They Broke My Face!!! Or "How Smashbox Nearly Ruined My Graduation"

Hello Friends!

Normally I'm try to keep things pretty positive on this blog... But everyone needs a rant sometimes, don't they? If you're not up for a rant today, now would probably be a good time to click away... 

Anyway, it all started with Sephora's 15th birthday party. I had gone in to get a refill of my Caudalie cleansing water the week before, and one of the attendants offered my mom and I appointments for "Free Smashbox Makeovers!!!" that Saturday. It seemed like a good plan to me, so we signed up for the last two spots.

As I've said before, I have several friends who work in Sephora, and so I'm used to getting treated like a princess there... so this might be a bit of an overreaction, but bear with me. When we arrived, there were two "guest artists" from Smashbox waiting to do our makeup. 

The whole experience was a little strange. Neither of the artist introduced themselves. The one working on my face (let's call her Jen), asked what my skin type was, and a general idea we wanted to go with. Since I tend to wear either natural or purple-ish toned eyemakeup, I asked that we stay away from those (so she used a dark champange color with a palette of purples.. but I digress), and left the rest of it up to her. (Apparently the other one, [who we'll call Katie] had similar listening skills... My mom was also unimpressed.)

Jen said that she also has oily skin and that their Photo Finish Targeted Line and Pore Primer (above) was the only thing that worked for her, so I was game to try it. She put it on my T-Zone, and across the tops of my cheeks. 

Fast forward through a truly unimpressive appointment (which they then informed us was "free with purchase," not free) to Friday, the date of my graduation ceremony.

I got up that morning, and went through my normal morning routine, not noticing anything unusual, until I went to put on my foundation. It wouldn't stick to my forehead. At all. I use a great primer, and I've never had any problems with it before... it just wouldn't stick. So I tried another foundation. And another primer. Nothing would stick. I should have taken a picture. I looked like a baby with an angel kiss/stork bite birthmark on my forehead (google it, if you're not sure what I'm talking about). It was bizarre.

In a bit of a panic, I asked my mom what she thought I should do, and we tried several more things... Nothing worked. Eventually, it clicked. Jen, the Smashbox artist, had gone back over that area (the one that would not hold makeup) with that primer a few times- more than anywhere else on my my face. 

Totally discouraged, we called Sephora and arranged an appointment for that afternoon (this time with someone I knew). At the appointment I explained my theory. SB, my friend at Sephora agreed. She had heard some bad reviews of that product (and those artists- it really was free, not free with purchase!), and reported the incident to her manager.

Inspecting my "bald" spot, she decided that the top layer of skin had died, and gave me a free chemical peel. Afterwards, the spot gave her a little trouble, but she went well over the normal 40 minute appointment to make sure I looked okay, and really saved the day.

I'm not sure if there's a moral to this story... more of just a rant. I also don't recommend that primer!

Have you ever had bad makeup counter or makeover experiences? Let me know in the comments below!

Always,

Nani xx

Ulta Haul, Part One- The Products!

Hello Friends!

I totally failed guys! It was final exam week, and I had to choose whether to blog or pass my exams... I'm on break now, so I should be able to make up for it with a couple posts next week!

Anyway, last week I promised you guys a review from my trip to Ulta. I think I'm going to split it into two parts- products and brushes- and upload them separately, because it's just too much for one post!

If you've been following along with my blog, this first purchase shouldn't be much of a surprise to you: I bought more foundation. It turns out that the Rimmel foundation that I thought was perfect ALSO turned pink on my skin. After doing a little research, the best explanation I can find is that it has something to do with the the foundation reacting to the mix of oxygen and the pH of my skin. Whatever the reason, I've been using this new foundation for a week, and I haven't had any problems with it (fingers crossed!), and I've given the rest of the Rimmel to my sister. :)

 

This time, after explaining the pink/oxidation and my oily skin to the lady at Ulta, she recommended the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12 hour Full Coverage Foundation ($38) in Light, their third shade out of eight. I have used this foundation before- I bought it for my trip to Costa Rica last summer, in shade four, Medium, but in the winter that's far to dark for me. I really the color palette this line has. Most of the shades are neutral tones, so they work wonderfully for me.

The clay in the foundation works wonders for oil control, which is perfect for me. The coverage is definitely full, but it doesn't wear heavily on the skin. It feels really nice going on, and I really don't need much of it, especially when I use my new brushes (review to come). I've definitely found that it wears for almost exactly 12 hours, just like the label says! We'll see if things change, but as of right now, about a week and a half into the use of it, I'm pretty happy with it.

I had intended to buy a Lancome mascara that Fleurdeforce recommends (Hypnose Star, $28), but Ulta doesn't carry Lancome. When I asked about it, however, one of the employees had just quit Lancome, and so she was able to recommend a similar product, Lorac Pro mascara ($23), which happened to be on sale for $10. (The sale is still available on their website... very tempting!)

Lorac Pro is a nice deep black formula that doesn't flake, but what sets it apart is the wand.

The wand is almost conical, and I think the secret to it is that the bristle length is designed to match to the length of the lashes in that area of the eye (short on the inner corner, etc), at least for me. I find that if I curl my lashes I can get away with two strokes of this stuff, as opposed to the 3-4 strokes of Benefits' They're Real mascara (which I also liked). It also separates the lashes well. I've used the plastic wands for so long that it took me a bit to get used to the spoolie brush, but I really like it. My only complaint about the mascara is that it is NOT waterproof in the least. I have to put it on after I use my setting spray, or I look like the prom queen runner-up... lots and lots of mascara all down my face.



I had heard a lot about Nyx, but I hadn't ever tried it (it's not widely available in my area), so I got pretty excited to see it at Ulta- and it was on SALE!

I picked out this eye shadow, Nyx Nude Matte Shadow in "I Have a Headache" ($4.49), to use as a base for other eye shadows, since I've found that if your put a color similar to your skin tone all over your lid, the other colors you put on blend better and wear more evenly. I've been using "Desire" from Stila's In the Moment palette, but I'm running it out, and it's not available on its own (and the palette is way too big to carry!). This is almost an exact dupe, and way better quality than I was expecting. The only downfall- the packaging. It looks a lot like the Urban Decay individual eye shadow pots, but the inner liner that holds makeup is loose- just loose enough to be annoying, and the plastic feels really cheap. For the price, though, it's understandable.

I also picked up this Nyx Concealer in Green ($4.99). With all the stress I'm under from school right now, my skin is a MESS. I've never used a red-cancelling green concealer before, but I think I like it. It's definitely working. I think I'll go with a liquid next time, but that's just because I'm not a fan of stick concealer. No complaints!



The last thing was this little set of EOS lipbalms in Strawberry and Passion fruit. These lip balms are everywhere right now! I saw the cute spring packaging, and the pastel-ness lured me in. I like them a lot, particularly the purple passion fruit one!



Ok guys, this is the end of part one! Stay tuned for part two, the brushes!

Always,

Nani


(P.S. This post was written during WWF's Earth Hour. Did you #DoItInTheDark?)

Ulta Review

Hello Friends!

I had the opportunity to go to Ulta yesterday. From what I understand, it's a fairly wide-spread chain across America, but I had never been before. Here's a little about my experience.

When I first walked in, I was surprised by the size- the store was huge. Then I was surprised by the contents of the store. I expected something like Sephora (high quality makeup, well organized, well lit store, etc.), but what I found was pretty different.

As far as I can tell, Ulta (at least the store that I visited) is divided into fourths- high quality makeup, drugstore/high street makeup, perfume, and hair/nails.

The high quality makeup selection was fairly small, I think, though they had a lot of top notch brands. The set up was very much like Sephora, wide aisles, lighted display shelves, etc. Although the selection of brands they had was limited, they had large selections within the brands that they did have, wider than Sephora carries, in some cases (Tarte, Anastasia Beverly Hills, and Cargo, for example). They also had several that are not easy to find around here, like Butter London and Iman. I was disappointed with the lack of several staple brands though, like Make Up Forever.

The drugstore/high street section was a whole other kettle of fish. In keeping with the drugstore theme, I guess, it looked a lot like a drugstore, with narrow aisles and the shelves all jumbled up and crammed together. I was happy however, to see that they carried a lot of brands that I can't find anywhere else! I've never actually found Nyx cosmetics in a store before, so that was exciting. I also was able to buy some Real Techniques by Sam Chapman (of Pixiwoo fame) brushes.

The customer service was so-so. The attendant was willing to help, and helped me find the products I was looking for (reviews to come!), but was a little distracted by her friends. Maybe I'm spoiled by the treatment I get by having friends at Sephora, but she seemed like she was trying to go fast to get back to whatever she had been doing before.

One thing I really liked, however, was that Ulta does sales! Sephora really doesn't- they'll do special sets with discounted products, but Ulta does true "buy one, get one half off" type sales. I got a Lorac Pro mascara (normally $23) for $10. Ten dollars. That would NEVER happen at Sephora.

Overall, I think I was impressed by Ulta, but not that specific store. I think, since the sales are so good, I will continue to shop Ulta for the products that might be cheaper there, but online only. Maybe I'll try another location sometime, we'll see.

Review of the products pictured above will be spread out over the next few weeks... As you can see, I took advantage of the trip!

Always,

Nani xx

I (re)Discover Drugstore Makeup!

Hello Friends!

Okay... Confession time:

I am a makeup snob. I never use drugstore makeup.

I don't mean sometimes, occasionally, every once in a while... I mean never.

When I was first allowed to wear makeup, my mom insisted that I only use Clinique, since sensitive skin runs in our family. This did two things. Firstly, it allowed her a high level of control over what makeup I owned, since, at twelve, there was no way I could afford to buy it (good thinking, Mom!). Secondly, it instilled the "you get what you pay for" value very deeply into my soul.

Once we determined that I wasn't allergic to most makeup, I was allowed to buy drugstore brands (still with Mom's supervision, thank goodness... although, there was that hideous electric blue mascara... but I digress). Since at that point, most of my money was from babysitting jobs (and I was a young teen), I gravitated to the cheaper, teen-oriented brands, like NYC and Jane. (the culprits behind the shocking mascara)

I liked the drugstore makeup, but I could feel the difference. The Clinique was smoother, had more pigment, and lasted longer... but the NYC was so much cheaper.

This carried on until I was 15, when we got a mini-Sephora in a larger department store in our mall. There were (in my mind) so many brands, and so many colors.. and they encouraged -or helped (!!)- you to try it out! I was in heaven. Then, a few months later, the mothership landed. We got our very own GIANT Sephora store.

Since then, I have rarely bought makeup anywhere else. It's an addiction. You've had the best, and it cost $39, so how could a $7 product compete?

Well... Here's where it gets real:

I have never found a foundation that I liked for more that a few months. I always find something wrong with it- wrong color, wrong texture, didn't last long enough (I'll never forget coming out of class with a perfect hand print of makeup missing my freshman year... yikes!)- there will be something. When you're paying $20-40 for foundation, switching every few months really adds up!

So when my latest foundation purchase, the new Make Up Forever Pro Finish powder (see my initial review of it here), ended up disappointing me after only a few weeks, I snapped.

I bought drugstore foundation.

And yeah- I only only spent $7 on it. And I LOVE it.

No, it's not the perfect foundation. No, it's not an exact match. But it's pretty darn close. SO. without further ado, I give you my new foundation:

Rimmel London Match Perfection Foundation, in 120 Ivory (about $7 at Target).

After doing some research (read: watching Youtube reviews), I had decided on the Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation, but I'm pretty sure we don't have that here in the US, so I settled on this one. 

Application:
The first thing I noticed about the foundation was it's smell- it's fruity, and really pleasant. It's a thin, liquid foundation, which goes on really smoothly with a "precision"/beautyblender type sponge. I haven't tried it with a stipple brush yet, but I'm intrigued to see how that goes.
Like I said, it goes on smoothly, and, maybe because it's so thin, it layers really well. 

Wear:
When it first goes on (at least on oily skin like mine), it's almost... sticky. Not like honey... more... tacky. I really dislike that, but with a light dusting of setting powder, that goes away, and doesn't come back.
It doesn't last very long on it's own, maybe 6 hours, but with powder, and especially with a setting spray, it can last close to 12 hours. 

Removal:
This is my only concern with this foundation. Not that it's hard to take off, but the opposite. If you leave it on for a long time, like I do, then it can kind of disappear into your face, and lull you into complacency with your removal process (it's gotten me twice!). Always, ALWAYS remove your makeup before bed or a shower!


Anyway, I love the foundation, and now that I've broken down my prejudice, I went back for more. Today I went back to Target and picked up three lipsticks for spring! (Review to come!)

All this to say... Don't rule out anything completely.

Always,

Nani <3

Sephora Haul! 02.05.2013

Hello Friends,

As you will soon learn, I have an addiction. I can't go into Sephora without spending money. When I say addiction, I'm not kidding. The employees literally know me by name.

Anyway, I went into Sephora in need of foundation the other day, and came out with ten products. Sigh.

I've been using various shades of Make Up Forever Mat Velvet + foundation,

but I found that before the expiration date comes, the foundation oxidizes, and turns pink. Since I have fair skin with golden undertones, the pink looked ridiculous, so it was time for a change.

Felicia, a wonderful employee at my local Sephora (although she's leaving for Rhode Island soon!), introduced me to the new Make Up Forever Pro Finish powder foundation in 113 Neutral Ivory ($36).

Normally, I don't like using powder foundation, but I love this foundation. I can't rave about it enough. It goes on very smoothly and has a good coverage. I get bad breakout when I'm stressed, and as I'm a college student going in to midterms, I'm definitely stressed, and it covers the spots very well. For best results, I apply it with the Sephora brand Perfectionist Makeup Sponge (A molded Beauty Blender dupe, $12).

It can be used wet or dry, although I prefer dry, since the wet application is a little sheer for me.

Since I have oily skin, a good primer is essential for me. Something I hadn't realized is that oily skin also tends to be dry skin- your face produces more oil to make up for it. Because of this, Felicia found a really nice hydrating primer, Smashbox Photo Finish in Hydrating ($42)

It has a really good feeling to it. It's very sheer, and smooth. It soaks in nicely, instead of sitting on top if the skin, and it smooths out the skin to leave it ready for the makeup, which is especially important with a powder foundation.

She also recommended another primer for the under-eye area (which was her very gentle way of saying "Those dark circles under your eyes are horrific," which they are), Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Under Eye Primer ($29).

The information on their website says that it reduces under eye circles, puffiness, bags, and fine lines. I'm not sure how much I believe them. It does hide the circles to an extent, since it refracts the light, but I'm not sure I'll be buying this product again, especially since it's almost thirty dollars.

Since my foundation changed, I needed a new concealer, too. Felicia found the Cover Fx Cream Concealer in N Light ($27). (I ended up exchanging it for the G Light, as the N was too orange-y for me.)

I'm having a learning curve with this stuff. It is so concentrated that I only need a tiny bit, and I still find that I tend to put on too much, causing it to show through my foundation. It does totally wipe out my under eye circles and spots though! For now, the jury's still out.

Since I was going for a 1940s glam look, Felicia set me up with some neutral eye shadow. She actually used three, but I had some similar to the other two. I ended up purchasing Urban Decay eye shadow in Secret Service, a lovely matte brown ($18).

I love this color. It's so beautiful, and very natural. It blends well, and as an added bonus, it is exactly the right color to fill in my eyebrows.  I'll definitely be purchasing this again.

We chose a red lip color, Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella ($25).

This is one of the best lip colors I've ever used. It 's highly pigmented, glides on, and lasts a very long time. I have very dry lips, and it moisturizes really well. I appreciate that once it's on, I don't notice it anymore. The color is opaque, but it doesn't dry harshly. I'm very pleased with it.

In the picture at the top of the page, there's also a cream eyeliner, and two brushes. The cream liner is Sephora Collection Waterproof Smoky Cream Liner in Must Have, a matte black ($12). I like it, but it's pretty generic. My only complaint is something I should have expected- because my eyelids are a little oily, if I don't put a powder over it, I get a mirrored image of my eyeliner in the crease of my eye. The brushes are both Sephora brand, a fluffy eye shadow brush, and an angled flat liner.

For a finishing touch, I got a setting spray (since, like I mentioned, I have oily skin, it's a must). I settled on Urban Decay's De-Slick Oil-Control Makeup Setting Spray ($29).

I didn't think it helped that much, until I went without it. With the spray my makeup lasts all day, but without it it only lasts about 4-6 hours. It's definitely worth the price.

Since I spent a ridiculous amount of money on this stuff, and I'm a student, I have grounded myself from going in there until... I'm not sure. But not for a while.

Always,

Nani