Posts

The Mythbusters of Beauty

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One of my favorite nerdy activities is to spend hours soaking up "edutainment" - a combo of the words "education" and "entertainment". If this brings to mind shows like Mythbusters or Bill Nye the Science Guy then you know what I mean. When you watch them you're learning, but you're not being put to sleep in the process! I recently found a beauty related "edutainment" channel, msbeautyphile , that I wanted to share. In her videos she takes a closer look at the science behind the world of cosmetics and skincare and explains how they are made and how they work. I wish there were more channels out there like hers! Knowing more about what goes in to the products we use empowers us to make choices that are best suited to the individual. Plus she blows stuff up sometimes and who doesn't love that?

ColourPop Factory Video - Oddly Satisfying!

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I love videos like this and I just had to share. Watching a cosmetics production line is oddly satisfying and relaxing. Something about watching a perfectly formed product being created from messy ingredients makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. ColourPop began as an "indie" company but have been growing in popularity in the last few years. I hesitate to call them "indie" still today but ColourPop is one of my favorite semi-indie cosmetics companies. Fantastic products, fantastic prices. I have a bunch of their lip products and shadows and they are winners. Definitely a brand worth checking out if you haven't already!

The Beauty Guru Life: Popping the "Perfect" Illusion

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Recently I was reading a Q and A session on reddit with youtube beauty guru, Sssamanthaa. One of the questions was how she managed to stay so grounded. Her answer: She didn't. She mentioned that she regularly relied on a loved one for a shoulder to cry on and talked to a therapist to cope. I really appreciated her honesty and wanted to take a minute to talk about this subject a little more. Many of us struggle to stay grounded and cope with daily life at times - and it's completely normal . But it can be even harder when it feels like everyone else has it all together and we don't. I know I'm not the only one who goes through this occasionally when browsing through photos posted by beauty gurus: " Why can't I be impeccably gorgeous and have perfect winged liner? *scrolls further down the page* " Why can't I be the one with the perfect bikini body glancing nonchalantly at a gorgeous ocean sunset... " *scrolls faster* " I wis

Makeup Recreations from the Past - Historically Accurate & Fantastic

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Hello everyone! I came across this series on youtube not long ago and I had to share it. In the series a youtuber by the name of Zabrina recreates makeup and hair styles from various periods of time. What sets her videos apart from many others out there is the time she takes to research everything. She strives to create looks that are authentic to the time from which they became popular. A lot of people who have done recreations of historical styles like this usually wind up modifying the look to fit in better with modern beauty ideals. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but it's nice to see something more historically accurate too. Her looks always come out beautiful and as an added bonus we get to learn a bit about the history of cosmetics along the way. Seriously, the makeup and history loving nerd in me flips over this stuff, it's fantastic.

Feeling the Love - Too Faced Love Flush Blush Palette [Swatches!]

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So I picked up the Too Faced "Love Flush" blush palette just in time for Valentines day and I'm seriously feeling the love! Too Faced blushes are beloved by many in the beauty community, and for a good reason. They are long lasting, pigmented, and easy to blend. Blush is one of the few areas of makeup that I have never been super adventurous in. I almost always select colors that fall in the pinkey-rose or pinkey-coral family. But when I started seeing previews of this super cute palette I thought it would be a fantastic opportunity to try a few shades that I wouldn't normally choose. The great thing about this palette is that even though it has colors I wouldn't normally reach for, I still feel that the colors in this palette are not too far out of my comfort zone.  The only complaint I have with this palette is that its so long - around a foot in length. If they had stacked the pans in 2 rows of 3 pans it would have made t

Reflections

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Welcome to the new year everyone! Yes, this is coming late but I still wanted to take a minute to speak on a personal level and really reflect on 2015. Sometimes its hard to believe how fast time flies by and it can be insane to see how much life can change over the years. This has felt like a very busy year for me, especially through fall and the holiday season. When I think about everything that happened in my life it would be easy to think that I didn't have such a great year. Like so many others out there I have battled with anxiety, depression, and various other health issues over the years. I cope with fibromyalgia and chronic back pain on a daily basis. Not to mention the stress of working in disaster recovery. Then in November I was heart broken when I lost my 11 year old schnauzer, Honey, to heart disease. I could easily choose to give up and let my problems consume me, hide under the blankets and refuse to get out of bed. And sometimes I do for a little while! But it

Lisa Eldridge's new book, Face Paint - First impressions

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I recently received my copy of Lisa Eldridge's new book, Face Paint, and have really been enjoying it so far! Notably, it is not a "how to" book as you may expect. Instead, she has created a collection of information surrounding the use of cosmetics from culture to culture spanning all the way from the ancient world up to the present. In her book she tells us about how makeup was created in historical times, and that it was often derived from toxic ingredients. She discusses how the standard of beauty has changed over time, and covers times when makeup was used widely as well as times when it was taboo. So far I've noted that it's filled with a ton of beautiful photos and has some really fascinating information about the past. This book combines three of my great loves in life - makeup, history, and beautiful imagery, so naturally I am stoked to finally have it! I wanted to share this video Lisa made because I think it gives a good taste of some of what