Will it Work for Me?

yeah yeah yeah

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:52:00 +0000

okay so I suck and I know it. I'm not even going to address how long it's been since I posted. But I'm turning over a new leaf starting now. Well, tomorrow. This week for sure.

Do I even have any readers left??

is this thing on?

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:33:00 +0000

Just testing whether I can post from my BB

Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

is this thing on?

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:31:00 +0000

Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

-----Original Message-----
From: maxgreene@rogers.blackberry.net

Date: Fri, 5 Dec 2008 04:29:25
To: Blogger<go@blogger.com.>
Subject: is this thing on?

Just testing whether I can post from my BB

Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

WOW

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:44:00 +0000

That's all I can say today.

It's been way too long since I posted and I can only apologize. I have no excuse except that I've been super-busy at work, I have a cold, and I'm caught up in excitement for my birthday. I'm going to be honest and tell you postings are going to be a bit slim around here until the end of the month. Bear with me please.

Hope you're all well!

max

xoxo

Cop This: Kardinal Offishall Not 4 Sale

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 01:43:00 +0000

Hey y'all,
I know this is a beauty blog, but sometimes - not often - there are some things more important than makeup. Or so I hear anyway. Either way, it's my blog and I'll stray off topic if I want to, right?

That being said, consider this a PSA: Kardinal Offishall's latest album hit stores on Tuesday.

Buy. this. album. Now.

If you don't know who Kardinal is, you're either living under a rock or you're not Canadian. Either way, you need this in your life:

Kardinal is an extremely gifted artist and producer who is blazing a trail for Canadian artists and has been for years. The man was on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno this week, for goodness sake. That is absolutely unprecedented for a Canadian hip hop artist and no one deserves it more. Check the video and tell me you weren't doing the Dangerous dance in your chair:

Dangerous Jay Leno Live

And in case you're wondering, this is not a case of me shamelessly plugging something just because I know and/or like the artist - I have no connection to Kardi save a youthful crush and you ought to know by now I get crushes like other people get subway transfers. So this is my completely non-partisan opinion: Buy this album and do your part to support Canadian music. You won't be sorry. The album is hot.

Oh yeah - the wiwfm verdict on this one is hells yes!

Product Review: Bio Oil

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:21:00 +0000

Hi ladies,

Today we're talking Bio-Oil.

There was a lot of hype around this product when it first came out, which really made me want to try it: my face and body are scar-mania. When it first came out it was crazy expensive, but I got a bottle of it at Shoppers for like $11 so I thought I'd give it a try.

This is really just a teaser post because the jury's still out on this one: it's recommended that you use it for 3 months in order to see results and I've only been using it for two weeks, but I thought I'd share my thoughts on this so far.

This is a fairly thick oil that smells really pleasant - pretty much exactly the same as Skin-So-Soft if you ask me. The idea is that you massage this into skin twice a day and rub in until absorbed. I've been using it on my cheeks (I have a lot of acne scars) and my dark knees. During the week I only use it once a day on my face; I apply it for bed but there's no way I could put this on my face before my makeup. So far I see not a lick of difference; in fact I think it may be making the clogged pores on my face even worse! But I'm reserving judgement since it has only been a few weeks...

The wiwfm verdict on this one is we'll see. Have any of you tried it? I'd love to hear your feedback. Drop me a comment!

Product Review: Redken Smooth Down

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 08:52:00 +0000

I have a confession to make: I've been unfaithful.
Back in April when I wrote my first post, I told you about my Long Term Relationship with Herbal Essences. And it was good, don't get me wrong. LTR was good to me and for me. But it's hard to be monogamous when there is so much out there and I admit that I was led astray.

First there was a dalliance with Herbal Essences Pin Straight. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it didn't really work out. At first I was dazzled by how much it loosened my curl, but over time I realized that I just needed more moisture. I thought longingly of LTR and vowed to go back and beg forgiveness for cheating, but then my head was turned once more. I think this one is for keeps.

My new love's name is Redken Smooth Down and it is the truth, let me tell you.

After that one night stand I had with Redken Extreme, I was more than willing to try it again. But I knew this time I needed something that would give me the moisture of LTR and the straightening of Pin Straight. Mom, I think I've found the one.

Redken's website promises that the Smooth Down family of products is "specially formulated to enrich and tame extremely dry, coarse, unruly hair". Fortified with macadamia oil (which is supposed to be great for hair) and a whole bunch of other stuff, it provides great conditioning and makes your hair visibly straighter, even before you blowdry.

I couldn't afford the whole line, so I went for the Shampoo, Conditioner, and Heat Glide. Let me break them down one by one for you...

The Smooth Down Shampoo was great: it had good lather and rinsed clean, but left my hair feeling a little stripped afterward. Nothing new; pretty much all shampoo does that. One thing that puzzled me though was the smell. Not that it's bad, it just smells clean. But with the colour of the packaging and the fact that it's got macadamia oil in it had me expecting a warm cocoa buttery-type smell so I was a little thrown off when I sniffed it and just smelled...shampoo. No biggie though.

The Smooth Down Conditioner was nice too. Not as thick as I like, but it did the job. I had a hell of a time rinsing it out though, as usual. But that may have been as much because of my method of rinising my hair in cold water whilst trying not to let said cold water touch my skin as because of the conditioner itself. I know I didn't get it all out, but what was left was just on the ends and they need moisture anyway so...

Now the Smooth Down Heat Glide is serious business. It's a thick serum that just glides through your hair. And it really works! I was already ecstatic with the results after putting it in wet hair before blowdrying, but last night I decided to try an experiment: I put it on my dry hair at night just before wrapping (on just one side of my head so I could compare the results) and when I took it out in the morning the difference was remarkable. This.stuff.really.works.

I'm going back next paycheque for the Smooth Down Butter Treat which I'll use as a pre-poo and maybe even the Sleek Obedience anti-frizz solid serum after I run out of my other serums. I'll skip the detangling conditioner as I don't really have a problem with tangles.

Obviously, the wiwfm verdict on this one is hell's yes!

Me, Myself, and My Beauty Regime

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:00:00 +0000

Hi Pretties!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Mine has been extremely exciting and fantastically boring all at the same time. It started out Friday night with an invite to the "exclusive" ETalk party...at which I spotted my future husband Idris Elba, flirted shamelessly with former crushboy, and searched frantically for current crushboy. It was tonnes of fun but no pics because my purse was too tiny to fit my camera in. My new friend Killa took some pics of me, so if I get my hands on them I'll definitely post them here.

After that my weekend has been pretty quiet. I've pretty much spent it on "bed island" as I like to call it. I just stay in bed all day and do everything here. I got all caught up on Gossip Girls - Serena is gorgeous isn't she? - and did a little work as well. That's it. The one productive thing I did was to go for a "walkjog" - I'm trying to get more exercise so I walk the Kay Gardner Beltline Trail whenever I can but I'm always so jealous of the people who are jogging instead of walking that I've decided to become a jogger. So I'm alternating walking and jogging until I'm in good enough shape to be able to jog the whole thing. Wish me luck. Hopefully the whole thing will go a lot more smoothly once I quit smoking - whenever that may be lol.

Anyway, as I write this I'm on bed island again after showering and washing my hair. This is my favourite part of the week - I feel completely clean and reborn. It's definitely my "most beautiful" moment - mentally that is. Esthetically it's not a good look at all, let me tell you. I look a fright right now with bantu knots in my hair, Bio Oil schmeered over my face, and my feet slathered in Aquaphor and wrapped in plastic. It's all part of my weekend beauty regime, which is supposed to be the topic of today's post...

So like everyone else (I assume), I do what I can during the week to keep up my appearance, but with so little time and so much else going on, it's on the weekends that I do all the real heavy lifting. So here's a rundown of my weekend Beautification process. Some of it I've blogged about before:

-If I have no plans on Friday night I prepoo my hair using either coconut oil, olive oil, eggs, deep conditioner, regular conditioner, or some combination of all of them. I coat my hair (concentrating on the ends), stick a plastic cap on it and wrap in a heated towel. If I don't have time Fridays I do this Saturday mornings instead.

-Usually at some point during the prepoo process, I tackle my skin. As I may have mentioned a time or two, I have extremely oily skin and a lot of clogged pores so I start out with the OCM including the pore vaccuum, and then I hit my skin with the aspirin mask which refines and brighens my skin. After that I spread Bio Oil over it (check my Bio Oil post here) and go about my business.

-I wash the prepoo out of my hair in the shower, then put conditioner in, slap on a showercap, and go about my business in the shower while the steam helps my hair to absorb the conditioner. "Going about my business" in the shower means shaving pretty much everything, exfoliating my whole body (I do this everytime I shower though), and scrubbing my feet with the pumice stone. Then I rinse the conditioner out with cold water (yowtch!) and if I'm blowing my hair out straight I wrap it in a t-shirt (it's more gentle on your hair than a regular towel) for ten minutes. If I'm wearing my hair curly as I am this week, I put it back in the shower cap so it says extra wet until I'm ready to style.

-Slather my feet with Dr. Scholl's For Her Ultra Overnight Foot Cream and then with Aquaphor or Coconut Oil and then wrap with plastic and cover with socks. Lotion myself from head to toe with Nivea Smooth Replenishing Lotion in the summertime or Extra Nourishing Milk in the wintertime. These are the two best lotions ever in my opinion. At this point I usually need a rest, so I chill out for a little while.

-After tackling my hair - a drama so intense it needs its own post - I move on to my nails. I polish my fingernails every weekend and my toenails every other weekend. Once I've done that, I have no choice but to sit down and rest myself so that my nails don't get wrecked. They usually do though.

So that's it. I like to have one "grooming" day on the weekend and one relaxation day. When my weekends are too busy for me to do all that stuff I get really cranky.

What about you guys? Do any of you have special weekend beauty routines? Drop me a comment and let me know I'm not a freak :)

p.s. I have to send a shout out to my newest reader (and work neighbour) Daniela. She's hilarious, loves my blog, and is a whiz with the liquid eyeliner. What's not to love?

I Love your Blog!

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:30:00 +0000

Hi girls!
Big huge shout-outs to Kim at A Life of Style for once again showing me bloglove...she's so sweet and her blog is fab. If you haven't checked it out please do.

She tagged lil ole me as a blog one of her favourite blogs and I'm sharing the love by posting some of my faves. I currently subscribe to over 100 blogs so I can't share them all but these are some great ones:

And in the spirit of sharing the bloglove....

Here are the rules:
1. The nominated is allowed to put this picture on their blogs.
2. Link to the person who hearted you.
3. Nominate at least 7 other people and link to them.
4. Leave a message on those people's blog to make them aware that they're nominated

Product Review: OPI Moon over Mumbai

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 08:18:00 +0000

Hi there,

Today we're talking nails and I'm going to try to skip all the preamble and just get right into it. I know I tend to ramble on and on before I get to the point. Sorry about that.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I got my nails done at Novo Spa in Yorkville with some girls from work. (Sidebar: Novo is a great spa, if you're in the Toronto area you should check it out). It took me all of two seconds to choose Moon Over Mumbai as my nail colour; I've been wanting to try this shade ever since I bought Elephantastic Pink way back in April.

O.P.I. describes this colour as “[a] romantic shade of soft, moonlit grey”. That's certainly true of the colour in the bottle, but on my nails it's not necessarily the case. Even after three coats, the colour just doesn't look grey. My roommate described the colour as "oyster", which I thought was pretty fit. Either way I'm not complaining. It's a beautiful sheer shade that's neither pink nor beige, making it a great escape from the classic nude colours we're so used to seeing.

The thing about it is though that it's a bitch to apply. Holy crap. Now I'm not a novice at polishing my nails by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm really struggling to get this stuff on streak-free. I can do it in three coats, but I want to try to do it in two. The only thing that I've found that helps is to let each coat dry fully before you apply the next one. Which basically means it takes about three hours to polish my nails. Who has time for that?

I think I've found my fall HG colour. I've been wearing it non-stop for three weeks now and haven't stopped staring at it. The only thing is though that the tips of the nails on my left hand are starting to turn yellow because of smoking; but none of my faithful readers are idiotic enough to actually smoke, are you pretties?

'Til the next time!

Oh yeah right, the wiwfm verdict on this is yes!

Product Review: Sebastian Laminates Concentrate Gel

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:59:00 +0000

Hi Everyone!
So once again I've been MIA for a while - sorry about that. It's been a tough couple of weeks at work plus a gorgeous long weekend...not a good combination to motivate me to blog. But I'm back now and I've got a slew of things to talk to you about.

So let's get to it. I haven't blogged about it, but I've been having major hair drama pretty much all summer long. Partly because of the weird and incessantly rainy weather, and partly because of the nature of my hair. See I have really curly type 4A hair that just does not want to be straight. But I'm not really the big curly hair type so I try to force it. And for a long while there I was winning the battle, but lately my curls have been kicking my ass and my hair has been a big puffy, frizzy, mass that I constantly have to wear up in a ponytail or a twist, but even that doesn't help because my hair has so many layers that something somewhere is always falling out.

Anyway. So my hair routine in a nutshell goes pretty much something like this: I wash my hair only once a week, usually on a Friday or Saturday. I pre-poo first with coconut oil, olive oil, beaten eggs, deep conditioner, or some combination of those. Then I wash, blowdry (which is my own personal version of hell), and flatiron it. Somewhere throughout that process I put some serum in (usually before blowdrying and after flatironing) and that should be all the product I put in my hair for the whole week.

Problem is, my hair is still a frizzy mess all the time, especially my ends. So I keep putting more and more serum in and it keeps not helping and my hair just gets more and more limp as each day goes by. So finally I said, enough is enough. I'm going to shell out the extra money and buy a professional brand of serum and hopefully that will help with the frizz.

Enter Sebastian Laminates Concentrate Gel.

I marched into Trade Secrets a few weeks ago and spoke to one of the sales associates.
I told her that I had very curly, very thirsty hair that I don't chemically straighten (did I forget to mention that I stopped relaxing my hair about three years ago?) and basically gave her the rundown of my routine. I told her I needed a good serum that I could put in my hair once a week that would actually make my hair shiny and not frizzy. She marched so purposefully over to this product that I thought she knew something I didn't. I was a little skeptical because it looks like a gel and has the word "gel" written clearly on the package, but when I questioned her about it, she assured me that it was indeed a serum. Okay then.

After I finished choking to death over the $24.95CAD price tag, I went to the cash to pay for it. The girl working the register was black (she's the one who gave me the sample of Redken Extreme the last time I was there. I asked her if she'd ever used this stuff or agreed with the recommendation and she was like "oh this gel?" I cut her off. "Is it a gel or a serum?" I demanded. "Let me see it please?". At this point her manager stepped in. This guy literally would not let me hold the tube of gel/serum that I was about to shell out $24.95 for. He was like, "what is it you want to know?" and I told him that I just wanted to read the ingredients. After a whole long rigamarole (during which I never did get to actually hold the tube), he explained to me that it was a serum "in gel form" and that while it did contain alcohol in it, it was basically a serum that just had a little hold. Okay fine. I paid for it and left.

I washed my hair the next day and went through the whole process. I couldn't wait to see the finished product. Sadly, my hair was no less frizzy and no more straight than it ever was. And it was sticky to boot. Not excessively, crazily sticky, but should your hair ever be sticky? I would prefer not, thanks. Luckily my sister showed up the next day bearing a gift: Avon Advance Techniques Dry Ends Serum. Now this shit is a serum! Way better than the Sebastians stuff and about 1/5 of the price. It smells great and actually moisturizes my hair and gives it some shine.

Sebastians Gel has been relegated to pomade status. And even for that purpose it's not the greatest. But I have to find some use for it after all that money I spent on it.

Anyway, needless to say, the wiwfm verdict on this one is no.

I'm on Alltop!

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:33:00 +0000

Hi everyone!
I'm so excited to announce to you ladies that my little blog has been included in the Beauty Channel of Alltop.com!

If you don't know about alltop, it's a very cool site that aggregates tonnes of blog by content. So if you go to the Fashion Channel, you see stories from a bunch of different fashion blogs/sites, if you go to the Beauty Channel, you'll see stories from a bunch of sites including mine!

And the best part is, I get to put badges like these on my site:

Could this site be any cooler?

These are a few of my favourite looks

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:17:00 +0000

Hi ladies,

Hope my Toronto ladies are enjoying the gorgeous weather while it lasts....cuz you know it's not going to last long.

So I have good news! Will it Work for Me has been accepted into the Essence Network! This is exciting as I'm now in the company of many great bloggers. Check it out and find some interesting blogs to add to your list of reads.

Which reminds me: thanks so much to all of you who read my blog regularly. I look at my site traffic daily and I'm astounded that my little blog that two months ago had only my sister and McKinley as readers is now building up its own following. I feel a little like Sally Field "you like me! you really like me!"

Please keep coming back and let me know if there's anything you'd like to see.

Also a shout-out to Kim over at A Life of Style who dropped by recently. Love your blog too girl!

Anyway, on to today's post....a few of my favourite looks. I thought I'd post a few of what I consider to be my best looks ever and see what you guys think. Seems a little egotistical of me though, doesn't it? Well looking at pictures is always fun - tha'ts why Facebook is so popular, right?

So without further ado, I give you the best of max fabulous!

The first picture is at my friend Mansa's birthday party...that's her in the pink. I did a Rihanna-inspired look - black eyeliner all around and hot pink lips. Pretty hot for a Wednesday night lol.

The next one is from my pre-32nd birthday party. I had a goldish-burgundy theme with both my nails and my eyeshadow. The polish is Revlon but I can't remember the name of the colour, and the shadow is Color du Jour by Lancome and that gold Shiseido Hydropowder.

As you may have guessed, the first picture is my favourite picture of me ever. I use it as my profile picture for everything! This look was copied from Christina Milian - hair and makeup. The shadow is actually this crappy silver Rimmel colour mixed with black Smashbox cream liner to look grey and the lipcolour is MAC Sweetie topped with a L'Oreal lip gloss called Pink Panther - it was LE when the movie came out and I loved it so much I bought like 3 of them.

The next one is my second favourite picture of myself. I got my makeup done by this fabulous lady named Ninia Nation - obviously she's very talented and also super nice. But I never saw her again. I heard she has/had a shop in College Park here in Toronto but I'm not sure...I have to find her because honestly this is the best I've ever looked in my life!

First one was my actual 32nd birthday. Makeup is nothing special but I love my hair here. As you can see, I used to be a weaveaholic - and boy do I miss those days. Don't get me wrong having a weave is a PITA but I think I looked so much prettier in those days...these days my hair stays in a ponytail all the time - see the next picture.

Oh I love these two pictures...the first one is with my friend Jemeni - and boy do I wish I could remember what the HELL I did to my hair that day because it looks amazing (if I do say so myself)! The eyeshadow is again that crappy Rimmel silver and Lancome The New Black.

On the right is my first Mansa-pic - we were at this hip hop party called The B-Boy Document (it was great). Shadow colour is again the gold Shiseido Hydropowder and Lancome The New Black.

So what do you ladies think? Any recos for me??

Product Review: Maybelline Colossal Volum'Express Mascara in Glam Black

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:37:00 +0000

Hi girls!
Thanks to the lovely ladies over at Chick Advisor's Product Review Club, I received this bad boy in the mail yesterday. I was anxiously awaiting this and couldn't wait to review it. Although I doubt anything can compare to the wonderfulness that is Lancôme Hypnôse, I wanted a mascara that was a little more low-key for my Monday to Friday look. This one definitely fits the bill.

Here's the rundown, Clumps of Mascara-style:

Price: 5 out of 5 (because it was free. I think it retails for around $7 which is very reasonable)

Packaging/Brush Wand: 4 out of 5

the package it came in - isn't it cute?

the wand

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 (It would have been 4 out of 5 but I took half a point off for not delivering on the 9x volume claim)

What it claims: "Creates 9X the volume, instantly."

The truth: It’s a good overall mascara - delivers solid lengthening and adds an acceptable amount of volume, but isn't outstanding in either.

What I loved about it: The definition and length are definitely there. It is rich and black and even after several coasts it doesn't weigh down the lashes. Volume-wise it was acceptable - but I don't think it lives up to the 9x claim. Although the brush was huge, it was surprisingly un-messy and did a good job on the little tiny lashes at the inside corners of my eyes.

What I didn't like: The wand is pretty dry coming out of the tube. I felt like I couldn't get enough product. I really wanted to pump it but we all know that's a big no-no.

Overall: I’m impressed but I’m not overwhelmed. It's a good mascara but there isn't anything so spectacular about it. the best thing about it is the price I think. It gives big results for the price point.

Would I recommend it: Definitley. One of the better drugstore mascaras I've tried. The wiwfm verdict is yes on this.

Here's some pics of the transition....please don't mind how disastrous I look in some of them lol

my naked, un-primed lashes curled with my crap-tastic lash curler.

with one coat of primer

One coat of mascara

two coats

The finished look:

don't mind my grandma hair. I was trying something that clearly did not work.

coming soon....

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:48:00 +0000

hi ladies!
just wanted to drop you a quick post so you don't think i've returned to my old non-blogging ways.
although the weather is perfect for blogging (i.e. monsoons and chilly temperatures lol) work is CRAZY this week.
but i do have some cool posts coming up on...

Bio-Oil (finally broke down and bought it)
more Cheap but Goodies
a new mascara
some lip balms - which is something I've never blogged about before!
also I'll review a cute spa I found here in Toronto
and an OPI nail polish I recently bought and fell in love with.

I'm also still hoping for more "Ask Max" submissions - send me some questions or my feelings will be hurt.

you'll here from me soon (and thanks for reading!)
max

my first "ask max" post - koffee dyme

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:50:00 +0000

Hi everyone!

I was so excited to see a reply to my "ask max" post - thanks Koffee Dyme for reading and participating. Hope you see you back soon.

She asked me "lets see... if you were to paint the face (make-up wise of course lol) what colors would you go for?"
I didn't want to post her picture on here without her permission, so check out her site for her pics (and great info!).

Koffee Dyme I have a few different ideas for you:

My first thought when I saw your picture was that you should do great big bold colour. You have beautiful strong features and great hair so you definitely have the stature to pull of bold looks. I'm seeing beautiful bright teals like these great colours from Urban Decay (they have the best colours in my opinion)

Goddess - midnight blue with electric blue sparkle

Mildew - shimmery metallic green

Shattered - bright iridescent aquamarine

Or Cargo's Aegan

I also can see you in regal purples like these (also all UD)

Flash - bright iridescent purple

Last call - iridescent plummy purple

And pretty pinks like

Kiss - reddish mauve with silver glitter

and Hotpants - medium pink shimmer

So that was my first idea. But then I let it marinate for a while and I started imagining your face (but not in a stalkery way) and what I saw was gorgeous earthy tones like these:

Roach - reddish brown with golden sheen

Toasted - a muted copper shimmer

Smog - deep coppery bronze

and Cargo's Nepal - one of my all-time favourite colours.

But actually now that I think about it, you know what would be hot? If you did a surf-and-turf type look with the greens and the earth tones - like Smog & Shattered or Aegan & Nepal! That would be FIRE.

The last vision I had for you is pretty simple: just black eyeliner smudged on your upper and lower lids with a pretty pinkish lipstick like MAC's Sweetie. If you wanted to get really fancy you could go over the liner with one of those "fancy" black shadows like Lancôme's The New Black:

or UD's Oil Slick

And of course don't forget that with all this colour you NEED a primer like Urban Decay's Primer Potion!

Hope you enjoyed your reco Koffee Dyme. If you try any of these let me know how it went.

my daily look

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:38:00 +0000

hi lovelies!

check me out with all the posts, eh? told ya'll i would try my hardest to do better.

so the other day as i was rushing off to work it dawned on me to take a picture of myself so you could see my daily work look (and then take one when i got home to see how beat up i look after a day of work lol) so i snapped a quick one.

it's kinda dark but i wanted to give you a rundown of my daily routine for summer work days. it's simple and relatively quick but still fun.

prep:
-wash my face with Aveeno Clear Complexion Daily Cleanser

-tone with witch hazel or apple cider vinegar - this particular day was acv, undiluted cuz i'm gangsta like that

-curl lashes with a Tweezerman lash curler (it sucks, don't buy this, spend the extra money for a good one) heated with hot water

-MAC Matte applied to whole face

face:
-on the back of my hand i mix a pea-sized amount of olay age defying daily renewal lotion with a tiny drop of revlon skinlights instant skin brightener in gold light (this might be discontinued, but any highlighter would do) and a pea-sized amount of maybelline pure makeup foundation in caramel (equal to or slightly larger than the drop of moisturizer)

-wet a foundation brush (i use a crappy Quo one and you have to wet it for it to work decently at all) and then use it to blend together the mixture. i apply it to my face starting at my cheeks (because that's where i want/need the most coverage), blending outward, then apply to the rest of my face from the centre outward.

-MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC50 on my upper lip and underneath my eyes and also anywhere else i may need coverage.

eyes:

-Urban Decay Primer Potion on my lids

-fill in my brows with an Annabelle eye pencil in dark brown, which i blend out with a MAC angle brush

-line my inner upper eyelids with a black eye pencil by Rimmel. try really hard to keep my eyes open so it doesn't smudge onto my lower waterline - this almost never works so i clean it up with a Q-tip.

-i rotate between two eye shadows - a gold Milani eye shadow (I think it's Antique Gold) or MAC Expensive Pink. choosing the colour is completely random...i wear whichever i feel like that particular day.

-one coat of Ardell Lash Growth Accelerator as a primer - the only thing it's good for

-two thin coats of Lancôme Hypnôse

cheeks:
-sweep the bronzer from Lorac's Hot Flash blush/bronzer duo on cheeks, temples, across forehead, and the bridge of my nose with a fan brush

-MAC Sheertone Shimmer blush in Breezy or Ambering Rose - usually it's Breezy but this particular day it was Ambering Rose

then i curl my lashes again with the curler heated with hot water. seems like the extra step is unnecessary but it really makes my lashes stay curled all day.

set the whole thing with MAC Blot Powder in Dark.

and that's it! it seems like a lot but the whole thing takes less than 10 minutes and it's a really pretty natural summer look. you could skip the eyeliner - i just do it to make my lashes more pronounced when i wear my frigging horrible glasses. it's now my go-to summer look when i just want to look polished and not like i loaded my face down with stuff.

what do ya'll think? critique me ladies but please be gentle ;)

a new feature - ask max

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:27:00 +0000

hi ladies,
so i was telling my friend pam the other day that what i really wanted to do is to set up a booth on queen street with a big sign that said "ask me about your look". then i could gently make suggestions to people about one thing they could do to improve their look. not in a mean janice dickinson kind of way, just people who wanted help from a (semi-)normal person about what they could do to improve the way they look. and pam goes - how about you do that with your blog?

i told you i was slow sometimes, right?

so the new feature is called ask max. send me a picture at willitworkforme@gmail.com and ask me something about your look. i wll give you ideas, advice, and always compliments - either privately or here on the blog.

if you don't have a question, make one up okay, otherwise my feelings will be hurt

happy birthday poo!

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 04:00:00 +0000

i have to wish my little sister marshie-poo a very happy birthday!

ladies if you haven't already you should check out her blogs: Superblackgirl Speaks and Big Brother 10 recap - Real Talk on Reality TV. she's a great writer - better than i - but she sucks even more than i do at keeping her blogs updated lol.

in her defense though, she's really busy. anyway, in tribute to my marshie-poo, here's some pics of us over the years...well the years since digital cameras were invented anyway.

have a great day marsh! loves you.

cheap but good

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 19:44:00 +0000

hi ladies,

ya'll know i suck right?

it's been a million years since i posted in here and i apologize. my excuses are the same as always - it's really busy at work and the weather has been too nice to be inside typing. i was also getting a little um...action for a while there, which had me a bit distracted. but that's done now and i'm channeling my energy into my one true love - beauty.

sidebar: i'm trying out an all lower-case post today. let me know if you find it irritating and i promise to never do it again.

so those of you who know me personally know i am pretty much always broke-ass. i used to have a soul-sucking job that paid well, but i gave it up for a job i love that pays...not shit, but not enough money to support the bigger bucks that i had when i was working at my other job. my rent and my car suck up about 80% of my paycheque, but i can't get rid of them for reasons too complicated to get into here.

the point is, this year i've really had to scale back on my beauty expenditures. it saddens me to say i no longer hang out in the beauty boutique at my local shopper's drug mart. i've had to find ways to look fabulous on a budget and today i bring you "cheap but good", the best of my finds so far.

first on the agenda is st.ives peel-off hydroxy masque.

it contains a hydroxy complex designed to remove dead skin clear out all the "yuck" (i.e. impurities) beneath the surface of your skin. this stuff is the business, i'm telling you. you spread it across your face (tip: use a thick-ish layer or you'll have real trouble peeling it off), wait for it to dry completely, and then peel off. i don't know about you guys, but peeling off masques is really fun to me.
when i use this i notice a difference in my skin's texture right away, it's refined, feels deeply clean, and looks glowy. i can't remember how much i paid for this, but it was definitely less than five bucks so how can you go wrong?

the only caveat i would offer is that this stuff STINKS. and it makes your eyes sting a bit. nothing earth-shattering, but mildly annoying. but a small price to pay if you ask me.

the wiwfm verdict on this is yes!

next up is clean & clear oil absorbing sheets.

this is an oldie but goodie - i'm sure you're all very familiar with this product. i actually have a slightly different version than the one pictured - mine is in a green package and i think it has like a "fresh scent" of some kind. no matter. the point is that these little sheets suck up oil like i don't know what. i go everywhere with them and actually prefer using them to powder as i feel like it gives me a more natural look - i don't like my skin to be too matte.

only problem is, i feel like i can't do this in front of people. it's one thing to discreetly powder your nose in public, but pulling out a blotting sheet (or 2 - i need more than one to mop up my oil slick of a face) in front of friends just seems far too intimate.

anyway, i've used many different brands of oil absorbing sheets but i keep coming back to these ones because they're cheap and they work. i'd rather spend my money on something more exciting. verdict of oh yes on this one!

one last for today, but cheap but good is definitely going to become a wiwfm series.

tresemme thermal creations heat tamer spray. i ♥ tresemme.
every product i've used of theirs was dirt cheap, smelled amazing, and worked like a charm. this stuff is no exception. since i stopped relaxing my hair two or three years ago, it's a lot healthier but also a lot more fragile. i rely on my flat iron to get the pin-straight look i like, but i have to protect it from the heat. and that's where this jewel of a product comes in. i just spritz it over my hair in sections and comb through my fingers before i flatiron. it smells lovely - reminds me of apple juice.

the funny thing about protective sprays is that for a long time i was like "how do i know it's working?" until it dawned on me - because you're hair's not damaged you dummy! i swear, sometimes i'm so slow lol.

anyway, this stuff is less than three bucks at shoppers! and my canadian ladies knows that sdm stays overpriced so if it's dirt cheap there it must be free at wal-mart! i'll never go back to using any other spray to protect my hair. the wiwfm verdict on this is yes yes yes!

The Salicylic Acid Challenge - can you see the difference?

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:00:00 +0000

Hi Ladies,

Not to toot my own horn, but sometimes I am really on top of things, even if I don't realize it. I was just going through my "blog pictures" folder on my laptop here and came across the pictures that I took of my skin during my salicylic acid challeng so I could show you guys and we could collectively decide whether there's a visible difference in my skin (hence today's title). I had even created the post in draft, even though I never actually got around to writing it lol.

So without further ado, I give you The Salicylic Acid Challenge - can you see the difference?

For a month I used only products with salicylic acid in them to see whether and intense attack on my pesky clogged pores would prove fruitful. I give you my soldiers:

1. Olay Age Defying Anti-Wrinkle Replenishing Night Cream

According to Olay's site, this cream "renews skin's appearance at night when it needs it most while visibly reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles..." It's got pro-retinol and beta-hydroxy, and Vitamin E and is oil free and won't clog pores.

Sounds good to me.

2. Olay Age Defying Protective Renewal Lotion
Olay's site says this is "proven to reduce the visible appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and protect from the sun...". Contains beta hydroxy complex and a broad-spectrum SPF 15 sunscreen. It's also oil-free, greaseless, and non-comedogenic

3. Aveeno Clear Complexion Cream Cleanser

Y'all already know how I feel about this stuff right? This "creamy cleanser with moisture-rich soy extract" is the business. I would love this even if it didn't have salicylic acid in it but thank G-d it does.

The only other thing I did was an aspirin mask about once a week. What - you don't know about the Aspirin Mask? You better ask some-BODY! I guess that's going to have to be my next post, but in the meantime check out a cute and quick YouTube video on it.

Other than that, there really wasn't much to my regime. I washed with the Aveeno cleanser morning and night (in the evenings I used it after using MAC Cleanse-Off Oil to remove my makeup), used the day cream in the day and the night cream in the night. Asprin mask on Saturday mornings, and tried to avoid wearing makeup unnecessarily and also to remove it as soon as I got home from work. And of course I never ever ever sleep in my makeup. Never. So let me show you the results and then I'll tell you my thoughts:

Week 1 - just before I began the challenge:

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Okay right off the bat I have two thoughts: 1)why the hell are the pictures so small? Hope you can even see them and 2)I look awful in these pictures. But oh well.

I really don't know whether you guys can see a difference in my skin from these pictures but in real life I certainly do. I have fewer clogged pores and the ones I have aren't so big, my skin feels a million times better, and it's ever so slightly less greasy than usual. I read online today that Linda Wells says you have to give every skincare product at least six months to work so I'm going to continue with this plan of action at least until I run out of the stuffs. I'll update you then on my progress.

Oh and I'm sure quitting smoking wouldn't hurt either, but we're not going to get into that right now ;)

Product Review: Free Stuffs from pHisoderm

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:24:00 +0000

Hi Ladies!

We're not even going to get into how long it has been since I've posted. Suffice it to say I'm a blogging punk. My only defense is that the weather has been so nice lately I'm coming up with every possible reason to stay outside. Let's hope my blogging habits improve once it gets cold.

So anyway, on to today's products. The lovely ladies over at ChickAdvisor hooked me up with some products as part of their Product Review Club and all I had to do in return is write about them. But I can't drop science on beauty products without sharing it with my loyal readers now can I?

So first up is pHisoderm Daily Facial Cleanser for Dry-Normal Skin
Overall I'd give it a rating of just alright.

It's definitely gentle on my skin and it comes in a nice big bottle, which is a plus, but it has a weird smell that I didn't care for at all. The best way for me to descirbe it is as what West Indian people call "fresh". It's not a good thing, but I don't know what the Canadian equivalent would be...maybe gamey? Let's just say that in the Caribbean raw chicken smells "fresh" until you squeeze some lemon juice on it. Know what I mean? Although the smell was unpleasant it didn't linger and wouldn't stop me from using the cleanser again.

Anyway, apart from the smell the experience of using the cleanser was pretty good. It doesn't lather too much, which is good and when I used it first thing in the morning my face felt clean but not tight or dry. However when I used it to wash off my makeup, my face didn't feel clean and I had to re-wash it twice before it got off all my makeup. Not a good thing but I don't know too many cleansers that can remove all your makeup and get your face deep down clean in one shot so I won't hold that against it.

After using it all weekend, I did notice a couple of tiny pimples coming out on my face but it is my time of the month so I can't say for sure this cleanser caused it.

pHisoderm has never really been on my radar so I was glad to have a chance to test out some of their products. I think of it as being more natural and gentle and targeted to people with sensitive skin and when I'm choosing skincare products I tend to look more for heavy artillery. My skin is very oily and riddled with clogged pores and blackheads and is not sensitive at all so I wouldn't say this is ideal for me, but if you're looking for something gentle and non-drying that just gets your face clean this is the cleanser for you. The wiwfm verdict on this is....yes, but...as in yes it cleans your face but I doubt it will do much to improve the overall condition of your skin if it's as crappy as mine.

On to the next product: pHisoderm Body Wash in Aloe, Vitamin E, and Chamomile

This stuff couldn't have arrived at a better time. When I got home Friday evening after playing 18 holes of golf in the blazing sun I was a sweaty, dirty, sticky mess! I was so happy to see this in my mailbox that I jumped into the shower immediately.

I normally use Dove Cream Oil body wash and although I dearly love it, I don't really like using it when I'm hot and sweaty and dirty. It deposits a lot of moisture on my skin - which is normally a good thing, especially in the winter - but when it's hot and I feel filthy, I just want to be squeaky clean when I get out of the shower. I had high hopes for this (it even LOOKS clean in the bottle lol) and it did not disappoint. The smell is pleasant, fresh (in a good way - see my face wash review), fruity and vaguely floral. It lathers up nicely but not excessively, and rinses away clean with no sticky residue on the skin. I felt so good after washing it with it once that I did it again just for the heck of it. I've been using it all weekend and I'm still pleased with the results. I will say that it's a bit runny so be careful or this will spill and you'll end up wasting it.

Another great thing about this cleanser is that it's unisex - I've even gotten my male roommate using it. Normally he and I each buy our own body wash which gets a little crowded on our tiny shower shelf, but this is something we can both use.

While nothing can take the place of my favourite body wash, this will make a great backup cleanser for the days when I just want to get clean without all the extra fragrance, creams, and oil. I would probably buy this again. So the wiwfm verdict on this is yes!

i suck.

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:33:00 +0000

Hi ladies!
Yeah so my promise to post every day for a week or whatever it was was clearly a big fat flop. I apologize. Work was a bit nutty and the weather was beautiful and you know I hate being inside when it's hot so...yeah. I did do a couple of posts at my other blog "And then he never called me". Check 'em out if you're interested.

The good news is I'm on vacation from work this week and I finally figured out how to get online with my laptop so that means I have ample opportunity to post. And with pictures, since I'll actually have my camera nearby. You'll be sick of me soon :)

More tidbits about me

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:51:00 +0000

It's kind of a slow day at work so I've been drifting along the web getting caught up on some blogs. Although I love this blog, sometimes I get wistful at other people's freeform blogs in which they can just write about anything they feel like and not be confined to one set subject matter. But then I remembered that I am the master of my fate and the captain of my sould (remember that from Jaleesa's wall on A Different World?) and as such can blog about whatever I damn well please. So watch out. I'm going on a blog rampage this week - seven posts for seven days starting now. About anything I want (but I have to keep it 30% beauty if I want to qualify for Total Beauty's network lol).
Hope you ladies enjoy. Maybe you have questions you want to ask me and then I could blog about the answers. Wouldn't that be fun?

My Wedding FOTD

noreply@blogger.com (max.fabulous) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:43:00 +0000

Hi ladies!
Hope y'all had a good weekend.
Mine was pretty good as it featured tonnes of sunbathing and dressing up for my friend Dove's wedding on Saturday. I love dressing up. At first I was going to play it low key with just a blouse and knee-length skirt but then I remembered that it was a Trini wedding and Trini people love to do it up. It was an extravaganza of sequins, chiffon, and taffeta I tell you. I was glad I went with the dress I did.

Anyway. this was the second wedding I went to this summer and I did my hair & makeup the same both times so I thought I would share it with you as I believe I've found the perfect look for summer occasions when I want to look pretty but not overly done up. And since I actually remember what I used, I thought I'd do my very first FOTD for you. Let me know what you think:

This is what I used:

Face:
Maybelline Pure Makeup in Caramel mixed with MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC50
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC50

(I patted the concealer under my eyes and buffed it on my cheeks and upper lip using Scandalous Beauty's awesome method)

Set with MAC Blot Powder in Dark (applied very lightly with a brush - I find it looks ashy if I use a puff)

Lorac Hot Flash (just the bronzer) on my cheeks, chin, top of forehead, and bridge of nose.

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion (of course)

Filled in my brows with dark brown eyeliner and then blended it out with a MAC angle brush and set with Tweezerman Brow Gel

Too Faced Caribbean in a Compact in Snow Bunny as a highlighter on my brow bones (mine broke and all the colours blended together to create a beautiful champagne-y colour that makes me look candlelit)

MAC Antiqued in the crease
MAC Expensive Pink on the lid
MAC Shroom in the inner corners.

I lined the insides of my upper lids only with some Rimmel eyeliner in black (the double-ended one that's black on one side and white on the other)

Ardell Brow & Lash Accelerator Treatment Gel as a mascara primer

Lancôme Hypnôse mascara (never leave home without it)

Cheeks:
MAC Sheertone Shimmer blush in Breezy
(I learned from Sephora's blog how to apply blush properly - who knew?)
I layered this very sheerly over the bronzer so that I would get that lovely pinky-broze flush. I liked it at the time but looking at the picture I'm a little disappointed because you can hardly see it.

Lips:
Well in the picture I didn't have lipstick on but I wore MAC Love Nectar lip glass over HIP Lip Pigment in Coy #458.

What do you guys think???