An Explanation

Hello everyone, it's me again.

It's been a hot minute hasn't it?
I haven't posted much of anything since last July (of 2015). So pretty much since last year.
What can I say, life got in the way. Junior year of high school is really tough. Probably the toughest year I've had yet. Other priorities got in the way and I put this blog/my instagram on the back burner. I got a little discouraged, plateaued maybe, because I felt like my blog was getting pretty repetitive. It's hard to keep up when you're only a teenager with a part time job! It's tough coming back as well. The blog and instagram were doing really well; then life got in the way and I'm having to start all over again. It's crazy how photos on instagram used to get 100+ likes and now it's back to 30. 
However, it's not the like count that matters. I've missed the beauty community! As a teenager in high school there aren't a lot of others who are into the same things that I'm into. I haven't shared this blog with anyone I know in person at all except my best friend; it's hard to explain to people why I do it. It's a little bit of an outlet.

Enough of my explaining. I'll give a little bit of a beauty update, if you will, on what I've been up to and using these past 7 months of my absence. 
Oddly enough though, looking through my old instagram photos, it's kind of funny that I still use some of the same products everyday that I was seven months ago. 

I went Rouge at Sephora. It's a good and a bad thing. Free 2 day shipping on Sephora? Yes please. Spending money that I need for other things? Bad. I also have a subscription to their Play! monthly box. I'll review those later, next month when I get the next one. 

I love the Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation still, that hasn't changed. I finally bought a shade that's in my winter color (for reference, I had been using the UD Naked Skin in the shade no 5 and I'm currently in the shade no 3). I'm still using that Bare Minerals California Bronze palette, I've hit pan on the bronzer shade though. I'm using the same eye primer as well. I've finally begun to run out of my Makeup For Ever redness primer that I bought in March 2015! I've used that thing like every single day since then and it's finally starting to run out. 

For awhile I was using the Smashbox BB water (shade light neutral). It was super easy to apply and felt great on the skin; however it made my combination skin really shiny throughout the day because it was so hydrating. It looked fantastic on my dry areas of my skin; not so much on the oiler part. I had to set that one aside. I'm sure it'll be great in the summer; I'll have to test it out then. 

I purged a lot  of my makeup collection within the last 7 months. Ever since I took a big hiatus, I realized how much stuff I don't use anymore. A lot of my makeup went to my sister and friends. I gave a lot of blushes away to friends because I realized I don't use blush, like at all, so why have 20? I threw away a lot of mascaras I had been holding as well; I was too attached to throw them away as cliché as it sounds. I threw away products I had been holding onto that I didn't really like that much but lied to myself about liking them just because I paid money for it. I also purged nail polishes from "younger years" (I put in quotations because it really wasn't that long ago, but it really seems like it) like bright pink nail polish colors and lime green. It was time to let go. 



Thanks for reading the update if you got this far. I really appreciate it. I hope to be more consistent. I know I made that promise last time and I want to come through this time.

Anna

Update

I know, I know. I have been doing a terrible job updating my blog and my instagram page.
I'm sorry for the leave of absence... again.
I don't have any (arguably) valid excuses.
I just started my junior year of high school, so I can imagine it's going to be harder for me to update my accounts. It is 100% positive that this is going to be the hardest academic year of my current school career. I'm taking very difficult classes, have a job, do extra curricular activites, dance, and run these blog on the side. I have plenty of reviews I could post, a huge bag of empties dying to be shown, July favorites (better late then never), and more. Again, I have no excuses. I thank you all for those of you that have sticked around!

Please bare with me!

It has been a great months in terms of beauty, and I feel like its only getting better. I cannot wait for the 1,000 point perks Sephora is about to release next Monday. This is what I have been waiting for all my life! Like full size Becca and Nars Products?? Sign me up!!!!!! 

Again, thank you all for baring with me. 

Anna 

Tarte Tarteist Eyeliner Review

Awhile ago my ever so loved Kat Von D Tattoo Liner (in trooper) started to get a little dry while I was applying liner. Now, at that point I had bought 5 of these KVD liners in my Sephora purchase history. I absolutely love that liner. So from experience, I knew that the liner was a little low on liquid. 

I have been eyeing gel eyeliner for quite some time now every time I've gone through Ulta, Target, Sephora, wherever makeup is accessible. But I've always been hesitant with purchasing one because gel liners aren't my area of expertise. It took me forever to find the right liquid liner, and I assumed it was going to be the same way with gel liner. I didn't have a brush for gel liner (or at least a brush that would get me a thin enough line) and have extremely oily eyelids. Despite my face being a desolate wasteland desert, my eyelids tend to be the humid rainforest. So, the amount of time I would be able to wear it would be very important to me. I've never tried a gel liner in a pot; I've only tried the newest trend of gel liners in pen forms on my eyes, which never seem to work for me (The benefit push up liner would be amazing if the applicator didn't suck). 

Long story short: I ran out of my typical liner and wanted to try something new. 

So after doing my research on YouTube, blogs and Sephora's website, I settled on Tarte's newest eyeliner. 

According to sephora.com, the Tarteist gel liner claims: 

"An innovative, waterproof cream eyeliner with a unique blending tip inspired by an artist's palette... Offers seamless, no budge application... Allows for the creamiest texture and smoothest application... the tube is created with a tapered tip and a flat blending stage so you can simply pick up the ideal amount of product and blend for foolproof perfection... lets you create your own signature lines without ever pulling or transferring."

as of now, the Tarteist liner currently has a 4 out of 5 star rating, is priced at $24 USD and currently only comes in the shade black.

Packaging
Is it an innovative liner? Yes. I would agree with tarte on that one. I have never seen a gel liner in a tube like this, which I give props to tarte. The tube is easy to use, clean up, and close. The blending tip on the end of the tube helps to simulate dipping a brush into a gel pot, but without the worry of drying out the rest of the liner. On the cap there is a long tube that sticks into the hole to where the product comes out, to make sure that no air gets in or out. I love the idea of this liner, and when I first used it I was amazed at how easy it was. And can we just appreciate the fact that it came with it's own brush?? So much props going to tarte in my first impression. An amazing new innovative tube that could banish the problem of gel liner drying out, and a high quality brush that I could actually use instead of throwing away? It was love at first sight.

Texture and Application
At first I had to carefully squeeze the tube since I was afraid of gel liner going everywhere, and I almost thought that nothing was going to come out. With a little patience, I was able to get the right amount of product out of the tube. The texture is unlike any liner I've used before. It really felt like I was dipping my eyeliner brush in some type of acrylic or oil paint, not liner. It wasn't stiff like a typical gel liner. It was very creamy. Applying this was a breeze. The brush is at a slight angle, but it's such a thin tip I was able to get the small wing I usually wear. Just like it claimed, it had a smooth application and didn't pull on my lid at all. It was very easy to create the line I wanted. It took a little extra time to perfect, but my liner looked amaaaaaaazing after application. But there's always a but.

Wear
This was the downfall of this product. This smudged on me like no other. Again, I think it had to do with my oily eyelids. I tried this product without any eyeshadow or primer underneath, and it traveled all up my eyelid. Somehow it even got on the bottom of my eyes without me rubbing my eyes at all. So I thought okay, maybe I just need to put a base on my lids. Just plain primer? Nope, still got all over my eyelid. With pain eyeshadow? Nope, you guessed it, still got all over my eyelid. What about primer and eyeshadow? This was the only way this liner could stay on, but only for a couple of hours. It still managed to get on my eyelids with the best primer I have. The wing was always the first to go on my liner, then the transferring to my lid and bottom lashline. Plus, that was with me not doing anything. If it smudged on me without me sweating at all, I can't imagine how this would work in a pool. So, I put it again to the test and wore it during a dance class. I looked like a raccoon after an hour and a half of sweat. Unlike its claims, this liner is not waterproof and does transfer. Personally, I believe what led to it's downfall was it's creamy texture. There was nothing in it's formula to hold it down to the eyelid, because it was already creamy to begin with and never really set. Everything was going so well with this product, but the wearablility just couldn't hold up on my lids.

tarteist liner after 6 hours of wear with no rubbing to the eyes. This was pretty much the same outcome no matter what I put on underneath the liner. As you can see it's all in the crease of my eyelids, smudged at the wing and somehow on my lower lash line.

Overall
This might be a good option for someone that doesn't have to deal oily eyelids. Everything before the wear test was fantastic. I loved the brush, the applicator, the way it applied. This simply just doesn't last. The amount of wear time is the most important thing for any eyeliner for me, and this one just didn't cut it. If it had just wore all day on my eyelids I would have been sold.

I ended up returning this liner after four days of trying to make this work and purchasing another Kat Von D Tattoo eyeliner.

Rating: 4/10, do not reccomend


 

Makeup of the Day

July 14, 2015

Products form left to right: Urban Decay Naked Skin Liquid Foundation in 5.0, Benefit Brow Zings in Dark, Too Faced Blushing Bronzer in Ross & Rachel, Homemade Heroes Liptint in French Rose, MAC cosmetics blush in Melba, Nars Longer than Life eyliner in Via de Martinelli, and Too Faced Better than Sex Mascara. 

Singpore Haul

Hello! 

It's been a long long time since I last posted, here and on Instagram. 3 weeks if you want to be specific. I had the opportunity to go to Singapore with my dad on a business trip. The trip was incredible- it was my first time out of the country. I got to try so many different types of food, explore the beautiful city and not to mention test so many different products I had never seen before. 

Surprisingly enough when I went to drugs stores, department counters, etc., there were a lot of European brands instead of Asian brands like I was expecting. I got to see and test out brands like Borjouis Paris, Collection, Bioderma, Makeup Store and so much more! I also saw familar brands like Maybelline, Revlon and Lo'real. I thought it was interesting; Maybelline almost had every product here in a different packaging. They changed most of their face products to claim to "whiten", "illuminate", and similar things like that to appeal to the Asian demographic. I also got to see lots of Korean brands like Innisfree, The Face Shop, Tony Moly, Etude House and of course things I had no clue how to read. It was pretty awesome to physically see brands I had heard beauty bloggers talk about in person, rather to just be looking at them online. Of course once I did the math, some of the products were more expensive to buy in Singapore than it would be if I were to buy them online. But of course I had the luxury of being able to see and test them out in person; so the little extra price tag was worth it. 

What was very interesting to me was the difference in beauty standards in Asia. Of course I've seen BuzzFeed posts/videos and things like that about different beauty standards around the world, but it's completely different to see it in person, in action. If you don't already know, it's desirable to be very pale in Asia, almost white. A lot of the skincare products, face products, everything claimed to whiten the skin. I honestly was afraid to try some of those products just for the meer fact it had the word "whitening" on the label. I would walk around and instead of seeing a foundation line that's too dark (like on people here) I saw foundation lines of people using foundation that was too light! I remember I would often go down and lay at the pool everyday, and the staff used to look at me like I was crazy for putting on tanning lotion and sitting myself out in the sun. I had to drag a chair out into the sun, most of the chairs were underneath a shaded area. It was fascinating to me, because the crazes like contouring, strobing, whatever weren't popular over there. When I would go into Sephoras I wouldn't be attacked with contouring palettes and the latest craze in makeup, at least American crazes. Instead of countouring crazes there were crazes like BB cushions. The makeup trends over in Southeast Asia were more of a natural look, a very prestine, made up look. I know it's crazy and you're probably thinking "Well duh Anna, we already knew this already." I did too, but you never really think or understand it until it's seen in action. Rarely did I go out and see women with an eye look other than a simple cat eyeliner. What was even more interesting to me, was that there were absolutely no products for women with color, at least that I saw. I'm about a medium skin tone, and I didn't get the chance to try any BB creams/cushions or face products becuase they were all simply to light for me. I didn't even know what shade to pick up for the winter months because there were so many different shades of light/whatever. Even with brands like Maybelline and Lo'real that typically have every single shade that one could think of, didn't carry dark shades at all. The demand for them probably isn't that high, but there were still beautiful Indian women there with dark skin tones. I was pretty disappointed I didnt get to pick up an Asian BB cream, but nonetheless I was still happy with what I was able to bring back. There were a lot of familar beauty brands over in Singapore, but with a higher price tag. Simple brands at Sephora like Tarte and Stila were a little bit to pricey for me. What was even more interesting to me is that they sold brands like NYX and Burt's Bees in Sephora with a huge price tag! The same $11 eye cream from Burt's Bees I buy in the states was over $25. I couldn't stop giggling! 

Anyway, let's get onto the haul. I apologize if the conversions aren't right. 

The Goods

From left to right: 

Lush Eau Roman Water $28 SGD ($20 USD)

"Our most moisturizing toner, Eau Roma relies on the King and Queen of the essential oils world, rose and lavender. Both oils have been used for thousands of years to treat dryness, redness or irritation. Rose is particularly nourishing and cooling, while lavender helps your skin produce the right amount sebum (oil) to keep it suppler. Simplicity at its best."

I bought this toner water because I remember hearing a beauty vlogger talk about it. I've been interesting in trying out Lush skincare products, so I bought the big 250g bottle. I had run out of my micellar water and didn't want to shell out the money for Bioderma, fall in love with it, and never be able to buy it at a good price again. So, I went with a toner water that I could purchase again in the states. After a couple of days of using this, I like this product. After cleasing my face it feels really nice, and gives my skin that extra umph. I think I like this a litttttle bit better than my Simple Micellar water because it does give that extra cleaning to the skin without it being drying or to abrasive. Overall I really like this product and probably would repurchase.

Soap and Glory Beauty Sleep Accelerator ($25 USD?)

"Guaranteed to be an overnight sensation, Soap & Glory’s Beauty Sleep Accelerator™ cream has elasticity and barrier repair-boosting HIGHDRATION-24H™, and detoxifying OXYGINSENG™ TECHNOLOGY. It floods your skin with moisture; stopping dry, dehydrated skin in its tracks, so you wake up to – or land with – dewy, luminous skin. Formulated to work intensively for overnight and long haul flights, but is equally effective should you choose to deploy its super healing powers at alternative times.

• SKIN-REPAIR BIO - a naturally active, milk thistle-derived complex that replenishes, strengthens, firms and repairs
• NIGHT BLOOMING CACTUS FLOWER - for dewier, more luminous skin
• PEACH & GOJUICE™ (peach and goji berry extracts) - rich in antioxidants and vitamins A & C
• ROSE HIP & SWEET ALMOND OILS"

The Soap and Glory selection is craaaaazy in Sephora Singapore. There were so many skincare options from them I about had a heart attack. When I was visiting happened to be the time of the "-30% -40% -50%" sale at Sephora, which I'm not sure if that's in the states anymore. This product happened to be 40% off, so I decided to give it a go. I can't remember the specific price of this product, but I know I paid somewhere in the twenties for this. What really sold me on this product was the claim it was perfect for long haul flights, and I can vouch that it is. As a night cream this really hydrates my skin perfectly, I wake up and sometimes it feels like I don't even need to wash my face. As for long haul flights, this thing is a life saver. It doesn't over hydrate the skin at all but still gives that boost of hydration needed for a long haul flight. It wouldn't make my face nasty if I cleaned my face two or three times during the flight and re-applied. I would definitely recommend this product if you can find it in the states, or wherever you might be. (If you live in Europe and can easily access Soap and Glory, I am extremely jealous.)

Bourjous Paris Healthy Mix Foundation $34.50 SGD ($25.40)

"Give your skina radiance boost and leave it looking flawless for up to 16 hours! Bourjois' new Radiance Reveal Healthy Mix foundation is enriched with a fruit therapy formula to enchance your complexion."

I was estastic when I saw this! I have been dying to try this foundation as it is raved about on youtube. I wanted to try the Gel formula more, but they didn't have it in stock anywhere I went. I love this foundation, it made my skin feel so amazing and it felt weightless on my skin. I had such a natural complexion, it truly felt like my skin. It lasted through the Singapore humidity as well! I didnt even set with a powder. Unfortunately I did buy this half way through my trip, so the color no longer matches me. And after research, it's actually cheaper to purchase this online than it was to buy in person. Nevertheless, I have an idea of the color selection now and can't wait to possibly buy more and use again. 

Korres Black Volcanic Volume Minerals Mascara $5 SGD ($3.60 USD!!)

 "Ultra-volumizing and full mascara for a full dramatic look without the weight that strengthens and protects the lashes."

I have no idea why this was on sale for only $5 but I am not complaining! I didn't think to look at the color though, since the word black was on the box, and did end up getting a dark brown color. Every time I accidently do that (which is more often than you might think) I remember how nice brow mascara can look. The want and formula is really similar to the Lo'real volumious mascara, probably the exact same effect. The difference is the ingredients used probably. I love the look it gives but this is a pain in the ass to get off the lashes. With eye remover and cleasing oil, I always find some still left over somehow. For the price I paid I'm pleased, but I wouldn't buy this again or recommend it to anyone. I would go for the Lo'real Volumious Mascara. 

Korres Twist Eyeshadow in Golden Pink ($11 USD?)

"Even the prettiest wink needs definition. Score super-defined eyes with long-wearing eyeshadows in must-have, wearable shades. The chubby crayon provides smokey eye color to give your gaze a little va-va-voom for beautiful daytime looks or glamorous evening looks. Why settle for average when you can look glamour girl sensational?"

 I remember this being on sale, and picking it up since it was unlike any other color I've ever seen. It's a pinky purple, not really a golden pink. The color is really creamy, waterproof AF and doesn't crease at all. I'm really pleased, I would buy another color if I could get my hands on them! Please Korres, bring back your makeup to the USA!! 

Mac blush in Melba ($22 USD?) 

No need to explain this one. I went in to the Mac store, had a moment of weakness and caved. 

Bourjois Illuminating Face Powder $25.40 SDG ($18.40)

"The delicately scented feather-light powder boosts skins radiance, smoothes the complexion and sets make-up. One transparent shade suits all!"

I was extrememly disappointed in this product and regret buying it. I had bought it with the intention of thinking it was the translucent face powder, not an illuminating one. This as a sheen to it, but little detectable little glitters in it. I typically don't like illuminating powders to begin with, so it wasn't looking good from the beginning. I used it as a highlight and it was okay, but not really anything special. It gets everywhere, it's hard to control what comes out, and it smells (and looks) exactly like baby powder. I felt like it was over priced and wouldn't buy or reccomend to anyone. 

The Face Shop sheet masks in Honey, Kelp, Cucumber, Rice and Acai Berry $10 SDG ($7 SDG) 

I haven't tried these out and plan on doing a whole seperate review on them. So stay tuned! 

Innisfree Sheet Smooth and Radiant Rose sheet mask $2 SGD ($1.50 USD) 

I felt so funny putting on this face mask. The packet suggests a clean and toned face, so after using a cleanser and toner I applied this. I loved how the sheet wasn't too big, it fit just right. After about 20 minutes I took the mask off, massaged the rest into the skin and that was that. It left my face very smooth, and you guessed it, radiant. I loved this mask and wished I bought more from Innisfree! 


This was probably the longest post I have ever written! Thanks for sticking around if you have. I'm really sorry for everyone on Instagram who I left hanging, I didn't have much to post. After losing about 20 followers I'm ready to get back in the groove! 

x Anna 

In-Flight Beauty Essentials

In eight days, I will embark on a 23 hour long haul flight to Singapore. It's going to be madness. I've never been on a flight longer than 5 hours, so naturally I turned to the internet for help. I never thought about bringing skincare products and other things on flights because they had never been necessary for me, but now the time has come. After watching God knows how many YouTube videos over what I should bring in my carry on bag, this is what I've decided to take. The bag I'm keeping all of these things in is the "Beauty on the Fly" bag from Sephora, which I believe was about $4. (I will not be wearing makeup to the airport at all, because the hassle of it all isn't something I want to deal with on this longest flight of my life.)

First things first, I am taking some cleansing cloths. Now, I am taking a bit of a risk because I have never tried these cloths before. According to Sephora, these wipes are magic. I chose these wipes because they are filled with vitamin C, which is amazing for the skin. These wipes claim to: 

Sweep away dirt, oil and makeup as Vitamin c, CoQ10 and Black Currant oil rejuvenate and hydrate for fresh, youthful, radiant skin.

Which is exactly what I want a wipe to do and make me feel after a flight. 
I have high hopes for these, so hopefully these wipes will work. I love cleansing wipes for planes because they give my skin that nice squeaky clean feel, without me having to physically wash my face. I plan on using these only for the flights to and from Singapore as there are only 10 wipes in here, but never say never. 

 The next thing is my Aveeno Eczema Therapy hand cream. I actually do not have eczema, but this hand cream works for me regardless. I usually do not use hand creams as they do tend to make my hands feel sticky and just gross. But something about this hand cream just sinks immediately into my skin with no residue at all, and somehow leaves them moisturized as well. I've tried samples of high end hand creams, but this $5 hand cream beats them all any day. 

Ibuprofen, for obvious reasons. You never know when you'll need a pain reliever. The up & up brand works just as good as Advil does for me. 

The moisturizer I'm taking is the Cetaphil Moisturizing lotion. I didn't want to lug my whole moisturizer onto the plane and transfer it into a jar and all that jazz. Plus, my daily moisturizer isn't intensely hydrating as it's meant for everyday use, not the dry recycled airplane air. The last thing I want is my skin to dry out and then flake out. I've tested this lotion on my skin and it works really well at intensely hydrating my skin. 
And of course, hand sanitizer for obvious reasons. And again, (I think you'll see a re-occuring theme) the up & up brand works just as well as Purell. 

Eye drops! My eyes get super dry on a plane so this is a must have for me. Usually when I'm flying I will not wear my contacts, as the dry air bothers me. But even without contacts my eyes get dry towards the end of the day, so I have to bring this. 

The up & up brand is amazing and works just the same as any other eye drop I've used.

Last, but not least, my micellar water (and cotton rounds for it). In the little blue squeeze tube I have the Simple Skincare Micellar water, as it is my favorite skincare product to wipe across my face for a nice refresher. This water makes my skin feel clean, but not that squeaky clean. I can wipe these all over my face and have my face feel clean but still hydrated, which is nice. I use this daily after workouts, so I imagine that this will be great in the airport. The tube that is holding the water is silicone and very flexible. I purchased it at CVS for I believe $2, and it's really great quality. It was easy to fill, its spill-proof, and very travel friendly. I also got a special travel size cotton rounds in the travel section at target for like a buck. 

Those are my In-flight essentials! I hope you enjoyed. I might be doing other travel-related videos, so stay tuned! I may or may not be also blogging my trip to Singapore. Thanks for reading!

x Anna 

MOFD

Makeup of the Day 

From left to right: Benefit They're Real mascara, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Maybelline Fit Me concealer in Sand, Urban Decay Naked 3 palette, NYX Micro Brow Pencil in Expresso, Benefit Hoola bronzer, Benefit Browzings in Dark