The Beauty Within

I went to Target today to get some closet organizers and a moisturizer (Garner Fructis, which will be reviewed later), and lo and behold, I spent over an hour at the cosmetics area. Why?

New make up!!

Pixi, JK Jemma Kidd, and NP Set by Napoleon Perdis has launched their for Target collections! Pixi and JK are from the UK, while Napoleon Perdis is from Austrlia (I believe), and was recently taken off the shelves from Sephora. These 3 brands are all high-end department store products, which unfortunately for most Target shoppers, also mean the high-end prices.

The products all look very very delish, with cute packaging and lots of fun colors.

JK Jemma Kidd reminds me of Urban Decay, with funky and bright colors. There’s an eyeshadow color, Urban, that’s bright yellow, reminding me slightly of the trends we’re seeing from MAC. They offer lots of singles, a few duos, cream shadows, and funky color eye liners, both liquid and pencil. The liquid liner has lasting power. I applied some on my hand earlier today, and it’s still there, even after I showered! Everything else, including mascara, is gone, but the liner stayed.

The prices are on the high side. The eye shadow singles are $18, while the duos are $20. That’s even more expensive than MAC! But, they are good products, and I can’t wait til I have more money to add some to my ever growing collection.

Napoleon Perdis offers an OK collection. It wasn’t as eye grabbing as JK or Pixi, but it’s still solid. Their powders and powdered eyeshadows have imprints of stars on it, which is super cute. Eyeshadow wise, they only offer trios for $20, and “loose dust” duos for $26. The loose dust duos come in a tube with a sponge wand inside that you use to apply directly to your lids. I was being stupid and opened 1 end upside down, and I got black loose dust all over my clothes. The texture is slightly creamy, and they blend very well.

I think their strong point is their lip products. Beautiful creamy and hydrating (or so it seems) glosses and lippies in mostly neutral colors. They are $15, which is $5 less than their non-Target Napoleon Perdis counterparts. They also offer tons of blushes, as well as a foundation primer, and other goodies. Overall, they offer products that are great for everyday looks.

My favorite brand out of all 3 is Pixi. Not only is the name uber cute, they offer tons of palettes and make up sets. I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m a sucker for palettes. Everything in the collection is housed in a light green package, which for some odd reason, I’m very drawn to. This is the most well rounded brand with the best prices too. Their eyeshadow palettes, which include 8 colors, are $28. They also have cheek gels with matching lip blushes (they feel almost like markers, with the felt tip and all), stains (think Benetint), and 3 different Mineral Makeup Kits. I’m going gaga over the Mineral Makeup Kits! There’s 3 layers; the top layer includes 4 eyeshadows, the second layer includes 1 cream blush and 1 powder blush, and the bottom layer includes 2 glosses. All that for only $32. I’m definitely getting one with my next paycheck.

This brand has the most items, and also great items that you can wear for day and night. I can’t wait to get my hands on some of these!

Like totally awesome… 29 items on sale!

btw.. anyone watched 90210 tonight?  I fell asleep during the second hour, so was Shannon Doherty on?  She wasn’t in the first one, which was utterly disappointing.  I love her!

I love my car.  I seriously do.  I don’t baby it as much as I’d like to, and I don’t keep it clean like I should, but I still love it.  A few months ago, I fell in love with it more for one (or two) reasons.

It’s the perfect place to 1)  tweeze your eyebrows, and 2) apply eye make up.

I know Kristen from Beauty Addict recently wrote about how great it is to tweeze your eyebrows in your car, but I’m seriously not copying her idea.  Her post did get me to also write about it too.

So how did I figure this trick out myself?

A while ago I had misplaced my beloved Tweezerman tweezers.  I looked everywhere but I still couldn’t find it.  Finally one day, on the way home from work, I couldn’t stand my bushy brows anymore, so I hopped and scotched over to CVS to grab some tweezers.

I ran back to my car, ripped open the tweezer container, flipped down the mirror, and started hacking those brows right there in the parking lot.  The lighting was perfect, the distance from my face to the mirror was perfect, but unfortunately the cheapie Revlon tweezer was not very ergonomic, so I couldn’t really get out all the little tiny hairs.  I seriously think this is a better method than using a magnified mirror.  With magnified mirrors, it’s too easy to over tweeze.  But with a 1x mirror, you see each and every single hair, BUT it’s easier to keep the overall brow shape in perspective.

Then of course, with all that said, it’s also great to apply eye make up.

See for yourself.  Try it next time when your in the parking lot at the grocery store, or wherever.  =P

Sorry for the lack of updates.  Make up wise, I’ve been resorting to my good ol’ Honey Lust and Sable from MAC for a pretty gold look.  Everything else has been uber funky due to stress from work.

Since 3 of my nighties have left for school, we’re super uber short staffed.  On top of it, 1 of our client’s decided to close down their testing site in Austria, because it was much cheaper to send their products to us than running the lab.  So yea, more work for everyone.  The thing is, all week, I’ve been working alone by myself.  For the most part, it’s about prioritizing and control, and also finding the right rhythm.  Oh yea, and keeping a cool while a few machines are alarming for you to answer.

What am I talking about?  I’ve been stressed, panicked, and almost every little thing is bound to set me off.  Giggling fits due to delirium?  check.  Mixing numbers up?  Check.  On my knees scrubbing the floor due to more delirium?  Check.

Am I to blame for making mistakes at work?  Of course I am, BUT, I am only human.  I can’t do the job of 5 people alone.  Is it the company’s fault to put me in the position where mistakes are bound to happen?  I think so.  I really need to talk to the manager.

But yea.. sorry for the lack of updates.. I’ve been quite catatonic when I’m not freaking out.  I can’t wait for tomorrow where I get to PARTY!!

Since High School, I’ve mastered the art of lining my eyes perfectly with a thin black line. The effect is beyond perfect. My eyes are defined, but I barely look like I have any make up on.

How did I get it? Using a nicely pigmented pencil liner that allowed me to really get the line super close to my lash line. The problem with pencil liners is that they smudge! Profusely!! By the end of third period I’d have a raccoon eye!

Luckily in college, I found Laura Mercier. They have this awesome cake liner that you wet with water, then using their Flat Eye Liner Brush, you dab on the black line right at your lash line. The result? Smudge-proof precise line that totally defines your eyes, and you don’t have to worry about getting the raccoon look for hours!

I’ll borrow my mom’s camcorder to show you exactly what I’m talking about next time, but in the mean time, get the tools of the trade. It’s slightly pricey, but it lasts forever, and it’s super duper worth it. Get it from StrawberryNET.com

Laura Mercier Eye Liner - Black Ebony