Posts tagged ‘sephora’
Bushy Bushy Brow Brow
I haven’t switched up my makeup routine for over a decade. Coverup. Bronzer. Eyeliner. Mascara. Bam. Out the door. But today I’m going to tell you about an additional step that I’ve just incorporated into my daily routine, which may not be major for you, but is major for me. For starters, I tend to think that I look like a drag queen whenever I have too much makeup on, so anytime someone tries to tell me that I should use more of “x” to bring out my “y,” I turn them down like Justin did Britney circa 2007. However, like the rest of the world, I’ve developed quite the “girl crush” on kooky supermodel Cara Delevingne and am painfully envious of luscious bushy brows. Though the high school me would have rejected such a voluminous look — over plucked eyebrows were in at the time — the current me is questioning whether I can get some sort of a brow implant to make mine look as full and bushy as Cara’s. But that seems silly since it would probably require me to implant some of my excessive arm hair onto my face. So instead I’ve discovered another mechanism for achieving Cara’s furry caterpillars.
The mechanism lies in a little pot of Brow Powder by Anastasia and is best applied with the accompanying double-sided brush. With a brief — we’re talking 10-30 seconds — swipe of this powder my brows not only appear fuller but they actually make all of my other features pop out without turning me into someone who might be named Destiny who wears a wig and false eyelashes while singing Cher into a sparkly microphone. Though I’ve always sworn that my eyelash curler and mascara are my one true loves when it comes to makeup, I’m starting to sway toward Team Eyebrow since our faces really look weird without them (see here).
So what say you? Are you down with brow town?
The Crayon Kiss
Revlon Just Bitten Kissable in ‘Rendezvous’ | Clinique Chubby Stick in ‘Two Ton Tomato’
Lipstick is hands down one of the greatest accessories. I know it’s a beauty product, but for something that adds such pow! to a look like a bold shade of red, it deserves to be placed in the accessory bin. However, prominent lip shades like fuchsia or orange aren’t necessarily for everyday wear — kind of like 6-inch stilettos — so finding a color that’s more subtle is as crucial to your beauty/accessory routine as face lotion.
When I was younger I had the brightest red lips on the playground. Kids used to make fun of me by telling me I wore my mom’s lipstick, and while that might have been the case behind closed doors at home, I spent most of my childhood telling the obnoxious kids hoarding the swingsets that my lips were naturally that red. But alas, as I’ve gotten older my lip color has faded and now I just miss the days when I looked like I had an addiction to eating cherry pops. While licking my lips can sometimes replicate this “natural red”, it usually just results in me looking like I have chapped lips. And as much as I love a bright lipstick, those too end up drying out my lips, and then I find myself licking them because they are chapped. It’s a vicious cycle if you didn’t pick that up already.
However, after spending a solid hour in Sephora last week, I think I have finally found the perfect everyday lip color. Clinique’s Chubby Stick comes in a multitude of shades in the form of a thick crayon. With a quick swipe it not only adds a subtle color (my personal favorite is the ‘Two Ton Tomato’ — whoever thought up that name clearly loves Heirloom season), but also gives my smackers as much moisture as Chapstick. I know I sound like a CoverGirl commercial right now, but I’m ok with that. When I find a product I love I want to share it. I want to praise it. I want to buy it in bulk so that I’m never without it. But since Clinique can sometimes be a bit on the pricier side, I’ve also found Revlon’s Just Bitten Kissable to be an affordable and comparable alternative. Now let’s makeout.
WTF is BB Cream?
BB Cream is all the rage in the beauty world right now; kind of like mustaches in the hipster world or iPad minis in the tech world.
When I first heard about BB Cream I had no idea what it was so I brushed it off like some stupid fad that would die away in a week. But it kept haunting me. People started swearing by it, Sephora donated an entire product page to it, all my favorite magazines were preaching about it. What the fuck was this shit? made out of Aphrodite’s ovaries or something?
So, I started investigating. One quick Google search and hundreds of pages with the search terms “what is BB cream” popped up. Thank goodness I wasn’t alone. Turns out this stuff has been around for awhile and actually stands for blemish balm. “Ok,” I thought, “I have zits, I’m intrigued.”
While people originally used BB Cream to cover up blemishes, the product has come a long way since then. It is now used as a one-step miracle balm that functions as a moisturizer, primer, foundation, and sunscreen. As someone who would rather break her back carrying five suitcases up the stairs at once instead of taking multiple trips, this one-step cream sounded like a dream come true.
And get this, it is. I got my hands on Dr. Jart+ BB Cream and with one application immediately noticed a smoother, more radiant, Sonia (hey, boys!). I’ve since shelved my primer and foundation, and have no intention of looking back.
Now, this stuff apparently comes in one “universal shade,” which I find to be utterly confusing; but then again, it could be made from Aphrodite’s ovaries so I won’t question it.
A Week in Review
{ Typical morning blogging stance — pre coffee }
It’s officially those final days of summer and man, am I living them to their fullest (see below photo of my fridge). I rarely have a night on my couch at home and my laundry pile is so monumental it’s like the Mt. Everest for ants (note: there are no ants in my laundry).
But on top of those final days of summer being all about hanging with friends and eating until you explode (everyone else does that too, right?), my work life has been on fire as well. Today I get the first mockups of Runway Hippie’s re-design, I’ll be traveling for work in October (details soon), and I have an exciting photo shoot coming up next week! I know, I’m being vague again, but isn’t the anticipation fun?
And now the weekend.
{ End of summer fireworks at the beach in Connecticut }
{ An experiment in tips }
{ What happens when you don’t have a single night at home to cook }
{ Surprisingly good makeup sponges from Sephora }
Argan Oil
I received this Josie Maran Argan Oil ages ago. My initial thought? WTF is argan oil? Always curious to try new beauty products I searched the box in hopes of some directions on how to use this strange serum, but all I got was an obnoxious “use it everywhere! split ends, cuticles, dry skin, everywhere!” or something along those lines.
I stored it in the back of my medicine cabinet with the premonition that I would at some point use this thing. Fast forward four months to today and it’s now in my daily beauty rotation. I’ve been battling some unfortunate breakouts this summer (gotta love NYC’s heat, dirt, humidity, and inevitable sweat) and have been trying all sorts of different products to make them disappear. Turns out, this argan oil may just be my ticket to clear summer skin.
Just before I go to bed I dabble a droplet of the oil onto my outbreaks and come morning, I’m telling you (!), they’ve cleared up. I may still have a bit of redness from the skin irritation, but all that icky stuff is g-g-g-gone.
Sometimes you just have to take your chances with a beauty product.
