My Review of Mechanical Eyelash Curler

Originally submitted at EyesLipsFace.com

This innovative eyelash curler has a special curved design which angles to suit all eye shapes. Its silicone rubber pad applies the appropriate amount of pressure to curl lashes naturally and allows for damage-free heating. Get long-lasting curled lashes both easily and safely. Add a swipe of e.l.f...

Mechanical Eyelash Curler

My HG Curler

By claire from Manila, Philippines on 3/28/2011

 

5out of 5

Pros: Easy To Use, Functional

Cons: Bulky

Best Uses: Everyday

Amazing. My HG curler. And, yes, I've tried Shu; I really didn't see its difference with other curlers - it made my lashes into that angled L shape. ELF's, on the other hand, doesn't curl them in that unflattering L-shape even if I hold it for 2 full seconds. Although this really won't work well with short lashes, as it doesn't crimp that hard (which is why I love it, lol). My lashes are natural at half-an-inch long, so i only curl FROM the tip to the middle, gradually easing the curl - not root to tip.

(legalese)

The Hunt for Loose Powders

Okaaaay! I have a need-want-really-really-want product right now.

As I have just bought a travel size Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Light - which is supposed to arrive today (hopefully she wasn't a bogus seller ='l), I am now down to the next one on my need list: loose powders. Hmm, I really don't have a need list - but I do know that the loose powder I own doesn't fit the bill - or any bill, to be exact. It's local, two shades lighter, not translucent, and not fine at all. So, the next thing I might buy - unless someone can buy it for me - is a good loose powder. I need two: one for mattefying and oil-control - that's for myself and future oily-skinned clients, and one that isn't mattefying - you know, normal powder, preferably HD for photoshoots. I have five to try, namely:

1. Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Powder

One of the best-review loose powders out there. Tested on the underside of my hand, and it was very fine indeed. I don't think it can control my oil that well, but it is a great setting powder for that natural look. Going to test it on my face tomorrow, along with MAC Prime + Prep, to see which is better.

2. Make Up For Ever HD Microfinish Powder

Also one of the best-review setting powders. This couldn't probably hold off my oil that much, but I have my eye on this for photo shoots and the like.

3. MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder

Yep, great reviews as well. Again, I don't think it can win against my oil for long, but still. And I'm a MAC fan, so that alone makes me want to see how well it can perform.

4. Make Up For Ever Super Matte Loose Powder

This caught my attention while I was reading reviews on the HD Microfinish. Apparently this is a great mattefier - something I am badly in need of. Going to try this probably on Sunday, with the HD Microfinish.

5. E.L.F. Studio High Definition Powder

Now this one, like E.L.F's primer, I'm willing to give a shot because of great reviews, and an even better price tag. For just $6 - which would cost just around P500 ($11) here in the Philippines, I'm more than willing to shell out a few for something I'm pretty sure I can use, if not totally love.

.....................................................................................................................................................................

I hope MAC doesn't win this, haha. I really want than Laura - for some reason it calls to me. Weird. Anyway, at some point I might just end up buying all of them, but the first one I will be having is the one that can control my oil best, will not cause me breakouts, and have that natural, non-cakey look and feel.

Face Primer... for Oily Skin =(

And now that I'm finally caving and craving for a liquid foundation, I find myself in dire need of an oil-controlling face primer. As I have oily skin (I'd say very, but I'm not sure how much the additional adjective entails), liquid foundation will disappear after some how many hours on my face. As i have no idea what the best face primer for oily skin is, I  ,of course, Googled and found th five possible candidates.

1. Urban Decay De-Slick in a Tube Mattifying Gel

2. Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer Light

3. E.L.F Mineral Infused Face Primer

4. Too Faced Primed and Poreless Face Primer

5. Make Up For Ever HD Microperfecting Primer

... Right now I've got my eye on UD's De-Slick, but as it costs give or take P1500 on pre-order, I'm thinking if I should invest on it now, or just save up and get one around May (What?! Almost two months??). I really want to give De-Slick a try, because as far as I've read it has the best oil control against others. The bad side is that I see a significant number of breakout issues amongst reviewers, plus the value - it really is quite expensive at $28/20mL.

Another one I'm eyeing is the Smashbox Photo Finish Light - the Photo Finish Primer meant for oily skin. I also read great review about this, although again, breakout issues and price - $36/30mL pump bottle and $16/15mL squeeze tube. However, since I just saw a multiply seller selling this (the 15mL travel size) for an awesome P650, I'm more than willing to try it; my currently cheapest-prices-at-multiply-seller priced it at P1100, so I'm grabbing the P650 if it's still available. Although, the reviews for the Bronze Photo Finish Primer is way higher than the original or Light; if Light works well on me, I will get Bronze as well.

The E.L.F. primer on the other hand, is only $6, so I'm willing to give it a shot, since those who tried it say it's a good primer as well. I thought if it isn't going to work on me, either I'd sell it, use it on my clients and my sister, or wait until she likes make-up enough and asks for it, haha.

Too Faced's primer is at the bottom two of my prospective list, because I don't read a lot of "great for oily skin"  reviews, although one blogger recommended it for oily skin... along with De-Slick. Hahaha. Besides, I'm a wee bit partial to UD - they already have a great reputation for primers.

Now MUFE's HD primer, I really want to try because it's MUFE and it also has good reviews, but I have my eye on the top two, so this is just at par with TF's

A Wishlist Blah Blah Blah

You're walking along the hallway of your local mall. Just strolling along, with a little purpose - nothing that needs rushing. You're near your destination, and your just make a glance to your side, and you see... a MAC counter. Or Bobbi Brown. Or Make Up For Ever. Or Laura Mercier. Just one glance, and you feel your feet dragging slowly, until it stops at last. You turn to the face those gorgeous colors and displays, thoughts of your errand converted to "later". And you walk towards make-up heaven.

Oh, man. That's how I feel when I'm at the mall and I pass MAC. I want to just stop and stare and browse... and not buy anything because I can't. Because I don't have enough money. Of course except for those times when I actually saved up and decided completely on buying something - I'm technically, as of the moment, bankrupt. Hopefully I'll get enrolled this April... hopefully. If not, well, I'll be living off with my P300 a week allowance, and save up with the help of a few extra hundreds every few weeks. (Yes, I've been out of school for more than a year now, thanks to a special someone's negligence and immature choices of priorities.)

So... Okay, I'm not writing a pity blog post... This is actually just a wishlist - make-ups that I'm dying to have, but can't... yet. So anyhol, I've got a lot of things on my list. I mean a lot. So I'll just start with my top ten of my Very-soon-to-be-bought list. x_x

1. MAC Lipsticks  (Personal)

Shades (in order, haha):

    Viva Glam Gaga  (LE)

    Creme Cup

    Creme d'Nude 

    Angel

    Colour Craft  (LE)

    Please Me

    Snob

    Pink Plaid

    Speed Dial
    Russian Red
    Saint Germain
    Fabby

(plus Pro Longwear Lipcreme in Overtime)    

Yep, it's a lot for one item on the list, but if my currently-placed order is good as I hope it is, that'll be two items less - hopefullu I'll be able to make an update on Wednesday or Thursday... :)

2. MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack   (Personal)

Okay, this one is an actual need of sorts; I have cheap pencil liners and no gel or liquid liners at all. And I'm a sucker for smokey and heavy eyes. And an aspiring make-up artist. With no gel liner. Darn.

OR

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner

I've been reading very good reviews of this liner, swatched it, and decided that I'm going to buy it if anything goes not well (hope not), or if dad, or mom, or momma will buy it for me. Sorry, I'm cheap... or rather, I'd prefer to buy something expensive so long as I'm really sure it's really good, than buy something cheaper just to try it out. I truly believe that instead of spending that money for a so-so, just save it up and spend on something a little bit more expensive, but definitely worth it.

3. OCC Lip Tar    (Personal)

Colors (in order):

    Tone

    Hush

    Grandma

    Feathered

    NSFW

    Melange

    RX

    Conquest

    Tarred

Lately I've been into lipsticks - because of Viva Glam Gaga. I saw swatches of Hush and Grandma, and man, they looked amazing. Yep, Imma get one sometime soon... I hope.

4. Coastal Scents Camouflage Palette   (Studies/Work)

(plus a Corrector palette/wheel; either from CS,  Ben Nye, Graftobian,or MUFE)

This I need for my studies. And yes, this is cheap within the US. But I live in the Philippines, so I have to order it from a seller, so that's a 30-40% increase in price, making it about $22.20 instead of $16.95. Besides, I'd have to pre-order it, so I'd have to wait for almost a month. I'm quite patient, but when it comes to buying things online, I'm a bit of a paranoid.

5. Duo Fibre/Stippling Brush    (Essential)

Brands, in order:

MAC 187

Sigma F50 

(plus add up more MAC brushes to my meager collection)


As of the moment I technically don't need this since I don't have any foundation with me yet, but I do like to have brushes - and as many as I can. I'm a wee bit OC with my make-up, especially my brushes. I know for a fact that if you take care of them very well, they'll last longer and work better. Besides, I can't have any brush just break on me or something - uncounted expenses like sudden necessary expensive replacements tend to give me a run for my money.

6. Lunasol (Kanebo) Water Cream Foundation    (Personal)

I don't use foundation because I have super oily and breakout-prone skin, so I'm afraid I'd get more whiteheads that I already have and can control. However, ever since my workshop the other day, where the foundation provided (since I had none) was this. And I though "Oh, My Gosh". It was gorgeous on my skin; light to medium coverage, just a tiny notch below a perfect match, blendable, and very natural-looking. Therefore, before I even finished putting my make-up (half of my face), an urge was building up quite rapidly inside my head: I needed - and wanted - a liquid foundation. And now it's a solid thought. Hahaha.

OR

Revlon ColorStay Makeup for Combination/Oily Skin    (Essential/Personal)

[edited] Again, since I don't foundation, I am completely clueless which is the best affordable liquid foundation out there. I forgot to google it up, and having been awed by the Lunasol I never gave much thought to it, in the first place. However, since I'm going to makeup school this April 11 (HURRAY!!! :D THANK YOU DAD!!), I am also in need of an affordable foundation for my studies and future clients. I tried this the other day, and BAM! I'm itching to buy myself one... if I wasn't so cheap, haha. But at P825, this is cheap compared to the 2k+ Lunasol. And so I am getting myself one sometime this week... unless momma buys me one... pretty please... ^_^


(I asked a young makeup artist I know, and she referred me to the PhotoReady, and I tried it. Sadly, I did not like it - for myself. First off, the shades available here in the Philippines is very limited - just seven or eight - and I think almost all of them have pink undertones. The 008 Golden Beige still was an almost perfect match, but still looked slightly pink. Second - it has sparkles. I'm not one to go for shimmer or anything that looks too dewy because I don't think it looks natural - more like wet and shiny. And then there's the fact that I have very oily and acne-prone skin. Any more dew and shimmer would make me look like the inside of my mom's frying pan. Also read PhotoReady isn't recommended for oily skin types. For my future non-oily skinned clients, I think this will work great for photoshoots, though.)

AND

Max Factor Xperience Weightless Foundation     (Essential)

I've had a glimpse of this foundation from somewhere, and I had the impression that it was a good one. And it is. I tested it when I agreed to model for a friend's Photography finals, and I had every intention of buying a foundation. As I crashed PhotoReady out of my Personal list, I tried others, Xperience Weightless being among them. I needed a medium coverage foundation, and it was gorgeous. It din't cover the darker spots and the bluer veins, but in my opinion, that's a concealer's job. My usually slightly-splotchy skin looked flawless and matte, although I do believe it needs setting powder to get that matte finish. The downside are the shades. Only seven shades are locally available, and Medium Sandstone, looked a little pink when I tried it on (on both times I tested it). The color value was right, but the undertone was a little pink. Although since I really liked the coverage and the feel, I decided to leave it on my face and see if it will oxidize and turn yellow after an hour or so. And it did, to my absolute pleasure.

[edit: Oil control-wise, ColorStay won hands down against this. Tried Xperience on the left side of my face and ColorStay on the other, and after four hours oil was seeping through both sides, but ColorStay's side could have been blotted easily. However, Xperience feels ligter/weightless, and has better cover, I think, so I'm still getting myself one - or ask someone to buy me one, haha.]

7. Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer    (Personal)

Okay, this one is just a fetish/splurge. I already own a concealer - the MAC Studio Finish, and I love it. But! I'm a concealer... addict... junkie... whatever. I have a thing for concealers, and good thing too since I actually need them for my bags. I bought MAC without considering Bobbi or Laura since I had no idea that they were available locally. I don't regret buying my MAC - heck, I love MAC - but now I'm eyeing another concealer, which I don't really need. But I really, really want one. >:)

8. Coastal Scents Metal Mania Palette    (Personal)

I have the 88 Piece Original Palette, and I love the range of colors. But when I bought it, I thought I wanted a matte palette - which, I somehow still do. But now I want one with more.. lustre in them. And besides, I'm dying for those earth tones - all those combinations for smokey eyes!

9. A Professional Lip Palette

32 Piece Palette     (personal/essential)

 66 Piece Palette     (studies/work)

(plus the Le Faerie Cosmetics 5 Piece Nude Palette)

The 66 piece is better for gigs and all, but I'd like the 32 piece as well, since I see more pale shades, and I'm a sucker for pale lipstick. With the brand, I'm not particular with, since I've read good reviews and seen great swatches of a local brand - Dollface Cosmetics (and the Le Faerie Nude) - which is cheaper than pre-ordering Coastal from a seller. But I'll never say no to Coastal if it's available.

10. Coastal Scents 10 Piece Blush Palette    (Essential)

(edit: Okay, I bought a 10 piece blush palette from a seller from ebay thinking it was CS's. Well, it wasn't. The only upside is that it's very pigmented - I think this is what everyone meant by the unbranded and CS being "the same". A bit disappointed, but still quite happy, none the less.)

OR

28 Piece Blush Palette (no brand)

I only have two blushes - a coral/pink and a bronzed coral. Obviously I have a blusher shortage. Like duh. :(

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So that about sums up my I-can-afford-if-I-save makeup wishlist... Hopefully I can get them all by the end of the year (unless I can get better alternatives, haha). Hmm, I think I'll make that as a goal this year. Hmm, interesting.

Soooo... What's in your wishlist? ;)


[edit: Well, I have scratched out and grayed the ones I have already bought (yay for the Viva Glam Gaga!). Added Fabby under MAC lipsticks, removed Suesh Stippling brush (compared it when I was at the mall, and it was far too soft to stipple - still good, and still might get it someday, but not on my wishlist), added Max Factor Xperience Weightless Foundation and Revlon ColorStay Makeup.]