Savvy Thinker » Cover Girl

FOTD Aromaleigh eyes + Cover Girl lips +

Karin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:15:12 +0000

I felt like wearing turquoise on my eyes today, and outside of the Summer set by Mary Kay, my go-to for turquoise is Aromaleigh. Kristen has beautiful shades of greens, turquoises and teals, and I probably have most of them, at least in sample sizes, which are quite long lasting. They are vibrant and beautiful, if you are on a quest for this color.

I also felt like doing a 5 min makeup today, which I did. The only reason it took longer is because I kept thinking of things I wanted to take pictures of, such as the Chanel container and my powder. So I would digress to that. Aromaleigh is really fool proof. Easy to apply; always looks great and lasts all day. I knew I could do a 5 min makeup with AL. And I had a busy, busy day today, meetings, errands, music lesson, pick and delivery to school and more.

In all honesty, there were two things I meant to do and got sidetracked: concealer, and some of the new Arbonne white shadow in the inner corners of my eyes. That would have taken 30 sec. I just forgot.

Eyes: all Aromaleigh, except where noted
Base: Nude Frost, then BE Queen Phyllis
Lids: Azure
Drylined Top: Aqua Nightmare (love this color!)
Drylined bottom: Caribe, just a touch more blue
Mascara: Stiletto
Tightlined top: NYX pen black
Brows: Merle Norman powder

Primer: Avon Magix
Foundation: L'Oreal True Match, N1 Soft Ivory While it looks like this foundation covers well, when applying it, I'm a little disappointed in how sheer it looks in the pictures. I like my skin to show through, but I like it a little less sheer. I will likely use this more as a highlighter in the future, if I try it again, and it is equally sheer.
Rouge under my sparkly mix of powder: Chanel stick
Blush over: Arbonne Promise
Hightlight: Arbonne Bashful lightest blush

Lips: CG 912+928 + Stila Silver Mix
First: Guerlain liplift primer and conditioner and all round magic product
912 and 928 are plumping colors
1/2 and 1/2 each color, one on each lip, smooshed; then Stila-Silver Mix gloss when some of the lippie was gone to refresh it...this lipstick (928) is the one that hurt my lips after using it exclusively for months. After using every lip balm known to man and still having problems wearing anything on my lips, I remembered I had the Liplift. It fixed the problem with one application. I now have one in my purse and in the bathroom. And I made sure I used it before these colors. I never felt the product sting my lips. 912 is a particularly pretty soft shade. Perhaps tomorrow I'll show it alone.

What do you think?
Do you like to use plumping lipsticks or teals and turquoises for shadows? What is your favorite AL color?

Kristen's birthday is coming up and she'd love to have people participate in nominating her business. See the info here.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com
do not steal my posts -- you know who you are

Originally posted 2009-08-28 17:41:19.

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FOTD Meow Eyes, AL blush, Milani lip gloss

Karin — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:13:44 +0000

Trying out Meow eyes again today, but different colors.

Used my new fiber optic AL brush again. Love this brush. Get one! I will do a review in the next few days. I used it for everything except the outer corners. It makes application a snap!

In the order of application:
Base: Avon light purple cream; my golden beige sparkle
Crease: IdealEyes Anti-Social Purrl
Outer corners: VandalEyes Pole Dancing
Inner corners: ScandalEyes Nicole S (I used this yesterday too).
Mascara top: compared two Guerlains; the one is the dual ended one.

This is a pretty container:

Lined bottom MAC: graphblack in waterline; earthline below it.
Mascara lower: the tiny brush for lower lashes from the dual ended.
Drylined: ScandalEyes Feral
Brows: Clinique pencil

Cheeks:
AL Breathless rocks sonic rouge (great color)
Using a fiber optic brush -- I took about 3 grains; 2 would have been enough.

Later I updated my lips with Cover Girl Incredifull lipstick (see my review tomorrow.)

Primer(s)
Today I used Guerlain Meteorites Perles Light Diffusing Perfecting Primer

over a bit of Smashbox primer, under Chanel foundation. The Guerlain is wonderful for correcting a foundation that needs a little help. The Chanel alone is a bit yellow. I wish I could still get the foundation that they discontinued. That color was perfect!

And, of course, my mix of glimmer powder over the foundation. You can find the recipe under Savvy Thinker quick find or here.

Karin

Originally posted 2009-03-14 16:16:16.

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FOTD AL eyes + Arbonne lips + Meow blush +

Karin — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 07:52:36 +0000

I love Aromaleigh shadows; they are just beautiful. I'm not sure I've ever worn this sample (Dew) before, but it looked like it matched my T so I decided to try it. It almost looks matte in the baggie, but it is shimmery on, but not glittery.

Eyes:
Base: Nude Frost
Lids: Meow Nicole S ScandalEyes light bright pink, then AL Dew pure hue
Drylined: AL Lagoon carolina summer matte, then I wanted it a little stronger but not green, added AL Disintegration rocks!glam glitter -- would have been good to have done this after the pencil liners below, it would have showed up more, and I like glitter!
Tightlined: Upper and lower: MAC graphblack, then added lower MAC earthline It's been a while since I've used these. Of course, I blinked and smeared the graphblack, then to fix it, I decided to use the MAC brush made to smudge pencils. I liked the look because it isn't as hard as a hard black -- I worried a little about that choosing these pencils again. I like this technique, even if I wouldn't have done it except by necessity.
Brows: La Prairie pencil
Mascara: Covergirl Eyelights

Primer: Arbonne
Foundation: Arbonne
Rouge under powder: Revlon
Powder: Guerlain meteorites
Blush: Meow Waterlily Masterpiece blush -- such a pretty soft color
Highlight: AL Magnolia Blossom up the center of my face

Lips: Arbonne Legend + Whisper Legend applied more like a stain, lightly, since it is a deep burgundy brown, the Whisper on top of both, which I rarely do, since I like to keep the tube clean + with a lip brush Arbonne FYI Vogue gloss (very similar to one by Stila, but a lot less money)+ rimmed with Beauté Paramour gloss

What do you think?

I was really happy with the way this turned out.

I you would like to buy Arbonne from Bookgirl, she would love to be your consultant.

Karin

Originally posted 2009-08-20 14:06:48.

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FOTD Lancome NYX AL

Karin — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 16:01:28 +0000

This was my weekend look, using Lancome minerals, which I'm still learning to use and not at all sure will be my normal routine. I used Mary Kay tinted moisturizer underneath and Laura Mercier primer.

Eyes:
NYX trio TS02 Baby Pink, Barely There, Cotton Candy the last of my amazingly cheap haul from NYX.

The thing about using these colors is that they aren't quite enough to delineate my crease, but they are fine for a Saturday.
Concealer: one eye YSL; the other Dior skinflash -- they looked very similar when finished, hard to choose which is my fave, tho I'll likely only buy the Dior from now on.
Brows: La Prairie pencil
Lined top and lower: Clarins Midnight Flash pencil
Mascara: top Sapphire Covergirl
Eyelights; lower, Tarte -- love this!

Foundation: Lancome minerals, plus a bit of AL C1
Powder: my sparkly mix, used the NYX shadows as an overall glow, softly
Blush: AL Candy-O
Lips: NYX Juicy Cherry Goddess of the Night gloss

As I said, I'm not necessarily crazy about mineral foundation. It seems to look better as the day goes on than when I first apply it. What do you think?

Karin

Originally posted 2009-04-26 08:06:50.

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Review: Cover Girl Incredifull Lipstick

Karin — Sat, 07 May 2011 16:04:42 +0000

I've added two other pictures: color 912 and lips with a mix of the two colors 912 and 928.

Incredifull is Cover Girl's foray into the lip plumping game. And this is my experience with Incredifull (love that clever name!) lipstick.

928
I love this color! The picture doesn't do it justice. It's a color that makes you feel good.

My problem
I probably wore this color every day for a year. Not all day. I used other lipstick brands during the day too.

But eventually I realized that my lips were sore. And for close to a year nothing really cleared them up, and every lipstick and balm hurt, until I remembered my Guerlain Lip Lift. It is a magic product that I've talked about before. Liplift fixed the problem with one application. I now have one in my purse and in the bathroom. Almost instantly, I could wear any brand of lipstick again without any problem, but I hadn't tried the CG one again until the day I took this picture.

Does it really plump the lips?
I'm not sure any lip plumpers really plump the lips -- and not for long, but it has a pleasant-enough sting. Is that an oxymoron?

Do I recommend it?
I really like this color lipstick
If you are looking for a lip plumper: If you are not sensitive, and if you don't wear it all the time until you see how you do, and if you are careful to be aware of your own lips, you should try this.

It has good staying power, doesn't migrate. And good color selections, though this is the only one I bought until I recently bought color 912, thinking I'm ready to start wearing it again, but cautiously.

912
This is a very pretty, soft apricot pink. I figured I could wear it for less dramatic lipstick, and also as one that would mix nicely with others.

What do you think?
Have you tried this lipstick? Do you like it?

Karin

Originally posted 2009-08-29 17:30:53.

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Review L’Oreal Magic Smooth Souffle Foundation

Karin — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 18:29:43 +0000

I've been wearing L'Oreal's Magic Smooth Souffle Foundation (color 512) (Classic Ivory) for a few days.

It takes very little to cover.
The first day I applied it, I had too much on my fingers (and I hadn't thought I had taken much.) Less is more! Try less, then layer up, if need be. It must have some sort of 'cone in it, because it is very silky and feels similar to some of the foundation primers that I have tried, but with color.

Comparing it other brands and the look I like
After the first day I've been comparing it on one side of my face to other foundations that I have on the other side. It comes up with the best of them. Perhaps the closest is CoverGirl and Olay Simply Ageless (I wear color 210.) Magic Smooth may have a little less illumination. It is basically a filler (hence the name 'smooth') whereas the CoverGirl is more of a traditional cream foundation with moisturizer and illumination.

It gives me the option of two different looks and feels.

I have also worn the Magic Smooth on the outer areas of my face and worn the CG on the T-zone, since I am not oily, to give illumination.

As for the two colors, there is a bit more pink in CG 210. Magic Smooth 510 is a neutral beige, but has no discernible yellow in it.

I like them both, so I just tend to alternate now, depending on my mood.

Have you tried either of them?
It's a keeper. I rate it 4 out of 4*.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

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FOTD Thurs Meow Beauté MAC

Karin — Thu, 13 May 2010 04:24:29 +0000

This was a busy day today! I'm just getting around to posting pix. I really was happy with the way this turned out. I like red on my eyes. How about you? Do you wear reds in shadow? I never did before AL.

Eyes:
Base: Nude Frost
Lids: Meow ScandalEyes Nicole S light pink
Crease: Meow IdealEyes Twilight taupe
Outer corners and outer of lower eye: Meow VandalEyes Resisting Arrest red
Middle lower lined: Meow VandalEyes Shoplifting bluish purple
Pencil lined top and lower: MAC Light as Air light blue
Brows: Clinique pencil
Mascara: Cover Girl Eyelights Black Sapphire

Face:
Primer: Guerlain Meteorites
Foundation: Guerlain
Rouge and blush: Beauté liqui-gel stain Harlot -- This gives such a natural flush to the skin. I like it a lot!
Powder: My sparkly mix topped with BE Mineral Veil as bronzer
Concealer: Guerlain

Lips:
MAC Sweetie, topped with Pinkarat gloss, topped in the middle with Beauté IF to make it a little less pink, rimmed with NYX Chandelier.

What do you think?
How do you like it?

Karin

Originally posted 2009-04-10 00:13:02.

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Foundation too dark or too light?

Karin — Tue, 11 May 2010 19:17:14 +0000

Foundation that is too light
I remember when I first learned about professional and theater makeup. I was told: to age a person in theater, choose a foundation that is too light, and draw in lines for wrinkles. The older they are supposed to be, the lighter the makeup.

Well, I wonder if that is because the older a person is, the less they go out in the sun?

Of course, now it doesn't necessarily hold true, because I have been more or less sun-free for a very long time. I wear sunblock, and whatever sun I get is from moving from the car across a parking lot. I don't sunbathe. I suppose if I lived in a colder, less sunny clime, I'd be out looking for rays of sun whenever and wherever I could, but here, where the sun shines just about daily -- and it's strong -- I avoid the sun.

Foundations that are too dark
I'm finding that most foundations are too dark for me as I no longer get a tan in summer (which gradually fades in winter) (I used to have two foundation colors, one for winter; one for summer) -- and most are definitely too yellow. For some reason, the powers that be decided, almost across the board, that all foundations should be in the yellow range. Not! That yellow doesn't work for me. I need a true neutral.

The Chanel foundation I loved has been discontinued. One of the newer Chanel foundations is close to it, but not the same, still a bit darker. But they are not as yellow as they were a year or so ago. They have reformulated colors, as they said they were going to do.

And most foundations will change color on me, though supposedly Guerlain has a technology where that doesn't happen. But Guerlain colors are still too dark. I should have exchanged mine right away -- or not bought it. I knew better!

I gave away some of my deeper shades to a friend who gets tan. But I kept my faves.

There is a fine line between looking tan in a deeper foundation color than one's skin, and looking slightly dirty. I just prefer my own skin tone now.

This is what I did
I got the idea to use a foundation that is too light for me to lighten the darker shades. It would be just as easy to use a foundation that is too dark, to deepen a shade that is too light.

I would only do this if the foundation I already own is expensive; has a particularly pretty look to it; or cannot be exchanged or returned for whatever reason.

Technique
First, I looked to see if I could buy a white highlighting liquid. I used to have some, but who knows where it is! I couldn't find any, so I thought about using a lighter shade of foundation to accomplish the same thing.

I decided to buy Cover Girl Simply Ageless with Olay in color 205 (the lightest.) I wear color 210, which is perfect for me. (I just don't want to waste my expensive foundations. But I won't replace them when they are gone, either.) I apply a bit of this to my face (and it is definitely too light) then I apply some of the foundation that is too dark and blend it on my face to the right color.

Be careful not to apply too much because you are applying 2 X the product (so 1/2 as much each product or 1/4 to 3/4, whatever ratio to get the right shade.)

The Cover Girl is a cream, so it takes very little. Most of my other foundations are liquid.

I could mix on the back of my hand. then apply, but I figured I'd lose some product that way.

Be sure to stay in the color range -- neutral, pink, apricot, or yellow. You might possibly be able to cross the colors if you are trying to color correct, but that could also be done with a colored primer.

Anyway, I'm quite happy that I selvaged some colors I didn't think I would be able to wear again. So far I have tried this with both my Chanel sample and my Guerlain foundation. (First I tried with color 210, but it wasn't light enough to bring them down.)

Have you ever tried this?
Let me know if you do.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

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FOTD Sephora eyes

Karin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 17:38:19 +0000

Just a few quick pictures and words --

Eyes:
Sephora duo: light pink with sparkly wine
I liked this color combination. It is very workable to different looks. This is my first one.

Foundation: Cover Girl 210
Lips: AL Pout + Karma + Silver glitter gloss

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

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FOTD Compare Covergirl to Maybelline Foundation

Karin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:05:26 +0000

Eyes:
Base: Beauticontrol Pink
Revlon Lilac Shimmer Perle (has sparks)
This will be my alternate to Queen Phyllis (which is off white.)
Milani #06 Royalty, also wetlined lower (remember the spark on this is only on the top -- too bad -- so now there is no spark on mine)
Lined top and lower: Shiseido Soft Black liquid
Over lined: Avon blue sparkle gel

Imagine a line down the center of my face.
I used the same primer, cream blush and my sparkly powder mix on both sides of my face. I used Revlon Age Defying Spa Face Illuminator in Light Pink 020 up the center of my face. The only difference is the foundation.

My Left side Cover Girl 210 Simply Ageless cream foundation -- made to camouflage effects of aging.
My Right side Maybelline Matte Mousse #2

Until you compare it when applying it, the Matte really doesn't look particularly matte. But in comparison the CG is slightly illuminating. CG would be the one that would lift lines by illumination.

The difference is very subtle, but the CG definitely is more illuminating.

The cream feels quite creamy, but not oily. The mousse feels like it glides on, so it likely has some kind of 'cone in it. I like them both. If I were in the least bit worried about a T-zone in summer, I'd use the mousse. As it is, I can wear either of them year round. The colors I used are pretty nearly identical.

CG has an interesting way to determine what color you use. I bought mine at CVS, which didn't have it, but at Target they had a chart. You place your hand under it, and when your skin disappears into the sheer chart, that is the color for you. Based on that, I bought 210, which is perfect for me.

Comparing

Lips: AL Pout + Karma + Silver Sparkles up the center

Showing the sparkle of the shadow:

Have you tried these two foundations?
What do you think? I like them both.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

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