glad not to have to eat my own cooking anymore... yes, it really is that bad. By the time I get back to Atlanta I'll probably be closer to 5'5 and 200 pounds, and maybe then the TSA would be more correct in deeming me a possible physical threat...

Today, I went to get a haircut with my friend Aly. Aly consistently has awesome hair, while my hair is constantly snarled and tangled. It's long, and upkeep is tough. Not only that, my hair is pretty severely damaged from all the chemical coloring experiments I've tried on my head, in addition to a disastrous digital perm I got in China over the summer. Every goddamn week I clean a rat-sized clump of hair out of my brush. The part I hate the most is when I'm trying to brush my hair, and I can feel and hear my hairs snapping as the brush runs through to the ends.

So to eliminate that problem, I decided to cut it all off. I lopped about 8 inches off, and I'm thrilled about it. I've always been a bit hesitant about short hair because I think my facial structure is rather androgynous, bordering on masculine at times, and I'm afraid short hair will make me look like a man. But that wasn't a problem in the capable hands of Aly's (and now my) #1 hair guy/stylist extraordinaire, Linh Phan. (Readers who are in the Washington D.C area and are interested, can access his facebook page here. He calls himself a "hair artist"; I call him "a wizard with scissors.") Pictures:

I really love how it's kind of a reverse mullet: short in the back, long in the front. Not quite like Rihanna's angled bob from a couple years ago... this is softer, with bangs in the front. I think it turned out well.

And now, another reason why Aly is awesome: look at what she got me.

Talk about holiday spirit! The store had a limit of buying only one. So she bought it for me as a combined belated birthday/holiday gift. I'm bowled over.

I opened it. I saw this:

The look on my face can only be adequately expressed via lolcat:

Eeyup. I haven't even used it yet. To be honest, I'm a little scared to touch it.

Back to our regular scheduled programming...

2010-11-16T07:50:00.000-08:00

Ok, ok, no more posts about cat poop, other than one last plug for Animal Essentials Plant Enzymes & Probiotics. It's a "natural digestive aid" that contains enzymes like amylase, protease, lipase, cellulase, hemicellulase, bromelain (also a protease), and some bacillus coagulans as a probiotic, plus a bunch of calcium carbonate. I mix about a teaspoon into her wet food 2x a day and it seems to have solved the problem with her flatulence. We've been using it for about 3 weeks now, and it seems to have no bad side effects either. I like that she's getting some extra calcium in her diet (she's a growing kitteh, so calcium is important!) and I've been learning about the role of Ca++ on activating neurons with NMDA channels during the learning process... I've mentioned before that Poopmonster is a really dumb cat, right? Well, I figure every little bit helps. Denis has been talking about getting a helmet for her. She has a habit of running into things when she gets excited and she still somehow manages to poop outside of a COVERED litterbox. Sigh. Maybe I should feed her some fish oil and then she'll still have a chance of growing up to become doctor/lawyer/engineer.

So recently I went through a depressive episode, and Denis came home to find me crying. "Go buy yourself something nice," he said. It should not come as a surprise to anyone that I went out and bought...

... nail polish. Even though money is a bit tight lately, I've been conscientiously saving up all my monies from pet sitting, not letting myself eat out, and walking to school (instead of paying for parking) so I figured it'd be okay to treat myself.

So this is my haul, all made at Ross:

Nailtek II and Quicken, which was BOGOF @ $4.99

Color Club Glitter Vixen set @ $7.99 (bought 2 of these - one as a gift for a friend)

Tres Risk 4-pack @ $4.99

Borghese Stellare Notte @$1.99

So altogether the damage wasn't too bad... though it's not as if I needed any more nail polish. I mean, this is my collection as it stands right now:

Denis freaked out a little when he first saw this.

Nail polish addiction is kind of a self-limiting thing, though. After a while you run out of unique colors to buy and it winds itself down a bit. This year has been much reduced compared to the frenzy of polish buying I went through last year!

I'm testing out the Nailtek II right now, and I'll update on how it's working out later - between using quick-dry top coats, pure acetone as a remover, and doing all the housework, my nails are starting to get pretty damaged. It's gotten to the point that if my nail polish chips, then it takes off a chunk of my nail with it. Pretty gross, eh? I wore the gold Color Club glitter for my photoshoot on Saturday, and it was a pretty awesome glitter polish - opaque in 2 coats and quick drying - but it also chipped all over the place when I did the dishes. Most glitter polishes do that on me though, particularly China Glaze. It also dried rather gritty and bumpy, even with a layer of top coat... you'll definitely need 2 coats of top coat. Oh, and it was certainly a pain in the butt to remove, but what glitter polish isn't?

I'm currently wearing the dark green/army green Tres Risk polish, since it was a brand I've never head of and was quite curious about.

It's actually a very nice polish! On the thin side, which I prefer, though a little runnier than I'd like. If you do thick coats you can get away with 1 coat, but I always like to do very thin layers and that ends up streaky. 2 coats is opaque creme perfection. It dries very glossy - you don't need a top coat unless you want one. I don't know how it wears yet, but application and formula are quite excellent. It also dries fairly fast - not Seche Vite fast, but it's done in about 5 minutes. The packaging says "dries in 30 seconds" but that's an exaggeration at best. I like this color, but I think I already have it... looks very similar to Fingerpaints Tough Art To Follow, maybe a little lighter and more blue-toned. In this picture, I have Nailtek II as a base, 2 coats of the Tres Risk polish, plus a coat of Nailtek II on top of all the nails except for my ring finger. See how ridiculously glossy it is? I mean, whoa.

The next polish I test out will definitely be the Borghese Stellare Notte - it looks kinda dupey to the Orly Space Cadet everyone's been creaming their panties over. I wish I had gotten on the Orly bandwagon earlier, but I haven't had time to find a Sally's in Atlanta and pick up a few bottles myself. (That, and I'm not so sure I'd fork out $6 for a single bottle of polish...)

I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking.

2010-11-13T18:58:00.001-08:00

(Yes, Zoolander is one of my favorite movies.)

So today I did my first photoshoot in... oh geez, at least a year, probably more. I'm definitely a little rusty. Back then, I told myself I'd quit modeling because I wanted to focus on school, and now I'm not really planning on going back to modeling except to make a little extra money on the side. I've got a couple of music video castings coming up, and I figured now would be a good time to refresh my portfolio. This shoot wasn't paid, of course - I did it TFP (time for prints) with an up and coming photographer who also wanted to build his fashion portfolio. It's pretty refreshing to be shooting fashion instead of glamour, since glamour photogs can be pretty pervy sometimes. Then again, I think it helped that this photographer was so delightfully gay. He's a little raw - a lot of the pictures had problems with lighting, but we still managed to get a few good photos out of it. I wish could should you all more polished pictures, but the extent of my photo editing skills is simply hitting the "I'm feeling lucky" button in Picasa.

I really enjoyed the shoot, though I can't say the same for Denis, who insisted on sticking around to chaperone me. I also enjoyed having an excuse to put on makeup! I haven't done a full face in a long, long time.

This is a variation of my usual daytime makeup, though applied slightly heavier and using quite a few more products in order to get it to show up on camera. We had some problems with me getting washed out. This photographer LOVED using the ring flash. LOVED IT. I was half blind by the end of the photoshoot.

Face: Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation in 210 and mixed with 215 for areas around the hairline and jawline. Boots No7 cream blush stick in Clove on cheeks, MAC MSF in Warmed dusted lightly on tops of cheekbones.
Lips: MAC All Revealing lipstick
Eyes: MAC Sublime Nature paint on lids and creases, taupe shade from the Maybelline Chai Latte quad in creases, Cover Girl Line Exact liner on top lashline and tightlined, Maybelline Lash Stiletto Waterproof on lashes.

Denis made the Zoolander "Blue Steel" face at me, and I lost my concentration.

Same makeup as before, except lips are now MAC Russian Red lipstick. I also intensified the blush, using MAC Ladyblush creme blush. (I prefer using creme blushes in the winter - my skin is drier then and tolerates it better than powder.)

This one was actually an accident! We were just testing out the lighting set up, but I liked the way this one turned out. I has a booty.

Here, I busted out ye old smoky eye! I just packed on some more makeup on top of the makeup I already had on - I used Jordana Ebony and MAC Mulch, and re-lined my eyes with L'Oreal HIP Color Chrome Eyeliner in Black Shock and the black Guerlain Terra Cotta Kohl on my waterline. Additionally, I threw on some Ardell #110 lashes, and changed the lipstick back to MAC All Revealing, one of my favorite nudes next to MAC Freckletone.

I loved the way this looked on the camera but as you can see, it was getting dark and the flash went a little crazy with the whiteness of the dress... oh well!

To all aspiring photographers: you really really really need a reflector. See that unflattering little shadow under my nose that looks like a Hitler 'stache? That's what happens when you have lighting coming from above and no reflector on the ground to bounce it back.

Mrow!

2010-11-09T15:24:00.001-08:00

image credit: Explosm.net

I have to admit, when I first found out my relative was reading my blog, I had the very uncharitable thought of making up wild stories to post on the blog -- poisoning the well, so to speak. (Hey, that's what the CIA does to see where leaks come from, right?) I wanted to see how long it'd take for "I sucked my drug dealer's cock today for a better deal on some heroin" to turn into "OMG MAY'S PREGNANT AND THE BABY IS BLACK AND DENIS IS GONNA LEAVE HER!!!!!" But of course, that'd be cruel, mostly because it assumes the worst when it comes to my relatives, and I know they're not mean spirited people. After all, they're my relatives, and distant though we may be, we still share some genes. (Even 6.25% is some.) That, and she's the granddaughter of one of my favorite aunts, and I would hate for there to be any awkward moments at any upcoming family gatherings, because I really enjoy their company so much otherwise. Oh, and since I technically have seniority in the family (as her father's cousin, I'm considered her "aunt", even though she's a year older) I'm supposed to be the bigger woman and forgive the transgressions of the younger generation or something like that.

So guys, it's cool! You don't need to leave comments telling my cousin she's a bitch, though I appreciate that you guys want to stand up for me :) The situation is resolved and so we'll leave it as such. Most importantly: because my dad is the one most in communication with my relatives in China, he'd probably immediately die of a heart attack upon hearing that I'm knocked up with a crack baby before he'd even have a chance to call and ask me about it. And the last thing I want is to haunted by my dad...

So enough about shit-talkers... let's talk about shit, literally! Warning: readers who don't own cats and/or don't plan to own one, won't find this post at all useful. But I really just wanted to rave about how awesome this thing is. (That, and to make a pun, even if it's in poor taste.)

As you all know, my cat is a prolific producer of poop. We call her "Poopmonster" for a reason. Not only does she poop copiously, but because she's young, her digestive system isn't fully developed and so she farts a lot as well. We give her probiotics to help with that - they seem to be helping a bit, but I'm not 100% sure of the efficacy. I'll save that review for later. Nevertheless, the point is that she's a stinky cat. (And we love her anyway.)

We feed her half a can of wet food (about 2-3oz) and as much high quality dry food as she asks for. I swear to god, this cat violates the laws of thermodynamics. I have no idea how a small 7-8 pound cat eats 6-7oz of food a day yet manages to produce 12oz of shit a day. SERIOUSLY. Sometimes I suspect Denis of pooping in the litter box to fuck with me. (He denies this, but giggles maniacally every time I bring it up. So, maybe...) As you can imagine, scooping her litter box is not a daily chore I look forward to. To that end, Denis and I started researching for a better cat poop-scooping solution.

Well, we found one, and it's pretty awesome. It's the Omega Paw Litter Box, which is semi-automatically self-cleaning. We bought ours on Amazon.com, for the princely sum of... $35. (Plus we got free shipping through Amazon Prime.) It's brilliant in its simplicity: it's a covered litter box that's rounded on one end. Inside the litter box, there's a mesh/screen that filters out the clean litter as you tilt the box, leaving the lumps of kitty poo on the outside. Continue rolling the box over, and the waste falls over the edge of the screen into a convenient scoop that you can pull out and dump directly into the trash. Simple! Tilt the box the other way and give it a slight shake, and the clean litter sifts itself over the bottom of the box.

Pictures: (no, I won't show you pictures of my cat's poop - even I have more decency than that.)

There are quite a few advantages over the traditional litterbox. For starters:

it takes less litter to fill to 3" than a traditional litterbox.

the covered box helps contain the smell... a bit. This is important, because Poopmonster's excretions are downright toxic. If she was found in Iraq, she would be legitimate proof of a biological weapon.

since the litterbox is covered, we don't have to worry about Poopmonster kicking litter out of the box and all over our bathroom.

(may not be applicable to all cats) Poopmonster is an especially dumb cat. On more than one occasion, I have seen her sitting in the litter box... with her butt hanging over the edge of it. Pooping on the litter mat. A contained litterbox solves this problem too.

most importantly: I don't have to scoop the litterbox by hand anymore. This is significant because when I'm trying to hold my breath and excavate her little "presents" to me, sometimes I'm not very careful and I accidentally stab into her clumps with the edge of the shovel... and breaking up a large log into little clumps is NOT a pleasant olfactory experience, let me tell you. The little clumps then proceed to fall out between the holes in the poop scooper, which makes it even harder to clean the litterbox the next time.

Cons:

it takes up more space than a traditional litter box - a lot more.

this is the extra-large version of the litter box, and it's pretty small on the inside because of the space taken up by the mesh. Large cats might have trouble fitting in.

it still doesn't catch the smallest clumps - they just pass through between the spaces of the mesh.

Ultimately though, I think this is an ingenious invention and I think $35 is a fair price to pay to keep litter from scattering all over my bathroom and to prevent my idiot cat from pooping on the floor. I'll update if I discover anything new, otherwise I highly recommend this litterbox to my cat-owner readers.

Claire's Mood Polish in Darling/Innocent

2010-11-02T23:39:00.000-07:00

With the recent onset of cold weather in Atlanta (today was only 58 degrees out! Brr!) I thought it'd be a great time to start wearing color changing "mood" nail polish. I've always thought these were super neat from a chemical perspective - the dye is encapsulated into tiny plastic beads, which is used as pigment. The shape of the dye molecule changes with temperature, which reflects light differently, appearing as a change in color.

Ok, bad things first: This polish is sheer, slightly streaky, chalky and dries matte and ugly. It's supposed to change between gray and yellow, but it looks more like a greenish murky gray instead of an elegant neutral like Essie Chinchilly. The formula isn't great either - I think I own all of the Claire's color changing shades with the exception of the shimmery pink/purple one, because I don't care for shimmer. This polish tends to be rather brittle and chips off rather easily.

Good news: All of that is easily remedied with topcoat.

Continuing on my obsession with Nubar 2010, which magically prettifies everything it comes in contact with, here are my swatches of this polish. This is three coats with a coat of Nubar 2010 and Poshe top coat.

When cold:

Can't see the Nubar 2010 top coat very well, but I swear it makes it much prettier. Nubar 2010 reflects pinkish orange most of the time, and yellowish green at certain angles. It coordinates well with the greenish-gray shade... just adds that something extra. Better shot:

Awww, yeaaaaaahhhh...

And a shot when my hands are more warmed up:

This is probably my most favorite of all the Claire's Mood polishes - it has the most unique colorshift. Though, color-changing nail polish is a pretty unique gimmick in and of itself, and I can't resist gimmicks.

Also, since I took down my last post - here are the pictures of my nails reposted. Revlon Valentine with Nubar 2010 on top. Yes, like Frank's Red Hot, I put that shit on EVERYTHING. Definitely my best nail purchase of 2010.

I particularly like this color combination because it reminds me of a Chinese wedding dress - festive and red, with shimmery gold embroidery.

Bonus: KITTEH TIME!

This is how Poopmonster keeps me company when I stay up late doing homework. "Pentose phosphate pathway? Who gives a shit. ZZZZZZZzzzzzz..."

2010-10-31T15:21:00.000-07:00

Last night around 2:30AM, Denis and I were getting ready to go to bed. He thought he heard someone crying outside, and peeked out the window. "There's a girl outside. Go put on some pants and see what's wrong," he said. "I'm not sure it'd be appropriate for me to go..."

So I threw on some sweats and a jacket on top of my tanktop. I couldn't see anyone at first, but I could distinctly hear someone sobbing. I headed towards the source of the sound and found a young woman, college age, curled in a fetal position. She was wearing a minidress and looked like she just got out of a party. Uh-oh, I thought. This better not be some Law and Order: SVU-type shit.

"You ok?" I asked. She continued to sob and shook her head. "What's wrong? You lost?"
"I... I'm not from around here," she said. "I just moved here last Thursday."
"I'm not from Atlanta either. Do you need a ride home or something?"
"I live at [apartment number, our community.]" She continued to cry.
"You want me to go get someone?" I asked. She nodded. "Stay right there. I'll be right back." It was chilly, so I threw my jacket on her and jogged off to her unit. I rang the doorbell and knocked, but nobody answered. Satisfied that nobody was home, I jogged back to where I'd left her. By then, Denis had already come out and was talking to her. We invited her inside, and she teetered on her heels. I put an arm around her to make sure she didn't fall.

"I just want to go home," she said. "I live right here. I wanna go home!" She didn't have her keys, wallet or phone on her. She lived with her brother, but couldn't remember his phone number. We gave her some sweats and another sweatshirt so she wouldn't freeze, then walked her back to her apartment to try knocking on the door again. No luck. I called Atlanta PD and a locksmith - in both cases the phone rang for what seemed like an eternity before the call eventually disconnected. Finally she sobered up enough to remember a friend's number.

"Help," she said, still crying. "I ain't NEVER been treated like that before. NEVER been treated like that before. I don't even know how I got home!" Apparently on one of her first nights of freedom, she had gone out with her brother and his friends, gotten drunk and ended up separated from them. She was thrown out of the club by security, and told us that security had touched her inappropriately. Her friend agreed to pick her up, and she agreed it'd be best to wait at our home. I made her some tea, and Denis handed her a box of tissues. Eventually she calmed down enough to gather her wits about her and have at least some coherent conversation. Like me, she was a student, and she had just turned 21. We called the club, and asked them to get in contact if anyone found her wallet or phone.

Anyway, this story has a happy ending. Eventually her brother came home at around the same time her friend came by to pick her up - I swiped my card to let them in and everyone was relieved to see that she was OK. She had been reported missing and Atlanta PD had been searching for her for an hour now. Her friend had been holding onto her things, so she got her keys and wallet back. I'm sure she was very relieved to be back home with her family after that!

So ladies - I know this comes late as a warning for Halloween parties, but in the future, remember to keep your wits about you and to stay safe when partying. Please. Know your limits, drink responsibly, and always have at least one emergency number memorized.

Makin' the gossip rounds

2010-10-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

There is some seriously shady shit going down.

The more observant among you might notice a few of my entries are missing. This is because I've decided to stop talking about my personal life from now on - this will be the first and last time I mention it.

So as I've said before - Denis and I got married so soon primarily because of financial reasons. Since we'd been together for so long, I figured we might as well get married now and save some money, and then maybe think about a ceremony later. Considering that I moved to Atlanta to be with him, I never cared about stuff like a big wedding, or an expensive ring. I just want to be with the man I love.

However, I have Chinese parents, and as many of my readers will know, Chinese parents are very big on this face concept. My parents wanted to keep our marriage a secret because it would be a loss of face for them not to have a big celebration to commemorate their daughter's wedding. Plan was to get married then have a big ceremony with the floofy white dress and flowers in a year or two, and tell everyone then. Honestly, I don't give a shit. Like I said before - I want to be with him, and I don't believe that love can be measured in carats or by the size of a catering bill. Not to get all preachy on y'all, but I'm not particularly materialistic. I like looking at blingtastic and shiny things, but I am very happy with just looking, and not owning.

Nevertheless, I respected my parents' desire for face, so I didn't tell anyone in my family, though I guess I fucked up by writing about it on my blog. (I don't see how that would matter anyway though - as much as I love my readers, ain't none of youse would have gone to my wedding anyway. On the other hand, I would have many disappointed and insulted relatives if I didn't invite them...)

Anyway, back to my big mouth. I had figured my "secret" was pretty safe, since blogspot is blocked in China. Turns out my family back in Shanghai found out anyway. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to account for the Familial Gossip Grapevine. My parents see this as a big loss of face and I'm left exasperated that it's a big deal at all. The big question is, how did it happen?

Well, turns out one of my relatives NOT in China reads my blog and she went ahead and told everyone. I'm not mad, but I can't say I'm not extremely disappointed. I hate this Asian penchant for... gossip. If I wanted people to know, I would have told them, right? Mostly, I'm disappointed that my relative, who has rebuffed all my attempts to get in touch with her over the past few years, reads my blog and didn't even bother to drop a line to say, "whoa, you got married? Congrats!" I can understand if you don't want to know me or want to know about me, but if that was the case... why bother reading my blog? Why bother TALKING TO OTHER PEOPLE about me?

Jesus.

Anyway, I'm over it. No more talking about my life. I'll just stick to makeup and shit from now on. Last thing I want is for my blog to become a source of dirt on me for people to dig up, turn into mud, and sling at me.

There - and back again.

2010-06-28T05:20:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the unexplained disappearance - I've been in China the past month! I just got back a couple days ago, and still haven't completely adjusted to the jet lag yet. I haven't been terribly interested in makeup lately, so I really didn't haul much while in China - a bunch of cheapie drugstore sheet masks (some brand called O'liye, which, although they cost approximately 22 cents American, are surprisingly effective), and some Nexcare Acne patches. The vast majority of my sheet masks are actually for my friends, though I did buy a good amount of stock for myself as well. I was also searching desperately for the Koji Dollywink eyeliner that MacNuNu recently reviewed, but it appears that they were not available at any of the Shanghai Sasas that I visited.

Actually the truth is, I'm pretty much completely over the whole makeup thing. I haven't worn much lately, and just can't be bothered to because I think I look fine without any. (... What?! Yeah, seriously.) I'm home with my parents for about another month before I move to Atlanta (and don't get me started on what a headache I'm having when it comes to contacting the Director of Graduate Studies, trying to find an advisor and trying to get departmental support) and I'm currently in the midst of doing a huge cleanup of my room and all the crap I've accumulated over the years. I really don't need -- or want -- about 70% of the stuff I own, and yet I feel so bad about throwing things away. I have horrible images in my head of my things lying around in landfills forever and ever. I've been careful to separate paper/cardboard packaging and plastic packaging whenever I could so I can recycle as much as I can, but a lot of this stuff I feel guilty about throwing it away, especially when I've spent money on it. I'm starting to feel that all these things are meaningless. I'm actually a little upset about what a waste it's all been. I seem to have inherited my mom's propensity for hoarding things, never throwing anything away because I *might* need it or want it later. Now that I'm a bit older though, I think I can more realistically assess whether or not I will actually wear/use it, and if not, well... it's going to Good Will.

But anyway, I digress. I think all in all I'm just disgusted with myself and how brainwashed I've been with rampant consumerism. Not that I mean to sound preachy or anything, but this past month in China, I've seen poor people who could feed themselves and their family for a month on what I normally spend on makeup in the same time period-- and that's when I'm being frugal and sticking to drugstore thrills. I shudder to think of the amount of money I blew through while in the midst of my MAC addiction. It all seems so frivolous in comparison. I don't intend to renounce all my makeup, but I really do intend not to buy any more other than replacing things like eyeliner and mascara. It's a bit of a Catch-22: I feel bad for owning all this crap, and I also feel bad about throwing stuff away to languish in landfills.

I'm not so sure I want to continue this blog for the reasons mentioned above, and also because my personal life isn't terribly interesting either. I'm moving on to a new stage in my life, and it's one where I feel like I'm finally growing up. Also, I just don't think I have anything very compelling to say on makeup and beauty, since there are plenty of beauty bloggers out there now who are still so passionate on the topic, and actually keep on top of the new releases. (And of course, I never had anything worthwhile to say about fashion to begin with -- all of my posts on the topic were always me soliciting tips from my readers!) I'm just not sure I really have a *place* in the blogosphere, and I'm not so egotistical to think my ramblings are particularly worth reading :)

Shenandoah Valley

2010-05-23T15:26:00.000-07:00

So I officially graduated from school two days ago, though I didn't bother showing up to my graduation. (Why? Well... to be honest, I don't feel like I've accomplished very much in graduating. I mean, it's taken me 6 years to do what other people do in 4. It's also not like I'm done with school, since I'll be starting graduate school at Georgia State in August - yes, I've been officially accepted.) So instead, Denis and I decided to celebrate by doing a little getaway to the Shenandoah Mountains for a couple of days. There really isn't much going on in the little town of Luray, Virginia (other than the famous Luray Caverns) so it was mostly to enjoy the scenery and each other.

Day One - Since Denis and I are really terrible at getting out the door on time, we ended up starting our journey about 5 hours later than we intended to. We decided to take a more scenic route - 340W towards Charlestown, WV, then down to Front Royal VA where it intersects with Skyline Drive. We then drove through the twisties of Skyline Drive until it met Rt 211, which led us straight to the town of Luray. Skyline Drive is beautiful, with lots of scenic overlooks, which I'm afraid we didn't properly appreciate since we were trying to get to the B&B in time to check in before 6PM. Sigh.

Nevertheless, we got there in time. We stayed at a nice little B&B called the Mayneview which is right in the town of Luray. Since we went on a weekday, it was just the two of us. It was a nice little Victorian home, very historic and allegedly a stop on the Underground Railroad. We stayed in the "Merlin Room":

And there was this aggressively friendly and awesome cat, Molly:

Since it was almost 6PM when we had arrived, just about all the tourist attractions were closed and we didn't really have anything to do. So Denis decided we should go on a hike. "A short one," he said. "When is the sunset?"

"... 'bout 8ish?"

"Okay, so maybe like a 2 mile hike. I don't like going back though, so it'll have to be one of those loops."

So we set back up onto Skyline Drive, and drove around looking for a short (1.6 mile) trail that we had found in a guidebook called "Story of the Mountain." We couldn't find it. Frustrated, we stopped and chose one at random.

"This one looks promising," he said. "Leads to some waterfalls, if you want to go that far."

(Note: This picture only shows about half the trail. We thought we'd just walk along the White Oak trail to the Limberlost Trail and head back - which was about a 2 mile hike altogether.)

Did I mention that Denis and I are really bad about setting out for things on time? Because by this time, it was almost 7PM, and we figured we could be back from our little hike by Sunset, which was 8:10. It started off pretty well:

Here he is, looking appropriately heroic.

We reached the Limberlost trail pretty quickly - it was only about 0.6 miles.

"Should we go on?" I asked.
"Eh. It's still light out," he said.
"There's some waterfalls at the end of the White Oak trail," I said. "Keep going?"
"Yeah, keep going."

That portion of the trail was 2.6 miles. Since the beginning of the trail was pretty easy and made from some quick walking, we figured we could get there and back before sunset. But by the time we'd gotten to the falls, it was getting pretty dark.

In fact, it was so dark that we didn't have a choice but to walk back along the trail we had come on, since we realized the loop we had planned to take was at least another mile down, and we weren't sure we would be able to see the markers on the trees in the dark.

Pretty soon night fell, and the woods were dark and eerily quiet, broken by the occasional hooting of an owl. We trudged along in the deepening twilight, hand in hand. Soon it was too dark to properly see the path tread by previous hikers, so we were forced to switch on the one-bulb LED tchotchke flashlight Denis's Air Force recruiter had given him. It cast a tiny beam of light that was barely enough to illuminate our feet. Our pace picked up from the leisurely stroll we had enjoyed before, hoping to get back to our car before it got pitch black.

"Are bears nocturnal?" asked Denis, suddenly.
"I... I don't know," I answered. I had the nagging feeling that they were, but I didn't want to say either way.

We continued in silence. Denis, at least, seemed sure of the path and navigated for us. I tripped and stumbled over roots and rocks, but he never let go of my hand. It was hard to tell the passage of time in the dark - we couldn't tell how far we'd gone but for the occasional trail posts. When we finally stumbled out of the woods, the clock on my cellphone said it was past 10PM. We looked up, and the sky was completely dark but for the glow of light pollution cast by a nearby city. Unlike in the forest, we could see stars.

"Let's not do that again," I said.
"Yeah, that was... a pretty stupid idea," said Denis.

Moral of the story: never go hiking in the woods close to sunset.

We were hungry, so we returned to our B&B intending to look up any restaurants that were still open. There weren't any. Luray is a small town, so even the Taco Bell was closed by 11. We ended up at a Burger King, the only place open until midnight. We also stopped by a gas station/convenience mart, and picked up a bottle of cheap wine. It was barely drinkable, but it served its purpose in getting us both tipsy. We took advantage of the hot tub at the B&B, and boiled off the tension of the previous evening. We drank and watched the steam rise off the surface of the water. I could see the Big Dipper and Ursa Major above us, and the lights of the town from our vantage point overlooking the valley. We went to bed satisfied, glad not to be still on the trail and huddled under a blanket, or eaten by bears.

Day Two - Not quite as eventful. We went for a trail horse ride at horse ranch. I have never actually ridden a horse before, though I had been placed onto a horse and led around in a small circle at a county fair once.

My horse was a 19 year old mustang named Outlaw.

"He's not going to throw me, is he?" I asked the ranch hand.
"Naw, he's a sweet old thing," drawled the man. He had a deep Applachian accent. "Ain't he?!" he patted Outlaw on the nose. Outlaw snuffled and shook his head, waving away the flies.

Trail riding is very different from the pony rides at the county fair, but I got used to it quickly. Outlaw was sure-footed and steady. I probably could have fallen asleep, and managed to not fall out of the saddle. He carried me with a minimum of involvement on my part, and aside from needing the occasional nudge from me when he stopped to nibble at the wild horseradish and wild strawberry flowers growing on the trail, he didn't live up to his name at all.

Denis and I both agreed that riding a horse on a trail was much better than hiking it.

Our last stop was at Luray Caverns, which to be honest, was kind of lame. Both Denis and I had been there before, and even on a weekday there was a fairly large tour group. (I dislike large tour groups - they always stop for too long at places I don't care to stay, and move on too quickly at the places I want to linger.) Nevertheless, that didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves and taking a bunch of silly pictures.

Yeah, Denis really hates when I wear makeup... so that's why I have minimal makeup on in these pictures.

"Dream Lake" - a pool in Luray Caverns that is almost perfectly reflective... and only about 6" deep!

About 3 years into our relationship, Denis and I realized we didn't have very many pictures of us together. So we've been making a conscious effort to take pictures together ever since he bought me a camera for Christmas - this shows how badly we need the practice.

Yeah, definitely need more practice.

... getting better...

... and better yet still!

And of course, we took advantage of the unusual rock formations to take some silly pictures:

We lingered in the town of Luray for a little while, had dinner at a small place called Artisan's Grille where I had some of the most incredible, delicious barbeque I've ever had. We wandered in an old graveyard, trying to find the oldest headstone. (I think the oldest we found were sometime in the 1820s.) I noticed on pair of marble slabs in particular, a husband and wife who died in the 1890s.

"Look, kitten," I said. "Do you think he died of heartbreak?" The man had died almost exactly a year after his wife.

Denis shot me a withering look, and rolled his eyes.

"... guess not," I mumbled. Denis is not much of a romantic, or very sentimental at all. But in my mind, I could imagine the old man, wasting away and finally succumbing to his grief after a year. Maybe the anniversary of her death had been too much. "I guess you don't anticipate missing me after we'd been married fifty years," I said.

Denis laughed, and we continued out of the cemetery, and walked back to the car, and started on our way home.

Better living through chemistry

2010-05-07T18:24:00.001-07:00

Every girl owns a bottle of silicone hair shine stuff, right? I personally like and use Ion Silk Solutions Silk Drops, which you can buy at Sally's for $8 for a 4oz bottle.

How many people use drying drops for their nail polish? I usually don't, since I usually use Seche Vite and that dries my nails fast enough for me... but Orly Flash Dry Drops, for example, are $7 for 0.6oz.

You know what the top two ingredients are in nail polish drying drops are?
Cyclomethicone and dimethicone. Lightweight silicones. Sometimes they throw some other stuff in too, like camellia seed oil, or jojoba oil to condition your cuticles.

You know what the top two ingredients are in Ion Silk Solutions Silk Drops?
... Cyclopentasiloxane and dimethicone. Lightweight silicones again.

Nail polish companies are ripping us off, man. The moral of the story: if you are ever in a time pinch and you need your nail polish to dry fast, and don't have a quick-dry topcoat around... throw some silicone-based hair product on it instead.

(How did I find this out? I was wondering about how nail polish drying drops work. I figure it must be because they use some sort of base that absorbs the volatile organic solvents in nail polish to accelerate drying, and I was trying to think of what kind of chemical could do that. Of course! It makes sense, as lightweight silicones are nonpolar, and like mixes with like. The solvents would be more likely to move into the silicone fluid than into air, which explains why drying time is reduced.)

I am such a dork.

EDIT: I just tested it, using a thick globby coat of polish on one of my toes, then putting a drop of Ion Silk Drops on top. 5 minutes later... dry to the touch. Amazing.

WE HAS A WINNAR

2010-05-06T08:48:00.000-07:00

I googled for "Random Number Generator" and used this website to pick a number between 0 and 25. Okay, so technically it's not statistically perfect because 0 is a possible result (and I don't have a 0th commenter) and #25 should have been technically disqualified for coming in after the deadline but... whatever. I was satisfied as long as I got an integer between 1 and 25. Anyway, my oracle gave me this answer:

Sharon, a winner is you! :D Email me at rfcmakeup@gmail.com to give me your address, and let us both say "yay!" for Nabokov. (Have to admit I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with him. Loved Pale Fire and Lolita, hated The Gift.)

That was fun. I think I will do another one.

Reminder

2010-05-05T10:09:00.001-07:00

Giveaway ends tonight at 12AM EST. Get yer entries in before then :)

Finger Paints - Scenery Greenery

2010-05-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

I have an obsession with cremes lately. All of last month, Sally's had a B2G1F sale on all their nail polishes. I didn't manage to stop in and check out the polishes until yesterday, but I immediately snapped this up, along with "Tough Art to Follow", which is kinda similar, but a darker and more olive-based green creme. (I also got Sapphire Shimmer, a sheer dark blue with tons of glitter, some holographic.)

... I have no words for how much I love this.

This surprised me though. It dried darker and olive-y than the bottle would've suggested, and came out incredibly shiny. Of course I still threw on a coat of Seche Vite, but... damn. Did I mention I love cremes? It's funny - I swatched all the polishes, and Tough Art To Follow dried almost black, while this dried the shade I wanted Tough Art To Follow to be. I've never owned or seen NARS Zulu in person, but the pictures and descriptions of it... "dark forest green cream"...

It's not a dupe, but that's OK. I've pretty much fulfilled my need for a dark forest green polish. It DOES seem like this is more solid-looking than Zulu, which has a more jelly-like finish. Maybe if someone were to take the initiative to add 1/4 bottle of clear to this, it'd be pretty close.

Giveaway

2010-04-30T19:04:00.000-07:00

The theme of this giveaway is "stuff I really like and swear by". This includes:

1. Murad Vitalic T-Zone Pore Refining Serum
2. Ardell #110 lashes (my favorite lashes, ever)
3. Mini-set of Sally Hansen Extreme Hard as Nails polishes
4. Ion protein and moisture treatment packet (I'm a big fan of Ion products.)

Rules:
- US and Canada only
- You have to be a follower of this blog, previous to this entry. Can't say I'm a huge fan of giveaway vultures, and I want to do something nice for my readers who've been with me for a while... all 187 of you.

To enter, leave a comment on this blog entry with:
1. What you like about my blog
2. What you'd like to see me write about more
and... to be random...
3. Your favorite perfume for this time of the year. (Mine is evenly split between Hanae Mori Butterfly and a mixture of Acquolina Pink Sugar and Lolita Lempicka. I call that particular combination "Dolores Haze". You win absolutely nothing if you get this reference.)

I'm taking entries until... oh, let's say May 5th. Cinco de Mayo! Winner will be determined by me randomly picking someone.

Musings on fashion...

2010-04-25T19:49:00.001-07:00

Alright, hitting 200 people or no, I'm definitely doing a giveaway by May 1st. I have too much stuff and a giveaway is a good of an idea as any when it comes to clearing out. That'll probably be followed by a sale where I try to sell off the lightly-used stuff. Anything left over probably'll get given away to friends/relatives... or through here, provided people are willing to pay for shipping.

I'm seriously panicking a little bit about how much crap I will have to move to Atlanta. I drive a 2-door coupe. It's not like I'll be able to pack a whole lot of stuff in there... even though Denis is planning to rent a U-haul.

Man, gonna have to clear out my closet too. I predict a LOT of stuff is going to the local Salvation Army/Goodwill. Not that it's such a bad thing... my parent dressed me and bought my clothes for me through middle school, and I was a broke-ass kid in high school and college, so I don't really have much in the way of clothing I'd like to keep anyway. I wouldn't mind building a new wardrobe that suits me and my style better, though I'm notoriously picky about clothes. I almost always hate everything I see at the mall/stores... it's always too gaudy or prosaic or something.

I dislike following trends for the sake of following trends - I'm most comfortable in simple, basic things that fit and flatter me. As I've said many times before, I have no sense of fashion and what makes an outfit "work", but I just know what I like. Even when it comes to more professional work apparel, I tend to dress like a secretary from the 50s. Or rather, that's what I'd LIKE to channel. I have no imagination beyond fitted sheath dresses, high-waisted pencil skirts and stiletto heels, it seems. I can't help it. In biology, being overly fashion-conscious is seen as frivolous, and I don't think I have quite the free-spirited attitude needed to pull off the more avant-garde looks I see on other people.

I also get angry when I read fashion magazines because it seems everything in there, including "basic necessities" are designer and $400 a pop. I understand the concept of "dress for the job you want" and all, but I honestly doubt most people really follow fashion that closely. Maybe that's why I enjoy being in a male-dominated field... I can shop in the junior's section at Macy's and still get away with it. (Don't laugh, I do. I swear, Macy's house brand, BCX, which is found in their "Junior's Career Apparel" section, is the shit.)

The last thing I purchased that I really liked was a Liberty of London for Target Isis print maxi dress. This one:

Picture taken from Amazon.com

(I do wear it with a wide belt cinched at the waist, since I'm rather hippy and wearing it loose just makes me look like a peacock-print christmas tree.)

... funny thing is, I snatched it up in my size immediately because I was convinced it would be sold out the next time I stopped by the store. Well, the next time I stopped by the store... the rest of the stock hadn't been touched. Which just goes to show, I am absolute crap at predicting what will appeal to people. (Though, I did get *a lot* of compliments on the dress when I wore it.)

Hm. How does everyone else deal with putting together an appropriate wardrobe and determining what stays or goes? I think I'm just panicking about this because my graduation is looming in about 4 weeks and OMG THE REAL WORLD ARGH.

Gone MIA again, eh?

2010-04-12T06:40:00.000-07:00

Yeah, makeup just hasn't really been taking up most of my thoughts lately - my car has. Between racing (last weekend) and deciding to do a small car audio project that turned into a big car audio project (this weekend), I'm lucky if I remember to put on mascara. So even though this is completely unrelated to makeup, I'm so proud of it I'm going to post about it anyway.

Prologue: I attempt to install a Kenwood KDC-MP205 headunit into my Acura RSX Type-S. The Type-S has the Bose sound system, which is finicky and refuses to work with a lot of aftermarket stereos... the Kenwood being one of them. I probably could've taken it to Best Buy or something and gotten them to figure out out for me, but I am stubborn and a hardcore DIYer. Instead, I decide to install an aux jack (the real purpose of wanting a new head unit) myself into the stock stereo.

Step one: Removal of stereo from car dash. It is miserable and hard to do, especially in the Type-S. After 2 hours of cursing and breaking nails, I finally succeed.

Step two: Disassembly of the unit. I am confronted with a multitude of tiny screws that I know I will inevitably lose. Feel a vague sense of unease and anxiety, since, you know, I've never done this before.

Step three: Ah-ha! We get to the promised land: the main circuit board. I realize that this project involves soldering. I don't own a soldering iron. For that matter, I don't know how to solder either. I go to Radioshack and buy an aux jack and the $8 soldering iron that comes with really crappy solder. I practice on old computer components I have lying around.

Step four: Realize I don't have wires to solder. Drive to MicroCenter, and get distracted by really cool sale associate with whom I talk shop about cars and performance for about an hour. He reassures me that I will be fine. I go home with a 10-pack of brightly colored wire, and better (rosin-core) solder.

Step five: I attempt to solder wires to the circuit board according to this electrical diagram posted on ClubRSX by someone much smarter than me who has done this before. I do not succeed.

Step six(a): I continue to attempt to solder. And fail. This is followed by vehement cursing, and then more soldering. Finally I manage to get the wires to stay...

... but when I try to put the stereo back together again, one of the wires detaches. I curse again, take the unit apart, and resolder. Repeat process several times, cursing more each time. I break for a grilled cheese sandwich.

Step six(b): Finally succeed in soldering the wires securely to the circuit board. I then connect the wires to the aux jack (not pictured), and drill a hole in the face plate of the stereo (also not pictured, but for future reference - I used a 9/32" drillbit to make an appropriately sized hole. I successfully put the damn thing back together, albeit missing half the screws. "Eh, it'll hold together fine anyway and it'll be easier for me to take apart again later," I rationalize.

Step seven: Install the unit back into the car. Heave a sigh of relief when I realize it still powers up. Slap forehead in dismay when I realize I don't have the antitheft code. Ransack the house and ultimately end up calling two dealerships in an effort to obtain it.

Step eight: Success! It works! Not only did I manage to not screw up either the radio or the CD player, I can now also play my mp3s through the aux jack! IT ACTUALLY FUCKING WORKS! JESUS CHRIST. (@&$!^@#*% VICTORY IS MINE. I FUCKING RULE. I AM AWESOME. I AM A TECHNOLOGICAL WIZARD. I AM INVINCIBLE!

Step nine: ... I realize I don't know how to set the clock on the damn radio. I call Denis, who sighs and patiently explains it to me. He is not nearly as excited as I am that my radio works. "I thought you called me because you got into grad school or something," he says.

Step ten: I enjoy my music as I drive to school, and we all lived happily ever after.

EDIT: Here's what it looks like without the aux input cable plugged in. Pretty non-intrusive, and it looks like it could've come from the factory this way.

Dear Chanel: What the fuck.

2010-03-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

I saw this monstrosity today on my RSS feed for Temptalia's blog, covering Chanel's new Orient Extreme release for Summer 2010:

image borrowed from Temptalia.com

Really, Chanel marketing people? Really? Apparently "Orient Extreme" means a terrified looking model with GIANT EYEBROWS that overwhelm her delicate facial structure, dead-fish lips, paired with eyeliner winged out to highlight any asymmetry between her two eyes.

Wow. This is almost as bad as the time I let a makeup artist do this to me:

On second thought, it looks like the same artist did both works, except she finally learned how to match foundation colors.

Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation revisited

2010-03-22T15:31:00.000-07:00

I raved and raved about Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation a while back, and the color match on RF215 was pretty decent... that is, decent when I'm at my most tanned. At the height of my wintertime pallor though, it is definitely too dark. I recently swapped for a bottle of the Rich Liquid Foundation in 140, in hopes of getting a match for me when I'm not quite so tanned.

Well, as it turns out... 140 is too light. WAY too light. Nevertheless, I think it's worth keeping for mixing with 215. I'd say 140 is definitely around a MAC NC20, while 215 is more of a MAC NC30-35. Here they are swatched next to MAC Studio Stick Foundation in NC27, the closest I've ever gotten to a "perfect" skin match. It does look starkly white when swatched on my arm, though it blends out pretty well on the face... just a slight pale cast.

It's unfortunately that Sephora only carries some of the shades from the full line. From what I understand, Sephora is the only distributer of Illamasqua in the States, and of all shades, they don't have 205, which is available on the Illamasqua website. Given my luck, 205 is probably the perfect shade... but seriously, for a foundation, there is MUCH too much of a gap between 140 and 215, since one is supposed to be "for light to medium skins with golden undertones" and the other is "for medium skins with golden undertones." Sigh. If only they had MAC's color range with Illamasqua's formula...

EDIT: Check out GossMakeupArtist's post with swatches of Illamasqua RLF for a better idea of the 140-215 range of shades. Sigh, it really does look like 205 would've been perfect!

Skincare hints and tips?

2010-03-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been MIA for a while - I just finished my spring break, which I spent in lovely Atlanta Georgia, visiting Denis. I talked to a bunch of professors at Georgia State U and Georgia Tech, and while my application was too late to be considered at Tech, I'm pretty sure I'll be attending Georgia State in the fall to get my Masters in biology.... I will most likely be doing a program in neurobiology or molecular biology/biochemistry. Sounds exciting, right?!

Anyway, I'm curious about my readers and their skincare routines or lack thereof. My original interest in beauty and makeup started when I was 15, and had discovered Kanebo Naive facewash at a local Asian market. It expanded when I realized it was MUCH better than the plain ol' bar soap I was using before. ("Oh my god! There must be OTHER awesome products out there! ... What have I been missing out on?!") I can't even begin to tell you about how many skincare routines and products I've gone through, in search of The Perfect One. In all truth, there's probably been a number of effective skincare regimes I've gone through, but I'm a bit of a product addict and I always want to try the newest and greatest.

Anyway, through all of my years of experimenting and trying different products, I've learned a few tips to keeping my skin in its best condition. Most of these are probably common sense; a few others might seem a bit unorthodox. Nevertheless, I hope they're helpful and would love to hear about any tips YOU guys use.

1. MICROFIBER CLOTHS: THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL. This one product is probably the biggest factor in keeping my skin in good condition. They feel deceptively soft, but have little abrasive fibers woven in that suck up oil and dirt off your face. (They were originally designed for polishing cars, but hey, it works!) I rarely use scrubs anymore, even microdermabrasion ones, since this does the job so throughly already. That being said, since it is so effective at sucking up dirt and oil, it's also imperative that you replace these often - I keep a rotation of 3-4 cloths, and toss them into my laundry basket every week.

2. Always take the makeup off at night. ALWAYS. Even if it's just light powder. I have been admittedly lax about this rule until relatively recently, because I never felt the repercussions the next day. But then I made the connection: sure, my skin looks fine the next day... but the next WEEK afterwards, my skin absolutely hates me, even if I scrub at it furiously and slather on the zit cream. My skin is one cold B. It'll lie in wait in response to any insult, and attack viciously when my guard is down.

3. Rinse until the water is clear. I splash my face multiple times with water, because I don't shower every night. I will empty and refill my sink basin with water until it remains clear after I finish rinsing. Only then can I be sure that I've gotten everything off my face.

4. If you have bangs, pin them up before you go to bed. I break out the most on my forehead - but after I started doing this, I've cut the rate of whiteheads/small pimples on my foreheads dramatically.

5. Gentle is key. If I've throughly cleansed my face the night before, it is simply enough to rinse with water and microfiber cloth in the morning to get rid of any overnight greasies. Cleansing with a detergent-based cleanser in the morning seems to dry out my skin superficially, then make it super greasy later on, since the skin tries to overcompensate.

6. Quash rebellion, prevent resistance. My favorite facial treatment is Murad Vitalic T-Zone Pore Refiner, which seems to work primarily through chemical exfoliation and contains glycolic acid. I've noticed it seems less effective when it no longer "stings" when I apply it to my face. I've gotten the best results with using it for 2 weeks, then staying off of it for 1 week to prevent my skin from developing "resistance".

7. The role of beneficial bacteria. I like to wear makeup every day, even if it's just a little powder to even out my skintone and cut shine. On weekends though, I try to avoid wearing any if at all possible. I actually don't wash my face at all on weekends if I can help it -- I just use a spray bottle filled with toner (I use Thayer's Rosewater Witch Hazel, which is alcohol-free), and wipe my face down whenever I start feeling greasy. This allows your skin to produce and accumulate your own natural oils, and allow the your skin's flora to balance itself out. My skin always seems to be at its calmest and most well-behaved after a weekend of this.

My hypothesis: acne is caused by a combination of p. acnes bacteria and s. aureus bacteria, and occurs when they outcompete the other harmless and protective bacteria on your skin. By overcleansing your skin, you give p. acnes and s. aureus a chance to take advantage of the reduced numbers of protective bacteria... of course, there are other factors at play (like dirt in your pores and trapped sebum), but when your skin is clean to begin with, it shouldn't be an issue. In addition to the problem of antibiotic resistance, this is the reason why I don't like dermatologists prescribing antibiotics to treat acne (which didn't work for me, btw.) Antibiotics will kill ALL the bacteria in the body, including your "good" bacteria, and can lead to problems like yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis and indigestion. Therefore, I also refuse to use use antibacterial cleansers on my face.

8. Don't wash your face until after you've rinsed out your conditioner in the shower. Ugh. I could've saved my forehead so much grief if I'd figured this out earlier.

9. Castor oil for lush lashes and brows. I've heard raves about this on MUA for growing lashes and brows; I'm trying it out myself. I'm not completely sold on it, but I've been taking pictures regularly and plan to write a definitive post in a few months. Nevertheless, it's very moisturizing and I've been substituting it for eye cream, since it gets all over my eye area during the process of application anyway.

Those are all of the tips I can think of for now - let me know in the comments if you have any others (or if you think I'm a crazy crackpot.)

Backups

2010-03-03T14:34:00.001-08:00

I generally don't buy backups unless they are things I KNOW I will need and use - and they're on sale or at a good price. That's one reason why I really hate MAC and how they constantly put out limited edition products... I refuse to indulge in new products because I'm afraid of falling in love and getting burned when they discontinue it and I drive myself into a frenzy trying to get another one. For example... 4N lipstick. I recently noticed that I had used up 50% of the tube (the most I've ever used of any lipstick!) and now I'm trying to figure out whether I can find a dupe of it or if MAC will rerelease it. Ugh. THEY BETTER RERELEASE IT.

Anyway, I stopped by a CCO today and picked up yet ANOTHER Femme Fi eyeshadow. I can't resist it. I think it's the most perfect highlighter on the face of the planet. I hate that it's limited edition, though it seems that it wasn't terribly popular since there were approximately 12 extra boxes sitting there at the CCO from its first release with the Neo Sci-Fi collection. It's the only eyeshadow I've ever hit pan on.

(That's my "daily use" palette... it's an ELF palette with the insert from a MAC 4-pan stuck in. Yes, it fits perfectly. Kinda cool, eh?)

I've had this eyeshadow for ~a year now (according to my blog archives, my first mention of this was March 17 2009.) I use it EVERY SINGLE DAY. I probably still have another 3 months or so of use left on this pan, and then I can bust out one of my three (3) backups.

Yes, I have three backups. Excessive? I don't really think so. As long as I can get my hands on it, I'll keep using Femme Fi. Should the day come that I finally run out... well... I'm sure I'll be able to find a comparable color in another brand or something. Or I might just cry.

Other products I have backups of:

-L'oreal HIP Paint in Secretive: I swear to god this is better than Urban Decay Primer Potion. For some godforsaken reason, L'Oreal decided to discontinue making these tubes of awesome. I stocked up on them while they were on clearance from CVS. I have 4 of Secretive, and 2 tubes each of Nervy, Lofty, and Steely. Yes, I really do like them that much.

-1 extra L'Oreal Color Chrome eyeliner in Black Shock, because it was on sale.

-1 extra Murad Vitalic T-Zone Pore Refiner... I just opened one of my backups.

-1 extra jar each of Beyond Belief Vit-C day creme and night creme, because... it was B2G1F at Sally's.

-1 backup of LORAC Snake Charmer palette, since it's my favoritest palette ever.

(I also had a backup of Thayer's Rose Witch Hazel, but I just opened that one too.)

I'm curious. Do you guys have backups of anything? Or am I alone in my obsessive-compulsiveness?

Palladio dual wet & dry foundation - a substitute for MAC StudioFIx?

2010-03-02T16:05:00.000-08:00

I originally intended last week to do a bunch of posts, one a day, of drugstore products that I liked. Either I have really crappy sense of time, or...

... okay, no. I had two midterms last week (mammalian physiology and molecular genetics) so I ended up spending most of my time cramming for those instead of preparing blog posts. I am prepared to make up (heh, heh, get it? make up?) for it by making up in quality what I can't do in quantity. While I can't guarantee that any of my drugstore fave posts will appear on any sort of regular schedule, they'll be thoroughly, disgustingly detailed.

Anyway, the subject of today's post: Palladio herbal dual wet & dry foundation, versus the infamous MAC StudioFix powder foundation.

I discovered the Palladio herbal wet & dry foundation on a recent trip to Sally's, since I finally realized that the Palladio display actually has testers. (They're hidden in little pullout trays under the actual racks with product.) I casually swiped it on my arm, and realized it reminded me a lot of MAC StudioFix: fairly opaque coverage for a powder, same creamyish-thick consistency, and package that consisted of two compartments, one with a powder and mirror, and the other underneath the powder holding a sponge. (Of course, the obvious difference: Palladio has a rectangular compact; MAC is round.)

To be completely honest, I haven't worn StudioFix in probably two or three years now. I gave it up because it got oily and greasy on my face after 5+ hours of wear, and because it had a tendency to look a little cakey at first. However, I did kind of miss the coverage... I know I often rave about Maybelline Dream Matte powder, which is fantastic for keeping shine at bay, but it really has very very very little coverage, probably comparable to or a little more than MAC Blot powder. It's also a lot more "dry", and when my skin is not properly moisturized, it has a tendency to showcase flakes. The Palladio dual foundation, though, is directly comparable to MAC Studio Fix in terms of coverage and "glide" on the skin, probably due to the boron nitride ingredient in the formulation.

I'm actually liking this Palladio foundation quite a lot - it has none of the flaws of MAC Studio Fix (no cakiness, no "heaviness", is oil-free and doesn't sink in and emphasize my pores) and all of the great parts: can be applied with either sponge or brush, fairly long-lasting, medium coverage that really evens out skintone. I really like the finish of it on skin. Lasting power is about the same - I have to touch up every 5 hours or so. It's not dry-looking, not cakey, not glittery or shimmery... just creamy and matte. Please excuse the crappy picture; I'm trying to show that it doesn't emphasize pores (which for me, are most noticeable around my nose.)

The biggest downside, in my opinion, is that Palladio simply doesn't have much of a color range. I range between a MAC NC25 to a 35-ish, and the lightest shade in the Palladio line, Laurel Nude, pretty much fits me perfectly. The next shade up, Cypress Beige, would probably be better for when I'm darker, around the NC30-35 range. The shades are definitely more pink/neutral toned than the NC and C-series shades in MAC, though that's not such a bad thing - MAC undertones seem to lean a bit TOO yellow on me, so even when they manage to even out my skintone, it tends to make me look a little sickly and colorless. Having some pink tones makes me look alive, like I have actual blood vessels and capillaries under my skin. I swatched some of my other foundations to give you an idea of the shade and undertone:

The Maybelline powder is much much much sheerer than the Palladio, so I had to do multiple swipes for it to show up. As you can see, they're pretty much the same shade, with the Palladio powder being ever so slightly pinker. I'm pretty pale right now... the Illamasqua foundation that looked fine on me last Novemberish is now definitely too dark. Whoa.

In the pan, the Maybelline Dream Matte powder and the Palladio powder are virtually identical. Yup. Maybe the Palladio is sliiiightly more beigey. Or that might just be my computer.

Ultimately, this makes me think: MAC StudioFix has been around forever now. It might have been innovative and awesome back in its day, but I'm pretty sure even lower-tier brands have caught up at this point. So I figured I should take a look at the ingredients, as always.

Palladio:

Talc, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Starch, Nylon-12, Magnesium Stearate, Boron Nitride, Lauroyl Lysine, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Squalane, Dimethicone, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmtate, Cholecalciferol, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Yeast Extract, Sugar Cane Extract, Grapefruit Extract, Apple Fruit Extract, Camellia Sinesis Leaf Extract, Ginseng Root Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Gingko Biloba Leaf Extract, Chamomile Recutita Flower Etract, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Methyl Paraben, Propylparaben, Ascorbyl Palmitate, May Contain Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Chromium Oxide Greens, Ultramarines, Zinc Oxide.

and MAC StudioFix Powder plus Foundation:

talc, silica, isostearyl palmitate, methicone, methylparaben, propylparaben, May Contain: titanium dioxide CI77891, iron oxides CI77491 CI77492 CI77499, chromium oxide green CI77288, ultramarines CI77007 CI 77013

Pricepoint? MAC is $26 for 15g, while I paid $9.49 for 8g at Sally's for the Palladio foundation. That works out to, roughly, $1.73/gram versus $1.12/gram respectively. Not a huge price differential, though it's surprising to me that Palladio contains so much more stuff (including squalane, hyaluronic acid, Vitamins D and E, and a whole buttload of botanical extracts.) They're both talc-based, so I would expect them to be pretty similar for the most part.

Ulimate verdict? It's kind of close, but I definitely like Palladio better, and would repurchase. Looking at the MakeUpAlley reviews, they totally back me up too - 4.2 with 211 reviews!

Drugstore faves

2010-02-21T11:24:00.000-08:00

I've been on a huge drugstore kick lately. Part of it is because I know I will often buy makeup that I don't really need and I figure I can minimize the damage by buying low end instead. Another part of it is because low-end brands are really stepping up their game, and many products are on par with high-end brands.

I've used a lot of both, and it's true that the really neat, innovative stuff comes out first with the higher-end brands... but many times the higher-end brands are just sub-companies of low-end brands, and by the time the cool stuff from expensive brands trickle down to the drugstore, the formulas ultimately end up being very similar, if not the same.

Anyway, I thought I'd do a series of quick posts this week comparing some of the high-end products that I've used, with drugstore product I've replaced them with and found similarly satisfying, sometimes even better. The inaugural post goes to...

L'Oreal HIP Color Chrome Eyeliner versus the Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero.

From L-R: Styli-Style eyeliner, UD 24/7 in Zero, L'Oreal Color Chrome in Black Shock

That's right, the L'Oreal Color Chrome is more pigmented, and BLACKER than the Urban Decay equivalent. Notes:

- the L'Oreal liner does not smudge as much as the Urban Decay liners. If I apply the Urban Decay liner to the top lashline on the waterline, I will have a faint line on my lower waterline after I blink. It's not a huge deal, but I am surprised that the L'Oreal liners do not smudge down to my lower lash line until 5-6 hours later. Once they dry, they are SET. They don't BUDGE.

- the L'Oreal liner stays on my waterline much longer than anything else I've ever used. Seriously, it's amazing. I can apply my liner on the waterline at 8AM and 80% of it will still by clinging to my waterline by 5PM. It makes for an awesome, long-lasting smokey eye. Case in point:

Yes, I wore a smoky eye to school. This was taken at around 5PM, and I did it at 8:30 AM.

- on the downside, the tip on the L'Oreal liner gets worn down much more quickly than the UD liner. I have to sharpen it once ever 2 uses or so, as opposed to 4-5 for the UD liner. Also, Urban Decay liners come in a much wider range of colors, which are usually not available in the drugstore. But since we're talking about basic black eyeliner, staple of any girl's makeup stash, color variety isn't really an issue, is it?

But the MAIN factor, so important to my cheap Asian heart, is the price. UD liners are $17, while the L'Oreal liners retail for between $8-$11. At CVS, they occasionally run sales where all L'Oreal eyeliners are $5 (such as the one starting today, Feb. 21, through Feb. 28) and that is certainly a most excellent time to stock up. In fact, I totally plan to. I mean, you can't get such a great deal with UD either... and the best they do is 30%-off when they have their tri-annual Friends and Family sale.

So in conclusion, if you're looking for the best basic black liner, with the best results at the most cost-efficient price... L'Oreal is your man.

And for those who would be interested (cosmetic chemistry dorks like myself), a quick comparison of ingredients:

UD 24-7: Cyclopentasiloxane, C11-12 Isoparaffin, Paraffin, Polybutene, Buxus Chinensis, Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil, Ceresin, Cera Microcristallina (Microcrystalline Wax), Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Phenoxyethanol (from urbandecay.com)

L'Oreal Color Chrome: Isododecane, Cyclopentasiloxane, PEG/PPG 19/19 Dimethicone, Synthetic Wax, Hydrogenated Polydicyclopentadiene, Copper, Nylon 12, C20 40 Alcohols, Perfluorononyl Dimethicone, Silica, Polyglyceryl 4 Diisostearate/Polyhydroxystearate/Sebacate, Pentaerythrityl Tetra Di T Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Tocopherol, May Contain (+/-): CI 77000 (Aluminum Powder), Mica, CI 77491, CI 77499, CI 77492 (Iron Oxides), CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77510 (Ferric Ferrocyanide), CI 75470 (Carmine), CI 77288 (Chromium Oxide Greens) (from drugstore.com)

2010-02-12T17:27:00.000-08:00

... yeah, I really need a hobby or something.

Denis' flight was supposed to arrive at 10:15 but it's been delayed till 12:45. SO....

At least this time the colors are appropriate for Valentine's Day.

Kitten eye

2010-02-12T13:50:00.001-08:00

Today I pick up Denis from the airport, so for the first time in about a week, I've put on some makeup.

I am determined to make Angelina Jolie's cat eye work for me. Not entirely successful, but... good enough. I tried experimenting and I realized that with my facial structure and eye shape, I can't do a full-on extended wing without looking like Amy Winehouse in drag. So while this isn't qualified as a full-on cat-eye, I guess it works as a "kitten-eye". I didn't come up with this genius term, by the way... Le Midget did. Which reminds me, whatever the hell happened to her?

Anyway. Closeup of the eye:

Shape and extent of the liner, and my best Angelina Jolie impression:

Yes. It's almost 5PM and I'm still sitting around in my Hello Kitty bathrobe. I should get dressed soon... I have to pick Denis up at 9.

Stuff used (oh, god, this is a long list.)

FACE: Thayers Rose Witch Hazel sprayed on face as moisturizer. MAC Studio Stick in NC27 as concealer (under eyes, chin, temples), blended out with MAC190 brush. Maybelline Dream Matte powder in Medium 0-1 on any areas of shine.

EYES: Urban Decay Primer Potion as base. L'Oreal HIP Paint in Lofty used on lid, from lashlines to bottom of brow bone as color and base. LORAC Snake Charmer palette - copper/taupe shade used lightly to contour top of the eyelid/bottom of the brow bone. Urban Decay 24-7 liner in Zero used to tightline (top) and to draw wing. Sleek iDivine palette in Original - used black eye shadow to smoke out the wing, gold-white shade used on inner corners to brighten. MAC Femme Fi to highlight brow bone/blend out any edges. Guerlain kohl on outer half of the eye only for intensity and definition.

LASHES: Maybelline Colossal waterproof in Blackest Black

CHEEKS: Jane Blushing Earth

LIPS: mixture of MAC 3N & Razzledazzler lipsticks. (Any pinky-coral shade will do... would've looked better with something more muted and peachy like Freckletone anyway.)

BROWS: MAC brow pencil in Stud. Don't laugh at me. I had an unfortunate eyebrow waxing incident a couple weeks ago, and I'm not at all used to drawing in my eyebrows. If you look closely, one is definitely thinner than the other.

BTW, the FTC can kiss my butt. All of these are my own products since nobody likes me enough to send me products to test/review :P

Cabin fever

2010-02-11T14:32:00.000-08:00

So I've been stuck at home since last Friday - my area has been hit by two major snowstorms, and I haven't had school. Now, at first, I was glad to have a break, but now... now let's just say that I'm getting a bit restless.

In fact, I've done and redone my nails approximately 20 times at this point. I'm really just procrastinating on doing my personal statements for my grad school applications. I finally decided to do something so elaborate and time-consuming that I would stop messing around with my nails already and get productive. So...

... here's my Valentine's Day manicure. It's not perfect, but it's my first attempt at nail art, so cut me some slack. I used Sally Hansen Red Carpet, China Glaze Lubu Heels, and some random white striper paint, topped with Seche Vite.

Did I mention that Denis is coming home from Georgia tomorrow? It's also his birthday tomorrow. You guys have no idea how excited I am.

Whose creme reigns supreme?

2010-01-18T13:40:00.000-08:00

I recently picked up a new tin of Nivea Creme from RiteAid, because I can never resist a tin of Nivea Creme. It came in a special Valentine's Day packaging that I thought was adorable -- I was planning to send it on to Denis, who is often plagued by dry skin. I personally swear by that stuff - nothing else can deal with my dry winter skin the way Nivea Creme does. (Though, we will not speak of Nivea Soft here - that stuff is pure evil. I repudiate it.)

However, I noticed that this new tin of Nivea Creme was... different, from the previous tins of Nivea Cremes that I've owned. It melted faster, and absorbed more quickly into my skin, and felt much less greasy. Honestly, as much as I love the stuff, I've always found it too greasy to use anytime except in the winter. Greasy though it may be, to its credit, its never broken me out. Now, this "different" tin of Nivea Creme piqued my interest, so I went home and decided to compare all the various version of Nivea Creme I owned at home.

The original Nivea Creme was made in Germany, and even now, the "German-made" version is considered the best in both ingredients and overall quality. The reviews on MakeupAlley swear up and down that there is a difference between "German Nivea" and "Mexican Nivea". In the field of comparative genomics, one analyzes the amino acid sequences of various homologous proteins to compare divergence, and from there, extrapolates their evolutionary distance. Basically, if two separate but similar species diverged relatively recently, one would expect to see that their amino acid sequences are very similar; if they diverged a long time ago, they would have a great number of differences in their proteins. I'm applying this same principle here. There may, after all, be some truth to the notion that there's a huge difference between the German and Mexican Niveas.

Since I don't own the original German Nivea, I've copied/pasted the list of ingredients from Smallflower.com, where it's possible to buy the original German Nivea. Me, I'm too cheap to pay for shipping, though if any one from Europe wants to arrange some sort of swap with me so I can get my hands on this stuff, go ahead and drop me a line at pomegranatesix (at ) gmail.com.

Anyway, here's the list of ingredients from the German Nivea formulation, which we will consider as our ur-Nivea, the basis to which all others shall be compared:

Aqua, paraffinum liquidum, cera microcristalline, glycerin, lanolin alcohol, paraffin, panthenol, decyl oleate, octyldodecanol, aluminum stearate, citric acid, magnesium sulfate, magnesium stearate, parfum, limonene, geraniol, hydroxycitronellol, linalool, citronellol, benzyl benzoate, cinnamyl alcohol.

*Note: aqua = water; parafinum liquidum = mineral oil; cera microcristalline = microcrystalline wax. Limonene, geraniol, hydroxycitronellol, linalool, citronellol are all extracts of essential oils that are primarily used for scent, as is cinnamyl alcohol. Benzyl benzoate is used as an anti-irritant and preservative.

First, we will start with our "different" Nivea, the one I most recently bought at Rite Aid. This is a "Mexican Nivea", though we'll call it "Mexican version 1", since you will soon see that there are TWO versions of Mexican Nivea! It's priced at a whopping 99 cents for 30mL... god, I love this stuff. Ingredients that are different will be bolded; ingredients that are the same but in a different order will be underlined.

Water, Mineral Oil, Petrolatum, Glycerine, Microcrystalline Wax, Lanolin Alcohol, Paraffin, Panthenol, Magnesium Sulfate, Decyl Oleate, Octyldodecanol, Aluminum Stearates, Fragrance, Citric Acid, Magnesium Stearate, Methylchloroisothiazoline, Methylisothiazolinone

Next, is my Big Daddy Jar (400mL) of Nivea, which I bought in a Latino supermarket for like $7 or something. It is also made in Mexico. You will be surprised to find that the list of ingredients is quite a bit shorter than any of the other versions of Nivea!

Water, Mineral Oil, Microcrystalline Wax, Glycerin, Ceresin, Lanolin Alcohol, Paraffin, Octyldodecanol, Magnesium Sulfate, Aluminum and Magnesium Stearates, Perfume, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Citric Acid

*Note: Ceresin is basically a catch-all term for any hydrocarbon that is solid at room temperature and insoluble in water. Spanish isn't one of "my" languages, so it could very well be petroleum, but I don't actually know.

Finally, is my 60mL tin of Nivea that was produced in Thailand. I bought this at an Asian supermarket, so I assume that it was imported from an Asian country.

Water, Mineral Oil, Microcrystalline Wax, Glycerin, Lanolin Alcohol, Paraffin, Panthenol, Decyl Oleate, Octyldodecanol, Aluminum Stearates, Citric Acid, Magnesium Sulfate, Magnesium Stearate, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Fragrance

Ultimately, these are all pretty similar. The version closest to the original German formulation is the one made in Thailand, which is all but identical except for the addition of methylchloroisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone as preservatives, a characteristic shared by the two Mexican Niveas as well. Having fragrance being placed later in the list of ingredients can be explained by the fact that ingredients that are used under 1% in any formulation can be listed in any order - preservatives are usually used around an 0.5% concentration, so the fact that fragrance is listed after it is pretty insignificant.

The main biggest difference between German Nivea and Mexican Niveas is the addition of petrolatum (petroleum jelly) to the formulation. Somewhere along the way, the Thai and Mexican Niveas lost the essential oil fragrance ingredients, along with the benzoyl benzoate and cinnamyl alcohol ingredients. All versions contain mineral oil, which is also a byproduct of petroleum refining. (I say this because lots of people are wary about mineral oil and petroleum products in their skincare - I'm not.)

I really doubt there is any conspiracy by Nivea to keep "the good stuff" to their home market - the German version is sold all over Europe, and the ingredients are pretty much the same - water, glycerin and some rather inert hydrocarbons held in an emulsion with lanolin alcohol. Everything else is just embellishment. Rather, I think the formulations for each of these locales have been "tweaked" to be more effective, either for skincare or for storage in each of the markets, as the weather conditions in Thailand and Mexican are quite different from Germany. Since it's generally a bit warmer in Mexico and Thailand, it's possible that they had to add additional preservatives to make sure that the product wouldn't spoil. I don't know why they added petroleum to the Mexican versions and not the Thai versions though - I can't explain everything.

If I were to construct an evolutionary clade comparing these formulas, I'd say it'd look something like this:

And here they are, all lined up together for easy comparison purposes:

German Nivea
Water, Mineral Oil, Microcrystalline Wax, Glycerin, Lanolin Alcohol, Paraffin, Panthenol, Decyl Oleate, Octyldodecanol, Aluminum Stearates, Citric acid, Magnesium sulfate, Magnesium Stearate, Parfum, Limonene, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellol, Linalool, Citronellol, Benzyl Benzoate, Cinnamyl Alcohol.

Thai Nivea
Water, Mineral Oil, Microcrystalline Wax, Glycerin, Lanolin Alcohol, Paraffin, Panthenol, Decyl Oleate, Octyldodecanol, Aluminum Stearates, Citric Acid, Magnesium Sulfate, Magnesium Stearate, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Fragrance

Mexican Nivea Version 1
Water, Mineral Oil, Petrolatum, Glycerin, Microcrystalline Wax, Lanolin Alcohol, Paraffin, Panthenol, Magnesium Sulfate, Decyl Oleate, Octyldodecanol, Aluminum Stearates, Fragrance, Citric Acid, Magnesium Stearate, Methycholorisothiazoline, Methylisothiazolinone

Mexican Nivea Version 2
Water, Mineral Oil, Microcrystalline Wax, Glycerin, Ceresin, Lanolin Alcohol, Paraffin, Octyldodecanol, Magnesium Sulfate, Aluminum and Magnesium Stearates, Perfume, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Citric Acid

Do I have too much time on my hands? Yes. Yes, I do.

Oh, er, hi there.

2010-01-16T21:53:00.001-08:00

So I've been MIA for a while. Sorry. I've been a bit preoccupied these past couple of weeks by grad school applications, taking a winter class, and fiddling with electronic things.

First: I bought a new laptop/netbook. My old one, an Acer Aspire One, broke when I dropped it off the edge of a table. I replaced it with a pink Samsung NC10, which I bought off Newegg.com for $309 with free shipping. It's a SWEET machine. For one, it's got a bigger screen (10.2", an upgrade from my original 8.9") and it comes with a 6-cell battery. No lie, I can go for almost 7 hours without plugging in... really great for me, since I've been taking my little netbook to classes to take notes.

Now, typically these netbooks are great little machines for basic things like internet surfing and word processing, and their original specs are pretty much sufficient for most applications. However, I'm a bit of a gadget freak... so I got to taking it apart. (I love taking things apart. I seriously think I should've been an engineer or something... instead, as a biologist, I'm just really really good at dissections.)

Anyway, my brother's company, Micron Technologies, just recently previewed a new line of solid state hard drives at CES, and are set to start producing them sometime this year - and these badboys were designed by my brother and his team in Shanghai. Of course, he hooked me up with a preproduction test unit, which I promptly installed. On top of that, I bought some extra RAM off Newegg, and upgraded to 2GB from the stock 1GB. Altogether it makes for a very sweet and user-friendly machine, especially since Ubuntu 9.10 runs almost perfectly out of the box. I've timed it - it takes 21 seconds to boot up; 31 seconds for a full restart. I mean, wow.

Okay. Now, second, you will soon be seeing that my pictures on here will be better. A lot better. Why? Because Denis bought me a camera for Christmas, a Canon PowerShot SD1200. It came in a nice light blue color.

Why, yes, I do like my electronics to come pretty, pastel colors. So I'm superficial.

Third: I just took the GRE, and I did ok. What's more important, though, is that I think I've discovered a new measure of how good looking Matt Bomer is, exactly.

I don't know what you'd call this - incredbly hot? Mind-blowingly hot? 1500 milliHelens worth of hot?

Well, we finally have an answer ladies and gentlemen. He is, literally, stupid hot. I plan to write a paper on this later, but essentially: I took a practice GRE while watching White Collar. I scored a 1350. When I took it for real, I scored a 1420. A 70 point difference is pretty significant! The only reason I can think of to explain the discrepancy is that Matt Bomer is so cooch-burningly hot, he literally makes me stupid just by looking at him. Yup.

Anyway, I'm going to go back to panicking about graduate school applications. My grades are crap; yet my GRE scores are pretty high. This does NOT look good for any of the graduate programs I'm applying to. Basically, it says: hey, this chick is pretty bright, but lazier than a drunk slug. It's true, I'm motivationally challenged. But goddamn it, I got to find a way to get to Atlanta, somehow.

Oh, yeah. Did I ever update on that? Denis got into Georgia Tech. He started his first semester there last week - and he's also joined the Air Force reserves for money to pay for school, which is the only way he can get in-state tuition. (Fuck you, Maryland!) While I'm not 100% sure I want to go to graduate school, I'm 100% sure I want to be with him. So, grad school it is. I do think I have a lot of potential and would be a pretty decent researcher; I definitely DO think I have something to contribute to the field of biology. I'm just not sure in what, exactly. I should probably try and find out.

Damn, this was a disorganized entry.

Oh, and if you haven't tried Google Chrome yet, you totally should. I just did today, and it's totally rocking my socks off.

First haul of the year...

2010-01-02T21:24:00.000-08:00

... courtesy of Sally's. They totally seduced me with the $10 off $50 coupon in addition to my monthly 15% off coupon, and... well... once I got started I was pretty much determined to break $50 just so I could get free shipping. There were a lot of coupons. And of course, I used ebates (6%!). Altogether I think I did pretty well. For a total of $50.03 (plus $3 tax), I got:

Ion Anti-Frizz Solutions Leave-In Conditioner
This is actually a detangling spray - my hair is always horrifically knotty in the mornings after I sleep in it. I am trying to wash my hair less, so I figured detangling spray was the way to go.
GVP Tea Tree Cleansing Bar
Basically a knockoff of Paul Mitchell's Tea Tree soap, and I'm curious about how effective it would be on my face. I got off birth control earlier this month (Denis is leaving for Georgia anyway...) and I've been getting a few hormonal acne bumps on my forehead, though that could also be attributable to me passing out and falling sleep with my makeup on almost every other day this past month. I figured, for $2.50, why not?
Swissco Emery Glass Nail
I had one from Sephora. I liked it. I have no idea where it went, and I am tired of emery boards tearing up my nails.
Wella Color Charm Cashmere Liquid Hair Color 3NW Dark Natural Brown Color Charm
IMHO, Wella makes the best dye. Period. This is almost my natural color but better - less brassy/red tones. I shamefully missed a few spots towards the back of my head when I was going back to my natural color (after having gone various shades of red and brown last year) and ran out of enough hairdye to fix it. I LOVE this shade though - not too red, not too ash, just perfect.
Brush Strokes Wooden Boar Bristle Oval Cushion Brush
I heard amazing things about the Mason Pearson brushes, which are made with boar bristle. This looks like a knockoff, and well, you know how fond I am of cheap knockoffs. I've never used a boar bristle brush before, but I am told they're better for hair... I guess I will find out.
Batiste Dry Shampoo
2009 was my Year of the Nail; 2010 is my Year of the Hair. I'm really trying to take better care of my hair this year, and that includes washing it less, since my hair is dry and damaged with slightly oily roots. This has great reviews on MUA, so I figure it's worth a shot.
Ion Moisturizing Shampoo 33.8 oz
Dude, it was $9. For a liter of shampoo.
Ion Silk Solutions Silk Drops
I raved about these earlier. It took the better part of a year, but I've gone through 2 0.5oz trial sizes of these babies... I felt it would be worthwhile to get the 4oz full size.
L'Oreal Natures Therapy Mega Moisture Nurturing Creme 16 oz
I finally finished my last tub of this! It only took two years... though, I did drop it (and lose half the product). Good stuff, though. It's definitely my preferred deep conditioning treatment.
Sally Girl Nail Color in Phat
Sally Girl Nail Color in Mean Streak
Beyond Belief ABH Intensive Repair Serum
Beyond Belief Vita C+ SPF 15 Sunscreen
I really should start wearing sunscreen. There's a $3 off 2 Beyond Belief skincare products sale going on, so... yeah. It's a brand I already use and trust, figured this was a safe bet.
Ion Clarifying Shampoo 16 oz
Reviews on MUA were poor, but there were raves on the Sally's website. I wanted to find out for myself, plus there was a buy 2 get 1 free deal with Ion haircare going on. I heard you shouldn't clarify more than 2x a month, so I wouldn't be using this regularly anyway
Cardinal Black Shampoo Rake Comb
This was 69 cents. I bought it just so I could make free shipping. PRO TIP: Detangle hair in shower with a detangling comb and conditioner to avoid breakage. I used to brush my hair while it was wet... nuh-uh. It IS kinda freaky how much hair comes out when you detangle in the shower, but I'm pretty sure it's all natural shedding. For me, I haven't noticed any new split ends since I started doing this.

I included links to MUA reviews where relevant :) Altogether, I feel like I made out like a bandit.

NYE FOTD

2009-12-31T15:37:00.000-08:00

Man, it's been a while since I've done a full face of makeup. I think I'm losing my touch, since I piled on the makeup and it's still... kind of... subtle.

Used: Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation in 215, MAC Ladyblush blushcreme on cheeks, MAC Curtsy on lips, MAC Bare Canvas paint as a base, then MAC Bronze, Embark and Femme Fi eyeshadows, and also Urban Decay Half Baked on top. Finished off with Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero to tightline and slightly smudged into top lashline, Guerlain kohl in black on waterlines, and Maybelline Colossal waterproof mascara. Whew!

Top 10 of 2009

2009-12-26T13:08:00.000-08:00

Yuck. I've taken a week off after my last final, and now it's time to get back to work again... with grad school apps, upcoming GRE on Jan 7th, and my winter class starting on Jan 4th. I almost feel like my life is a treadmill, and I'm a very miserable fat person being forced to run on it by a sadistic personal trainer. (Which reminds me, I should probably start getting some exercise. This whole week I've been subsisting on fried foods and mayo.)

Anyway, this year has been... interesting for me. I didn't wear as much makeup, and what makeup I did wear was pretty neutral/boring. I totally fell out of love with MAC and fell in love with nail polish to quell my craving for color. I started embracing more unconventional and homemade products, as well as expanding into drugstore brands. I tried to downsize. Overall, I'm pretty happy with my new finds and stash this year - I use everything I buy, and I try to avoid buying things I don't use. So with no further ado, and no in particular order, here's my list of stuff I really liked this year.

Microfiber cloth. This stuff is the shit. Easily and cheaply available at Target in the automotive care section for something like $7 for 4 cloths, I've been using these every time I wash my face. My face is super soft, super exfoliated, and I just about never get blackheads or blocked pores anymore. I love these, and I try to stock up whenever I swing by Target. I use each washcloth for a week or two before throwing it into the laundry. WORD OF WARNING: be gentle! BE GENTLE! The first few times you use this will hurt if you scrub too hard - those abrasive fibers are serious business. Please give your skin time to adjust.
Ion Silk Solutions Silk Drops. $8 at Sally's (with card) for a 4oz bottle or 99cents for the 0.5oz trial size. I've only had my hair flatironed ONCE in my life (I try to avoid doing any more damage to my dyed-3-times-in-a-month hair) but I loved the results. For once in my life, my hair was silky and unsnarled. Normally my hair tangles easily and tends to get a bit frizzy when I brush it, but applying a few drops of this to my hair when wet gives the same result as flatironing my hair. I apply this to my hair after a shower, after blotting my hair so that water isn't dripping out of it. I pour a few drops into my palms, rub my hands together, and then run my hands through my hair. It seriously amazes me, especially how SO LITTLE PRODUCT (seriously, a nickle-sized blob) is enough to treat my brastrap-length hair. (Then again, I have pretty thin hair, so your results may vary...) I don't know how this mixture of silicones does the magic. I don't care. I will probably buy this for as long as they make it.
Homemade oil cleanser. I feel kind of bad writing about how awesome this stuff is, especially since I'm still working on perfecting the formula... but seriously, I use this stuff EVERY TIME I wash my face in conjuction with a microfiber cloth and my skin has yet to have any negative reactions to it. It gets every bit of makeup off my face without using a separate remover, including waterproof mascara. To be honest, I'm a bit afraid to test it on other people for fear it won't work well on them and everyone will hate me. I mean, I saw what happened with Michelle Phan and her IQQU line... the reviews on MUA are terrible. Nevertheless, it works well for me, and I'm glad to have an inexpensive substitute for Shu Uemura's cleansing oil.
Urban Decay Book of Shadows II palette. Really, there's nothing to say about this that hasn't already been said before, but... the pigmentation of these shadows are incredible. Much better than MAC. I made a promise to myself: I will never buy a MAC eyeshadow again, especially when the UD's pigmentation is SO MUCH BETTER. While UD doesn't have quite the range of MAC, they make plenty of gorgeous neutrals that keep me more than happy. And seriously, at around $48 for 16 shadows PLUS two mini 24/7 liners and a travelsize Primer Potion, it's a serious bargain.
Thayer's Rose Petal Witch Hazel. I LOVE THIS STUFF. It's alcohol-free, formulated with aloe vera, rose water and glycerin, which are all moisturizing, skin-nourishing ingredients. It smells of fresh dewy roses, which doesn't bother me - actually, I've gotten quite fond of the scent. It doesn't take off makeup, as far as I am aware - but I apply this with a cotton pad after cleansing my face and it helps retain moisture. I don't wear makeup every day - and therefore, think it's overkill to wash my face on my makeup-free days. (Something about maintaining the natural balance of flora on your skin surface without disrupting your natural protective oils...) so I just do a quick wipedown with this. and go to bed. Also, the witch hazel in it has toning benefits that keeps my skin fresh and glowy and my pores small. And for around $6oz for 12oz, it's also one of the cheapest toners per ounce I've found.
Maybelline Colossal Volume Express waterproof mascara is possibly my top mascara find of the year. It works well for me, what else can I say? While I raved about the Twilight Volturi mascara not too long ago, the results from Maybelline Colossal are pretty similar, and much cheaper, especially since Maybelline is on sale BOGOF like every other month. (Though, the Twilight mascara is more lengthening, holds a curl better and holds up better to oil and moisture.)
While we're talking about Maybelline, I have to say I love their Dream Matte powder as well. Super light, non-pore clogging, non-cakey, pure awesome. While there's not much coverage, it does keep me shine-free for a good 8 hours. I wear shade Medium 0-1, and it's a perfect match on my skin, with just enough coverage to keep my skin looking even. No weird tones, no issues with oxidation and turning orange... simply put, it's a great mattifying powder that does exactly what it purports to do. And cheaply.
Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear line of nail polishes... I've spent way too much time raving about these polishes on my blog, but basically: cheap, pigmented, long-wearing, with awesome color selection. These are pretty much the only drugstore polishes I will buy... especially when they are buy one get one 1/2 off.
Generic Value Products line of hair care at Sally Beauty supply - usually around $5-$6 with a card, these are basically just knockoffs of more expensive salon brands. I especially like that they including an ingredients list on the back that compares it with the salon brand... while I've never used any of the expensive brands before (did I mention that I'm cheap?) these products are universally pretty pleasing. Products that I've used and liked: the Matrix Biolage Conditioning Balm knockoff; the Joico K-Pak knockoff; the Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Oil and Awapuhi shampoos. Seriously, I love Sally's and that membership card more than pays for itself...
Studio Tools brushes at Target - Oh. My. God. I never knew that brushes could be so cheap and so awesome. For example, the duo fiber brush - even though they jacked up the price to $6.99 from the original $1.99, this brush is still WELL WORTH THE MONEY. I am not lying when I say it's actually better than the famous MAC 187. Compared to the 187, it's just as soft, denser, and has a slightly smaller head. Better suited for detail application and blush application in 187, in my opinion. And the fluffy crease brush! It's awesome! For something like $2, I bought 3 of them. I also own the synthetic foundation brush, which I find comparable to the MAC 189, just with a slightly less full brush head and 1/10th the price. While it could be used for powder foundation, it is (in my opinion, anyway) better suited for liquid. These brushes are a goddamn bargain, though. Great quality too - none of my brushes have shed more than 2-3 hairs since I bought them, and I do wash them frequently.

... so that was my top 10 list for 2009. I'm curious to hear from other people what products they loved in 2009!

Because it's a picture is worth a thousand words... more on Volturi mascara

2009-12-13T15:53:00.000-08:00

Here's a comparison picture of my left eye (bare, no mascara) and my right eye (with Volturi Crown Mascara in Black Knight):

(Click to enlarge)

Yes, I know there's a typo in the picture - it's supposed to be "Knight", not "Night". Deal with it.

And I thought nothing good could come from Twilight.

2009-12-12T14:36:00.001-08:00

... but I was wrong.

Yesterday I was browsing around at Ulta with my friend Aly, and we came across a Twilight makeup display. "Volturi by Twilight," it said.

"WTF is this shit?" I said. "This is ridiculous. Twilight MAKEUP?" Let me note that I have never seriously read the books, but I've gotten ~70 pages into Breaking Dawn before deeming it the worst thing I have ever read. Why, yes, I am a literary snob. Surprise. I haven't bothered to see any of the movies, though I've been tempted to... armed with RiffTrax and a fifth of vodka. But I digress.

Nevertheless, the two of us, being beauty addicts and all, gamely swatched the testers they had set out. Among other things like GLITTERY BODY LOTION (I had to laugh at that), they had loose powder eyeshadows and a primer, black lipgloss, and mascara in black, navy blue, and silver.

... it was actually pretty good. The loose powder eyeshadows were similar to MAC pigments, and came in 7 shades, I believe. Two of them really stood out for me - Dawn, a gorgeous taupe with rainbow sparkles, and Myth, a silvery gunmetal gray. Dawn was pretty similar to MAC Coco/Subtle pigment, and Myth was like a more intense version of Knight Divine. Also worth mentioning: Dusk, a blackened purple with pink shimmer. These weren't crappy pigments either -- they were rich, pigmented and intense. I was tempted to pick up Dawn, since I can never resist a taupe, but at $9 for 2.1g I decided not to, especially when I already have a gazillion near-identical taupes.

Now the standout product of this line... the mascara. It came in a tube that looked like a Chanel lipgloss, of all things. In fact, I thought it was a black lipgloss until I bothered to read the packaging. ("Ugh," I thought to myself. "They're ripping off MAC's Style Black collection now, aren't they?")

(Picture from twilightbeauty.com)

Then I actually tried it on my lashes, and... wow. My lashes looked long, defined, and separated. I decided I had to have it, even at the $16 price tag. What really sold it for me was that Aly saw my lashes and said, "wow, that looks really good." Aly has the most amazing lashes herself, so of course I convinced.

Also, as a chemistry nerd, I was quite impressed by the formulation:

Ingredients: Isododecane, Polyethylene, Beeswax, Polypylene Carbonate, Bis-Stearyl Ethylenediamine/Neopentyl Glycol/Stearyl Hydrogenated Dimer Dilinoleate Copolymer, Isohexadecane, Copernica Cerifera (Carnuba) Wax, Caprylyl Glycol, Pentaerythrityl Hydrogenated Rosinate, Phenoxyethanol. May contain: Mica, Iron Oxides, Titaniux Dioxide, Ferric Ferrocyanide, Aluminum Powder.

It's not advertised, but this is a waterproof (or at the very least, water-resistant) mascara. See the first ingredient on that list? Isododecane? It's also the main ingredient in the formulation of the famously smear and smudge-proof MAC Fluidline. That, along with polyethylene and beeswax being among the first ingredients was a tip-off that this stuff would not come off easily with just water. Good stuff.

The $3.50 off coupon at Ulta made the price a little easier for me to swallow. This morning I tried it on again and... yup, I'm still enamored of it. One coat is mostly good for lengthening; two coats give it pretty decent volume. The brush is nothing special, but the formula is thin enough that there are NO CLUMPS when applied. And you know what else about it is awesome? It holds a curl. It holds a curl really well, in fact.

I think I could be in love.

A cursory search on the internet reveals that this line is actually manufactured by DuWop, a pretty respectable company in its own right. So for once I have to admit I was wrong and give props to the Twilight franchise. If good for nothing else... at least they put out a damn good mascara. (And some pretty good pigments too.)

The only part I am worried about is that when this whole stupid Twilight craze blows over, they're going to stop making this mascara, and THEN what the hell am I going to do?!

New traincase + stash pics

2009-12-06T16:44:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned yesterday, I picked up an old American Tourister traincase at the thrift shop yesterday. I've cleaned it up and moved most of my makeup in there - I've decided that I'll keep everything that fits, and everything else gets sold off. (I had to make an exception for the Urban Decay Book of Shadows I and II palettes though - they just didn't fit in there to begin with. Too tall.) Anyway, pictures!

Classic 60s-70s? era American Tourister traincase. Dull blue-gray color. My dad used to have an Oldsmobile that was this color.

I have to admit it was a struggle getting everything to fit. Everytime I reorganize my makeup I'm surprised by how much I have.

I managed to cut own to just one MAC palette... though I kind of cheated. I removed the inserts to the 15-pan palette and 3 4-pan palettes; each 4 pan palette now holds one depotted blush + 2 eyeshadows, and the 15-pan palette now holds 21 eyeshadows. I call it being space efficient.

With the top tray in. I like that it has a little mirror in it!

Blog sale probably around Dec. 20th, after my finals are over. I took my first practice GRE last night. Yeah, I've totally forgotten how to do math. The sad part is that this is the first time I've ever scored higher on the math section of a standardized test than on the verbal. I had an 800 Verbal score and a 700 Quantitative score on the SAT. This time it was more like 650/700 respectively. Oh well, I'm sure I'll improve with practice. I blame it on being distracted by Matt Bomer, since I was watching White Collar while taking the practice test. I mean, (LOOK at this guy. You'd be distracted too. God, I love his hair.)

I LOVE THRIFTING

2009-12-05T17:35:00.000-08:00

$15 for this Etienne Aigner bag at my local Value Village. It was hidden at the bottom of a rackload of other bags. It looked a little beat up, but I felt like I could rehabilitate this. Indeed, I felt like I needed to rescue this poor bag from its life of being buried under other bags in a dusty thrift store. So much wasted potential! After taking it home and reconditioning the leather, it's like new! I'm actually surprised by how well it cleaned up. I also shortened the strap. It used to hit at about the hip, now it hits at about the waist. I think long straps are a bit dowdy, but then again, this IS an old bag. Probably from the 80s-90s.

I briefly considered the possibility that this was a fake, but then I realized that nobody would bother to fake an Etienne Aigner bag anyway. It's hardly up there in prestige with Chanel/Balenciaga/Fendi or even Coach. Still worth my $15 and elbow grease though! It looks well-constructed and sturdy. It probably has a few more years of life left in it yet.

In other news, still studying for the GREs and taking practice tests.

Wet 'n Wild Rock Solid Nail Lacquer in 223A - Sterling Silver

2009-11-28T23:54:00.000-08:00

I bought this a while ago and never bothered to paint my nails with it because it turned out gloopy and hard to deal with when I initially swatched it. After letting it sit for a month or so, I gave this another try, since I've been craving silvery gray polishes lately.

The formula is still kinda hard to deal with, but tolerable. The trick is thin coats, allowing each coat to dry before applying the next. Generally speaking 2 coats were enough, though it looked a little bit streaky on a few nails so I did 3. Yes, it's one of those annoying polishes that reapplying polishes over wet polish take off the bottom layer. It also takes a while to dry, which I am annoyed with - even a quick dry topcoat like Seche Vite doesn't help much. It only seems to dry the top layer, and if you apply any pressure on it, the top layer of the nail wrinkles. I had to take off the polish and redo a couple of the nails a few times.

The color is worth it though - a very pretty, wearable metallic pewter. The name of it is "Sterling Silver" but it's definitely on the neutral-warm side. The shade is deeper than Sally Hansen Celeb City, and coverage is pretty opaque. Not bad for, what, $1.99? Yeah. I do like that it's not a terribly brushstroky kind of metallic though; just a little care in angling the brush keeps the "grain" of the polish nicely linear.

In other news, I am a bit preoccupied with and freaking out over grad school apps. (@#&*!^$*@&#@!

Ugh, High School Reunion

2009-11-28T11:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my 5 year high school reunion. It was lame. I showed up and stayed for as long as it took for me to finish my glass of Guinness, and left as soon as I was done. I was reminded how many people I didn't like/didn't care to know there were at school. I feel no kinship with these people... so yeah, I can probably be expected to not show up at the next one.

That said, I still wanted to look nice, so I went through the effort of doing my makeup. Right now I'm a bit on the pale side, and Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation is ever so slightly too dark and peachy on my skin. I remedied that by mixing equal parts Kevin Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX07 (a bit too light and yellow on me, but excellent coverage), my usual daily moisturizer (Beyond Belief Vit-C Day Creme) and the Illamasqua RLF in 215 with a Q-tip. I applied it to my face with the Q-tip and blended out with a duo fiber brush. I used the Studio Tools duofiber blush for most of my face, and the MAC 188 for detail work around my eyes, nose and lips. I looked goddamned flawless, like I had celebrity skin. Definitely red carpet worthy. Too bad it was wasted on a bunch of drunk people I didn't really want to see anyway.

I think the reason it came out so well was because of the pre-blending step of the application - I wasn't using my fingers; I used a Q-tip to apply. Instead of dotting on my foundation and blending out from there, I swiped thin lines on my face and concentrated them on the places I wanted coverage. This ensured more even coverage, though it looked and felt very light, like I wasn't wearing anything on my face at all. After blending, I went back and swiped on more foundations on any areas I wanted more coverage, like my under eye circles. Completely flawless, though not in a fake-looking way.

Kept everything else simple. Quick wash of a pink creme blush and some black liquid liner to make a cat-eye, mascara, and a quick swipe of a peachy lipstick. I was aiming for "sophisticated", not "overdone" or trying too hard. Short sleeve shirt, cardigan, jeans and mid-calf boots. I did see a few girls who were pouring out of their tops. Glad I was not one of them.

Shameful admission: I got home late and fell asleep in my makeup. Two days in a row. It is a credit to Illamasqua RLF that I haven't broken out. In fact, no adverse effects on my skin at all... though that might also be due to my new daily regimen of taking fish oil. I always thought I had pretty nice skin, though wearing foundation makes me realize how blotchy I really am. Oh well. My skin is nothing to be too horrified by, so I guess I'll stick with wearing foundation only for special occasions. It's just too time-consuming to really bother with.

Sally Hansen Celeb City (+ Cover Girl City Lights)

2009-11-22T13:22:00.000-08:00

... make for an EYEBALL-EXPLODINGLY AWESOME combination.

Ok, first things first. Sally Hansen Celeb City - part of their Extreme Wear line, which you all know I am exceedingly fond of.

It's a pretty good polish in terms of pigmentation, formula and drying time, which probably explains why I can never find a bottle of it on the shelves of my local CVS. It's one of those rare polishes that you can get away with just one coat - the polish is SO shiny and full of shimmer, and that diffuses most of the light that hits it, making it hard to see any mistakes. That said, I still did 2 coats because I like having full opacity and my 1st coat was a little streaky - I always use very very thin coats, and layering coats while still wet takes off the bottom layer. Not too tricky a polish to apply though; just wait for the first coat to dry before doing the second.

Here it is alone:

Excuse the messiness around the cuticles - it's my right hand, and I'm not particularly dexterous when it comes to painting with my left hand.

The color is pretty awesome too. Initially, I thought it might be too bright and close to white to be wearable on my skin, but it's actually a perfect neutral, clean silver. Silver is trendy lately, isn't it? Dao recently recommended Revlon's Silver Screen as a good dupe for MAC's $$$$$Yes polish, a silver shade, but I found that the lavender tones were unflattering on my skin. But I too wanted to join the cool crowd and rock the silver polish... and Sally Hansen Celeb City satisfies my lemming, at a very wallet-friendly $2.99 at that.

Anyway, knowing me, there's no such thing as TOO MUCH awesome, so I figured if I was going to go blingy on my nails, I might as well go for the ULTIMATE bling... adding more glitter on top of it. Holographic glitter, to be specific.

Here it is with one coat of Cover Girl City Lights on top. CG City Lights is already a silvery-based topcoat, so it was nigh-invisible on top of the Celeb City, save for the rainbowy holographic bits. I still fail at photographing holographic shimmer, but you can catch a glimpse of it on my thumb in that shot. It's ludicrously blingifully awesome. I don't have topcoat on any of these pictures, but let me tell you - it's EVEN BETTER once you throw on a coat of clear. I think this is my new favorite manicure.

Like peanut butter and honey...

2009-11-15T13:21:00.000-08:00

... some things are just meant to be together.

2 coats of China Glaze For Audrey + 1 coat of China Glaze Medallion. I wrote about Cleopatra, a similar gold glitter from China Glaze, earlier - Medallion is sparser in glitter, not quite as blingtastic, and definitely a cooler toned gold than Cleopatra, which is reminds me of MAC's Tan Pigment in its warmth. Cleopatra seems to have bigger glitter flakes and is dense in coverage - I could get full coverage on the nail in 2 coats. Medallion is hard to classify - it has a clear base so it could be used as a top coat, but the glitter particles are bit on the dense side for a top coat.

Medallion thus makes a great complementary top coat to a color like For Audrey without overpowering it with BLINGINESS!!!!111! Still quite eyecatching, though. Reminds me of tumbled turquoise stones... though technically, those are more likely to have *copper* flecks because the color of turquoise comes from oxidized copper. But I digress. Yes, I'm a former geology nerd.

Anyway, BUY MY STUFF. I really do need to get rid of it. I'll probably be adding more stuff to my blog sale in the coming days and/or dropping some prices to entice you guys into giving my things a good home. I can't stand how much make up I have and how much of it goes unused.

Sally Beauty Supply haul + more Sally Girl swatches

2009-11-07T14:25:00.000-08:00

Every month I do a haul at Sally Beauty Supply to stock up on whatever essentials I need - usually I walk out with a bottle of shampoo, some conditioner, sometimes some hair dye and/or nail polish. I dyed my hair dark brown last night -- the red had almost faded away completely and I had a light brassy brown going on. It wasn't bad, but like Madonna, I feel more grounded with dark hair.

There are three things I really like about Sally's: 1.) If you get the card, a lot of the stuff sells for cheaper than the listed price 2.) if you spend over $25 the previous month, you get a 15% off your entire purchase coupon and 3.) Sally Girl nail polishes, because they fucking rock. They're cheap to begin with (99 cents), cheaper with the Sally's card (89 cents) and even cheaper if you come in with a coupon like I do (~76 cents). I mean, seriously, what can you buy with 76 cents these days? Maybe a Snicker's bar from the vending machine...

But I digress. Anyway, this time I noticed that Sally's had some new additions to their Sally Girl line of polishes! The reason why I was so excited was because two of them were HOLOGRAPHIC! YES! I snatched both of those up with the quickness, and also picked up a nice vampy green shade as well. They had a few other colors (one is clear base with big silver foil pieces, another with gold foil pieces) but they didn't interest me much. The two holographic shades I picked up were prettier in the bottle than on the nail, since the holographic effect isn't as apparent, but they're still pretty cool looking. One is a medium strawberry pink, the other is a a pale beigey lilac shade - not too cool toned and very wearable. The third color I picked up is a dark blue-toned green with shimmer, kind of like the color of a male mallard duck's head. I don't have the pink one swatched, but here's pictures of the lilac and the green, with Beauty Secrets Top Coat on top:

I tried my best to show the holographic-ness of it, but it's very hard to capture with my camera. Sigh. This is under artificial light.

I think you can see some of the holographicness in this picture. Setting sunlight.

I really love the green shade - I haven't compared it to a Mazda Miata yet, but it's pretty close to their British Racing Green color. At first glance it looks a bit like Sally Hansen Emerald City, but I actually like this better - it's darker, and Emerald City is more gold-toned in comparison. Unfortunately, Sally Girl didn't see fit to give these guys names, but if you look on the rack where all the other Sally Girl polishes are, these are the ones with the NEW! stickers on 'em. Lasting power on this isn't great; I wore the pink shade for 2 days before I started getting tipwear, though no chips. Not too shabby, though, especially for 76 cents!

I also picked up a GIANT bottle of Beauty Secrets Quick Drying Topcoat. It was only $4.99 for a 2.5oz bottle (yes, 2.5 oz - that would be 5x the size of a standard bottle of nail polish) and it comes in a big round bottle the size of a small orange. The liquid inside is slightly blue-tinted, but completely clear on the nail. You know how when you use up half a bottle of polish, half the brush isn't even sitting in the polish and more and you have to rotate the bottle in order to get polish onto the brush? I really hate that. Since my bottle of Seche Vite was at that stage, I bought it for the sole purpose of filling up my bottle. I mean, a quick drying top coat is a quick drying top coat, right? And this stuff DOES work very well - not quite as fast as Seche Vite, but it does indeed dry to the touch in 60 seconds, as promised. Time will tell about whether this is as good as Seche Vite when it comes to preventing chips and maintaining shine, but so far I find it to hold up just as well.

Squoval has been achieved!

2009-11-01T11:29:00.001-08:00

So it took something like 3 weeks of growing out my nails and resisting the urge to clip them into a rounded shape before I could finally figure out how to properly shape my nails. I actually like 'em and will probably keep them this way for a while. Sorry for the crappy cellphone pic; my usual camera is out of batteries. This is 3 coats of China Glaze Atlantis, it's much more intense and sparkly in real life. Although I love the color, this polish chips super easily. It's been less than a day and already there's a few chips on my right hand. Oh well- nothing a quick touchup won't fix. The color is pretty sweet though, with a blue-toned shamrock green jelly base and silver and holo glitters. Very intense and eye catching.

I has a question

2009-10-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

I thought this outfit was pretty cute, but Denis tells me it's godawful and completely ridiculous.

Your thoughts?

Also, what the hell kind of shoes do you wear with an outfit like that? I really need to work on my shoe collection - so far I have NOTHING that will go with these. I've been trying to dress more grown-up lately (meaning, less jeans and sweatpants) and my efforts are not being appreciated :(

(I do have a pair of vintage Frye's that come up to the bottom of my calves, but I suspect that just Doesn't Work.)

More on Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation

2009-10-27T19:10:00.000-07:00

BREAKING NEWS: It has passed the Denis test. Never in the history of foundations, have I ever tried a foundation that's passed the Denis test. He didn't even notice I was wearing any - when I asked him his opinion, he fell back on his default position ("There's too much of it! Any foundation is too much!") but admitted that he couldn't see it at all.

It's been 7 hours since I first applied it - I haven't had any strange reactions to it; no change in color or oxidation, and it's lasted through one strenuous session of, ah... certain bedroom activities. I'm not any oilier than I normally am (could use a blot, but I'm okay without). Slight issues with transfer, since when I wiped my chin, I did see streaks of foundation on my napkin, but other than that, it's held up pretty admirably. It hasn't sunk into my pores or slid off my face or anything like that, and the feel is great! I don't even feel like I'm wearing foundation, honest.

In this picture, one side is wearing foundation, and the other isn't, just my usual moisturizer. The color match on RF215 is actually pretty much spot-on. I can't see a difference between the two sides - can you? Mostly I just wanted to show you that the concealing power of this is pretty darn good - on my left side (your right), the dark circles under my eyes are much less prominent, and this is with a very very very light application. I applied with my fingers and blended as best I could, and then buffed it into my face further with a MAC 187. It really does look and feel like natural skin.

Again, check out that color match. No line of demarcation on my jaw!

I also tried to do a look with the Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol 2 palette that I got. The weather today was cloudy and stormy all day, so I couldn't get any sort of decent lighting, and the pictures ended up sucking pretty hard. The pictures I took above were with a light shining directly in my face - I'm not sure you're getting the full benefit of the pictures because the light probably washed me out a little.

Bleh. It looked much better in person.

In conclusion, I don't now how Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation would work as a daily foundation, but I could definitely see this as being the BEST EVER FOUNDATION for just about anything else. It photographs really well, and seriously, this is what I plan to have on my face when I get married. Seriously.

Illamasqua/MAC comparison swatches

2009-10-27T07:45:00.000-07:00

You know what's great about living on the East Coast?

My Sephora order arrived today. Yes, seriously! And I had just ordered on Saturday too. That was super quick.

Okay, so I bought a bottle of the Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation, since it's been getting a lot of buzz lately for being long-lasting, amazingly easy to blend, and ultra-pigmented. Only problem is that since it's not carried at my local Sephora, I had to go by swatches online and just guess which color I was. For some reason, there hasn't been a whole lot of buzz with Illamasqua with the Asian beauty bloggers, just the Caucasian ladies, especially the ones in NY and Europe. That totally made it harder for me. But anyway...

I chose shade RF 215, since it seems to be Illamasqua's version of MAC's NC25-30: a very popular, warm light-medium skintone. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I should have gone for RF210 or 215 - 210 is described as being or "medium skins with neutral undertones" while 215 is "for medium skins with golden undertones." I've been told that Illamasqua's foundations are all very yellow-based, and I know that my skin has enough peachy/beige tones that I have to be careful about choosing foundations that aren't TOO yellow, like MAC NC30 Studio Stick. I don't own many foundations anymore, so in these pictures I compared it to MAC Studio Stick in NC27, Graftobian Glamour Greme in Buttermilk, and a MAC concealer palette. Here they are swatched on the underside of my arm:

(Click for bigger picture.)

It looks quite a bit darker than the Graftobian Buttermilk, which is what I normally wear in the dead of winter, at my palest. (The problem with Graftobian foundations that I've noticed - the initial swatch will match my skintone almost exactly, but when sheered and blended out, it somehow magically turns slightly paler.) It's closest to MAC NC27 and NW25, and looking at my arm, it's definitely NOT as yellow-toned as most MAC NC shades. I always thought NC27 was a bit of an anomaly - it has peachy tones to it that make it blend well into skin, while NC30 was practically mustard yellow on me. Since my arm isn't the same color as my face, I also decided to swatch them on my face. They were first swatched heavily, and then the top of the striped was blended out. Look here:

(Click for bigger picture.)

Again, you can tell that the Illamasqua is darker, but the undertones aren't too drastically pink-toned. And you can hardly even tell the difference between the three shades when it's blended out!

I haven't actually worn it on my face yet - and so it hasn't passed the Denis test* - but I will certainly try it out and update further when I do. The blendability of this foundation is incredible though - it simply glides over the skin. Pigmentation is good, though not ultra-high or incredible like Kevin Aucoin's Sensual Skin Enhancer. Could definitely be used as or in place of concealer though. I'd rank this as being above both MAC Studio Fix Fluid and Make Up For Ever's Mat Velvet + in terms of pigmentation, though it's much much much easier to blend into the skin than either of those. A tiny, tiny drop of this stuff goes a long way.

I'll have to give this an actual thorough testing for longevity, transferability and color match before I can pronounce a real verdict, but so far, it seems quite promising.

*For those of you who don't know, Denis, my boyfriend, HATES it when I wear foundation. I don't care how much time I spent applying it, carefully buffing it in with a MAC 187 and a damp sponge, he always knows when I have it on. If he asks "What is that crap on your face?", then I know I've been busted. The only product that has ever passed the Denis test is Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer, which, being a tinted moisturizer, is hardly a substitute for real foundation.

I wasn't gonna, but I did anyway.

2009-10-24T16:29:00.000-07:00

Sephora's annual friends and family sale...

I was going to sit it out this year, since I really think I have just about all the makeup that I could ever really use. For some strange reason though, I decided I really coveted the Urban Decay Book of Shadows 2 palette. Probably because I have and love the first one and I've got this nasty habit of collecting things. (But it's okay, because I stopped spending money on MAC and have decided that I'm solely an UD devotee when it comes to high end eyeshadows. That makes it okay, right?)

But then my brother wanted me to order a few things from Sephora for him, since my mom is going back next month - and he gave me his credit card, and told me to pick up a few things for myself, and so...

Urban Decay Book of Shadows Vol. II $48.00
Clinique Face Scrub - 3.4 oz (x2) $33.00
Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation - RF 215 $30.00
Giorgio Armani Emporio Armani Diamonds For Men - 2.5 oz $65.00
CHANEL PLATINUM ÉGOÏSTE - 3.4 oz $72.00
Anthony Logistics A Clean Start Kit ($56 Value) - A Clean Start Kit $40.00
Anthony Logistics Glycerin Cleansing Bar - 5.5 oz $8.50
Sample - Energizing Pomegranate Lip Protector SPF 15
Sample - Versace Bright Crystal Eau de Toilette - 0.05 oz
Sample - Robert Piguet Fracas Eau de Parfum - 0.027 oz

The total came out to $296.50. After discount plus applying the small remainder of a giftcard, it ended up as $244.71.

And then I did a 10% cashback through Bing. I'm getting to be a real fan of this ebates/Bing thing. Ebates is only offering 4% cashback right now, but 10% of almost $300 is a pretty decent sum.

Only the UD BoS II and Illamasqua foundation are for me -- the Clinique face scrubs are for Denis, and everything else is for my brother. I don't even know why I wanted the Illamasqua foundation since I don't like wearing any, but I figure I should have some foundation on hand for the rare occasion that I do. That, and I heard it's ultra-highly pigmented, so I was thinking of using it as tattoo cover up...

Fuck you, tiny hipsters.

2009-10-17T09:42:00.000-07:00

It's ridiculously cold out here for this time of here - usually mid-October is pretty nice, low 70s and 60s. It usually doesn't get really cold until November, but the past few days have had me huddled up under 2 layers of comforters and wearing a sweater and sweatpants to bed. (Why yes, I do hate being cold.) That's why I decided I needed a new winter coat. I haven't bought one for a couple years, and the one I'd bought 4 years back off fifteendollarstore.com (for the regal sum of... $15) finally gave up the ghost last year with a big rip in the lining and all the stuffing coming out of it. Plus my cat peed on it. It really had to go.

So I looked on modcloth.com, and I found... this. The "Anastasia" coat, by Steve Madden, a full-length wool blend with faux fur trimming:

God. I loved it the minute I saw it. It had just been put up on the site that very day! I so, so, so coveted this coat. But it was $150, and I waffled on my decision for a few days. This morning I decided to go for it, mostly because my brother gave me his credit card number and his blessing. Except when I went to go put it in the cart...

*cue Psycho music*

THEY WERE SOLD OUT OF THE SMALL. Seriously, wtf? Sold out in TWO DAYS?! Goddamn tiny hipsters buying the coat that I wanted! This was almost as bad as that ebay auction for the vintage silk dress that I lost in the last 30 seconds. I was MAD!

However, it was good to know that this coat was made by Steve Madden. I mean, Steve Madden is a pretty mass-market brand, so I should be able to track down another one of these, right? And this time, I'd even be willing to shell out the $150 bucks. Unquestionably.

So after some strenuous googling, I found it again, to my great relief. This time, it was on Burlington Coat Factory.com. Not only that, but it came in both ivory AND black. Ooh, color choices. I like that.

... and the best part? It's only $90 on Burlington Coat Factory. Read that again. NINETY BUCKS. $60 CHEAPER THAN ON MODCLOTH.COM. That would be, oh, FORTY PERCENT CHEAPER.

Okay, so they were sold out of the black color in small... but I still snagged one in ivory. I have never ordered anything so fast in my life. I just got my order confirmation in my inbox, so it should be coming in the mail in about a week, at which point I can stop shivering under 3 layers of sweaters and sweatshirts.

In conclusion, Modcloth sucks and makes a killing off of selling ridiculously marked-up clothes to people who don't know how to google.

Hold on to your socks...

2009-10-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

I'm serious. Reach down and grab your socks, because they are about to be BLOWN AWAY!

Alright, so I showed my disappointing gray holo polish in my last post - pretty color, kinda marble-like, but no holographic effect at all. Today I was browsing Ulta, and lookin' for some bargains. (They have a lot of BOGOF sales going on, btw.) I came across a Cover Girl polish called City Lights, priced quite reasonably at $3.99.

I'm sure you all know why it drew me in: because it's sparkly, and I like shiny things. I also picked up 2 Ulta eyeshadows ($7) because they were BOGOF, but that's another story.

The really awesome part: I brought all my items up to the register and the total came out to be... $5.82. How? Apparently the Cover Girl polish was marked down to $1.99 (mystery sale?!) and the cashier was kind enough to scan in a $3.50 off coupon on top of that. Seriously, I think that was the best bargain I've ever had. Ever. Basically I paid half price for everything and then proceeded to get another 32% off. My Asian bargain-hunting genes are unstoppable.

ANYWAY, before I digress further, I would again like to remind you to hold onto your socks before exposing your eyeballs to the picture below. I got home and took off the disappointing gray Pumpkin polish (though I kept the Sally Hansen Opulent Cloud on) and proceeded to apply black polish with 2 layers of the Cover Girl City Lights on top of it. The result:

(This is 2 coats of Sally Girl Poser with 2 coats of Cover Girl City Lights, and 1 layer of Seche Vite. Click for a bigger, higher res picture. CLICK IT DAMN IT.)

Seriously, that's it. I'm done. I don't think I can buy anymore nail polishes now, because nothing will ever be able to top this. It's almost as if I've doubled my nail polish collection just by buying this. My god, I can't WAIT to put this over Sally Hansen Emerald City. How incredibly blingy will that be?!

I'm pretty sure this is the best nail polish I have ever bought. I think I'm gonna need like, 10 backups.

Um. Chyeah, I need to stop doing this.

2009-10-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

This is my nail polish collection as of today:

This is what I bought today:

From left to right: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Strobe Light, Sally Hansen HD in Opulent Cloud (which I fell in love with when I saw it on Scrangie's blog), Pumpkin polish that's glow in the dark with rainbow glitter, Pumpkin polish* that's charcoal gray and HOLOGRAPHIC(!!!!!), Wet 'n Wild Black Creme, Wet 'n Wild Kaleidoscope.

(There's a Buy One Get One 50% Off sale at Rite Aid.)

And um... China Glaze Fortune Teller chipped. So... uh... I took it off. And I ... did a new manicure. And... uh... since I couldn't pick between the holographic gray Pumpkin Polish and the Sally Hansen Opulent Cloud... I did both. And then because it wasn't blingy enough, I put a coat of the Sally Hansen Strobe Light on top of the nails I had Opulent Cloud on. So, yeah. OKAY, I KNOW I HAVE A PROBLEM. I'LL ADMIT TO IT FREELY. I'M GONNA STOP I PROMISE.

So that's what my nails look like now.

As you can see, the gray holographic Pumpkin polish turned out really disappointing - I have 4 coats on in that picture, along with a layer of Seche Vite. No holographic effect at all! I tried my best, but I can't even see it, much less photograph it.

It just looks like a sparkly gray polish with fine rainbow glitters. Bleh.

I certainly do love how the Sally Hansen Strobe Light came out though. Perfect for adding a little extra sparkle - fine pink glitter with larger holographic pieces. I used one coat in these - I didn't want to hide how lovely Opulent Cloud is:

I don't have a good swatch of Opulent Cloud, but Scrangie does. She's not crazy about the color it seems, but I like it very much. I've been trying to find a good gray polish, and that last Wet 'n Wild one I posted about, Sterling Silver, turned out to be a dud. (Consistency was awful - goopy and hard to work with, and took FOREVER to dry, even with Seche Vite. I took it off almost immediately because it smudged like crazy.) Opulent Cloud is nice though - a lavendery silver with a gold sheen. Very cloud-like... but with sun beams shining through it, I guess. I am totally digging it.

*Apparently these are seasonal nail polishes that come out for Halloween. No real brand or name associated with these colors; all I know is that they're made by Blue Cross Beauty.

China Glaze Fortune Teller

2009-10-11T19:27:00.001-07:00

I am completely unable to keep any nail polish on for more than 3 days, it seems. I get bored too easily. I might make an exception for this though, because it's SO COOL LOOKING. Lots of people have already compared this to the embers of a dying fire or cooling lava from a volcanic explosion... this actually reminds me of black Asian lacquerware with mother of pearl inlay, except it's orange glitter and not pearl inlay. Still, I think the contrast of the two colors is so awesome looking and I can't stop staring at my nails.

I'm not a huge fan of the consistency on this polish - my bottle really thick and goopy, and the cap was stuck when I tried to open it. I suspect someone tested it out in the store... but all that was remedied with some nail polish thinner. I LOVE nail polish thinner. I don't know how I ever survived without it.

This is three coats of CG Fortune Teller with 2 coats of Seche Vite, since it is slightly on the gritty side. One coat would've sufficed, but I really thinned out my Seche Vite (I add ~5 drops of polish thinner every time I open the cap to prevent it from thickening up) and I like my nails ultra-glossy.

Nina Ultra Pro in Purple-Xing

2009-10-08T18:01:00.000-07:00

Uh, hello Blingmaster McBling!

Rich grape purple with a shitload of fine silver glitter, with some round holographic glitter mixed in. It's a bit chunky and leans toward the sheer side - this is three coats. (Two coats will work; three looks better.) Also needs about 2 layers of topcoat, since the glitter is so chunky, and the purple component doesn't dry to a glossy finish. I don't love this color on my skintone, but I enjoy looking at it nonetheless.

This is Nina Ultra Pro, which is a brand that's readily and cheaply available at Sally's for $2.99. Consistency on this isn't as nice as China Glaze or Sally Hansen, it's a bit gloppy and a little harder to work with. Still quite tolerable though, and this color is totally worth it. None of the other Nina Ultra Pro colors appealed to me, but I love how fantastically blingy this is.

I just wish they made this in a deep blue shade. Now that would be pure awesome.

An Apology to Drugstore Makeup

2009-10-06T20:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's too small to be a real haul, but I'm going to blog about it anyway:

Was at CVS today to pick up my birth control prescription when the Wet 'n Wild stuff caught my eye. I was originally only planning to pick up some mascara while I was there, since I'm out, but I seem to be unable to resist unusual nail polish colors, especially when they're cheap. (I've written before about my lemming for Essie Chinchilly, right? Well... then you understand.) It's Wet 'n Wild Rock Solid nail polish in 223A - Sterling Silver. I haven't worn it yet, though I swatched it briefly on a toe - it's a metallic warm pewter gray. Definitely warm, and definitely wearable on my skintone. I'm really looking forward to trying this one out... Jeez. SO MUCH NAIL POLISH. So little time.

Cover Girl Lash Blast Length was on sale, so I figured I'd try it out, being a fan of the original Lash Blast. Haven't really given it a full day's worth of testing yet, but so far preliminary results show that it's quite nice. So far, it's really good at separating and defining lashes-- they look really fluttery and clean. The volume isn't bad, actually - it's about the same as original Lash Blast to me. I don't really see any huge effects on length yet, but I'll play around so more with it before coming to a conclusion about that.

The odd mushroom/button lookin' thing is Wet 'n Wild Mega Eyes Creme Liner. Now, I know it's been out for a while, but I've NEVER seen it in any of the CVSes that I frequent. I've had my MAC Blacktrack for... geez, probably 4 years now? It's almost completely used up and quite dry by this point. I figured I might as well try this out, since it's got a GREAT rating on MUA. 146 MUA reviewers can't be wrong, right?

Well, I think this picture speaks for itself. Guess which one is MAC Blacktrack, and which one is the $3.99 Wet 'n Wild cream liner.

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....
....

Yeah, the Wet 'n Wild cream liner is actually BLACKER than MAC Blacktrack. FOR FUCK'S SAKE MAC, WHAT THE HELL? WHY AM I PAYING YOU $15 TO MAKE ME A BLACK EYELINER AND YOU CAN'T EVEN GET IT AS PIGMENTED AS A $4 DRUGSTORE EYELINER? HUH? HUH?!?! GIMMIE BACK MY MONEY!

... Ahem. Well, now. I just tried smudging both of these after applying - no smudge. I tried washing with soap and water - neither of them budged. I'll probably have to take these off with an oil cleanser later in the day, but suffice it to say... for all intents and purposes, Wet 'n Wild > MAC. My MAC Fluidline is old and dried out, but goddamn, this Wet 'n Wild one is creamier and moist-er than I remember Fluidline being. You would have to be an idiot to pick MAC Fluidline over Wet 'n Wild. Seriously.

I'm really kicking myself in the butt right now for falling for and buying so much overpriced high end makeup when there are some freaking awesome drugstore alternatives out there. I agree - some of the high end stuff is really worth it. Urban Decay eyeshadows, for instance. I've never tried any other eyeshadow that rivals them in terms of pigmentation and texture, high OR low end. (MAC comes close with a few of their Veluxe and Frost shadows, but their recent offerings have all been bleh.)

I'm pretty neutral towards nail polishes - in my opinion, there's no such thing as a crappy nail polish as long as you have a good topcoat. (Provided it has adequate pigmentation, anyway.) I don't mind spending $5 on a China Glaze, but I'll definitely balk at spending, say, $9 for an OPI or $18 for a Rescue Beauty Lounge nail polish. (I've never been known to finish a bottle of nail polish anyway, and so far, I haven't actually worn any of my nail polishes more than once.) Funny thing is that drugstore nail polish doesn't tend to be that much cheaper than what you can get at a beauty supply, so it's kind of a wash. I refuse to spend more than $5 on a drugstore polish, 'cause I mean... c'mon now, I can get a China Glaze for that with my Sally's card, and I get along really well with the CG formula.

On the other hand, stuff like Guerlain mascara is a racket. It doesn't do THAT much better of a job than Cover Girl mascara. Hell, Guerlain couldn't even hold a curl, while Cover Girl's waterproof formulations have always been pretty good in that regard. It certainly doesn't do 5 times as good of a job, though it costs 5 times as much...

So in conclusion, I think I'm going to be shopping the CVS a lot more than the MAC counter or Sephora from now on. After spending a judicious amount of time checking the MUA reviews first, of course.

Look what you guys made me do!

2009-10-05T18:39:00.001-07:00

Once a month or so I go on a Sally's haul. I usually keep it to ~$30 or less. I've gotten most of the basic stuff I needed, so this time was going to be a nail polish haul. And I can't say no to glittery things... (Denis refers to them as "bass boat colors," 'cause according to him, fishes are attracted to glittery things.)

From left to right: China Glaze Fortune Teller, China Glaze Medallion (damn you, Alienman!), China Glaze Atlantis (damn you, Kae!) Nina Ultra Pro Purple-Xing (on clearance for $2.99 right now) and Finger Paints Blank Canvas Cream (looked dupey to OPI Tickle My France-y, and I figured I needed a grown-up, conservative color.) Not really shown: white striper color to the left of Fortune Teller.

There were a couple other glitters I didn't pick up. I restrained myself this time, but I'll probably end up at Sally's again within the next two weeks. (I'm pretty sure of it, to be honest.) There was this orange jellyish glitter, a very intense rainbow glitter in a silver base, and a white one that reminded me of snowflakes.

The cheap Asian part of me is kicking myself for forgetting to print out my 15% off coupon that I got for spending over $25 last month at Sally's. I guess that's a good of an excuse as any to go back and get the rest of the glitters... maybe some hairdye too. Need to refresh my color.

Also, redid my french mani, using one of those white striper nail polishes with an ultra-thin brush:

Funny how each nail seems to grow at a different rate. This manicure is motivation to keep me from picking at/chewing off/filing off/cutting off my nails.I look... well groomed, for once. Not sure if you can tell, but the corner of the nail on my middle finger broke off, ruining the squovalish shape. I think I'm doomed to a life with rounded nails.

2009-10-05T08:58:00.001-07:00

Ignore what I said earlier about never doing sheer or natural looking nails. I decided that I really didn't like that purple polish so I took it off. Couldn't decide on a new color, so I went the safe route: french manicure! I used a goopy old Milani polish for the tips and Ruby Kisses Madamoiselle for the nail. I only did 1 coat, though I wish I did two. (I might just take it off and redo it later tonight, since the white tip on my right middle finger has already chipped! And it's only been 3 hours!) Rave for Madamoiselle though- it's a nice, cool-toned pink tint with a little milkyness. My nails are slightly stained and the cool tones in the polish help disguise that slightly. Thumbs down on the crappy Milani polish. I think I'm going to pick up one of those small bottles of white polish intended for nail art/striping since manuvering a fullsize brush is a pain in the butt.

Cat eyes are not for me

2009-10-04T13:14:00.000-07:00

I have a major girlcrush on Olivia Wilde, aka 13 from House. I saw this picture of her at the Emmy's, and resolved that I too would try to do a similar look. Smoky cat eyes, how hard can that be?

Alas, it was not to be. For one, I don't have a comparable color -- it looks like a blue/brown duochrome shade. Unfortunately, I have yet to meet a blue that's liked me. So I figured, no biggie! I'll use Club instead, which is a brown/green duochrome! I love that color over a black base, when the green flash is really evident... but unfortunately, that would've been too dark to pull off. (You can't draw a black line ontop of something that's already blackened, y'know?) So I thought maybe if I used Club wet, it would have turned out okay.

Well, it turned out totally lame. For one, the green flash doesn't show up on camera very well and ends up looking like a muddy, ruddy taupe mess. And I can't pull off a cat-eye - my eye shape demands that I make it a very thick line at the end in order to make it visible at all, and it ends up looking like a blobby triangle. Er, yeah.

Also, lining my eyes that way changes the contours of it so that I look like a frightened deer or something. I don't even know how to explain it. Look at this picture, I'm not sure if I look like I'm contemptuous or stoned:

I guess my cat-eyeing skills need practice. Maybe working with a different color instead of *(#&@*!&^$ LAME ASS CLUB.

Used: MAC Club on lid, Jordana Ebony wet as liner, black Guerlain Kohl on waterline, MAC Femme Fi highlight, Max Factor Volume Couture mascara.

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear - Plum Power

2009-10-03T14:38:00.000-07:00

Indoors

Natural light

Color is more accurate in the first picture. I'm honestly not a huge fan of purples but this one is a pretty decent on - it's a lighter, less-blackened version of Sally Girl Manic, I guess. Pink-based plum with pink shimmer. Not too vampy, but not eye-catchingly vibrant either.

I'm still trying my hardest to grow my nails out (they've grown out another ~1.5mm since my last post on this!) and I promised myself that I wouldn't redo my nails until they were properly grown out... but I couldn't stop myself. Flirt chipped slightly so I figured I might as well take off all the polish and start anew. Since my last swatch of Cleopatra was taken on my crappy camera phone, I'll definitely reswatch it after my nails have grown out a bit, since there has been a lot of interest in the new China Glaze glitters. (I mean, have you seen Alienman's latest swatch of China Glaze Medallion? It's freaking gorgeous!

As you've no doubt noticed by now, my makeup color choices tend to be pretty conservative. Of course it's no surprise I satisfy my need for striking color with nail polish. I can't honestly remember the last time I wore a nude or natural looking sheer nail polish...

I'm seriously craving some more subdued, drab colors for fall. Not necessarily vampy, but cremes instead of shimmers, olives, grays and taupes, but NOT browns. (I hate browns. Sorry, I just can't stand that color.)

Also, I am seriously lemming China Glaze Fortune Teller ever since I saw it on Kae's blog. (&Q!@&^#*@&%$ I need to do my monthly Sally's haul soon, my lust for this color is killing me.

Chinchilly

2009-10-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

I saw a swatch of Essie Chinchilly nail polish at ABB and man, I COVET that color. I dislike Essie polishes (for some reason, their polishes take forever to dry on me and are really goopy) so I'm just hoping maybe China Glaze or OPI will make a dupe of it. However, I LOOOVE soft taupish grays, so I figured I might as well do an eye look inspired by it.

I don't even know what to call this technique. "Layer eyeshadows until they look good" I guess.

Eyes: Urban Decay Primer Potion, NYX eyeshadow in Dune (all over lid), MAC eyeshadow in Knight Divine (wet, as liner top and bottom), MAC eyeshadow in Femme Fi (brow highlight), black Guerlain Kohl on waterlines, Max Factor Volume Couture mascara

Face: MUFE HD powder all over, MAC Margin blush

Lips: MAC Embraceable lipstick

FOTD - Fall means Guerlain kohls are back!

2009-09-30T17:35:00.000-07:00

Here's what I wore to school today:

Here I am, deep in thought as a tortured artiste. I am thinking of very deep things... in depthly. Oh! The pain of my soul. Nobody understands me.

And finally a semi-artsy self-portrait in a mirror.

Scale of 1-10, how much would you like to see me do a video of this look? It's so stupidly easy - and similar to the last one - that I feel like it'd be silly to make a video of it. But who knows? Maybe you *want* to watch me poke myself in the eyeball with the Guerlain kohl stick as a demonstration of the "eastern application method". It's way less gruesome than it sounds, I promise.

Used:

Eyes - Urban Decay Deluxe eyeshadow in Underground, Jordana Ebony eyeshadow in crease (lightly), MAC Femme Fi, Black Radiance liquid eyeliner in Black, Max Factor Volume Couture mascara, Guerlain Terracotta Kohl in Noir on waterline

Face - MAC So Ceylon MSF on cheekbones

Lips - MAC 3N lipstick (not entirely sure I like this color on me... I tend to go for warmer pinks and peaches, it seems.)

Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear - Flirt

2009-09-29T19:13:00.000-07:00

The above picture makes it look a bit more purply than it is in real life, but it's actually a very deep, rich burgundy red with some brown undertones. The bottle has some shimmer but it looks like a creme in most lighting. In sunlight and bright light, you can see some tiny red shimmers. I once heard someone describe a similar color as being "the color of a really gnarly menstrual blood clot" -- as gross as that description is... yeah, it's about right. But it's gorgeous, I swear!

This is two relatively thin coats over Seche Vite base coat and, and of course Seche Vite top coat. Seriously, there is no such thing as a bad nail polish to me as long as I have either a bottle of SV or Poshe. First coat applies a bit streaky and is very definitely berry-toned and gorgeous in its own right, while the second coat makes it opaque and the color in the bottle. I don't know how many times I've raved about the Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear line, but I'll do it again anyway. Love the formula, love the wear, love most of the colors (I own 10 already!) and LOVE the price. Seriously - $2.99/ea and they're often BOGOF or BOGO50%. They're pretty much the only drugstore polish I will buy.

I have nail polish ADD these days. I normally try to keep my manis for about a week but I've been buying so much nail polish lately that I'm constantly excited to try new colors. Another recent favorite: NYC In A New York Minute polish in West Village - deep deep blue creme with a hint of violet in sunlight, kind of a blackened indigo shade. (Denis thought it was just straight up black polish, but he doesn't enjoy staring at nail polish as much as I do.) Also has great application and formula, dries quickly, and a lovely price too. ($1.97 at Target, I believe.) This line is a bit hit or miss when it comes to pigmentation, but West Village is most definitely a good 'un.

Now that I have a working, relatively color-accurate camera with macro mode again, I think I will be swatching nail colors more often. I'm really digging dark vampy cremes lately, because it's fall - but I'm also WAY into glitters too. (That new China Glaze glitter collection - OMFG I AM SO EXCITED!) I prefer to wear glitters when my nails are a little longer though. I find these dark vampy shades pretty flattering on my fingers... makes them look, well, sophisticated somehow. (Which I am totally not.)

My nails are filed WAY down - there's practically no white tip on any of them at this length - I've been trying to shape my nails into that squoval shape that's so popular, instead of the rounded shape I've been sporting all my life. Actually, until recently, I didn't even know you could file nails down... I've been using nail clippers ever since I stopped relying on my mom to cut my nails for me. I would love to have long gorgeous nails like I see on so many other bloggers, but I took piano lessons from the age of 5 till 17, and I'm just downright uncomfortable when my nails get any longer than say, 1/16th of an inch. I tend to pick and chew on them when they do. I have long nail beds though, so I guess my nails never really look stubby. My goal is to grow them out to a reasonable 1/8th of an inch long. I managed to get to a full 1/16th of an inch after 5 days of staying away from the emery board, but I totally undid all that hard work today in trying to shape my nails :P Luckily my nails grow pretty fast, so maybe next week...

Subtle, office-friendly taupe look for Asian eyes

2009-09-27T14:05:00.000-07:00

It sure took me forever to edit, and I did a crap job of it. But it's okay, I got the point across. I finally learned how to edit video on Linux now! It's a tedious but doable process. One of these days I might even learn how to swap in my own audio track so I don't have to pick from whatever Youtube has available for me.

Also, update on the cleansing oil - sorry to disappoint you all, but I don't think it's ready for the big time yet. I was thinking I could send it out to a few people to get feedback on it, kinda like beta-testing, but I don't think I should unleash it onto the general public. It's just too soon! (I mean, a really good objective opinion can only be formed after a long period of time, right?)

For one, I'm finding it a bit drying - it's a little TOO good at getting the oil off. It's not horrifically drying, but I have dry skin and the whole reason why I switched to oil cleansers was because they're less stripping than the traditional soap-based cleanser.

I reformulated by adding in heavier oil, and that of course required some rejiggering of the emulsifiers I used to make sure the hydrophobic lipid balance wasn't thrown off. I broke my blender mixing up a new batch, so I had to go out and buy a new one. This new batch looks markedly different from the old batch - it's creamy looking and kinda... foamy, I guess? It's not a flowy, clear liquid like the original batch, and I think it's because I used different proportions of the emulsifier. (Upon further inspection - seems to be air bubbles that got whipped into it while I was blending. Hmm.)

Both batches have a tendency to separate, which is something I'm trying to fix. The bandaid solution is just to tell you to shake it before use, but I don't want to do that. I'm thinking it might have something to do with using the hydrosols as a component - I might end up dropping that entirely. On the upside though, the new batch seems to be better(!) at cleaning. My usual method of testing to draw a few very heavy stripes of MAC Fluidline on the back of my hand. Old batch took about a minute of rubbing to get off; new batch about 15 seconds. New formula still rinses off cleanly with water. No oily residue or film, but still moisturized. That's good, right?

I'll let you guys know what happens upon further testing, of course. Just don't put off buying makeup remover waiting for me to perfect my formula :P

Also, if you guys could answer a few questions, it would help me while formulating so I could know what to aim for (since right now, I'm just trying to find something that works for me):

-is your skin normally oily, normal, or dry?

-slight tightness after cleansing - good or bad? Is it a sign of really cleaning everything out, or the cleanser being too stripping?

-do you care about the consistency of the liquid? As in, do you prefer really thin or watery, or would you prefer something really thick, almost cream-like in viscosity?

-what's the most important function of an oil cleanser to you? Get makeup off, or get face clean?

-herbal/earthy fragrances, light fragrance, or fragrance-free?

-do you care about the COLOR of the stuff? For example, would making it pink or green or whatever color make it more appealing to you?

-what ingredients would you like to see? There are a lot of oils to work with, and I'm currently using a blend of safflower seed, rice bran, jojoba, grapeseed, and castor oils. I could formulate with olive oil too, but is that what YOU want?

-what kind of additives would you like to see? Any kind of herbal extracts?

Thanks a bunch y'all :D

2009-09-26T12:36:00.001-07:00

As promised, here's a video of me washing my face with the oil cleanser that I mixed up:

SHADDAP ABOUT THE BOOBIES. Geez, of all moments for Youtube to choose a still frame out of my video...

I never knew I looked so stupid while washing my face. ANYWAY. Today's your lucky day, because today's videos are a TWOFER. That's right, I made another video... the first in like, a two years. It's a simple, day-time/office-appropriate neutral smoky eye. BORING, but quick. Ignore the bags under my eyes. I was too lazy to apply concealer and/or foundation after making the video. Yes, I really am that lazy.

Pictorial preview:

I'll post the actual video later in the day, when I'm done editing.

(quickie update)

2009-09-25T04:07:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

Glad you're all interested in the cleanser! You'll have to give me a little to time to prepare everything since I didn't expect quite this response.... I have to go buy plastic bottles and shipping supplies :P I'll do another update probably sometime next week when everything is ready to go.

I also plan to do another update (with video) probably either later tonight or tomorrow where I'll show you the actual stuff itself so you know what to expect out of it as a cleanser. It does NOT foam up, so don't be disappointed if there are no bubbles coming out of it. It's supposed to do that! It does rinse off very clean though, and it's slightly lemony scented, which lingers for a bit on the skin. (I have a crappy nose, but I can smell it on my hands if I put my nose right up to it.)

I wish I had more essential oils to make it more sophisticated smelling, but my budget allowed only for lemongrass (since it's a good all-round skincare essential oil) and I like lemon-scented things.

Reverse Engineering is AWESOME.

2009-09-24T18:52:00.000-07:00

I AM NEVER BUYING SHU UEMURA OR ANY OTHER OVERPRICED JAPANESE OIL CLEANSER EVER AGAIN! Why? BECAUSE I CAN MAKE MY OWN NOW.

I just tested it out. IT WORKS. Removes all traces of my waterproof mascara, just as effectively as the Shu formula. Rinses off clean, just like the Shu formula.

I RULE!

I have enough supplies to make about 72oz of cleansing oil. (I actually have enough emulsifier to make more, as in, another 72oz, but not enough oil.) All in all I paid about $60... so it comes out to a little less than $1/oz. Shu Uemura, on the other hand, charges $28 for 5 oz, or a little more than $5/oz. Even the Japanese drugstore knock off that I was using ("Cow Soap") was $15 for 5oz.

Also, my formula > Shu's formula. Shu's formula is apparently mostly mineral oil/corn oil, which is cheap and totally not worth the $28 I was paying for it. (I used a blend of sunflower seed, rice bran, jojoba, and grapeseed oils for my formula.) I will admit that I based my formula on theirs though - I used a similar emulsifier/surfactant (they use polysorbate 85, which isn't commercially available, so I used polysorbate 80), and similar coemulsifier (sorbitan trioleate and ethylhexyl stearate, also not commercially available - I used hexaglyceryl dioleate and hexaglyceryl stearate instead). I also replaced sea water with clary sage hydrosol. Oh, and mine smells nicer because I added some lemongrass essential oil.

I feel so accomplished. I feel better using my formula because I know every ingredient that went in there and I read the MSDS sheets on all of them and know they're all pretty safe :D

If anyone on here is interested in trying out my formula, I'd be happy to send out a bottle of it to wherever you are for the cost of shipping and supplies! (I have WAY too much of this stuff to use by myself in any sort of reasonable timeframe.)

Man, taking organic chemistry 1 and 2 totally paid off. I am so awesome.

China Glaze Cleopatra

2009-09-07T18:35:00.001-07:00

Holy crap. I can't express how awesome this polish is. 2 coats of this over 2 coats of NYX Antique. Sally's is currently having a buy 2 save a dollar sale on China Glaze polishes right now, so I bought this and Lubu Heels. I might just in back for more of these glitters!

Mnemonics for Biochemistry

2009-08-21T01:49:00.000-07:00

Citric Acid Cycle -

C-I-A-S-S-F-M-O: substrates

Crap - Citrate
I - Isocitrate
Am - alpha-ketoglutarate
So - succinyl CoA
Screwed - succinate
Fuck - fumarate
Me - malate
Over - oxaloacetate

A-I-A-S-S-F-M-C: enzymes
And - aconitase
I - isocitrate dehydrogenase
Am - alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex
So - succinyl CoA synthetase
Screwed - succinate dehydrogenase
For - fumarase
(the rest of) My - malate dehydrogenase
College (career) - citrate synthase

Great, now I just need to do that for 2 other metabolic pathways and know how to draw the subtrates for all of them.

Today's form of procrastination:

2009-08-18T15:50:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows Ceiling Cat right?

(That should actually say "procrastinate", not "masturbate", in my case. I swear.)

Well, now I have my very own Ceiling cat, reproachfully reminding me to GET WORKIN' ON STATISTICS ALREADY.

Download the papercraft pattern and make your very own Ceiling Cat at tubbypaws.blogspot.com

Reorganization

2009-08-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

So I have two magnetic white boards. The bigger one was being used to organize my makeup, the smaller one kept due dates and school assignments for me.

This morning I woke up looked at my two white boards, and though, "man, that's REALLY fucked up priorities. I'm not even using half the stuff on the bigger white board -- I really need to get rid of all this makeup. I should switch the two boards."

So I did. If it didn't fit on the smaller white board (with the exception of the Urban Decay Book of Shadows), then I decided I wasn't going to keep it. Result:

As you might be noticing, a few MSFs are missing. They're going away. Expect a sale in about a week or so, after my finals are over. Yeehaw!

And also, my bigger white board is now mounted over my desk. And this is what it looks like:

Famous nail polish, s47

2009-08-15T13:52:00.001-07:00

''Up the hill, Jack went in Jill''. Silly name, but nevertheless, awesome nail color. 3 coats, plus Poshe topcoat. It's a bright metallic teal shade, looks almost like foil on my tips. It's the kind me vivid azure you see in National Geographic pictorials about Pacific atolls...

Skittles!

2009-08-12T18:24:00.000-07:00

So I picked up a few more bottles of nail polish today. I can't resist a sale, especially when it involves my drugstore favorites, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear.

Anyway, I showed Denis my new acquisitions, and he said something along the lines of, "geez you have so many different colors you should just paint your nails like a rainbow."

So I did.

So I now have the nails of an indecisive 12 year old, but that's OK. I kinda dig this anyway.

Oh, you see that awesome bright teal-blue shade on my left pinky? I bought that for $3 from some random nail salon. Never heard of the brand before ("Famous"), but the name of the color is "Up the hill, Jack went in Jill". What the fuck? The color and pigmentation on it is pretty awesome though. Consistency is thin - how I prefer it usually - and it only took 2 very thin coats to get the color in the bottle. (I also picked out two China Glaze polishes, but the guy wanted $5 a pop for each - I was like, eff that, dude, I could get two NEW bottles of China Glaze for less...)

Sally Girl polish in Manic

2009-08-09T08:14:00.001-07:00

Sally's is currently doing a buy 5 get 1 free on these polishes. They normally retail for 99cents, but they're only 89cents with a Sally's card... who doesn't like a cheap thrill? This has great pigmentation, took only 2 coats to get the color in the bottle. It's one of the few purples that I like, a medium blackened amethyst/royal purple with fine hot pink shimmers.

My digital camera broked :(

2009-08-08T11:19:00.001-07:00

... but apparently Sony Ericsson phones have a built in blogging capability. Serious. So I can take a picture of anything, and have it posted on here! Nifty. But mostly useless - it's a pain in the ass to rely on the T9 texting to write a blog entry. Anyway, don't laugh too hard at my bangs, I cut them myself. Someday I'll get the hang of it. Someday.

Mostly, I thought it was cool that my hair color matches my eye color.