Get Glossed

So, a big trend this fall will make the Goth Girls happy: black lipstick.

Yves Saint Laurent is turning out a patent-leather pout that I would have probably written a song about back in high school, but now it just seems so...inappropriate.

I don't know when exactly I became a fuddy-duddy, but it appears I have reached my full Disapproving Old Lady status with this trend.

My friend lauriegilbert put me on to this post by BellaSugar.com for you to further explore the depths of black lipstick, and I thought I would share with you a couple of Black Lipstick Caveats Miz Bella didn't mention:

1) Black lipstick makes your teeth look yellow (which is not necessarily a problem if you're an unsmiling Goth Girl)

2) If you eat/drink something while wearing black lipstick, the lipstick wears off from the center of your lips outward (as with any other lipstick), but with black lipstick, the effect is less like lip liner and more like a John Waters mustache.

Yes, I have learned these things from experience. And although I am quite sure that lipstick's stay-put technology has come a long way since my Wet 'n' Wild lipstick days in 1992, foods like salad with oil & vinegar dressing or plain old Kentucky Fried Chicken will slide your sexy black Goth Lips right off.

My verdict: Skip it if you're over 20.

Thanks to lorifury, I have just come across the magic that is the YouTube makeup tutorial.

Among the many tutorials out there, my favourite is panacea81, aka Lauren Luke.

Here's a little BBC profile on her:



Oh, how I wish I was friends with this woman! I'd be over at her house all the time begging her to make me over while I cuddled her dog (she has a pug!)

I have subscribed to her videos on YouTube, added her as a friend on Facebook, and now I want to sing her praises to you!

I'm off to the MAC store shortly - I need some retail therapy after my recent bout of sicky-poos - full of inspiration from Lauren Luke.

Please check her out - she is awesome!!!!

Somewhat more than a week later, but...

My thoughts on the heated eyelash curler from Avon.

I'm sorry I couldn't locate a photo of the exact model I have, but suffice to say that the sleek black and white plastic apparatus in no way resembles a medieval torture device like the standard and greatly feared eyelash curlers do.

After purchasing the required AAA batteries (2), I placed them in and switched the curler on.

A little green light glows to tell you that it is on, and the pinkish-red silicone pad quickly turns white (about 15 seconds), indicating that you're ready to curl.

Do not mistake a white silicone pad with the phrase "white hot". You will not singe off your eyelashes, nor will your scorch your lids. As I mentioned in a comment to my previous post, the warmth from this eyelash curler is reminiscent of holding a warm washcloth to your eyelid, not like the curling irons you may use in your hair.

Because I am new to the use of an eyelash curler, it took me a couple of tries to get it just right and to stop blinking while I tried to place my lashes in the curler.

I am happy to report none of the feared results (torn-out lashes), though. ;)

The curls produced by this curler are very good, and I do notice a difference when I apply my mascara. I can see why so many women do go through the extra work of curling their lashes.

Sure, there are formulations of mascara that "shrink" when applied and curl your lashes for you, but the result is not exactly the same. And can you always wear mascara? Maybe, maybe not.

Because I am an allergy sufferer and this is ragweed season, I often don't apply mascara for fear it will run all over as I sneeze and tear up with hay-fever. An added benefit of this eyelash curler (for me) is that I can have beautifully curled lashes whether or not I bother with mascara. They may not be as dark or as bold without the mascara, but the curl does produce enough of an eye-opening effect that I can venture out into the pollen-filled air feeling a little prettier.

I give this product 4 lipsticks out of a possible 5.

Good grief! It's almost been a year and despite my best intentions, I didn't update.

Phooey.

I had a good(ish) reason for not updating, though. I completely forgot my password!...AND the password for the email address I have linked to this account!

All is well again, as I have used the tools available to retrieve and reset the necessarily passwords.

Speaking of tools, I have recently purchased the Heated Eyelash Curler from Avon (only $2.99 with each brochure purchase from pp 25-47 in campaign 22). It takes 2 AAA batteries, which of course are not included.

I'm going to get me some triple-A's and see how well this baby works. I've always been a little wary of eyelash curlers, ever since the super in my friend Marie's building got distracted and pulled out all the lashes from her right eyelid in 1987, and the low price point on this gadget leaves me a little skeptical.

Still, in the name of beauty, I will try it for a week and let you know the results. Count on me this time - I've written my password down!

Welcome, lorifury!

And thanks for the heads-up on Joyful Heart by Mariska Hargitay and Philosophy. It has all the makings of a product I'm going to love: It's a multi-tasking product (3-in-1 shampoo/conditioner/body wash); It smells like peony; Proceeds from the sales of this product go to a charity for sexual assault survivors. Way to go, Philosophy and Mariska! And since I am a major fan of Law & Order: SVU and Mariska Hargitay, I will be heading out to buy some tomorrow!

I am very excited at the places I might go with this blog...like blogspot! I want people to be able to search it on Google, and maybe, just maybe, I can grow this blog into something really great. I've always had a certain amount of envy for those beauty editors at Allure magazine!

The makeup I wore today was simple, nothing new, but I must sing the praises of Lancome Hypnose Mascara. At $27.50 CDN ($24.00 USD), it is definitely the most expensive mascara I have ever purchased. Hypnose Mascara promises to add volume to your lashes, and that it does! The formula is quite thick and creamy, but it doesn't give me those Tammy Faye clumps that I so dread. Hypnose actually gives the impression that you are wearing false eyelashes - a bit of glamour I'd like to indulge in every day - without the fuss of glue, tweezers, or crooked caterpillars that appear to be crawling off your eye if you happen to have a particularly fierce hayfever episode (not that that has ever happened to me, and certainly not while I was in high school and attempting to impress some young man *ahem*).

Where was I? Lancome Hypnose Mascara is definitely worth the price, especially if you like Statement Eyelashes, which I definitely do. Many of us feel that mascara is one of those must-have cosmetic items that we would need if stranded on a deserted island. Lancome Hypnose Mascara is the one I would take with me.

Here it is, the brand-new makeup journal!

Today seemed as fitting a day as any to start, as I have just come back from having my hair colored, an eyebrow wax, and getting a full set of acrylic nails.

The hair: Well, it's...blorange. Trying to bleach almost-black hair blonde is never a one-step process, but I'm hoping that the next time I go in, it will get whiter and brighter. I got a couple of compliments from the ladies at the nail salon, but then maybe they were just buttering me up? Time will tell.

I went back to acrylic nails after a several-month hiatus. I had had this fantasy that I was going to pick up a guitar again and rawk out!, but that kind of never happened. And nothing beats the strength of acrylic nails. I missed having fingernails that didn't tear and split at the slightest provocation. Fingernails that don't flex and bend and cause my nail polish to flake off in big chips. Favoring blue, I got OPI's My Fave Wave (a light metallic blue) on my nails this time, and so far I love it.

So this is an easy post. Not really a review, and no real complaints. Sooner or later though, I will be posting about a product that does not meet my standards. And who am I, anyway? I am The Consumer, and that is why cosmetics companies should care.

P.S. I'm waiting for a call back from the local District Manager of Avon Canada Inc. I decided to go for it and become a representative.