The Daily: March 22nd, 2023

Good afternoon my darlings. I am happy to report that it is actually 49 degrees and I no longer fear for the lives of my spring flowers. It is however raining and the park is flooded so there will be indoor workouts instead of walking for today and possibly tomorrow, but no ice, so that I can live with.

I don’t know why these late frosts really bother me Possibly because it was more than a little late frost. Mostly I think it is because the week before I just started noticing that all of the trees in our yard started to have that green haze to them. You know the one? When you look directly at the tree it looks brown and winter barren, but if you look at it out of the corner of your eye, the tiny little green buds all over it give it a hazy green look. It isn’t quite budding but it has that breath before budding.

Almost but not quite spring. And then comes the late frost. It was worse this year than usual, but still not terribly unexpected and yet it always gets me.

Oh well. Soon it will be actual spring and things will get planted out into the garden and then it will be a race to get them to grow before the scorching summer sun arrives and early morning watering becomes mandatory. My older neighbor who I see walking in the park has repeatedly informed me that this summer will be a scorcher. He claims to know because of all the signs. He won’t tell me what those signs are but he gives me the wide eyes and frowny face paired with the slow head shake every time he brings it up.

He also seems incapable of passing me without making a comment on the weather. I offer a polite nod and smile but he has this need to say a few words every time we pass. He doesn’t want to stop and talk, but he just has to say a couple of words about the weather.

I think when I am older and people nod and respectfully listen to me when we pass in the park I am going to find a non-weather related topic to mention in passing. Just a sentence drop as the people I pass are trying to be polite. I’m thinking of going with Yetis. I’m sure i can cobble together enough small Yeti conversational sentences for walks in the park. Yeti sightings. Yeti aplasia issues. The shrinking of Yeti held territory due to the increasing Big Foot population and global climate change.

And yes, these are the sorts of things I think about. But for now, let’s get into makeup.

Today’s Look:

Pre Makeup Base: Embryolisse Lait Creme Sensitive

Primer: Tatcha Liquid silk canvas

Foundation: Elf Acne Fighting Foundation

Bronzer: Trestique bronzing stick

Blush: Axiology Color Cream Multi Use stick

Setting Powder: Beseme Cosmetics Aurora 1959 Pink Setting Powder

Eyeshadow: Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Diva Lights Palette

Mascara: Anastasia Beverly Hills Lash Brag Mascara

Lips: Tatcha tinted Kissu Lip Mask

The Embryolisse is a great way to start your makeup. I apply a thin amount about ten minutes before I start in on my makeup. It plumps the skin with moisture and preps it for application. Plus it has that very nostalgic scent. The formula hasn’t really changed since the 1950s and both my mother and grandmother used this as their day time moisturizer for huge swaths of my life so it has a very distinctive scent memory for me. Plus I like doing something nice for my skin just before I put on makeup.

You know I love the Tatcha Balm primer so much that I keep forgetting to reach for the liquid version. I really like this one too, mostly because it applies as a liquid but as you put it on it feels almost exactly like the balm as you smooth it over the skin. It is also a travel size that I picked up to try out. So it is sort of like a sample and I am trying to use up samples this month. i just keep forgetting I have this so i don’t use it as much. I have to say the older i get the more important a good primer is. It really helps keep foundation from automatically seeking out the fine lines.

I went with the Elf acne Fighting foundation today. of the elf foundations this one is my favorite and the one I will repurchase. while I am not constantly fighting the acne battle these days, there is just a nice lightweight feel to this formula that I really enjoy. It is one of elf’s best.

Again I stuck with favorites for bronzer and blush. I love my Trestique bronzer. For me this and the lip crayons are the best the brand has to offer. Other items are okay, but those are their hero products in my opinion, and the ones I keep repurchasing.

This Axiology Color cream is rapidly becoming my favorite cream blush. I think as I try out other cream blushes I will be bouncing between using it and the others. It is a creamy formula and in a pinch it can be used for lips and eyes. Plus it is a completely paper packaging so once I am through with it the package can be rinsed out and recycled. How fab is that?

I am loving this Beseme powder as well. Yes I know I chose all products I love today. I’ll try to stop saying that. I think though that I tried for so long to find a replacement pink powder that I just get happy every time I pick this up. tomorrow though I need to return to using up the last of the ABH powder. i want to finish it up before the end of the month so I need to use it pretty much the rest of the month to do so. The ABH Lash Brag mascara is always fabulous. Big fluffy wand, big fluffy lashes.

Charlotte Tilbury was the eyeshadow i went with. I have to say it is an expensive little eyeshadow quad so I will probably only buy one and just use it until it is gone. I bought this one on sale. I don’t mind paying more for a full palette, but it is a bit pricy given that it is a quad. That being said the shadows are really good quality and it is really easy to use. Yu start at the upper left and then work around the quad clockwise and then boom you are done. I always get more or less the same look, but it takes so little time and always looks good. For a quick morning palette or a travel bag, this is a really great quad. And I am glad i purchased it. I am also glad I picked it up on sale. And yes it really is that it is a quad that bothers me about the price.

And finally we have the lips. The regular Kissu mask is part of my night time skincare line up but I keep forgetting I have this tinted version. I don’t know if it is the tint, but it feels more like a lip gloss than a lip mask. It works like a lip mask and gives my lips a nice tint as well as excellent hydration. I need to start wearing it more as a lip gloss, especially going into the lower makeup days of summer.

And that my darlings is me on this dreary and rainy (but surprisingly warmer) Wednesday afternoon. I hope wherever you are you are having a grand mid week adventure.

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The Daily: March 21st, 2023

March just keeps chugging along doesn’t it. Today the freeze warning is still in effect but according to all sources I can find, it is supposed to warm up in the morning. I know tulips are fairly hardy but I do fear for their safety. they are no longer glazed and looking like ice sculptures and they don’t look wilted yet so I have hopes they will come through this snap in tact. Oddly the leaves are now starting to come out on my blackberry bush. They are small leaves teased out but the warm front before this current cold snap and now looking like they are regretting their optimism, but still they are there.

And blackberries always mean summer to me. So I am hoping for a bumper crop this year. I’ve already got my netting handy so at the first sign of fruiting I can protect the bush from the predations of the birds. I am actually curious as to how that will play out this year.

Usually we have problems with voles, squirrels and birds in our yard. This year the issue has been more of a feral cat situation (in the neighborhood and not just our yard) and all other wildlife seems to be giving our patch a wide berth because of it. We usually have a lot of nesting birds near us so it will be interesting to see how things progress.

It is my own little live action nature documentary.

My only role is to protect my garden otherwise I just watch it play out and occasionally scare off the cats. Last year most wildlife viewed my garden as an all you can eat salad buffet. Until this past fall when the cats decided it was a squirrel buffet with vegetable garnish. And the more the feral cat’s multiply the more my babydoll starts looking at pictures of terriers. I’m pretty sure he watched Crufts this year thinking about what kind of dog would work best against some of the rather large neighborhood cats.

Some of them are really large.

I’m not so sure I want to take that active a roll in the nature documentary that is our yard. At the moment I have a bottle of soapy water that is eco friendly and keeps bugs from eating most of my plants and chicken wire to keep things out of the garden beds. That is about as active as I plan to get. Tastes bad but isn’t actually poison and won’t hurt the ground as well as physical barricades like netting and wire. I might go as far as something that makes noise, but I am not up for all out warfare.

All of that is several months away of course as we are now struggling to get above freezing and my seedlings are in my greenhouse safe and sound from all predators and the weather. But the appearance of the blackberry leaves has started the planning.

Today’s Look

Pre Makeup Base: Embryolisse Lait Creme Sensitive

Primer: YSL Touche Eclat Blurring Primer

Foundation: Hide Invisible Foundation

Bronzer/Blush/Highlight/Eyeshadow: Wander Beauty Getaway eye and Face Palette

Setting Powder: Beseme Cosmetics Pink powder

Mascara: Thrive Causmetics Mascara

Brows: Grande Cosmetics Brow-Fill Volumizing Brow Gel

Lips: Serephine Botanicals Lip Gloss and OFRA Lip Gloss in myth

I really like how everything turned out today. My plan this moth is to work through the sample sized primers and I have had this primer for a long time. Each time I think I am done with itI realize there is still just a little bit more left in the bottle and I keep it around. And even though I used it today there is still just a little bit more left in the bottle so I will continue to use it. Even though it is hard to get out of the bottle. I really love this YSL primer. I know it was all the rage a while back with everyone saying fabulous things about it and then it fell off the radar and now people say it’s time has passed, but I love this primer. It does such a beautiful job of blurring things out. And while the gold flakes are a bit much, when I use this primer under heavier matte foundation, it tends to look a bit less heavy. Even if it isn’t sparkly. I have tried several YSL makeup items and thus far this is the only one I’ve tried that I will repurchase.

This HIDE foundation is pretty good as well. It helps that it is in the perfect shade for my skin. I also know that it expires in August and so I am trying to keep it in rotation so that when August arrives I have used all of it. It is a weightless foundation that blends out so well.

Most of my face products came from the Wander Beauty Palette today. It is my first use of this palette. That bronzer is very pigmented. As is the blush. I suggest going lightly into the pan. I will say that both blend out really well, but they are more pigmented than they look.

The eyeshadows too are pigmented. I used Villa as a base, Boardwalk to darken the corners and Day dream as my shimmer. It was quick and easy to use and honestly I think I may have found my next favorite travel palette. The whole thing worked really well for me and took so little time to use. It isn’t the broadest spectrum of looks and I think I will probably end up with the same look each time I open the palette, but for a weekend trip, that isn’t a bad thing. And the size is great for a small makeup bag.

The Beseme Setting powder is amazing. I can already see myself getting refills for this compact for a long time to come. My quest for a replacement pink setting powder might have just ended because this just works so well without looking powdery.

The Thrive mascara gave me long lashes today that worked well. I might pair this with a thickening mascara in the future but for long lashes I really like this.

As for the lips. I tried the Seraphine and while I liked the color it was a little too sticky for me. I have this OFRA lipgloss that is just a little too light for me to wear on it’s own. It does make an excellent topper though. So I used it to top the Seraphine. It lightened the color a bit which I don’t mind but it also took away the stickiness from the other lip gloss. Th9is is definitely a pairing I will be using in the future.

So this is me today. Honestly I am really happy with the way things have turned out. It’s not dramatic, but then my looks rarely are. It is nice and casual yet when I had to take a video call earlier it didn’t look out of place. it was casual yet office friendly I suppose. Which is kind of where my makeup really lives. I play with the glitters and things at night and on weekends, but really day in and day out, casual and office appropriate is my lane. And I am happy with that. Especially for a Tuesday.

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The Daily: March 20th, 2023

In a season of yo yo weather, this weekend we had snow. Not a lot, just enough for people to step outside and marvel as the the tulips and late daffodils became frosted. I am not opposed to cold this deep into March. Mostly because of Easter. I remember every Easter I shivered and was freezing in my pretty summery Easter dress.

Admittedly so was every other little girl in church. Why do you do that? Everyone knows that Easter morning is going to be cold. And yet every year Easter dresses are made of thin summer weight cloth. Which you have to wear winter tights under and cover up with a coat. My Easter dress usually had a cardigan I would wear because they would take the coat off when you got to church so you could show off your pretty Easter dress. Unfortunately at our church they decided to stop running the heat because March was so warm and the building would be frigid on Easter morning.

Every Easter service I went to started off with a comment about the sudden cold snap that was so unexpected.

I think it might have been some sort of endurance test for little girls.

But I digress. Snow in March isn’t that unexpected. It only feels really strange because we had those 80 degree days in January and February. It feels like instead of progression from one season to another they decided to take all of the weather possible for the entire season and shove it into a blender before doling it out randomly.

We did get alerts for record lows all weekend so that made it feel extra strange. And all of the garden chores we had lined up were postponed. Soon my shallot and onion seedlings are going to have to go out though. They are getting to the point where the ground is necessary. They are strong enough to withstand a little cold, so I’m hoping when things warm up on Wednesday they will stay warm for long enough to let me get them out and established. I can cover them overnight after that, I just need them to have a little time before settling in.

This weekend we did start the Spring cleaning. As you might have guessed it did not include the opening of windows and airing out of the house. That, will wait for a weekend without snow. In between I ended up binge watching the Mayor of Kingston on Paramount+. It’s pretty good. I wasn’t sure I would like it but I needed a break from some of the other things I have been watching so I gave it a try. I didn’t get through the whole series but I got enough episodes watched that I am kind of hooked so I will watch the rest of the season at least. I know not terribly productive, but there was cleaning and snow. And now today is back to work.

Today’s Look

Pre Makeup Base: Embryolisse Lait Creme Sensitive

Primer: Tatcha The Silk Canvas Primer

Foundation: Yensa BC Skin on Skin Foundation

Yensa now has a Yen rewards program where every purchase earns you points that you acn use to spend on the site.

Bronzer: Trestique Refillable Bronzer stick

Blush: Jane Iredale Blush Stick

Setting Powder: Beseme Cosmetics Aurora Pink Blush

Eyeshadow: Dominique Cosmetics Unconditional Palette

Mascara: Benefit Cosmetics They’re Real Extreme Lengthening magnetic mascara

Brows: Grande Cosmetics Brow Fill Volumizing brow gel

Lips: RMS Lip Gloss in Darling Lane

Setting Spray: Ciate London Watermelon Burst setting spray

Today my skin was feeling a little bit dry. I think it is mostly due to the weather changes. So I went in with my Embryolisse first. It is just a great hit of extra hydration before the makeup goes on and I really love it. And yes I did lose the cap to this so I am using a pencil eraser as a stopper and will be working to finish this cream and pick up a new one. It is something I always have on hand.

The Tatcha is my favorite primer and to be honest I went for the primer, foundation and bronzer because I wanted quick easy and good. These three are among my favorites. Tatcha blend out the fine lines making my skin looks smooth, the Yensa is light weight and fabulous and the Trestique is a dream to blend. The Yensa is a bit glowy so I use a setting powder to tame it as well as to set it and I am fine with how it turns out every time.

The blush is the Jane Iredale. It is a cream blush stick. The white tube already has foundation stains on it. The product is nice though. It does need a little warming up to blend out properly but once it is warm it is really good. Warming it just takes holding it in your hand for a five to ten count, then it is fine.

Then there is this Beseme powder. You know I have been looking for a good pink powder since Becca went under and the Pink Haze was no more. This is it. It is a pressed powder instead of a loose one, but I don’t mind that. I picked up the slim line compact from Beseme. It is refillable and all of their powder pans fit inside. I went with the pink toned one from the 1950s and it was exactly what I have been looking for. It goes on well without looking powdery and the pink tone brightens winter sallow skin. It also set the foundation well. And I love that it is refillable and not terrible expensive. Plus this compact reminds me of something my grandmother carried in her purse so I love having it around. In general I love the styling of Beseme’s products as well as the products themselves. I am definitely going to be using and refilling this for a while.

I am so tickled to have finally found the powder I have been looking for.

This Dominique Cosmetics palette is a six pan palette. It is really well thought out for easy use. I used the lighter pink as a base, added the crimson to the outer edge and blended, then added the shimmer with the matte white to the inner corner. I did not use the glitter today as I wasn’t feeling the glitter (it also is the only shade with fall out) but I used everything else. It is a great quick palette that performs well. I need to remember to take it out more.

I love my benefit mascara. this and Bad Gal Bang are my favorites so I have no problem reaching for either. The lips today were a lip gloss that I vaguely remember trying out but couldn’t remember how I felt. So I decided to give it a try. the color is nice, It is more pigmented than I expected. It feels like a cross between a lip gloss and a lip balm on the lips. It was sticky slightly at first but that went away almost immediately. It doesn’t dry down at all and does leave lip prints everywhere. The color wears off but even after the color is gone my lips feel hydrated. I think this too is a product I am going to have to remember to reach for more often.

And that my darlings is me today. Personally I like how things turned out. And I am over the moon about the Beseme powder. But now it is back to earth and the continuation of the regularly scheduled work day. Hope you are having a good Monday my darlings.

Using the Axiology Lip to Lid Balmies

Recently Axiology sent a few items to me to try out and review. As always my opinions are completely my own. I was very excited about these products though because one thing I have been trying to do in my life is to reduce waste.

Axiology has more or less the same mission, although on a much grander scale than mine. Enter the Lip to Lid Balmies. A zero waste Multi use cosmetic crayon. I have the two pack or Nude Plum and Rose which is described as…

Lip-to-Lid Balmies are plastic-free, multi-use crayons for eyes, lips and cheeks. Packed with oils, butters, and antioxidants such as hemp, and plum oil to nourish and hydrate skin. 100% vegan, cruelty-free and palm oil-free. Made with 9 natural ingredients.

Ingredients:Ricinus communis (castor) seed oil*, Helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil*, Garcinia indica (kokum) seed butter, Helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed wax, Cannabis sativa (hemp) seed oil*, Sambucus nigra fruit extract, Prunus domestica (plum) seed oil, Tocopherol**, Azadirachta indica seed oil*

I know I normally only talk about ingredients in skincare but these are well worth talking about here. These products are vegan so they use sunflower seed wax instead of beeswax. If you look down the list it is pretty easy to see it is not a bad list of ingredients. I’ll admit I did have to look up kokum seed butter and nigra fruit extract but the others are items I would not mind seeing in my skincare. (and those I wouldn’t mind either I just had to look them up.) In case you were wondering kokum seed butter is an emollient and nigra fruit extract is also known as black elderberry and has antioxidant properties.

And both are more in keeping with skincare than makeup.

Usually.

While I have the two balmies, they do come in trios and even a Super Fan Pack with fourteen of these little crayons. Personally I was quite stunned by the array of colors available. I have been using these for various functions for the past few weeks (almost a month now actually). They are multi use items designed for use on the eye lids, cheeks and lips.

The first thing you notice when they arrive is that the outer packaging is completely recyclable. It is all paper and it quickly breaks down and can be sent off to the recycling no muss np fuss. We actually needed some dry material for our compost (we are a bit heavy on the coffee grounds) and so I tore the packaging into small bits and added it to it. The packaging is no more.

Inside, the container for the balmies is also made of recycled paper and ou yeah, the actually wrapping for the cosmetic crayon? Yup, that’s paper too. As you use the balmie it wears down and you just peel off the paper and keep using it until there is nothing left.

It is quite an interesting design. I imagine those last little bits of product might get a bit messy, but it will take a while to get there and they would only be a mess when it got down to the last little nub as the paper does go all the way to the base of the crayon and so should hold on until the very end if you are careful with your unwrapping.

I will say that while using these I did sort of want a Cruella Deville style cigarette holder to put them in. I think if Axiology ever decides to expand a bamboo holder in that style (without the hole for smoking) would be quite the classy addition. But that might just be me.

First, let’s talk eyes.

I really liked the way that I could draw a line with the product on the outer corner of my eye and then use a finger tip to blend it towards the center. Whether it is the product or these colors I don’t know but with that approach I managed a real natural sort of look. Just a little hint of color to give a little life to the face. I did try to build up the products and I was able to deepen the tone, but in truth when used as shadows these are really on the more natural side than they are the ultra glam side. The color can be deepened but the nude plum and the rose really leaned towards the natural low makeup kind of looks. I will say that while it is easy to blend, once it is in place it stays all day.

The cheeks were interesting.

I think because I so recently used the Axiology Color Cream which I have to be honest is now my standard for cream blushes, this fell a little short. The formula is fine, but the fine point didn’t work as well for me on the cheeks. These products want to draw a line. I did try and draw a circle and then blend, but the trick is you have to move really fast. Once these balmies are in place they want to stay in place. Which is great for makeup longevity but was not the best with the pointed crayon. I did have better success flipping the crayon over and using the flat bottom of the crayon but to use it I had to peel back the paper and so it left product exposed on both sides and that sort of meant it got all over my hand from the back when I went to use the pointy end.

While it can be used as a cheek product, and will look good on the cheeks, I think I am going to stick with the Color Creams for the cheeks. The shape is just better suited for the cheek area.

And finally the lips.

These Balmies were amazing on the lips. they are creamy and pigmented. The shades I have are more in the my lips but better sort of range. Again, that is just for these shades, there might be more dramatic shades in the box. But quite honestly I loved these. On the lips they feel like lip balm rather than lipstick. They don’t have the often waxy texture of a bullet style lipstick, they really just feel like a nice light lip balm. It also lends itself to a more natural look. It is a matte finish, however I found that pretty much any clear gloss will go over them really well and look good. I used the Revolution pout Balm and they looked great.

The one thing they don’t do is cover up any lip damage. if you have a dry spot on your lips then it does kind of show given the lightness of the formula. It will not irritate your lips though even if they are chapped which is nice. It is just not going to give you that super smooth look to your lips. It is not pigmented for that and it isn’t that dense a formula. However the point does allow you to trace your lips well so you don’t need a lip liner. And actually with this set if you are looking to do your liner one shade darker than your lip color and blend a little bit, the plum works well as a liner and the rose for infill.

Over all i was very impressed with Axiology’s Lip to Lid Balmies. They work well for different uses and are easy to use. There is a good amount of product so it will last a long time. The placement of the paper is designed to let you use the entire product with no fuss (unless you peel it back and try to use the back end). For me the cheeks were not my favorite use and that had more to do with the shape pf the product and the cat that I knew Axiology’s Color Cream was just a fantastic cheek product. If you are looking for products (and brands) that provide good products while reducing plastic, metal and other unrecyclable packaging I think that Axiology should be on your list to check out. Personally I will use these two crayons down to nubs and plan to keep them hand this summer when my default makeup look is low to no makeup for most of my week. I think Axiology’s Lip to Lid Balmies are a product I will keep around for a long time to come.

The Daily: March 15th, 2023

Beware the Ides of March….Beware…especially if you think you might be betrayed by a friend. But who really plans for betrayal anyway? No betrayal for me today, Just a day at the desk. I am feeling significantly less stuffy and puffy today though which is nice.

I also had a fight with my bangs. They did not not want to behave. And in the end they won and I am resigned to them just looking slightly crazy. And yes I adjusted my position in the photo so you can’t see that a section of my bangs kept threatening to rise up like it is testifying in church.

Although I’m not sure me falling asleep with wet hair is testifiable material.

I did just get a package in today that I am super excited about. I’ve started ordering restocks of things because I realized not only did I need my spring orders but I was out of a lot of things. I think everything has been so chaotic that things slipped through the cracks. And while I was doing my restocking I popped on to the Beseme Cosmetics site. They do a lot of vintage style cosmetics. 1950s lipstick, cake mascara, that sort of thing. They also have collaborations that are just fabulous. A while back I picked up the Sleeping Beauty Collaboration for my Aunt who was over the moon about it and then I picked up the I love Lucy Collab for my godmother who is a HUGE I love Lucy fan.

I got to see a grown woman squeal when she opened that one which was nice. And very surprising.

The thing is that their collabs do not last long. Half the time they are sold out by the time I find out about it and go to the site to look. So I have started lurking. Or maybe stalking is a better term. I pop into the site routinely because they have great formulas and their collabs make such fabulous gifts. The makeup is long since used up but my aunt still uses the hand mirror I picked up with the collection. Which is something I love, they have items that outlast the makeup so it feels more gift like.

Anyway no new collabs but a I was there I saw the pressed powder compact. it is refillable and one of the refills was pink powder. So I scooped it up, along with a pot of their cream blush. It comes in a gorgeous metal container that is red and gold. Anyway the package arrived today. It arrived after I put on my makeup so i didn’t use it today. I thought about it, but decided adding it on top of what I was already wearing was not the greatest idea. If you have been following me for any length of time you might recall I have been searching for a pink powder to replace my no longer being products Becca Pink Haze setting powder. I have my fingers crossed that this is it. And even if it isn’t the compact is a slimline perfect for my purse and refillable. So it will be fabulous no matter what.

I will start playing with them tomorrow but I couldn’t help but gush as they came i before this post went up.

But on with today’s makeup, before I have to get back to work.

Today’s Look

Primer: Basic Beauty Smooth and Blur Primer

Foundation: Beauty Blender Bounce Liquid Whip Foundation

Bronzer: Milk Makeup Bronzing Stick

Blush: Jane Iredale Blush Stick

Setting Powder: Anastasia Beverly Hills Translucent Setting powder

Eyeshadow: Too Faced Better than Chocolate Shadow Palette

Mascara: Pur Fully Charged Mascara

Brows Grande Brow-fill

Lips Seraphine Botanicals Long Lasting Vegan Lip in Cherimoya and Fig

Okay let’s jump in because today was interesting. This was the second use of the Basic beauty primer. I think if I had more texture to my skin then maybe I would like this. It does make my skin smooth and soft, but it doesn’t really do much of anything else. It isn’t gripping, It doesn’t really feel hydrating. It doesn’t color correct or really do much blurring. It is just smoothing. And as my skin is pretty good right now, that doesn’t really do much for me. I’ll use it tomorrow again which will empty out the small tube but I don’t think this will be a full sized purchase.

I did choose a foundation that works well on it’s own with this primer and the Beauty Blender foundation does work really well on it’s own. I can tell that I am not wearing a line filling primer underneath, but I think it still looks nice.

While I love my Milk Makeup bronzer, I think my sample is starting to dry out. I can actually feel it becoming more difficult to blend. It is nearing the end of the product so that does have something to do with it, but it does have me concerned about picking up the full size. I think this is a bronzer that you use when it is your only bronzer. While the sample is on the way out, I think I may have to use a few more products up before I am ready to purchase the full size. I think it is a product that just needs to be consistently used.

This was my first use of the Jane Iredale Blush stick. My thoughts are really positive about it. The blush blends well and is really creamy. I do have to blend one cheek at a time it feels like it wants to set if I apply it on both and then blend. But that isn’t unusual. It will be interesting to see how it wears. I only did a light application so I’ll have to play around and see how well it builds.

I like the ABH Setting powder, which is fortunate as I have an unopened backup in my drawer. I wish it had an inner lid to keep it from getting so messy, but otherwise it is fine. I think if i keep using this I might actually finish it by the end of the month. I like the powder but it is a big powder so it feels like an accomplishment. Plus it has been opened for a while now.

This was my first use of the Too faced Better Than Chocolate and I predictable went for the browns and bronze. They worked well. they applied smoothly and blended nicely with no real fall out to speak of. I think I may have to use a wet brush with the shimmers but thus far, I like the formula.

This Pur Mascara is done. This was the last of the product in the tube. It is a decent every day mascara. it isn’t spectacular but it is reliable in the lengthening department. I don’t think I am going to be purchasing the full size.

I am really loving the Grande Brow Fill as it covers in my patchy parts of my brows with no problem and holds everything in place all day.

And then we reach the lips. I like the color and I love the way this liquid lip applied. It is however the stickiest lip formula I have used in a while. Seriously the sticky doesn’t go away. Seraphine Botanicals is one of those brands that I really want to like. They always look good and I am always excited to try them but then some how there is always one element that makes me think no, this isn’t for me. This lippie has a great color and applies well and evenly. It smells good and has no taste to it. But that stickiness is hard to get over.

And that my darlings is me today. It was a bit hit or miss today, but in the end, it doesn’t look half bad. It was definitely a bit more up and down than my usual makeup,. But then i did try some new things. Which is kind of the fun of makeup. But now it is back to work for me. Have a great Wednesday.

The Daily: March 13th, 2023

Good afternoon my darlings. I am just now starting to feel back on track. I know last week was a bit coocoo pants, but things have started to settle back down on that front. My babydoll is back to work. His sinuses are still draining but he is on the mend. No fever and most importantly his blood pressure is back under control.

which gives me a great deal of relief.

It also means things are back to normal, or at least normal-ish. I was able to write up a meal plan instead of moving around an under the weather man. In addition I slept this weekend. I slept a lot this weekend. I really needed it. If you added up all of my sleep from last week you would be pushing it to scrape into double digits. I more or less collapsed this weekend. Aside from meal planning, grocery shopping and making sure the seedlings in my greenhouse were watered, I watched the two new episodes of Survivor that were on Paramount+ and zoned out to a podcast on the ancient Sumerians. And Akkadians. And Babylonians.

Okay I went on an ancient history binge.

But I feel well rested. This morning was a bit harsh though. I am back to getting up a little early to get my morning workout in. It seemed extra early this morning as the time changed on Sunday. We sprung forward which is a polite way to say that someone stole an hour from me and I had to get up when it was still dark. As you can tell, I am not a fan of spring forward. I don’t mind getting up at dawn’s first ight, but I do like if dawn is at least attempting to get up with me. I do not like to get up before dawn’s arrival. I like at least a sliver of light in the sky before I wake up. If I don’t have that I feel vaguely off.

I know, in a few weeks I’ll get the dawn back and all will even out, it just seemed to be a little much with restarting my morning exercises after taking much of last week off. The exercises did help push away some of the morning fog though. Which was nice. And it was light when i finished so I did feel better. I just have to consider the workouts as a prelude to starting my day. Therefore I am waking up into the prelude in the dark and then starting the day when the day finally arrives.

I know, semantics, but it makes me feel just a little bit better. Don’t worry, I wont grouse about this until the sun shifts. I just have a tradition of grumping about the spring time change. It is just a first day grump. And now it is done so we can move on.

Today’s Look

Primer: Basic Beauty Smooth and Blur primer

Foundation: No 7 Lift and Luminate Triple Action Serum Foundation

Bronzer: Trestique Bronzing stick

Blush: Axiology Color Cream

Brows: Grande Brow-Fill Volumizing Brow Gel

Eyeshadow: ZeeSea Eyeshadow Compact Palace Identity #02

Setting Powder: Anastasia Beverly Hills Translucent setting powder

Mascara: Pur Cosmetics Fully Charged Mascara

Lips: Axiology Lip to Lid Balmies in nude plum topped with Revolution Pout Bomb Plumping Lip gloss

I’ll be honest, I looked to my dressing table and the one palette I keep out more for decorative purposes than anything else is the Palace identity Palette. The compact is so beautiful. But because it is always out, it tends to get forgotten. I open the eyeshadow drawer and choose from there, not even looking at it. Today I saw it and decided I wanted to use it, so I did. It is a lovely soft look. I do find that I always come up with the exact same shadow look when I reach for this palette. which is fine, but not something I want to reach for every day. the shadows work well. It is a nice fairly easy formula to work with and it doesn’t have a lot of fall out. And it is beautiful. I always feel kind of special using it.

I am still trying out the samples from my primer collection this month. My goal is to use all of the samples up and then decide if any of them need to be purchased in the full size. Today I went with the Basic Beauty sample. It is a clear gel and it does go on wet. I had to fan myself to dry it down. Which lent an extra note of fancy to my proceedings as I am incapable of using a fan without thinking of the old fashioned fan signals from eras gone by.

You’ll be happy to know that rejected the advances of the upstart lord trying to gain my affections. At least i think I did. I may have to run through a list of meanings.

The primer is clear so there is no covering of redness. My skin was very silky soft and there was no stickiness whatsoever. I am not certain I like the clear formula. I have a few days of use left so we’ll see how it progresses this week, but it just seemed okay when I applied it. Basic seems to be the right word for it.

I did love my No 7 though. It is a really nice formula and well, you know I think it is one of the best drugstore foundations out there. It blends out without looking cakey and it lasts all day. I am a huge fan. I will of course be rotating through foundations as I try out primers.

I went with my favorite bronzer today as well. Mostly because it was still out and I love it. The Trestique just works for me as a bronzer. And I love that it is now refillable. I did mean to try out the cream blush that came in my Beauty Fox box but I thought cream bronzer and just reached for the Axiology. I suspect that is going to become habit. I really enjoy the color cream as a blush. It blends so well and can go light or dark. I am looking forward to trying this out in the summer actually once my skin tans. I think I can actually use this shade as a year round shade, which I find exciting.

Some days it is the little things.

I also used Axiology in the lips today. I went with the plum Nude Balmies for my lips and then just wanted a little shine so i added the pout bomb from revolution. The two made a surprisingly good pairing. The shade is my lips but better and then the gloss just made them, well glossy. Over all I was pleased. It was a soft look for the day, but when I reach for this eye shadow palette i know it will be.

And for today it works. I’ll be at my desk for most of the day. I am hoping to slip in a walk later this afternoon if the rain holds off. This morning was a bit damp and drizzly. It cleared up a little about half an hour ago, so I might try to slip in some out door time before the rain returns. I don’t think the park is currently flooded. I have my fingers crossed. I’m also hoping that being up before the sun earned me some karmic brownie points. We shall see. Have a great rest of your Monday.

The Daily: March 8th, 2023

It is amazing what a good night’s sleep can do. I fell asleep pretty early last night and slept like a stone until morning. You know that loggy overstuffed feeling you get when you slept really hard? that’s sort of what i woke up with this morning. It feels a little like being drugged, but is all natural.

Sleep is glorious. I just can’t say enough fabulous things about it.

Today has been interesting. My babydoll is back to work, having shuffled off the worst of the antibiotic take down of his systems. Meals are still pretty much dependent on what is actually more suitable for him. The sinus infection affected the back of his jaw and throat so instead of planning around my plans for healthy eating and weight loos it has been more about what he can eat that doesn’t hurt.

Not my favorite way to plan meals, but it was necessary. And it has thrown my internal systems a bit out of whack. Hopefully now we can start easing back into normal. While having him home sick did take a chunk of time out of my work days, me being so tired yesterday was probably the worst culprit. I thought I was actually sort of productive yesterday but this morning I started out going over everything I did yesterday and almost all of it had to be redone.

If I ever needed a clear picture of how important sleep is, I got it right there.

I can power through and keep working when I am exhausted, but the work will later have to be redone so it isn’t really being productive. It sounds like a simple thought but it is one that I seem to have to relearn a lot. Insomnia is a frequent companion in my life. I know once I reach a certain point of tiredness I should just call it a sick day and back away. I feel lazy if I do that though. I shouldn’t, because it never works out, but I do it anyway.

I suppose this is more a message to anyone else who has these sort of bouts of exhaustion or any situation that pulls focus I suppose. Sometimes it is more productive for everyone if you just step away. It isn’t laziness, it isn’t being irresponsible, it is an intelligent assessment of the situation and a logical course of action.

There is always a big gap between knowing what you should do and actually doing it. Hopefully next time I will take my own advice. Today however, I feel better, even if I have a heavy work load. I went with quick and easy for today’s makeup.

Today’s Look

Primer: Laura Mercier Pure Canvas Primer (hydrating)

Foundation: Yensa Super Serum Silk Foundation

Bronzer: Trestique Bronzing Stick

Blush: Axiology Cream Color Multi Use Stick

Setting Powder: Anastasia Beverly Hills Translucent Setting Powder

Brows: Grande Brow-Fill Volumizing Brow Gel

Eyes Axiology Lip to Lid Balmies in Rose

Mascara: Pur Fully Charged Mascara

Lips: Rimmel Stay Glossy Lip Gloss

I am currently going through my sample collection of Primers and this was the last use of the Laura Mercier sample. I do have a second sample, but I will hold off using it so I can work through some of the others in the sample box. It goes on wet and you really need to give it a minute to dry. I use a hand fan for a moment and practice the Long forgotten era language of fan movements and signals. I can’t help myself. My grandmother taught them to me when I was little and we played around with fans pretending to be Grand ladies greeting potential suiters at a magnificent ball. Now when I get a fan in my hand I can’t help but play around with them, even if I am only getting the primer to dry down. Luckily there is no one in the room to see me so it is fine. No actual suitors were slighted. Once the primer dries down though it is very sticky and really locks the makeup in place.

Today I used the Yensa Super Serum Silk Foundation. I will admit it took me a while to warm to this. I think it is because I love the BC formula Yensa makes. It is my favorite foundation actually. And when I pick this up my mind automatically goes to that. It is a good foundation though. it is more full coverage then I am used to so I make sure to go in very lightly. One pump sheered out over my face is enough to do what i want and it stays in place all day. Especially with a setting powder. It is one I always set as it is on the glowy side and the setting powder takes that down a notch. I am using the ABH Powder this month so I can finish it off. I have a second unopened one waiting. I like it, I just feel this jar has been opened long enough. It does tend to be a messy powder. There is no interior lock or regulator in the container it is just holes so there is almost always powder in the lid. Especially since I store my powders on their side in the drawer. I like being able to see which is which and that gives me the best view with the space I have. It does sometimes mean there is a mess. But it is a good powder

I love the Trestique bronzer. It is what got me started on cream face products actually. It is a creamy easy to blend formula. I can go light or I can go dark and it always works out for me. While not all of Trestique products have worked out for me, this and the lip crayons ae definite winners.

I went for the Axiology color cream as blush today because I am sort of testing out the Tarte Cream blush. Which sounds strange. I really love the blendability of the Color Cream as a blush and After a few days of kind of struggling with the tarte ne I wanted to refresh my memory in case I was making it something it wasn’t. But know, a few dots of color and a quick blend with the finger tips and this is fabulous. If you want more color, go a second or even third round. It is really easy to use (and the fact that it is fully recyclable doesn’t hurt any).. It is going to be really hard not to go ahead and lean into this often. Although I am already looking forward to testing it in the summertime heat. But that isn’t for a few more months yet.

I also went to Axiology with the eyes today, I am still playing with the balmies. I wanted something very light. I used the rose shade and it blended out really well. I went really light, mostly because this shade on me works better when it is really light. It is just a light flush to sort of make the look complete rather than something overly dramatic. The two shades I have to not really lend themselves to drama. There may be other more dramatic shades but I have other shadows for that. i like having something quick and low key I can reach for. And yeah, again, the zero waste production doesn’t hurt my love of these either.

The Pur mascara is not my favorite. it is fine but not fabulous. It worked today and luckily it is a sample size. I will use it until the sample is empty and then I will not repurchase it.

While I like the Rose shade from Axiology when I tried it on my lips it was just a shade too pink for me so I just grabbed the first thing I reached for which was the Rimmel Stay Glossy. I really like this lip gloss. I have no clue what the shade is as I can’t find it anywhere on the tube, but it has just enough color to perk up my lips and just enough gloss to make them shiny. It is a fabulous drug store find. I don’t know how many other shades I would pick up, but having this shade is something I really enjoy. It is a gloss so it doesn’t dry down at all and does wear off but the lip prints are light and the formula is more slick than sticky so I am happy with it.

And so my darlings this is me. I slept well and realized trying to be productive yesterday actually created more work for me today. Hopefully i have learned my lesson or at least served a a warning to those reading. And now it is back to work for me to fix all that I twisted yesterday. I think the second half of the week is going to be a long one. I hope it is also good.

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The Daily: March 6th, 2023

Oh my darlings it has been a weekend! On Friday we had a windstorm kick up that knocked down the internet around 10am. Friday is also trash day at our house and As soon as our bin we emptied by the garbagemen I went out to get it. I was not quick enough and ended up racing off down the hill to catch it. The bin was fine with nothing in it, but once empty there was no stopping it. We live in an area where there are smaller trucks so we don’t have the giant wheelie bins. We have the smaller older style trashcans. Think Oscar the Grouch only made of plastic instead of metal. Which actually that size is perfect for us. It fits three bags of trash and most weeks we only have two bags to go out, if that. I’ve been working on reducing our trash as much as possible.

Even with less trash, the trash is able to hold the bin in place. Empty it was just a play toy for the wind. My best consolation was that I was not the only one reviving their high school track skills.

I got back to the house just in time for the internet to go out. Which, while it did change my plans for the day, I didn’t mind too much. I am working on a large project that can be still worked on off line. So that was fine. Although there was no Face Mask Friday because about the time I was thinking about taking a break and putting on a face mask, we lost electricity.

Yeah Wind!

Oddly enough we got the electric back about the same time the rain storm came through. I say rain but it was filled with much hail. By Saturday afternoon things were more or less back to normal. At least weather wise.

Which is when my babydoll’s sinus issues became a little worse. We thought he was getting better. But bright and early Sunday Morning we ended up at Urgent Care. The sinus infection sent his blood pressure skyrocketing. He is currently knocked out by antibiotics in the bedroom. So hopefully that will be better soon.

I have to say this was the most stressful weekend I have had in a while. While I am keeping an ear out for him, it is actually a bit of a relief to get back to a work day. Thus far, things are kind of just chugging alone as a regular Monday. Normally this would not be something to celebrate, but right now a normal Monday feels really nice. It is a bit of a low key Monday thought so I went light with the makeup.

Today’s Look:

Primer: Laura Mercier Pure Canvas Primer (Hydrating)

Foundation: One Size Turn up the Base Powder Foundation

Bronzer: Milk Makeup Bronzer Stick (Use Up Box)

Blush: Tarte Breezy Cream Blush (Use Up Box)

Eyeshadow and Lips: Axiology Lip to Lid Balmies Nude Plum

Eyeliner: Too Faced Smoke Show Kajal Eyeliner

Brows: Grande Brow-Fill Volumizing Brow Gel

Mascara: Thrive Causemetics Mascara

This Month I am going through many of my primer samples to decide which ones I want to try out in a full size. I actually in many ways this is the month of samples as I am doing the same with skincare, but that is another story. I started with the Laura Mercier. It is hydrating and it does need a little time to dry down and absorb. Once it does, the primer gets very sticky and really locks the foundation down.

Today I wanted to try the primer out with a powder foundation and I really love this One Size foundation. I usually reach for it in the summer as it is just super easy to apply and just a good low makeup product. I know that you can build it up, but I generally find that when I build it up it looks a little powdery on me. So I go with the more natural look. As I am trying out different primers I will be rotating through foundations to see how they perform. The Laura Mercier really works well with this powder formula.

I am still working through the Milk Makeup bronzer and am slowly making progress on using it up. I love it but it is a small sample and I want to use it up before I pick up the full sized version. I just know I won’t use the sample after I pick up the full size so I need to use the sample up before ordering the full size.

This Tarte Cream Blush came in a Boxycharm a while back and I never really got around to using it. I love the color. It works really well with my skin tone. The cream formula needs to be warmed up with the finger. It is easy enough to do I just run my finger over it in a circle until it starts to melt a bit. Then I can use a sponge but I really end up using my finger more. The reason is that it doesn’t bend all that well and you really need to move fast. If I use a sponge then I generally find more of the blush sticks to the sponge then gets applied. I still need to play with it some more. I love the color, but the blending isn’t my favorite.

I am also playing around with the Lip to Lid Balmies from Axiology. This is one of the products they sent me to try out. There were three items in the box and this set of Balmies is the third to try. I really like the way it can go very light on the lids. It can be built up but I decided to go very light today. I warmed the stick up in my hand so it spread super easily. It is fine without warming, but I find it a little easier to spread over the lid if it is a little warmer. That way there is almost no pressing on the lid. I did feel it needed a little something so I actually picked up an eyeliner. I know, I can’t remember when I last used eyeliner. which is why I went with a crayon style since I knew it wasn’t dried out. This Too Faced formula really went on easily. I like it. I have hooded eyes so I generally only use liner when I am not using much shadow. Mostly because I usually feel that the only thing you end up seeing is the eyeliner. This was a decent pairing though. I did realize how out of practice with eyeliner I was though. I might have to try to use it more just to get back into practice.

When I went looking for eyeliner I found this unopened Thrive Mascara. It was still sealed and so I unsealed it and use it today. It is a bit more pointed a wand than I usually prefer. I really love my fluffy wands. However i really like this formula. It is really good at lengthening the lashes and it feels good on the lashes. Also the metal tube just feels luxe. I just feel fancy when I use it. There is something about the heavy metal tube. It helps that it is a really nice mascara.

I went very simple with this Grande Brow Fill. I really like it for simple non-drama brows. This fills in the few little spaces I need filling and keeps everything in place. It is a very quick, very easy product to use when you want something nice but low key.

I went back to Axiology Balmies for the lips as well. I use a brush for the lips because I don’t like putting something on my eyes that i have put on my lips. That is just me. I also get eye infections pretty easily so I take extra precautions. It is the same color on lips and lids though. On the lips it feels like a lip balm. It is very comfortable. It doesn’t dry down at all though so you will leave lip prints. Also it doesn’t hide any rough patches on the lips. It really has the same consistency as a lip balm although it is far more pigmented. I like it for a low key lip look and I do like how I can double use the product.

And that my darlings is me. It was a very tense weekend and I am very happy to roll into a Monday where i just have to concentrate on the work in front of me, with occasional check ins to see if my sleeping babydoll is still okay. Periodically he asks for tea, otherwise the antibiotics have him knocked out. It is a somewhat quiet day. And now that he is on the mend, I feel a bit better myself. Here’s hoping for a nice quiet week.

The Daily: March 1st, 2023

Today feels like March. I know I normally start the month saying, Oh I can’t believe the month changed. But today felt like March. Winds are whipping through the trees, the temps were cooler in the morning but cautiously rose a little before noon only to decide it was a bad idea and drop a few degrees as the afternoon has worn on. The sky alternated between sunny and cloudy.

March always feels like it can’t make up it’s mind on weather and today was definitely a March Day. I always think if March as the in between month. You want to think of it as spring. The world is warm enough that it can’t properly be called winter any more. There are buds on the trees and the most of the bulbs are up. But there are still sudden ice storms and I have already hauled out the blankets we use to cover the flower beds during the cold snap to keep their optimistic little faces from freezing off.

March is the Month where the seasons seem to fight each other. Usually Spring wins. Last year it felt a bit like Winter and Spring fought it out, Winter beat spring but was exhausted so Summer came and punched it in the face. It was a KO and summer reigned as the champion for far too long. Remember I was still picking tomatoes in October last year. Even though my nose is already dripping from the pollen being tossed into the air like confetti, I am still cheering on Spring. I would love a nice long one this year instead of automatically being slapped around by a brutal summer.

which I suppose is the klong way round to say that today feels like March 1st.

And since it is the beginning of the month I chose all new products to try and use up this month. I decided to use them all and fill in where I could. I’m pretty sure the eyes were a mistake. But we’ll get to that.

Today’s Look:

Primer: Laura Mercier Pure Canvas Primer- hydrating

Foundation: No 7 Lift and Luminate Triple Action Serum Foundation

Bronzer: Milk Makeup Bronzing Stick

Blush: Tarte Breezy Cream Blush

Setting Powder: Anastasia Beverly Hills Translucent setting powder

Eyes: Axiology Lip to Lid zero Waste Balmies and Almay velvet foil shadow

Mascara: Anastasia Beverly Hills Lash Brag Mascara

Lips: Anastasia Beverly Hills Matte Lipstick in Dead Roses

This month I am going to try to work through as many of the priming sample sizes as I can. I had a couple of primers that I needed to use up so i set the samples to the side and now I have a bunch of them to go through and decide if they are worth picking up in the full size. Since this one was on top, it went first. It is a very hydrating primer. It is a white cream and has a fresh scent to it has a lot of skincare vibes as I apply it. It is very wet so use only a little. I also used a hand fan to dry it down a little. Once dried down a little it is very tacky and sticky. It very much grips the makeup placed over it.

I used it with my No 7 Foundation today partially because I like the foundation and partially because i know how it works which lets me assess the primer a bit more. I applied this with a brush but found myself reaching for the makeup sponge to smooth out brush lines more than i have ever had to do with this foundation. Usually I don’t have a problem with brush lines. My guess is that it was the stickiness of the primer. The lines were easily then care of, but it was more noticeable with this primer.

The Bronzer from Milk is still in my Use up box as i am trying to use up and get rid of the sample so I can buy the full size. It is a great product and I will be keeping it in the box until the sample is completely used up. which is no problem as i like it.

I also kept the blush from Tarte around as I really only used it once last month. I used it today and I really enjoyed it. I did have to run my finger over the pan a bit to warm up the product before it would apply well, but once it was softened by my finger it went on well and blended out fairly easily. The trick is that it seems to have to be blended pretty much immediately. Don’t let it sit and then blend.

I like the ABH setting powder. This particular one is more than halfway emptied and I have a second unopened powder in my makeup drawer to use when this is finished. It is in my box this month because I have had it opened a while and want to use it up. I think the one thing that I don’t like about this powder is that when i open it there is always powder in the top as there is no mechanism to block the holes inside. So I always get a puff of powder everywhere when i open it. There is some on my shirt in this photo so after I applied the makeup i did go change. I think that will be the thing to remember. I need a makeup shirt with this powder.

And now we come to the eyes. The mascara i loved, I went with ABH and the fluffy wand did everything I want in a mascara. I really like all of the products I use on my eyes but the two shadows I used didn’t go together. The Almay foil is in my use up box even though it is new mostly because I want to keep it out to give it a good try. I thought it needed a good matte shadow behind it so I reached for the balmies. I really like how these apply to the eyes. I put a little on the outer edge of my eye and blended in. It worked beautifully. It was just a low makeup look and didn’t pair well with the Almay. I think the copper foil needs a stronger base color to pair with. This was not a fabulous look. However once that foil is in place, it is in place. I would have to do a full makeup removal to get it off and then start again. I didn’t really had the time so I decided I could live with the bad shadow today. It is at least subtly bad. I have put on some glittery looks that went massively awry before and they were hard to life with for the day. This was fine. It was just a lesson with the two products. The balmies are subtle low makeup products and the foil is a bit dramatic. They don’t really play well, They both have tremendous staying power I have to give them that. Neither of them have budged all day. It is like a battle between low key and drama with neither giving way.

I blame March.

Finally I ended with the ABH Lipstick. It is a sample size from the Matte lipstick range. The lipstick has been worn down quite a bit because it is a great formula and a favorite color of mine. However it is a discontinued color as well as a sample size. It has been well loved and I just need to go ahead and try to use the last of it up so i can send it on it’s way. But it is one of my favorites.

And that my darlings is me today. I was happy with the face products but faltered with the eyes. And at least i have learned what not to pair this Almay foil shadow with. I’m going to call that today’s take away. So at least i learned something, right?

Seeing out the Use Up box of February and bringing in the March 2023 products

Each month i choose a selection of products to try to use repeatedly. For some of them they are products i love that are on the verge of expiring. Some are products that have been discontinued and i want to use up and clear out. A few are samples that I want to finish out and a few are items I’ve tried but want to give myself an opportunity to try out a bit more before I make a decision about how i feel about them.

The box I chose for February included:

Figs and Rouge Blurring Primer

Bite Beauty’s Changemaker Foundation

By Terry’s Hyaluronic Acid Hydro Powder

KVD Vegan Beauty Single shadow in Lolita

Tarte Breezy Cream Blush in pink sky

Milk Makeup Bronzing Stick

The Figs and Rouge Primer I used up. I found it a good hydrating primer, but it did nothing to help prevent foundation from sinking into fine lines and while it was pretty good at doing some blurring it was not my favorite formula. It was acceptable to use, but i am glad it is finished and going away.

I have been trying to finish out this Bite Beauty Foundation since the brand went Belly Up. With the push both in January and February to use it repeatedly, I have finally used it up and can send it away. It was an absolutely beautiful formula and I am sad it is no longer in production.

The By Terry loose powder was a sample size and I did use it up completely in this month’s box. While I adore the pressed version of this powder and in fact keep a compact in my bag at all times, I found the loose powder left white marks when I used it to set my makeup. They could be blended out, and i did blend them out but they were somewhat annoying and took extra time. While I would repurchase the pressed version, I am not a fan of the loose one. Now that it is empty, I will not repurchase in the full size.

I had no actual belief that i would be able to use up the KVD Shadow this month. I do have a box of single shadows and small quads that I tend to forget to use. Each month i am trying to rotate one in so that they do get used or so that in looking at them I can decide they no longer need to stay. I love this shade and will happily put it back to be used again.

The Milk Makeup Bronzer is a sample size. I put it in this box because I want to use it up. I like it enough that I want to purchase it in a full size but won’t do so until I have used up the sample. Mostly I know that I will stop using the sample once i have the full size and I don’t like wasting product. It isn’t used up yet but I did turn to the bronzer often. It will be staying in the box in March.

The final item in February’s Box was the Tart cream blush. I put it in the box because I wanted to get a feel for the product. When it came in I tried it and I did like it but I knew I needed to play around with it more. And then I forgot about it. This month I only reached for it once so I am going to keep it around another month and see if i reach for it any more. If I don’t that may tell me it doesn’t need to hang around.

And now for the new box.

March’s Use Up Box

Products:

Milk Makeup Bronzing Stick

Tarte Breezy Cream Blush in Pink Sky

Almay Velvet Cream Shadow in bronze

Laura Mercier Pure Canvas Primer

Anastasia Beverly hills Matte Lipstick in Dead Roses (sample size)

Anastasia Beverly Hills Translucent setting powder

The Milk Makeup Bronzer I want to continue using up and it will stay in the box until it is finished. The tarte too is sticking around. either i will use it more this month or I will realize it is not a product i want to reach for and let it go.

The Almay Cream shadow I have only gotten to use once and I am keeping it in the box because I want the chance to play around with it a bit more. I think having it out will encourage that.

I chose the Laura Mercier Primer because I have several primer samples. I tent to put them into a little box and then forget about the, This month I am going to start with the Laura Mercier primer and then when it is finish keep rolling in sample sized primers to use them up and determine whether or not I want to purchase any of them in a full size. I am starting with this one because it was on the top of the pile (It arrived in the February Cohorted box).

Thee are two Anastasia Beverly Hills products in here. the first is a matte Lipstick in the shade Dead Roses. I love the shade but it is discontinued. I love the formula as well. It is a sample size so I am going to work on finishing it up and sending it on it’s way. I really like the ABH lipstick formula so using it is not a hardship. The second ABH Product is the Setting powder. I like it. It is a good setting powder. It is a large setting powder and I am a little past the halfway point in this powder’s use. I don’t know if I can actually finish this powder this moth but I am going to try. I should also say that I do have a second unopened container in my powder drawer. I just think the opened one has been open for quite a while and want to use it up.

And so my darlings that is the Use up box, both the February recap and the products I will work towards using up for March. I know it isn’t exactly like the project pan that other people do and maybe at some point I will do that, but i really enjoy selecting products to focus on using. I won’t use each of them every day, but throughout the month i will try to use at least one item from the use up box each day so that i can keep them in constant use. It gives me enough wiggle room to create the look I want for that day, but also to feel like I am not letting products sit. to be honest, this month, I am most excited about focusing on using up the sample sized primers. Some of them I really wanted to try and hope they will be good to purchase in a full size, Others I know nothing about. But then I do love a good primer.

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