Too Faced Melted Liquid Lipstick vs. Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick.

With my mommy. Wearing Kat Von D Bauhau5 early on in the day

This is going to be quick.  Progress reports are done, I graded a bunch of papers last night, I was already at school this morning for open house, God even had a day of rest, so I've decided to not edit papers the rest of the day.  I'm going to give a quick update on two products I've already reviewed. It's sort of a "versus" but I don't have any side by side comparison photos, sorry!

You can easily say that I'm OBSESSED with the Too Faced Melted Liquid Lipstick. I LOVE THEM! I love the way they feel, I love the way they smell, I love the pigmentation  They are not long wearing like the Too Faced webpage says they are. They lightly stain your lips, however, I do have to reapply and that doesn't bother me one bit, because I just love this product.  They don't dry down to a matte finish, but I don't think that's what they're meant to do anyway. They do transfer, so be prepared to find your lipstick on your food or on the face of someone you love.

Too Faced just launched their Melted Chocolate Lipsticks, infused with cocoa powder, yum yum (Like their chocolate bar eyeshadow palettes. I've never tried them. I have enough eyeshadow with my Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette). I tried the Chocolate Milkshake and Chocolate Cherries. I thought Chocolate Cherries would look amazing against my milky skin tone, but alas, it looked like I smeared a chocolate candy bar all over my face. So I had to return/exchange it. Side note: I found an unused gift card to ULTA, so I didn't spend any of my own $$. I love when this happens, like finding money in the pockets of a coat you haven't worn all year!

My cousin, the bride. Wearing Bauhau5 at the end of the day after eating and reapplying.

Now on to the Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick. I so desperately wanted to like these lipsticks, I've given them chance after chance, and I just can't anymore. Yes, they are extremely pigmented, I'll give them that. They just don't feel good on my lips at all and I'm unsure about the fragrance. I would much rather reapply the Too Faced Melted Liquid Lipsticks than wear the Everlasting Liquid Lipstick.

I wore the Kat Von D liquid lipstick to my cousin's wedding yesterday (1/23/2016) and this morning (1/24/2016) to work. They are not creamy. Well, I mean they are a liquid lipstick, but the Too Faced feel creamy on my lips, and I don't mean drying down matte, I'm talking about the initial liquidy application. It's a completely different texture. I wore Bauhau5 and everybody loved the color, but it was too patchy, especially the second day I wore it. It wouldn't build up color and the center of my lips would fade unevenly.  It even smeared on my CHEEK!! Isn't that not supposed to happen? They only good thing about this brand is that the color does not transfer when you kiss, say, your spouse. It came off when I ate tacos from the taco bar (which were delicious BTW) or drank a cup of coffee, hence the cheek smear. The ONLY way to reapply is to completely take off the color and begin again, with clean lips.

Kissed my hubby and no transfer. Those grays are kickin!

I'm not sure how fair this comparison is, because I know they're different formulas and Melted isn't a matte lip color, but I have to be honest, the Kat Von D liquid lipsticks just don't work for me.

All Eyes on Me: My Ipsy January 2016 "Unbagging"

Adorable packaging 

Ipsy All Eyes on You!

I've been interested in signing on to a beauty sample subscription service for quite some time.  After doing a lot of research, I decided on Ipsy. If you decide to subscribe, there are a few options. 1.  pay monthly and 2. pay the entire year.  I paid the entire year upfront and and got some money off, which is always very nice. You can cancel at any time, but how or why would you do that if you paid the entire year?  What I love about this is that, it's like having a birthday every month.

 Each bag has 5 samples, some are sample sized and some are full sized products. Each month revolves around a theme.  The products you get are related to that month's theme.  This month the theme was All Eyes on You. I have to say that the packaging that these bags come in is absolutely adorable. It's shiny, hot pink, and very very girly.  Pink is my signature color. My mom decided to keep the shipping bag, because she loved the color too.  The makeup bag itself was vibrant and oh so colorful. Retro girls wearing black rimmed sunglasses, decorate the front of the bag. The back is a solid blue.  I'm obsessed with travel makeup bags.  I have them to hold all of my BareMinerals eye shadows. Since the theme of the month was All Eyes on You, 4 of the 5 samples were related to makeup for the eyes.

Smudger from Skone

The first product I got was a smudger Luxe pro brush, from Skone Cosmetics.  I've never heard of this brand before.  This is obviously a full sized brush.  It retails for $15.00.  The website, which I will link below, says that you can smudge your eyeliner or blend your eye shadow. I thought the brush was OK.  It felt too rough to smudge my liner, the L'Oreal Infallible Lacquer Liner in Blackest Black. It seemed too small to be an eye shadow blender. What I thought was cool was that this one item, already cost more than my actual subscription.

It's a little light and stiff

Jac swatched

The next thing was a gold eyeliner from another brand I've never hear of, The Balm Cosmetics.  I looked up reviews and heard some people rave about their products, except for the liner (insert sad panda face here). This was the product I was most excited to try. The liner I got in my bag is from their line, Mr. Write (Now) in Jac. I looked up this company and found that they are talc-paraben-cruelty-free. This makes me very interested.  I will definitely look into more of their products.  The liner itself, and I got a full sample, retails for $17.  I like that the liner is gold.  I'm obsessed with gold right now. I've used it a few times and I think it's a little light and a bit stiff.  

UPDATE: I have heard about this company The Balm Cosmetics. I've seen a review of the Nude Dude Eyeshadow Palette, it's adorable, so make sure to take a look.  

 Peek Cosmetics: Very cute tin.

This may be too light for my eyebrows? But we shall see!

I also got, from Peek Beauty, eyebrow powder in Expresso Natural Stain ( I know espresso is spelled incorrectly but, it's how they spell it). I have to be honest and say I haven't used this brow powder yet. I did receive a sample sized amount, but a full sized stain retails for $22.  The packaging is adorable. I love the tin it comes in. I did swatch this and it didn't look to be too pigmented. OMG the woman who started this company was once the creative director for NYX Cosmetics, a brand I do know and like. These products are also cruelty-free. 

A lot of fallout!

Tangerine Light

The fourth item in my bag was an eyeshadow from J. Cat Beauty. This is another company I've never heard of.  The eyeshadow is from their Blinkle Shimmer line and retails for $4.99. The site doesn't say anything about being cruelty-free and states to look at the ingredients list on the packaging to see if the ingredients are appropriate for our (the consumer) daily use. OK, the red flags are up here. The color I got in my bag is called Tangerine Light.  It's a very highly pigmented and opaque, orange shimmer.  Orange is just not my color, so I probably won't use this very often. I did try this out in my crease and it didn't stay on, even with my MAC primer.  I'm curious to try it with a dampened brush. Maybe then it will stay on longer and it'll be even more pigmented

UPDATE as I'm still writing this blog, I did find a section that states this brand in cruelty-sulfate-GMO-phthalate-triclosan-free, however some items use parabens and propylene glycol. If you're interested in these products, the link is below. This company did begin in L.A., which is nice. 

Great for the summer!

The last product I got had nothing to do with eyes.  It's a body cream from a company called Mitchell and Peach. This was definitely a sample sized portion. They're located in the UK.  The full price of this cream retails for 36 British pounds, which is roughly $51.50. They do ship to the US.

This body cream is so fresh smelling, I absolutely love it.  It isn't the most moisturizing for the winter, though.  I gave some to Tim, my hubby, and he needed something else. I would probably use this product in the spring and summer.  I just smells like summer. In the winter I want warm, comforting, rich fragrances, and this one in particular reminds me of a meadow.

What I love about this brand is that it is pretty much all natural.  Many of the ingredients are cultivated right on the family's farm in Kent.  They have been farming the same land for five generations. These are the stories I love to hear. These are the products I'm willing to spend a little more $ on.  

I love getting these products in the mail.  I know, I'm not going to like everything I get, but it's fun to try new things. Overall I'm pleased with the choice I made to try this type of service out, maybe next year I'll try Birchbox.  

Skone Cosmetics: https://skonecosmetics.com/

The Balm Cosmetics:  http://www.thebalm.com/

Peek Beauty: http://peekbeauty.co/

J. Cat Beauty: http://jcatbeauty.com/

Mitchell and Peach:  http://www.mitchellandpeach.com/

Remember, "Beauty isn't about having a pretty face. It's about having a pretty mind, a pretty heart, and a pretty soul." I don't know who said this, but I like it!

It's way to early to hand out Gerber Daisies, maybe next time. Thanks for reading!  XOXO 

The Force Awakens, Or Not?

It's 12:34 a.m.. The hubs and I have just gotten home from playing laser tag with my brother and nephew. I should be reading Allegiant, coloring in the adult coloring book my mom got me for my birthday or trying to catch some zzz's.  The sleeping is not going to happen, 1. my neighbor has a bright light on, and it's shining in my window and 2. I had a double shot cappuccino, dark roast.   Tomorrow, my Christmas vacation comes to an end and it's back to the daily grind. So many exciting things happened over this break, one in particular being Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

May the Force be with you!

I love all things Star Wars. I have a geeky side too and I'm proud of it! I often ask my students, "Wouldn't be cool if space was really like that?" Not so much the "wars" part, but all the other stuff. These are the things I think about in my spare time!

So many theories have come out debating Rey's parentage and backstory, from she being Han and Leia's daughter, to Luke's daughter or Obi-Wan's granddaughter.  I would like to think that she is Obi-Wan's granddaughter, but if this story takes place 30 years after Return of the Jedi, that doesn't seem possible.  I'd also like to see an Obi-Wan movie with Ewan McGregor reprising his roll as Ben. I remember hearing somewhere once that Lucas had a vision for how he wanted episodes 1-9 to go. The prequels, 1-3 were to be about Vader, which we got. Episodes 7-9 were to be about the Solo twins (Could this be what we're getting?). Lucas said that he wasn't going to make anymore after the prequels because he'd be in his 90's when 7-9 would be finished.

Let's face it, George Lucas has/had amazing story IDEAS, but his execution is/was horrible. I'm a part of the minority that believe the prequels weren't that bad. They were entertaining, I liked them. I loved the actors, even Hayden Christensen. He did a phenomenal job in Life as a House.  The actors didn't have much to work with though. The lines were terribly cheesy and their acting seemed forced.

My husband and I were discussing episodes 1-6.  Everyone's favorite movie is Empire Strikes Back, why? Because George Lucas DID NOT write the screenplay or direct the film. He came back to write the screenplay for Return of the Jedi.  Guess what? People HATED the Ewoks ( I can't say they hated them as much as Jar Jar Binks, but whatever, I liked them, they're cute!).

I started watching the movies in sequential order back in November, (Thanksgiving) to get ready for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. I finished right in time for my Thursday, December 17, 7:30 p.m. viewing. I noticed a lot of elements taken from all of the previous films.  Random thought....I also believe that Snoke is Darth Plagueis.

Random people in costume at a special Star Wars Night.

Everyone's heard the comments made by George Lucas about The Force Awakens. He didn't really like the movie.  He had another vision for episodes 7-9. I was a little disappointed by the movie, myself.  I felt like it was just a regurgitated Star Wars: A New Hope. Many people I've spoken to feel the same way.  So many things were just too predictable. Guess what, the acting was terrible in this movie too! The lines were incredibly cheesy! The acting also seemed forced.  Will these actors get as much flack as the actors in the prequels? Nope! I think they played the movie/story line way too safe. I love J.J. Abrams, I think he's an amazing storyteller. I wish the envelope was pushed a little further.

I liked the villain Kylo Ren.  I thought he was scarier than Darth Vader.  My husband disagrees. Maybe it's our age gap. He told me as a kid he was scared of Vader and Ren's got nothing on Vader.

My little Samwise Gamgee in his Chewy Harness. He obviously hates it. 

Overall, I thought the action was great, there were quite a few laughs, and it was nice to see beloved characters again.  I enjoyed the movie and can't wait to add it to my Star Wars DVD collection! Because it's Star Wars, The Force Awakens gets 5 out of 5 Pink Gerber Daisies. 

"The Force is strong in my family."-- Luke Skywalker

A couple of side notes:

1. Today we played laser tag, it's the closest thing I'll get to being Princess Leia (my laser tag name) or Padame Amidala.

2. We saw The Force Awakens Thursday, December 17th, the night before it actually came out. After the trailers ended, we were expecting the "A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away"... and there was nothing!  We had all that build up and NOTHING! The projector broke down. It took them 30 minutes to fix it.

3. Disney, please make an Obi-Wan movie with Ewan McGregor, oh please, oh please, oh please!  #EwanMcGregorIsHot

Happy 2016! Here are My Hopes, Not Resolutions, for the New Year.

I can't believe that the holidays are already over and that the new year has begun.  Back in June, I saw a Facebook meme that said that we are the same distance away from 2000 as we are from 2030. Well, now we're closer to 2030 than we are to 2000 and that's a bit scary.  Last night, I rang in the New Year with some of the same people I rang in the new year with 10 years ago.  I don't believe in making New Year's resolutions, they're silly and they never last.  Why would I want to start the year with that much pressure? Instead of resolutions, I'm listing just a few of my many New Year's Hopes for 2016.

1.  I hope to write more on my blog this year.

2.  I hope to really reach my goal of reading 50 books this year.  Hey, I'm the editor of children's work (AKA an English teacher) and sometimes it's difficult to find time to read for pleasure.

3.  I hope to go to the Fullerton Farmer's Market at least once this year.

4.  I hope for less stress this year

5.  I hope to have fun in Florida this year.

6.  I hope to not let my facial expressions say it all this year!!

7.  I hope to not be annoyed so much by the stupid things people do this year.

8.  I hope to go to the OC Fair with my mom at least once this year.

9.  I hope to have a baby this year.

10.  I hope for a new laptop this year (yes, materialistic thing one).

11.  I hope to get air conditioning this year.  It went out at the end on summer 2014 and I didn't expect the massive heat wave from July-October 2015.

12.  I hope my husband and I continue to have fun with our crazy life  this year.

13.  I hope to see more of my family this year.

14.  I hope to travel more this year.

15.  I hope to exercise more this year.

16.  I hope to do more 5K walks this year.

17.  I hope to continue to try really cool makeup and beauty products. (this may be materialistic thing two)

18.  I hope for a happy and satisfying 2016.

19.  I hope for a healthy year.

20.  I hope for cuddle time with my little loves this year.  That would be Sammy and Mia.

21.  I hope to see good movies come out of Hollywood this year. I feel like so many concepts have just been regurgitated.

22.  I hope to be more on top of my essay grading Monday-Friday and not spend EVERY Saturday working this year. Lets face it, I work 6 days a week, not 5.

23.  I hope drama stays far away from me this year!

24.  I hope I'm surrounded by positive people, who only give off positive energy this year!

25.  I hope to have fun this year!

26.  I hope for another tattoo this year.

27.  I hope my students realize, this year, that they are the future and that they can change this crazy world for the better.

28.  I hope to see a concert this year.

29.  I hope I;m # one on the leader board in laser tag this year.

30.  I hope that my life is filled with love and joy this year.

I hope everyone has an amazing 2016. I know it's a cliche, but you're the writer/producer/director of your own life "movie". Make sure it's award winning!


"New Year's Day. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. Today carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which to dream, pen in hand.  Only dreams give birth to change." Author Sarah Ban Breathnach