Tag: julep

The Daily: November 8th, 2022

This is my one and only political comment. I don’t care who you are or what your politics are. I don’t care if you agree with my politics or not. Every person deserves to have their opinion count. The only way your opinion counts is if you vote. So if you can, get out there and vote. I know it can be a pain to get to. My poling place is well off my normal beaten track. I know you are busy. But this is important. Make the time and do it. You deserve to have your opinion count, no matter what that opinion is. So no excuses. Go and vote.

Hopefully that was not too painful for you. And I promise, that is all the political talk.

Today is election day so there are actually more people moving about near me than usual. I know several of my neighbors were given a bit of time off to go and vote. As the polls didn’t open this morning until 8 am and almost everyone leaves the neighborhood between seven and seven thirty in the morning it was like the entire neighborhood slept in. I actually did early voting at the library as it is easier to time when they are not busy since i work from home. My babydoll has been running such a crazy schedule that he missed early voting and had to go this morning. Since actual voting is at a school with a very small parking lot I drove him, dropped him off to go through the line and picked up a few things at the pharmacy before circling back to pick him up. There are just far too many people trying to park in a very small lot.

But now we have both done our civic duty and knocked one errand off the to do list. So that was nice.

It did throw my schedule off a little bit today. In reality it wasn’t a lot of time but somehow I have found that a little bit of off in my schedule can sometimes throw me more off balance than if a big chunk is taken out. Maybe it is because if I have a chunk taken out I automatically start mentally rescheduling things but if it is only a little bit of time I always thing, oh I can make that up easy. So there is no real rescheduling just a wondering of why everything seems to take so long.

And so today feels like everything took just a little bit longer. But I’m not really too far behind.

The rain has stopped and the temperature dropped, but the park is still flooded from the rain, so no walking today. there was an indoor workout. I like the indoor stuff because those exercises are always good for strength, but i really miss the calorie burn of the walking. But I am not wading in knee deep creek water to do it. So, indoor workouts today it is. Especially since flooding in the park brings up mold, mold brings up my allergies and then I can’t really breath very well which is not good for exercise.

I want to walk today, but my lungs will actually thank me not to try. Somedays it simply is what it is. But I still have my fingers crossed for a retreat of the flood tomorrow.

Today’s Look:

Primer: Dr. Brandt Pores No More Luminizer Primer

Foundation: Yensa Super Serum Silk Foundation

Bronzer: Milk Makeup Cream Bronzer

Blush: Julep Pore Minimizing Blush in Your Happy Look

eyeshadow: Lime Crime Venus Immortal’s Palette

Mascara: They’re Real Magnet Mascara from Benefit Cosmetics

Lips: Maybelline Lifter Gloss with Hyaluronic Acid

The more I use this primer, the more I really like it. I’m never a huge fan of the luminizing primers but I really like the pore blurring of this primer. I also really like the way this primer sits under makeup. It has a slight stickiness to it (not mega gripping, but it is there) and I think it helps lock everything into place as well. It is the pore blurring I am most loving though.

this Yensa foundation is growing on me. I still like the BC formula better, but as the weather gets colder and I lean more into actual foundations rather than the lighter bb, and tinted moisturizers of summer, I am liking this more. The shade works well for me but it does have a slightly yellow cast. I corrected this by using a pink setting powder and it worked beautifully. And yes I am still using the last of my Becca Pink Haze setting powder. I really need to find a new setting powder since this is discontinued due to the brand closing shop, but I haven’t found a replacement yet so i am just using the last of it up before letting it go. If anyone has any pink setting powder suggestions let me know.)

Weirdly the Milk Makeup Bronzer did not work terribly well for me today. It kept blending out into nothing (and yes I applied all cream products before the powder even though I listed the powder first). Something about this bronzer and this foundation didn’t mesh. they didn’t really want to play together. I’m not sure why as I haven’t had issues with this bronzer before. I’ll keep playing with it and see if it is just a one off though.

I have not used this blush for a daily look for a while. i will use it on weekends because it is a good product. I believe it has been discontinued. Which is a shame because it is a really good blush. I am not sure why Julep no longer makes it, but they don’t. And I am pretty much down to pan on the one I have and so this is the final use for me. The link above will take you to their active makeup page. Their shadow sticks are absolutely fantastic if you are looking into the brand. In fact I haven’t had a product from them I didn’t like. And as it is rare that I use a blush down to pan, you can tell I really liked this blush. But it is no more and so this is it’s last use before parting. So long makeup of the past.

I like this palette and I am trying to use all of the shades in it, but it is not a fast palette to use. The shadows can be powdery so you need to tap the brush off, but there isn’t a lot of fall out once applied. It isn’t a palette that I would reach for to do a quick look before running out of the door though. Which is odd as the Venus exposed palette is one of my favorite “I have no time and need to dash on something before I leave” palette. I think that boils down to color selection. Plus I don’t think it is quite as powdery. I may use it tomorrow as a comparison. In the end I was pleased with how every thing turned out, bit this is not a palette to turn to when i am in a rush.

As for the Mascara, I love this formula. It always makes my lashes look fantastic with very little effort.

This is my first use of the Maybelline gloss and I have to say I love it. I have the shade Reef which is pinker than I usually go (I picked it up in a hurry at the store). even though it is more pink than usual for me I really like the way it looks. I think it helps that it is a sheer wash of color rather than an opaque one. But color aside, this gloss feels fantastic. It smells of coconut and tastes a little sweet, but it isn’t sticky and it is just a really comfortable gloss. I am definitely going to be looking at other shades of this formula. I am very pleased with this impulse buy.

and yes I know I really should have done my brows today but I forgot. My bangs were too long for a while so I got out of the habit. Now they are trimmed and I need to remember the brows. And I swear they were trimmed evenly but I went to bed with wet hair and they are just impossible today.

But my darlings that is me. And now, it is back to work as I have many files needing editing. I hop you have a fantastic day. And remember to go vote. It’s important.

The Daily: June 21st, 2021

Good afternoon my darlings. I don’t know about you but I had a nice quiet restful weekend and I feel a whole lot better about life as we start the week. I’m still a little stressed about Friday’s surgery but it is very straightforward and at least I don’t have to wait too long. I’m going to try not to think about it too much and hope the days just sort of flick through fast so I can just get it sorted.

As for today, I managed to get in my exercises and then spent a really long time in line to deal with my phone. I am on Sprint which was bought by T-mobile and I had to get a sim card swap because they are now shutting down Sprint cell towers in my area. The swap took about 90 seconds yet the place was busy enough that i was in line for about two hours. In my sweaty sweaty gym clothes. In a building that was over air-conditioned.

I have never been so happy to get home and take a shower before in my life.

However when I did get home I found a box had been sent to me by Chomps with many delicious treats to try and review. I am so grateful to them for sending it over.

For me part of staying on track with my diet and exercise plan involves a small afternoon snack. If I have that snack I can get my workouts in and not be so hungry at dinner time that I overeat.

Sometimes it is a protein bar, sometimes a yogurt and sometimes fruit. I have to admit though I have a weakness for jerky and the like. I think it is because my dad used to make it when i was little. Regardless, the beef sticks are soft enough that I can actually eat it so I will be having one this afternoon and reporting in tomorrow about my snack time treat. I usually pick up one sort of snack and then just eat it for the week so I will probably make it a weekly post. Although next week may be dicey on the food front.

The trick is figuring out which snack to try first.

The Look:

Primer: Milk Makeup Hydro grip Primer

Foundation: Ciate London Extraordinary Foundation

Bronzer: Marc Jacobs Instamarc HI FI Filter

Blush: Julep Pore blurring Blush

Highlighter: Jecca Blac Glow Drops

Powder: ELF HD Loose Translucent Setting Powder

Eyeshadow: lime Crime Prelude Exposed Palette

Mascara: Wet ‘n Wild Big Poppa Mascara

Lips: bareMinerals Gen Nude in Pout

Setting Spray MAC Fix +

This week I am starting to try out the Milk Makeup Hydro Grip Primer. I really enjoy a lot of Milk Makeup Products and you know I have a weakness for primers. This one has been circling on my to try list for a while and I have to say it does not disappoint. I smoothed it on and thought, ‘oh this is just going to be a hydrating primer that’s disappointing.’ And then I tapped my cheek and realized they weren’t joking when they said grip. While it slicks on like a hydrating primer once you give it a second to settle it becomes a bit sticky and really holds the foundation in place.

Today’s foundation is the Ciate London Extra Ordinary Foundation and I really like the coverage and weightless feel to it. It is also the perfect tone for my summer skin. While I will be setting it aside to try out other foundation products, I will be reaching for this one a lot this summer. It feels weightless and I think it looks pretty good on me. It looks even better with the Milk Primer underneath.

One thing that i forgot I had but will be reaching for a lot this summer is the Jecca Black Glow drops in Champagne. It goes really well with my skin tone and it blends out to just a beautiful soft glow instead of a blinding highlight. I have these glow drops in both Champagne and Rose Gold. I remember trying them but I think when I did I tried them on as an all over the face under the foundation face product. which did give a nice somewhat dewy glow, but I’m not a dewy person. As a liquid highlighter in small drops I like them much better.

While those were the highlights for me with today’s makeup i really like the way the rest of it came out. It was kind of a nice and easy everyday look.


The Make Up Bag: December 4th, 2020

The Make up Bag used November 30th – December 4th, 2020

Welcome my darlings to the weekly makeup bag post where I go through all of the products I chose to use throughout the week and let you know how I felt about them.

While the foundation and eyeshadow palette  each had their own posts yesterday I will recap them here again for you (with links to the full reviews). The foundation this week was the Ulta Beauty Youthful Glow Foundation serum Drops.  It was an early test in my foundation trials and I forgot that I actually had it.  I took it out this week and remembered exactly how much I really enjoyed using it.  To be honest, now that I have it out, I am thinking about keeping it around for another week before returning it to the dressing table to choose another foundation.

The eyeshadow Palette was the Tuscany Palette from Nomad Cosmetics Italian line.  I liked the colors and loved the way they stayed around all day, but was less thrilled by the powdery fall out from all of the shades. Once the fall out was dealt with, I really did enjoy using the palette.

My primer this week was the Stila Sheer Illumination lingerie soufflé primer. I like this primer.  The whipped texture made it very light weight against the skin and it turned my skin into a nice smooth canvas for my foundation. The pink melted away blending my skin into a more uniform color rather than just giving it a pink hue which I really liked. And of course the decorative jar is delightful.

It worked fairly well with the Ulta foundation.  It is more moisturizing than pore filling, but it does a decent job with the pore filling as well with creamier foundations.  The Ulta Foundation needed a little more pore filling than the Stila offered, but it was almost there.  If I keep the Ulta foundation out for another week I may try a more pore filling primer. But I was pleased to use this primer and look forward to the next time it leaves the dressing table for my makeup bag rotation.

Becca highlight, NARS Bronzer, Benefit Mascara

My bronzer this week is the NARS Laguna Bronzer (it is the small pan in the photo to the left).  It is a sample size that I have been working towards using up.  I try to stick to the rule of not purchasing a full size until I have used the sample size up completely. I really love this bronzer, and even rotating it in and out of my makeup bag it is starting to get a very noticeable dip in the center of the pan.  I’m not certain if you can see it in the photo, but you can certainly feel it. Not picking up a full sized one during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales has been so difficult.  But I feel I can finish this sample up this year as I suspect with a few more uses I will start seeing pan and then it (or something comparable from Nars) will be at the top of my list for next year’s sales.

I had to do the same talking out of purchasing with my lipstick this week. The one I used the most this week is sample sized as well. It is the Bite lipstick in the shade Rhubarb. I love this lipstick, but the sample size means that it often rolls to the shadows and hides. It is a fantastic color on me and it doesn’t dry out my lips.  It is a regular bullet style lipstick so it won’t last the entire day without touch ups, but I don’t mind that.  I have to add that the lipstick smells good and even tastes good.  I know that sounds strange to say, but as it is a product that goes on your lips, it does matter.  It is a comfortable formula and I really enjoy it.  I also suspect that once I break and buy one, I am going to buy several. I have two liquid lipsticks from Bite that I enjoy, but this color and formula of the bullet lipsticks are just fantastic. I am almost out of the Agave lip mask from Bite as well and will need to re order soon.  At the moment I am testing out a different lip mask and thus far it has only sharpened my appreciation for Bite Beauty’s night time lip mask. But that is a different story (the lip mask review will be posted next week if you are interested.) I will easily be able to use up this lipstick. And I will be keeping it out on the dressing table so that I don’t forget it. Then when used up, I will reorder it and possibly some of it’s friends so that it doesn’t get lonely. I wouldn’t want my lipstick to get lonely. I just hope it is still available. When looking into the Bite Beauty Lipsticks, I found a lot of lip crayons listed on their site and I found an entire section dealing with a create your own custom shade of lipstick, both at the factory and at home, but I couldn’t find the lipsticks. This will require some research. The Bite Beauty sale is still going on (the link will take you there) so I may have to pick up a lip crayon and test it out. Regardless I will be looking into the lipstick further and get back to you. Fingers crossed it is still available.

While we are on lips, the other two lip products I used this week were the Dose of Colors Liquid lip in stone that I have been trying to use up.  It is getting there.  I think I have a few more weeks of steady use and then it is done.  It is a pretty old liquid lip and I do actually have a replacement already waiting because it is one of my go-to nude shades. At the moment I am wishing I had ordered a Bite Beauty replace ment and just held it in the wings until I finished the sample but I am more worried about the clean and natural ingredients in a bullet lipstick going bad if kept to long than in a sealed liquid lip. so I didn’t.

My third and final lip product this week was the Jersey Shore Cosmetics Lip balm in the scent Pomegranate. It is a really good lip balm. The Jersey Shore Cosmetics Lip balms tend to be the only lip balms i really keep stocked. Others show up from subscription boxes, but this is my staple.

I tend to periodically sign up for the Jersey Shore Cosmetics Lip balm monthly subscription through Crate Joy (the link will take you to the crate joy subscription info).  I have a hard time finding the subscription on the JSC website, but it is super easy to find on Crate Joy.  It’s a subscription I keep for a few months to stock up on lip balms and then cancel while I work my way through them. I’m pretty sure I am covered through January on lip balms so I will probably re subscribe in either January or February.  It is a really good subscription and a great product, it’s just not a subscription I need to keep all the time. I have been using the subscription off and on for the past four or five years and have never had a problem with them. And each subscription comes with a little surprise. There was a stick of sunscreen one month this past summer and once the pandemic got started, a free mask was tucked in. Speaking of masks, this lip balm has been a really good thing to wear under them too actually. Surprisingly as my face is getting the masknee from the mask, my lips are feeling oddly dry. This lip balm has really helped and it doesn’t get all over the inside of my mask which is also nice. And if you are looking to support a black owned brand, this is a good one to go for. Of course even if that isn’t a factor for you, it is an excellent lip balm and I usually have one within reach.

No. 7 Pressed powder and Josephine eyeliner

This week the pan is showing a lot more in my favorite No. 7 pressed powder.  I’m keeping it in my makeup bag until it has been completely used up.  Mostly because I know it is starting to show pan and there is always the temptation to have it last a little longer by using other products in between.  It isn’t a terribly expensive product so I replacing it isn’t a hardship, but I have several other powders open at the moment, several of which I tend to forget I have in favor of the No. 7.  So I am going to try, and try very hard, not to replace this immediately after it goes so that I can make some headway in using up other products. It is really the danger of favorites.  The fact that it I know on sale is making it even harder to resist.  At least with the sample sizes I still have the product to use, which makes resistance easier. But I am going to do my best to try.

e.l.f. setting powder and Julep blush

My loose setting powder this week was the elf HD powder.  It is a good translucent setting powder that sets the makeup and doesn’t cause a white cast in photos.  At least it hasn’t ever done so on me.  I also like the twist top so that you can seal up the holes the powder shakes through when you aren’t using it so that the powder stays in the base of the container until you are ready to use it without spilling everywhere.  I have to say, this year, elf has been killing it with the products. Those Bite Sized palettes alone are worth giving the brand a look over if you haven’t done so in a while. Personally I ordered several items as I was putting together small makeup bags for some of the just getting into makeup girls in my family this year and I also got pulled into their gift sets. Those gift sets are rally a good deal. I picked up several for others and was so tempted by the Rose Gold Matte Lip Vault for myself. I resisted during my gift buying spree, but I suspect i will circle back once the last holiday package has been sent to its destination via post. Its the lips, my darlings, the lip products get me every time.

For my blush this week I went with Julep’s Your Happy Look Pore Minimizing Blush in the shade Rosewood. I really like the buildability of this blush.  It goes on fairly softly and lets you layer until you reach the desired pigment level. I really do like the darker color and I thought that as my tan faded I would be less able to wear it.  But that proved not to be the case, the shade still looked flattering on me so I think this is one that I might be able to wear year round. As I really like the blush I am very pleased to learn this.  I was almost certain the darker shade would look more clown like than I wanted and I am very happy to be proven wrong. As a quick note, while the link above will take you to the Julep site (and they are still having a large sale you might want to check out) when I poked around looking for this blush I couldn’t find it anywhere. I send an e-mail to Julep but have yet to hear back. I will keep you posted on it (also I’m checking because I really like the blush) There were more skin care related items advertised which actually distracted me for a while as I haven’t tried any of Julep’s skincare and the only thing that pulls me in more than lipstick is skincare. But I will keep looking for the blush so an update will hopefully be arriving soon.

For my highlight this week I went with a highlighter I completely forgot I had.  It is the Becca Bronzed Amber Shimmering Skin Perfector (pictured with the Bronzer near the top of this post).  The name makes me think that it was probably designated for some other use than highlighter but on me the bronze tones work really well as a subtle highlight. I really love the subtle golden highlight. I do it’s like candle light against your skin rather than a spot light. Perhaps I’m just more of a candle light sort of person.  Regardless, I really enjoyed using this and I am sorry I forgot I had it. In fact I enjoyed it so much that i really want to check out some of their other tones. they have quite a few. I know they have been around a while and as I generally like Becca products I have seen them, but highlighters, while beautiful, never drew me in like other makeup categories so I don’t have as many of them.

The eyeliner I used in this week’s bag was the Josephine Cosmetics black liquid liner that came in my November Petit Vour Box. The point tapered down and let me do either thin or thick lines with ease.  The pen was smooth and didn’t skip. The product didn’t sink into my fine lines and it stayed in place all day.  Over all I was very impressed with it. Until November I had not heard of the brand before so I had no expectations.  This performed really well.  I have a liquid shadow from the brand that I think I might try out in next week’s bag so I can get a better feel for the brand.  If it performs as well as the eyeliner, it may be a brand I keep my eye on.

This week I skipped the eyebrow products as I had an ingrown hair and irritation. I really miss Jasmine, the lady who threaded my eyebrows.  I should not be left alone with them. I am fairly certain I am the cause of the damage. So I just used a clean spoolie to keep them in line.  Luckily my bangs need a severe trip at this point so my eyebrows weren’t really visible.  I am going to have to trim them soon.  Hair cutting is not my strong suit, but needs must.

Finally we wrap up the eyes with a sample size of the They’re Real Mascara from Benefit Cosmetics.  It came in my Birchbox for November (and a second one in the Birchbox Advent Calendar. I hadn’t actually tried this one.  Which shouldn’t come as a surprise as I generally just pick up the Bad Gal Bang and don’t look at the others.  While this won’t replace Bad Gal in my affections, I did actually really like it.  It did a great job of lengthening the lashes and it didn’t flake or smudge once dry.  I am happy to have it and a back up.  As it is a sample of mascara, it will only last two to three weeks so I might just keep it around for a bit to use it up.  With sample mascaras, I tend to use them and then lose them in the depths of the drawer. Then several months have passed and I find I have several half empty trial sized tubes and have to play the game “Which of these products is too dried and clumpy to use?” I know, not the best game show name.  I’ll work on the title before pitching it to the network.

To finish, I used the Farsali Setting spray. The Rose Gold Skin mist is beautiful to look at with shimmering gold flakes and it does a decent job setting the makeup.  The scent is not my favorite, which is why I often leave it in the drawer instead of using it.  But as my setting spray rotation now includes a setting spray that smells like fresh paint, I now find the scent less problematic than I once did.  It is a good product, and I don’t mind using it.  I will be keeping it in rotation for the moment so it will get used. Because of the scent I probably won’t be repurchasing it, but the product works well.

It seems that with the setting spray we have reached the end of the Makeup bag for the week.  It was a surprisingly good week.  Not one of the products I used were problematic and several exceeded expectations. I love when that happens.  Next week while I am keeping my powder and foundation I will be trading out everything else.  It may be a strange mix as I think I want to give my odd collection of liquid eyeshadows a try.  Since most of them are on the dazzling metallic side, I suspect one of them will end up being part of my New Year’s glam look so I want to see how they perform.  I’ll have to choose the rest of the bag around them.

And speaking of makeup bags…Kusshi has a new one out for the holidays. It is red on the outside and leopard print on the inside (they also have a black one with leopard print on the inside (which is the one I ordered for my mother as she isn’t a huge fan of red – personally i adore red, but there you have it). While animal prints aren’t what i tend to be drawn to (I have been eyeing their signature makeup bag for months trying to decide between it and the Vacationer though). My mother adores leopard print (ADORES IT!) and as she has been using the same make up bag for longer than she can remember, I picked it up for her this year. (Seriously, I asked her how long she’d had it and she couldn’t remember. the zipper toggle had been replaced by a safety pin and the inside so stained it looked spotted – there was a liquid liner incident. She wasn’t holding on to it for sentimentality, she just hadn’t gotten around to replacing it. I checked to make sure I wasn’t causing issues by ordering a new one.) I checked out one a friend owned and they are good quality, long lasting bags that are designed to keep things organized. So I know she’ll be happy for a long time to come. Now I just need to make my decision between the Signature and the Vacationer.

The Make Up Bag: October 30th, 2020

The Makeup bag chosen for the week of October 24th- 30th

This week I am feeling very pleased with myself.  I chose some really good products to put in my bag this week.  First off was the Becca Aqua Luminous Perfecting foundation.  I really enjoyed using it this week and will very much be picking up a replacement bottle once I work my way through this one.

The Sweater Weather Eyeshadow Palette I used this week was also good for me.  It created soft everyday looks that were super easy.  As I didn’t go out a lot this week, I didn’t need anything dramatic so this was perfect for me to try this week. 

Although sometimes when I am working by myself all week I don’t mind the overly dramatic glitter fest as no one is there to see it. Still this all matte palette worked well and after the struggle that was last week’s shadow palette, I kind of needed something quick and easy. 

My one concern was that it is so soft that a lot of my lipsticks looked off with it.  It made me feel off balance.  As though the rest of my face decided on a low makeup look, but forgot to send the memo to my lips.  So I ended up reaching for the Trestique sheer lip mini crayons.  This was their week to shine. I rotated through the colors and they gave just the right amount of pigment without being overpowering.

trèStiQue: A makeup solution for your lifestyle

I actually had two primers this week.  One was the Yensa essential glow.  After using it for the second week in a row I think I have just enough product left to get me through one more week before the tube is empty, so I will be finishing it up next week.  The second primer was the Becca Anti-fatigue Under eye primer.  I picked it up a while ago but keep forgetting it. 

Pink Haze powder on the left and under eye primer on the right, both from Becca Cosmetics

So this week I put it in my bag and remembered to try it.  My thoughts?  Don’t bother.  It is a little cooling which might help a little under the eyes but then it gets a little greasy looking. You will do better putting a stone roller in the fridge, rolling the cool stone under your eyes for a minute to take down the puffiness and then applying concealer to cover dark spots.

Speaking of concealer I went with the Instant age rewind from Maybelline.  It is one of my favorite concealers, drug store or otherwise.  It has actually out performed several much more expensive concealers to be honest and I enjoyed using it again this week.

Returning for it’s final week in my makeup bag was the wet ‘n wild liquid eyeliner.  While I will repurchase this eyeliner, for now it is completely empty and will be added to the empties bin. It made it three days out of the past week and so I rolled in the Beauty for Real Finish Line eyeliner.  It is a good mascara.  It does the job and doesn’t seep into fine lines.  It is one I will use again but it isn’t all that exciting.

the mascara wand

By contrast the Beauty for Real Mascara I rolled into my makeup bag was an absolute stunner.  Oh. My. God. I laughed at it at first because of the stubby little wand, but this was a fantastic mascara.  Seriously impressive.  It lengthened beautifully, didn’t flake or smudge and stayed on all day with no issue.  This was the hands down winner for me this week.  I was blown away by how well it performed and I look forward to using it a lot in the next six months.

I know that is probably a lot closer to my eye than anyone wants, but it gives you the gist. it was a really good week for mascara.

Becca was also represented in my powder this week as I brought out my favorite Pink Haze. As my foundation was just a hair too light for my current skin tone, the pink haze helped to warm it up a bit.  I really love this powder and love keeping it around.  Also helping the foundation tones out this week was my bronzer. 

I went with the Julep So Radiant bronzer in medium tan.  Not only did it help blend and define but the tones of this bronzer really work well with my skin.  It has just the right amount of warmth to it and there is something just neat and tidy about the square compact.  And we all know I am a sucker for a good compact.

Julep, Korean Skincare Made Simple.

While it did help with the lighter foundation, I think it may have to spend some time waiting for my tan to return as it might have been a little too much for my currently lightening skin without the too light foundation. Like my clothing, I need to do a seasonal change over with my makeup soon.

My blush this week was OFRA’s blush in Bellini.  I really enjoyed using it this week. (I know you are getting sick of hearing that phrase but this was a really good product week.). While I love OFRA highlighters, I wasn’t certain about their blushes.  I had one from the Madison Miller line and that one was just a mess. Pink powder scattered everywhere whenever I used it. 

It was a nice formula on the skin and a nice color, but my sink was a mess by the end of the week.  I don’t know if it was just that line or if there was a formula change, but this blush didn’t have that issue and I really liked how it performed over the course of the week. It is also lighter in tone and I expect I’ll be pulling it out regularly throughout the winter.

To this blush I added the Blush Highlighter Will Powder that came in my IPSY bag this month. While claiming to be a blush highlighter, it is a highlighter.  At least the shade I got was.  I liked that it is a subtle highlighter adding just a little bit of glow.  Considering my shadow palette lent itself to subtle, this week was the perfect week for this highlighter.  Its not really a surprise as I have yet to try a product from The Balm that I don’t like.  They are just all round good products.  I’m sure there are some clinkers as every company has them, but this far they haven’t appeared in my dressing table.

Finally of course was the setting pray, still the HA Spray by Timeless Skincare and still absolutely loving it. What else is there to say? And yes I am getting low on it. I have a couple of other setting sprays in my dressing table that I will start to rotate through as soon as this one is empty (and before I order a replacement. But oh yeah, I’m ordering a replacement. Incidentally Timeless skincare has a 30% off halloween sale going on right now from now until November 1st just use the code BOO2020. (I don’t get anything at all if you use the code it is just on their site and free for anyone to use while it lasts. I just happen to really like this spray – and the HA serum which isn’t surprising as the spray is a light version of the serum.)

Over all this was a fantastic week for me makeup wise.  Everything worked together and well.  There were no horror stories or product malfunctions and I was very pleased by how I looked. The stand out was the beauty for real mascara though.  It looks plain and has a stumpy wand, but man can it perform.

The Make Up Bag: October 2nd, 2020

The Makeup Bag Used the Week of September 26th – October 2nd, 2020

I know normally we start off with the foundation or the eyeshadow, but today we are starting off with the Mascara. (incidentally I just realized it was cropped out of the above photo because I had it standing up, sigh).

Mascara is my second favorite category of product.  Let’s face it, lips will always take first and Powder is holding steady at number three with primer of course coming in at number four.  For those keeping score. This week’s mascara is The Feathers from Pretty Vulgar.  This is one of those products that actually rewarded my superficial nature. 

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While I’m not sure that it a good thing long term, this product is quite as fabulous as its packaging.  In other words, I bought it because the packaging is really pretty and I thought that even if I didn’t like it, then it would be a nice decorative element on my dressing table.  It turns out it is very pretty and looks good on my dressing table AND it is a really good mascara.  Yeah, I win!

I started with it today because I wanted to make sure to mention that it is currently being featured in a month long sale.  Purchase any mascara (Faux Reals or the Feathers) with the Down Below primer and save $10! The sale started yesterday (October 1st, 2020) and runs through November first.  As my Feathers Mascara is nearing the end of its life, I will be replacing it.  The fact that the promotion also involves a primer is kind of a bonus for me.  Anyway I started with mascara since I wanted to make sure I mentioned that right away.

Now, we can move on to eyeshadow.  This week’s eyeshadow was the Hip Dot Zion Palette. The link will take you to the full review.  The basic shake down was that I liked the colors and liked using it but there is a lot of fall out from the shadow to watch out for. I will also be looking into other Hip Dot palettes in the future with different color schemes.

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The foundation this week was the NYX Bare With Me Tinted Skin Veil.  When I pulled it from the drawer I was certain it was a summer shade.  I like it enough that I also knew I wanted to figure out what my winter shade would be, hence the reason I chose it (beyond liking it of course). After using it, I think I might be able to wear this shade for a lot longer than I thought.  I think there is enough variation in the tones that I might be able to get away with using it all the way until I am my palest of winter shades.  I won’t know until the sun fades out my tan but I am optimistic that I may only actually need one shade of this Bare With Me. Which is kind of awesome as it means I don’t have to double up on a product and risk it going bad. I enjoyed using this as my foundation this week.  It gave me great coverage and felt really good to wear.  I will happily keep it in rotation as long as I can.

Primer and No. 7 Pressed powder

The primer this week was the  Too Faced Hangover Replenishing Face Primer. It was a sample and this week did finish it out. The last time I used it I was on the fence as to whether I liked it or not. At the moment I think it is okay. It isn’t a bad primer but it isn’t one of my must have primers either.  Perhaps when my skin is winter dry I might like it more, but at the moment it is one of those products I’d use if it was here but I wouldn’t run out and purchase as soon as I started to run low.  For me, this week finished up the sample and so it is now out of my dressing table.  It might return sometime in the winter to see if it fares better when my skin is dryer but I am not rushing out to replace it.

I did love using the Too Faced Chocolate Gold Soleil Bronzer this week though.  That is a product I really like using.  The product is nice and not as sparkly as I feared it would be from its name and the gold shimmer inside. It is just a very good bronzer.  It is also a really pretty package.  I have to say I am a sucker for a good looking compact.  I really am.  Luckily, the product is also nice.

I had two powders in my make up bag this week; one loose and one pressed. The Kristofer Buckle loose translucent setting powder was my loose powder. 

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It is a good setting powder with no flash back when taking pics and it helps set my makeup.

No 7 Perfect Light Pressed powder in Medium was the pressed powder I used this week and I have to say it is rapidly becoming one of my favorite pressed powders. It sits well against the skin without looking powdery, it knocks any shine right off but never feels cakey. I know I ought to trade it out for something else but I don’t really want to so I am going to keep it around for another week and then next week I’ll trade it out.

Promise.

The Julep Pore minimizing Blush in Rosewood was my blush this week and I really like the color.  It is a nice deep blush that goes so well with my summer tan.  I suspect that my time wearing it will soon be at an end.  I think that as my tan fades it may end up being too dark for winter. It is a great formula, but soon It may be taking a brief rest in the dressing table, emerging when the temperatures start to rise.

I will be keeping the Julep cushion complexion concealer out over the winter.  Right now I can really only use it to prime my eyelids because it it too light for my face but in a month or so I will be using it as a concealer.  I tried it on my face this week and while it is way too light at the moment, it did an excellent job of concealing so I look forward to using it for its intended purpose soon.

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The Fenty Beauty Killawatt Highlighter in Ginger Binge and Moscow mule came in my Boxycharm last month and I have to say I was skeptical at first.  I just really didn’t like the Trophy Wife highlighter I tried before.  This one feels much more finely milled and the rosy tones blended well with my skin.  The rose tends to lean more gold than silver which is also good for me.  I found that with a brush it was easy to apply a subtle shimmery look. 

If I applied with a finger then I could go much more bold and even when I went bold the highlighters on both sides blended out well so I didn’t have just a strip from my finger application.  I have to say I am a big fan of this combo.  I was more impressed I think since I really didn’t like the other Fenty Highlighter. This one is definitely a keeper.

This week the Wet ‘n Wild Ultimate Brow Kit returned.  It has been a while since I used it and I really enjoyed having it around again.  The powders work really well and I sort of realized that I like the brow pencils for giving me the shape for my brows but really prefer the powder to fill them in. 

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I don’t have major gaps in my brows so I really don’t need to draw any hairs in, I mostly just need a more uniform look.  At the moment this is the only powder brow product I have in my dressing table so I might just keep it around and just trade out my brow pencils for a while.  I’m sure I’ll pick up more powder brow products at some point but at the moment this wet ‘n wild kit works well and even though I’ve used it heaps, it still has a ton of product in it. So for now it may remain a constant in my weekly Makeup Bag.

I will say that as much as I like the wet ‘n wild brow powders I really do not like the cream highlight.  In fact if I was certain I could do it without damaging the powders I would pry it out and chuck it away. So the Billion Dollar Brows Brow duo Pencil Concealer and Highlighter was added to my makeup bag this week to make up for this.  I like the creamy texture and the precision of the pencil.  Which is kind of fun because I did not like the other BDB brow products that came in the kit with the highlighter. 

Another returning product in my bag this week was the Milk Long wear gel eyeliner for the water line. It is a creamy formula and I really need to look into other colors. It is a nice and comfortable liner to wear and it has great staying power.  Less impressive this week were the other two other eyeliners I tried out this week. 

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The first was the Aurora brown calligraphy pen style eyeliner that came in my Ipsy Mystery Bag.  I had high hopes for this.  Partially because I really wanted a brown eyeliner I could rely on that was in the calligraphy pen style. It was an interesting liner.  It went on smoothly and where it was on my lid where there were no other products, like eye shadow, it worked really well.  Where the eyeshadow was. The liner tended to skip.  I tried it when I wasn’t wearing eyeshadow and it gave me a smooth continuous line.  It just didn’t like going over eyeshadow. I think I am going to keep it around another week to play with it some more.  I’ll be adding a reliable eyeliner into the bag as well, but I want to see how it works with different shadows.It could be that it just didn’t like Hip Dot for some reason.

The Cleo Noir purple eyeliner from the September Allure Box was a disappointment.  It switched really well on the hands but was very stiff on the eyes.  I warmed it up on my hand but by the time it was warm enough to apply sort of well, my hand was covered in purple lines and I felt  wasted more product than I used. I think it is something I will keep around if I have a specific look in mind that needs a purple eyeliner.  But I also think that when I go to pickup more Milk Eyeliners I might see if they have a purple one I can replace this one with.

For those keeping track there is only one category that we missed.  And that’s the lips.  This week I had only one lip product.  I know, shock gasp, calls for temperature checks.  I know.  I chose one liquid lipstick, Dose of Colors in Stone for three reasons. One the Zion Palette from Hip Dot was so spectacularly purple that I knew it was going to be a neutral lip kind of week. Two I have had this lipstick for a while and I wanted to make certain it was still good.  And three I really like it.  It was for a long time my go to lip product.  I still have an unopened back up in the drawer waiting for this to run out. 

Which it probably will soon. It is actually getting kind of low on product.  I may just keep it in my makeup bag and use it up.  Clearly I’ll add other products, and it might not get used every week, but I want to keep it where I can see it so it does get used up before it expires.  The Dose of Colors formula is a great one for longevity and it is really easy to wear.  It can be a bit drying on the lips because once it dries down it isn’t going anywhere.  I tend to still use lip balm throughout the day when I wear it and I like that once dried it doesn’t tint my lip balm.  If you are worried about dry lips then a quick swipe of lip balm over the top after it is dried works wonders.  For me the drying is slight and over balanced by the rest of the formula’s perks.  Also I apply lip balm throughout the day anyway so the dryness isn’t much of an issue for me.

So there you have it, this week’s makeup bag.  A few plusses a few cons, some consistently reused products.  All in all a mix I was happy with. I have to say that I am torn about next week’s bag.  There is one eyeshadow palette that I was planning to review, but another one just keeps calling my name. “Play with me Mimsy, you know you love me.” Because of that I may actually end up doing a Current Dressing Table favorites makeup bag next week.  As soon I am going to start talking about Holiday bundles and Black Friday specials and lists, maybe a review of my favorites wouldn’t be a bad idea.  I’ll have to think about it today and then decided tonight when I switch out the makeup bag and load it up for next week. For now it is off to work for me.  I hope everyone out there has a fabulous Friday.  I’ll see you later this afternoon for the Friday Face mask.

Pretty Vulgar Make up

The Make Up Bag: September 25th, 2020

Welcome my darlings once again to the weekly makeup bag post where I discuss everything that I put on my face that wasn’t officially skin care this week. My setting spray as the exception of course. I am still using the HA Spray from Timeless Skincare to set my makeup and quite frankly, I am loving it. It sets my skin and as it is a diluted form of the Hyaluronic Acid Serum (also from Timeless) it is also good for my skin. So bonus points. In all fairness even though I have only one more week on my official trial of the HA Spray, I will probably be using it until it runs out. And there is the possibility I will just replace it. I’m using the cucumber scented one now, but I think I might try the orange scented one next. It has the same properties just a different scent to it. While cucumber is nice and spa like, the orange might be a good ‘hello morning’ scent.

This week there was some excitement in the realm of foundation. I tried a sample of a foundation I forgot I had. My skin did not react so well with it. i got red and itchy. I’m not going to mention the name because I think the red and itchy was more my fault than the brand’s. I did a deep dive into their ingredients list and found nothing in the list that has troubled me before. So I suspect that I just kept it past it’s expiration date and paid the price. Considering I have no idea when or even where I picked up the sample, I’m going with user error on this one. It has produced in me the need for decluttering.

This weekend I will be going through and removing expired products and products that need to be passed on to someone else to use while they are still good. With my foundations, I will be arranging the ones I’m keeping. Those in open trial sizes will be used up first and then I will start rotating through the ones I have open, starting with the summer shades. I have a couple of unopened and untested products in my dressing table, but I think there are only two at the moment and both are winter shades and I know how old each of them is so I am not worried about waiting a few months. So for a while I will be using foundations I have previously tried, which means Thursday will feature a non-foundation post for a while. I’m sure I’ll find more things worth breaking out into a more fulsome review.

Speaking of products I’ve used before, with the foundation debacle, I ended up reaching for the Pretty Vulgar Lava Water Foundation. It is a beautiful bottle and the product inside works just as beautifully on the skin. I really enjoyed getting to use it again this week. even if I hadn’t expected to use it this week.

Pretty Vulgar Cruelty Free Makeup!

The eyeshadow palette this week was the Zoeva Caramel Melange palette and I really enjoyed it. The like will take you to the full review, but the color scheme was right up my alley and the pigments worked well for the way I like to wear them. It is a neutral palette but with enough variation that it wasn’t a boring neutrals palette. Which was very nice.

It did however affect my lipstick choice. While I was determined to use my Clarins Velvet Lip Perfector this week, the other neutral shades I chose to balance it out did not work with this shadow palette. I looked too blahly brown with this neutral palette if I went with a neutral lip. So I snuck my Yensa lip oil in Pink Shine and my Colourpop Disney Villains Evil Queen back for companions for the Clarins. The Yensa is rapidly becoming a favorite of mine as you can tell from the drop in the level of lip oil in the tube.

While the Evil Queen looks like it hasn’t been use much, that is because this is a replacement I purchased when I used up the first tube I bought. What can I say, I love a bold lip. The clarins has been patiently sitting in my makeup bag for two weeks waiting for it’s chance to shine. It simply didn’t go well with the other products. This week it did. The formula is smooth on the lips. Slightly too pink for my personal preferences but that is easily remedied when I wanted to mix. I think I expected more red from the tube color. It goes on smoothly.

The feel of it is a little strange. It is not quite a liquid lipstick and not quite a bullet lipstick in feel. It is like they took a bullet lipstick formula and added a little something to keep it from solidifying into a solid. If you like the precision of a liquid lipstick but prefer the formula of a bullet lipstick, this might be something you want to look into. It is very comfortable to wear but it does wear like a bullet lipstick. You will need to reapply it after eating. It is not like the Clarins Water Lip Stain that lasts for three days. This is not even going to get you through the whole work day. I will say it leaves less lip prints on things than traditional bullet lipsticks so it isn’t quite as messy on the coffee cup rim. Over all I really enjoyed it once I understood what the formula was giving me. It is strange, but it is a good kind of strange. I am often described the same way.

Under my Pretty Vulgar foundation this week I wore the Huda Beauty Complexion Perfection Pre-makeup base as my primer. It has a pump so it is easy to control how much is used. The product smells a bit like an unscented moisturizer and comes out creamy. I had my doubts about it being just a hydrating primer but when I applied it on my face, it melted into the skin so it was invisible and it was incredibly pore filling.

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It gave me a very smooth base on which to work. It is not sticky at all and it doesn’t have that silicon slide that some primers have. The finish on it isn’t matte, but it isn’t glowy or dewy either. It is like the product just says look you want matte look to your foundation and powder, you want glow look to your highlighter, I’m a primer. And that is what it is. It is a primer. It just creates a smooth base. I really liked it. I have respect for products that just do the job for which they were created without trying to add other tasks into the mix. And it does the job well. It created the nice smooth canvas and worked well with my foundation. It did it’s job and I will happily keep it in my dressing table to be used repeatedly in the future.

My powder this week was a repeat of the Becca Pink Haze. I really like the powder (although to be honest I mostly just forgot to change it out. I had no problem using it a second week in a row and will happily bring it out again in the future.

This week I used the Julep concealer. It is far too light a shade to be used as concealer with my current skin tone but it was a fantastic eyelid primer. Since I don’t have any major breakouts that weren’t covered by foundation, I was happy just to use this as my lid primer this week.

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My eyeliners this week were two from Pixi and one from Milk. The milk is a light color I love using in my water line and will probably be a staple in my makeup bag for a while as it is one of my few light waterline eyeliners. I really enjoyed the Pixi eyeliners as well. They were creamy and applied smoothly. They faded a little throughout the day but they didn’t smear or run which I appreciated.

Brows saw a return of the Hourglass Pencil. Or maybe the keeping of the Hourglass brow pencil. Like the becca Powder Iforgot it was in there and when I reached in I grabbed it automatically. I like it and it does it’s job well. It has a nice fine point and a great color.

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Ciate London was the source of both my blush and mascara this week. The blush is one of my favorite formulas and I have used it before. I still love it, enjoyed using it and will use it again. It is the Marbled Light in Halo. The Mascara was one I hadn’t opened before. It is the Wonder wand Mascara and it was excellent.

It may even join my Bad Gal Bang and Marc Jacobs in the top of the Mimsy Mascara charts. The wand is thick and the lashes were quite nicely thickened and lengthened. I was very impressed. I have a second Ciate London Mascara that is currently unopened sitting in my dressing table. When I do my mascara purge I may have to open it as well and see if it is just as good. Unless it is the same one, in which case I will wait. It is a full sized one so fingers crossed.

My bronzer is still the Nars Laguna Bronxer. It is the sample size that I am committed to using up before I allow myself to purchase the full size. And I will be purchasing the full size which whould tell you how I feel about it.

The highlight was from Illamasqua and came in a Look Fantastic Box I believe. It is gold in tone and I love that I could make it as dramatic as I wanted. If applied with the finger t was an intense gold. If a brush was used it was a sort of golden glow, a kiss from the sun if you will. I was very pleased with it and will look forward to using it again.

The brush I used to apply it was the Fenty Beauty travel brush. The brush worked well but it was annoying having to pull the little metal lid up every time I snapped the lid on. I don’t know what the alternative is, but maybe a locking button. I pinched my finger once when i was in a bit of a rush.

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Finally the last of the tools. My 999 Master Blender Foundation brush was well used and still loved this week as is my Huda Beauty Makeup sponge. Alas I did not keep track of my shadow brushes. I will do better next week in figuring out which I used. This way not only will you know but I won’t have to stuff the jar so full and I’ll know which I use. The Context Powder brush was used again this week as you can tell from the pink bristles. It like all of my tools need to be cleaned tomorrow afternoon. Cleaning and purging are the min tasks for the weekend. But before the weekend, there is the rest of the workday, which I must now get to. Later I will rejoin you for the Friday Face mask, but for now, it is paperwork for me.

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The Make Up Bag: August 28th, 2020

The Make Up Bag Used the Week of August 22nd – 28th, 2020

I know usually the first things I list are the Foundation and the eyeshadow with links to the full reviews, but this week I have to start with my setting spray. 

completely empty

I know it seems like an odd place to start but I am pleased to announce that I have finally finished up my I heart Revolution Fixing Spray in the scent Peaches and Cream.  It was an older spray that has spent a great deal of time in my dressing table and I made a concentrated effort to use it up.  



It is a really good setting spray so using it wasn’t a hardship.  It had just been around a while.  But now it is finished and I can rotate other, newer products into my makeup bag. I’m sure at some point I’ll pick up another Revolution spray but I am rather happy to change scents for a while.  The Peaches and Cream was nice, but I’m ready for a change.

just a wee bit left

Speaking of using up products, I am close to finishing out my Ciate London everyday Vacaay loose setting powder.  Only a week or twos worth of product remains so the jar was in my Makeup bag this week and will remain until I finish it out.  Then I’ll use a different product. Or rotate through my other powders.  I was just so close to finishing this that I just wanted to concentrate on it. And it is a good powder. Incidentally at the moment the look Fantastic Website has Ciate London Products on sale up to 70% off. and they are just kicking off their Labor Day sales. Right now you can get 22% off Sitewide with the code LABORDAY22. That sale runs through September first. They also have a Flash Sale! 40% off Select Peter Thomas Roth (valid through 8/29). I actually just finished testing out two moisturizer samples from Peter Thomas Roth and will be posting a review on Monday. (I’m also going to be trying to order the Hungarian Mineral Water moisturizer this afternoon. I love when my skin care trials and sales meet. It makes me feel the universe is working with me instead of against. But moving on back to the makeup bag…).

My foundation this week was the Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation.  I ordered the sample packets to try out the shade ranges.  I’m pretty certain that 213 is my shade but I will be trying the other packets periodically to make certain before I order a bottle.  As it is a $77 foundation, I want to be certain of my shade before I purchase. The samples came with a coupon for $10 off a purchase of the full sized foundation as well, which I thought was nice. While the link will take you to the full review I have to say that this foundation was absolutely amazing. I was really hoping it wasn’t.  I was hoping I could say, yeah it’s nice but not really worth the price.  Except that it is actually worth the price.

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My eyeshadow palette this week was also worth every penny I spent on it.  However in this case that was only $4.99.  I used the My Glamour Squad Eye shadow Palette from Wet ‘n Wild this week.  It performed fantastically well for me and I am actually thinking of picking up more Wet’n Wild eyeshadow Palettes.  In the post about the shadow palette, I stuck with finger swatches because that is what I always do and I wanted to stick with the standard. The finger swatches came out poorly. This formula works better with a brush.

I loved it on my eyes. I felt bad about the swatches so I did a quick swatch with a brush to show a little better how they apply. So that’s why there is a better swatch picture of the mattes in this post.

Actually the Coffee Cat palette they just came out with is right up my alley and will probably be one of my next purchases. As long as the formula of the shadows remains the same, I will be a big fan of Wet ‘n Wild’s shadows.

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While I used my Pretty Vulgar concealer under the shadows to give me a nice base to work with, I didn’t need to use the Pretty Vulgar lid primer.  So even though the official lid primer was in my bag, I didn’t need to use it with these shadows.   

Pretty Vulgar Cruelty Free Makeup!

I like both the primer and the concealer, but I think next week I am going to switch out the concealer but keep the lid primer around.  I might not need the lid primer, but it is a new eyeshadow palette I will be working with so I like to have it around just in case.

Making a return trip into my Makeup bag this week was the Touch in Sol No Poreblem primer.  As always it performed beautifully.  I love the way it feels light, yet fills in my pores.  It is one of my favorite primers.  This week I have two new primers that have been added to my dressing table by subscription boxes.  I’m not sure yet which I’ll try out, but next week will feature a brand new primer.  The Touch in Sol is not going anywhere but back to my dressing table. 

For blush and bronzer this week I turned to Julep.  I really like the shade of the pore minimizing blush.  I have the shade rosewood which is my perfect summer shade.  I think I’m going to need to get a lighter tone for the winter months though.  I keep poking around on the Julep site to see which shade looks like it will work.   It is a great formula and one I don’t mind having multiples of.  At the moment Julep is having a sale as well so I’m hoping to make a decision before the sale ends. There’s nothing like a deadline right?

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I also used the Julep bronzer.  While not as spectacular as the blush, it is a good bronzer.  It is buildable and really easy to blend.  I use the shade medium tan and I think it will work for me both with my tan and when my skin grows winter pale.  The only difference is really how much product I use.  I use more in the summer but I really think just a lighter application will keep it working for me in the winter.  It is one of the reasons I really like the buildable formula.  It means I only need to buy one shade.

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For my mascara I paired the eyeko lash alert mascara with the doucce Punk Volumizer.  The eyeko mascara is great at lengthening and the doucce is great for bulking up the lashes so it was a good pair.  While I like the eyeko lash alert, I prefer the formula of their black magic mascara. This was the second week for the Lash Alert sample size and I managed to use up the remaining product in the tube.  So it will be sent to the empties bin. 

I’ll probably pick up the Black magic mascara or an eyeliner next time I shop with Eyeko mostly because I prefer the formula but it is still a pretty good mascara.  The Doucce was better paired with the eyeko, but still just an okay mascara.  I’ll be using it up and saying goodbye rather than repurchasing.

My eyeliner this week was from Beauty for Real.  It gave me a nice thin line of mascara and was easy to work with.  While it didn’t seep into my fine lines, it took a little while to dry down and was prone to smudging before it dried down.  Once dry it was fine, but you just have to be careful those few minutes.  I did notice that by the end of the day, the eyeliner had faded a bit, going a little more gray than black.  While it was a decent eyeliner and I will continue to use it, this isn’t my favorite and once it is done, I won’t be repurchasing it.

My highlighter this week was the floss sunlit from the August Allure Beauty Box.  It was an interesting product.  When you look at it it looks kind of silvery, but when you apply it, the highlighter turns more gold.  As I prefer the golden highlighters with my skin tone, I was okay with the change. 

highlight swatch, not blended in

What I found interesting was that it applied better with a finger than with a brush.  It was rather disappointing when I used a brush to apply it.  It faded away to almost nothing.  When I used my fingertip to apply it worked fabulously well. It blended nicely and provided just the right amount of glow.  I don’t know if I was just using the wrong sort of brush, but I’m not adverse to applying it with my fingers.  I think the fingertip might work better because of the product’s consistency.  While it is technically a powder, it is not very powdery and has almost a jelly consistency.  It’s kind of strange, like it is hallway between the two.  It is still powder and not a jelly but it has almost that wet touch to it. I kind of liked it actually.

And finally we come to the lips.I had four products in my bag this week.  I had a Huda Beauty lip countour in the shade Trophy wife, two liquid lipsticks from Bite Beauty (Caramelized and Infuse), and a lip gloss fromC’est Moi in the shade opulence.

The lip gloss was nice.  It had no real color to it so swatches just show up as a glossy spot. It sat well on the lips and wasn’t too terribly sticky.  It was a lip gloss so there was some stick factor, but it wasn’t too much.  It is a nice lip gloss that I used both on its own and over other products this week. 

The Huda Beauty lip contour I used both as a lip liner for Infuse and on my entire lips.  I like the color and under the C’est Moi lip gloss it wasn’t too drying.  It is still a lip liner so there is some drying when used this way, hence the lip gloss over it to make it more comfortable.  I also used Caramelized to alter the color a bit. 

Caramelized by Bite Beauty is just a little too neutral of a shade for me to wear on it’s own.  On me it makes my lips disappear into my face.  However it is an excellent lip topper.  I used it over Trophy wife to make that a little less pink and I used it with Infuse to make it a little less vibrant. Typically with bite beauty I end up going for their bullet style lipsticks (which I absolutely adore). But I really like these liquid lips. 

Lip swatches, Huda in Trophy Wife on top Caramelized in the middle and Infuse at the bottom (Bite Beauty)

The formula never really dries down so there are a few lip prints left behind, but it is a very comfortable formula to wear.   While I like the color of Infused, I often none it down with Caramelized.  I’ve done so often enough that Caramelized is starting to get a pinkish tint to it. Who knows, a few more weeks of use and the color might have altered enough so I can wear it on it’s own. 

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One thing I like with this is that the color remains for most of the day.  It dims a little in the afternoon, but I think that is because some of it wears off during lunch.  But at the end of the day, I was still wearing lipstick.   And I do like a lipstick that can last the day with me.

So that was my makeup bag this week.  I had a great deal of fun with it and it helped me start to add to my list of products I want to pick up in the near future. I hope this has helped anyone else reading to plan their purchases as well.

The Make up Bag: July 31st, 2020

The Make Up Bag Used July 25th – 31st, 2020

Welcome my darlings once again to The Make up bag. I hope you had a fantastic week.  While I have been testing out new foundations fairly regularly for a while, some full sized and some only sample sized, I thought it was time to take a little break from the new and roll through some of the foundations that I enjoyed. 

So I lined up all of the currently open foundations I have in a shade that works for me at the moment and a chose whichever one appealed most to me in the moment.  I’ll be honest, it was a pretty close tie between the Kristofer Buckle Triplicity foundation Stick and the Pretty Vulgar Cool AF Lava Water Foundation.  Since I just used the Kristofer Buckle last week, I went with Pretty Vulgar and I am glad I did.  I really enjoyed using it this week.  The formula works well for me and went well with the ELF Puff Puff Primer I tried this week.

This particular ELF primer is a bit more moisturizer like than I anticipated, but it worked well.  The link is to my full review if you’d like to get all the details, but I did enjoy the ELF Puff Puff Primer and will be keeping it in my rotation. 

Making a continued appearance in my make up bag was the I heart Revolution Fixing spray in Peaches and Cream.  I know I’ve talked about it a lot, but I do like it.  I have about three week’s worth of product left in the bottle (as a best guess) so I will keep it around for a few more weeks in the hopes of finishing it out. It is nice, but it is an older product I’d like to finish out.



Speaking of peaches, This week’s eyeshadow palette was Peach Bellini from Makeup Geek.  The link is for my full palette review.  I really liked using the formula this week for a super simple low key week.  The shadows were highly pigmented and easy to blend.  Also the color scheme seems very summery to me.

Starting to see a little of the pan’s rings below the powder

Both of my powders this week were repeats The Ciate Everyday Vaccay was the loose powder and I have about three more weeks of use before it is empty so I will continue to use it until it is gone, then shift to other powders. 



My pressed powder was the No.7 Perfect light in medium.  It is very rapidly becoming one of my favorite pressed powders.  I’m actually starting to see the outline of the pan below in the center.  While I will continue to use up the ciate next week, I will be sending the No. 7 back to the dressing table and picking out another pressed powder to try.

There were three more repeats this week.  The first is the Instant Age rewind Eraser from Maybelline which served as my concealer and eyelid primer.  I really liked it in both capacities.

Also returning was the Eyeko Fat Black eyeliner.  It is one of my favorites. Once in place, it doesn’t go anywhere and never seeps into my fine lines. 

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The final repeat was the Julep pore minimizing blush in the shade Rosewood.  I don’t know if it actually reduces my pores as there are several other products between my pores and the blush, but it is an excellent blush.  It is of the buildable variety rather than the highly pigmented, although you can deepen it a lot if you try. 

Eyeko eyeliner and Hourglass brow pencil

I personally prefer my blush to be buildable and blendable, which this is. I believe Jlep is having a sale at the moment.  I’ve liked every product I’ve tried from them.  The products are easy to work with and the packaging is sleek and pretty.

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I know packaging shouldn’t count as much, but it kinda does. At least with me.  I know, it’s a personal flaw.  But I do like the sleek design while my more practical side likes the fact that it is also quite sturdy.

Julep blush and Tarte mascara

And now for the new arrivals in my makeup bag.  The first is the Ace Beaute Bronzed in Paradise palette.  This palette had four shades of bronzer.  Only one works on me as a bronzer.  It is the third in the pan in case you are wondering. 

The darker and lighter shades I could use as eyeshadows but not as bronzer.  In the winter I might be able to use the second shade in the palette but that is about it.  Truthfully, I don’t particularly care for these bronzers.

They oddly work really well as eyeshadows, but on the cheeks I found them a bit patchy and hard to blend. I might try working with it again, but I have much better formulas in my collection that I would rather use.

The Hourglass eyebrow pencil (shade soft brunette) also came in a Boxy Charm and I have to say, I really liked using it.  I really liked the formula and I really liked the precision point.  It is small enough that I could do really fine lines with it. 

Do I like it as much as the Benefit Precisely My Brow?

Almost. 

If I had to choose between the two I would still choose the Benefit, but only by a small margin.  I do like that it comes with a spoolie on the end. I will happily use this for a while.  Between it and the Il Makiage pencil I received from IPSY, I won’t have to buy an eyebrow pencil for a while.  And then I have my wet ‘n wild brow kit powder. So I am set for brows.  I really did enjoy the hourglass this week so I think I might just have to keep it around for a second week.

Really quickly I wanted to mention the So eco shading brush that came in my Look Fantastic box this month.  I added it to my makeup bag and I think it is going to remain in my bathroom brush jar for a while.  With the Makeup Geek Shadows the easiest way to work with them because they were so highly pigmented was to take a flat brush and set the shadow on the eye at the spot I wanted it to be darkest and then blend with a fluffy brush.  This week I used the So Eco brush as the flat brush and it worked really well.  The indentations in the handle were perfect for gripping and the bristles are really high quality.  So two thumbs up for Look Fantastic.

Unfortunately I did not have as good a luck with the Palm Balm from Beauty crop that came in this month’s Glossy Box. I added both it and the Milk makeup Lip and Cheek stick to my bag this well.  I figured since I had already used the Julep before and loved it, I would keep it as a back up and see if either of these two products worked.  Both the Palm Balm and the Milk Lip and cheek are designed to be products you can use on, you guessed it lip and cheek. 

The Palm balm comes in a nice little glass pot and in the pan it is really stiff.  I had to rub my finger over it a lot just to warm it up enough to stick to my finger.  On the cheek it goes on okay, but it really hard to bend out.  It really wants to stay in whatever position you place it in first. When blending, I felt less like I was blending and more like I was scrubbing it off. 

Anytime I tried it as a cheek product it ruined any other product I already had on my cheeks.  It worked better on bare skin, but I don’t know if that was just me rubbing it off or not.  On the lips it was interesting.  It gave my lips a nice tint and like the cheeks, once applied it wasn’t going anywhere.  It lasted the whole day as a light blush of color. 

However it was also very drying.  Once I applied it I had to wait a moment and then top it with a Jersey Shore Cosmetics Lip Balm to keep my lips from drying and falling off my face.  With the lip balm protector it was fine.  Without it, I crumbled to dust.

The Milk Makeup Lip and Cheek also did not work on my cheeks.  It went on well but blended away to nothing with the first touch.  However it made an excellent lip balm.  It provided a light my lips but better tint and it kept my lips hydrated and moisturized.  I really enjoyed it and will keep it in my collection for my lips.  I won’t use it on my cheeks, but my lips love it. The Palm Balm will not be staying in my collection long.

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I did have two more lip products in my bag this week. Although I did wear the Kristofer Buckle Bardot for National Lipstick day, it wasn’t officially in my bag this week.  This week I mostly used the Lorac Alter Ego Hydrating lip stain in Breadwinner and the OFRA liquid lip in the shade Pasadena.

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Breadwinner is a light wash of color that feels comfortable on the lips and is really easy to wear.  I enjoyed it very much.  It doesn’t dry out the lips and is as hydrating as it claims.  It is not an all day color though. 

On the days I wore it, I had to apply it when I finished my coffee and again after lunch.  It does wear off if you are eating or drinking, but it is a formula that is really nice if you want just a light wash of color that you don’t have to worry about.  It didn’t get on my teeth and it didn’t leave lip prints everywhere.  It will definitely make a reappearance in my makeup bag. 

OFRA is on the top and Lorac is on the bottom. The Lorac was swatched multiple times to build up the color for the picture. it is much less pigmented on the lips

OFRA’s Pasadena will also make a return.  It is a nice neutral lip that works well for me.  So often neutral lipsticks either blend my lips into my face or just look brown.  This has just enough pin in it to work for me.  While the all day formula does stay all day and wasn’t drying on the lips, it does feel just a little bit sticky. It wasn’t terribly bad and because of the color I will keep it around. 

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The one I have is a trial sized liquid lip rather than a full sized.  I like everything about it except the slight stickiness.  If I can find another long wearing liquid lip in this shade that doesn’t have the stickiness, I would buy that.  I think the stickiness is the result of it never drying down completely. If I can’t find this shade in another formula that I like better, I will purchase a full sized version of this.  I know that is a strange answer.  It is a good formula that I don’t mind wearing, but I am hoping to find better.  However I am not certain I can find better. Perhaps that is a better way to put that.

The Tarte mascara on the eyes and the OFRA on the lips

Finally we come to one of my favorite items, the mascara.  I went with the tart Gifted mascara this week.  Tarte’s mascaras are always hit or miss with me.  There are a couple I really like and a couple I find to be just okay.  This one has a thinner, straight wand and I have to say I really liked it.  It made my lashes look longer and it lasted all day without any sort of flaking or smearing.  To be honest, I like it almost as much as my Kevyn Aucoin.  I know gasp. But don’t worry, my two favorites are still Marc Jacobs and Butter London. It just bumps The Expert Kevyn Aucoin down a notch on the fav scale. Not by much, just a little. In a horse race it would still be a photo finish.

Alright, well that was my makeup bag for this week.  I hope you enjoyed reading about it as much as I enjoyed writing it.  As usual next week will feature a brand new bag of makeup for me to try.  Some will be old favorites and some new finds.  With luck some of my new finds will be good enough to become old favorites.  But now it is back to work for me.  I hope everyone has a fantastic Friday and I will see you back here this afternoon for the Face Mask Friday post.

The Make Up Bag: July 17, 2020

The Make up Bag Used the week of July 11th – 17th

This week started out rough in my makeup bag.  The first component in it was a trial sized Foundation sample of Pur’s 4-in-1 Love your Selfie Foundation and Concealer.  I did not like it in the slightest.  The link will take you to the full review should you wish to check it out, but in short wearing it made my skin look worse than not wearing it.

Which is kind of the opposite effect you want your makeup to have. Or at least for me it is.

While I hate wasting product, the remaining product in this little tube is going to the trash. I tried every which way I could think of to make it work, but it is not for me.

The primer I tried with it, didn’t help.  This week’s primer was the Blur Drop Primer by Kaja.  I have never tried anything from the brand before and this was not an encouraging sign. 

Primer

The primer is clear, which isn’t actually a problem with me. Several of my favorite primers are clear. This one however was thinner than any of the others I’ve tried and didn’t really blur or fill anything. 

It was slick with no hint of stickiness so it had no real makeup gripping capabilities.  When I put makeup over it, the products all ended up looking patchy. In addition, it has a surprising perfume sort of fragrance to it which I didn’t really care for. It was a bit cloying and I’m not really sure fragrance needs to be added to a primer in general.

Since I had several newer products in my makeup bag this week, I went back to my dressing table and played with some tried and true products to see what was causing the issues. After all I would hate to unfairly blame the primer.

But it was the primer. 

I ended up rotating it back out and just going with the Pore Professional by Benefit this week since I just got so frustrated with the Kaja primer. Also because I was equally frustrated with the Pur Foundation, I brought back the NYX Bare with me tinted skin veil to replace it. Benefit and NYX worked where Pur and Kaja did not. At least for me.

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My eyeshadow palette this week was from Storybook Cosmetics Fairy Tales line.  It is the Briar Rose Palette.  As I previously wrote a review of it and after checking it, found my thoughts hadn’t really changed, I let the review stand. 

I will say that when last I reached for this palette, the weather was cooler and the season was different.  I was wondering what a change in season would do to my appreciation of the palette and I have to say, it really just made me choose different colors. 

I found myself using the lighter shades more than the deeper ones (where as before Grimm and Beauty were my natural draws.) Thorn was actually a good all over the lid shade for a quick look. I really liked it. It is a very wearable palette.  While the book format is cute, it does take up a lot of space.  It is a good palette though and space hog or not, I will be reaching for it again.

This week I kept the Ciate Loose setting powder in Everyday Vacay around for another week. The jar is getting low so I am trying to use it up.  I know I have a powder to give a try next week so I will be swapping it out, but I really would like to use this up so it will be returning.  It’s a great product so it isn’t a hardship.

The pressed powder was a new one to me.  It was the Jouer Pressed Mineral powder.  It is a nice powder.  It blends well into the skin and didn’t look powdery or cakey. It was really good when midday shine appeared in the t-zone. 

This powder was very good at dealing with the shine through without making my skin feel as though I was just loading it down with powder.  It is a small, sleek design and I could easily see myself adding this to the small makeup bag in my purse for the sole purpose of mid-day mattifying.

The I heart Revolution Fixing Spray remained in my bag this week and slowly but surely I am using it up. I can’t remember when I bought it but it continues to work well and smell nice.  I’m not certain how long fixing sprays last or if they have an expiration date but since it is one of the oldest items in my dressing table I’m going to work on using it up and clearing it out.

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This week also saw the return of the Wet’n wild ultimate brow kit, which I Pared with the billion dollar brows Duo Highlight and contour stick.  I still like the wet ‘n wild powders and despise the cream highlighter that comes with the brow kit. 

I still like the bdb highlighter while hating the brow pencil that came with that kit. Si the great powders with the good highlight are a good combination. Looking over my collection, I realized I might actually have almost enough wet ‘n wild products to do a full face with the brand.  (the same can also be said about a few other brands) so I may have a few brand only weeks coming up.  I just need to fill in a few of the gaps before I do.

Until then, I still enjoy the wet ‘n wild brow powder.

I had two more returning products this week.  One was the Eyeko London FAT Liquid Eyeliner in black.  I love Eyeko liners.  I have had the regular ones, the skinny ones and the fat ones.  They all glide on smoothly and stay in place all day.  I have not had any problems with them smearing or fading throughout the day.  They don’t seep into fine lines either, which is a trait that should always be encouraged in a liquid eyeliner.

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Another long term favorite returned this week and that was the Kevyn Aucoin The Expert mascara.  It always makes my lashes longer and more defined.  It doesn’t flake or smear and it stays in place all day. And in this heat, having something that won’t run when it hits the summer sun is a fantastic product.  That being said, this morning I picked it up and thought it felt a little light. 

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I scanned back through my weekly makeup bags and realized that I have been rotating this mascara in a lot in the past couple of months.  I may have to add in a new mascara just to give it a bit of a rest. I will be very sad when it is time to pass this mascara on.

This week I had two band new to me products from Julep.  The first was the So Radiant Diamond Bronzer in medium First off I have to say I really like the packaging.  It is a nice heavy plastic with a mirror inside.  

The way it opens means the mirror stays open and is easy to use as well so it is a useful mirror. I had an interesting time with this product.  The first thing I did was to do a finger swatch on my arm to see how pigmented it was. 

The swatch barely showed up on my skin. You could tell there was powder but no pigment.  I was a little disappointed but I figured I’d push on.  So I took brush to pan and hoped for the best. 

I will say, I did not use a light hand because I saw the swatch.  Yeah, it doesn’t swatch very pigmented with a finger, but the brush picked up a whole lot.  It was really dark on my skin.  So I washed my face and started again. This time, I picked up my usual amount of pigment with the brush instead of trying to compensate for the swatch with a heavy hand. 

It applied well and blended easily into the skin.  It was comfortable to wear and lasted all day.  The bronzer worked well with my skin tone although I think I might have to go a shade lighter in the winter time.  I really liked the bronzer.  It also reaffirmed the lessons I was given when I was first learning to apply makeup.  Start light and build.  To that I would add, don’t trust the swatch.

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Also from Julep in a smaller but no less sleek and functional package was the blush I used this week. It is a pore minimizing blush in the shade Rosewood. Like the bronzer, it did not swatch well, but having learned my lesson with the bronzer, I started off light and built my look. 

This may be one of my favorite blushes.  I dipped in lightly and got color that I could either sheer out or build up to a depth I wanted.  I can’t say I noticed much in the way of pore blurring but it didn’t give me added texture so I was fine with it, especially as the color was fantastic on me. It blended like a dream and stayed all day. 

Paired with the bronzer it was a winning combination for me this week.  Again for the fall I might have to get a shade lighter in the blush, but that’s okay.  I don’t mind having multiples of this formula around at all. Both Julep products will be staying in rotation in my dressing table and will more than likely make frequent appearances in my makeup bag in the weeks to come.  I suspect I will end up ordering more products from Julep soon. In case you are interested, they are having a mega Summer clearance sale. I’ve linked it above. Not only are the prices discounted but you get an extra code on top of the discount. I’ll be looking into that this afternoon. I suspect their items will sell out quickly.

This week I also tried the Iconic London illuminator.  The only thing I’ve actually used from Iconic was a setting spray.  I really liked the setting spray. 

Liquid highlighters aren’t generally what I gravitate towards as I tend to over do it with product placement.  With this dropper though, I found it very easy to add just a little bit of product to my face.  I could use the rounded end of the dropper to just place a dot or two and then blend it in. 

In all fairness, I have to admit, I didn’t think I would like this product.  I ended up really liking it.  The gold tones of the highlighter blended well with my skin and I could easily decide how much or how little I wanted to apply.  It could be blinding or it could be subtle.  I liked that I got to choose.

I don’t think I would like the other shades of this product.  I think the reason I liked the gold so much is that the gold tones really did blend in well with my skin. I also think that this bottle will last me a really long time.  For a good daily look I only needed one drop per cheek which I blended for a good casual look.  I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and pleased to keep this in my collection.

For my three lip products I chose two of my long term favorites and one liquid lip I forgot I had.  The Thrive Causemetics lip gloss in Ashley is one of my go to lip glosses.  I really like the formula and will use it until every last drop is gone.

Also in my favorites is a Nars liquid lip in the shade Paradise Garage.  It is one of my go to nude liquid lips.  I love the Nars formula.  It gets dry but it never dries down all the way so your lips never feel desiccated. 

It dries down just enough that you don’t leave glaringly obvious lip prints everywhere (although it takes a few minutes).  You do leave a few little smudges but not many, especially with the lighter shades.  With this formula the darker the shade the less it seems to dry down. At least in my experience.  I haven’t actually tried every shade.

(Top to Bottom): Paradise Garage from NARS, Thrive Causemetics Lip gloss in Ashley, and Stila in Rubino: and yes I swatched the gloss to show it isn’t as glittery as it looks in the tube. It does have some shimmer though.

Finally, I used the Stila Stay all day liquid lip in the shade Rubino.  It is a deep red shade.  When you apply it the first thing you have to do is make sure it doesn’t get on your teeth.  Somehow my first application always does. 

Then check your outlines on your lips and make sure it is exactly where you want it. Then blot to remove excess product (because this one always seems to leave a little excess product.  Check your lines (and teeth) again and then let it dry. 

Once it dries, it is going nowhere. In fact the next day you will still have a little reddish tinge to your lips no matter what form of makeup remover you use.  Lip scrubs help, but  unless you completely scrub off a layer of lip, the ghost of the shade will remain the following day.

It isn’t bad though.  I hid it under the Nars nude the next day with no problems.  Just be aware they aren’t joking when they say stay all day. It dries down really well, but after it dries down, I tend to forget I’m wearing it.  It is quite comfortable to wear and I didn’t have any problems with over drying of my lips.  This is one of those products I need to remember I have more often so I wear it instead of shoving it into a drawer and forgetting. Stila is one of those brands for me in general though. For a long time I had a lot of Stila products and then I just sort of stopped buying them. I can’t remember why though. And I did really like this lip.

So that was this week’s makeup bag for me.  There were some old favorites, and some new trials.  There were some clear and often surprising winners from the new, several of which will remain in my dressing table.  There were also a few new products that I now know to steer clear of in the future.

In my book it is often just as important to know what to scratch off the possible purchase list as it is to add more items to it. All in all, a fun and educational week for me.  I hope next week is just as much fun, although I could really do with a less problematic foundation in the next week. Because my Vanity Collection Came in from Kristopher Buckle yesterday, it features heavily in next week’s makeup bag. So if you’ve ever wondered about the brand, or have never heard of them, stay tuned.

I’ll see everyone back here this afternoon for the Friday Face Mask. Until then have an excellent Friday.