What is this shit? | Scratchy eye pencils, stinky armpit gel...

...and other products I regret buying. I think posts like these are so important to warn people of the danger of wasting money and time on products that are basically crap.

Here's the first batch in this new series on the blog (yes, I am calling it, "What is this shit?"):

This sleeping cap is so annoying. The black dye gets on everything and it was absolutely horrifying the first time I saw it; I thought I was more than just drooling over-night or something. The best type of slumber caps are the gold ones you can get at Sally's, they don't have any weird color transfer.

Although I love Revlon and glitter polish, these were a fail. It's way too difficult to get the actual glitter pieces to stick to the nail and when you finally do, they peel off almost immediately. The third polish is by Fergie and just proves she should stick to her day job.

I just started getting into Nyx products and one of the first ones I tried was this glitter eye pencil. It sucks, the little glitter pieces in it basically scrape my eye and barely any color comes off the pencil...

...here's another Nyx product that I found confusing. I've been using Urban Decay's heavy metal glitter eye liners and unfortunately Ulta had sold out in the pink glitter so I turned to Nyx as I was informed that Urban Decay is the same company behind Nyx--but what exactly is THIS shit?

...how is it supposed to explicitly say EYELINER and then say it's not intended for the EYE AREA??? Moreover, it totally sucked as an eyeliner as it peeled off throughout the day. I still wanted to give it a chance and I thought I could re-purpose it on my nails...

...that was a fail as it basically wiped off in the shower. Another thing to note about these glitter liners is that if you put them too close to your waterline, they burn...that also made me wonder what the ingredients were...

...the hard-to-read printing on the side of this Urban Decay box sort of proves we are not intended to know what exactly is in these little tubes.  

Moving on...

This MAC 150 brush sheds way too much for the cost. I do still use it as a spare brush when I'm too lazy to wash my main ones.

This L'Oreal mascara is overrated and over-priced...

...despite the comb style brush, the product does not cling to the lashes as well as it should and it flakes like crazy.

I think everyone went out and bought this Kat Von D Star Studded palette especially considering it was on sale during Black Friday at Sephora--still kind of a waste of money. Of the 24 shades only about nine or 10 actually work for me. They are so chalky and poorly pigmented most of them are practically useless.

I tried it. It failed. I get why these natural deodorants are created, but the sticky gel-like formula was uncomfortable, it only worked for three days and most of all, aluminum keeps the BO away.

I'm not saying this product didn't do its job, but I felt like I had to use way too much of it; this is what is left after one washing of all my brushes. I think I'm better off just using mild soap and water.

Finally, for those people who like to use hot tools to style their synthetic hair I wanted to include my last attempt at finding a proper curling iron for my synthetic wigs. Again, it's not that the T3 Body Waver didn't work, it just didn't work for the purpose I needed it for.

Okay, that's it. Avoid these things or use at your own risk. Bye.

New Things to make me Pretty

I think my nails have gotten harder and the base coat definitely keeps them from yellowing.  Good for the price I guess.

...just a replenishment of my favorite face primer.

Revlon balm stain in "crush" was actually bought about a month ago, but I wanted to include it in this post because I haven't worn it much. It's not the most dramatic color, but it's so rich that I feel like I need to have a full face on when I wear it (one of the few times I wore it HERE.)

The stain is really gorgeous with just some chapstix over it.

Having a good amount of brushes is essential when you're too lazy to wash them regularly. {Defining eye brush by Elf and a large domed brush and regular domed brush by Sonia Kashuk}

The shape fits my eye so well...

I love the angle...

The Shea Moisture shampoo and the Aveeno Smart Essentials Daily Detoxifying Scrub are brand new products to my regimen so I will review them later (as I'm writing this, I am hot oil conditioning my hair after washing with the shampoo for the first time).  I can report that the scrub shows a lot of promise after just a few weeks of use. The jojoba oil is a basic holy grail product that's really hard to find in stock so I'm happy I found it in such a large quantity.

I Make Pretty For You | Simple, Shimmery Everyday Look

 ...starting off with my customary grade school portrait style picture...

The simple part of this tutorial is in the minimal items used to create this look; it was designed to be an everyday look that can be achieved in about 10 minutes.

I stopped using this pressed powder for a while because MAC's loose powder was more suited for the hotter weather, but now that it has cooled down a bit, I've started using it everyday. It has a nice medium coverage and a matte finish that stays put all day (NW 45).

I use this brown eyeshadow called "cinnabar" by Mary Kay as a base when I want a really soft, muted look. I find that any color I put on top of it blends with my skin a lot more because this shade of brown is almost the exact color of my lids.

MAC's black eye shadow in "carbon" is not the most pigmented black I own so it makes an excellent daytime smokey eye shadow.

Stila's smudge stick in "Starfish" is the perfect lower lid eyeliner; I love the shimmer in it and how it can complete a look on its own.

I almost always reach for Lancome's "Makeover Metallic" eye shadow when I want a lower lid or inner tear duct shimmer. The pink actually goes on more silvery which makes it more compatible with other eye shadows.

 The end result should look very blended out and subtle; add your favorite mascara (see tools and priming items HERE).

Finally, I finished off with one of the popular Revlon balm stains, this one is called "Adore", 

it's absolutely gorgeous for darker skin tones.

...wrapping it up with my pouty-lipped posing.

Make sure to watch my quick tutorial video HERE.

I make pretty for you | Golden Green Smokey Eye

First of all, this could totally be my school portrait in like, the 8th grade. 

I usually stay away from doing beauty/make up posts or videos because there aren't too many products out there that are catered to my skin tone so it's hard for me to be inspired to invest the time or money in new items.

Nevertheless, I still love wearing make up and I recently decided to start putting together some looks with some new products that have worked really well for me.

Products Used for my Golden Green Smokey Eye Look:

 I moisturized first (I do everyday) with Jojoba oil and some Aveeno sunscreen lotion.

My eye primer and face primer:

I find that I have to shake up this Too Faced eye shadow primer before I squeeze it out because it separates sometimes; still works great though.

MAC is one of the few make up companies that go out of their way to cater to women with darker skin tones so I tend to wander over to that make up counter quite a bit when I have the money.

I have three different powders by them; their loose power is my go to for summer:

After I've applied my face primer, I apply my face powder and then my eye shadow primer. The powder helps absorb some of the moisture in the crease of my lid so my shadow primer is more effective.

While everything is setting, I apply my eye liner which is this amazing green pencil liner from Milani, another company that does an excellent job of marketing to people with darker skin tones. The Liquif'eye liner is a recent purchase and basically the star of this look. It goes on so smooth and has an incredibly vibrant color payoff that doesn't budge in the heat when applied correctly.

 I've never been here for the Naked Palette.
Stila gets it done for me every time. I got all cheesy and shot this one in the garden :P

I used these colors:

 Breeze has this wonderful muted shimmer to it I used it to highlight my tear duct area but it could also work as a nice highlight under the brow.

 Honey is the quintessential gold shadow; it looks metallic, but the shimmer is actually really subtle.

Moss makes a great neutral for darker skin tones; it's a wonderful crease color for a basic daytime smokey eye as well. 

Le Swatches:

Milani eye pencil---Moss---Honey---Breeze

I used NYX jumbo eye pencil in milk to help all these colors look as vibrant as possible.

My tools:

 Some Pixiwoo realness, a little E.l.f. and Sonia Kashuk. I keep it pretty standard.

All these brushes are fantastic and I'm definitely planning on getting more.

...and the final touches:

 ...finally, I added some Mega Plush action for the finished eye look.

I used one of my favorite Revlon lip butters, Sugar Plum; it's a perfect pink for darker skin tones.

I always use Blistex chapstick as a base for all my lip colors because the SPF 15 protects my lips, which is usually not found in lipsticks or glosses.

 The finished look, complete with superficial pouty-lipped posing :)

Tutorial Video Here.