Safe Brands (Pt 2: Tentative - Mainstream Brands)

Part one here.

Mainstream/bigger brands are harder to figure out.

Obviously any company gobbled up by Lauder and L'Oreal, is now instantly out of the question.
NYX? Gross. MAC? I love you, but no. Stila? Cute but not worth it.
Clinique? Bai bai. Michael Kors? Nice 'fume but I can find a dupe.
The Body Shop? Turrah.  

Technically irrelevant; I thought this was funny. From here

(The more I read about Mr Lauder's double-edged political activism, the more my tube of GWP Sumptuous mascara begins to resemble a missile.)

 But for brands under LVMH? Well their associations are less clear. For instance, I have yet to read something as incriminating as this, about LVMH:
"L'Oreal has also awarded a $100,000 "lifetime achievement" award to a scientist at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science in July 2008. The Weizmann Institute has been a major centre for clandestine research and development of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons on behalf of Israel's military with which it has close ties."


After reading as much as I could find about Japanese/Korean brands owned by KAO/AmorePacific/etc, I figured they're all clean of blood and shoved 'em all onto the list.
This be unknown territory for many buut usually they come out with the purdiest packaging, and innovations (like tubing 'scaras) that the rest of the world takes a while to catch up on. Here is a good post detailing some good Asian brands and products.

I'd be grateful, if anyone would ascertain whether these brands are absolutely not associated with Zionist proponents. Or if something doth/dothn't belong here, please do leave a comment.
Really, the only method I employed to get this out was hours of internet research fueled by soy milk coffee (a foul concoction indeed).

Highlighted are those brands which don't engage in animal testing either.

• Addiction link
• Annabelle link
• Barry M link
• Bare Escentuals link
• Boots No 7 link
• Cargo Cosmetics link
• Cover FX link
• Elizabeth Arden link
• Etude link
• GOSH Cosmetics link
• Guerlain link
• Givenchy
• Hakansson link (for US) link (for Canada)
• Inglot link
• Jemma Kidd link
• Julie Hewett link
• Kanebo link
• Kryolan link  link
• Laneige link
• Laura Mercier link
• Lavshuca link 
• Lipstick Queen link
• Lise Watier link
• Lunasol link
• LUSH link
• Make Up For Ever link
• Makeup Revolution link
• Marcelle link
• NARS link
• Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics link
• Paula’s Choice link
• PUPA Milano link
• purMinerals link
• RMK Beauty link
• Rouge Bunny Rouge link
• Shiseido link
• Sleek Makeup link
• SUQQU link
• Tarina Tarantino link
• Tarte Cosmetics link
• theBalm link
• THREE link
• Too Faced link
• Vasanti link

--
News: The missiles Israel is launching (link about how they just hit a hospital), apparently contain radioactive uranium (illegal) - confirmed by Palestinian Interior Ministry - the air gets polluted with it, and the survivors breathe it in -- so indirectly, they die still, just years later, from cancer. Bravo. Are they going to deny it as they did the phosphorus bombs? You betcha.
--
Ground invasion of Gaza has begun. Soldiers in tanks, against civilians. This is how war is conducted now. 

2013 Beauty Favourites

Trumpets! Unfurl the flags! Confetti! Parading horses! It's time...

Following are some beauty favourites from the past year. Not necessarily the most used items, just ones that make my heart flutter.

Hopefully, it is useful. In any case I had fun compiling it.

 L-R: Elizabeth Arden Poppy Cream Color Intrigue lipstick, Anna Sui 701, Elizabeth Arden Cassis Ceramide lipstick, Anna Sui 303, Elizabeth Arden Neoclassical Coral - Center: Cargo 'South Beach' lipgloss quad/wheel/thingamajigger

Poppy Cream: The red to surpass all reds. The formula was creamy, superb.
It has been replaced with "Power Red" in the Beautiful Colour line. Out of sheer obstinacy, I will not be purchasing that one, although I have swatched it to compare, it has NOTHING on Poppy Cream.

Anna Sui 701: My perfect nude lips. More on the honey side of nudes, than pinky/beige. Formula: feels sheer, but opaque. I use Lizzy Arden's Sugared Kiss lipliner beneath it, if I can be arsed.

Cassis: I love berries, I love plums, and this is the best one of my collection. The ceramide lipsticks have an amazing formula, smooth, not too creamy, it actually imparts a lot of moisture and colour to dry lips. Fine shimmer, nothing frosty. Understated compared to other berries/plums that I have, but not in a boring way. Luxurious, slightly weighty, golden packaging.

Anna Sui 303: A fun pink, the closest to "bubblegum pink" I can pull off on my skintone.

Cargo South beach lipgloss quad: I can't stand gloopy gloss, this is an extremely soft, like, softer than butter, formula. It is also quite moisturizing, like a soft, creamy balm. Doesn't feel heavy/sticky/gloopy andn gloppy.
Pigmented enough to be stand-alone lip colours.

Lypsyl, Dior Rose balm

Lypsyl: Cherry flavour reeks, plan to get the basic, unscented one, once this is fini. Dunno what's so special about it. The ingredients seem straightforward enough. Still, it's a little miracle. Weightless feeling on the lips, sinks in well, just need to apply a couple of times a day. It isn't one of those "addictive" balms which do more harm than good, and dry out lips over time so that you have to constantly reapply.

Dior balm: Feels very thick and "protective." Imparts the slightest bit of pale pink colour. Need very little, but still, as you can see, I've hit pan.

TOP L-R: Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy, MAC Typographic, Annabelle Smudgepot gel liner, LUSH Sophisticated cream shadow, Pupa Luminys Silk 701
MIDDLE: Revlon Naturally Glamourous palette, Fyrinnae Snow Leopard, Electric Stardust (discontinued), Immortality, Estee Lauder Cream Shadow Mochachino, Benefit Strut cream shadow.
LAST: Lise Watier Eye Shine in Fauve, Anna Sui pen eyeliner in 500, Elizabeth Arden Smoky Eyes Powder pencil, Artist of Makeup 9-pan eyeshadow palette, Benefit Big Beautiful eyes palette.

Fyrinnae Stuffffs: Pixie Epoxy-great little base to help glittery eyeshadows stay on instead of scattering onto your cheek (the cheek!). I use it as an eyeshadow primer, too. It works well with loose e/s. Snow leopard eyeshadow is a gleaming taupe. Electric Stardust is a colour-changing mint-green. Immortality is a basic black with multi-coloured glitter.

Eyeliners:
Annabelle smudgepot gel liner: I find it better than Bobbi Brown, etc. Also better than the more inexpensive Maybelline/Essence/WetnWild gel liners. It is very creamy, but a tiny bit spreads out across the whole eye, so it's not as cakey as some others can be, esp if they are built up. Easy to manouvre or build up, dries perfectly opaque, crisp blackest of blacks, and doesn't hurt when used in the waterline.
Lise Watier Fauve: Lavender taupe. Smooth, no tugging necessary. Je use it for the lower lashline, it gives the perfect amount of defining shadow, but the subtle shine/shimmer also makes the eyes look a bit bigger and shinier than if it were an opaque colour. Stays on all day, but you have a little window to smudge it out across the lid if you please.
Anna Sui pen eyeliner in 500: This is amazingggggg. It's a rich brown with a golden sheen running through it, soooo pretty. It is a great liquid eyeliner formula, in a felt tip pen form. The felt tip is fine, precise, but flexible, and can be turned on its side, so you can get a thinner line inwards, and thicken it outwards in ONE FELL SWOOP! You turn the end once, and you get enough 'liquid' for both eyes (unlike other twisty-pen liners where you have to turn again and again).
Elizabeth Arden Smoky Eyes powder pencil in black: You get a hazy line, so it looks instantly smokey. It is a sophisticated, smudged-out sort of look, and it lasts all day for me. It is pigmented, but not overly so (not like those overly-creamy, newfangled 'gel liners' which I don't like).

Eyeshadows:
MAC Typographic: Tis the divine Matte2 formula, smooth, rich pigment, blends well. A basic almost-black. You can build it up to black. Very versatile. It gives that powder kohl look, without hassle of fallout. I love it for outer V or to soften the edge of eyeliner... Everyone should have this.
LUSH Sophisticated: Gleaming lavender taupe, exact match for Lise Watier's Fauve. Cream shadow that you apply with a sponge applicator, great formula. it works well as a base for any taupe looks, or alone blended at the crease.
Pupa Luminys Silk 401: MY VERY FIRST TAUPE. Baked eyeshadow, it is actually more massive than in the pic (I have used it so much that the round dome shape has flattened, and I've hit pan). Shimmery pale brownish taupe. Lasts allllll day without primer.
Estee Lauder Mochachino: A cream shadow which never creases, yet not too thick and annoyingly paint-like. My fave cream shadow formula, better than Shiseido, etc, imo. Colour is a taupe with a bluish shimmer, builds up to a darkish cool brown.
Benefit Strut: Stands alone (although I have used it with other colours) as an all-over lid colour, with black liner (in waterline too).. A bluish-greyish, shimmery, Young Hollywood, smokey eye look for the masses! ( Caveat: needs some sort of eye primer.

Palettes:
Revlon Naturally Glamourous: Inexpensive, assortment of brown eyeshadows with a taupe thrown in for good measure. Good quality, except for the white-ish shadow (comes out as a dirty muddy pale...something. Not pigmented).
Artist of Makeup palette: Good formula! Addictively beautiful colours! The 9-palette is very useful! Magnetized! Have used it nonstop since acquisition! A closer look:

L-R: St Tropez, Hush, Espresso, Hollywood, Marrakech, Bare Canvas, Cocoa, Brazen, Nutmeg

Benefit Big Beautiful Eyes: A no-brainer, basic neutral look, the concealer isn't bad (I use it to clean up edges or define the eyebrow half the time). Comes with useful little brushes.

Skincare:
Neostrata Toning Solution Level 2: Keeps my skin smooth, clear (not this week though as I've been too lazy to use it), and seems to brighten it a bit. AHA, BHA? Am covered.
Saeed Ghani Rosewater mist: I use it every day, under moisturizer, over makeup, last thing at night... Was misting it in Little Love's face yesterday, to his delight... Here is his testimonial: "gah goo ba ba da mmm mmm." I like it very much, it's a hoot and a half!
Bioderma Hydrabio Riche moisturizer: Perfect for sensitive, dry skin. Superbly moisturizing, yet light texture, sinks in. Gives a nice boing to the skin, or maybe I imagine it. Has niacinamide not too far down the ingredients list, so here's hoping it's contributing some brightening effect.
Burt's Bees Radiance Night Cream: Just a good night cream, that, of the many ones I've tried, doesn't irritate or break out my skin. Rich and moisturizing, absorbs well on top of freshly misted skin, so long as I am cognizant of using only the teensiest amount. Downside: scent isn't the best,, but JE NE GIVE A DAMN PAS!

Didn't photograph: my fave body skincare, perfume, bronzer, blush, foundation. You need something to anticipate, don't you?

Salute to a Great Lipstick

Perfection in a red lipstick--this is how it shall be remembered.

I sent an email a couple of days ago.

Hello,

I can no longer find the Color Intrigue lipsticks at my local EA stockist, the sales assistants don't know about what happened, and I adore that line. Particularly Poppy Cream, the best red lipstick, which, thankfully, is still showing up on the website.

My question is, is this line getting discontinued? Will Poppy Cream and the two other colours that are still showing on the website, still be around?

Sincerely,

Wonderful Perfection

Today, my friends, was the day I received their reply. Indeed, they informed me, my beloved Poppy Cream was no more.... Among the fallen... Discontinued, forevermore.

Poppy Cream and I, we had our times. It was well-balanced in hue, and intensely glowing (a fire within!), yet elegant, all at once.

 It never emphasized the evil written all over my face, as so many other red lipsticks do, with my dark brows and grim eyes riddled with the horrors of crimes I have comm--blah...excuse me.

It was a glorious formula: mightily pigmented, creamy (but not in a way that feels heavy/smears), moisturizing, making the lips look juicy but not glossy.

Never needed a lip balm. Never required a lipliner.
If it wore off, it did so with discretion, generously leaving behind a pretty, healthy rose tint. No uneven fading.

 It was a lavish, luscious red that no other line, high end or low end, has even come close to replicating. A woman once told me that, although she doesn't normally like red lipstick, "this one I love, it looks like flower petals."

In honour of dearest Poppy, I decided to try and replicate the following look.

 

 

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...Poppy Alexander McQueen....

 

...Cream. I meant Cream.

This was taken after a light breakfast, without requiring touchups. Impressed? I hope so.
The rest of the face is coated in the following:
Eyes: Fyrinnae Pixie epoxy. Artist of Makeup Bare Canvas, Nutmeg, Espresso, St Tropez and Hush eyeshadows.
I used Bare Canvas in my waterline as well, instead of a nude eyeliner. Anna Sui liquid eyeliner pen in 500. My magic mascara combo .
Skin:
GOSH CC cream in Sand (good but greasy-looking)
Chanel Poudre Universelle in Peche
Benefit Boing concealer (bleh) used around lips as well
Guerlain Spicy Coral Terracotta cream blush mixed with dabs of NYC Retro Red lipstick (as blusher) to get the red tinge the inspiration pic has around hairline and cheeks
Fyrinnae Enrapture blusher



Goodbye, Poppy Cream. Goodbye.

Because I love you

Because my love for you is true, here are a few things of which I wish to whisper to you...


~Glycerin (cheap!) added into any body moisturizer/face cream DOUBLES, TRIPLES, the moisture-boosting-powers. Try it. Mix it into steeped green tea, or plain water for a good spritzer that is just as good as MAC Fix+. Just store in fridge and remember to throw it out every two weeks to avoid bacteria growth.

My personal mix: I steeped (organic...dunno why that's important for topical application. It FEELS important) lavender/chamomile tea and green tea...added witch hazel, 1/2 tspn glycerin, a bit more water, shook it up, et voila!

So lonngggg, sucker

~Zoe Foster, my inspiration as a teenager, author of many a beauty article and chick lit book, has come out with a great app for your iPhone. It's called "AMAZING FACE." Sounds promising.

 I love it and highly recommend it. It cost me $3.99. A fun and useful little doohickey.
 Contains basic info and tips that are handy to cart around. E.G. things to say at the hairdresser's.
 Has little video and picture tutorials for a myriad of basic beauty routines, like a textured updo, a long-lasting red lip, etc.
 THE BEST PART: it gives you lists of key items you should have for your bathroom cupcoard, car, purse, etc.
And you can store lists of key items in your kit, as well as stuff you want to get. A shopping list, so you don't forget under the disorienting, gleaming lights of Holt Renfrew. It's perfect especially for beauty beginners, so do tell your mother, friend, niece, about it.

Here is Zoe Foster, backing up her Amazing Face claims with her very own, amazing face :)

~The perfect nude lip. Found.

 "THEY" (magazines, beauty editors) say:
Check the COLOUR of your GUMS. DO IT. YOU LOOK LIKE A SNARLING WOLF, WHAT OF IT? Now...match that tone.

I say: Sacre bleu! That idiotic snarl in the mirror showed me only that my gums that are pinky-red veering on pastel pink. And yet.
No pinky nude lip suits me.
GOSH Darling (waste of  $13) was the last to prove this.
Perhaps I wasn't made for nude lips!
Perhaps my lips be too red, my nose too bulbous, my frown too grim.

THEY say: TRY AGAIN. NUDE LIPS ARE UNIVERSAL. THEY REIGN ETERNAL.

I say: No. No. No again! No. -tossing aside lipsticks- Ooh. Wait a sec.
Hell-looo J Lo! Goll-ly!

THEY SAY: SEE? WE TOLD YOU.

I say: I look well-slept. Refreshed. Polished but not overdone.

THEY SAY: SO WHAT WAS IT? Your perfect nude lipstick...what IS it?

I say: Anna Sui.
(crowd gasps)
Yes, indeed, Anna Sui. Shade 701.

THEY SAY: Eh?? Does that brand even MAKE lipsticks? Isn't it all overpriced, faux-goth plastic-coated trash, for rich little girls?

I say: They do make lipsticks and they are great. I shall ignore your other comments as I, and Anna, are above them.

You need a good balm beforehand if you have flakes but otherwise, these are quite moisturizing. The finish is almost jelly-like. It gives sheer coverage, which is key I think, so your natural colour still shows through. You can build it up to almost complete opacity. It looks yummy. Needs reapplication after a few hours, but what of it? So do the YSL Rouge Voluptes.
 It is just pigmented enough without being too MAC-Myth-ish.

They say: Can you back that up with a photo?

I say: I can, although this was taken when I was SICK, little sleep, the usual. I have since purchased Anna Sui 303 which is the sweetest subtly-brightening pink one can imagine, and am completely enamoured with her whole lipstick line. They carry a black lipstick, didja know??

They say: Ahem.

I say: Ah. Yes. Here ya go.

Before--au naturel lips. (That flattering, subtle gleam upon my lids, is Dior Rosy Tan)

After: Anna Sui 701 with a bit of Elizabeth Arden Sugared Kiss lip liner at edges blended inwards....

THEY SAY: GOB...smacked.