Unintelligent Design

A Quick Update

2011-02-01T14:31:00.000-05:00

I am so sorry I haven't been blogging. I've gotten new goodies and haven't had a chance to photo/swatch them. All five of us have been passing the flu & various germs back and forth since around the new year. Hopefully, I'll get back on track soon. :)

Until then, meet the newest addition to the family - Miss Fiona Snapple.

Current (Evening) Skincare for Fall

2010-11-19T14:45:00.008-05:00

First half of this post HERE where I describe my current skin conditions and needs.

Evening

Step 1 - Boscia Makeup Breakup Cleansing Oil - I use this if I've worn makeup that day. I use this all year round. It is a staple and an honest to goodness HG! I love Fancl about the same - they feel the same and perform the same - except, Boscia has the minty tingle and is more accessible than Fancl.

Step 2 - First Aid Beauty Cleanser - I also consider this one a HG product. I've gone through 3 tubes of it and still love it. When I've run out in the past, my skin has almost immediately started looking crappier. So, I stick with this.

Step 3 - Chantecaille Pure Rosewater - I started using this because I had a little trial bottle. I didn't expect anything. It smells nice, that's about the extent of what I expected. It actually makes my skin "feel good" when I use it though. If my skin is tight, itchy, flushed, whatever, this seems to calm it down. I'm sure there are cheaper options and I've tried a couple - Mario Badescu and Julie Hewett - but they don't compare.

Step 4 - REN ClearCalm Replenishing Night Serum - Love it. I noticed a difference overnight. It soothes and calms your skin. May or may not treat acne (not sure on this part) and it meant to be used before your acne treatment or moisturizer.

This calming formula reduces redness, minimizes the look of scars, and leaves skin feeling comfortable. Its balancing and antioxidant benefits help skin respond optimally to additional treatment steps.

Step 5 - Sothys Active Cream - Yet another HG product. I've used this one on and off for 8 years or so. It is really comforting and rich but sinks in immediately. Here's what Sothys has to say about it: Active Cream works to regenerate, hydrate and soothe the skin. It contains ingredients, including liquorice extract (anti-inflammatory, healing); allantoin (healing agent); Biostimulins of corn grains (stimulates cell renewal). An immediate feeling of comfort is regained and a well moisturized and matte skin is achieved.

REN ClearCalm Anti-Acne Treatment Mask - 3 Nights a Week I put this mask on after cleansing and leave it for about 20 minutes. This one is really a miracle worker. It smells a little strong but totally worth it. Tough it out... it's just 10 minutes. :)

What it does: Combat and help prevent blemishes to achieve a clear, calm, even-toned complexion. This soothing, calming formula provides antimicrobial action to help prevent the spread of acne-causing bacteria while reducing the appearance of pore size and redness. It also works to minimize evidence of past breakouts, lightening the look of pigmented acne scars.

Chantecaille Detox Clay Mask - I use this about once a week.

Guerlain Holiday 2010 Meteorites - Perles D'Or & Poudre D'Or

2010-11-17T13:58:00.000-05:00

Today I got the loose version of the holiday meteorites and thought I'd share pics. I shared my thoughts about meteorites in the post HERE earlier this week.

Skincarerx.com Friends & Family Sale!

2010-11-16T20:10:00.004-05:00

Just a heads up to my readers that SkincareRx (also apothica.com and skinbotanica) is having their friends and family event this week until December 1st and they gave the code to their favorite bloggers first.

The code is FF25 and is good for 25% off (some brand exclusions, check their site for more info).

Also, be sure to keep an eye out for their Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. If you're not already a facebook fan, click "like" on their pages so you can keep up with upcoming exclusive offers & contests.

SkincareRx and its sister sites carry tons of brands including Dermalogica, La Roche-Posay, REN, Paul & Joe and many more.

Happy Holidays!

Random Swatching - Spot the Cheap Stuff

2010-11-15T14:34:00.000-05:00

I was at CVS yesterday and I'm not really sure what possessed me but suddenly I looked down and had 2 Wet n Wild holiday palettes in my hand. Oh, yes I do... it was the red eyeshadow. I ~~wanted~~ *NEEDED* that red eyeshadow. I figured at $5 it was no big risk so held on to them and ended up buying them.

Anyone that reads this blog or knows me, knows that I am a label whore. It's not something I'm proud of - choosing form over function, being a makeup purist, a snob, whatever you want to call it - it's just the way it is. I used to rationalize it by saying that if I was going to pay $12 for a drugstore product, I might as well just go buy department store brands. Sounded good to my ears anyway.

Now, when anyone asks me, I tell the truth. The truth is this: There are probably many good drugstore products out there and I've come across a few but I always end up giving them away because I can't stand to see WnW or Revlon bumping uglies with my Chantecaille, Dior and Chanel. There, I said it. The packaging on almost all drugstore products (except in the asian brands) is sorely lacking. I buy makeup not because I need it but because I like it. I like pretty, sparkly, girly things and if I'm going to blow my money on non-essential items, then I'm going all out!

Anyway, I did come home with these WnW palettes and I have to say that I was impressed. There were 3-4 very good quality shadows in both palettes and 2-3 sucky ones. Honestly, the same thing happens in Dior quints. Bad news, the red one (the whole reason I got sucked in) was a piece of shit.

Up above, you saw some swatches on my hand. Are there any cheap ones on there? Are there any high end? Am I just messing with your head? :) Go up and look again and see what you think. I'm going to give the answers below.
..........
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OK, ya back? Made your decisions?

1 = Dior (Endless Shine Quint)
2 = WnW (Coloricon Palette)
3 = Dior (Endless Shine Quint)
4 = WnW (Coloricon Palette)
5 = Dior (Endless Shine Quint)
6 = WnW (Coloricon Palette)

I wasn't trying to dupe colors, just pulling colors that I had handy and that were in the same color families. Did you have it right? I was pretty impressed with the WnW.

Here are some more pics.
7 = Bobbi Brown
8 = WnW
9 = Bobbi Brown
10 = WnW
11 = Chantecaille
12 = WnW
13 = Chantecaille
14 = WnW
15 = WnW

Guerlain Metorites Voyage Poudre d'Or (Holiday 2010)

2010-11-14T18:08:00.000-05:00

This is so pretty. A pure luxury purchase. I love meteorites. You don't *think* you need them or that they really make a difference, but they do. First, they just make me feel pampered and pretty... just owning them, lol. Every time I open them I get a whiff of the candied violets and it makes me instantly happy (Yes, I AM a ball sniffer). What they do depends on which ones you get but overall (unless you get some of the older LE sparkly ones or some of the bright all pink ones) what they do is give you a glow and sort of create a soft focus effect on your face. The balls and the voyage are my faves. I don't care for the pressed ones that have a beaded surface. The compact on those is impractical and they're much more shimmery than the other formulations.

Different colors counteract certain issues your complexion may have. Green for red splotches, Purple for sallow skin, etc. I really would recommend the Mythic voyage meteorites to anyone that is fair to light skinned. Over the years, I've gone through 5 of the refills. The compacts are expensive but you can score them on ebay for fairly cheap (that's how I got my original one) and the refills cost around $45-$50.

Dior Five Golds Holiday 2010 Quint - Swatches and EOTD

2010-11-13T16:14:00.002-05:00

I thought this quint would be really nasty on me. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I fell in love with the two bronzy/gold colors. I'm always up for silver. But the black shadow & the champagne one? Meh. The champagne one's texture leaves much to be desires. It's kind of hard and just yucky.

I thought that these colors would be way too warm for me, but I tested it in the store and those bronzes made my blue eyes jump right out of my face. Maybe I'm having a bad day today, maybe the lighting in the store was more flattering, maybe I'm a nutjob.... whatever the reason, it just doesn't look as good as it did the other night.

If you don't have quadrillions of silvers and bronzes already, then it may be a nice choice for you. If you (like most of us) already have colors in these color families that you love, I'd skip this one. It's not bad, it's just not very special or great.

I wasn't planning on taking full face pics, but I couldn't get an up close pic that was true to color, so I had to include a pic of my ugly mug (sans lipstick). The color is very true in that one.

Products Used:
Laura Mercier Silk Creme
MUFE Full Cover mixed with Dior Skinflash Pen in Gold (under eyes)
Guerlain Meteorites Voyage in Poudre d'Or (LOVE)
NARS Douceur Blush
Dior Five Golds (Champagne, 2 bronzes)
MAC Chamomile on browbone
MAC Petro Blue Pearlglide
Bare Escentuals Buxom Mascara
YSL Brow Pencil #4

NARS Sex Appeal, A Grow-er not a Show-er

2010-11-12T13:46:00.003-05:00

I'm sure a lot of you are with me when I say when swatches of NARS Sex Appeal started popping up, I immediately decided to pass on buying. I mean, what's the point? It's INVISIBLE, right? Noooooo. It's really not. It is underneath Douceur on the swatch above. You can kind of see it but still not very impressive. What is impressive is what happens when you put it on your cheeks. Ach, Mein Gott! I can't speak for everyone, but for me - light skinned with ruddy cheeks - this blush is absolutely gorgeous on. It somehow counteracts the redness in my cheeks and gives me a really healthy, natural, pinky peach glow.

I took my mom to the Sephora VIB event last night. I saw Sex Appeal and decided to give it a try. So, not looking in a mirror (because I know how I am and I would have found something to love about it regardless) I put some on my cheeks while my mom looked on. What was the response of every girl's harshest critic and greatest champion???? The woman who constantly says "You have too much makeup. You don't need to buy anymore" changed her tune to "Oh, Erika, that's gorgeous. It's so natural looking and it really perks your whole face up." Really, mom? Well, I looked in the mirror and she was right, so in the basket it went. I also picked up Douceur while I was there because somehow I'd neglected to buy it before. PS - Thanks, mama, for going shopping with me. As always, good times! :)

Current (Morning) Skincare for Fall

2010-11-08T23:48:00.002-05:00

Ahhh, I love fall. I love cooler weather. I am so glad to be done with the 95° plus temperatures (someone please remind me when I start bitching in February). But, with the weather change comes some rather unfortunate changes with my skin. Gone are the days of needing to blot & powder several times a day. Say hello to dehydrated, flaky skin which, by the way, still wants to have acne. My skin generally doesn't stay like this all winter, it just takes it time to get used to the abrupt change. It seems to be getting more severe as I age.

I have been tinkering, trying to find a suitable routine that will take care of the dry patches, flakes, lines & monthly breakouts while not causing new breakouts. It's been a lot of trial and error but here is what is currently working for me.

Morning
Step 1 - Boots No7 Age Defence Cleansing Balm - First off, 'defence' bugs the hell out of me.... maybe the Brits spell defense differently, like behaviour and paedophilia. This stuff costs around $9. In the morning, I don't really have anything to wash off my face but I do feel like it needs freshening up from the skincare products and laying on it all night. I use this on dry skin and rinse with warm water but you don't have to rinse. You can use a tissue or cotton pad to wipe it off. Best of all, it hasn't broken me out, will remove eye makeup and leave skin clean & supple.

Step 2 - Awake Exolizer - Everything they claim is true. A clarifying serum that removes dead surface cells, revealing a more luminous complexion. Smoothes skin texture and uncovers pure translucency. It exceeded my expectations. I had to start slowly because I started to peel a bit. It probably would not affect me that way in the summer. Bonus, it smells fabulous (like Cypress Oil). Retail = $45 but you can get it on Beauty.com and use a 20% off code when they have one.

Step 3 - Jack Black Protein Booster Skin Serum - This stuff has all kinds of good stuff in it and I don't care if I don't have the right "equipment" to be using it. It is loaded with Peptides, Antioxidants & Organic Omega-3. It sinks right into the skin and leaves your face smooth. It doesn't smell great - like broken vitamin e caps - but at least it doesn't smell fishy like I expected the Omega-3 to smell. I read all the ~~marketing~~ 'science' and had to try it. I'm glad I did. It is $60 but can be found at several places online that you can use coupons.

Step 4 - La Mer The Moisturizing Gel Cream - I never bought into the "miracle broth" hype but I really, REALLY like this moisturizer. It's the perfect one for me under foundation. It doesn't ball up, my skin can breathe through it and it thoroughly hydrates my face.

Step 5 - Shiseido Nutriperfect Eye Serum & Bobbi Brown Extra Eye Balm - I can't say that either have really made a difference in my undereye area except the Shiseido hydrates better than any other I've tried and immediately the fine lines are invisible. Doesn't seem to do much for bags or dark circles. I use the Bobbi Brown Eye Balm sort of as an undereye concealer primer.

Seeing how it's almost midnight, I'm going to keep this post to the morning routine and do another post tomorrow on the evening routine. :) Thanks for reading!

Rock & Republic Blush & Lip Gloss Swatches

2010-11-04T14:55:00.000-04:00

I finally got around to swatching all of my R&R blushes. If they weren't such a steal, I'd be unhappy with AllNighter and X-rated. It's not that they're bad, it's just that they don't look good on my cheeks. X-Rated is just tooooooo red for my already ruddy cheeks. And AllNighter, well, it's goddamn orange. I know Immoral is orange too, but somehow, I can work with that one. I knew when I bought them that I probably wouldn't like them but thought I'd give them a shot since they worked out to $7.50 each.

Here are 3 of the lip glosses. If you're familiar with the way Chantecaille Lip Chics smell, that's exactly what these smell like to my nose. They're nice, but they didn't wow me. That said, I'm not much of a lipgloss girl. I have a couple that I love & use a lot (Guerlain Pomme du Desir is one) but I don't tend to go out searching for them. Cougar & Mistress are definitely going up on the blog sale. I really liked Sexy Beast - it's one of my colors that I buy over and over again in different brands and forms.

Eyeliner Comparison Swatches - MAC Black Line, Clinique Egyptian, Stila Moray

2010-11-03T11:56:00.000-04:00

I thought that Black Line was very similar to Stila Moray Smudgestick & Clinique Egyptian Creamshaper. So, today I decided to swatch them side by side and see.

If we consider Black Line the "control", then:

Egyptian's base is more brown than Black Line's.
Moray is almost spot on, but it needs more black. You could probably get the same effect by using Moray over a black liner.
They all felt pretty much the same when I applied them, but when I tried to smudge them, Moray & Black Line didn't budge, while Egyptian smeared.
Stila is $20 for .01oz, Clinique is $14.50 for .04oz, MAC is $14.50 for .04oz.

Here are comparisons to a few other liners just for fun. :)

Givenchy Le Prisme in Khaki Egerie - Thoughts, Pics, Swatches

2010-11-02T11:22:00.001-04:00

I passed these testers probably a hundred times and never had any interest. Until one day, Khaki Egerie drew my eye and pulled me in. If you've used Givenchy eyeshadow quads in the past, you know what I' m talking about... "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, prepare to be cursed out, jeered and discarded."

So, all that in mind, it's amazing that I even took a look at these. The colors of this particular quad though are absolutely bloody gorgeous and they demand to be sweet-talked and stroked.

Breakdown:
✓ Packaging - Boxy and elegant, typical Givenchy
✓ Color Scheme - Beautiful, all colors work well together or you could mix any 2, or a wash of 1.
✓ Texture - Very soft, not too powdery, not chalky. Just smooth and soft.
✓ Pigmentation - Very pigmented. Not stain your skin kind of pigmentation but you don't have to pack it on.
✓ Pricing - Expensive at $56 but about the norm for a high end quad. (I'll never rank something crappy b/c it's expensive. I knew what it cost when I got it. )

Bottom Line: I'd say this one is worth the price. I'm not sure about the others because there's nothing terribly unique or enchanting amongst the remaining quads. If you can find a deal, fo for it!

MAC Pearlglide Swatches - Undercurrent, Black Line, Petrol Blue

2010-11-01T14:00:00.000-04:00

I'm not interested in MAC. It's just not my thing. However, they have my favorite eyeliner formula ever. Pearlglides are pretty much the perfect eyeliner for me. They go on smooth & creamy, very pigmented and within minutes of application they won't budge. For example, after I took my swatch pics, I took my t-shirt and tried to rub them off. I wasn't gentle at all, but these puppies didn't smudge at all. After a few seconds of rubbing, they faded a bit but they stayed right where I had put them. At $14.50, they're cheaper than Urban Decay 24/7 liners and they are soooooo much better!

A Few of My Favorite Things (October 2010)

2010-10-28T16:14:00.001-04:00

Skincare:
Cleanser - First Aid Beauty Foaming, Boscia Makeup Breakup
Scrub - Yu-Be Foaming Skin Polish
Mask - Chantecaille Detox
Treatment - Rexaline Hydra-Force, Sircuit Skin Fixzit
Moisturizer - Rexaline Hydra-Dose (Night), IQ Derma Clear Remedy (Day, freebie w/ dermstore order)
Eyes - Shiseido Nutriperfect Eye Serum, Bobbi Brown Eye Balm (Day), Rexaline Hydra-EyeZone (Night)

Face:
Primer - Nada, haven't found anything that doesn't just make me greasy or break me out.
Foundation - Chantecaille Future Skin (Alabaster), Diorskin Forever Compact (#020)
Concealer - I haven't been using any. It's not that my skin's so great that I don't need it, it's just that lately I feel like it just makes me look worse.
Powder - Guerlain Meteorites (Mythic), Chantecaille Compact Makeup (Bamboo)
Blush - Becca Sylph, R&R Kinky, R&R Spank
Setting - I've been using Chantecaille Pure Rosewater a lot lately after I do my makeup to take care of any dry/flaky areas due to the weather change.

Eyes:
Primer - NARS Eyeshadow Base
Shadow - Chantecaille Les Muses Ethereal Eyes Palette, R&R Veil, Chanel Taupe Grise & Lotus, Bobbi Brown Day to Night Cool Palette
Liner - Chanel Gris Le Stylo, Stila Smudgestick in Moray, MAC Pearlglide (Bankroll)
Mascara - Chantecaille Faux Cils followed by Bare Escentuals Buxom while still wet
Brows - Diorshow Brow Styler & YSL Brow Pencil #4

Lips:
Gloss - Chanel Extrait in Emoi
Lipstick - Chantecaille Lip Chic in Tea Rose & Anais, Dior Serum de Rouge from the Tailleur Bar Set

Body:
Body Wash - Molton Brown Paradisiac Pink Pepperpod
Lotion - Molton Brown Paradisiac Pink Pepperpod (I wish they made an EDT or body spray of this!)
Perfume - Hermes Ambre Narguile, Dior Hypnotic Poison (I love when fall arrives so I can break these two out, they're two of my favorites), Narciso Rodriguez for Her

Dior Pink Golds Minaudiere Palette Holiday 2010 Swatches

2010-10-25T15:30:00.000-04:00

This is a quality piece, a collectible to be sure. The compact is heavy and beautiful. I love the little hinged cover over the lipglosses. I normally hate mixed palettes because I hate the powder migrating into the creams. Yuck.

When I first opened the palette, I was a bit disappointed. On first touch, it feels a bit chalky. I think you're going to have to play with these a little bit to see which applicator/method works best for you. I can normally make just about anything work with my fingers.... not this. It did work extremely well with the sponge applicator included. I haven't tried a brush yet. The colors are gorgeous. I'd call the darkest and medium shades metallic rather than frosty. The lightest shade is on the frosty side. The lipglosses seem nice and suit the palette well.

Bottom Line: Colors are excellent and all work well together. Texture (after the initial dip) is fairly soft and well pigmented. Not a must have unless you are a collector. I think all of the colors are dupeable. What cannot be duped is the luxe packaging - and those of us that are high end hoors know that's sometimes one of the biggest deciding factors before making a purchase. :)

Dior Tailleur Bar Palette & Serum de Rouge

2010-10-22T12:10:00.001-04:00

This palette is amazing. I'll add pics a little bit later of the packaging & the palette itself. The colors are gorgeous and the quality far surpasses anything I've laid eyes/hands on from Dior.... ever. They are creamy soft (but still powder) and intensely pigmented except for the fleshtone one which I just can't really get to in order to provide a good swatch. $90 is steep. Do you NEED it? No. But you know you want it. :D

How to Depot Rock & Republic Eyeshadow & Blush

2010-10-21T01:38:00.000-04:00

I know that depotting these e/s from their awesome packaging is unthinkable but I have too many eyeshadows now to sift through all of them trying to find the colors I want.

Blog Sale - New stuff added!!!

2010-10-17T22:30:00.000-04:00

Rock & Republic Eyeshadow Swatches

2010-10-15T13:35:00.002-04:00

Bobbi Brown Shimmering Nudes EOTD

2010-10-15T12:27:00.000-04:00

I actually did this on Monday and never got around to posting it. I have pink eye now and can't play with makeup so figured I'd just post an old one for the blog.

UD Eden PP

BB Nude Beach on Lid

BB Nude Spice in Crease

BB Espresso in Outer V & lower lashline

MAC Chamomile on browbone

Chanel Gris Stylo

BE Buxom Mascara

Diorshow Brow Styler

Bobbi Brown Day to Night Cool Eye Palette

2010-10-14T14:32:00.000-04:00

I generally don't pay any attention to Bobbi Brown because her stuff usually bores me. When I saw the swatches for these from KarlaSugar I knew I had to have at least one palette.

I have to say I am not disappointed. The colors are gorgeous and have great pigmentation. They're soft and easy to work with. The black (Charcoal) is by far the deepest, most velvety black I've ever tried.

This beauty is $45 and limited edition so grab it while you can.

Chanel Emoi Extrait Lipgloss - Lip Swatch

2010-10-13T18:42:00.001-04:00

I adore this color. I was fooling around today with some halloween ideas and put this on and realized I hadn't taken a picture of it on my lips. My nose looks all glowy b/c I used Chantecaille Radiance Aquablush down the bridge. Love that stuff. Anyway, I would have done a full face pic but the Halloween makeup was a total fail. Anyone tried these glosses? Which colors are your favorites?

Chantecaille Lip Chic Swatches - Anais, China Rose, Tea Rose, Zinnia

2010-10-11T14:56:00.000-04:00

Please ignore the yucky wrought iron, I took them outside to get truer color pics. :)

These are my favorite lipstick formulas ever. They feel very soothing on your lips and are excellent for those that don't care for the heavy feel of lipsticks or sticky mess of gloss. Did I mention they smell like vanilla bean ice cream? These retail for $30 each and can sometimes be found on evilbay for much less. This is one lip product that I consider worth the splurge.

Windmills

2010-10-09T10:20:00.001-04:00

I am ridiculously excited to see windmills, lol. More pics from the farms later.

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Dior Blush Stash

2010-10-04T16:38:00.000-04:00

I don't know how I did it, but I managed to score 7 Dior blush testers and a brush for $22.50 on Ebay. That's just a little more than 1/2 the price of a single blush. I've never gotten into dior blush too much because, honestly, they just don't perform like a $40 blush. If I were going to buy a blush in the $40-range then I'd get an Armani, Rock & Republic, 2 Laura Mercier or 2 Shu Uemura blushes.

These are very nice. They're exceptionally soft but also powdery. Be prepared for blush dust when you use these. They have a scent but I can't quite describe it. It's a sweet floral but it's subtle and you really have to stick your honker in there to smell it. My favorites of the bunch are Touch of Blush, Pinky Beige & Peachy Keen.