Review: MAC Disney Mineralize Eyeshadow "She Who Dares" + EOTD

Originally, I wasn't interested in anything from this Disney collection. I didn't like the packaging and what I saw in print, didn't look too exciting. That all changed yesterday when I went to put on hold something for a blogger friend and I got to see the whole collection up close and personal. The two mineralize eyeshadows, She Who Dares (Green and Blue duo) and My Dark Magic ( Purple duo) just awed me with their beautiful colors. Up till now, I've stayed away from the mineralize products because of the heavy shimmer in it. The MAC MUA told me that these two were probably the best as far as pigmentation and least amount of fallout. I'm also a bit worried about the shimmers going into any fine lines and creating an awful look but I decided that I loved the color combos too much to pass it up.

First thing this morning I went and picked up the eyeshadows. I couldn't wait to get home so that I could play with it. I had a hard time deciding which one to play with and ended up deciding to go with the green/blue duo since I've been doing a lot of purple EOTD recently. Honestly, I don't like the design on the compact but oh well.

As far as my concern with fallout and pigmentation, the MUA gave me a few pointers. As I had learned in the Dior workshop, instead of swiping your eyeshadow from side to side or in a downward swipe, you should actually push your brush up. The MAC MUA said to use a flat brush, like the 239. In order to keep fallout to a minimum and to get good pigmentation, you then spritz it with Fix+ and dab the brush onto your lids. Do your eye makeup first and then the rest of your face to help take care of any fallout.

I found that using this method, the eyeshadows turned out really quite dark and it was difficult to blend, thus it kind of muddied my colors. I also stll got quite a bit of shimmers all over the place, which is something that I don't care for much.

I decided for my EOTD to mix is using mainly matte eyeshadows to try to tone down the shimmers in the mineralize eyeshadow.

Products used:

(All from MAC unless otherwise stated)
UDPP in Sin
Yogurt
Nylon
Remotely Grey
Neutral Pink
She Who Dares
Copperplate
K-Palette Real Lasting Eyeliner
Canmake Gokubuto Mascara

I primed with UDPP. Nylon on inner 1/3 of moving lid. (Moving lid is the area of your eyelid where your eyeball is.) The green eyeshadow from She Who Dares on middle 1/3 of moving lid and blue eyeshadow on outer 1/3 of moving lid. Copperplate in contour area (contour area is the indentation between your eyeball and browbone). I usually place my eyeshadow in the middle 3/4 of the the contour area--I don't go from end to end. Remotely Grey is then lightly layered over Copperplate and gently blended upwards into browbone area. Neutral Pink is applied in the inner contour area (where Copperplate and Remotely Grey wasn't applied) and gently swept upwards to the eyebrows. Blue is again applied in the outer corners for more depth and gently swept up and blended towards middle of the eyelid and upwards into contour area. (I'm one of those who has to blend well so that's also the reason why sometimes my colors kind of get muddy.) Yogurt is on browbone for highlight. Green is lightly swept on lower lashline from inner eye to mid eye. Blue is swept from mid eye to outer eye along the lower lashline. Lined upper lashline and 1/3 of outer lower lashline with K-Palette. Applied Canmake Gokubuto mascara.

As I said earlier, my colors kind of got muddied and I was disappointed that you really can't see the different colors. One MAC MUA had her eyeshadow on really dark. The other one you could see the beautiful blue color on her lids. I should have asked her how she achieved that but at that time I didn't realize that mine wouldn't turn out the nice blue. I will have to play with this more. You can also see the shimmers dotting my eyelashes and eyelids. Overall, though, I'm quite pleased with how my EOTD turned out. Seriously, this is literally an eye of the day because I did only this one eye. I left my other eye with this morning's makeup.

*Kat*

A Little Bit of Shopping and NOTD

I have been shopping quite a bit over the last few weeks and thought that I'd share just a little of what I purchased.

I've been needing a new purse and finally found one that I liked.

I picked this up at Ross. Ross is a discount store. It's kind of a hit or miss place. There are times when I find lots of things that I like there and luck out on clothing that fit  but most of the time I don't find much.

I also found at Ross, this set of 7 nail polishes. At $4.99, I just had to pick it up.

I've never heard of this brand before. It is Simple Pleasures by Tri-Coastal Designs. Each bottle contains  0.41 fl. oz./12 ml. each. The teal color at the end caught my eye, which is why I bought it. One thing that really stands out is that there is no shaker ball inside of the bottle. It is unfortunate since that helps to mix the polish.

My NOTD is done with base coat and top coat of Lippman Hard Rock and two coats of the teal polish. There is a konad sticker on my ring finger. I gave up doing konadicures for now since I'm having a heck of a time getting it to work. Anyway, this polish is one of the thicker polishes that I've used. A single application covers quite nicely with no streaking. Since it is on the thicker side, it took quite a while for it to dry. Also, even with using the Hard Rock, it seems that after only 24 hours, I am getting some tip wear already. Oh well, what do you expect with such an inexpensive polish. I really do like this color but don't know if I will use it again. We'll have to see how well it lasts.

By the way, did you know that grating potatoes is dangerous? Yes indeed it is! It is dangerous for your manicure!

I ended up grating my thumbnail! I cut it as short as I could but as you can see, my nail is still chipped on the side. (>.<)*

I got a notice in my email that I could redeem a Sephora V.I.B. coupon. With a $50.00 purchase, I had my choice of one of three gift sets: Benefit--Badgal Lash Mascaras, High Beam and Posie tint, Too Faced--Primed & Poreless Face Primer, Shadow Insurance Eye Primer and Lip Insurance Lip Primer, or NARS--Bronzing Powder (Laguna) and Lip Gloss (Chihuahua). As soon as I saw my email, I knew that I wanted the NARS gift set. I don't own anything NARS, nor have I tried anything from their line.

I lucked out and got the 2nd to the last NARS gift set. The drawstring bag that the products come in is cute, it has a slight satin feel to it.

I was actually quite surprised by how small the items were! Of course I didn't think that they'd be full-sized products but I thought that they might be just a bit bigger. The Laguna bronzer is .08 oz./2.5 g. and the lip gloss has writing too small for me to read, even with a magnifying glass.

To show you a size comparison, I've used a MAC single eyeshadow and a Dior Shine lip gloss. The good thing about the bronzer, it's a nice size to travel with if I do end up liking it. I don't have to take my big Smashbox container with me.

I haven't tried either of these out yet but I'm hoping that the bronzer will be good. The lip gloss might be a little too pale for me but I won't know until I try it.

Tomorrow, I get to pick up my MAC mineralize eyeshadows from the Disney collection.

*Kat*

Review: Tony Moly Peach Hand Cream

Today I decided to do a review on the Tony Moly Peach Hand Cream that my friends brought back from Korea for me.

The container that it comes in is really cute because it really looks like a peach.

You just twist the container and it will open up. Inside the hand cream is a pale pink/peach color. It smells like a real peach--not a fake peach scent. The scent does lessen as time goes on. It really doesn't linger long so if you are sensitive to scents, this shouldn't be too much of a problem.

It feels really nice and is a light lotion. It isn't greasy to me. I actually like my hand creams and lotions to be a little more emollient as my hands are on the dry side. I am often putting lotions on at work so this jar is perfect for me to use there. It's a cute addition to my desktop.

I took this picture to show how big the container is. There is 30g worth of product, which isn't very much. I don't know how much it costs since it was a gift.

*Kat*

Review: Missha Signature Real Complete BB Cream, Cle de Peau, EOTD

I didn't think that I'd be doing another BB cream review this soon since I believe that I have found a couple of BB creams that I really like. However, I was very curious about Missha BB creams having read some good things about them.

In one of my recent love packages, I received a sample combo pack of Missha M BB Boomer and M Signature Real Complete BB Cream.

The BB Boomer is a BB primer which is supposed to help the BB cream to adhere and give lasting power. It will also make your skin look brighter because it has pink pearl powder. It also is whitening and wrinkle repairing. The M Signature Real Complete BB Cream has SPF 25 PA++. There is a lot of information about what its characteristics are, which you can read about here. I believe that the same that I got was in shade 23, which is the darkest shade. I can't read Korean but that is the only number that was listed on the back of the sample pack that made any sense.

Here I have done my regular morning skin care routine, applied my Dior primer as well as the M BB Boomer. (I guess that I didn't need to apply the Dior primer.)

This is after applying the M Signature Real Complete BB Cream. I don't normally apply very much, only about a pea-sized amount. I am actually quite surprised by the great coverage that this BB cream provides. It's also a good shade for my skintone. (A MAC NC25-30)

Here I've applied Canmake concealer under my eyes and on the dark spot on my cheek. I've also finished my nose, under my nostrils, chin and from under cheekbones down to chin with powder foundation. I also dotted a little powder foundation over the dark spot on my cheek and right under my lower lashline.  Normally, I do this AFTER applying foundation on top of my BB cream. (I don't apply powder on my cheeks because I don't want it settling in and bringing out any fine lines.)

This is my finished face with blush. I am totally amazed that I had enough coverage with just this BB cream and didn't need to apply any foundation. I've never gone out with only BB cream before. The real test comes to see how well it holds up after 10 hours or more.

I had to do this "after 10 hours of wear" photo this way because the BB cream that was on my nose, under my eyes and upper part of my one cheek was removed, which will be explained later in this post.

It seems that this BB cream does hold up quite well even after more than 10 hours of wear. I'm not sure if the M BB Boomer was the reason this held up. I'll try it again using only my regular primer (I use either Dior or UDPP, depending on my mood but most often it's Dior) .

I really like this BB cream. It takes away one step of having to use foundation. I will have to think about it though because I have 3 BB creams that I am currently using, one which I just bought a backup. The other thing is the price of this BB Cream. It is $45.99 on the Missha US site. Does anyone know if it's purchased in Korea if it is a whole lot cheaper? My friends are probably going back to Korea for a quick trip next month. If it's a lot cheaper, then I could ask them to pick it up for me.

Continuing on...

The reason why part of my makeup was removed today is because I went to the Cle de Peau counter at Nordstrom. I had received a card in the mail that I could redeem for a 3 day sample of their Eye Contour Balm. At the same time, I could test out their award-winning concealer. It has been voted the Best Concealer for so many years in a row. It is makeup artists' favorite concealer. I was really excited to try this out since it's won so many awards and is loved by makeup artists.

The guy that helped me was really nice. He knew that I wanted to be able to cover the dark spot on my cheek. The concealer is a cream stick concealer in a tube. He told me that it is moisturizing so it's good for those who are concerned about hydration. The concealer feels really nice on, not heavy at all. He also applied very lightly some powder. He said that this powder is so fine that it will not settle in fine lines and is also actually hydrating. I must say that after wearing it for almost 6 hours, it does look really nice and I don't see any fine lines.

The biggest disappointment though was that it didn't cover my dark spot well at all. Even he was a bit surprised and got a little frazzled when it appeared that it wasn't going to do a good job on that stubborn spot. He even applied some cream foundation over it and while it looked better, it is still visible.

The first picture is using CanMake Cover & Stretch Concealer and the 2nd picture is with the Cle de Peau concealer. With the CanMake concealer, it is barely visible, while with the Cle de Peau it is much more visible. Actually, in the picture, it looks better than in person. I think that I'll stick with CanMake, which is priced around $11.00 or so. The Cle de Peau is $70.00.

To finish off this post, here's an EOTD that I did using my Dior 5-Colours Extase Pink palette, both Gokunobi and Gokubuto mascaras and K-Palette Real Lasting eyeliner. Blush was Lunasol but I can't remember which color and I can't get the refill to pop out. For my lips, I used MAC Lustre lipstick--Sweetie.

*Kat*

Hello Kitty

The other weekend was clothing shopping time while working at the Women's Expo. This past weekend was Hello Kitty shopping while working at the Trade Show. The booth that I purchased the Hello Kitty items from was located directly across from our booth. They kept on busting out more and more items throughout the weekend and I kept on eyeing all of the things. Fortunately, I kept myself in check and purchased only a few things.

I found out from my worker that her grandaughter LOVES Hello Kitty. She tried to go to a sale at Macy's  a couple of Saturdays ago but it was so crowded that she gave up. She had intended to go and buy her grandaughter some Hello Kitty things so she was disappointed that she wasn't able to get anything. I saw in that booth across from me a really cute and feminine Hello Kitty t-shirt so I bought it.  It's not pictured because I already gave it to her. I understand that her grandaughter was absolutely thrilled with it. I also saw the Hello Kitty double decker food containers. It reminds me of bento containers but these are big. I guess that you could pack food in it and go on a picnic. I like that it has a snapable handle and both covers of the containers are decorated with a design, not just the top one. I decided to get two not knowing what I was going to do with it. I also got an eco bag. I love bags and can't have too many of them. Hubby begs to differ.

After I got home, I was putting my things away and trying to decide what to do with the food containers. I don't really go out on picnics and using them just to store food and/or leftovers in it seemed like such a waste. That's when I thought about using it to store some of my makeup!

I have a makeup bag that holds most of my eyeshadow palettes but it can't hold any more. I had MAC eyeshadow singles sitting out and the large pan palette is too large to fit into that bag. There's also my NAKED Palette, which is too big for that bag and my new Estee Lauder eyeshadow palette. I decided to see if they would all fit into one of the containers and it does!  I then decided to use the other container and fill it with my blush and bronzers. I thought that I had a meager collection of these but it turns out that I have a lot more than I thought. I decided to put the brushes that I use with them in it although I'm not sure if I'll keep it in there or not.

For the other set, I'm thinking of putting in my powders along with some brushes. I'm also thinking that I might put the rest of my brushes in the other container. I tried looking for some trays that would fit into the container so that I can kind of separate the brushes the way that I like to keep them separated but I didn't have much luck finding any that fit. I'll keep on trying though.

EDIT: I tried looking today for containers but can't find anything that will fit or is to my liking. I was wishing that there were separators for these boxes and that's when I hit on this idea. I made my own! It may not be pretty but it works for now.

I used plastic canvas and packing tape to make my own separators. I cut the plastic canvas to size and used the tape to hold it in place. Plastic canvas is usually used for needlepoint--cross stitching, I think. I don't do needlepoint except that I did embroidery a long time ago. I had these plastic canvas on hand because I used it to make fabric boxes. I may consider making these boxes in the future to fit into the container.

For now, I think that I'll use these containers this way. I have been thinking of some other storage system--like an Iris cart but I don't like the see-through drawers.

*Kat*

Love Package from K

Today started off kind of blah but it got infinitely better when the mailman dropped off a surprise package for me. It was a love package from K of cosmeddicted! It was so kind of her to send me a thank you package.

I love everything that is in there. There's a variety of KitKats, most of which are LE flavors! The box is the Sakura/Matcha flavor, the red ones I believe are the regular kitkat, the green ones are Aloe/Yogurt flavor and Lavender/Blue ones are blueberry. I haven't eaten any of these before except for the regular KitKat. Also enclosed were packets of Maxim Cafe menu Matcha Latte. These sound so interesting and I will definitely try these with Mai one night. I would share with hubby but he's not a coffee and tea drinker. Then there's my recently discovery Canmake concealer which I really love! I was honestly thinking of getting a backup so this is perfect timing. All of these were packaged in two cute Hello Kitty zip bags.

The last item is something that I searched for after I read her blog review of it. I couldn't it find it at one of the Japanese stores and coincidently, I looked for it today at another store prior to receiving the package but couldn't find it there either. It is the Gatsby Ice-Type Deodorant Body Paper. It's been extremely hot here the last few weeks so even more so I wanted to try this. Thank you so much for this timely gift K! I tried it after I got home and it's awesome! It smells wonderful and feels soooo good. It has a menthol scent and feel to it. It feels really cooling when you are applying it. However, if you are sensitive to the burning sensation that accompanies menthol, this is not for you. The aftermath of the cooling sensation is the tingling, burning sensation. It felt great! I think that this will be great to use if you have tired, aching muscles. It really helps to perk you up.

Thank you K, for your kind generosity.

*Kat*

Recent Outfits

I haven't really done any outfit type of posts on a regular basis. I think that I did only one.

On the weekend of the 10th and 11th, I helped a friend and worked at the Women's Expo. There is one vendor that I often purchase from at this show and the Douglas Trade Show. I just learned that she opened up her own shop so I'll probably check it out soon. I really like the Asian fashions and she brings in clothing from Korea. What I like about her line is that they are really comfortable and lightweight. They are mainly out of polyester and polyester/rayon. They do not wrinkle so it's great for traveling. While her items are on the pricey-er side, I don't mind it since I've been really satisfied with my purchases.

I picked up 3 items this time and I paid probably close to $200.00 total. What I love about these 3 pieces though, is their versatility.

This red top immediately caught my eye. I guess that it couldn't be helped since she was actually wearing it. When I first put it on, I felt that it was way too baggy for me but it's just the style of it. I guess that I could wear it out to an all-you-can-eat buffet and now worry about how big my stomach gets. LOL!

I am wearing it loose here with leggings but can just as easily wear it with a pair of jeans. I'm sure that a slinky and/or pencil style skirt will look good with it too.

Here I've cinched it in with a belt. These wide elastic belts are back in style! The belt that I am using is from a long time ago. It's a good thing that I didn't throw them away!

Next is a long tank. I immediately fell in love with this as soon as I saw it. At the neckline, there are 3 rosettes made out of the same fabric. Again, you can use leggings, jeans or even a nice pair of dress pants with this top.

For the upcoming colder weather (when will it arrive?! I can't wait.), you can layer it over a long-sleeved t-top. Complete the look with a pair of jeans and boots. Sorry, it's so hot and humid today that doing all of this changing was terrible so I just stayed in my leggings.

For cooler weather, you can layer it over a short-sleeved top and pair it with leggings. Here I've used a puffy-sleeved top--my all time favorite!

You can also layer it over a tank top and have the option of adding a cute little shrug. I don't like to go sleeveless so I have a ton of shrugs. This top is sheer so you need to layer it over a top.

The last item that I got was specially brought to the show for me by the owner. She said that she thought of me when she got the dress. Of course, that made me feel really obligated BUT she was right in that I liked it. The only thing is that I don't like the length. I usually like to wear my dresses so that they cover my knees. I don't like my knees showing cause they are not very nice looking. I also feel like people can see up the back of my dress when it's too short. Yeah, I'm a bit paranoid.

This dress is a cute nude pink color with brownish-black spots. It has a mini cowl-style neckline, which adds some interest to the design. Again, this is a loose-fitting outfit, perfect for indulging when going out to eat.

Here I've belted it with a beige wide elastic belt and added brown, lace-trimmed leggings. I really like the way this turned out.

The two pairs of shoes that I'm wearing in these outfit pictures, I picked up a week or two before I bought these outfits. I really like that black pair since the bottoms are really cushiony. Even though the heel is taller than I usually like to wear, they are so comfortable because of the cushiony bottom. The taupe pair is really tall too--almost a 3 1/2 inch heel! They are quite comfortable but if I plan on being on my feet for long periods of time, I will not be comfortable since the bottoms are not cushiony.

I know that this is a long post but one last thing that I wanted to show you. I was quickly flipping through my October CanCan magazine and I saw a dress that is so cute!

I think that I am going to try to duplicate it. Of course, it won't be exactly as shown but somewhat similar. Of course, I will lengthen it since I don't do above-the-knee dresses. I can feel my sewing juices starting to kick in. That rarely happens now days.

Thanks for reading through this long post!

*Kat*

Review: Etude House Lipgloss and Mascara

Well, it's been a busy two weeks for me but I think that my schedule will be back to normal for now.

As I had mentioned in a previous post, my friends had gone to Korea and brought back some goodies for me. Two of those items were Dear Darling Lipgloss in a mauve and strawberry milk pink.

Both of these glosses are darker in the lipgloss tube than they actually apply. Both have the same fruity scent, which is quite strong initially but the scent dissipates with time. I don't mind fruity scents so it doesn't bother me. It's not flavored the same, perhaps just a hint of fruity taste to it. It applied nicely with the doefoot applicator. The texture is quite nice, making your lips feel very moist but not sticky. It lasts a decent amount of time as long as you don't eat anything.

I was a little worried that the mauve would be too dark for my liking. I was so glad that it didn't apply as pigmented as it shows in the tube. The color actually shows up a bit brighter in the picture than it is in person.

The strawberry milk color applies very sheer so I think that this lipgloss might work very nicely over a lipstick.

Overall, I think that these glosses are quite nice. I like the moisturizing feel it gives my lips.

The other item that I tried was Etude House Lash Designing Vitecara Curl Mascara. I tried it on uncurled eyelashes and it barely curled them. I will stick with my Gokubuto Mascara for that. However, when I did apply it over my nicely curled eyelashes with Gokubuto Mascara, it really helped to volumize my eyelashes. I liked that combined effect very much. The Lash Designing Vitecara mascara also does not flake on me and washes over easily with warm water.

A new week is starting. Can you believe that the month of September is already half way through?!

*Kat*

Clarisonic, Hair Mask and You

So, what do those three things have in common? In reality, nothing but for me...Shower Spa Time!

In the colder winter days, it makes it a little harder to do, but during these hot summer days, it is the perfect weather to take time to do a shower spa. My color-treated hair needs to be deep conditioned so I try to do a good deep conditioning session once a week. Since it's best to leave the hair mask on for at least 15 minutes, I like to take the time to shower with a body polish or shower gel. Then it's the perfect time to pull out my Clarisonic Plus and leisurely buff my skin with the body brush. I like to especially concentrate on the decolletage, elbows, knees, heels, ankle bones and tops of toes. (I usually do this with the water off to conserve water.)

I will also use my face brush for delicate or sensitive skin and I spend time using it on my lips. It really helps to soften my lips and it feels so good after I'm done.

After I'm all done, my hair, body and lips are all very happy.

*Kat*

P.S. Starting tomorrow, I will be busy the whole weekend so I don't know if I'll be around much.

Love Packages!

Despite the fact that I was super busy last week, I was truly blessed by a couple of friends who gave me love packages. Both will remain anonymous but they know who they are.

The first package was from my friends because I was their pet sitter. They traveled to Japan and Korea on a business trip and brought me back so many wonderful items.

From Japan, Tokyo Banana and Shiroi Koibito! The Shiroi Koibito is usually found only in Hokkaido. Both are so yummy!

The rest of the items are from Korea. A lot were skin care items from a brand called Nature Republic. I haven't heard of them before except that from their last trip they brought back small samples of foundation and serum. Has anyone reading heard of them and know anything information that they can share with me? I can't really find any reviews either. It looks like a really nice line of products and I can't wait to try them. It seems that they are a natural ingredients line.

Whitening face cleanser, toner and emulsion. I can't wait to try this but will use up what I'm using right now since I'm almost finished with it.

Two different cleansers, the lemon is a foam cleanser and the peach is a shower gel.

A bunch of samples of skin softener and emulsion, blackberry & blueberry sweet body wash and stem cell serum.

A couple of mystery items. I have no idea what is in these cute containers. Anyone know the answer?

From Etude, cute things...

A travel kit of body wash and intensive care cream.

Several lip glosses, including a Hello Kitty mini gloss (so cute!), something called Milk Screw (???) and Lash Designing Vitecara Curl Mascara

From Tony Moly...

Peach lotion. I just love this jar!

The other love package that I received actually arrived at my office on Saturday so I didn't see it until today. I was totally floored by the generosity of this lovely gift. While I was opening the box that it was mailed in, I could smell such a wonderful fragrance emitting from the box. When I finally opened it up....

Another box! LOL! This was wrapped in beautiful sakura wrapping paper! Sakura is my favorite flower so of course it was so impressive to me. On the card it says Hello Gorgeous! and it's from Lush. Lush put a sticker onto the wrapping paper that says the paper is made from 100% recycled paper. Please recycle again for a lush environment. I will definitely be recycling it but by keeping it for me to enjoy looking at.

In this Hello Gorgeous set, there is a Sakura Bath Bomb/Ballistic, MMM Melting Marshmallow Moment Luxury Bath Melt, Gorgeous Moisturizer, Rub Rub Rub Shower Gel and Helping Hands Hand Cream. I usually don't take baths, only showers but I can't wait to try out the bath bomb and melt. I will definitely use it one night when I am completely alone and can really relax and leisurely enjoy it. The Helping Hands hand cream I did use today and it's great. I use lotions a lot at work. I am so grateful for the generosity of this gift. I know that Lush products are not inexpensive and this gift was completely unexpected. Thank you, my dear friend!

*Kat*