This is the 4th NYX trio from my amazingly cheap NYX haul.

It's very late here, and after a busy day, I'm just now able to post my FOTD, though the pix were taken this morning.

TS 26 Velvet blue, ocean frost, space Medium blue, white/blue, grayed blue
These blues were very pretty on. I will definitely reach for it again.

Base: Nude Frost
Lids: Meow Nicole S -- to make sure the blue wasn't too intense on me
Crease: Velvet blue and lightly over lids.
Lined up and down, plus outer corners: grayed blue, then pencil lined with Styli waterproof Sky pencil
White: under brow
Brows: La Prairie pencil
Mascara: Stiletto on top; Tarte on lower -- Stiletto has smudged on lower under eye, the Tarte is still perfect -- 15 hours later!

Lips:
Too Faced Trophy Wife + rimmed with NYX Silver

I really look bare faced here. Those of you who saw me in person today, did I look this bare faced to you?

No concealer, meant to, but I got sidetracked. I'm really liking the Dior Skinflash.
Primer: Laura Geller (used this sample from Sephora up -- yeah!) (This is the one that turned brown in the air/pot. If it is in a tube, not exposed to air, it might stay white.)
Foundation: Chanel
Rouge: Beauté liqui-gel Harlot
Powder: my sparkly mix, then BE mineral veil for bronzer
Benefit: Georgia Peach all over
Blush: MAC dolly mix
Highlight center of face and above cheekbones: MAC Mellow Mood + Benefit: That Gal

What do you think?

Karin

Originally posted 2009-04-25 00:10:32.

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Quick and simple works for most days, especially if I wanted to layer up to something more dramatic by the end of the day. It would be easy to do that with this, or even just to change the lipstick for more drama. The longest part of this was tweaking the foundation, trying to use an expensive foundation that isn't the right color, but it is the lightest that they have.

5 parts makeup again: face; cheek color; eyes; lips; brows.

Eyes: my usual base, including Queen Phyllis (BE); then 1 shade of Ulta shadow (a green) and a bit of Ulta shadow with more sparkle (a light silvery gray) because I needed the sparkle; Chanel greenblack pencil to line; Clinique mascara.

Concealer: I used Maybelline Matte Mousse foundation for concealer again (not the concealer.) I find it is a the perfect color, not too light, not too dark, and much simpler than using two products. Also the texture works well and it doesn't crease.

Brows: La Prairie pencil

Face:
Foundation: I have an expensive Guerlain foundation, but I think it is too dark/yellow so I don't reach for it very often. Today I thought I'd mix it with Chanel illuminator, but it still looked too yellow. It doesn't pick that up, though, once my makeup is complete. But it takes the fun out of using it. Additionally I used more of the illuminator to highlight the center of my face.

Cheeks: rouge under my sparkly mix and over the mix, both Lancome, different colors, but both in the pink and plummy range.

Lips: Sephora 10, a sort of grape color (and tastes grape) with quite a bit of micro glitter in it. I generally don't wear it alone, but I really liked how it looked today. I've reapplied it several times, staying with the same color. I just didn't feel like changing it.

What are you doing with your makeup lately? Is the heat getting to you?

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Originally posted 2010-08-10 15:35:50.

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It's been hot, hot, hot here for a couple of weeks. Record breaking hot. But we are beginning to get some serious rains every day, so that is breaking the heat somewhat.

I'm not sure why, but red was calling to me, and I usually only wear red lipsticks in December. I even wore a matching red T. These pictures were taken a couple of days ago, and I don't remember precise colors any more. So I'm going to go with easy and post what I can and leave the rest to summer.

Eyes
I used my usual base. These colors are Bare Escentuals, which I really like a lot. They go on easy and don't bother my eyes. Clinique Mascara. La Prairie brows.

Red Lippie
No, I don't remember what shades I used, but I know I topped it with a MAC gloss. I've been wearing those a lot lately.

Face
This was Revlon ageless cream foundation. The rest as usual: cream rouge under my sparkly powder mix; Arbonne blush over the top of the powder.

I hope you are having a great summer and that you are staying cool.

Do you wear red year round?

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Originally posted 2010-08-09 11:43:19.

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I've been out of town and remiss about posting fotds -- and even remiss in wearing makeup. When the day begins at 4:30 and I'm on a different time zone, all bets are off. I did get some makeovers, though, you notice!

Yesterday was my first day more or less back on schedule.

I had in mind I was going to try the new eye shape -- and before you know it, my brush went and did just what it always does! I couldn't believe it. But I did it today and have pictures to post later.

Base: MAC Luna -- I like this because it has some shimmer
Eye colors came from a Lancome GWP, really pretty colors: off white, light shimmery pink (not sparkly), medium brown, charcoal-black with sparkles. Daylight (matte)Volcano (shimmer) Makeover (metallic)The New Black (metallic)
Dry Lined with the charcoal shade, followed by Guerlain Kohl powder in turquoise (you can see this really well in both full sized photos)
Mascara: Arbonne, 2 step
Brows: Anastasia Caramel (like mascara wand) + thin lined wet brow liner -- I like both these products a lot.

Primer: Avon Magix
Foundation: Chanel on one side;Arbonne on the other
Rouge under powder: Revlon, discontinued
Powder: my sparkly mix + Chanel Rosee pressed powder as highlight all over, has slight sparkly
Blush: Chanel Rose Petal
Concealer: Dior skinflash under eye; MAC on nose, buffed out

Lips: This was a case of just layering up.
I broke my cardinal rule of no more lip pencils and also ended up with a Guerlain color that is more pink than I'd prefer, so I did a bit of doctoring to see how badly I'd messed up.
Guerlain 65 on top; Arbonne Whisper on bottom; smooshed; lined with Guerlain Rose Indien; topped with Revlon Play up Pink.

The Guerlain formula is lovely (and I bought a second color later that is more to my liking.)

To buy Arbonne from Bookgirl, if you don't have a representative, go here.

Karin

Originally posted 2009-07-15 16:12:17.

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Finally! I'm current -- this is my FOTD today. I wanted to wear the same eye colors as yesterday.

Comparing two lower lash mascaras one is Tarte; the other is Guerlain's Le2.
AL concealer.

Back to trying to use up the discontinued Chanel foundation. Primed with Laura Mercier. My usual sparkly mix of powder, then SCA Hyaluronic as a bronzer.

Blush: AL Dolly

I'm trying uploading directly vs. using Photobucket. The images are smaller. But it is a lot faster for me except for waiting for it to upload into wordpress.

Lips: AL Gala + AL Pinafore (on each lip, then smooshed) + rimmed and topped in center with Beauté Paramour Love this color!

Day 2 into Arbonne:

And we finally have some rain around here -- all the ponds are low. I'm going to enjoy the rain!

To buy Arbonne from Bookgirl, if you don't have a representative, go here.

Karin

Originally posted 2009-05-18 11:27:19.

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I've been hankering for greens in fragrances lately, so I thought I'd do a comparison of 3 that I particularly love. I wore one on each wrist and the third on my forearm. I wanted to see how they wore throughout the day, how other people perceived them, which lasted the longest, and which was my favorite among them.

Chanel # 19 was introduced in 1970. (I have a mini bottle from one of the sets, so this was dabbed.) It's notes include (and I don't smell the tuberose):

bergamot, neroli and tuberose, vetiver, leather and musk.

or

* With floral and green notes of Neroli from Grasse and Galbanum from Iran
* Combines with May Roses and Irises from Florence
* A cypress tone with a subtle and woody note of Vetiver

Vent Vert by Balmain was created in 1947. I have both the vintage version and the more modern version, but for this comparison I used the vintage. It is a spray.

Original:
Top Notes: Galbanum, Citrus, Gardenia, Peach
Middle Notes: Rose, Muguet, Hyacinth, Orrs, Jasmin
Base Notes: Oakmoss, Vetiver, Styrax, Musk

Top Notes: Greens, orange blossom, lemon, lime, basil
Heart Notes: Rose, galbanum, lily of the valley, freesia, hyacinth, tagetes, ylang-ylang, violet
Base Notes: Oakmoss, sandalwood, sage, iris, amber, musk

Ma Griffe by Carven was introduced in 1946, but to me, it still is timeless. At one time it was close to a signature fragrance for me. The gardenia and other florals in it are not particularly strong. In many ways it reminds me of Guerlain's Chamade, perhaps because of all the galbanum. This bottle is also vintage and a spray.

Top Notes: Gardenia, greens, galbanum, aldehydes, clary sage
Heart Notes: Jasmine, rose, sandalwood, vetiver, orris, ylang-ylang
Base Notes: Styrax, oakmoss, cinnamon, musk, benzoin, labdanum

Over the course of several days, I applied the fragrances in the same manner and refreshed throughout the day.

My take
They sure are similar!

Which lasted the longest?
Between Vent Vert and Chanel No 19, the Chanel was longer lasting. I tried to apply the same amount to each wrist, though they were in different formats. Both started out essentially the same, equally strong, and both had odd top notes, because both are vintage. But that burned off quickly. I was surprised that even in the beginning they were alike.

I applied more of the Ma Griffe because I applied that to my forearm and transferred it to the other forearm. It lasted about as long as the Vent Vert, maybe a tad longer.

What do they smell like?
Vent Vert and Chanel No 19 are both crisp greens. Ma Griffe is a bit softer.

I brought some fresh flowers into the house this week and cut their stems before putting them in water. I had all 3 of my girls smell the cut edges of the stems because that is the scent that most fragrance houses are trying to put into their fragrances to capture the real essence of cut flowers. Honestly, I could have worn the stems, they were so fragrant, though I bet people would have wondered about me!

Who liked what?
Book Girl didn't like Ma Griffe. She felt it smelled 'old.' I told her it wouldn't as soon as it settled down. It is grownup, though. By contrast, Cathy's favorite was Ma Griffe, which is also mine. None that I asked could smell a lot of difference between the Vent Vert or Chanel No 19.

So there you have it! If you are looking for greens in a fragrance, you can look into these, and you won't go wrong with any of them. It all depends on what you like best on you and the price point.

Have you worn any of these?
Is one your favorite?

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Chanel No.5 EDT Spray Refill Perfume Fragrance 50ml

US $120.76

1h 2m

Chanel # 5 1.7 oz Eau De Toilette Spray Women's Fragrance New In Box

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Chanel Allure EDP Spray 50ml Perfume Fragrance

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1h 24m

Chanel Chance 3.4oz Women's Eau de Toilette

1 Bid

US $39.99

1h 53m

COCO CHANEL WOMENS EAU DE PARFUM 3.4 OZ. NIB SEALED IN WRAPPER BLACK & GOLD BOX

21 Bids

US $76.00

2h 11m

CHANEL ALLURE WOMENS EAU DE PARFUM 3.4 OZ. NIB SEALED BOX

23 Bids

US $68.85

2h 17m

CHANEL BLEU MENS EAU DE TOILETTE 3.4 OZ NIB SEALED, NEVER OPENED BLEU DE CHANEL

31 Bids

US $76.00

2h 21m

CHANEL No 5 PERFUME TESTER PAPER PAD 2000 STORE DISPLAY CARDSTOCK

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LOT OF 6 MEN'S PARFUME SAMPLES/TRAVEL SIZES -RALPH LAUREN,CHANEL,LACOSTE,NAUTICA

0 Bid

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2h 56m

Chanel Coco Fresh Body Cream Net Wt 5 oz " New " Never Opened " Outstanding

3 Bids

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3h 22m

Ma Griffe by Carven 1.7 oz EDT Spray for W~Old Package~

US $39.99

1h 40m

Ma Griffe by Carven French Parfum Mini

US $15.99

6h 36m

CARVEN HOME PARIS EDT 3.3 OZ/ 100 ML SEALED *NEW IN BOX* DISCONTINUED RAR

US $89.99

7h 45m

MA GRIFFE CARVEN 3.3 EDP PERFUME SPRAY WOMEN NEW IN BOX

US $31.89

8h 6m

VETIVER CARVEN by Carven 3.4 OZ EDT NIB MEN COLOGNE

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13h 45m

Vetiver Carven All Over Shampoo 5.0 fl. oz. UB

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Carven Vetiver Coffret: EDT Spray 100ml3.3oz + All Over Shampoo 150ml5oz 2pcs

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VINTAGE Carven Robe d'un Soir 30oz eau de cologne rare!

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15h

Ma Griffe Carven Women 3.3 oz EDP Spray NEW SEALED - 3.4oz /100ml Perfume Parfum

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15h 11m

EAU VIVE Eau de Toilette Spray By Carven 125ml 4.2 Fl.oz

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Balmain Ambre Gris by Pierre Balmain for Women Eau de Parfum Spray 2.5 oz

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BALMAIN de Balmain Perfume for Women - 3.4 FL.OZ./ 100mL EDT Sealed - NOT Tester

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Ivoire de Balmain Paris Vintage Parfum Mini

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IVOIRE DE BALMAIN 3.4 oz SPRAY perfume - NEW NO BOX

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New MONSIEUR BALMAIN Cologne for Men EDT SPRAY 3.4 oz

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Jolie Madame by Pierre Balmain for Women - 1.7 oz EDT Spray

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Vent Vert by Pierre Balmain for Women 3.3 oz EDT

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10h 29m

JOLIE MADAME by Pierre Balmain 3.4 oz.Edt Perfume Spray New in box

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11h 12m

Balmain De Balmain by Pierre Balmain Mini EDT .13 oz for women

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11h 21m

Balmain Ambre Gris by Pierre Balmain Eau De Parfum Spray 3.4 oz for women

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11h 21m

Originally posted 2010-05-03 06:12:23.

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I received my Arbonne order yesterday. I ordered (and received) 1 more eye shadow to complete my shadow box, as well as tinted moisturizer, so I wanted to try them out, even though I had thought to do AL mineral foundation spritzing the brush with water -- will do that tomorrow or lighten the tinted moisturizer in one step.

FYI is Arbonne's line for teens or young adults ("young individuals"), but the products are suitable for all ages. There are tinted moisturizers; glosses; cream shadows (not in a tube); and 4 different fragrances in shower gel, small spray, body cream, and sugar scrub. I tried the fragrances because, as you know, I love fragrance. More on those in another post. Shari told me how much she loves the tinted moisturizer, so I decided to try it. It looks good on her!

Eyes: Arbonne, except where noted, using new eye shape.
Base: Nude Frost (not Arbonne)(cream in a pot)
Lids: First used the soft gray (I think it might be matte). Then used lime green on top of the gray and alone under lower lash line. I wanted to know if the soft gray looked good by itself (it did) and whether it showed up enough (it did.) And I felt it would deepen the impact of the lime. (It did.) In a way it was like using a dark base instead of a skin tone one, but instead of it being cream, it was powder. In RL it looks more lime than it does in the picture.
Crease: Used lighter purple at top edges.
Mascara: Arbonne, 2 step
Brows: Merle Norman powder
Wet lined left lower: Sephora White; right lower: MAC white -- the MAC is much whiter and brighter; for a more natural look, choose the Sephora, for a more highlighted look, choose the MAC.
Lined top and lower: Tidal Wave, gel liner (not Arbonne) -- This is just a beautiful blue and blends nicely with the lime.
Lined again top and lower: Lancome Micro Palettes -- white (but really sheer) with silver -- I like this to drift down and around under my eyes some to extend the optical illusion of my eyes.
Concealer: Guerlain

Primer: Forgot
Foundation: Arbonne FYI Light tinted moisturizer -- this is a neat product that came recommended by Shari. It is a tad too dark on me. Comparing it to the Arbonne foundation that I use, the foundation is a tad lighter and pinker. I think this would be sufficient foundation and moisture for a lot of people. I used the RE9 moisturizer first.
Highlight all over face: Chanel liquid -- this made it a tad lighter -- could accomplish the same thing by mixing with regular moisturizer before applying or by mixing this with the tinted moisturizer and applying as one step.
Powder: My sparkly mix
Blush: Arbonne, light pink
Highlight: Guerlain Butterfly perles -- got it as a gwp -- really great color!
Bronzer: Arbonne -- Shari uses this on top of the tinted moisturizer (she uses light-medium tinted moisturizer, 1 shade darker than me.) I'm not sure if she uses powder or if the bronzer is her powder. Shari? The bronzer comes in a large solid compact, but applies softer than the SCA hyaluronic powder, which is very hard so it is difficult to get much product.

Update: Sherri says:

I always use powder to set my makeup and then I bronze.

Lips: Arbonne Prep and Plump Gleam + MAC lip liner, more at my LOTD post.

I'm happy with the look. It takes me longer to write it up than it does to apply it.

Do you use a tinted moisturizer?
Mary Kay makes a very nice one too. My MK consultant uses tinted moisturizer under her MK mineral foundation. It looks good on her.

If you use tinted moisturizer, do you use it with your regular moisturizer or by itself as the only moisturizer?

To buy Arbonne from Bookgirl, if you don't have a representative, just ask.

Karin

Originally posted 2009-07-22 12:02:52.

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This is the 3rd NYX trio palette in my amazingly cheap NYX haul.

Eyes:
TS 30 Baby Pink, White Pearl, Baby Blue
These are more my colors than yesterday's!
Base: Lancome pink cream
Pink on my lids; Blue in the crease and lined under lower lashes; White on brow bone.
Brows: Prescriptive pencil -- has a super thin lead, easy to use
Lined top: Lancome Blueberry wand
Tightlined Lined lower: Tidal Wave gel liner
Lined top and lower: Prestige Denim pencil
Mascara: Lancome Hypnose on upper; Tarte Bottom up on lower

Primer: Smashbox purple
Foundation: L'oreal N1
Rouge: Chanel stick
Powder: my sparkly mix + BE Mineral Veil as bronzer
Over powder: Benefit Georgia Peach
Blush: MAC Moon River
Concealer: Dior Skinflash

Lips: I liked this really well!
Too Faced Pink Diamond Gloss from their super Vintage sale
Rimmed with: MAC Baby Sparks Dazzler gloss

I was happy with the way this turned out. The color was nice with my denim top. And much more to my taste than yesterday.

What do you think?
Karin

Originally posted 2009-04-23 20:48:30.

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Catching up on looks
Sunday August 9
Eyes: Chanel Ors Violines Quad, only the purples
Blush: Chanel Cherry, one of my faves
Lips and some eye: Lancome No Moderation Ombre Trio, purple shadows and gloss

I promise not to get so far behind -- if possible!

Karin

Originally posted 2009-08-18 17:15:47.

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What's a woman to do when the newest high tech face creams are running several hundred dollars each? And how is one to choose one over another, if one is staving off the knife?

Honestly, are they all worth that kind of money? Chanel, La Prairie, Shiseido, Clea de Peau all have their moving-up-to-$500-each creams. Some need to be layered just to have enough moisture -- what's the use of that. And how does one compare an expensive cream by Chanel with a more expensive cream by Chanel sold only in a few select stores? or a Clea de Peau cream with another Clea de Peau cream? Do you think the SAs really know?

Are they old enough to have really given them a run for their money?

Well, the only fair way would be to use one on one side of one's face and the other on the other. Then you could tell folks why you appear only half-rested.

Surely some of this is hype and some is reality and some is making you feel the more expensive, the better it works. But is it true?

Perhaps there are equally good things from other much less expensive drug store lines, all of which say they use their own labs to come up with new things. And maybe if the truth were known, the differences are in the packaging as the labs may be supplying to several lines owned by a parent company.

Believe it or not, it was Avon that changed some of the creams many years ago when they first brought in alpha-hydroxy. And theirs is still one of the best. They have one of the best facilities for research and development of any company.

So, what's your favorite face cream? Do you think it works? Would you spend that kind of money on a face cream? or do you reserve that for shoes or handbags or perfumes or airline tickets? How many mega creams do you own and use? (or owned and used up)?

What's your favorite recommendations?

How much of beauty is from within and how much from taking care of ourselves? (I have a couple of friends who are proud that they do nothing, and it shows. How much of that is laziness or frugality? Or not being able to see without one's glasses?)

If I didn't use something on my skin, it would hurt in a couple of days from dryness. That's not a bad thing, when it has caused me to continue to take care of my face. But I sure don't want to spend money for the proverbial Emperor's new clothes. They ought to sell mini-jars so you could test them at home.

Karin

Originally posted 2007-10-19 12:57:14.

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