Good afternoon my darlings. I hope you had a fantastic weekend and that Monday is treating you well. This was a interesting weekend for me. Friday was just a hot mess. I didn’t even remotely get a chance to do my Face Mask Friday. A project that I thought was done went super nova and it was all hands on deck.
I have several 3 minute face masks ready to try out though, so I might roll one of them in place of the sheet mask this week so if you are feeling like you missed your face mask fix, stay tuned.
But the fun didn’t stop there. My babydoll is not a fan of crowds at the best of times. He tends to have a set group of people he likes and then he wants the rest of the world to just leave him alone. He is one of those people that very much enjoys social distancing and he is really sort of hoping the distance thing becomes a permanent thing. I love him dearly but he is not a people person.
But for Valentine’s Day, he tries.
Usually it is a bit of a compromise. We tend to go out for Valentines Day but we go out the weekend earlier and then just have a night in on the actual valentine’s day. So since Valentine’s Day is on a Tuesday this year, he reasoned that the weekend of the 11th would be when everyone went out to celebrate. And so we went out this weekend for the dinner out. We had a grand night out actually. We went to a concert and then went out to dinner. He bought me tulip bulbs for the garden as a gift. I am very happy with that actually as I have been talking about expanding our small tulip bed. well area maybe more accurate, but you get the picture. Not only did he get me something I like, but he was actually listening when I talked about the garden. (In case you are wondering I got him a box of his his favorite high end chocolates – he has a far bigger sweet tooth then I ever will – and some kit for his beer making endeavors. he was tickled by the new gear although I have to say I have very little idea what I actually picked up. He keeps a wish list and I saw one of the items was in stock so that’s what I ordered.)
It was a really great night. And then we got food poisoning from the restaurant.
It wasn’t the stomach pumping kind of bad, but it did sort of ruin the rest of the weekend. Nothing else was done. No routine errands or household chores. Nothing. I am now up to Season seven (out of 16) of Criminal Minds thought. with the release of the new season on Paramount + I started at Season 1 and began working through the seasons to reach the current one. I am now about midway through season seven. while I love the show, there is something almost therapeutic watching people take down serial killers when you are curled up under a blanket on the couch with a wonky tummy. I also confess, I like the weird episodes. There was one this weekend where the killer turned people into marionettes. It was a good episode. Anyway Paramount+ has them all so I am working my way through until I get to the current season. And this weekend was a good weekend to do some binge watching.
Because I wasn’t going anywhere or doing anything productive.
While I am better, and need to restock the Pepto Bismol, It wasn’t a restful weekend and it feels like I needed another day. Still the work week arrived as predicted so here we are. I do think I am going to feather in all of the missed chores during the week this week though so I can just collapse next weekend. At least that is the plan.
Today’s Look:
Primer: Pinklipps Soft Matte Primer
Foundation: Bite Beauty Changemaker Foundation (discontinued – from the use up box)
Bronzer: Milk Makeup Bronzing stick (sample size from the Use up box)
Blush: Axiology No Waste Multistick Color Cream in True
Powder: By Terry Hyaluronic Acid Hydra Powder (sample size from the Use up Box)
Eyeshadow: Wander Beauty Wanderess Escape Palette
Mascara: Benefit Cosmetics They’re Real Magnet extreme lengthening Mascara
brows: GrandeBrow-Fill
Lips: Axiology Zero Waste Multisuse Crayon in Nude Plum
Okay my darling’s we will take it from the top, because we have some really interesting things in today’s line up. First is the Pinklipps primer. This is an interesting primer. If used sparingly, it is quite fantastic. It creates a nice softly blurred canvas for the rest of the makeup to sit on. The pink tone helps even things out in my skin tone but I have pink undertones to my skin so if you don’t have that, it might not help. It does give a nice matte look to the skin which I like. However if you use a little too much this formula does tend to feel a little heavy and greasy. So I put just a little bit where i need it most and then blend out. Which seems to work for this primer. i am still playing with it so I’ll keep you posted, but tat the moment that seems to be what is working.
The Bite Foundation is fantastic but discontinued so it is in my use up box. My hope is to finish it out this month so I can let it go. The same holds true for the By Terry Powder. it is good but not my favorite formula so i am using up the sample size I have this month so I can let it go. The Milk Makeup Bronzer also comes from the use up box, however it is there for a different reason. It is a sample size that I want to use up so that I can purchase the full size. While I love samples because they give me a good idea of how the product actually works, if I like it I make myself use up the sample before I purchase the full size. I really like this bronzer, so I am am using up the sample in order to purchase the fill size.
And now we get to the Axiology products. I don’t know if you have heard of this brand but it is well worth looking into. they very kindly sent over a few products for me to try so they will be around for the next few weeks (and probably beyond) while i try them out. They are multiuse products with sustainable packaging. There is no metal or plastic in the packaging. it is all paper and all recyclable. I’ll get into all of the details of that with my fill post of the brand but if sustainability is important to you I recommend checking out their website to see how they are doing things. The links in this post will take you to their site.
But a good idea is only a good idea if it works. And so we start the product testing. Today I use the Multi stick color cream as the blush and the Multi use crayon as my lipstick. For the blush the color I used was True. I dotted it on to my face as I would a stick of cream blush and then blended with a damp makeup sponge. (Currently I am using the Beauty Bakerie Blending eggs for this. They are just the right density. I don’t like my makeup sponges too hard in general, but for this you will also want to avoid the too soft ones. they never seem to work all that well for cream blushes. Other things, yes, but not most cream blushes, so go with a medium density).
I only needed a couple of dots and then it blended into a really nice blush. I really like this shade and actually i think that this is also multi season in shading for me as well. I started with a single dot of product and blended out and it gave me a very light flush. I added a second dot and it blended as well and proved the formula was buildable. As the shade works well with my skin tone I think when the summer sun starts to give me a tan, I will just be able to use a little more to have the perfect summer shade as well. I love a product i can use year round. I won’t know for certain until the summer but this first use was very promising. The lip crayons went on really well also, it was smooth and creamy. It has the consistency on the lips of a creamy bullet style lipstick. It doesn’t dry down which is fine and requires reapplication after eating but i really like the shade and the feel of it on my lips. It was a great first use. Thus far the only issue I see is that I really like this True shade as a blush so I am not sure I am going to want to try using it anywhere else. It just makes such a great blush. Still it is multi use so I will try using it elsewhere.
This was my first use of the Escape Palette, although a while back I had a mini version of this palette I believe. I remember this pink shimmer shade and I am very happy to have it back (the previous palette was used, well loved and then accidentally dropped where three of the six shadows crumbled, in case you were wondering).I love having this pink shimmer back. It was my favorite before and it is so again. It is a subtle shimmer that is perfect for the work day. i went with a general work day look today and I think it came out looking really well.
The Benefit mascara is one of my favorites. I tried the magnet in a sample and loved it enough to purchase full size. Oddly while i love the magnet version of this mascara, i wasn’t as thrilled by the regular They’re real. It was okay but when I used it I preferred Bad Gal Bang from them. I still love the Bad Gal but this Magnet They’re real is a close second. I just find it amusing at the difference between the two versions of They’re real.
And to end I am using the GrandeBrow Fill. As a brow gel it is fantastic. Since my bangs cover most of my brows at the moment I don’t need much in the way of brow products so I am hoping the good things in this brow fill will work on the patchy spots. That will take time to see but i do like it as a brow gel. it keeps everything in place without feeling stiff.
And wo my darlings that is me today. I’ve just begun the Axiology test and am really excited to see how the products perform in the next few weeks. My tummy is feeling better and the panic that was Friday has settled down to something more manageable for the work week. And so I will get back to my paperwork and let you get on with the rest of your day. I hope it is a fabulous one.
Ms. Mimsy Reviews 