Quick and Dirty - Work Makeup

Crap.  You just woke up, and you're running late for work.  Awesome.  You're not already late, so you could in theory do your makeup, but you only have about ten minutes - and you're not the best in the world with the makeup. Some people would say that is not enough time.

Those people are dumb.  Ten minutes is plenty of time.  Here's what I use to get my OH CRAP work makeup face on.  Roommate clocked me at eight and a half minutes, and I wouldn't say any of it is really that hard.  Ka-bam.

First thing I do is bust out the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (20.00 USD).  I like Sin, because it looks pretty on its own if I'm feeling super knackered, but any primer will work.  Don't have primer?  Put a bit of concealer on your lids with a finger.  HURRY UP YOU'RE RUNNING LATE.  

picture from urbandecay.com

While the primer is setting a bit (I don't ever put eye shadow directly onto just-wet primer), I put on Skin79 Hot Pink BB Cream (24.99 USD direct from Skin79, I paid 12.99 USD from a reseller on eBay).  

picture from skin79northamerica.com

I like this because it knocks out about 75% of my flaws in one go, it keeps my skin matte, and I've genuinely noticed a difference in how it helps with dark marks left by my cystic acne.  (I'll go more into BB creams in a later post, but until then, Musings of a Muse is the internet authority on them.  Go read for extra credit!)  You could also use a tinted moisturizer or face primer at this step.  A lot of it depends on how good your skin is.  Just rub that stuff on your face, focusing on your problem areas.

Hokay, we've got that spackled on.  Let's go back to the eyes.  For work in a hurry, we're not doing one of those five-shadow looks.  You've got places to be.  We're using two.  For me, I use Urban Decay Eye Shadow in Scratch (18.00 USD) all over the eye.

picture from urbandecay.com

You don't even need to use a little brush, a crease brush here will work (one of those bigger fluffy ones).  Screw it, use your finger if you wanna.

Done.  Now, for some fun and some pop, I use Sugarpill loose powder in Decora (12.00 USD).

picture from sugarpillshop.com

(Please note: I'm a pretty tan girl with big glasses.  If Decora's too much of a bright girl for you, you could also try Birthday Girl (12.00 USD) the same way.) Use the same fluffy brush and put that in the crease, going up as far as you want to toward your browbone.

You can curl your lashes, depending on how much time you have.  Slap some eyeliner on (I use Sephora's kohl liner in black because it's easy to apply in time crunches, and because it was 3.00 USD on clearance when I bought it.)  Put some mascara on - I use Tarte's Lights, Camera, Lashes! (19.00 USD) religiously because I don't have to curl my lashes when I'm in a hurry when I use it.

from tarte.com

Okay, eyes done.  Let's cover up the rest of my terribad face.  I use Benefit's Play Sticks in Tea Party (36.00 USD) since it's got good enough coverage to function as a concealer and a foundation at the same time. 

from benefitcosmetics.com

I just use this under my eyes and on any problem areas and then spackle it on with a densely packed brush.  You can use your fingers, depending on how big of a hurry you're in.  Slap on some powder to set it (any sort of translucent powder will do, but if you have awful skin like me, you can use some pressed powder with a fluffy brush - I use Hello, Flawless! by Benefit in Honey (34.00 USD)).

Okay, face done.  Blush.  When I'm in a hurry, the last thing I want to do is mess around with powder.  I use Majolica Majorca Blood On (I paid 12.00 USD on eBay), a sheer gel blush that makes me look naturally flushed.  I use it on my lips, too.

Speaking of lips - use a stain or if you're using a gel/cream blush, slap that on there.  If you're using a stain, pop some lip balm on there.  You're going to work, hooker, not the club.  Chapstick, whatever, just something to make your mouth look dewy.

BAM.  Done.  Hopefully it took you less than ten minutes.  NOW RUN.

Makeup Time: Urban Decay Haul

Urban Decay's been around for like, fifteen years.  When I say that, it makes me feel really old, which I suppose I am in terms of bloggers, but sheesh.  They've been around since '96.  I was sixteen then, and Urban Decay had colors and their colors had names that were absolutely up my alley.  I used to wear Asphyxia and Pallor lipsticks at the same time, and I eventually owned every single one of their nail polishes.  That's right, UD used to make nail polish.  Recently, to celebrate their 15th, they released two nail polishes.  I couldn't justify the silver holo to myself, but I sure as hell got the purple shimmery one because yes, even though I've got fifteen purple shimmery polishes, I need more.  Dammit.  And that lead to a minihaul.

Fishnet, the closest thing I have to a "signature" eye color (I've gone through four of them) is on sale for four dollars.  It's a gorgeous shimmery purple color.

I also got Vice, the aforementioned UD nail polish.  I haven't worn it yet, but I'll snap a photo when I do!  They're 15.00 USD right now, and I believe only on urbandecay.com.

The fucking topper has a skull on it.  I could die.  I also snagged one of the Revolution lipsticks, since I'm kind of leaning more toward lipstick than lipgloss as I age.  I'm just lazy nowadays.  These are 22.00 USD.

That for some reason I forgot to swatch.  Derp.  And because UD reformulated their De-Slick compacts, they're selling the old stock for 16.00 USD.  So I grabbed one of those too because one can never de-slick enough when they live in Houston in summertime.

I wish UD would do more nail polishes.  Maybe sometime soon?

Haul - Treat yo' self.

So, today my roommate and I went out and we had a fantastic day.  We decided to have a Treat Yo' Self day, a la Tom and Donna.  (And in case you watch terrible TV and don't know what we're talking about, here you go.)

First we went for massages, which was divine, and then we went to The Original Marinis Empanada House.  It's a dining institution around here, and oh my god, so good.  The empanadas are big enough where two's a meal, and one of the dessert ones are just too damn much sweet.  (I got a brisket one and a pizza one for my meal, and then a dulce de leche one for dessert.  If you live anywhere near Katy, Texas, please run there.  It's actual dulce de leche, not the crappy overly sweet stuff that just tastes like caramel.  Bleh.  That stuff sucks.)  And then after all of that, we went to Ulta.  I may have gone overboard for my teeny tiny budget - but it's Treat Yo' Self day.  THE BEST DAY OF THE YEAR!

Oh, yes, I caved and got Naked 2.  I normally hate muted colors - taupe is basically another word for depressing in my book - but just in case any super higherups from my company come by to visit (again), it'd be nice to have something that's not my usual red or orange.  I'm not going to swatch it just because everyone and their grandmother has, but in case you live in a cave (a cave with terrible TV, you should really move!), here's the back.

The eyeliner I got is Urban Decay's 24/7 in Woodstock, and honestly, it's more my speed - fucks to the yeah hot pink eyeliner!

I look forward to wearing that with a lot of bright purples and pinks, which is a lot more my speed.  (Casual Fridays?  Those are the best because I get to rock whatever I want.)

This is the Eye Studio liner by Maybelline, the gel liner.  This is the only way I can line my top lid, actually - I suck using eye pencils up there, or even the liners that are like markers.  It's kind of depressing.  If you can do it, I tip my hat to you!  The round pot of orange stuff up there is Maybelline Color Tattoo in Fierce and Tangy.  I'll probably swatch it later and do a super easy peasy eye look with it.

And here are the things I went into Ulta to get anyway, the two prettiest colors from the Nicki Minaj collection by OPI.

I cannot WAIT to get these on my nails, oh my god, eeeee.

Getting to Know You

One of the things I like about reading blogs is that they're so incredibly voyeuristic.  And honestly, who doesn't enjoy a little casual peeking into other people's lives?  Today on my way to work I nearly got into an accident because the huge truck in front of me rubbernecked a fire.  So today you get to know more about me!  Susan from one of my favorite beauty blogs, Going Green Glamorously tagged me for a facts meme, so here we go!

Questions from Susan

1) What are your favorite websites to waste time on?
Besides the standard ones like Tumblr and Facebook, I'm a huge fan of Geekologie, I spend years on Beautylish, and FailBlog.  Basically anything that makes me laugh or has to do with makeup.

2) Where's your favorite place to shop for makeup?
Sephora is probably a copout answer.  I will say that besides Sephora, I love love love Sugarpill.  Seriously, when I get a yen to buy eye makeup, I go here first.  I also love a lot of smaller shops too.  Shiro makes mineral shadows and amazing lip products, and I'm also digging VictorianDisco.  ... but yeah, I love Sephora most.

3) What's your favorite physical feature?
On me?  I love my eyes and mouth.  I tend to play up one or the other, usually my eyes - I think my mouth is usually best served by plain gloss.

BB Cream hates the flash, but yeah, this makes me happy.  On my eyes, I've used all of Sugarpill's Burning Heart palate, their loose shadow in Decora, and BadGal liner/mascara by Benefit.

4) What's your favorite magazine?
I love Whole Living - I read it the way some girls read Cosmo.  I also love Bust - it's Girlie feminism at its best.  I can't read most "standard" fashion magazines - I don't need dating advice, I don't need to know how to kiss a boy, and I sue as hell don't need sex tips.  Dammit.

5) What's your favorite decade of music?
I'm a child of the 80s, but I love a lot of music from the 1970s.  My father raised me on classic rock, so I'm never happier than when I'm bopping around to Golden Earring or Foreigner or Journey.  It's like coming home and having a hot bath - totally cozy and happy.

6) What's your favorite hobby?
I love writing.  Love love love.  I love writing fiction, I love writing this blog, I love writing for writing's sake.  It's the first thing I think about when I wake up, and the last thing I think about before I go to bed.  It's my hobby and my passion.

7) What was your major in college or your favorite subject in high school?
Predictably, my favorite subject in high school and my major in college was English with a focus in Creative Writing.  I read constantly, I write constantly, and writing a beauty blog just seemed like a really natural progression.  It was an easy way to meld two things I really love.

8)  Would you rather be a rock star or the president?
A rock star, totally.  Being the president is way too much responsibility for me.  I think it's a job that if you're willing to take on easily, you probably aren't ready for it.

9) Boxers or briefs? :)
On guys?  Boxerbriefs!  They're the best thing ever, and kind of hot.

10) If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
I would love to be able to talk to animals.  My cats are a huge part of my life, and it would be nice to understand what they're saying more than I already do.  (They have very distinctive meows, so I already know a little bit of what they're saying.)

11) What's your dream job?
I'd love to write for the Weekly World News, but alas, they're gone now.  I don't know what to do in my dream world now!

But yes, this is me, and I leave you with this - my second favorite eyeshadow in the world, Urban Decay's Fishnet.

Urban Decay, ilu.

MyGlam - December Bag

If you're into makeup and beauty, Michelle Phan has got your back.  She's an awesome resource (and quite frankly makes my old ass feel like a slacker).  In addition to her working for Lancome, doing her own tutorials, and being an aspiring filmmaker, she also started up her own sample bag company, MyGlam.  It's pretty similar to Birchbox in execution, if you're familiar with that program.  (With both programs, you go to the company's website, take a quiz about your preferences, and after signup you get a few beauty samples mailed to you every month for ten dollars.)  Birchbox allows you to purchase full size products from their website if you like what you got.  MyGlam doesn't have this (yet - this bag was their first), but they do have a community where you can talk about the produts and the girls who made the company, the "gurus", will talk about looks you can do with them. 

I've done Birchbox in the past, but cancelled when I didn't really get anything I liked.  When I saw that Michelle was doing something similar, I jumped onboard, and I'm glad I did!  They sold out really fast, so I was lucky to get one at all.  So, yes!  Here's pictures of what I got for my first bag!

It came in a really adorable bag.  It was shipped out standard USPS, so it took about the same amount of time to get out to me as Birchbox ever did (which is way too long, but I suspect that has more to do with the postal service being run by constipated gremlins than anything else).



One of the advantages to the MyGlam monthly subscription is that every month you get a little makeup bag.  This thing isn't super huge, but it's big enough where right now in my purse it's holding a pressed powder compact, blotting papers, a roll-on perfume, and five lip products (WHAT I HAVE A PROBLEM SHUT UP YOU'RE NOT MY MOM!). 



The bag even has a derpy mirror!

The products inside didn't come individually tissue wrapped or anything, which I prefer, as it's not a waste of paper.  Those of you who are Birchbox packaging addicts will be disappointed by this, but those of us who like trees or dislike garbage bags will enjoy it.

Same card, front and back.

The first thing I got was Mai Coture Salicylic Acid Blemish Control Blotting Papers.  I suspect this is because on my quiz thing I indicated my skin is a general plague area (which it is).  I've heard some people got blush papers (which is basically a blotting paper with blush and shimmer on it).  Thus far, these are ... blotting papers.  I don't know if the salicylic acid is helping yet, but I'll never kick blotting papers out of bed.  Plus, the package is thin, and I like that they're tear out, not pull out, as they don't explode into my purse this way.

Next was a sample of Tarte's Lights, Camera, Lashes! mascara.  This is a pretty generous sized sample; I've used it three times, and it still has plenty left.  (I'm not going to put down the milligrams, because I'm not a fucking wizard and don't know how many applications per milligram are in a mascara tube.) Tarte says this stuff is supposed to be "lengthening, curling, volumizing and conditioning".  I don't know about all of that, but I do know that it's really nice and not clumpy.  It's noticable, gives me some decent doll-eye, and it's less 'oh hay thick how you doin'' than the Cover Girl Lash Blast I usually use.

Yay, a sample of a thing I already have a lot of!  Which isn't a complaint at all, I am a primer potion slut.  This is Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in original, and if you don't have a bottle of this in any of their colors and wear eyeshadow, go get some.  Now.  It will make your eyeshadow stay on so much longer and look so much prettier throughout the day.  I still come home sometimes from work and think about how pretty my eyes are before I take it off.  It's a decent size sample as well - I think it's the same size that came in the Naked palate.  I am using this with the same glee that I use my others, if not a bit more, because I was running low anyway.

Why yes, that's an Urban Decay eyeshadow.  Why yes, it's fullsize!  I got Sin, which I speculate everyone did, because it's the most gorgeous taupey-pinky color that looks great on everyone.  (I already had one of these too, but I don't even care, I was running low.  Yet again.)  I saw this and literally gaped and squeed and made a general fool of myself in front of my roommates and cats.

This is NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in  Addis Ababa.  This pink is erm.  Bright.  Very not me.  I tried it on to see if this would look good on me, shrieked, and rubbed it off.  But the formula is pretty neato.  It does feel a bit like a lip gloss and goes on with a wand.  It's not sticky, though, and on the mouth, looks a bit like a matte pop of color.  It doesn't settle into the lips the same way lipstick todes.  It's one of those things you just have to try, and I'm sure I will - the full sizes retail for 6.00 USD each.  (Just not in this color.  If this color looks good on you, let me know, I want to shake your hand.)

The NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream is on the right, and the Urban Decay eyeshadow is the pretty bit of shimmer on the left.

Lastly, I got some discount cards, which is pretty awesome.  Mama does like saving money.



Why yes, that is 15.00 off of the new Book of Shadows from UD.  The bottom is 25% off of the Mai Coture blotting papers or blush papers.  I gave the blush paper to my roommate, as she's fair where I'm not, so hopefully she'll get some use out of it.

So, that's what I got in my first Glam Bag.  Did any of you guys get in on this?  Do you guys have any questions?  I'll also take cheesecake recipes, I have some cream cheese in my fridge and nothing to do with it.  I feel like this post was kinda boring since I liked almost everything.