YBF Lipsticks, College Again, and Where Did August Go?

Hello, dear readers,

I somehow managed to skip an entire month of blogging, and it's made me realize how much I miss it. Of course, now that I'm ready to get back in the swing of things, I've been bombarded with reading assignments from just the first two days of class. If you aren't already aware, I am a transfer student coming in as a junior to my new college. I'll go ahead and be honest and admit that so far I don't love it here. 

The academics seem great, but it's such a small school that it's hard to break into cliques. Yes, cliques exist on a campus of 1500 or so students [my high school had somewhere between 2000 and 2500!]. Granted, they're bigger than in high school and without any actual drama among groups, but that doesn't make it any easier to come in as an upperclassman and feel right at home. It seems like I'm the only one who feels that way, though. Maybe it's because I just came from a campus of over 40,000 students. I'm used to enjoying a certain anonymity among the masses and a social life among my own friends.

Complaining aside, I do look forward to joining some activities and hopefully getting my life together in a way that allows me to blog more often than I have been. That doesn't mean that I won't ever get lazy and skip weeks, but I'd rather not skip months anymore! I will be posting an updated skincare routine at some point, but I have yet to take the pictures. I don't really have a set foundation routine right now; it varies by day/time of day/the condition of my skin. I can, however, do a post about some of the products that make regular appearances in my makeup routine. There are some new additions to my face makeup family, so I'll eventually be sharing those.

Now onto current news: I'll wager that most of you have heard of HauteLook , but I'll explain it anyway for those of you who haven't. It's a flash sale site for beauty, clothing, and home goods brands for men, women, and children. It will have a sale on, say, Stila Cosmetics starting at 8 a.m. EST on a Wednesday, and ending Friday at 8 a.m. Right now, there are sales on brands ranging from Sibu Beauty to Minnetonka; Lucky Brand Men to Skechers Backpacks for kids.

A little over a week ago, HauteLook had a sale on a relatively new beauty line called ybf cosmetics, which stands for your best friend. There was a set of six lipsticks for $12.50, and I thought that was a pretty good deal. The shipping was not the greatest, because it tacked on an extra $6.00 or so, but my mom was kind enough to order it for me as a back to college [here goes nothingl "surprise." [Side note: I realize the term "college" is like high school for some countries outside of the U.S., but I mean it in terms of university. You've probably guessed that by now.]

Apologies for not taking my own pictures, but here is what I received:

Source

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Rather than take all the pictures from other websites, I'm going to direct you to this wonderful post that pretty much nails everything there is to say about these lipsticks. I can add that they are paraben free; if that's a concern of yours, you may be interested. They really are very versatile shades, and you can layer them any way you please. You can layer any lipstick, actually, but these happen to come in a cute and convenient set. I love the heart-shaped packaging and the fact that there are essentially four variations of red. I would say that there's a cool-toned red, an orangey red, and a cherry red.

The other three colors are a sheer, shimmery nude meant to top the other lipsticks, a deep wine color, and a brownish burgundy. The only discrepancy between my post and the one I've linked above is the color of the shade "Scandalous." Mine are exactly as pictured above in the company's photo, and I'm  not sure why. If you'd like to see a review with my own photos and swatches, I can do that, too.

That's all I've got for you today. Congratulations to those of you who made it through this post, and thank you to my readers for sticking with me while I sort out my life!

I hope your August was marvelous and your September is even better!

xEsther

Another Periodic Update

Hello, dear readers,

I'm sorry I'm so inconsistent with my blogging this summer. I promise I have no intention of stopping this blog; I'm just enjoying my summer as much as possible and have been too lazy to actually create a worthwhile post. So far I've been catching up with friends, shopping, reading, and getting back into regular fitness routines. I like the Exercise TV videos on YouTube, and I also search for random workouts so I can switch up my routine. I still hula hoop, but I also like interval workouts, Pilates, and Zumba and other dance workouts.  I do have reviews that will be coming up, some of which are quite overdue. I received a box of products for the summer Influenster VoxBox, which I will explain once I'm ready to review those. I have to actually use the products in order to review them! I also haven't been wearing face makeup, as it's been over 100 degrees [F] here. Don't worry, though; I still wear lipstick every day!

I hope all of my American readers had a fabulous July 4th! I went to my local parade with my friend, and one of our friends was actually driving in it. We hassled her until she got out of the car and came over to us. It was quite nice as I haven't been to the parade in a few years. I had to hop right in the shower after due to the fact that it hit 102 F [I don't know how to do the degree symbol; sorry!]. I then went to a barbecue with friends, including the two from the morning, and saw the local fireworks. Afterwards, we all went to see the opening night of the Katy Perry movie. Yes; you read that right. It was a great deal of fun singing loudly and dancing in the back row. I know, I know; it's definitely Oscar-worthy material.

I promise you will see a post from me before the summer's end; I just can't promise you when that will be! Have a wonderful weekend!

xEsther

Aaaaaaand...It's a Tag! What's Your Makeup Style?

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Hello, dear readers,


I've been in a bit of a blogging rut, as you may have noticed, so I'm doing a tag today. This one is newer and I found it on Elle & Blair. Here are my answers to the "What's Your Makeup Style?" tag.


1. EEK! You've got five minutes to do your makeup for a date. What's your minimum?
I can usually get some foundation on the center of my face to cover up redness, a tiny bit of concealer under my eyes, and some lipstick on in five minutes. I usually take longer, but I can do it if I'm in a hurry.


2. Pick a trend—crazy cat eyeliner, super hot pink blush, or feathered false lashes?
I wouldn't actually wear any of these, but crazy cat eyeliner would probably look the least certifiably insane of the three.


3. If you had to either give up all makeup for two months or give up your skincare for a week, which would you pick?
As much as I hate to say it, I would give up my skincare for a week. If I break out that week, I can cover it up, and then I'll proceed to be diligent about my skin afterwards. I don't wear face makeup every day anyway, so my skin wouldn't suffer too much.


4. What beauty products are always in your purse?
Lip balm, whatever lipstick I'm wearing that day, and hand cream. I do occasionally forget the hand cream.


5. Are there any beauty products that you keep coming back to throughout the years?
Almay Smart Shade Concealer in Light, L'Oreal Colour Riche Lipstick in Tropical Coral, Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Rose Blush, Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent.


6. Smoky eyes or red lips?
Red lips. I love the look of a classic red lip with my very fair skin and dark hair. I'll take any excuse to wear red lipstick.


7. Lipstick or lipgloss?
Lipstick.


8. Are there any products that you never expected to like but ended up loving?
Beauty UK Lipstick in In the Buff and Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Demure.


I would love to see any of you do this tag. Again, I apologize for being such a lousy blogger. I really haven't been able to think of any great ideas, nor have I had the chance to figure out what to do for an updated skincare routine post. 


I hope you've all been enjoying June; I know I have! Have a lovely start to the week.


xEsther

40 Beauty Questions

Image Source

Hello, dear readers,


At a loss for creative ideas today, I decided to recycle this very old tag from YouTube. When I say "very old," I mean about a year and a half ago, give or take. I know that's ancient in internet terms.


On with the questions:



SKINCARE -
How many times do you wash your face daily?
Twice. The only time I'll wash my face more than that is if I shower in the afternoon, because I'll still wash my face morning and night as well.

What skin type do you have? (dry,oily,combo) 
Dry/combination and sensitive 

What is your current facial wash?
Olay Foaming Face Wash Sensitive Skin

Do you exfoliate? 
Rarely. The reason for this is because I use baking soda with my cleanser to exfoliate once a week when I'm at home, but I don't bring it to school. It would look a little strange mixing that concoction in the dormitory communal bathroom, so I skip out on it until I get home.

What brand do you use?
The face wash I mentioned with whatever baking soda we've got at home!

What moisturizer do you use?
In the morning I use Olay Complete Daily UV Moisturizer SPF 30 Sensitive Skin; I use SPF 15 in the winter. At night, I use Neutrogena Oil Free Moisture Sensitive Skin.

Do you have freckles? 
I have very few on my face, and they're hardly visible, but I have several on my arms. My arm freckles aren't extremely visible either.

Do you use eye cream? 
No. My moisturizer is gentle enough to use in that area at night, and I don't own an eye cream.

Do you or did you have acne prone skin?
I do, but I mainly break out on my chin due to hormones and who knows what else! I believe one of my makeup products may be breaking me out as well, and I'll update you on that when I know. I definitely break out if I touch my face too much, but for the most part my skin is clear.

Did you ever have to use Pro-activ? 
No.
MAKE-UP
What foundation do you use? 
I don't. I use Covergirl Aqua Smoothers Tinted Moisture most of the time, but I'm currently using Clinique Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturizer.

How about concealer? 
Hard Candy Glamoflauge Concealer. I will have to repurchase soon.

Do you know your undertone color?
I find it quite hard to tell because my face has a lot of pink to it, but that might just be from redness. Then again, I get freckles and I do tan slightly which is common for warm tones. I would say I'm somewhere close to neutral.

What do you think of fake eyelashes?
I really don't like them. Apologies to anyone who loves them. Personally I don't need them and I don't think they're necessary, but I do understand how they could be fun.

Did you know that you are supposed to change your mascara every 3 months? 
Yes.

What brand of mascara do you use?
I don't actually wear mascara! I do own a Clinique one, though, but it gave me raccoon eyes when I wore it as it bled during the day.

Sephora or MAC? 
I've never bought from either store, because I don't like to spend a lot on makeup. I'm more of an Ulta girl, but, if I had to, I would probably choose Sephora for the variety.

Do you have a MAC Pro-card? 
No.

What makeup tools do you use in make up application? 
A brush and my fingers.

Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes? 
No because I don't wear eye makeup. I tend to put concealer on my eyelids, though, to neutralize the darkness and brighten the eye area.

For the face? 
Nope.

What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)?
Like I said, I don't wear eyeshadow, just concealer on the lids. That may seem weird, but it really helps to brighten the face. I always wear a brighter lip anyway, so it balances out.

Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner? 
I don't wear eyeliner, but I own both pencil and felt tip.

How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil? 
The few times I have used it, I think I poked my eyes maybe once.

What do you think of pigment eyeshadows? 
Again, not really relevant to me, but I'd imagine they're harder to work with if you're not so skilled in eye makeup application.

Do you use mineral makeup? 
No, but that's just a coincidence. The products I've looked for and bought just haven't been mineral. Though I think I own maybe one mineral tinted lip conditioner, or something of the sort.

What is your favorite lipstick?
It is so hard to choose, but the one I've been reaching for all the time lately is Maybelline ColorSensational in Pink Peony.

How about lipgloss? 
Avon Glazewear Shine in Tickled Pink, or any of the pink ELF Hypershine Lip Glosses [Thanks, Lyuba!].

What is your favorite blush to use? 
I don't wear blush, mostly because I already have a bit of color in my cheeks, but I own a Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips blush.

Do you buy your makeup on ebay? 
No.

Do you like drugstore makeup? 
Yes indeed. The only higher end makeup I've ever owned was Clinique, which I do enjoy, and an Estee Lauder lipstick, which was the wrong color for my lips and skin tone! I can't really compare, therefore, my drugstore collection to anything else. I count Avon as drugstore as well, just because of the price. All makeup is hit or miss, honestly, no matter how much you pay for it. I just like to do my research before I buy anything.

Do you go to CCO's? (cosmetic company outlets) 
No. I don't know if there are any near me at home.

Did you ever consider taking make-up classes? 
I'm not extremely artistic, so I've never considered it. Makeup is more of a personal hobby than anything else. And I'm mostly a face makeup and lipstick girl. 

Are you clumsy in putting on makeup?
No, thankfully. Besides my awful green powder concealer phase two years ago, I've been pretty good at working with whatever I've had available.

Name a makeup crime that you hate? 
Too-nude lips; too-orange tanners; and heavy eye makeup during daytime and morning classes. It just looks a little too "skanky sorority girl" when people have that much makeup on in class. Not to say all sorority girls are skanky, because they aren't, but you know the type. I hope.

Do you like colorful shades of makeup (lipstick,eyeshadow) or neutral ones? 
I like to keep a clean face and brighter lips, generally. I don't like to go too neutral on the lips, because I keep the rest of the face extremely neutral. I like a neutral lip as long as it has color, and a neutral [bare, really] eye.

Which celebrity always has great make up?
Anne Hathaway, Zooey Deschanel.

If you could leave the house using just ONE make up item, what would you use?
Tinted moisturizer, just to add a slight bit of life to my face.

Could you ever leave the house without any makeup on?
I did several times in the summer, and I don't mind walking around the dorm without makeup, but at the moment I have to put makeup on to go out. That's probably because I'm on a college campus. If I was at home grocery shopping, I definitely could.

Do you think you look good even without any makeup on? 
Yes, especially because I'm slowly gaining a higher opinion of myself. I prefer to go out with makeup, but I think I look just fine without it.

In your opinion, what is the BEST makeup line?
I can't really judge entire lines, because I've only gotten lipsticks or glosses from most brands, and perhaps a concealer, tinted moisturizer or powder from others. I have like everything I've gotten from Avon except a concealer, and I think I have the most products from there. Honestly, though, I just can't answer that. 

What do you think of makeup?? 
I'm constantly surprised by how I can completely wake up my face with the smallest amount of makeup. I think it's transformative, but not in such a way that it actually changes your appearance. It's just a nice pick-me-up.


That's all, folks!


I hope you enjoyed this tag. I'm sure you've already had the opportunity to do this one in the past, but if not, feel free to do this yourself. I'd love to read it. Or, if you've already answered them, why not leave me a link?




Thanks so much, dear readers. Hope your week is off to a good start.




xEsther

A Bad Episode of Skincare Chronicles: Part 1

Hello, dear readers,

If you happened to glance upon my silly little post here, you might remember that I mentioned a complete remake of my skincare routine due to a little trip to a product-happy [or so it seems] dermatologist. Lovely young lady that she is [as if I'm not younger than she], it seems that the products she gave me managed to make my skin worse.

I'll go into more detail about what exactly she prescribed me at a later date [aka not 2 in the morning. I really should learn to sleep. Really.], but essentially I faithfully used the products for a full three weeks at least. What happened when I did that, you ask?

Why, breakouts happened. First of all, I don't think you should change more than one product in your routine each month because you won't be able to tell which product is affecting you positively and which is ruining your skin. Since I'd have to experiment slowly with taking out one product at a time if I wanted to see which product was breaking me out, I decided I'd rather not wait.

Instead, I'm currently back on my old skincare routine, which can be read here. The only difference is that I now use the Tretinoin every other night.

That's all for tonight, folks.

Sleep well if it's night time, and have a nice rest of your day if you've got hours to go!

xEsther

"All at Once, Everything Looks Different"

Yes, dear readers,

That is a line from the song "I See the Light," which was nominated for an Oscar for the feature film of Tangled. As my best bud would say, "You're a major cinephile."[Read: movie fanatic. I was SO angry that Randy Newman's unmemorable song, the name of which escapes me, won instead.] That is actually a configuration of the line, "Turns out, Michael Bolton is a major cinephile," from The Lonely Island's song "Jack Sparrow."

If you're getting tired of my relentless quoting of movies, songs, and the like, I thoroughly apologize. Please feel free to wipe the quotes from your memory with this eraser I present to you:

"Here I come to save the day!" Oops, another quote, from "Superman" this time!
 Feel free to erase to your heart's content.

Ok, now on to why the quote is even relevant. My skincare routine is about to get a makeover. Yes, that's right. I went to the dermatologist at the ungodly hour of 7 a.m. My previous dermatologist passed away a couple of months ago, quite unfairly and too young. He was wonderful and based all his decisions on scientific knowledge with a strong basis in fact rather than recent studies.

You can probably understand my skepticism when my new dermatologist, a young and very nice lady from New York, started mentioning "the latest studies." I was also skeptical when she suggested an acne face wash. First of all, I am a firm believer in the use of gentle cleansers alongside prescription topical treatments for acne. Secondly, the active ingredients aren't on your skin long enough to remain potent when present in a face wash. Sure, there are people who claim that their acne fighting wash cleared them up, and I'm sure it helped, it wasn't because of the great acne fighting claims. I promise.

The problem with me is that I'm too interested in the science behind the ingredients in skincare products and medications and in cosmetics to be completely trusting of a relatively new dermatologist. For someone who absolutely hates taking classes in science or doing anything in the laboratory or scientific research, I obsess over science when it comes to cosmetics and skincare.

So, in short, I'll be revamping my skincare and posting something new and updated once everything is sorted out.

And for now I bid you, "So long! Farewell! Auf Wiedersehn! Goodbye!" [Sound of Music, anyone?].

I promise you to limit my quotes, at least in the next post. I just got a little movie-happy here!

xEsther




Image from http://filegets.com/image/cookie-eraser.html Quotes from memory and a bit of help from dear, old Google.

100% Guaranteed

Hello everyone!

So it seems that my blogging inspiration comes in quick succession, short bursts, and long paragraphs. I'll make it quick this time. Ok, I'll at least try.

I wanted to let you know what my 100% fail proof, foolproof way to wind down and relax. That, my friends, is my nighttime skincare routine. Yes, I'm quite proud of myself for that. My skin care has become absolutely a religious ritual for me. Whether I'm using my favorite cleanser, dotting on one of my spot treatments, or luxuriating in the bliss of a very pleasant moisturizer, I just can't help but feel great about the fact that I'm doing something beneficial to my skin that will help it look beautiful and, in turn, help me feel beautiful.

I've been getting lots of compliments on my skin lately, and to be honest that has as much to do with my skincare as the makeup I've switched to. I'll describe my current go-to makeup in another post, but I do think it's helping to make my skin look wonderful. That being said, my skin does seem to be clearing up for the most part. My problem area is always my chin due to hormones, but I think it's starting to clear. Right now I'm broken out a bit on my forehead, and I think that's due to poor diet.

Now I know skincare isn't as romantic as saying I like to relax with a bubble bath, candles, and my favorite magazine and not as ambitious as running a marathon, but it works for me. In any case, in order to wrap up what may soon become another ridiculously long post, I just want to say that my nighttime skincare routine seriously helps me relax. Now if only doing great things for the rest of my body calmed me down this much!

To a beautifully relaxed tomorrow!

xEsther

Honorable Mention Skincare

Hello readers!

I didn't think I could write about skincare without mentioning the last item in my skincare routine. That item is Neutrogena Oil Free Moisture for Sensitive Skin.

Photo insert here:

There isn't really much to say about this product besides the fact that it was a wonderful skincare discovery of 2010. I don't find it necessary to wear moisturizer with SPF at night, but it's really hard to find any without SPF unless it's an anti-aging cream, and I don't feel the need to use an anti-aging cream at this point in my life. I just want something simple and moisturizing that's not too heavy and is oil free, and that's what this product is. There are no miracle ingredients in it; it's just an oil free, fragrance free, gentle moisturizer that has served me well throughout summer, fall, and winter. Besides my prescriptions, this is the only other skincare item I rely on, and it works quite well.