Avon Mascara

My mom bought this for me awhile back and I'm now nearing the end of this tube so I think I can officially review it. It's Avon's wash off waterproof mascara. I know that seems conflicting and it kind of is. Basically its a super resilient mascara. It won't run or drip or smudge from your greasy eyes or rubbing your eyes. Which is absolutely fantastic. I love that about it! I rub my eyes a lot because I have dry eyes. That means I also frequently use eye drops and this stuff stands up to that as well. Tears and raindrops stand no chance to this stuff.

Here's how it looks freshly after putting it on:

I think it looks nice and natural. As in, not all clumpy and gloppy. I really don't like that look at all. Especially for work which these pics are taken prior to going to work. I suppose clumpy might have its place if that's what you're going for, but I'd only wear it like that to the bar.

Anyway! The brush is nothing fancy. It's a standard straight brush which I like because I use the side, not the tip, to apply my mascara. I hate curved because the curve never matches the curve of my eye and it seems to not evenly squeegee off when you pull it out of the tube. Just a tip on that, you shouldn't pump your mascara brush in and out multiple times. That can dry it out. Once is enough. And if you're running low, I like to kind of stir it inside the tube to gather up as much mascara as possible before extracting the brush from the tube.

My only dislike about this mascara is in fact how it washes off. Yes, you can wash it off with a washcloth and water. However, you really have to scrub to get it all off. It comes off in flaky chunks. Its easy to think you have it all off and you don't, or you have a bunch of black flakes on your cheeks. Either be committed to really scrubbing it off (wouldn't recommend this if you have contacts in) or just use eye makeup remover before washing your face. Honestly, if you're wearing eyeshadow already anyway you might as well use makeup remover.

Overall, though, I like this mascara just fine. It doesn't stain my washcloths black like my usual Maybelline Great Lash in Blackest Black (which is totally true, its the blackest mascara I've ever found!). Its dark enough for daily wear, but I like something darker for going out. That reminds me, I need some clear mascara for my eyebrows. More on that awesome tip later!

Oil blotting secret

So this is a secret to oil blotting. I might come off sounding weird and/or gross, but I swear by it. Toilet seat covers are a great way to rid yourself of shine throughout the day. They successfully get rid of the shininess while keeping all your makeup in place. I recommend it on days you get hot and sweaty and/or if you've been out and about for a really long time. The nice thing is, they have them everywhere in public bathrooms these days. These things really save me at conventions.

Yeah, toilet seat covers. These things.

Nice and clean.Use the matte side, not the shiny side, to blot your skin.

This isn't the best of examples I could come up with but you have to trust me on this. Kind of shiny nose and forehead. Before, Left and After, Right.

 

And some grease on the seat cover as evidence!

Anyway, this also clearly will work if you aren't wearing makeup too. But its a nice way to stop the shine but not cake on more powder. Also, oil blotting sheets are ridiculously expensive for all they are. Nope, I will go with free to the public toilet seat covers. No matter how much of a freak you might think I am.

Boscia Clarifying Detox Mask Review

I'm almost out of this Boscia Clarifying Detox Mask. That's because I think it is awesome. I only use this once every couple months. I used it recently because I spent all day in my makeup sweating outside in the hot and humid air hosting a Steampunk Swapmeet in my driveway. This stuff is really nice at drawing impurities out of your pores. I typically only use it as a spot treatment on whiteheads, but sometimes your skin calls for being totally treated.

Here's me sporting the mask:

I'd recommend to take a hot, relaxing shower before you do this mask. That will make your pores nice and open and ready to be treated. Use a non-drying, gentle facewash in the shower to get any makeup or face grease off. You want the mask to penetrate your skin a bit. This stuff can be pretty drying which is why I normally only use it as a spot treatment. If you have oily skin, you could probably get away with using this stuff once a week or every other week. Mine just isn't that oily.

This works basically the same as any other  kaolin clay mask but doesn't make my sensitive skin break out the next day! Once you wash your face, you pat it dry and do the mask. You put a thin layer on, let it dry for about 10 minutes, and then wash it off with warm water and a washcloth. This doesn't bleach anything, so it doesn't matter if you get it in your eyebrows or on your washcloth or towels. Rinse your face with cool water and pat dry your face. You cannot miss the final step of moisturizing, lest your face overcompensate for the lost oil and basically become a grease factory. Again, my face is middle of the road level oily, so I actually went with a deeper moisturizer than my normal daily moisturizer. Right now, I'm trying Murad Age-Balancing Night Cream but full review is pending on that as I've only been using it maybe 4 days now.

Hair Pinterest

If you ever get bored and want to see some epic awesome hair, check out My Pinterest.

Product Review: L'Oreal Total Repair 5

I got a sample of this shampoo, conditioner, & treatment the other week and gave it a try. In fact, just this past Sunday, my mom also gave me her sample. So I actually tested this stuff out twice. Thanks for whatever mailing list we are both signed up for because I love trying out new stuff!

First, a run down on my type of hair that way you know if you have similar/dissimliar hair if you're opinion would be the same, better or worse. My hair is extremely long, thick, porous, color treated with both permanent and semi-permanent color in it. My scalp tends to be flaky if I don't exfoliate or have a good shampoo.

Ok, down to the review: the overall product line used all together is Meh to me. The shampoo seems alright as I don't have any flakes, itchyness or dryness after having used it. In both times using it, though, I had to use about a quarter size drop of my own shampoo because there wasn't enough in the sample for me. Again, I have ridiculously long hair. And even when you apply to just your scalp, it still soaks into the surrounding hair. So the shampoo was Alright/Not Bad.

The conditioner and balm/treatment stuff I had to use together both times. Again, excessively long, porous, damaged hair kind of required this. I again had to use some of my conditioner to go along with it. I'd probably say the first time I tried it, I used one part my stuff  to one part of the L'Oreal stuff. The second time, 2 parts the L'Oreal stuff and one part my usual. Both times, I was not impressed. Maybe its simply because I didn't have enough to really experience the product, but it just didn't seem to condition enough. The directions for each required you to leave it in. The conditioner 2-3 mins, the balm like 5 mins. I went with the longest time of 5 mins. I did the whole "wash, rinse, apply conditioner and then wash my body, brush my teeth, shave my pits to kill time" thang. That's normally what I do when I have to leave my conditioner in. I did comb it through to make sure it thoroughly saturated my hair, but it just didn't do the trick. My hair was frizzy and not notably softer than usual. My usual conditioner is much better on its own.

So there's my takeaway: Shampoo is fine, Conditioner & Balm I would not buy ever. It'd probably work fine for people with less damaged or porous hair. I wouldn't recommend it for curly hair or bleached hair. Again, the shampoo seemed alright, though I still prefer my Matrix Biolage Scalp Therapy stuff over the L'Oreal. I suppose if you had oily hair, the shampoo still wouldn't be for you because it isn't stripping either. So normal hair, not bleached, that isn't oily could use this shampoo. I think maybe if I got a huge sample (ok, a straight up bottle because let's be honest anything called "sample" wouldn't have enough to do my hair) of the treatment balm, I'd give it another try. But I'm very unlikely to buy anything after the experience I had so far.

Product review: Murad Time Release Acne Cleanser

I got this jumbo sample ages ago and due to its size, threw it in my travel bag for use at conventions/the gym. I'm almost all the way through this tube and I can heartily say: I love this stuff. My acne prone, sensitive skin actually feels great when I use this stuff. Since I am using it mostly at conventions, it has to have the ability to do two very important things: 1. Really scrub off all the makeup at the end of the day (hello heavy makeup for costumes!) 2. Not dry out my skin (usually I change makeup for day vs. night and sometimes even more often for a costume change). This stuff is amazingly effective at both.

I've also started to use it when I go to the gym and use the gym shower. Its good at scrubbing off all my oily, sweaty self in preparation for my daily makeup. It keeps the zits at bay, scrubs off my makeup, doesn't over dry, doesn't smell gross and leaves my skin feeling so fresh n so clean. I'm debating throwing down the $30 to get 6.75 oz, but it seems kind of insanely priced. I wish I could just keep getting the smaller travel tubes but I either got this as a sample or part of a kit (couldn't find it even in a kit just now). The product is really great though, so it is very tempting and I highly recommend it.

Review on Urban Decay as a makeup brand

Overall, I have to say I love Urban Decay as a makeup brand. I am especially a fan of their eyeshadow and eyeshadow primer. I even introduced it to my sister and now she doesn't know how she's lived her life without their shadow primer. But they have a lot of other awesome things too! I just happen to love their eye stuff...

Here's my current stash of their products:

Naked, Naked 2, Vice Palette, various eyeshadows and  Deluxe Eyeshadow, primers and pencil shadows.

Flavored Body shimmer stuff.

As you can tell, when I said I like their eye products, I wasn't lying. The only non- eye stuff (and well non-body glimmer stuff) I currently have are two samples. One of their lipstick in Sellout. And a lipgloss in Naked. I always get their emails with offers for fun new stuff. And I always try their samples when I get them, I just haven't much moved on from what I know and like. I'm a bit intrigued by their new lip pencils though...

So here's why I love them! The Deluxe Eyeshadow (which is on SUPER discount right now) goes on velvety smooth and is very highly pigmented. The same is true of their regular eyeshadows, but it used to be the Deluxe shadows were more brilliantly colored. They have a fantastic selection now, though, of the normal shadows. And they now sell the normal shadows at the same price the old Deluxe ones used to be sold at.

I was kind of hesitant at first when I bought the Naked palette but I figured I needed something to wear to my office job. I was not disappointed. That's why I bought the Naked 2 as well. They pretty much go with anything and everything. You can make the colors in the Naked palettes work for day or night. I ended up getting the Vice palette because I wanted brilliant colors and a big mirror to take to conventions but when I didn't feel like sorting through the mono shadows. Speaking of conventions, I almost can't go to a steampunk convention without bringing either Naked or Naked 2 with me.

I really love their body shimmer stuff because it actually tastes good (no longer a product you can buy). Needless to say, I don't use this often but I do wear it to the bar and invite my friends to lick me. Similarly, I only usually wear lipstick to the bar. I've found the samples I have to be pretty nice but honestly have not much use for a full size product. The lipstick (also no longer a product you can buy) is in fact quite creamy and doesn't ruin my lips though the color they sent me doesn't quite suit me. I guess they just came out with a new lipstick. Can't wait for a sample in a dark color, maybe the color F-Bomb. The lipgloss is delicious smelling and tasting (minty!) and is alright for the office without looking like a hussy.

I can't tell you how much the eyeshadow primer has changed my life. It makes even my crappy Cover Girl colors look fantastic. It keeps the shadow looking densely colored, longer lasting, and crease free. For the most part, I mean everything has its limits. If I drink all night and sleep in it, it's not going to look stellar the next day. But you shouldn't be sleeping in your makeup anyway! For shame!

I see their vintage 24/7 eye pencils are on super sale as well... But I already have most of these in shadow form, so I don't know how necessary a liner would be. I don't usually just wear liner. Though I do just wear shadow. Maybe. I really love their eyeshadow pencils. I mean, love them. They make putting eyeshadow on so easy and lazy its not even funny. You can blend them right after you smooth them on. Once they dry, its as if you mixed your eyeshadow with your primer. They just don't seem to smudge or come off all day long. I am a constant eye-rubber too, and it still doesn't come off. Speaking of, I'd really like to try their liquid liner, but just haven't had the money to get something I hardly wear. Maybe a basic black is in my future though.

I might also mention the brushes that came with the Naked & Naked 2 palettes are fantastic. With Naked I got the Good Karma Shadow Brush. This thing is so nice, I use it for mostly all of my colors not just the palette. It's easy to load up with shadow and apply over all of my lid and does a good job for cutting the crease. The Naked 2 palette came with a double ended brush. On one end is what I think is the Good Karma shadow brush again (but in this instance, it wasn't nearly as full of a brush head. I don't know what is up, it seemed to be missing hairs/fibers/whatever, I don't like it.) and the other end seems to be a Good Karma Crease Brush. I assuredly don't use it for my crease, but I do use it for my brow bone and all over lid color. I wasn't as nearly happy, overall, with the brush that came with Naked 2 compared with the Naked... but if you buy the brush alone, its like half the cost of the palette. I wouldn't mind another Shadow Brush.

I haven't tried any of their foundations or powders because I am hesitant to switch from L'Oreal True Match which works so well already. I have a problem finding stuff that does all of these: matches my skin tone, covers enough, doesn't clog my pores, comes off easily in the shower but doesn't rub off during the day, and doesn't look cakey/fakey. That's a lot of factors and without getting a full product and trying it for a good long week, I don't think I'll change. I need to be sure it works for me to buy it. I'm also a skeptic when it comes to face primers and sealing sprays. That just sounds like clogged pores waiting to happen and I can't risk it.

Overall, I encourage everyone to try Urban Decay. The one product I'd recommend for all is the eyeshadow primer potion. It simply is amazing. If you can't afford anything else, get this. It will make all your cheap drug store shadows so much better. My second vote would actually be for the good karma shadow brush. Yeah, its expensive, but you can use it with everything else you have already.

How to care for Oily Skin

I've posted in the past about how I personally take care of my oily skin but this is a bit of a revisit. For background, my skin is: very sensitive, has a tendency to burn way too easily, gets way greasy, was acne-riddled as a teen, and cystic acne continues to be a problem for me even as an adult. I want to go over my history a bit to help those of you out there with similar problems or who also have greasy skin find something that works for you.

A long time ago, I used think the best way to attack my acne was to just nuke it. I used 10% benzoyl peroxide acne facewash. Specifically, I used Oxy. The bottle looks way different now than it did then. It made my skin satisfyingly burn. I thought that because I was nuking all the grease off my face and killing all the bacteria, this was the best route. But I remember back when I was a teen and think "I still wore a lot of makeup to cover my spots." I also remember my skin just kind of constantly hurting. I developed still-present issue of not wanting anyone to touch my face. For the pain and for the fear that it would make more zits.

Another problem as a self-conscious teen, I washed my face too much. In the morning, when I came home from school, if I randomly felt like it, in the shower at night and also just before bed. It was all too much. I didn't always use the Oxy stuff, but I did certainly overwash. And I didn't moisturize. So far, three things going against having oily skin: the constant washing actually stimulates oil production, the benzoyl peroxide was too high of a dose, and not moisturizing meant my skin was getting simultaneously dry and flaky as whiteheads burst out!

My mom, seeing my agony, bought me Proactive. The packaging kind of explained how overwashing and using too high of a percent of benzoyl peroxide can actually make acne worse. I took heed. I started only washing in the morning before putting on makeup/going to school and at night when I took a shower. I still didn't moisturize in the traditional sense, but if you know anything about Proactive, it is a 3 step system. Wash, toner and "treatment". So I guess that's when I started moisturizing a little. This did help my skin stop being so burny and flaky. It made my skin polished and smooth feeling. But the white heads and cystic acne kept coming.

My later teens was the first time I considered going on Accutane. My mom was staunchly against it. One of the biggest side effects is horrible, horrible depression. I had some friends on it or who had taken it, though, and they swore it was a miracle. I went through all the steps to get it, including the blood tests, but ended up ultimately not going on it. I went off to college anyway and started trying some other skin care solutions.

I quit wearing makeup nearly as much in college but I don't think that helped reduce the amount of zits I got. The first non-peroxide face wash I recall using was Neutrogena's Facial Bar. I liked this because it didn't burn! Imagine that! But it also left a film on my skin that I started to notice made my skin break out. I'd follow it up with a cotton ball of either rubbing alcohol or witch hazel to get the film off. I found that their liquid stuff cured me of any film problems. I would still use that if there's nothing else around.

Eventually I started moisturizing. I haven't wandered far in that territory. I tried my roommate's Clean & Clear Morning Burst. But I kind of hated it, it felt too heavy. Then I tried the Dual Action stuff but that didn't seem to moisturize enough. I eventually settled on Neutrogena's Sensitve Skin moisturizer and swear by it to this day. I've sampled some stuff at Sephora, but nothing has been nice enough to get me to change. Even Clinique didn't help my skin. It simultaneously didn't moisturize and felt too heavy on my skin.

What I have learned as an adult is to treat your skin kindly and it won't explode. Don't overwash, don't add too many chemicals to it and it will generally be ok. You just have to get over the occasional zit. I still get zits every day. I'm just not willing to go to Accutane. I've toyed with the idea over and over but the side effects just sound like too many for just a common skin problem. You will find as you age that most people couldn't give less of a crap about a zit or two on your face. The goal with acne treatment, to me, isn't necessarily totally clear skin but skin you can live with. That's where I'm at.

So! Here is a list of things I totally recommend. Or don't recommend if they stood out in my mind to suck enough I should mention them. You will notice a trend in brands. I swear I'm not paid by anyone.

Washes:
Body Clear Body Wash
Pore Refining Exfoliating Cleanser
Deep Clean Facial Cleanser
Oil-Free Acne Stress Control Power-Cream Wash
Oil-Free Acne Wash Daily Scrub
Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Facial Cleanser (I really like this one)
Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Foaming Scrub
Oil-Free Acne Wash Redness Soothing Facial Cleanser (I really like this one too)
Time Release Acne Cleanser (I love it but it is expensive and I'd only recommend to use every other day)
Purity Made Simple (Not useful for makeup removal, seemed only good for mornings)
*CONTINUOUS CONTROL Acne Cleanser I do NOT recommend, it burns my flesh right off. A friend of mine uses it and swears by it though.
*MORNING BURST Facial Cleanser (I don't recommend, didn't clean my skin thoroughly, made me break out)
*Ageless Restoratives Energy Renewal Cleanser (I HATE! It leaves a film and I'm guaranteed to break out afterward)


Toners:
Sea Breeze Actives Deep-Clean Astringent (ironically, the Sensitive Skin version is useless)
Witch Hazel (you can get this anywhere. It is alright before bed, but I wouldn't use it before makeup)

Moisturizers:
Soy Moisturizing Face Cream SPF 20 (It was ok during the winter only when my skin was super dry)
Vinosource S.O.S Thirst Quenching Serum (see above comment)
Oil-Free Moisture - Sensitive Skin (as mentioned, is my standing favorite)

Spot Treatments & Masks:
On-the-Spot Acne Treatment (but use this sparingly and only on white-heads)
Clear Pore Cleanser/Mask (I use this only as a spot treatment on gross big red oozing whiteheads)
Clarifying Detox Mask (use occasionally as an all-face mask, but usually on smaller whiteheads)
Luminizing Black Mask (use only about once a month)

Make up:
True Match Super Blendable Makeup (I wear this everyday including the matching powder and concealer. Doesn't clog pores but isn't full coverage either)
Clear Complexion Makeup (This felt good on my skin and didn't break me out but the lack of colors made me quit because it didn't match my skintone)
Clear Complexion Concealer (Do the concealer before your foundation and the color mis-match won't be so obvious)
Visible Lift Serum Absolute Advanced Age-Reversing Makeup (Nice if you need more coverage and still didn't clog my pores)
Dual Wet and Dry Foundation (I loved the coverage and how this felt on my skin. I quit using it because it didn't match my skintone)
Clean Liquid Makeup, Sensitive Skin (I tried this years ago and it was terrible. Though the formula may have changed since)