Jealous, are we?

SamMakeup recently wrote this article, called "Is Blogging the new media?" I'll spare you the trite summary because this article has made its rounds on the blogosphere already. I encourage everyone to read this article and give Sam your two cents. We're a thriving community of outspoken consumers and we deserve to be taken seriously.

Beauty blogging is worth its weight in gold precisely because it IS written by amateurs. I value an amateur's opinion much more than a glossy review in a magazine because the amateur is probably applying a makeup or skincare product in much the same way as I am. In fact, magazine reviews often just show beautiful images of products with a small caption. You rarely read about how best to apply a product, what it smells like, or what is an affordable dupe. I also trust bloggers because most of our products are paid for out of pocket, and it is not usually our day job. Therefore, the review is more likely to be honest and fair. When an amateur dislikes a product, they are happy to warn their readers about it. But when was the last time you read a magazine article on a product that was rubbish, or clothes that lost colors after one wash? Why doesn't Glamour run a write-up on "Products you should stay away from?" We trust bloggers because we do good and bad reviews, and sometimes even have changes of heart. It's authentic, fair, and much more in-depth than any "clinical trial" I've read about in the glossies.

It is possible that the author came in contact with some bad apples at IMATS. Indeed, there are gurus out there with huge followings and I always scratch my head why because they completely lack authenticity. As a wary consumer, I rarely take just one person's word for how good or bad a product is. I make up my mind only after reading multiple reviews on the same product. I also consider whether the blogger has a similar skin-type as me, which would obviously affect whether I too would have the same experience.

As someone who has learned everything about makeup through YouTube and the blogging community, I can honestly say that I have almost never bought a reviewed and raved product without loving it equally myself. Thanks to the beauty community, I've discovered affordable gems and must-have splurges alike. Most beauty bloggers are honest, and our collective reviews save us all the time and money of experimenting with rubbish products. Until the professionals start talking about products they don't like, and do more in-depth reviews of a single product, I'll be sticking to bloggers to help me make my next haul wishlist, thank you.

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.

Nine steps to romance

When I implemented a few Feng Shui practices to invite romance into my life 3 years ago, I met my now-husband within a month. Feng Shui is always easy and almost free, since you just need to re-arrange, add, or remove things you already own. In light of Valentine's Day, I'd like to share these tips with you. Whether you're single and looking for love, or you're in a relationship and want it to blossom even more, these tips apply to everyone.

1. Clear the clutter in your home, especially bedroom. A clutter-free home invites new and exciting adventures into your life, including a new love.

2. In keeping with #1, discard all items that remind you of past relationships. Holding on to the past prevents you from meeting someone new, or from making the most of your current relationship. The act of discarding mementos of old flames is the single most effective move in my opinion.

3. Add elements of red or pink to your bedroom, and decorate in multiples of 2. For example, have 2 flowers, 4 pillows, etc. No need to go painting the whole room red b/c that's actually too stimulating.

4. Avoid pictures of relatives in your bedroom. This is not a room to think of grandma!


5. Avoid electronics in the bedroom (I can feel everyone frowning at me!). I too am guilty of Internet surfing in bed, but it's really a no-no. Electronics prevent a restful sleep and take away focus from your partner.

6. Do not store stuff under your bed; it leads to restless nights and is "emotional baggage". I don't care if you live in a small apartment in NYC! Don't do this!

7. Don't keep one side of your bed up against a wall. This means there is only one way to exit the bed, and that deters a second person from entering your life.

8. Plants, music, and crystals are all positive elements to have in your room (hmm, crystal chandeliers anyone?) Fake plants are fine as long as they are dust-free.

9. Above all, have a positive attitude. If you're looking for love, don't be frustrated and cynical. If you're in a relationship, be cheerful, supportive, and always talk through problems without bringing up the past. A positive attitude is what enables all the previous tips to do their magic.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! My Valentine is not only my husband, but my sister, my parents and all of you wonderful readers. Ok mushyness is now over. ;)

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.

Review: MAC Intenso

I'm no longer a MAC mineralized virgin! I recently bought MAC Intenso from CCO and have been trying it out for a few weeks now. It looked so irresistable on the shelves and once I swatched it, I knew it was coming home with me (the normal CCO discount of $5 didn't hurt either). I'd describe Intenso as a peachy/rose with a lot of gold running through it.

This blush is quite different from anything else in my collection. I have matte blushes from Coastal Scents, and Dream Mousse blushes by Maybelline. With those, I just need a light touch to get the color payoff I need, and I usually use a stippling brush for them. However, with this, a light hand will only give you gold specks on your cheeks. So I build several layers with a contouring brush before getting the payoff I want, and then this is the final result:

 

Applying this blush is almost fool-proof. You can't apply too much (though you can apply too little), and no matter what brush you use (contouring or stippler), you'll never get a streak of color; it'll always look diffuse and airbrushed. 

Having said that, there IS quite a bit of gold on this. It can work in the daytime, but I'd stay away from it if I was wearing very heavy eye makeup. I'd say this looks utterly stunning with neutral defined eyes and peachy, dewy lips. Its just the right flush for a youthful, natural look.

My first EOTD feat. Sleek Graphite!

After writing up my previous post called "Can Sleek Graphite work for tan skin?", a lot of you guys requested for me to do a look using this palette. Without further ado, here's what I came up with for my first EOTD:

#1 used all over lid and just below the lower lashline

#2 used on outer corner to create the V

#3 used to set my pencil liner on waterline using the sponge tip applicator

 The basics:

Base: Urban Decay Primer Potion

Waterline: MAC Powerpoint Engraved

Gel Liner: MAC Fluidline in Blacktrak 

On browbone: a random Coastal Scents nude matte blush

Mascara: Maybelline Define-A-Lash Lengthen

I hope you guys liked my very first EOTD. I don't consider myself an expert with eye makeup, but blogging about it is going to make me practice more!