Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Too Faced's new Primed and Poreless Pure

I bought a new primer by Too Faced... their new Primed & Poreless Pure. It is oil free, and supposed to be mattifying... also great for sensitive skin, since it doesn't have the small percentage of Retinol that the original Primed & Poreless has. I decided to try it out Sunday for my date with my brother to the Phillies game.

BIG MISTAKE.

While I'm sure this primer works great for every day use, when you're going to be outside... it can't really stand up to the heat.  My face was melting.  By the end of the game, I had barely any coverage on my face.  Luckily, I discovered an amazing little tool to combat just this problem.  I had some powder in my bag... but I didn't think even that could help because of how hot it was outside.

BROWN PAPER NAPKINS.  Those things are the greatest thing ever.  They absorb better than rice papers do!  Good thing the ballpark has them in massive quantities.  Next time you're going to be outside, grab some of these and stick them in your purse rather than spending the $5-$10 on rice papers.

My final vote on the primer... in general, I think it's a decent primer.  I just don't think it's the best for the situation I was in.  If you have sensitive skin, and you want a primer that's oil free, fragrance free, etc... then it's a great primer.  It just can't stand up to a lot of heat.  So if you're getting married in the summertime, do not use this primer.  Use something like Deslick by Urban Decay or POREfessional by Benefit instead.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Brazil Butt Lift... or what the frak am I getting myself into?

I watched the Brazil Butt Lift infomercials... I was mesmerized... and after thinking about it for about 2 months, and talking to my friend Kitty about it, I finally bought it. For two weeks, I was a GD rockstar. I got up at 6am every day, worked my tush off, and felt amazing. My husband even said to me "I can't believe I'm saying this, but your butt actually looks different."

And then I stopped.

And now I can't fit into my pants.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a healthy weight. I am comfortable with my weight right now. What I'm not comfortable with is not being able to fit into my jeans anymore. If I sit down to eat... sometimes I have to unbutton my pants. People in my family have always struggled with weight and Type 2 Diabetes. I was blessed with amazing metabolism and never really had to watch my weight. Now that I'm inching closer and closer to 30 (I'm 2 years away...) that amazing metabolism is shrinking.

And then I bought this GORGEOUS dress for my friend's wedding (except in coral, not purple) that is a month away (July 21) in the size that I always buy my dresses in... and it's not just too small. I look comic in it. I was so upset.



Enough is enough. No more whining about it... I am going back to BBL. I loved the way I felt when I was doing it, and this time I'm holding myself accountable for it by putting it on the internets. And I will be doing progress photos. The goal is to fit into my pants again... and to fit into the gorg dress I bought for the wedding next month.

I do have a Plan B. If I still feel like I can't breathe in the dress a week before, I'm returning it to the store and picking out something else. But I have confidence that I can totally do this.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

To Naked, or not to Naked?

I think the one question I get more than anything when I'm at work is "Is there even a difference between the Urban Decay Naked Palette, and the Naked 2 Palette?" YES.  Yes there is. And many makeup junkies will tell you the same thing.  Yes, there's a difference.  Do you need both of them? Probably not.

The one similarity between Naked and Naked 2 is that they both contain the shadow "Half Baked" which is a light gold color. That is the only shade that is the same. They also both come with a brush.  Naked Palette comes with a shadow brush.  Naked 2 comes with a double ended brush... one side is a shadow brush, and the other side is a crease brush. The important thing to know about the Urban Decay brushes (and this goes for all brushes made by Urban Decay) is that they are made out of recycled synthetic materials... and because of that, you want to clean them with rubbing alcohol.  That's it.  Just rubbing alcohol.

Now, I could go into depth comparing each shadow in both palettes, but I'm not going to do that. The main difference between Naked and Naked 2 is the tone.  The Naked Palette has mostly gold and bronze colors, whereas Naked 2 has a lot of taupe, grey, and "greige" colors (grey/beige).  Basically, my suggestion is if you are a warm-tone, get Naked.  If you are a neutral tone, get either.  If you are a cool tone, get Naked 2.

If you have no idea what tone you are... look at the color of clothing you wear.  If you look great in orange, red, gold... if you wear a lot of yellow gold jewelry... and if you wear a lot of "earthy tones" for your makeup (browns, greens, peaches) then you would like the Naked Palette better.  But if those types of colors don't match well with your skin tone, then think about Naked 2.

Personally for me, I prefer Naked 2.  I do have them both, but I wear my Naked 2 more than Naked.  People who are Urban Decay Addicts will get both.  You don't need both... not really.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Being a Wen Girl

I have been a "Wen Girl" for a little over a year now.  I was lucky enough to go to the QVC Beauty Bash last year, the final Beauty Bash until QVC decides to bring it back (Dear QVC, please bring it back...).  One of the perks of buying the very hard-to-get $75 tickets is that you get a box at the end of the day that is filled with beauty products that QVC sells.  From Wen, I received a small (6 oz) bottle of each of the regular scents that Wen makes: Sweet Almond Mint, Pomegranate, Fig, Aloe & Cucumber, Tea Tree, and Lavender.

It was a nice way to try it out, because each of the scents do something a bit different.  Fig is supposed to be for very coarse, curly hair.  Aloe & Cucumber is for oily scalp.  Tea Tree is great if you have dandruff (and it's great to mix with the others).  Sweet Almond Mint, Pomegranate, and Lavender are all for all hair types.

The Pros: If you use it PROPERLY, your hair does get very soft, and very healthy.  The more often you use it, the healthier your hair will be over time. It also really does protect your color.  I can't tell you how many times I get my hair colored, wash my hair for the first time with traditional shampoo, and see how much of my color is running down the drain.  In the year I have been using Wen, that has never happened to me... and the past 4 months, I've been a redhead.  I've had almost no fading whatsoever.

The Cons:  It is a bit costly, and you have to use a lot of product.  That's what I mean when I say if you use it PROPERLY.  You're going to read the instructions and say to yourself, "Psh, whatever, I can totally use less product.  I'm not using 30 pumps.  I'm using 5."  And then you will hate it. I use less than what Wen recommends for my hair length.  They recommend 30 to 40 pumps for shoulder length hair, and I use about 20-25.  Another con is that to really get the most benefits, this is the one brand where you need to be brand loyal.  Using traditional cremes, blow dry lotions, etc that are not Wen will cancel out the benefits you get from using it in the first place.  But I'll be honest with you... I didn't use Wen styling products until recently, and only because it came in a set that I bought.  

Whenever I buy Wen, I always look for sets and deals.  I think, at the moment, the only place you can purchase Wen is through them directly, or through QVC.  Personally, you can find the best deals through QVC.



I recommend trying out Wen if you don't mind spending a little more money on your hair, or if you color your hair.  Wen is not for the budget conscience.  A regular-sized bottle is 16oz and costs $29 full price (that's the bottle pictured above.  The size at the top of this review is the 32oz, which retails for $49.50).  This is why I only ever buy it when there is some kind of deal.  I would love to purchase Wen all the time.  Instead, I treat Wen as my special treat.  I will wash my hair with Wen for a month, use a sulfate free shampoo for a few weeks, and then go back to Wen.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Introduction and Favorites

I remember the first piece of makeup I ever bought. I was 12, and I thought I was the coolest person in the universe because I had Wet 'n Wild lipstick. It was hot pink. I wore no other makeup, just my hot pink Wet 'n Wild lipstick.

In high school, my mother introduced me to department store makeup, but it wasn't until after I graduated from college that I discovered that there were so many different makeup and skin care companies that I had never heard of before. smashbox. Urban Decay. Bare Escentuals. philosophy. I started working for a retailer of these fabulous brands, and now I've been spoiled

In the 5+ years I've been working for this company, I have learned a lot from makeup artists I call friends. I have taught myself a lot of techniques, but I've also learned that I love teaching people about makeup. What works best... how to do certain things... what is an attainable at-home regimen.

So I created Posy Palette. This blog is going to be a lot of things. I will review products, compare products, maybe do some before and after shots. I will do different techniques, share some of my favorite secrets. This blog is for the makeup junkie who wants a fresh opinion... the person who loves makeup but has no idea what to do with it... the person who wants to be an at-home makeup artist like me. Your face is the perfect canvas... and there is so much you can do with it!

Some of my favorite products at the moment (and there will be reviews on these at some point)

Mascara: Benefit's They're Real
Lipstick: YSL Rouge Volupte in Rose Paris #27
Foundation: Lancome Teint Miracle
Foundation Primer: smashbox Hydrating Primer
Eye Shadow Palette: Urban Decay Naked2
Blush: tarte 12-hr Blush in Amused

 As you can see... I'm not brand loyal to anyone.