the ruffian

I've been seeing the ruffian nail look out there in the blogosphere...and I had to try it!  Still not quite sure whether I like it, but it's kind of fun.

lucerne-tainly look marvelos / baby it's "coal" outside / ds magic

opi fade

I've been curious about fades...and I haven't the faintest idea of how to really do them, but I tried here:

pearl of wisdom / kinki in helsinki

I really like Pearl of Wisdom's slight light pink shimmer, but for some reason I wasn't loving the entirely whitish nail so I played around with Kinki in Helsinki on the tips.  I kind of like how it turned out, but I need more practice on the fade...

tarantino polish

I was surfing the internets while QVC was on in the background (don't judge) and Tarina Tarantino came on to talk about her nail polishes and how she worked really hard to get these colors of polish to lay down intense color in one coat.  They were having a deal...3 for $30 and free shipping.  I caved.  (They sell singly at Sephora for $12 each.)

meteor night, empire, starchild

I have to say, one coat indeed!  The polish goes on evenly and easily and is the exact color you see in the bottle.  Very nice.

starchild

And then I had to play around with the fade and some sparkles...

that's revlon galaxy sparkle

Check out that light blue above and how it covers the darker grey with NO problem!!  Love that.

meteor

Boy am I out of practice painting my nails...sigh.

freckles

Now that I am taking pictures of my face, I cannot get over the amount of freckles that I now have...yikes.  That one on my lip kills me slightly.  And yes, I use suncreen every day.  I have also decided that I need a new camera.  Mine is so old and doesn't take very clear pictures really, but until then the show must go on...

Here is Trish McEvoy Sparkling Pink lipgloss. 

It smells faintly of...strawberry?  The gloss feels slippery, I like something with more substance, but it's still pretty.

here all by itself with nothing under it

all is not lost

While I've incurred the wrath of pulling one of those awful awful hangnails that feel like it's embedded into the bone of your finger...I *do* like the natural look of the polish.  (Orly :: Beverly Hills Plum from the French manicure line)

you can't see it, but there is actually a huge hole there!

all your base are belong to us

I have those annoying stick straight lashes...the kind that you have to curl every day.  Most everyone knows about the wondrous Shu Uemura eyelash curler so I won't go into much detail other than I love it, I use it every day and it hasn't let me down.  Another item that I use every day is the Shiseido Mascara Base.  I don't use it for thickness as much as I need something to hold the curl in my lashes.  If I don't use it, straight they go.  Well...Shiseido apparently is discontinuing their Holy Grail mascara base.  Of course they are.  As soon as I find something that I love, it's sure to be discontinued.  But, while I adored it for the curl holding, I didn't like that you *had* to wear mascara over it to cover the greige schmutz it deposits on your lashes.

I am happy to report that they've replaced it with a new formula called Nourishing Mascara Base...AND instead of the matte, grey look, the new one is supposed to leave a clear, glossy finish!!  It has a newer, sleeker container (reminds me of Shu) and while physically smaller interestingly has more product inside of it.

less bulky container

wait.  how can it be 1mL more, yet .02oz less?

old brush on left, new brush on right

so tired, taken immediately after waking

no makeup other than concelaer and mascara base, no eyeliner even!

So all in all, the change is great!   You'll find that if you use 2 coats of the base you will probably have to use mascara to cover the hint of greige, especially on the tips, but the new, smaller brush is great for the inner/outer lashes!  The thinner formula gives much less clumping which is awesome and the curl still holds!  phew.

And because I couldn't find the Shiseido Nourishing Mascara Base ingredient list ANYwhere (even including the Shiseido website) here it is:  C11-12 isoparaffin, dextrin palmitate, disteardimonium, hectorite, trimethylsiloxysilicate, isododecane, sucrose, tetrasterate triacetate, PEG-10 dimethicone, polyethylene, macadamia seed oil, polyglyceryl-6 esters behenate, butylene glycol, water (aqua), hydrogenated polyisobutene, sucrose tetraisostearate, trimethylsiloxysilyl-carbamoyl pullulan, arginine, nylon-12, ultramarines (CI 77007), tocopherol, zinc oxide (C77947), polysilicone-2-silica, BHT.

tarte matte

I am always on the lookout for simple products that make a nice, subtle enhancement.  When I saw the new Tarte LipSurgence Natural Matte Lip Stain, I had to give it a try.  I like the non-drying feel and the initial peppermint smell quickly dissipates.  It's supposed to increase lip moisture 6000% after 28 days, but I haven't worn it enough to attest to that.

As a reference, here is my mouth sans color:

And here it is with the matte color applied:

color:  Envy

I like it, it covers some of the sun-induced freckles on my lips, but is still sheer and adds a nice bit of color.  There are 5 other colors on the Tarte site, but they're all out-of-stock. 

Go to Sephora instead to get them because they're in stock there and...
KISS FOR A CAUSE
$1 from every qualifying red lip purchase* made before September 15, 2010, (up to $25,000) will benefit the Beauty Bus Foundation.The Beauty Bus Foundation provides in-home beauty treatments to terminally and chronically ill patients and their caregivers. For more information about the Beauty Bus Foundation, visit http://www.beautybus.org/.*Qualifying red lip purchases:
Tarte LipSurgence Natural Matte Lip Stain in Fiery or Envy

shu, shoe, tomata, tomato

I think it's only right that my first post be about Shu Uemura.  I am a huge fan and was so saddened to find that it was being pulled from the counters in the US earlier this year.  After being told that the Shu site would still offer items to us after the exodus, I am shocked to find that my favorite cream eyeshadows are no longer available on the site.  Boo.

P beige, P brown, P light purple, P taupe

P beige is actually peachy while P brown is well, brownish.  P taupe is more of a smoky black and you can see that all are shimmery, yet they don't make you look old.  I love these is because they're so creamy, easy to apply with a finger or brush and they act as excellent e/s bases.  It makes my e/s wear like iron and it doesn't come off until you take it off, even in the summer heat.  I hope the site will make these available again.