Back from RuPual's DragCon

 

RuPaul's DragCon, the first drag convention in HerStory!

What did she say it is a mash up of Comic-Con, Beauty-Con and Hello Kitty- Con all together in, (honestly) a surprisingly pleasant experience.  Yea I know.  Blogreaties if you know anything about me,  you will know that I tend not to do things the normal way.  I always like to do something that is a bit unique.  So a drag convention,  why not go in drag?  A drag king!

 

I wanted to take advantage of my short hair and try a johnny depp-esk look.  So my makeup friend Annette and I dragged up and shipped off to the Los Angeles Convention Center.  Try walking the streets of LA being 5',1" at 8am in the morning and being in drag.  I looked like a drunk Filipino man.

Why a man AngelPacific?  Well there was no way I was going to compete with men whose job is to look like a drop dead gorgeous female.  No woman could even compete.

 

I was clearly there just for the makeup.  All the makeup tables had decent discounts that I am very proud the I sort of retrained myself.  It had  all my favorites.  NYX Cosmetics, Kryolan, and BH Cosmetics.  Plus some of my favorite stores like Naimie's and Nigels Beauty Emporium.

 

I found a new store that I immediately placed another order online as soon as I got home.  Lady Moss Beauty.  Check it out. LadyMoss.com  They carry  brands like Nyx, LA Girl and Jordana.  Also its the nice stuff not the old products like some other websites.

 

AngelPacific, what about the drag queens?  Um yea there were some.  A lot.  that was where all the lines were for.  That's why I was able to make my way to all the makeup tables.

 

 

RuPaul's Drag Con would be my third or fourth "makeup trip"  and I have to say that this was the least pretentious, most polite, relaxing experience I have had.  Everyone there was so nice.  The message of the con was RESPECT and I think everyone honored it.  Was it because the pretty girls who get the attention at Gen Beauty and such couldn't compete with queens with attitude.  But all the girls were so friendly.  Even though there were so many crowds and lines,  no one was rude or pushy.

I had to go.  Who can say they went to the first one?  Over 13 thousand can and I was one of them.  The second one I know will be bigger and probably more expensive.  they will have to expand.  But they already have the dates for next years,  anyone want to go with me?

 

 

Makeup Haul from across the pond (UK)

Makeup enthusiast, lovers and artists already know the up and coming products from the United states, be it high end or drugstore.  But what about venturing out  and buying makeup products from another country?

I bought makeup from two websites that cater towards makeup lovers from the United Kingdom. Life & Looks and Makeup Revolution.

I tried to get a variety of items but if I am spending my own money I might as well get stuff that I want to get.  Which can be pretty much summed up to, eyeshadow palettes and foundations.

This post is just a haul.  I will try to post reviews on the products and my experiences with these websites at a later time

Products From Life & Looks

GOSH

X-Ceptional Wear Foundation (16 Golden)

Light and smooth to apply. Gives a natural coverage and feels very even and flexible without drying out or leaving the skin feeling ”encapsulated”.

USD -$10.11

GBP - £7.10

Leichner

Camera Clear Tinted Foundation (Blend of Beige)

World famous Leichner Foundation is a professional foundation used by Photographic studios, television, theater and professional make-up artists worldwide. It provides the perfect base for applying cosmetics.

USD -$5.68

GBP - £4.00

Rimmel

Provocalips (Kiss Fatal & Kiss Me You Fool)

and Apocalips (Celestrial & Stellar)

I know you are probably asking,  "But AngelPacific, you can get that in the US?"  Yes but you also know when these products came out all the popular colors were already picked through.  This was my chance to get the colors i wanted.  the prices were a lot more but at least I got the colors i wanted.  I should have just waited a little longer.

Products From Makeup Revolution

Ultra 32 Shade Eyeshadow Palette FLAWLESS MATTE	USD -$11.80 GBP - £8.00
Salvation Palette Colour Chaos	USD -$8.85 GBP - £6.00
Full Pure Black Heart Eyeshadow Collection	USD -$7.37 GBP - £5.00

Atomic Lipstick (Make It Right) & Lip Power (Its My Life)

USD -$1.47 -  USD -$4.42

GBP - £1.00 - GBP - £3.00

The ONE Foundation (in Shade 5)

USD -$5.68

GBP - £4.00

So if you are like me and marches to the beat of a different drum, I encourage to get out of you comfort zone and take a chance with products from another country.  These products are not readily available so I think I have a secret weapon  or it make me feel a bit more special that I have something that no one else has.

Lime Crime WTF Please Boycott.

 

Lime Crime WTF

 

Ok Makeup Blogreaties heres the scoop.  This will be brief but very important.

Lime Crime is known for their ultra bright and highly pigmented products in particular their lip products.  the CEO Doe Deere,  has been deemed public enemy #1.

 

Just a few of the "Lime Crimes"

• Stating will give all proceeds to an animal shelter but won't give the name
• Bullied fans in lawsuits after receiving bad reviews
• Shuts down contests without explanation
• sabotaging fellow makeup brands

I know right -  this is the kind of stuff you watch on a scripted drama.  But here is the latest. SC Magazine wrote this headline Malware on Lime Crime website, payment cards compromised -  No word from Doe Deere.

 

Is this makeup that amazing that we would risk losing our own hard earned money?  Personally no.  I have one velvetine lip product and that took two months to get ( Now I know why)  There are now comparable dupes out there with more reputable backgrounds.  But don't worry - I got it from Urban Outfitters,  which they stopped carrying the brand.

 

So makeup lovers are uniting to BOYCOTT Lime Crime products.  WE need to show Doe Deere that our love for makeup is more then "surface level" and that we are sick and tired of being treated like crap.

 

A petition is circulating to NOT allow Lime Crime to be apart of IMATS New York.  When I went to IMATS 2014 in LA the lime crime line was around the building.  I am not so sure if IMATS will look so good if they do allow Lime Crime to participate.

 

Click Here for petition.

 

Also my fellow blogger Makeup Lover Maria_Monster wrote a very good peice about the subject http://likealady619.blogspot.com/2015/03/lime-crime-controversy.html

 

Remember the time when all makeup lovers had to worry about was if the products were tested on animals?  Stay Informed my blogreaties.

 
 
 

New from Benefit Roller Lash Mascara

 

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara $24 USD

 

I took advantage of the first to try VIB Rogue exclusive of Benefit Roller Lash Mascara.  Not much to say but look at the pictures.  The formula is not as wet as the "They're Real" mascara.  But the length it gives is so out there which is good.  It does last and even after rubbing my eyes I do not experience any fall out or racoon eyes, another plus!!

 

But personally I am more into volume I need it, I want it and this just didn't deliver in that.  I still want to put on falsies.  But I think this will be great for my friend Annette she already has beautiful full lashes but they don't curl and who doesn't want atleast longer lashes.

 

From the Benefit Cosmetics website

It’s a roller for lashes! The eye-opening Hook ‘n’ Roll™ brush grabs, separates, lifts and curls…while the instant curve-setting formula holds for 12 hours.



 

 

I would pick up the full size  but I would still pair it up with my favorite drugstore volumizing mascara.  But this is available at Sephora and Ulta yet as of today not on the Benefit Cosmetics website until the 27th.

Palette Series: Urban Decay Naked on The Run

 

Palette Series: Urban Decay Naked on The Run ($54 USD)

 

I just got this in the mail and I had to write on it before everyone else did.  But it has been a while but here is another addition to my palette series.  This one is from Urban Decay.  Their Naked line has made millions with their Naked palettes.  Also we are all still debating whether to venture out and try their other naked products. 

So it's genius to find everything in one "travel friendly" pack.

Taken from Sephora:

A limited-edition, all-in-one travel palette loaded with exclusive eye shadows, blush, bronzer, lip gloss, and mascara—everything needed for a complete Naked makeup look.

The looks you can create are very nuetral and more on the rose gold side.  Though it claims to have brand new shades.  it looks very similar to the Naked palette 3.

 

A. Perversion Mascara - slimmer deluxe version (.13oz) [a full size is .4oz in case your wondering]

B. 24/7 Glide on Pencil in black or zero (deluxe size)

C. Naked Ultra Nourishing Lip Gloss in Sesso (Full Size, Woo Hoo!)

D. Five Eye shadows in Dive (metallic rose/gold micro-shimmer), Fix (soft taupe matte), Resist (medium metallic taupe), Dare (medium brown matte), Stun (metallic bronze/light gold micro-shimmer)

 

E. Bronzer ( a bit orangey for me)

F. Blush (very bright and pigmented, use a careful hand)

G. Highlight



Percentage of FACE it covers: 70%
Face (Foundation)	Blush - Yes	Eyeshadows(3) - Yes
Concealer	Bronzer/ Contour - Yes	Eyeliner - Yes
Setting powder	Highligter - Yes	Mascara - Yes
Lipstick/Lipgloss - Yes

Travel Friendly? Yes	Can you double up on products? Yes
Does it include application tools? No	Mirror? - Yes
Do you need additional application tools? Yes	Factors of uniqueness: All in one feature of the naked products
Still need to bring: Face products

You can double up on the products use  "Dare" as a eyebrow powder  and the highlight can be mixed with the shadows for a new look.

The packaging is very similar to the Vice palettes, a bit of a cheap plastic that could split and shatter if dropped.  Though it's called travel friendly, my reccommendation is still be very careful when travel with it.
It would have been nice to include at least one double ended eyeshadow brush with it but I think they wanted to get out the products more.  And you do get alot of product for the same price of a regular naked pallete.  A full size of the Naked Nourishing Lip gloss will already cost you 20 dollars. the eye shadows alone are already (.4oz) compared to .03oz of the VICE and .05oz of the naked pallete 3.

If you are into the rose gold brown nuetrals of Urban Decay, you will love this.  But as a makeup lover I am sure I cannot just travel with this palette without lugging around a few more products to make THIS palette work for me. Palette available on Urban Decay website, Sephora and Ulta.  But I think this might be put in the back of my closet or returned.

 

Make Up For Ever Fifty Shades of Grey Makeup

Who read the books?  I did.  Who is going to see the movie?  I will.  Who wants the makeup? . . . I DO I DO.  That's right my blogreaties you can now paint your face a subtle pink, as if Christian Gray himself is spanking that pink on your backside.

Make Up For Ever is now launching a Fifty Shades of Grey Collection.  All pictures courtesy  of Make Up For Ever.  I think these are perfect colors that fit the Anastasia Steele character, very neutral and soft.

“Give In to Me” — features a four-eye-shadow palette, eyeliner, lipstick and lip gloss.( pictured left) Tease Me” lip trios which include a lip liner and two lip glosses (pictured right), retailing for $32 each

"Desire Me" Blush trio w/ velvet pouch ($49 USD)


Though I will probably buy it because I love me the neutrals I will buy it for the namesake.  BUT Sign me up for the Christian Grey line!  I am picturing, cool colors of course some greys and blues. Oh and instead of a velvet pouch I would love a faux silk pouch similar to Christian Grey's tie!  Argh, can you imagine!  But this will strictly be at Sephora available in December.  Ah nothing says happy holidays like thoughts of a red room.  Fifty Shades of Grey the movie will tease us for Valentines Day 2015.
 

I'm Back! Crazy Discount on Mehron

Hautelook has Mehron on SALE RIGHT NOW!!!

I love the full coverage performance makeup like Kryolan and Cinema Secrets.  I thinks it the theatre nerd in me.  This makeup is the fullest coverage and is the strongest to hold up to anything. 

So I was surprised to see another theatre quality brand on Hautelook MEHRON!

Take a look at the discount.

 

on the Mehron Website, tak a look at this HD Highlight and Countour Palette retailing at almost 80 bucks online.

Look on Hautelook 50% off.  Holy crap I had to have it.  Especially since more and more are getting into contour and highlighting thanks the artist who work on Kim Kardashian.

 

My favorite professional makeup store CRC Camera Ready Cosmetics sells Mehron Brand and they carry the pressed pigment palettes for 56 buck while hautelook is selling it for 26.50

 

Now that I got that off my chest,  I should mention that Hautelook does not offer Mehron's entire line of makeup but only a few items.  Though for the few items that are available they ARE offered at a great discount and the items are great quality you wont be disappointed. 

Check out the event on Hautelook it ends Friday 8am Pacific time.

 

 

 

NEW Benefit They're Real Push-up Liner

 

Benefit They're Real Push-Up Liner ($24 USD)

 

I got a sample of this from Generation Beauty and I didin't try it our until a week later.

IT'S AWESOME.

This actually does what it claims,  it's so simple I don't know why this hasn't been though of before. It's as rich and long wearing as a gel liner But has the acuracy and sharpness of a liner pen.  Perfect just perfect.  Love Luv Love. Below are the claims taken from  the Benefit website

 

It’s the FIRST EVER lash-hugging gel liner in a pen! This matte black gel formula won’t smudge, budge or dry out, and the innovative soft AccuFlex™ Tip hugs your lashline from corner to corner. The closer the line, the bigger the eye!

91% said it was longwearing*
81% said it was waterproof*
88% said it hugged the lashline*
84% said eyes looked visibly larger*
*Results observed in a consumer panel survey on 32 women after 2 weeks

 

 

When I had first taken the product out of the box I thought the tip was a typical liquid liner pen yet with a sharp as a knife point.  Check it out,  that is in fact a rubber tip and it dispenses a gel liner type formula.  I was wondering why there was a stopper cap in it. 

 

But this hugs the lashes so well - no gaps here. 

 

 

 

 

Check out this subtle winged liner usually it takes a few tries to get a clean line but this  makes it so much faster.  This saves time -  You should try it Annette!!

 

 

Whether you get the sample size or full size both can properly demonstrate the key points of the liner.   I know not everything is perfect.  The following are my “Eh” points of the Benefits They’re Real Push-up Liner: 

·        In the very beginning of using the product you have to click until you see the product come out of the tip.  I recommend to wipe the excess, which I hate because it’s a waste of product and at 24 dollars I don’t want to waste this.

·        This creates an even layer of product.  Some may think it’s too thick making it look too heavy of a liner.

·        The finish is a dark matte. That may not be for everyone.

Final Thoughts:  I love this product. I have used this everyday just to widen these tired eyes during my ten hour work days.  It stays all day,  yes it’s a bit of a pain to wash off but  it lasts.  This can be used for the no makeup look to Kat Von D cat eye.  This is sold online on benefit, Ulta and Sephora.  I recommend to pick up a sample and play away.

 

Generation Beauty 2014 Haul

 

Free Stuff was really the main reason we all went to Generation Beauty May 31st to June 1st, 2014.  Personally I thought that it was going to be like Halloween.  We all go around in painted faces and ask for goodies.  Makes sense.  Nope.  In my previous post I wrote that free swag was obtained if you worked hard on social media (i.e. twitter, instagram, facebook etc.) 

The Happy Hour was the only exception.  Happy hour happened at the very last hour of each day of the conference.  At registration we were given tickets which had the different name of the brands that were at the convention.  This was very misleading.  We thought that we had to pick one of the brands on the tickets in hopes that they will have enough.  Yea i thought I had to pick between Benefit and Cargo Cosmetics. Good thing was that after asking multiple people, we found out that it was all the same goodies.

 

 

Below is a list of everything with the retail price of each product.

 

 If you are a number gal like me you will appreciate my hard work and effort in stating that the total value of the FREE swag is almost 10 times the price I paid for the GenBeauty ticket.  So looking at this I am secound guessing if I should go next year.  Some of the brands of the products I recognized.  Yet many brands I was unfamiliar with and in my research I came to the conclusion that many of these brands were drugstore quality and price.  There are some gems on this list but I noticed they were big last year or last season.  So did we just get the overstock?  probably but I will not refuse a chance to try new stuff.

NEW Bare Minerals Liquid Foundation

BareMinerals BareSkin Pure Brightening Serum Foundation ($29.00 USD)

Thats BareMinerals?!?  Isn't that liquid?!? Wait BareMinerals has a liquid Foundation?  Oh yes my blogreaties. It hit the market May 1st.  Silly me put  my online order April 30th to finally receive it May 8th.

CLAIMS(BareMinerals): Clinically proven tone-correcting mineral foundation and brightening serum in one. Created with exceptional purity in mind, this ultra-thin, skin-perfecting fluid provides seamless adjustable coverage, a natural finish and the look and feel of beautiful skin while delivering a noticeably brighter, more youthful appearance. Made with the bare minimum ingredients and formulated without oil, silicone, parabens or fragrance. It's like nothing you've ever felt before.

I spent the extra money and also bought the Perfecting Face Brush. ($28 USD)  I was surprised on the size of the bottle. The bottle is smaller and thinner than I thought.  Look at the comparison of some known sized products.  Also the cap of the bottle is a screw top, making it very secure for travel.  The brush,  I believe you can do without.  A standard flat top Sigma F80 or ELF flat powder brush will work perfectly.  But the brush is soft and does not scratch my red face.  Also the brush is dense enough to not have streaking and you can stipple very easily.

This foundation must be shaken.  I added a few drops of foundation to the cut out of the brush.  This pic shows that its thick enough not to fall through the bristles. I used sparingly and only used 4 drops of this foundation for my face.

Application wise if I stippled the product on I would use alot more product but painting it only I was able to get better use of the the production with little foundation.  Though not in coverage.  The finish is natural I assumed I might get more coverage when the foundation sets.  Nope, very natural finish.

As you can see it did even out my skin tone but it did not cover up my scars and blemishes. :(  But look, it brightened my face, thats for sure. Next I wondered, why spend the money on this serum foundation with all of it benefits and cover it with nasty powder products.  What I did was use the original bare minerals mineral veil to set the foundation.

 

 

Lasting power?  Um I guess its just like any moisturizer on the face  what do you think.  I took pictures thoughout the day to show the progression. Read it right to left then down left to right.  This foundation looks fabulous in flash photography BUT you can see that I turn into an oil slick.

 

 

 

The last picture at 3:35pm I thought I would finally touch up and get rid of the shine.  All I did was pat on my Mally Beauty Poreless Face Defender.  But look what is did to the make up it tacked onto dry spots and made it more noticable Yuck!

 

        


My final thoughts are this.  BareMinerals bareSkin Pure Brightening Serum Foundation does match up to the claims.  My skin did brighten and made it look fresh and young.  But of course this fresh and young look also brought the cons, oily skin that made me break out if not properly cleansed.  It is pricey for what you get.  I think a comparable dupe is the Physicians Formula Spotless Foundation.  It claims to do the same thing at half the price though not as nearly much color selection.(see my post here)  BareMinerals Serum Foundation can be found at Sephora, Ulta and of course on BareEscentuals.

Summer Makeup Guide: Skin Care Prep

 

Summer is coming up and I don't know about you but my skin does a one 80 from the dry winter season and I get OILY. Spring to me does a snowball effect of time after Easter, where I get a few week of perfectly balanced skin. Yet in southern California summer weather comes early and the hot sun and dry air freak out my face once again. The problems i experience start from breaking out to keeping that makeup from melting that is covering those breakouts. So join in my journey as I try different tips and advise from the experts to see what will work for me and at the same time help you get through the summer.

Cleanse - Prep - Moisturize - Sunscreen  ALL DONE!  Thats it!

Just Kidding -  There is no way beauty companies make billions of dollars to make it that simple.

Similar to winter, its time again for the changing of the products.

Prep:  To wipe the makeup off for the day.  I use makeup remover wipes.  I like the Target up and up brand it doesn't contain cucumber which tends to break me out.  Yet this does explain why I have been eerily dry and oily at the same time.  Whoomp!  I guess I too have to look into others. :(

Cleasnse: I never feel as if I cleared off all my makeup so I love using a  deep cleanser like Biore but since it dries my skin I have to stick with something like Cetaphil


Moisturize for the Summer:
Ah to find the right moisturizer.  I am still trying to find the right one.  At this moment I am LOVING the Garnier Rescue refreshing Gel Cream EXCEPT its the CVS generic brand (Same great quality and half the price) The huffington post has this very informative article on moisturizing What You Need to Know About Moisturizing Your Face

 

 

Toner or Astringent:  I had to look into this.  Did you knew there is a difference? I am still confused on what to get for my combo skin.

 

Toner: Gentle, cleansing and hydrating - great for sensitive and dry skin ( Now that my skin is getting older I opted for stuff my mom and grandmother used, L'oreal Hydrafresh Toner)

Astringent: Stronger, some alcohol based, soaks up excess oil and is antibacterial which helps with breakouts. (I went old school and busted out with the Sea Breeze!)

 

 



 

Depending on how my skin behaves for the summer I may have to change out this product to help balance out my face.  I love using the cotton round pads to swirl that on my face compared to a cottonball.  I notice that I waste too much product and apply in blotches when applied with a cotton ball.

 

I may be dating myself but you 90's kids will remember the spoken song from Baz Luhrmann, "Everybody's Free, (To Wear Sunscreen)"  Sunscreen!  Very important for me pale gal from So Cal.  Argh but I don't know if you are like me and don't like the feeling with layers and layers of products all having equal importance on the face.  Sunscreen is the most important. What layers am I taking about?

 

 

I would never skip the Sunscreen but I can put extra protection with a Foundation/BB Cream that contains a SPF.  This can give you a better reason to retouch your makeup because It is recommended to reapply sunscreen every 3 - 4 hours. Since Summer trend is the no makeup look and keep things minimal I suppose I will have to give my face a break.  So I can balance out this extreme combo skin but like the winter I wish you luck on finding the right combination of products to you won't have to worry about keeping bueatiful for the Summer.