This morning I decided to rock a gold and green eyeshadow look, and I needed a black eyeliner and super WOW false looking lashes to define my eyes in order to complete the look.  I went with Urban Decay's Liquid Liner in Oil Black, a really pretty shimmery black, and Benefit's BAD gal Lash Mascara, a super voluminizing and lengthening mascara in the blackest black.

But there's a huge problem.  My eyes get really dried from wearing contacts since I'm not used to it, so throughout the day I use eye drops to relieve the dryness.  I remembered UD's Liquid Liner to hold up pretty well to water, so that's why I opted to use it.  I remember Benefit's BAD gal Lash Mascara to smudge a little, so I applied a little bit of Clinique's Lash Power mascara on top to try to make it waterproof.

Was i wrong?

VERY!!!  It was awful!

Every time, about 2 minutes after I used eye drops, I would get the worst racoon eyes in history.  I didn't capture a picture of it, since I'd run to the bathroom immediately to wipe it off, but it was as if I had applied mascara to my skin directly.  That bad!  Somehow, either the liner or the mascara also smudged a bit onto my eyelid, right in my crease.  Luckily that's not noticeable when my eyes are opened.

So then I did a somewhat dumb thing.  After I wiped the black smudges under my eyes off, a small trace was still there.  I thought I'd camouflage it with some glitter liquid eyeliner, using Urban Decay's Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in Spandex, a which contains dark rainbow glitters.  It worked for a little bit, but guess what happened?  Glitter got into my eye, underneath my contacts.  I should have known, but ugh!  It was just awful awful awful!  I tried to flush the glitter out with more eye drops, but it just made more glitter fall off my skin and migrate directly into my eye, and more smudging from my eyeliner and mascara.

It was just super uncomfortable, and I ran home immediately to get my contacts off.  So in the future, girls and maybe boys, avoid this eyeliner and mascara combo.  The picture below are to show how uneven the liquid liner has become.  You can also see how it's pretty black underneath my eyes.  It's the left over stuff that I couldn't get off with tissue and water.  Sorry for the low quality of the pix.  I just grabbed my iPhone to take the pictures.  It's really much worse in person!

I'm not saying that these are bad products.  They do their jobs great, but they are so water unfriendly.  It really sucks for contact lense wearers who use eye drops, or for people with allergies whose eyes tear up easily.  I'll try wearing this again tomorrow without wearing contacts and see if it's better.  I'll let you guys know.

It's no secret that I have really horrible dark circles under my eyes.  I worked the dreaded graveyard shift for 9 months, and just recently made the switch back to day.  It's quite a long dramatic story, and while I hated the graveyard hours, I really didn't mind it that much.  Compare to the crap I deal with while working during the day, I totally prefer night.

Anyhow.. I had been using Laura Mercier's Secret Camouflage in SC-2 to cover up my dark circles for the longest time.  While it looks great right after you put it on, I find that it cakes up and make my fine lines look really visible.  Hello, I'm not even 24 yet, so even though I have fine lines, I don't want it to show!!

Yves Saint Laurent TOUCHE e;CLAT Radiant Touch

$40.00 by Yves Saint Laurent at Sephora

That lead me to seek out a lighter and brighter concealer.  I first tried Touche Eclat at the Sephora in Santa Monica during its grand opening.  The display sample was brand new!  I was looking HORRIBLE that day since I failed to sleep prior to work and I had gone straight to the grand opening right after work, so I grabbed it, applied on just a tad, blended it lightly with my fingers, and lo and behold, I instantly looked perked up!  It was beyond amazing!!

I didn't get it for a few more months simply because it is expensive.  For a small 0.1 fl oz, it costs $40.  But is it worth it?  Definitely.

It covers up any hint of dark circles, smoothes over all fine lines, and 8 hours later, it's still looking good.  Plus it brightens just a tad, so it can double as a highlighter!  Dab a little bit on underneath your brows, on the the top of your cheeks, and even the tip of your nose for a very subtle but pretty brightening effect.

I love love love this!

How I look normally.  Pretty sad huh?  Consider I'm 23 going on 18 this year.

Using Touche Eclat #2 Luminous Ivory.  Much better?

So tell me what you think, and what's your holy grail undereye concealer.

 

Amongst the goodies my sister brought back from Taiwan was this little blue tube of Mascara, "Kiss Me Goodlash Power Beam Eyes."  The packaging tauted that it was waterproof AND smudgeproof.  Smudgeproof you claim?  We've heard that claim before countless times.

Now.. I really DO need smdugeproof mascara because well.. I have the really awful habit of rubbing my eyes.  So of course I was curious to see if this little blue tube was really smudgeproof.

The first time I put it on, I thought, wow.. OK, this lash offers pretty darn good lash separation and extension, but lacks a little in volume.  A whole day later, I was happy that black smudges were no where to be found.  Then, I tried to remove it.  Now, I'm no stranger to waterproof mascara, and from my previous experiences, it's best to remove mascara with an oil cleanser.  So I used my trusty DHC Olive Oil Cleanser, and guess what?  Kiss Me did not budge at all.  I splashed more water on it and tried to smudge it off, but it was truly smudgeproof!!!!  Oddly enough, Shu Uemera's High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil Fresh takes the mascara right off.

Anyhow..

• Drama - 9/10 - This baby offers seriously long and curled lashes.  It offers some volume, but it mainly separates and lenghtens.
• Stay Factor - 10/10 - like I've already raved above, this baby stays put.  NO smudging whatsoever.  I wear this to work, work in a heated uber humid room (my company decided that water baths are the best technology for PCR.. when infact, water baths have gone out of fashion since oh I don't know.. 1995?), then go to the gym where I sweat for an hour, and guess what?  NO SMUDGES!
• Ease of Application - 8/10 - the wand is curved, so it reaches all your lashes quite easily.  It does curl my lashes though, and my lashes always ends up hitting my eyelids.  But overall, it's really easy to achieve great lashes with this.
• Ease of Removal - 6/10 - this is SERIOUSLY hard to remove.  It will not budge with most cleansers or wipes.  BUT, it doesn't smudge off during the night either so...

 

Overall, I CAN KISS THIS BABY THOUSAND TIMES, KISS ME GOODLASH POWERBEAM EYES!!

So I tried to take some pix of it, but I don't think the camera captured how well it lenghtens my lashes.  So I tried again, this time pressing that flower button, and the pictures came out better.

No mascara

With make up and black eyeliner

This btw, is AFTER I went to the gym and had used a wipe to remove my eye makeup.  Look at the curl!  You can click on these to enlarge.

So now are you convinced to get it?  If so, it's available at Sasa.com for $9.70.  That's about the price of a L'oreal or Max Factor mascara, as well as Lash Blast from Covergirl.  But the results?  It's worth a lot more than $9.70.

 

I recently heard about this thing called BB Cream from browsing beauty blogs.  I can't remember exactly which blog it was, but I think it the post was about a Missha sale, and the blogger had scored Missha's BB Cream for a good price.

Since then, I've been googling everywhere for BB Creams to find out exactly what they are.  To me, they are the newest Korean wonder (move aside Rain, it's time for BB Creams!).  They are super lightweight foundation that manages to contain a lot of pigments to give skin a natural glow with a lot of coverage.  The BB stands for Blemish Balm, so I sure hope it contains some ingredients to help acne prone skin!  Then while browsing around blogs again, I came across Kathi of Lotus Palace, who is basically the BB Cream authority in the beauty blogsphere.  From reading her reviews and seeing swatches, as well as videos on YouTube showing women applying BB Creams, I became hooked.  Oh, the latest breakout in my skin definitely help prompt me into getting 1 into my hands ASAP.

I decided that I'd get one in person, and what better place to go other than the small makeup counter located in the entrance of my local Korean market?  The lady who owns the shop is extremely friendly, so shopping with her is comfortable.  I asked about BB Creams, and she pulled out a set of Hanskin Super Magic BB Cream - Perfect Super Magic BB Cream.  I tried it out on my hand first and thought that the texture was a tad dry.  I then tried another cream (forgot the name), and noticed that it was creamier and sheerer, but I realized that my skin isn't suited for creamy and sheer textures.  Apparently, the BB cream only has 1 color, and like mineral makeup, it's suppose to adjust to your skintone.

Anyhow.. I tried it last night and I liked it.  It was like Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturizer in terms of how it felt, but the coverage was so much better.  It really evened out my currently inflamed skin, and helped camouflage the rather unflattering pimples.  The coloring isn't super natural, but it made my skin looked radiant and glowy, instead of nasty and pasty.

I got both the cream and its matching blemish concealer for $68.  Most places here sell just the cream for $68, but it's on the Hanskin website for $37,000 won, which is around $30.  Don't know if they ship outside of Korea, but it's definitely worth it to check it out.  Other wise, you can find it on neoBeauty.  I've bought things off neoBeauty before and the shipping is quite prompt.  http://www.neobeauty.com/haprsumabbcr.html

Here's some pix of the set I got, me without makeup (SORRY IF I BLIND YOU!  I'm totally breaking out!!), me with BB Cream and concealer on, and my overall makeup from last night:

Me without makeup

With BB Cream and concealer on!  MUCH better

Finished look!

 

I played with some blue and black eyeshadow for the eyes, and my new Super Orgasm blush.  I was really fascinated with the blush, so I kinda overdid it and didn't use bronzer to balance it out.  Whatev, I was just going home to see my mommy, and yes, my shirt is stained!!

 

This is the collection I would get if I had more money right now.  The collection I would get if I didn't need to pay almost $75 for my phone service (hubby used to pay for it since combined, our phone service was less than $75, but we had to get the iPhone).

When I saw it at the store, I thought to myself, "wow.. the colors are really soft and pretty.  So perfect for spring!"  It contained 10 contains, a dark and light version of each color.  A sheer and a bold if you might.  From the pan, the colors all looked matte and soft.  Plus the packaging was so pretty.  It does give you this feeling of being a muse, a beautiful soft-spoken muse that gave artists all the bright inspirations to create one of a kind artwork.

Here's how it looks from pix taken from my phone

The shades on the top, the lighter shades, are meant to be worn all over your lids to give it a soft touch of color.  The darker shades on the bottom are meant to be used on top of your eyeliner to make the eyeliner pop.

There are other items from the collection, but this palette caught my eyes.  Then I come home to watch this video from Smashbox, and I wonder if I should go back to Sephora to get it.  Hm...

It costs $48 and can be found at Sephora, Nordstroms, and anywhere else that carries Smashbox.  Should I go back and get it?  What do you guys think?

 

$48.00 by Smashbox at Beauty.com

 

Sorry for another non-informative post, but I'm feeling quite BLAH.  I think I have a case of SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder.  It's just soo cold right now, all I can or want to do is to snuggle underneath my comforter.  Actually, my arms are freezing because it's out of the comforter in order to use my laptop!  My apartment has no insulation, and my small space heater is well, small.  Plus my hubby puts it on his side of the bed!  On a happier note, today's our 3rd anniversary!  Yet we have no plans.

One thing about this cold weather that bugs me to death is how chap my lips are.  I haven't reached for my lip balms as often as I do now.  Currently in my rotation:

Kiehl's Lip Balm #1

$6.50 by Kiehl's at Nordstrom

Temporarily protects and helps relieve chapped or cracked lips. Helps protect lips from the drying effects of wind and cold weather.

• SPF 4.
• Not tested on animals.
• By Kiehl's.

 

 

It's main ingredient is petrolatum, which believe it or not, is the best moisturizing ingredient there is.  It's the best at preventing water loss, so it guarantees that your lips stay soft and smooth!  Plus it contains a small amount of SPF, which is so important for our lips.  We protect the rest of our face from the sun, but we always forget our lips, and with this, there's no reason to.  The only thing I don't like about this is the taste, but it's much better than Carmex, and they offer different flavors that should be yummier.  Plus, it's great to use to moisturize your cuticles.  There's always some left over on my finger after I apply it, and I just rub it all over my cuticles to soften them.  The price is also wonderful.  A bit more above good ol' Vaseline (which the doctor actually recommends over anything else, but it's no fun!), but still very affordable.  Overall, 4 watermelons!

Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15

$22.50 by Fresh at Sephora

Sugar Lip Treatment SPF 15 blends reparative oils and waxes together with real sugar for delectable and dependable moisture with maximum sun protection.Sweet and tart blackcurrant oil cushions the lips with essential plumping fatty acids, while antioxidant grapeseed polyphenols and vitamins A, C, and E provide extra protection. Size: 0.15 oz

I like Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment for its taste.  It's citrusy and sweet, and the packaging rocks.  I like pulling this out just to pull out the heavy cap.  It's also fun to apply.  It reminds me of Blistex Complete Moisture when you apply it, which is a feeling of your lips being licked by something cool.  It is also really pricey, especially compared to Kiehl's #1 Lip Balm, and I won't argue that it's better because it's natural, because I don't believe "natural" is synonymous with good, BUT, it is a good product overall.  4 watermelons for this as well.

The last in my current rotation is

Caudalie Lip Conditioner

$12.00 by CAUDALIE at Sephora

This intensive lip care product hydrates and repairs dry, damaged lips with a powerful blend of antioxidants and nutrients. To use: Apply liberally as needed. Also works well as a lipstick base.

 

This isn't as yummy as Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment, nor is it as moisturizing as Kiehl's #1 Lip Balm, BUT, it works the best under lipstick.  The packaging is plastic, which doesn't feel as luxurious as Fresh' packaging, but inside, the lip balm has a slanted shape like lipstick, so it offers more precise application.  It's also more affordable, and it's the one that my husband steals from me.  The taste takes some time to get used to for me.  It's not as addictive as Kiehl's or Fresh' lip balms, but I'll reach for this when I'm applying matte or cream lipstick.  3 watermelons for this!

Hm, my post that started off with me just b*tching about the cold weather* has turned into something hopefully informative.  What lip balms do you use and recommend?

 

*By cold, I mean below 50 degrees.  That's cold for LA because we're not sufficiently prepared!

 

 

Lavshuca is a Japanese drugstore brand that's sold throughout Asia.  I first heard about them through PJ at A Touch of Blusher last holiday season, where I proceeded to hunt down their 2007 Holiday palette.  I ended up finding it on AdamBeauty.com, which is a Hong Kong based website that sells all your favorite Japanese brands, and to this day, I haven't used the palette yet.

I have however, acquired a lot of other items from Lavshuca, and one of them is their Eye Color Select palette in PU-2.  The Eye Color Selects contain 4 pots of colors, and the pots form this pretty multi color heart shaped flower.  The PU-2 contains a light lavendar, a dark purple, a light champagne, and a brownish taupe that contains tons of shimmer.  As with most Japanese eyeshadow palettes, Lavshuca will print a diagram showing you exactly where to place each color.  I have since discarded the packaging that held the diagram because what's the fun in doing the expected?  Sure, you are guaranteed results if you follow the printed diagram, but isn't life, and subsequently make up, all about risks?

So do what I do and play around with all 4 colors!  Put them anywhere and everywhere!  Use the dark purple as a eyeliner, or use it for your crease!  Use the dark taupe as an all over color!  Use the light purple to highlight!  Apply the champagne over the brownish taupe and blend!

Oh, speaking of blending and flaking and all other pertinent things that you probably want to know before buying, Lavshuca's eyeshadows blend extremely easily.  The colors are all quite pigmented and finely milled, so the quality is more like Urban Decay vs Wet n Wild.  It could be applied for a sheer finish, but the pigments are easily buildable.  The giant shimmer/glitter particles do fall off and land on your cheeks, so take care when you use it.  The crease factor is quite low, even without a primer.

And how do you say the brand name?  My sister and I figured that Lavshuca is a very Japanese way of saying "Love Sugar".  I think my sister was imagining her old Japanese teacher from high school talking when she thought of it, and I agree with her.  Afterall, the logo of the brand is a heart, so LOVE must be somehow related to the brand, right?  *wink*