[bunnyb]

punkrockgrrrl, I love Benefit too! Santa brought me a pocketpal (benetint and gloss wand), showoff eye shimmer in new colour mint julep (torquoise) and TWO Realness of Concealness boxes so I exchanged one for Dandelion blush (I was running out). I also received a box set of Ruby&Mille makeup that covers all the essentials!

2 x Lush gift boxes too so I'm looking AND smelling pretty .

[punkrockgrrrl]

I am madly in love with anything by Benefit. Punkrockboy got me the new Dallas pallette. Their Dallas line is somewhere between a blush and a bronzer. It makes my cheeks look sunkissed, even during the rainy winter in Portland!

[mandolyn]

santa was ab fab with me this year, and i now have oodles of $$$ to spend at sephora! i'm trying to plan this out carefully so i can stretch my gift cards to the max .... so does anyone have any makeup/haircare/etc recommendations, or anything on their wish list i can check out?

[maimy]

Luna, thanks to VV's recommendation (which came JUST at re-ordering time) I got some new toys at Aromaleigh, and one of them might be good for you. In mixing the pigments I received just last week (which turned out great), I had ordered one with a slight pearl finish to it - not glimmer or glitter at all, but a very light luminescence. Adding that to the matte minerals gave a wonderful oomph. One of the things I liked about minerals when I started them this spring was that they were actually improved by a light warm-weather sweat; and, of course, with winter on its way, I'm not getting that particular "glow" these days. Heh. Anyway, so the "Illuminator" powder from Aromaleigh, with the subtle light-catching sheen, might be a good item to try - even if you don't use mineral makeup. I would imagine you can mix it in with blush or regular powder pretty easily.

Funnily enough, Cover Girl used to make a loose powder with a very subtle sheen which, when they discontinued it, I had an impossible time replacing/replicating. I've been playing lab-scientist with loose pigments ever since running out of the last of it for years trying to capture the non-glimmery glow it created, with varying success. It was called "Illuminator" - and this Aromaleigh stuff is every bit as good as that, even without pigment. It may actually be a slight improvement; I wore it in daylight twice this week, and could not have really done that with the CG loose powder.

[lunasol]

::delurks::

Quick question: Does anyone have a suggestion for a product that might "brighten up" my skin a bit? I have your standard fair, freckly complexion that tends to get a bit dull in the winter. I'd like to get a bit of a dewy look.

However, I don't tend to like to use foundation because my skin is very sensitive. The plus side to fair skin is that a little makeup tends to go a loooooong way.

Thanks!

[chachaheels]

I've decided to just stop trying to find an all-day "long lasting" lipstick. They are all so drying, some of them were actually uncomfortable. The worst were the ones that came in little tubes that you painted on, then covered up with some kind of questionable grease substance afterward.

If I decide to put lipstick on now, I just apply it and reapply it as I need to. It's not that hard to do, and I don't feel like my lips are chapping instantly.

I found a couple of samples I'd been given that I forgot about: by Eco Bella. I'm actually surprised--I got a tube of their black mascara, two tubes of their liquid lip gloss ("Peace", "Power" and "Passion" colours--love the Peace, but the others are too pink for me) and a couple of tubes of their lipstick--one in a deep red (like a burgundy red), the other in a bronzy colour. Their lipsticks are very moist, kind of sheer, but the colours are good if nothing exciting. Just nice for every day wear. I like the idea that they're not filled with a whole bunch of scary dyes or strange, animal-by-product bases.

The mascara, however, is exceptional. Seriously. Better than Mac, which I've been using over the last year; better than an outrageously overpriced Estee Lauder mascara I decided to try about a month or so ago, and better than the drug store brands I've been using forever. I can't believe I let this sit, forgotten, for so long!

[babydrool]

Hi , VeronicaV -- glad to hear you are moving to NYC! So much to do and see -- grew up here and no other city seems to compare.

As for a "true red" lipstick I can recommend Vincent Longo in "Americana" -- works for pale/olive/ or dark skintones because it is not blue red or orange red -- neutral. A bit pricier than drugstore brands but I don't wear red everyday so it lasts forever. If looking for a red tinted lippy that is not so in-your-face -- Benefit Benetint works pretty well and can be used for both cheeks and lips.

Recently bought Vincent Longo lipstain in "baby boo" (I liked the name) -- lasts forever but the colors stain really dark and dries superquickly before you can lighten it up. I've figured a routine to apply clear lipgloss with lightening speed after the stain to get lighter but longlasting results but its kinda annoying. Obsessed with lipstains because I hate having to reapply lipgloss/lipstick every hour -- need staying power. Don't like the longlast lipsticks in the drugstores because they are so stiff and dry up my lips. Anyone recommends a brand they like?

[maimy]

FlyingFrog, it's about figuring out whether you're a blue red or an orange red. People talk about "true" red, but in cosmetics there are very, very few actual primary colors to be found. Even the nearly-true red-reds I wear would look more pink if you drew a line on white paper with one. That indicates the blue-red, which looks best on me.

I can't really speak to the complexions which look best with what, because it seems to me many of the guidelines or rules on those things are difficult to apply. I am very sallow/olive - but, because I am also extremely pale, the yellow and green undertones of my skin don't get the same effects with color cosmetics that someone darker than I am, but with the same skin tones, would. I think a lot of olive or sallow people would probably look better in the orange reds than the cool reds I prefer.

Prestige makes about the closest to a true-red lipstick I have ever found, and I have been a red-convert for about fifteen years. They're a drugstore brand, but I highly recommend their lipcolors. I own at least five of them, and they're all very good; have been using Prestige for three years or more now.

If you have any tubes of failed color at home, take a sheet of very white paper and do some color tests to see what pigments are in them. If you have more than one, it should be pretty easy to sense what undertones are at work; by far easier than it often is in the tube or even on your skin. (I have one Maybelline red that looked so fire-engine red in the tube, but which turned out to be so pink it actually tattoos my lips magenta; I hate it on its own, and it's a failed experiment - I use it as a mixer.) Figuring out what's not working on you can help you find another direction to go, usually a better one. Good luck!

[flyingfrog]

oof, so late in saying this - my internet time is so random. but thanks for the eye cream tips, ladies. I ended up with a lumene product (not roll-on, it's a little tube). hydra tender soothing eye cream, it's called. I chose it because a) it says 'for sensitive skin' and I have the kind of face that gets rashy if you look at it wrong, let alone pile on gooey creams; b) it wasn't too pricey; c) as I was dithering at the shelf with a couple products in my hand a woman walked by and said "get the lumene stuff, it's a great brand." sold! and the skin around my eyes is definitely looking less dry and crinkly after a few weeks of use. awesome.

I also want to say, as cold weather approaches, that sally hansen's radiant hands nails & cuticles cream is a-mazing for preventing the chapped knuckles and peeling cuticles of winter. but it's not greasy. smells light and citrusy. I love it. $6 at the drugstore.

blakcherry, I'm on a red lipstick hunt too. why is it so hard? I am starting to wonder if maybe I just can't wear it. I always look like a clown. so I stick to the boring ol' berry shades and sneak envious glances at the girls who can pull off real-red. bah.

[maimy]

Oh, thank you VV!

I'd love samples - it appears you can get 'em on the site, too; I'll probably spend a few min. there tomorrow when I am not so tired. But PM me any time, even if not to be all nicey-nice and give me stuff ... Heh.

I'm finding with the switch from traditional foundation, pale and perfect color matching are much less of an issue. The minerals are so sheer and the point is to wear so little, I just throw some of my foundation color in with some of their "porcelain glow" (no pigment, but no pearly shine either - it's a nice "cutter" to balance tints) and dab with about half and half. SO nice. (This is the first makeup I've ever worn that is beautifully improved by a little bit of sweating ...)

I am so loving the model's golden-age-movie-starlet look on the home page!



QUESTION for my cosmetically-wise compadres: I received a double-ended clear BOOM lip gloss with an eBay purchase a few months ago, and am running near empty now. It is a really nice gloss, but the only place I have found it online appears to be some sort of local wholesaler in L.A., and I'm not even sure their online ordering system even works. Has anyone else ever used BOOM? Does anyone know where I might be able to find it? eBay searches were a bust, and I can't remember who the seller was who used it as a bonus, so I'm hoping to find a hookup ...

Grazie, ladies!

[veronicavalium]

maimy--i've missed you so! yes, you can order samples of the voile on the website--they are super cheap and last about a week for me. aromaleigh.com. also cool to know that they advertise in bust, so that is a plus. i'm a fan of their highlighters as well. i think i have a candlelight one. when i get settled in nyc, i could mail you one also. i have a few samples in each colour for work. just let me know if you'd like me to. the alabaster is amazingly light. and there is a color called ghost that you can mix in to lighten your foundation even more. i love that stuff! i do plan on sticking around--it's been a crazy year, but i have internet installed in my new apt in brooklyn.

dusty, mandolyn, babydrool--hi! i've missed all of you! is junglista around? or jilliec? pagangrrl? kisses around.

[maimy]

*Squee* a shout-out on makeup!!!! I'd love to try this stuff - is it possible to find samples, VV? Though I have been loving the minerals for daily wear, my Saturday Night full-face regimen has not changed, still with the foundation etc. - and Maybelline Smooth Result was discontinued, so even with hoarding a few bottles it can only last so long ...

Also, how are you? Please say you'll stick around a little - eh?

[veronicavalium]

Wow, it's been a while, because I don't even know how to use the new lounge! I sort of got addicted to LJ, and it sucks a lot of my web time.

I must be on the same wavelength as babydrool to come back and pop in. I was checking out the info on nyc, because I am moving there this month, and I had to stop in my favourite thread.

I will read through this week, but hello to all of my busties, and a quick plug for the aromaleigh voile foundation. I have been using it for TV work and on myself. I absolutely love it, and I look like I am not wearing anything. It also comes in super super light colors--I'm thinking of maimy here.

Anyway, I am off to research the cool places of nyc. I hope I can meet some of you New York busties!

[blakcherry]

Spirit-Better late than never! I have been using the mavala stuff (once a day) but I can't really guage its success yet. I think the little gap in my eyelashes filled in (a little...kinda?) but they look pretty much the same otherwise. Then again,it has only been a couple of weeks. I didn't use the castor oil long enough to be able to judge either. While my lashes may not have grown, the mavala stuff is certainly great under mascara (makes my lashes LOOK fuller and longer) and my lashes seem to be falling out less.

[spirit]

blakcherry, sorry i am almost a month late on responding due to not being able to check the lounge lately, and perhaps you used the alternative mentioned by now, but wanted to let you know i have had great success with talika's eyelash cream (it's in a blue pot and sephora sells it as well as talika's site. product is thick). they say to apply twice a day -- i always only did it once, at night. during the day i wear hard contacts and don't want stuff on my lashes obviously (unless it's mascara of course). personally, i use a cotton swab to apply and i follow the instructions.
if you find another product/method works for you, do let us know!

[blakcherry]

I've been using this roll-on eye stuff from a brand called "lumene" that I got at a CVS. It is really light serum and it works well for de-puffing and my dark circles.

I'm so jealous that you ladies get a gathering. I'm in Cali and the last gathering I heard about was a couple of years ago to see Hedwig (Im not actually "new," just new to this name..sorta..I used to be "blackcherry").

I'm on a mission to find red lipstick,yet again. I'm (fake) blonde,have blueish-greyish-greenish eyes,pale skin,and gold freckles. I have a couple of golden reds but my bf doesn't think they look good on me. Any ideas?

[annelise]

i threw out my burt's bees eye cream because it was giving me milia, those little white bumps you get on the edges of your eyes. it's very thick and greasy, and didn't seem to help my tiny fine lines either (i'm 30).

i just bought some lush stuff and i'm trying their eye cream--i like it so far. it doesn't irritate my eyes or anything, and seems soft. lush stuff is so expensive though--i'm going to wait and see what i think of it with time.

[sunshine]

FlyingFrog, I adore the Burts Bee's Eye Creams not to mention all of their other products. Go to their website. They usually have a sale or two unlike the co-op which charges full price and then some.

[babydrool]

Hi, Mando!!! When's the next NYC Bustie gathering? Never made it to one but would still love to get together and finally meet!

FlyingF, I like the Neutrogena eye cream with copper in it... light and doesn't irritate my eyes or my wallet!

[flyingfrog]

mmm. sephora. gift card. mmmmm.

I just bought my mom her christmas presents from their website... including this limited edition frederic fekkai shimmer hairspray with diamond dust in it. (no wonder it was nearly $13, for hairspray!) I never use hair products myself, but this sounds like it could be fun for the holidays. maybe she'll let me try it out.

et alors, the current dilemma: I want to buy my first eye cream. I'm nearly thirty. my skin's drier than it used to be. winter makes it worse. I'm battening down the hatches but I've only ever used regular face creams - anyone have a favorite eye-specific cream? I don't need anything, like, hydraulic. just non-irritating, moisturizing, ready to fight any fine lines that might be lurking. some de-puffing action is always welcome for this insomniac girl too.

hell, I don't even know what to look for in an eye cream. I went to the drugstore but I didn't know what ingredients I should get excited about. clearly I missed eye cream day in girl school.