I feel pretty--NOT! THE COSMETICS THREAD

How long does the dye last?

i think a month-6 weeks?

1000 HRS!

I LOVE IT. I look like a normal person, which is to say, someone with eyelashes. I also did my brows which I can now see prob need some shaping (when they're blonde it doesn't matter!). I'm sold, I will buy this dye and use it on the reg.

photos pls!

Are there any decent drugstore foundations?

I am thankful that I have pretty decent skin, but after a few years of trying various foundations I finally went back to CoverGirl's plain glass bottle formula and I love the stuff. I put Smashbox primer on underneath and it looks as good as any foundation ever has on my skin.

I might look into that. I think Allure said AquaSmooth was good but I'll saw was the powder-to-wet kind which I'm wary of. I want to use a primer as soon is it cools down. I was thinking Smashbox although someone told me Laura Mercier was better.

i'm interested in make-up forever's new high-def colored primers. they come in green, blue, yellow, etc to correct various imperfections, and they're also supposed to control oil and make skin look smoother. if they do work, then i think one of those would be sufficient on its own without foundation.

i have the hd foundation now - it's actually way less heavy than you'd expect, and does not look too cakey. hmm maybe i should stop and get a primer sample? i used to have one of their primers (in a white tube) but it was not particularly good at oil control.

I use L'Oreal's Infallible Make-Up as foundation and/or spot concealer, it's SPF 18 and has good coverage -- it covers up redness better than the other things I've tried in the last couple of years.

oh sephora gave me a travel size DDF ultra-lite oil-free moisturizing dew (lol @ that name) for my 100 points last time and it is nice! almost feels like a primer and wears really well under makeup. i still use a cream at night, but this is good for mornings.

i got a sample of the balm's stainiac, which is their version of benetint (their packaging and overall aesthetic really rips off benefit, btw). it's great! while i love b-tint and never had any issues with streaking or application, the gel is just easier to deal with, and it's half the price. rah!

ooooo...that stuff looks good. which color did you get?

also, has anyone tried any of these new mascaras with eyelash extensions? is it for real?

i got beauty queen, i think? it's the reddest one, most similar to benetint.

I got a massive box (25 items) of E.L.F. cosmetic brushes and such last night.. they're pretty good! One brush was a little wonky though because the glue that held the top piece to the handle came apart.. but I made it hold tightly by putting a piece of kleenex in. Very impressed with having all these fancy brushes to put eyeshadow on with!

i also am interested in this eye-lash extending mascara. it seems like it makes no sense!

right. "...extensions wash off in warm water..." what? there are really extensions??

is that the one w/ the spiraly weirdness on the commercials?

i got that tubes mascara crap on a whim the other day bc i was in the drug store and needed mascara. it is WEIRD. i don't think it looks particularly good - long lashes, but not very thick (individual lashes not separated/fluffed enough). the washing off is bizarre... it kind of slides off instead of dissolving, so i ended up with little black shreds all over my sink. kind of gross.

which brand is it, tza?

l'oreal double extend - red and white tube

i got maybellines XXL extensions microfiber mascara. seems pretty much the same minus the tubes - def longer but not thicker

Can anyone recommend an eyeshadow primer other than Urban Decay's? I love it and definitely plan to buy it again but really can't justify spending $18 on it now. If there was something cheaper that worked even half as well I would be happy.

almay makes one, but i haven't been able to find it in stores. it's available from drugstore.com, though.

mac make one but i imagine it would be in the same price range

I'll check out the Almay one. I should just bite the bullet as I get a lot of usage out of UD. But I'm holding out for a Sephora giftcard for birthday/xmas.

too-faced make one that's like, $2 less than UD. not much of a savings.

smashbox o-gloss: new favorite thing!

Throwing out make-up. . .How often do you do this? It occurred to me this morning that much of my eyeshadow is at least a year old. But there's so much left! I'd have to spend so much to replace them.

Susan - Loreal do a primer too which I believe is called Decrease and is pretty good.

http://www.allyou.com/your-self/beauty/redesign-beauty-whentocanit-0001017/index.html

why should you get rid of foundation after 6 months? i think that's less a hygiene thing and more performance-related.

http://ellegirl.elle.com/beauty/teen_beauty_tips/content/when_to_throw_out_makeup.html

this one gives eye shadow 2 years.

Yeah I'm thinking shadows might be more of a performance thing. Unless you apply them wet. That would surely encourage bacteria growth. I have a general idea of when you should throw them out I just don't do it. Wondered if I was just nasty or something. . .

ENBB, I'll look into Loreal. I cut my UD in half and am getting a litte more mileage out of it.

oh i need to do that! mine's dying. how do you keep it from drying out once you cut the tube?

I only cut it halfway so I can close it back and then keep it in a ziploc bag. Not perfect but gives me a little more time.

really though, that lip gloss is amazing (the o-gloss). it is like their gel rouge that is supposed to adapt color, so you end up with perfectly pink lips that look like they have a clear shine over them, not some weird sticky pink gloss. also seems to be v conditioning!

god id have to throw out 90% of my makeup if i went by those time lines. there's no way i'm giving up my limited edition MAC pigments. you'll have to pry them from my cold dead hands.

somebody teach me about mac. i was in their store a few weeks ago and it was a little overwhelming and the colors were so bright. how do you choose stuff that does not make you look clowny? i don't trust their sales people, who are usually queens.

i do, however, love the eyeliner of theirs i've been using a few years: powerpoint pencil in bordeauxline <3

When I cut my UDPP in 1/2 I got like twice as much out of it and stored it in a little plastic pot I had. I swear I got at least 4 months worth after scooping out the bits the wand wouldn't reach. It was incredible. I'm also too poor atm to justify the UDPP so just got the Loreal stuff and think it's a pretty good substitute in a pinch.

i don't trust their sales people, who are usually queens.

this is true even in arkansas

TZA MAC is very evening for me. A cooler person could pull off a bright pigment in the day time but that person isn't me.

Have you ever looked at MAC on Ebay. Shit is crazy. People run out and buy up all of the ltmd edition stuff then split the contents of the 7.5g MAC jars into smaller .5g jars like its cocaine or something.

actually now i look it doesn't look like anyone is doing that on eBay anymore. maybe they got stopped for health reasons.

ok that is just nuts!

The only MAC I have is a tinted lip conditioner. It's like a light lipstick, really nice. But it's almost out and apparently not made anymore. :(

mac stuff does tend to be super-bright, which is why i like it, although the neutral/bronze-y shadow (patina) and soft brownish-rose gloss (spite) i'm wearing today are both from there and are pretty understated.

Lauren I think we've talked about Patina before - it's AWESOME. It's probably the eyeshadow I wear most often!!

I love MAC shadows. I honestly think they're the best out there. I bought their 15 pan empty palatte and buy the pan shadows that fit in it rather than the pots. They're cheaper and it's more portable. Some good neutral-ish basics are:

Shroom - light off white highlight color
Patina (YAY) - as above
Sable - brown with sort of purpleish undertones
Woodwinked - gold
Shale - v wearable purple
Satin Tape - Taupe brown with silvery undertones

I may be one of the few people out there that does not like the Lipglass. I do however love the Tendertones lipblams have have been wearing Pucker a lot lately.

I am running low on most of these.

SS I think e-bay did stop that pigment selling stuff. I actually bought some of the .5 gm jars a long time ago from ebay since the pigment jars are huge and I'd never use a whole one. I think I still have them all and that was well over a year ago.

shale is great. i also wear satellite dreams a lot, which is a brighter, more plummy purple. but in general, i guess most of my mac stuff is kind of loud. some eyeshadow colors i have: frosty lime green, dark metallic gold, bright turquoise, bright true blue, metallic forest green, metallic silver, matte almost-black, etc. plus metallic purple and navy eyeliners. the trick is to find stuff that works with your complexion, and then don't wear anything else too strong with it.