Beauty and Fashion Tech

Hello Kitty Makeup Kit and Case

I came across a complete Hello Kitty Makeup Kit and Makeup Case that is rather cure, albeit kind of silly. For even more fun, pair it up with a Hello Kitty Makeup Mirror! The makeup kit is at buy.com, so I don’t know how long it will last

Purchase links are below. If you are reading in the feed, click through to the website to view them.

Note: This post contains an affilaite link(s), for more please see my disclosures page.

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Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes Eyeliner and Swatches

MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Eyes are, in my opinion, the absolute best eyeliners out there. As you can see from the swatches, Aqua Eyes are seriously waterproof, sometimes wonderfully luminous, other times perfectly matte, highly pigmented, and they come in 25 shades. They are soft and apply wonderfully. There is no tugging or pulling involved with Makeup Forever eyeliners. As a result, they tend to be highly rated. Although waterproof and smudge proof, if you smudge the eyeliners right away, you can blend them. But they do set quickly.

I played with a bunch of Makeup Forever eyeliners at Sephora and took these Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes swatches, which represent 16 of the shades:

Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes Swatches from left to right: Iridescent Navy Blue 3L, Champagne 23L, Gold 9L, Turquoise 7L, Pistachio 17L, Light Brown 19L, Bronze 10L, Pearly Brown 2L, Shimmering Plum 4L, Bronze Green 5L, Black Purple 6L (I think, not guaranteed on that one), Purple 11L, Blue with green Highlights 12L, Light Taupe 24L, Burgundy 18L, and Silver 8L.

I hadn’t played with Makeup Forever much before that Sephora field trip and I ended up rather impressed, not just with Aqua Eyes, but also with some of Makeup Forever’s other cosmetics. I purchased a powder foundation that I love and will review soon. I also tried some of the lip products and was left wishing that my budget could accommodate a bit more shopping.

Much to my amusement, when I later tried to wash the swatches off in a restroom, they proved just how waterproof Aqua Eyes are. The makeup swatches wouldn’t budge! I didn’t want to trudge back to Sephora for makeup remover, so I just went home with lovelyeyeliner swatches on my arm for the world to see. Once home, I removed the swatches with Exuviance Gentle Creme Eye Makeup Remover, which took them off in seconds, so there is another shout out for that very nice eye makeup remover! You can read my previous review here: Bioelements Gentle Creme Eye Makeup Remover. Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes Collector Set

If you are looking for a serious splurge, Makeup Forever Aqua Eyes are available in a set: MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Eyes Collector Set, which at $249 is actually a darn good deal considering if sold separately the eyeliners would be worth $425. But you can by them individually for $17 each: MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Eyes.

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Weekend Reading From Gilty Pleasures

Alison of the Advice Sisters has picked her favorite show of fashion week (so far, more to come on the advice sisters blog). It is “THE BLONDES” runway show featuring everything from sexy dresses with golden spikes and glittering, sky-high Louboutin pumps, to a gorilla suit!

Talented hair and makeup artist Altjana Banja created the hair look for emerging designer Carmelita Martell a sophisticated, braided bun.

Lisa from Bridalease has great skin protection advice during these crazy cold and windy days of winter.

Ageless Elaine explains cosmeceuticals and why you want them.

Gio from Beautiful With Brains talks about the benefits of olive oil in skincare.

Missy of Luxury Beauty Products reviews Sun Botanicals SunScreen with SPF 30 made by women for women specifically designed to protect against the sun’s harmful UV radiation from damaging the skin.

Beauty and Fashion Tech reviews DHC Skincare, including DHC Olive Oil Cleanser.

Dao from My Makeup Blog found an easy and fool proof way to apply false lashes that guarantees an eye opening result!

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L’Oreal Deep Set Wrinkle Repair Eye Cream

L’Oreal Revitalift Deep-Set Wrinkle Repair Eye Cream comes in a double sided tube. One side for night and the other for day. As far as eye creams go, it is pretty standard, but a decent enough choice for a product with Retinol at around $20.

The day creme is really a light lotion that includes SPF 15 and moisturizers for basic conditioning and protection. It absorbs well, feels fine, and I really can’t find anything to complain about other than it doesn’t really stand out either. It basically is a just a good everyday basic eye cream.

The night creme is slightly thicker (but not much) and includes Retinol for anti-aging and wrinkle treatment. Retinol is pretty much the ingredient of choice for night treatment and L’Oreal’s cream feels good and absorbs well. However, without knowing the concentration of Retinol, it might not be the best choice available. If you are not sensitive to Retinol, look for an eye cream that includes the full amount allowed over the counter, such as ROC. I have my doubts that L’Oreal includes it to that concentration. Also, keep in mind that this cream, or any eye cream for that matter, regardless of the amount of Retinol, is not going to repair your deep set wrinkles. They might help with the appearance some, or better yet, prevent worsening, but no cream is a cure. Sorry.

Overall, L’Oreal’s eye cream duo is pretty standard. It has an OK price point for its ingredients, but mostly I just like the combo of a day and night cream in one package and I think it is particularly nice for travel.

Note: this review was based on a product given to me by a representative of the company. For more, see my disclosure page.

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New In My Open Sky Shop: Bosu Balance Trainer

I love my Bosu Balance Trainer. In my opinion, there is no better way to work the abs than to do a variety of situps and Pilates based ab moves using the Bosu Ball. It is also easy to do a whole body workout or a cardio routine using the Bosu. You can read my previous article on why you should buy a Bosu Ball here: Bosu Ball Review.

If I could have only one piece of home exercise equipment, the Bosu would be it. Now I am offering it in my OpenSky shop. Stop in and take a look to learn more!

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Tarina Tarantino Pearl Glow Makeup Primer

Sephora has a new line of makeup from accessory designer Tarina Tarantino. As would be expected from Tarantino, the packaging for this makeup primer is quite nice. I haven’t tried any of the Tarantino cosmetics yet, but I did buy a Tarina Tarantino Pearl Glow Makeup Primer to try.

Tarina Tarantino Pearl Glow Primer is a lotion type of makeup primer. I tend to prefer silicon based makeup primers because they fill fine lines and leave a wonderfully smooth skin surface for makeup, while lotion primers tend to fell like standard moisturizing lotion to me (no surprise there I guess). Anyway, that doesn’t mean lotion-like makeup primers are bad, but they are not my preference.

Here is the interesting thing about the Tarntino makeup primer though—it adds a pretty nice luminizer to the mix. Plenty of primers do this, but they can get overly shiny in appearance. Tarina Tarantio makeup primer did a pretty good job at not going overboard, so it leaves the skin looking dewy and luminous. If you remember Prescriptives magic lotion back when it first came out, Tarina Tarantino Pearl Glow Primer really reminds me of that.

Now, as soon as a primer become more of a luminizer, I tend to hate to use it as a true makeup primer. If you put anything but the sheerest of foundation over it, the luminosity is lost. So, I prefer to use Tarintino Pearl Glow primer, not as a makeup primer, but as a bit of a highlighter or sorts. I also tried mixing it with my foundation, which resulted in a fairly nice sheer tinted moisturizer type of mix.

Tarina Tarntino Pearl Glow primer is quite moisturizing and, although it absorbs pretty well, I felt that I was often still aware of it on my skin. Since I have oily skin and am acne prone, that worried a bit, but I haven’t seem to have gotten any breakouts from it. Still, those with oily skin might want to try to test it in store before buying.

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Lush Solid Shampoo Bar

LUSH Cosmetics came to the rescue for me with their solid shampoo bar. I have color treated hair, but my scalp tends to get oily, while the ends remain dry. Most shampoos formulated for color tend to also be too moisturizing for me—making my scalp oily again by the end of the day. So I was searching for a product that would not strip color, but would also take care of the oil. Then I could use a regular smoothing conditioner on the ends.

I was having a hard time finding anything that wasn’t too harsh until I was introduced to Lush Solid Shampoo Bars. Because the bars are solid, they can be made without preservatives, and with natural ingredients. The first bar I tried was this Lush Stimulating and Reviving Mint Bar which was sent to me by Lush.

The Mint Bar does a great job with oily hair and stimulates the scalp. But I thought it was just a bit to drying on my ends, so I dropped in a Lush boutique at Macy’s and picked up a Lush Godiva Solid Shampoo Bar instead.

Godiva Solid Shampoo has cocoa and shea butters as moisturizers but, unlike my problems with regular moisturizing shampoos, the Godiva Bar took care of my scalp oil, without leaving my ends overly dry. Finally, I was back to where I could wash my hair every other day without getting oily and my ends were nice and smooth. I pair the Lush bars with a light smoothing conditioner on the ends of my hair.

A Lush Solid Shampoo Bars run around $7-$10 depending on the bar. To use the bars, you can either rub it on your hair, or lather it up in your hands and apply it. I tend to just rub it along my scalp and underneath the back of the hair. The bars are not very big, but they last quite well.

One item I highly recommend getting if you order one is a Lush Shampoo Bar Tin. The bars tend to leave a colored soap like film if you just leave them lying around. Plus, if they get wet, they will melt away over time like soap. A tin prevents those issues. It also makes the bars portable. At $2.95 for a reusable tin, it won’t break the bank and will save you some housecleaning headaches.