7/28/09

laggin' :(

Here's a big FOTD dump to make up for my (kinda) long absence.

In all of them, I have...
face-
Maybelline concealer
translucent powder
Benefit Dandelion blush- my new love :) <3

eyes-
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk
L'oreal Telescopic Clean Definition Mascara
Wet n Wild Mega Liner + Black kohl liner (except in the last, where I have Jordana brown eyeliner and WnW white eyeliner)




Dazzlelight
Amber Lights
Stately Black
Vanilla pigment
Ardell 105s

nothing on lips :(




Dazzlelight
Gorgeous Gold
Paradisco
Seeds of Love
Vanilla pigment
random halloween falsies

Lollipop Loving




Vanilla pigment
Sumptuous Olive
Beautiful Iris
Ardell 110s

Patisserie
Angel



Yogurt
Beautiful Iris
Satellite Dreams
Contrast
Vanilla Pigment

Angel




Vanilla pigment
Mulch
Solar White

concealer
Patisserie

And here are my nails from a couple of days ago! They haven't gotten too weak after I stopped taking Biotin. But i still keep them short, just in case :) I have no idea what this polish's name is. It's not on the bottle :(

7/19/09

vanilla pigment ftw + a couple of looks

Vanilla pigment is amazing. It's so versatile! It can be used as a cheek highlight, in any eye look (it goes with pretty much every color), or it can be used on top of a boring eyeshadow to add extra oomph, which I do frequently :) Shown below are two not-so-unique eyeshadows with Vanilla pigment on top of them.

Yogurt, Beautiful Iris


Vanilla over Yogurt is so beautiful! The picture doesn't capture the color complexity of it. This combo makes such a gorgeous highlight when paired with warm colors, such as purples and plums. Vanilla also looks great over Beautiful Iris, giving it more dimension.



Here are some looks I did recently. I've been a bad makeup applier lately, I rarely put it on :(


In both of these...
face-
Maybelline concealer
translucent powder

eyes-
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk
Wet n Wild mega liner + kohl liner
L'oreal Telescopic Clean Definition mascara


Benefit Dandelion

Motif
Haux
Plum Dressing
Vanilla pigment
Yogurt
Contrast

Lollipop Loving




Gingerly

Vanilla pigment
Paradisco
Haux
Scene

Patisserie
Revlon l/g in Apricot Glaze

7/14/09

biotin: the good, the bad, the ugly

As a typical woman, I love a nice set of nails. No... I love a gorgeous set of nails. To my misfortune, I was not blessed with naturally long, strong, and beautiful nails. Thanks, mom! And unluckily, I don't have very long nail beds either so my nails have to be pretty long for them to actually look long. And to top it all of, my nails are paper thin. I'm talking break-every-other-day, peel-like-a-bad-sunburn, and almost transparent thin. I was crushed knowing that I could never have beautiful long nails without having high maintenance acrylics. I then discovered the supplement Biotin. It is described as a supplement supposed to help the skin, nails, and hair.
I started off by taking 1,000 mcg a day. Absolutely no improvement. NONE. I then bumped it up to 3,000 mcg, and my nails were a little stronger. I took these low dosages for about 3 months, before bumping it up to 5,000 (pictured). Within a month of taking the 5k, my nails were STRONG. They wouldn't bend, they grew pretty damn fast, and they stopped breaking.


My nails back in April.


My nails a couple weeks ago.


I thought I had found my solution. I finally had the nails I wanted, I felt ultra feminine, and I could play with all the polish my heart desired!
But.
One day, I found a review of Biotin on Makeup Alley. After scrolling down some reviews, I saw it: ACNE. I had always had pretty clear skin, with a small occasional breakout while PMSing. But ever since a couple months back, it has gotten BAD. I'm talking new pimples every other day which were big, painful, and took forever to heal. I have a strict skincare routine which I never disobey, so I was dumbfounded. That day I read the review, I had an epiphany. My acne didn't start to worsen until after a few weeks into taking Biotin in high dosages. I did more research on it, went on several forums where Biotin was reviewed, and almost every reviewer said it caused bad acne. Some said the acne would go away if you drank a lot of water (which I do, I drink 100oz a day and my I would still break out) and take it with other vitamins (which I also do). I thought it was supposed to be a SKIN supplement. My hair also got ridiculously thick. I had always had baby fine hair which I loved, and suddenly my hair was thick, hard to manage, and always looked bad. I couldn't win. So I stopped taking Biotin completely a couple weeks back. My hair is starting to get thinner, and my skin has gotten a little better, so I guess time is key here. I ended up just cutting my nails pretty short. Yes, I had to sacrifice my long, strong nails, but I gladly cut them off knowing my skin may clear up. And hey, now I can do more activities and not have to worry about clawing my eyes out in the middle of the night. :)

7/13/09

first post!

Hi everyone, my name is Clara and welcome to my blog :) I will be posting my FOTDs, picture tutorials, nail polish swatches, reviews, and other things you find on most beauty blogs. As a little preview to what's coming, here's some of my previous FOTDs. :)