It’s taken me forever to actually photograph and swatch this palette, which was a gift from my mom (thanks, mom!) for my 22nd birthday this year. Those of you who are keeping track will realize that’s more than 8 months ago. Whoops? Nevertheless, it was a great gift and a fabulous surprise given we were currently on the high seas somewhere in between California and Hawaii at the time. Tarte is a company I tend to just love. I love that most of their products are all-natural and not tested on animals (I haven’t checked every single product so I’m hedging that statement, but every one I’ve used has had great ingredients and been cruelty-free).
The Tarte The Starlet Limited-Edition Vanity — there’s a mouthful! — is my second limited-edition Tarte palette (my review of the Tarte True Blood Limited-Edition Palette can be found here). There’s always something so appealing and fun about limited editions, and this is no exception. The claim to fame here is that it serves a dual purpose: once the makeup is gone, the vanity can be used as an adorable jewelry box.
Urban Decay Naked vs. Naked 2
Posted on: June 5, 2012
- In: Girly Stuff
- 1 Comment
Having reviewed both Urban Decay’s original Naked palette, as well as its much anticipated followup, Naked 2, I’d now like to take the chance to compare the two palettes for those who might be curious about which to get, or whether both are worth having. Personally, I’ve enjoyed owning both despite their relative redundancy (though they tend toward different color temperatures, both are comprised solely of neutrals), but those on a budget could obviously choose one or the other without missing too much. Both have been wildly successful, and I consider them to be staples for every day use.
Since I’ve already covered each palette individually in the reviews linked above, let’s jump right into the similarities and differences between the two.
I’ve never been good at using concealer. Generally, I’d slap on some foundation and call it a day. When I did bother, I always just used whatever was on hand, and generally the performance wasn’t that great. It always looked really obvious to me. I do struggle with acne though, even now in my 20s, so when I made the switch to liquid foundation a few months ago I decided to try concealer again. My mom remembered liking one by Yves Saint Laurent, and had no better ideas, so I decided to check out YSL’s Anti-Cernes concealer in the lightest shade they offer, 1.
I could not be more pleased, honestly. I’m not sure how much of my success is due to the product and how much to Lisa Eldridge’s excellent video on how to correctly apply concealer, but the coverage is just great. It matches my foundation flawlessly, the texture is smooth and easy to work with, and I’ve found it just so easy to use with either a brush or my fingers. With this, my concealer use has gone from “almost never” to something I generally use each time I put on makeup, and I’m absolutely thrilled with its performance. It’s a bit pricy, but for the amount I use it and how useful I’ve found it, I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a new concealer!
Real Life is a Dangerous Beast
Posted on: May 3, 2012
So, real life kind of snuck up and bit me in the butt the past few months. I apologize for the lengthy and unexplained absence — it must have been confusing for all four of my readers who aren’t related to me! This post will hopefully serve as a quick catch up of what my past few months have been like. In absolutely-not-chronological order:
I got into grad school!!!
Starting this Fall I will be enrolled in USC’s Interactive Media MFA program — my dream school, and my dream program. I am so lucky I still can’t believe it. (See above picture for evidence of my enthusiasm.) FIGHT ON!
Read the rest of this entry »
End Piracy, Not Liberty
Posted on: January 17, 2012
I know I hardly post consistently, but I want it to be known that I am not posting tomorrow, January 18th, very much on purpose. My blog, along with websites across the net, will be blacked out tomorrow to protest SOPA and PIPA, legislation which touts to end piracy, but which actually infringes on our liberty. Take Action. Stop American Censorship.
I hope everyone is having a lovely week, and I’ll see you on the other side. 🙂
Originally, this post was going to be about Star Wars: The Old Republic alone. I’ve been playing since the beta and enjoying myself immensely, despite generally not being a fan of “space games.” I’d love to start blogging about SW:TOR as I do WoW (that is, inconsistently — har har). I haven’t felt the need to compare SW:TOR to World of Warcraft, though, because they fulfill different niches for me. But the discourse surrounding SW:TOR’s launch (which I’ve been following mostly in the WoW blogosphere since I read those blogs anyway) has been occasionally troubling and disappointing. Without intending to be insulting, I expected better from such a vibrant and fun gamer community.
There has been a wave of criticism directed toward SW:TOR recently, particularly during its beta and at the time of its launch. This is fine. I take no issue, generally, with criticism. In fact, I think criticism of new media is highly important. It’s valuable for developers to incorporate constructive criticism into a final product, or, in the case of MMOs, to address valid concerns after launch. Providing these sorts of evaluations is what a lot of us bloggers are here to do. The issue I have in this specific case is that the criticism of SW:TOR, while sometimes valid, seems to be entirely — not partly, not occasionally, but entirely — based on comparisons to WoW.
Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette
Posted on: January 12, 2012
I’m going to consider it kismet that the day I finally got around to publishing my review of Urban Decay’s Naked palette, Naked 2 was teased for the first time. Perhaps I am some sort of makeup prophetess! Or maybe it was a coincidence. Either way, I ordered Naked 2 “hot off the press,” as it were, the day it launched. So far, I’m very pleased with it! While it might not have been strictly necessary to have both palettes (does one really need 23 neutral eyeshadows?), I find myself using both of them constantly, usually in combination.
As hard as it is to avoid, this review will attempt to isolate the qualities of Naked 2, independent of its cult-favorite predecessor. I’ll be doing a post later on comparing the two. This palette includes 12 full-sized shadows, an exclusive-to-this-palette, double-ended Good Karma Shadow/Crease Brush, and a travel-size Lip Junkie Lipgloss in Naked for $50. I’m also going to toss in my review of the travel-size Eldorado 24/7 Liner I got as a sample when ordering because I think it fits the “theme” so well. Overall, this is yet another palette with tremendously good value and versatile application from Urban Decay.
Happy 2012!
Posted on: January 11, 2012
I know I’m two weeks late on breaking my hiatus (and wishing everyone a happy new year), but Mochi has been ill, so I hope you’ll forgive me. He’s feeling much better now, so let the blog posting re-commence! My tropical getaway was very fun, and I’ll probably be posting some pictures from Hawaii and Hanukkah to my Flickr shortly — most of the upcoming posts will probably be about my makeup and SW:TOR holiday fun, though! Ringing in the new year with my boyfriend, my Jedi Sage, and egg cremes, what could be better?
I hope everyone had joyous holidays, and is enjoying 2012 so far. Cheers! 🙂
Two Week Hiatus!
Posted on: December 9, 2011
I’m off to tropical locales sans internet, so I won’t be posting for two weeks. Happy holidays, all! 😀
Having recently detailed a tale of foundation matching horror, let me now share a tale of makeup love and perfection. After returning Chanel’s Perfection Lumiere, I wandered around Nordstrom’s trying to decide where on earth to start looking for a new prospect. On my way to the Armani counter, my eye was caught by the beautiful packaging over by Burberry. So, what the hell? I gave it a shot.
This was the best decision I’ve made recently. I honestly don’t know why I didn’t think of Burberry earlier — it’s based in England, they clearly must support people who are ludicrously fair (har har). The artist quickly matched up with Burberry’s Luminous Sheer Liquid Foundation in Trench No.01, which despite the name is a rather medium-coverage foundation which comes in a variety of really-light to slightly-less-light shades (very encouraging for pale girls like me!)
The Vengeful Polyglot 