Uninspired...

This blog really took an unannounced hiatus for over a year. o(-_-)o I apologize... Got wrapped up in work, school, and all that.

Although I have to admit, I feel lately like I've hit a makeup wall. I recently redid my vanity.
Here are some cellphone pics of it. I took an IKEA Malm dressing table and spraypainted it purple. That's an IKEA Ung drill mirror and a Nils stool, also.

I know the walls are rather spartan at the moment. P.S., that traincase underneath has makeup in it, too!

This is after I threw out / gave away about half of my collection...

So, I'm glad I finally have a dedicated place to do makeup. I used to either keep it in the bathroom, which was not ideal mainly because the humidity would mess up some products early and I'm so blind I would get an aching back from leaning over the counter to look in the mirror... or I'd spread it out over my computer desk. I'll let you figure out why the second one didn't work out either.

But here's the rub... I have a new job now, and now I work nights and weekends. Except for one day a month, I literally see two other people my entire shift. I just do not see the point of putting on makeup to go into an empty building at night or on the weekend, to have my coworkers staring into their respective computer monitors the whole time. e.e;
Of course, my schedule changed up a lot so I also have quite a few days off every month now. But I rarely go out anymore...

I still prowl the makeup aisles at drugstores. I get lost in Sephora and the department stores. When I'm grocery shopping, I sneak into the cosmetics when I think Mike isn't paying attention. I load up an online cart when the email blasts come through about sales. But I'm very rarely taken by anything anymore. I see things that I get a momentary lemming for, but then I stop, think about all that I have at home, and all that I very, very, very rarely wear anymore, and I just put the product back or abandon my online shopping cart.

Now, granted, I did hear some hubbub about the Revlon Lip Butters, so I went out and got Peach Parfait. I like it. But it's sitting in my many myriad makeup bags somewhere. I don't know where.
My friend is a makeup artist with Dior, so I went to their New Look workshop a few weeks ago -- came home with Iconic mascara, the lash plumper/serum/primer thing, and an Addict lipstick (and a complimentary travel bag for buying 3 things). I don't even remember the lipstick's shade / number.

I've worn all of those items twice, three times maybe since buying them. And I spent around $100 on those things. 

Lately, there's no point to makeup for me. And that kind of makes me sad, honestly. I never was into makeup because I felt the need to hide my face. Obviously, I like the superficiality of it, the enhancements to my features, but it was always more just fun for me, to try out new color combinations and looks.

I've stopped following a lot of makeup blogs. It got to be overwhelming. I do want to pick this blog back up, but I think I'll have to re-fit makeup and cosmetics back into my life somehow.

What do you think?

Happy Halloween!

I'm having a small Halloween party (really a joint birthday party for my friend) this week, and I tried out a cupcake project for skullcakes!

Red velvet skullcake with cream cheese frosting, chocochip eyes and nose, and slivered almond teeth

Mid-process

As you can see, the "jaw" of the skull is really just a half marshmallow. To get this effect, just snip a marshmallow in half with kitchen shears, pull open a section of the baking cup and tuck it in.

Finished!

I thought they were cute... everyone else thought they were creepy. =__=;; I want to try matcha cakes next, to make zombies! Happy Halloween!

MAC A Tartan Tale pre-release

I went to the MAC A Tartan Tale pre-release party last night. It was my first time going to such an event; I prepared myself for a crowd, but I really underestimated the amount of people in there last night! My MAC store is fairly small to begin with, and everyone was packed cheek-to-jowl, wrestling over the displays. They served Scottish-theme snacks, like Highland shortbread dipped in dark chocolate, and had bourbon (? why not scotch?) lemonade cocktails to enjoy.

A Tartan Tale promo book and the cute bag they put our products in!

In the end, I only bought two items: the eyeshadow in Semi-Precious and lipstick in Cut A Caper. I wish I had had more time to mull over the products, but there really were just too many people, plus the store was burning up (the mall controls their AC and they couldn't lower it) so I just tried to get out of there as quickly as possible.
I got home, however, and tried Cut A Caper on my lips and it looks really awful. D: Like, milky-nude peach pink. It totally washes me out and makes me look like a ganguro or something. Mike thinks it looks OK on me, so I will hold on to it for a while and try to make it work, but I think I will end up returning it and exchanging it for the Glamora Castle eyeshadow. I was waffling between those two, anyway.

Cut A Caper lipstick and Semi-Precious eyeshadow

Cut A Caper lipstick; no swatch, sorry!

Semi-Precious eyeshadow

Swatched on left, sheer application on right

The grey stripes aren't just an overspray, but it's too soon to say if they go through the entire eyeshadow or not. It can look a little bruise-like alone, so I'll need to work out a good way to incorporate this into a look.

Did anyone else go to the pre-release? What did you get?

Birthday love from my sister!

So this post is extremely late considering my birthday was August 28th, but in my defense, I didn't actually get the package until September 29th anyway. (Her birthday was a little more than a week after mine and I still haven't sent out her present! Oops... at this rate, I might as well hold on to it until I see her at our cousin's wedding next month xD)

She sent me a HUGE box of goodies, and honestly, some of it was stuff I never would've considered for myself. But I should've known better; after I played around with everything, I fell in love. My sister's always had the better eye for color and design... I'm attracted to bright, sparkly things like a moth, and I rarely stray out of my preferred color set.

Since I feel it's slightly disrespectful (or at least potentially tacky) to review gifts, I'll only post pictures and swatches. I hope you enjoy!

LUSH You're A Star gift set

Clockwise, starting from top right: Aqua Mirabilis body butter, Floating Island bath melt, Helping Hands hand cream, Dream Cream lotion, Ma Bar bubble bar, Honey I Washed the Kids soap, Ceridwen's Cauldron bath melt. 

I haven't used the bubble bar or the Floating Island bath melt yet, but I'm using or have already used up everything else and I LOVED IT ALL. @__@ Especially the Dream Cream lotion; I think it smells odd, but it's seriously one of the best lotions I have EVER used, hands down. A little bit greasy afterfeel, but it's got the perfect texture and consistency and leaves my skin so soft for so long. Argh, but so expensive...

 

NARS Lip Stain Gloss in Victoire

 I was scared off of this at first because I applied it straight out of the tube and it was seriously Elvira vampy-goth, but I read around online and realized it was best applied with a lip brush and very sheerly. It makes the perfect daytime red lip for me, in my opinion; bold without being overdone, and the matte finish makes it appropriate for the office.

NARS Lip Stain Gloss in Victoire; sheer on left, swatched on right

NARS The Multiple in Malibu (pic makes it look peachier than real life)

NARS The Multiple in Malibu; sheer on left, swatched on right

Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited in WN 255

Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited in WN 255; couldn't get a good pic without glare, sorry!

Shu Uemura UV Base in Medium Beige

Shu Uemura UV Base in Medium Beige

Have you used any of these? Let me know!

[review] Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse Foundation and Maleficent FOTD

'ello 'ello~ I'm back again. I've been considering switching this blog over to WordPress. I already reserved the name, but I haven't played around with it yet. What do y'all think? Any other bloggers out there who can give me a bit of advice? I've heard WordPress is much more customizable.
Anyway, a few weeks ago, I picked up the new Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse foundation while it was on sale on Rite Aid. After the sale price and coupons, I paid $2 or $3 for this, but I think the normal retail price is around $7-$10.

From Maybelline.com:

Unique cream-whipped foundation provides 100% baby-smooth perfection.

• Skin looks and feels hydrated for 14 hours - never rough or dry
• Lightweight formula provides perfectly moisturizing coverage
• Blends seamlessly and feels fresh all-day
• Oil-free, Fragrance-free, Dermatologist Tested, Allergy Tested, Non-comedogenic – won’t clog pores.
• Safe for sensitive skin

Swatched on left, blended out on right.

 I got the shade Natural Beige after a bit of waffling and it turned out to be a pretty good match for me.

The package, as you can see, is kinda odd. The foundation itself is in a separate weighty plastic bottom that screws to the rest of the case. The other side flips open to reveal a triangular sponge, and did not have a mirror which I felt was a glaring omission. The sponge is pretty good quality and soft; it's very similar to the sponge that came in my Dior powder foundation.

This is actually not the right form of Maybelline Dream Smooth for me; because I have oily-combo skin, I should have chosen the Dream Matte Mousse foundation. However, I'm not a fan of anything matte and the name alone scared me off. Although this performs fairly well for me, in retrospect, I should've gone with the Matte formulation.
Moreover, this isn't a mousse at all. This is more of a traditional cream foundation. It is slightly more liquid than my Urban Decay Surreal Skin Cream-to-Powder foundation, and as a result, it stays dewy instead of drying to a powder finish. I usually set with a powder, and if I don't, I tend to get shiny in my T-zone very quickly.

The coverage itself is light-to-medium; it evens out my skin tone and is buildable, but does not completely cover my hyperpigmentation or undereye circles. If you normally use a concealer, you will need one with this foundation.

It wears fairly well, although I have noticed it fares better over a proper primer. I wore it over a Shiseido UV base and Hard Candy tinted moisturizer with good results; I got about 4-6 hours of wear. However, I tried it over the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Liquid Sunblock one day and it melted off after about 2 hours. Admittedly, I was a bit heavy-handed with the sunscreen application that day, so YMMV.

Overall, I give this foundation a 7.
It's very affordably priced and Maybelline often goes on sale in lots of places. It is not, in my opinion, a groundbreaking or particularly revolutionary foundation, but it's a solid performer that I find myself reaching for a lot of days.

So, of course, with the recent MAC Venomous Villains release, you know I had to get some things. In the end, I only got one thing for myself, Malificent's Mineralize Eyeshadow in She Who Dares, but I loooove it.

I love that even the inside of the box is decorated.

Swatched dry

In my current financial state, I can't justify going back and getting My Dark Magic, but I wish I could. :( I won't wax too much about the collection, but I was honestly a bit disappointed.
I loved Maleficent's collection the most, but Cruella de Vil's collection suited my coloring more. I was so underwhelmed by Dr. Facilier's collection. The pigments I thought were nice and very appropriate, but it ended there for me. I did see The Princess and the Frog, more out of Disney and Southern duty than anything else, but I was disappointed by it. Even my boyfriend, who felt the same way about the movie but loved Dr. Facilier's character, said about the collection, "This is all they did for him? It's kinda boring..."
I mean, come on! He's from New Orleans! Go all out! Man, if MAC ever came out with a Mardi Gras collection? Forget about it!

On another note, I honestly didn't like the packaging very much. I felt if they had used the sketches from the box art on the actual packaging, it would've looked much nicer and classier. But hey, it's still Disney. :)

So here's an FOTD inspired by Maleficent and the story of Sleeping Beauty.

Products used:
Eyes:
MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in She Who Dares
Urban Decay eyeshadow in Maui Wowie, Last Call and Virgin
L'Oreal HIP Color Chrome eyeliner in Violet Volt and Gold Charge
Maybelline The Colossal Volum'Express Waterproof in Classic Black

Face:
Hard Candy tinted moisturizer in Tan
Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse in Natural Beige
NARS The Multiple Stick in Malibu
Lavshuca loose powder in Lucent
Too Faced Absolutely Invisible Candlelight powder

Lips:
Shiseido Rouge Unlimited in WN 255
NYX Round lipgloss in Amethyst

The Mineralize eyeshadow performed the best, in my opinion, over moisturizer. I tried it over UDPP and NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean, and regular wet application, but the most intense and true color application came when I applied it over moisturizer. I dabbed a bit of LUSH Dream Cream on my eyelids, because it tends to stay tackier longer than my other moisturizers. It really made the colors pop and look lush and vibrant. I tightlined with Violet Volt and lined my waterline with Gold Charge. Speaking of Mardi Gras, this seems like an appropriate look, don't you agree? :)

You can see a spot of hyperpigmentation on my forehead that the foundation didn't completely cover. But overall, it's a very nice finish.

Did you get anything from MAC Venomous Villains? Have you used Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse foundation? Let me know!

Facebook and Twitter!

I created a Facebook page and Twitter feed for this blog!

Please Like me on Facebook, and follow me on Twitter! If the FB link doesn't work, you can click on the FB widget to the right (if you're reading this from an RSS feed, you'll need to go to the actual blog).

For reference, I can always be reached by email at thebubbleteapanda (at) gmail (.) com. The Twitter feed is @abubbleteapanda. The reason for this discrepancy is that just plain ole bubbleteapanda was taken already, and I've noticed a few people have been using this name 'round the 'nets since. Through a minimal bit of snooping, I feel confident I was the first, but in any case, I hope it's not too confusing!

Thank you all for your support! The promised giveaway is coming up soon!

[REVIEW] Wet n Wild Ultimate Brow Kit, CoverAll liquid concealer, ColorIcon blusher, MegaLength mascara

Like I mentioned before, I have quite a few new Wet n Wild items from a recent couponing expedition. I picked a few out to give away, so I won't have reviews on those, but these are the ones I've been test-driving recently.

[SWATCH] Rock & Republic All-Nighter blush and Hot Sauce lipgloss

Here are swatches for my latest Rock & Republic haul items! I've previously reviewed these products before. The only new things I have to note are: I NEED all these blushes, like now; and the pigmentation of Hot Sauce is excellent, so the lipglosses will vary depending on shade, I suppose.

Rock & Republic
Contrived pressed blush in All Nighter, Luxe lip gloss in Hot Sauce

Left to right:
All-Nighter sheer application
All-Nighter heavy-handed swatch
Hot Sauce swatch

Also, yes, I realize both of these items I bought are really orange. I didn't plan it that way but they coordinate pretty nicely. :P

[REVIEW] Mini-review: Sephora Beauty Insider birthday gift

It was my birthday on August 28th and while getting my sister a few gifts for her birthday on September 6th, I picked up my complimentary Sephora Beauty Insider birthday gift.

I forget if I got mine last year, because I honestly can't think of what it was. I do remember that one year it was a cupcake-scented body wash.

Anyway, this year I got a set of three mini Sephora branded items: Sephora Mono eyeshadow in Aspen Summit, Sephora Nano eyes eye pencil in silver green, and Sephora Mascara Lash plumper.

The eyeshadow has pretty good pigmentation; it feels silky and is moderately blendable. It's a frosty white with silver sheen. Rather pretty, although I'm not sure how I'll use it.

The eye pencil is rubbish. As you can see in the swatch, it gives a very faint and streaky line with one swipe, and requires a lot of "coloring in" to get good color payoff.

I expected the mascara to be totally useless, but it's actually not so bad. Nothing to write home about and definitely not anything worth lemming over, but it's better than immediately throwing in the trash. The brush is bushy and collects a ton of excess mascara. Despite this, however, it applies cleanly with few clumps. The end result is very subtle and natural. It claims to be a lash plumper but didn't give me any extreme volume or length.

My bare eye

My lashes, curled,
with one coat of Sephora Mascara Lash Plumper

It didn't smudge, flake or run on me either, despite not being waterproof. Pretty good for a free gift!

[REVIEW] Maybelline Color Sensational Lip Stain, Milani HD Advanced Lip Color, Maybelline Colossal Volum'Express Mascara

About a month ago, CVS was having an ExtraBucks sale on Maybelline lip products, so I picked up two lipstains to try out, as well as the new Milani HD Advanced Lip Color (because it looked so similar to the new Dior Serum de Rouges, which are a bit dear for my budget right now). On a later couponing trip to Rite-Aid, I had some coupons for Maybelline and I needed a new mascara; I'd heard good things about the Colossal Volum'Express so I figured it was worth a try. Thus begins this review!

Maybelline Color Sensational Lip Stain
From Maybelline.com:

• Sheer wash of color from water-based pigments
• Fresh, barely-there feel from vitamin-enriched berry nectar

I bought two shades: Feelin' Rosy, a bright berry-mauve, and Cherry Pop, a fiery cherry red. The lipstains have a fruity vaguely watermelon and/or cherry scent, but it is not noticeable after application. They go on smoothly and are very watery. They have a standard marker tip which is firm and useful for detailed application. 
As with any lip stain, it's important to properly exfoliate and moisturize your lips beforehand. I found, however, that even so, application tended to be slightly patchy and uneven. I had to do two or three applications before color was even, and then the color would be too loud or overstated for my tastes.

With Feelin' Rosy, I got maybe an hour or two out of it before it faded into a ring around my lips. On the other hand, I wore Cherry Pop one night and even after brushing my teeth and going to bed, my lips were still stained the next morning.
Of the two, Feelin' Rosy is obviously the more wearable of the options, but I still found it too bright for my tastes. On my natural lip color, it morphed into an almost-fuchsia brightness. I would not be comfortable wearing it to work.

Overall, I give this a B.
They are very affordable, usually around $7 a pop at mass market retailers and drugstores, and Maybelline often goes on sale so it's possible to score them for much less. However, I felt the staying power was really lacking for Feelin' Rosy and application was not as foolproof as I would've liked. If you love lipstains, these are a good option to try.

Milani HD Advanced Lip Color
From CherryCulture.com*:
* For some reason, Milani doesn't have this product on their site yet, although it's part of their newest collection, if I'm not mistaken.

Milani introduces a 3-in-1 lip color, luxurious feel, decadent color and unforgettable shine. Radiant color shine projected in hi-definition. Moisture rich for comfortable feel. A serum infused formula hydrates lips on every application. Definition improves, day after day for youthful, beautiful lips.

I have the shade Classy Nude, a warm pinky-brown. The tube design is really nice for Milani, which I often find myself passing up solely because of the packaging. It's very obviously styled after Dior Serum de Rouge, with a couture-inspired click tube and a slim angled tip. It's scented like artificial watermelon. To me, it smells a lot like Jolly Ranchers but sweeter.

It has a smooth, creamy application and feels very balm-like on the lips. It is moderately pigmented, covering natural lip color without being completely opaque. However, it doesn't seem particularly moisturizing to me; even if I make sure my lips are properly exfoliated and moisturized before application, the lipcolor tends to dry out and settle into my lip lines.
Moreover, it has an odd feeling on the lips. It kinda just "sits" on top and doesn't hug your lips comfortably. It lasted around 2 hours for me without eating or drinking. Because of its creamy texture, it's easy to overapply and thus could end up getting used up rather quickly.

Overall, I give it a C+.
It's a little higher priced than other items in Milani's line, but remains an affordable option. However, it has a weird, uncomfortable feeling on my lips and is rather uneventful overall.

Swatches below:

Left to right:
Maybelline Color Sensational Lip Stain in Feelin' Rosy and Cherry Pop
Milani HD Advanced Lip Color in Classy Nude

Maybelline Colossal Volum'Express Waterproof Mascara
From Maybelline.com:

Creates 7X the volume, instantly.

• Patented MegaBrush + Collagen Formula plump lashes one by one
• Dramatic Volume with no clumps
• Waterproof

I have the shade Glam Black. I really never know what the difference between these different blacks in mascaras are, but I always try to choose the one that "sounds" blackest. :P The formula is very wet and glossy, and applies easily without clumping.

It has a big bushy brush that doesn't collect too much mascara; unfortunately, as you'll see in the pictures, it causes the mascara to apply rather sloppily. If you have a mascara guard, or even an index card laying about, you'll want to use it for this mascara.
Besides that, though, this is a great volumizing mascara. It doesn't clump easily and you can layer coats without spider legs or unilashes forming. It lengthens a fair bit, although it's obviously not meant for that. It also holds a curl extremely well; since my lashes are so thin, they tend to get weighed down and lose their curl almost immediately. Probably because of the waterproof formulation, it keeps the curl going up all day long.
It does smudge and raccoon-eye a little on me through the day, though, despite being waterproof. I had the same problem with Dior DiorShow in waterproof, so I wonder if the regular formulas will fare any better (paradoxical though this may sound).

Overall, I give this an A-.
This is a knockout for a drugstore mascara. It gives outstanding clump-free volume, length and definition. Oily-lidded girls may find it smudges on them, and you'll need to have a careful hand to avoid getting mascara all over your eyelid. However, for the price and results, it's really a great buy.

The pictures don't really do it justice. My eyelashes were being all wonky the day I took the pictures, so the mascara applied wonky. It really looks nicely feathered and natural when applied correctly.

My bare face and eye, with sad, straight and droopy lashes

Lashes curled with one coat of
Maybelline Colossal Volum'Express Waterproof Mascara
in Glam Black

That's a really horrible picture, now that I'm looking at it again. I need to practice my macro shots of my eyes...

Lots more reviews to come, and don't forget the big giveaway coming up! Have you tried any of these? What did you think?