Where Have I Been?!?!?!?!

Oh my!!! A whole month (November) has passed me by! Actually I should say two months because I threw in that haul at the end of October when I was supposed to be working on school work :( Anyway...I am starting to get a lot less busy, and I am excited to be graduating :D

I just wanted to throw some stuff out there as to what I am planning to do within the next few weeks.

FIRST: I want to finish up some review posts that I had drafted, but no pictures uploaded which I think does nothing...

NEXT: I want to show you the goodies I have been getting from my Birchboxes...

THEN: I want to show some hauls that I have been holding onto for a while...along with some upcoming stuff I'll be getting in the mail (HINT-theBalm & Urban Decay) very soon!!

I will also be going to Torrance in the middle of this month...hopefully I'll have time and money to do a little shopping and I will update you about that as well...I will have internet up there too so I will hopefully be uploading my pictures and trying to post more blog posts!

Until then...I hope you are all doing well and I'm looking forward to blogging when school wraps up!

Bright Eyeliners: Which One to Choose?

So I noticed recently, there have been a few companies coming out with new liquid eyeliners in really bright, and sometimes sparkly colors. For a while the only time where you see colored eyeliners (besides black, brown, navy, and a darker purple) were usually pencil, kohl, and gel/cream formulas.

I like the idea, but I'm not completely sold that these will have to make it into my collection. I'm thinking of purchasing one, probably a sparkly purple, but some of them are so expensive that I don't know if it's too worth it.

Here's the ones that have been catching my eye (no pun intended).

• Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner, $18
• MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Liner (not to be confused with Aqua Eyes, their pencil liner), $23
• Stila Sparkle Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner, $22
• SEPHORA COLLECTION Long-Lasting Eye Liner, $10

Here's a picture of my swatching adventure at Sephora the other day:

I can't remember for sure what each color is, but I think it's something like this:

left column (top to bottom): MAKE UP FOR EVER (MUFE for short) 4, MUFE 6, MUFE 5

right column (top to bottom): MUFE 9, stila Royal, MUFE 8, MUFE 7

Of course it looks like the Sephora one would be the deal, but if I'm not mistaken, it's the smallest of the four. I can't tell you for sure unless I go in store because it doesn't list the amount on the website. The Urban Decay one to me looks like the deal, if any exists because it's a bit cheaper and seems like there's more product. I want to try it but the purple shade, Retrograde doesn't look as vibrant as Stila's Royal or MUFE's 8 and it wasn't available for me to swatch when I went to Sephora.

I have some contemplating to do, but once I pick one up, if any, I will let you know!

New Product Curiosity: INGLOT Freedom System

I've been reading about this brand called INGLOT that is based in the UK that has this eyeshadow palette like MAC and MAKEUP FOREVER that you can customize with eyeshadows of your choice. I've been contemplating getting a Zpalette, and getting MAC and MAKEUP FOREVER eyeshadows, and de-potting my Urban Decay eyeshadows. And after doing a little looking up, it seems that I think the INGLOT route is right for me.

At first, there were a few problems, one was that INGLOT was only a brick and mortor store...only a product listing was available online. Now that they finally have an online store, shipping is quite redonkulous-it's based on the price you're paying (the more you buy, the more you have to pay for it to be shipped). Anyway, there are stores in the US, including one in Vegas and a bunch on the east side of the country. This excites me because I would like to travel to New York (where they have a store) in the winter...just waiting on one of my friends to confirm so we can start planning our adventure there.

Anyway, I would like to point out a few things that make this company rise above the rest:

• SIZE: The size of the INGLOT eyeshadow pans are 2.7 grams. MAC and Urban Decay ones are 1.5, MAKEUP FOREVER comes close at 2.3 grams, and stila comes even closer at 2.6 grams (not too sure if these are the same size as the pans they used to sell-they're now sold in a pot)
• PRICE: When bought in bulk (>10), INGLOT eyeshadow pans are $4.50, even when you buy only one, the price is $7. MAC ones are $11 (for the pan only, in the pot it's $14.50), Urban Decay is $17, and you do not have the option to buy just the pan, also no pan only, stila at $18, and MAKEUP FOREVER at $19.
• FREEDOM: INGLOT comes in many varieties. You can choose from the duo eyeshadow palette for $1, 3 pan for $7, 5 pan for $10, 10 pan for $20, and 20 pan for $23. They will be releasing a 40 pan palette, which I'm not too sure about the price for. MAC Pro Palettes come only in the 4 and 15 option. The empty palettes (without the eyeshadows) are actually cheaper than the INGLOT ones. The quad is only $5 and the 15 pan (which can hold up to 22 I believe) is $14. MAKEUP FOREVER also has a palette you can put their eyeshadows in that holds 10, for $20. I thought they had another one (that holds less), but I can't find it. stila has empty palettes: 3 pan for $13, 4 pan for $16, 6 pan for $24, and 8 pan for $30.

So, if you get together with some friends and go to the store, you can get a good deal on eyeshadows. I've seen swatches on Temptalia's, Beautezine's and Xsparkage's blogs, and the color payoff looks great. Also, it seems after reading that the glitter in these are better at staying on your eyelid, instead of your cheek, which is something I really think Urban Decay should look into working on.

All you need to do is buy 10 pans, and you can get them for cheap. For me, that's just enough to get colors for natural look, a black, a gray/silver, an eye color enhancing look (for me a few purples), and a pink (which I like to use with neutrals). I think that could easily fill 10 pans. If I buy in the near future, I think I'm gonna pick up a 20 pan palette, and a few of the colors I mentioned. One thing I would like to do, if possible is make a dupe for the naked palette. However, in actuality, the Naked Palette is actually a good deal ($4 an eyeshadow, plus a free brush and primer potion), but I don't like the fallout from the glitter shades

Pictures Coming Soon

So on Wednesday, I received my Urban Decay 15th anniversary eyeliner set :) Yessss...I ordered it. I think it was worth the moolah personally, but I would rather have seen a wider variety of colors. There were like two blacks: the cult favorite Zero, and the kit exclusive Preversion, and a lot of browns, ok...I may be over-exaggerating, but I would have personally wanted Graffiti (green) and Yeyo (white). Now that I think about it, the whole range of colors is actually quite narrow. But anyway, I am liking them right now, and will post pictures soon :)

Speaking of pictures, in a post on my other blog (KatsuChiika) I mentioned that I am soon getting a new camera. The camera I am using now is actually still pretty good, but like how lots of electronics can start to show their age, mines is when compared to my friend's camera. Plus I can't find the USB for it too, so I've been wanting to post pictures of my nail wheels, and now the eyeliners, but can't find the dang thing, so I will work on that as I work on getting the camera.

My Skin Story, Part 1: Oily Skin & Moisturizers and Primers

So in my last post, I talked a bit about how gross my skin can get, but I though I'd share a more in depth look at my struggles with my skin.

So let's start with oiliness. As far as skin care is considered, I've tried so many "oil-control" products, it's pretty ridiculous.

I've tried Murad Oil Control Mattifier SPF 15, which worked ok, it was one of the first ventures into this world of oil-control. I thought it was a pretty good product, but my face was still very oily by the end of the day.

Another moisturizer I've tried is the Bare Escentuals bareVitamins Skin Rev-er Upper. That stuff was not as great as the Murad stuff, but I liked it enough not to return it, it helped make my face feel matte, but still produced the oils.

When I made a trip to the MAC store quite some time ago (for the Viva Glam Gaga lipglass), I was coerced into trying their Oil Control Lotion and their Pro Longwear SPF 10 Foundation (NC30). Now, when the makeup artist demoed the products on my face, she also used the Prep + Prime Skin as well, but I didn't purchase it. I am curious if I use that plus the other MAC stuff if it will make a big difference? Anyway: when I tried it, it felt nice, it felt like I wasn't wearing anything AND it also felt matte. What I wanted to tell her was that I wanted to stay for another couple of hours so that she could see how crappy my skin is and the oil slick that would have formed...but all in all it worked ok (like the Murad stuff).

The next thing I heard about was the Shiseido Pureness Mattifying Moisturizer Oil Free. I went to Sephora, and for the life of me I couldn't find the Shiseido stuff, so I asked someone, and then I found it, and asked for a sample (the reason why I never got samples of other stuff was because I didn't even know they did that :/), and so the person who helped me also pointed out that Bliss also makes a pretty good oil control moisturizer, so I got a sample of the Bliss Steep Clean Mattifying Lotion. I tried both, and decided since Sephora gave me a $30 gift card, I'll give the Bliss one a try because it seemed to work better, but I didn't really get a good trial because the person at Sephora didn't really give me a whole lot. So I bought myself a full size bottle, too bad I didn't know it was $48!!! At least I had the gift card...right?? Anyway, I have been using that, switching between that and the MAC one, I think the MAC one may be better. I use the Bliss one mostly at night now.

A couple of other noteable mentions in the moisturizer department is the Boscia Oil-Free Daily Hydration SPF 15. I've tried it as a sample size (the ones that come in those sets that Boscia makes a lot), and when it was time for my skincare challenge reward at Sephora, it looked like the only thing my skin would come close to liking. Out of all the products I already mentioned, I really LOVE the packaging on this one. It's in a tube type of thing, but it has a pump, so I can store it anywhere, and would be good for travel too, but there's the convenience of the pump. The actual product isn't that great, I think it made me more oily than some other stuff I've tried, but it was eh... for me. Another moisturizer that wasn't horrible, but not great was the Clean & Clear Finishes Pore Perfecting Moisturizer SPF 15. I didn't really notice any pore minimization, but it was ok, and has SPF 15, so it wasn't bad for my skin.

To talk about makeup primers now. I've tried many. Here's the ones that I have tried that left me quite oily: Smashbox's Photo Finish (original) and Photo Finish Light, MAKE UP FOR EVER's HD Primer (not exactly sure what it was called, but I think it's discontinued now, there's other primers, but I don't think any of them are the one I tried from a 100 point perk), Bare Escentuals bareVitamins Prime Time (I tried it before the oil-control one came out), Urban Decay De-Slick in a Tube Mattifying Gel, MAC Matte, and MAC Skin Refine Zone Treatment. But the stand out one for me was actually the Bare Escentuals bareVitamins Prime Time Foundation Primer Oil Control. I liked it, but I was still oily, so it sat on my conter for a while, and I think this is the reason why when I tried to start using it again, it made my skin peel A LOT! I am pretty sure it didn't do that when I used it the first time. It's on my list of stuff to buy when I have money. However, I found that I think when I mix those two MAC products and put it all over my face, that kind of helps...a little.

Will talk foundation later...my fingers are tired!