The Holy Grail. Not the Holy Grail like what King Arthur or even Robert Langdon were looking for, but that be-all-end-all cosmetic product that you can NOT live without - in which the discovery of calls off all future searches for said product as you have found THE ONE.
Yes, folks, this is a rambling post. No pictures. Just lots of words. Pics will be back soon!
I don't have any holy grails. None. I thought I did. A few years back I completely gave up on wearing eyeshadow because it would crease withing an hour of application. Way back in the day I used to use a L'Oreal product call De-Crease to keep eyeshadow in place, but it only extended the life of my eyeshadows for about 2 hours or so. Then I discovered Urban Decay Primer Potion. My whole outlook on eyes changed. I loved this stuff, my shadows stayed put for over 12 hours. My eyeliners didn't rub off to the lid above my crease. It was great. I began hoarding eye shadows and wearing them again. There was only one problem - I hated, Hated, HATED the genie bottle. Earlier this year, UD came out with the squeeze tube of their primer potions. I had found my holy grail product and time to stop looking.
Wrong. On a whim I picked up a tube of Too Faced Shadow Insurance and I love it. Now I have two products I enjoy using. I guess you can say I have two holy grail products? Better than none, I guess.
I can't think of any other product that I own that would be considered a holy grail. I've tried many different products, haven't found THAT one, yet. Blushes change with my mood, as does pretty much anything that has color (eyeshadows, lipsticks, glosses) Hell, I can't even settle on a brand of lip gloss or lipstick that I'll choose over all others. However, when it comes to colors - lipsticks, glosses, blushes, eye shadows, I like not having one go to - I have a huge (probably too huge for the dearest's liking) variety at my fingers. I'm still trying out foundations, concealers and even cleansers.
There are two items that I would love to find a holy grail for. The first is concealer. I currently use a MAC concealer and while I have liked it so far to repurchase it, I know that I can find a better one. I have heard absolutely fantastic things about Cle de Peau concealer, but I have to say - I'm a wee bit hesitant on plunking down $70 for concealer. So, I'll just keep on searching.
The product that I really, really want to find a holy grail for is mascara. I want that fantastic mascara that you'll buy over and over and over again. The one that you tell all your friends about, and then tell your friends' friends about. The problem? I'm too freaking picky. I want a separating and volumizing formula that will hold a curl. I don't want a wand that's too huge, nor too small. I don't want it to clump together and give the look like you only have 5 lashes. I also don't want it to flake and give me raccoon eyes by 8:00. The one thing I don't care about? Lengthening. I'm ok with the length of my lashes. I just want nice, thick, separated, curled lashes. Am I asking too much? Probably.
I have about 8 open mascaras at this time. Many are sample sizes from various GWPs or 100 pt bonuses at Sephora. I've also tried the range of prices, from $2.39 Essence mascara (barely shows up and flakes within 2 hours) to $30 Chanel Inimitable Intense mascara (will clump like a bugger if you're not super careful with the application) and everything in between. I've found ones that work well, but I haven't found THAT one. So I'll keep on looking.
Happy searching, all. Hopefully you have found your holy grails.
Ramblings of a cosmetics and nail polish addict.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss
I'm pretty torn on whether I'm a lip gloss or lipstick type of girl. While on one hand, I do love a nice, opaque, chock-full-o-color lipstick, on the other hand, I'm also a sucker for a nice, shiny gloss. And we can't forget some of the lip balm-type lipsticks (Dior Addict and Chanel Coco Shine). So, Hourglass Extreme Sheen High Shine Lip Gloss isn't helping me in the debate.
It all started, as many of my lemmings do, by reading Elvira's blog, Pink Sith. She waxed poetic about this lip gloss and it placed a bug in my brain. Every time I went into Sephora I lingered around the Hourglass display, pawing at the lovely, thin lip gloss tubes. I tried on many, including the one that Elvira loves so much - Siren - but that was was just a bit too much for me. I kept going back to the color Nectar - a non-shimmery coral.
This is the type of color I have been drawn to this summer. The orangey, coralish, peachy colors. This one is no exception. It's super shiny, however not as sticky as others I have tried. The wear is about average for lip glosses, as it doesn't last through any type of meals, snacks or drinks.
The color is actually quite subtle on my lips, but nice and summery. Yes, I know it's now September, but the weather's still quite warm, so that counts, right? I have a feeling that I may be going back for more of these glosses. The color Primal was also calling out to me. Time will tell if I can resist or not.
On another note, my postings have been getting further and further apart, and they may become more so in the next 2-3 months. I'm due to deliver spitfire 2.0 at the end of September, so this last month is getting a bit rough, and the first few with the new baby will be full of sleepless nights. I'm going to try and keep up some posting, but it may go to the back burner. I do enjoy it, so it's not going completely away, and as soon as I have a good routine down, I'll be back to posting as normal!
It all started, as many of my lemmings do, by reading Elvira's blog, Pink Sith. She waxed poetic about this lip gloss and it placed a bug in my brain. Every time I went into Sephora I lingered around the Hourglass display, pawing at the lovely, thin lip gloss tubes. I tried on many, including the one that Elvira loves so much - Siren - but that was was just a bit too much for me. I kept going back to the color Nectar - a non-shimmery coral.
This is the type of color I have been drawn to this summer. The orangey, coralish, peachy colors. This one is no exception. It's super shiny, however not as sticky as others I have tried. The wear is about average for lip glosses, as it doesn't last through any type of meals, snacks or drinks.
The color is actually quite subtle on my lips, but nice and summery. Yes, I know it's now September, but the weather's still quite warm, so that counts, right? I have a feeling that I may be going back for more of these glosses. The color Primal was also calling out to me. Time will tell if I can resist or not.
On another note, my postings have been getting further and further apart, and they may become more so in the next 2-3 months. I'm due to deliver spitfire 2.0 at the end of September, so this last month is getting a bit rough, and the first few with the new baby will be full of sleepless nights. I'm going to try and keep up some posting, but it may go to the back burner. I do enjoy it, so it's not going completely away, and as soon as I have a good routine down, I'll be back to posting as normal!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Orly Fowl Play
I wasn't real moved by Orly's Birds of a Feather collection that was released a few weeks back, until I saw a display at Ulta. Most of the colors seemed ordinary, with the exception of Fowl Play. It stuck out like a colorful parrot in a cage of canaries.
This is a very blacked plum jelly base with tiny silver glitter, small blue glitter and coppery flakes suspended into it. As you can see from the side of the bottle that the coppery-red flakes will also reflect green and gold at times. I love seeing flaky polishes readily available as they add that special something to the polish.
Now for the bad news. This formula is horrible. I managed to get this opaque-ish in two coats - but two quirky coats. I was trying to keep the coats thin, as it is a jelly and I didn't want to wait forever between coats. However, that thin coat looked absolutely horrible. It was streaky, it dragged and was just terrible. For the second coat, I just put a thick coat on and prayed that the Seche Vite I use as a topcoat would help the drying time (it did), but you can still see some drag up by the cuticle in the closeup shot.
I do love the color, but I'm not sure it's enough to overcome the horrible formula. I will have to see with time.
This is a very blacked plum jelly base with tiny silver glitter, small blue glitter and coppery flakes suspended into it. As you can see from the side of the bottle that the coppery-red flakes will also reflect green and gold at times. I love seeing flaky polishes readily available as they add that special something to the polish.
Now for the bad news. This formula is horrible. I managed to get this opaque-ish in two coats - but two quirky coats. I was trying to keep the coats thin, as it is a jelly and I didn't want to wait forever between coats. However, that thin coat looked absolutely horrible. It was streaky, it dragged and was just terrible. For the second coat, I just put a thick coat on and prayed that the Seche Vite I use as a topcoat would help the drying time (it did), but you can still see some drag up by the cuticle in the closeup shot.
I do love the color, but I'm not sure it's enough to overcome the horrible formula. I will have to see with time.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Chanel Soft Touch Eyeshadow in Fauve
Chanel recently released a few new products for fall. Part of the release is a set of single Soft Touch eye colors. Being the taupeaholic that I am, I was drawn to Fauve like a moth to flame.
Fauve is a mauve taupe color with loads of shimmer. The shimmer is abundant, but not a chunky, clumpy glitter. It's soft and blendable and looks nice on the eye.
I love this color. I have been wearing it non stop for the past few days. It makes a quick and easy elegant eye look. Sweep some Fauve over a primed lid (I used UDPP) and then add a thin line of Urban Decay's new 24/7 liquid eyeliner and voila - you're done.
I love this color and will be using it often in the future.
Fauve is a mauve taupe color with loads of shimmer. The shimmer is abundant, but not a chunky, clumpy glitter. It's soft and blendable and looks nice on the eye.
I love this color. I have been wearing it non stop for the past few days. It makes a quick and easy elegant eye look. Sweep some Fauve over a primed lid (I used UDPP) and then add a thin line of Urban Decay's new 24/7 liquid eyeliner and voila - you're done.
I love this color and will be using it often in the future.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
The Balm Shady Lady, vol 3
I love getting a beauty bargain. Love it. Well, not just beauty bargains, but bargains in general. I love shopping in the outlets, and I love shopping at Marshalls and T.J. Maxx. You can get some great deals there. For example - right now T.J. Maxx has stocked various The Balm products over in their beauty area. I was pawing through the various lotions and toners when I came across this:
Now, I only have one product from the Balm - it's a single eyeshadow in a taupey-purple color. It's a nice color and formula and I wear it quite often. I know I've seen this palette at Sephora, and even pawed through it a couple of times, but I never fully committed to buying the $39.50 item. Until now.
All of the colors have goofy names, but they also have a really nice formula. Some of the colors are listed as a shadow color, and some are listed as a shadow/liner color. The only color I had a problem with is the black with multi-colored glitter in the lower right-hand corner - guilty gwen. It was very hard and gritty and the glitter went everywhere.
The pigmentation was nice, not the best, but not too bad. They will probably pop a bit more over a primer. I can foresee quite a bit of use from this palette.
The best part of it? I paid $16.99 for it! Less than half of what it currently sells for at Sephora! So, keep an eye out at your local Marshall's/T.J. Maxx as you never know what kind of deal you may scoop up!
Now, I only have one product from the Balm - it's a single eyeshadow in a taupey-purple color. It's a nice color and formula and I wear it quite often. I know I've seen this palette at Sephora, and even pawed through it a couple of times, but I never fully committed to buying the $39.50 item. Until now.
All of the colors have goofy names, but they also have a really nice formula. Some of the colors are listed as a shadow color, and some are listed as a shadow/liner color. The only color I had a problem with is the black with multi-colored glitter in the lower right-hand corner - guilty gwen. It was very hard and gritty and the glitter went everywhere.
The pigmentation was nice, not the best, but not too bad. They will probably pop a bit more over a primer. I can foresee quite a bit of use from this palette.
The best part of it? I paid $16.99 for it! Less than half of what it currently sells for at Sephora! So, keep an eye out at your local Marshall's/T.J. Maxx as you never know what kind of deal you may scoop up!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Can't... Wait... So.. Excited...
Wow - I know it's a teeny, tiny picture, but it's a twitpic from Neiman Marcus (follow @neimanmarcus on Twitter)
It's the latest in the Ken Downing colors for Le Metier de Beaute Neiman Marcus collection - Bodacious Bordeaux.
I raved about the last one.. this one will also be mine, mine, mine!
It's the latest in the Ken Downing colors for Le Metier de Beaute Neiman Marcus collection - Bodacious Bordeaux.
I raved about the last one.. this one will also be mine, mine, mine!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Bling Nail Appliques -or- the only nail art I can do
I am not one for nail art. Primarily because I simply do not have the dexterity to accomplish nice-looking nail art, see exhibit A. If you want to see some great nail art - please go on over to The Daily Nail. Then come back, of course! :)
So, in an attempt to try something a bit different, I picked up a couple sets of Bling Nail Appliques from Sally's.
These are little silver dots on a clear nail sticker. Now, these aren't like the Sally Hansen nail stickers which act just like nail polish - these are honest-to-God stickers. They're textured and they can be removed are repositioned until you get it right on the nail. I had Chanel's Mimosa on my nails to begin with, and I just wasn't feeling it - so I added these over it.
They were a bit labor intensive for stickers, only because I was stingy and because I have short little nubbins - I was able to make one sticker go on two nails. So, I would put the sticker on my pointer fingernail, *very* carefully trim it close to the nail tip with cuticle scissors, retrim the ends and place on the pointer fingernail on my other hand. So, now I still have another manicure available! See - stingy!
After adding and trimming the sticker, I carefully filed the edge to smooth it out - which actually was harder than it sounds to get a nice, even edge. It took a little persistence and it came out nice with a few little bumps. At that point, I added a coat of Seche Vite, although it probably wasn't necessary. I just wanted it extra shiny. I like this, and even though removal will probably be a bear, I'll probably do another manicure like it, not to mention the other styles I bought as well! Quick and easy nail art even with unsteady hands.
On another note - this is my 100th post.. woo hoo!
So, in an attempt to try something a bit different, I picked up a couple sets of Bling Nail Appliques from Sally's.
These are little silver dots on a clear nail sticker. Now, these aren't like the Sally Hansen nail stickers which act just like nail polish - these are honest-to-God stickers. They're textured and they can be removed are repositioned until you get it right on the nail. I had Chanel's Mimosa on my nails to begin with, and I just wasn't feeling it - so I added these over it.
They were a bit labor intensive for stickers, only because I was stingy and because I have short little nubbins - I was able to make one sticker go on two nails. So, I would put the sticker on my pointer fingernail, *very* carefully trim it close to the nail tip with cuticle scissors, retrim the ends and place on the pointer fingernail on my other hand. So, now I still have another manicure available! See - stingy!
After adding and trimming the sticker, I carefully filed the edge to smooth it out - which actually was harder than it sounds to get a nice, even edge. It took a little persistence and it came out nice with a few little bumps. At that point, I added a coat of Seche Vite, although it probably wasn't necessary. I just wanted it extra shiny. I like this, and even though removal will probably be a bear, I'll probably do another manicure like it, not to mention the other styles I bought as well! Quick and easy nail art even with unsteady hands.
On another note - this is my 100th post.. woo hoo!
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