Make Up Please!

The day is almost upon us. This coming Sunday will be the day the first of our daughters get married. Nearly everything is set and taken care of an at the end of the week relatives begin to roll in and there will be entertaining to do and rehearsals and rehearsal dinner to attend and of course the big day! Then come September we get to do it all over again for our oldest daughter. 

With the big day just around the corner I have been playing with make up and hair ideas. I needed a look that could last from 5 am., the time I have to begin getting ready so that we can play taxi to relatives and help with final touches at the location, till later that night when we will finally roll in... as we are adding a road trip to the coast for the relatives after the wedding reception has ended. Between the heat and my allergies it has not been easy. The fact that I want to be true to myself and my look as well as not have my look be too heavy for a morning wedding, well that has complicated too. A lighter eye seems to wear down and off and not show in photos, and a heavier eye, is well just that too heavy and that too was wearing in spots. So what to do?? 

I decided to try some of the long wearing make up put out by several of the major manufacturers. Already a fan of a few of the products, mainly for lips I went out shopping and came home with what I have tested now, and found to be just want I needed. I went a little crazy and replaced all my make up.... some things were a hit, some, like the perfect blush (which I have not found) were a miss. 

The first order of business was to buy a liner that would last through the heat, my allergy eyes and of course a few tears. I landed on Maybelline Color Tattoo in Audacious Asphalt. I had shied away from this shadow for awhile due to the shimmer and sparkle... a good 20's eye is matte, however this deep silvery gray color seemed less full of modern day, youthful sparkle and I do like a deep gray eye blended with black. The shadow is a cream and it goes on very smooth and evenly with a standard small make up brush. You have to work quick if you wish to blend, but I did not have a problem. The shadow claims to last 24 hours. To test this I did a no-no move and slept in the product... it did not smudge and it did not wear off! I did not have a problem however removing the shadow with simple baby oil and a cotton pad. The brush washed out very easily with water too!

The blue may work well for brighter "turquoise"
eye of the 20's/30's and the brown for a softer
eye of the same eras. 

The color I bought.

The next product I bought, and which is something very new to me, a gel eyeliner. I have used liquid and pencil, all, even ones claiming to last and to be waterproof end up sliding off my face... even with eye primer... I also bought that while out shopping. The gel eyeliner I purchased is from a company by the name of E.L.F , they are well known for having cosmetics of good quality starting at just 1.00!! You can find them online as well as a small selection at Target, the latter being where I bought my liner and eye primer. 

Black of course!

Normally a Benefit Cosmetics gal and a fan of their "Stay Put" primer, I was not so sure I wanted to switch, but at the low, low price of I believe 3.00, I thought it was worth a shot. I have used E.L.F products and brushes before and trust them so it did not take long to decide. A little went a long way and felt cooling on my eyes and after a very short dry time, and after applying the shadow mentioned above, I applied the gel eye liner.  I LOVE it! So easy, so smooth, no tugging and a good solid black.. oh and the brush cleaned with water as well very easily. I perspired, had a few teary allergy eyes and slept with this on too and one eye fared very well after a full 24 hours and one, the side I sleep on did have a bit of smudge... but that was sleeping... I certainly believe that it will last all day the day of the wedding. It is a water proof/smudge proof formula, and my test was extreme and it still did pretty good.  I went back and bought a plum color today! 

The next item was mascara. I like a heavy, false lash look without needing to apply them. Being nearly "blind" without "cheaters" (aka glasses)it is just too hard to do for myself. I love the high end mascaras Bad Girl by Benefit, as well as Lash Injection by Two face, but my budget won't handle those two. I have tried everything from the E.L.F and every other major drugstore cosmetic line and several in each of the lines from Maybelline to Revlon to Rimmel and then some. So wanting to try something new, I decided on what used to be a Ulta or Sephora only brand, Hard Candy, which Walmart now has! I stood there looking at all they had to offer and landed on 1000 lashes, both the primer and the mascara. Though you can use the mascara alone, I wanted to try the combo for the full effect. I loved it. After the same all day and sleeping in it test, there was no clumping from start to finish and I did indeed get a lush, thick look and my lashes looked longer too! Even the next morning they still looked good! Removal is always a pain, as my eyes are so sensitive, but baby oil and a cotton pad ( done 2x) did the trick and a quick swipe of a E.L.F face cloth finished it off making sure that every last trace of all the make up was gone.

The last and final item was lip color. As mentioned, I have tried nearly every brand, everything from long lasting gloss to lipstick. The two that stand out the most for me, are Cover Girl Outlast Lip Stain and Revlon Colorstay liquid lipstick. I have tried every stain out there and they wear off quickly, no matter the promise... but other than if you eat something very oily, the Covergirl lives up to it's promise and it goes on with a precise ease that I love and a touch of gloss can give you a bit of sparkle if you like. I usually wear it on it's own. I rarely need to touch up and when I do it is after wearing it for some time and going through several meals/snacks. Best thing is it does not come off on your glass when you drink! The only one that truly does that.... no matter what they show you on the commercials. The Revlon Colorstay is my go, in any form, but my favorite is the liquid lipstick... I can go 24 hours, eat, drink and even sleep and it still looks like I just put it on! Oh sure it wears off on the moist part of the inner lip, and you do have to apply in very careful light handed way, too thick and it cakes, and there is a bit of dry time.... and yes, to be truthful a bit of transfer to the glass... but over all it is still my go to. I love that it never bleeds and drifts and if I do have to touch up that inner lip, a quick light touch and it is done for several more hours. 

All in all I did not spend over 50.00 tax included even with throwing in a quick dry polish,two blushes and a brush shampoo, that I did not discuss here. The Color Tattoo at Target was under 6.00, the E.L.F. items were both 3.00 each, the Revlon Colorstay liquid lipstick was just under 8.00 and the Hard Candy mascara and primer each were just around 6.00. I will let you know after the wedding on the facebook fan page and Twitter how it all lasted at the actual event. 

The goal face...just lightened up a tad...
well except the lips... going with a deeper lip *wink*

There will be no blog next Monday, but will try to get a post up by no later than Wednesday.