Blush Up In the Club

Since I'm constantly in some sort of feminist denial of how much I love colored powders and creams, I'll begin this post with a meaningless declaration - I have never been much of a blush girl (much in the same way I've declared not to have been a mascara girl, or a liner girl, or any sort of genuine makeup girl generally). I don't know why I beat myself up like this because the truth is that on any given day (particularly a blues-y one), I'll go wherever the magical makeup lurer at Duane Reade or Sephora guides me. Recently, it was past the L'Oreal shelves, whose clean and neat-looking line of True Match products are strangely alluring.

This might have to do with the fact that I had a rather good experience with a True Match foundation in college, and that I finally got hold of Subtle Sable blush and would recommend it. Since it is a sweltering July here in New York, my makeup inclination has been to ditch some of the traditional blush shades for my medium/warm skintone and try some summery nude blushes instead. This meant avoiding pink and berry blushes for a while and going for something more neutral and understated along the lines of NARS Lovejoy (which I'm not in love with). If you want to know the truth, I was somewhat inspired by random images of Beyonce whose warm skintone had a very pretty, apricot-brown glow. It made me want to put my hands up in the club and do my own little thing with that same glow.

L'Oreal has a somewhat complicated letter/number system for matching shades to skintones, and so I largely ignore it - I just went with the highest numbers in the neutral and/or neutral-warm family, which led me to True Match blush in Soft Sun (W7-8), a slightly browned peach. It started chanting "Now put your hands up, up in the club..." I caved. I had a $5 coupon so the cheapster couldn't even object.

Best $5 I've ever spent in a drugstore (for now). This blush is deceiving - at first glance, you might think it's too light for medium/warm skintones, and you might be tempted to go with Sweet Ginger (N7-8) or Subtle Sable (W5-6) both warm, brick-pinks. But Soft Sun has its own charm and appeal. This golden apricot shade warms up my face, but never competes with some of the redness I have around my nose and cheeks from summer allergies. It almost has the effect I always thought bronzer should have, minus the muddiness and with some more color. With it's matte finish, it gives just a little bit of definition to my youthful (read: round) face with zero chalkiness. Compared to some of the brighter and darker blushes I own, it is much easier and more comfortable to wear. It reminds me of Milani's Sunset Beach blush, which is more orange and less neutral, and so doesn't have the same effect as Soft Sun.

The reason I prefer this to NARS Lovejoy as a natural/nude but still warm and forgiving blush is the texture. True to its name, the L'Oreal blush is very fine-milled, soft, blendable, and matte. Even though Soft Sun is the lightest blush I own, the pigmentation still makes an impact. Lovejoy, on the other hand, barely registers on my face. Instead of giving a natural, warm finish, it looks much like I took a few of swipes of a cakey nude blush to my cheeks. If you like Lovejoy but find Soft Sun too peachy-nude and want a little more pink, Sweet Ginger might be the next best drugstore alternative.

Now I just have to get more gloss on my lips and a man on my hips.

Good Gloss

Oh, how difficult it can be to find one that does not glue hair to your lips or make you look like you just ate a lot of fried chicken. My current favorites for dress-up are ck Calvin Klein Delicious Pout Flavored Lip Gloss in Pastel Gold and MAC Lip Gelee in Saphoric. Milani Crystal Lip Gloss in Taboo is a reliable everyday gloss but I have not gone near it in ages. Partly because I don't wear gloss to the office, and partly because I've been moving away from pink browns with blue undertones and leaning towards peach. By some twisted logic, these two reasons encouraged me to find a better everyday gloss. Read - I'm bored.

I gave Revlon Colorstay Mineral Lip Glaze in Forever Fig a try and found exactly that. The color is a natural, sheer peachy/pink, and the formula is far more moisturizing than I expected. Nice shimmer, but not over-the-top. A very mature and versatile gloss. Give it a try if you want something reliable to toss into your bag.

$7 @ Drugstores

Purple Is The New Black

So proclaimed an ad in Sephora, and I wholeheartedly agree. Purple makeup is everywhere and I'm loving it. From smoky eggplants to neon purples, there are simply too many variations to resist, no matter what your personal preferences. Plus, they look good on most skin tones. If you're not into purple makeup, it's showing up in everything from shoes to bags.

Purple can be a hard tricky color to work with, no matter what the shade - after all, you don't want to look like someone just punched you in the face. An Indian's Makeup Blog has some great tutorials on purple makeup. My personal recommendation is to go easy and start with what makes you most comfortable. This week, I'll be experimenting with L'Oreal Lineur Intense Liquid Eye Liner in Defined By Plum and a light dusting of deep lavender and bronze shadows.

Below is a list of some high/low end purple makeup to try. Happy purple!

Drugstore

• NYC Color Wheel Mosaic Eye Powder - Purple Rain
• Prestige Eye Shadow - Velvet, Blossom, Bisou, Bacchus, & Royale
• Maybelline Expert Wear Eye Shadow - Amethyst
• Milani Eye Shadow - Shock (Powder), Royalty (Runway Eyes), & Couture in Purples (Runway Eyes Fashion)
• L'Oreal Wear Infinite Eye Shadow - Plum Royale
• L'Oreal HiP Eye Shadow Duo - Sculpted & Charisma
• NYX Eye Shadow Trio - TS6 (Purple, Deep Purple, Prune) & TS3 Lake Moss
• NYX Single Eye Shadow - Violet, Eggplant, Red Bean Pie, & Burgundy Pearl
• Jordana Eye Shadow - Sweet Plum
• Jordana Eye Liners - Purple Fusion, Parisian Plum, & Eggplant
• L'Oreal Limited Edition Plum Collection products: Lineur Intense Liquid Eye Liner - Defined By Plum, Wear Infinite Eye Shadow Quad - Purple Mosaic
  

Sephora/Department Store

• Calvin Klein Eye Shadow Quad - Purple Variation
• Bobbi Brown Eye Shadow - Velvet Plum
• Laura Mercier Eye Shadow - Black Plum, Kir Royale, & Plum Smoke
• Laura Mercier Kohl Eye Liner - Black Violet
• Urban Decay Eye Shadow - Flash, Crash, & Purple Haze
• Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil - 1999, Rockstar, & Lust
• Urban Decay Lipstick - Apocalypse
• Clinique Creme Shaper for Eyes - Starry Plum
• Clinique Kohl Shaper for Eyes - Black Amethyst
• Make Up For Ever Eye Shadow - Deep Plum Shimmer Iridescent 79, Matte Dark Purple 160, & Purple 92
• The Balm Shady Lady Eye Shadow - Curvy Cami & Just This Once
• MAC Eye Shadow - Purple Haze
• Rock 'n' Ruin Pressed Eye Shadow - Purple
• Stila Eye Shadow - Batura
• Stila Eye Shadow Duo - Orchid & Vieux Carre
• Cargo Eye Shadow - Cyprus
• LORAC Eye Shadow -After Party & Rhapsody
• LORAC Starry-Eyed Baked Eye Shadow Trio - Starlet
• Sephora Brand Enchanted Eye Palette - Plum

Milani Eye Shadow - Flare

Oh my goodness. It's been a while since I wanted to make out with a product, even though I've had some decent successes so far. But this eye shadow from Milani is something else. I saw it and just had to have it. Luckily, it was so cheap that I didn't even feel bad about it.

Flare is everything I thought MAC's Expensive Pink was going to be. Not that I'm not happy with Expensive Pink - I think it is still a gorgeous, must-have pink that is extremely versatile. While Expensive Pink is a true, light rose gold, Flare is a deep, coppery pink. It's very true to its name - like one of those hot pink/magenta flares or fireworks, but with a far amount of copper and slightly orange tones (image above doesn't at all do it justice). So pretty.

Even prettier when applied. Expensive Pink takes a few layers for the pink to actually show, and when it does, it's a very fleshy pink gold. Flare gives a deeper and less shimmery effect with just one, well-blended layer. This is a shimmery/pearly finish and so it is less reflective than Expensive Pink, which is a Veluxe Pearl and can look much more frosty. Flare blends in so easily due to a very soft, velvety texture much like my Smashbox and MAC shadows. It actually complemented Expensive Pink very well, and would also work with most bronze/brown shadows.

It's one of those colors that every South Asian bride who is going to wear pink or gold (and likes to wear jazzier makeup accordingly) should have. The finish allows it to be used in a number of different ways - I dabbed it lightly over some blush and it gave it a nice, shimmery glow that would be nice for evening.

I love this shadow, plain and simple. I will find ways to wear it because I love the idea of wearing such a fabulous pink.

Milani's eye shadows have often been compared to MAC's, and I wholeheartedly agree - they are of comparable quality, if not better. I found copy-cats of my MAC Bronze (Golden Bronze) and Smashbox Ambient (Sun Goddess) and almost wish I had tried them before purchasing the more expensive ones. $3.49 @ Walgreen's

Things I've Been Reaching For More Than I Expected

So while I still haven't developed a makeup "routine" (and likely won't, for a number of reasons), I find myself reaching for some of the same products over and over again. They help me clean up pretty nice in the morning, and I don't feel like I have guck on my face that I can't deal with.

Eye liner falls into the guck category, and I just haven't had the heart to bother using any lately. My eyes have been sensitive, and in this weather, no matter how long it lasts, it just doesn't feel very summery. Normally, I would reach for liner, some lipstick/gloss, and maybe a dusting of powder.

This is what I've actually been using:

1) L'Oreal True Match Super Blendable Powder in W4, Neutral Beige
2) L'Oreal FeatherLash Mascara in Black
3) Milani Mineral Blush in Sunset Beach
4) TheBalm Shady Lady Eye Shadow in Mysterious Marissa
5) Clinique Buttershine Lipstick in Rum Kiss

Sounds like a lot for me, but the effect is pretty simple and polished. I bother with the powder because my skin is on the oily side, and in this weather, I need something to mattify it a tad in the mornings.

Mascara - so much easier than liner, especially this one. The Marissa shadow is a dream to use, and I love the color/packaging more every time I use it. Just have to remember to use something underneath so it lasts longer...

Rum Kiss, the only product I haven't mentioned previously, is a basic pink/brown/nude with work-appropriate shine. I don't need the color in the mornings, but this is quite moisturizing. Very reliable and useful - will definitely buy again once it's done.

Nice mix of high and low products, huh? I'm quite pleased with myself. Now if only my dermatologist would fix my skin!

Milani Cyrstal Lip Gloss - Taboo

Ok, this find is not a part of my Milani kick. I discovered this great lip gloss last year and got so much use out of it - I can't believe it took me this long to share what a value this is.

The Crystal Lip Gloss is a chubby, pocket-sized tube gloss with one of those "doe-foot" wands (where do they come up with these names???). It's one those perfect, everyday glosses that has good color payoff and shine, is decently long-wearing for the price, is not too sticky or silky, and has just enough shimmer. This is meant to be some kind of ultra-shiny formula, but I don't really find it to be so.

I love the Taboo shade because it is one of those truly universally flattering neutral pink/brown colors that you can wear just about anywhere and that complements many a makeup "look." It helps tone down brighter colors as well and worn lightly, is a great nude.

I'm all about lip guck, but this is one of those products that is a staple and that I find myself reaching for more often than more expensive glosses and lipsticks. $1.99 @ Drugstores

I Trust Java, Just Not Myself - Milani Eyeshadow

It's official - I no longer trust me own eyes. After bringing home what seemed like a wonderfully subtle brown shimmer eyeshadow from Milani Cosmetics in Java Bean, I've decided that sometimes, I just have no idea what I'm doing.

I had read about this color on MUA and decided to give it a try since it looked so pretty on my hand (I have not yet learned that this is often unreliable). The quality of this formula is on par with my Smashbox eyeshadows and probably many other more expensive ones. I was very surprised and had to stop myself from buying more.

I wanted to use Java Bean in combination with my Smashbox shadows in Cinnamon Toast, and Shell, and possibly Ambient (I raved about them here). Since these are all neutral shades, I decided I need to create more depth with a dark shadow. MAC's Handwritten was one possibility, but that seemed too matte and one-dimensional.

Java Bean is definitely a versatile, neutral brown in a smooth, soft texture with minimal shimmer and a pearly finish. Definitely a major drugstore find that should be re-visited. Either the color just wasn't right for me or I wasn't applying it properly in my crease.

I'm a bit worried now that I've just been buying all the wrong shades for all the wrong purposes. Maybe Shell and Cinnamon Toast are too light? Maybe Ambient is too orange? Maybe I should use darker colors? I need to start hauling around a makeup artist to maneuver all of this. And get my eyes checked.

But I will probably not stop experimenting with Milani eyeshadows since they are soo inexpensive and easy to play with. $3.29 @ Drugstores