Touring My Various States of Makeup

Hello, dear readers,

Since I was absent for such an extended stretch of time, I thought it might be fun to show you a few pictures from recent months. Then I realized something fantastic: In each of the photos I selected, I was wearing a different degree of makeup. Even better, I unknowingly chose them in the following order: No makeup, everyday makeup, and makeup for going out. As a proud makeup aficionado, I will admit that I spring towards the cosmetics aisle of every drugstore and Target I enter. I swear each and every Ulta store exerts its own gravitational pull on me; it's not my fault! 

That being said, I've relearned to love makeup free days and letting my skin breathe. The people who matter most to me have seen me too many times to count without a drop of makeup, so it's nice to go out with my face au naturale. This does not, however, include lip products. I must have at least a tinted lip balm on before I leave the house. That's just how it is. 

And now, on to our tour: 

Me, Makeup Free!

This was taken at a house concert at the beginning of December, and I have to say I love the way my nails look here. I believe I was wearing OPI The Spy Who Loved Me from the Skyfall Collection. I have absolutely no face makeup on here. On my lips? Faded by that point was none other than NYC Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm in Big Apple Red. The very same product I reviewed a couple of days ago. [And no, I did not crop out the other people in the photos because I'm a raging narcissist. I simply didn't want to post anyone's picture without his or her permission, and not everyone in the photos knows I write this blog.]

Everyday Sort of Look

Obviously I don't wear makeup every single day, but this is the kind of thing I will wear when I feel like looking a little more put together to see friends or to go to class. In this particular instance, I was baking cupcakes with friends before we brought them to a quasi high school reunion in late December. On my face, I mixed my Olay moisturizer with Avon Ideal Flawless Invisible Coverage Liquid Foundation in Light Ivory. Believe it or not, the shade is significantly darker than I am; combining it with moisturizer is the only way I can wear it. A shame, really, because I quite enjoy the formula. I applied Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Spot Corrector + Treatment in Fair under my eyes and to cover up any redness or spots I might have had that day. I finished off my face with Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent. On my lips, I had -- wait for it -- NYC Applelicious...You get the drift. Same lip product as before.

Maid of Honor Makeup

Finally we come to my version of full makeup. This was one of the professional photographs from my sister's wedding in October. I was the maid of honor, and I did my own makeup. I cannot take credit for the hair, though. I can never do my own hair for special occasions. I used the same concealer and powder as usual, but this time I wore them over my Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation in 1.0, the palest of the yellow-toned foundations from that line. I went to Sephora with my mom to get my color match with the Color IQ system, and this was the product I decided on. It was my mom's treat for me, since she knew I'd be doing my makeup and would want to get it right. It's maybe a shade darker than I am, but it goes on beautifully anyway.

I wore Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara in Black, a rarity for me. Unlike most beauty junkies, I don't find mascara to be that life-changing a product. I don't have the world's darkest, longest, or fullest lashes by any means, but they show up just find on their own. I like this mascara because it's the only one I've found that doesn't get under my eyes and make me look like a raccoon by the end of the day. My lips were a bit tricky for me. I started with YBF Cosmetics lipstick in Fabuloso, a cooler toned cherry red, but I wasn't satisfied. It didn't pop, so I tissued off as much as I could. I then applied YBF Cosmetics lipstick in Love Affair, a vibrant, orange-y red that was exactly the shade I needed. If you've never heard of the brand, I wrote about YBF Cosmetics in this post here. My makeup lasted from pictures in the early afternoon until after the dancing ended around 9 p.m. It showed up nicely in the photos, if I do say so myself. You can't really see here, but China Glaze Ruby Pumps was adorning my nails.

Each photograph was taken during a joyful occasion, and each joyful occasion called for a different look. I hope you enjoyed the little snapshots of my past few months in life and in makeup.

xEsther

Mini Review: NYC New York Color Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm

Hello, dear readers,

Remember this post about the Influenster VoxBox program, in which I promised reviews of some of the products within that handy dandy box? No? Ah, it's just as well. It's only been half a year since then. I never intended to back down on my promise, so here is the first of the reviews. This time I'll be briefly discussing the NYC New York Color Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm in the shade Big Apple Red. I'm going to do what I did in the last post and place the nifty Influenster "sticker" below, so you know that I received this product as part of the VoxBox program. Head to the website to check out what that's all about. [DISCLAIMER: To those of you who have never read my mini reviews, they are never actually mini]

Here is a look at the product itself, as it appears in the packaging:

As I was rereading my previous post, I was pleased to discover that I did not, in fact, put down too much detail about what is essentially an exceptional tinted lip balm. Like I said, I received the shade Big Apple Red and was thrilled with my luck. It's easy to get off colors or colors you're not too fond of when you're signing up to receive free products picked out by companies themselves. Just last year I won a Milani Color Statement Lipstick in the shade Nude Creme, a pinkish, beige-y nude that painted away my lips until I resembled a corpse. Absolutely nothing to complain about, because I can layer it with other colors; I got to try the new formula; and I won the lipstick for free. That's why it's especially exciting to open a box of freebies and grin at a shade you look forward to wearing, rather than grimacing and subsequently shrugging off a hue that would look great on you if only you had completely different coloring.

How long can she possibly go on about the shade of a lipstick or a balm, you ask? A very long time, it appears. Let's move along, though, shall we? The pictures here are identical to those that appeared in the last post to which I keep referring. This means that months later, I have made a significant dent in said glossy lip balm that is not reflected here. That being said, here is a better view of the product:

Big Apple Red can be described as a sheer, candy apple sort of red. The center of the balm, cutely and appropriately apple-shaped is meant to serve as the moisturizing "core" [no pun intended], but I don't know exactly how that works. Isn't the whole thing moisturizing? Why do you need to have the center be a different color just so it can be a balm? It doesn't make sense, but it is an adorable marketing ploy -- let's be honest; that's what it is. This is surprisingly pigmented for a tinted balm, especially when the center isn't red. Initially, I think the moisturizing core was to blame for a slightly streaky application, but after regular use I can say that it goes on evenly now. 

You do have to exfoliate your lips first, because, as with many colorful lip products, this will draw attention to flakes. Once that's done, however, this is such a snap to use. It really is very moisturizing; it's pigmented enough to show a pretty flush, but sheer enough to be an easy way for the color-shy to wear red lips on a daily basis; and it has a nice, glossy finish that doesn't scream, "Hey look, patent leather!". I don't ever record wear time of tinted balms, because I don't mind reapplying; it's so easy to do, that it's not important to me.

Those who care about the presentation of their products might be turned off by the cheap looking packaging and cheesy, somewhat juvenile marketing of the balm, but I don't mind it at all. This Applelicious Glossy Lip Balm twists down all the way, so there is no danger of ruining the product with the cap when closing it. I can honestly say this is one of the products I reach for on a regular basis, whether I'm casually hanging out with friends on a lazy weekend or going to the grocery store. It is, as I said before, incredibly easy to wear. It feels great and leaves my lips smooth even after it wears off. I feel like my face is brightened up by the color, even when I'm not wearing other makeup. I wore this quite a bit over my winter break [which started December 19 and ends this weekend]. It adorned my lips during a casual high school reunion at a friend's house; a trip to the mall with my mom; and several visits with friends. I wore it yesterday, and I'm wearing it today.

I would post a picture of the product in all its dented glory now, but that requires finding my camera, uploading and editing, most of which I am unable to do at the present moment without the camera cord. The photo I took with PhotoBooth simply won't do. I think you can guess that I rather enjoy this product. If I ever finish it up and can justify a replacement among my copious amounts of lip products, I will more than likely repurchase.

You can look for it here on the NYC website, where it lists the retail price as $2.99.

I hope your new year is starting off wonderfully well.

xEsther

Springing for Influenster

Hello, dear readers,

In my previous post, I mentioned that I had received a bunch of free products through a program called Influenster. For whatever reason, the boxes of paraphernalia are called VoxBoxes. This particular box was the Spring Fever VoxBox, aptly named because it was sent about a month ago. I would try explaining the program, but I would fail, so instead I'm linking you to the website itself. And here's this handy-dandy icon from Influenster, disclosing that everything was sent free. You can sign up for an invite to the program no matter who you are; it's not some exclusive club.

In any case, I'm going to show you photographs and short descriptions of the items I found in the VoxBox. I promise they'll be short, because I will be doing separate posts on a couple of the products. Here are all the contents at once:

Pretty exciting, huh? I thought so. 

The first thing I saw when I opened up the package was chocolate. If you're looking for a healthy snack, this wouldn't be it, but it is a delicious treat. As you may be able to read on the package, it says that it's a "marshmallow flavored creme filled cake." I believe some people received the peanut butter flavor, but I was quite satisfied with this. Do I plan to run out and buy more? No. If I'm ever offered one, however, it would be bad form to refuse. ;)

Um, hello there. If you hadn't noticed, the title of my blog is called "When Life Hands You Lipstick," but you can bet that when life handed me this NYC New York Color Applelicious Glossy lip balm, I was beyond thrilled. This is not an exaggeration. Mine is called Big Apple Red, which is appropriate for multiple reasons. In person, it shows up redder than in these photographs, but the photos give a fairly decent depiction of the product. Even when I go out with no face makeup on, I must [repeat: must] have some color on my lips. With my fair skin, dark hair, and not the most pigmented lips, I'm convinced I look dead without it. What's more, it's become my "look" over the years. Tinted balms are perfect for on-the-go and a no-brainer for summer. 

Next came my second love, a nail product. I've already tried these out, and I will be doing a review on them. This is the imPRESS Press-On Manicure from Broadway Nails. The pattern I have is called Over the Moon. The design really is beautiful on, and, to my delight, the nails didn't look fake. I did have to cut them quite a bit, but more on that to come.

This next product is Schwarzkopf Professional OSIS+ Gelastic. It's marketed as an "ultra strong flex gel" that gives you a short time window in which to style your hair before it's set for the day. Some people received a product called Dust It, a mattifying powder, and others discovered Rough Rubber, a texturizing paste. Considering I have no use for mattifying powder and no desire for texturizing paste, I think I got off with the best of the bunch. That's not to say that I love this. They're not kidding when they say this lasts all day. I barely had time to play with my hair before it was stuck in place. I think I'll post a review on this as well.

This is Secret Outlast Clear Gel, an antiperspirant/deodorant that claims to leave no white marks on clothes. I'm very pleased to say that it lives up to the marketing hype. I used to have a huge problem with white marks on my clothes, even when I used gel deodorants. I've used other versions of Secret in the past, but I never had any luck with it. Currently, I use an extremely inexpensive antiperspirant/deodorant from Avon, and I'm happy enough with it. It's the only thing prior to this Secret Outlast that hasn't left white marks on my shirts. 

Alas, we have reached the end. Not a bad haul from a box full of surprises. As I've said repeatedly [and you're probably ready to close this window by now], I will be doing a couple of separate reviews on individual products. Even if I'd hated everything, I couldn't have complained because it's all complimentary. I only have to complete a mandatory product survey in exchange for the goods.

I'm getting excited for a July 4th trip to see some of my best friends, but for now I'm relishing the weekend. 

Hope you're loving it, too.

xEsther