Polish Collection: Red

I don't often wear red.  I tend more towards cool colours -- anything blue, teal, turquoise, green, etc.  I've never gone very classic with my enamel.  There's nothing I hate more than a French nail, but I think that has more to do with how poorly they're applied.  Why does anyone want the smile line of their nail to be halfway up their nailbeds??  When people tell me that it makes their nails look longer, I throw my hands up in the air and don't bother explaining.  What I will say is though, the reason that your nails look longer when you paint them is that they're all one colour, so you see one continuous line.  It's kind of the same reason T-strap ankles make your legs look short.

Rant over.

French nails suck and have come to connote not classic elegance, but streetwalker.

Rant really over.

If you must do a French nail, keep the white edge thin and round off your nails.  Your fingers will look longer, more natural, and not like they have white shovels attached to the end.

Preaching over.


Anyway, onto my collection of red nails!

L.A. Girl, Zoya Riva, Essie Lollipop (bottle attacked by Deborah Lippmann's Ruby Red Slippers), Essie Limited Addiction

China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Revlon 730 Valentine, OPI Quarter of a Cent-cherry, Chanel 18 Rouge Noir

L.A. Girl, Zoya Riva, Essie Lollipop, Essie Limited Addiction

L.A. Girl: This red has a lot of pink in it, but I got it because it glows in the dark.  Yes, I'm 11.

Zoya Riva: This is very pink-based red, chock full of gold, silver and red glitter.

Essie Lollipop: This is as much orange as my skin tone can take -- it reminds me of poppies.

Essie Limited Addiction: A blue-based red.  I can't get enough.

China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Revlon 730 Valentine, OPI Quarter of a Cent-cherry, Chanel 18 Rouge Noir

China Glaze Ruby Pumps:  It's not showing up in the photo, but this is ultra-shimmery, glittery beauty.  It's exactly what Dorothy would have wanted.
Revlon 730 Valentine:  This was the first red I actively recall seeking out.  A good friend of mine lent it to me for a semi-formal in high school, and I remember thinking how beautiful red polish is.  I've been hooked on blue-based red ever since.
OPI Quarter of a Cent-cherry:  This is the salon brand dupe of Revlon Valentine, since I think it might be discontinued.
Chanel 18 Rouge Noir: Formerly known as Vamp -- now they've replaced it with a shimmery purple mess, and renamed Original Vamp as Rouge Noir.  Ever seen Pulp Fiction?  Me neither, but this is all you need to know.

Man, I like blue.  Even my reds aren't safe from the blues.

What reds do you love?

Downsizing and a DIY Lip Palette

Since coming back and having binged intensely on make up in Europe, I've been thinking...why can't I downsize?  Although this blog may lead you to believe otherwise, I've always been a person who wishes she had one go-to.  As in, one holy grail (HG) red lipstick that satisfies all my red lip needs and I'll never use another again.  We can all dream, can't we?

I've been reading several posts on essential beauty items and downsized makeup collections, I've decided to take matters into my own hands.  This past week, I've taken it upon myself to throw away anything I haven't used in one calender year.  I gave myself 12 months because my skin colours swings rather wildly throughout the seasons, so I end up purchasing for two skintones.  I started with my lip products, which needed desperate help.

Remember this?

I think that was about half.

I've managed to get it down to this.  I'm thinking of eventually doing a makeup collection, if you'd be interested.  Once it's all sorted and weeded out of course!

But one thing I knew I wanted to do in my downsizing process was to create a lip palette.  I normally prefer bullets, but I realized that this was a fantastic way to Back to Mac colours I wasn't sure I wanted to let go of quite yet.  Also, since I think I'm going to adopt a one-in-one-out policy (don't quote me yet, no big, sweeping declarations here), I wanted to find a way to fit a couple extra colours in here.

Hence, I read a random DIY article, stole a pillbox from my dad and went to town.  There are a million and one DIY videos/posts on how to make your own palette, but the gist is this:  Flame, bullet, spoon.  Light a candle, put your lipstick in a spoon and hold it over the flame, and pour.

I also read this really interesting post where a girl's lip colours changed after depotting them.  Of course this put me into a lip-depotting existential crisis where I couldnt decide how much of the bullet to leave behind.

Clockwise from upper left:  Revlon Certainly Red, MAC Pro Longwear Lip Creme in Good to Go, MAC Viva Glam V,  Joe Fresh Baie Sauvage

The answer?  None.  If you have wells as deep as mine, they'll just barely cover the bottom.  If you look in the upper left compartment, you can tell where I realized I didn't have enough product.  Also, lipstick hardens extremely quickly, in the time it took me to melt more of the bullet, the bottom layer had already solidified.

L: from the bullet, R: from the palette
Certainly Red, Baie Sauvage, Good to Go, Viva Glam V

I didn't lose too much pigmentation, but I will say that Viva Glam V (far right) lost some of its shimmer.  And it doesn't show up exactly in the photo, but I think Baie Sauvage has a touch less blue, which is actually fantastic for me -- it made me look the tiniest bit dead before (see it on my friend Peruana here).  Certainly red got a little more sheer, but I think that's to be expected if you plan to dab on your lip colour with your fingers.  I haven't used these with a lip brush yet, but I'm fairly happy with the way it turned out.  I chose these colours because I figured that wherever I go, you can't go wrong with bright fuschia, classic red, muted, shimmery nude and orange to warm everything up.  I know some people like to group colours together (all red, all nude, etc) in larger palettes, but I think for daily use, this works for me.

What colours would you put in?  Any downsizing tips for me?  I'm kind of struggling with foundations.

My Concealer

It's way too hot for foundation.  Agree/Disagree?

What I've been doing instead is a Lisa Eldridge-esque point concealing, but without foundation underneath.  To do this, you need a concealer that matches perfectly with your skin.

Clockwise from Left
Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda 07 Concealer Palette
Cle de Peau Concealer in Ochre
Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC-3
YSL Touche Eclat*
Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Peach
Clinique Airbrush Concealer in 02 Medium

1. Sonia Kashuk's palette comes with a green corrector (you can see me use it in a video here).  I am so insanely olive-toned that I use this as my base colour -- it matches my skin exactly. You need a minuscule brush to get into the pit of the scars and cancel out all the redness.  Also, you want to place the pigment directly onto the scar/spot and softly feather out the colour into the surrounding skin.
2. Cle de Peau's ultra-pigmented concealer  comes in when I need a little foundation (usually MAC's Face and Body) or tinted moisturizer.  Since most foundation colours are not green enough for me, I end up using a different colour of concealer to match it.  I use it under eyes and on blemishes with my finger or a Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush.
3. Secret Camouflage by Laura Mercier comes with two colours -- as of right now, I match the darker tone in this compact.  For nights out when I want more coverage, I'll actually just go over my entire face with this compact and a stippling brush.  That will probably be my next video.
4. YSL Touche Eclat has a star because it is not a concealer.  This product has a surprisingly low rating on MakeupAlley.com, but if you read the reviews (all 230934 of them), you'll find that most people are disappointed with its coverage.  It's marketed as a brightener, so the idea is to use it as a highlighting product in conjunction with a base product.  I usually end up using this on people to even out eyelid discoloration or along the cheekbone for a cheek highlight.
5. Bobbi Brown Correctors are great -- I don't usually use a concealer over top.  I love the texture of this, but I do feel that it gets a little heavy and too 'done' looking if I don't have foundation on underneath.
6. Clinique's Airbrush is the exact same colour as my Bobbi Brown Corrector, but since it's a liquid, the texture is much lighter, and I can use this on its own.  Just don't forget to wash the brush every few uses.

Bonus: Vintage Makeup also asked me (ages and ages ago) to compare TheBalm's Time Balm with Cle de Peau's concealer -- I bought the wrong colour and it's still a little dark for me, but first impression:  Cle de Peau is a bit softer, and blends in a little easier.  Also, the colour allows for use all over the face.  Time Balm only works under the eye because it's so pink-toned.  Then again, for those of you who are pink-toned...might just work for you :-)  

Happy Monday, dears!