Happy Mother's Day!

My mother is in her early 50s and is as pale as me, but as a natural redhead, on the opposite end of the temperature spectrum. She's received a number of beauty products that were too warm for me, as they flatter her immensely (she is the epitome of an "Autumn").

Us on vacation in Florida during my senior spring break, my mother's graduation present to me!

Skincare Saturday: Sunday Riley Cashmere SPF 30 Sun Defense Review

Yet another Sunday Riley product that I got from the generous SA at Bergdorf! Out of all the products from the line that I've tried, this is the one I like the best.

image via Sephora

Many sunscreens leave my skin feeling oily and slick with a heavy feeling that takes forever to soak in. Not so for this! It's pleasantly creamy, but not thick, so it spreads and absorbs really easily. I've taken to wearing it under my Cover FX primer, and I find it is plenty moisturizing for my oily skin, and as far as I can tell it hasn't made my skin worse, as if that's possible...It has a faint chemical smell, but it's really mild and fades quickly, and a little product goes a long way (though I do make sure to apply more than I think I need to try and ensure adequate sun protection!). It doesn't seem to increase my oiliness, and it does definitely work as a sunscreen––I know this because, after a bit of time in the sun, compared to my non-sunscreened chest my face looks very pale (as contrasted to the red that is my neck, whoops; I envy those people who can be in the sun for longer than 5 minutes without getting red, seriously). Unfortunately, like all Sunday Riley products, such loveliness comes at a price––$125 for 1.7 oz. I will gladly use up my samples, but I shan't be purchasing the full size. If you have the collateral, though, it's definitely worth checking out, especially if you find that sunscreen usually leaves you looking ashen or is overly heavy and oily.
$125 for 1.7 oz, available from Sephora, Barneys, and Sunday Riley

Taming the Brows: Prestige Cosmetics Clear Brow Gel and Essence Eyebrow Stylist Set Reviews and Pictures

I have caterpillar brows. They're dark, they're big, and they are unashamedly there. Keeping my brows groomed is a sisyphean task, but plucking (like, every other day, gawd) helps keep them relatively well-behaved. After reading that brows and mascara are the two most important parts of a beauty routine on more than one blog, I figured I should maybe try and do something to further polish my brows. I looked for clear mascara at the drugstore, but had no luck, until one day, during a Prestige sale, I happened upon their clear brow gel, which I of course promptly snatched up. After using it for a couple days, I realized that, big and bold though my brows may be, they could use a little filling in in some places, so I picked up the Essence Eyebrow Stylist Set for ~$3 at Fred Meyer, since I figured the two matte shadows included were bound to be workable.

Prestige Cosmetics Clear Brow Gel

Essence Eyebrow Stylist Set

I shan't be around much...

...because this is just part of the grading I have to do this week.

Oh hai, 80 dialect surveys and analysis essays! Here's hoping you're fully spellchecked and proofread. Pretty please?

Life, I miss you already. My apologies for the inevitable slowdown in posts! Here's some stars to make it up to you:

This was one of those manis you think of, put on, and realize you don't actually want to wear. It sucks when that happens more than once; three times that night I put on a full mani before deciding it obviously wasn't gonna happen and opting for bare nails, so sad (what a waste of time and polish). It's 3 coats Zoya Pandora (which my mother adores, especially with Sally Hansen Blush Diamond, peach version, on top; I'll try to snap pics the next time she wears it) with 2 coats NYX Dreamy Glitter. Pretty, ethereal, nude. Someday I'll try it again.

Anywhos. Sorry I don't have anything more fun to post! I've got lots of stuff to share with you, but I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to actually take photos/write reviews. But it will happen! Eventually. One last thing before I succumb to the mountain of undergrad essays: Revlon is 40% off at Rite Aid this week, and I highly recommend you get yourself there and pick up some stuff! Their Lip Butters are awesome if you haven't learned that already (or had it hammered into your head from my incessant nattering on about Sugar Plum), I love their foundation, the Colorburst gloss in Strawberry is gorgeous (one of the things I have to share!), and they have a new balm stain pencil that is very reminiscent of Clinique Chubby Sticks. I picked one up (it was a struggle to restrict myself to just one, let me tell you) and look forward to playing around with it. Also, they have some awesome nail polish colors, including dupes of high-end polishes (though no Peridot yet, sigh), and their nail buffer is great. Anyways! Go forth and get good deals! Seriously, at least pick up Sugar Plum. Then you can gush about it with me :-)

Guerlain Rouge Automatique Lipstick in Chamade Review and Swatches

I've wanted to try the Rouge Automatique line since Temptalia reviewed Champs-Elysees and showed that it lasted through an Italian meal and said it was moisturizing to boot. Guerlain's Rouge G line of lipsticks is widely regarded as one of the best lipstick formulas there is (and is Temptalia's favorite), and Rouge Automatique is apparently nearly as good for $11 less. Unfortunately, that still means it's $35, so I knew I needed a good excuse to buy one. Guet-Apens was my long-time lemming, but I ended up deciding on Chamade since I figured I didn't have anything else like it, whereas I do have other darker lippies. Temptalia's review, which said Guet-Apens was lacking in the formula department, just confirmed my choice.

Guerlain Chamade Rouge Automatique

Sunday Summary

Hello, lovelies. I hope you've had a pleasant weekend! As usual, I spent mine doing work, though this weekend focused on recording and synthesizing some stimuli for an experiment I'm running, so I spent a lot of time in the lab. Such will be my life for the next few weeks! That, and grading 80 midterms and dialect projects. Lovely. On the upside, at least it's sunny! Though that really just makes being cooped up in a sound booth even more frustrating, ha!

Out in a Pout wrote a great post on parabens and how important it is to be aware of the scientific research and not just succumb to the marketing hype. Very well written and insightful!

Nails and Noms has some swatches of Nerd Lacquer polishes, which I am still coveting. Now I want Cold and Calculating and Event Horizon, sigh.

Lucy's Stash always posts the most awesome nail art manis, and the ones that I found particularly enchanting include a tape manicure, thin draggy mani (no idea what to call the style, but it's super awesome), and two gradient manicures. Some people are so talented!

Pink Sith has the low-down on the new sunscreen regulations. Very informative!

Delicate Hummingbird's review of YSL's Glossy Stain 15 has furthered my resolve to add one to my collection. I so wish there were someplace nearby to swatch!

Now Smell This, Perfume Posse, Grain de Musc, Bois de Jasmin, and Perfume Smellin' Things have posted their Top 10 of Spring 2012. Read it, and then go back in the archives and read all their other Top 10 lists, though only if you want to add a bunch to your "need to sniff" list.

And lastly, xkcd discusses the importance of periodically clearing one's browsing history. Right now, mine's got a lot on volcanoes, earthquakes, Stonehenge, prehistoric societies, genetics, and perfume ingredients. Not necessarily viewed in that order.

What links have you enjoyed this week?

Fragrance Friday: Guerlain Mitsouko

I've been battling a cold since last Thursday, and while the sore throat has gone back where it came from (hell), the congestion has been much more tenacious. As such, I haven't been able to smell properly, which makes writing a fragrance review less feasible. Fortunately, I happened to have one already written, which I'm posting today! I was intending to post it with one or two other Guerlain frags, but what with the phlegm and stuff we'll just have to settle for the one. And really, if any fragrance deserves its own post, it's Mitsouko. Beautiful, beautiful Mitsouko...

Mitsouko, image via Fragrantica

Cover FX Clearprep FX Matte Foundation Primer and Anti-Acne Treatment Review

I considered posting this on Skincare Saturday this weekend, but ultimately decided it would be disingenuous to do so, since I don't use it as a skincare product. Which is why this rant ended up happening instead. Whoops? The good news is, while Clearprep FX hasn't done anything for my skin, it has completely knocked my socks off as a primer. I feel stupid typing Clearprep, since it's not a word, lawdy, so I'm just going to refer to it as "the primer". Scratch that: The Primer. There we go.

Image via Sephora

So this is one of those ill-advised posts...

...that you write when you have been drinking. Don't worry, guys, I'm not drunk. I'm just, um, not sober. I am, fortunately, aware enough to keep the typos to a minimum (though this has required quite a bit of backspacing on my part, so I hope you appreciate it). My friend L is back in town for a couple weeks, which is wonderful because we can talk about beauty for hours on end. You can look forward to reviews of a couple of products she owns and is willing to let me borrow (thanks, L!).

I went out with my godfather this afternoon and had a couple beers, since I wasn't driving, and then went out with L and had a beer and a half (one of them was chocolate chili, and it was kind of disgusting, but I was still tipsy enough that I enjoyed the weirdness). I ordered another set of samples from Aedes last Friday, and they somehow arrived from New York on Monday; how is this possible?! I have no idea. Magical Aedes fairies, I guess. (Btw, I just had to respell "fairies" 3 times because it kept looking wrong. Don't drink and blog, kids!) I'm still recovering from my cold, so my olfactory mechanism is not up to par, but that didn't stop my betrunkene self from transferring a couple vials into spray containers, so I've currently got Serge Lutens Bois de Violette and L'Artisan Timbuktu dabbed on my forearms. You can check out sheet 3 of my perfume spreadsheet if you want to see my betrunkene notes on them. Also, hey, spellcheck, why aren't you marking "betrunkene"? You tell me "moisturization" isn't a word, but are willing to let German slide? What's wrong with you? (Also, guys, moisturization is a word, right? It seems like a word, and I use it all the time [sober], so...)

I really want to order one of the YSL Glossy Stains, but can't decide on a color! There's so many choices! And no place nearby to swatch them! So if any of you are pale, neutral-cool, with a penchant for plum lips, what color do you recommend? (Penchant's a funny word, heh. It kind of sounds like pension, but it doesn't mean the same thing at all! Like two, too, and to. And hey, anyone in the classes I have to grade for, past, present, or future, please keep those straight! As well as you're/your and there/their/they're. This PSA is now over.)

Now I'm probably going to go wash my face. Or place a Sephora order, depending on what the free samples are. Or maybe watch this tutorial for drunk makeup, for the 57th time (thanks, L). Or maybe paint my nails, because right now I'm not wearing anything and I've already lost several to peeling (sorry, left index and middle, right index, middle, and thumb). Or maybe eating leftover Thai food. Or, or, yeah, watching the drunk makeup video. Again.

I LOVE YOU GUYS. BYE NOW.

Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Dream Nail Polish Review and Swatches

I finally got around to actually wearing this beauty on my fingers! Yay! (You can see my earlier non-review here.)

Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Dream