Where The [beep] Have You Been!?

Hello!  Hello! Hello!

Before you chastise me for not being around on virtually ANY social media outlets for the past month, let me just explain haha!

I got a phone call back in...March? from a director asking if I wanted to step into a local community production of The Who's TOMMY as they had lost a few cast members.  Um, heck yes!

Side note:  if you don't really know me, or are new to my blog...I have a degree in musical theater performance!

Being that I came into the process almost an entire month late, I've had my work cut out for me...full time at job #1, part time 2 nights a week at job #2, and then rehearsals 2 night a week until April when I went to one night a week (so I could go to 3 rehearsals) and then the 1st week of May where I put my 2nd PT job on hold for a couple weeks so I could go through hell week and performances...*deep breath*  so as you can see...social media took a back burner.

The show IS currently still in production :)  We close this upcoming Sunday and I am utterly devastated already.  This has been such a welcoming and phenomenal cast, pit, and crew...and I love them all dearly.  Many I've worked with in the past, and I've made so many new colleagues!

Hopefully I'll be back in full swing sometime in June <3

Missed you all!

xo

-A-

YouTube Series: ABC's Once Upon A Time: The Siren [Aria Pullman]

Mythology.  Some of the most interesting stories are born of myth.  Sirens are usually portrayed as a type of femme fatale and they lure men (out of mythology fishermen/sailors) to their death by drowning or hitting their ships on rocks and then drowning.  All by just using their voices.  Aria Pullman's Siren in Once Upon A Time was no exception...sort of.  (No spoilers, you'll have to watch the show!)

Head past the jump for inspiration pictures and the embedded video!

First Impressions: Almay Clear Complexion Foundation

Far Right:  Almay Clear Complexion

Shade: 220 Neutral

So I was at work last week.  And I kept seeing discounted cosmetics come through my checkout lane.  And I was intrigued.  So I checked it out on my break and while most of the lighter shades were gone I did manage to grab a couple light shades in this foundation and the Cover Girl NatureLuxe foundation (review forthcoming and will be linked when I've had a chance to test it!) for only $1.50 USD each!  I think my store is just discontinuing these particular products...I don't think the companies are...but correct me if I'm wrong!

So at any rate...on to my first impressions of the product (head past the jump!)

YouTube Series: ABC's Once Upon A Time: Red Look #1 [Meghan Ory]

Firstly...the photo I chose was the one above SOLELY because of how hard I laughed when I looked at the wolf's face.

Red is one complex character for reasons I'm not going to go into on the blog...just because if you've not seen her episode, I don't want to spoil it!  Go watch it though, it was kind of an epic twist.

Head past the jump for the photos and the video of my first Red look from Once Upon A Time!

Tag: 11 Beauty Questions [GlossMenagerie]

So one of the first blogs I stumbled across in my Easter Day sleepy stupor this morning is one of my favorites!  Alyson (GlossMenagerie)  had done an 11 Questions beauty blog tag and it reminded me of how much fun tag posts can be!

I know that since I've revamped my blog (due to a mishap with all of my photos being deleted through google...which I'm still angry about haha) I haven't done any tags, so let's make this one the first.  Happy Zombie Jesus Appreciation Day everyone!! xoxo

11 Things About Ashleigh:

* I'm addicted to the taste and smell of peppermint 

* the only thing i was truly ever good at in school (at least in my opinion) was singing and theater which is why i went to school for musical theater performance

* i have a performance degree from university for musical theater, and a minor in criminology

* i still wish i could be an astronaut (but as my lungs collapse in zero g due to asthma it sadly won't ever happen) but i still secretly want to be in the field of astronomy

* star trek is my favorite television and movie franchise.  ever. (yep. you got me. i'm a trek nerd)

* i'm a crazy cat lady despite being severely allergic to cats

* my favorite book of all time is Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney (also one of my top 5 musicals)

* my favorite musical of all time is CHESS

* i love autumn for it's colors, the changing of the leaves, and the perfect temperatures you get between the end of august and mid-october

* i would never want to live in florida ever again but i do miss the people i met while i was there terribly.

* despite being a makeup artist, i never seriously wore makeup at all until 2005

And these are the questions that Alyson's having us answer!

1.) What beauty brand do you own the most of?  Probably MAC at the moment with Urban Decay coming in a close 2nd

2.) If you had to choose, lipstick or lipgloss?  Lipgloss.  Always, lipgloss.

3.) Have you ever had a beauty disaster (bad hair cut, burned at the waxer, etc)?  Yep. My waxer back when I was in high school accidentally waxed off 1/2 my eyebrow by blobbing wax on it.  Thanks.

4.) Do you prefer pre-made palettes or homemade palettes?  I'm lazy.  I like pre-made palettes.

5.) What is your most prized possession of your beauty stash?  MAC Shell Pearl beauty powder.  It's how I met my best friend!

6.) Do you collect any beauty products? What about non-beauty items? I used to collect MAC pigments and mineralize skinfinishes, but now I don't make it a point to have everything because I'll never go through what I have.  As far as non beauty...I collect musicals on cd and movie musicals on dvd.

7.) What is your favorite beverage?  I love seltzer water.  Flavored or plain...doesn't matter to me!

8.) What kind of phone do you have and what is the design of your phone cover?  I have an iPhone 4S with a purple and white Otterbox.

9.) What’s a beauty product that you love but most people don’t?  probably my paintbrushes that came from the craft store that I use for eyeshadow HAHA!  Other than that...it's easier to tell you what I don't love that everyone likes...Diorshow Mascara.  WHY DOES MY MASCARA HAVE TO SMELL LIKE A NANA?!?!?!?!?  I don't like rose scent anyways and it's all I can smell when I open it. Haha.

10.) What’s on your nails right at this very moment?  SPArituals Illume and Sephora by OPI Once A Cheetah

11.) What’s the oldest thing in your stash and how old is it?  My MAC Violet pigment harkens back to 2005.  It was my first high end beauty purchase.

Thoughts: NARS Sheer Glow vs. Sheer Matte

Very few foundations have crossed my path and have wow'd me enough to purchase it outright.  4 to be precise.  Maybelline Dream Nude, Maybelline Dream Liquid, Clinique Even Better (review forthcoming!), and NARS Sheer Glow.  Yes, Glow...not Matte.

Did I mention that Sheer Glow is my #1 foundation of all time?  No?  It is :)

This is going to be a comparison between the two finishes of the NARS Sheer foundations.  While I prefer Sheer Glow on myself, this in no way means that I dislike Sheer Matte.  It's just not formulated for my particular skin type.

Firstly I need to let you know that judging from the photo above you may think that these foundations come with a pump.  You would be wrong in your assumptions and I am sorry if I misled you :)  You do have to purchase a pump if you want one - and as far as I can tell, you can only get them from their website (narscosmetics.com) for $6.00 USD.  I purchased mine around a time when Temptalia had an offer for a free mini gloss trio and I would highly recommend that if you are going to purchase a pump that you make sure you need something else as the shipping is minimum of $4.00 (bringing the cost of your lone pump up to $10!?)

That's pretty much my only con with the foundation.  The price isn't a con for me because I will pay for it if it's that good. I absolutely ADORE the coverage and the texture of this foundation.  It's light...buildable...and it's actually made for fingertip application!  I know that in a lot of my videos you'll see me using a brush, but when push comes to shove and I'm getting ready in the morning, you can bet your boots that I'm using my hands - it saves me time (and I'm not acne prone, so I don't find a problem with applying foundations this way).  Alright enough rambling...here's the skinny on these foundations!!!

NARS SHEER MATTE:
While I will admit that sheer matte is not for my skin type (it's primarily best for normal/normal-oily/oily skin types) it has the most gorgeous soft matte finish that I've ever seen coming out of a matte foundation.  Some matte foundations tend to pull rather chalky and look unnatural...this one doesn't do that - even on my dry skin!

It is oil-free, absorbs oil, and controls shine.  It also contains antioxidants and NARS' Complexion Brightening Formula so not only does it help mattify your skin, it doesn't make it look fake in the process while giving it an overall even and bright look.

As I have said, this is not the foundation for my skin type.  I received my bottle of Sheer Matte from my job, used it a few times, and passed it along to my sister (who has just done a skincare guest post for my blog!) as she has a more oily skin type.

NARS SHEER GLOW:
Now this foundation...I could write a book on this one (ok, maybe not a book...).  This is my own personal holy grail of foundations!  I. LOVE. THIS. STUFF.  So much that I purchased my very own bottle haha!

Sheer Glow is best for normal/normal-dry/dry skin types as it imparts a dewy glow to your skin to keep it from looking dull.  It's also hydrating, contains antioxidants, and contains turmeric extract to help improve the radiance and tone of the skin.  I've been using this since last summer and I can definitely say that when I'm wearing this,  I get more compliments on the appearance of my skin than any other foundation I own.

Even having dry skin I do like to set this with a translucent powder.  I work 17 hour days and I found it will NOT hold that long...even with primer.  So the powder locks it down without taking away the glow.

Have you used NARS Sheer Glow or Sheer Matte?  If so, what do you love?  If not, why would you try it?

Product: NARS Sheer Glow, NARS Sheer Matte

Availablility: sephora.com, sephora stores, narscosmetics.com, nars counters

Price: $42.00 USD

Skincare: Oily & Acneic Skin? Troublesome, But Not Terrible!

Today's guest post is a guest post coming from Adrian (aka my younger sister!  who can be found at: lightmeuplikethesun.blogpost.com)


I can speak at lengths about dry skin, and fairly knowledgeably about other skin types, but I thought that it would be nice to have the perspective of people who actually have other skin types.  So I asked her to guest post about her more oilier, hormonal acne type skin.  Enjoy and if you've got the same type of skin, let us know what works for you!!


(Quick Facts:  Adrian is a 22 year old, double music major currently in college)

----

Naked Face!

For as long as I can remember, I've had issues with having oily/acneic skin. I never really "knew" what my skin type was until May of 2010 when Ashleigh and I took a trip to New York City and stopped by the Mario Badescu salon. I got a personalized skin care routine based on the fact that I have combination/oily skin. The acneic factor is primarily hormonal, so my acne is based predominately around "that time." - Let's talk about inconvenient. I feel like crap, and then on top of that, my skin looks like crap!!

So I seem to have hit the jack pot with "crappy" skin. I have to constantly have blotting papers on my person, or I have to matte down my skin with primers. I also only wear matte finished foundations.

My saving grace? Dermadoctor Wrinkle Revenge Facial Cleanser. It's 10% Glycolic Acid is enough of a chemical exfoliation to deep clean my skin, yet it's not harsh enough to destroy my sensitive skin. Oh… I forgot to mention that bit? Yeah. I have extremely sensitive skin… more negative points for my skin! /sarcasm.

I have become so incredibly picky about what I use for my skin care routine, that once I find something I tend to cling to it (which I know I won't be able to do forever, since your skin typically changes multiple times throughout your life); however, as of right now, I look for products that have roughly around 10% glycolic or salicylic acid in it. If I want more exfoliation on certain days, I have an Olay Professionals spin brush that I use for less than 30 seconds over my entire face. For moisturizer, I specifically look for mattifying moisturizers that are oil-free, and for eye cream, I prefer to have a firming eye cream, because even though I'm young (I'm 22 years old), I firmly [hah] believe in taking good care of your skin as early as possible!

SO: Here's what I [personally] use to keep my oily/acneic skin at bay as much as I possibly can:

* Prescribed birth control: This has been prescribed to help keep as much of the acne at bay as possible, before my natural body chemistry takes over.

* Dermadoctor Wrinkle Revenge Facial Cleanser: I started only using it in the morning, and slowly worked myself to using it morning and night. With things such as this, and with sensitive skin, I find that you really don't want to go overboard at first.

Side note: For days that I want a gentle cleanser, I use Cetaphil original. There's nothing in it, which is great sometimes.

* Dr. Brandt Pores No More Anti-Aging Mattifying Lotion: This mattifying moisturizer is wonderful! It's hydrating enough to keep my skin looking as great as it can, but also hinders oil production to an extent.

* DDF Advanced Eye Firming Concentrate: This eye cream is fantastic! It's thick, but light, and even in the short time that I have used it, I have noticed a significant difference in the texture of my skin around my eyes.

Skincare: My Skin Type [DRY]

my naked skin...no makeup in sight!

The fashion and beauty industry push many things onto the impressionable minds of society (and by impressionable I'm not just talking about the young men and women...we are ALL impressionable at any age of life).

The one thing that they've actually gotten right, but unfortunately not all of us have...is skin types.

Knowing what your skin type is can mean the difference between a perfect glow and a horrific reaction.  Harsh words, but true.  Am I wrong in assuming that at one point in time everyone has had a reaction to something they've put on their skin?  Or that you had amazing skin, changed the moisturizer you use, and all of a sudden something isn't quite right?

The hardest part for most people is determining what kind of skin you actually have...and to add insult to injury it may be more than one type...and ON TOP OF THAT you skin pretty much changes every 7 years or so...so what you're doing right now may not always work for you.

I've always had normal to dry skin.  I may not have always known it, but the signs were all there.  Wash/rinse my face with only water? Tight.  Go swimming then take a shower? Itchy and tight.  Winter? FLAKIEEEEEEEES!  Dry skin is the bane of my existence because if I don't keep it properly hydrated, it looks like shoe leather.  No joke.  AND it hurts.

For me, this means that I know I need a moisturizer that is fairly thick and creamy, with added hydration.  Bonus if it is time release (Lancome Aqua Vital), contains hyaluronic acid (holds 1,000x it's weight in water), and if it actually repairs the moisture barrier of my skin (hello Murad Hydro Dynamic Moisturizer or Clinique Moisture Surge Intense)

Keeping your skin properly hydrated (and yes oilier skins this means you too! you need oil free moisturizers - your skin needs water and that's what a moisturizer gives you!!) and treating it now, when you're younger helps in the long run (again, I'm speaking from the life perspective of someone who is 27...but had I known when I was a teenager, I would have started long ago).  

Knowing if you've got normal skin, dry skin, oily skin, acneic skin, aging skin, combination skin (the list can go on really...) is very important because it's going to determine what type of skincare is going to best bring your skin back to it's optimum pH level.  Unfortunately I cannot tell you via the internet what your skin type is...but some careful research on your part or better yet, a dermatologist, can be insanely helpful!

With that said...I can always talk about products, tips, and tricks that help with dry skin, and I do know a fair amount about different ingredients and products for different skin types so if anyone has any burning questions please let me know in the comments!  I always try to respond within a week :)  I'm also asking 2 of my closest friends (Em Wyllie and my younger sister Adrian) to write about their experiences with oilier skin - they both have it but they're quite different.  Keep your eyes peeled for that post coming soon!

In case there are any other dry skinned beauties out there, here's what I use in my routine as of today:

My Current Routine [3/27/12]

Facewash:  Fresh Soy Face Cleanser

Serum: Lancome High Resolution Collaser-5x

Day Cream: Ole Henriksen Comfort Me OR Bobbi Brown Hydrating Cream

Night Cream: Lancome High Resolution Night 3x

Eye Cream: Lancome Primordiale Eye Skin Recharge

*of note:  I do not believe that skincare is gender specific...there are specific products and lines that are targeted towards men, but both men and women can use all skincare (for example: Jack Black Beard Lube? best leg shaving gel EVER) - again, it's dependent on your skin and how it reacts...Also, I do not believe that you have to use the same skincare brand for each part of your routine.  currently i am using my Lancome skincare up before I move on to anything else...there are some brands out there that when used together work more effectively, however, this decision is up to each individual and what they feel their skin needs.*








*Also of note: I receive a lot of product through my job.  I know I say this all the time but it can't be repeated enough -- it is up to me and me alone to feature what I feel are good products that I can stand behind 100%.  I always take the utmost care as I write my posts to give you, the reader, the best information I can about my experiences.  If I love the product, I say so.  If I hate the product, I say so.  It's equal opportunity on my blog in all aspects. No company has any influence on what I say or what gets featured on this blog.*

Thoughts: Caudalie Vinoperfect Complexion Correcting Radiance Serum

don't you feel accomplished when you see a completely empty bottle of skincare?

When you think of grapes, skincare is probably not the first thing to come to mind.  A tasty snack from the produce department (made better when frozen...don't believe me? try it in the dead of summer, you won't regret it!)...or perhaps a fabulous bottle of wine.  But a skincare routine???

Allow me some backstory.

French-based brand Caudalie (created by Mathilde & Bertrand Thomas) was conceived and born between the years of 1993 and 1995 out of the discovery of the anti-aging benefits of grape seed polyphenols.  Before I keep going with that I'm sure you're staring cross eyed at the computer silently going "....o_0..." in your head.  Let's get nerdy.

Grape seed polyphenols are Caudalie's patented, potent, and powerful anti-aging antioxidants.  They give you 100% protection against free radicals, help protect your collagen and elastin, and improve the microcirculation in your skin (giving it the ever popular radiant glow!).

Caudalie went on to open their own spa in 1999, and have since taken on 2 more patents: Resveratrol and Viniferine.  For the purposes of this blogpost we're going to be focusing on the latter, however you can find more information on Caudalie's website!

Viniferine is an molecule extracted from the grapevine sap which aides in the fight against dark spots and uneven skintone.  It reduces the existing dark spots by targeting the cause of the over-production of melanin (tyrosinase if you're interested), it helps to prevent the formation of new dark spots, and evens and brightens the skin's complexion.  It's also 62 times more effective than Vitamin C...

The Vinoperfect Complexion Correcting Radiance Serum is a liquid serum containing Viniferine that is applied twice daily under your moisturizer.  It is dispensed via dropper (a full dropper is too much product for myself, I only used half each time), emulsified in your fingertips or palms, and pressed into the skin on your face/neck/decollete.  I find I use less product when I'm pressing it into the skin rather than smearing it all over...just for my two cents on that subject :)

I absolutely loved the texture of this serum!  It's liquidy, but not so thin that it will run everywhere once you get it into your hands.  It has a pleasant smell which is not overwhelming (I like my products to smell nice but not "fragranced" if that makes any sense)  I used mine over the course of about 5 or 6 months and I feel that I saw a more even tone to my complexion.  As I am still fairly young, I don't have any dark spots or severe discoloration that I'm treating...but I can absolutely speak to the radiance and evenness that this has left me.

As far as who can use it, I have very dry skin, and I have friends with oilier skin who have also used it and none of us have had any issues.  It always bears repeating that everyone's skin is different so patch test if you have any hesitations!

The price is pretty par when compared to other high end serums.  I personally would pay up to $80 for a decent serum that works for many reasons (of which I will go into and link here when I write my serum post!)

Have you tried any Caudalie products before?  What are you thoughts?




What: Caudalie Vinoperfect Complexion Correcting Radiance Serum
Where: Caudalie-usa.com, Sephora.com, Sephora Stores, wherever Caudalie is sold!
How Much:  $79.00 USD


















*the product contained in this review was provided by my job.  this has no influence on my opinions of the product as vigorous testing has taken place by myself and no one else*

Nail of the Moment: China Glaze Mahogany Magic/Essie Shine of the Times

Today I got a super special package in the mail!  My BFF, the Will to my Grace - Em Wyllie (find him on his youtube or his blog) had very kindly sent me the entire China Glaze Capitol Colors collection, the China Glaze Magnetix Collection, a magnet, and his gently used Sony camcorder (so my own youtube videos can increase in quality!)  

So I figured I'd play around with one of the nail polishes - and I call these posts Nail of the Moment because frankly, I get bored with nail polish quickly so I tend to wear at least 2 or 3 manicures a week (depending on how manky my nails get from working 2 retail jobs...) 

Of all the gorgeous colors in the Capitol Colors collection, I of course had to choose the one color that has pretty universally been picked on (I mean, it is kind of boring...and it does kind of look like baby poop...let's be honest)...so I decided to kick it up a notch!

Head past the jump to see my NotM using China Glaze Mahogany Magic and Essie's Shine of the Times!