To prime or not to prime, to curl or not to curl....

Hermanas!!!

Yesterday we talked about LashSaving tips. Today, continuing our Mascara'ing La Vida loca week; I want to talk about what we do -or should or could do- BEFORE we happily jump into actually applying mascara. Remember the mantra: make up is NOT a chore.

PRIMER

I was first introduced to eyelash primer by my beautiful cousin Mamita Financiera. One Christmas she gave me a tube of Estee Lauder's Lash Primer Plus. I remember it quite vividly. She said "I know, this is yet another step in your makeup routine, but you will be grateful". The woman is wise.

Not only was I hooked on primer; I realized that any mascara I applied after one or two coats of primer lasted longer, and its benefits showed more. Besides, primer helps me -and you- protect our delicate lashes. It is something worth investing some dinero on. Specially if you, like me, enjoy a good drugstore bargain for mascara.
Today, a lot of cosmetic companies make their own mascara primers; or sell the 2-in-1 sytems like, for instance, L'Oreal Double Extend Mascara, or Revlon's Lash Fantasy. My staple is still Estee Lauder's; but I am dying to try Urban Decay's Lingerie and Galoshes, and of course I always welcome sugerencias and tips from you all.

CURLER???

I must say, I do not curl. Ever. I don't for two reasons: First, I am blessed with nice and curly lashes (much with the help of mi madre, and her loving ritual of nightly ricin oil); and second; the idea of crimping my eyelashes makes my skin crawl and my poor lashes fear in terror. Even worse... I think eyelash curlers look eerily like torture devices...

However, I know that many of you simply cannot not do it. Since I am a complete ignorant of curling; I can only tell you what I have heard or seen other hermanas do. Most of you have of course heard (and if not, you kave now) of Shu Emura's Eyelash Curlers; which seem to be THE ultimate tool.



The other -and much more affordable- tool is a spoon. Yep, you heard me. My adored cousin La Beba, yet another makeup diva extraordinaire swears by this. She devotes more time with the whole eyelash pampering than anyone else I know. She curls with a rounded spoon, and then separates each lash (more on this later in the week).

I have also recently heard about heat eyelash curlers; but the idea is more than I can bear.

Sooooo....curling or not curling is up to you. My take? Don't, if you can avoid it. And if you do, keep your tools in shape and clean, always. Perhaps you can give one of many curling mascaras a try before going at it with a passion; and maybe this way you can avoid unecessary stress in your already sensitive lashes.

What is your take? Do you prime? Do you curl? I want to know!!!

Siempre, Bella.

Café Review: Revlon Beyond Natural Skin Matching Makeup

Hermanas!!!

After years and years of being a 100% devout of MAX Factor pancake foundation; I decided to venture and check Revlon Beyond Natural Skin Matching Makeup out. Why? Because a long time ago I was also a follower of Revlon's color stay foundation; so there. That, and Jessica Alba looked fab in the advertisement --- shameless victim of advertisement, eh?

I bought the foundation in Medium + the primer. The claim for the foundation is:

Weightless foundation that goes on white and self-adjusts to match your exact skin tone. In 5 shades with a flawless finish. SPF 15.

Rojo, our resident chemist and beloved husband immediately cracked into a laughter so evil I felt like a high school dropout without a clue... He claims that there is no way that "skin matching thingie" can happen [insert 45 minute lecture on the properties of carbon and radicals and godknowswhatelse]. I used it anyway; and gave the offending man one of my mean Furia Mexicana looks (he has since redeemed himself).


I don't know about the matching your skin thing; but both the primer and the foundation are quite nice to apply. And my skin looks quite dewy and radiant. Now, if you have oily skin, DO NOT use this: it has the potential of making the dewy look become something greasy and nasty. It is-I think- quite oily. I took a look at my foundation brush after applying and it felt, well, greasy.

It did last all day and looked uniform. Coverage is not as good as my usual foundation; or maybe I am not used to the dewy look (I'm all about matte finishes). But I did not hate it (or you would have heard about it quite fast).

I would much more like if the packaging was with a pump; since something tells me I will not be able to squeeze everything out of the tube (toothpaste, anyone???). Same would apply for the primer, but that one has a transparent tube casing, so I shall forgive them.

Speaking of the primer; it works like a charm; and it does the trick. It feels almost like Smashbox's Photofinish (yup, for like 30% of the price!) and I quite liked it. This will most definitely be repurchased, si si si. From Revlon's website:

Evens skin for a smooth, virtually poreless appearance and creates a smooth base for lasting foundation.

-Lightweight, gel-like formula fills in pores and lines
-Clean, fresh fragrance refreshes your senses.

In short (because I sprained my wrist during an escapade to Trader Joe's today and I can't type), love the primer, semi-love the foundation. But for the price, it is quite the deal! Now, if you have serious discoloration going on, I would recommend you learn how to become a concealer mage. Like Rojo said: magical claims are usually suspect.

Siempre, Bella.

NEW Urban Decay Potion w/a twist!

Hermanas!!!!


Sephora just released for sale the new Potion Primer from Urban Decay. This one has a bit of a hint of shimmery color.

As I've said before, this is the BEST primer for eyeshadowsI have ever tried. Worth every penny of the $17. I mean that!

I wantz zome!!!

Smashbox Photofinish Primer with SPF

Hermanas!!


I am not happy right about now. About 2 months ago I got a travel size Smashbox Photofinish Foundation Primer SPF 15, thanks to the recommendation of Seforito, my fabulous Sephora makeup artiste. Used it daily and seriously thought it was completely inconsequential. I think I got it because it was $9.00 bucks (impressive for a small size Smashbox product; and it lasts).

That was until this morning; when I was so sleepy I forgot to apply it before my Max Factor Pancake. O.M.G. I saw the difference right away. I usually pass a cotton round over my face to eliminate any brush streaks - without the Primer my face had a lot of streaks after applying the foundation. Not nice. Bella not happy. Apparently the godesses of well kept makeup decided to teach me a lesson. I learnt hermanas, I did.

And another reason to be quite unhappy about the ordeal is that I am leaving for Ciudad de México on Saturday - as in I do not have time *gasp* to go to Sephora again (did I mention Legally Smart FORCED me to go there yesterday??? Fine, I forced her, but that's my disclaimer).

With sense of impending doom; I am praying my little primer lasts; or that the Seattle airport duty free is open early so I can restock; or of course.... I can always drag Mamita Financiera, my cousin and BFF to do a makeup run in one of Mexico City's quite enviable monster malls. There's an idea. I feel better now.

In any case, the morales of the story are:

1. Trust your Sephora make up artiste. They know their biz (Seforito has not failed me yet in his recomendations for my canela skin, and that is a toughie).
2. Use a primer. Specially if you have after hours engagements to keep: that way you limit retouching to blotting your visage, or just applying some powder.
3. If you cannot use/afford a primer; moisturize. I asume you do this already; but just in case: record a tape for sleep-time background that says: clean, exfoliate, moisturize; clean, exfoliate, moisturize....
   

The regular price for the "big" bottle of this baby is $42 at Sephora. The travel size was considerably less since it was on the sale bin at the counter; though its running price is $17. You might want to try the small size first. It does last a long time; and if you will not use it everyday, it is enough.


Siempre, Bella