I've been MIA on this blog because I've realized how time consuming it is! I have a new found respect for gurus who have thousands of YouTube videos out AND have time to blog. How do they find the time to edit them all too?? And what about those fashion blogs with real professional photographs of people modeling their own clothes? Damn. I wish I had time, talent and resources for all that. But even if I did, it's way too time consuming for me.
So instead, to maintain my blog, the only way I can do it, is the most basic form possible. I just hope its still entertaining for folks. No editing, no special effects, no fancy camera. Just me and my iPhone. We make a good enough team.
With that said... here is the result of our work from my "outfit of the day", yesterday :P :
Spring is definitely my favorite season for fashion. There are so many fun colors to work with, and there are almost no rules as to what you can match and what you shouldn't. Clothing stores come out with all sorts of colors ranging from Easter pastels to 80's neon to timeless bold colors.
And personally, I love pairing bold blue with silver accessories. Gold and blue...remind me too much of my alma mater, and I don't think of school and fashion as being one.
Anyway, this was my take on wearing a bold blue. I paired it with some spiked rings because I thought it was the appropriate amount of edginess to match the faux leather blue shorts. My sparkly kitten heels from Urban Outfitters softened the "bad gal" look of my outfit. And to top it off, I added the beaded strands around my neck for a touch for elegance.
...and P.S. Thank you Ken, for encouraging me to keep blogging!
Priced between $6-10, these lipsticks promise to stay on for 24 hours without transfer. I decided to put this to the test. I wore Perpetual Plum and ate breakfast, lunch and dinner and blotted my mouth with a napkin at the end of each meal, and was quite surprised there was no lipstick residual on the napkin! What I loved even more was that I was able to drink a Starbucks coffee without seeing the stain of my lipstick on the lid. (one of my biggest peeves) I washed my make up off before I went to bed, but I didn't scrub my lips. I went to bed and my lipstick was still on. I woke up and didn't see any stains on my pillowcase. I looked in the mirror, and the lipstick was still intact! Plus it didn't dry my lips out!
There is a 2 step process, but really it's 3. They say to apply the lipstick to clean lips and allow 2 mins for the lipstick to set before applying the balm. But I say 3 steps because it is really important to buff your lips and rid it of any dry skin, otherwise it'll look gross with the lipstick on as it accentuates the dryness of your lips. I didn't really do that part in these swatches, and now I know I should.
These lipsticks definitely have awesome staying power. In fact to remove it, you need to use anything that is oil-based. I just used baby oil and it came off real easy. But you can use make up remover so long as it's oil-based. Baby oil is cheaper, and it takes off make up as good as my more expensive waterproof eye make up remover.
With that said, the lipsticks will also fade faster if you are eating something greasy... just keep that in mind. Also when it does start to fade, it's noticeable. It fades in random parts of your lips. So maybe the corners are all gone, and your lower mid lip is still pigmented but the sides are missing etc..
The color selection is wide and plentiful, but most of these colors are not your typical everyday wear. They have just one color that resembles a nude, and that one is called Timeless Toffee. Timeless Rose and Perpetual Plum can be worn everyday if you only use 1 coat. These photos definitely muted the colors a lot. They are more bright and vibrant in person. But if youre looking for a pop of color, then these might be fun to try.
L-R: Timeless Toffee, Timeless Rose, Perpetual Plum, Very Cranberry, Blush On, Eternal Sunset, Keep it Red
Violent Lips Tattoo, let me say, it is the most awful product I've ever tried on my lips. They were very drying and each time my lips met, the "tattoo" got stuck together and would look as if it were about to peel off.
Fortunately, it peeled off quite easily for me, not so much with my friends. I wouldn't recommend anyone to buy it. They came in a pack of 3 for $17 . What a complete failure of a product. How they are still in business is beyond me. They dont' even feel comfortable or lasts more than 1 hour. 17 bucks for 3 tattoos. A total bust.
Neutral shades are universal colors that flatter every eye. It's the one look that looks good on everyone. I mean i LOVE color, but it takes a lot of practice to master it so that it does not make you look cheap or ridiculous, and sometimes thats just too much work. That is why the neutral shades are fail proof. It enhances, it disguises, it mystifies, it's elegant and timeless.
This blog is dedicated to my love for neutral shades.
I wanted to showcase the palettes I owned, particularly drugstore neutrals.
Elf : Neutral Eye Edition
l o v e: It's the perfect shades of neutrals. The colors are on the cool spectrum. They are beautiful and blend well together. $5
h a t e: Extremely chalky and dry with a ton of fall out. Eyeshadow primer is a must!
Sonia Kashuk: Eye on Neutral 02
l o v e:The range of colors are perfect. It's all matte. Travels well. I use this palette more than my Urban Decay Naked palette.
h a t e: Extremely chalky and dry with a ton of fall out. Eyeshadow primer is a must! As with the elf eyeshadow above, the chalkiness makes it so difficult to keep the palette clean and free from fall out.
Take Cover . Fair and Square . Bronzed Beauty
Take Cover . Fair and Square . Brozed Beauty
l o v e: The sugary glitter shade in each of the quads is really pretty. The consistency is like raw sugar. It goes on the eyelid and really creates shimmer. Love this on the inner tear duct and lid. These colors are not chalky and dry and i like that they dont have a ton of fall out. They're quite pigmented. The colors really are beautiful. h a t e: Fair and Square is too pink for me. Bronzed Beauty is too warm for me.
Jemma Kidd : Smoke it out I-Kit
l o v e: It's really compact and sleek. You would make use of each of the shades. Excellent for travel. It has a silver shadow instead of gold and that makes this palette unique. Applies on smoothly. Fall out is minimal. h a t e: The silver color's pigmentation is the least of all the shades. (But's its really okay)
Elf: Butternut
l o v e: It's only $1. The colors are very wearable. The two dark shades have decent pigmentation. All in all, I like the color combination. h a t e: The 2 lightest shades hardly show up on my arm. The triangular shape makes it hard to use my fingers to apply the make up on my eyes (if im not using my brushes).
Forever21 Palette
l o v e: Great if you're going for a very natural and subtle look because these colors are fairly light. The cream color has the highest pigmentation. h a t e: You can't build up the colors no matter how many applications you apply.
Rock and Rose
l o v e: The eyeshadow in the pan HAD a very pretty floral design. The colors are very shiny and has gold flecks of shimmer in all of them. The pigmentation of these are great.
h a t e: there are two shades that are pretty much the same color.
An Austrailian Eyeshadow Quad. The box says "Sportygirl Wild Whisperer"
l o v e: I really like the softness and pigmentation of these eyeshadows. I think it's supposed to be a cheapy line, but the quality is awesome. Im really happy I bought this. The colors are cool and neutral and very blendable. The dark green on the bottom right corner does not really show up dark green on my skin. It looks like a dark charcoal grey. These look more matte than shiney, but definiately not completely matte.
h a t e: I don't have anything bad to say about this.
Lumene Duo
l o v e: I like the dark taupe color a lot in this palette. I will have to depot these and put them in my Z palette because I never reach for this just because it's only two shades.
h a t e: The lighter cream color hardly shows on my skin. (Im NC 30-35)
Wet 'n' Wild: Vanity
l o v e: The 3 matt shades. I love the middle caramel matt color. It's by far my favorite in the palette. It makes for a great crease blending shade. The shiney pearl color goes on smoothly and is great for highlighting or used in the inner lid and tear duct. The price of this palette makes it affordable that the one or two colors that I dont like so much isn't such a big deal.
h a t e: The matte white applies on very chalky. It doesn't look nice on the skin because it's blotchy. I also am not a fan of the shiney gold color. Im just not a fan of that hue of gold. It's too yellow and not a true gold.
Loreal Hip Duo:
Dynamic
Mischief & Shady
Mischief/Shady/Roaring/Dynamic
l o v e: The pigmentation of these duo's is great. They are very long lasting on my lids as well. Shady is among one of my favorites as is Roaring. Shady is a great neutral toned duo. I really like the combination of the two for a natural eye look. Roaring is a beautiful combo as well. The neutral shade is a great contouring shadow for nose as well as blending crease colors. The electric blue works as a nice eyeliner for that pop of color.
h a t e: The duo's are not finely milled and soft or creamy, can have some fall out, but nothing terrible enough to make it a deal breaker.
Maybellene Eye Studio: Give me Gold
l o v e: The combination of the colors are really nice. I can do without the yellow tone in there, but it's nice to have I suppose. I'm a fan of the shiney cream colored shadow. I like when palettes include a super light color for inner lids such as this and medium tone and dark as well. This was my first neutral palette purchased at a drugstore a really really long time ago. These shadows have a pretty good color payoff and lasts a while.
h a t e: It can have some fall outs as well. I guess no shadow is really pefect. But I did like this line enough to buy 2 more of these palettes in different colors. :)
In the past few months, I have been obsessing over neutral palettes. I get overly excited when a brand releases their versions of neutral palettes. And though I have colors all in the similar range, I c a n n o t help but want them all! It's sort of a bitter sweet feeling because I know I shouldn't blow more money on the "same" thing, but at the same time, it brings me such joy! It's what I look forward to. It excites me!!
My friend, Kryzia, has been stopping me from purchasing the NAKED 2 palette. I really, really want it. But she's right. I have the Naked palette already, and I haven't hit pan on any of the colors, nor do I find myself reaching for it often.
I have bought so many products over time, that I haven't gotten around to really using any one of them often enough. I have decided (as of today), that I will not buy another make up product (in similar color shades as what I already have) until I have finished what's already in my collection. I take that back :(
My neutral collection, isn't horrendously large. It's really not even large. And while this challenge will be very difficult for me, it will allow me to revisit and fall back in love with the palettes that I already own.
For now, all I can do is drool and admire these things from afar :
Ultra lightweight. Paba-gree. Sweet scent. Repairs and protects. Hydrating with Argan Oil. Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide. 2 oz. ($32) 0.5 oz ($14)
I truly am in love with this product. I've never felt my skin so smooth and silky, and I've used just Argan oil on my face before, and it never left my skin feeling so soft for so long, as this product does.
I have sensitive skin, and am so thankful my skin loves this too!
I purchased the 0.5 oz bottle too just to have that handy for traveling. I really hope this product will never be discontinued. I might start having to hoard stashes of this each time I go to Sephora. Seriously. It's that good! I can honestly say that I have never been this excited about any product. And when I really enjoy something, I like to share it :) .
Pequi Hair Oil Treatment
Fast-absorbing. Pina Colada scented. light. provides shine and softness to hair. Vitamin A & E. Fruit from the Amazon. Natural UV filter. Works on all hair types. 2 oz ($32) 0.5 oz ($12).
I can't really tell a difference between this and Moroccan Oil in terms of what they do for my hair. The both do my hair real good. Both very light weight and moisturizing. Both provides softness to my hair and added shine to make my hair look healthy.
The only true difference that is very obvious is scent. Pina Colada vs the Vanilla-esque argan oil. On Sephora's website it advertises that pequi oil supposedly makes hair "600 x stronger" and "250 x shinier". Seriously. Read all the hype about it from consumer reviews. It sold me. I've been eyeing this for quite some time because of the reviews I've read but hadn't purchased it because I was still using my Moroccan Oil. I happened to be at Sephora to pick up the Josie Maran Moisturizer and I decided to pick this up since I used up all of my Moroccan oil.
I do like both of them very much for my hair. And because I am quite happy with the performance of this product, I am definitely going to try the Sephora's Couture Colour hair dyes (it comes with pequi oil). I just haven't decided if I want to go a tad lighter or more black.
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