The Daily: February 21st, 2023

I have to admit, I wasn’t originally planning to take Monday off. It whipped through my brain that Monday was president’s day but quite honestly last week I was so off kilter that it didn’t fully register until my babydoll came home and yelled, “Three Day Weekend!” and then collapsed on the couch.

He had a pretty stressful week last week too. There was some sort of snafu with contractors that he had to iron out. Mine was more trying to figure out why my computer was having spasms of ineptitude, but that is an entirely different thing.

I also discovered that I have been binging Criminal Minds a little too much. The whole series is on Paramount + which I love. They are putting up the current season now. The thing is that it had been a while since I saw the show so I decided to start at Season one and then work my way to the current season (season 16). I love that I can do that as I am really getting into the show, but last night I had a nightmare about being chased by a band of serial killers. It did sort of blend Criminal Minds and A Clockwork Orange into a dream scape which, while awake I find really interesting. But I think it also means I need to get something non murder-y in my watch list.

If anyone has any suggestions I will happily take them. I will be scrolling through trying to find something that doesn’t involve murder or dystopian futures. My watch list on every streaming site tends to lean in that direction. I wonder if there is a category of recommendations for things unlike what is on my watch list? That would be helpful. But something for another time. For now…

Today’s Look

Primer: Figs and Rouge Satin Soft Blurring Primer (from Use up box)

Foundation: Bite Beauty The Changemaker Foundation (discontinued – from use up box)

Concealer: Dior Backstage Concealer

Bronzer/Blush/Highlight: Marc Jacobs Omega X 3 Tantastic Glow Palette (discontinued)

Setting Powder: Puff Puff Pass Set and Bake Powder from Kimchi Chic Beauty

Eyes and Lips: Axiology Tinted Dew in Humble

Mascara: Anastasia Beverly Hills lash Brag Mascara

Setting Spray: Ciate London Watermelon Burst Setting Spray

Okay let’s take a deep dive. This month i put the Figs and Rouge Primer and the Bite Beauty Foundation in my Items to Use up Box. This was the last use for wither of them. Bite Beauty is no more so this was a fond farewell to a fabulous foundation and the Primer I was on the fence with. It is a good blurring primer and it hydrates. So if you have dry skin it is fine. I find the scent a little off putting, but that does fade fast. I find I can wear it if I am having a really good skin day, but if I have any red spots or blemishes it is just not going to help me. It works well but it isn’t something I feel I need to repurchase. it was fine while it lasted and I would use it again if it showed up in a subscription box, but I have other primers I prefer.

I like the Dior concealer. It has a brush rather than a doe foot which I find easier to use. I tend to use very little concealer and then only when allergies attack. Usually that is only a few times a year but with the weather bouncing up and down the thermometer sniffles and dark circles abound. I just need a little dot of this and then i blend it out and it works for me. It doesn’t crease and it lasts all day. I just need to use very little.

Even though this Marc Jacobs Trio is no longer in production I really enjoy it and will use it until all three pans are empty. And then I will use it as a travel compact. After two weeks of cream blush I did go a little heavy handed with the powder. That always happens when I switch back to powder from cream. Plus this is more of a summer time palette for me. I just saw it and though, I haven’t used that in a while. (Mostly because it is a summer time palette) and picked it up. It is worth using, even if it isn’t being made any more.

You know I love the Kimchi setting powder. A chunk of the love is the powder puff that comes with it. That is a fantastic powder puff. The powder is also good. Go light because two much can look a little powdery. But I love this slight tint to the powder that keeps it from looking super white. I use the puff to apply and just brush off the extra.

As I mentioned Axiology sent three products for me to try. This is the second of them. It is the Tinted Dew Multi Stick. It is less pigmented than the color cream. Today I used it on my eyes and lips. On the lips it feels like a lip balm. It gives a sheer-ish wash of color. I have the shade Humble. To be honest it is not my lip shade. However I did use it as a cream eyeshadow today and i love it. it was quick and simple and has not moved or faded all day. It took two seconds to apply and I think it looks really good for a very low key natural day kind of look. I especially love it paired with this mascara. I love the barely there eyeshadow looks pared with really thick and full lashes. And the Axiology mixed with the ABH Lash brag gave me that today. I am really happy with this.

To finish it off I did use the Ciate Setting Spray. I’m trying to remember setting sprays as i tend to forget the non-skincare based ones. The Ciate nozzle was clogged up because it sat for a while after my last use so I cleanse it with a cotton swab and it works perfectly now. I will be keeping it out and using it until it is gone. I have a stock pile of these because I do like setting sprays but tend to forget I have them. So i want to use up what I have and then only repurchase the skincare based ones. So you will see this one for a while a I work through it.

And that my darlings is me. I feel refreshed and revived after my three day weekend. It may be a short week and I may feel crunched towards the end of it, but I really needed that mental reset. It feels really good to have that. And I think that will make this week a pretty good one. Sometimes, you just need a breather.

The Daily: February 14th, 2023

Happy Valentine’s Day my darlings. I hope you are having a fantastic one. I am afraid today is going to be a bit of a rushed post for me today. For Valentines day my babydoll booked a spa appointment for me. So I spent the morning adjusting my schedule so that I could take this afternoon off.

I love the fact that my babydoll thought of this as a gift and it is fantastic, but because it was a surprise I couldn’t plan any schedule shifts. To be honest I am not all that fond of surprises but he was so tickled that he thought of it, I just decided to enjoy it. Half of of gifting is accepting that giving you something brings other people joy when they see you are happy. And I do love the gift, that I am not complaining about at all.

I’m just not fond of surprises. I am pretty sure though his thought process was that all of the surprises last year were bad ones, wouldn’t it be nice if there was a good surprise. So I can’t fault him.

So compressed scheduling activated. The same applies to my makeup today. I went for products that I could use quickly and easily without having to think too much. Yup, it was five minute makeup time.

Today’s Look:

Primer: The Butter Primer from Beauty Balerie

Foundation: No. 7 Lift and Luminate Triple Action Serum Foundation

Bronzer: Milk Makeup Bronzing Stick (from use up box)

Blush: Axiology Color Cream in True

Setting Powder: Kim Chi Chic Beauty Puff Puff Pass Setting Powder

Eyeshadow: Charlotte Tilbury Diva Lights Quad eyeshadow palette

Mascara: Anastasia Beverly Hills Lash Brag Mascara

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

I seriously chose things that just go on without any issues. This Butter primer is silky smooth and just requires a few swipes over the face and then a quick blending with the fingertips. You know I love my No. 7 Foundation. it looks so good without much effort or a lot of product. And really the key to getting this foundation to look fabulous is to apply lightly. It isn’t really a buildable formula, but it looks great with a light touch.

The Milk Makeup bronzer is one swipe across the cheeks and then a quick blend with the fingertips. The Axiology I used as blush and it took two dots per cheek and then it was blended with fingertips (I wiped my fingers off between bronzer and blush). With the Axiology though do one cheek fully before moving to the second cheek It doesn’t set up super fast, but it is easier to blend if you apply and then blend and then apply the other cheek and blend. Then go back and see if you need to build it up more.

This Quad from Charlotte Tilbury is well worth the money on days like this. There are four shadows and you just move around the quad clockwise to apply and you are done. i went light today so i only used three. If I add in the fourth it does take me a little longer to get it just right , because it is a darker shade that requires a little more work. The first three can be put on with very little effort.

The ABH Mascara is fantastic and makes it look like I actually put more of an effort in. Quick easy and fabulous. It always looks good. This is either my second or third tube and I will always replace it when it runs out.

Finally I went with the Maybelline Superstay. The point of the crayon makes a great lip liner and then I fill in with product so it looks as I intended. then I blot and it stays all day.

I know you might be wondering why i bothered with makeup today. It is because I had a short morning meeting where I needed to look presentable before I went on with my day. As far as looks go, I like this one. It also took me a total of seven minutes to apply. Which is not bad. However it is now back to work for me as I have a couple of things that really need to get done before I take off early for my surprise appointment. I have to admit while I was a bit more frantic this morning, now as I am wrapping up the last of my todo list, I am getting excited. It has been quite a while since I have had a spa visit. i am kind of looking forward to being pampered for a bit. Which is I know, part of the reason for the gift. I hope you have a fantastic Valentines Day my darlings, no matter what it is you plan to do or who you are doing it with.

The Daily: January 30th, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Today’s Look:

Primer: AOA Studios Blur Fection Primer

Foundation: HIDE Invisible medium to full coverage foundation

Bronzer: Kim Chi Chic Hello Thailor Bronzer

Blush: Benefit Cosmetics Georgia Blush

Powder: By Terry Hyaluronic Hyrdo Powder

Eyeshadow: Revolution Beauty Coraline Palette

Mascara: Uoma Salute to the Sun Mascara

Lips: Yensa Super 8 Lip Oil in Power Pink

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Daily: January 24th, 2023

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

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

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

The second computer issue has been a little less amusing.

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

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

Today’s Look

Primer: AOA Studios Blurfection Face Primer

Foundation: Yensa BC Skin on Skin Foundation

Bronzer: Viseart Bronze Noix

Blush/Highlight: Beauty Bakerie Cotton Candy Champagne Blushlighter Palette

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

Eyeshadow: Ciate London The Velvet Palette

Mascara: Milk Makeup Kush Mascara

Brows: Benefit Cosmetics Precisely My Brow

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Daily: January 4th, 2023

I don’t know if you have noticed but as soon as it goes dark and rainy in the winter it feels much colder than it actually is. The temperature hasn’t really dropped that far, but it feels so much colder than it did before the rains came yesterday. Perhaps it is the damp, perhaps it is just the lack of sun. Admittedly bright sun in the winter always makes things look a lot colder as well. Something about the quality of the winter sun makes the air feel brittle, like a thin sheet of ice ready to shatter.

Or maybe that is just me.

Today is rainy and not likely to get much brighter. I always feel vaguely out of sorts when I have to get up without the sun. I like seeing it peeping over the horizon as I get out of bed. I like the thought that if I am getting up at least the sun is having to get up too. It some how makes me feel better about mornings. Not fabulous about mornings as I will never be a morning person, but better. when I get up and the sun still stays nestled behind clouds I feel rather tricked.

Again, that is probably just me.

But with yesterday’s deluge inspiring thoughts of Ark building in the backyard and rain likely to continue throughout the day, the park is, as one would expect from a walking trail built in a flood plain, flooded. I love that they found a way to use very unusable land without doing much more than putting a path through it, but it does make my out door exercise weather dependent. However, as cold as it feels, the out door temps are not in the single digits, which means my sunroom does not feel like a frigid icebox. So I was able to get in my morning exercises without too much trouble. I really just don’t like sweating when it is cold. Unless I am walking through the world and there is a line of sweat under my knitted hat or around my writs where the gloved hold my hands tightly. My hands never get sweaty in the gloves, just the wrist area where the gloves are held tight and the coat is pulled over the end of the gloves so there is no gap of exposed skin.

Not that wrist sweat is something many people complain about. So perhaps that is just me too. I know, I am feeling just a bit out of sorts today, let’s just jump into the makeup.

Today’s Look

Primer: Stila One Step Color Correcting Primer

Foundation: Bite Beauty Changemaker (discontinued – from the Use Up Box)

Bronzer: Kim Chi Chic Beauty Thailor Bronzer

Blush: Benefit Cosmetics Georgia Golden Peach Blush

Highlight: Jazmine Beauty Coastin Highlighter

Setting Powder: Pink Haze by Becca Cosmetics (Discontinued and from the January Use up box)

Eyeshadow: Luvia Cosmetics Eyeshadow Palette

Mascara: Iconic London Triple Threat Mascara

Lipstick: Josephine Cosmetics Liquid lip In Tiphaine

I was feeling a little on the red side today. I’m also a little stuffy from the up and down weather patterns, but that is another tale. I figured that meant today was a good day for the color correcting primer. There is something appealing about the twisted ropes of color inside the tube. They look like marshmallow ropes and probably why Stila opted for a clear container to show them off. What comes out is a little grayish with green streaks. Less appealing, but it did even out my skin tone. If redness or uneven skin tone is your thing i think this could be good for you. It doesn’t do a lot to fill or blur pores (which is more my thing) but as I was red today it helped. It is a wet formula and needs a little time to dry down a bit and settle into place before you apply your other makeup. It is also a less is more product. start with a little on your reddest areas and blend out. Then apply more if you need it. It won’t blur pores no matter how much you use so just think of it in terms of color. But start with a small amount.

Bite Beauty is gone, but i love this foundation and will be using it up until it is gone. It is no longer being made so I won’t dwell on it, but it was fabulous.

The Kim Chi bronzer is a soft formula and highly pigmented so dip cautiously into that pan, especially if you are winter pale. It does blend well so it is pretty forgiving, just know it goes on highly pigmented-ly and you will do well. I like it, mostly because it does blend well and if I move cautiously I can use it for a more natural look (due to blending) but if I want something more dramatic then I can go a little deeper. The under tones in this shade really match well with my skin and for me that is what allows the shifting use. The collection has a wide enough range that I think a wide range of people can find their undertone pretty easily. I really like that I can use it light or heavy for a variety of looks. Clearly i went a bit light today, mostly due to winter.

This is actually the last Benefit blush I have in my collection It is showing signs of wear and I do want to reach for it more. Partially because I just love Benefit’s blushes, but also because I want to use it and then go with a Blush Palette from Benefit. while I adore their primers and mascaras, they do a really good blush formula. The problem though is that any blush I try tends to lean itself more to a season. I’ll use them out of season of course, but the Gold Rush Blush was amazing on my skin when I had a summer tan and just a good blush in other seasons. This Georgia tends to look amazing in the spring and just like a decent blush the rest of the year. Because of that i do want to keep multiple blushes from benefit around, I just don’t want the bixes taking up so much space, hence the blush palette. Although i do have to admit that as they released a new line of blushes I will probably end up picking up a few singles as well. What can i say, they just make a really good blush. I am just holding off until I get a bit more wear on this one.

This is my first use of anything from Jaszmine Cosmetics. It came in a Kinder Beauty Box and I just didn’t get around to trying it. Although I do know that it is a clean beauty product, which I love. The gold tones are a little on the pink toned side for this highlighter. It goes on brightly and it is buildable. It was a good first use, but i think I am going to have to try it some more to decide how I feel about it. At the moment though it is quite lovely.

I went with the Becca Setting powder because I am trying to use it up. slowly but surely it is emptying. It is good while it lasts though.

This Luvia Cosmetics Eyeshadow Palette is a Two pan palette i received in an advent calendar this year. It is a clean and vegan beauty product and as I love the highlighter they make I was excited to try out the eyeshadow. This has one brown matte and one gold shimmer in it. The shadows are billed as highly pigmented and boy are they not kidding. Exercise caution my darlings. One dip with each shade was enough for my eyes and I spent the rest of the time with a clean brush blending everything in. Interestingly Where the gold overlaps the brown it goes to my favorite bronzy gold. Where it isn’t over the brown it is a reddish rose gold color. There really are just two shades on my eyes but the shift makes it look a bit like three.

The matte and shimmer worked well together, but as there was only one matte and one shimmer I don’t know how well they play together in a full palette. These two layered well and blended decently but not fabulously well. The brown is just so highly pigmented that it just wants to be what it is. i will still play around with it, but I think this would be an interesting formula to try in a lighter shade.

the Iconic London triple threat mascara lengthens well. Everything else is just okay, which I guess makes it a single threat instead of a triple one. i will use it and enjoy it, but it wont be one I repurchase.

I put this in my use up box this month not because i wanted to use it up but because i couldn’t remember using it. I kept getting it out when i did my lipstick declutters, swatching it and loving the red but never remembering to use it. So I figured if it was in the box I would remember to use it. I am actually quite impressed with this. It is a bright red and I love the tones. Reds can also get messy in liquid form, but this is helped by the well defined point on the end of the wand. It allowed me to outline my lips and then fill them in. The lipstick doesn’t dry down all the way so there is a shadow of a lip print once it ‘dries’ but it is really just a shadow. There aren’t trails of red lipstick all over my coffee cup and water glass. The fact that it doesn’t dry down all the way makes it very comfortable to wear. I am actually really enjoying the formula if I am honest. I am very glad it is in my January Use box and i will be reaching for it often as I move forward.

And that my darlings is me today. I kind of like the way things turned out, even if my brain feels a little bent today. And i will admit, the bold red lip did make me feel just a little bit better. And so this is where I leave you. Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday and I hope you find all of the balance you need, red lip or not.

The Daily: December 21st, 2022

You know, it is at this time of year that I realize why we put parties on Friday and Saturday nights. Or maybe it is because i am used to parties on Friday and Saturday nights that I just feel the day after a party should involve no work. I know why they chose a Tuesday, no one else claimed it and it was a neighborhood thing where everyone could walk. It was nice. And i had a lot of fun. Last night’s signature drink involved Honey Bourbon. Which i happen to like. However they decided to add a little extra honey to the drink to really reinforce the honey bourbon idea. Which was less delightful. It was an interesting drink though and the hostess was happy to point out there was no refined sugar in it.

I drank about half and did my best not to dive head first into the veg dip. They may try and fail at the drink mixes but they always hit a home run with the dips. There is one dip they make that I know contains nothing good for me in it. it is so delicious I don’t care. When ever i get there I have to identify which table it is on and make sure I don’t get into a conversation while standing within easy reach of it because I will not resist. It is one of those that i need to take a small bit on a plate and then walk to the other side of the room e to enjoy, staying on the other side of the room for the rest of the party.

it is the dip everyone wants to ask about but no one will because we all know we shouldn’t be eating it. I won’t even ask her the name because I know if i have the name I will try looking it up on line and I do not need to know that recipe.

As the walking trail has finally dried out a bit i am just going to do an extra lap for the amount of dip I consumed last night and just call it good. I may have had a hard time getting started today because it feels like it should be a weekend, but over all I am still chugging away at the last of my to do list. My plan is to finish as much as possible so that tomorrow will be all travel prep. I don’t know if i can pull it off, But I am sure going to try

Today’s Look:

Primer: Dr. Brant Pores No More Luminizer Primer

Foundation: AOA Prowear Foundation

Bronzer: Kimchi Chic Beauty Thailor Bronzer

Blush: Ciate London Marbled Light Blush

Setting Powder: Beauty Bakerie Flour in Oat

Eye Shadow: Tresluce Midnight Deseos

Mascara: They’re Real Magnet Extreme Lengthening Mascara

Lips: About Face Lip Paint

Okay today the Dr. Brant Really looked good underneath the AOA Foundation. A good primer can really help a foundation out and this one did. The foundation I picked up on the Shop Miss A site a while back (for a $1, what else) and I had to try it. The thing is I picked this one up in the summer and it is clearly a winter shade for me. I actually like the way it looks on my skin. It blended well, but I did have to remember to use it sparingly. A little goes a long way. it is also a thicker foundation than I am used to. it isn’t heavy but it isn;t weightless either. I did notice that after mid day it did start to sink into my fine lines. I am going to try this with a pore filling primer at some point and see if that helps make it last longer because it was pretty enough to see if i can get some longer wear out of it.

I remembered not to go too heavy on the bronzer today and I think it looked nice. it is a great formula and as long as you remember it is also highly pigmented it works well, blends well and lasts a long time. I also love this blush. I have a coupkle of samples from a different blush from Ciate and I have been trying to use them but I don’t like them as much. With Ciate it is hit or miss for me. This marbled blush is a hit while I am not head over heels for their other blushes that I have tried. This one is a winner though. It is a soft, light look that I really enjoy.

Tresluce again today, although i think I may put it aside for a while after this. Partially because I have tried all of the shadows and want to try them again with a lid primer and partially because I realized I have a stack of eyeshadow palettes that came in over the past few months that i have yet to try out and I want to try them out. I sent for the light pink and the gold shimmer today. The pink worked well but the gold dragged when I tried to blend it. Hence the reasoning behind trying this palette again with a lid primer. I went pretty soft because I know I was going for this lip paint from About face.

I love this color but I have some issues with the product. I can not get it to apply evenly. I always end up with a darker spot where I touch town with the want and if I pause in the application then there is another darker spot. i know it is hard to notice if you aren’t up close but it bothers me. It dries fast and lasts a while, but it is really hard to correct if you make a mistake. I don’t have a lip liner to match this or I would certainly use it. With this lip paint you have to focus when applying it because it does dry so fast and any mistakes are there to stay. I just love this color so much though and so I am going to have to practice more. one thing though unless your lips are perfectly symmetrical, which mine aren’t, don’t rub them together after applying. Bite down on something to blot and settle the product on your lips. Any other way and you will make a bit of a mess.

And that my darlings is me today. I should have reached for the concealer to take down those dark circles but I didn’t. Such is life. Everything else I am pretty pleased by. The eye look wasn’t my favorite but it was the last shadow i hadn’t tried in the palette. But now, I am buckling down and doing my best to finish the last of my work week so tomorrow will be a good day. I think I can do it. I wish you luck if you are trying the same.

The Daily: December 19th, 2022

It’s Monday my darlings on the last week before Christmas. I don’t know about you but I always hit this week thinking I hae everything ready to go for Christmas and then find a bag of small items i forgot to wrap. You know the things you wrap only because you have to pack your presents. Usually they get dropped into stockings but as the people whose stockings you are stuffing might actually see you do it, you wrap them so its still a surprise. Stockings are always the tricky ones. You wait until the kids are asleep but as the other adults are moving around they often see you put things out. So you end up finding your self wrapping small and oddly shaped items so no one can see.

Actually some of them I wrap with cardboard cur from old subscription boxes so the shape f the thing I am wrapping doesn’t give it away.

As per usual I found the last bag this morning when I went to look in the closet. I also found that I am out of tape. So there will be a run to puck up more tape and then tonight there will be a wrapping of tiny items while watching after dinner television. I know Paramount+ just put up a whole bunch of new things. I’m sure there will be something on to watch.

with that it will be the last of the wrapping. If anything else comes in after, I will pick up a gift bag. Mostly because I am also almost at the end of my wrapping paper and while what I have will get me through the bag I have left, it won’t last much beyond that and I don’t want to pick up a new roll of paper just for one item. I will make it a spectacular gift bag though so my mom can say “oh,” and add it to he collection to be used again.

but I don’t think there will be any more items showing up. It just feels like there ought to be because most of the things i ordered have already been sent on. At Thanksgiving we exchanged bags of presents with those who wouldn’t be making another trip at Christmas. So I have a list where half of the items are already checked off as delivered.

It still makes me think I am forgetting something.

but at this point if I have I will either remember it last second or mail it after I return from my time away. But all that is for after work. Rght now I am mostly just concentrating on getting through everything before I leave. I am fairly certain my to do list multiplied over the weekend. Maybe someone fed it after midnight.

Today’s Look:

Primer: Dr. Brant Pores No More Luminizer Primer

Foundation: Anastasia Beverly Hills Stick Foundation

Bronzer: Kimchi Chic Beauty Thailor Bronzer

Blush/highlighter: IBY Sunkissed blush

Setting Powder: Beauty Bakerie Flour in Oat

Eye Shadow: Tresluce Midnight Deseos

Mascara: They’re Real Magnet Extreme Lengthening Mascara

Lips: Anastasia Beverly Hills Matte Lipstick in Rum Punch

Have you ever reached for a product that you know you like and found out that it is no longer as good as it was because you kept it too long? Yeah. I loved this ABH foundation stick. It was creamy and looked fantastic on. I have just a little bit left in the stick and I though surly I can finish this up. I actually planned to put it in my New Use up Box for January. It isn’t going to make it to January. this was it’s last use. It was a bit on the dry side. I did put a little bit of the Wander Beauty Glow Oil on it and let it sit for a minute and then wiped off what didn’t sink in. The results were fine. i like how it looks. But I don’t think the trick is going to work again. mostly because there is just not that much product in the tube. So it is is going to dry out faster. And while it isn’t expired and i didn’t have any issues putting it on my face I think the expiration date is approaching. And so away it goes.

You know, i had planned to use up several products this December but I am really checking them off the list. I know it is because I started with the products that were closest to being done, but still it feels like i am making progress on the whole using up the older makeup list.

After using up the super mattifying primer I could really see the glow in the Dr. Brandt. I liked it. And the foundation was matte so it wasn’t too much, even with the glow oil. It is a really good primer that probably helped out more than usual with the slightly dry foundation.

I forgot how intensely pigmented the Kim Chi bronzer is. I had to go back and do some correcting. it is a soft and easily buildable formula but it is very pigmented and easy to get carried away with. Once you remember that it is easy to work with. Just tread lightly with your application. I still haven’t made up my mind about this IBY Blush. It looks nice but i had to go in a couple of times with it. the pigment is strong but once you start to blend it fades back a lot. I think it might work better with a bb cream rather than a full foundation.

Once again, I went in with the Tresluce palette. Today I used the black over one of the reddish shades and the one shimmer that is more shimmer than metallic foil. I liked everything but the black shadow. You can clearly see where I put my brush down on the lid. I intended to then blend it out but the shadow was having none of that. it was where it was put and it saw no reason to move. So I sort of have a stamp of black at the edge of my eye and that is it. i was able to put a little more pigment on the rest of the lid by brushing over the lid lightly without an official touch down, but that first touch wasn’t going anywhere. I will be trying this palette with a lid primer because I think it needs one but I wasn’t thrilled with that black shadow. I do like the shimmer shade though. It applied well with a dry brush and it worked really well with the mattes in the palette that I chose for today. It was just the black shadow that wasn’t in the mood to play.

As always I adore the They’re real mascara and I love the ABH Matte Lipstick formula. It is creamy and not drying and once it settles in it lasts for a while. And this is one of my favorite shades. I do love the darker berry tones. And so we are off on our Monday on the race to get everything done before we load the car on Friday. Wish me luck!

The Daily: October 27th, 2022

Good afternoon my darlings. Today has been a very interesting day for me. And you may notice that this post is going up just a little bit early. while in my working life I do a lot of copywriting and editing and a lot of non-fiction writing, my love is writing fiction. And sometimes a story grabs me unexpectedly.

I woke up this morning with plot bunnies dancing in my eyes. There is a story I have been thinking about off and on for a while but this morning when i woke up, several things just snapped into place (hence the chorus of plot bunnies). I woke up before my alarm and grabbed a pen and notebook from the night stand and started writing until the alarm did go off.

Then I had to accept that I had work to do. So I shortened all of my morning routines and dove into it hoping to clear off all of it to give myself time to write. I just finished the last of what has to get done today and I am posting this early. As soon as it is posted I will go on a short walk to shift my brain out of work mode (and to get at least a little exercise in) and then I will sip on a cup of soup for lunch while I spend the rest of the afternoon writing. So without further delay, let us jump into today’s look.

(I will say the foundation is a little off because I am testing a foundation from a sample pack with several shades and while I use the blister that was my shade I still have questions about the foundation so I am using the ones that aren’t exactly my shade. since my time out of doors today involves only a quick walk, I am not too worried by the discrepancy but I know it may bother some of you. I know this is not my shade and that my face doesn’t match my neck. I apologize for those of you that this really bugs.)

Today’s Look

Primer: Huda Beauty Complexion Perfection Pre Makeup Base

Foundation: Beauty Blender Bounce Liquid Whip Long Wear foundation

Bronzer: Trestique Stick Bronzer

Blush: Bare Minerals Bounce and Blur Blush

Eyeshadow: Fall Edit Palette by Estate Cosmetics

Mascara: Fenty Beauty Full Frontal Mascara

Powder: Kim Chi Chic Beauty Puff Puff Pass Setting Powder

Lips: Anastasia Beverly Hills Matte Lipstick

Today I took the Huda Beauty Primer out of my makeup drawer and found that the tube is mostly empty. It is a decent product but not one of my favorites. It works well at blurring out the pores but not so well with helping out the fine lines. I won’t spend too much time discussing it because it is discontinued and now only available on Amazon and other second sale sites (at least I couldn’t find it on Huda Beauty’s website or Sephoras). I might try using this up in the next few days, but I will then be letting it go.

Today I am using an off color of foundation. The reason is that once i finish my work and start writing I will probably end up with a longer than normal day. When I really get stuck into a story I tend to loose track of time, and tonight is a left overs night as we clear out the fridge before Friday’s big meal and weekend grocery shopping. So dinner won’t take more time than reheating and eating and then I will more or less get back to writing, leaving my babydoll to his own devices for the evening. A lot of nights I take my makeup off just after dinner to let my skin breathe on it’s own before my nightly skincare routine starts. Sometimes there is an evening mask as well. Tonight, none of that will be happening. As this is a long wear foundation this will give me a better idea of how it performs when worn longer than i usually wear my makeup.

Hence the wrong shade for the day.

If it bothers you just repeat the phrase – Its for testing purposes. And know that while I adjusted the camera angle so the change between face and neck isn’t so startling, when I see myself in the mirror when I go to the bathroom I have to live with the full on startling difference for the day. It is much more apparent head on.

I did use the Kim Chi Setting powder as it has a slight tint to it. Today was not the day to add stark white setting powder. I do love this powder. I also love the powder puff which is actually usable and not just a thin piece of foam on the top of the powder.

The bronzer and blush are my quick and easy go tos for face products when I don’t want to spend a lot of time. The bronzer is just a quick swipe and blend. The blush I was worried would be too dark as it is a deeper tone, however instead of applying with my finger and then blending, i just tapped the makeup sponge into the pan and then applied that way. the darker shade toned down and as always the bareMinerals came out looking well.

I was feeling a little fall so I picked up the Fall Edit from Estate cosmetics. The shadows are a little bit powdery and have some fall out. I had to double tap the brushes to avoid fall out, but the shadows do blend beautifully and I really like the fall look that came out of this palette. I will be testing it next week as well so we will see i it is just the one look I create slight variations of or if there is more to this palette. For today I liked it and I paired it with my fave fall lipstick. It is the ABH in Dead Roses. The shade has been discontinued but the formula remains. It is a very comfortable formula to wear. As this has been discontinued I will wear it this fall as my daily use as much as possible. The lipstick is really worn down and I think I can use it up and send it on it’s way. I do have several nudes but i like the thought of using up a lipstick completely. It doesn’t happen often with me as I rotate products and my weakness for lip products means there are always plenty to choose from. This is no hardship to wear though and I have no problem keeping it as frequent to the daily.

And so that is me today my darlings. Necessary work complete and stories dancing in my head. Well one story where separate pieces finally clicked together. And so I am posting early, taking a short walk and sipping my lunch time soup while I get to work on pulling the story out of my brain. It wasn’t what I planned for the day, but no one plans for a plot bunny attack. I’m sure normality will resume tomorrow, but until then, have a great day.

Beyond Clean Beauty. Ogee is plant powered, vegan, gluten-free, GMO free and certified organic ingredients.

The Daily: October 18th, 2022

Today my darlings we had out first frost. I woke up this morning and it was 31 degrees. That’s right, it was the first time we dipped below freezing. Last night was a mad rush to get anything that remained in the garden in. There wasn’t much after this weekend’s harvest extravaganza. Mostly it was just a few paprika peppers that we were hoping would get just a little more color on them. They didn’t and are now ripening in a paper bag on the counter. Then they will be dried with their compatriots.

Today’s high is only predicted to be around 44. Considering we were in the eighties only last week it just seems like madness. It is actually appropriate for the time of year. Our first frost usually coincides with the beginning of October. It was the 80 degree days that seem strange.

And despite it being in the later part of October, I still haven’t gotten out any of my cold weather clothes. I have a few long sleeve t-shirts out and the kind of sweaters you wear in the summertime when you know someone’s office is going to be overly chilled. This week in the evenings I am going to be doing a slow purge of all of the summer clothes that gave their all in the heat of this year’s summer blast furnace and won’t be able to put in another year’s service.

My goal is to have them removed from the closet so I can spend this upcoming weekend taking out the cold weather clothing. It is kind of a big deal because limited storage means that i have to take the winter clothes out before i pack away the summer ones. And that shuffle is just a little too much to do in one evening. So I will just clear the decks before the mass cloth exchange of the weekend. At least that’s the plan.

Today’s Look:

Primer: Maybelline 4-in-1Glow Perfector

Foundation: Yensa Super Serum Silk Foundation

Bronzer: Trestique Bronzing Stick

Blush: IBY Blush in Sunkissed

Highlight: Beauty Bakerie Milk and Honey Palette

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

Shadow: AOA Palette Mars from the Orbit Series

Mascara: Patrick Ta Major Volume Mascara

Lips: Anastasia Beverly hills Lipstick in Dead Roses Matte Lipstick

With the Maybelline, the more I use it the more I think, it’s just okay. For me it is too glowy to use as just a foundation. It makes me look too oily. It looks great under a matte foundation and gives the foundation more depth, but I have very few straight up matte foundations in my collection these days. And I have several hydrating primers that do a better job with pore blurring as well as adding glow. I can see why this is a popular product, but after a week of use, I have to say I like it, but i am not in love with it.

I am however liking this Yensa foundation even more. I really think it was a time of year. I first tried it when the weather was turning and warming up into the season of BB creams. Now that the heat has faded and I am wearing more foundations, I am really liking the way this foundation looks. It does need a pore filling primer though. I noticed no problems yesterday when i wore this foundation with the Tatcha primer, but today with just the Maybelline I can see it start to sink into the lines around my mouth. It is still holding firm around my eyes, it is just my mouth. (I have been on the phone a lot this morning so there was much talking which is why it may be concentrated around my mouth). I did a lot of talking yesterday though and didn’t have this issue so I really think it is the lack of proper pore filling primer.

I love this bronzer stick. It glides on smoothly, doesn’t pull up my foundation and blends easily. I also love that the stick shape lets me direct where i want the bronzer. It is a long time favorite. I also love that it is a refillable container so there is significantly less waste involved. And actually I am almost at the end of this stick and will soon need to order a refill. It is on my Black Friday sales list actually.

I found this IBY beauty in the drawer when i rearranged things over the weekend and I couldn’t remember using it. It had clearly been used and since I am the only one who uses my makeup it was me that used it. I don’t think we were invaded by blush loving gnome thieves intent on pre garden beatification (my neighbor has a legion of lawn gnomes she puts out in late may and leaves in the yard until the first frost. She took them in over the weekend. Somehow they all seem to be arranged to look at our house which makes me wonder about them…)

But I couldn’t remember anything about the blush or whether I wanted to declutter it or not, so I decided to try it. I really liked the way it performed actually. It was a bit pigmented going on but blended really well. I think I am going to have to keep this around for a while to keep trying.

not only did i remember highlighter today but I did not automatically go for the gold tinted highlighter in this palette. That’s right I went for the pink one and I really like it. It gave me enough shine without being glittery and blended out nicely so it wasn’t a stripe of pink toned light. I really enjoyed it. Actually i do like this highlighter palette in general. I don’t reach for it a lot simply because it is too big to stand up in the drawer where I keep my face palettes so I have to lay it down and then forget it is there. Things like this are one of the reasons I am constantly reorganizing. I am trying to find the best place to put things so that the products I like can be easily found. that and I am trying to rotate the mostly used up products to the front so I can finish them and clear them out. At this time of year I always get the urge to use up items. maybe it is the feeling of wanting a fresh start to the new year. Either way I liked this palette and want to use it more.

I really enjoy the Kim Chi setting powder. It sets well without looking powdery, comes with a beautiful and usable powder puff and even though it is translucent it has enough of a tint that it blends really well with my skin. It is a really good setting powder. Admittedly I do tend to get rid of any setting powder that doesn’t work for me so the fact that it is still here says a lot. Pretty fades, but it it works it can stay.

this is the third of the four shadow Quads in the orbit series and I’ll admit, Mars didn’t thrill me when i looked at it but I love the look that came out o it. Oddly enough i loved the silver of Neptune and it made a bit of a mess. this one worked beautifully. I do wish the darker brown was a bit more matte, but that is only a minor consideration. I think it looked good when I finished (and I don’t always think that about my eyeshadow). It is a bot powdery so if you tap the brush you are fine and there is no fall out. The shadows applied well and blended easily. And this look was super quick to put together. This is not a bad palette to have around simply to grab when the mornings are rushed. I really enjoyed this one.

Again I used the Patrick Ta Mascara. Again I found it lengthened well and didn’t do much for volume. But it is a good every day mascara and as I wasn’t doing anything too dramatic it worked well with today’s shadows. The tube is starting to get that hollow sound so I will probably keep it out until it is used up. I’m betting it might be done by the end of the week. I like this but i don’t know if I would repurchase it. I had to use several coats for my lashes and so it ran out fairly quickly and still only gave me, this is okay vibes. Which I could get for much less from a drug store mascara. And actually it is kind of out performed b several drug store mascaras. So it is a mascara I don’t have a problem using but probably wouldn’t pick up again.

And finally we have the lipstick. Today I am wearing Dead Roses by ABH. I love this formula. It is creamy without being drying and feels very comfortable to wear. The link above is for the general matte lipstick page for the brand. I also love this color. My problem is finding this color again. I have worn this color down and wen I pulled this out it fell into my use up and repurchase list. the problem is that I can’t find the color anywhere. I think it may be discontinued which is so annoying. I would wear this color most days. It is one of my favorites and it is a really comfortable formula. i will keep wearing it and using it up because saving it is pointless as it will eventually go bad. But I will be keeping my eye out for this lipstick.

And that my darlings is today’s look. I feel pretty good today. I know i just tied my hair up and got it out of the way, but I am very pleased with how my makeup turned out. So that is something, even if it is just me working at the desk alone all day. I know I am happy and that is what counts.

Why Hello Thailor

This Kim Chi Chic Beauty Thailor Bronzer (shade I went to Venice) is the second makeup item that I have tried from the Kim Chi Beauty Brand. The First is the puff Puff Pass Setting powder and that I absolutely love. The powder is nice and the powder puff that comes with it fantastic.

This Thailor bronzer comes in a plastic heart. While it is cute, I wish it were a little less puffy of a heart as it does take up a little more space. But that is a minor complaint. The magnet on the package is really strong so I don’t worry about it accidentally coming open. And the mirror is a good usable size inside the heart shaped compact.

There are eight different shades. I am actually quite pleased with this one actually. It is a soft buttery formula in the pan. It did have an impression on the product, but use has already worn it away. Because of the soft formula, I expect it will be one of those products that does get used up pretty easily. I still think it will last a while, because there is a lot of it, but I think the wear will be noticeable because it is a soft formula.

which I don’t actually mind. I would much rather have a good product that I can use up than a product that I keep long enough to go bad in the case.

It is highly pigmented. One quick swipe through the powder was all that I needed to do in order to collect enough product on the brush (because it is such a soft formula you do not need to press down to gather, just swipe across the top. – there may be an over spray that wears off on the first use or two as it gets much more pigmented after the first couple of uses.)

I found myself using a light hand when i applied the bronzer because it is very easy to get a deep streak with this product. I know some people really like the dramatic contour line. Personally I like a more natural look in my day to day life. I do like the bronzer to make my cheekbones look a little more prominent and by extension less rounded by fat.

What I really liked about this formula was that it is very bendable. if you find yourself putting up a dark line that is a little too harsh on your face, it is easy to soften the edges and blend it out.

However this bendability does come with the soft formula and that soft formula is probably also the reason that this tends to fade out a little bit towards the end of the ay. As I tend to go soft and subtle with my bronzer, it is not as noticeable a fade.

If you are going for a dramatic look, the drama may fade a bit after about five hours. So plan accordinly.

Personally I really like this bronzer. Because I do lean into subtle, I use less product, One swipe of the brush is all i need for each cheek. I love the bendability. I also sort of like the restraint of having to start with a light touch. It helps me get my cheeks even. I go in lightly with the brush to make sur they are where I want them to be and then I used the same brush to darken with the product still on the brush. and then I blend. It works for me, as does this Thailor Bronzer by Kim Chi Chic Beauty. I would 100% purchase this again.