I went to a new hairdresser recently, because my pre-wedding life has gotten to a point where everything must be reliably transacted over email or not at all. Sarah taught me lots of good tricks, and gave me a smashing flat-iron for my trim-but-not-cut, since she insisted I needed the length for my wedding style.
But I think the MOST interesting thing I learned was how to flat-iron my hair better. She insisted that, instead of doing it in layers, I buy up a bunch of little claw clips, separate into many sections, and then straighten each one. MAN, does this tip work! I just got cheapo Scunci clippy thingies with silicone to help them hold, and it’s a much better process now. I will try and update this post with a pic next time I’m all Björked out. And at my next cut with her, she’s going to teach me better tricks for wearing my hair wavy.
Glad she let me keep all my extra length, and that the prenatal vitamins I’ve been sporadically popping seem to be working — my hair is getting quite long! Just in time for my trial run with Carina next weekend. Fingers crossed!
So Aveda’s new conditioner? ALSO CRAP. Like ALL PRIOR VERSIONS. At least I got to try it for free though.
Stay tuned. Surely they’ll come out with a seventh innovative bottle of cetearyl alcohol soon!
God, even the title is a mouthful! I just got a manicure with this special new-ish nail system, because I wanted to test-drive a wedding manicure that would be longer-lasting than typical polish, since I’m quite adept at ruining manicures in record time. When browsing the website at Frenchy’s, I saw this ‘soak-off gel nail’ thing that was touted as a great option for special occasions, busy professionals who didn’t want to schedule regular manicures, or people going on extended vacations. And I thought that sounded like just the right kind of manicure!
The system worked like most gel nails, I guess, except that after the base coat, two gel polish coats were applied and UV-hardened. Problem is, the color (I went with “Aphrodite’s Pink Night”) is quite sheer and went on paler than I’d pictured, so it’s much subtler than I’d hoped and doesn’t conceal if I have gunk in my nails. (Gross, I know, but part of the beauty of a manicure is making your hands look great even when they’re not, right?) OPI’s description seems to indicate this is by design.
I’m also told I can’t put polish on top of the gel lacquer like I could with acrylics or regular gel nails (as I understand them). But then this Elle link seems to indicate you CAN put polish on! And when I asked about fills/maintenance, they said it was pretty much the full $60 no matter what, but maybe they could do a same-color fill for $45. Hrm.
All in all, I think this service convinced me to give regular gel nails a try for the wedding. I’ve only had acrylics once before and hated them, but so far I’m loving my gel hybrid thingies. My nails are still short enough to be able to type and do everything else I do (I hate the look and feel of long nails). We’ll see how they hold up after a week or so, but if I still like them come July then I’m getting gels for the big day!
 So Trina Turk is apparently a Clinique fan and she designs exclusive cosmetics bags for GWP offers. The latest Nordstrom one is AMAZING looking! Thank goodness I actually have a standard Clinique product that I purchase regularly now.
I stocked up on another tube of my mascara, and I was originally gonna just get two tubes, but then I changed my mind and opted for a Quickliner in Smoky Brown since I remember loving those from GWPs of yore. Here are the (allegedly $75 value) contents, in case you’re curious:
- 7 Day Scrub Cream Rinse-Off Formula (1 oz.)
- Sun Face Cream SPF 30 with keychain (0.24 oz.)
- Even Better Skin Tone Correcting Moisturizer SPF 20 (0.5 oz.)
- Travel-size Shimmering Stripes Powder Blusher in Peony
- High Impact Mascara in Black (0.14 oz.)
- Different Lipstick in Ice Bloom (0.14 oz.)
- Long Last Glosswear SPF 15 in Fire Berry (0.07 oz.)
Here’s hoping at least one of these freebie items is a new hit for me! But even if not, I’m mostly in it for the adorable makeup bag.
So last weekend, I volunteered myself as a wedding cake baker as well as a wedding makeup artist. This was for a very close friend’s lower-key wedding, but boy, it was still a surprisingly laborious labor of love! It really made me realize how being a makeup artist is totally different than being a savant regarding one’s own cosmetics applications. In the end, she was a beautiful blushing bride, but I think it had more to do with her naturally gorgeous features than with my touches!
I couldn’t get over how many of my pal’s features just behaved, well, differently than mine. When I was applying her eye shadow, the actual shape of her eyeballs kept throwing me off. Sounds weird, but it really did! And she required a much lighter touch than my usual makeup, which I knew she would, but it was still hard for me to gauge. (I was mostly using a Smashbox eye shadow trio in brown hues that I had gotten as a birthday freebie.)
I also couldn’t figure out how to make NARS Albatross work on her. I struggle with making it highlight my own skin properly, as I find it can cling weirdly and make me look overly gold. But magically, even though this stuff was super-pale gold, it somehow made her look darker and, like, inappropriately tanned and dark-circled! I can’t wrap my head around it, but we both decided it didn’t look right and just took it off. (Thank goodness I had thought to bring some Sephora makeup remover pads for easy on-the-fly decisions like this!)
Lastly, when I used my favorite shade of nude tokidoki lip stain on her, it just looked completely different, and the shape of her lips was so distinct from mine. The defined line that I tend to draw around my cupid’s bow looked awful on her, and I couldn’t figure out how to tell her to purse/pucker/flatten/pout her lips for an ideal application on top or bottom. We eventually got it working, but not for lack of effort!
All in all, I have vastly more respect for the challenges that makeup artists face now — it definitely is a trickier art than just working with the face you see in the mirror every day. Minute differences in people’s bone structure, fleshy bits, etc. really change the canvas, so to speak! It makes me eager to schedule my wedding trial run so I can put my mind at ease about how my makeup artist will handle my own face’s inevitable quirks… time to schedule that bachelorette shindig, I guess!
I sometimes feel like a bit of a chump for being a lip stain addict, because stains are probably the least natural cosmetic out there. (I’m sure some “natural” stains exist, but even the pretend-naturals like Tarte are chock-full of silly chemicals.) But ever since Grant started dating me, he has been horrified by the idea of kissing a glossy mouth. And I can’t say I blame him! Hence, Stain City.
Well, I’d never quite found the perfect product. The closest I’d gotten was Vincent Longo’s gel stains, but those shades are all way too dark for my fairer complexion — not into the Goth Lip look. Plus the packaging can be hell — while the wand applicator is great, I’ve had three tubes break in my purse and stain all of the contents. Ew! I’ve also tried TheBalm’s Stainiac, which is also wand based and is a bit lighter in pigment, but the formulation feels sticky and doesn’t last as long. And I’ve tried decanting Benetint and Lorac’s Sheer Wash into a wand tube, but meh.
I don’t care for balm-based stains like Laura Mercier or tarte, since the whole point is kissability; and most pen-style stains like Styli Style tend to dry out much faster than other packaging styles. I started an EDS thread to solicit others’ input, and it definitely helped, but I was still searching for better shades that were less Goth or garish. I’ve tried the in-between Stila brush-pen-balm-thing as well as the Sephora Lush Flush in 2 shades… what can I say; I leave no stone unturned!
 But finally, here’s the good part! Today’s Sephora package brought me a new nude/beige stain by tokidoki that actually looks fab, even though nudes usually wash me out. (Sadly, though, this stuff tastes terrible!) And I also got both color combos of TheBalm’s For Keeps, so I can mix and custom blend colors that work better on me, and dilute them to soften the look. (Plus I simply adore the innovative formulation and charming packaging!)
AND, I now see that a Josie Maran stain pen just came out, which I am, like, contractually obligated to purchase at this point. And I never did try the Givenchy stain pen. At least cosmetics companies have clearly realized that there is a market for stain… now here’s hoping we get some SUBTLE stains out of this epiphany soon! ‘Til then, a combo of, yes, ALL of the above will be what colors my lips. Grant certainly can’t complain that I haven’t tried to find a good kissable-yet-glam solution!
Pun totally intended.
I started using Jurlique Rose Silk Dust a couple years ago on my face, and I discovered that it was a bit too drying to use often. But, of course, I was unwilling to waste such an expensive product! So I started using it on the wispy hair bits around my face that tend to get greasy thanks to my cleansing cream and my DIY facial oil blend that I use to moisturize. And thus begun my love affair with hair powder!
 Not only do I have coarse, drier hair, but I also have hair that tends to look WAY better when unwashed for a couple days. And since it’s dry, it tends to look fine unwashed except right at the scalp or around my hairline. So the advent of hair powder as a common beauty product has been an almost-ideal solution… except that some hair powders are AWFUL.
I tried a travel size bottle of Ojon Rub-Out, and HATED it. Greasy, stinky (but not in their usual signature yummy Ojon scent) and flaky-looking. I’d been using Bumble and Bumble Hair Powder as a very different type of styling aid, but I found it didn’t translate well to scalp use AT ALL. (The brown turns your scalp brown and the white just looks like chalky dandruff, and both irritate the skin while failing to make you less greasy-looking after a long day.) And don’t even THINK about brushing your hair with either of these products in it, unless you want to spend an hour on brush cleaning afterwards. Ew. So I opted to avoid spray formulations and just go for straight up powder… powder. Continue reading The Hair Powder Shakedown
 As I recently whined on my Twitter Feed, Nordstrom Beauty announced a Smashbox gift with $50 purchase ONE DAY after I had made a $49 Smashbox purchase. (In case you’re wondering, I got the Complexion Perfection Kit to try out as wedding makeup — it’s out of stock in my shade at every other vendor.)
But I cried to their Customer Service people online, and they happily shipped me the gift, separately, for free, no questions asked! (Okay, a few questions like “what was your order number” and “what is your shipping address” — so no annoying questions asked.)
 And THEN I saw on Smashbox’s site that they have crazy good Let’s Do Lunch deals twice a week, in which you get a free gift for buying ANYTHING during a certain time period, no minimum purchase required, and free shipping. WTF?! Why aren’t all vendors that awesome? So I stocked up on brush cleaner (which I’ve been needing anyway) and… got a free duo lip gloss, IN ADDITION to a sample of the tinted moisturizer that I ALSO wanted to try out as wedding makeup.
AND THEEEEENN I got one of them automated Sephora emails telling me a product was back in stock — and it was the new TheBalm Lip Stain I’ve been wanting to try out (also as wedding makeup. Sensing a theme here?), which had been out in the color I wanted. And I discovered that ZOMG I now qualify for my first-ever 500 point bonus gift there (currently a Tarte giftapalooza with gloss, 2 mascaras, eyeliner, primer, etc. etc.). Kinda terrifying that I’ve spent enough cumulatively to qualify, but whatevs. And they ALSO have a bunch of samples that I’m totally into right now. SO I think I’m gonna order my wedding lip stuff and stock up on the big freebie there too.
I think, so far this month, I may actually receive more in free product than actual monetary purchases. Guess the entire cosmetics industry figured out it was almost my birthday or something! ^_^
Sort of. I’m working on it. And when I say “I” I mean “mostly my awesome fiancé Grant” and when I say “working on it” I mean “whining at Grant for him to help realize my undescribed, vague, yet somehow passionate vision for this new version of an existing blog”…. so… yeah. We’re working on it! Check back soon please. And follow me on Twitter in the meantime!
I can’t believe how long overdue this is. A recent Daily Candy newsletter pinged 3floz.com, a new website that only sells TSA-approved toiletries. For months now I’ve been scratching my head when I see 2- or 4-ounce bottles of “travel” shampoo at the drugstore — didn’t anyone get on this and think, gee, maybe we ought to capitalize on TSA’s restrictions?
The main thing I love about 3floz.com is that they carry higher-end stuff that can be much harder to track down in travel-friendly portions. That and the little travel-friendly quirks, like shipping your stuff internationally to have it waiting for you, or waiving the overnight fee if you prove your urgency with an itinerary. So cool!
My only complaint so far is that they ONLY carry the high end stuff — sometimes a girl just wants a (travel-friendly) stick of Secret, ya know? Hopefully they will continue to expand their offerings as they gain popularity… especially since TSA has made it clear they plan to keep the restriction on for the foreseeable future.
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