Naturally Eccentric

Aug 24 2013

The One And Only

I’ve seen this tag a few times and thought I would give it a try. It actually wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be!

The Question: If you could only have one ______ what would it be? And, in a few words, why?

So here goes:

Primer – Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer SPF 15. The best primer I have ever used. Keeps oil away and it’s super light.

Base Product – Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra 24H. I wear 460 Suede W. Builds to full coverage without ever looking heavy. It lasts for several hours; even through sweat.

Concealer – NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Caramel. Another long-lasting product with a beautiful finish.

Powder – YSL Beauty Poudre sur Mesure in shade 3 amber.

Blush (cream or powder) – MAC Gingerly. It’s great for everyday wear and can be applied more intensely.

Bronzer – Guerlain Terracotta 4 Seasons Tailor-Made Bronzing Powder in Moyen-Brunettes. It’s a great matte bronzer and with 4 individual shades, it can double as eyeshadow as well.

Highlighter – Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Radiant Light. Ready-made glow in a compact.

Make-Up Brush (single) – Real Techniques Blush Brush. This is my favorite brush to apply powders with.

Eyebrow Product – Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz in Soft Brown.

Eyeshadow (single) – MAC Smut. I love using this for smokey eyes.

Eyeliner – SEPHORA COLLECTION Long-Lasting 12HR Wear Eye Liner in Black. I would actually choose Inglot Gel Liner in 77 but I wouldn’t have a brush to apply it. The Sephora liner is a close second.

Mascara – MAC In Extreme Dimension Lash. Applying this mascara is almost like applying false lashes. It’s amazing.

Lipstick, Lip Gloss or Lip Stain – MAC Ample Pink Plushglass. My favorite nude.

Lip Liner – MAC Beet.

Lip Balm – EOS Lip Balm in Sweet Mint. It smells amazing and keeps my lips soft.

Nail Polish – Essie Muchi Muchi. It’s a beautiful sheer pastel pink.

I tag anyone who wants to give it a go!

Tagged 3 Amber, 460 Suede W, Ambient Lighting Powder, Ample Pink, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Caramel, Eos Lip Balm, Essie Muchi Muchi, Gingerly, Guerlain, Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer, In Extreme Dimension, Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra, MAC, MAC Beet, Moyen Brunettes, NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, Radiant Light, Real Techniques, SEPHORA COLLECTION, Soft Brown, Sweet Mint, Terracotta, The One And Only Tag, YSL Beauty Poudre sur Mesure

Aug 23 2013

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Foundation, Makeup

Cover FX CC Cream Time Release Tinted Treatment

Shades N Med Deep, N Deep and N X Deep

If you’re looking for a CC Cream with full coverage, this is it. The Cover FX CC Cream Time Release Tinted Treatment provides the most coverage of any product of its type I’ve tried. It covers all of my blemishes and hyper-pigmentation spots yet still manages to remain surprisingly light. I applied it with a damp beauty blender sponge and made it to 6 hours of wear before any oil began to appear.

For those who are unfamiliar with Cover FX products, they offer foundation with pink, golden, and neutral undertones. This new CC cream have shades in the same undertones, with the neutral shades making up the bulk. There are a total of 9 colors to choose from. I’ve noticed some brands decrease or remove the SPF when creating these type of products, however this product has an SPF of 30.

There are 2 drawbacks to this CC cream for me. First is the smell. It smells distinctively of pancake syrup. I don’t consider myself highly sensitive when it comes to fragrances, but this is strong and it lingers for some time. The other downside is, I couldn’t find a good color match within the shades. I generally wear N90 in the Cover FX Total Cover Cream Foundation but I have to mix 2 parts of N Deep and 1 part N X Deep to get a perfect match. I appreciate the formula enough that I can ignore the previously mentioned downsides.

From Left: N Med Deep, N Deep and N X Deep

Tagged CC cream, Cover FX, Full Coverage, Matte, N Deep, N Med Deep, N X Deep

Aug 23 2013

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Music

Ifan Dafydd X Catching Flies – Don’t Know How

Tagged Catching Flies, Don't Know How, Ifan Dafydd, Music

Aug 23 2013

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Foundation, Makeup, Skin

BB and CC Creams For Dark Skin Vol. 2

Some of BB Creams in this group are new shade additions to existing lines and some been around for sometime now, however they are all new to me. I’ve only worn them a couple of times. With that said, I can’t do an in depth review, but I can give my first impressions of each.

MAC Prep + Prime BB Beauty Balm SPF 35 in Dark Deep

I was glad to hear that MAC listened to the demand for more shades in the Prep + Prime Beauty Balm. After all, their motto, ‘All ages. All races. All sexes.’, practically demands it. The formula is light and provides very sheer coverage. It has an SPF 35 and claims to re-texturize the skin. I did notice my skin felt smoother to the touch as I wore it.

I’m in between NC45 and NC50 in most MAC foundations and I’m a 7.5 in the Matchmaster foundation. In the Prep + Prime BB Beauty Balm I wear the deepest shade, Dark Deep. With that said, I feel like someone who is deeper than NW45 or deeper than 8.5 in the matchmaster might have a hard time with the shade selection.

Clinique Age Defense BB Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 30 in Shade 04

The Clinique Age Defense BB Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 30 is also a new shade selection within an existing range. Clinique claims it to have a matte finish. It seems to have more of a satin finish to me but that could be due to my oily skin type. It fades on my skin after a couple hours but doesn’t leave behind a greasy mess which I appreciate. I haven’t used it long enough to determine if any of the skin care benefits are true.

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB 8-In-1 Beauty Balm Skin Perfector in Deep

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB 8-In-1 Beauty Balm Skin Perfector looks quite natural when applied but doesn’t work well with my skin type. It slid off my face after just a couple hours of wear. I was only able to extend the wear with applying a primer beforehand, but in doing so I feel don’t get any of the skin care benefits this product claims. The shade match is great so it may work well for someone of the same shade but with a dry or normal skin type.

DiorSkin Nude BB Creme in Dark 004

The DiorSkin Nude BB Creme has a light texture and a fresh scent. The Dark 004 shade matches my skin tone well. I’d say the coverage is natural looking. It doesn’t cover any major dark spots but it does help to diminish their appearance. This BB Creme adds a glow to the skin. I find using a damp Beauty Blender sponge for application and then setting with an oil control powder keeps shininess away and allow the dewiness of the BB creme to show. The one downside is that it only contains an SPF 10.

From Left: MAC Prep + Prime BB Beauty Balm SPF 35 in Dark Deep, Clinique Age Defense BB Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 30 in Shade 04, Maybelline Dream Fresh BB 8-In-1 Beauty Balm Skin Perfector in Deep and DiorSkin Nude BB Creme in Dark 004

Tagged 8-In-1 Beauty Balm, Age Defense, BB and CC Cream, BB Beauty Balm, BB Cream, Clinique, Dark 004, Dark Deep, Dark Skin, Deep, DiorSkin Nude BB Creme, Dream Fresh, MAC, Maybelline, Prep + Prime, Shade 04, Skin Perfector, SPF

Aug 23 2013

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Lips, Makeup

Bite Beauty High Pigment Matte Pencil

The Bite Beauty High Pigment Matte Pencil is one of my favorite lip products. It’s quick, easy to use and full of pigment. It is described as a long-lasting, matte lip color. While I agree it’s long-lasting, it’s not really matte in my opinion. It’s very creamy when initially applied, and then dries to more of a velvet texture with a slight sheen. I think the texture helps keep lips more comfortable as opposed to other matte lip formulas which can be drying.

Shown here in the shade Tannin. It’s one of my favorite reds.

From Left: Corvina, Quince, Grapevine, Violet, Poppy, Tannin, Honey Berry

Tagged Bite Beauty, Corvina, Grapevine, High Pigment Matte Pencil, Honey Berry, Lips, Poppy, Quince, Tannin, Violet

Aug 20 2013

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Food

The Chocolate Chip Cookie

This is not my recipe but I’ve used it for years. Salty, sweet, crispy, chewy, buttery, chocolate goodness.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup softened butter
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Cream butter and sugar together until smooth

Add in vanilla and egg, one at a time. Mix until smooth.

Add in flour, salt and baking soda. Mix until combined

Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop batter in spoonfuls onto a baking sheet about 2 inches apart

Bake between 10 to 12 minutes.

Let the cookies sit on the sheet for 2 to 3 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Tagged Chocolate Chip, Cookies, Food

Aug 20 2013

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Music

Ladi6 x Shine On

Tagged Automatic, Ladi6, Shine On

Aug 17 2013

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Lips, Makeup

Bite Beauty – VIB Rouge

Bite Beauty VIB Rouge is a beautiful bright red color. This particular shade is limited edition, designed especially for Sephora VIB Rouge members. The lipstick is highly pigmented, creamy, and rich, just as most Bite Beauty products tend to be.

Tagged Bite Beauty, VIB Rouge

Aug 17 2013

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Lips, Makeup

Bite Beauty Cashmere Lip Cream – Bordeaux And Sancerre

Bite Beauty Cashmere Lip Cream is described as a cream-to-powder matte lip color that delivers an unprecedented 50 percent pigment dispersion. I just call it amazing. The colors are intense, the formula is like velvet, and it feels buttery soft on the lips. The formula is matte but not at all drying.

I love bold lip statements but I have pigmented lips. With that said, I have to seek out products with a high amount of pigment content to cover my lip’s natural color. There is a bit of a learning curve but it’s completely worth it. It takes a good thirty minutes to dry completely and the doe foot applicator takes some getting used to. I find it applies best with a brush, just make sure to rinse it out when done as it may stain the brush if left to dry.

Left: Bordeaux, Right: Sancerre

Tagged Bite Beauty, Bordeaux, Cashmere Lip Cream, Creamy, Liquid Lipstick, Matte, Non Drying, Pigment, Sancerre

Aug 17 2013

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Foundation, Makeup, Skin

BECCA Perfect Skin Mineral Powder Foundation – Tobacco

BECCA’s Perfect Skin Mineral Powder Foundation is silky and provides a good amount of coverage. It doesn’t settle into any of my lines and lasts a good amount of time without oxidizing. Even though it’s a powder, my natural oils begin to peek through after about 3-4 hours of wear, so I make sure to apply a primer underneath to extend the wear. I wear the shade Tobacco and it’s a spot on match.