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: January 23rd, 2023

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you are having a fantastic one. Mine is powered by coffee and sinus medication today. The weather changed again. When ever the weather turns I get basically a sinus headache and runny nose. It isn’t a bad issue, more annoying than debilitating, and easily cleared up with a sinus tab. It does leave me puffy and feeling a bit foggy for the day though.

I think what bothers me is that usually I get these sorts of things once a season maybe if there is a strong front blowing in then I will be looking at a couple of extra times in the year so for a full year i will get this sort of sinus knock out maybe 6 times in a calendar year. With this yo yo weather I think I’ve had to take min sinus meds four times since New Years. It is very unusual for me.

I also find it strange when the day gets colder as the sun rises. I don’t know about you but I always think of mornings as colder and then as the sun rises it sort of warms things up. I know that is not always the case but my brain feels like it should be the case and it always seems weird when temps drop as the sun rises. Which is sort of the case today. It was 37 when I woke up and now it is 30 and snow flakes are beginning to drift down.

I know it is nothing to complain about as everyone else is getting hit harder. It just feels strange.

Needless to say, only indoor workouts today. But I did manage to catch up on everything that went off schedule last week so hopefully I can just keep on schedule this week and things won’t get crazy. I’m really hoping strange weather is all I have to complain about, not only this week but all year. It might not be as fun to read about, but I am sort of hoping for a calm 2023. Just calm. Nothing spectacular, just a year to catch my breath. I sort of went for kind of calm with the makeup today as well.

Today’s Look:

Primer: Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Primer

Foundation: HIDE invisible Medium to Full Coverage Foundation

Bronzer/powder: KAB Cosmetics Contour Palette

Blush: NARS Blush in Orgasm

Eyeshadow: Charlotte Tilbury Diva Lights Palette

Mascara: Milk Makeup Kush Mascara

Lips: Colourpop Matte Liquid Lip in Tulle (from the use up box)

The only thing I used from the Use up box today was the Colourpop lip. It is kind of funny as I have moved it around a bit more it now looks full because the product coats the insides so I reach for it and wonder why it is in the use up boc and then I realize that it is almost empty. It shows more with each use. I might just be able to finish it out by the end of the month. It is a little drying so I put the Lanolips balm over it after lunch actually.

The primer I fear is not long for my makeup drawer either. There is not much product left. I adore this primer formula. It sits beautifully and really gives my skin a great look, filling in all of the small lines so the foundation sits better. The jar is getting very low on product though.

And this is a foundation that needs a pore filling primer. It needs something to fill in the fine lines or it will sink into them itself. Otherwise it is a fantastic formula. This shade suits my skin tone well and two pumps covers my face well. I have noticed that later in the afternoon it starts to look a little dry so I spritz it with a mist and that seems to help. I am currently using the Peach and Lily Glass skin Mist. It provides just enough moisture to revive the foundation without it looking blotchy.

The KAB Bronzers are performing quite well. They are pigmented so a light touch is needed but they do blend very well. I thin the powder in the palette is also helping the foundation to look a little dry. I will try it with one of my regular setting powders tomorrow and see how that works out.

NARS blush. It is a classic and I love it. I know I have been reaching for it a lot. I just forgot how good it was at giving a soft pink glow to the skin. NARS was one of those brands I used constantly. I know everyone I knew was into MAC and i did love their lipsticks (and their Prime+Fix setting spray) but I loved NARS. Any product I had from them i used down to pan. Its been a while since I used them regularly though and it is like having an old friend return.

Today I went for the Charlotte Tilbury Diva Lights. It is an amazingly easy palette to use for everyday looks. I will continue to create nearly identical looks with it though. It isn’t going to be a surprising look but for a quick everyday look suitable for the office, Oh yeah, this works. Quick and easy. I’m sure it can get more dramatic bit for the work day quick and easy is perfectly fine for me.

This Milk Mascara though. Long, thick lashes. I really like the way they turned out today. I am kind of sad this is a sample size as I can feel the tube is almost empty. I will finish it out this week, and hopefully it will last the week, but I really do enjoy this mascara. My lashes look fabulous today.

And that my darlings is me. I think I am reaching for some of the same products because I haven’t had tome to put things away yet so I tend to just grab the products already out rather than take more out and make a greater mess. Tonight my plan is to put everything away and start fresh in the morning. It was my plan to do that yesterday, but it just didn’t happen. (On the other hand our bathrooms and showers have all been deep cleaned and are sparkling with lemon scented cleanliness, so it was a trade off.) And now it is back to work for me my darlings. Paperwork and wondering if these bits of snow will actually amount to anything by the end of the day. we get snow so rarely here that it tends to drive people insane. Hence the weather watch. But first, to the e-mails! Have a great rest of Monday.

The Daily: January 17th, 2023

Good afternoon my darlings. Today is not sunny. The rain has returned and it is dreary outside. There is however excitement building inside. While I am personally excited that my latest book , Tansy Moves In is now finally out, there are bigger things afoot today.

Today, my mother gets her new prosthetic hand. That’s right. After the surgery, the healing, the learning how the nerve endings and muscles now work and of course the multiple measurements for the new faux hand, today it finally arrives. She is actually on her way to the prosthetics place as we speak. I will face time with her once she leaves the medical complex and gets back home with her new hand.

I have already spoken with her this morning though. She is super excited and feeling a bit like she is welcoming a new family member into the house. In this mornings Face Time she had three outfits she wasn’t sure about. I have to say it was the first time I have ever been asked which outfit looks more appropriate for going to get the ‘new hand’.

I think part of the issue was with sleeves. She wanted something long sleeved because it was cold, but she didn’t want it to get in the way or be too bulky when she rolled it up (because she doesn’t have the hand yet and all right handed sleeves need to be rolled up a bit if they are long sleeves). She settled on something with wide, loose sleeves that can be easily rolled up out of the way without being too bulky. she is also wearing a cape like coat over it.

She will be super fabulous in the doctor’s office. she was a little annoyed that she had to wait until her driver arrived to pin her fantastic broach to the cape like coat. But it was a minor annoyance that couldn’t dim today’s enthusiasm.

As you might have guessed, today is not a normal day for me. I did manage to get my morning exercises in before the calls, then shower and get dressed with makeup on and then get some work done. Now i will work until the call comes in and it becomes show and tell time. It is however one of those days where I am more than happy to have the interruptions. And to be honest, the makeup is mostly because my mother thought I looked pale and sickly when we spoke this morning, pre makeup. Which leads us to…

Today’s Look:

Primer: Marc Jacobs Under (cover) Primer (discontinued – from the use up box)

Foundation: Yensa BC Full Coverage Foundation

Bronzer/Highlight: Fenty Beauty Sun Stalk R Palette

Blush: Kaleido Cosmetics Skin Luminate Palette

Powder: By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra Powder

Eyeshadow: Charlote Tilbury Flawless Filter Luxury Palette in Diva Lights

Mascara: Milk Kush Mascara

Lips Maybelline Superstay InkCrayon in Live on the Edge 05

Slowly but surely I am using this primer up. I actually hope to have it used up completely by the end of the month. I just need to keep remembering to reach for it.

You know I love my Yensa foundation. It is the one I reach for the most and will happily do so in any season. It takes so little to cover the face beautifully and it has a soft glow to it that I really just adore. It isn;t super glowy, which you know is not my thing, but it has just enough luminosity in it for me. It is a great every day foundation.

The Fenty Beauty Palette is growing on me. I am not the biggest fan of Fenty Products. Mostly I just find them to be okay to use but not to repurchase. The one exception is of course the Diamond Milk Gloss Bomb. that I love and will always repurchase. this is actually a palette I will reach for. The highlighters are much better as shimmer eyeshadows, but I really like the range of bronzers and how they work.

I am still on the fence about the kaleido cosmetics blush. It applies really brightly and blends in well but after about an hour it looks as though I never applied blush at all. It looks great while it is there. I’m hoping to find a product application balance so I can wear it longer without looking clown like. My thoughts are a work in progress.

Then we come to the powder. You know how much I love Hyaluronic acid. It helps reduce the stress crack in my forehead to a line from a canyon. And I have heard people rave about this powder. I have the pressed version and the loose version. The pressed version I love for mid day shine take downs. I am having a bit more trouble with the Loose powder. It takes a bit to blend in. I hated how it applied with a makeup sponge so I used a brush today. It was better but it takes a while to get all the white gone. However once you do work it down, the powder blends in flawlessly and doesn’t look powdery at all. It just takes a bit more work to get there than I am used to powder taking.

Today’s eyeshadow is the most expensive eyeshadow quad I own. I picked it up on sale and I have to say I don’t regret it. I only used three of the four shades as I wanted a softer look. To be honest I come up with the same look every time I reach for this palette. I think because it has an apply by the numbers pattern on the back. Sometimes I darken it with the fourth shadow but I didn’t feel like doing that today so I just left it light. It is a beautiful quad and honestly I could use this everyday. It may be have stars on it and be called Diva, but it is really good for a toned down every day office look. I suspect I will be reaching for this often when i have meetings.

The Kush Mascara from Milk Makeup I like. This isn’t my first go round with it and I will happily use this sample sized tube up. As a warning because I don’t like to let open samples sit you may be seeing this for the next week or two as I use it up. Samples just tend to dry ut faster so I tend to just keep using them until they are gone once I open them. while I like it, when I next purchase a Milk Mascara I will probably pick up the Rose version from them as I like it better, but this is a good mascara.

And Finally to the lips. This weekend I popped into the drugstore to take a peep at some of the new releases. It was a wasteland. while I saw all of the new stuff on line, none of the new items were in the store. I was especially hoping for the Matte No Budge Eyeshadow pencils from ELF. I have one of the shimmers in Rose Gold and I adore it. I saw on line they had a selection of Mattes out and I was hoping to get one to try and pair with the rose gold. I tend to use shadows more if i can create a whole look with them so I was hoping. I also wanted to try out the pink setting powder from ElF since I finally managed to finish the Becca Pink Haze. They had no setting powders (or pressed powders). In fact in their face products department there was only one lone blush left to hold the fort. And I noticed most of the racks were empty or looking sparse. I also wanted to check out some NYX products but no dice on that either. I was really looking forward to getting my hands on the new Bare With Me Blur Tint Foundation. I loved the Bare With Me. It is one of my summer time go to products and I was hoping this would be just as good. Apparently I am going to have to place some on line orders if I want to try them.

I did however luck out on the Maybelline Lipsticks. I love the Ink Crayon formula. I could easily just choose my favorite five and rotate through them. The point of the crayon makes a great lip liner and then the product goes on smoothly with one swipe. It doesn’t dry down completely so it does leave a little bit of transfer, but it isn’t a lot. It does dry down enough to stay all day. It is super comfortable to wear. It simply is a really good formula.

And so my darlings that is me today. However the time for my call with my mother is rapidly approaching. Soon I will see all the intricacies of her new hand. I will also be running through her new exercise list with her as she learns to maneuver her new hand. A little out of the ordinary, but in the very best possible way. Have a good afternoon everyone.

The Daily: November 10th, 2022

Ah normality, such a lovely thing. Today I woke up, there were no extra things to take care of, just a normal course of events. Isn’t that just a lovely thing? I think because this year has been so unsettled, I am really coming to appreciate the days when things just run smoothly.

I did have a little bit of amusement this morning though. Our pumpkin long since collapsed and was taken to our compost bin. Our neighbors hadn’t yet gotten rid of theirs. The way our neighborhood is situated is that my side of the street is on a level surface, then there is the street and then on the other side of the street the ground rises sharply into a hill and then there is a level spot for the houses on the other side of the street. My neighbor went out in her bathrobe this morning to collect the pumpkin and take it to the trash (it is garbage day). It slipped from her grasp and made a wild bid for freedom. I was rolling out garbage bin to the curb when this happened. So I got to watch it roll down the hill, loosing it’s little cap along the way and then splat in the center of the street. It got some air while rolling.

It was quite destroyed by the impact.

Kind of fun to watch actually. You don’t get a lot of wonton destruction as an adult. At least not a responsible one living in a suburban environment. There was something almost joyous about watching it bounce and go splat. which probably says something about me I suppose.

However, my neighbor then looked at me and called out, “It’s organic.” Before going back inside.

What remained in the street was completely obliterated by the garbage trucks.

I don’t mind that she left it there. It was a mostly rotted pumpkin of a relatively small size. It was easily mashed to bits and with this afternoons rain it is mostly gone now anyway. Plus, there are no seeds since she hollowed it out to make a jack ‘o lantern so it isn’t going to cause any trouble sprouting anywhere.

I am however oddly amused by the organic justification.

Maybe it is just me.

I did get a walk in and after hauling branches everywhere yesterday my arms are like limp noodles so I suppose that means they got more than their usual work out as well. With the temp drop the heat clicked on and then the rain came so I am a bit stuffy and puffy today. I actually have a few of the Depology Black Caviar Collagen under eye patches left and I will most certainly be using one today. (I know I was supposed to wear them every day for the fill thirty days but sometimes on weekends I got busy and forgot. It is much easier to remember to wear them when sitting at a desk, so my 30 day trial is lasting a little longer than thirty days. Which I don’t mind as I really like these under eye masks).

But first….

Today’s Look:

Primer: Dr. Brandt Pores No More Luminizer Primer

Foundation: Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Foundation

Bronzer: Trestique Bronzing Stick

Blush: Gold Rush Blush by Benefit Cosmetics

Highlight: Beauty Bakerie Milk and Honey Palette

Setting Powder: Anastasia Beverly Hills Translucent Setting Powder

Eyeshadow: Cargo Cosmetics Chill in the Six

mascara: Fenty Beauty Full Frontal Mascara

Lips: Anastasia Beverly Hills Matte Lip topped with Rimmel Stay Glossy

I have to say I am really liking this primer. The fact that it ha a bit of a skin care scent doesn’t hut. It does feel more like skincare than makeup and it does a really good job blurring out the pores. Interestingly, this foundation always looks just a little flat on me, but with the illuminating primer underneath it actually looks a little less so.

As you know I am cycling through my foundations. This Charlotte Tilbury came in a subscription box so i was happy to try it out since I have actually never tried anything else from the brand. It is a little frustrating. It needs a pore blurring primer when I wear it and the luminizing from underneath doesn’t hurt it as it can look a little flat without it. It gives great coverage and looks fantastic on the skin. Bit it almost immediately sinks into the lines around my mouth. I have generally an hour or two of it looking really good before it sinks into the lines around my mouth. In the photo if you look closely you can already see it starting. It is fine with the lines around my eyes, perhaps because I move my mouth more than I squint. But this foundation just looks so good elsewhere. it just has that fine line time limit. I always think maybe this time I can fix that. So I will probably keep this around until the bottle is empty or it expires but not replace it when it is done. Incidentally it is why I always pull this foundation out when I have a new primer to try. I always think, maybe this is the primer to make it all better…I know, hope springs eternal.

I like this bronzing stick and reach for it often. It is almost worn down to a nub actually. But it is a refillable stick so I will just order a refill. I am soon approaching the time when I need to haul my bronzers out. I’ll call it a declutter, but mostly it is shifting them around so the summer shades are to the back of the drawer and the winter shades are forward. Also while I rearrange things every fall and spring, in between those two arranging times bronzers and blushes tend to get mixed in with other products. I can always find this Trestique bronzer which is one of the reasons I reach for it a lot more than the others. So it is less of a declutter and more of a bronzer hide and seek game. This morning I found the trestique and a summer shade of bronzer that I know I can’t wear right now. Hence today’s choice.

And then there is the blush. I know Gold Rush has been discontinued. But I am so close to finishing out the pan. In the proto you see where the grid is? That is the bottom of the pan. I can’t get any product from that section. There is only a little product in the left hand side. I don’t know why that excites me so much, but I very much want to finish out the blush. I do love Benefit blushes so it isn’t a hardship to use them and I have been using this as my weekend blush since it is discontinued, but I decided to use it today. I still need to figure out if there is a new blush similar to this.

Today I used the Pink highlight (Oh Honey) from the Beauty Bakerie Palette. I usually go for the gold tones, but the gold in this one is just a little too bright for me. It works well on me in the summer when I have much more of a tan, but it is too bright for me once the tan fades. This pink is nice and soft though. I really like the way it has a softer glow rather than the I am highlight blinding streak.

I find this ABH powder somewhat amusing. I like it a lot although I do have the white translucent so it does tend to lighten my face a little bit. What amuses me is that it is a good enough powder that I don;t need a lot of it, yet it is by far the largest container of setting powder I own. I really enjoy it, but it will take me a while to work through it considering how little I use. Plus if i use only a little then it never looks powdery. In winter if I go too heavy with the powder then my skin looks powdery and dry. Even though I don’t have dry skin. To be honest I think that might be because it is less humid where I live in the winter than in the summer. Because I do notice that I just use less powder in the winter. Or maybe I sweat less. I don’t know and I am going to blame humidity even if it is my sweat. The point is only a little powder is needed.

I took out this Cargo Eyeshadow palette to use today. I really love the colors and I enjoy using it but because there are snowflakes on the cover it doesn’t occur to me to reach for it until the weather turns. While I went for the darker elements it does have some really soft shades that I love to play around with. I know I will play with it for a few times from now until January and then i will love for spring and avoid the snow flake covered palette, but i do like it and I felt like reaching for it today..

Today I decided to see how many coats it took before I went from this is an okay mascara to, hey I like my lashes. Seven coats. In case you are wondering. Also even though I just opened it a few weeks ago, it is almost empty. I may have another week with it, but it is almost empty. And yes part of it is the extra coats to make it look how I want. it is just not my favorite mascara.

Today I put the ABH Matte lip on. I love the lipstick but after i applied it I wasn’t feeling matte today so i added the Rimmel gloss over it. I picked it up on impulse at the store and then I forgot about it. I really like this Rimmel lip gloss though. I may have to give it a more thorough trial. It is glossy but not sticky at all. Rather nice actually.

And that my darlings is me today. And yes I just realized i once again forgot the eyebrows. When I clean up this weekend I will make sure to leave a brow product out to jar my memory. My bags were too long for so long i got out of the habit. Now of course I wacked them off too short, but that will be remedied in time. For now however it is back to work. Have a great day my darlings.

The Daily: November 2nd, 2022

Today my darlings we are going to do something different for my daily post. I had planned on a bit more normality, my first use of the the paid My fitness Pal app, lie in general, and my daily makeup look. You know, all of the usual stuff. Then I went to get my makeup for the day out. I first came across the Becca Foundation I planned to declutter on monday. It was still out. I promised myself I would throw it out this afternoon. Then I reached into the drawer and pulled out the RealHer Foundation thinking I hadn’t used it in a while. It was seperated. So I reached for the NYX and found the tube was really light. I dispensed some into my hand and found there wasn’t enough left to use for one last time.

And so instead of putting on my makeup I laid out all of my foundations and did an impromptu foundation declutter. I know, My plan was to wait until December and go through my decluttering so that everything was fresh for the new year.

But I was annoyed. So Foundation declutter today. As a warning there may be a primer declutter for tomorrow as they are in the same drawer and there are several products that either need to go to a new home, tried out or simply thrown out because they have reached the end of their lives.

But for now, we are doing a foundation declutter.

Before we start I would like to say that a lot of these foundations came in subscription boxes. I did purchase quite a few of them because a few years ago the foundation I used routinely was discontinued so I went on the hunt for a new everyday foundation. Then I stopped and began rotating through products to use up the ones that I had. there are two powder foundations I didn’t take out for the declutter. One is the KVD Lock it Powder foundation and the other is the One Size Powder foundation. I like both of them and will be keeping them. Also I have two foundations that I did order. One is the Bounce from Beauty Blender. I tried the sample that came with a Sephora order and I liked it enough that when I saw it was on sale for half price and there was a $5 discount for first time purchases I went ahead and bought it. The second I have on order is the Koh Gen Do Aqua foundation. It was out of stock for a really long time but now it is back in stock. It is a fantastic high end foundation and my go to for event foundation. I tend to go through a bottle during the holiday season.

So this is everything else.

Just seeing them all laid out like that is a lot. But let’s dive in. There are a lot to go through so there is only going to be a few little bits about each so this isn’t a mile long. First we have the empties and expired products.

RealHer I am Divine is expired. It is an okay foundation but not one of my favorites. It tends to sink into the fine lines and isn’t all that long wearing.

The QMS Medicosmetics Active glow is also expired. It is a decent tinted moisturizer. It gives pretty much no coverage. it is great for a no makeup day, but aside from taking down redness it doesn’t do a lot. I liked it on no makeup days, but it is a pricy product that I won’t be repurchasing because there are less expensive products that perform better.

The Becca is discontinued, almost empty and on the verge of expiring. It was supposed to leave on Monday, but it was apparently just waiting for some friends to join it.

The NYX Bare With Me tinted skin Veil is empty. Completely empty. It is a fantastic product that I leaned on all summer. It is a great tinted moisturizer that works as a light coverage foundation and in the spring i will be repurchasing it. For now, the tube is empty and going away.

The Purlisse Perfect Glow BB Cream is also a summer time favorite. There is a smidge left in the tube but I am going to go ahead and declutter it. It is a good light weight formula that gives light to medium coverage (my preferred coverage actually) and I will definitely be repurchasing it.

The Catrice HD Liquid Coverage is a product I am sad to see go. I love the formula but had so many problems with the dropper. It is quite honestly a packaging problem. I am sure i will end up picking this up again in the future simply because it is such a good formula, but I have had two bottles of this and each of them has had issues with the dropper. since I don’t reach for it, this foundation has expired. I think if I had fewer foundations I would go to the trouble of having a replacement dropper next to the bottle to use but it is messy and with other foundations to choose from, I just chose other foundations.

Too Faced Dew You Full Coverage foundation is a good full coverage foundation. I don’t go for full coverage a lot and this foundation is light with kind of yellow undertones. There are about two weeks out of the year where I can make this work (this came in a subscription box). Because of that I don’t use it often and it has expired. It is very long wearing and very full coverage. It is just the wrong shade for me. I also think that Too Faced discontinued it.

I have two foundations from Yensa. One is the BC Skin on Skin Foundation. It is fantastic and I would wear it everyday if I could. Which is why the tube is almost empty. It is staying for now but i will use it up before the new year and immediately repurchase. The Yensa Super Serum Silk Foundation is growing on me. I don’t like it as much as the BC foundation, but I like it enough to finish the bottle. I am still on the fence about whether or not I want to repurchase, but it is staying and I will continue to use it.

The No 7 Lift and Luminate and the Elf Acne fighting foundation are my two drugstore favorites. The No 7 is reordered as soon as it gets low. I like the Elf and will repurchase it but I don’t feel as intense a need to replace it. The Elf is getting low and I will probably finish it out before the year is up. Oddly this is one of the only Elf foundations I do like. While I don’t have that big a problem with acne, this feels lighter than the other elf formulas and one that I would use again,

The Ciate London Extraordinary Foundation is a good foundation. I like using it but you have to go sparingly with it. A little does go a long way. You can build it to full coverage if you want to though. The more you build it though, the more it is going to settle into fine lines. I always use a pore filling primer with this foundation and I always go with a lighter application. For me the big draw for this foundation is that the shade I have perfectly blends with my skin tone.

The next three foundations I like and will use, but I probably won’t repurchase. I reach for them often enough that i will use them up, but I’m just not going to buy them. Two came in subscription boxes and one came from Influenster. The first is the Charlotte Tilbury Air Brush Flawless Foundation. It is nice but tends to feel a bit heavy and oddly enough looks a little powdery even without setting powder.

The Tom Ford Traceless soft matte is a beautiful foundation. It is a serum style and looks fantastic on. It is however quite pricy and to be honest the No 7 Lift and Luminate is almost on par with it. The Tom ford is a little bit better but only by a slim margin. while I don’t mind paying more for a great product, the difference between the tow is too slim for me to justify. I will however use every drop from this bottle.

The third in this group is the Natasha Denona Transformatte. It is a good formula but feels a little heavy on the skin. It is supposed to be pore vanishing but I still need a pore filling primer if it isn’t going to sink into fins lines throughout the day. It looks beautiful for about 8-9 hours and then it sinks into fine lines. I like it enough to wear, but not enough to repurchase given the price of the formula. It is good, but I am not repurchasing when it is done.

The bareMinerals Complexion Rescue is a good tinted moisturizer. It is great for a no makeup look and blends into the skin well. I like it, but I have other products that do the same. I am still actually on the fence about this product though. I don’;t think I have actually used it enough to really decide if I would repurchase or not. I do know my skin loves this more than it does my other tinted moisturizers. I think I might just have to see how I feel after more product has been used.

And then we have Bite Beauty. I love their Changemaker foundation. Or at least I love the formula of the Changemaker foundation I have. I know they changed a lot of their formulas. I don’t know if this foundation went through a change as well. I adore this formula and would purchase it repeatedly. If it hasn’t changed. Also I think the brand has started to go out of business. So this is a conditional love but might not be able to ever repurchase.

Also in that boat is the Kristopher buckle Triplicity Foundation stick. the brand is no longer in existence and I am finishing out the last of this stick. It was a fantastic formula and I will probably cry when the stick is completely depleted. It will not follow me into the new year though.

The Revolution Fast Base Foundation Stick i love and will repurchase repeatedly. I purchased it initially just to have something spill proof that I could travel with. And then I fell in love with it. it is creamy, blends beautifully and looks great. It isn’t the longest wearing foundation but when it wears off it just sort of fades away instead of peeling or sinking into fine lines.

And then the final stick foundation from Anastasia Beverly Hills. It is the Caramel Stick Foundation and it works really well with my skin. It is longer wearing than the Revolution but it also needs a little warming up before using. If you warm it up then it applies well and is very creamy. Again it is also the prefect shade for my skin so that helps.

and so there we have it. A quick and dirty impromptu declutter. It wasn’t what i planned for the day, but it was definitely needed. So the end result: Seven foundations are leaving today. There are thirteen remaining. One is discontinued and will be used up and let go. three are almost empty and will be gone before the end of the year. And five of them will be used up and never repurchased again.

It is still a lot, but as I empty out the ones with low product in them, even if I like them they will not be repurchased until the ones I want to use up and not repurchase have been used up and sent on their way. I’m sure there will be other foundations that come my way in the year but I feel pretty good about knowing what I have, the product level of what i have remaining and the fact that I have gotten rid of items I simply won’t (or can’t) use. Just before we roll into 2023 I will do a brief review to see what is going to actually make it into next year with me but for now, i feel really good about this, even if it wasn’t part of today’s original plan. Hopefully you enjoyed the break form the norm as well.

The Daily: August 9th, 2022

Good afternoon my darlings. The sun is out, the humidity is high and I am feeling a little bit better today. Well the sniffles still drag on but the headache has abated and this morning my latest test came up negative. Which means I am only dealing with the aftereffects. And hoping they will go away.

I’m afraid that doesn’t translate into much of an exciting day. I thought about a walk and then thought about how wobbly my legs felt and how i didn’t want to be the person collapsed in the heat. there also might have been the irrational fear of being eaten by squirrels. I know they don’t actually eat people but they seem to be swarming in mass numbers in the park this year. either the population swelled or there is a squirrel King consolidating his kingdom. The numbers are kind of out of control.

That and when i pass by they don’t scamper off any more. They sort of stop and stare at me as though wondering why I am passing through their domain and possibly wondering if I have the right permits.

Other than that my day has been spent quietly at my desk catching up on everything that happened last week. I may have been at my desk the beginning part of the week but that really means absolutely nothing. Pretty much anything I did at the start of the week has had to be re done. So let that be a lesson for you if you are trying to power through an illness while working, sometimes the work you do just isn’t worth you being there. Take the sick day. You may have to race to catch up but you won’t be going back to redo things you thought were done prior. I know, it is advice easier to give than to take.

Today’s Look:

Primer: Tatcha Liquid Silk Canvas Primer

Foundation: Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Foundation

Bronzer: Illamasqua Sculpting Gel Stick

Blush: bareMinerals Bounce and Blur Blush

Eyeshadow: Lunar Beauty Nude Prism

Eyeshadow Primer: Sandbar Beauty Eyeshadow Primer

Brows: iMethod Eyebrow Stamp and Stencil Kit

Mascara: Eyeko Black Magic Mascara

Lips M2U NYC Beauty Matte Liquid Lip

Today I felt better and bundled my hair up onto my head to keep it clear. I thought about earrings but then forgot. The shadows are a bit strange in this one but I am very pleased with how things came out. Admittedly i think i still look tired, but maybe that’s just because I feel that way. Today I used the Tatcha Liquid Silk Canvas because i like it and saw it and wanted to use it. The Charlotte Tilbury was a deliberate choice though. I chose it because I like the foundation but I wanted a full heavier foundation to try out the sculpting gel stick on. While yesterday was a full foundation it was a serum one and they are a bit more forgiving. This is a full on cream foundation. It applies well, covers a host of redness and blemishes, wears well and feels light.

It does require both a brush and the final smoothing touch of the makeup sponge to remover lines but if you have a lot of redness this will take it down. It is a good foundation if you know you are going to be spending some time taking a lot of photos. I find I do need to blot after a few hours, but it will stay in place if you are attending a wedding or funeral or other family gathering.

The Illamasqua gel stick didn’t like it. While it blends beautifully with every other lighter face product i used, it didn’t blend as well with a full on cream foundation like this one. while the shadows do exaggerate it a bit you can still see the line in the photos (I took the pic and then worked more on blending it out with my foundation brush so I didn’t look too crazy. but this is what a normal level of blending did.) So I think this stick works better with lighter foundation products.

The bae minerals blush was fantastic. It always is but after fiddling so much with the contour I found its ease of use extra fabulous. It is one of my favorite blushes.

I actually went for the brows today and I am pretty pleased with the way they turned out. I am in love with this stencil. It has earned a permanent place in my makeup bag. even if I trade out pomade I will keep these stencils and the stamping tool. I actually want to get a back up of the tool as it is so useful.

I only sneezed once with the mascara so it was relatively painless and I do like Eyeko. I set aside the new mascara to try in a few days when I can give it an honest evaluation. I know and like how Eyeko works so I used it today.

I also know and love the M2U lipstick. It dries down fast without during my lips to dust and it stays in place. This tube is almost at it’s end so a new on needs to be ordered soon. Perhaps that will be this weekend. After an lipstick declutter.

Which of course brings us to the palette. I used the lid primer again today and the Lunar Beauty Shadows did work better with it. i still had to do a bit of work to get them to do what i wanted. To be honest though, I am not sure it is worth it. I have all of these shades in different palettes in much easier to use forms. These tend to be powdery and just okay looking after you put the work in. I like the look of the palette, but honestly I don’t know how much I am going to reach for it once i have finished testing it out.

And so my darlings that is my look today. It isn’t out there crazy as I was mostly looking at shadow and bronzer bendability. I did remind myself of how much i do like the charlotte Tilbury Foundation though, so that is something. And now it is back to work for me. Have a great one, whatever it is you plan to do.

The Daily: June 27th, 2022

Good afternoon my darlings. Today has been a day of waiting. Or at least it feels like it has been. It is my birthday today so I deliberately adjusted my workload so today would be a light one. Tonight will be a fabulous dinner from one of our favorite local restaurants (i.e. not one I have to cook) and there is an ice cream cake waiting in the freezer for after dinner.

we get it from the local ice cream place. It is a once a year thing and each year they always looked stunned that we don’t want a message written in caramel for the small child it is no doubt for. They always look shocked that it is a birthday cake for a grown woman.

Personally I think my babydoll likes going in there and watching their surprise. I told him the cake wasn’t necessary this year and he looked so crestfallen that I recanted and planned to just do a little extra working out this week to make up for the extra calories.

So now it is waiting for after dinner.

The truth is though, despite the birthday treats waiting for the end of the work day, it feels like a waiting day because of the weather. It is looming. The air is heavy, the wind is low and feels like something big is holding it’s breath. There are clouds massing, but still holding back. We are supposed to get rain, there is an 80% chance of it, but the rain is biding it’s own time.

I always find it vaguely amusing at this time of year. In Spring it always feels like I should be building an ark and I generally find myself wondering how many cubits my back yard can hold. Then the spring rains trickle off and all the moisture hangs in the air with rain a distant memory and the world withering to a crisp around me. So I am waiting for the rain to actually break, if it will, and I am waiting for my birthday celebration.

I went on a walk because the temps have dropped a smidge. I came back drenched from the 90% humidity though and ended up taking a cold shower. My hair always looks a little crazy after that and my bangs are just misbehaving. Nonetheless, I am relatively happy with the way I look today, and that is not a bad thing on a birthday.

Today’s Look:

Primer: Yensa Tone Up Primer

Foundation: Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Foundation

Bronzer: Buxom Cosmetics Staycation Vibes Bronzer

Blush: Dominique Cosmetics Cream Blush

Powder: Laura Mercier Translucent powder

Eyeshadow: Urban Decay Naked Honey Palette

Mascara: Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir (discontinued, just using the last one up)

Lips: bareMinerals Mineralist Lip gloss

Today’s makeup was chose for a variety of reasons. I chose the primer because I love it, and know how it works with my skin. I’ve used this Yensa Primer for years (off and on) and will continue to repurchase it. I am going through my foundations one by one to see which i like, which shades work now and which I just need to use up and let go. I haven’t used the Charlotte Tilbury in a while so I figured I’d give it a go. It is a foundation that requires a bit of time. It isn’t a simple blend in and go operation. This takes a foundation brush to spread evenly, followed by a makeup sponge to get rid of the lines. I always have to take extra time around my nose as it tends to go streaky there. As much time as it takes though, it ends up looking really good when i am done. I like it and I think I will use this bottle up completely, mostly for days when i have the time to play with it, but takes time to play with so it isn’t an every morning kind of product.

By contrast, I raced through the rest of my makeup. With the nice looking foundation, it looked fine and actually I am really falling in love with this cream blush. It really blends beautifully and I am happy to use it. This shade works for me, but looking at the range I am not sure any of the other shades would work for me. I do like this one though. It is darker in the pan then on the cheeks so that is something to be aware of when shopping.

the Urban Decay I really like. I went super easy today. Mostly because I took so long with the foundation. One dip into the mattes and a tap off is all it takes then blend out and top with a shimmer. That’s what I went for today and then I called it good. The bare minerals lip gloss seemed like a good accompaniment. It is a light wash of color and a formula that not only looks good on but leaves my lips feeling nourished well after it has disappeared.

So that is me today. The shirt I am wearing actually came from my drape fit box. This has been a fantastic shirt for meetings. The material doesn’t wrinkle and it looks dressy but is super light weight and feels soft. it looks good on camera and in meetings. It may be the only thing I kept from my Drape Fit Box, but it has proven to be utterly fantastic. And now it is back to work for me. Have a great Monday everyone.

And if you are interested in Urban Decay, set your calendars as there is a sale coming up It starts on Thursday