an update

I'm not one to really disclose my personal affairs, since I've always wanted this blog to be about makeup and all the happy and pretty things…but given the lack of quality posts, I figure I'd give a bit of an explanation. 

Within the past few months I've been dealing with health issues, not to mention with the stress of moving…along with ending my older apartment with my ex. I came to terms with me and my ex being two different people, which is totally okay. One of the things I found annoying is he felt need to make snide remarks on my makeup hobby/habits. I won't get into the details, except that they weren't positive comments. At this point it doesn't matter anymore. I no longer talk to him, we never cross paths, and we live far away from one another. It's better for the both of us. 

I've been fortunate to not let his comments affect me personally. Although when you live with the person, there's no real moment of being alone...being lost in your own thoughts to think about the things you really enjoy. All of which resulted in the lack of consistent / quality posts. I'm just glad I'm physically living in a place that's more positive for me. 

As for my health, it's a work in progress since it's been a constant issue due to many factors. It's getting better. There's no need to discuss specifics on it.

I've been wanting to take a break from blogging since there are some other changes that I want to make, and in order for that to happen, I need to prioritize how I spend my time. I've been watching less YouTube videos and not reading as many blogs. I do love makeup, but I also want to improve on myself and hopefully the changes that I want to happen will occur sooner than later.

As for those who have any questions regarding a certain makeup/skincare item, please feel free to email me at the.panties@gmail.com 

hopefully I'll be back to blogging on a more consistent basis in the near future. Until then, feel free to drop a comment/email. :)

Addiction Eyeshadows ++

As some of you may or may not know, my future wife friend Shameless Fripperies made a trip to Japan...like as a random thing. Can I just say how jealous I am (in a loving way) that she can just pack her bags and go on a moments notice? 

I basically told her to buy all the makeup and brushes. I was wanting to see what she would buy, because if you haven't seen her stash already -- it's basically perfect. She offered me to pick up some items from Japan. I was a bit surprised to say the least because it's extra items she has to carry back, but I took her up on it. (Can you blame me? Knowing I have makeup that went to Japan, then Australia, to it's final destination, my home). 

A breakdown of pricing of what the prices of the eyeshadows are in Japan versus online -- 

Ichibankao (where I've purchased my other Addiction items) does sell it for a markup, but let's see how much of a different price points are: 

Ichibankao: Eyeshadows are approximately $30 each. Shipping with EMS (includes faster shipping and insurance on your package) is about $7. 

Total is approx $187. ($30 * 6 eyeshadows = 180) 
$180 + $7 for shipping. 

In Japan, eyeshadows are about approximately $20, but I did pay bit more for shipping since it was sent out from Australia, which was about $20 USD (shipping includes tracking). 

Total = $140 
($20 * 6 eyeshadows =  120) 
$120 + $20 shipping  

Okay, a decent price difference, but I feel like the markup from Ichibankao to some degree offsets the price of shipping (which I find pretty cheap). I've ordered items on a Monday for it to arrive on a Friday. 

Enough about the boring math, let's get to see some pretties :D

My first Addiction eyeshadow was Fudge and needless to say I was totally won over by the brand. I do have some items from them, which you will see at a later date.


BUT NOW....

Top Row: Pink Python, Keshi, Dolce Vita
Bottom Row: Bagdad Cafe, Joker, Chocolat

L to R: Pink Python, Keshi, Dolce Vita, Bagdad Cafe, Joker, Chocolat

same shades, overexposed lighting to see the shimmer factor.

I got tagged :)

Which book has made the most profound impact on your life?

The Stranger by Albert Camus. I read it in high school and it basically determined the outcome when it comes to my relationship with my mom. I even have a tattoo of Mersault on my back.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

I actually enjoy New York City. If I could live anywhere else, London or Barcelona (but not forever). I've visited Barcelona and it's so visually beautiful and the nightlife lured me in :) London because it's a city, plus all the things I love makeup wise are more easily accessible there. 

What is your favorite movie of all time ?

I don't think I have one. :| I barely watch movies.

Name 3 makeup brushes you cannot live without .

Shu Natural 10, Suqqu L, Chikuhodo Z8

What is your dream job ?

Marketing or PR in the beauty industry, I think. 

Who is your biggest makeup inspiration ?

Aesthetic wise, Monica Bellucci. Her makeup is always so perfect, effortless, with some drama. Makeup artist wise: Terry de Gunzberg. I love her vision of colors -- part of me thinks she has me in mind when she makes collections, because they're the most flattering. (ha ha).

Name your favorite red lipstick of all time.

Shu RD 190 (discontinued). As for current: Le Metier de Beaute In the Know Bordeaux lip creme. I reach for this really often.

If you could make one limited edition product permanent, which one would it be  ?

The Giorgio Armani limited edition eye pencils. Those things are amazing. 

What is your signature scent ?

Le Labo Gaiac 10. I think this will change soon.

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years ?

I have no idea. I would like to be married and have a better job, so I can own a house. That's all I can really think of at the moment.

What fulfills you ? 

Seeing my friends happy.

by the way, I'll be a bit MIA since I'm going through a transition at this moment in time. I'll update about it once it's all over. :)  

whoever would like to answer these, that would be fun :D or if you have any questions for me, feel free to ask.

Dolce and Gabbana Luminous Cheek Color Swatches +

I've gotten a lot of questions about the Dolce and Gabbana blush shades, so basically I arrived at Saks today on a mission: swatching some blushes. 

The best lighting I could do of the physical swatches is outside, with flash. It's a cold, cloudy day. 19 degree weather to be exact. I had to be in a tank top outside of Saks. Yea, you get the idea. The things I do for this blog. :)

I hope these are helpful.

top to bottom: nude, sole, peach, tan, caramel, apricot, mocha, and rose

top to bottom: rosebud, delight, muave diamond, provocative, and warm 

The biggest surprise in terms of color: Apricot. It's not even pretty in the pan, but whoa what a GORGEOUS shade. 

A Special Thank You to Rouge Bunny Rouge

A little backstory...

I'm no stranger to the Rouge Bunny Rouge line, I do love their products, but of course I'm a person who tends to go through phases when it comes to makeup. For a while, I'll be into Suqqu or say, By Terry. Then I'll change to something like Dolce and Gabbana, and so on. They're all great brands, but I'm just a creature of phases I guess. 

I was curious about their new Skin Sanctuary Foundation and asked what shade would be my match. I was told a couple of different answers, and given someone like myself who buys RBR sight unseen...I wanted to make sure I had the right shade. Long story short, I asked for a sample of two shades that seemed like my coloring. 

I'm not one who asks for free things, a big reason is I feel awkward in asking. I'm not a big blogger (as in having a big audience), compared to a few others. Who am I to ask for free things? 

I get a package...honestly I was only expecting two foundation samples. 

This arrived instead:

um...

courtesy of http://memegenerator.net

I just wanted to say thank you to the Rouge Bunny Rouge team for sending me these items!

I've figured out my shade, which is Wheat Cream. I can give you some preliminary thoughts on this foundation:

texture: It's a thicker gel cream compared to Milk Aquarelle, and it's a medium to full coverage foundation. The viscosity is higher in Skin Sanctuary than Chantecaille Future Skin. It's definitely a velvet-matte finish. The finish is slightly less matte than my beloved By Terry Lumiere Veloutee, but the coverage is very similar. 

A couple of things to keep in mind when it comes to Skin Sanctuary is that if you have dry/flaky skin, I do suggest wearing a thick moisturizer if you desire a more luminous finish, or to help with the flaky spots. I also think that you have to blend the foundation, because even though it's a natural finish, when you're wearing a higher coverage foundation, I do recommend blending it a bit past the jawline so it's a seamless finish.

longevity: I wore it yesterday and it lasted me 8 hours with no primer. Granted I didn't take it out for a full test run, I do think it's a pretty stellar when it comes to longevity.

The biggest advantage it has over Milk Aquarelle is that there's minimal to no transfer at all. Milk Aquarelle has a bit of transfer, which isn't a dealbreaker, but the biggest con to Milk Aquarelle is that it didn't last an entire day, unless you wore a primer. Skin Sanctuary is definitely a winner so far. I'm really enjoying it and am seriously considering buying the full size. 

Thank you again, RBR. You're definitely the gold platinum standard when it comes to customer service and communication. I've already been a fan of your line, now I'm a lover. <3 You've seriously made my week. 

Random Post +

Hi everyone!

I hope things are going well for everyone now that January is seemingly coming to a quick close...

My end makeup-wise, nothing much is happening, so you may not see many posts. Reason being a lot of the new items that are being released aren't that interesting (to me). Spring and Summer collections are the ones that I buy the least from, since I tend to favor dark, deeper colors. 

For those of you who are like me and don't tend to buy stuff from Spring/Summer collections, this would be a good time to either buy items you normally don't buy...such as makeup brushes, lashes, blushes you never had the opportunity of getting.

What I have been watching are a lot of youtube videos :D

Faves of the moment:

I've been reading more CafeMakeup and her blog has been inspiring me to think about having more variety when it comes to posts. Instead of just reviews, just writing about things that I like in general. A good example is her Taupe Blush post.

I recently have spoken to IcegirlVentura on twitter, and OMG WHERE HAS SHE BEEN ALL MY LIFE !?!?!? Granted some of you may not speak/read spanish, her videos are so fun to watch. Or, you can see what she has to say on her blog here.

I've been watching brush videos (not surprising), but at the same time, I'm not really in the market to buy a lot of brushes at the moment. Odd, I know.

Then there's my future wife, er, friend Karima with her lovely Rouge Bunny Rouge tutorial.

Then we have MakeupMLC giving her first impressions of her newest Suqqu brush pretties:

Then there's always my fellow luxury makeupjunkie friend Debbick1 with her first Haul of 2013 :D

and my small haul:

A backup of Suqqu #4

Suqqu Cheek Brush (I know some of you may be surprised I didn't have this before). It's a brush I've avoided buying since I already have Chikuhodo Z4, but it was only a matter of time that I was curious enough to see how this brush compares.

Suqqu eyeliner brush

Suqqu loose powder

:)

My makeup Brushes and Thoughts +

I was asked to do a video on my makeup brushes....and due to my nature to explain my thoughts on them, I broke it down into four sections. I hope you enjoy the videos and feel free to ask me any questions in the comments :) 

Introduction, Face & Lip Brushes:

Cheek Brushes:

Eyeshadow Laydown and Eyeliner Brushes:

Eyeshadow Blending & Crease Brushes and Conclusion:

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October as some of you may know is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I'm sure we all know someone or know of someone who has been affected by breast cancer, it never hurts to remind everyone (myself included) to get screened / tested. My experience with breast cancer is my mom. In the past 10 years, she had 2 tumors (one in each breast) and had them removed thanks to early detection. I'm glad I have her as an example because she always gets screened every six months. 

Which basically puts me in a higher risk category :| 


Just some random info (which I didn't know):

• Have a mammogram every year starting at age 40 if you are at average risk
• Have a clinical breast exam at least every 3 years starting at age 20, and every year starting at age 40
• 226,870 new cases of invasive breast cancer (includes new cases of primary breast cancer among survivors, but not recurrence of original breast cancer among survivors). [In the USA]

Really? Every three years starting at age 20? I thought it was every year. oops. 

information thanks to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. 

Everyone gets involved in some way, shape or form in terms of raising awareness, and some people like to donate or purchase items whose proceeds go towards Breast Cancer Awareness. Since it's a beauty blog, I figure it would be helpful to know some of the companies who are selling items that go towards a great cause. 

Laura Mericer

Bobbi Brown

Estee Lauder

Sephora

Ulta

If you know of other places/brands that are selling products whose proceeds go towards breast cancer awareness, please comment. 

thanks for listening.

posts that i'm loving recently +

I'm always being a  busy bee...so I hardly have the time to really sit down and read reviews as of late. But!! I felt the need to mention these bloggers/vloggers since they're useful bits of information. 

Check out one of my newer blogger friends "B" on a tutorial on how to depot Burberry eyeshadows.

My favorite British beauty Cami on her review on Beaute lip products.

For my Tom Ford lovers out there, here's a lovely tutorial/look using Congac Sable quad

Of course my favorite review on Armani Maestro Foundation. 

I think I should review it since I have my thoughts on this specific item. Of course I may have to mention By Terrys new liquid primer and how I use it with Armani Maestro. 

Not to mention the epic video from Dustin Hunter. NOT SAFE FOR WORK !! if you're not a fan of profanities...then don't watch this video. I laughed...for several minutes. ahahaha #hookaplease

random update +

I wanted to let you guys know that my camera got stolen within the past 3 days. Long story short, I found out who took it, and the person is out of the country and won't be back.

I also wanted to say that i will get money to get my camera replaced, but it wont be for a few weeks since the person has to save money to get it for me. It wasn't a cheap camera, and I totally understand. 

So with that being said...I can offer you guys a couple of options:

1. either I stop blogging until I have a new camera...(for all i know, it could take a couple of months)

2. or I can take photos with my phone's camera (which is seriously not the same in terms of resolution, manual control, etc).

I have a few things to talk about, but I don't like the idea of posting photos that aren't the same quality as my Canon.

please let me know what you would prefer, because it isn't about me, but about your viewing experience.

and a moment of silence for my Canon G11. 


rip.

Random questions +

I got asked by My Beauty Sample to answer the following questions since I won a Liebster Award...They were actually interesting questions, so here they are:

1. What was the hardest thing about starting a blog for you?

I seriously had a bit of a phobia of even writing about brands like Suqqu, By Terry, etc. I didn't think people would want to read those posts. I thought most people wanted to read more about easier access makeup lines (like NARS, MAC, Estee Lauder). That and if people actually wanted to read about items I personally buy and wear. I've been asked if I get press samples, and no I don't (with the exception of two items, which I state in their respective posts). I do write about collections, but my blog is more about makeup items I actually use.

2. What’s your favorite thing about blogging?

The thinking I do as I'm writing. I replay in my brain the interaction I had at the counter, first thoughts of the product when I swatched it. stuff like that.

 

3. Name one fashion or beauty trend that you have been loving lately

bold/graphic eyeliner

4. If you had to choose just one brand to shop from for the rest of your life, which would you pick and why?

By Terry. The biggest thing for me when it comes to loving a makeup line is their skin products (foundation, concealer) and lipsticks. It's rare that a makeup line excels at both since they're completely different items. By Terry makes my favorite lipstick formula (so does Armani too...don't get me wrong lol). Terry's concealer and foundations are so amazing. mmmmm *in a happy place*

 

5. If money weren’t an object, what beauty product would you purchase right now?

Going to France and getting a custom blend By Terry foundation. I think it's $1800 (not sure if it's Euros or USD). Either way it's not cheap.

6. What is your number 1, can’t-live-without product? Why?

By Terry Touch Expert Advanced concealer. It hides parts of my skin that I want to hide. That or a red lipstick.

7. Which makeup/beauty products do you compulsively buy? (aka: what is your beauty drug-of-choice?)

Lip products. Lipstick, lipgloss, lipliner.

8. What’s the most expensive product in your beauty arsenal?

I think it's my Suqqu face brush.

9. How would you describe your beauty style? (i.e casual, subtle, bold, wild, etc.)

A look with purpose. I appreciate a subtle look, but I tend to go for something more bold, like a bold lip and a semi bold eye. I've been told by several makeup artists that I can rock both bold eyes and lips pretty well, which helped me embrace the look even more.

10. Do you see yourself still blogging 5 years from now? How about 10?

I have no idea. 

i'm not one to think of 11 questions to ask fellow bloggers, but if any of you want to answer the following questions, feel free to comment. or if you have questions for me, feel free to ask in the comments section :)

a quick intermission ...

I noticed that I've been getting some new viewers/readers/followers, some from youtubers (debbick1, camiloveskiwi, sethakins7, makeupneversleeps) mentioning me, while other readers finding me from other avenues, like seeing my name from another blog roll/feed. I just wanted to say hi :) 

Thank you taking the time to read my blog. This is my special place where I can write about all the pretty things that I enjoy makeup wise.

some random facts about me: 

i am left handed and get laughed at when i sit on the school kids desks (right handed ones). 

I have it BAD for fruit cups.  I didn't realize this until I was at a friends house, I ate over 40 cups in a couple of hours. I can't believe I (alone) emptied out the economy size from like Costco.

image courtesy of: playtimeeducationaltoys.com

What's even more amusing is that I'm sure people think when I go and shop for luxury makeup featured here, that I'm well dressed. I have no sense of fashion and as a matter of fact, I go makeup shopping in pjamas half the time. I'm lucky that people are nice to me with hair all messed up, almost all the time I don't have makeup on (when i'm makeup shopping so i can test stuff against my face), and people are still cool and treat me nicely. 

I'm a serious insomniac. 

:) 

any questions or feedback, please feel free to let me know by commenting on here or dropping me an email at: the.panties@gmail :)

In a few days it will be my 2 year blog anniversary. I just wanted to say thank you for reading and being so supportive. I'm lucky to still have my very first readers comment (I would have thought they would have gotten bored of this place by now), and being able to speak to the most amazing people in general.

Tsukiakari EX-07 comparison swatches:

Sorry for being late with my post! I've been home visiting family trying to get stuff figured out in my personal life. It's been a busy weekend and I want to write a good review on the blush, so I'll do that if I have the energy once I return back to NYC tonight. 

But I do have some photos for comparison purposes to those who are wondering if EX-07 is worth buying. 

Quick note about the dark blue cream eyeshadow: I recommend wearing it with a primer. It will stay on your eyes if there's no primer used, but the vibrancy of the blue eyeshadow quickly goes away if you don't use a primer. 

Comparison photos below:

the first 2 shades are the shades on the upper left hand corner of each quad respectively. The other swatches are the upper right hand corner of their respective quads.

The pictures were taken with a point and shoot camera. The camera isn't mine since I forgot to bring it along with me, but hopefully the photos are useful.

L to R: EX-07, Suqqu 11 highlighter shades || Suqqu: #9, 10, 11, EX-07, and #1 (d/c) to compare the taupe/brown shades. (flash)

L to R: EX-07, Suqqu 11 highlighter shades || Suqqu: #9, 10, 11, EX-07, and #1 (d/c) to compare the taupe shades. (no flash, but artificial lighting)

L to R: EX-07, Suqqu 11 highlighter shades || Suqqu: #9, 10, 11, EX-07, and #1 (d/c) to compare the taupe/brown shades. (no flash, indoor bedroom lighting)

sorry for the brief review, but my mom is busy nagging me to do stuff. i'll see you later once i'm back in the city. ;)

Depotting Project (edited) +

Hi all!

I figured this would be something you all may be interested in knowing...I've slowly started depotting my eyeshadows. it's a process i've debated on doing for a long time. main reason is to start being space efficient in my eyeshadow drawer. what i didn't realize is how quickly my eyeshadow drawer has changed (purging/adding) over the span of one year alone. 

i'm at a point where i have a hard time picking out what i want to wear since the packaging is usually black, so it's a bit of an annoyance to rummage through and figuring out what item is what. here's what i've started doing earlier this morning:

top part from top to bottom: suqqu 9, 10, 11. bottom is my custom shu 2nd gen e/s. palette itself is a shu 2nd gen palette.

and here's my eyeshadow drawer once my boutique palette was all done. i got some empty space and re-arranged my eyeshadows (again). here is what it looks like now:

bottom is a mix of burberry singles, suqqu, and an hourglass palette.

middle is le metier de beaute, a couple of becca and shu 3rd gen eyeshadow palettes. this section wont be depotted, since it's premade palettes. i think dustin (2 out of the three were made by him) would probably have a heart attack if i depotted them LOL

top clear section is becca, by terry, RBR eyeshadows and some shu 3rd gen eyeshadows. i know my sister likes what i own, and i think most of the shu 3rd gen may be gifted to her...maybe for christmas? who knows.

far top is a mix of shu 3rd gen, LMdB singles, and the new RBR singles. the middle is like cream e/s, eyeliners, etc.

not pictured: my addiction eyeshadows. they're in my makeup bag for the moment, and i think i plan on buying their empty palettes. we'll see. 

and this is what i bought so i can start putting stuff in: 

Yaby empty magnetic palette: image courtesy of: https://www.yabycosmetics.com

since they have free US shipping when you spend over $75, i bought three palettes and a pack of eyeshadow adhesives. it's probably not enough to hold all of my eyeshadows, but it's a start. plus i have a couple of smaller 2nd gen shu palettes just in case i over depot. lol.

i figured out thanks to some awesome people:

RBR eyeshadows are depotted the heat method way.

Le Metier's eyeshadows have a pinhole in the back, and they just pop right out

Hourglass eyeshadow duos: *edit* you remove the swivel top. then take apart the top layer from the bottom layer when you look at the duo from the side with a knife. be VERY careful in removing the 2 layers. don't be afraid in taking your time. the hardest part is physically removing the pans since the adhesive is really strong. i tried the no heat, just using a flat blade...and that failed. so just use the heat method. i doubt much heat is needed since u have easier access to the rest of the pan to wiggle around

random fact about Hourglass eyeshadows: they're the same length as suqqu pans, but the hourglass pans are a bit taller. just for those who were wondering/interested in knowing.

Burberry: I tried and failed miserably. 1 casuality, and i won't try it again unless someone has a tutorial or can explain their method of depotting it. any ideas...?

Becca and Terry: no idea how to do these either.

*casualties: burberry midnight brown and hourglass gypsy. i'll replace them later today.

any help would be appreciated in knowing how to depot eyeshadows and what methods have worked for you.

Suqqu for those who are interested: the back of the palettes have little holes, and the best tool is using a stud earring. seriously, it works better than cuticle scissors or whatever. just remove the stud backing and just stick the earring post in the hole. the eyeshadows easily come out since the adhesive they use is like a gummy residue. 

i hope this helps and maybe i'll show how my eyeshadows look once most of them are depotted. :)

Random post +

Some awesome pretties I've bought recently: 

Some awesome pretties I've acquired:

Burberry Sepia Pink lipstick

Burberry Dark Sable Eyeshadow

Burberry Mulberry Eyeshadow

Natura Bisse Diamond White rich luxury cleanse(r)

RBR Bohemian Waxwing

RBR Olive Violetear

RBR Umber Firefinch

Shu Kolinsky 12 (it's advertised as Kolinsky 12, but it's a blend of Kolinsky/Sable)

I've been wanting to say that awesome things have been happening to some of my best friends (in the world that is New York City) -- three of my friends have new jobs!

Dustin who most of you may know about since I've featured his creations (kaleidoscopes) for Le Metier de Beaute, will no longer be with them as of the end of this month. He'll be the store manager for Bare Escentuals (BE) flagship boutique on 34th Street. I know some people have been asking as to why he would leave a luxury brand, only to work for a mid-end range brand. The short answer is that BE is offering him better opportunities for his development, plus being with a company that is changing since they're owned by Shiseido. Of course there's more reasons which isn't my place to say, but he's really excited with his new adventure. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments section.

What does this mean for the black panties? Well a very simple answer: I really don't have a reason to visit the Le Metier de Beaute counter anymore. I own basically what I've liked from the line. The only things I've really enjoyed from the line were his creations. I don't think most people really know that the reason why I even started blogging, is because Dustin suggested it. He would see all the luxury makeup I'd buy aside from Le Metier de Beaute and he wished that he would see reviews on the stuff I'd buy (specifically in reference to my By Terry purchases). Lo and behold, here I am :)

Joey who some of you may know since he was featured here on PinkSith doing bunny's Armani makeover. He'll be joining the NARS team over at their boutique on Bleecker Street. It's been a brand he's always been passionate about, so it's great to see him with a company he really adores. So if you ever want an awesome experience in picking out makeup, or want an amazing makeover over at the NARS boutique, ask for him :D Even though I can buy NARS from SpaceNK, I'd rather buy it from a knowledgeable person who always picks out the best things for me. Considering he used to work for lines like Shu Uemura, MAC back when it used to be cool...I know I'm always in good hands :)

Last, but not least...one of my best friends...let's just call him P, got an awesome job as well, but he works in the tech field. I'm convinced I'll slowly get him to buy all the makeups !! not that he needs it since he has the perfect face :)

The state of my makeup +

I've been in the daunting process of cutting down on what I own right now. It's at a point where it's becoming overwhelming to select what I want to use for an everyday basis. Blogging is something I do as a hobby and enjoy, but I think everyone has a personal threshold as to what they can handle in terms of organization and usage. 

Not to mention that items go rancid after a while...Will I ever go through and use all of my makeup before it goes bad? That's a question that I've been asking myself for some time. Eyeshadows are powder and will last, but think of all the cream/liquid products, they go bad after a while. 

So anyway, I figured I wanted to show you how much I've purged in the past couple of weeks alone: 

now to be fair, some of the MAC pigments will come back in my stash, since there's like 10 or so that I want to keep. But first, I need to start depotting some of my eyeshadows to make some room for them.

I know it's hard to part ways with what we own since it's hard to find, limited edition, sentimental value, or just simply ... money thrown out the window. It took me a long time to even think of the idea of purging, but now that i've started...

it seriously has gotten a lot easier.  

It started with items that I never really wear, or shades that look similar...it was a quick bulk of items, like about 95% of the purge pile. Then the second round consisted of physically testing items to see if I find it flattering or not -- there were only a few items that I found unflattering. 

I'll be working on face (like foundation, primers, etc) and blushes on another weekend. That will be easy since I don't own many items from those categories. We'll see if I even get rid of any blushes...maybe a couple of backup items, but maybe 5 blushes that aren't backups.

onto the photos:

There's also a small box of older MAC and Rock and Republic eyeshadows (not pictured)

I hope someone finds this somewhat inspirational to purge items that you really don't use or need. It's really a liberating experience. I feel so much better.

I don't know if I'll do a blog sale because going to the post office gives me more anxiety than going to the dentist. Some of it will go to friends, as for the rest...that is yet to be seen.

Please feel free to share your stories of organization, purging, or any questions in general... :) 

Makeup Mavens +

Lovesong For My Lipgloss shares with us one of the colours from the much-loved Eyes to Kill Shadow range by Giorgio Armani. Is it a must-have? Certainly!

Open the box of skincare goodies by Paula's Choice with Klara of Mookie On The Bench. Could these products be the ones to help her with her skincare troubles?

Product Doctor tempts us with another Le Metier de Beaute True Color eye shadow called Chameleon which definitely lives up to its name.

Nat of Raspberry Rouge shares with us her September favorites - vampy nails, softly defined eyes and gorgeous red lips made it to her list.

Becca makeup range is well known for their multi-purpose products and Black Panties gives a thumbs up to their colourful and long-lasting Beach Tints.

Makeup Mavens +

Christina of Lovesong for my Lipgloss loves her Pokemon.  But in all seriousness, she shows us some products that are worth splurging on all the colors.

Clara of Mookie on the Bench shows her sister that makeup, even blue eyeshadow(!) can be fun and pretty and brings us a gorgeous sleeper in a Catrice eyeshadow. 

Nat of Raspberry Rouge really does find the best deals!  This week, she brings us her latest discount find, Korres Lip Butters, and lets us know why we all need them.  Although, stick form might be best.

Nisha of Product Doctor has found a new My lips but better lipstick, in a sexy black box!  Check out her review of Tom Ford Coco Ravish. 

my blog one year anniversary ...

I realized a few days ago that my blog one year anniversary. My first post is seen here. I've been thinking about how in one year how I've had the pleasure and honor to talk and meet a lot of great people who share the same passion as I do about makeup.

I just wanted to say thank you all for reading what I have to say and review. I hope you all enjoy reading my blog just as much as I enjoy writing and reading responses. 

Here's to another year of makeup goodness *raises tea glass and Chikuhodo brush*

Any ideas of what I should write about next? I know I need to get on the ball with writing about Becca stuff...

-the black panties

Makeup Mavens +

This week we've got a fabulous selection of posts on skincare, makeup and nails so all bases covered. Add to that brands like Ellis Faas, Chanel, Chantecaille and Le Metier de Beaute.

The Black Panties has a new favourite in her life, in the form of Ellis Faas Skin Veil Foundation. Read her excellent review to see if it could be your own 'photoshop in a bottle'!

Lovesong For My Lipgloss shares with us her skincare version of a cashmere sweater, Chantecaille Vital Essence. Her comprehensive review explains why it works so well.

Lipstick Luvvies tried out the latest limited edition nail shades, Les Jeans de Chanel, and searched her collection for similar colours. See how she got on and swatches of the trio here.

If you've always wanted to try Liz Earle's famous Cleanse and Polish, check out Raspberry Rouge's Liz Earle Giveaway and you could be a winner!

Mookie on the Bench tempts us with more Chanel, this time sharing her favourite shade of Chanel Le Crayon Yeux, the beautiful Berry.

Product Doctor's post on her bespoke Le Metier EOTD by Dustin featuring the latest Kaleidoscope, Silk Road, once again makes me green with envy (no Le Metier in Europe) and consider moving to New York!