Vintage Beauty

Favorite daily use makeup brushes

2013-12-01T18:49:00.002-08:00

The daily use makeup brushes I own are all radically different: different manufacturers, different materials, and different purposes. Here they are, in order of use:

I start my routine by using a MAC 217 ($24) to blend my under eye concealer. Haven’t found anything that works better. Seriously. Sometimes the classics are classic for a reason.

Next, I use my IT Cosmetics Heavenly Luxe Flat Top Buffing foundation brush($48) to apply powder foundation. I haven’t found one yet that it doesn’t work with beautifully. It would probably work fine with liquid or cream also, since the bristles are synthetic.

When I fill my brows, I typically use a pencil, then groom with the spoolie end of another tarte brush, the double-ended brow brush. I got it in a set with their Amazonian clay brow mousse ($28), but the angled brush end also works well with powder or tinted wax. I don't think it is available by iotself. Really nice to have all my brow needs met with one brush.

Lately I've been applying bronzer with a nifty little brush I got in a set from Bare Minerals last year, but I seem to go back to my Sonia Kashuk flat topped buffing brush all the time. The Bare Minerals brush is a travel size wide paddle brush with a concave dip in the middle, making it look like a blush brush with a bite taken out of it. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be for sale anywhere. The Kashuk brush was a limited edition a few years ago and isn't part of the regular offering at Target. It looks like a smaller version of the IT Cosmetics brush above, but with a smaller head and not nearly as densely packed.

For blush, I always use my SEPHORA COLLECTION Pro Angled Blush Brush #49 ($32), unless what I'm using is super dark, bright, or very heavily pigmented. Then I use a Sonia Kashuk duo fiber brush ($12.99). There might be better brushes out there, but this one gets the job done with no fuss and a nice low price.

If I am using eyeliner (which is to say, just about every day) I use my tarte double-ended liner brush ($22). The skinny end can’t be beat for gel liner, and the smudging end is perfect for applying powder or for blending out pencil. A real workhorse, and very well-made.

I use a pretty wide variety of eye shadow brushes, probably too many to name a favorite. That said, I do seem to reach for my SEPHORA COLLECTION Pro Crease Brush ($20) a lot.

I have quite a few brushes besides these, certainly far more than I need, but these are the ones I reach for over and over. They all are just right for the way I apply my makeup at a price I'm willing to pay. What brushes do you find yourself reaching for again and again?

Benefit gimme Brow review and swatches

2013-09-16T23:00:00.000-07:00

I bought this the last time I got my brows done at Benefit and I love it!

My brows are not thin, but they are pale blonde and rather unruly, so what I really need is some color and control. This stuff fills the bill perfectly.

The small tapered spoolie makes it easy to apply and the light/medium shade is a good match for what I want my brows to be. Most lighter shades are way too warm, but this one is more cool toned.

Benefit is hitting it out of the park lately with good basic every day products like this! This item retails for $22 and is available at Benefit counters, Sephora, Macy's, and various places online.

Donating to Locks of Love

2013-01-12T23:00:00.000-08:00

My hair had gotten really long and was constantly tangled and messy, hanging limp and sad instead of being full of bounce and happiness. I decided it was time for a drastic cut. Off to Salon U!

Long and ready to GO

Once there, Janice (the best stylist EVAH) realized that I had enough surplus hair to donate to Locks of Love, so guess what happened?

Snip!

Yep, 10 inches gone. Because I had at least 10 inches to give and all the bleached parts had grown out, my hair met the guidelines for donation.

I decided to pool my donation with Janice's other clients instead of sending it in seperately. It was a WIN for me because my hair looks lovely now. It's a WIN for a kid who can get a nice natural hairpiece instead of sythetic. It's a WIN for Locks of Love for making it easy and it's a WIN for Janice for suggesting it.

The final result. Still plenty of hair!

I feel lighter, not just in my hair but all of me. Now I need to figure out what to do with my new chic style!

Win Emtage Hair’s SILKtage Rejunvenating Styling Serum on Jennstaz.com!

2012-07-01T09:27:00.000-07:00

Jenn is giving away THREE full sized bottles of this lovely hair serum, just in time for summer! Enter on her blog or fill out the rafflecopter widget below, all entries go in the same bucket for the drawing. Read her review of the product here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Best manicure EVAR

2012-03-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

If you're a fan of Hyperbole and a Half, you should check out this manicure by The Nailasaurous. And if you aren't I don't think I can ever understand you. :-(

Laura Mercier Stickgloss: Courtesane

2012-01-06T23:00:00.000-08:00

Laura Mercier Stickgloss is an interesting hybrid product. It applies and wears like a lipstick, but it's semi-sheer and shiny like a gloss. The formula is very comfortable - lightweight and hydrating.

Courtesane is a very wearable color, almost a sheer berry but with neutral-to-warm copper reflects. Sephora describes it as mauve rose, but there's not a bit of mauve in it and rose is a stretch too.

shade

full sun

I've only tried a few of these Stickgloss beauties, but I'm going to find an excuse to get more. Really nice! They retail for $20 at various locations.

Korres Buttered Up lip butter duo: Jasmine

2012-01-04T23:00:00.000-08:00

Sephora is offering some really lovely sets right now, including this one from Korres. I got this one as a Christmas gift from my mother (hi mom!). It contains one lip butter and one lip butter glaze in the same color, a pale tan pink. It retails for $15, which is a nice value, given that the lip butter sells for $12 and the glaze for $14 when you get them separately.

Their lip butter is my favorite tinted lip balm EVAH, despite being in a pot instead of a more portable form. It's soft, smooth, luxurious, and it sinks in to make your lips feel hydrated and pampered. If my lips are feeling dry or irritated, I put on some of this and they feel instant relief. The balm has a sheer tint to it, more than a gloss but not much. It lasts a few hours before needing to be reapplied.

The lip butter glaze feels more like a gloss to me. It's not at all sticky, and it's sheer and shiny on the lips. I find it needs reapplication a little more frequently than the lip butter and isn't nearly as moisturizing or soothing, but if you consider it as gloss and not a treatment it's not bad at all. It has a hard plastic slant-tip applicator with works really well and is easy to clean if needed. The glaze can be hard to get out in cold weather, so keep it in a warm place if you're going to be using it.

Shade

Sun

Jasmine lip butter

Jasmine lip butter glaze

Chanel Aqua Crayon Eye Colour Stick: Taupe

2012-01-02T23:00:00.000-08:00

I bought this in the mid-1990's while looking for an eyeliner that would last past lunch and didn't look too "made up". It fit the bill nicely.

This is a twist-up pencil in a sturdy hard plastic case. The eyeliner inside is a hard waxy texture that packs a decent amount of pigment. It tugs a little when applying to the eyes but once it's there it stays put pretty well. Honestly, the texture reminds me more of a waxy eyebrow pencil than an eyeliner. Age one of Benefit's Instant Brow pencils 15 years and it would probably feel like this. I'll have to try it on my brows!

The tip isn't too thin or thick, and it doesn't come with a sharpener so if you want a thin line you'll have to rub down the sides to get a nice point, wasting product as you go. Still, the color's a nice neutral taupe and it works as advertised.

tarte smolderEYES Amazonian clay waterproof liner collection Holiday 2011

2011-12-31T23:00:00.000-08:00

tarte really hit it out of the ballpark with their holiday collections this year. Instead of simply offering a couple of limited edition colors, they offered some seriously excellent value sets.

The smolderEYES collection features six chubby liner/shadow pencils in a long-lasting formula for $39, breaking down to $6.50 each. That's drugstore territory for price. The formula is smooth, creamy, and highly pigmented and while it doesn't quite make it through to 12 hours, it comes pretty close. By the end of that time it's mostly there, just worn away in a couple of spots. Not bad!

It even comes with a sharpener, a very nice touch.

Golden beige, moss, and smoke I apply directly either as a thick liner or as shadow. The darker three (violet, espresso, and silver black) I apply with a liner brush for a thinner line.

silver black

smoke

espresso

violet

moss

golden beige

late afternoon sun

full shade

shade with fill flash

Left to right: silver black, smoke, espresso, violet, moss, golden beige.

tarte Lip Service Limited-Edition LipSurgence Collection Holiday 2011

2011-12-24T23:00:00.000-08:00

2011 has been a banner year for tarte holiday sets. There's something for everyone. This is a set of five lip colors for a bit over the price of one.

LipSurgence pencils normally retail for $24 and this set has five full size ones for $29. Can't beat that!

tarte says "each emotive shade smoothly glides on lips for natural color that lasts all day and
delivers a surge of moisture on a cellular level for a naturally plumped-up appearance while natural peppermint adds a refreshing burst of avor with each application." I say they apply smoothly and taste like mint. Wear time is average and despite their emollience I don't find them particularly hydrating.

Glitzy

Perky

Flashy

Swank

Dazzled

They really are prettier in person. I waited too late in the day for photos. :-(

Left to right: Glitzy, Perky, Flashy, Swank, Dazzled.

Ultima II eyeliner: Jade/Bronze Moire

2011-12-22T23:00:00.000-08:00

This is another relic of the 1980's. I used to love Ultima II products; they were one of my mainstays. Then they disappeared off the face of the earth. The eyeliners were pretty darn good for the time: you could even use them without holding them over a lighter first! Imagine that!

The pencil has the liner at one end and a smudging sponge on the other. It goes on a bit stiff these days, but it was pretty smooth when it was new. The color is a slightly golden green with a bit of shimmer. Quite nice.

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Gloss Holiday 2011: Glitz Glam

2011-12-20T23:00:00.000-08:00

Glitz Glam is the second colorBurst gloss from the Holiday 2011 release I'll review. It has the same lovely formula as the other ColorBurst glosses, except it's sheer. Applied, it reminds me a lot of Bobbi Brown's shimmer gloss in Silver Pearl - but for about $15 less.

Glitz Glam is a sheer light pink with a lot of shimmer. I prefer to use this over a stain or lipstick rather than alone.

The formula is light and smooth, without stickiness or grit from the shimmer. The shimmer particles stay put rather than migrating when the gloss fades.

ColorBurst glosses retail for $7.49 at all major drugstores.

Revlon ColorBurst Lip Gloss Holiday 2011: Cheers

2011-12-18T23:00:00.000-08:00

I've long felt that Revlon makes some of the best drugstore lip glosses available. They are smooth, not too sticky, highly pigmented, and last really well.

This holiday season they've created eight limited edition colors to help you feel glamorous. The one I'm featuring today is Cheers, a pretty magenta.

Cheers applies with a medium to high opacity, lasting for several hours and fading evenly when it finally goes. ColorBurst lip gloss retails for $7.49 but can frequently be obtained for much less. For example, this was a BOGO purchase at CVS.

Maybelline light blue eye pencil

2011-12-16T23:00:00.000-08:00

This is probably one of the first items of makeup I ever purchases, somewhere around 1981. I used it on the waterline for YEARS until it went missing, necessitating a desperate search for a replacement. As you can see, I wore it down to a stub.

Even now it applies smoothly with an opaque shimmery finish. Despite the shimmer, it never felt gritty - even on the delicate waterline. The color is a very light slightly silvered blue.

It lasted on the waterline pretty well, several hours at least. On skin it lasted most of the day.

Shade

Sun

Bliss Body Butter giveaway at Audrey Dao

2011-12-15T23:00:00.000-08:00

You can win two full-size Bliss Body Butters at Audrey Dao this month. The drawing ends December 29 2011, so don't wait!

Three scents to choose from - I chose Lemon & Sage. These are really thick and lovely, so give it a shot! If you decide you don't like them, I'll be happy to take them off your hands. :-)

Bobbi Brown Holiday 2011: Party Alice lipstick

2011-12-14T23:00:00.000-08:00

Instead of the traditional holiday red lipstick, Bobbi Brown has included a lovely rose. Party Alice is in the normal BB lipstick formula, which means it's opaque, creamy, and non-drying. Normally I don't notice any scent in Bobbi's lipsticks, but this one seems to have a faint licorice odor. It's pleasant and doesn't last, so even people who are scent-averse shouldn't be bothered much.

Bobbi's website describes this as a pink rose, and I think that's pretty accurate. I think it leans warm, but only a little and certainly not too warm for cooler-toned people to wear it.

Bobbi Brown lip color retails for $23. It isn't clear from the website if this is limited edition or just "new", so if you like it I recommend you go get it.

Bobbi Brown Holiday 2011: Silver Pearl high shimmer lip gloss

2011-12-12T23:00:00.001-08:00

Bobbi's holiday release includes some really lovely high shimmer glosses. The one I have is Silver Pearl.

The formula is a bit thick and sticky with a minty scent. It lasts for hours and has no grit at all despite the heavy shimmer. It has a sponge-tip applicator instead of the old plastic brushes that Bobbi used to use for her glosses. Hooray! I hated those old brushes, they always got bent up and hart to put back in the tube.

This gloss doesn't leave glittery residue when it finally wears off, which is a real bonus. I prefer to use this on top of lipstick or stain, because it has very little color, just multi-color shimmer in a sheer base. Bobbi describes it as silver with pink pearl, but I only see that in the tube, not on my lips.

Shade

Sun

Bobbi's gloss retails for $23.

Really Naked giveaway at Beauty Crazed

2011-12-11T23:00:00.000-08:00

When the ladies at Beauty Crazed have a giveaway they don't mess around. This month they are giving away not one, not two, but FIVE nude palettes for eyes and face! What's included? Just look:

The palette that started the whole craze: Urban Decay's Naked
Smashbox Soft Eye palette.
Stila NaturalEyes Eye Shadow Palette
Sleek MakeUP Au Naturel I-Divine Palette
100% Pure Pretty Naked Neutral Face Palette
Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette In The Nude

Go enter now! Giveaway ends December 30 2011.

Lancome Maquiriche Creme Powder Eye Color Quad: Symphonie d'Automne

2011-12-08T23:00:00.000-08:00

This was purchased in the late 1980's. It originally had four colors: red-brown, peach-gold, muted purple, and gold-flecked green. The green was completely gone when I unearthed it and the purple nearly so. I swatched what I could from the corners.

Shade

Sun

Pigmentation is excellent and the colors apply smoothly despite their age. This was a lovely set and would still be wearable today. Although Lancome no longer sells it you can still find it online in packaging versions newer than this but the same colors.

Bobbi Brown Dual Ended Eye Liner: Caviar/ Gold

2011-12-06T23:00:00.000-08:00

I discussed the formula for these in an earlier post, so I won't bore you by repeating the glories that are this liner pencil. Like the Chocolate / Bronze pencil, Caviar / Gold is excellent quality. This liner features a dark blackened brown on one end and true yellow gold on the other. I use the gold in the inner corners to brighten up neutral looks. Gorgeous! $24 each.

Bobbi Brown Dual Ended Eye Liner: Chocolate / Bronze

2011-12-04T23:00:00.000-08:00

This year's Bobbi Brown holiday release is huge and includes quite a few winning products. The best of these are the dual ended eye liners. They are double ended wood pencils with coordinating colors on each end.

Don't overlook these because you think they are Bobbi's usual pencil formula. These apply like a dream, last all day, and have excellent pigmentation. Each pencil comes with a sharpener, which is a nice touch. Chocolate / Bronze features a matte medium-dark brown on one end and a shimmery dark brown-bronze on the other.

Shade

Sun

Bottom line? If you like creamy, highly pigmented liner pencils that last all day, don't miss these. At $24 they aren't cheap, but you're getting excellent quality for your money.

Lancome Le Crayon Lip contour: Berry 2465-05

2011-12-02T23:00:00.000-08:00

This is the last of the surviving 1980's lip liners. It's aptly named, being a beautiful cool medium berry color. It is hard and waxy, applying with difficulty. This is undoubtedly due at least in part to age.

Shade

Full sun

Rouge Dior 841 Belle De Nuit for Holiday 2011

2011-11-30T23:00:00.000-08:00

Dior lipsticks are a luxury I rarely indulge, but this year's holiday red drew me in. It's a beautiful gold-flecked warm red, not so warm that I can't wear it but enough to go well with the season's gold eye shadows.

Shade

Full sun

The formula is creamy and hydrating, applying opaque in one stroke. If you want a more sheer look, apply over balm. This shade is limited edition, so when it's gone it's gone.

Check out how the gold flecks show in the sun! Pretty but not over the top.

Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Pencil Stash for Holiday 2011

2011-11-28T23:00:00.000-08:00

The holiday season always brings a plethora of limited edition colors and value sets and this year is no exception. Urban Decay usually has a couple sets of their awesome 24/7 liners, but this year they added a set of 24/7 shadow pencils.

24/7 shadow pencils have the same formula as the 24/7 liners, which means they apply easily with a soft, silky, highly-pigmented formula and once they set they last ALL DAY. By that I mean 12+ hours. I haven't personally tested them for more than that, but at 12 hours there was no smudging or fading. Superhuman!

This set includes three neutrals and two bright colors.

Delinquent

Delinquent is a gorgeous cool purple. You know how some purples run red, making you look like you've been crying? This isn't one of those purples.

Clash

The other bright, Clash, is a very pretty light aqua. I'll probably just use this on the lash line because although I adore color, I do have limits.

Rehab

Juju

Sin

Rehab, Juju and Sin are the neutrals. None lean particularly warm or cool so they should look good on all skin tones. These are great for a quick daytime eye - just apply, blend, and don't worry about it fading over the day.

Shade

Late afternoon sun

The set retails for $34 and includes five 0.88 oz pencils. Normally each 0.1 oz pencil retails for $20, so this is a real value. Additionally, Juju is unique to this kit and can't be purchased on its own.

Bottom line? If you like easy eye makeup that lasts and a good value, get this!

Leroy likes to help

2011-11-26T23:00:00.000-08:00

Leroy lives somewhere in the neighborhood but eats and frolics at our house. He's fascinated by tarte's LipSurgence lip tints and smolderEYES eyeliners. He also likes the UD 25/7 Glide-on Shadow pencils. :-)