I feel pretty--NOT! THE COSMETICS THREAD

you should come! i am starting school on monday and so this is my last social outing for awhile.

though, i will still probably go home earlier than you would like :P

what did tza think of that blush?

we never found out! i assume things are good, though. nars blushes are reliably awesome.

(and so they should be, at those prices.)

OOOH I got gray nail polish (Recycle from China Glaze) and really rather liked it! Mr. Que did not. He called me corpse hands.

Last year I wore Russian Navy on my toes and he called me corpse feet.

so yeah stfu Mr. Que!

i like russian navy. it's much more multidimensional than i thought it would be.

Russian Navy = many years ago a friend of mine went for Halloween as a sailor from the Kursk. Corpse feet indeed.

i have decided that i need to start wearing some foundation because my perioral dermatitis is not going away no matter what i do and i look like a blotchy freak. does anyone have something that is really light and non-irritating, but hides redness/blotchiness really well?

perioral dermatitis is basically like rosacea, but around the mouth. from what i can tell.

I'm waiting for it to get a little cooler before I don Russian Navy again.

I also want that grey you describe Lauren. I think that line also has a gold one I like.

it's nice, but i wish it was a bit more truly grey.

Bell I think I mentioned this on some other thread, but I am fond of MAC's studio fix as a foundation alternative for evening out blotchiness, which I have in spades on my cheeks.

It's a powder-type thingy that the MAC ppl put on with a brush (huh?), but that I just dab on with the sponge included in the compact. I like the consistency a lot--not too heavy or cakey--and was lucky to find a color that worked well. I use it just on my cheeks and leave the rest of my face au naturale or with a bit of cheapo Shine Free translucent powder if necessary.

Does anyone have recommendations for something cheap for brows? I don't want to spend $30 on a little brow kit when I just something to keep them looking groomed.

benefit's brow zings compact is $30, but i've had it for about 2 and half years now, and it's still good. it has a powder, a wax, two brushes (a stiff, angled one and a softer one for blending) , and really cute miniature tweezers. probably one of my favorite products of all time.

(at the other end of the spectrum, my mother just uses a dark brown eye pencil , which seems to work fine as long as it's applied sparingly.)

I suppose if it's lasted you that long it's probably a good investment. I've never really used an eyebrow pencil although I'm thinking of letting my thicken out a little so maybe now would be a good time to start.

$30 is a lot, though. i was a lot more careless about money back then!

I use a little bit of brown eyeshadow and it does wonders for my brows. I use Smashbox primer on my face now too so I guess a bit of it gets on my eyebrows before I get the shadow on.

Elyse Sewell (ANTM alum, working as a professional model in Asia) posted a blog the other day saying that all the pro makeup artists usually use Maybelline Great lash (the pink and green tube) but there has been a shift in the industry! Apparently the new big thing in mascara is Intense XXL.

http://a1468.g.akamai.net/f/1468/580/1d/pics.Drugstore.com/prodimg/192398/200.jpg

Now we all know! She also said almost everyone is using Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner that comes in a pot.

http://img2.timeinc.net/instyle/images/2008/pf/03/GBW/020108_bobbibrown_a.jpg

I've never been able to apply gel eyeliner well.

i really don't get the love for great lash. i actually have a tube at the moment, given to me by my mother who mistakenly bought some in a buy one, get one offer. it SUCKS.

let me count the ways that it sucks:

1) runs/transfers with the blink of an eye
2) thin, short brush
3) kinda clumpy
4) doesn't lengthen
5) any volumizing effect comes from aforementioned clumping
6) staying power is poor

maybelline must have made a deal with the devil to promote this stuff, because it's still the standard industry line that GL is not only good, but better than anything else.

I can't seem to find a drugstore mascara that I <3. Bad Gal and Diorshow are current favorites, but damn $$$.

maybelline's define-a-lash is okay.

I've been more satisfied with Great Lash than any other mascara I've ever used! For me, the brush doesn't clump up, it doesn't clump on my eyelashes, and it goes on thickly and looks striking *shrug*

I agree re:Great Lash. I like Rimmel's mascaras.

i tried a rimmel mascara, based on a rec on an earlier beauty thread, and i loved it. by far the best budget mascara that i've tried, but... after about a week of use, i started getting itchier and itchier around the upper/lower eyelids, culminating in the morning i woke up with red, puffed-out, scaly patches around my entire eye area. so that was that for rimmel and me.

i've switched to rimmel (glam lash is my choice). easily the best i've used in a long time.

I bought an obscene amount of make-up this morning. It's going to be like Christmas for 4 years running, when the mail arrives.

hee.

i'll share the info: http://www.eyeslipsface.com/ is selling almost everything for $1 since nordstrom has bought them (to be the new house brand, i think). no idea if it's good stuff, but you can't get much cheaper than that.

unfortunately they're just a $1 company all the time, it's not nordstrom stuff.. common email viral hoax :P

though I do keep meaning to buy a whack of brushes from them since brushes are so expensive and I keep hearing they are the true secret of makeup success! if you google E.L.F. promo codes you can usually find free shipping/$5 off/etc

I buy a lot of Sonia Kuscak (?) brushes at Target. They're great.

huh! good to know. came via a friend of a friend (they always do).

haha yeah I heard it when I first heard of them too! I think we were talking E.L.F. in that massive thread that birthed ILS

Ahhh oh well! I still have loads of lip-gloss which if it provides an alternative to Stila at $24 apiece I'll be ecstatic; and some pressed powder which I mostly need for stage performances and sweat absorption, so a light and transparent texture is not a priority if it turns out to be cheap-O. And blotting papers. :) I will enjoy my bounty v much.

arrr, makey!

...terrible, sorry.

have to chime in here for big <3 on rimmel mascara - the one in the pink tube that comes with a comb instead of a brush is A+++++

btw I did my friend's hair and makeup for her wedding this weekend, i will post pics, but i think I did an awesome job!!!

oh yes pics please!

Well isn't that timely... E.L.F. must lurk here, I just got the three-day offer that the code EGBRUSHAK gets you 50% off brushes, limit 5 per customer.

hey quincie, i recently found out benefit's high beam is almost as good as the sugarbaby and red earth stuff.

close ehough to not feel the need to chase sb and re all over england and australia.

re: mascara im still pro-lash dye. i dont know why youd bother with anything else.

i want to try it, but i'm afraid of blinding myself.

As a natural sort-of-blond I am v v intrigued by lash dye.

its hard to blind yrself but it def hurts when you get impatient with it. before i started using it i never put mascara on my bottom lashes and now i realize that although i am naturally brunette my bottom lashes are 1/4 dark and 3/4 blonde. so when the dye goes on its like spiders legs or something. looks good though!

benefit-cool I am near a Sephora and can definitely pull that one off. Thanks sunny! Tho "high beam" sounds kind of intense, like I am bound to fuck up and end up looking like i dunno some raver kid.

noooo....id never recommend anything glittery unless it was some kind of ltd ed mac pigment. its a sheen. a beautiful glowing dewy sheen.

I love a lash lift for like two weeks, and then my new lashes start growing in and shit looks wonky for a month.

There is only one lipstick thing that's ever looked good on my lips, it was in an m&s advent calendar and then the bastards stopped making it

I started using that CG lip balm a little bit ago when I ran out of the lipstick I was using and couldn't afford to buy any more--I had some already (I thought it was too bright and stopped using it) and started using it again. It looks good.

_I love a lash lift for like two weeks, and then my new lashes start growing in and shit looks wonky for a month._
This never really happened to me until this time, it did. I swear the new ones are growing back pointing down.

My best ever was my first one, I'm still chasing that high!

VB has free shipping atm and you lot are tempting me with the eyeliners...

i've been shellacking all sorts of Clinique black mascara on my lashes and honestly, i'm obsessed

i don't even comb it through literally just let it clump and define

Kinder - the only reason not to is because all other eyeliners will pale in comparison. Honestly.

^^^ this

I got the VB eyeliner and you were all right, it's perfect! went on so easily I was sure it was going to slide right off again, but nope.

The Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl is one of the best "basic" ones imo so that's my everyday.

Oooh ok, I will try that one! Someone else recommended the Kiko ones so they're on my radar too.

Both my sisters have always been more glamorous than me, they are very fond of fake eyelashes, tanning etc. The last time I met my youngest sister I thought her lashes looked great and I was like “LVL?” She’s like, no, Maybelline Colossus. Obviously Maybelline has done great mascaras over the years - Great Lash, Sky High, Firework, but like this one was legit - length, curl, thickness. I was so impressed. Off to try it for myself now.

I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that I have become a lash extension person Better results than I was ever able to achieve with mascara, zero daily effort, no smudging or running (v significant when you are doing a lot of crying). Downside: $$$

Why embarrassed? It’s like getting your nails done. I had a lash extension phase but had to have them removed bc of summer sweat issues.
I’d say the only risk is the return of massive facial dysmorphia upon having them removed. I looked like a mole rat. A few weeks later I’m ok with my mole rat look. I did enjoy having visible lovely eyelashes for a while though.

I guess I feel embarrassed because it feels like a vain indulgence for me? But I would never think that for others; I am glad you made that point because I have a big issue with “I don’t deserve/I feel guilty about” so, so many things in my life.

I can totally understand the facial dysmorphia factor. The place where I get them done sports a pink neon sign that reads “Welcomes to your new addiction!” They are not kidding.

I get it — I have a real issue with “real” vs “fake” and have struggled to accept that fake is good, or can be for me. It’s ridiculous. I figure the more I try to get over it, the less I will be concerned with what anyone else thinks about my choices. And frankly I LOVED my face 1000% more with my lashes. I felt like I could see myself clearly. Which is how I know the dysmorphia is real as well.

^^^this re: “real” vs “fake.” Like I need to feel ashamed/apologetic/Bad Feminist when I opt for fake, reconstructive rhinoplasty (which I feel compelled to have people know only happened because I was kicked in the face by a horse, ergo “real,” the wee amount of botox I get in my forehead (“it helps my headaches!”). Always trying to justify. It serves no purpose other than to make me feel bad.

Sorry for poor writing, I suck at writing on my phone.

First, no need to apologize. Second, no need to justify to imaginary panel of critics! Do your thing quincie 💕

Thank you LL, I always appreciate your posts and am glad you’ve hung in there with the Last of the ILX Chixors.

otm!!

It’s all good, really enjoyed the perspectives on this and I agree, there’s nothing embarrassing about lash extensions or any of these things.

Ooh how do lash extensions work? They sound really fiddly?
I've just had to cancel my lash lift tomorrow as I'm not v well. And not sure when I'll be able to reschedule all summer!

I’ve done lash lifts and can 100% recommend extensions over tint/lifts

Not fiddly at all, just lie down and fall asleep (if you’re me) while the tech does their thing. The fussy bit (ok there IS a fiddly bit) is getting a “fill,” which I do about every 3.5 weeks

You also have to wash and brush them daily acc to my tech, which I did dutifully and eventually enjoyed. I never had treated my face so delicately or with such care.

do they feel weird at first?

Not really! I didn’t feel them at all

Nor do I feel them. I abandoned special wash (I just wash my face as usual, albeit gently around my eyes) but do brush which takes about 10 nanoseconds a day.

Both my sisters have always been more glamorous than me, they are very fond of fake eyelashes, tanning etc. The last time I met my youngest sister I thought her lashes looked great and I was like “LVL?” She’s like, no, Maybelline Colossus. Obviously Maybelline has done great mascaras over the years - Great Lash, Sky High, Firework, but like this one was legit - length, curl, thickness. I was so impressed. Off to try it for myself now.

Ok, the hype is real for this one. I didn’t realise there were two (normal and curl?) and they’re both great but curl might be the greatest they’ve ever made.

cant relate

_Wtf! Nooooooooo! Healthy mix is really good value as is the nail varnish - it used to be made in the same factory as Chanel vernis, don’t know if that’s still the case but very high quality for the price._

FYI if you didn’t already know but Superdrug is selling Bourjois again.

Looks like it’s gone again.

Haven’t tried lash but got my (fairly blonde and invisible in much lighting) eyebrows tinted once last year and was so in love but I hate spending money so I picked up a bottle of just for men. Dye them at home once every week or two and still have at least 2/3 of the $12 bottle. Yay!

ELF halo liquid glow filter, I love it. Perfect light coverage and blended in makes you, well, glow.