Beauty Flash! Lots o' Lash for Little Cash

When better than Labor Day weekend to share a little bit of beauty advice? I know it has been an awful long time since my last post, but that's only because when I post I want it to be meaningful. And of course, what is more meaningful to us ladies than how to get long, voluminous lashes??? (Okay, there is plenty more meaningful things in the world but for the purpose of this post, let's just pretend for the moment, mmkay?)

Now, I am not going to lie and say that I don't already have long lashes, because, well, I do. But, they are blonde, sparse, and certainly lacking volume. And, because we're all being honest here, I will admit to being a biiiiit of a mascara whore (good for recommendations, bad for my wallet). Since I started wearing makeup in middle school, I would pretty much try a different brand and/or formula when a tube's three months were up. I had tried almost all the top reviewed mascaras, both high end and low, and for awhile refused to admit the possibility of finding the perfect formula at the drugstore. For years I swore by YSL Volume Effet Faux Cils and Armani Eyes to Kill, but after some formula changes, I set out on a quest for the best drugstore mascara to satisfy my specific needs.

After some intense online research inclusive of watching countless YouTube videos (this one became my obsession), I realized that not only can the perfect lash be achieved with drugstore mascara, it must be achieved by layering. So after much trial and error, I have finally--to your benefit--perfected the look of ultra-dramatic, super intense, mistaken for falsies, lashes. Behold:

Mascaras used: L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly, CoverGirl LashBlast Volume

Step 1: Apply one coat of Voluminous Butterfly to upper lashes using the short end of the wand. Flip to the curved edge to cover bottom lashes and finish off what is left of the product on your upper lashes. 

Step 2 (Optional): Remove any excess clumps with a spoolie brush.

Step 3: Use LashBlast as your second coat, covering your upper and lower lashes, focusing most of the mascara at the base of your upper lashes until you have used up all the product on the brush. If you need to go back with the spoolie, do as you wish and ta-da! You're done!

User beware: someone in line behind you at Starbucks will ask you what mascara you are wearing. It happened to me today, true story.

Fast Post Friday: Fab Forever Find

Getting this post in just under the wire, here's a bright beauty tidbit to kick off the holiday weekend.

While Forever 21 is known for trendy clothing at bargain prices, I have been purchasing products from their Love & Beauty cosmetic line long before I ever bought a $5 t-shirt. One of the last times I was there, I happened to snatch up their Velvet Lip Gloss in Fuchsia. It is more of a liquid lipstick, akin to the Stila All Day Liquid Lipstick for a fraction of the price (and honestly, a bit easier to apply too!). At $3.80, how can you go wrong?

Now go forth my friends, and bare a bold lip!

Back in the High Light Again

If you don't understand the origin of my title, well, you clearly aren't as cool (or as old) as I am.

To put it mildly, I am a collector of sorts. It began with Trolls in the 4th grade, morphed into Breyer horses in the 6th, and as I continued to "mature," suddenly I was collecting shoes, nail polish, and lipstick. Anyone who reads my blog can easily ascertain this.

My desire to collect comes in waves, phases, if you will, as if - perchance - influenced by the cycles of the moon. I am currently in a "highlighter phase" in which I continue to buy products that claim to give skin the look of being "lit from within." I may, in fact, be a sucker for marketing. Go figure.

As a teenager with acne (no but really, I eventually succumbed to Accutane and never regretted it), much of my experience with makeup had been in an effort to matte-ify my face, so this recent development is quite the deviation from my prior routine. But the tables, how they have turned! Now I can't get enough of glowing, shimmering skin. (No glitter particles, though, as it is not 1996. Granted, 1996 was kind of awesome and that glitter gel from Contempo Casuals was preeettty a-maze-ing. But that is another post for another time.)

Glitter!! Fabulous for the face, not so much for movies by Mariah...

In the past two months, I have purchased the products pictured below:

I may single-handedly be boosting Maybelline sales

While I use all of the above on a fairly regular basis, I have determined that two products in particular are my all-time-favorite-for-the-last-two-months-time-ever. That's a thing, just go with it.

Splurge: Benefit High Beam $26
Save: Maybelline Bronzer Stick in Subtle Bronze $7-$9 (LE but here for cheap) And if you can't find this in your local drugstore, Warm Nude is a pretty close alternative.

While these two products are of a different color family, both are amazing highlighters with just the right amount of sheen. Keep a light hand though, no one wants to be overly frosty. Unless, of course, you're an ice queen, because then, by all means, frost away.

And now, I leave you with me trying to get a good shot of how my skin looks wearing High Beam, told through some creepy bathroom selfies. The things we bloggers do!

Throwback Thursday: Oops! I Did it Again

I hate to say I told you so, but I most definitely have no problem writing it.

Yesterday, the fiercely fashion forward, fresh-from-the-runway, ultimate e-commerce dream closet, Moda Operandi instagrammed a rainbow of mirrored sunglasses by the Italian brand Spektre. That name should ring a bell because last Januray I spent a whole blog post singing their praises.

The mirrored lens trend is still going strong, and yours truly is proud to have been one the first to share the news. It also certainly doesn't hurt my ego to now learn that Moda Operandi is the first American e-tailer to stock the brand. 

So yeah, I told you so.  

Because it's Friday, it's Gonna Rain...

...and maybe I just wanted to sleep in a little more.

New Hue Review: What a Cool Blue

If you follow me on Instagram (and you should), you know that I've amassed quite the collection of cobalt nail polish. Nudge nudge,wink wink. Here's a hint, click this link.

Go ahead and judge me, I don't care.

It is well documented that blue is my favorite color and I will buy any almost any bottle in existence (see photo above as Exhibit A), so Jin Soon's "Cool Blue" from her Spring 2014 was of course no exception. When I saw the swatch on All Laquered Up, I knew I had to add it to my collection. 

Blinded by Blue

While my thoughts on nail polish usually begin and end with "will I wear this color?," I can say that the formula on this blue is fabulous. It went on like buttah, and five days after wearing it--yes I have been wearing the same polish for five days, pick your jaw off the floor--it has only just begun to chip. In other words, this is a rave reblue. Yeah, I went there.

Get enabled here.

Fast Post Friday: I Told You So Edition

Remember this post I wrote almost three years ago? You probably don't so I'm here to remind you that I was way ahead of the curve, because orange lips have been smeared all over the beauty news recently. I don't call myself the Sensible Trendsetter for nothing, people!

So if you happened to follow my lead back in 2011, you should be more than prepared for Spring 2014. If you never took the leap, I'm here to offer up some of my favorites to get the look; most of them daring, a few a slightly more demure.

From the Top:
- Nars Semi-Matte Lipstick in Heat Wave - The perfect bright red orange
- MAC Amplified in Vegas Volt - Leans on the coral side
- Urban Decay Super-Saturdated High Gloss Lip Color in Punch Drunk - True, glossy orange
- Revlon Super Lustrous Creme Lipstick in Siren - Lighter and brighter
- Revlon Moon Drops Creme Lipstick in Orange Flip - A creamy, darker, true orange
- MAC Amplified in Morange - The boldest of the bunch, bright, almost neon amazing
- Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Tutti Fruitti - A sheer orange for the more timid

If none of these options speak to you, check out the links I provided above for additional inspiration.

Orange you gonna listen to me next time?