I feel pretty--NOT! THE COSMETICS THREAD

i ordered the laura mercier tightline activator fluid from sephora bc of 20% off code (ty enbb) but not the eyeliner because sephora doesn't have the shade i want! so lol now i have fluid and no eyeliner. but it's motivating...

also i think i left my jouer lip stuff from last month's birchbox in my hotel room in michigan and i am v v sad now.

I gave up on having long nails; I've gone back to cutting them down close to the quick like I was doing before. They still peel, but not as much as they were peeling. I'm assuming that there's some sort of genetic or environmental deficiency that makes my nails permanently fragile. I do paint them, but I'm worried that painting my ultra-short nails may make them look childish. What do you all think?

I love paint on short nails, really really glossy paint so they look like Chiclets.

I say paint them!

T I bought the full size of that stuff. I love it.

xp - I always keep my nails really short, close to the quick just like you, Christine. I type all day for a living so I can't stand having long nails. But I think nail polish looks just fine on short nails. I don't do it often, but when I do, I really like it.

You know what? I never told you all about Mascara Search 2011. Anyway, here are all the mascaras I tried:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-OKQvnxxb8bE/Tqd0vlcznSI/AAAAAAAAAkE/7MdfNbXtP-g/s640/photo.JPG

Most of the problems I had with the mascaras were that they were too clumpy, too huge, or they smeared all over my face by lunch time. In the end I went with Bobby Brown, which is a really natural looking mascara and just what I wanted to wear every day. However, I did buy some Voluminous waterproof to wear to a wedding (quincie's comment that it wears like iron kept running through my head) and I really like that for a special occasion mascara when I want big lashes.

That Nature Luxe mascara is complete shit, btw. That and Great Lash barely stayed on long enough for me to get to the train. My second favorite (and near winner) would have been Voluminous Million Lashes but it's scented! It's really off putting.

SCENTED? For when you really need your eyelashes to smell like...I can't even decide where to take this joke.

I'm married to various permutations of Voluminous. I bought waterproof mascara for the summertime and I'm still using it, but it's impossible to wash off and my make-up remover isn't cutting it.

It kind of smelled like honeysuckle. Seriously. I used it for a long time because every time I wasn't using it, I couldn't believe that it had a smell. Then I'd put it on and be like, "Yup. That mascara smells vaguely like honeysuckle."

Yay voluminous! I didn't notice a scent but I didn't like the million lashes one.

I only use the waterproof voluminous. Olive oil is a good remover btw.

I may have said this before, but jojoba oil is good, too.

I solved the running mascara problem I had by stopping putting it on my lower lashes. I loved the doll-eyed look it gave me, but not having raccoon eyes was more important.

guys did we have a big blush conversation at some point? help me! i have decided blush will complete my life if only i can figure it out. what do i do? which do i buy?

talk to me like i'm a small child

nothing is too basic

I would start with some cheapies if I were you so you can figure out which sort of shade you like without spending a lot. Milani has some really nice ones. They're swirly - I think they're called "baked blush"es or something like that and they're probably < $5 a pop.

Don't necessarily be scared by something that looks really bright in the package either. A lot of times they're sheer and buildable once on the brush.

you are so smart that seems right! i will do that! if you happen to see a brown lady walking around and think "that shade of blush looks awesome on her!" please describe it for me itt!

xp i think my tendency would be to go overbright to be honest. i am tacky. but good to know.

I'm careless with make-up; if I wear blush AT ALL, I just dab on whatever lip color I have around that's not too sticky.

milani! i am so excited!

I am not a Bobby Brown stan (I hate their powder, for example) but god damn do I love this Bobby Brown blush that I bought. I think the key is finding the right color and for that you probably need to talk to a makeup counter person.

I find that more expensive blush has more pigment in it and so a little goes a lot further. I have a similar color blush in some Mabelline line and I have to put on tons to even be able to see it. The BB blush I just kind of touch on my face and THERE IT IS.

That last bit is an XP. I'm kind of ridiculous when it comes to my willingness to spend $ on makeup, so take my advice with salt.

Christine, I never put mascara on my bottom lashes because you're right - it just goes everywhere! What's weird is that when my mascara does smudge, it only smudges on my left eye and always in the same place.

I just dab on whatever lip color I have around that's not too sticky.

― WE DO NOT HAVE "SECRET" "MEETINGS." I DO NOT HAVE A SECOND (Laurel), Tuesday, October 25, 2011 11:10 PM (45 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

okay this blows my mind but OKAY! i can do this!

x-post - I used to do that. I wore a tiny bit of bright red Jane brand lipstick as blush for years. I remember my college roommates being like are you putting lipstick ON YOUR CHEEKS!?

i have a bobbi brown foundation that i mix with moisturizer to make a tinted moisturizer and i love that, so i am willing to believe her blush is good. maybe i can work up to that once i know a thing or two about a thing or two.

thanks, guys! y'all always look pretty; i am being rightly guided i am sure.

The Milani blushes are really pigmented for a drugstore brand and cheap enough so that you could play with the colors without spending loads. I agree totally about other cheap brands not showing up but theirs are great. Luminous is almost an exact dupe for MAC orgasm.

i opened my nars orgasm yesterday to some crumbling/cracking! oh noes! but i guess it's lasted like 3.5 years so that's ok? really? that long? sheesh... i probably should have replaced it by now? but i just use a light hand w/ blush bc i am pale.

i tried a chanel blush that i really liked a while ago but i've been hesitant to buy any more blush til i really needed to.

i tried voluminous million lashes but it felt flaky too me. i think i may buy some of the anastasia stuff i got in birchbox a few months ago. somehow lost that, too... i think it's in the house somewhere? anyway, it was not as...voluminous...as i'd like, but it doesn't get too smudgy or flaky.

Christine, I never put mascara on my bottom lashes because you're right - it just goes everywhere!

I only put it on the bottom if I'm going out or doing a dramatic eye but the waterproof voluminous doesn't smudge on the bottom lashes for me.

If I run out of the BB blush before I die, I am totally checking out Milani.

I've been intrigued by this Clinique Black Honey gradient whatever whatever but that is actually more than I want to spend. I do like how Black Honey lipstick looks on me, though - http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml;jsessionid=PROXQX2CJXSX4CV0KRTRPIQ?id=P295105&shouldPaginate=true&categoryId=1254.

I really liked the Anastasia mascara but not quite enough to spend $20 + on it. Also, I don't think it was waterproof. My eyes water a lot when it's cold and windy out so waterproof is a must esp in winter.

Oooh that black honey blush is so cool looking. Ombre make-up!

oh another question i had: there is powder blush and cream blush, right? are those all the blushes? is one better? did i make cream blush up?

No, no you did not. It's a thing. There are also gel blushes and stains. Imo powder is probably easiest though others will stan for creams which can give a more dewey appearance. Personally I find it hard to get them to apply evenly. I can't do the stains either because they seem to set before I've had time to blend properly. I'd start with powder if I were you. I think.

thank you! you guys are the best.

There are also brushes to consider but maybe you should get an idea about color before we address that.

Yes, I am slightly embarrassed that I know so much about this stuff. :/

no, you should teach a class!

I would LOVE to. Sometimes I wish I'd become a make-up artist or something because it would probably be a hell of a lot more fun/creative than my boring-ass office job now. Oh well.

oof i need new brushes.

hah, e i seriously wanted to attend school to be a theatrical makeup/wig person after i finished undergrad. sometimes i wonder why i listened to my parents and didn't do it, because if i had i'd be getting union wages now and probably have a lot more $, pension and benefits!

or i'd be totally broke. but you know, not that far from where i am now!

lol, right? I know a girl here who freelances and a couple years ago she threw a make-up party thing and brought her apprentice and I wanted me be like, "Me! Train me!". She brought in her enormous train case of supplies and was like - "Go ahead, play." It was great.

I think theatrical stuff would be especially fun though.

and i was just realizing that it would have been like 1/3 the cost of grad school. sigh.

Oh God don't even get me started on that.

i love style is the 99%

i have a cream blush from mac, but i find it really hard to apply evenly - it always looks a bit clownish. i was at nordstrom rack picking up a bunch of tights and they had a some cheapo brand of blush - it's like 4 colors and you sweep a blush brush round it. i really like it, quite peachy which i think suits me better than the pink-toned mac one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OCes9Eubxs

Lipstick as blush!

I watched a tutorial where cream or stain blush was used to set powder blush. It was pretty! I have been experimenting with browns in the mix to sculp my face. Laugh all you want, but on Rupaul's Drag Race there are a lot of half made up shots and I figured out contouring from there 0_0

The access to makeup at this job has changed my life. I am so better at cream eyeliner + brush than I ever was with a pencil. And I find Bourjois' mascara to be extremely resilient and pretty thick too.