As a mascara junkie, I am always on the hunt for the latest and greatest. I love formulas that are glossy and smooth (read NO CLUMPS). Yeah, you know my story of The Clumpy and The Restless – not a good thing. While I normally go for a volumizing mascara, recently, I’ve opted for a lengthening one for the day, and I am leaving the volumizing one for the evenings (er, that is if I ever have an evening, because I would rather just plop on my couch and watch my stories). Since starting a new job at an office environment, I feel that a lengthening mascara offers a clean, professional look that makes me look polished AND awake.
I was happily surprised with Avon SuperExtend Mascara, and in my book this is definitely a keeper. I am in love with the glossy formula, and on my lashes, it has not clumped AT ALL. The black one is perfect for everyday use, and the bristles on the brush do a decent job at separating your lashes.
 Avon SuperExtend Mascara As usual, I curl my lashes, and then apply two coats of mascara. I wiggle the wand at the base of my lashes, which causes to deposit more color there giving me the appearance of a thick lash base, which I LURVE. It lasts all day (no raccoon eyes, peeps), and it holds my curl through my workday. I’ve even gotten a few compliments on how long my lashes look. :)
 Bare eye  One coat  Two coats
Now, removing the mascara is something I am still getting used to. This formula essentially forms little tubes around your lashes. If you were to grab one of your lashes between your fingernails, you can pull off this tube. BUT PLEASE DON’T DO IT! I happened to have a cat hair fuzzy (thanks, Shadow) stuck on my lashes, and upon removing it, this what happened. Anyway, because you have these little tubes on your lashes, I’ve found it takes SEVERAL cotton pads and waterproof eye makeup remover to remove this mascara completely. You have been warned!
Overall, I like this mascara, and I like the effect of long, glossy lashes. For $8.50, you might as well give it a try.
So, have you tried Avon SuperExtend Mascara? Did you love it? Hate it? Please tell!
P.S: Check out the previous episodes of The Mascara Diaries, here and here.
Disclaimer: A sample of this product was provided by Attention for the review.
You have probably thought I’ve lost my noodle, but no – I am very lucid, thankyouverymuch. I know this sounds crazy, but it works: refrigerating your beauty products help them last longer and in some instances perform better. Here are some examples of products I’ve kept in the fridge:
- Lipsticks: I find keeping lipsticks in the fridge quite helpful, especially during the summer. I remember my mom used to do the same. Having lived in Ecuador when it is basically hot all year round, I can see why she did it. Keeping them in the fridge prevented them from melting.
- Face and eye creams and serums: Keeping them chilled prolongs its life, not to mention they feel SOOOO good when applied chilled. Have you ever applied chilled eye cream? I highly recommend it!
- Nail polishes: This is another thing my mom used to do. I’ve noticed that my nail polish doesn’t dry or gunkify as quickly as it would when I just keep it on my counter.
- Perfumes: And yet another thing my mom used to keep in the fridge; I’ve done it once. Why? I like displaying my perfume bottles! However, keeping them in the fridge, and in its box, helps the fragrance last longer.
- Body lotions: How great is it to apply a chilled body lotion after a warm bath or a hot shower? Oooh, how about chilled aloe after a sunburn? Been there, done that.
Have you ever kept any beauty products in your fridge? Did anyone thing you’re crazy for doing this?
I had actually been coveting this pseudo-shift dress from New York & Co. I had seen about at month ago at one of their stores. I really liked the blue/orange dominating color combination and I really liked the abstract print. But, I really don’t like paying full price for things. What can I say – I am sucker for a good deal, especially a 50% off deal. One thing this economy has taught me is smart shopping. I know it is not the optimal situation for many a retailer; perhaps several years from now we would’ve all forgotten about the economic meltdown. In the meantime, I will go forth and shop on sale.
Mmkay. So. Back to the dress. This dress represents my “stepping out of my comfort zone” mood. For the most part, I am a neutral-solids girl. But after looking at my wardrobe earlier in the year, I felt I needed to be more adventurous with color. You see, black dominates my closet. Black is the New York uniform. Black is chic and it goes with everything. Black hides dirt and subway grime.
What I love about this dress is that I can picture wearing it many ways. This time around, I chose to pair with it with leggings and ankle boots. I picture wearing this dress on its own when the temps heat up, paired with some flat sandals, or with some cork wedges and some chunky bracelets for a fun night out. I think I can even wear this for work, if paired under a skirt – either a pencil or a full one. High-waisted maybe? Maybe a black one?  What do you think?
The Attire
Denim Jacket: GAP (MANY years old)
Abstract print dress: New York & Company
Leggings: Express
Ankle boots: Payless
Cross-body bag: ? bought in London
So your favorite blush has cracked and crumbled. It’s ruined! Well, not so fast! You can actually give your cracked blush a second life by transforming it into a cream blush.
Take your crumbled blush and finish crushing it until it turns to powder. You can use a mortar and pestle or the back of a spoon. Take some lip balm and scoop it in the bowl. Blend both for a perfect cream blush. When I’ve done this, I’ve stored it in one of my left over mineral makeup containers.
Have you ever mixed your own cream blush before?
So you’ve looked for ways to add umph to your makeup looks and realize you have all these cool darker, eyeshadows. How else could you use them? Well, you can make eyeliners out of them! How? Just add a few eyedrops (like Visine) to your dark eyeshadows for insta-liners. AND since eyedrops are mess-free and sterile, you can feel good about not contaminating or introducing bacteria in your makeup.
Have you ever used this trick before?
So. I am not sure if you noticed, but. The RSS FEED on Brunette and Pink has not been working since Friday. In my attempt of installing Wordpress for the two other blogs that are now part of the Brunette and Pink family, somehow my RSS feed for Brunette and Pink got corrupted and could not get it to work. Even my backup database would not work.
After some finagling, a few curse words and some beer, I was able to restore all the postings and comments, but as you can see, the template and layout are different since none of the frosting (i.e. widgets and banners) were restored. UGH. Please bear with me as I try to fix all this, and hopefully get things somewhat back to normal.
In OTHER COOL NEWS – Brunette and Pink’s family is expanding. In the attempt of creating a media empire, I have relaunched T’s Tasty Bits, my food blog, and added a new blog: Brunette Confessions. Brunette Confessions is a more personal blog, and will serve as a platform for other topics, stories and ideas I would love to share with you.
You will have the option to subscribe to each RSS feed individually or to the whole kit n’ kaboodle – this I am working on, and I will let you know when the full feed is up and running.
Thank you so much for being patient with me in these difficult moments. Hours of nap time and hair were loss in the process. However, no cats named Shadow were harmed during this difficult time. He regrets the Sunday Sleuth didn’t make its appearance.
Hopefully we will back to somewhat regular programming tomorrow.
xoxo
Tamara
One of the things I love about Spring is that we get to show off a nice manicure and pedicure (uhm, I am still working on that though…) Lately, I’ve opted to do my own nails to save some money. I also like knowing that the utensils and the colors I use are MINE and only MINE. I do, however, miss the nice hand massages you get at nail salons. Le sigh. Perhaps I’ll treat myself to a full mani/pedi one of these days.
Now, I don’t know if you experience the same issues, but doing my own nails is definitely challenging. For instance, I have no problem doing my left hand, but when it comes to my right hand (I am right-handed), I am a TOTAL disaster: smudges, nail polish oozing everywhere, and smearing! GEEZ, how frustrating is it when you are done with your nails and you bump into something ending up with a huge gash on one of your nails?
In finding a solution to not screw up my self-done mani, I have come across cuticle oil. I honestly don’t know how it took me so long to incorporate this in my mani. I feel like I have been living under a rock! The epiphany actually came to me when, after having a pedicure done a while back, my nail lady brushed cuticle oil on all my toes, covered my toes with plastic wrap (like Saran wrap – yeah the one you use to cover your food), and then helped me put my shoes on. When I got home, my pedicure was intact – no smudging, no smearing. Genius!
So, I have learned to incorporate cuticle oil in my mani/pedi routine and found 3 uses for cuticle oil:
- Stop your nail polish from smudging: After applying nail polish, apply a few drops on each nail. The oil gives your nails a slippery effect, acting as a barrier between your nail polish and anything else that might screw it up. Of course, this works on your pedicure, as I described above.
- Fix pesky smears: So you have done your nails and you bump into something. CRAP! Well, all you do is brush on some cuticle oil right away and gently work out the smudge with your fingers. No need for spit here, people!
- No more dull polish: If your mani or pedi is starting to look a bit dull, a bit of cuticle oil will help restore the shine. Cuticle oil hydrates your nails, penetrating them and smoothing out any imperfections.
Have you ever used cuticle oil in these ways?
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