Gentle Satin Taupe and Cranberry For Fall

I started using PowerDirector to record my videos, but pretty much half of the video is crackly and choppy for some ridiculousness reason. If I'd known Windows Movie Maker was the best out there, I could have saved some dinero.

I made the video about Estee Lauder DoubleWear Stay-In-Place foundation. This stuff is amazing for me (three weeks of use). No breakouts, medium-to-full coverage, and a flawless finish. My pale pink skin shade is "1N1 Ecru 16."

I never would have pegged this foundation on my own. A drop-dead, modelesque redhead who works at the counter catches my eye every time I'm there. She has the most flawless skin, and her color choices are just fab. I finally walked up and nervously said, "Um, I always notice you have perfect skin. Is that something I can buy here?" She was awesome, and I had the perfect shade in about 3 minutes.

So.. here's some before/after action.

Before

After


I used my 188 duo-fiber brush (any duo will do) to apply it, and then set it with mac transparent finishing powder. Here's a up-close of the skin.




I hope this is helpful if you're looking for a new foundation with full coverage!

T

Makeup Brush Organization and Holder

At last, a solution to the brush problem! I bought "color fill" and a short, wide glass container at Michaels for less than $12. Works great for keeping them standing up.

The big face brushes in the tall plastic container: The container was $1 at the Dollar Store, and I filled it with 3 bags of fishtank stones of different colors. It's sort of hard to shove the brush ends into the stones, but it holds steady once they are in!

I Heart Dazzle Glasses!!

My new love affair is going to be a slow-starter! I love Dazzle Glasses. The brushes (instead of the doe foot) are awesome, the sparkle is amazing, and the texture is perfect. For now, I've only gotten Funtabulous and Money, Honey. I think these would look great on any skin tone, though I must say Money Honey Dazzle seems great for light-skinned brunettes or redheads. LOVE them... oh the pain at $18 each.

Nars Products

My Nars Collection is small, but here are some comparison photos in case you're wondering about colors, etc.

I just bought Night Breed e/s, Sin blush and Narsh e/s brush in #12. I love all of these products so far!

Urban Decay, meet my wallet...

I recently took a trip to San Diego for a visit with my college roomy (now an awesome attorney - love you, Anna!) and took the opportunity to go to Sephora and Mac. There are NO stores of either of these near me in Oregon, so this was a massively exciting experience for me!

I had no products by Urban Decay until this trip, so I thought checking them out in person instead of playing "guess the color" online would be beneficial. I love this brand now, and got a better idea of the products they offer and the sizes they come in.
I finally picked up the Primer Potion (I'll have to order the new one, too, as it looks GORGEOUS)and am seriously pleased with the quality of this product. It is very emollient, as in smooth and lotion-like, and stays ALL DAY LONG. I need so little of it, I'm amazed. Yay!! Mac Prep + Prime, eat your heart out.
Next, I picked up two glitter pencils (I didn't get Zero because I have tons of black liners that I love). The colors are Stash (a dark crystal green) and Dime (a beautiful, bold silver) and I am truly in love with these. I think all three products were only $16 each, so very reasonable!

For you green and hazel eyed ladies, Stash is awesome at drawing out the eye color. Dime is perfect for a glittery highlight. You can outline your entire eye and it's not obnoxious at all. I'll be doing a video with Stash soon for Tarugga (Paola) to make a green smokey eye. Part of the awesomeness of these is that they can double as eye shadows and look beautiful. They smudge well before they "set" and don't crease that I've noticed.

MAC Holiday Pigments Review

I bought both 08 holiday pigment sets. I thought- "what a steal at $29.50!" There are 5 colors in each holiday set, and MAC pigments usually sell for $18 or more in larger quantities.

Here's the rundown ~
The Cool Set: Frost, Quietly, Pinked Mauve, Teal and Reflects Red
The Warm Set: Melon, Gold Stroke, Gold Mode, Gold Dust, and Reflects Gold Antique

Bottom Line: Not worth it. I tried each, figuring I'd find at least one I liked in each set. The colors look amazing in the bottle, but there's little true color once applied. I ultimately returned both sets, sadly. This way, I can buy 3 full-sized awesome pigments for the same $60.
MAC isn't turning out the quality I'm wanting lately. Dame Edna is another case in point.

Sephora Ultimate Blockbuster Review

The Sephora Blockbuster Kit was one that I waited by the door for. I was so excited to see that Sephora had made such a great compact kit. The colors looked delicious in the pictures, and I think the case with pull-out extras is classy.

First Impression: Not worth the $48. I was disappointed that the cream shadows were so bleh with little pay-off. The lip palettes are okay, but I had to do some brush testing because they are fairly sticky and will tear the bristles off of some brushes.

I contemplated returning it. For a while. Then, it grew on me.

I started to ignore the parts I didn't like, and began using the pressed shadows and face powder/blush tray on the bottom level. The highlighter isn't the worst, and the shimmery bronzer has worked for contouring. The pink on the lower left side is thick and doesn't blend well. The pink on the top right is fab, and I'm using it often.

The shadows have been a lot of fun - now that I'm giving them a second chance. I love that I can move on step over and darken up if a color isn't working out perfectly, and the pigments in a number of the shadows are excellent. Some are cakey, but that's with any mixed palette, I believe.

So, 4/5 stars on this one.