Honey, Revisited

I've written before of my love of honey as a cleanser and mask, but recently bought some raw honey to use instead, and would like to talk about it today!  If you haven't read my original post, it's a good place to start.  Otherwise, read on!

Tip Tuesday: Nail Care

For a summary of Tip Tuesday, see here.

Nails have been on my mind lately, since I've been testing and wearing a lot of nail polish.  My nails are generally weak, peel-prone, and soft, and my cuticles are often dry and I get lots of hangnails.  This post is as much for my benefit as for yours, though I certainly hope you find it helpful!  (Psst: leave a comment here or on the TT summary page about what other topics you'd like to see covered!)

Prestige Total Intensity Eyeliner in Intense Olive and Strong Slate Review and Swatches

I went to Freddy's to pick up a couple more Essence items (ended up buying only one, because they didn't have the other! sadface) and was simply ecstatic to see that they were having a BOGO 1/2 on Prestige.  It was just the excuse I needed to pick up a couple more eyeliners, one in grey and one in olive green.  I regret to inform that they were not both as awesome as the first Total Intensity eyeliner I tried...

Strong Slate (left) and Intense Olive (right)

Wet N Wild Megalast Retractable Eyeliner in Charcoal Review and Swatches

Rite Aid had 40% off all Wet N Wild last week, and I happened to be in the area and went in.  There wasn't anything in particular on my to-buy list from WNW, but my mother was grocery shopping and I figured it would be more fun to look at makeup than go with her.  I ended up picking up 3 things: two Wild Shine lip lacquers (reviews to come) and the Megalast eyeliner in charcoal, since grey is the one major color I didn't yet have in my collection.  Sadly, this eyeliner will not be filling that gap, and it's going back as soon as I can make my way back over there.

Charcoal

Tip Tuesdays and Recommendation Thursdays

I'm going to try out having several weekly features, because that will give me the structure and routine I love while also making sure that I cover a wide variety of topics and hopefully serve your needs better!

Tuesdays will be the temporal home for makeup and beauty tips and tutorials, but for it to work, I need your input!  (Yes, I'm asking for even more comments, but I promise, it will be worth it!)  I ran a post on eyebrow maintenance and grooming awhile ago at the suggestion of a friend, and my hope is to do other features like that on Tuesdays.  You can ask for any kind of help or guidance for any kind of makeup or beauty problems or questions you have, and I will do my best to answer.  Some possibilities: how to apply eyeshadow, how to make lipstick last longer, basics of hair color, how to do facial contouring, what to do for healthy nails and cuticles, how to choose a lipstick color, etc., etc.  There are no limits.  Ask anything, and I will do my best to answer!

Recommendation Thursdays (because "R" is the abbreviation for Thursday on the UO class schedules) will be a chance for me to suggest products, and ask for suggestions in return.  While Tip Tuesday will focus on how to do beauty things, Recommendation Thursday will emphasize what to use.  Since I haven't actually tried that many products, contrary to what my plentiful reviews would suggest, I'll be relying a lot on other sites to help make my recommendations (Makeup Alley, Sephora, Total Beauty, and other beauty blogs).  Some things you could ask for recommendations for: red lipstick, finishing powder, lip balm, foundation for dry skin, shampoo for fine hair, nail treatment to strengthen nails, volumizing mascara, cream blush, etc.  The possibilities are pretty much endless.  I'll also ask you what suggestions you have for a given product category, because I love hearing what other people use and why they like it!

I'm hoping these two features will allow me to put my mad researching skills to good use, and result in you having a better grasp on beauty-related things and being able to make informed purchasing decisions.

To let me know what topics you'd like to see covered, you can:
Leave comments on this post (a link here is posted under "basics", in the left sidebar)
Leave comments on future Tip Tuesday/Recommendation Thursday posts
Shoot me an email at beyondjustbeauty (at) gmail (dot) com

So!  What do you want to know more about?  Comments are love (and help me make the blog better for you)!

Gingerbread Oven Pancake with Fresh Peaches and Nectarines

Local nectarines and peaches are finally in season, so my mom made this delicious recipe to take advantage of them (there are definite advantages to living at home!).  The fruit lightens the spice of the gingerbread and makes it less Christmas-y and more summery.  Truly delicious, and a treat for all the senses!

pancake shortly after being removed from the oven; the poufy soufléness has gone down a little here

Bloglove 4.0

Karla, of KarlaSugar, is amazing.  She swatches entire lines and collections and shares the pretty pictures with the intertubes.  She's got great arms for swatching, too––no bright blue veins like yours truly.  She does (almost?) entirely high-end products, so she's a great resource if you're placing an online order and want to give yourself as good a chance as possible at dropping a chunk of change on a color you actually like.  She's also funny and a very good writer, and her color descriptions are spot-on.  You should really be browsing her site instead of reading this paragraph.  Go!  Now!  Sheesh.

Chanel Chance Eau Tendre Review and Pictures

I've written before of my love for Chanel Chance eau fraiche, still one of my favoritest fragrances.  I was finally down to the very dregs of it a few weeks ago (spraying air as often as perfume, it was sad), but I wasn't sure I wanted to order it again (again).  I have many memories associated with that perfume, and I felt it was time to find a new perfume to have feelings about.  This was, frankly, easier said than done.  I wanted something that I loved, but I also wanted something cheaper than the Chanel.  From the title of this post, you should realize I only succeeded on one count.

I sniffed my way through Macy's fragrance counters, but had yet to find anything that really captured my heart.  I liked Clinique Happy Heart on my wrist, but not down my cleavage (which is where I wear perfume, because that way I can smell it all the time, yummy), where it seemed too soapy, and none of the more expensive perfumes caught my interest enough to justify the price.  Then, a helpful salesman ("helpful" in the overeager, pressuring sense) asked if I'd tried Chance's newest incarnation, eau tendre.  I realized I had not, and asked him to spray it on my wrist.  I proceeded to stand in the aisle, obsessively sniffing my wrist and making pleased noises.  It was disturbing, for everyone involved.  I knew I had found It, the One Perfume to Rule Them All.  One Sephora order later, and I had my precious.  Having worn it for the past week+ has not diminished my love for it in the least, so I figured it was time to share the joy with y'all.

Urban Decay Lip Junkie Lipgloss in Midnight Cowboy Review and Swatches

Out of all the free codes for stuff at Sephora, the one that appealed to me the most was a free mini Urban Decay lipgloss, even though it's a sparkly nude (not my normal choice).  But order it I did, and can now share my thoughts with you.  Oh joy!

Midnight Cowboy swatched on arm in sunlight, unblended

Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Deeeep Conditioner Review and Pictures

My hair tangles like mad in the shower.  By which I mean, it tangles like I've made it really mad and it wants to get me back.  It's a problem.  On days when this is particularly irksome, or when my hair has been feeling dry and grouchy, I reach for Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Deeeep Conditioner, that most beloved of cheap deep conditioners.

It comes in a funky squeeze tube with a strange leak-proof opening (picture below because I suck at descriptions).  It's very creamy and emollient, but not too thick, so it spreads really easily through my tangles.

It smells like coconut, which I love, but may be irritating if you don't like fragranced products.  I only need a little bit to detangle my whole head (about twice the amount pictured above, which for me is a little bit!), and I let it sit in my hair while I do my stuff.  It leaves a light film of conditioner on after being rinsed off, which works wonderfully for preventing frizz.  I am also pleased to report that it doesn't weigh my hair down (unless I accidentally use too much), and my curls don't suffer for the deep treatment.  My mother likes it too, and says it helps fight off frizz on the days she doesn't wash her hair as well (I do mine everyday, and yes, I know I shouldn't, but that's one thing I refuse to mess with right now).  It's $2.99 at Target (marginally more at other drugstores) for 8 oz, which is less than the typical conditioner, but this is no "typical" conditioner.  I find I go through a bottle of this at the same rate as I go through a bottle of normal conditioner (which is 50% larger) because I need to use so much less for full conditioning effect.  I have used this as my only conditioner, and it was not too heavy for everyday use, but if you don't have really uncooperative hair like me, you may want to only use it a couple of times a week.
~$3 for 8 oz, available at drugstores

Have you tried 3 Minute Miracle?  What did you think?