Angeleno Femme

Stuff I Like + Stuff I Want (Unorganized Edition, Sorry I’m Not Sorry)

Firstly, let me say I’m super stoked to have people hit me up and tell me that, after reading my post about Jack Black lip balm, they went out to buy the balm and have also been pleased by it. So great!

Anyway, here are a few things I’ve been using lately that I totally dig:

Garnier 3-Way Cleanser

I’ve mostly been using a simple Neutrogena cleanser morning and night, but my skin needed a little oomph in the form of some salicylic acid or some other anti-acne ingredient. It just looked dull and a little grimy for whatever reason (er, alcohol from a particularly indulgent night out?). Anyways, I found out about this product while doing research for work and was intrigued by the idea that it’s a cleanser, exfoliator and mask all in one (depending on how you use it). As a cleanser, it’s great, rinses clean. As an exfoliator it’s okay, it does do a bit of scrubbing but I’m a fan of grainier textures (anytime something says it has “micro beads” I’m immediately like “oh, so it barely does shit on the exfoliant front…alright whatever.”). Nevertheless, for sensitive skin, this would work well. And it’s great as a mask — simple clay mask that dries after a few minutes, and as you wash it off it scrubs your face a little for added results. All in all, it’s a good way to save money and counter space. For just a handful of dollars, it’s worth recommending and I’ll use it till it runs out. Contains kaolin clay and salicylic acid among other good ingredients.

Laura Mercier Creme Lipstick in Violet

Laura Mercier is usually my go-to brand for base products like concealer and tinted moisturizer, but I figured, what the hell, I’ll try a lipstick. I swiped this cool cranberry tone on at Sephora and was pleasantly surprised. Infused with a little shimmer, the finish is a pretty, glossy sheen but without the greasy feel of drugstore “gloss lipsticks.” The color is reminiscent of MAC’s Digi Dazzle lipstick in Snazzy except less grainy from the sparkles. The NonBlonde actually has a nice pic of a swatch on skin for you to check out. I’m not surprised by the high quality feel of the lipstick, since Laura Mercier is a top shelf brand. What I am surprised by is how flattering this shade is, even though it’s clearly considered to be one of the brand’s boldest shades in the lipstick line since it’s positioned as the darkest color on the shade spectrum. With that in mind, don’t let its placement fool you — I’m a warm-toned gal who looks like she hasn’t seen the sun in months (because…I haven’t) and the lipstick looks gorge on me. A great lipstick if you want to experiment with a bolder lip color but don’t want to go too high fashion with a super matte finish like I usually rep on my blog. This color is pretty, flattering and feels good on.

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

YEAH I GOT NAKED 2, WANNA FIGHT ABOUT IT?! No but really, this shit is already sold out (but maybe still available on Sephora.com) and I thought I’d be doing my reputation as a compulsive makeup hoarder a disservice if I “waited” to purchase it (pffffft). Let me start by saying if you don’t have the original Naked palette, what were you doing with your Sephora existence this whole time? Anyways, all judgment aside, it was a great palette. I’ve actually taken a pic of the original Naked with the new Naked 2 palette below:

Now, arguably they are both “must-have” palettes by combining UD’s popular neutral shades with only-available-in-the-palette shades. But, if you don’t have EITHER one, let’s weigh our options. Truth be told, I pretty much never use the shades in the middle of the original Naked palette — those golden, olive, dark green, shoddy looking shades just do not do it for me.. The shades in Naked 2 are a bit more “wearable” and in terms of having a palette that creates a complete day or night eye, Naked 2 has the advantage of possessing a truly matte, pigmented black eyeshadow (whereas Naked makes you fuck around with some shimmery black shit which doesn’t always cut it). I also prefer Naked 2 because the shades aren’t so warm/golden like Naked’s are. I find Naked 2 to be more flattering. But, at the end of the day they are both fabulous palettes to own. But if you were really debating, I’d say go with Naked 2 — you’ll get more wear out of the entire palette.

And now, for something I want:

Kevin Murphy Color Bug

In 6th grade I joked with my then best friend, “You just wait. You’re going to see me when I’m older and I’m going to have purple hair.” Sadly, I never quite accomplished that goal since 1. I don’t have the balls or the commitment consistency to actually bleach my hair and then dye it purple and 2. Those comb-in temporary color things always left my hair crunchy in 7th grade, but hey I made an effort. Anyways, Kevin Murphy has come out with something called the Color Bug which is essentially colored hair powder that can color over even dark brown hair (joy!). I want to try the purple to do a “dip dye” look on my excessively long locks, though word on the beauty street is 1. it can be a bit messy to apply and 2. again, it can be a bit messy to apply. My search for salons that carry Color Bug begins…

Photo from Kevin Murphy’s how-to vid:

A nice shot from http://www.hairromance.com

Alright that’s all for now Beauty Geeks! Feel free to ask me questions in my ask inbox :)

XoX

Product Reviews For DAYS.

Here’s the deal. I got 1. paid for a bunch of freelance stuff and 2. emailed about Sephora’s VIB sale where your entire purchase was 20% for like 5 days straight. I lack impulse control so you fucking bet I went straight into Sephora, inhaled the scent of the store, and went into my product-purchasing zone. Like don’t-fucking-talk-to-me-I’m-doing-swatches zone. I left with lots of new toys, and a hand that looked like it was bruised. So now, review time. Let’s play!

Nails Inc. Holographic Top Coat - Sephora has brought UK-based Nails Inc. into their US stores, and I already showed off my gold glitter nails on my blog last week from one of their polishes (I’ve received tons of compliments, by the way). This polish is a basic top coat, but infused with really finely-grated glitter. It creates dimension to whatever plain color you’re wearing. It’s not chunky, but just a smooth little addition to your nails that gives them a more glam feel. Plus, I think the holidays is just an excuse to put glitter on every-fucking-thing and this is a more demure, pretty way to do glittery nails if you’re not like AJ and don’t like smearing basically craft glitter on your nails.

Clinique Chubby Sticks - I received my first Chubby Stick as a part of a swag bag from The Beauty Social, but I only fell for the product when I picked it up for myself in “Graped Out.” The texture is light, the color just present enough. Graped Out is a neutral, almost mauve tone (3rd from left). Since I’m very much dating right now, I like to have a little something-something on my lips when I’m out with a guy, but nothing that feels heavy, sticky or will rub off when I get kissed. These Chubby Sticks are perfect for a light touch of flattering color. Graped Out is definitely a new staple in my date night makeup arsenal.

Clinique Black Honey Shimmering Tones Powder - Clinique’s Black Honey is one of the most time-tested cult classic shades on the market. I knew about the Black Honey lipstick when I was, like, 12, because my mom wore it when she was my age. Now, Clinique has realized that the color is very flattering and has essentially done what NARS has done with Orgasm and crafted a small collection around the shade. There’s the Black Honey Superbalm which I like, the lipstick, a blush, I believe a shadow palette, and now the Shimmering Tones Powder. The color is definitely a flattering tone — almost a pretty, shimmery cranberry? I like it because I tend to go for mauve tones. It’s also a dense product, so a little goes a long way unlike my other fave shimmer powder, Bobbi Brown’s Shimmerbrick. I’ve been sporting it as a blush for the last few night’s out.

Lorac’s Real Life To Red Carpet Eye Tutorial Kit - I’m always interested to see how companies package their loose products together and see how they recommend we use them. I picked up this kit because I think Lorac does GREAT kits and palettes (I used the Croc palette back in high school, and it’s still a really popular product for the brand). The mascara in this package is decent, but we all know mascara loyalty is the biggest joke ever so I was “meh” as I always am about mascara. The brush included in the package is also cheap and I will never use again — I stick with my gorg Bobbi Brown shadow brush that I’ve had for like 6 years. Mostly I like the shadow which I’ve been using for the last week for both work and nights out — I layer the coppery shade on my lid, and then layer on top of that the champagne shade all over my lid and brow bone. If I’m going out, I smudge the black shade in my crease. The shades are pretty and flattering. The liquid liner is a great liner (though a bit glossy — sometimes I want a matte liquid liner), but I’m still on the fence as to how I feel about liquid liner. On one hand, the wear is incredible — I slept over at the guy’s house (white sheets and pillowcases!) and when I woke up, the liner was STILL IN PLACE. WAT. But, liquid is the most difficult to apply because it’s so precise. When I want the “pop” of liquid, I create the liner shape first in pencil, then trace over it in liquid.

Illamasqua lipstick in Kontrol - THE ULTIMATE PURPLE LIPSTICK! I HAVE FOUND THEE! Finally. Okay, you guys have seen me do variations on a purple lip, but I’m always tinkering with blending different lipsticks, and usually complaining about how MAC lacks a permanent purple shade, and the limited shades are often that “glaze” or “amplified” texture aka NOT DENSE ENOUGH, NOT MATTE ENOUGH, FUCK! But you can count on Illamasqua to put out ridiculous shades that actually COMMIT to the color (like, for example, I’m still in a deep depression over the fact that I never bought the navy lipstick when it was out). This is a true, cool-toned purple. It’s practically matte — think MAC satin texture. It does not fuck around. I can’t wait to wear it with a purple gloss over, or just matte for a weird, high fashion face. So sick.

Narciso Rodriguez For Her fragrance - I have not stopped smelling my wrists. The end.

(And a few non-Sephora purchases…)

Neutrogena Fresh Cleansing + Makeup Remover - I’m lucky. Ever since I turned 19/went on the pill, acne has not been a problem. Since then I’ve really simplified my skincare routine — I cleanse and moisturize, and exfoliate a few times a week. Sometimes I use a mask. When my skin was breaking out, I had to use way more products to keep my skin under control. But now that it’s consistently clear, I try to keep things basic so to not upset my skin’s natural balance. This cleanser is a great, simple option — the idea is that it uses only “naturally” derived ingredients, but what I like about it is that it cleanses my skin and I feel clean but it doesn’t leave my skin feeling tight.

Olay Beauty Fluid - Again, in my quest to keep my skin routine simple, I decided I’d try Olay’s classic Beauty Fluid. I actually like it. I applied it after cleansing my skin last night with the Neutrogena cleanser and was pleasantly surprised to wake up and notice my skin looked smooth and even — not too dry, not greasy, just healthy. And for all of you acne-prone beauty geeks out there, I cruised some of the online reviews for this product and girls with acne raved that it didn’t make them breakout. Might be a new staple? :)

Let me know if you have any questions, beauty geeks!

XoX

Lips of the Night

Hi all, I thought I’d post some pics of a fun magenta lip that I’m wearing tonight — it’s MAC lip liner in Magenta (another staple, like Cherry) paired with MAC lipstick in Stylecaster, which is almost a purple — I think Stylecaster was a limited edition shade, but you can pick up this autumn’s limited edition purple, Plum Bright, as a substitute if you want to recreate this look. I chose purple over a more fuchsia tone tonight because it has a bluer base, and thus more pop against the skin (also more jarring for those who aren’t used to wearing brights, so be prepared). Happy Friday night! Xox

And with my green, Chanel manicure:

PS: Feel free to message me if you want to know any of the other products I used. <3

Morocco is in?

Been noticing a recent trend in beauty culture — Moroccan inspired beauty. Last night I watched ANTM, and the finalists are in Morocco. 

Now, Bobbi Brown and Victoria Secret’s have their Moroccan beauty collections.

I prefer the Bobbi Brown over Victoria’s Secret because the colors are richer, and obviously BB is a better beauty line than VS, no bones about it. Anyways, I think that this Moroccan trend is lovely for fall, when we begin to do away with the bright, coral-y tones and play more with plums, browns and deeper shades. Pretty for sure. 

BUT I STILL WANT THE TORTOISE SHELL COLLECTION THE MOST!

Sigh.