Think Pink: More EOTDS

I've done green and orange, and got a request to do pink next, so here it is! I don't have a lot of pink eye shadows because it's hard to find shades that don't emphasize my panda eyes; I only have a couple, but again, you can do a lot with just one or two shades. I realize that with these color themed EOTD posts I'm tending toward the wearable end, but I think there are a lot of brightly colored looks out there already, and people more often want to know how they can wear bright colors in a softer way. With that said, not all of these are going to be office-appropriate or "almost neutral," but I am trying to put together looks that people won't be afraid to try. So, here we go! The products, first:

Clearly I don't own a lot of pink eye shadow. Clockwise, from top: Stila Pearl Palette, Urban Decay Woodstock eye shadow, Urban Decay Woodstock pencil, Shiro Cosmetics Kawaii, Silk Naturals Retro*.

Look #1: Lacy Pink (it reminds me of something ultra feminine and girly, okay?)

NARS Smudge Proof Eye Shadow Base
Stila Pearl Palette Pale White Gold, Light Pink shades, Urban Decay Woodstock
Sephora Long-lasting Liner in 01 Black
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Pencil in Woodstock

The pencil version of Urban Decay Woodstock is quite fuchsia, but blended into my liquid liner, it takes on an almost violet sheen. I like it. It adds variety to life. Anyway, hopefully this first look shows you that pink does not have to be "bam pow in your face!"

Look #2: Bedroom Eyes?

NARS Smudge Proof Eye Shadow Base
Silk Naturals Retro* (glittery, silver pink), Chanel Mirifique
Sephora Long-lasting Liner in 01 Black
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Pencil in Gunmetal

Clearly my thoughts are with the sexy today. But uh, pink. Smoky. Yes. I like Retro* more than I thought I would; with its light quality, it lends itself perfectly to a smoky eye. This is a softer version, not too smoky (uh, that sounds dumb, but bear with me here) and for once I tried non-winged liner. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but whatever. I applied Mirifique very sheerly with my ring finger to achieve a soft gray.



Look #3: Rocking Retro

NARS Smudge Proof Eye Shadow Base
Silk Naturals Retro*, Chanel Mirifique, Urban Decay Woodstock
Sephora Long-lasting Liquid Liner in 01 Black
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on liner in Gunmetal, Woodstock

This is the same look in #2, but amped up a bit. I start with Silk Naturals Retro* + Mirifique (above); after patting on a fiercer pink like Urban Decay Woodstock and darkening the outer edges, you get a very brightly colored eye. Or well, you get two, but you know what I mean. You don't have to start with a base of Retro, but it does add sparkle and sheers out Woodstock a bit. If you want it brighter, skip Retro.



Look #4: Pastel Pink

UDPP Eden (this is an older look)
Shiro Cosmetics Kawaii (pastel pink), Urban Decay Woodstock
Sephora Long-lasting Liquid Liner in 01 Black
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Pencil in Crash

Pastels are another tricksy bunch, but this actually doesn't look bad. I think it's balanced out by the more intense liner. The soft pink on the lid and the brighter pink in the corner seem to work, and I like using a purple eyeliner.

Okay, there are our pinks! I don't have a lot of them, but it's easy to mix it up with other shades for a pop of color. I don't do pink that often because it's really quite obviously colorful, but it is nice every now and again. What's your favorite pink eye shadow?

*Items marked with a star were sent for evaluation by the company.

The Thursday Post

Maroon Five: Come Away to the Water (feat. Rozzi Crane). Not their typical sound, but I really like this song. It's from The Hunger Games soundtrack.

Nail trend terms!

This green gradient eye...I love.

I'm still really intrigued by these wine fragrances!

I approve. It looks awesome. Except Tobey Maguire kind of creeps me out. Not sure why.

*giggle* I swear this is not true. And for the record, S. is a cover stealer. So there.

Bain de Terre Purité Healthy Moisture Repair Review

I'm not sure if I've admitted to this on the blog before, but I'm not much of a hair care girl. Because I have short hair, I visit the salon regularly (about every two months) to keep it trim, so I don't really feel the need to splurge on tons of hair care products. I don't own a blow dryer or a curling/straightening iron - basically, I'm a wash-and-go girl. I usually just grab whatever shampoo is currently on sale at the drugstore (after scanning the ingredients for the p-word, ha!), and call it a day. However, you might remember that I've recently been making an effort to eliminate SLS and some of those other hot topic chemicals out of my bath and beauty products. So, when I was contacted by Bain de Terre to give their newest natural line a try, I was pretty excited.*

I've been using their Purité Healthy Moisture Repair Shampoo, Conditioner, and Healthy Leave-In Elixir for about a month, and I have to say that I am pretty impressed. The line is free of sulfates, parabens (woo-hoo!), formaldehyde, colorants, gluten, mineral oil, phtalates, MEA, DEA and PPG. That's pretty fabulous. It leaves my hair feeling healthy, too - it's not dry, it's shiny, and it all falls nicely into place. I shower at night and then use the Elixir in the morning (you're supposed to use it on wet hair, which I have done a few times, but usually I spray it onto dry hair); my hair is then tangle-free, easy to comb, and doesn't stick out in weird ways the way it used to. (I will mention that even without using the Elixir, it's pretty tangle-free. I do have short hair, so it can't get into too much trouble, really, but I can get the occasional snag here and there with other shampoos).

I wash my hair daily because I do some form of exercise daily, so it's important to me that my shampoo isn't stripping or harsh. This shampoo doesn't lather up excessively (which is expected, given the ingredient list), but it does work its way through my hair, no worries. I rinse completely, condition once, and then towel and air dry. In the morning, I spray the Elixer (shake well! Shake very, very well!), let it sink in for a few minutes while I wash my face and put in my contacts, and then comb out. The shampoo and conditioner are lightly scented with a smell that reminds me of the white tea and ginger products from Origins and Bath & Body Works - it's not strong and it doesn't last after the shower, which may or may not please you. I don't need my hair to smell, so it's all good here.

The one thing I will mention is that I wish the shampoo and conditioner bottles were in some way different - different color, or different shape. It's a small thing, but you know, I usually take out my contacts by the time I shower, and I have to pick each bottle up and peer at it to see which is which. That's just a minor packaging wish, though.

These are available in the US at Cosmoprof and they also seem to be available in Ulta stores (but not online); the shampoo is $14.00 for 13.5 oz, the conditioner is $15.00 for 13.5 oz, and the Leave-In Elixir is $16.00 for 4.2 oz. You can also find more information at baindeterre.com. I will say that for someone who is used to buying drugstore hair products, it is quite a price hike, but I'm really loving the way my hair looks and feels lately! I'd say it's worth it, especially for a line that's free of many potentially harmful ingredients. My favorite has to be the Leave-In Elixir, though; even if you pass on the shampoo and conditioner, the elixir - you must try it! I don't style or do anything fancy with my hair, but I do have a styled cut, and it makes my hair fall into place so nicely.

If you want another review, check out Eugenia's.

*All of the products in this review were provided by PR for evaluation and review. This is NOT a sponsored review.

Julep Jennifer: I Feel Like a Lady

I usually have bright, obnoxious colors on my nails - or dark vampy ones - but I rarely have something delicate and feminine and soft or neutral. I think those shades are kind of hard to find, though, since they depend so much on finding the perfect complement to my skintone. However, I have found a lovely soft pink that doesn't bore me or feel blah; it makes me feel ladylike. That's hard to do.

Julep Jennifer on nails; Zoya Get Even base coat, 3 coats of Julep Jennifer, one coat Zoya Armor. I needed a black base to show the color off better, so I used the fuzzy one walking around my apartment :)

Introducing, Julep Jennifer. I tried out the Maven box during the $0.01 promotion they were running during the holidays (clearly, these photos are from a long time ago, when it was cold!); my style was "American Beauty," so I got a box with Jennifer and Demi. They are both classic, timeless colors; Jennifer is this soft, milky pink, and Demi is red. I only got the one box and canceled my subscription, though. The box was nice but didn't wow me, and that $20 can go toward other, better things.

I love fingerless gloves. :D Here you can see that even with three coats, Jennifer is not completely opaque. I don't think it's meant to be, though. From afar, it looks opaque enough; up close, you can see the nail line, but it doesn't really bother me. It almost gives my nails a French tip look, and I rather like it.

Even with three coats, Jennifer is not completely opaque, but that doesn't really bother me here - I think that's the style of this polish. The formula is easy to work with and dries beautifully. I did notice some weird things going on after four or five days - it didn't exactly chip, but it was sort of cracking? - but I'm not sure if that is a result of the Zoya top coat or not. Both brands are 3-free, so I'm not sure what the issue is. I may have to try it with a different base/top coat to see, or see if I have the same problems with Demi. Since Jennifer is a really pale color, you can't really tell that it starts to crack, so it's not a huge issue, and a few days wear is decent.

One thing to mention: the bottle. Yes, it's cute, but it's square, and the cap doesn't always realign with the bottle afterward (actually, it seems that it never does). Annoying.

Julep polishes are $14, and are available online and at Sephora, though if you live in Seattle (where they are based), you can go to a Julep salon, as well. I like this color and I got it for a steal, but I don't think I'd bother. $14 could get you practically two Essie/China Glaze/Zoya polishes, and they are just as good, if not better.

The Beauty No-Buy: Update #5

It's been four months, and this month was better than the last, but perhaps not by much. I repurchased a Clinique moisturizing gel because I ran out, and I bought a new eye cream (Origins A Perfect World for Eyes). I also picked up a couple of Revlon lip products. I'm going to call those okay under ban rules, and I'll explain why.

I've been doing some thinking (oh no, again? I hear you. I'll try to keep this short) about my motivation for beauty shopping. Yes, I like pretty packaging and new items and luxurious high end products, but I also like having a wide variety of colors and finishes, so that I can create anything I want on my personal canvas. For summer, I wanted some different lip shades - something to complement the eye looks I came up with. I wasn't satisfied with any of the ones I had (red is a power color, and I wear it often enough, but it just didn't go), and I could picture in my head the shades that I wanted. I also wanted a couple of glosses, so that I could layer them over my lipsticks and create new shades and finishes. I wrestled with the ban, but you know, in the end, I decided that if I had a focused list and I wasn't going to go overboard with it, why not buy what I wanted to satisfy myself? I was planning on wearing them often, I didn't want them just to have them, and I was willing to look for affordable versions. So I went forward.

On the list: a coral gloss, a gold gloss, and a bright summer lipstick. I got two out of three. I picked up the Revlon Colorburst Gold Dust lip gloss at my drugstore during a sale, with a coupon: the total came out to $3.79, with tax. Less than a coffee! Score.

The second Revlon gloss, Coral Reef, was purchased during a BOGO 50% off sale at the CVS in PA (the other item I bought was the Colorburst lipstick in Soft Nude, which I was hoping would be my nude lipstick - another item on the "basics" wishlist). Total for both? $9.29. So my transgressions total to $13.08, including tax. Not bad for some basic shades, right? And I've used both glosses almost daily since I purchased them, which makes me happy. They're the perfect shades for the bronzed, summery looks that I've been favoring lately.

Top: Revlon Coral Reef. Bottom: Revlon Gold Dust.

So, what say you? Should I have stuck it out, or can these count as basics? Don't worry - I'm tightening up the wallet strings and hoping to stick out the last month!