Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween! -- Costume Pic!

Happy Halloween everyone!

It's a late post, but here's my costume of the evening. I actually dressed up on Saturday as a doll but I only have a full length picture of this costume. It's kind of scary, you have been warned. I also did my own makeup! I love Halloween.

Older Women

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday I was dressed up as a doll. I did a smokey eye with thick white eyeliner under my eyes for that "doll" look. My mom saw my makeup and liked how my eyes looked larger so she asked me to do the same for her. She was heading to a Halloween party. I just did the same smokey eye I had done for myself that evening. While I was putting on the silver shadow, I noticed the wrinkles and droopy eye flaps I had never noticed before. When I finished, the makeup was horrible. It didn't match her the slightest. At that moment, I realized how much my mother has aged. After years of the "me" phase and then going off to college, I never noticed the changes. The skin on her eyes is considerably looser. One day she was a vibrant 30 year old and this evening she looked 50. She is still a gorgeous woman, but I must admit she aged. I felt horrible after I finished putting on her makeup. She's beautiful but I also know she's sensitive to her age.

I started researching on how to put makeup on older women. I wanted to show my mom techniques that would make her feel beautiful because I obviously don't know how to do it. Not surprisingly, there weren't that many websites about older skin makeup applications. I have also noticed people have been requesting tutorials for older women on Makeupgeek.com. Women are looking for advice, we just aren't giving it to them.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Tokidoki Robbery Palette Swatches + Review

Guess what I bought at the Sephora Friends and Family sale?
Yup you got it! Tarte Limited-Edition Lipsurgence Collection!
Oh, you wanted me to say the Tokidoki Robbery Palette? That was a robbery palette, for both my wallet and well.. there were robbers on the tin.
What?! It's on sale at Sephora.com for 25 dollars when it is originally 50 dollars PLUS the friends and family discount?! Now that is robbery, to Sephora that is!

So guess what? How'd you know I got the Robbery Pallete?! Damn, you have esp powers or something!



Tokidoki Robbery Palette with magnet

Thursday, October 27, 2011

NOTD: Glam Rock Nails

Hello everyone!

Haven't posted in sooo very long, I've been busy :). I finally painted my nails because I'm done interviewing for jobs. I put myself on a nail polish ban because I didn't want to paint my nails then remove the polish when I have a job interview the next day. The first impression is the only impression, so no wackiness for me! Now that I'm done interviewing (didn't get the job yet lol), I decided to reward myself by painting them :).

I used Wet N Wild's Everybody Loves Redmond, China Glaze Black Crackle and Essence Silver Polish (thin brush one). In the beginning I had another idea, but after a failed halloween mani (I'll post the picture up ><, DON'T JUDGE PLEASE lol), I decided to go the easy route.



Glam Rock Nails

Monday, October 10, 2011

Favorite Brush EVER

My favorite brush ever is E.L.F.'s (eyes lips face) powder brush ($3). It is a flat top brush about 1.5-2 inches in diameter. It is super soft and I love pressing it against my face :). The bristles are average in density, not super packed but not sparse either.



It is very cheap and multi-purposeful.  Before I used this brush I hated foundation. My foundation always settled in fine lines. When using this brush, I get a flawless airbrush look. All I do is dab foundation around my face and buff it in. It saves product too because the brush spreads foundation better. Another reason why I love this brush is because it applies blush well (this sentence is a lil like a tongue twister haha). It gives my cheeks a very natural wash of color. I like how this brush can be used on different texture of products and gives even application. I use it for my liquid foundation, blush, bronzer and matte powder :). Let me know if you like this brush too or if there are any secrets to this brush that I haven't unlocked yet!


Friday, October 7, 2011

Wet N Wild Ultimate Mineral Blush (Paraben Free!) + Paraben breakdown

(Scroll down for Wet N Wild review and pictures)

Paraben Breakdown

In the past few months, I've been trying to weed out parabens in my daily products.

Parabens are used as preservatives in cosmetics, food and pharmaceuticals. "Measurable concentrations of six different parabens have been identified in biopsy samples from breast tumors", according to Breastcancerfund.org. "Parabens are estrogen mimickers, with the potency of the agonistic response being related to the chemical structure." In other words, parabens may cause breast cells to mutate which may lead to cancer. 

Note that the chemical is linked to breast cancer and may not be the cause of it. Research is still being conducted on parabens and we may never find out whether if parabens cause or contribute to cancer. Since there is no definitive answer yet, I decided to try my best to stay away from such chemicals (though I haven't succumbed to buying paraben makeup products yet, I've been thinking of that Urban Decay Naked Palette :X). I am definitely not using parabens in my moisturizer, body lotion and body wash, since those products cover most of my body and you can find easy cheap alternatives (st. ives body lotion for one is cheap and paraben free).

To read more about parabens:
http://www.breastcancerfund.org/clear-science/chemicals-glossary/parabens.html

Here's a link to chemicals breastcanerfund.org has found to be linked to breast cancer:
http://www.breastcancerfund.org/clear-science/chemicals-linked-to-breast-cancer/cosmetics/

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

TJ Maxx Cheap High End Makeup Sighting (Pic Heavy)

Here's to my first beauty blog post!

If you haven't heard by now, Marshalls and TJ Maxx has been selling many high end stuff for the cheap, i.e. theBalm, OPI, Nicole by OPI, Shiseido etc. I'm talking 50% off man! If you haven't heard about TheBalm, they are a relatively new high end makeup brand situated in San Francisco, CA. You can buy their makeup from Sephora (not sure about Ulta). Their Shady Lady palettes has gotten an A from Tempatlia!

Shady Lady Palette info from Sephora:

What it is formulated WITHOUT:
- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Fragrances
- Petrochemicals
- Phthalates
- GMOs
- Triclosan


I'm not sure if they are cruelty-free though. The back of the palettes does say "wear faux fur" and the fact that they are in SF makes me think they are cruelty-free, but you never know! I'll email them directly later tonight and I'll update my post! BTW, some of theBalm makeup has parabens like their lipstains. So if you are trying to be paraben free look at the ingredient list!

I bought two Shady Lady palettes, vol. 2 and 3 so I'll swatch, review and all that jazz another day.

Without further ado, pictures! I'll list the prices I remember and name of the products.

Baby blogger in town :)

Hey everyone that is reading this!

I'm so excited to start my new blog :)! It'll consist of mostly makeup and beauty related posts but occasionally there might be other posts unrelated to those things. I'll try to have loads and loads of pictures because I love blogs with lots of pictures (sometimes I don't even read the words :X). Here's a picture right now! Check out my paint.net skills yo!


Can you tell I'm excited for this?! Please excuse the noob blog template, I'll fix it up when I have time or when I'm not feeling lazy ><. I'm just super excited to post up these TJ Maxx pictures so I decided to restart my blog. I started this blog (in January 1, 2011) but haven't really posted anything since the 30th. It was supposed to be a place to keep my thoughts in order but I never updated. Since I read beauty blogs everyday, I decided to try my own.