From Category: beauty
I decided to take a month off of writing to focus on school and getting my life together, so I apologise for the lack of content over the past several weeks! But, during this past September, I've found and tried out new products that I've been loving recently. From trying out fake lashes to reaching for cult-classics, here are my September Favourites.
MAKEUP
From left to right:
- Petite cosmetics lashes in "Feminist"
- Maybelline's Great Lash mascara (a cult-classic and new favourite)
- Cetaphil Moisturiser (great for my dry skin)
- Neutrogena healthy skin anti-aging perfector in 30 light to neutral (it is a moisturising retinol treatment that contains sunscreen 👌)
- wet n wild photofocus foundation in "Bronze Beige"
OTHER
From left to right:
- Victoria's Secret Fragrance Mist, Temptation (lol)
- Bath & Body Works Peach and Sweet Tea Body Lotion (with shea and vit E)
- Secret deodorant lol (I've been sweating so much lately and this has helped)
- NeilMed Saline wound wash (I've been using this to clean my pierced ears and earrings and has helped with preventing infection).
Do you also use any of these products mentioned? If so, let me know what you think!
9.30.2018
3.30.2018
After being introduced to the magical, aesthetic, and aegyo world of Korean Beauty, I began my pursuit of their renowned idea of a product which is the cushion foundation. I bought the most popular foundations from best-known Korean brands such as Etude House and Missha, scouting them from online Asian beauty websites and Amazon and impulsively paying $10 extra for shipping just to get my hands on this item.
Because shipping is so expensive and it takes forever for the package to arrive, I've come up with a solution! Simply make your own cushion foundation!
Inspired by an Instagram K-Beauty tutorial for a cushion sunscreen, this tutorial will show you a simple and easy cushion foundation DIY for when you don't have refills - using tools and ingredients already in your makeup bag!
1. Firstly, you need a compact. In the image below, I have my trusty Precious Minerals foundation from Etude House.
Take out the compact that holds the 'cushion' by pushing it out from the bottom.
Inspired by an Instagram K-Beauty tutorial for a cushion sunscreen, this tutorial will show you a simple and easy cushion foundation DIY for when you don't have refills - using tools and ingredients already in your makeup bag!
1. Firstly, you need a compact. In the image below, I have my trusty Precious Minerals foundation from Etude House.
Take out the compact that holds the 'cushion' by pushing it out from the bottom.
2. Extract the 'cushion' from the compact using a pair of tweezers.
3. To remove the remaining foundation from the cushions, you can soak them in a bowl of water and any soap - I used a mixture of normal water and Micellar water - and leave it overnight.
4. After the cushions are clean from the previous foundation, take new ingredients to refill the compact. For my cushion compacts, I used:
- An oil-free moisturizer that contains SPF 35
- Rimmel London Match Perfection in 200 Soft Beige and
- Because the Match foundation is slightly too dark, I mixed it with the Rimmel London Stay Matte Mousse foundation in 103 True Ivory.
I also feel like the use of the two foundations plus a moisturizer/sunscreen added extra coverage without a drying feel to the skin like I had with most of my foundations!
5. Mix everything in the compact together. Make sure it matches your skin tone by testing it on your hand and comparing it with your neck/face.
6. Place the cushion back in the compact and press around so the sponge absorbs the mixture.
7. Try it out! See if it works and then place it back to its original case - and you're done! Easy, simple and you don't have to spend a dime nor wait a month for the next refill.
The coverage is great and it's versatile and easily customizable according to your preferences!
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| with |
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| without |
Let me know what you guys think!
3.10.2018
...if you're like me (often unprepared, disorganized, a bit lazy and broke) and you have nothing fancy wrapped in Christmassy embellished paper topped with a duo-chrome ribbon then fear not, for I have a solution to this quite common dilemma. This doesn't need the skills of a wrapping god nor the money of a millionaire, so relax and read on.
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| (Not a real set, it is just an example) |
For example, the image above displays a set with a glue stick, a bottle of pink glitter (may be used for crafting), an essential oil roll-on remedy, Benefit's POREfessional primer, Windsor & Newton ink in Scarlet and Freedom highlighter.
The next image consists of Pro Markers, Nature Republic Bamboo charcoal mask, a bottle of red glitter, a Windsor & Newton ink bottle in Indian Black and a home-crafted zine.
The great thing about this idea is that it's very customizable - if your friend, for instance, is a fashionista, you can take a shoe box and put in it a mini skirt with fashion glasses and some socks - and the person receiving the gift can get more than one surprise!
Rather than spending a majority of your budget on one expensive thing, you can make it more special by handpicking items based on their interests and passion without going over your shopping threshold. Place them in a bag or a box and finish it off with cute little string. No need to pain yourself with the clumsy wrapping and waste any paper. Easy, cheap, economic and much more meaningful to your friends and families!
Have a great Christmas and let's hope for a better new year!
12.22.2017
This series of photographs is part of the next unit of my photography course, 'environment'. The principal theme behind these images is culture and cultural diversity. To further develop my concept, I've explored the link between beauty and culture by incorporating flowers into my photographs.
The model in the photograph is my Romanian friend, and for the shoot I've asked her to wear (or, in our case, re-create) her country's traditional dress. We were having trouble with spacing, so I didn't really take pictures of the full costume but I took the photographs in slightly high saturation to capture the colours and portray the vividness of her culture.
I hope you like them :) and I'd like to know what you guys think..
Nicole ᵔᴥᵔ
5.12.2017
Whilst browsing through YouTube on one boring day, I came across a video by Nikkie Tutorials that read "ENDING MAKEUP SHAMING". Watching the video, I couldn't help but feel slightly exasperated that, not only Nikkie but quite a lot of people I know on the Internet, are overdramatising what I think is very trivial.
As an artist and the girly-girl I am, I love makeup. I love wearing it, experimenting with different colours and techniques and changing the way I look and I often never leave the house without doing my foundation, eyebrows and sometimes that pop of colour on the lips. It is, no doubt, similar to one of my favourite methods of fine art - painting.
Yes, makeup is art. It is a way to change yourself and empower confidence by expressing yourself. But, if that truly is the case then I don't understand why people are complaining and making "makeup shaming" a real thing.
I understand it's hurtful to hear brutal comments that target people's insecurities such as "you wear it because you're insecure" or "you wear it to impress boys", but those comments are those people's problems and it's their fault for not living in the 21st century and being extremely narrow minded. Letting that get into your head would ruin the tagline of makeup that it empowers beauty and confidence because if makeup really does empower confidence then there shouldn't be makeup gurus complaining about other's useless opinions on their makeup. There's nothing wrong with people posting about it and raising awareness that makeup is for oneself only and not something to impress people, but I'm not a big fan of this idea being emphasised as a 'social issue' because I believe it's not and it shouldn't be.
In my view, the entire idea of makeup shaming is one of the elements that define our culture and society today. Everything relating to how we choose to present ourselves have become common topics of discussion, showing that people nowadays prioritise looks. Of course I am not against people expressing themselves through appearance but, since we are in 2017 and with the world slowly falling apart, I don't think it should be something that's trending. To be brutally blunt, in 50 years time we will look back and see ourselves now as the narcissistic generation.
It's so unfortunate we live in a society with a mould that people need to shape themselves in for conformity and these expectations in appearances greatly affect, as well as recently shift, the social hierarchy amongst us, in particular the generation I'm in. People wearing a specific style of makeup deemed 'acceptable' are praised for their "amazing makeup skills", people with perfectly clear skin without makeup looked up to like 'gods' of some sort, people with thin lips sometimes stereotyped as white people and mocked for it and men who do makeup look down upon by other men because they find it 'gay' as it's too 'feminine'. It's amazing to see how looks determine power.
To add more, despite makeup being a form of art and expression I honestly think, with all the weird and ridiculous makeup trends on YouTube and Instagram, makeup is slowly losing its creative flare. I see a lot of videos that show the same routine, where they put foundation and concealer on, do their eyebrows in that same arched shape, apply the darkest colour here and that there and so on and there is just nothing new anymore. I feel like most makeup gurus always take a short-lived trend and twist it into their own and although that is creative, again it is nothing new - it's expected since I feel a lot of makeup gurus do that. An example would be that contour craze where people would contour their faces using objects you wouldn't typically use, or contouring in henna patterns, vice versa. But I'm NGL there are so many other artists who do crazy and really weird looks.
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| The short-lived clown contouring. |
Additionally, with this particular style of makeup being the most popular all over social media it sets beauty standards. The ubiquitousness of these makeup rituals and its results that I fore mentioned, and that's still growing on the Internet, is the one creating these moulds. Because of its popularity, it's deemed as the acceptable and lauded way of presenting yourself: the high cheekbones achieved by contour and highlight, the winged liner, the fluttery false lashes, the plump and over-lined lips along with that strong arch in the eyebrows, etc. There are many people out there who physically change their natural features so it's much easier for them to fit the mould without too much makeup, such as getting lip-fillers (which are very common amongst public figures like Kylie Jenner and Dove Cameron). I know it's completely their personal choice, but I still believe they change their looks to feel a sense of belonging in a world that idolises perfection.
Overall, I don't think makeup shaming is real, I think that those comments that I mentioned before is bullying. Comments like "your foundation looks cakey", "you have too much highlighter on" or "your eyebrows are too dark" are simply criticisms. Everyone has different views of what beauty is to them so, like any other art, makeup is ambiguous - you should accept those criticisms, otherwise you wouldn't be a true artist.
Also, despite loving makeup myself, makeup is brutal and it is one of the factors that has one of the biggest impacts to our perceptions, feelings and society as a whole. But as someone who doesn't give a shit about appearance, I believe makeup is not important. It shouldn't be something that someone overthinks about on a daily basis and spends hours in front of the mirror as well as constructing this social hierarchy. However, I find it interesting how the idea of painting yourself can not only affect you but an entire society.
I'd like to know your thoughts, whether you agree with me that makeup is not and should not be important or whether you think otherwise!
Nicole ᵔᴥᵔ
4.14.2017
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