And I'm Back!

The last month was a nice breather for a lot of the things going on in my life -- I had decided to take a slight break not only from blogging (well, seriously blogging -- I was still having fun over at Etceteros), reading (120 books for the year), knitting, and crocheting. I was idle and it was awesome but now I've got to pick back up on something. During the month of August, I really didn't experiment much but I did notice a few things that I wanted to touch upon. It's time for Product Updates!

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Eyes

I went easy on the eye makeup and only used mascara here and there, the one stand up champion that I loved was Physicians Formula Organic Wear Jumbo Lash Mascara. I have long lashes and generally when I'm wearing mascara, the only thing I'm looking for is a slight pick me up to widen my eyes and darken my lashes a bit. A lot of formulas I've used have been on the clumpy side but this one does the trick without looking like it's too much.

Part of the reason why I haven't been using too much eye makeup is because my eyelids have been a bit dry (whereas the rest of my face has been acting oily). As a result, every night I put on some eye cream and I've been using Avon's Anew Retroactive+ Repair Eye Serum. I've had this bottle for quite some time now and it refuses to finish but overall, I do love the results that I get with it. This particular product is discontinued though but once I finish it out, I'll be switching back to 100% Pure eye cream.

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Hair Care

I've been switching back to my standard hair care routine -- no parabens, no silicones, and low sulfates (or no sulfates). During the month I finished out the last of my Renpure Organics then realized that the other bottles I had picked up had either parabens or silicones. I ended up returning them and I've been sticking with Garnier Pure Clean (which is not sulfate free, but it free of parabens and silicones -- my hair does not like silicones so it was a compromise I was willing to make).

Items I ended up getting rid of are the Bumble and Bumble Curl Conscious Defining Creme and the Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Dry Shampoo. These items are not inherently bad but as my hair has gotten longer, they really aren't working the way that they should The Bumble and Bumble Creme was actually weighing down my waves (or wurls) and wasn't giving me the lift I desired. My hair is thick and fine though so I imagine that it would still works for others, just not me. As for the NYM's Dry Shampoo, I prefer the cornstarch method now that my hair a little bit longer since it felt like it was weighing my hair down.

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Foundation

As I mentioned, I'm trying to go natural (again. A quick note about this, I had gone natural but stopped for a bit in order to incorporate SPF into my routine. As a result, I ended up drifting away but then realized, I had drifted away from SPF makeup as well which meant that I should probably just go all natural again). I've also been experimenting a bit more with different foundations as well.

Although I love and adore CoverFX, I finally did get my hands on the right Everyday Minerals foundation that matches me. So as a result for the last month I've been using the EDM foundations in lieu of the CoverFX. (And please note that CoverFX has SPF 10 and is paraben free, oil free, fragrance free, wax free). Anyhow I found that two of the EDM foundations works and I ended up ordering a bunch of foundation samples from Meow Cosmetics. I still think that CoverFX is the best so far but we'll  see what happens when I start experimenting again.

I did end up giving up my Illamasqua blush -- I was very happy with it's overall performance and pigmentation however I decided that I really wanted to stick to my goals and ended up getting a Tarte blush instead. I'll be working on a review for the Tarte item(s) later on.

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Well, I think that's it. My Guest Bloggers are missing in action but I do know that a lot of them are getting into the busy season so I can offer them a little bit of leeway. ;)

Review: Physicians Formula Organic Wear Jumbo Lash Mascara

You know when you've made that terrible mistake of purchasing an item but you can't undo it? That crushing feeling of knowing that you now have to haul yourself to a store to replace the bad item that you can't return but you can't give away either. A while ago I had purchased a tube of L'Oreal Voluminous False Lashes Mascara (you can check out the review here) and had it in storage till I was ready to replace my current mascara. Problem was that I picked up Black Brown and well, I'm Brown so it kind of looks like I'm putting on clear mascara. So I decided that in addition to getting a tube of the Voluminous in black (and making sure that it only says "black") that I'd try another mascara.

Given the success I had with Physicians Formula recently (which is somewhat rare) and the desire to have a natural mascara, I decided to give the Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Jumbo Lash Mascara a try. Plus it comes in a leaf form and I am a sucker for packaging. I know that one of the critiques out there is about how cumbersome the packaging, but I for one bought it alone based on it's packaging. Plus they touted something about 100% Natural Origin and since I left my Sante Naturkosmetik Mascara Endless Lashes № 03 by my boyfriend's place, I needed another one as soon as possible. Might as well stick with the natural trend.


Anyhow, right off the bat the thing that I noticed and that I liked was that it definitely gave my lashes a bit of a lift and looked overall, pretty nice. I wouldn't say that this is a replacement for my beloved Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! but I will say that it's a good contender. It stands up well and delivers the same performance that my Sante mascara does.

How does it stand up to 8 hours? It fares somewhat well. I will admit that by the 7th hour it doesn't quite have the same staying power at Tarte's does, but it's still there holding out.

Overall, I think it's good backup to Tarte or even the L'Oreal Voluminous, but definitely not a replacement. I'm still very happy with it's performance but I honestly wonder what would have happened if my lashes weren't so full to begin with.

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Product: Physicians Formula Organic Wear Jumbo Lash Mascara
Price: ~$10
Would Recommend? Sort of...
Takeaway: I love this mascara -- I've been using it now in lieu of L'Oreal Voluminous and I like how it works. It gives my lashes a boost, curls them ever so slightly, and just overall, pretty good. It does wear down over the course of a day but there's no flaking. What I do wonder about is how well the mascara would fare on it's own if my lashes weren't already so full -- and that's where my hesitation about it comes in. While it's a good spare, I don't think it would permanently replace my two staples.

Review: Physicians Formula Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls Blush

When I saw this it tugged at two weaknesses that I have: one is that I suddenly want to try all of the different types of blush that I can find. The second is that anything with the word "pearl" in it I will immediately desire. Anyhow, I grabbed the Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls Blush in rose pearl. 

First impressions about the packaging is that I love it (my adoration for pearls strikes again). It's definitely a nice shade of pink that is a bit demure. Note that this type only comes in two colors: rose and natural, my local store didn't not carry the latter.

Under the pan you will find the mirror and the brush. Sure the packaging is a bit flimsy (as in the pan doesn't lock in properly) but otherwise I think it's a decent compact. The brush is a bit coarser then some of the other ones I've tried out. And yes, I always test out the brush that came with the packaging before tossing it. 

Excitement aside, I finally got to try it on and I was disappointed by how it actually worked out. The brush was coarse but when I brushed it on, the colour just vanished. I tried to build upon it but that was a fruitless effort. There's a lot of shimmer to this blush but colour? No. Very lacking. Obviously there's no need for endurance here because it never showed up in the first place.

Sadly, as cute as the packaging is, this is something you should probably skip on.

Pardon the sadness. I really wanted a
compact with a pearl on the lid.

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Product: Physicians Formula Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls Blush
Price: $10.95
Would Recommend? No.
Takeaway: I couldn't get any colour from this product but I did get a lot of shimmer.

Feeling a bit Rosy

Physicians Formula is a huge weak spot for me but as you may have noticed, I don't have much luck with their items. That doesn't stop me though (as you might have noticed) so this time, I decided that I was going to try something different. I was going to try the blush. Now I've been doing a Project 10 Pan, but I figured... why not? I finally did hit pan on my current blush and I really, really wanted to try a new blush. So I sprang for the pH Matchmaker because the concept intrigues me and I got the bonus pack so I got a small lip gloss as well. 

With the pH Matchmaker line, the whole idea is that they have a Fluorescein based dye that "senses the pH level of your skin & adjusts within 60 seconds" along with Photochronic Powders which are "light adjusting pigments adapt to your environment so color looks the same indoors & outside." (All quotes are directly from the PF website.) This is why the idea intrigues me; something that changes and can match me? Wonderful concept, but I wondered about the execution.

The pH Matchmaker blush I got was in the colour Rose and the lip gloss (you can see a close up of some of the labels here) and the first impressions of the packaging was that is was ridiculously cute and convenient. It is a bit flimsy as the base with the blush lifts up and has a small storage for the brush underneath the pan, but overall good package. I do wonder about the longevity of the lights that are by the mirror so I am a bit paranoid about accidentally leaving it on.

The lip gloss is also incredibly cute with a small mirror along the side. The top has a button that activates the light as well. Same fears about the battery life apply here as well. What you're also seeing in that picture is a natural mascara from Sante, but let's take one product at a time.

The Blush: I was really excited to try it but given my failure with previous PF products in the past, I was also very hesitant. I was ridiculously excited though to see how the colour changed. Well, as I applied it, I wasn't sure if I was just building up the colour or if it really was changing to match me. Either way I got this beautiful rosy colour that just looked amazing. I wasn't a fan of the shimmer but overall it looked gorgeous and I fell in love with it.

I took several photos but I was unable to get a good shot of the blush. It blends in very well with my skin tone though!

The Lip Gloss: Sure, it looks pink inside the tube and it looks pink on the applicator, but as I was putting it on, it just looked clear (which I expect). What I did not expect was that rosy change into a beautiful deep pink. Heck, I don't even like pink all that much but I loved this rosy look I was getting out of the two products.


The Mascara: I haven't really said much about this mascara. I've had it around for a while but never got around to using it. This mascara hails from Germany and is a certified natural cosmetic. The picture to the left is a shot of the mascara comb (sorry, I know it's blurry) and it's in black. For reference this is the Mascara Endless Lashes № 03 by Sante Naturkosmetik.

Out of the tube, I loved the shape of this brush and I will admit that at first, I wasn't that thrilled with the initial swipe. It didn't really stand out however, on second swipe, I realized that this mascara was completely buildable. By 3-4 passes, I got these beautiful lashes, comparable to how my tarte mascara works. I was pretty pleased with it -- I haven't seen how well it holds up for 8 hours but at the 4 hour mark, it was still holding up incredibly well.

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Product: Physicians Formula pH Powered Blush in Rose
Price: $12.95
Would Recommend? Yes!
Takeaway: Gives a lovely glow. I'm not sure how well it works in terms of matching my pH but it gives an immediate glow and is a fantastic shade of pink.

Product: Physicians Formula pH Powered Lip Gloss in Pink
Price: $9.95
Would Recommend? Yes!
Takeaway: I was hesitant at first but it changes into a deep pink which is just wonderful, especially when paired with the blush.

Product: Sante Naturkosmetik Mascara Endless Lashes № 03 
Price: $25.99
Would Recommend? Yes! Especially if you're looking for a natural mascara.
Takeaway: Love how well this works -- it's on par with a lot of my mascaras that I swear by.

Review: Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Kohl Kajal Eyeliner Trio

I trully am a sucker for kajal which means that this latest spike in making kajal eyeliners accessible has me all the more intrigued. Of course, the Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Kohl Kajal Eyeliner Trio (for brown eyes) flew off the helves at my local store and I had to wait the longest for it to be back in stock.

But let's get one thing out of the way right now. They are incredibly soft and creamy which sounds great but you need to be very careful with them. I noticed that an awful lot of them were already broken in the store, so just be aware of how easily they can break if you end up purchasing them.

Given my brown eyes, of course I opted for the appropriate pack. I already knew that the brown would be useless so I figured that out of this trio at least two might work for me. the other two colours are plum and black.

I adore the packaging though I can see how the cover might nick the top of the kajal stick. Luckily if you know how to use them (remember that you apply them by holding them horizontally and swipe across your eyelid rather than holding them vertically) you should be fine, even if you take a little bit off the top. Creamy consistency and easy to apply. The only thing I was disappointed by a few things.

On the left is the plum eyeliner. Application was easy though a bit messy as you will notice that the scalene triangle at the edge of my eye was a bit off -- and ran a bit. Creaminess is great, but not so good when you're looking for precision. The liner also ran on my bottom eyelid. Additionally it looks as though it was an uneven application -- except that it wasn't. If you go with this eyeliner I would highly recommend that you pat some powder on it. It came off quite shiny so many of the pictures I took just looked messy or uneven. The eyeliner runs and that isn't a perk.

As for the black, I apologize since I know the application was uneven. Unfortunately I ran into the same exact problems as I did with the plum and by that point I wasn't amused. The pigmentation of the black is great and as you can see, it seemed to hold up well in photographs -- additionally it was easy to apply with that creamy texture but it ran.

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Product: Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Kohl Kajal Eyeliner Trio
Price: $9 - $10
Would Recommend? No.
Takeaway: While this product seems like it would be great for smudging, it's pretty bad in terms of precision. The product runs (more so than your standard liner) and ends up being a bit messy -- not to mention is liable to break.

Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips

Admittedly every time I have seen these in the store I glanced over them and wished that the yellow undertones of my skin wouldn't just devour all the colour, thus rendering the palette useless. This has been one of the things that always gets to me. See I know that talk has been that the PF Nude Eyes Shimmer Strips is a decent dupe of the Urban Decay Naked palette, so long as you use a primer. I also always figured that neither of them would work out well for me, but I figured (after a refreshingly long day) that I would try anyway. But before I could work my way up to the actual Naked palette, I should probably try out a dupe. Because eyeshadows and I have never gotten along very well. 

Well, no swatches here needed mostly because with or without a primer, the majority of the palette disappeared on me.

Let's start with the Nude palette. That's the one on the bottom, adorned in black lace with a pink bow (and says "Nude" along the top but I do want to mention that the packaging is quite cute).

If you're not familiar with the packaging then here's the way to look at it, 9 colours, divided into groups of 3. Each 3 represent a certain look that you could be aiming for. So taking the Nude palette the first is trio #3 which is dramatic, the second being playful, and the third being natural.

Natural (the three on the right of the Nude palette) vanished on me. When I tried to do swatches on my hands and wrists, the colour vanished leaving a bit of shimmer. Next up was Playful which was the group in the center which also vanished on me. The last trio was dramatic and that actually did show up on me! Problem being that I already know that black will show up on my skin, even a nice accentuating dark brown will show up. So, I'm not disappointed, nor am I surprised. It verified what I already knew; my skin hates these colours.

Next up was the Eye Candy Collection for Brown Eyes (top palette) and the trios break down in the same manner. The results were a little bit different but not by much. Natural and Dramatic didn't really show up, however the Playful trio did but that was because of the purple shade. Once again, I was not surprised nor disappointed however... and this is important... the box does recommend that you try it out as either wet or dry so my lack of disappointment was further held off.

Everything above was written for the dry application as well as over a primer. I did, in one last ditch attempt, try out the eyeshadows while they were wet. Judging by how they went on dry, I decided to experiment with the Eye Candy collection because the shades were darker and if there were any difference to be seen between dry and wet eyeshadows, the Eye Candy collection would show it.

I played around with the Playful and Dramatic trio (so that's the 6 shades that are found on the left of the top palette) and they really did pop. They blended well and the colours just kind of came alive. But that does mean that while there was a bit more colour, there wasn't a lot (consider the shade and my skin tone). The things that worried me was longevity and what would happen after a full day of wearing it. It didn't come around to that. After 2 hours, the Dramatic trio slowly faded, leaving behind minute clumps of where the wet eyeshadow was applied. So my suspicions were confirmed; these palettes will not work for me; neither wet or dry. But at least I finally tried it!

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Product: Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Shadow & Liner, Universal Looks, Nude Eyes
Price: $11.79 at CVS
Would Recommend? No
Takeaway: Although I have read reviews about how this is decent dupe for Naked, the colours just don't do anything for me.

Product: Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Shadow & Liner, Eye Candy Collection
Price: $10.99 at CVS
Would Recommend? No
Takeaway: While using them wet will get the colours to really come out, after an hour it turns out to be a bit cakey. When they are dry, the colours of this palette also has nothing to offer.