NYC Show Time and Sky Rise Mascara

After using a $29 mascara by Lancome I decided that I would go back to see if NYC had some more mascara that I could try. I came across a thickening mascara NYC Show Time, and a lengthening mascara NYC High Rise.

Sky Rise $1.99   Show Time $3.99

Brush for Show Time is similar to Lancome Definicils precious cells

I like the narrow Sky Rise wand

I like the wands on both mascaras. I like the bristle brushes over the plastic brushes. I really don't think the Show Time mascara thickens my lashes any better than the Sky Rise. The Show Time tends to clump a tiny bit, but that is the nature of a thickening mascara. The Sky Rise is perfect. It does not clump and I like the narrow brush because it is easier to get those tiny lashes at the inner corners of the eye.  You can't go wrong for $2 - $4 bucks. The mascara that I was finishing up was the Lancome Definicils Precious Cells. It is a good mascara it works just like the NYC Show Time, but of course the Lancome mascara is suppose to be a lash treatment. I swore my lashes did look healthier/fuller without mascara on. I don't know if I imagined it because I needed to justify a $29 mascara, or what. My only complaint with the Definicils Precious Cells is that when my eyes water the mascara will run. I know that it is not water proof, but it runs more that the NYC mascaras.

NYC Show Time Mascara

without mascara

now I moved the bottom green line down to the middle of

my lashes so anything above the top green line is

additional length! 

The bottom green dotted line shows my natural lash line. The top green dotted line is 50% greater than my natural line. NYC Sky line claims the lengthen up to 50%, so if you get 1% increase in length then their claim is true. I would definitely repurchase the NYC mascaras. Not sure about the Lancome only because of the price.

 

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre

Did you pick any of these up this summer? I was just so curious that I just had to take the plunge. I tried the coppery color and the sparkly black one. The texture is like a creamy powder. The color pay off on the black one is great.

The copper color #86 Embloui is more like a wash of color, but you can build it up. I like the copper/ rust color for an everyday look. I can through it on without a primer and just go. I will use this eyeshadow and lots of black mascara. It stays on all day and does not crease on me and I have very oily lids.

Lip color NARS velvet matte lip pencil in Sex Machine

L'oreal colour riche gloss in Soft Nude

The black #85 Mirifique is very soft. Goes on smooth and blends easily. The glitter stays where it is put, so there is no fall out. I love this color. I used a black greasepaint stick by MAC as a base and just applied the color with my finger and a random shadow brush.

These are fun to have just because of the unusual texture but that does not in any way justify the price. I believe these were $32. I am sure you can duplicate these colors for a lot less. I don't regret the purchase, but it was totally unnecessary. Later!



 

The Beauty Blender

My current foundation routine.
I start with a super clean face. I use my Clarisonic AM and PM. I love my Clarisonic! If you have large pores or skin that is acne prone you must have one. So after I clean my face I moisturize with Hope in a Jar by Philosophy.

I heard about this product from Tiffany D. She's a beauty guru on youtube. She just raved about it so I thought I would give it a try. It is great for my oily skin and large pores. The texture is similar to the product by benefit the PORE fessional. It is creamy but dry, if that makes sense. It has a chalky texture. I was not impressed with the PORE fessional product at all, but the Primed and Poreless product really works! It primes your skin beautifully if you are using foundation and best of all it can be used alone. If I'm just running errands and I don't need a full face of makeup I can just use this and my skin has a more even smooth appearance. Love it! I apply it with my fingers. I get a more even application with my hands than with a brush or the beauty blender.

I use the beauty blender to apply my foundation. I saturate the sponge fully and squeeze out the excess water. You need to squeeze until nothing drips from the sponge and then it will be ready to use. I put a very small amount of my Teint Idole fresh wear in the shade SUEDE 2w on the fat end of the blender. I use the one for normal to oily skin. Love this foundation. I do find that it oxidizes so do not start with a shade that is too dark for your skin. This shade is an exact match for my skin. If I use too much it gets too dark by the end of the day and looks awful. I have to use a light hand and I find if I mix it with YSL. It is perfect.

Can't tell you how much I love this. I wish they made this in darker shades, but #9 is the deepest shade they make and it is a shade too light for me. I use this on all of the high points of my face. The bridge of my nose, my cheeks, the nasolabial folds and such. I use the beauty blender to blend the two shades together on my face. I do not mix the two before hand.

Now my face is ready for the rest of what is to come, if anything. If it's the weekend I will just add mascara, fill in my brows and add lip gloss. On my lips I am wearing velvet matte lip pencil in the shade SEX MACHINE by Nars and the gloss over it is L'oreal Colour Riche #805 Soft Nude.Eye brows are filled in using brow wax and powder by Smashbox. I don't have on any mascara in these photos. That's it. I love the beauty blender. I clean it after every use. I use whatever soap is in my bathroom at the time. I deep clean it once a month using alcohol. Just be aware that the alcohol will make the color run. Thumbs up beauty blender and Two Faced Primed and Poreless!!

Tiny Sephora Haul

I got this stuff a while back and have been able to use it, or in some cases not use it. Some of thing s that I really love from this haul are. The tiny sample of CLEAN fragrance in cotton t-shirt. It smells of bleach and fabric softener, really. If you hate the smell of bleach you won't like it at all. I love it especially on hot sunny days. It is definitely a summer fragrance.

I also picked up a nail polish by OPI in Going Nude, Eh it is a yellow based nude. I do love pale colors for my nails especially in summer. Now that it is getting cooler here in Cali. I usually go for dark shades like Lincoln Park After Dark. I like this color. I don't love it. I find that yellow based colors make my hands look pale. I prefer warmer, or rose based nudes.

Nothing special about the lighter shades

Picked up the stila eye shadow palette in Naturaleyes. Stilas answer to urban decay Naked palette.....NOT! Urban decay eye shadows are far superior. They have better staying power, better color pay off. Stila eye shadows are very chalky. They tend to have fall out. The color doesn't stay where it is put when packing on the color. There are some pretty colors. My favorites are the darker colors like sunset, sandstone and ebony. If you have the Naked palette you really don't need this at all. They best thing about it is the smudge stick eye pencil in Damsel. I think it is supposed to be waterproof. It is not on me, but it is super soft and glides onto the eye without pulling on the lid and it smudges beautifully!

Essie Matte About You

Have you tried this stuff? I have seen it in Target for a while now. I was super curious and after I saw a picture on Belle du jour nyc's blog I just had to give it a try. It will mattify any nail color. I used OPI Lincoln Park After Dark. I wanted to see if it would stay matte. I don't know what I expected, but I didn't want something that would grab onto any oil and mess up the polish. KWIM? It does stay matte. Maybe I thought it would wash off or something. It does not. It will go on matte, dry very quickly, and stay matte. I love this stuff. I am eager to give it a go on the lighter, paler shades that I usually wear.

I wanted to try a dark color like the one I saw on BDJ's blog. I think that picture shows either navy or black.

Before Matte About You

After! What do you think?



Wow! been so long

It seems like  one hundred years ago, but I did mention a bronzer that I was itchin' to try. It's the Illuminizing Bronzing Powder from BOBBI BROWN the shade is Bahama 7. There is a bit of a shimmer to it that I didn't think I would like because my skin is so darned oily, but it isn't too much. It's very pretty. When I wear a full face of makeup I always use it. Love!

I have also been using the BLUSH -N- BRIGHTEN by Laura Geller in golden apricot. This came with a set that I purchased a while back. I looked at it and just put it away. Totally did not appeal to me in the pan. After a few weeks I decided to give it a go..... Very pretty on the cheeks. It has quite a bit of shimmer to it. Once again I did not think it would work for me. I apply it higher than the bronzer. I use a highlight over it from Smash box ( don't know the name of the shade )

I took another look at this because of all the hype about Stereo Rose from MAC. Memba that. I have never seen Stereo Rose IRL, so I don't know how close they really are. I think I will make a trip to MAC tomorrow. I will let you know. I think you can still get the Laura Geller product on QVC. You get quite a bit of product, 5g. It is a baked product that is used sparingly, so I think I will have this forever! Til' next time!

Spring 2011

I certainly didn't expect to be gone so long. Life has gotten a bit overwhelming as of late and I haven't felt like attending to this blog. I have so much to catch up on. So many products to try, but spending money on beauty products is not a priority right now. I have been totally in love with the spring looks I have seen though. I love the idea of lighter eyebrows. I would not bleach my brows, but I wanted to see what I would look like with  them lighter. I used a concealer on them and then used a dusting of MAC msf natural in deep. This is what I came up with.

I love the use of one dominant color. I used my 88 palette by Coastal Scents. I used the dark pinks and cranberry shades. In the crease I used red. Then I blended the heck out of it. I have on my super cheap mascara by NYC. Best $2 I ever spent. On my lips

bare escentuals cream puff

here's a swatch

I used the lip gloss from my Smashbox mega palette. I don't know the name of this there isn't a name or number on anything in this palette. It's to bad because I love this lip gloss. It is super moisturizing and I would love to repurchase it in the full size. I used the blush and highlighter from this palette also. That's it for now my next post will be about a bronzer I absolutely love.

 

NYC Lash Precise Defining Mascara: Update

I can't believe how much eyeshadow I used for this look and it looks like nothing at all. I had so much black around my eye for this cat eye look that I had to take it off before I went to run some errands. I used the naked palette mostly, buck, naked, creep and sin as a highlight. I love this palette. The liner is Bobbi Brown gel liner in black, set with creep, NYC lash precise defining mascara in black. On my lips creampuff by bare essentials or escentuals with milani HD advanced lip color in Classy Nude on top!

plastic bristles

I have used this mascara for 2 weeks or more. I still like it. I doesn't flake or smear. It doesn't make my lashes hard. I like it and will probably repurchase. You just can't go wrong for 2 bucks! That being said, I don't have complaints about my natural lashes. They are reasonably long and have a good curl, so my mascara doesn't have to be anything special.