The Daily: December 14th, 2022

Ah the Best of Lists have started. I always love this time of year. I think part of it is that the items I get to talk about have all passed the test and are good ones. There is no quibbling about the various applications. They are all good products, otherwise they wouldn’t have made the list. I always prefer to say nice things about a product. I always feel slightly bad about talking bad about one too actually. I know that when I complain about a product the company isn’t reading it and crying into their pillow about it. But I still feel bad. I won’t lie and say it is good when it isn’t to spare their mythological feelings, but I still feel bad.

But with the best of lists, I don’t have to feel bad at all. I just get to talk about the good products.

I know, I’m a bit of a dork but it makes me happy.

Plus because I am holding off my reviews of the products I am trying now until after the best of lists are done, I can just enjoy trying some of the products that are here. I can play around with them more and then later think about reviewing them and doing the standard tests I do with them. For now it is just fun. I can also use up products that it is time to let go of as well. So let’s see how today turned out.

Today’s Look:

Primer: Glamglow Supermatify Primer

Foundation: Yensa skin on skin BC full coverage Foundation

Bronzer: Ace Beaute Bronzed in Paradise Palette

Blush/highlighter: Natasha Denona Cupid Cheek Duo

Setting Powder: Beauty Bakerie Flour in Oat

Eye Shadow: Tresluce Midnight Deseos

Mascara: Tarte Light Camera Lashes Mascara

Lips: RMS Lip Balm

Today I went a little low key with my look. I am mostly sitting at my desk today. Usually that means ‘try out the glitter’ but I just wasn’t feeling the glitter today so i went for a more everyday look. I am still using up the last of the primer and tomorrow should be it’s last day. It is fantastic but only available on amazon if you are looking for it. It is great at oil control and matifying and was especially fabulous in the summertime for me.

I haven’t used the Yensa in a while as I am trying to rotate through but I love this foundation. It is just a beautiful product. easy to use, looks great and lasts all day. Every time I come back to it i just love it more. I know it made my favorites list this year but it may actually be my top favorite. Just don’t tell the other foundations.

I haven’t reached for the Ace Beaute bronzer palette in a while. I tend to forget about it. It is a good palette with many lovely shades. It comes on pretty pigmented and blends out well. i always use a light touch. I can wear it more in the summertime as even when I am fully tan the second lightest shade is my shade. Now I have to use the lightest shade and be delicate in my touch. It isn;t the shade rage that has me bypassing it though. It works well enough and looks goo but after about half a day it usually fades away on me.

The Natasha Denona Cupid dup was I think a limited edition. The brand still has cheek duos just not this one. I have other cream blushes from ND that I like more than this one. Other highlighters too. This one is nice enough once it gets warmed up but it isn’t my favorite. I may actually put it in my to be used box to reach for it more just to use it. It is one of those okay to use but wouldn’t repurchase products.

As always Love the Beauty Bakerie setting powder, especially with cream products.

Today I used one of the lighter shades from the Tresluce palette. It was a one and done look and it worked pretty well. It is darker where i put my brush down and lighter everywhere else. I had to dip into the pan several times though. I am not using an eyelid primer because in my every day life I just don’t use them. There are some shadow palettes that need them and while I keep a couple of them around, like the lid primers I don’t use them much. I will when I go to actually test and review this palette try it with the lid primer but a I am just playing around with it now, I am not using one. This is the third day I’ve used this palette though and it is a bit uneven. Some of the shadows blend really well across the lid and with each other, others not so much. Once this shadow was in place, I really liked it. It is just not a dip in the pan once and swipe across the lid sort of shade. Which is fine, it is just something to note when using this palette.

I really like this tart mascara for lengthening. It can give a bit of a spidery look to the lashes because it lengthens without thickening, which I don’t care for. I use a lash comb to make them look a little less spidery.

This RMS Lip balm is one of my favorite lip balms I wore one down to a nub and then when another one came in a Glossy box I was very excited. Except that it was broken when it arrived. (They compensated me for it, but they couldn’t send out a replacement) So I ordered a new one on my own, because it is just a really good formula. And there was a sale on at the time, I ordered on Dermstore and technically I was ordering other products, saw they had this and added it to the cart, but you get the idea.)

And that my darlings is me today. Not too dramatic but just right for a mid week working at my desk. And the sun was actually out so i could take the pictures in natural light. Which always makes me happy. makeup can just look so different in artificial light. Anyway it is back to work for me. Have a great wednsday!

The Daily: December 12th, 2022

This morning I woke up feeling like the end of the year was just steamrolling towards me. I know, I am anxious for this year to finally be over and done with. I am so ready to just turn the page. At the same time I have a long list of things that needs to get done not only before the end of the year but before I take off for Christmas. I’m leaving late, but staying a few extra days after to help with the putting away of everything. As my Mom is now working with one hand she needs someone to take down the tree and put things away. we got everything out while we were down over Thanksgiving and even though she likes to extend her holiday tree time she wants us to take it down before we leave.

I think part of that is practicality, but part of it is also this bad year. My brother died in May and this is the first Christmas without him which is hard in general but because his Birthday was December 29th Christmas and his birthday were always so intertwined that we all just want to skate through it this year. I admit it has been one of the years where the festive cheer is a little low, but family is all the more treasured.

This week starts the first of the holiday parties. Well actually the first was on Friday. It was fantastic. I indulged a little but before I left home I had a big bowl of minestrone soup (and then brushed my teeth before walking out of the door so I didn’t blast anyone with minestrone breath).Having the relatively low calorie but incredibly filling soup in me meant that I could take a few of the items that I wanted to taste without eating a lot of the highly caloric foods at the party because I was hungry. It meant that I got the treat without completely torpedoing myself with calories.

I know, it sounds like a strange consideration because you want to partake of all of the holiday delights but I sat down with myself and thought about it and there were only a few items that I really enjoy eating and a bunch of things I eat simply because they are there and because I don’t want to be the person who takes all of anything so if I am hungry I tend to graze, taking one or two things from each tray rather than just focus on my favorites. With a bowl of soup in me, I can take one of each of my favorites without the grazing on things i don’t particularly want, maybe even indulging in a second item I really enjoy.

As most of the gatherings I am going to this year have the patter style grazing so that people can move openly in a relatively large space, this is a trick that really helps me out. And why I now have soups ready to go for the week. I don’t know what sort of holiday gatherings you are going to this year, but if you are trying to watch what you eat, I highly suggest going for a soup that feels hearty and filling. This is not the time for a light consume. This is actually the time for mushrooms to shine in my opinion. They give a depth to soup, but you also have to chew them so both flavor and texture wise it feels like you are consuming more than you actually are. Just stick to the broth based mushroom soups rather than the cream ones if you are looking to cut those calories while still getting that satisfied belly.

Just my holiday dieting survival tip.

Today’s Look

Primer: Glam Glow Supermatify Primer

Foundation: Kristopher Buckle Triplicity Foundation

Bronzer: Iconic London Precision Duo Contour Pot

Blush: Tarte Cream blush Breezy in Pink Sky

Setting Powder: Beauty Bakerie Flour in Oat

Eyeshadow: Tresluce Palette in Midnight Deseos

Lipstick: Guerlain Black Red Lipstick

This is the last week of this primer. By the end of the week it will be no more. The primer is a good one, but it has been discontinued and so I will use it and even though the refills are still available, I will let it go. It is a really good product though so the temptation to pick it up on amazon is strong. But I will resist.

As for the foundation stick. It too was fabulous. It too is discontinued. Amazon still has it but the brand has gone under. I loved this stick and have been trying to use up the last of it. Today was the last day of use. It is now off to the land of empties and as good as it was, it will not be returning. Let’s all have a moment of silence. Thank you.

Moving on. The Iconic London Contour pot. Love the powder, hate the cream. I have tried and while I will break it out in a review with pictures, the cream just doesn’t work right for me. I do love the powder though and the size makes it perfect for travel. I think after the review is posted I will forget the cream exists and just use the powder. For now I feel compelled to keep giving it a try to see if I can make it work. It didn’t today and I had to take it off, redo the foundation and then use the powder. At least the foundation touch up used the very last dregs of the foundation so I feel even better about letting it go.

This blush I haven’t used enough to know if I like it or not. It needs to be warmed up before it can apply right and when I tried applying it with a finger tip it blended away pretty quickly. After warming up I could apply it with a makeup sponge and then it worked really well. I think I will have to play with it more to really decide if i like it or if it is a cream blush i don’t want to bother with. At the moment I am kind of on the fence.

What can I say, I love this setting powder. I know, I’ll start switching them out soon as I rotate through products, but i really like this. The slight tint keeps it from looking blinding on me. and it really sets my makeup well.

I could not resist the Tresluce palette. Well more accurately speaking I couldn’t resist the gold foil shadow. I will admit that I just sort of slapped on the other colors so the gold would have something to play against. I really just wanted to see if it went on as fabulous as the finger swatch, and it did. I also made a little bit of a mess. I think these shadows will need to be applied with a damp cotton swab because they are thinner than my fingers and i have more control that way. But as messy as i was the shadow looks amazing in person. Like I gold leaf-ed my eyelid. I am so going to have to play around with that.

I was going to go for something more neutral with the lips but that gold just yelled “Grab the red lipstick!” And so I did. I went for the Guerlain because I really just love the lipstick. And because the gold felt luxe. And so does the lipstick. So it worked out.

And yes for those following along i completely forgot the mascara. I didn’t realize it until about an hour ago and then just said oops. I will survive.

And so that is me today my darlings. The light is strange on the photos as the sun is no where to be found and I used the ring light on my makeup mirror to keep the shadows from making the pictures pointless. I like to take the photos in natural light so they show the makeup in real life. But alas real light was hard to find today.

Paperwork however is easy to find. The race to the end of the year has arrived and I must join in to clear my desk before I take off. I suspect many of you are doing the same so I will leave you to it. Thanks for taking a little break with me.

For those of you looking to stock up, No7 has 60% off selected makeup items. The sale is from today until the 19th of December. The Perfect Light Pressed powder and the Lift and Luminate Serum Foundation from No 7 are staples of my makeup bag. I highly recommend both. Happy Shopping.

The Daily: November 7th, 2022

Good afternoon my darlings. I hope all is well. As for me, I am having a fantastic day, despite the rain. The rain is preventing me from going on a walk, but I did manage my indoor exercises earlier. Also I am just feeling a lot better because there was sun when I woke up.

Admittedly it wasn’t much sun, but it was light when i woke up due to the time change. I simply do not get up well in the dark unless I am rolling out of bed and quickly leaving the house. Like for an airport run or a long road trip. On a normal day, getting up when it is still dark drags at me. And the later in the season the worse I feel getting up. I suppose it is just my version of seasonal depression. My body feels cheated of sleep when I wake up in the dark.

Last week was pretty bad for me.

It is every year, but this year was bad partially because of grief. Halloween was my brother’s favorite holiday and he went at it with the sort of gusto that would shame an army of Santa’s elves. So in addition to the last week of darkness before the time change which is always physically difficult for me there was grief. Halloween on a Monday did not set me up right for the week. It was why I was a little off last week.

Grief is a funny thing. You’ll be fine for weeks, even months and then something will pop out of the shadows and sucker punch you right to the gut. He died in May so I think that this holiday season is going to have a whole lot of rough spots.

But life always moves forward. And as dancing skeletons are replaced with pumpkin pie, so do we.

And it helps that I am now waking up in the light. So shall we see what products are being used on this gray and dreary, yet kind of happy, day?

Today’s Look:

Primer: Dr. Brandt Pores No More Luminizer Primer

Foundation: Beauty Blender Bounce Liquid Whip Long Wear Foundation

Bronzer: Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer

Blush: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush

Eyeshadow: Lime Crime Venus Immortal’s Palette

Mascara: Lights Camera Lashes Mascara from Tarte

Lips: Dose of Colors Liquid lip in Stone

While I tried this for the first time last week, I actually didn’t use it over the weekend. I actually went on a cleaning spree this weekend and didn’t wear any makeup, in case you were wondering. While this does have a bit of a luminizing effect, it also is doing really well with my fine lines. Thus far I am quite pleased with it’s performance.

I tried a sample of this foundation and liked it. I was going to put it on my list to pick up later but when I looked it was half off (plus first time buyers get an additional $5 off – The deal is still going on if you are interested, just follow the link. It isn’t an affiliate link so I get nothing it is just so you can find the deal and the product). I think they are changing the packaging. I can see why because after a first use it is already starting to get a little messy. I do like the formula though and so far it is not doing too much settling into the fine lines. I’ll have to test it with other primers but it is working well with the Dr. Brandt.

The milk makeup bronzer is working well. i warmed it with my hand before use, and it applied well. It blends well also so I am quite pleased with it. Mine is a sample size so I am probably going to keep using it for a while as I think it may dry out and there isn’t a lot of product. As long as it works, I’ll use it.

With the blush I really like the formula, but I think this is the sort of pink tone that would go well with my skin when it is a little more pale and I am only using a tinted moisturizer as my foundation. It is a very light natural sort of pink. I think with foundation, I need a deeper tone. It is a good product though.

Today i again used the immortals palette, which I really like. I went for the brown and the gray and then dusted the glitter white . The white I started in just the inner corner but didn’t tap enough off the bruish so it spread. While the white tone remained in the corners it had a nice glittery effect on the rest of the shadow which i really like. It isn’t a lot of glitter, just a touch and I think it will be fun to play around with. All in all I am really liking this palette.

this is my favorite Tarte mascara. Tarte is not my favorite brand for mascaras, but I do like this one. It really lengthens and thickens. I do find I have to use an eyelash comb to make sure there are no clumps. I didn’t today just to show the minor clumping. Otherwise it is pretty good.

This was my favorite lipstick for a while. It was a great neutral that dried down well. I used two separate tubes of this one up completely. And on the end of my second tube I picked up a third and never opened it. So I opened it today. Partially to see if it was still good and partially to see if I still liked it. It is still good and I do still like it. It is a nice pinky neutral and it dries down well. I really like the formula. It doesn’t desiccate my lips but at the moment my lips are well hydrated. If I remember I can’t wear this formula if my lips are dry. This is a liquid lip that responds well to putting on a lip mask post skincare and pre makeup. If your lips are well hydrated it works well.

And that my darlings is me today. I am feeling a bit more back to normal and have a full day of working in the office ahead of me.

Tomorrow is election day so if you did not get your vote in during early voting, tomorrow is your day. Voting is a chance to get your voice heard and I don’t care if your politics are different from mine, everyone deserves to have their voice heard. So get out there and vote. And have a great rest of Monday.

The Daily: October 17th, 2022

Good afternoon my darlings. I have to say it is kind of a relief to be back to work this Monday. Because of everything going on, the house chores were sort of postponed. This weekend they all came crashing down. The last of the gardening for the fall was done and the last of the green tomatoes collected. That sounds very strange to actually say. But our first frost is coming either tonight or tomorrow night and so we stripped the remaining fruit from the plants. we also brought in the last of the paprika peppers. More than anything else we had a bumper crop of these this year. And somehow because of the heat and periods of drought even our sweet paprika has a bit more of a kick than usual.

And it is really very different than the store bought stuff. there is almost a fruity vegetal hint underneath the earthy spice. After growing it, I don’t think I could go back to the slightly spiced red dust that comes in the jar. And this year I certainly won’t have to.

But in addition to getting all of the remaining produce in from the garden I repotted a bunch of indoor plants that needed repotting and I hauled all of the pots outside and gave them all of the plants a good healthy watering before bringing them back indoors for the winter. we have a bay laurel that migrates with the seasons. Out doors in summer indoor in winter. This year the succulents stayed outside for much of the summer as well. They only really had to come in when we had that brief rainy spell mid summer.

But basically the entire weekend was spent moving. In addition to the garden chores there was the resetting of the house for winter. the changing of the blankets and airing out of the ones taken from summer storage. I don’t think I slowed down all weekend. It was necessary but far from restful. On Sunday I relaxed by trying to reorganize my foundation and primer drawer. The problem is the drawer is deep so when I open it, i only see the tops and so just grab the same products. I shifted them to a more shallow drawer and was surprised by how many products there were. Some are close to being empty and others are never been tried. I need to have a good think about what I am using and a possible declutter to follow. But it did lead me to my foundation today. I’ll get into that below. You may notice that this is a brand heavy makeup look today. I couldn’t resist using the Tarte products from the boxycharm today. But we’ll get into that below.

Today’s Look:

Primer: Tatcha The Silk Canvas Primer

Foundation: Yensa Super Serum Silk Foundation

Bronzer: Tarte’s Park Avenue Princess Chisel Palette

Blush: Tarte Breezy Cream Blush in Pink Sky

Highlight: OFRA Highlighter in Blissful

Setting Powder: Anastasia Beverly Hills Loose setting powder

Eyeshadow: Tarte Sunrise Eyeshadow Palette

Eyeliner/brightener: Tarte Double Take Awake

Mascara: Tarte Lights Camera Lashes Mascara

Hair Pins: Dragonflies from the Coraline Collection by Revolution Beauty

I do love this primer. It may be my all time favorite to be honest. There are others I like a lot, but this Tatcha Balm style Primer always tops my best of list. At this point I know how it works as well so it was perfect to use with the foundation today as well.

Today i chose the Yensa Silk Foundation. I’ll be honest, I thought I didn’t like it. To be honest I don’t think I gave it much of a chance. I think I used it once or twice and decided it wasn’t as fabulous as the BC foundation and set it aside. Today I really liked it. I think part of it may be the weather. I think this is just not a hot weather foundation. Most actual foundations don’t seem to be hot weather foundations, at least where i am concerned. Now that the weather has cooled, I am finding I really like this. I went in light with the foundation which seems to be the trick. It now feels weightless. I did notice that with the brush there were some streaks left in the product so I just went back in with a makeup sponge and it blended out beautifully. I think I may have to play around more with this foundation.

The Tarte Park Ave Princess Palette is discontinued sadly. It is a lovely palette though and I will use it until it is all used up. the bronzer is still available so I’ve linked that above. I haven’t reached for this in a while because quite honesty Tarte slipped from my mind. But I do love this palette. It always makes me feel special to use it and the products work well for me.

This was my first use of the Tarte cream blush. It does give more of a natural finish than expected. I thought it would be more pigmented. That is not a complaint actually. It is buildable and I didn’t notice it peeling up any of my foundation when i applied it. I think the trick with cream blushes is to first apply them before setting your foundation with powder and second to dab instead of rub. I applied with my finger and then blended worth a makeup sponge. I think a brush would have damaged the foundation and not done the blush justice. as it is I like it. It isn’t my favorite cream blush, at least at the moment, but i think it is something I can work with and wouldn’t mind reaching for again.

I actually remembered a highlighter today. I went with OFRA and forgot how blinging it can be. I need to remember to go in lighter next time. It is a great highlight though and the pan is huge so it will last forever.

Today I went with the ABH Setting powder. It was in the back of the drawer and I brought it to light. I like applying this with a makeup sponge and then just brushing away the extra. The translucent is a bit white so I can’t use it with lighter foundations as it lightens them just a bit. It works well with slightly darker foundations again because it seems to lighten it up just a touch. I really liked using it today. it is finely milled and didn’t look cakey.

This tarte palette was created for Boxycharm so I just linked to the tarte eyeshadow page for those interested. The formula on this was okay. It isn’t a terribly exciting palette. It is a very basic neutrals palette actually. The dark brown isn’t as pigmented as I like but I love the bronze shimmer. I know surprise. What bronze shimmer don’t i like. It is a good little everyday palette. I just have several very much like it in my collection so it is hard to get excited.

Today I actually used eyeliner. To be honest I was more interested in the brightener. I think I will probably reach for it more often. the eyeliner is nice and worked well. I just don’t wear a lot of eyeliner these days. The brightener is really goo. Creamy and goes in the waterline well. It is the reason I will be keeping this product.

For Lengthening this is actually one of my favorite mascaras. It does nothing for volume so usually I pair it with something that is more volumizing than lengthening, but for lengthening this is a fantastic mascara.

And finally I have the dragonfly bobby pins from the Coraline Collection from Revolution. I am really surprised by how high quality they feel. I couldn’t help but put them in my hair today. Personally I love the way they look. And the set was only $8. Not sure if they are still available but they are quite fabulous. I also got the palette from the collection and I am excited about trying that out soon. But I couldn’t resist the hair pins today.

The Daily: August 24th, 2022

I knew as soon as I said something about enjoying normality things would take a turn. And yet I did it anyway. I should have known better.

I got a call from my mom. she will soon be scheduling an operation. In a couple of weeks they will remove another small tumor from her hand. It is cancer. It is also the third operation this year, They are going in to get what they missed last time so hopefully this will be the last of the operations and cancer. This one is going to be more invasive so once it is scheduled I will be going down for a few weeks to take care of her.

Apparently her doctor is assembling a team of surgeons and once everything is scheduled she will let me know the date. And then I will schedule and go down for two weeks.

So for now there is normality on turbo drive as I try to wrap up outstanding contracts before I go. I’m sure it will calm down once I process and get an actual schedule, but for now my brain is screaming, go go go. Both to go down to be with her and to get every open project completed. As a warning, I may sound a bit crazed for the next few weeks as I go into schedule clearing mode. I’m told everything looks pretty good. Well good for something called malignant anyway. So that helps a little.

For now I am trying not to worry about anything but clearing my schedule so I can just head out when the time comes. So let’s shift into something more or less normal shall we?

forgot the smoothing spray so hair looks a little crazy, plus i was twisting it while on the phone

today’s Look:

Primer: Too Faced Hangover RX Replenishing Face Primer

Foundation: RealHer Power Wear Probiotic Foundation

Blush/Bronzer/Highlight/powder: Cover FX Perfector Face Palette

Brows: iMethod Beauty Eyebrow Stencil Kit

Eyeshadow: OFRA Signature Symphony Palette

Mascara: Eyeko Black Magic Mascara

Eyeliner: Tarte Tartiest Double Take dual ended liner

Lips: Evio Beauty lip liner mixed with Colourpop Evil Queen lipstick

Today I did decide to go with the Too Faced primer. It is a bit on the dewy side for me which is why I don’t reach for it often. It also smells of faux coconut which isn’t my favorite scent in the world. It is a good primer though. It holds makeup in place well and the coconut scent does fade. It worked well with the Real Her foundation. It wasn’t as dewy as I thought it might be. It was a bit glowy, but not over the top. It was something I could work with.

The Cover FX palette is an old one. In fact I don’t think CoverFX carries it. The link above is for Beautylish instead. I have had this a while and in fact should probably think of getting rid of it. As always I apply the bronzer and wonder why I don’t use this palette more often. Then I get to the blush and remember why I don’t use this palette that often. It’s the blush. I like all of the other products, but the blush is not really the right shade for me. It is a bit too pink and I always have to work to tone it down with the bronzer after I apply it. I really do like the bronzer and the setting powder in it. I might look into replacing those two products.

got a little crazy with the eyeliner. there was some transfer because this is a formula that needs to dry a moment or two before you open your eyes,

Today I decided to see which of my eyeliners still worked. I like the black of the tarte, but it did get a bit out of hand today. It has just been so long since I used eyeliner that my lines were crooked and I kept having to go back. I was also a little frustrated as I tried three eyeliners that dried out before I got to the Tarte so I rushed things. And me rushing eyeliner is never a good thing. I have hooded eyes so I have to cheat a little on the lines, which takes time. I do like the liner with the cranberry shade from the OFRA palette. I just reached the point where I didn’t want to spend any more time with it and said, ‘That’s good enough’ and let it go.

I pulled the Evio lip liner out because I wanted to darken the red lipstick. I think it worked well It is a creamy formula that can be worn as a lippie on it’s own with no problems actually so it blended with the lipstick well. I think it darkened it up a little so I liked the color better.

And I love both the Eyeko Mascara and the iMethod eyebrow stamp. I am getting quite the divot in the eye brow pomade so i may need to try out some of the other pomades with the stencil and stamp soon. but I think I have a while yet before that happens. And so On with the day we go. I suspect I will be working late tonight, more as a panic working than a necessity. Tomorrow I’ll start spacing things out more, but for tonight I suspect i am just going to work myself out. I just need to push past that initial burst of panic and things will be fine. I suppose it is my process. So it is off to work I go. I’ll see you when the panic subsides.

The Daily: July 27th, 2022

Good Afternoon my darlings, I hope your week is going well. Yesterday my babydoll had dental surgery so I spent a large chunk of my day working in the waiting room on a lap top. It was surprisingly productive actually. With the exception of me and one older gentleman reading a newspaper on the other side of the waiting room, everyone else chose to wait in their cars. While it eliminated my sport of people watching, I did get a lot of work done, which was nice.

And the surgery went well.

Today my babydoll is home resting. And my resting I mean he has taken a lot of pain medication and while he is relaxing on the couch he is periodically moving around, mostly to come in and either ask what I’m up to or to tell me something about the show he is watching. I thought he might be lonely so I tried sitting on the couch watching television with him for a bit but he didn’t really want me there. he wanted to sprawl out on the couch and then periodically come in to tell me something so he could stretch his legs.

Which has mead this an interesting work day. Twenty two minutes seems to be the gap between visits. Occasionally it will be twenty five and occasionally eighteen but it seems to average out to twenty two minutes. I’m sure if you ask him tomorrow then he will claim he only came to ask me a few direly important questions once or twice during the day. And a week from now he will claim that when he is ill or hurting he just wants the space to be left completely alone. That seems to be his mental picture of himself. It isn’t reality, but it is the version he likes.

Today there was no walking and while I have gotten up from my desk a lot more today, I didn’t work in a workout. Tomorrow he is back to work though so I am going to take advantage of the extra work time I used yesterday to plan some extra work outs tomorrow. I’m hoping that will make up for missing today and possibly help to balance things out.

Today’s Look:

Primer: Tatcha Liquid Silk Canvas Primer

Foundation: bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Moisturizer

Bronzer: Illamasqua Gel Sculpting stick

Blush: Pixi by Petra Peach Honey Duo

Powder: No 7 Perfect Light Pressed Powder

Eyeshadow: Lunar Beauty Nude Prism Palette

Eyebrows: iMethod Beauty Eyebrow Kit

Mascara: Tarte Gifted mascara

Lips: Wet ‘n Wild Megalast Lipstick topped with Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb

Today I reached for the Tatcha liquid Silk canvas Primer because it was light on the skin and quickj and easy to apply. There is no waiting time really and light and quick was more or less today’s style. Plus I am never upset reaching for a Tatcha primer. It just works beautifully.

The bareminerals also falls into the light and easy category. I like the way it blends and takes down redness, evening skin tone. It does have a bit of a glow-y look. While I am getting more accustomed to this look in the cooler months, in the summer time it just makes me think of sweating so I dust it off with powder. Since my favorite powder from No 7 is at the end of it’s life I am using it all this week so that i can bit it a fond farewell and then repurchase. It is a standard item in my bag. often I have two, one for the makeup drawer and one that stays in my purse. With not going out as much after I finished the one in my makeup drawer I took out the one in my purse to use. (I didn’t want to just leave it there to linger and go bad since I wasn’t going out. I actually transferred all but a lip balm out of my purse actually. The hand lotions and sanitizers I still go through quite rapidly so they stay, everything else has been taken out. which I might need to look at soon since I am starting to go out more than I was so another switch might be eminent. But that is a tale for another time.)

The Illamasqua bronzer is performing well. I chose to use it today because it can be a light touch product. it can also be darkened for drama, but the lighter application works well with the tintes moisturizer level of coverage. It is just enough.

I decided that since i was going light I would take out the Pixi Duo. I like the blush. It isn’t going to be a favorite but it is good for a light look and I don’t mind using it. I don’t care for the highlighter side of the duo, but the blush is nice.

iMethod is my go to brow product. i did hurry today so one is a little lopsided. You need to line up the stencils and not rush that aspect. Once you get that done, you are golden.

Today I switched back to trying out the lunar beauty palette. It is not a highly pigmented formula, however if you tap off the brush before applying the product then there is also no fall out. which is nice. I will be playing around with this for a while as I try to figure out how it performs and how i feel about it.

Tarte makes great mascara and this is not the first time I’ve used the Gifted clay formula. I really like it. it works well without flaking and is great for everyday use. My favorite tarte mascara is still the Lights camera Lashes but this is still a really good formual and not the first tube of this that has ended up in my makeup.

And finally the lips. I love the Wet ‘n wild Matte formula. It does last a long time and it is comfortable to wear. While it doesn’t dry out my lips in the winter, I have found that if I am spending time in the sun it is best if I put something on top. Today I went with the Fenty Beauty Gloss bomb. The wet n wild doesn’t dry out my lips but if left uncovered the matte lipstick can look a little dry in the summer sun for some reason. With the topper there are no problems.

But now my darlings I must leave you. I have just been asked ‘how crunchy is too crunchy do you think’ and now there is movement in the kitchen. so I am off to point out that popcorn and dental surgery don’t mix. As this is the second time with this conversation i think I might hid the bags of microwave popcorn, keeping them out if sight for a few days at least. Have a great Wednesday.

The Daily: April 13th, 2022

April showers may bring May flowers but around here they also bring thoughts of Ark building. Do you think Lowes will get angry if I ask for a lumber order in cubits?

The rain came in fits and starts yesterday, but today it has settled in for a marathon. Exercise involves me and my Yoga Mat along with hand weights. Which is fine, but being inside all day makes me a little twitchy. It never used to, but then i started incorporating regular exercise into my schedule and it feels strange to leave the walks out. But at this point I think I might need an Ark or at least a rowboat, to get through the park. It looks a bit like a lake.

And there are snakes. A lot of them. (I took an umbrella down to the park just to see if a rainy day walk could be worked in. It could not. And those snakes did not look happy about being washed down stream.)

So indoor yoga and weights today. With a side of twitchy til the rain stops.

Today’s look:

Pre makeup base: Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentre

Primer: Elf Poreless Putty Primer

Foundation: Yensa BC Full Coverage Foundation with SPF 40

Concealer: Dior Backstage Concealer

Bronzer: Trestique Bronzer stick

Blush: Doucce Posh Powder Palette

Eyeshadow: Tarte Tarteist Pro Palette

Mascara: Blinc Ultravolume Tubing Mascara

Lips: Grande Cosmetics Plumping Liquid Lipstick

Okay we are going to start from the top. I am loving the pre makeup base. It kind of plumps up my skin with moisture before I begin so everything just applies a little better. The Elf Poreless putty is a long time fave and one I consistently repurchase.

This Yensa foundation is from their Skin on Skin line and I can see why, it feels like my skin. It is weightless and applies smoothly with no lines in the product that have to be smoothed out. Yensa sent a foundation brush with this foundation and it is just the perfect combination of stiff and soft with the bristles. I also like the shape. How it performs with other foundations I’ll have to see but it works beautifully with this foundation.

The Trestique is a long time love. It was made even better by now being refillable which cuts down on plastic waste. I for one will happily refill this over and over again.

The Doucce palette is interesting. I reach for it for one blush. The other products I’ll use if it is open, but I will only reach for the one blush in the palette that I like. I’m not sure if that is enough to keep the palette long term, but I love the blush in the shade RSVP and will use it down to pan. Then I’ll feel bad and try and work through the highlighters, which are nice, but not my favorite. If I do repurchase it will just be a single blush.

I took out the Tarte eyeshadow palette because I hadn’t used it in a while. I absolutely love the mattes in the palette. The shimmers are okay but nothing to write home about. but I love the formula of the mattes and as this is mostly a matte palette with a single row of shimmers, I really do need to reach for it more. I tend to use it as a travel palette because it has a hard case and an array of mattes, but I need to think of it when i am not traveling.

With the Grande lips, I came across this sample yesterday and realized it had enough product for one or two uses left inside. I used it today and it ran out so it will be going away. It is a formula I really like. There is a slight pluming to the formula but what I like most is that it dries down almost all the way but not quite all the way. It means that it stops leaving lip prints everywhere but it doesn’t make my lips sand paper dry, which is sort of the best in a liquid lip. But this was it’s last use and it is now going to the empties bin.

And that was todays look. And now I am going to take my umbrella and slog my way to the mail box hoping that the few bills in the box have not turned into a soggy mess. Then I will dry out and get back to my afternoon. I hope whatever you have planned for the rest of the day is simply fabulous.

The Daily: December 9th, 2021

Today my darlings was an interesting one. It was one of those days where it felt as though everything was in constant motion. There was no stopping and no waiting for anything. I think I even took a few of my phone calls while in motion.

It is just the time of year. So much to do and only a handful of days left to do it in before everyone takes off for the holidays.

It means that today I did the five minute makeup. I also used the Klorane Dry shampoo because I had an unexpected video call request right after I got back from my walk. Ah yes, dry shampoo, the emergency hair repair for days when I wasn’t expecting anyone to see me before I jumped in the shower.

As I said, the makeup was also rushed, but i think it came out well, mostly because I grabbed products that I knew were easy.

Today’s Look:

Primer: Elf Poreless Putty Primer

Foundation: No 7 Lift and Luminate Triple Action Serum Foundation

Bronzer/blush/powder/highlight: PUR 4-in-1 Skin Perfecting Powders Palette

Eyeshadow: No 7 Pink Blossom Eyeshadow trio

Mascara: Tarte Gifted Mascara

Lips M2U NYC Matte Lipstick in Soho

This was the last of the Elf Poreless Primer. I did order a new one on the Black Friday sales because it is a product that I really like to keep around. It is quick to use and completely reliable. And you also only use a little of it so it tends to last a long time. I want to whittle down a few other primers before I open the new on though, but for today, I was happy to use the last of this one. It is great when you are in a hurry.

No 7 also came to my rescue. This really may be one of my favorite drugstore foundations. I pump a bit on to the back of my hand, dab it onto my face and then quickly blend it in with my favorite foundation brush (Master Blender 999 from Bdellium Tools) and I am good to go in a flash. It also really helps that this is a shade that is very close to my natural skin tone so it helps with the blending.

I used No7 eyeshadow as well today. Partially because I like the eyeshadow as it is quick and easy with no fuss. In addition there isn’t much thought I have to put into using the trio. It is pretty simple, bing, bang boom and your are done. Which is actually the beauty of small eyeshadow palettes. I may like having all of the colors, but when I’m rushed, a limited palette actually helps.

Plus it was still out from where I unpacked from my Thanksgiving trip.

Also still out was the Pur Palette. While I like the palette, especially or traveling, it meant that i didn’t have to search for any individual products. the products work well and were quickj to apply.

To finish off the look I chose the M2U lipstick. It is a liquid lipstick formula that is really growing on me and very quickly becoming my instinctive first grab product. The formula is very comfortable to wear and lasts for quite a while.

Today’s makeup look was mostly about speed and ease of use. While there are some days where I like taking my time getting ready and playing with different colors and styles, this wasn’t one of them. I had a limited time to get ready and no time to play around with anything new. Today was about choosing products I could use without thinking too much about them. And honestly, I rather like the look I came up with. Even if it was a bit rushed.

Later this afternoon I plan to actually slow down for a moment with my sheet mask of the day. Todays sheet mask is from Orjena. It is called the Collagen Natural Moisture Mask Sheet. While most of the information is in Korean, the English does say it is a cotton sheet and those are usually pretty comfortable to wear. Hopefully the Collagen will be nice and moisturizing as well. It is a Facetory Mask and while I haven’t used this specific mask before I have used the brand and have high hopes for it.

And it will give me a few minutes to stop and have a breather. Today, that feels like the best reason to actually use a sheet mask. Mental care rather than Skin care. Sometimes, products can serve more than one purpose. I hope whatever your day is like, you take at least a few minutes to breath and allow yourself to regroup.

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The Daily: November 29th, 2021

Good afternoon my darlings. I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and if you were celebrating an excellent Thanksgiving. We, as usual had far more turkey than we had people. So we had the turkey on Thursday and left overs the entire weekend through. Turkey is not my favorite poultry, so I am pretty pleased to see the end of it. It was fine while it lasted, but it will take another year before I am ready to see it again. For me, I only really eat it on Thanksgiving.

Travel was interesting this year. we made as few stops as possible (we were driving) and went through a lot of hand sanitizer. But it was worth it to spend time with family. There were two MVPS this time traveling: Chomps Chomplings and my ThinOptics reading glasses. I know, it sounds strange to put them in the same category but they were the travel winners. The Chomplings were just enough of a driving snack that I didn’t feel the need to fill up on highly caloric things when we stopped for gas (plus it limited the need to go into the gas station). I actually picked up the last bag of Chomplings the store had before we left. They are having supply issues at the moment. They can be found in stores but at the moment there is no on-lone ordering. I am hoping they resolve this issue soon as I have come to rely on them as afternoon snacks and will soon need to restock. The store near me seems to only carry the original and the Italian Beef so if I want the Cranberry Habanero I have to order it on line. And I always want the cranberry habanero.

The ThinOptics were a life saver during the trip. We had loads of construction along our drive this year and there were a few rerouted roads that weren’t clearly marked. having reading glasses clipped to the back of my cell phone made getting them out to check maps and small signs for connecting roads really helped out. For something that takes up so little space, they made a big impact. They have a sale going on right now so if you are looking into a pair of readers, you might want to take a look. While they look good and feel good on the face, the sheer convenience of them makes them perfect. While this pair was sent to me, I ended up ordering a pair for my mother. She fell in love with them when I was home. The black framed glasses are winging their way to her mailbox even as we speak.

Today’s Look:

Primer: Fig and Rouge blurring primer

Foundation KVD Vegan Beauty Lock It Powder Foundation

Bronzer: Buxom Staycation Vibes Primer infused Bronzer

Blush: Rodial Blush Drops

Highlighter: OFRA in SOHO

Powder: No 7 Perfect Light Pressed Powder

Eyeshadow: Oryza Beauty Nude Shimmer and Eyeshadow Contour Quad

Mascara: Tarte Lights Camera Action Mascara

Lips: Girlactic Rose Lip oil

Setting Spray: Peach and Lily Glass Skin Veil Mist

Sunglasses: Tomahawk Shades

Okay today was an exciting makeup day for me. Almost every product was a new to me one. I tried saving up all of the new makeup products from this month’s subscription boxes so i could just have a brand new to me makeup extravaganza. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to do that as it has been so skincare heavy in the subscription boxes.

To cover the non-new products first, we have the Tarte Mascara. I took this home over the holiday and this was it’s last use. It is a great mascara and one that i will be purchasing again in the future. It is a good lengthening mascara. It isn’t great on volume, but it does have length down. The second item recalled into the bag was the No 7 pressed powder. With the powder foundation I didn’t think I was going to need a pressed powder, because usually I don’t. If I hadn’t had the liquid blush, I wouldn’t have used the powder. With the blush, I needed it. But it was a very light dusting and the No 7 is my go to pressed powder.

And now we get into the new stuff. Most of this was first use, so there will be reused throughout the week as I get a feeling for them. So First we have the primer. I have heard of Fig and Rouge but never tried anything from them so this was a new brand as well as a new product. The primer was thinner than I expected and goes on very wet. It tries pretty quickly and seems to be foing a good job under the foundation. Once I got past the almost liquid feel of it, I liked the way it applied. I am happy to give it more chances throughout the week.

I have used an older version of the KVD foundation powder before and I liked it. This new iteration seems to be working just as well as the old. Because it is a powder foundation I had to use my makeup sponge a little more than usual. I generally find that if I apply it with a brush and then go over it with a damp makeup sponge it ends up looking less powdery throughout the day. The trick worked well with the KVD foundation although I did notice that I really need a new makeup sponge. I may actually use this as an excuse to try out the new velvet ones from favy. But that is another story. I will be swapping products around as I get a feel for the KVD foundation and how it performs. And again, I am happy to give it a go. I know it isn’t an entirely new product for me, but it has been quite a long time since I used it. I do love that the container is refillable now, which the old one wasn’t, which tells you how long it has been.

The blush drops are something I am going to have to play around with. The color works for my skin, so it is is just a matter of figuring out the amount to use and the amount of blending that I want to do. Also I need to figure out exactly where I want to place the drop before I start the blending so that my blush is placed where i want it to be. There was a bit more of a sheen then I like from my blush, which is why I called in the pressed powder. with a quick powder pat, all was good. But it had quite the sheen on top which I don’t care for.

The highlighter was from OFRA and it is a lovely gold shade. OFRA always works well and I enjoyed it.

The eyeshadow, I can’t say I am a big fan of. There is one matte in this quad and it was a bit on the patchy side. I had to work with it to smooth it out. It was a nice color when I finished and I was happy with it, but it isn’t my favorite brown. i have this shade in multiple formulas that I like better. this one didn’t wow me. Once in place it stays well, but it was a lot of work for a pretty basic look.

The lip oil was also not a favorite. It is a rose lip oil. It looks pretty in the tube. the scent is nice, if you like rose. I like it in general. The scent is not too overpowering, even when it is on the lips. The issue is the taste. It tastes like roses. Which is not all that nice. I’ve had this problem with rose infused lip products before. I know roses contain excellent properties for the skin, which is why they are used so often in skin care. I enjoy the properties. I even enjoy the scent. I do not enjoy the taste. While this is a nice lip oil, the taste of it means that I am going to have to force myself to use it and in the end probably just look at it and say, isn’t that pretty. I have other lip oils I like and will use more often. I just don’t like the taste of it.

And finally we come to the Peach and Lily Glass Skin Veil Mist. I love the serum from this line and have one actually waiting in the skincare drawer for me to use. This mist comes in a heavy and beautiful frosted glass bottle, has an almost non-existent scent and a very fine mister. With a powder foundation I tend to wear a setting spray more regularly than I do with serum foundations. I am not entirely sure this is a setting spray, but it worked well with today’s makeup and I will probably be reaching to it while using the powder foundation.

There were some good products that I have high holes for and there were some not so good products. It was however very exciting to try out so many new things at once. I’ll be mixing and matching them soon, but it was nice to have a fresh start on some new things.

And now it is back to work for me. The sun tempted me out for a long walk earlier, but now I need to make up the time. The first few days back after a holiday are always crazy and this looks to be no exception. So off we go. I hope the rest of your Monday is absolutely fantastic.

The Daily: November 9th, 2021

Oh my darlings, the aches and pains are fading. Whether they were caused by the booster shot or the excessive use of the pitchfork in the garden bed is irrelevant. What matters is that they are going away. I was only minorly stiff this morning when I got up. I think part of that is the Elemis Muscleease Active Body Oil.(currently 22% off at Lovely Skin) While it is meant to be massaged in, which I did massage it into my arms, neck and shoulders, I also added a little bit to my bath water last night and had a good long soak. I really think it helped. I know it was probably designed for post workout athletic types, but it works wonders on post gardening aches as well.

Since I was feeling better I was able to take advantage of the sun. It may have cooled off a bit, but the weather is still nice and walks feel more like pleasure than work outs. And this week, I kind of need all the help I can get. Our menu plan has gotten a bit off track. We try to have at least three vegetarian nights a week during the week. Since Wednesday is usually a harsh day for my baby we usually end up with something like fish on Wednesday since it feels more substantial and then have meat on Fridays with left overs over the weekend. Of course if we have the good salmon from Vital Source, sometimes we will have that on Friday’s instead of meat. But in general that’s our plan.

In the summer we tend to go for cold vegetarian options and then when the weather cools off we go for warmer vegetarian options. It know, pretty self explanatory actually. The problem is the weather. It has cooled off, but only recently. And sometimes it isn’t quite cold enough for the heartier warm options and sometimes it is too cold for the lighter summer hold overs. So we’ve been sort of wavering on the meal plans. I think it might be cold enough now that we can get back onto the meal plan track. Admittedly i think my babydoll has used the changing weather to justify picking up chicken strips from the grocery deli on the way home. Last night I made vegetarian spring rolls because we decided it was warm enough and he had a rough day and added the chicken strips to the meal.

I’ll admit, I had one. It was good. But it wasn’t the plan. But we talked about it and we are going back to the meal plan. Admittedly I had to show him the budget and point out that our food budget has grown quite a bit with the additional food he picks up. Sometimes you just have to look at the math.

So walking and bringing the meal plan back under control are this week’s goals. Oh and because there are so many sales going on, I am going to try to list the ones I know about with the makeup in my daily posts. I’m sure there are some that i will miss, but I think I’ll remember to mention them more if I tie them in here.

Today’s Look:

Primer: Elf Poreless Putty Primer

current sales are 25% off but if you sign up to be a beauty squad member (you only get occasional e-mails) you can get up to 40% off

Foundation: Ciate Extraordinary Foundation

three glitterflip lipsticks for $25

Blush: No, 7 Damson Mist Blush

25% off moisturizers and cleansers

Bronzer: Trestique Bronzing Stick

save 15% by building your own makeup kit

Highlighter: Illamasqua Beyond Powder Highlighter in OMG

25% off for Singles day

Powder: Ciate London Extraordinary Setting Powder

Eyeshadow: No. 7 Pink Blossom Shadow Trio

Mascara: Tarte Lights Camera Lashes Mascara

free mini with $65 purchase

Lips: bareMinerals Mineralist Lip Gloss

gift sets abound and you can get anywhere from 30-75% off depending on what you are looking to purchase. the entire site is full of chock a block discounts right now.

Earrings: Mariz Jewelry

Okay my darlings, lets break things down. I love the Elf primer and it has lasted a really long time. It is $9 and so worth the value. I am reaching the end of the product though and will soon have to purchase another one. And while I have been holding off on picking up new primers as I am trying to use up a few less than favorite ones, I will be repurchasing this one. It is just a great all purpose primer that works well with pretty much all of my foundations.

As for foundations. I still love my Ciate. I keep rolling it in to see if I can get away with this shade as my skin lightens towards the winter months. It worked today, but I think I may only have a few more weeks where it will work, and then I am going to have to order a lighter shade. This is one of the few foundations I don’t mind keeping multiple shades of on hand. I was just hoping I wouldn’t have to. It is a great, weightless foundation that offers good medium coverage. I enjoy having it around.

This is my second day with the No 7 blush and I think I like it. It isn’t super pigmented and it blends really well. I don’t think I coul get away with a brighter pink shade though. This darker pink seems to give me the light flush I want and isn’t too heavy looking. Actually that seems to be kind of the No 7 ‘s makeup thing. I have loved their pressed powder for years and in the last year or so have fallen in love with their foundation. I think part of the reason is that even when it is a foundation it is weightless and subtle on the skin. The blush seems to have that same subtlety of wear.

While we are at it, the eyeshadow too is a lighter weight. Now honestly I didn’t choose particularly rich colors, but I don’t really recall seeing any really bright colors on the rack when i looked. The color arangements seemed perfect for every day looks. Today I actually used just the medium toned pink with a dash of the darker shade along the uper lash line. Given that it is a trio of colors only I’m not going to get major swings in eye looks from it, but this is a lighter look than I did yesterday with the trio and I rather enjoyed it.

As always I liked the Ciate Setting powder. I am trying to finish out the open container, but in all honsety I have a back up containe waiting in the wings. I picked it upon a sale a little while back. So I will be using this one up and I already know I will be using it again. It is a good setting powder that doesn’t look too dry on the skin.

The Tarte mascara is growing on me as well. I liked it when I tested it out, but the more I use it the more I like it. And of course I love the bareMinerals lip products. Actually I’m a fan of most of their mineralist line.

And that was today’s look. I know, it isn’t razzle dazzle, but as today’s outings feature a walk and a lot of time working in front of my computer screen, It doesn’t really need to be. Although I do have a new metallic fil eyeshadow I want to try out as a possibility for my festive looks so soon, my computer screen may be faced with a bit more razzle dazzle than it’s used to. For now though, I am happy with the toned down look.