Blonde Inliner...

This stuff is great.
For those of us with darker eyecolor this is fantastic. It doesn't look fake, it doesn't clump the lower lashes, it doesn't look like you're trying too much. Pixiwoo talked a little about not using perfectly white liner/pencil on the waterline; i'm glad i wasn't the only one sustaining this theory:)

I have mine from Isadora in 56 Blonde. Highlighting the waterline with a light color does make a difference, and to me this is the best drugstore option available so far. I wouldn't quite shell a ton of money for a pencil, you know. This one does a great job, it isn't cakey, a little goes a long way, etc.

Looks ten times more natural than anything white and suits my eye color/complexion much better. I highly recommend this if you don't have blue/gray/very light green eyes; it can be worn by anyone but i feel it addressed everyone who's had issues pulling the 'white eyes' look in the past. Great choice for darker skintones as well.

Lashes and Vaseline- part 1

Ready, steady, go. I had a no-shopping, no-going out (free) day on my hands so i figured i could start the vaseline eyelash therapy.
Tools:
-an old mascara brush (amazing mascara btw, from a German brand named The Makeup Factory. the brush is identical with the Too Faced Lash Injection one, the mascara had a volumizing formulation and did beautifully).
-supermarket/pharmacy vaseline: two options, Klover vaseline or  pharmacy vaseline. I don't know why, maybe it's just me, but i think the Klover version works better. Though they're identical. So it's just me.

Great lip moisturizer & lip scrub medium as well:

Freebie Lipgloss yay yay yay!

I just found an old-school freebie gloss that came with Glamour magazine, exactly six months ago. I picked it up from Stockholm's Arlanda Airport; the gloss is the other half of my pre-reviewed blush I mentioned having gotten with Glamour magazine.

This lip gloss has a rather strong and scary color and i NEVER tried it before. I know...i should have, but oh well. Anyways, i did it today (should definitely prioritize things around the house instead of rummaging for old makeup...sigh!). It looks fantastic, what can i say. it's my ONLY bold and daring gloss, a sort of an electric raspberry (that's what i would have called the shade...) that doesn't scare me anymore. I wish i'd tried it before.

Daylight

Next to Lancome Color Fever in Hot Number-a potential dupe

It's clearly a bit more purple undertoned than Hot Number but they're quite similar.
This is what one sheer layer looks like:

Two layers of lipgloss:

Bubblegum-like

Recessionista take two-H&M glosses& dupes

I just got this pretty pearly pink gloss:

It's part of the (rather) old H&M glosses from their 'spring collection'. The shade is 'Mrs. Two Faced'- i really fancy their clever product names.
The consistency is very creamy but not that runny. It tends to bleed a little, but it's a perfect nude lip gloss, either worn by itself or in combos. I love the peachy-champagne shimmer and the neutrality of the shade, very delicate and natural. This is what Mrs. Two Faced looks like (flash photography):

This baby is part of a series of three pink-toned glosses:

Mrs. Two Faced

Penny 4 Your Thought

Rootless Ruby

Rootless Ruby is, according to MinMote (Norwegian beauty community, blog, sales, lovers of everything superficial), a 'dupe' for several lipsticks:
-Clarins Jolie Rouge in Parisian Pink
-MAC in I Show Orchid
-Collistar in Fuchsia
-L'Oreal Color Riche in 103 Radiant Rose

As i've always loved H&M glosses, i am definitely going to purchase all three of them. Not sure about the exact dupe-ness with regards to the Clarins and MAC lipsticks (i don't own any of those), but it's a good thing someone drew the attention- who knows? Maybe they ARE identical (which would be great since i'm on a student budget).

Lashes and Vaseline

Today i am seriously starting to use Vaseline and 'lash conditioning cream' on my lashes, every night (and during daytime as well, if i have time/am home alone) and see what happens.

For the past month(s) i have been using vaseline (petroleum jelly, regular stuff) to condition my lashes and very good things have happened.

First, they appear stronger. The hairs look thicker and healthier. The lashes don't 'crack' anymore when i use mascara (seriously, i can hear the mascara wand rubbing against the hairs, THAT deteriorated they were- thanks to Rimmel Sexy Curves), they are not necessarily much longer but they look and feel thicker and, most important of all, stronger.

I usually don't experience lash fall, not even when trying to remove mascara bases or waterproof stuff (hello rubbing); i think i've lost probably 6-7 lashes in my entire life, during periods of time and not makeup-involving processes. I sometimes find a lash on the cheek, on the pillow case, stuff like that. I'd get very scared if i lost lashes during makeup removal and who knows what i'd be capable of purchasing *rolls eyes* in order to stop the tragedy from occurring.

While admiring the courage (and financial sacrifice) of everybody who's ever tried lash-growth products (i.e. Latisse, Jan Marini, LiLash etc), i must confess i'm not that brave. First off, none of these products is available in Sweden. Secondly, i never shop on e-bay or amazon or other sites like that; perhaps i would trust a lash-growth product transaction only on MUA swapping or from a friend only; i'm just not pro e-bay ever since one of my friends got an old Super Mario game instead of a PS2 console and another one discovered baby powder and corn starch in her Erno Laszlo, 'brand new and sealed' moisturizer. So yeah. Maybe i'm being a tad paranoid (i actually know i am) but i'd rather just use stuff available and safe to return/complain about etc.*digress digress digress*

Soooo i really think vaseline works. It's not a miracle growth product that would stimulate one's lashes grow in a week like Jack's beanstalk in a night; nevertheless it conditions, prevents fallouts, prevents both the hairs and the skin from dehydrating and makes them shinier.

At the end of the 'trial' period, a month that is, i am definitely going to purchase the Make Up Store Conditioning Mascara, a product that's been a constant presence on the Swedish beauty blogosphere. I can hardly wait to try that one and see what happens (highly recommended by several Swedish models and beauty bloggers).

However. I've been a little negligent in my vaseline-application therefore i decided to start the countdown. A month, four weeks. Let's see what happens after daily use of vaseline. This is what my lashes look like now:

Left eye lashes are thicker and a bit shorter than right eye's lashes

Right eye-longer but thinner lashes

I hope one of the two, ie Vaseline or the conditioning mascara, can help with the bleached tips and roots of the lashes. I hate having lighter hairs among the darker ones and the bottom lashes look like crap as well because of this- it looks bald and the skin shows through *sad face*. It looks like i need to apply eye pencil 24/7.

About dying the lashes- I've been put off (a long time ago actually) by some cautionary tales, and especially by my friend's experience. She had quite long and thick lashes but as a natural blonde, they needed mascara to show; she had them done at the salon and within two-three weeks, major fallout occurred. It depends on one's lash type and the natural response our bodies give to such treatments (allergic reactions to hair dye, perm solution etc) but still, i can't muster the strength to allow something that aggressive around my lashes.

So this is it. I'm going to set the date on September the 30th and evaluate the results. Fingers crossed!

Failure of the Day- Ardell 105 lashes

This isn't the fault of the lashes, i suspect, but mine, since i am utterly incapable of making falsies look at least decent on me. I don't know why, to be honest. I apply them (it takes me 15 minutes per eye) with the maximum concentration and attention possible, i measure them, i do everything possible yet i never wore normally-looking lashes; neither can i remember one single day, just one, when i felt really good about my Goldie Hawn-esque false lashes. They just don't work on me. I am going to find someone more lash-savvy than me and have them apply the falsies, see what happens. I've watched all the videos out there and read all blogposts...nada. Sigh *very sad face*

Today i put on the Ardell 105 falsies and i thought *quote* MOTHER&¤"*#¤@!!!!!!*
 Ardell 116 are my favorite lashes ever because the little clusters look natural. I can somehow manage with those and pull a decent eyelash look. But with today's 105 it was a complete and total disaster.

In my previous post about these lashes i mentioned i found them natural and tasteful, and they were among the shortest there, so i thought 'these are lovely. full stop. i'm in love'.

Well...it seems that they hate me. I applied a thin coat of Max Factor Masterpiece mascara (everybody applies a coat of mascara first, right?) and then put on the lashes. I thought i was going to die. They looked HORRIBLE. Porn-star at best.

Too long, too curled, and the little 'dome' they form when you look the eyes straightforwardly was waaaaayyy to accentuated. I looked like Dame Edna :( i suspect it's my eye size combined with my arch and eye shape...and my natural eyelash curl. Though my natural lashes aren't amazingly curly or thick, i feel they somehow don't let the falsies lay properly on my lashline and that's how i always end up looking like a drag queen.

This is what my natural eyelashes look like with two coats of mascara (Max Factor & L'Oreal):

Quite unnatural contacts...

Now this is what the Ardell lashes looked like on:

Up front: i'm scared already. Are my eyes too small for these?

Way too porn-star-ish for my taste. I can't believe it! :( I liked them a lot when i saw them in the little case...they looked natural and nice, perfect for daytime, when i'm not in the mood for mascara. The way they looked in the box v. on me it's so different...they appear to be thick and natural, whereas when i put them on, i got tackly, long and uber thin lashes that were clearly not mine *gulp* i feel really disappointed. 

At least i still have my 116...and those i have worn before. With a bit of issues, a little clipping here and there, but i managed. The 105 were just...wrong.

Recessionista- OPI Italian Love Affair Dupe

Unfortunately i don't have the OPI anymore (used it for about half a year) but i discovered a great dupe for it. It is a very cheap nail polish from the South African Golden Rose cosmetics. I don't know how easy to find are they since i got the nail polish (plus other stuff) at a small shop in Italy.
The stuffies look quite cheap, no fancy schmancy packaging so this might put people off a bit. I did find some amazing stuff while looking for nothing in particular, so my suggestion would be that if you come across them, don't turn a blind eye, maybe you'll find something cute or a dupe for a favorite product.

Now, getting back at OPI's Italian Love Affair. The usual photos that pop up while Google-searching for it are not realistically enough to depict the real shade. Even on their website the color appears a bit darker than what the real thing looks like and it's really hard to realize until well, you buy it and put it on.

(image found on Google)
The color does NOT look like that in real life, it's much lighter. The only realistic depiction i found was this one (OPI polishes- Atomic Orange, Chapel of Love and Italian Love Affair in a row)

(image from www.recenseramera.blogsome.com)
As you can tell, the first picture might resemble the second one, bottle-wise, but the nails are a much darker, bubblegum-ish pink than what ILA looks like.
Too bad i don't have it anymore. However, this is what i found and i think it qualifies as a dupe:

On white background (perfect way to see the real color)

Pink background (makes the pigmentation pop)

Neutral (beige) background, natural light

A gorgeous, natural color that works perfectly as a dupe of the aforementioned shade. The bottle used to have something written on it but it faded away; however, it still has '28' embossed in on the bottom so i assume that must be the number of the shade.
My final point is that if you can't find this (which is highly possible), there are a thousand other polishes that can constitute a perfect dupe for any pink or nude shade; the jazzier, matte ones and the glittered polishes are difficult to dupe because they're really special, and those are the cases when one has really got to purchase the product.
Of course, this polish is not going to be as resistant as the OPI one, though i clearly remember my Italian Love Affair didn't last quite much, a maximum of 2½ days per average and then it chipped a little. If i 'take care' of my nails this baby can last up to a whole week with no problem whatsoever.