Oh, Stuff

So, I'm probably one of the last to hop on the bus here but I decided I would try mineral make-up instead on my normal MAC foundation.  I'm very pale so the first thing I tried was Eyes Lips Face's kit for mineral make-up.  Even their palest shade made me look like I had a tan, and the brushes the kit came with were scratchy and uncomfortable to use, it did however come with a pretty blush color.  The second thing I tried was the Bare Escentuals bareMinerals starter kit which was on sale from $60 for $45, I bought the fair and found it to be a good match for my skin tone.  The only issue I had with it was if I apply it to heavily by accident I look like a sparkly vampire from Twilight.  Here's what I would say about the kit, I don't think it is worth $60, I'm okay having paid $45 because it came with 3 brushes (a foundation brush, another one for the 'warmth', that I'm using for blush, and a concealer brush) that are okay, not fantastic to apply the color on with but it also came with pots of color I don't use.  A concealer called "illuminizer" which just makes me pink and more sparkly and a slightly darker tone, in case I'm not actually fair but another tone they call fairly light (both are trial sizes) and a really dark pot of what they call warmth which I think you are supposed to use for shading-- but it's way to dark.  It also comes with a primer which doesn't seem to do anything.  If I were going to do this again just try to figure out my shade and buy the full size pot of foundation at $25 and buy either their application brush for $22 or maybe Sephora's own kabuki brush for $24.  I wouldn't pay $60 and if you aren't sure of your shade, since Sephora accepts used product returns for store credit I would buy the two closest and return the one I didn't like.  I also went to Sephora and bought  their actual concealer in a shade called Bisque which made me really pink, and ended up returning it, and tried as well their matte foundation which is $28.  The matte foundation is super matte and makes me look like I'm wearing a lot of powder, not no makeup, it also goes on a little darker than the regular foundation.  I'm thinking of mixing the two to see what results I get.  If anyone hasn't tried this product yet and is thinking about it I hope I helped.

Just a quick not about a great movie about couture and fashion that has just come on out on DVD.  The Documentary Valentino: The Last Emperor follows around Valentino for over a year and shows the incredible world this fashion titan lives in.  A small look at the Valentino brand industry and  his 50 years in fashion retrospective make some great drama.  Valentino is one of the kings of the fashion world (and knows it) and his interviews are fabulous as are scenes with him working in his office and then jettting off around the world with his many dogs.  Classic moments between Valentino and his partner Giancarlo Giammetti, Karl Lagerfeld and others make this a great film for die hard fashion lovers.  I saw this movie in the theater but I recommend it as a great rental.

I recently started a list called Beauty: meh listing the cosmetic products I have tried that have been failures or disappointments.  Some of them, like MAC Lipglass I know are favorites for other people, but just don't do it for me (they make my lips too sticky).  But others, like Kevyn Aucoin's famed Curling Mascara just never did anything for me, in fact I have several mascaras on my list that I have tried and felt meh about.  My favorite mascara has turned out to be Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara.  Or Lipfusion, lipgloss plumper which I think I don't think works, but maybe sometimes I try to myself the $36 was worth it? Also, my list contains some of my endless search for hair products that will do something for my thick hair.  But anyway, do you have any beauty product disappointments you want to share?  Recommendations for thick hair styling products would also be welcome (lol)!