Happy Independence Day!

I hope everyone has a fun and safe and cool 4th! There was a huge storm in our neck of the woods, yesterday, and power is out for many. In fact, I just received a call and work is closed until at least 2pm. I was scheduled from 10-6. So, we shall see what happens.

Anyway, on to beauty stuff. I've become a bit more adventurous with my eyeshadow, lately. Using a bunch of colors and exploring new eye shapes and such. Yesterday (sadly, I don't have pics of it, I need to use a real camera, not my crappy phone) I had a blended yellow to orange to pink lid with a purply pink crease...I received a ton of compliments on it. I have to admit, I kind of felt like a clown when I left the house. But, people's pure and honest expressions made me feel pretty good about it :) Now, mind you, this whole "makeup thing" is really just a hobby, a way of self expression, a way for a middle 30's gal to get away with wearing bright colors and an obscene amount of glitter!! I've been in a "creative block" for almost a year now, where my normal crafts are concerned, so it's nice to feel passionate about color, textures, and most importantly, playing again!

I didn't get the call about work until I was almost done with my makeup. So, here I sit, ablaze in patriotic colors with no place to go. But...I have pictures!!

Of course, the color isn't true in the picture. In reality, they're much brighter. And, of course, I have glitter lips!!

This one shows my little sequin star that I glued on. I was going to put more, but I'll wait until they call me into work. (Nevermind the messed up hair, I hadn't gotten to that yet. Anyone who knows me also knows that I hate doing anything to my hair, besides washing and combing it) Oh, and my eyebrows are a deep blue color, which shows up better in brighter light. This isn't the completed look, I don't have any mascara on or any little finishing touches, but you get the idea :D


I'm going to add a quick review for you. I cannot talk enough about how much I loooooooove NYX's jumbo eye pencils! Seriously, they're awesome! They're about $4.50 each (bargain!) and you can find good bogo 50% off deals at Ulta (*spit spit, curse them for being awesome and sucking at the same time*) They're not waterproof or smudgeproof, but they make absolutely spectacular bases. The one in Milk is just a matte white color and when applied to your lid, makes any color pop! If you have an eyeshadow that you're not happy with because the color seems to wash out, just smooth a bit of Milk on the lid, then pat on some color and you should see a definite difference!! I do start off with a good primer, due to my oily eyelids. But, you can just use Milk and putting a powder shadow over it will help set it! They have a ton of colors and a few textures, like matte, shimmer, and glitter. The one downside is that the caps crack and split. I'm afraid they might dry out. There are a few videos on YouTube as to how to get the product out of the tube/pencil and into a pot. I may just try that, and I'll let you know how that turns out!

Ok, I'm off to sit here and wait for work to call. Then maybe it will be time for some swimming and bbq'ing! Have a great holiday, everyone!!

*May your day be filled with glitter and laughter*

Beauty 1 Anna 0

So, on Monday I decided to try a Boscia Luminizing Black Mask. It promises to detoxify, purify, and brighten. Draw out dirt, oil, as well as reducing pore size. Yes, in theory you take away all of the crap that is clogging your pores and they should snap back into shape. After years and years of having huge clogged pores, there is no "snapping back". But, hey, it was a sample.
 
 The texture was somewhere between day old pudding and tar. I smeared it all over my face with a fear of ending up with a horribly stained face, hands, counter top, when all was said and done. Here is a pic after I smeared it on... (Yes there is a sky painted behind me, and yes I am being dive bombed by different war planes, but that is not what this is about!)...I was careful of my hairline, my lips, my miniscule eyebrows, my eye area (puffy is as puffy does).

Waited 15 minutes until my face felt good and tight, like that smile took a ton of effort, that kind of tight. I was super scared that this mask was going to hurt like hell coming off. I wasn't totally wrong.

Here I am in process of peeling this shit off. Yes, shit. I am currently not speaking to Boscia Luminizing Black Mask. It felt really weird, like you know when you peel skin off after you've had a sunburn? Yeah, like that...And, you can't see it too well, but there is a line on the perimeter of my face that is black, and is attached to my fine, yet somewhat long (longer than the rest) facial hair. (damn my ethnic background!!)  I whined like a baby when trying to get that off. Blah blah blah rinse it off, yeah I got around to that.

Results : I have no pics of the results. because I was miffed and pouting. Anyways, my combo/oily skin was smooth, dry, brighter, and my pores were clear, but gaping! (This is where a good primer or pore/wrinkle filler come in, but that's a tale for another time) You can use this treatment once or twice a week. I think I've learned my lesson, and will probably stay away from peel off masks from now on. Honestly, I get the same results from a good exfoliator, which includes no wait time, rub in, rinse off, done!

Until next time!!

**The product(s) mentioned above were either a free sample, given to me by work so I get to know my products better, or an outright purchase by me. My opinions are solely my own and not influenced by anyone or anything**

An introduction...

    I remember a time when I would roll out of bed, run a brush through my hair, pop some brick red lipstick on, adjust my glasses and be off for the day. Now there are depuffers, detoxifiers, lighteners, brighteners, tighteners, clarifiers, straighteners, primers, fillers, smoothers, and a multitude of other things that end in "er" that make me feel just so "Yippee skippee" about myself.
    Up until last October, I had no idea what a lot of this stuff was. My little uncomplicated beauty routine was tossed aside when I got a part time job at Sephora. It was an unexpected turn of events. I never thought I'd actually get the position. Apparently, what I lacked in knowledge of the world of beauty, I more than made up for in charm, charisma, and who could resist this smile :D ? Anyway, I've come across hundreds of products since then, and I have had some pretty comical experiences, as well. I would like to share these experiences with others. I'm not eloquent, at times I'm downright blue, my grammar will be crappy, and I guarantee that there will definitely be misplaced punctuations littering this fine blog. So, without further ado...settle down, strap in, here we go...