lauramerciaer – Ms. Mimsy Reviews

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 Daytime Line Up

While I have been a bit so so about the cleanser I have to say this week it sort of came into it’s own. With the increased humidity I have ended up washing my face more than usual. I try to usually stick with the morning and evening routine, but this week I was sweaty and nasty a couple of times mid day and had to roll the cleanser out because I simply felt gross. I was able to use this gentle cleanser with out stripping my skin, so I am quite pleased with it.

The Time Revolution Essence I still love. It does a great job of opening up the pores to get them ready for the rest of the skincare. It is used one spare drop at a time, more simply isn’t needed. It is not yet low enough that i am risking having more product come out than I need but i suspect in the next week I will have to start watching that. Because of the way the regulator is placed when there is less product, upending the bottle to dispense lets the product hit the distributer with more force so more product comes out. it has happened with all my essences regardless of brand. The trick is to remember to tilt it slowly instead of just upending it over the palm of your hand.

My one new product in this week’s line up is a sample sized serum. I am going to try to roll through some of my sample serums to clear out out some space in the drawer and this one has been hanging around a while. The problem is that it was only about half full when i unsealed it from it’s plastic at the beginning of the week. Now I’ve used some of it and I don’t think it will make it through a second week. I won’t be using it long enough to decide it it has any use to it because of the lack of product. The serum has no scent to it. It absorbs well and doesn’t leave the skin greasy. It has hyaluronic acid in it, which is a good ingredient, but given the time i’ve had with it I can’t tell if it has enough to have an effect. I do like the way it feels enough to consider giving it another try with a full size though.

The Sunday Riley eye cream I am absolutely loving though. It absorbs well without leaving my skin greasy or clogging pores and I am starting to see a reduction in the fine lines by my eyes as it plumps the skin.

The Embryolisse is a great moisturizer and perfectly weighted for this time of year. It isn’t too heavy and it moisturizes well. We are nearing the end of the thirty day tril though so next week there will be a full review and I will be rolling the third moisturizer in the lait Creme line into the skincare rotation. I’m hoping it proves to be a summer weight product but i will have to wait and see for that.

And Sunscreen is a must. It is a must year round but as I spend more time outside in this weather it is doubly important. The Sunday Riley is doing well. Once the cream warms up to skin temps the white cast disappears. It does leave me looking very shiny for about twenty minutes after application but after that it is fine. I’ve had no problems with it and am happy to continue using it.

The Night time line up

The Nighttime Line Up

The Yensa Cleansing oil s great for the general makeup removing as well as washing my face, however when it gets in my eyes it tends to cloud my contacts a bit. So I brought in the Laura Mercier to take off my eye makeup. Thus far I haven’t had any problems with it. The eye makeup remover is a good product with no scent, you just have to remember to shake it up before using it as the oils tend to separate. Is it my favorite eye makeup remover? No. It takes a bit more effort to get mascara off than I’d perhaps like. It is good enough to use, but I’m not sure I’d repurchase it.

The other new product in my line up is the Sonage serum. Again it has only been a week with this serum so i haven’t seen any effects yet. It has a scent that somewhat reminds me of rosemary but in a more industrial skincare kind of way, if that makes sense. It is a potent scent, but it fades fairly quickly. It does leave the skin sticky. I was not expecting that but it is very sticky. The stick factor isn’t a problem as I apply moisturizer over serums and that took away all of the stickiness, but it is sticky enough to warrant notice. This is one of those products that I am going to have to wait and see in order to pass judgement. I’m not a huge fan of the scent or of the stickiness even though both could be excused it the product works well. I just need to use it more to figure out if it works well. If it works well and plumps my lines and rejuvenates my face i will forgive the scent and the stickiness. Only time will tell on that one.

One of these things is not like the others.

The Others

And finally we come to the Alpha H. Used every other day I am really liking this exfoliating toner. My skin feels clear and clean after using it. At the same time, I am only using it three times a week. I would not want to use it more than that. Three times is plenty, more would be overdoing it. But it is a fantastic item in my line up. It tingled and was a little stinging the first couple of times I used it, but that faded quickly and I haven’t had anything but good skin since. I am pleased to use it and pleased to have a second bottle waiting in the wings. Truthfully once i finish this bottle I’m just going to roll in the second one unless there is something else I nee to test out. I would happily award this a permanent spot in my routine.