Top High End Mascaras

So, we have established that I am not just a make up junkie, but an extreme mascara junkie as well. I collect them, I adore them, I use them like no other. If I didn't have so many, I would probably consistently be running out, just because I use mascara so much. If I'm not wearing any other make up, I am inevitably wearing mascara. I love colored mascara, jet black mascara, curling, lengthening, and volumizing mascara. I am also a fairly intense mascara snob. Yes, there are a few drugstore mascaras that I think are decent, but I am more or less addicted to high end mascaras, and the following are my top picks. They are listed here in order of best to...well, not quite as good as best, but pretty damn good. To be fair, they shift in their ranks based on my mood, the way my eyelashes feel like behaving on a particular day, and how old the mascara is. Suffice to say, that on any given day, one of these is my absolute go-to. They're the ones I would choose when I wanted to look fabulous. As of today, these are the rankings.

1) Clinique High Impact Mascara: This one can be pretty finicky but when it wants to behave, the results are absolutely unreal. This mascara makes my eyelashes look incredible. It volumizes and lengthens and holds a curl perfectly. I love it. The name says it all. High Impact lashes, which is what we all want in the end. You've got to try it for yourself to believe me, but you need to try it.

2) Dior Diorshow Iconic Mascara: This has been a long, long, longtime favorite for me. I discovered this probably my freshman or sophomore year of college, and I have even gotten my mother to wear it. (It is the only mascara my mother will use, which is definitely saying something.) I will purchase and re-purchase this mascara. It is an absolute staple in my collection. It lengthens, curls and separates my lashes and is water resistant. It's incredible.

3) Dior Diorshow Mascara in Azure Blue: This is your standard navy mascara on speed. The blue is the most unbelievable, bright blue color and it actually looks kind of incredible on hazel or brown eyes. This looks great on lower lashes as an accent or on upper lashes with very simple, barely there eye makeup.

4) Clinique High Lengths Mascara: Another Clinique mascara makes the list. This one is pretty fabulous. Super skinny, simple comb-like brush, jet black formula. It's wonderful and makes my lashes look incredible and long and not clumpy.

5) Benefit They're Real Mascara: This is the newest mascara from Benefit Cosmetics, and I'm so impressed. This is much, much better than the BadGal mascaras. The brush is pretty unique, it's a plastic comb, with a tapered tip, and some unusual bristles at the end, almost similar to the Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes Mascara. The formula is jet black. Lengthening and separating, all the fabulous things I need in a mascara.

6) Make Up Forever Smoky Lash Mascara (colored & black): I think this one, similar to some of the other ones, has a pretty dedicated cult following. In the last few months, they have released a line of colored mascaras, of which I own two, and I am pleasantly surprised by the fact that although the formular is colored, the formula has not been changed, so your eyelashes look fantastic, exactly the same as the original black. I own the forest green, the plum and of course, the black. I think they pretty much speak for themselves. I've used them once on people and had them go right out and buy it for themselves immediately after.

Those are my top six, and they will shift in their rankings by next week, but these are the mascaras that I need to have no matter what. If you've never tried these, you need to try them. There are plenty of other high end mascaras that people rave about, and to be honest, I've probably tried them all. YSL Faux Cils, Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes, Diorshow Extase, Fresh Firebird, etc etc. The ones listed here are the top of the heap. Truly.

My Other True Love: Perfume

So we all know I love me some perfume, some might even call me a little bit obsessive. Besides mascara, it's probably the one beauty product I can't live without. I've actually been trying not to buy perfume recently because I need to use up the ones that I have. I'm doing pretty well, I've made quite a dent, considering the size of my collection. Last spring I picked up Acqua di Gioia, which I have absolutely loved. Notes of mint, brown sugar and lemon hover over jasmine, peony and pink pepper, and they all mellow out to cedar wood and labdanum. I love it. One of the best, hands down best perfumes I've ever used. It smells incredibly summery, and fresh.

However, I have, over the course of the summer, found three other perfumes that I really love. They're all pretty different, but in the same sort of floral, flirty, feminine family. The first was Stella McCartney Stella, which is definitely the most sensual of the three. Its main notes are rose, peony flower, mandarin, rose absolu and amber. It is the perfect date perfume, and is actually fairly unique in my collection. I tend not to go for deeper, more sensual scents, in favor of fresher, floral ones.

Now, I stumbled on Stella because I got a StellaNude sample in a Sephora purchase, and the other two I just kind of fell on (also in a Sephora) because I was wandering around looking for something new to buy. I had not been particularly looking for any new fragrance and had done no "research" of the type us beauty product junkies like to do. I should also preface this by saying that I'm not typically a huge fan of celebrity or handbag perfumes, I think a lot of the times they're mostly just hype and are often just eau de toilettes, which don't last very long on anyone's skin and are pretty much just overhyped, over-packaged and overpriced. However, Coach Poppy Flower is really incredible. I pretty much grade a perfume on how many compliments I get in the first few days I wear it, and who the compliments come from. Since buying and wearing Coach Poppy Flower, I have gotten a compliment every single time I've worn it, from people who do not normally pay much attention to scents and other such delicacies. I was also surprised at how quickly people noticed a difference. Coach Poppy Flower has top notes of wet ivy, citrus, and black currant, with a heart of jasmine, water lily, rose, peony and sugared raspberry. Its base is amber, musk, sandalwood and apricot skin. I've never heard of apricot skin in a fragrance. All in all this is pretty amazing.

The third fragrance I found is an Escada fragrance, Taj Sunset. This one is an eau de toilette, and so had me skeptical, but I find I am pleasantly surprised, although not bowled over. According to Sephora, this one has notes of alphonso mango, blood orange, watery blossom, sweet primrose, raspberry, coconut cream, musk and sandalwood. It's a little bit fruity, a little bit tropical and definitely fun. I can pretty much never resist anything that's tropical, I love it. Any way you cut it, these are three scents that are kind of atypical for me. I've gotten the most compliments on Coach Poppy Flower, and I think it might be the most "me", but they're all good on their own. Thus concludes another post about perfumes, I've done quite a few on scented products in general. Enjoy!

Make Up Must Haves

I was recently at my best friend's house and her mom and brother were teasing me about my obsession with make up and her mom goes, "it's so funny, considering you hardly wear any!" And I started thinking, there really aren't a whole lot of products I absolutely need to have when it comes to make up. Yes, I love my indulgences and shopping sprees, but when it comes down to it, I only need a few things to get through every single day.

1) Benefit Cosmetics the Porefessional: I have raved about this so many times, I can't even count. I've gone through about 4 tubes of it since its launch. The silky formula literally makes your skin feel flawless and so soft, not to mention giving a soft focus type finish. It's an excellent primer under make up, but the slightest tint to the product also makes it just enough that I find I can use it on days when I don't need much coverage.

2) Origins VitaZing Tinted Moisturizer: This is a finicky one, but one that I cannot deny I used pretty much every single day I wore make up this past summer and most of the fall. While I'm pretty certain it is too orange-y for me year round, in the summer when I spend most of my time in the sun, it blends really quite perfectly. That is also its biggest drawback. This is supposed to be a self-adjusting tinted moisturizer that matches itself to your skin tone, but if you're on the moderate to extremely fair, or dark, it won't match all the time. Of course, this is the case with most products, but if a product markets itself as universal, it should be. I will say, I used this to the last drop, but it is pricey so I'm kind of glad I can only use it a little less than half the time, because it keeps me from going through it faster than I can fund the repurchases.

3) Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner: This is hands down the best eyeliner I've ever used. It comes in scads of colors and stays put for hours. You can use it as a base under eyeshadows, as an accent color, whatever. I think I own most of the colors, and I love them all. I hate black eyeliner on my face, it makes my eyes look ridiculously tiny and I find that I get much more attractive results when I use colors anyway. The top colors for me are Lucky (copper penny), El Dorado (true yellow gold), Underground (pale warm taupe), Rockstar (darkened plum) Stash (darkened olive green) and Lust (a true violet).

4) Clinique High Impact Mascara: This goes without saying, as does every other product on this list, but this is probably my favorite mascara ever. It is the most amazing mascara I've ever tried. And yes, I say this even comparing it to Diorshow Iconic. The reason this places at the top of my list, along with Covergirl's Super Thick Lash, is that it is super black, super easy to remove, holds a curl, and makes your lashes look insane. If I had to pick one high end and one drugstore brand mascara, those would be my picks, hands down.

5) NARS Duo Eye shadows in Key Largo and Kalahari: These are quite universally flattering. The eye shadows are great together or alone, I suppose that's why the company paired them the way they did. Key Largo is a matte peach with a shimmery bronze and Kalahari is a plummy bronze paired with a plummy brown. But they're really not nearly as close in color as that description sounds. The quality and pigmentation of these shadows is out of this world, they are really incredible.

6) MAC Eye Shadows in Rice Paper, Grain, Era & Cork: These are my most often used MAC eye shadows, and among the most often used eye shadows I own, period. I use Rice Paper or Grain all over my eye lids and Cork or Era in the crease. These are the most natural, subtle eye looks I keep in my stash but with the right eye liners and mascaras are incredible. Grain and Era is definitely the softest look in my bag of tricks, but both are fantastic every day looks.

7) Korres Jasmine Lip Butter: This is my favorite lip balm in the world. I own probably about seven pots of it, all in various stages of being completely used up. I keep at least one in my purse, one in my school bag, one next to my bed, one in my make up bag, etc etc. It makes my lips so soft and never feels greasy.

8) NARS Lip Stick in Dolce Vita and Cruising: Dolce Vita is quite similar to MAC Viva Glam V, natural, shimmery and the greatest "my lips, but better" shade. Cruising is a nude-y neutral pink that can be either subtle or not. Both are great every day shades.

I'm gonna call that quits for now, that's about all I can process at the moment. Those are definitely the top of my list. I'm going to be doing a post on skin care next, so until the next one, stay pretty.

Summer Faves

So this summer has been a good one for skin for me, and a minimal one for make up. I haven't worn too much make up, and I've tried not to do too much to my hair, either, just sticking to taking the best care of my skin and hair as I can. So here are my summer skin, hair and make up favorites!

Skin Care:

Sunscreen & Self Tanning: Sunscreen is so crucial for me, because I'm naturally extremely fair, it's the Irish in me. I also freckle like nobody's business. Needless to say, I burn really easily, and I work outside, um hi, lifeguard? I use La Roche-Posay Anthelios 60 spf ultra light sunscreen fluid or the Anthelios Mineral Sunscreen liquid on my face. I go through about two bottles a summer. For body I pretty much stick to Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Body Mist Sunblock in spf 45, I find it really stays put and keeps my skin protected. I try not to buy anything higher than 45ish because on the one hand there isn't that much difference between spf 30 and spf 60, and I don't like the false confidence spf 80 gives you. You still have to reapply every 2 hours.

I don't normally use self tanners because I'm so fair. I usually end up looking orange. I also do not endorse laying out in the sun for hours and hours. I have to be outside in a pool at least 3 days a week to teach lessons, so I get plenty of sun exposure. So I normally steer clear of tanning oils and other products meant for people who are laying out. This summer though, I discovered something amazing. And it smells amazing, too. It's the Australian Gold spf 4 Spray Gel with Instant Bronzers. I put this on over my sunscreen when I'm outside. The "instant bronzers"actually really work and they don't turn me orange.

Face: My usual suspects are of course still in play: the DDF benzoyl peroxide gel, Ole Henricksen's Invigorating Night Gel, Clinique's All About Eyes Rich eye cream, and Ole Henricksen's Sheer Transformation moisturizer. But, I've kind of fallen in love with Origins VitaZing SPF 15 energy boosting moisturizer with mangosteen. At first I was on the fence about this product, I worried it was a little too orange, or a little too greasy. However, over the summer, my skin chemistry has either balanced out or gotten used to this product and with my slightly darker complexion, it doesn't come off too orange anymore either. This has literally replaced all foundations in my routine.

Lips: There are three lip balms that make it into my summer favorites: Korres Jasmine Lip Butter, Smith's Rosebud Salve & Aquafina Flavor Splash Wild Berry. All three are awesome, I usually only use the Korres or Smith's at night before bed, and I carry the Aquafina in my purse, it's perfect for layering under lipstick or gloss.

Hair Care:

Shampoo & Conditioner: Of course I'm using something moisturizing to save my hair from the sun and the chlorine, and I've found something that isn't too heavy and doesn't weigh me down with product or keep it greasy. My hair is actually ligher and shinier since I started using the Paul Mitchell Moisture Instant Moisture Daily Shampoo and Instant Moisture Daily Treatment. The products rinse out so clean and leave my hair soft and light and super shiny.

Treatments & Leave Ins: I'm still using the Argan Magic hair oil, It's a 10 leave in treatment and the Organix Brazilian Keratin anti breakage serum and loving them. I'm a little more on the fence about the It's a 10 hair masque, it's been weighing my hair down lately, and not making it as soft as it used to. I've also been using the Nexxus Split End Binding overnight treatment with a little extra Argan Oil on the ends of my hair when it's feeling especially dry. I love the way these make my hair soft, but the Nexxus cream smells straight up funky when you put it in your hair...it's weird.

Beauty:

Face: All time summer fave? Benefit's the Porefessional pore minimizing balm. I wear this on its own entirely, I won't wear any thing but moisturizer with it and I just leave it alone. It makes my skin look pretty flawless, I love it. It even looks great over the VitaZing tinted moisturizer.

Cheeks: For bronzer I've been loving Benefit's Hoola, it's not orange at all so it works on my face without messing with my skin tone. Blush has been a combination of MAC's Blushbaby and Benefit's Sugarbomb just on the top of my cheekbones to add a little tiny sheen. I'm extremely wary of anything glittery or shiny on my cheeks, because they're already so big.

Eyes: My absolute favorite eye combination this summer has been NARS Kalahari eye shadow duo, (only the lighter, more bronzey shade) on the lid and smudged slightly into the crease, with Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Rockstar smudged along the lashline over one layer of eyeshadow with another light layer on top, and MAC's Rosemary and Thyme Eye Kohl smudged on my lower lashline. Love. As usual, I have about a million favorite mascaras so narrowing them down was hard. Old timers: Clinique's High Impact Mascara in Black and Diorshow Iconic. Newbies: Clinique High Lengths Mascara & the new L'Oreal Voluminous mascara, in the black tube like the Million Lashes...don't know what it's called. All of these are so major.

Lips: I've been loving peachy glosses like Laura Mercier's Opal and MAC's Love Nectar. Also loving neutral pink-nude lipsticks like Urban Decay's Naked and NARS' Cruising. Clinique's Almost Lipstick in Black Honey is a year-round staple for me, such an amazing bitten lips kind of look.

Perfume: Only three perfumes here: Acqua di Gioia by Armani, Tocca's Bianca, and Stella by Stella McCartney. I usually reserve the Stella for dates or night time events, it's super romantic and sort of heady but not at all overwhelming.

So that wraps up my summer faves so far. School starts soon and that means fall is around the corner. Time to gear it up and browse the new make up collections!

recent loves

So I'm on yet another nail kick. I've been doing a lot of "accent" nail manicures. I am loving the Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips, or whatever they're called. I have several that I'm playing around with but am loving a couple in particular: Misbehaved, Laced Up, and Raise a Glass. I use the nail strips on my ring fingers and paint the other eight with some other color.

I'm particularly loving Flip Flop Fantasy by China Glaze with Misbehaved, and I think Re-Freshmint by China Glaze with Laced up. Fabulous. Right now I'm wearing Essie's Lilacism with Sally Hansen's Girl Flower. A little spring-y/Easter-y but definitely cute.

Lately I'm also taking some chances with my hair routine, and by chances, I mean changes, but for me those two are interchangeable. I'm back to using my Herbal Essences Drama Clean shampoo and am using the It's a 10 hair mask/deep conditioner every other day, I'm trying really hard not to wash my hair every day. I'm still using my It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Product religiously, as well as the Argan Magic Intensive Hair Oil. I've also added in the Organix Ever Straight Brazilian Keratin Therapy Anti-Breakage Serum. I use a pea-ish sized amount of the Argan Magic Intensive Hair Oil and the Organix each and smooth them through my hair after I've used the It's a 10. I've been having issues straightening my hair lately because the ends are dry, so I also picked up the Organix Brazilian Keratin Therapy Flat Iron Spray. I've tried it out twice (once the second day after washing) and this stuff is freaking amazing! I spray about 1-2 pumps into my palm and run it through my hair, section by section and it makes my hair silky, soft, shiny and not frizzy, even after straightening. I'm in love. The last thing I picked up was the Argan Magic Nourishing Hair Cream and I've tried it once. This is great for texturizing, it's got a light hold and it doesn't make my hair greasy, but it doesn't necessarily moisturize for me. It didn't do anything bad either, I'm just on the fence on this one.

That's about it for me recently. Kind of boring. Haven't been wearing much make up because of finals and all that. Till next time.

Nail Combo of the Day

So, this my new favorite nail combo; China Glaze's Flip Flop Fantasy and China Glaze's For Audrey on the ring finger. So cute, so fresh, so summer. I can't wait for summer. I also can't wait till I'm tan and I get to put my Flip Flop Fantasy on my toes, gonna look so good next to tan skin.

The Tiffany Blue Debate...

Aahhh, it's every girl's dream, the little blue box with the white bow. To a certain extent, it's not even about what's actually inside, it's the fact that someone went to Tiffany's for you. (Of course, you hope there's a navy blue velvet box waiting inside the little blue one, but that's another story for another day.) The Tiffany & Co. blue is world famous, and, it is also trademarked up the wha-zoo. You cannot get the exact replica of that Tiffany blue without express permission from Tiffany & Company. (I think Star Jones had the Tiffany blue as one of her wedding colors and there was all this hoopla with her wedding planner and the Tiffany & Co. lawyers and permissions and all this other stuff.) However, that does not stop people from trying to copy it. Nike has done it...

And so has China Glaze, with their For Audrey shade...

And so has Essie, with Turquoise and Caicos...

But, as I said before, none of these, without specific permission from Tiffany's is actually an exact dupe. To test my theory, I pulled out a Tiffany & Co. pouch I had lying around, and Essie's Turquoise and Caicos and For Audrey. They're both close. But neither is an exact match. In the top picture, which is professionally edited, the colors match pretty much exactly, but, it must be noted that the color that's in the bottle is almost never the color that dries on your nails. That's totally the case with For Audrey. For Audrey dries a little more of a sky blue color, rather than the true robin's egg blue that's the Tiffany's signature. Essie's Turquoise and Caicos is also remarkably close in the bottle, but when it dries it is a deeper robin's egg blue than the Tiffany & Co. blue. The bottom line is that neither of them is an exact dupe, and everyone who says that is just hoping. Until Tiffany's approves a deal with a nail polish company, (OPI, anyone?) there will not be an exact dupe. Please, stop saying there is one. It's not happening.