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?

Three Perfect Taupes

Taupe is one of those colours that sounds boring, but looks fantastic.

 The problem with taupe eyeshadow is that there is a great variety available, and it's hard to sift through and figure out what works. What suits Mademoiselle Zut Alors may, on her sister, Sacre Bleue, look like a bruise on the mend.

I prefer lavender-toned taupes, an even mix of cool and warm, so they stand out on my warm lids/skin but don't dull down the twinkle in my eye, the zest in my step.

BTW, I do realize the futility of blogging about eyeshadow, without pictures to illustrate. Especially for such a complex category like 'taupe'....for which the merest fleck or variance in hue can change the effect, but...bear with me. Because a) no functioning camera, and b) my taste is FLAWLESS.

So without further ado, three incredible taupes:

1) slap and go, aka LUSH's cream shadow in Sophisticated.
Metallic in the best way, not overt but, as the name says, SOPHISTICATED..
Somehow...does not crease but fades evenly, acts as a fine base.
No visible flecks of shimmer yet it gleams upon le lids, a yummy lavender-taupe. Great formula and non-tacky colour.

 (P.S. its twin in pencil form is Lise Watier Fauve, which I know many use only as a cream shadow...but doing so with a pencil means it runs out faster and you are unsuspectingly aging your lids with all that rubbing, smudging action.

2) Classic with a kick, aka Estee Lauder cream shadow in Mochachino. The best cream-shadow-in-a-pot formula I have come across. Miles better than Shiseido, for instance, (slippy-slidey) or MAC (too drying), for me. A cool-toned taupe that is slightly bluish, greyish, lavender...Has the most finely milled and barely-there sheen. Will suit everyone!

3) shimmer that doesn't suck, aka Pupa Luminys in 401. If you live in Canada, you can get this at Rexall. This was the first taupe I fell for, and nothing can snatch away its crown.

The taupe that proved to me...taupes are not humdrum at all. Shimmery baked shadow. Warm-toned rosy taupe (if you want a slightly cooler one akin to MAC Satin Taupe, try Pupa's 400). Blends at edges into a cool-toned brown, which is convenient (do not need any other shadow).
 The best eyeshadow formula ever and very pigmented. Expensive, but so worth it.
 Note: Do not drop it. I dropped mine, the lid closed, but half of it had crumbled. I devoted an evening lovingly repressing it into tiny pans.


Why all these don't suck: they don't dull the skin/eyes. They brighten and define at the same time, which is a big call.

They are all easy to incorporate into any look, or use alone. The cream shadows are particularly easy, to sheer out or build up. They don't scream, they whisper elegance. And if there's one thing we've all learned from years of attending polo and ornamenting the stands, it's that....

Elegance is an attitude. Indeed. 

The Epidemic of Frightening Eid Makeup aka Step Away from the Kohl

Eid Mubarak in advance, to those who chose, over a night of sensible sleep, to devour beauty tips from that most qualified (have you SEEN her? -whistles-)  of beauties, and bonniest of lasses, also known as...well my modesty prevents me from saying but mayhaps your keen eye hath detected she whom my humble tongue doth flail at mentioning? 

Blah. Anyway- Mubarak and a hearty raising of the cup (Rooh Afza, ma)! Now, onto a matter of the greatest urgency!

What-quoi-will you wear to your Eid bonanza? Makeup-wise, of course. Because everything else is non-negotiable.

Look- le dress, will be ostentatious as a conman's mansion, non?

 Le jewels, yours and your cousin's, they shall be winking lasvicsiously at each other from across the table, sensing an impending entanglement when you two sally forth to do the Eid Embrace.

Le hair, it shall be DONE-a-roo, as they say in Australia. (Crocodile Done-dee.)

Le heels-they shall be kindly lending you an extra 5 inches so as to compound the discomfort that glamour requires.

So why-why-why-nande- tread the territory of Overdone Aunt on the Prowl, and INSIST on heavy makeup too?

Do you really want a tri-coloured smokey, poorly applied falsies, to top off the towering, dangerously swaying, off-centered wedding cake, that will be your Eid Look? Enough to put your loved ones through the strain of suppressing their grimaces, as the Look deteriorates over the course of a meal? 

"Wabi sabi, dear. It's all the rage. Do pass the wasabi," she smiled brightly. It would be a rather fetching smile too, if it hadn't revealed the blood-red lipstick coating her front two teeth.

 If you spray on perfume like an Arab sheikha would, about to head out to a club with her doting but unsuspecting dad's credit card, well then-the effect will be deadly. Repulsive as pest spray, but without the benefit of warding off mosquitoes. And no-tis not always desirable to be a knockout. 

(My point, which I shall get to, as I most certainly plan on it, and it shall ensue, and come forth, within a moment if not sooner, the point that is, what else but.)

Look- a friendly suggestion. For your makeup at least, do something mild, not major. 

A soft bronze or taupe eye, perhaps, or just a winged liner instead of KOHL EVERYWHERE. A subtle wash of interesting colour as opposed to a muddied rainbow. One product for lips instead of a gruesome monstrosity of dark liner/pale lipstick/thick gloss.

 Don't worry about the bright festive colours and Rooh Afzah stains detracting from a pared back face. They won't drown it out and you still have room for fun. 

Sans three sets of crusty false lashes, cakey foundation, glittery cheekbones, smeared fuchsia lips. The children will thank you.

I'm going for Lush Sophisticated cream shadow with Pupa Luminys 401 for the crease. Soft taupes.
 Tight lining and mascara, sheer cream blush, and soft pink lips. Still unsure as to what attire to don, but this refined palette will most definitely go with anything.

P.S.

If desi, plz keep this in mind as a rough guide to life: DON'T. DO. PAINDOO.

The only paindoos I'm cool with are the genuine ones. You know, with DON'T JALLUS painted in chilling Goosebumps font, on the back of their taxis/rickshaws/automotive transportation device.
They tend to see life in technicolor through holographic red/lime green goggles, and all is forgiven and even...appreciated.