I'm calling it! (project 10 pan, that is)

Whew. After just about 1 month, I've completely used up 10 products. I am reluctant to pat myself on the back though, since they were mostly bathroom products, which are easy to use up.

e.l.f. professional shine eraser: for $1, these are a great value for blotting sheets, and a total essential for the summer. I'm kicking myself for having purchased only one, so I suggest next time you place an e.l.f order, stock up!

C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Tint: I love this lip gloss because it is tasty, smells fresh and minty, and imparts a high gloss tint on the lips. However, it can be very sticky!

Mario Badescu hyalauronic eye cream: I enjoyed using this scent-free eye cream and would suggest it to anyone with wrinkles around their eyes. However, I need something that targets dark under eye circles.

Coastal Scents Lip Smacks: I have this in Marilyn a Go Go. Terribly sticky, and overly shiny, I would not recommend this to anyone.

Target's Up and Up Eye makeup remover: Although it swiped away every trace of waterproof mascara, it always left a circle of dryness around my eyes unless I moisturized immediately. I've since moved on to Boots Botanical Soothing Eye Makeup Remover, which works just as well but doesn't yield raccoon eyes. (review here)

Cellnique Skin Purifying Cleanser: This is a cleanser and exfoliator in one, and was initially part of a regimen that really worked for my acne-prone skin. However, over time, the effectiveness diminished, which always happens to me with topical treatments. (full review here)

Olay Regenerist daily wipes: I am glad to see the back of this product (full review here). Although it felt refreshing and left no residue, the wipes were way too scratchy. I've since moved on to MAC Cleanse Off.

Lush Dark Angels: This is a wonderful charcoal-based scrub. I really really loved using it because it had an earthy smell and left me feeling squeaky clean. However, it is messy, so I always used it in the shower. The other downside is that it tends to expire quickly. (review here)

Biore blemish fighting ice cleanser: I have bought this salicylic acid cleanser time and time again. I literally did not repurchase because I was sick of seeing it in my cabinet for so long! But I wholeheartedly recommend it for combo-oily and acne-prone skin types. (see previous review here)

Shu Uemura Face Architect and Base Control: Although I do love these products, they are far too pricey to repurchase. I haven't fully used up either of these, but now I can't since my skin has become tanner.Great products though (full review here).

Armani Diamonds perfume: This scent was sophistication in a bottle. I imagine Charlotte York would smell something like this.

Merle Norman Super Lube: I have finally hit pan on this tub of lip salve after about 10 years. It's gonna take several more months to truly finish it up, but I think 10 years lands it as an honorable mention!
 

In total, I finished 13 products. Since most of them were bathroom products, I have to say this was not a very successful P10P. Oddly enough, I'm not itching to haul again. This project made me realize that although I have a nice makeup collection, I am sorely lacking in the clothing department, so I think for now, I will continue to build up my wardrobe rather than makeup. :-)

Spring Favorites

Seeing how we are more than halfway through May, I thought might as well give you the run down of products I've been loving throughout April and May. I've been digging bright lips, neutral eyes, and glowy skin this spring.

1. Urban Decay Pocket Rocket in Timothy: Tim and I were not seeing eye to eye at first because he smelled way too much like creme brulee. But now that summer is here and coral is everywhere, I gotta say that Timothy is filling the position quite nicely, so I am putting up with the smell. I like this gloss because its bright, with no glitter, and a pure coral. It's opaque enough that I don't need any lipstick underneath.

Below, heavy swatch (left), and blended out (right):

2. MAC Studio Fix Powder Foundation: I've come back to this like you come back to that sweet guy friend who always stood by you when your heart was broken by other meanies. Yes, I still love the look of liquid foundation, but this is a must-have in my collection because it never breaks me out, and is quick and easy.

3. Origins Underwear for the eyes:  I've used this almost every single day as a base, or on its own. I hate the tube it came in though, so I have pressed it into a Mario Badescu sample pot.

4. Coastal Scents M09 Hot Pot: this is a perfect matte cream colored e/s that I have been using for my browbone and inner corner. It highlights, and yet does not draw attention to itself. (see full review of all my Hot Pots here)

Above: heavy swatch on left, blended out on right.

5. Cellnique Advanced Biorenewal Masque: For those of us dealing with acne or scarring, this is instant gratification in a jar. I love it. Check out my review here.

Ahhh with May coming to a close, summer is finally here. Cant wait to sport the dresses, the sandals, and the bronzed decolletage (I love that word).

PS. The Cellnique mask and Hot Pots were provided by the manufacturers. All other products are bought by myself (except the Origins base, which I got from a friend).

Coastal Scents Hot Pots Swatches and Review

As mentioned in my recent haul post, I recently got some Coastal Scents hot pots. If you're not aware of what these are, they are basically single-pan eye shadows. Except for one matte shade, all other shades that I selected were shimmery. Here is how they look in the pan:

Below are swatches of these colors, with Origins Underwear for the Eyes as a base. I strongly recommend using a base for these shadows--whether it be UDPP, paint pots or whatever floats your boat. I actually selected these shades based on some really helpful videos by Enkore on YouTube, where he said these shades are dupes for some MAC eyeshadows. I don't have any MAC e/s right now, so I can't verify whether that is true. However, below, you'll see the color shade by Coastal Scents, and in parenthesis, the MAC e/s that it is a dupe for. 

Top row, left to right: M09 (Vanilla), S09 (Paradisco); S35 (Satin Taupe); S13 (Trax)

Bottom Row: S01 (Juxt or Lusterleaf); S26 (Electra); S36 (Amber Lights)

So far, I am loving these hot pots. Compared to Coastal Scents e/s palettes, these are of higher quality, and have no fall-out issues. However, I feel that the shimmer is a bit overboard one some of the lighter colors, such as S09 (Paradisco), S01 (Lusterleaf) and S26 (Electra). When I apply these 3 shades to my lids, they just look silvery. 

The shades I am loving are, predictably, the neutral ones. I recommend M09 (Vanilla) as a great matte highlight for the browbone. S35 (Satin Taupe) looks gorgeous as a crease color or all over the lid as a soft daytime brown. S36 (Amber lights) is best applied to the center of the lid as a bronzey pop of color.

Which of these hot pots do you guys like? Are they really dupes for MAC? Would you be interested in seeing a tutorial using only these colors? Do leave me some feedback in the comments below. :)

Disclaimer: The Hot Pots were provided courtesy of Coastal Scents. The MAC palette and craft supplies were bought by me.

5 Reviews in 1: Urban Decay Hall of Fame

I recently won the Urban Decay Hall of Fame from CrystalS's generous giveaway and thought I'd share the contents with you. Thanks Crystal!

Besides UDPP, I've never really tried any other Urban Decay products, mainly due to sticker shock. So I was glad that UD came out with the Hall of Fame set, which features 5 of their best-selling products:

The set includes:
- Primer Potion (60% bigger than the normal size!)
Travel size versions of:
- Midnight Cowboy lipstick
- Timothy Pocket Rocket
- 24/7 liner in Zero
- Skyscraper mascara

Obviously, I'm super happy at having a backup of my UDPP, which I think is a must-have for any makeup collector. Here are my thoughts on the rest of the products:

Zero: I see what the hype is all about. This baby is blacker than a black hole and instantly gives so much drama to the eyes. Compared to MAC Engraved or Prestige liners, Zero is so much creamier, smudgier (in a sultry way), and has great staying power. I just set it with a matte black e/s and I'm good to go.

This just gives you those far away, enigmatic eyes!

Skyscraper Mascara: I first of all adore the rubbery-embossed packaging. But the hype ends there. It delivers the same kind of length and volume as my Maybelline Colossal. And this is not a waterproof version, so smudging does happen towards the end of the day. The wand is quite similar to lengthening mascaras like Define-A-Lash:

Midnight Cowboy: I think the nude shade of this product is gorgeous. However, I find that the glitter in it is a bit chunky and gives the lipstick a gritty texture. I'll probably take this lipstick to the MAC counter and look for a creamy, non-glittery dupe for this!

Timothy Pocket Rocket: If Timothy was a real guy, he'd be one of those obnoxious ones at the club that drenches himself in something hideous like The Axe Effect. Although this lip gloss is a cute ripe peach color, and goes on creamy and not sticky, I hate the strong creme brulee scent. It's the only downside of this product though, so if you don't mind the scent, knock yourself out (literally).

Below are swatches of Zero (top),  Timothy (middle) and the super-nude Cowboy (bottom):

After trying out all these products, I know I'll be racing to Sephora to buy Zero in full size. Although Midnight Cowboy is a gorgeous nude color, I'll probably buy a non-glittery dupe for it (any suggestions??) All in all, this was a terrific gift to receive, so thanks again Crystal!

A depotting rampage!

I recently got 2 lovely products from a friend. They are Origins Underwear for the Eyes. The two colors are shimmery beige and a shimmery gray and are basically shade sticks:

Lovely, neutral and wearable, but the container they came in was rubbish and the sticks were actually falling out of them! So a simple depotting was in order! Here's the How-To:

Grab 2 sample size jars, a bit of 70% isopropyl alcohol, a piece of tissue paper, and a dime:

Make sure the sample size pots are clean and dry. Wet the tissue in a bit of water, wring out, and place the dime inside it so that you create a little stamp.

Next break the shade sticks so they side inside the jars. I used the shade stick containers to initially press the sticks into the jar. Since they have a clay-like consistency, it was very easy to press them down so that there were no air bubbles (left)!

Put a few drops of alcohol on the shade stick and cover the whole surface. Use the dime in the tissue paper to gently but evenly press the shade sticks into the jars. You will actually end up with a very pretty rosette design on the colors!

That's all! Because this was super easy, I also applied the technique to a Coastal Scents contouring palette. I only use the blushers, and not the rest of the colors.

Because these pans are glued in tightly, removing the 2 pans of blushes was not possible. So, I just grabbed two more sample size jars. I scraped out the blushes with a scissor, and filled them inside the jars. I pressed in the blushes with my fingers and the plastic end of the scissor. Then, alcohol drops were placed on the blushes, I used the tissue-and coin method to press them in evenly. This time I used a quarter since the jars were bigger. Here's the final result:

I put stickers on the lids of the sample jars with a light pink heart and one dark pink heart. That corresponded to the light and dark pink blushes. This way I could tell what I was grabbing for. :)

I loved doing these projects. They were both super easy and saved me some space in my Caboodle!

March Favorites

It's been a wonderful month of new purchases and rediscovering gems I already had. Here are the products I've loved all month long:

Maybelline Dream Mousse Bronzer: I have been LOVING this as an all over lid color for my eyes! It's a perfect shimmering bronze and the mousse consistency is a dream to blend. I think the mousse line needs to launch eyeshadows too! Click here for my full post on it.

MAC Cremesheen Glass in Ever So Rich: This is my go-to gloss for a swipe of sheer baby pink. It complements any lip color you have underneath. No really. Any. Repurchase is very likely. Here's how it looks over a bronze lip.

Maybelline Color Sensational in Warm me up: a perfect dusty rose color. Not sure why this is categorized in the brown section of the lipsticks, but who cares. It's an amazing color. Pair this with Ever So Rich, and you'll have Victoria Secret lips! Here is the full post on it!

Shu Uemura Face Architect: What I love about this foundation is how easily it goes on, blends, and stays put. It also doesn't break me out. What I still don't like is that it is pricey as heck, therefore repurchase is unlikely. Anyway here's the full review.

Prime Time Foundation Primer: This was a pretty affordable primer I purchased from Sephora a year ago. It stayed dormant in my drawers because a lot of makeup gurus skip primers, but I recently tried it again and fell in love. I only use it on my T-zone, which is never prone to acne. It controls oil very well, and a little goes a long way!

Maybelline Colossal Volum' Express Turbo Mascara in Blackest Black: Repurchase is 100% guaranteed, and this is a Holy Grail for me. Enough said. :)

My DIY 188 brush: My Coastal Scents stippler brush has made a comeback into my life as a MAC 188 dupe! A simple rubberband reunited me with this little gem. Here's my full post on it. I love applying blush with this brush. It's small and precise enough to fit right on my cheek bones, but blending very highly pigmented blushes can be an issue, so be careful how much you pick up in the first place.

That does it for March. Now that it's April I'm roaming out and about in skirts and light jackets! Spring is here! I now leave you with my current mood:

Look at what I have to put up with!

As mentioned earlier, I wanted to show you the hubby's eyelashes. What's a girl to do? He has lashes that a camel would envy!! Sorry about the photo being a bit blown out, but you get the idea--they are uber massive (especially the ones at the edges, can you imagine if they were curled?!). All I can say is that my progeny better inherit his lash genes and not mine! How about you? Do you know people who are naturally-gifted with beautiful features? My friend and sister-in-law both have gorgeous high cheekbones and my sister has a beautiful complexion and gorgeous hair. Hmm, this may be the start of a new series. I'll call it: "It's not Maybelline. He/she really is born with it!"

Colossal? I'll Say!

Woohoo for good calls! I picked up Maybelline Colossal Volume Express mascara (really Maybelline? Any more adjectives you wanna cram in there?) recently, and have been loving using it thus far. The wand is thick, the bristles and soft and grab all the tiny lashes, and generously, but un-clumpingly lay down a lovely coat of blackest-black on each lash. I adore the effect of this mascara because I can happily pull it off day and night. My gateway drug into falsies can wait a few more months thanks to this badboy (I've taken to calling makeup things like puppy, bad boy, and baby. hmm....this could be diagnosable...)

Remind me one of these days to take a picture of the husband's eyelashes. They are pheeeenomenal, you have to see them. He gives me lash envy.

Back to the mascara. It's wonderful in every sense of the word, and a repurchase is very likely. It does not clump, yet adds volume, definition, and length. It stays on all day, does not smudge, and holds a curl without making my lashes feel brittle (I'm looking at you, L'Oreal Volume Shocking!). Maybe it IS Maybelline (sorry couldn't resist).

What is your favorite mascara to date? (Note that I said "to date" because I think its a fact universally accepted that a quest for the holy grail mascara is a never-ending one.)

Old Makeup, New Life: Part 1

I'm starting a mini-series on makeup that is unloved for whatever reason, and thinking creatively to give it a new purpose. A second chance at life, if you will. My first pick is my Maybelline Dream Mousse Bronzer. Although this product totally sucked as a bronzer, it is an incredibly wearable eyeshadow! Take a look:

I love using this brown shimmery color all over my lid, put on a bit of Fluidline, mascara, and I'm all set for everyday makeup! I use a Coastal Scents blending fluff to apply it. Best of all, its totally buildable, and you can always intensify this look color by using a dark crease color, or a foiling effect for night. I've made quite a dent in this baby since I found it to be such an appealing day-time color. I'm actually loving it so much that I might repurchase once its out. :-)

What makeup products have you given new purpose to?

It's my birthday and I'll haul if I want to

As any self-respecting makeup junkie would do, I treated myself to a birthday makeup and nailpolish haul last week. I went to my local drugstore and then to ULTA, and all in all, I think I did good because I got everything for around $50. Here are my new toys:

 

Left to right: 

Maybelline Sensational Lipstick in Warm Me Up 

Maybelline Sensational in Pinkalicious

Seche Vite

OPI Sand in my Suit 

OPI Italian Affair

Maybelline Colossal Volum' Express Hydrofuge (Classic Black)

MAC Cremesheen Glass in Ever So Rich (this was a gift from a dear friend and makeup enabler)

Pencils, from front to back

Prestige Waterproof Eyeliner in Surf

NYX Lipliner in Soft Brown

Prestige Eyeliner in Smokey Green

I got the Maybelline products at buy 2 get 1 free from Ulta, and the OPI nailpolishes were discounted to $6.25 each. 

L to R (on both pictures): Pinkalicious; Warm Me Up

Top to bottom: NYX Soft Brown, Prestige Smokey Brown, Prestige Surf

Without Flash:

With Flash:

 

I'm loving this haul so far. I find a restrained haul lets me enjoy each product to the fullest. I'll do full reviews in the upcoming days, but I'll give you a sneak peek now: I already know that Prestige Surf, Colossal, and the Maybelline lippies are all going into March faves. I'm also getting a soft corner for Sand in my Suit. But shhh, full reviews will follow once the honeymoon period is over and I've tested them thoroughly.

PS. I've just installed a third party commenting system called Disqus which allows comment threading and more. Please do me a favor by commenting on this post (even if its just a "hello") so that I can test whether it's working well. Thanks!

Make it Work: L'Oreal Volume Shocking Mascara

I recently bought L'Oreal's Volume Shocking Mascara not only because I wanted something more dramatic than Define-A-Lash, but also because it was deeply discounted from $15.99 to $2.99.

I find the packaging lovely and high-end. The blue side is the base coat and the black side is a comb for the mascara. I accidentally picked up Black Brown instead of Blackest Black, but no biggie since my lashes are already black.

The base coat wand has soft and fine bristles which get right into your lashes. The mascara wand is a comb and this design forces you to use a light touch with the mascara.

Here are my lashes with no mascara:

And here they are with Volume Shocking:

 

On the plus side, this mascara gives a huge amount of length and a decent dose of volume. However, there's a learning curve involved to apply it correctly. When I first applied this, I did 1 coat of base followed immediately with 2 coats of mascara. That led to a hideous spidery mess. The correct way to apply this is to use 1 coat of base, wait about 10 seconds, and then apply 1 thin coat of mascara. That's all you need. Comb away spidery-ness if needed. Even with all the care in the world, most days my look brittle and a bit spidery. However, at a normal viewer's distance, my lashes do look dramatically long, almost like falsies. Another downer is that its too much trouble to put this on my lower lashes, so I'm using Define-A-Lash for that.

This post is aptly named "Make it work" because that's what Volume Shocking demands of you. You can use this drugstore mascara to achieve epic length and decent volume, but it takes care and time to apply.

Bottom line: I will use it up, but would not purchase, and would recommend you to go with it only if you to find it for a sweet deal.

Drugstore Haul: L'Oreal mascara and NYX

Last week I wandered into a non-chain beauty store after work and went on a fairly impulsive haul. This place had insane sales, and it stocked NYX. Since the only place near my house is no-sales-no-variety Target, I was pretty stoked. This store also stocked oodles of Essie and OPI, and they were discounted to like $5.99! Considering that, I think I behaved by only buying these 4 things:

 

Top to bottom: L'Oreal's Volume Shocking mascara (snagged for $2.99, with original price of $15.99!); 2 NYX jumbo eye pencils in Yogurt and Milk. So far, I love Milk. Its a nice matte base for light eyeshadows and also makes a great highlighter for the browbone and inner corner. Lastly, I got an NYX Goddess of the Night lipgloss in a bronzey-coppery color. I'm already in love with my Ice Princess, which is a sheer pink.

Here are swatches of all 3 NYX products:

L-R: Goddess of the Night lipgloss (sorry forgot name!), Milk, Yogurt

Reviews and possibly EOTDs soon to follow using these products!

Coconut Oil as an Eye Makeup Remover?

"Well, your wife has done it again." I bragged to my husband. I'd found a way to use the coconut oil I had lying around the house to effectively remove my eye makeup (saving money = victory dance).

I use coconut oil as a weekly treatment for my hair. Since I had recently run out of eye makeup remover, I got to thinking: if coconut oil can condition hair, keep it thick, soft, and dark, and remove excess sebum...that sounds like a great recipe for eyelashes too!

I tested my theory using Dabur Vatika Enriched coconut oil ($2.99 from the Indian store!). Besides coconut oil, it also contains herbs to further nourish your hair. For example, it contains soya extract to promote hair growth, brahmi for shine, henna for volume, lemon for removing dead skin cells, and rosemary for softening. Not to mention the smell is divine. Not bad for $2.99 right?

Here's my eye with tons of eye makeup (I used stubborn products like Fluidline, Powerpoint, UDPP, NYX JEPs and waterproof mascara. The e/s is from the Kat Von D Ludwig palette):

And here it is after using coconut oil (Woohoo! Not only was it clean, but my lids felt baby soft!):

Since coconut oil is solid at room temp and hence hard to squeeze out of a bottle, I depotted it into an empty Lush jar. This way I could easily dip my cotton balls into it and the top layer of the coconut oil was liquid:

I for one am done buying expensive makeup removers. Coconut oil removes everything quickly and thoroughly and leaves my eyelashes and lids feeling baby soft. I have a feeling we will be very happy forever.