The Daily: January 30th, 2023

Good afternoon my darlings. It looks like we are actually closing in on the end of January. It is always interesting to see the end of January. A lot of months I am surprised to reach the end of them but somehow January always feels much longer than any other month in the year. I think part of it might be that ic comes after a bunch of holidays. For Me Halloween is sort of when time speeds up.

Halloween is that fun holiday where you dress up and have candy and carve jack o’ lanterns and just generally have a good time making smoking concoctions that look like witch’s brews for the cocktail hour. Then the next morning as I realize the mold has claimed the inside of your pumpkin and the rot from being on the front stoop for several weeks has caused it to slump sideways, I am hit with the realization that it is in fact November.

we always do a lot of our gift exchanges on Thanksgiving because some people only travel for one of the holidays so everything has to be purchased and wrapped for those folks and then there is the shipping for other people so they can have things by Christmas and with one thing or another, the shopping the gatherings, the decorating and the taking down of decorations, from November 1st to January first there is just a blur of movement and whizzing past of time until it stops with the midnight champagne cork popping of new years.

Then everything sort of slows down to normal speeds, which oddly seems glacially slow.

And so January seems to last forever. Yet here we are about to reach the end.

At least that is my take on it. I suppose I am in a bit of an introspective mood today. I spent large chunks of my weekend trying to work out a character’s motivation. My plot idea had him behaving in a certain way so the story would move along but then I couldn’t figure out why he would do what I wanted. It made no sense so i had to think about what this particular character would do in the situation, based on how I’ve written him thus far and how that would affect the story. And than just for fun I flipped it around and thought about how I’d re write the character so that he would behave as I wanted and then i tried to decide which I liked best.

I actually enjoy that part of writing. But it does put me in an introspective sort of mood. I start wondering how everything around me ticks. Luckily oi am working from home with no meetings scheduled today so no coworkers will be affected.

Today’s Look:

Primer: AOA Studios Blur Fection Primer

Foundation: HIDE Invisible medium to full coverage foundation

Bronzer: Kim Chi Chic Hello Thailor Bronzer

Blush: Benefit Cosmetics Georgia Blush

Powder: By Terry Hyaluronic Hyrdo Powder

Eyeshadow: Revolution Beauty Coraline Palette

Mascara: Uoma Salute to the Sun Mascara

Lips: Yensa Super 8 Lip Oil in Power Pink

I picked up this AOA primer from Shop Miss A on a whim and I have to say I really like it. It is a bit crumbly until it warms up and then it blends beautifully and sort of works like spackle on fine lines and pores. I am really enjoying it.

The HIDE foundation is perfectly my shade at this time of year and it does blend well. I am noticing that less is more though. One layer looks beautiful but it is not a foundation I am having any luck building up. One to two pumps covers the face well with a medium coverage. it is my preferred coverage so i am okay with that but building it up just makes those fine lines show more.

The Kim Chi bronzer is beautiful. It is soft and richly pigmented. It applies strong but blends well. I just need to remember that it is more my summer shade than my winter one. It was a bit heavy for me today and since I haven’t used it in a while I was a bit heavy handed. It blended out well, but it was definitely operator error.

This Georgia Blush however is prefect for winter for me. It tends to get lost when I am tan but it is a nice soft pink on winter pale skin for me. I just need to remember to reach for it more often. I am glad I reached for it today.

The By Terry powder is one I will use, but I don’t think I will repurchase, at least in the loose version. The pressed powder is amazing for afternoon touch ups but the loose powder is a bit temperamental. if you use a sponge or a puff it wants to shoe where you first touched down on your face, It can be blended out but it takes some time. The best application has been a fluffy brush tapped on the wrist once before applied to the face. That helps. Once on, it is a beautiful powder, it just requires a bit more thought than other setting powders.

I chose the eyeshadow because I had Revolution on my mind today. I caught up on all of the legal drama of the brand over the weekend so I was thinking about them. Plus once I opened the palette I saw the purple and deep blue and decided that was just what I wanted today. I know, very Ursula of me, but I think it came out well. At least I like it. While I love my neutrals there are some mornings where my brain just says ‘Color NOW!’ and this is just what happened. Personally I like the way it turned out.

I am also loving this UOMA mascara. I deliberately went with just one coat today and I think my lashes look fabulous. In addition, this formula feels so light weight and when I used it last week, my lashes felt soft when I removed the mascara. I know it is a nourishing formula or it is supposed to be based on the website description, but it really seems to be doing some nourishing. One use isn’t enough to really tell, but it is encouraging.

And then there are the lips. I went with the Yensa Super 8 Lip oil. The one I was using before was just a light shine on the lips with barely a tint. This one is far more pigmented, almost like a lipstick. I am actually very impressed with the pigmentation. It is brighter than I usually go with my lips but I do love this formula. I think because the lip oil I used previously had such a barely there color I didn’t realize just how pigmented they were. I am going to have to look at the shade range and actually think about colors instead of just lip care with a shine. And I am always happy to find more lip products.

But that is me my darlings. I am kind of tickled with the way the yes turned out today. It is mostly my computer screen that will get to see them, but they make me happy. And somedays, that is what count’s the most. Happy Monday everyone.

The Daily: January 26th. 2023

Good afternoon my darlings. Have you ever had one of those days where in the back of your brain you are convinced it is the wrong day? somehow my brain keeps telling me it is Wednesday instead of Thursday. It is really throwing me off. There are some things I do on Tuesdays and Thursdays and some how they are not clicking in. For example my Grimm Expansion Project on my writing site (ten-til-midnight) I convinced myself that it was Wednesday so it didn’t need to go up until tomorrow and then I looked at the calendar and realized today was Thursday and I had to scramble.

It has been like that all day and I have no idea why.

Does anyone know why that happens? maybe it was because Wednesday was so off that my brain just decided on a do over. Yesterday felt like i was running from one thing to another all day long. Not like in a normal work day where you move from one task to another but where you were almost done with something when something starts to pull you away so you hurry the last of the task while listening to the details of the next one so they sort of run into each other.

The interesting part was none of them were emergencies. they were the sorts of things you just need to get done before you forget so that they don’t become emergencies down the road. It wasn’

t a bad day, just a strange one.

this one hasn’t been bad either. It has been busy but whatever brought yesterdays task deluge on has eased up so it is just a normal work day. I did manage to sneak a walk in. The clouds were dark and heavy though so i felt like I was being pressed down as I walked. I went on my normal length of walk but I shaved ten minutes off my time. It wasn’t intentional, I think I just walked faster because it felt like rain was coming. We are sitting at 34 degrees so it would be rain, just really cold rain. The rain has not arrived yet but every time I glance out of the window it looks like the sky is getting lower and lower. I feel like getting my walk in was actually some sort of victory. This entire week has been me versus the weather, but to be fair, every January is like that. I flipped through one of my journals last night. While the weather bouncing has been more extreme than in most years, January the biggest complaints were all about the weather not being good for walking. It was just more consistent temperature wise.

It made me feel a little bit better to see that.

Today I decided to go quick and simple with my makeup.

Today’s Look:

Primer: AOA Studios Blur Fection Face Primer

Foundation: HIDE Invisible medium to Full Coverage Foundation

Bronzer/eyeshadow: Fenty Beauty Sun Stalk R Face and Eye Palette

Blush: Illamasqua Gel Blusher

Powder: Beauty Bakerie Flour Setting Powder in Oat

Mascara: UOMA Salute to the Sun Drama Bomb Extreme Volume Nourishing mascara

Lips: Maybelline Superstay Ink Crayon in Live on the Edge (05)

I am really impressed by this AOA Primer. It is a bit crumbly though until it warms up. Then it blends smoothly and really does a good job filling pores and blurring out fine lines.

Now that I know this HODE Foundation is not expired I am returning to testing it. And actually I have to say it is a really good formula. It does need a pore filling primer underneath if you have fine lines. I have noticed it is especially willing to settle in the fine lines at the edges of my mouth. But it blends beautifully and looks fantastic on the skin.

I went for the Fenty Palette today because I was trying to streamline my makeup so I could get my day going. Plus my babydoll misplaced both his keys and glasses this morning so we ended up starting the day with a search which delayed things. So I felt a bit crunched I used the second lightest bronzer as my bronzer today and it worked really well. I went one shade darker for the all over my eyelid shade with the silver highlight in the inner corner and the darkest shade for a little definition along the lash line. Personally I really like how it turned out.

I adore the Illamasqua blush and love how well it worked with this foundation. Thee was no pulling and it blended easily. The Fenty Beauty palette doesn’t really work well for highlighters so I left it off and set my face with the beauty Bakerie Flour Powder. I really enjoy the formula and the slight tint to the oat shade works really well for my skin.

This was the first use of the UOMA mascara and I am very impressed with it. My lashes look longer and thicker, but even more it is a very smooth formula. Thee ae no flakes and even as it dries it doesn’t feel as stiff as some other mascaras. It really feels like nothing is there. Thus far it is a really good first use.

And then i finished with Maybelline for the lips. I am really thrilled with the Ink Crayon formula. the point of the crayon makes a great lip liner so i don’t need a second product. The lipstick glides on smoothly. It feels waxy until you blot it and then it is very easy to simply forget that you are wearing it. It is also really long lasting which I appreciate. I did a little touch up after lunch, but only because I had a quick video meeting. I probably wouldn’t have bothered otherwise and just been happy to wear it the rest of the day. it is very impressive and makes me want to pick up more shades. Admittedly i will either have to order on line or wait until my local drug store restocks. The pickings were slim when I took a stroll through. And to be honest I picked this lipstick up because it was one of the racks with product on it and I thought the color might be nice. I am very glad I did, but picking it up wasn’t my intent. Now,. I am going to take a closer look at the rack.

But that is me today my darlings. It was a relatively quick look to pull together. Simple, but I think it works. Don’t you just love when that happens?

The Daily: January 24th, 2023

Good afternoon my darlings. Today is a chilly one. I have had fun with the computer for most of the day. The first issue is more fun.

At the bottom of my computer screen there is a section of the menu bar that tells me the temp and the basic weather conditions. It is basically the degree and a one word descriptor. The descriptor is sometimes a little less than helpful. From about May onwards it just says ‘Humid’ Occasionally Humid is replaced with Raining and then it goes back to humid. I have more of a descriptor selection from October through April, although Humid does still crop up. Today it tells me it is cloudy. The fun part is that every time I have glanced down at the menu bar the degree has dropped by one. We started out this morning at 34 and we are now at 22.

And no I don’t think that my looking at it cause it to drop, i just think it is funny that every time I look it has lost one degree.

The second computer issue has been a little less amusing.

I am starting to set up to record audio books. Prior to this I’ve worked with other people’s set ups and recorded other people’s books. No I want my own set up not only for other people’s books but for my own. Today, I wanted to test the system and the room, so someone loaned me a cheap microphone so I could test out everything to make sure it worked properly (noise canceling, recording all that stuff). That way I can adjust what I need to pick up when I order my microphone. This mic came with a USB connector and it took me far to long to realize that the reason I wasn’t getting anything to record is that my computer wanted me to use the mic jack instead of the USB port. which made the ‘I can do a quick test in five minutes’ plan go out the window. It disturbs me to know just how long it took me to realize that it was definitely an operator error.

I really don’t like when my technical failures produce head slapping moments from things I should have realized a lot quicker than I actually did. It does mean that I know what I need to check before ordering, but it it took up a larger chunk of my day than I planned to give. And I have no one to blame. It would be nice to have someone else to blame, but alas it is not to be. And now the mic and any additional necessities will be ordered separately. Because I need the microphone to test out what necessities I may need. I was hoping to get them all in one shot. But that to is not to be.

Today’s Look

Primer: AOA Studios Blurfection Face Primer

Foundation: Yensa BC Skin on Skin Foundation

Bronzer: Viseart Bronze Noix

Blush/Highlight: Beauty Bakerie Cotton Candy Champagne Blushlighter Palette

Setting Powder: Kim Chi Chic Beauty Puff Puff Pass Set and Bake Powder

Eyeshadow: Ciate London The Velvet Palette

Mascara: Milk Makeup Kush Mascara

Brows: Benefit Cosmetics Precisely My Brow

Lips: Laura Mercier Rouge Essentials Beige in Time (70)

I know I have been testing out the HIDE foundation. I planned to continue with it but this morning I noticed the expiration date on the bottom was January 8, 2023.And while I haven’t had a problem with it on my skin, I always get really timid with expired foundations. I’m actually quite annoyed with this as it was a really good foundation and I just got it in This month’s BoxyCharm Premium. It actually arrived after the 8th so it was expired when i received it which doesn’t make me happy at all. I think I wore it enough to form a review of it, but I don’t think I will be wearing it again. At least not this bottle.

So I fell back to one of my favorite foundations instead, the Yensa BC Foundation. I have no problems reaching for it. And actually since I wanted to test out a primer it was good that I was using a foundation I know and love. Today I wanted to try out the AOA priming Balm. It is a balm formula It is about the size of a single eyeshadow and like most things on the Shop Miss A site it was only $1. I figured it would be good to travel with, providing it was worth using.

I was actually pleasantly surprised by how well it has performed thus far. It is not as creamy as other balm primers. It is a little crumply, but it warms up and is less crumbly once on the skin. I think if I held it in my hand and warmed it up in the pan it might not be crumbly at all. As soon as it touched the skin that wasn’t an issue. It just needs a little warmth. It blended beautifully and the white faded to nothing. It smoothed my face down and helped fill in some of my fine lines. I was very impressed with it’s first use.

I went for the Viseart Bronzer today. It always performs beautifully. In general every product I have tried from Viseart performs beautifully.

I also reached for the Beauty Bakerie Blushlighter palette today. This always amuses me. I look at it and every time i think, wow that is a bright pink blush. Then I apply it and it is bright when I first apply it, then I blend and it just blends beautifully. I gives me a nice soft blush. I could build it brighter if I wanted (or had a darker skin tone, which for me would be mid summer so I an use this year round) but it just blends so beautifully for a soft glow. I really need to stop thinking of the bright pink and use this more.

Today I also went for the Kim Chi setting powder. While I would use this just because of the powder puff, it is also great setting powder. So it is sort of a win win. Very little is actually needed so the container will last a really long time.

I did go a little crazy with the shimmer from The Velvet Palette today. I accidentally grabbed the wrong brush. It was fluffier than I expected and so there was more shimmer than planned. But I still really like these shadows. Ciate shadow formulas can be a bit hit or miss for me, but this one is beautiful

I think this may be the last of the Milk Makeup Mascara. It is as sample tube and I think the sample is now ended. Which is sad, because it was a beautiful mascara. It is definately one I will purchase again.

And I went back for my OG brow fave today. The precisely my brow. This was once the only brow product I used and while I have expanded, I really liked going back for it today and will be using it more often.

And finally the lips. This is a bullet style lipstick so it never dries down and does leave lip prints on coffee mugs. It is a super creamy and comfortable formula though and I really enjoy wearing it. Plus the magnetic lid means I can put it in my purse with no worries of it coming open. And as this is a lipstick that will need a touch up, that is a very good thing.

And so my darlings that is me today. I rather like how things looked today and quite honestly it was really nice to have one thing turn out well today when I spent far to long babbling incoherently at a microphone that wouldn’t work. I know, having your makeup come out well is a small thing, but today it is a consolation prize. And now it is back to work for me. Have a great rest of the day.