Friday, January 30, 2009

product lust.....urban decay primer potion sin


any glamourista worth her salt has tried and loved Urban Decay's Primer Potion. nothing works as well to make your eyeshadow stay exactly where you put it ten hours before.

but now, UDPP has a shimmery little sister called Sin. she does the job that the original does, but she's a pinkish goldish champagne hue that makes any eyeshadow pop, or wears well on it's own.

it reminds me of what Two-Faced tried to do with their eyeshadow base (which was far too greasy for my oily lids). it was meant to illuminate the eye or wear alone.

i haven't seen this in person yet, but i have such a crush on the original that i'm bound to love this one too!!

have you tried this?

relationships are bad for your face!

though i've griped about my cosmetic laziness before, my progress isn't going as well as i'd like.

my beauty routines are still taking a back seat. i can't really explain why. i used to NEVER go out without makeup on. i would never even think about skipping night cream before bed. normally, i was always preened and pruned and coifed and polished.

since becoming someone's girlfriend, i've really been slacking. i don't slack on my weekend job, of course. people literally buy things off of your face there, so it's unthinkable to not have your face done.

i haven't forgotten how to do it. i just don't do it as much anymore. i'll catch a glimpse of myself throughout the day and think, "oh, i wish i'd put on some concealer" or "i look so tired, i need some blush!"

i need to push myself to look better. i can't let the fact that my boyfriend thinks i look beautiful when i first wake up keep me from looking good in public. if i get lazy, my skin will suffer. i'll look bad in all the pictures i'm in. and i want to be proud of the way i look, like i used to.

call it the glamourista's beauty rut. i gotta grab my sephora #14 smudge brush and dig myself back out!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

product lust........victoria's secret shoes

it's odd for me to write about spring shoes when the ground is currently covered in several inches of snow, but indulge me. you know how the world of fashion always releases everything early. you buy parkas in july, and bikinis in january. or something like that.

these are some fantastic shoes i dug on the victorias secret website. it's the heel that's grabbing my attention...it's just amazing!


look at that heel! i wonder if stuff catches on it...
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these are betsey johnson. love them, but can't see myself dropping over $200 for them. i bet they make tanned legs look awesome!
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more cuteness. i mean the shoes, not the model. but she's cute too.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

wedding musings....my hairstyle!

the glamourista is getting married!

and this beauty blog is the perfect place to rack my sequined brain and concoct my perfect look for that special day. don't worry, i'll still be reviewing products and lusting after things that sparkle. i'll just be throwing a lot of wedding items into the mix for the next several months.

so far, i've chosen my bridal party (4 bridesmaids and 1 junior bridesmaid), the ceremony site, the reception site, my colors (mostly white and a little black), bridesmaids dresses (they are actually choosing their own-anything long and black).

when it comes to myself, though, i'm a little overwhelmed. i thought making decisions about my own look would be easy. not so!

today's musings....my hairstyle!

i want a veil on top of my head. some places call it a fountain veil, or a bouffant veil, and even some bubble veils fit my description. i want to add height. i'm leaning towards a half-up/half down hairstyle, but there are a LOT of stunning updo's to choose from too!

half-up/half down works well with my naturally curly hair, but so would a messy updo. i also don't want any hair showing between the tiara/headband/headpiece and the veil, i.e. the veil looks like it comes from underneath a cascade of curls.

here are some pics of things that i like....




Tuesday, January 27, 2009

product lust....Cover Girl Outlast Lipstain


you probably already know about my lust for lipstain. this lazy glamourista has a love/hate relationship with lipcolor...it's need to be re-applied is frustrating. lipstain gives me low maintenance color.

my fave lipstain is Bourjois. however, sephora discontinued it and ulta doesn't carry it. i liked it because it went on like a felt tip marker, which gives you much more precision than a sponge would (like Urban Decay) or a roll-on (Lorac) or a brush (Stila). put some shiny gloss on top, and you have a unique lip look. i get more compliments when i do that than any other product i put on my lips.

i am ecstatic that Cover Girl heard my plea and released a lipstain worth my while. It has the same felt tip application, and it comes in ten shades!

like other lipstains, you will need to exfoliate your lips (easily done with a toothbrush) before you apply, otherwise it won't go on evenly.

i cannot wait to try this stuff!

Have you tried it?

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

head and shoulders for toes and soles?

we all know there are a zillion web pages out there with home remedies for this or that, based on products you probably already have in your house.

a lady at work told me that head and shoulders (the dandruff shampoo) will give you soft feet. if you use in the shower and scrub your feet with that product and a wash cloth, she swears it makes her biscuit heels super soft after about 2 weeks. another guy i work with swears by it, too. he's brave enough to put in on his feet and sleep with it on. according to him, the skin easily sloughs off in the morning.

those things aren't recommended uses for head and shoulders, and i'm sure the company would never advertise such practices. call me a daredevil...i'm gonna try it!

Saturday, January 10, 2009

product test drive....too faced smurfette collection

leave it to too-faced to come out with a line honoring our favorite little blue cartoons. contrary to what you might think, they are not designed to turn you blue like their heroine, but rather make you "smurfy".

first, we'll start with the windows to the smurfy soul. too-faced has an eyeshadow palette and glitter eyeliners, all designed to make your peepers pop.



the shadows are actually very pretty. the So-Smurfy Eyeshadow Collection is quad of two neutrals, one blue and one pink, all easily worn separately or together. as expected, the colors are glittery. despite the versatility, i think you can pass it up for it's price of $32.50. the smurfy-eyed liner is just like the other available too-faced glitter liner shades, with the smurfy colors being bright blue and opalescent white glitter, and priced the same at $17.50.


the Mood Swing Emotionally Activated Lip Gloss is a take on their already existing Mood Gloss. it will alarm you at first application, since it comes out blue and glittery. however, it quickly changes to a rather boisterous pink. my lips were the brightest i'd ever seen them, but apparently still flattering (i got a few compliments). this is no indication of what it will do to anyone else, since each person's lips product a different shade. it also tastes and smells like blueberry, which is fun!


the So Smurfy Illumination Face Powder is probably the worst part of the collection. it's concept is right-to color correct and highlight. however, on even the palest person, it shows up white. kinda like an alien, or one of those ethereal advertisements where the women look all pale and shiny. to get any use out of it, it would have to be used sparingly. wierdly, it's getting great reviews on sephora.com, but i've seen it in action and it's a little odd.

the verdict? over-priced trendy collection with no must-haves. the only thing i may purchase would be the gloss.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

product crush.......Pore Effect


try as we might, we will never be able to create an absolutely truly smooth face. we have products that work like industrial spackle that only give the illusion of what we really want.

it's those pores that are the problem!! they get gunk in them, they get infected, they stare our from our face sometimes like caverns (ew).

there is no miracle product that will make your pores go away. it doesn't matter what it claims to do, that's just not a realistic expectation. but what can a product do? clear out a pore and make it appear smaller, thus making your skin look smoother. the pores won't be gone, but if you get out all the junk that makes pores more visible, your face will look better.

a product i've recently discovered is Dr. Brandt's Pore Effect, a clarifying cream with salicylic acid that "penetrates follicles to clear acne, tighten pores, normalize oil production, stimulates cellular turnover, and calms redness and irritation". i'm converted!

the Pros: it's as effective as any mattifier that i've ever used in the way that it stalls oil production. also, a little goes a long way. you won't even need a separate moisturizer when you use this because it has enough hydration.

the Cons: it's super thick. because of the tea tree oil, it has a medicinal smell.

just to be safe i sometimes use Smashbox Anti-Shine on top of it, but i really don't need to. putting this product on before my foundation makes my skin shine-free for hours, and i have noticed my skin looking clearer, too!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

product lust......Clarisonic


some of the best ways to find a new product is to let someone else try it out for you, especially if it's pricey!

let's face it...new trendy tools and products come out everyday, all proclaiming to be life-changing. and few of the lot actually are.

when i find out about a product's amazingness on accident, when it's not from a rep from the company or from some advertisement, i find that opinion much more reliable. that's how i found out about Clarisonic.

in short? it's a skin-care brush that spins against your face. in sephora terms, it's this: "From the creators of the Sonicare® toothbrush comes Clarisonic® skin care. Sonic technology first changed the way we clean our teeth, it's now changing how we cleanse our skin. The sonic frequency moves Clarisonic's soft, gentle brush back and forth at more than 300 times per second. The sonic micro-massage clears your pores, loosening dirt, makeup and oil. Clarisonic® is proven to remove more dirt (sebum and makeup) than traditional, superficial cleansing, allowing your serums and moisturizers to absorb better. Skin is left soft and pampered without harsh abrasion or chemicals. Clarisonic reduces dry skin patches, oily areas and blemishes and removes 6X more makeup. Pore size, fine lines, and wrinkles appear smaller".

$195.00 sounds totally steep. for that price, couldn't you just buy a brush and move it in really fast circles all over your face? i'm less appalled by price if the thing actually works. here's why i believe that it does: more than once, while i've been giving a consultation to a client and noticed that they had great skin, they told me they were using Clarisonic. they raved about how it made their skin look and feel and weren't sorry AT ALL for the price they paid (i was crass enough to ask).

i want one of these. it's not just cleansing and makeup removal....it's diminishing fine lines and pores. the price is hard to ignore, but if you read the online reviews, these customers are so satisfied. i want one so that i can be satisfied too!!!

i haven't received confirmation yet, but i hear some Dillard's carry this item. and i have a Dillard's card. hmmm........