Another very long work week, hurried makeup in the morning and too tired to shop once I got home. As I sit and think about my week of beauty, I had some fun on those hurried mornings or more honestly, at the stop lights driving in to the office! By the end of the week I had 3 eye lash curlers in my purse, 4 mascaras, two concealers, 3 shadow singles, 2 shadow brushes and 8 lipsticks. This would be in addition to my normal cosmetic case. Life is grand!
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Edits and Deletes
I edited down my shadow sticks this week and deleted quite a few. I think I've mentioned that eye shadow is my least favorite makeup category although you'd never know it by the size of my collection. I started with 38. My first edit led to deleting 12. That left me with 26. I was hoping to get down to 15 and finally did! I swatched the remaining 26 and admittedly, quite a few almost dupes. After all, we like what we like and we buy more of what we like.
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| 38 before and 15 after |
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Byline on Brushes
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| Crown HD Powder Brush / Sigma Large Contour F40 |
Crown Brush HD Powder Brush - This is a large, synthetic brush with a pinched ferrule. Because this brush is not dense and has lots of give, it's great for loose finishing powders. It's machine cut but still has a nice soft finish to the bristles. With all the give it has, it won't remove other powder products already on the face such as highlighter or blush. The new discovery for this week was using it as a bronzer brush. It sweeps on a hint of color for warming up your face if your foundation is a bit too light. I love it for bronzer! I think finding the right brush for bronzer is not easy. Bobbi Brow seems to have the corner on that market but for me, sometimes, her bronzer brush picks up a bit too much pigment for my winter color. Crown Brushes are often on hautelook and have their own site as well. This came in the HD Brush set and I'm not sure what the individual name might be. Here's a link to the
set. When I bought it, the ferrules came in black. I don't know if this brush is sold individually, worth contacting Crown Brush if you're interested but I think the set is worth the price.
Sigma Large Contour F40 - The makeup world is ablaze with contour sets. Every brand seems to be launching a contour kit. The right brush is important! Small enough to not make an obvious chisel but soft enough to blend it out. I have a few Sigma brush kits and for the most part, they have been very good. I've not run into shedding, maybe I bought them at the right time. I have two of the F40s, the one pictured is from the Mrs Bunny Travel Kit when it was pink and blue. I use the pointed tip to dip into the contour and apply to my lower cheek, flip the brush and use to blend it out. Here a link to the individual
brush and the Mrs. Bunny travel
set.
Haul-A-Lulu
Smith & Cult in Suburban Warrior - this is a new to me brand of nail polish. Price is $18 a bottle so near high end but not at Dior's or Chanel's $27 price point. I bought it for the packaging. I love packaging. I choose restaurants for atmosphere. If I love the atmosphere, I can put up with overcooked pasta. Unless it's $40 for the entree, then I'm might get a little cranky. I digress. The bottle is very heavy, substantial. You know there will be more of these little puppies on the way. I don't shop at Neiman's but I made the sacrifice for the sake of this polish. All together now... a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do~! This will be my mani of the week for next week!
February Ipsy Bag - Every month, this is the best $10 I spend on beauty. It arrives in the cutest fuchsia foil bubble envelope. That alone is a smile. Then you get a makeup bag each month. I give them away but they are cute and sturdy. The makeup bag is filled with 5 or 6 products, some full size, some deluxe sample size. Do I use everything? Absolutely not. But for a present each month that is always
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| February 2015 Ipsy Bag |
a surprise, so rare in this world, $10 is worth it. I have discovered great products through this monthly subscription and maybe more importantly, I've learned to avoid things. Case in point, this month one of the items was a full size City Color Lip Stain. Loved the color but the taste was horrendous. A mix of a chemical plant and seaweed. I barely put it on my lips and I had to wipe it off an apply grape lip balm to mask the taste. That didn't work so then I went for my Sara Happy Lemonade lip scrub. I like City Colors. It's an inexpensive brand with highly pigmented products. I also love lip stains. I had my eye on quite a few of these. Not any more!
Mani of the Week
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| Layla Softouch Effect 08 with glossy top coat |
Layla Softouch Effect in 08 - Layla is not quite an indie label in the US but not quite a main stream brand either. It's made in Milano and can be purchased on line only. I'm At one time, Ulta carried it and I was thrilled. Love this brand. Applies like a dream, interesting finishes, cute bottle and a good brush. The formula is on the thin side but fully opaque on two coats which is why it's such a dream to apply. I own 7 or 8 bottles and have never had drag marks or puddling. Clean up is easy but I do suggest waiting until it is fully dry for clean up. The Softouch Effect is their matte line and 08 is a cherry red. Hello, Valentine! I wore it matte most of the week and then applied a shiny topcoat on Friday. Base coat used was Orly Bonder and Top Coat was NYX In a NY Minute. However, this polish is great with any base coat or top coat, not fussy at all.
Weekly Headliners
Products that stood out this week are:
Vaseline Lip Therapy in Creme Brulee - applied at bedtime, yummy
Urban Decay Perversion Mascara - nice lash for the office, not too shy, not too bold
IT Cosmetics CC Lip Cream in Live - gorgeous medium pink, shine blurs my lip lines although a bit too slippery for me to give it an A+
Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Jersey - absolute perfection
Wet N Wild Nutty Single Eye Shadow - a classic taupe color, must have for every collection to sweep in the crease or sheer out all over the lid.
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