Backed Up And Ready To Go?

It's a rare occasion that I buy back-ups. I've bought back-ups of lipglosses, cleansers, toners and eyeliners that I can only get in Japan, but otherwise I think I've only bought a back-up of MAC's Vintage Selection Paint Pot because it's limited edition, and even now, I honestly don't think I'll ever get through the first pot. I always think there's so much out there to try, that sometimes it's better to let go and try other goodies before you decide it's your HG.

Surprisingly, such an open mind can sometimes leave you disappointed :P You'd be surprised how often your first instinct of deciding on a specific product is correct! There are many products that I've used once, loved it, but believed it MUST get better, and bought into the hype of another product only to return again to my original love. This could be a whole other post in itself, but today's back up is something I didn't even BOTHER to look into other products for cuz.. why should I? I bang on about it enough! :P

Rimmel London's Moisture Renew Lipstick in Nude Delight 700. We are like, soulmates.

Why did I not bother looking?

1. I've never fallen out with the shade or the formula.

2. The packaging is hardly damaged after 1.5yrs of banging round in my bag.

3. A lifespan of 30 months - no cheapo plasticy smell or melting.

Whenever I use a drugstore product, I go out to see if there is a high-end equivalent for a better packaging, a better lasting power and a better lifespan. In this case an attempt would be ridiculous, because I'd be paying more for something that I can get for £7. I know I'm a high-end lover, but I'm also not stupid :P

What is your HG/back-up worthy lippy? :)

<3yu

Vanity Girl vs. Make Up Bag Girl?

Today I went through a thought process that made me think about the differences of being a Vanity Girl (who chooses make-up from her vanity) or a Make Up Bag Girl (who chooses from her make-up bag). It ultimately led to this post being about reorganizing make-up to fit your needs - a bit of a rambly post, but I thought it may help some girls out so decided to post it up :)

I remember when all my make-up fit into one make-up bag, and all my choices were contained in that little space - oh how long ago it all seems ;) And when my collection really started expanding I invested in the infamous WHSmith drawers as a make-shift vanity until I really settled into a home, and since I've got them I've loved how I can scan over my whole collection and pick out of all the possible candidates - as well as never forget about owning a product. I was a Vanity Girl through and through!

I looove the look of this vanity! :) (Image from JPM Design)

However, when I look around blogs, I've realised people write things like "this has been living in my make-up bag the whole month!" or "it replaced x that used to live in my make up bag" - at first I was quite startled. This suggests that some people use both a vanity and a make-up bag to choose their make up from. It took me a while but I realised - some people pick out products that they like from their vanity to their make-up bags, and choose from there. I was like.. "WHAAAAT!" and also a little bit like "WHY?!" (and a little bit concerned at how long it took me to realise..)

Personally I would die from OCD if I knew that not 100% of my collection was in my vanity and that there was even a slight chance I would miss out on the perfect lippy of the day. I firmly stand by the belief that choosing from my vanity allows me to use all my make up - I have never once forgotten I owned a product or not used a product because I forgot it was buried in the depth of my collection.

But then I read a post by Adrienne which made me think - using a make-up bag may not give you a full scope of choice, but it would let you focus on selected products and would really help with 2 things - to really test those products out, or to use them up - both of which I have severe issues with (oh the numerous PR's that have bared with me on this, bless them)! You wont be tempted by other products you are more familiar or comfortable with because you wont see them! Enlightenment.

So I'm starting to think I wanna change the way I choose my make up, simply because my goals are changing - I used to want to get to know my make-up and experiment with what I have. Now, there are quite a few things I'd like to hit pan on/use up, and there are a few items I haven't tested enough to give it a fair judgment. There's also the matter of wanting to change things up once in a while! I have also heard rumours that I will be having a few deathly 10AM classes (I know, lazy student) so I undoubtedly should focus on getting more sleep/doing more work than on choosing my face :P

Really what I'm saying is that changing things like this is a great way to re-organize, both in terms of how you choose your make-up and how to address what you're not liking about your relationship with make-up (yes you may call me the Dr. Phil of make-up.. lol what am I on about). It's so easy to get stuck in a rut or do things that isn't conducive to what your goals are - and reorganizing how you choose and organize your make-up can really help!

So after I write this post, I will be filling up this make-up bag from Glitzy Glam to give this new thing a try :) I'll miss having a different face everyday, and I'll miss having to choose between a pink and a bronze when I really want to wear a peach blush - but I'm sure I'll learn with time - until my goals change again :)

I realise this is quite a rambly post and that I've had a few of those lately, but I quite like posting up internalized make-up debates that take place in my brain from time to time.. any feedback for that would be great :) I also have a hard time resisting posting when I'm really really thinking about it :P So anyway..

How do YOU choose to choose make-up? And why? :)

<3yu

Bloody Lashes.

I wish I was blessed with decent lashes - I wont ask for TiffanyD, Lollipop26, long, spider eyelashes, but the least whoever made me could've done is to make sure I have longer eyelashes than my boyfriend.. (His lower lashes are probably about as long as, if not longer, than my top lashes.. I know. What the eff.)

So I thought I'd document the point at which my lush lash search is on - which isn't a very good one to say the least. The products I've been dabbling with are..

MAC Plushlash Mascara in Plushblack

.. and the Shu Uemura Eyelash Curlers

First off, this is not a proper review as I've only been using the Plushlash for a few days since my MaxFactor False Lash Effect ran out, and I already did a review on the Shu curlers (link above!).

To lay out the facts, my lashes are short, straight and stubborn. What seems to work for me are big plastic brushes and volumizing formulas - I think my favourite mascaras to date are the aforementioned MaxFactor False Lash Effect and the original Maybelline Volum' Express. But as MAC mascaras are the same price as drugstore mascaras here, I bought the Plushlash hoping it'll turn this..

into.. well, Cheryl Cole lashes, to put it mildly.

Sadly, what you see below are the effects. The top row shows my lashes just with the Shu curlers - amazing right? The bottom shows my lashes with Plushlash :/

Soooo not exactly Cheryl yet, am I? The application is really uneven with one coat and I can feel my lashes being weighed down. The effect above is 'okay' but imagine that with eyeshadow/eyeliner - it wouldn't show! I also hate how no matter how many times I run the brush through my lashes, it looks the same! The effect is actually really good when I let it dry and recurl and reapply, but lashes aren't exactly what I wanna spend precious morning minutes on!

At this point I'm having serious deja vu, and remember the Benefit BadGal Lash. I was heavily disappointed with it for about half a year - and then I randomly gave it another chance and I adored it!

Moral of the story? I'm just going to have to wait until the Plushlash dries up a bit. So the search goes on for the meantime!

What's your perfect lashes routine? :)

On a lighter note, I stocked up on my favourite eyelashes.. for 70p each :)

YOOOOM YOM YOM YOM.

Now I just need some DUO eyelash glue, and I am sore-ted.

<3yu

Eyeshadows, I Want You Back In My Life!

Does anyone else seem to go through a rough patch with their eyeshadows over the summer? Well, what do they say, "distant makes the heart grow fonder"? Yep, that's the one.

I started off in the make-up world only caring about eyeshadow - I had 1 blush, 1 powder foundation, 0 bronzer, 2 eyeliners, 1 concealer and about 20 eyeshadows. But as this year has been my first serious dabble into blushers, bronzers, foundations and powder, my poor eyeshadows seem to have been pushed aside.

I've also had some issues coming to terms with my eyelid shape - it's difficult to work with! But in the past week or so, I've had the sudden craving to look up gurus with similar shapes and go back to the eyeshadow girl that I once was (que DRAMAAAA!) So here are the lovely bits that I used this week :)

Top Row:

- MAC Brule

- MAC Patina

- MAC Mulch

Bottom Row:

- ARTDeco 34

- ARTDeco 208

- ARTDeco 45

Left Column: ARTDeco Eyeshadows

Right Column: MAC Eyeshadows

I did have a bit of a off relationship with MAC Brule, however I've discovered that it really works the best when used with your finger or a fluffy brush - atm it's my favourite highlighter which is no surprise as I have a very close shade in my 28 Neutral Palette that has hit pan ages ago!

Amidst my research on my eye shape, I've realised that most girls don't realise that you can wear non-browns without looking OTT - we see them in FOTDs of girls who have realised this but a lot of us never really do it ourselves! My fave FOTDs atm is from Amanda!

So I've made a massive list of coloured MAC eyeshadows to purchase when I am back. The one I'm most excited for? MAC Print or Scene, which are both matte greys :)

This has been my base of choice, MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre. Even if I don't have an alternative, I had a off relationship with this one as well which probably made the rough patch even rougher! However, I've now realised that I wasn't using enough of this, and now that I've got it down - I love it!

Speaking of eyeshadow bases, if you follow me on Twitter you may have noticed a sudden interest in the Urban Decay Naked Palette from me - I've bought it, thanks to Jade's discount code! :D So not only will I be able to try the legendary palette at long last, I'll also have my first dabble into the Primer Potion :) (Actually I lie, my bf's sister once gave me a teeny one.) It's actually the last item on my 2011 Wishlist besides the Sigma brushkit that I no longer want :)

As I'm in Japan all my recent online purchases have been sent to the boy's so I've got to wait another 3 weeks.. but can I just say I'm so excited for the NARS eyeshadow duo that's waiting for me?

I KNOW I'M SUCH A EYESHADOW HO.

(and a blush ho, and a powder ho, and a bronzer ho, and a foundation ho, blah blah blah sue me.)

What make-up ho are you? :D

<3yu

P.S. I am off on holiday tomorrow with my mother! :) So will be away for about 5 days - I'll attempt to schedule a post during that time, so keep your eyes out, and take care! :)

Make-Up: Japan vs. the West & ADDICTION by Ayako

Until last night, I've been sat in Japan for the past month thinking about all the lovely Western cosmetics brands that I miss, and then I spoke to H who I remembered always had an interest in Japanese make-up and I realised - what on EARTH am I doing?!

It's true - Japanese make up is VERY different from the typical Western ideal, in both products and looks. I feel like Japanese make up is a lot more sheer and glitter-oriented (you can kinda get the idea if you look up brands like Majolica Majolca, CANMAKE, RMK, Jill Stuart, KATE Lavshuca, Maquillage etc., etc.,), and much less bold or pigmented than what is popular in the West. I've got to admit that I typically lean towards the latter, and so while I have been perusing around Japanese drugstore brands, there was never much that took my fancy (okay, bar a few).

Then I discovered ADDICTION by Ayako. EEP!

Ayako is the former right-hand woman of (the incredible blush-maker!) Francois Nars. She left Japan for New York in 1990 with not much but her portfolio and she lives there today with her very own make-up line, which has launched here in Japan.

I read a bit of her interview, and the phrase that caught my attention the most was what I wrote above - the difference in the cultural taste in cosmetics. As a person who has lived less than half her life in Japan and the rest elsewhere, I'm always interested in transcultural topics and so this line caught my eye as something that may be the make-up equivalent of who I am - a Japanese with very different inspirations.

Tomorrow I'm off into the centre of Tokyo to pick up my student visa, and hope to take a quick (maybe not) detour into an ADDICTION counter, just to see if anything takes my fancy! Here are the things that have already caught my eye..

The blushes..

The customizable compacts.. (not that I don't have enough..)

Somewhat the lippies..

and the cheek sticks :D

Sorry for some of the poor quality pictures, but I didn't wanna take other people's photographs so do take a look on Google yourselves :)

As you can see, a VERY heavy influence from Francois Nars himself, but I am curious to see what she's done to make it hers :) I LOVE the packaging (check out the lipgloss packagings, they are LUSH.)

The Cheek Sticks are multifunctional, and can be used as eyeshadow bases as well as lipsticks. They've won an award for best cheek product of the year, and Ayako's powder foundation and nailpolishes have both won first place in their respective categories too.. so those 3 I will definitely be checking out! I am so excited. If that even covers it.

I am crapping myself (put ever so eloquently if I say so myself) at how much dosh I may be parting with tomorrow.. time to bust out more vouchers maybe?

What brands' philosophy/story fascinate you? :)

<3yu

Products I Miss Most..

We all do it - we overpack when we're going somewhere, and we still manage to forget things or not think of a situation that may require different/more make up - am I right? :P I've definitely had that these past few weeks, and sure there have been several products I thought "dang, I wish I had that with me!", but there have been a couple that I thought that on several occasions!

Here are probably the ones I've thought of the most..

NARS Sin

(I thought it was an autumn/winter colour but it'd be a nice natural accent on the face when I'm not wearing e/s and having a tan. Pinks/corals makes me look a be clowny atm..) 

 28 Neutral Palette

(I want this for highlighting - not liking MAC Brule very much - and for matte light browns!)

Lipbalms

(I only brought my Body Shop Lip Roll On, which is lovely - but it's a bit wet. I miss that balmy feel! The ones in particular that I miss are the BodyShop Born Lippy, the LipIce ones and the Burt's Bees.) 

 OPI Coney Island Cotton Candy (centre)

(A sheer nude that when you have long nails, can make you look like you have french nails - compliments the lightness of summer! I've only got cream/opaque or bright colours atm!)

MAC Style

(Like I said, corals and pinks can look a bit clowny on me at, but MAC Style is relatively sheer - so it'd be a nice wash of colour on my cheeks right about now :( )

Sigma F80 (right)

(Getting a bit sick of applying foundation with my hands - it can get a bit dirty, and I always have to be cautious about streaks! At the same time, I'm not quite sure how often I would've used it cuz it doesn't seem to work with my Diorskin Forever.) 

Pirates of the Caribbean Box Set

(It's not make up but I've watched this set more times than I care to mention - atm I only have the third one, because it was what was in my laptop when I left the UK and as much as I love the film, it's getting a bit repetitive.. AND my favourite one is the second one.)

and finally..

Dior Amber Diamond

(No, I'm not quite sure you can miss something you never had - but I miss having a shimmery white highlight for my inner corner, and I miss highlighting my cheek bones. I actually only have 1 e/s shimmery highlight and 1 powder highlight and that one can look quite white on me when I'm tan, so I'm thinking it would be wise to invest in this at a early stage so I don't spend so much finding the perfect one. I've swatched it and it was a bit shimmery but I reckon it's cuz your finger picks up a lot! Other than that I thought it was perfect, esp cuz I've heard it can be used as eyeshadow too! So I'm debating using some vouchers to get this baby.. of course, after I try it on my face :))

A bit of a self-ramble there at the end, lol, oops. But I'm thinking this is proof that all these products are, or have been at one point, some of my favourite products, as I don't need to see them to think about them and how good they are, and they just pop into mind when you want something in particular!

It sucks, but it's also a good feeling cuz you know you've got some gems in your collection :)

What products have you missed when you were out and about? :)

<3yu