Personal Beauty Buying Guide

This list was compiled by another beauty blogger. I'm taking this list with a grain of salt, as I know some of the companies here are questionable. But it's a good place to start!

Call me a little late, but I've finally decided collect my thoughts and put down my beauty resolutions in (virtual) writing. This year, I want to become more conscious about the products I use on my face, hair, body and nails. And if I can accomplish this while lessening my impact on the environment, that's even better.

My goal is to buy products that meet as many of the following standards as possible (if it's only meets one, that's cool, but the more it meets, the higher its chances are of becoming a product I rebuy in the future)

1) environmentally friendly* (including recyclable packaging)
2) cruelty free*
3) benefits a charity of some sort

*I know there's broaaad definitions of "environmentally friendly" and "cruelty free"- believe me, I will take more time to read up on the topic.

I know and openly acknowledge that I am not perfect- a lot of the products I still own do conduct animal testing and contain questionable sounding ingredients. But this year, I will take the time to research and support companies that do not test their products on animals/support green policies, and cut down on products that do.

While doing a Blackle search (a "green" search engine option), I came across multiple lists of beauty companies that supposedly do not test on animals. I notice that many of the brands are still questionable (see above photo), so for now, I'm going to list brands that I personally use and that I've done research on, and provide links that lead directly to their policy page. I'll be editing this post again soon- I use way more than the two I have below, but I'm too lazy to add everything right now. ;p


Burt's Bees
-e.l.f. cosmetics
LUSH Cosmetics
-Rimmel London
-Sugarpill
-tarte
-Too Faced
-Urban Decay
-Yes To

worst beauty trend of 2012?

http://www.stylelist.com/view/2012-wrap-worst-beauty-trends?icid=maing-grid7%7Caim%7Cdl29%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D248973

According to this article, extreme cat eyes are the worst beauty trend of 2012. 

They've gotta be kidding. I love me a good cat eye! I've been in love with the look since sophomore year of college, circa 2008-'09. Regardless of whether it's a "bad" trend, or a trend at all, I'll continue to rock the cat eye long after 2012. So there, Stylelist! /endofrant

bleeding blue and gold

*Edit on 2/16/13- I removed the picture of my mani because I'm too ashamed of the crap job I did. I'm considering redoing it so I can repost it. 

So it's official....I'm no longer a college student. I've joined the ranks of UC Davis alumni! That being said, I will always be an Aggie at heart. The night before I walked, I did my nails using Milani Nail Lacquer in Bolting Blue. (It matched my stole perfectly!) Sadly, I had left my Sugarpill Goldilux at home, so I didn't add that on til now. (It's really a loose eyeshadow- I just layered it over a coat of clear nail polish.

I'm going on a cruise with my boyfriend and his family in a couple weeks. After we get back, the job hunt will probably commence. I've always been a fan of "dark" or "fun" polish colors, so I'm not looking forward to going nude/neutral for interviews!

get cheeky: e.l.f. vs. NARS

L to R: e.l.f. Studio blush in "Fuschia Fusion" , NARS blush in "Orgasm"

Over spring break, I went home and decided to splurge on not one, but two new blushes. (Okay, maybe "splurge" isn't the right word, as the e.l.f. blush was only a mere $3. Not to mention that my best friend and I managed to score the NARS blush for $18 at Sephora, as opposed to the usual $28!) :D

I've heard from multiple sources (both on the Internet and word of mouth) that e.l.f. blushes are supposedly dupes of NARS. Yes, I'm aware that the blushes I bought are not even close to being the same color. But hey, the way I see it, if I'm going to buy two blushes, I'm gonna make sure that I'm not basically buying two of the same product. 

I digress. From the outside, the two products do appear very similar: note the near-matching black containers, each with a mini mirror inside. e.l.f. .....I see what you did there, lol.

And then we get to the actual contents.

Here we have the e.l.f blush. Pretty rich pigment and high sparkle content. It's brighter and way pinker than what I'm used to seeing on myself- the only other blush I own is "Mocha" from M.A.C. (sort of a dusty rose shade) A little bit of "Fucschia Fusion" went a long way. However, while swiping my brush across the product, it sent powder flying everywhere (as you can also see on the container)

 This is the NARS blush. I don't think my funky flash did the color justice- it looks hella orange here, da fuq. I've heard that "Orgasm" is a universally flattering shade. Upon trying it on, I do agree. Unfortunately, I feel I have to use a lot of product to get it to show up on my skin. -____- I can only imagine how much I'll have to use once I get darker in the summer.    

    

-----

Overall, I'm pretty happy with my purchases. I feel that with the e.l.f. product, you get what you pay for- I wasn't really expecting the eighth world wonder in exchange for 3 bucks. NARS is much more worth the price, although I'm not really sure how I'd feel about rebuying it for $28. I am but a poor student, after all. 

baby (soft) lips - Maybelline Baby Lips

As an avid magazine reader, I come across a lot of advertisements. This is how I first heard of Maybelline's newest lip balm, ever-so-cutely (and, okay, controversially-more on that later) named Baby Lips.

Confession: I'm vain about my lips, so I'm drawn to almost every product that promises a softer, smoother pout.

After telling my best friend about it  (she responded by looking up reviews on Makeup Alley- the top few she looked at were positive enough) we both ended up getting the "Peach Kiss" color/flavor.

Later that night (after we'd both applied and reapplied a couple times) I decided to do my own research. I went back to Makeup Alley to read more reviews.

I found a mixed bag of responses, ranging from "omg...this is my product of the year" to "I applied it before bed and when I woke up 9 hours later my lips were destroyed." (!!!!!)

But hey, my philosophy is: don't believe the hype (or the horror) unless you've tried it for yourself.

That being said, the comments about the product leaving lips even drier than they previously were has officially freaked me out, so whenever I put my Baby Lips on, I put on Smith's balm or Chap-Ex (generic Chapstick) first.

I'll do another update in the next few weeks!