Mask Monday

I have a feeling my usual amount of masking is going to decrease over the holidays. We have a good friend staying with us and there’s just something weird about sitting around socializing with a sheet mask on.

Hautelook has sheet masks! I’ve seen these pop up a couple of times in the past few months. I had a hard time reconciling myself to the idea of snail essence. But getting over the mild gross-out feeling was worth it because this was amazingly moisturizing. Like almost-didn’t-need-moisturizer moisturizing. I cut out my hydrating serum that night because it would have just been too much.

I’m not sure if the ampoule made the difference or not. It felt just like the essence that was on the sheet. The sheet wasn’t thin or thick, and it was almost too small for my face. Anyone with a bigger bone structure might have fit issues.

This one smelled exactly like blueberries, which made me happy. This was a thin-style sheet and the serum was a thin gel consistency. It did hydrate and was nice and cooling. But for me, the scent trumped all of that.

De-stash & Trash – April 2015

I used up some interesting things in April!

First off is a bottle of Simple Micellar Water. I’ve been a Bioderma user for a year. I did the math on cost-per-ounce  and found that Simple and Bioderma are comparable. (I usually spring for the 500 ml bottle of the Bioderma.) Simple is a lot easier for me to get my hands on because so many of my local stores have it now. Performance-wise, though, I actually like the Simple brand a little bit better. Both brands are very gentle on the skin. I can use both on eyes and face, but Simple’s version feels slightly more moisturizing on the skin.  I am so excited to have a drugstore option that I really love. Kudos, Simple!

I finished off a bottle of non-acetone remover. I use this to remove non-glitter polish and for any post-stamping cuticle mess I wasn’t able to prevent.

I really, really enjoyed Cover Girl’s Professional Remarkable Waterproof mascara. I stumbled across it while researching tubing mascaras and picked it up when my Kmart had them on clearance. (I don’t think they’re discontinuing it – it’s still on the CG website.) It doesn’t transfer on me at all, and actually gives me a little volume. It’s very similar to the Clump Crusher in formula, but is waterproof and has a natural brush.

This was a lemming purchase that I wound up regretting. On my eyes, it was in no way extreme. It wouldn’t build, it transferred, and I lost a lot of lashes the one day I wore it. Which could totally have been coincidental, but it was odd and I don’t want to risk it.

This scrub was a little messy, but very effective and had a lovely scent!

I used up some samples this time around. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this cleanser, as I was a bit underwhelmed with the mud mask. I don’t know if it’s worth the price for me just yet, but I would probably snag it if it ever showed up at TJ Maxx in future.

This serum was okay. There’s no way to judge its lifting properties in the week or so the sample lasted (which are dubious to begin with in my opinion), but it didn’t break or dry me out, which is great!

Bioderma! Probably my last bottle for a while, thanks to Simple.

I can’t remember where this sample came from. As micellar waters go, this one is unimpressive. It was heavily fragranced. I had to use the whole bottle over multple applications to get anything off my face, and ended up having to follow up with another one to remove everything.

I probably got the fail of a micellar water in the same batch of samples that this All Nighter bottle came from. It was nice. I don’t think I like it more than other sprays I have used. I probably won’t end up buying it that often because of the price.

This serum was one of the products that got me through the worst of the winter. It does have a little dimethicone in it, which I’m trying to stay away from in my nighttime routine, but I don’t think that weensie amount of ‘cones hurt anything in the long run.

And, finally, I cracked this open and used it as a moisturizer/primer before makeup. It was very creamy and very slippy. Midway through the day, I started looking and feeling very dry. Probably thanks to the dimethicone and alcohol high up on the ingredient list. (6 & 7 out of a few dozen.) My skin didn’t like it much. But it was worth a try!

Mask Roundup – March 2015

Had a rigorous masking month!

I didn’t finish this, but I felt it was noteworthy. It’s my first sleeping mask, which has now pushed me down the slippery slope of layering and multi-step skincare regimes.

When I woke up, I was covered in skin flakes. My face, my pillowcase, the t-shirt I slept in. It was kind of icky. Once I washed my face, though, my skin looked bright and clear. I’m not sure if it was supposed to exfoliate quite like that. I’ve used it several times since and the results have not been as dramatic. But I do think it has done lovely things for my skin when used a couple times a week.

These were nice, but I have resigned myself to the fact that I shouldn’t use eye patches. They’re very effective on my undereyes. But I have small eyes, and the patches are usually large enough to cover the tops of my cheeks where I am most sensitive. Every single patch I have ever used has caused some irritation there. There were some metal-infused ones that lasted precisely 23 seconds before I had to fling them off and rinse my face.

I’m familiar with the My Beauty Diary Natto masks. They’re very saturated and drippy. I have started saving the leftover essences from the pouches in little plastic condiment containers for an extra boost at the beginning of my skincare regime. I don’t know if it does any good, but it can’t hurt!

This was nice. The beads weren’t sharp or uncomfortable, and the mask itself seemed moisturizing enough.

I regret that this went bad. Note to self: natural products are to be used first!

I got some of these in a Korean beauty box a couple of months ago. The top two are sheet masks, which turned out to be very nice. The bottom two were hydrogel masks, which I felt kind of dubious about at first since the only one I have ever used was a Dr. Jart one that I didn’t particularly like. These carried a lot more solution in them, and have changed my mind about hydrogels in general.

More of my favorite cheap and cheerful staple masks!

Can we just take a minute to appreciate the adorableness of this Go! Pinkgo Girl packaging? The masks themselves are very thin but manage to carry a lot of essence. They adhere well to the face, too, which I enjoy because I like the freedom of being able to walk around and do other things while I’m masking.

And I tried out a couple of Sephora’s masks. By-and-large I feel most sheet masks Sephora carries are overpriced. But I liked these. They were big enough to cover the periphery of my face, which is a rare thing.

That’s it for March!

Pale Girl Problems

I’m a very pale person. We’re talking fishbelly. Practically transparent. A quick comparison:

That’s my mom at the top there with a lovely light-golden skin tone. (Needless to say, I take after my Dad.) On the right is my sister-in-law who is a redhead with the beautiful even porcelain skin that goes with it. And on the left? My weird pasty paleness.

I have a really hard time matching foundations in general. My skin is neutral with an ever-so-slight yellow undertone that’s basically unnoticeable. But I also have a lot of redness to my skin.

It’s a pretty safe bet that, whatever foundation I want to try out, I’m going to want to choose the lightest shade available. But rarely is the lightest shade light enough. Let’s take, for example, the following eight foundations in my collection. I have applied them sheered out on the back of my hand, which is a match for my chest and neck.  They are all the lightest shades in their tones for their lines.

TOP L to R: Rouge Bunny Rouge Time Defying Foundation in Linen Cream; Smashbox Studio Skin 15-hour Wear Hydrating Foundation in 1.1 Bottom L to R: Estee Lauder Double Wear Light Intensity 1.0; BareMinerals Bareskin in Porcelain Bare

Top L to R: Lancome Teint Miracle in 2c Ivorire; Dr Jart Premium Beauty Balm. Bottom L to R: The Balm Time Balm in Lighter Than light; Konad's Irojie Floru CC Cream

I am all set if I want to impersonate a mutant oompa loompa next halloween, but they’re impossible to wear on their own.

I was particularly slayed by the Lancome as it’s the most beautiful of the lot by far. I have since found that Lancone has a 1N shade on their actual website that may work a little better. But the line starts at 2 in Ulta and Sephora.

I have found some shades that I can work with. And a couple that are pretty okay matches. The only thing I’ve found that was actually too light was a pure white.

Top L to R: L'oreal Visible Lift in 143 Soft Ivory; Andalou Naturals BB Cream in Natural Tint Bottom L to R: 100% Pure Super Fruits Healthy Foundation in Porcelain 1; Cover Girl Outlast Stay Fabulous in 805 Ivory

Top L to R: Cover Girl Clean in 205 Ivory; It Cosmetics Ultra Repair Liquid Foundation in Fair. Bottom to R: Dr. Jart Water Fuse Beauty Balm; Femme Couture Tinted Moisturizer Sunscreen in Natural Buff

Clockwise from left: It Cosmetics CC Cream in Fair; Manic Panic Dreamtone in Virgin; Tarte Maracuja Miracle Foundcealer in Fair

I like the idea of mixing those dark foundations with white, but the Manic Panic made my face burn. I have a couple of other white ones on order, but I fear it’s the white pigments that my skin is reacting to.

Am I the only one out there with this problem? Is is as hard to find foundations that work on the darkest end of the spectrum as it is on the lightest?

I may revisit this once I’ve exhausted all my mixing options.

Project 10 Pan 2015 – 2 Month Update

After my second month of panning, I now know why so many people work with a deadline. I don’t think a year-long rolling project is going to work for me. First of all, I like deadlines. I enjoy having a target to aim for. I know this about myself, so why I didn’t start with the deadline method is beyond me.

Second of all, I’m getting bored and want to play with the rest of my collection. (Because, honesty!)

So, I think I’m going to adjust a bit.

I’ll keep Pan That Palette going all year. That one naturally lends itself to supplementing with other things as I finish shadows up.  For Project Pan I’ll finish out the month without rolling new products in as I finish. That’ll be the end of quarter one. I’ll keep Project Product going through quarter two. Quarter three will be another Project Pan and four will be a product.

I think this will work better for me!

I decided to keep this month’s update simple since so many of the products are the same.

First up are the face products!

1) Trucking right along with the Andalou Naturals BB Cream. It’s difficult to tell exactly how much I have in there since the packaging is opaque, but I settled on the level after some tapping and squishing.

2) I transferred the Cover Girl Clean foundation into the cleaned and sanitized air pump bottle the NYC peptide serum was in. The triangular bottle and thick consistency was making it a messy pain in the butt to use. I’m still mixing it with a drop of oil and applying it over the BB cream, and that seems to work for my skin.

3) The Rimmel Match Perfection concealer stopped dispensing. I cut the tube open and scraped out the leftover product. It should last me another few weeks at least! (I have to admit, I bought another one of these today. It’s a dependable concealer, and I have a couple untrieds.)

4) I think I’ll be using this Meow Cosmetics mineral eyeshadow sample until the end of time. It takes so very little on the brush to get color payoff. I’m really enjoying it!

5) Better Than Sex mascara smudges and transfers on me so immediately and severely that it looks like I’ve been having some. I’ve been able to use this under a tubing mascara and that lets me get through the day without it melting down my face, but at the sacrifice of the wonderful things it does for my lashes. And I have two more sample tubes of this stuff.

6) Milani eye primer. Does the job and does it well!

7) I finally sharpened the eyebrow pencil! The beauty mark has never looked better.

8) Tough as Taupe. *sigh* Still struggling with this one. Especially since I bought a new Color Tattoo and was subsequently reminded what the actual texture of these is supposed to be like. I think I’ll try the saline-and-microwave trick. If I still hate it at the end of this project, it shall be de-stashed.

9) I’m enjoying the Julep gloss more than I thought I would. It’s a little too light, but sheer enough. Sticky, but not too sticky. I might consider getting this in a slight deeper shade.

10) And finally, I’m rotating in another lip balm. Burt’s Bees with coconut and pear. I got a four pack from my lovely sister-in-law for Christmas, and I want to get to work on them since they’re natural.

Finished Products
Rainbow Honey Lip Balm
Nyx dewey finish setting spray
Korrres face primer
Rainbow Honey Frozen Flame rollerball

Project 10 Pan 2015 – 1 Month Update

I’m one month into my project pan. I’ve made lots of progress on some things and on other things…well…not so much.

1) Korres Face Primer – I’m so close to finishing this up! One or two more uses and it’ll be done.

2) Milani Eyeshadow Primer – Making steady progress here!

3) Rimmel Match Perfection Concealer – This is the concealer that doesn’t end! I have been using it under the eyes and down onto the cheeks. It does a really good job at covering redness there without settling into pores there.

4) Ofra Eyebrow Pencil – I haven’t even sharpened the darned thing. I don’t like it for much, but I do use it to darken my beauty mark when it fades under foundation.

5) Maybelline Color Tattoo in Tough as Taupe – I’m really struggling with this one. The shade is much, much cooler than my camera makes it look. It makes my eyelids look bruised because I can’t get it sheered out enough. It’s starting to get too crumbly to work with.  I have been lining my eyes with it and topping it with black shadow. I think I might give myself till the end of March and if I’m still dreading the sight of it in my makeup bag, I’ll just let it go.

6) Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara – This stuff transfers like a mother. On me anyway. So many mascaras do, so I can’t judge it on that alone. The first time I wore it to work I ended up looking like a football player by lunch time. I love what it does for my lashes though! To try to make it work, I’ve started to pair it with some tubing and waterproof mascaras that I have open with inconsistent results. I have something else in mind to try!

Last month.

This month!

7) I made fairly good progress on the lip balm, if I do say so myself. I have never finished one before. Never. In 36 years. I may have myself a squee when it’s finally gone.

8) Slowly making my way through the BB cream. It’s very moisturizing and has a nice texture, but it’s just too dark for me. So…

9) …I’m using a foundation over it! This Cover Girl Clean is almost the right shade but it’s drier than what my skin likes. Pairing it with the BB cream and a little oil makes for a nice finish. I figured I should just cycle it into the project.

Julep Lip Gloss in Adored.

10) I very rarely buy lip products on purpose, but somehow have ended up with a bunch. To try to use them up, I’m going with a first-in-first-out strategy. This gloss came in a Julep box before we were able to customize. It’s sheer enough that I feel comfortable slapping it on during the day and sticky enough that it stays on fairly well in between breaks at work.

11) I’m cycling in one more product because the primer will probably be gone before this goes up. This is a mineral eyeshadow sample from Meow cosmetics that will gow with the palette I’m panning.

Finished Products
NYX Dewy Finish Setting Spray
Rainbow Honey Rollerball in Frozen Flame

De-stash & Trash – January 2015

January was a fairly productive month as far as using things up and moving items out of my collection.

First up, we have Julep’s Oxygen Base Coat and Freedom Polymer Top Coat. These were both all right, but got way too gloopy to use and weren’t awesome enough for thinner.

This is the only nail polish I’ve gotten in almost a year of Ipsy bags. And it’s silver glitter in a clear base. The glitter-to-polish ratio isn’t as dense as I like. And besides, how many bottles of silver glitter in a clear base does one polishista really need?

Cat hair in the manicure!

Sinful Colors in Let Me Go is a beautiful swirly pearly multi-dimensional color. In the bottle. On the nail it comes off a frosty and brush-stroky vague non-color with what looks like little particles in it that, when dry, makes your nails look like they have potholes in them. In this case, I’m going to have to do what the bottle tells me to.

My first Project Product item is finished! Granted, there was only about a fifth of the bottle left, but this felt like a hard-won victory in the personal care war.

Another Ipsy bag casualty. My hair is 50 inches long. There is nothing sexy, tousled, or beachy about it. I did try to use this to enhance my natural waves in damp hair, but couldn’t wait to wash it out after it dried. I think I left hair styling products back in the early ’90’s along with mall bangs and there they will stay.

Bioderma! I love micellar waters for makeup removal. Almost everything else I have tried burns the crap out of my skin. The brand Simple has come out with a micellar water that I have gotten my hot little hands on and am trying out. (So far, so good!) As far as I know, it’s the first in U.S. drugstores.

Speaking of makeup removal, I finished up a pack of these wipes. They aren’t bad. They don’t burn my face, which is the primary criteria for anything. I buy these when I go on long trips so I don’t have to lug a bottle of remover. I don’t feel like it gets me particularly clean but it’s good for a second step before the Clarisonic.

Finished this Rainbow Honey rollerball in Frozen Flame. The scent was nice and spicy, and didn’t turn on me. Definitely one I would wear again!

Used up this packet of The Body Shop’s Vitamin C Microdermabrasion scrub. It was creamy, the granules were very fine and it didn’t burn! It passed!

That’s it for this month. Since I mask so often, I plan on dedicating a separate post for those.

Pan That Palette – 1 Month Update

We’re moving right along on the Pan That Palette challenge!

This is where I’ve been living this month. As predicted, here’s a nice little dip in Adagio. It matches my skin tone, just like W&W’s Brulee, so I use it from lid to browbone as a blending aid. Allegro’s been my go-to in the crease with the sparkly pink Blink 1982 on the lid. The Stroke’s been working as an eyeliner.

I’ve used all the shadows except for Lead Zeppelin. It’s not at all the right shade of green for me, and honestly, if it’s the only shadow left at the end of this, I’ll consider this project a success.

Dirty!

I’ve been cracking into the cheek & lip products since this is the reason why I chose this palette to begin with. Milly, obviously, being the favorite. Cream blush is best for me this time of year, so I should be done with these in a few months.

I’m sure this will have been the easiest month. I’ve been rotating in some other palettes to give me more options than just these. As long as I’m using the Balm Jovi, too. So far, I’m not getting too awful bored.

We’ll see what happens next month!

Ipsy – January 2014

After almost a year of Ipsy, I’m still not sure how I feel about it.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun to look forward to, and open, the little bags each month.  I usually get samples from brands I haven’t tried yet. And the more feedback I give, the more useful the products are to me each month.

But after ten months, I have gotten duplicates. (If I get another bronze-colored Pacifica eyeshadow, I’m quitting Ipsy on the spot.) There’s really been nothing I’ve tried that’s made me want to do backflips. Only one thing that led to any sales, and that was the double-ended Crown brush everybody got a few months back.

I think I’m going to post the bags here and do a look back to the previous months’ products for a while. If I feel continually meh, I think I’ll cancel and try something new.

Anybody else out there conflicted about Ipsy? Do you have a subscription service you love?

Mel’s Best of 2014 – Skincare

2014 was a do over year for me as far as makeup and skincare go. I had a 180 degree change in skin type in 2013 – from oily to dry in a matter of months – and I had to learn what works all over again. Almost from scratch.

I’m still experimenting, but there were a few things that I found myself going back to and repurchasing over and over again over the past year.

Like MJ Care’s sheet masks. I mask regularly. Sometimes daily. I have tried a ton of masks and these, for me, have the perfect amount of serum, fit my face the best, and are the most cost effective. I find them on Amazon in 10-count variety packs for $10.00. They’re extremely moisturizing and contain hyaluronic acid, which has become a magic ingredient for me.

I have been exploring some indie brands and have developed a deep love for Garden Girl Skin Care. Particularly their Quench Coat moisturizer and Soothing Harmony toner. The moisturizer is light, silicone-free, and contains my beloved hyaluronic acid. The toner feels fresh and hydrating, doesn’t contain alcohol and has tea tree oil in it, which I really like.

My face is so sensitive to product. My skin gets red and tender and flaky if I use the wrong thing just once. This is the only makeup remover (besides straight-up oil, which I hate using) that doesn’t do that to me. I can use it on both my eyes and face without worry. And although it’s expensive, I can usually find a two-pack of 500ml bottles for between $40 and $50 on Amazon, which that lasts me a good six months. My budget’s okay with that.

I went deoderant/anti-perspirant-free this year. Yeah, it was a process. I use this once after my daily shower. It kills any remaining bacteria so I can sweat but not stink. Not stinking makes me happy.

I hopped on the Clarisonic train this year. I had the Olay version, but I found myself fighting the rotation of the brush head and decided it wasn’t worth the frustration. This is different. The bristles vibrate, I’m in control of where it goes, there’s a timer that I can pay attention to make sure I get even coverage, and I can use it daily without dryness, flaking, or sensitivity. I’ve been using it since August, and I feel like it’s made a difference in the texture of my skin:

Taken last winter.

Name tag selfie taken for work last month.

You can see the difference mostly in the forehead area.

Thats it for skincare 2014! I hope to find even more “holy grail” elements for my regime. I’m actively on the hunt for eye cream and the perfect face wash.  Next up will be makeup and nail polish favorites!