Today's makeup and rambling

Obviously, in absence of anything really interesting to do today, after i finished all i had to do i went shopping for clothes...and got makeup as well. Nothing fancy, just drugstore products i am a bit excited about.

First off, i renewed my L'Oreal Lash Architect supply (the old one was getting a bit tired) and i also got the Million Lashes one, just to see what's the rave about. 

Another item i got is an Olay cleanser that i most certainly will like- i've already tried their eye makeup remover and all their products are so nicely scented. Next- a Nivea foundation and a bright coral lipstick. Finally found!

The foundation story is as follows: two days ago when i went shopping for the Rimmel goodies, i wasn't wearing any makeup and felt a bit embarrassed inside the store because people were 'staring' at me (they weren't, it's just my paranoia). I picked up the first foundation tester (Nivea Beauty Lift) and slammed it on, then a bit of mascara and that was it, i instantly felt better. When i got home my skin looked surprisingly well- i don't know if it was the humidity in the air, since it was raining, or the fact that i had no primer on (though it's supposed to be otherwise), or that i just slapped it on, no careful stippling/blending (though again, isn't THAT the correct way of dealing with foundation?), i have no idea, but it looked so nice. No pores, no blotches, my skin was positively glowing. 

Checked out some Makeupalley reviews and they all mentioned this effect; the foundation has quite a high score for a Nivea product (most people dislike their products, i don't understand why, but well...) and two or three reviewers actually compare it to Make Up For Ever's HD foundation. I haven't tried that and i would have certainly not purchased this foundation if i hadn't worn it for several hours and loved the effect. Picking up a shade was quite a trip because i hate wearing foundations that are as light as my skin (i know...i shouldn't) because they're just too pale and i like to 'cheat' a shade or two. I picked 060 Amber which isn't the darkest but neither the lightest. I'm really curious/anxious to see what this foundation will behave like on the long(er) run.

The lipstick is exactly what i was looking for. The pictures i uploaded as the depiction of my HG coral lips are obviously retouched and the lighting is way different than the one in my house; it doesn't look as pale as the photos but anything in that family probably wouldn't have complemented my skintone. The lipstick is from a brand named BeYu that produce their cosmetics in Germany (i don't know if it's German); it borders on drugstore/higher end (they have some more expensive items as well). This product is Star Lipstick in nr. 05. 

It's quite similar to Rimmel's Coral in Gold sans the golden frosty finish which i don't like that much, thus a plus. It's also lighter and has that Old Hollywood, late 1940's romantic touch; whenever i see a bright coral lipstick i can't help to think of Katharine Hepburn, Chinese silk and geishas.

Now about the face of the day- especially the Lumene mascara. 

The lashes look a bit spidery because i applied too much, however i am beginning to think this mascara is a real find.

First off, i have half a coat of Max Factor Masterpiece underneath the Lumene one, i couldn't imagine not wearing that one, ever (it's a sort of a 'primer' to me). The Lumene one is thinner than your usual drugstore mascaras (Maybelline, L'Oreal i mean) and creamier. It looks quite thin at a superficial glance and i was a bit worried it might clump the lashes together as Volume Collagen from L'Oreal did- it didn't. 

The brush is huge but it works- it's very soft or at least softer than anything else with that type of brush (even Diorshow..) therefore you can press as hard as you like if you feel like you need it-to prevent clumps from forming. It just glides, setting itself on the lashes and coating the tips with a fine, creamy layer of mascara. It looks a bit 'wet' until it dries, which is quite fast so no worries about that.

It leaves the lashes soft and most important of all, if you're not satisfied with the volume, or you want a true false lash effect, you can apply a thicker mascara on top of this one because it won't clump. The Lumene is similar to Isadora's in this respect- it 'softens' any previous mascara layers and does give a dramatic effect if you insist (uppercase example), but there's no spider effect as it would be with other mascaras.

Lost and found

Several weeks (pehaps months, i can't remember) ago i was gutted over the fact that Rimmel London has been discontinued from ALL the beauty shops here...and i was in desperate need to get a second Soft Coral lipstick (my HG, one of them) and also some eyebrow pencils and a lip liner Selby has been raving about on YouTube.

Yesterday i went to a supermarket close to Ikea and i couldn't believe my eyes-at the 'skincare' aisle, there it was- the Rimmel stand! With all their new collection, the mascara, the eyeshadows, etc. everything i was looking for! They didn't have the newest Lash Accelerator mascara, but well. Perhaps it can be found in Stockholm. 

Anyways, i got my Coral lipstick (newest obsession-tangerine lips) and some other items- namely:

Eyebrow pencil in 02 Hazel

 This comes in very handy when i use my other Rimmel pencil, the Dark Brown, because it's a bit lighter, with 'hazel' undertones (pale ashy brown), and a little bit harder than the other one. I use this one for the first half of the brow for a more natural effect (hate the drawn on brows) and the Dark Brown for contouring the rest of the brow so it wouldn't wash off in photography or during daytime. I

'm actually surprised i never thought of picking this up before, every time i thought about it i remembered i had 'orange' set as my memory of this pencil and it isn't orange at all- it actually has dirty khaki undertones, as the picture above shows, especially the cap color is very representative. Perhaps i was confusing it with some other drugstore pencil; however, now the problem's solved :)

Exaggerate Lip Liner in 063 Eastend Snob

Ever since Selby raved about this on YouTube i wanted to try it on. I got this and the 1000 Kisses lipliner in Tiramisu as well, since that's the 'epic' Rimmel lipliner i spotted on MUA as their 'famous' lip product, and it's truly a gorgeous neutral color. 

However, this one is a tad pink-ish with a bit of a purple undertone, very light but super wearable. It might come as a shock in the beginning, the pink i mean (looks like Barbie's lipliner) but it doesn't transfer on the lips like that- it's just a nice, neutral pink with a bit of 'jazzy' in it. I really like this shade- used to be a Maybelline Rosewood lip liner fan for about three years or even more. The Rimmel one has got me hooked. Plus, i love the automatic system and the thickness of the color stick inside- like a mini-lipstick.

Natural Bronzer in 022 Sun Bronze

I never owned this before and this comes as a surprise, at least for me- how could i not get this before? It's a very natural shade (i found about it from a YouTube user), matte, pigmented but not over the top, soft but not chalky or dusty. It contains (some) minerals and an SPF of 8.

I love the shade- was looking for something matte for contouring since i swore off the Smashbox's Sunlights Matte (orange) and my Face Stockholm is a bit too dark for faking a bake when i'm paler/just wanna apply it all over. This shade is the most popular on Makeupalley (among Rimmel bronzers) and i can see why- i think of latte, biscuits and capuccino when i see this bronzer. It looks 'milky' in a sort of Cheryl Cole-ish way (not tanzilla attack, but a mild, darker beige creamy complexion).

 I don't know why i never got this, i think it's the same story as with the eyebrow pencil- must have confused it with some other product because this is gorgeous. I hate the packaging, the fragile, cheap looking plastic lid is going to crack on me in about a week and good luck carrying it around...why doesn't Rimmel come up with compact packaging for their bronzers and powders? I'm sure everybody would love it...

Moisture Renew Lipstick in 600 Soft Coral

One of my all-time favorite lip colors. The consistency isn't THAT creamy/moisturizing but i couldn't live without the shade. It's a pinkish coral, extremely natural, that makes my face look radiant, gives an impression of well rested youth. No porn star pink, lavender, 'nude' browns (i.e. chalky white-ish lips); it isn't dry either, i'd say somewhere in between. I'm not especially crazy about the glitter particles in it, they could feel chunky sometimes, but they surely don't scratch (ha!). It doesn't dry my lips, as i said, it feels 'normal'. A drop of lipgloss on top is therefore optional.

Yay! I thought they were discontinued or that i'll never be able to find this shade again....phewwwww!!

Now, my next obsession- bright coral (tangerine) lips. Old Hollywood type of lip makeup. Beats pink, red, anything else. 

The only similar shade i came across was Mandarin, from Nivea. NOT Estee Lauder's Mandarin Pop- that one is a pink with peachy undertones. I think the Nivea lipstick was part of some collection they discontinued or marketed under different shade names- the only thing remotely similar is their Scarlett Rouge lipstick: 

Scarlett Rouge-last from left

....but it's not the exact same shade. Sigh. I'll keep looking....

Black Dahlia nails

That's what i came up with today. You basically need:

-a black nail polish. Get a highly pigmented, non-streaky one. I used Rimmel's 60 seconds in 800 Black Out.

-a clear nail polish. I used H&M in Clear (yep!). Preferably a thinner one that's also cheap so easier to part ways with.

-GLITTER! Purchased my tiny bottle from a Christmas fair several years ago, from a brand called Fairy Dust (never heard of it before); i use it occasionally for New Year's party makeup or such moments. I actually have three little bottles, pink, violet and blue. For this one i used the blue glitter.

Fairy Dust face&body glitter (for wet-based usage)

The glitter shines in a multitude of shades-baby blue, silver and purple- iridescent lights that will go wonderfully with a clear base.

Really simple- mix your glitter with the clear nail polish. Shake, shake, shake well and that's done. Do your nails with the black polish (or a dark purple, burgundy, whatever you wish- the darker the better, for a more dramatic effect).

 That's my result with the H&M clear polish. It looks either blue or lavender/purple, depending on the lighting.

Let it dry for about 10 minutes then clean up any potentially messy edges with a cotton bud soaked in polish remover.
Apply your clear (now glittery!) polish, veeery carefully so you won't budge the layer underneath and end up with an unidentifiable color.
Done! (my black nails are still a tad messy)

Take three- favorite drugstore blushes

Here we go again. I have recently rediscovered these products that i CANNOT believe i stopped using. They're so versatile and lovely! what was i thinking sending them away in the cold care of my bathroom makeup box (sort of a makeup orphanage)??

The babies are:
- Rimmel Soft Colour Blush in Madeira (131)
- L'Oreal Blush Caresse in Rhum (109)
- H&M Celebration Makeup Set (1 and 2. Yes very ingenious blush shade names, i know)


Rimmel



I like to believe it resembles a red apple, both in the pan and on the cheeks. It's a neutral reddish...red, i don't know how to describe it. In flash photography it looks a tad different, with strawberry-reddish undertones and a hint of copper. However, on the skin it's really realistic. When Rimmel chose the name of the shade they weren't wrong...i don't really know what Madeira wine is supposed to look like, but i surely think of a creole Spanish lill' lady with ripe cheeks.

L'Oreal








This one is trickier. It looks like a faint plummy pink in the pan but i love that it's more on the neutral side. It's basically an ashy toned pink with pink undertones. It's funny because every time i check it out it seems to look different. It's perfect for contouring, and when i fancy a paler skintone of the day, this is the thing to go for. I have hit pan a long time ago but i can't part ways with it because it's a discontinued shade (i have it in the old L'Oreal packaging)

H&M





Another cute blush from H&M. I like that one of the pans works more like a highlighter, a pearly iridescent pink with ashier undertones, and that it also has a strip of dark brown which i use as an eyeshadow as well. The other pan is made of peaches, pinks and a tad of bronze. I guess there are millions of eyeshadows in this category, which is why i think this was a smart choice- hey, it's cheap and perfect as a starter if i want to go farther in the pearly pink blush department. Flaw- a tad less pigmented so i've got to rub the pan a little for a fuller effect; discontinued (but the pans are going to last me forever, been using these for more than a year and they look brand new).

As i said...i like going through old makeup stashes, bringing out old school faves, not judging by the brand name and getting what i like regardless of my snobbier side.