The Beauty Thread

[laylalex 7,284]

That's a good price. I only know a little about the brand, but it's supposed to be pretty moisturizing. I have also heard that some people use it for skin lightening?

[Boiler 45,443]

Hmm well the reflection off the snow does give me a bit of tan...

 

I will give it a try and report back.

[TBoneTX 45,248]

Dermatologists Advise Against Taking Bite Of Facial Cream

 

ROSEMONT, IL—Saying the product tasted bad despite having an appearance similar to vanilla pudding, the American Academy of Dermatology issued guidelines Wednesday in which it advised against taking a big bite of facial cream.  "We conducted a few tests and found [...]

 

continues here:

https://www.theonion.com/comedians-in-cars-getting-crucified-1851496256

[Boiler 45,443]

 

Arrived today from NY, certainly very fancy packaging.

[laylalex 7,284]

Let me know what you think of it. Nice that they threw in some free samples too.

 

I have really been neglecting my Sephora addiction this year, sadly. But I do have this arriving this week:  https://www.sephora.com/product/afterglow-liquid-blush-P506024?skuId=2670396 I got a sample a while back and I adored it. I have had about every formulation of this shade of NARS blush (Orgasm) and this one is so pretty and light. Also belatedly getting my Rouge birthday gift -- the Charlotte Tilbury set. Mini setting spray (which is the one I use every day already) and a mini Pillow Talk lipstick, and an even tinier sample of Magic Cream. 

 

Now the moment of truth when I find out whether the name of the blush gets by the language filter!  

[TBoneTX 45,248]

38 minutes ago, laylalex said:

Now the moment of truth when I find out whether the name of the blush gets by the language filter!

It did, LL ma'am, but the rest of the post is again foreign language to most male readers.   

[Boiler 45,443]

Did you notice the Gift Card had a QR code for $50 off?

 

Now most of the stuff I buy has a fairly obvious pricing structure, this seems very different where the MSRP and what you could pay are very fungible.

 

I bought some Skechers shoes from their on line store, with some sort of big introductory discount and same sort of thing, OK online you have a big choice in styles and widths and types but they sell them in Costco for not a lot if you are not bothered by that, bought some Golf Shoes and I was not that bothered about the style etc and found them for a lot less than the official store on closeout.

 

The actual cost of production must be pennies on the dollar.

[Melancholic Mage 104]

I'm no make-up enthusiast and never have been. I only started wearing it a little bit before my wedding as a kind of test drive, and on the day itself. I josh you not! I was terrified. So this thread is fascinating to me.

 

I love a good perfume though. Anyone got any good shouts for a nice fragrance once I'm in the US that doesn't break the bank? I wear Charlie Blue a lot in the UK for casual days/work, but my favourite was DKNY's Delicious Night before it became like gold dust to find/discontinued. What a smell. I always got lovely compliments when I wore it.

 

I like deep, rich, musky scents. I really like Bath & Body Works' 'Into the Night' mist spray. Happy to hear of any other suggestions though.

 

Any advice to get a low self-esteem girl onto make-up may be good too. Where did you start? How did you learn? Did your mothers teach you? (Am I weird omg lol)

Edited July 17 by Melancholic Mage

[laylalex 7,284]

FRAGRANCE!!! I am always down to talk fragrances. Okay, I will put on my thinking cap about what you might like if you like Charlie Blue (which I am not familiar with) and DKNY Delicious Night (which I am). Be Delicious was my signature scent at university, until I did a year abroad in the UK and I was told that it made me smell "aggressively American".  But I do know Delicious Night as well. I have a couple of ideas off the top of my head but I'll ponder a little. I'll also keep the price right.

 

Right now I am mostly wearing ffern's Summer 2024 blend which is spicy and sunny; Kayali's Vanilla Candy Rock Sugar, which smells exactly what it sounds like; and L'Etat Libre d'Orange's Encens et Bubblegum, which... also smells exactly what it sounds like.

 

My older sister taught me pretty much everything I know about makeup. I resisted wearing pretty much any makeup until I was almost 16 -- my mom is a no/minimal makeup person -- and my sister basically said something along the lines of, you [expletive], you're making me look bad. (She's very sensitive, as you can tell.) So she hooked me up with some Maybelline Great Lash and the very same blush I still use today, NARS Orgasm. I was hooked. I loved how simple it was to change how I looked, how small differences made me look like someone else altogether. Sometimes like a girl who had her stuff together, which I definitely did not in real life.

 

I then started in with lips, but nothing too over the top since my mom wouldn't let me wear it. So I had tinted lip balms -- the Nivea Cherry one was my favorite, and I still keep one in my handbag for lipstick emergencies. (Shut up, such things are real. ) My sister also taught me how to do more with eyes than mascara, but because this was around Y2K there were some questionable and sparkly choices. (Ahem.) I taught myself liquid liner later on, and it takes a very steady hand and a LOT of eye makeup remover.

 

Really the best advice I can give you is to just buy some relatively cheap stuff and start experimenting. Buy whatever you think is pretty, knowing some of it will look meh, some will look comically awful, and some will work. Makeup remover is key, plus Q-tips and cotton pads for using it! Make mistakes and play with it -- it is paint, after all. Soon you'll have a good idea of what colors work for you. But mascara and a nice lip tint or lipstick are great places to start.

 

Best brands I think for this kind of experimentation are NYX and e.l.f. Quality products at bargain prices. They both have good brushes too. I currently use the e.l.f. primer which I think is better than the really expensive stuff I used to use, and I have a bunch of NYX lip and eyeliners in fun and neutral colors. Other good brands: I know someone who works for the company that makes Kim Chi Chic and Jason Wu cosmetics, and I get tons of freebies from her. Pretty much everything I have from those brands I've loved, and they are very affordable too. I especially love the Jason Wu Hot Fluff lipsticks and the Kim Chi Chic lip liners. 

 

Hope this helps a little -- as you can see from this thread, I am always trying new stuff at all sorts of price points. Ask questions! And I will come back with the fragrance ideas....

 

[TBoneTX 45,248]

LL ma'am is back and on fire!   

[Melancholic Mage 104]

4 hours ago, laylalex said:

FRAGRANCE!!! I am always down to talk fragrances. Okay, I will put on my thinking cap about what you might like if you like Charlie Blue (which I am not familiar with) and DKNY Delicious Night (which I am). Be Delicious was my signature scent at university, until I did a year abroad in the UK and I was told that it made me smell "aggressively American".  But I do know Delicious Night as well. I have a couple of ideas off the top of my head but I'll ponder a little. I'll also keep the price right.

 

Right now I am mostly wearing ffern's Summer 2024 blend which is spicy and sunny; Kayali's Vanilla Candy Rock Sugar, which smells exactly what it sounds like; and L'Etat Libre d'Orange's Encens et Bubblegum, which... also smells exactly what it sounds like.

 

My older sister taught me pretty much everything I know about makeup. I resisted wearing pretty much any makeup until I was almost 16 -- my mom is a no/minimal makeup person -- and my sister basically said something along the lines of, you [expletive], you're making me look bad. (She's very sensitive, as you can tell.) So she hooked me up with some Maybelline Great Lash and the very same blush I still use today, NARS Orgasm. I was hooked. I loved how simple it was to change how I looked, how small differences made me look like someone else altogether. Sometimes like a girl who had her stuff together, which I definitely did not in real life.

 

I then started in with lips, but nothing too over the top since my mom wouldn't let me wear it. So I had tinted lip balms -- the Nivea Cherry one was my favorite, and I still keep one in my handbag for lipstick emergencies. (Shut up, such things are real. ) My sister also taught me how to do more with eyes than mascara, but because this was around Y2K there were some questionable and sparkly choices. (Ahem.) I taught myself liquid liner later on, and it takes a very steady hand and a LOT of eye makeup remover.

 

Really the best advice I can give you is to just buy some relatively cheap stuff and start experimenting. Buy whatever you think is pretty, knowing some of it will look meh, some will look comically awful, and some will work. Makeup remover is key, plus Q-tips and cotton pads for using it! Make mistakes and play with it -- it is paint, after all. Soon you'll have a good idea of what colors work for you. But mascara and a nice lip tint or lipstick are great places to start.

 

Best brands I think for this kind of experimentation are NYX and e.l.f. Quality products at bargain prices. They both have good brushes too. I currently use the e.l.f. primer which I think is better than the really expensive stuff I used to use, and I have a bunch of NYX lip and eyeliners in fun and neutral colors. Other good brands: I know someone who works for the company that makes Kim Chi Chic and Jason Wu cosmetics, and I get tons of freebies from her. Pretty much everything I have from those brands I've loved, and they are very affordable too. I especially love the Jason Wu Hot Fluff lipsticks and the Kim Chi Chic lip liners. 

 

Hope this helps a little -- as you can see from this thread, I am always trying new stuff at all sorts of price points. Ask questions! And I will come back with the fragrance ideas....

 

 

3 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

LL ma'am is back and on fire!   

 

LL is most definitely on fire, holy ****. 

 

Thanks for the advice! 'Aggressively American'? That's too funny. 

 

Those fragrances sound lovely but definitely not my type. I love smelling vanilla and bubblegum, but it's definitely not my err... 'vibe'. But looking at your profile picture, for some reason they strike me as very much Laylalex! Hmm, maybe we need a thread game guessing people's fragrance choice just by their avatar... Do you like fruity, strawberry scents, too?

 

It's bizarre I went so long without even trying on make-up but in my household, I was the one 'making them look bad'. That being said, a lot of people have told me I suit the natural look. Which is nice. I always felt like a clown putting make-up on, I was too busy playing video games and being more a stereotypical tomboy than anything else. The stuff I eventually wore for my wedding was very light and oddly enough, included a lot of NYX! I bought a whole make-up bundle, brushes, micellar water, bamboo pads, eyeshadow palette, primer, foundation, blusher... thing. I'm saying words here and I still don't really know what half of it means, I'm that out of touch with it, haha!

 

But it was a big experimental kit and I won't lie, I was so nervous trying it out but I had a lot of fun at the same time. I love doing art and really it's pretty close to painting, isn't it? It's very hard starting out on your own I found without much guidance, let alone risking shades that might not suit your skin. I had to scour YouTube to find videos that didn't cake you in the stuff or overcompensate to match my tastes. Really I needed it all explained to me like I was five to be honest. I got lucky with what I bought, it all pretty much worked, so I'm looking forward to putting some on again for special occasions.

 

Let's see if I can remotely remember what I did.  What order do you put everything on? Like I said, I might as well have it explained to me like I'm five.

[Boiler 45,443]

I am wondering how NARS Orgasm got past the VJ word filter?

[laylalex 7,284]

14 hours ago, Melancholic Mage said:

 

 

LL is most definitely on fire, holy ****. 

 

Thanks for the advice! 'Aggressively American'? That's too funny. 

 

Those fragrances sound lovely but definitely not my type. I love smelling vanilla and bubblegum, but it's definitely not my err... 'vibe'. But looking at your profile picture, for some reason they strike me as very much Laylalex! Hmm, maybe we need a thread game guessing people's fragrance choice just by their avatar... Do you like fruity, strawberry scents, too?

 

It's bizarre I went so long without even trying on make-up but in my household, I was the one 'making them look bad'. That being said, a lot of people have told me I suit the natural look. Which is nice. I always felt like a clown putting make-up on, I was too busy playing video games and being more a stereotypical tomboy than anything else. The stuff I eventually wore for my wedding was very light and oddly enough, included a lot of NYX! I bought a whole make-up bundle, brushes, micellar water, bamboo pads, eyeshadow palette, primer, foundation, blusher... thing. I'm saying words here and I still don't really know what half of it means, I'm that out of touch with it, haha!

 

But it was a big experimental kit and I won't lie, I was so nervous trying it out but I had a lot of fun at the same time. I love doing art and really it's pretty close to painting, isn't it? It's very hard starting out on your own I found without much guidance, let alone risking shades that might not suit your skin. I had to scour YouTube to find videos that didn't cake you in the stuff or overcompensate to match my tastes. Really I needed it all explained to me like I was five to be honest. I got lucky with what I bought, it all pretty much worked, so I'm looking forward to putting some on again for special occasions.

 

Let's see if I can remotely remember what I did.  What order do you put everything on? Like I said, I might as well have it explained to me like I'm five.

For perfumes, I love what they call "gourmand" scents -- vanilla, chocolate, peach, pistachio, and yes, sometimes berries. But not strawberries -- it's a difficult scent to replicate without seeming too fake. Raspberry and blackberry I love though. And I love smokey scents -- By the Fireplace is in my top 5 perfumes of all time and it smells like you've been sitting in front of a campfire, roasting marshmallows. I adore it.  My all the year round "signature" go-to scent is Across Sands (sadly, a limited edition) which is a spicy oriental. Love it.

 

Now, in terms of order, it's often preference. I start with skin prep: AHA/BHA toner, followed by a serum, and moisturizer with sunscreen. I am fanatical about sunscreen. On a low key day, I smear a little eyeshadow primer on my lids (I prefer the one by Milani over the very expensive fancy ones) and some e.l.f. primer with niacinamide on my face. Primer is KEY for keeping what you like in place, and not all primers work with all foundations/skin tints. More info here: https://www.byrdie.com/what-is-makeup-primer-and-do-i-need-it-346076

 

After I let the primers set a little (2 mins or so), I like to do eyes first. Neutral daytime look: I sweep an off-white/ecru shade over my entire lid and up to the browbone. Then a slightly darker shade over the lid itself; often I choose a shimmer for this. I have a couple of discontinued Tom Ford shadows I prefer for this look, but my go-to is this Kim Chi Chic palette: https://kimchichicbeauty.com/collections/eye-shadow/products/spinning-hearts-love-01-lifetime-partner-shadow-palette Then because the shadows are understated, I choose an interesting liner shade, like deep berry, dark green or navy blue. Not too thick a line, but not tight lining. I have hooded eyes so I have learned a few tricks to deal with much of my lids being hidden, and colored liners help with that.

 

Then face -- currently, I love love love the Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Tint, which has a lot of skincare benefits. You don't need a lot of it, and it is light to medium coverage. I use a foundation brush for application. I sometimes use concealer, mostly for my rosacea (ugh) and it's from Danessa Myricks, too. I also love the brand new Charlotte Tilbury Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint -- it is VERY sheer and gives an amazing sheen. It is also basically foolproof. Followed by the NARS Orgasm (said it again!) --I use one of the liquid formulations for a sheer application. 

 

Then a very light dusting of setting powder (Kim Chi Chic's Puff Puff Pass) and a couple of sprays of setting spray. I run an eyebrow comb through my eyebrows and if I think they need a little something, I use Boybrow from Glossier, very natural. One coat of mascara -- I like Too Faced's Better than Sex more than anything else.

 

Lips -- this is my favorite for no makeup days in Dolce Vita: https://www.narscosmetics.com/USA/afterglow-lip-balm/999NAC0000069.html?dwvar_999NAC0000069_color=7845034209&cgid=lips But in general, a tinted balm is always a good, low key choice.

 

I KNOW THIS SEEMS LIKE A LOT! But I can do all of this in under ten minutes, and for me it is time to focus on myself alone. I put on some music, or listen to a podcast, and shut out the world. Makeup can be like meditation, which sounds like a pretentious thing to say, but I find myself very at peace in a time that is for me.

 

Experiment! Get things wrong. Laugh at bad choices (I have made some very bad makeup choices). Figure out what works. And most of all have fun.

 

 

[TBoneTX 45,248]

48 minutes ago, laylalex said:

I KNOW THIS SEEMS LIKE A LOT

Note yet again to T-B.'s self:  It must be really tough to be a girl.

15 hours ago, Melancholic Mage said:

maybe we need a thread game guessing people's fragrance choice just by their avatar

Mine:  Eau de Flung Poo

 

[Melancholic Mage 104]

On 7/20/2024 at 3:04 AM, laylalex said:

I KNOW THIS SEEMS LIKE A LOT! But I can do all of this in under ten minutes, and for me it is time to focus on myself alone. I put on some music, or listen to a podcast, and shut out the world. Makeup can be like meditation, which sounds like a pretentious thing to say, but I find myself very at peace in a time that is for me.

 

Experiment! Get things wrong. Laugh at bad choices (I have made some very bad makeup choices). Figure out what works. And most of all have fun.

 

UNDER TEN MINUTES?! ... Are you a wizard?

 

 

Thank you so much, I'm going to try all that soon next time I dress up for someplace nice. Well, more like for a special someone! Even if I a mess up on a colossal scale, being with them makes it all worthwhile.