Hi guys! I have been SO slack with the blog lately!
It's partly because I moved house -landlords, y u sell house?!- and partly because I've been really unwell... yup! Being sick is pretty common for me, and it sucks!!
But anyways!
I have several things coming up in the future to test my sanity, and being a bit of a perfectionist in some areas, I like to be all pretty and proper and such when I go out to certain things.
Now, don't go picturing me as a woman (ha, maybe young woman?) who never leaves the house without an immaculate made up face, with every strand of hair in it's proper place, no no.
I tend to be the kind of person who will either chuck on a pair of pants and a jacket, put a brush through my hair and say "let's go", or I will spend a fair amount of time agonising over which dress would be better to wear, should I wear pants or tights underneath (I get cold!), how I should wear my hair, and then spend a good couple of hours getting ready followed by several "I'm almost ready!"s. Usually the former wins out, but when you're going with the latter, you want to have products that won't let you down.
I got into makeup in highschool, a friend asked me why I wasn't wearing any yet, and apart from lipgloss I hadn't really been interested in that whole area.
Well, things change, and now I can spend hours wistfully looking at many eyeshadows and eyeliners I would love to have (and probably already do in half of the colours I'm looking at!)
Avon has been faithful to me in the past, however, in the last few years they have had an overhaul of their cosmetics, and in my opinion, it was a bum move.
They changed a ton of the colours of everything from foundations to lipsticks. The consistency of products changed, and they just weren't the same anymore. Most things just didn't look right, didn't feel right, didn't sit right on the face, and didn't last as long.
So I started to branch out.
Here we have trademe -a sort of local ebay if you will. While they don't have a ginormous range like ebay does, many brands of many things can be found there, and it is usually cheaper than getting it in the shop.
I needed new primer and concealer the most.
I did a beauty therapy course several years ago, and I don't recall whether or not we used primer -I had a lot going on at the time, but have managed to retain some good makeup and nail skills!
Primer was a bit difficult to come by (or super super expensive) until a few years ago. I was in the pharmacy one day and decided while I was waiting for my list of medications I would have a browse through the makeup.
And there was the Designer Brands stand.
Apart from the blue mascara (why can I not find it now!!) what caught my eye was a bottle of primer.
I had been looking for primer for some months, and had just about given up hope for one that was white or clear and not pink. The last thing I want to do is make my pale skin look like a cooked prawn!
It was something like $16, and it has lasted me a long time. I do not wear makeup much, so even now I still have about a third of a bottle -I've had it for over two years!!
Unfortunately in that amount of time it started to become gluey and would react very strangely when applied over my 3b face gel. It was not a good look!
The second thing I needed was concealer. If memory serves me correctly (which, to be honest, is a bit hit and miss these days) I don't think I have ever bought my own (non colour corrective) concealer before now.
My first lot was an Avon concealer stick that my mother gave me in highschool saying "there's still some in there, you just have to get it out with a cotton bud, and I can't be bothered". I had a good colour correcting concealer from Avon next, but when I lost it and eventually got around to buying another one, they had changed the formula and it just didn't do the job anymore. Next was an odd little container from ELF. My mother came to me one day and said "there's a bunch of makeup in there for you too" and handed me a bag, "there's a concealer I got from the pharmacy, but it's too light for me, it'll probably be too light for you too, but it's there if you want it". Tried it on.. perfect match..
But after a while it started to sit strangely and not wear very well.
But it was ok! Because there was my mother again, with another pot of concealer, this time a matte concoction from Avon -again, because it was too light for her.
And that did me well for at least a year. But it started to become cakey, it would make my pores look worse, and it would highlight creases I had never noticed before! Not to mention it did next to nothing to hide my redness.
SO off to the internet!!! I asked some friends what they would reccommend, but upon looking at prices, and reviews, and swatches, I was at a loss.
I looked to trademe, I brought up anything within my price range and shade, and got to reading reviews (thankyou makeupalley!!!).
Just when I was feeling highly frustrated with all the seemingly useless concealers out there (do makeup companies not get the point of the product?) I was down to thin lizzy for concealer -and the reviews seemed to be good.
And on my last auction for primer that I had opened, I again found those great reviews.
So I bought Revlon photoready primer, and Thin Lizzy concealer in enchanted rose.
They are FANTASTIC.
The primer looks very pink in the bottle, and despite the reviews stating this, I was still worried about what I'd just spent my money on. All was well though! It comes out white, and goes on almost clear. It gave me a smooth base to work on, evened out my skin tone greatly, and minimized my pores. It gave me a fresh look, like I'd had a really good night's sleep. I would be confident walking out of the house with just the primer on!! LOVE.
I tested out the Thin Lizzy concealer before I bought it since it was quite a bit of money to spend on a concealer. I asked the lady at the pharmacy about applying it. The way I was taught was to put concealer on BEFORE foundation -making it easier to blend with the rest of the makeup, and less noticeable. However, I had become aware that more and more people are applying concealer on top of foundation these days (citing that it makes it easier to blend), and I'm not really sure what you're all doing, but it sure as heck doesn't work for me!
She said since it was more of a cream concealer (creme? I don't know.) to apply it on top of foundation... what. a. disaster.
I happened to see an ad on tv that night for Thin Lizzy, and turned to my flatmate and said "see, she's putting it on before foundation.."
When I put it on top it did not blend, it did not sit well, and it was obvious after putting powder on.
Soooo kudos I guess to you girls who work some kind of witchcraft when you put your concealer on over foundation, but I am not privvy to your magical ways.
When I put the concealer on UNDER my foundation, the result was AWESOME. My redness was covered, my few zits were covered, it did wonders for under my eyes. It stayed there and never slipped, and was not noticeable at all.
Another thing I loved about these products is that neither have made me break out whatsoever. Usually for about a week after I wear makeup I am struggling to bring my skin back under control, but with these products I have had no adverse effects at all!!
Everybody is different, and being as pale as I am can make it difficult to find makeup products that are the right shade, but I do reccommend both of these products, and if things don't work for you, then just keep on trying because when you find what works it is reeeallly really nice!
Also want to quickly mention Glam Eyes half lashes. Omg. THANKYOU!
I have been wanting half lashes for AGES because I cannot pull off full sets, and find it bothersome to do individuals.
I got a set of half flares, which gives me length at the corners without bulking up the rest of my eye and it has a super cute and convenient glue that is a tiny bottle with a tiny brush!! LOVE!
~^_^~
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