December 2015 Favorites

December 2015 Favorites
December 2015 Favorites
1. Boots Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm, $7 / 2. Pointed-Tip Cotton Swabs, $5
3. Sephora Serum Foundation, $24 / 4.  Hot Tools Digital Titanium Flat Iron, $60
5. Urban Decay Moondust Eyeshadow in Space Cowboy, $21

Dear heavens how the hell is it 2016? WHAT IS TIME DOING. That said, it’s now the first Wednesday of January…so that means its time for my December 2015 Favorites. Meanwhile I’ll be working on my incredibly premature midlife crisis.

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NYX Prismatic Mermaid Swatches

Weekly Favorites will come on Friday – I goofed my publication schedule.

Not long ago, I mentioned NYX Cosmetics’ Prismatic shadow in Golden Peach being a dupe for Urban Decay Freelove. I don’t own Golden Peach yet, but I did pick up another color from the collection.

It isn’t often that a trend strikes me and makes me go, “I NEED THAT,” but when I saw NYX Prismatic – Mermaid…well, I needed it. I don’t have anything like this opalescent, minty shade, it was on sale, it is fun. So I picked it up.

NYX Prismatic Mermaid - Pan

The saleswoman at Ulta remarked, upon ringing me out, that they had sold a boatload (ha) of this single shadow.

I’m not really sure why it’s trendy (but then again, I never am), but these frosty, iridescent/opalescent minty/aqua-y green-blues are everywhere. I don’t know, I guess it makes people imagine mermaid tail scales (isn’t that creepy, though? Whatever).

Onto what you care about!

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Worth it? Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

The makeup industry often has weird (OCC Technopagan) or even oddly sexualized names. To name a few? NARS Orgasm and Deep Throat (duh). Urban Decay Rule 34. I could go on.

Too Faced, however, has no bushes to beat around, and no bothers to give. Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara. Bam. Shock value!

Too Faced Better Than Sex

Well, aren’t you cocky?

I’m here all week, folks. Anyway, it isn’t a new product, but I’ve noticed a bit more buzz around it lately. I got a deluxe sample tube with my Everything Nice palette and finally decided to crack ‘er open.

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Lambswool Paddle – What?

QVC is not my first stop when shopping for beauty products (often because I just forget), but they offer a lot of brands I’m interested in – Josie Maran, Philosophy, Clinique, Tarte, and a few more – so I visit every now and then because they sometimes offer impressive sales on products I like that beat the competition.

During one such curiosity-filled visit to QVC.com, I came across what looked like a bath sponge pouf on a handle:

Laura Geller Lambswool Paddle

Laura Geller Lambswool Paddle

I quickly realized that this is not a shower implement – after all, we don’t use wool scrubbers – but I still wasn’t sure what it was. I clicked through.

According to QVC this is a lambswool paddle for buffing and blending makeup to a flawless finish that is suitable for all skin types. The page continues to explain that because wool is a natural fiber, it can absorb excess product (if you were accidentally heavy-handed). Laura Geller does seem to be a Cruelty-Free brand, but vegans may want to steer clear of this because, you know, wool.

Anyway, as for use, QVC suggests that you apply your full face but before you set it with powder (if you do that) or setting spray, you should run it all over your face to blend and buff products in.

Natural fibers do tend to hang on to stuff (product, skin, oils, etc) more than synthetic, so this would be something you’d really need to keep on top of cleaning. For that matter, though, I wonder how you would approach cleaning it? It doesn’t seem like it would be the easiest thing to care for.

The Kenyan-manufactured lambswool paddle runs $17 (with like $5+ shipping) and, to my surprise, has mostly positive reviews. One reviewer complains that it is very small, the rest laud it, one going so far as to say that she is going to buy one for her daughter.

“Too much blush? Rub a bit o’ sheep on your face, honey, here you go.”

Maybe I’ve gotten complacent with my current methods (real talk: I’m not), but I can’t see myself ever dropping almost $20 on wool-on-a-stick to blend. I think it is a neat, unique idea and I’m happy if it works for other people who struggle with applying too much makeup, but it just isn’t something I’d be interested in trying or using.

I’ve seen bristled paddle brushes with a similar purpose, but never this. Have you ever seen any products utilizing wool like this? Have you ever used anything like it?

Sigma 3DHD Kabuki

Currently, I only own one brush from cruelty-free brand Sigma, maybe you’ve heard of it? The highly-highly touted F80 Flat-Top Kabuki is raved about on blogs and on YouTube alike because it is a GREAT tool. The design is such that many other brands have launched similar brushes, and that there are a lot of counterfeits on the market.

I creep on Sigma’s site every so often to see if they’re running any sales or have anything intriguing – even when I’m not trying to expand my collection of makeup, I am always up to try new brushes and tools.

It was during one such visit that I came across this, the Sigma 3DHD Kabuki:

Sigma 3DHD KabukiThe Sigma 3DHD Kabuki Brush

This densely-packed, chisel-tipped kabuki brush is unlike any cosmetic (or paint, for that matter) brush I’ve ever seen. Though it comes to a defined point in the center, either side is flat and ought to be effective for buffing product in.

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Vice LTD from Urban Decay

Hark! Another Vice palette. Yes, really. Vice LTD.

Urban Decay Vice LTDUrban Decay Vice LTD

I had other content scheduled to go live today, but I wanted to talk about this while it is relevant, so…here we go! Vice LTD makes Urban Decay’s fourth Vice mega-palette, following Vice, Vice 2, and Holiday 2014’s Vice 3.

Edit: I’m an idiot, this has been out for almost two months BUT my point is the same.

Which is…they released it entirely too close to Vice 3.

Frankly, even as a fan of Urban Decay products (I may or may not have just picked up Naked2 Basics for myself, more on that later this week), I can’t help but raise my eyes and sigh a little. It isn’t a unique offering for them. Sure, the shadows in Vice LTD aren’t identical to those in its predecessors, they’re so similar; unless you’re a collector, it is pretty well pointless to get all four.

I’m having a little trouble finding, “stock,” manufacturer photos from the first three and I don’t want to jack a photo from someone else’s work, but if you search Google Images for the Urban Decay Vice, Urban Decay Vice 2, and Urban Decay Vice 3 – compare it to what you see above; you’ll see what I mean.

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