Clutch Hits

For a long time, when I thought of clutches I thought of the bland little purses that I used to carry my disposable camera and lipstick to prom. I had a silver one that I used for most of high school that I think my mom still has somewhere. I also remember shawls being a thing, even though nobody ever used them.

Clutches have been in and out of fashion for well over a hundred years. They've always been plain or fancy and made of almost any
material you could imagine. While bags have always tended to be somewhat more plain, clutches have let us embrace
all that is beautiful and/or gaudy.

This is a small collection of some clutches that I love. Thankfully, most of them come with chain straps so you can carry them on your shoulder after a long night after the bar. After tossing back a few, your abilities to hang on to anything become suspect.

unfortunately, the clutches above are well out of my price range. Stores like Charlotte Russe, Wet Seal, Forever 21, etc., all carry adorable clutches for around $20. If you can't find one you like, buy a plain one and decorate it to your heart's content. Don't be afraid to bedazzle/paint/feather/deck it out to whatever you want. There's no wrong way when it comes to clutches.

A Winter Pink Polish

For the past few weeks, I've been on the lookout for a shade I call "winter pink." The best way I can describe it as a pink that doesn't have any orange or coral in it, or a pink similar to a ballet toe show but more deeply saturated. The closest shade I've seen is Julep's Susan, which apparently is discontinued. Julep describes Susan as a "cheery rose pink crème," which is better description than mine. I wanted a pink polish that was happy and cheerful, but not too summery, which pretty much describes most pink polishes.

I was in Walmart's grocery section one day with my mom, and she fishes out a nail polish from behind several packages of bagels. "This is a really pretty color," she told me and handed it to me. It was that pink I'd been hunting for.

The polish is Sinful Color's Soul Mate:

It's cheerful, rosy, but doesn't scream summer. This is the first color I've ever bought from Sinful Colors so I wasn't sure what to expect. Most of what I've heard about the brand has been mostly positive which is always nice. What's really nice about this polish is that it's only $1.98. You read that right, less than two bucks and the line carries an extensive range of colors.

The brush runs sort of narrow and doesn't seem to carry a lot of polish on it. This polish applies streaky and I have three coats on in the picture above. I have to apply it on the thick side to avoid the worst of the streaks. It also chipped fairly easily even with a top coat on but the chips weren't huge. All in all, for a two dollar polish, I'm pretty satisfied. I love the color and it met my expectations for a cheap polish. Walmart and Target both carry a small selection but Rite-Aid and Walgreens have a lot of colors to choose from.

Introducing Pantone's Color of 2013...Emerald

When I woke up this morning and read that Pantone has declared Emerald as the color for 2013, I was elated. Green has rapidly been filling my closet and really, I don't need to add reason to add the rich color of emerald green to my closet.
Well, when I actually read the press release, I realized I was wrong on emerald. According to Pantone, their shade of emerald is more of a...turquoise? Teal? A turquoise that leans more green than blue? A dark mint green? Whatever shade of green emerald is supposed to be, it's not the rich jewel tone I had envisioned. I like it, I'd buy stuff in this color (heck, I already think I have stuff in this color), but how horribly excited am I about this color? Not very much. I do think it's a nice year-round color though. This is the color you're going to see everywhere in 2013, just like orange (ok, Tangerine Tango) was everywhere this year. Orange is one of my favorite colors and I actually got sick of it.

What's really getting to me is that everywhere I go, the swatches are looking different. Above, going off some information I first found, emerald leans towards green with a lot of blue. But when I look at this swatch:

It looks like there's isn't that much blue in it. I'm confused.  This is why I miss my giant 50 pound CRT computer monitor.

I started digging through my nail polish collection, then searching online for a similar color. The closest I've come is Sally Hansen's Fairy Teal, and while it is a teal leaning towards green, it's a shade or two darker than emerald. My other guesses are Zoya's Bevin and Essie's Turquoise & Caicos even though it's too light. At a stretch to match the swatch above, OPI's Jade is the New Black.

When I swatched them, Sally Hansen still looks the closest but needs more green. I think OPI's looks the closest to the large swatch above, and the Essie reminded me why I didn't buy Essie forever; the formula for Turquoise & Caicos is one of the if not the worst polish formula I've ever used. I'm sure there are polishes that are a much closer match but I just don't feel like driving to Ulta right now to track them down.

-Not sure who or what Pantone is? Read my post from 2011 describing the organization dedicated to color (and you can also read about the color of the year for 2011, Honeysuckle).

Best Acne Treatment EVER.

Mario Badescu Buffering Lotion, $17, Ulta (not available online)
You can buy it online through Nordstrom.

The past few months my breakouts have been horrible. I'm used to the occasional hormonal pimple (or three) which usually last a day or two and disappear. Not so much anymore. I've been getting these deep, horrible cystic pimples that hurt, are huge, and never go away. I've tried a variety of acne treatments and nothing was working. While on one of my bi-monthy trips to Ulta I was sporting one of these monsters right under my eye. I couldn't conceal this thing to save my life so I was actually trying to find a new concealer to try to hide it. I came across the Mario Badescu section in Ulta and saw that the Buffering Lotion was meant for cystic acne. So I put a few drops on my pimple and went home. This pimple which had not responded to anything had dropped probably 80% in redness and size. I literally dropped everything, drove the hour back to the Ulta in South Charleston, and picked up a bottle. I'm still having pimples but with this lotion they're gone in two-three days and aren't getting anywhere near as big and red as they were. If you're having troubles with your acne not responding to anything, give this stuff a try.

The One That (Almost) Got Away, Part II

Almost two years ago, I wrote about my frustrations trying to get my hands on a bottle of Chanel Jade polish.  It's currently going for $300 on Ebay right now, just so you know. Sigh.  To make a long story short, I spent $50 trying to find a dupe of Jade instead of trying to just buy the original Jade. Jade is what helped start my Chanel polish addiction and probably my polish obsession in general.

While there have been a ton of polishes I've crazy over, they weren't quite Jade obsessions. I think the two closest ones that came close to a Jade obsession were Chanel's Peridot, which I did spend a lot of time trying to find dupes and Chanel's Skyline which I just went ahead and bought because I had already heard there were no dupes available.



Peridot is probably my most worn polish of this year. I'm giving serious thought to buying a back up bottle because I know once my bottle is gone I'll be heartbroken. Skyline combines my love of Chanel polish and flying (it was from an air travel themed collection) so it was an absolute must-have for me. I'm wearing Skyline right now and it's amazing:



There's more to this story. Most of my Jade-Level obsessions begin with just a brief mention or small picture of a polish on a blog that I just can't get out of my head.  Sometime at the end of October, I came across an ever so small picture and mention of the Dior Le Grand Bal holiday collection. What first caught my eye were the insanely beautiful bottles:

How cute would these look on your vanity? While I loved the bottles, I wasn't sure about the actual polish and even though I'm a total sucker for limited edition pretty packaging I was very iffy on spending the money on the collection. However, three weeks ago while at the Sephora in the Charleston Town Center, I came across Lady, a frosty pearl white. It was pretty enough in the bottle so I swatched it there in the store. I put on two coats, took one look at the nail I swatched, grabbed a bottle and checked out. Then I started seeing the swatches online of the other colors and every single one of them said to pick up Diva, described as a red-based black with gold and purple shimmer. I've been eyeing similar colors for a while, so to me adorable bottle + polish I was already going to buy = Get out my AMEX.

What I didn't realize was Diva is sold out. Everywhere. Makeup counters AND online. Sephora is only carrying the Lady shade, and the usual places such as Nordstrom or Bloomingdales are sold out most of the colors. It's hard to find on Ebay and is going for $50+ and going pretty quickly even at that price.  It's like people are actually hoarding this polish. With the exception of Jade, I have never seen such a hard to find nail polish. It took me two hours last night to try to find Diva in stock. I finally did, at Saks Fifth Avenue.  I'm also going to be honest, I'm not sure if it's actually still in stock. I can get to the page I used last night to make my purchase, but when you try to search for the polish on the Saks website it doesn't come up.  I tried to google the page I found last night, but all it does is bring up the reviews page which says the product is unavailable.  If you're wanting to buy Diva you can give it a try but I won't make any guarantees that it's still in stock.

If you're interested in buying several of the colors, Bergdorf Goodman is selling a collection that includes Diva, Lady, and Marilyn for $70.  If I hadn't already bought Lady I probably would have purchased this set.

I know all this work seems silly for just nail polish, but I don't want to still be thinking about it and wishing I had gotten it years later, like Chanel's Jade.

WeAreMarshall

WeAreMarshall by wvfashionologist on Polyvore

BGP: Cover Girl Lash Blash Fusion Mascara

BGP: Cover Girl Lash Blash Fusion Mascara by wvfashionologist featuring covergirl mascara

During week two in Charlotte, I discovered I had forgotten to bring mascara.  There was a Food Lion a quick walk from my hotel so I headed out to grab some.  Obviously the mascara selection was rather small but they did have some Cover Girl products.  Cover Girl's Lash Blast Fusion is yet another mascara I've heard nothing but good things about so I didn't think twice about purchasing it.  Bad idea.  This stuff is the worst mascara I've ever used.  It's easier to point out what went right with the mascara than what went wrong.  It had a nice color.  Everything else was bad: it didn't lengthen, it clumped, and it's most serious crime was that it flaked off my lashes and all over my cheeks by lunchtime.  If I were working out on an airport tarmac in the middle of August, I would understand the underperformance.  But sitting in an office working with a computer for eight hours?  It shouldn't have happened.

Sephora Skincare

Sephora Skincare by wvfashionologist featuring sephora collection

I just spent the past five weeks in Charlotte, NC, for corporate training.  Before I left, I picked up a travel set containing some of the Sephora brand skincare.  About three weeks in, I ran into Sephora and purchased full sizes of everything and then some. My skin has been super dry this fall and I've been needing moisturization and Sephora's skincare doesn't skimp on it.  Most of the line contains an ingredient called HydroSenn+, which is derived from plants to help aid moisture.  I'm not sure which plant Sephora gets HydroSenn+ from and any additional information I've found is very vague.  To me, it's not worrisome but for those are really like to know the products in their skincare may be wary of trying this line.

The standout products in this line are the now-discontinued exfolient (bottom lefthand corner), the Instant Moisturizer, and the Super Nourishing Lip Balm.  While buying the rest of the line, I found the exfolient in the clearance section and decided to give it a try.  There are two exfolient in this jar, a white gentle exfolient with a texture similar to cream cheese meant for cheeks and a green exfolient meant the T-zone (forehead, nose, and chin).  I wasn't impressed with either exfolient the first time I used it, thinking it too gentle.  I then tried it in combination with my Olay Pro-X cleaning brush and third time was the charm. The Instant Moisturizer is wonderful because it sinks in super quick which is important to me.  It also has "light boosting particles" in it which actually is just super finely milled glitter.  I started noticed that when I kept wondering why my fingers were so sparkly.  Lastly, the Super Nourishing Lip Balm is a must.  It's the most moisturizing balm I have found for under $10.

The price on this line is pretty decent. The most expensive thing I bought was a kit that had full sizes of both the serum and moisturizer and that was at the great price of $34.  They also have more products if you need something else for your skin type.

LOOKBOOK: Nov. 5

BodyShopCherryBlossom by wvfashionologist featuring a body shop

I've been perfume shopping for a while now, looking for something that wasn't too intense, too citrus-y, or too whatever.  The Charlotte airport has The Body Shop in it, one of my new favorite beauty shops. Since I had a lot of 5-6 hour layovers, I spent a lot of time in there, talking to the staff and trying products.  This is one of the perfumes I ended up buying.  This smells fresh and floral without being overpowering.  If you can get to The Body Shop in person, it's well worth the visit.

OPI On Collins Ave. Swatch

Since I have a late flight I decided to pay an arm and a leg to get a mani/pedi at the airport. $70, for the record. However the woman who did my nails did a fantastic job. But I chose On Collins Ave., a color I own and is in my top 10 polishes ever, if not the top five. It's a red bordering on coral and is a great year round shade. If you're looking for a solid red to add to your collection, this is it.

James Bond OPI Swatches

 

OPI has released an entire line of polish to go along with the new James Bond movie, Skyfall.  The polishes in the line are all named after a James Bond movie and you can check out the entire lineup here.  I already own similar colors for a majority of the collection, but The Living Daylights caught my eye.  It's a glittery topcoat with turquoise, tan, and brown hexagonal glitter in it, and is really unique.  In the photo above I used it as a top coat on various shades of polish, and just the top coat on my pinkie.  It applies pretty easily and I had no trouble getting enough of the glitter on my nails.  I will mention that I damn near had to chisel it off because polish remover didn't seem strong enough.  It's a fun sparkle an looks fantastic layered over all the grieges I bought this season.

L'Oreal Brit Invasion Swatch

In my neutral polish craze I ended up buying a lot of browns and grieges.  While on a random roadtrip with my little sister, we ended up at the Target in Lancaster, Ohio, where I came across this polish.  It caught my eye immediately with its shimmer in shades of gold and slate blue.  It's definitely unqiue.  However, since my horrible experience with L'Oreal's revamped polish line I've avoided buying the line. Since this color really stood out to me and was something new, I decided to bite the bullet and try it out.

This formula is much improved over the ones I tried earlier this spring.  I got a good opacity in two coats, and had no trouble with application.  If this polish were by anyone else I normally buy polish from such as Essie, OPI, or even Revlon, I wouldn't hesitate to make this a go-to polish.  Once I get back home and have a chance to test the wear, I'm hoping for it to join that elite status in my polish drawer.

Illamasqua "Rampage" Swatches

I have been on the hunt for a dark green for some time.  I was wanting butter LONDON's British Racing Green which I eventually did buy and promptly lost.  I've seen all sorts of deep green, but there was always something off about them.  Too sparkly.  Too much blue in the base.  Wrong hue.  While stocking up on moisturizer at Sephora, I glanced at the Illamasqua display and saw Rampage.  I grabbed it, paid, and left.  This color is fantastic, and would be a good choice for Marshall fans.

It applies pretty sheer and watery like the Essie's I reviewed yesterday, but it built up opacity in in two coats.  I think I may have three coats in the picture, I don't remember.  I'd also recommend a base coat because I think this polish will stain your nails.  While I haven't gotten a chance to wear this Illamasqua polish to give it a wear test, I've only heard amazing thing about the quality of this polish.  I'm really looking foward to being able to wear this polish.

Essie Fall 2012 Collection Swatches

When I discuss neutrals in polish, I usually include most reds and pinks in because they're classic polish colors.  I like Head Mistress because while it's a classic red, it's not the usual tomato red.  There's a deeper satursation that really makes this color stand out.  It's a runny polish and applies sheer  but I got opacity in about two coats.  Compared to butter LONDON's Knees Up which I reivewed yesterday, Head Mistress is a deeper red. I would be careful when working with this polish because it stains everything.  My cuticles and the skin around my fingers is still stained from swatching this polish yesterday.

Skirting the Issue looked super dark in the bottle and I'm not crazy about super dark polishes.  When I did a quick swatch it came out a weird shade of fushia and I wasn't sure of what to think.  However, with three thin coats this turned out to be a lovely wine color.  I avoid wine as a color because it tends to prematurely age people but this has enough red in to keep it looking young.  Like Head Mistress this is a thin, runny polish that stains everything that it comse into contact with.

Stylenomics is the sole reason I bought this Essie minis kit.  When I first looked at it in the bottle, it looked like a sooty black.  It's actually a very dark green which sadly didn't show up in the pictures.  I think if you look closely at the picture on the left you can see a hint of the green.  I've never seen anything like Stylenomics and that's pretty impressive.  It goes on easily and got full opacity in two coats.  I also think think polish will stain your nails so make sure to wear a basecoat.  This is my favorite out of the entire collection.

Dont' Sweater It was included in the kit.  I wouldn't have bought it on its own because I already own several grieges, but if you don't have one already this is a solid choice.  This had the best application out of the bunch, and had I applied it in a slightly thicker coat, I probably could have full opacity in one coat.  But both you and I have seen this before:

Sally Hansen's Commander in Chic is one of the most popular grieges and has been a TMF favorite for several years.  The Sally Hansen is a bit lighter, which you can see better in the picture on the left, with a touch more purple in the base.  Other than that, they're identical to my eye.  The Sally Hansen is cheaper by about a dollar and I like the brush better than Essie's.  Either way you can't go wrong with either of these polishes.

butter LONDON Swatches

For the past two-three months, I put myself on a strict budget.  I started a new job in Charleston and was paying close to $80 a week in gas.  I also wanted to pay some bills down so I cut out most unnecessary spending.  This pretty much took out my clothes and beauty budget so I really haven't bought anything in several months.  Then in September, I got an amazing job offer to work for an airline. It isn't a glamorous job and it doesn't pay well, but I get to travel for free.  I've always said my ideal job was one where I got to travel often and I got my wish.

Since I'm no longer paying obscene amounts on gas anymore, I've been able to open my budgets back up.  I then went on a massive nail polish shopping spree, which you'll see all week.  I'm going to start off with one of my favorite brands, butter LONDON.

I've been wanting a good shimmery red for some time.  I was going to buy one from Chanel, but while in Ulta this weekend I saw this one, Knees Up.  It's very close to the Chanel one I like and half the price.  It does apply a bit streaky but as it dries the streaks go away.  I'm in love with this polish.  It's beautiful with lots of depth and it'll probably replace Essie's Geranium as the weather gets colder as my go-to red.

I've been eyeing this bright coral for several months.  While it does have a lot of orange in the formula, it comes off as mostly pink.  I think this will be a nice color for the long winter days.  It also applies streaky and thick.  I have on three coats in this picture and I'd say they dry pretty quickly.



 

I've been into neutral polish this year and I thought this light brown with a gold shimmer would go well with my polish collection.  It applies easily and I got full opacity in two coats.  The shimmer doesn't show up very much, but every now and then it will send out a sparkle.  I thought I would want more shimmer but I'm liking the subtle shimmer.  However, I did ask myself as I was swatching it, haven't I seen this color before?

Yup:



I knew I had a creme, L'Oreal's Devotion from a limited edition collection last year and typically I'm okay with having both a creme and a shimmer in the same color.  However, I forgotten I had also purchased L'Oreal's Brit Invasion a few weeks ago and had forgotten all about it.  As you can tell from the pictures, the butter LONDON and the L'Oreal Brit Invasion aren't very close on the nail as they appear in the bottle.  So now I don't feel as bad for having bought two of the same color.  I'm also swatching the Brit Invasion later in the week so watch for that.

butter LONDON ranks as one of my favorite lines of polish because of the unique colors the line carries. It's often hard to find dupes them, trust me, I ran down the path for two years trying to find a dupe for their popular British Racing Green polish.  If you're looking for something fun and unique, butter LONDON is the way to go.

SKINCARE WEEK: Body Washes and a Poof

Dove  |  Dove Body Wash
Philosophy  |  Mor  |  Ahava

Let me start today's post with a shower poof.  The one I have pictured is from Dove + Men Care and has a basic shower loofah on one side and a rough textured surface on the other.  It may be marketed to  men, but women should be buying this poof instead of the usual colorful loofah.  The rough textured side really helps with getting those rough, dry patches off elbows, knees, heels, or where ever else you may have them.  It is a bit hard to get used to as first as it doesn't quite fit well in a wet, soapy hand.  It may not be pink, but the utilitarian gray will change your skin.

It's hard to say which of these washes is my favorite.  When I flat out need moisture, I reach for Dove or Ahava.  If I want something that smells better, I reach for any of Philosophy's fun scents or a luxe scent from Mor.  Dove is the cheapest at $6 per bottle, but any of the other brands can be found quite often at T.J. Maxx or Marshall's.

You may have noticed a certain well-known brand missing from this post and the post on body lotion.  While I do like the scents, Bath and Body Works products, if you'll pardon the pun, stink.  The body wash is too drying and the lotion feels horrible on my skin.  As far as I'm concerned,
B & BW is just about the scent and not the skin care.

SKINCARE WEEK: Foaming Cleansers

 

Purchase Information Here.

I have tried nearly every type of face wash known to womankind: bars, gels, cremes, and even oils.  My favorite, however, happens to be foaming face washes.  Out of the set I pictured above, I have used the Clinque acne cleanser, and I'm currently using the Sephora Supreme Cleansing Foam.  I originally bought a travel size a year ago to keep in my travel kit and liked it well enough.  The reason I bought the big bottle was because it reminds me of the Ole Henriksen facial cleanser I loved so much from African Red Tea kit I tried.  It moisturizes, cuts through my makeup, and leaves my skin feeling soft.

Foaming cleansers are great for all skin types, the Cetaphil above is made for oily skin, the Clinque for Acne, Murad for moisturizing, and the Sephora is great for all skin types.  If you're looking for something new, make sure to give these foamers a good look.

SKINCARE WEEK: Makeup Remover

 

Sephora |   Benefit  |  Say Yes to Blueberries  |  Almay

I use all of these products on a daily basis.  Which one I use depends on how lazy I'm feeling and how much makeup I wore that day.  For days I didn't wear a lot of makeup, Say Yes to Blueberries facial wipes.  They smell divine and take light amounts of makeup off.  I use the Almay eye wipes when I'm wearing waterproof mascara.  I used to use the Benefit remover and while it works, it dried my skin out too much.  My latest purchase is Sephora's Triple Action Cleansing Water.  It's sort of a makeup remover mixed in with a cleanser mixed in with toner.  Whatever it is, it gets ALL makeup off, especially those times you teeter in the door at 4 AM with enough glitter on your face to cover a disco ball.  It does make my skin feel greasy and gross but if I wash it afterwards, my skin feels amazing.

I've heard a lot of people use baby wipes to remove makeup but I've never tried that method.  If you have, let me know in the comments how it went.

SKINCARE WEEK: Body Lotion

 

Ahava  |  Kiehl's  |  Jergens
Nivea  |  The Body Shop

I have personally used all of these lotions, so I can attest that they all do work. I love Ahava and Kiehl's, but can't afford $20-$55 for body lotion.  Currently, I'm using Nivea's Happy Sensation body lotion daily, and the Body Shop's Aloe body butter as needed, which has been large amounts for this past week.

The Nivea has a light citrus scent and sinks in very quickly.  I can't tell you exactly what the 'happy sensation" and I'm giggling over all the dirty jokes that are currently running through my head.  While it's great for every day, the Nivea sometimes needs a back up.  Bring on the The Body Shop.  I bought the Aloe Body Butter because it was recommended by my favorite salesperson at Sephora when I told her I needed something that was extra-stregnth.  It works wonders, and I love the way my skin feels and looks when I use it.  However, I do find it to be on the greasy side, and it takes a good 10-15 minutes to fully sink in.  Typically, feeling greasy is the kiss of death for any body lotion that I use, but since it works so well I'm willing to deal with the greaseball feeling.

Skincare Week @ TMF

Welcome to Skincare week at Mountaineer Fashionologist!  Since I'm still in Charlotte for yet another week of corporate training, there's only going to be one post per day, showing up at 11:00 AM.

I'm going to kick off Skincare Week with body lotion, so come back at 11:00!

Blog News: Jet Set

Sorry for the silence this week.  I'm currently in Charlotte, NC, for some corportate training and I really thought I'd have time to write posts.  Well I do, but once I get out of training at 5, eat dinner between 6-8 or so, and then have to study for the next day writing posts fell by the wayside.  I'm going to try to get at least one post a day up for next week when I have more time and don't have to study near as much.

Cleaning & Caring for Makeup Brushes

There are a variety of ways to wash your makeup brushes, and even the experts debate on which method is best.  My basic method until recently was to use a mixture of anti-acne facial cleanser and moisturizing shampoo, rinse, blot with a wash cloth and then lay them flat until dry.  However, this video featuring Michelle Phan's cleaning method using olive oil and dishsoap intrigued me and made me question my cleaning methods.  I tried this method for the first time about this time last year. Before I started, I watched the video again and took notes because I am an obessive note-taker.  I got out all my brushes and followed her directions.  After my brushes dried, I pulled out my Tarte airbrush foundation brush and ran it across my hand.  The bristles were wonderfully soft, shiny, and glorious.  I then looked at my beloved Tokidoki kabuki brush...and damn near cried.  I thought my brush was ruined.  Even fully dry, the bristles were stuck together and stiff, not full and soft like it should be.  I had to rewash the brush probably three times in my original method to get it back to its original shape, and I know I probably damaged it in the process which ticks me off.

Michelle recommends using Brush Guards to help maintain your brush's shape during the drying process, and I have to admit I love these things.  You can buy them online, but I've found them in several Walmart stores (in the Huntington area, they're only at the South Point Walmart).  You get a few different sizes that fit everything to a kabuki brush to lip brushes.  Don't cut them, though, because they're woven and will unravel.  I learned that the hard way.  They help keep debris off the brushes and I can't imagine traveling without them.  I did stop using them in my brush washing method because it takes forever for my brushes to dry with them on.  My big Tarte brush takes almost a week to fully dry with a Brush Guard on which I find rather ridiculous.

I have since changed my makeup brush washing ways.  I only use Michelle's olive oil method on a select few brushes, and use an anti-bacterial soap/moisturizing shampoo mix on the rest.  To dry them, I elevate one side of a cookie cooling rack and cover it with a towel.  I then lay the brushes so the handles are on the elevated sides so that water doesn't sit in the metal parts loosening the glue on the bristles.  I like my new method and it's getting my brushes good and clean.

How do you wash your brushes?

LOOKBOOK: Sept. 28

Buy it here!

I try to wash my makeup brushes every two weeks or so, but sometimes that doesn't really work out (AKA most of the time).  In between washings, I like to use Sephora's daily anti-bacterial cleaning spray.  You can spray the bristles directly, but I spray it on a cotton round and whisk the brush over that.  I like to see the makeup come off so I know it's getting clean.  This stuff can be a bit drying on natural bristle brushes, so I'd use it sparingly on those.

LOOKBOOK: Sept. 26

 

Buy it here!

This is Stila's the Makeup Player, the first cosmetics case that has a headphone jack.  As you can see in the picture, you can hook up your MP3 player to listen to music or watch videos Stila made for the player.  It's a nifty idea.  I bought mine a few years ago and I use it all the time, mostly for travel.  It also comes with the makeup shown in the picture, which I also received.  The lip gloss is a meh at most, but I use the eyeshadow all the time.  I can't recommend this case enough if you travel or have a small makeup collection.

BGP: Maybelline's Lots of Lashes and Baby Lips Balm

 

I've been needing some new mascara, so I decided to try Maybelline's Lots of Lashes.  I've heard amazing things about it and I like their Great Lash line, with Lots of Lashes (LOL, heh) being the latest addition.  With it's unique heart-shaped wand, it's supposed to help you get all those little lashes that normally get missed, while the formula lengthenss and adds volume.  The brush takes a little bit of getting used to it as I stabbed myself in the eyes several times trying to use the tip to get those pesky inner eye lashes.  I also got some major clumping, although I'm not sure if it's the formula or my inability to use the wand correctly.  I think the only reason I would keep it around it to use just the little end on my outer lashes, I  just can't fathom using as my everyday mascara.

I bought both the Lots of Lashes mascara and the Baby Lips lip balm together in a set for $5 at Walmart.  Two birds, one stone.  There are a couple of different Baby Lips flavors you can choose from but I chose the blue tube, which is clear with 20 SPF.  It has a nice sheen, a weird floral/candy scent (it isn't too bad), and a strange taste which is probably the sunscreen.  This balm seemed to make lip drier than before I put it on.  It also hardly lasted 10 minutes before my lips felt dry again and I needed to put more on.  For the same amount the Baby Lips is, $2.99, you can get much better lip balms.  This stuff just really sucks.

LOOKBOOK: Sept. 25

Buy it here!

This Hello Kitty palette came out this past spring, and I looked at it several times before I bit the bullet this weekend and bought it.  What drew me in was the obviously cute packaging but I was iffy because it's a palette of mostly pastels.  While going through some fashion week shows, I noticed the trend of pastel eyeshadow and decided it's something I should look into because I really haven't been into pastels since high school (it was the late 90s/early 00s so it was okay).  While surfing Sephora's website I came across the Hello Kitty palette again and bought it without second thought.  I haven't gotten it yet so I can't attest to its qualitites, but it has overall good reviews.  If this seems like something you might like to try, you're going to want to buy this palette ASAP. Once Sephora puts something on sale, especially this low (it was originally $42), they go ridiculously fast.

Stay Golden

 

I typically don't cover award show style, because, well, everyone else does.  But after seeing not just one or two but several of these bright yellow dresses I thought I needed to mention it.  Yes, these dresses could light up the runway at Yeager Airport, but since I'm sort of anti-neon for fall/winter it's a bit of an unexpected surprise.  I'm really loving this color and think it would be a great way to spice up your fall wardrobe while still staying in season.



 

Purchase information here.

Here are some ideas for incorporating bright yellow into your closet.  I'm really loving the chain bracelet, which is only $13.  The nail polish is from the Thakoon line for Nars and is available in Sephora stores (but not the ones inside JC Penney's). The key to this trend is making sure the yellow is saturated and bright and bordering on neon but not quite there.  Think of the fields and roadsides that are currently in full bloom with goldenrod and ragweed and are making everyone sneeze, that's the color you want to aim for.