Make Me Brighter

Good Vibrations

cleegiants — Wed, 06 May 2009 10:30:00 -0700

Im pickin up good vibrations
Shes giving me excitations
Im pickin up good vibrations
(oom bop bop good vibrations)
Shes giving me excitations
(oom bop bop excitations)
Good good good good vibrations
(oom bop bop)
Shes giving me excitations
(oom bop bop excitations)
Good good good good vibrations
(oom bop bop)
Shes giving me excitations
(oom bop bop excitations)

Enjoying the sounds of summer with the Beach Boys? Okay, corny, but that's just to set up this post. The newest thing in makeup is vibrating mascara wands. There have been 3 major entrants so far: Lancome, Estee Lauder, and Prescriptives. I've tried Lancome's Oscillation and while many people love it, I admit to having difficulty with the application. I can't get the mascara to stay clump and smudge free with more than one coat. I'll try to post pictures at some point, but it's just not worth it right now. I'd love to try this next extrant though: Maybelline's Pulse Perfection Vibrating Mascara.
Will it be perfect? We can find out shortly after May 18th, when it goes on sale online at CVS.com; Target.com; Walgreens.com, and Walmart.com. The MSRP is $14.95, which I assume is what these retailers will be charging on May 18th. If you miss out on the 18th, Pulse Perfection will hit all major retailers in July.

Summer Makeup Essentials

cleegiants — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 09:00:00 -0700

Happy Sunday! The Bay Area is experiencing some gorgeous, summer like weather this weekend. With the increase in temperature, now is a good time to discuss some changes to a makeup routine. Despite the warmer temperatures, don't feel that you have to swear off makeup, just consider the climate and feel free to experiment with some lighter, brighter colors.

First and foremost, sun protection. I don't care if you are stuck in an office all day - you MUST wear sunscreen. If your exposure to the sun is limited to a walk from your car to the office, slap on a minimum of SPF 15.
source
Now personally, Neutrogena as a brand has not worked for me as a facial sunscreen. I've used it a couple of times and my skin has had a weird reaction, turning red and bumpy. Most people seem to love it though, and as it's relatively affordable, It's a good buy. I do seem to be fine with the regular body lotions.

What I do use is this Purpose Redness Reducing SPF 30 lotion. For my dry skin, it has plenty of moisture and doesn't cause any bad reactions. It's also available at drugstores.

One final product is Lancome's UV Expert 20 with Mexoryl SX. Mexoryl is an ingredient designed to protect you against UVA rays. While it's important to protect yourself against both UVA and UVB rays, it's the UVA rays that penetrate beneath the skin, causing wrinkles and perhaps skin cancer. UV Expert provides protection against both, but the Mexoryl compound is unique to Lancome. It's $35 for 3.4 oz, so it's obviously not cheap.

One of the good things about the increased awareness about sun damage is that cosmetics companies are adding sun protection to many of their foundations. However, the heat can melt off makeup, so in most situations, powder will be your friend.

Bare Minerals is a foundation that people either seem to love or hate. I've expressed my love for them, I do think it works well for my skin. I do realize that it's $25 for a full jar though, so I've been trying out some drugstore mineral foundations. So far, my trials lead me to recommend L'Oreal Bare Naturale Mineral Foundation. At half the price, it provides a great amount of coverage, and is a worthy replacement for BE. It also comes with the brush, something Bare Minerals makes you pay for. The L'Oreal one is a little sitffer than Bare Minerals', but better than other drugstore brands'.

Another product that I will be trying in this summer heat is Clinque's Redness Solutions Instant Relief Mineral Powder.

Long name, instant results. I tried a sample of this on a day where I felt my skin a little flushed, and it did indeed get rid of my redness. It's said to help skin 'keep its cool'; something we can all hope for in the summer.

Bronzers abound in summer. If you can't actually go to Hawaii for a natural sun-kissed glow, fake it!

For only $1, this E.L.F. Bronzer is a lot of sun for a little price. Is it the longest lasting or the richest color ever? Probably not, but nobody will be able to tell the difference. It's fairly matte, so if you want a little bit of shimmer to highlight those fabulous cheekbones, you'll have to try something else. But who cares when it's only 1 buck?

Nars Bronzer in Laguna is a favorite of a lot of people. It has more shimmer than ELF's, but it's also $30. You do get a lot of product, so it should last you several summers.

Sorry for the blurry quality of this picture, but if you can find this bronzing duo from L'Oreal, it comes with both a bronzer and a blush, so you can use it year round.

The hot eyeshadow color for summer? Blue apparently. Remember these images from Nars and Yves St. Laurent?

How about Christian Dior and Laura Mercier?

If you're going to spend the day in a swimming pool, skip the eyeshadow and just swipe on some waterproof mascara. My faves?

Lipstick can be a hassle in the summer, plus lips need SPF as much as your skin. A tiinted lip moisturizer or a gloss give you some color, while keeping things light. Mac's Tendertones would be perfect for summer, but they were a limited edition, and are not currently available from MAC. You may be able to find them through online auction sites like eBay. Keep in mind that the original retail price was $14.50.

MAC currently has something similar called Tinted Lip Conditioners. The TLC's, as they're known, also have SPF 15, but there are not as many colors as Tendertones, plus they don't have the nice smell of the Tendertones.

So there are some of my recommendations for summer makeup. If you have any tips or tricks for staying gorgeous in the summer, share in the comments!

Fafi eyes

cleegiants — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:00:00 -0800

Thanks to Jolly J for letting me experiment with my makeup application skills this past Saturday. I am still trying to develop my skills as a makeup artist, so that means practicing on other people. If anyone in the SF Bay Area needs a makeup artist; contact me!

Jolly J doesn't wear a ton of makeup - she doesn't need it - so I knew this look had to be kind of subtle. We were also just going to lunch, so nothing over the top. I was inspired by the color of her shirt, a coral color, so I pulled out this MAC palette from the Fafi rlease last year.

My favorite part of the makeover was Jolly J's amazement at her lashes. She discovered that they were in fact, much longer than she realized. With some curling and Cover Girl Lash Blast mascara, Jolly J exclaimed "I can see my lashes!" when she blinked. Love it!

Here's a small reminder of her naked lashess

A rundown on the products I used:
Eyes: UDPP; MAC Paint Pot: Groundwork; MAC Fafi Eyes 2; MAC Star Violet; MAC Eyeliner: Feline, Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara
Face: Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation, Laura Mercier Face Powder, Nars Blush: Sin
Lips: Nars Dolce Vita

A full face shot

Isn't she lovely?

Foundation Face Off: Battle Mousse

cleegiants — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:00:00 -0800

Foundation is a staple in my makeup routine. I know many women don't like foundation and rightfully so. It can be cakey or heavy; it can cause breakouts; it can be difficult to match. Drugstore brands are affordable, but one of the downsides to this is the inability to match shades before you buy. I thought the Dream matte Mousse was a good match for a while, but suddenly looking at the pictures, I realize there is a very clear line with the foundation ends. Woopsies. I've actually worn the mousse quite a bit, but think I may stop since the color is a shade to dark. So other than the shade being off, I'm going to discuss the coverage and texture of these two foundations.

Dream Matte Mousse: Revolutionary whipped formula provides an air-soft, perfect matte finish coverage, with a weightless feel.
The texture is the fun part of this foundation. It really is "mousse" like, however they do it. Because of its whipped texture, I'd definitely recommend applying it with a foundation brush. I find that it does a good job of covering my imperfections and redness. My skin is dry and after wearing it for more than 12 hours, my skin still feels hydrated.

Dream Liquid Mousse: Air-whipped formula provides skin perfecting coverage.
So I'm confused by the name of this, because it says it's a mousse, but it's actually a liquid? It feels like a liquid, albeit a very light one. It blends well, covers wells, and lasts all day. Like the Mousse, it is hydrating.

So I wore both all day, despite the lovely line on my face. I didn't realize the mismatch in color until late at night when I was reviewing the photos, so I wonder if anybody noticed. Nobody said anything, but perhaps they just thought I was some poor hapless girl who doesn't know how to put on makeup. At the end of the day, I felt that the Matte Mousse retained its coverage better; the redness in my cheeks was not as visible.

Here is the before shot:

And after:

On the left, as evidenced by the line of color is the Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse. On the right is Dream Liquid Mousse. My nose is not covered. I like the finish of both. This is without primer or powder, so it may last even longer. Quite honestly, you can't go wrong with either one, at since they're the same price, it's probably just a personal preference. Dream Matte Mousse has more shades, so that may be a consideration.
........................Dream Liquid Mouse      Dream Matte Mousse
Light Shades           1,2,3,3.5,4,5             0,1,2,3,4,5
Medium Shades          1,2,2.5,4               0,1,2.5,3,4
Dark Shades              2,3                  0,1,2,3

Mascara Trial 2

cleegiants — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:30:00 -0800

I've been playing with my mascara the past few days and have come to a preliminary conclusion that my lashes are my least favorite feature. The only redeeming quality in them is the length. They're not thick, they don't curl, and they point straight down. Please take my reviews with this knowledge in mind, so everything is relative. If there's one thing I've noticed about mascara reviews, it's that they can vary greatly among users. Many may love a mascara, but there will always be a small subset that hate it.

Okay, down to the actual mascara. This is Maybelline's Define-a-Lash. First off, a reminder of my naked lashes.

Here is my eye after one coat of Define-a-Lash:

Seriously, not much of an improvement. With my eyes closed, it looks a little more dramatic.

After some curling and another coat:

Better, but clumping is becoming a problem. It's even more evident when I close my eyes.

In short, Define-A-Lash doesn't live up to its name as well as it should. It certainly doesn't hold curl although it doesn't claim to, but that's what I'm going to be looking for in a mascara. The clumping is the biggest problem, so unless you have naturally thick lashes and can only use 1 coat of mascara, pass on Define-A-Lash.

My rating: 2/5.

Previous Mascara Trials:
Mascara Trial 1: Cover Girl Lash Blast

Lady in Waiting Look

cleegiants — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Remember my post about waiting in line for the job fair last week? As I promised, here is the makeup I used. Since I'm in a more 'creative' field, I thought I would do something slightly more dramatic than neutral; hence the light smokiness. The lip is a neutral color, without gloss, as I'd prefer to have the focus on the but on the quality of my resume than on the sheen of my lips!

I Used:
Eyes: Urban Decay Primer Potion, Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Lumnious Shadow: Laguna Peach; MAC Eyeshadows: Grain, Scene, Smoke+Diamonds, Lancome Defining+Brightening Eye Pencil Duo: Miami Midnight (black end)
Face: Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse: Pure Beige, Laura Mercier Translucent Face Powder, Nars Blush/Bronzer: Orgasm/Laguna
Lips: Prescriptives Colorscope Lipstick: Champagne

For the eye makeup, Laguna Peach adds a bit of shimmer that doesn't show up in the picture. You would be fine using just Grain or any other neutral shadow.

See the full look after the break

Lipstick combos

cleegiants — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 10:30:00 -0800

I mentioned in an earlier post that I usually combine lipstick with some sort of lipgloss, so here are a few pictures.

Stil Lip Glaze Stick: Starfruit + Smashbox Gloss: Stunning

The following 2 are pictures are lip glosses from Smashbox. Combined with Maybelline Lipstick in Plum Wine

Lancome Juicy Tubes: Fifth Avenue Frosting + Maybelline Lipstick

Nars Dolce Vita Lipstick

More combos after the break

How Tempting

cleegiants — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:00:00 -0800

Makeup time! Here's a step by step look I did a few days ago. You'll need:

Eyes: Urban Decay Primer Potion, MAC Soft Ocre Paint Pot, MAC Shadestick in Lucky Jade, MAC Tempting Quad (LE), Bobbi Brown Shimmer Eyeshadow in Forest Lancome Eyeshadows in Designer and Daylight, MAC Eyeliner in Mystery, Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara
Face: Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus, MAC Blush in Xrocks (LE)

After applying UDPP and Soft Ocre, I used Lucky Jade to intensify Sharp from the Tempting Quad.
The Tempting Quad was released with the Cult of Cherry collection. Sharp is a cool color, even if it's a bit shocking. It's much sheerer than it appears in the pan, so if you have it, don't be afraid to use it. Moving along.

Bobbi Brown Forest

Blend, blend, blend. Sharp becomes much more of an accent color.

Blending a little more and adding Tempting to the mix.

Mystery Eyeliner and mascara complete the look.

See the complete look after the break

Keeping it Pro

cleegiants — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:15:00 -0800

One of the things I enjoy about not having a job is that I can wear just about any makeup look during the day and it's not going to matter. Not that my looks are normally wild or anything, but it does give me some flexibility in wearing brighter colors. So when I had a meeting with a recruiter earlier this week, my makeup needed to look more professional. I wanted some color, but the focus needed to be on my qualifications, not my makeup. Red is not a typical color associated with office-appropriate wear, but I with a light hand, I think I pulled it off.

See the full face look after the break

Target Finds recap

cleegiants — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:37:10 -0800

Here's a final pictorial of the four lipsticks from Target.

Plum Wine
Maybelline Mineral Power

Hot in the Sun
Milani

Fully Blushed
Maybelline Volume Seduction Lip Plumper

Ripe Raspberry
Neutrogena Moisturizing LipShine

What's your favorite?